This… This is bad, This is probably the first real worst-case scenario I've had to deal with since coming here, and it ambushed me out of nowhere. I genuinely panicked for a minute, If not for Gamer's Mind, I might've rushed out and done something I'd regret.

I've never really been faced with a situation this dire before. I've grown too used to be the one in control, the one who knows what to do and when to do it. The why and how – I've had all the answers I needed thanks to my metaknowledge. And while I didn't have such control in Poseidra I knew I had no foreknowledge to rely on at that time so I was expecting to get blindsided.

This Remnant was obviously different from the one I knew, I realized that early on, but that never meant that my metaknowledge had been useless. I was still able to fuck over Salem's plans on more than one occasion. I relied on it for a lot, such as what to say when I was talking to Ozpin, how to get along with Ruby, the best way to draw Salem's attention away from other stuff and onto me instead, then knowing to hide in the safest city in the world.

But I'd never foreseen this. A character that had been so insignificant in the show, one that had only had a few minutes' worths of screen time, yet was so instrumentally important right now, is missing and could die at any second. This is the worst kind of situation I could have been presented with, and while the risks aren't so significant in the long run…

I can't in good conscience let Taiyang die. I won't allow it- I won't put Ruby and Yang through the grief of losing their family. Not again, Summer was enough.

This is bad, This is really bad. Especially when this decided to pop up.

[Dragon's Cry]

Objective: Save Taiyang Xiao-Long

Bonus Objective: Make sure all your allies survive

Rewards: 5000 Credits, 5000 EXP, Greatly increase Reputation with Qrow Branwen, Increase Reputation with Ozpin, Tremendously increase Reputation with Yang Xiao-Long, Massively increase affection with Ruby Rose, 2 Gacha Tokens

Bonus Reward: 10,000 Credits, 10,000 EXP, Gacha Token, Potion Recipe(Random)

Time Limit: ?

I couldn't care less about the rewards. This time limit is making me extremely anxious. How much time do I have? Days? Hours? Minutes? Whatever it is, I'm not about to waste a second. Every moment is precious.

"How long has he been missing?" I ask.

"A bit over a week now," Ozpin replies from the scroll, making me click my tongue.

"And you didn't think you should've contacted me?" I growl.

"You have an important job, Reid." He responds calmly. "We wouldn't want to interrupt the makings of your revolutionary potions-"

"Those can be made whenever I want Oz." I cut him off, crouching low to pump some mana into the circle. "But when someone is missing? I don't have all the time in the world."

"The quicker you establish the potion factory, the more people can be saved with them." He argues. "I understand how you feel, but would you rather save a handful of hunters, or potentially hundreds?"

I scowl, unable to conjure up an argument as I stare at the three Steel-Fire Golems in front of me. "Look, just send me the coordinates. I'll bring whoever I can back to Vale and eliminate the threat. It shouldn't take long, alright?"

After a few seconds, I hear him sigh. "Very well. I won't stop you, but please be careful, a lot depends on you."

"I will." I nod, mentally ordering the Golems to head into what I'd dubbed 'The Golem Box'.

Basically, where I stuff them in so I can bring them with me on my travels. Really need to make an easier way to transport them…

"I should mention that Qrow is only a few minutes away from the site," Ozpin says. "He will go ahead and scout the area. I'll redirect him under you; so be ready to receive a report soon."

"Understood." I nod again, fetching more materials and laying them on the magic circle. "I'll be moving soon too. Hopefully, it isn't too far."

"Of course." He responded. "Good luck, and be safe."

The line cut off there and I immediately dismissed the scroll to my inventory. I start the whole Golem creation process again, making three Ranged Wind Golems. I'd discovered that I could make multiple Golems at once recently. It's a little riskier but also more efficient. I don't have to worry about anything exploding though, with my highest tier ritual circle and skill at Golemcrafting.

I have no idea what was able to get Tai and his team, but I'm not going to take any chances. I'll stock up on as many Golems as I can, and even bring my Volcano Golem with me as well. The Golem Box is able to hold around fifty Golems in it, but adding Volcano-chan will cut that number to 30 instead. I already made twenty Golems – six Steel-Fire, six Steel-Lightning, five Steel-Ice, and three Steel-Wind – and I'm planning to make more.

Golemcrafting isn't really that tedious of a process when I've maxed it out. It takes a minute at most to finish a ritual.

I'll stack up on potions and food too. I'm going to arrive prepared, because what's the point of this rescue mission if I just get myself killed in the process? No, I'll save as many people as I can while making sure I stay alive. I haven't come this far to die like an idiot, and fuck whatever decided that my metaknowledge is gonna be useless today.

...But should I really stay here and make more Golems? I don't know how much time I have left – Taiyang could bite it any second now, and I'll know since it'll fail the quest. I already have a nigh excessive amount of food and potions in my inventory, that's good, so what do I do…

No, I've wasted enough time. I need to go. I'll be fine if I go full-power and buff up while having my Golems tank for me if need be. I'm confident enough to give an opponent on the level of Fenrir zero chance at taking me down, so even if it's another Titan, I should at least have a decent chance of surviving.

A message arrived from Ozpin, most likely the coordinates, making me smile slightly. Alright, everything is ready. Just need to go upstairs and head for… Vytal, it seems.

My smile is replaced with a worried frown.

Shit, that's too damned far. Even with Roc going at full-speed, it'll take me 15 minutes at most, keeping in mind that I'm gonna need to pull the Golem Box with it too. All I can do now is hope that Tai can hang on until I reach him.

Fuck… God fucking-

"Damn it!" I slam the wall with my fist, cracking it with sheer force.

I hate this feeling. This weakness. Unable to do anything even with so much power at my fingertips. All it took was one thing I wasn't expecting to come full force and kick me in the balls, and now I can barely even fight back. What the hell is this shit?

I shake my head with a sigh. No, I can have a pity party later. I still have a mission to do.

I turn around and pause as I see Ruby and Yang looking at me, the former watching at me expectantly and the latter in muted awe at her surroundings.

Ruby opened her mouth to speak, but I beat her to the punch. "What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to stay upstairs?"

She flinches slightly, stuttering a response. "W-we just wanted to see if you needed any help…"

Her weak response softens my glare. "I'm fine, thank you, Ruby. I have everything ready."

"Wha- what even is this place…" Yang mumbles.

I ignore her and brush past them, heading for the stairs, but I stop in my tracks as Ruby grabs my arm. I turn to look at her with a patient look on my face but said patience is running thin.

"W-wait, where are you going?" She questions.

"I've wasted enough time," I say. "I'm leaving. Now. You two stay here."

That prompted a reaction from Yang as she whips her head at me with wide eyes. "What?!"

"No, we're coming with you!" Ruby protests.

"No, you're not. You're staying here, and that's final." I let a bit of my Haki leak, scaring them slightly. "Now let go of my arm."

Ruby's grip loosens up a bit, and as I was about to move again it tightens up once more; almost making me let out a groan of frustration. I keep my temper in check, opting to frown at her as well as strengthening my use of Conqueror's every second.

Ruby's hand trembles, but she looks at me with fierce determination. "We- we're going with you." She says with an audible stutter. "I-it's our dad. We need to be there too."

"No, you don't," I reply coldly. "You two aren't even remotely ready for this. Huntresses-in-training going on an S-Rank mission? Do you understand just how ridiculous that sounds?"

"It doesn't matter what Rank it is!" Yang interjects, even with the clear nervousness and anxiety she's feeling. "Our dad is out there, gods know what he's doing, and you want us to stay here and twiddle our thumbs?"

I resist a scowl and the need to just knock her out right here and now. I hate to be doing this – I don't want to hurt them, but I also don't want them to put their lives uselessly at risk. Qrow, Gwyn, my Golems, and I are enough to handle this.

"Please, Reid." Ruby pleads. "We have to go with you. We'll do anything you ask us, but please we have to go!"

"Ruby-"

"R- Sir, please," Yang begs. "We'll-"

"What if one of you dies?" I cut her off. "What if the threat is greater than we imagined, and one of you pays the price?"

I'm met with silence.

"We have no knowledge of what got your father, an S-Rank hunter may I remind you." I continue. "It could be another goddamned Titan for all we know, and if that's the case, then what? I might be the Titan Slayer, but I fought tooth and nail just to survive, and only killed Fenrir by pure luck."

"B-but your potions-"

"Are not omnipotent." I stop Yang from arguing. "Nor are they permanent. Most of my potions have temporary effects that, at best, ranging from three to five minutes. Healing potions won't do you any good if the enemy knocks your head off of your shoulders."

"Look, you're worried about your father, and I get that." I sigh. "But what would Taiyang want? His daughters risking their lives to save him when they're only Huntresses-in-Training? If one of you dies, then what was the point of even bringing you on a rescue mission? And I can't for the life of me put your lives at stake."

2 Affection with Ruby Rose [78/100]

10 Reputation with Yang Xiao-Long [40/100]

Yang blushes a bit at the implication – probably wouldn't have happened without my high charisma – as Ruby smiles sweetly, then shakes her head a second later as she refocuses on her argument.

"I know you don't want us to get hurt, but we can take care of ourselves!" She says confidently. "We won't get in the way, Reid. I promise!"

"W-we'll listen to everything you say." Yang persists. "And if things get too dangerous…"

My eyes narrow at the unsaid 'we'll run away'. I don't want them coming with me, but it's obvious that they won't relent. I could just use Conqueror's at full force and knock them out, but it just doesn't sit well with me. It doesn't feel right to just force everyone to do what I say like this.

It feels tyrannical, and I get that sometimes I won't have a choice but still…

Name: Yang Xiao-Long

Title: Sunny Dragon

Age: 17

Race: Human

Level: 54

HP: 750

MP: 0

AP: 16,100

STR: 124

VIT: 78

DEX: 129

INT: 81

WIS: 52

CHA: 120

LUK: 150

Her stats aren't helping her case either. Only slightly stronger than her sister...

I look at Ruby's pleading face, which erases any thoughts of using it completely. If I can't convince them to stay and have to bring them with me, then what do I do? How can I ensure their safety? I can enchant their stuff, but that'll take a lot of time. I might be able to enchant one person's weapon very quickly, but that leaves one of them under-defended.

I could trick them and go by myself…

No, I can't do that. I don't want to break Ruby's trust in me.

Do I have anything that could help the other one? Come on, Reid, think. I can't waste more time making another Golem, so armor is out. Enchanting is quick, but too many items to enchant will take time. Their fighting styles are too specific, so none of my items can be helpful to-

Wait.

Wait, there's one item… but the question is, should I even use it? I haven't tested it out in a safe environment, and I don't know how it'll respond to Aura. I, unfortunately, can't test it on myself because of the requirements it has, and I didn't want to test it out on Ruby until I was confident that she's strong and durable enough to handle it.

I know it's not all that dangerous to normal humans, but Ruby has her Aura unlocked. I have no way of knowing how it will react to Aura, and I don't want to be responsible for getting her hurt. I especially don't want to be responsible for her possibly dying.

Then again, the description of the item doesn't imply anything negative, which is a little reassuring, but I need to think for myself. Senketsu draws or drinks the blood of the user, but would Aura-infused blood have a different effect or not? It might even drink way too much blood because of its 'high quality' or something, that might wind up killing the user outright, or maybe it won't make any difference at all and I'm just being overly paranoid.

Or maybe, and this is a very big maybe, it'll enhance the user's abilities even further. A Hunter's blood is infused with Aura, and while it might sound strange, it can be used as medicine. Nowhere near as powerful as my potions, but since Aura has restorative properties, it'll enhance an Auraless civilian's HP regen by a little bit if the blood type is compatible. It's another reason why Hunters are so valued in most parts of the world.

So there's as much of a possibility that Senketsu gives an even greater power-boost to a Huntress than a normal human. If that's the case then even a weak user might surpass me stat-wise. Power like that would be instrumental in a rescue mission like this…

But there's still the risk of it having a negative reaction.

I want to see what it can do, and the itch of needing to discover new things is bad enough as it is, but I don't want to- I won't drag someone into my problems, especially not Ruby who already suffered the full brunt of a demon attack thanks to my recklessness.

There are no safety measures for this, not with how much time I have. I'll bring it with me, but I'll only use it in an emergency. In the meantime, I'll keep the two of them by my side at all times.

"...Leave your weapons here and wait for me upstairs." I relent. "There are a few things I need to do."

Two pairs of eyes widen in surprise, Yang releasing a sigh of relief later as Ruby hugs me tightly. "Thank you so much! I promise we won't be reckless!"

"Go, now." I sigh. "We barely have time as is."

"Oh, uh…" Ruby giggles nervously, breaking away from the embrace. "Sorry. Come on, Yang! You heard him!"

Ruby hands over Crescent Rose as Yang eyes me up with suspicion. I can tell she has a lot she wants to ask, but she too realizes that time is precious, so she drops her gauntlets only a moment after Ruby gives me her scythe. The two then leave me to my work and I immediately bring their gear to my enchanting table, taking the weapons and the eight rings I looted from that maze dungeon out from my inventory.

This won't be enough to make a massive difference, but I really don't have the time to enchant more than this for them.

I hope it'll at least be enough to get them through this.

Qrow: Area is clear. What next?

You: If I don't arrive in the next fifteen minutes, go in alone and look for survivors.

Qrow: Understood.

I hide the scroll away in my inventory, turning my look over at my two companions.

"Are you two ready?" I ask the sisters as they inspect their newly enchanted weapons and potion satchels.

"Yeah." Ruby nods. "But what did you do to our weapons? The rings? And what's with these bags?"

"I enchanted them," I answer. "Gave them an edge over Grimm. The bags have potions in them."

I wound up just giving them bonus Light Damage, as well as increased sharpness in the case of Crescent Rose and a greater force for Ember Cecilia. Light enchantments should make the Grimm significantly easier to deal with on top of making them actually fear the weapons. A simple Light Bulb is enough to cause an Alpha Beowulf to flinch after all.

The rings give small increases in Aura, Health, Movement Speed, and Attack Power. Should help them defend themselves against whatever monstrosities we might encounter.

Seeing Grimm in fear will likely surprise them at first, but it might help them keep up their confidence and be less nervous. Staying calm is one of the most important skills for staying alive on the battlefield, and I know that firsthand. If I didn't have Gamer's Mind, I would've never survived in the battle against Fenrir. Hell, I probably wouldn't have even gotten that far.

"You have five potions each. Golden ones are for Aura, red ones are for whatever critical wounds you might suffer," I list off. "And the colorful ones will give you an increase in your strength and speed. Use it only when you have to."

"Wait, wait. Enchanted?" Yang eyes me suspiciously. "As in magic?"

"Yes." I nod. "Ruby will explain everything to you on the road."

"Wait- you really think I'll just believe that magic exists?"

I resist a scowl. We really don't have time for this…

"What about them?" I point at the Golems. "What are they?"

Yang pauses for a beat, then answers. "T-they're robots obviously."

Ruby was about to explain, but then loud thumps were heard coming from the nearby hallway. The two turn, their eyes widening as Volcano-chan makes an entrance stomping over, looking blankly over at them. I couldn't help but smile somewhat in pride at my creation, ignoring the… accessory they had on its head.

It's a 'She'

Not the time.

"W-what- The hell is that thing!?" Yang assumes a stance, looking at Volcano-chan in fear.

"A Golem," I answer. "Now stop wasting time and move it."

"Eh!?" Yang drops the stance and points at this. "You're saying that this thing is a robot?!"

"That's so cool!" Ruby sprints towards it, admiring it up close. "I never thought Golems can be this big! Or this lava-y! How did you make this?!"

I love that she's showing interest in Golems and magic like this, but now's really not the time, and I'm beginning to get frustrated by how carefree they're acting right now. Their own father is out there probably fighting for his life, and yet they're so goddamn…

Breathe Reid, breathe.

But I guess they can't see the quest. Tai is either dead or alive, and they don't have anything agitating their anxiety-inducing like I have.

I sigh in frustration. "Now's not the time," I say, trying to keep my temper in check. "We're leaving."

Ruby winces slightly and complies while Yang still looks at me with narrowed eyes. They follow me as I lead them to Roc and the large Golem Box, a magically enhanced rope tying them together. I open the box and order the Golems to get inside, glancing at the sisters once all of them are inside.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" I raise a brow, gesturing towards the box. "Get in."

"You mean the box?" Yang asks.

I only stare at her blankly, prompting her to cough nervously. "Yeah, okay. Stupid question."

"Come on, Yang," Ruby says, grabbing hold of her arm and dragging her in.

"Uh wait, Ruby-"

"She'll explain everything inside," I say. "Get in."

Yang glances at me again for a second then obeys, letting me close the large door to the Box behind them. I mount Roc, strap on my helmet, and open the garage, driving out a heartbeat later. Thankfully, the Hunter's Board – where my shop is – is in the northern part of the city itself, and fairly close to the gates. It didn't take long for me to get there, making sure to not go flat-out in the city.

It didn't take even a few minutes before I hear Ruby and Yang start talking, or the former explaining what the hell is going on to be more specific. I slowly ramp the speed I'm going at up, making sure to not accelerate too suddenly and hurt the ones inside the box.

Once I reach full-speed, 930 Kilometers per hour, I relax a bit, releasing a small sigh. I could only hope I make it in time…

"Wait, wait, you're telling me magic is real?" Yang questions in bewilderment. "Ruby, are you listening to yourself?"

I'm not usually one to spy on the conversations of others, but with them being so close on top of my enhanced sense of hearing – keep in mind that I can hear erratic heartbeats from over a meter away if I focus – I couldn't ignore them even if I wanted to. I doubt they'd be able to hear me even if I try to scream for them to stop.

Regardless, Yang needs to have the situation laid out for her. I'm not overly worried about people finding out about magic in all honesty, because how the hell would they figure out how to access it? It's a special thing, and knowing about magic doesn't mean knowing about the Maidens.

Not to mention how easy it is to play off a Maiden's magic as a Semblance. I remember reading about the prodigy in Haven that can control fire and ice as his Semblance.

"Apparently," Ruby replies. "It's surreal, I know."

"It's not surreal, it's stupid." Yang scoffs. "You really think I believe this, Rubes? Magic? Seriously?"

"I'm serious." The younger sister states. "I've seen it myself. What do you think the Golems are made of?"

"They're robots, clearly." The blond waves it off, making me snort. "Like the Atlesian Knights, just less… knight-shaped."

"And what about this huge one?" Ruby questions. "Does that look like a robot to you?"

Yang grows silent, and a smirk forms on my face. Heh, still feels good to be right at least…

"Because it's not." She continues. "I've seen how these things are made, Yang. You can't just make them by hand. The process is really weird but kinda cool to watch too."

"Okay, okay, fine. Let's say that magic is real." I can feel Yang rolling her eyes. "Then how come no one's ever heard about it? Or even tried to use it?"

"Because only less than ten people are able to use it," Ruby explains. "I don't think something like that is common knowledge."

I can almost hear Yang narrowing her eyes in thought, "Why can't we use it then?"

"Reid said we don't have magic cores." She says. "It's like this mana generator – Mana being the energy used to cast spells and stuff – Reid said there are ways to develop them, but never told me how."

Ah, Ruby. Taking everything I say to heart and listening to anything she considers a lesson. I never imagined how rewarding taking on a student could be until she came along. It honestly feels great to know that she's taking everything I say seriously, hell she even made notes.

I'm so proud of her.

"...And you just believed him?" Yang asks incredulously. "This random guy just comes in and says 'oh, by the way, magic is real!' and you're fine with it?"

"That random guy is a Hero."

"It doesn't matter if he's a hero or not, Ruby-"

"It matters to me!" Ruby snaps. "You don't know how much he's done for me. He's always been by my side, even when I was at my lowest. Without him, I…"

"...Ruby?"

The two fall into silence for a few seconds. Oof, this is getting personal and I don't know how to handle it, or even if I should interfere. Sounds like it probably is for the best in the long run for them both if Ruby reveals what happened between us and ranted a little to someone who isn't me. As much as I care for her I don't want her to be completely dependent on me.

I really hope they don't get in a fight though. At least not now, they can feel free to have one later – once we've rescued Taiyang.

"When dad left on that mission, I was alone in school." She starts. "I… I know I said everything was fine when you called, but I was lying. Things were horrible. I was getting bullied left and right, up and down, all over really, and no matter what I tried I was never able to get them to just leave me alone."

Yang doesn't speak, opting to remain quiet for her sister to continue.

"There were times I didn't even want to go to school." Ruby continues. "The things they did and said… it hurt a lot, way more than anything a Grimm could manage. It wasn't all that bad though, because Reid was there to cheer me up when you two couldn't.

"He always made time for me to hang out with him." She says. "I don't know what I did to make him so fond of me, but he always put me before his work. I felt a little guilty, but it didn't matter because I don't regret a second I spent with him."

Oh… well… I, uh, don't really know how to react to that.

Did your heart just skip a beat? Oh that's adorable~

Definitely not. How would you even know that? I'm just… flattered. Yes, flattered. Very flattered. It's heartwarming to hear Ruby say that stuff, alright? I know her Affection for me is extremely high, but it's still nice to hear it out loud.

"Okay, wait." Yang interrupts. "I feel like I'm missing something here. When did you two even meet?"

"Would you believe me if I said that I knew him before he became a Hero?" Ruby giggles. "Thought as much. Even then, our relationship never really changed at all. He never much cared about social standings and still hung out with me, he still saw me as his friend.

"At some point, I couldn't handle it anymore." Ruby sighs. "I just..."

"...Broke down?" Yang says helpfully.

"Yeah…" Ruby confirms. "I poured my heart to him – we're friends, but I didn't know him super well at the time. It's kinda embarrassing now that I'm thinking about it again."

I can sense her feelings of trust and love for me growing stronger as she continues. I can't help but smile slightly.

"I had no right to dump my problems at his feet. I wouldn't have blamed him if he just kicked me out or something." Ruby says. "But he didn't. Instead, he told me that I was strong. He told me that I'm brave, that I'm smart. Told me everything I always wanted to hear."

"Ruby…" Yang mumbles.

"And that's not all!" She continues. "He's helped me so much. He gave me advice when I needed it, taught me lots of cool stuff about magic, and even agreed to take me as his student! I'm training under a Hero, Yang. Can you believe it?"

There was a moment of silence after that before Yang speaks up once more.

"I'm guessing that, after all of this, you have feelings for him?"

"Hehe, w-well." Ruby giggles nervously. "We're… kinda sorta dating…"

"W-what?!"

"S-surprise!" She tries to play it off, making me chuckle. "I was gonna tell you about it today, but then this whole thing happened so I couldn't and we hadtofocusonthesituationathandImsorryfornottellingyou!"

"You are dating the Titan Slayer?!" Yang utters in disbelief. "How- What!? When did this happen?!"

"L-long story!" Her sister quickly says, clearing her throat a second later. "Look, all I want to say is that I… I-I love him, okay? All this time, he showed me kindness and understanding. He's the only one aside from you, dad, mom, and Uncle Qrow that gave me so much without ever asking anything in return. He didn't have to do anything for me, but he did."

The time she chooses to be sentimental is horrible, but I'd be lying if I said that I disliked it. I've always been someone who enjoys praise, it's one of the reasons I've been so public, and I was always able to handle it, but this kind hits differently. I don't really know how to react to such sincerity.

And... I feel something similar to what she says. She might fangirl a lot, but she never really saw me as this great, flawless hero. I've picked up admiration and hope from her, but never that nigh-worship feeling I pick up on from regular civilians. She realizes that I'm still flawed, even if her feelings sometimes blind her to that fact.

Comparing the times I talked to her before and after the news about Fenrir were widespread, her views of me never really changed overmuch. I can still remember that question she asked too, the "are we friends" one, and I think I get why now.

She thought that now that I'm this big hero, I wouldn't have time to spend with her, or I'd ignore her and she'd lose her only friend. She didn't see it as a way to get ahead or use me as a shield against her bullies. She genuinely just wanted a friend she could hang out with, my own achievements never really mattered all that much to her.

People like her have my respect. I appreciate honest people, ones that don't fake it for someone else, or for themselves either.

In the distance, I can spy a long wooden bridge leading to the Island of Vytal, Heart of Remnant, and where the treaty took place. Cross that and the Hanged Forest shouldn't be far.

"And look at him now; he agreed to help us save dad in an instant. He didn't hesitate even for a second!" She continues her speech. "We aren't even sure if dad's still alive, and he has a lot of work to do, yet he dropped everything for us. He might be a little cocky and insufferable at times, but whenever I needed any kind of help, he was always there with a smile for me."

God, I'm so torn right now. I want her to stop because I'm pretty sure I wasn't meant to hear this, but I still want to know more.

"And like how he's always been there for me, then I'll do the same for him," Ruby says with conviction. "I-I still never got a chance to help, yeah, but that's why I'm building that weapon for him, y'know?"

Oooh... I definitely was not meant to know about that, even if I'm too interested in what she's making. Is that part of the reason why she wants to go to that festival? To get parts?

I wonder what exactly she's making.

"...Haaaah." Yang lets out a long, drawn-out sigh. "Yeah, I don't think I can do anything when you hit me with such a cheesy speech like that."

"I-it's not cheesy!" Ruby whines.

"Hehe, it definitely is, Rubes." I chuckle under my breath. "...But you have no idea how much it means to me, hearing all of this."

The sisters delve into simple banter shortly after, which I tone out as I see the forest in the distance. No sign of Qrow so he likely went in ahead of us already. As generic a name as the Hanged Forest might have, it's for the best I don't underestimate whatever's lurking inside. From what I read on the web, a lot of people have gone missing here, their corpses only found days later. The cause of death is suicide most of the time. Most hang themselves – hence the name – others slit their own throats, some shoot themselves in the head, and so on.

It was always suspicious that the people who went in were usually in great mental health. What could have brought them to do such a thing? Even when a large hunter team led by the Guildmaster investigated the place, they found nothing out of the ordinary. It was just as it seemed: a normal forest.

Whatever caused those suicides – I'm 99% sure now they're not of any normal cause. Something must've driven them to do that, either a high-class Grimm or someone with a really powerful Semblance, though the latter seems extremely unlikely. Human opponents should be easy to deal by using Conqueror's especially, but something in my gut tells me that this won't be easy.

I really don't like the look of this place. Something about it's just wrong.

I slow down, making sure to do so from quite a distance away since Roc's brakes are admittedly terrible. I stop at around fifty meters away from the entrance of the forest, getting off my bike as a grimace settles on my face. Dark, eerie, way too damned quiet. Could've fooled me and said that the place was haunted. If I didn't know any better, I'd believe it too.

I shiver slightly. Really glad Remnant doesn't have ghosts…

I shake my head at the thought and move over to the Golem Box, opening the door as Golems file out, followed by the two sisters, who both look grim at the view of the forest.

"Do you have the potions I gave you?" I ask the two.

Yang pats the small satchel tied on her hip with a nod as Ruby responds positively. "Yessir."

Two Aura, two HP, and one All-Stat. Five potions for each of them should be enough. I would've given them more, but they don't have any more space without the potions getting in the way.

"Alright then, stay close to me," I order. "Separation could mean death, understood?"

They nod obediently and follow me as I lead them to the forest. With me taking point, the two sisters a little behind me, and then the rest of the Golems following after us as Volcano-chan guards the rear, we march forward through the forest. I'm immediately put on guard from the sheer presence I feel – it was incredibly malicious, very dark, and just… angry for some reason.

It was enough for me to pull out Goldbrand, casting a small light bulb above us. Any light spell will make Grimm cautious and even afraid at times, so this should keep whatever the hell that's watching us away for a minute. This vibe it gives off is just… way too similar for my liking.

It feels like Fenrir's when I fought it…

"A Titan…?" I mumble under my breath.

"R-Reid?" Ruby mutters, gripping her weapon tighter. "Is everything okay?"

"Just stay close to me," I say. "This is probably way worse than what we bargained for."

I could see it coming a mile away, but some sort of a short tree-looking Grimm jumped at us with a screech. I don't even flinch as my Ranger Golems fill it with holes, immolating it seconds later. I click my tongue in annoyance, my free hand glowing bright with Light Magic.

"Woah…" Yang breaths out in amazement. "Didn't even move an inch closer to us…"

"That's how great they are!" Ruby exclaims. "Normal robots can never do something like this!"

"Focus." I reprimand them. "We're not here to have fun."

"Oh uh…" Ruby clears her throat. "You're right. Sorry…"

A few minutes later, I decide to activate my Haki Sense, feeling multiple life signatures in the distance. The closest one's glow was dim and weak, meaning they were close to death, making me clench my fist. Alright, first rescue-!

"Get down!" I force them both to the ground, narrowly ducking under a huge log flying right through where we'd been stood. The log managed to strike a few Golems, I think four, causing me to scowl deeply.

What the fuck was that?!

[Mind Probing] was blocked by [Gamer's Mind]

Huh?

"Wh-what was-"

A loud screech cuts off Ruby's sentence, making me close my ears in agony. I grunt and growl in pain, trying to stop the loud noise. A quick glance at my companions tells me that they're nowhere near as agonized as me, shown by Ruby crying out something, her face filled with concern.

"Grraaaaaaaahh!" I let out a roar, stepping back before falling to my knees. "S-shut up shut up shut up SHUT UP!"

I open my eyes to see three incoming Grimm in the shape of giant trees with tens, possibly hundreds of smaller ones surrounding me and my companions. My ears are still ringing, my legs are shaking, and it's getting increasingly difficult to focus. Nonetheless, I take a high-stance, holding my blade up as Ruby and Yang aim at the closest tree.

They charge at us, my Golems able to put up a great fight even with their low numbers. Sabers were easily able to hack through the smaller enemies, brawlers pulverizing them all through sheer speed, and Volcano-chan taking on one of the giant ones.

The sisters are fighting the other giant tree as the last one charges at me. I grunt and roll out of the way, wincing and flinching all the while as the loud screeching noise is making it hard for me to keep my focus. I do everything in my power to tune it out, ducking under the tree's arm-like branch before cutting through it with a Triple-Strike. I flip over its other arm before axe-kicking it with my Haki-enhanced heel, shattering it completely.

I aim my arm at the tree's 'face' only for a flying log to hit me square in the jaw, sending me flying back while breaking one tree after the other. Falling to the ground, I grunt, scowling again a second later as I rush back onto the battlefield, the screeching finally stopping.

What the fuck was that? No seriously, that wasn't any normal screeching. I-I could barely even hear myself think out there- What kind of…

Could it be some kind of sound magic? The screeching came from extremely far away, there's simply no way it affects me this badly unless it was amplified somehow. There's definitely the possibility for something like sound magic being out there, by virtue of the fact that the versatility of magic is endless.

If we're dealing with a Grimm that can use magic like this…

Then it's definitely a Titan.

It was a possibility I didn't dismiss, just one I didn't want to be true. The prospect of taking down another Titan is incredibly tempting, but I'm not alone to do it safely. There are just too many risks out here- Taiyang, Qrow, Yang, Ruby- not to mention the other missing hunters. I can't let them die.

The priority right now is getting everyone out.

Fuck, I really shouldn't have brought those two with me. I knew I should've just kept them at the house. What the hell was I thinking?! It was their right because it's their father?! Breaking their trust?!

That's just fucking stupid!

There won't be any trust to break if they're fucking dead!

I finally arrive back on the battlefield, looking around in a panic, trying to find the sisters that came with me. I saw destroyed golems, broken trees, logs plunged deep into the ground, a dozen surviving Golems including Volcan-chan but no sign of Yang and Ruby. I cursed myself under my breath, summoning Gwyn immediately.

He barks in affirmation as I feel around for their life signatures, freezing as I see the dim light I saw earlier slowly darkening. I grit my teeth, then turn around to address the remaining Golems.

"Go! Look around for any survivors! Prioritize Ruby and Yang's safety!" I turn to Gwyn, injecting him with an All-Stat potion. "Buddy, I'm counting on you. Please, find them."

Gwyn barks loudly and sprints forward as the Golems obey my orders. I was about to move, but then I quickly turn around as I hear something moving in the bushes, Light magic glowing in my hand as I aim at the potential assailant.

"W-wait!" A familiar voice calls out. "It-it's me! Don't shoot please!"

Ruby comes out of the bushes, making me let out a deep sigh. "What the hell were you doing there?"

"I was dragged by one of the little tree Grimm... things!" She claims, stepping closer to me.

My eyes narrow slightly. Something feels off about this. She...

I take a step back, my grip getting tighter.

"R-Reid?" Ruby mutters, looking at me nervously. "Are you… okay?"

"Everything is fine…" I reply. "Say, Ruby, can you remind me when our date will take place?"

"E-eh?" She blinks in confusion. "Um, Firesteel Festival?"

I relax my grip and let out a sigh. "Alright, not a fake."

"W-what do you mean not fake?!" Ruby glares at me. "What gave you that idea?!"

"Nothing, nothing." I turn around, facing the direction of the dim light. "Was just a gut feeling, don't worry about it."

I hear her getting closer, my eyes narrowing further at the sound of her footsteps. "You better be sorry-"

"Ruby, not now." I cut her off. "Come on, I think there's someone that way."

"...Sure…"

I was about to move, but with my incredible senses, I sidestep away from a strike by 'Ruby', tightly grabbing her arm as I smirk at her razor-sharp claws.

"Roses, freshly baked cookies, and a hint of metal." I list off, my smirk turning cruel at the fake's struggles. "That's what Ruby smells like, and you smell nothing like anything I described, not counting how your steps make a fairly strange noise for someone wearing boots."

The fake doesn't respond.

"A fairly convincing illusion though, one that affects the world. No wonder Gamer's Mind didn't block it." I state. "Your smell and the sound of your movements are what gave you away though. The memories… you probably stole those from Ruby, which is how you managed to answer my question so easily."

My grip tightens further, cracking the arm, or should I say a branch of the Grimm shrouded in illusions. The illusion flickers, revealing the faker's true form for a few seconds. Exactly the same as the small fry my Golems annihilated.

"I know you can understand me if you were able to make an illusion so intelligent," I say. "Gotta say… nice try."

I grab the fake-Ruby's face, fire bursting in my hand.

"But do better next time, yeah?"

I release the held Fire Burst, completely incinerating the Grimm and reducing it to ash. I scoff after I was done, then quickly head to the weak light ahead of me as soon as I inject myself with a Nightvision and All-stat potions.

I really hope I'm not too late…

(Yang)

She didn't know how it had happened. Only minutes earlier, she was with her sister and Astera – sticking really close to the latter on his command, then, all of a sudden they were ambushed by a horde of treelike Grimm. Reid suddenly disappeared, and when she and Ruby finished off the giant tree…

She was all alone. Seconds ago, she was right next to her sister, but it took a blink and everything changed. Yang began to realize why they call stuff like this S-Rank missions – no way this was normal. How did things slide from going relatively well to this so damned fast?

Thankfully it didn't take too long before she heard her sister call out to her. Yang quickly sprinted towards the voice, keeping her eyes sharp and gauntlets ready. She'd quickly glance around her at regular intervals, making sure nothing was trying to sneak up on her.

Yang gulped as the calls went quiet, her heart audibly hammering in her chest until a very close "Over here!" echoed throughout the forest. The blond almost let out a sigh of relief but was still terrified. She couldn't relax until she had her sister in front of her.

"Here?" She mumbled, arriving at a small clearing in the middle of the forest. "Ruby? Are you there?!"

Yang made sure to not shout too much or too loudly, otherwise she'd be sure to draw another crowd of Grimm. She anxiously clenched her fists, looking around her as a whisper escaped her lips. "Please, answer…"

The sound of the bushes rustling nearby spooked Yang into a stance, still somewhat hopeful that it was someone she knew. This place majorly creeped her out…

Lilac eyes widened to the size of saucers as a tall woman with jet-black hair and red eyes walked out, glaring at her with eyes possessed of cold fury and hatred as her grip tightened over a long red blade. She looked exactly the same as she was in the picture, exactly as Yang imagined her to be.

In some sort of a twisted way, Yang got her wish of seeing someone familiar.

"M-mom..?" She muttered. "I-is that really you?"

Raven didn't answer.

"What are you doing here?" Yang took a step forward. "W-why are you even here? Are you here to save dad too?"

"No." She growled. "I'm here to get rid of a thorn in my side that's been plaguing me for years."

"W-what?" The blond froze. "What are you talking about?"

"What, was that too much for your stunted brain to process?" She mocked. "So not only a disappointingly weak, but pathetically slow to boot?"

Yang was too shocked to respond, a strangled noise leaving her throat.

"Let me make this easy for you to understand then." She said with contempt. "I want to kill you."

"B-but…why…?" Yang whispered. "Wh-what did I even do?"

"EXIST!" The older woman roared. "YOUR VERY EXISTENCE IS AN INSULT TO THE BRANWENS' FACE!"

Yang flinched violently as Raven got closer.

"I had my hopes for you, a child bearing my blood, to be strong. A natural leader." She spat out. "But what did I get? A snot-nosed little brat with no instincts at all, poor Aura reserves, and no potential at all. You spent years of your life playing around with that sorry excuse of a father when you could've been training."

Regaining her composure for a second, Yang scowled. "Don't you dare insult my dad."

"I should've killed you the moment you left the womb." Raven ignored her. "A stain on the Branwen name. That's all you've amounted to."

"Oh yeah?!" Yang growled, her eyes flickering red. "Well, this stain won't hesitate to shove that sword up your ass you fucking bitch!"

With that, Yang charged forth in anger, throwing a jab that her mother easily dodged. Raven parried the following hook, her eyes widening suddenly as she backed away with a flip. Yang paused, her eyes narrowing at her strange change in behavior. She was far more focused, at her arms- no, at her… weapons?

What's wrong with my gauntlets…? Yang wondered, slowly circling around her opponent. They're dangerous, yeah, but what's with the sudden-!

Raven rushed forward significantly faster than Yang had anticipated, but the blond was able to just tilt her head out of the path of the strike, narrowly evading the red blade. Yang delivered a jab to her mother's stomach, and in an instant, Raven flickered. It was too fast for the younger girl to process, which made her unable to dodge the slash at her side.

Yang grunted and rolled away, her eyes narrowing further.

"Accursed Light…!" Raven growled, her voice having a faint, distorted echo behind it. "You'll pay for this you little shit!"

The hell is going on…? Yang took a low stance, trying to anticipate her mother's next strike. Accursed Light? What does that even mean!?

Loud and booming stomps caused the blond to flinch, prompting her to look behind only to see more of the giant trees from earlier charging at her. Yang grit her teeth, fishing the colorful syringe out from her satchel. Reid said to only use this when they really needed it because its effects didn't last for long, but if this situation wasn't bad enough to need it then Yang didn't even want to know what could be worse.

She never was good with needles – or really any thin and pointy objects for that matter – but she'd rather deal with a hundred needles than die here. Dying would obviously be pretty damn awful, but it'd also prove that Astera was right and she never should've gone with him. She couldn't tolerate a dent in her pride as a huntress like that.

Not like pride would keep her alive.

Welp… She winces slightly as she injects herself with the potion. Gotta do what I gotta do to live through… this- oh wow. I feel great.

Yang blinked in shock as she felt her power surge, a feeling familiar to the first time she unlocked her Aura, clenching and unclenching her fists as her body felt lighter than ever before. This surge of power was incredible, something Yang was completely unused to. She felt…

Invincible.

The giant tree Grimm threw one of its large branches down in a strike to crush her, but she easily evaded the attack, paying it back with a powerful blow on the branch. One powerful enough to shatter half of it as strange, white and gold energy crackled around the Grimm's arm.

It roared and tried again, this time joined by the other tree Grimm as well as Raven. Yang grimaced in annoyance, appalled that her mother would sooner side with the Grimm than her, but she put her worries behind her as she focused on the battle.

She parried the blade seeking her neck, countering with three consecutive blows on Raven, each followed by a blast of fire dust from her gauntlets, and took the chance of her mother's resultant daze to punch the ground with her left fist, forming a large crystal of ice with the Dust shell. The force sent the black-haired woman flying through a tree.

Her magically enhanced reflexes lent her enough speed to block an incoming attack, flipping over it and landing on her feet before rushing in once again. The Grimm were significantly slower, making it far easier to dodge and block. Yang made sure to pile the pressure on from a high stance, landing heavy blows combo'd with Fire Dust Shells from Ember Celica to shave off the Grimm's flesh.

Astera wasn't kidding when he said those 'enchantments' gave her weapons an edge over the Grimm. Each strike left the monsters reeling and howling. It made stringing attacks easy to do with them stunned all the time.

Yang jumped away before charging back, leaping as she used her shotguns to propel herself forward. With a roar, she smashed one of the giant trees into pieces with powerful jabs, evading the other's strike mid-air before annihilating it with a heavy smash to its ugly mug.

The brawler landed on her feet, feeling far better than before, a confident smile on her face. She turned around and gasped as Raven was only inches away from her, preparing a slash at the blond's midsection. She couldn't dodge- she was too close. A direct hit like this might even pierce her Aura!

Yang closed her eyes shut, bracing for impact. All she could do right now is hope that her Aura will be able to-

A loud clang echoed, and with the lack of pain wherever the strike was supposed to be, Yang slowly opened her eyes. A red cape fluttered as a familiar longsword blocked the red katana of her mother. Her protector pushed the enemy with a grunt, clicking his tongue a second later.

"Missed me so much you went into the dark and dangerous woods to find me, Firecracker?"

Almost immediately, Yang recognized the man, a big and relieved grin on her face.

"Uncle Qrow!"

"One after the other, over and over…!" Raven growls. "You humans never give up, do you?!"

"You can cut the bullshit, Raven." Qrow scowls. "Your mind tricks won't work anymore, so how about you stop impersonating my sister?"

"Impersonating?" Yang mumbled, getting into a stance.

"It's an illusion, Yang." He answered. "This thing probes your brain and uses your memories against you. It's using Raven to mess with your head."

"W-what?" Her eyes widened. "This isn't the real… then, all the things she said-"

"Things you never want to hear," Qrow replied. "It's trying to get into your head to kill you more easily.

"So how about you show us what you really look like?"

'Raven' lost her scowl, and a second later, her appearance flickered and changed into one of those smaller tree Grimm, but far more armored, and the red sword was replaced with a fairly thin, but quite sharp piece of Grimm Bone.

Where the weaker ones had plenty of easy spots to strike, this one barely had any. However, fully-armored doesn't usually translate to strong armor.

"Yeah, that's right." Her uncle chuckled. "You never got the Raven act right anyway. She was far more bitchy."

As if it lost all its intelligence, the Grimm screeched at them and charged, and right as Qrow was about to pummel it, Yang rushed in and delivered a stunning uppercut, sending it up high before following the attack by grabbing it at the leg and smashing it into the ground. The Grimm let out a weak shriek but never got the chance to retaliate as the blond crushed its head beneath her fist.

Her hands were shaking, and even she wasn't sure what emotions she was feeling. Disappointment because she fell for this Grimm's illusions? Rage that a Grimm dared impersonate her mother? Sadness that it wasn't actually her?

Yang silently stood with her back straight, shaking her head and letting out a long exhale.

"Kid… you alright?"

"I'm fine." Yang sighed. "Let's get going. We need to meet up with the others."

"Right-"

Just then, roars were heard nearby, making the two raise their guards up. More and more of the tree Grimm surrounded them, hordes of the weak ones, a dozen of the armored ones, and five of the giants. Qrow clicked his tongue in annoyance, changing his weapon to its Scythe form.

Not even a second later and Yang suddenly fell on one knee, feeling drained. It didn't take her long to realize that the potion's effects had expired as the jarring sense of weakness faded away. She quickly got up and bit her lips, growing nervous at this turn of events.

The Grimm charged, shrieking, roaring, and growling all the while, but then a particular roar stopped them all in place. The ground began to shake as loud stomps were heard by a raging monster from the sounds of it. A massive flaming figure made itself known in the distance, and Yang squinted her eyes at it.

When it was close enough for Yang to fully see, her eyes widened in surprise as well as relief. Qrow tried to voice his confusion, but then the Volcano Golem smashed its burning fist into one of the trees, immolating it alive with its magma.

It destroyed most of the Grimm around by flattening, burning, and smashing them – the multitude of methods it used to kill them all was a sight for sore eyes. The other giant trees attempted to gang up on the Golem but were almost literally melted through as the Golem met their attack.

"Holy shit…" Qrow mumbled in disbelief.

"Badass…" Yang muttered in awe.

Shaking away his shock, Qrow spoke. "I don't know what that thing is, but it looks like it's on our side."

"That's one of Sir Astera's Golems," Yang stated, making her uncle pause before chuckling.

"Oh, of course, it is…" He muttered. "Let's go help it then before it's overwhelmed."

"Right!"

The two rushed in, making certain to keep a distance between them and the Golem's lava.

It would be a long battle, but now Yang was sure it would be one she'd live through.

(Ruby)

Ruby would've been lying if she told anyone she wasn't afraid of dark and quiet forests. After all, she had a history with one where she'd nearly died because of her sister's, ah, unwise decision to go look for her birth mother in the middle of the night.

Now to be fair, they were young. Very young, actually, with Ruby being barely able to talk at the time. She was asleep for most of the 'journey', but woke up in time to see a huge Grimm standing over the two of them. It scared her a lot, and she'd carried that fear with her for a long while.

She got over it in time of course, but she still felt fairly uneasy in dim and eerie forests, and especially this forest. The Hanged Forest for goodness' sake! Everyone said this place was haunted or something, and with news of her dad going missing here of all places…

Crunch!

"Kya!" Ruby yelped as she heard a noise, shakily aiming her weapon at the noise. "W-w-w-w-who's there?!"

It appeared. And it was a small and adorable squirrel, tilting its little head at the girl. Ruby let out a sigh of relief, hand on her heart, before continuing on her way. She was being extra cautious while knowing that her fear would be drawing in Grimm. It's difficult to simply cut off that feeling of fear, or any kind of emotion for that matter, so she only settled on the next best thing.

And that was to sharpen her senses to their limits.

When they'd first entered the forest she felt safe in knowing that Reid was next to her. Heck, she felt downright confident even! She knew firsthand how powerful her boyfriend really was from their matches – sometimes her cheeks would be sore for hours from how powerful his punches are – and hey, he annihilated that demon, so what could a few measly Grimm or ghosts do to him?

He could kick their butts with his arms tied behind his back!

Alright, me! All you gotta do is one thing! Ruby gulped, her grip over Crescent Rose tightening. Regroup with Reid. That's it. Easy-peasy…

And… She took a deep breath, calming her nerves. You need to relax. Being afraid will only make everything worse.

She grinned, hyping herself up as she spotted a small tree Grimm nearby. She crouched and approached it quietly, swinging her baby to slice the Grimm in half. Ruby chuckled to herself, feeling much better than before.

That's what Reid said, right? Ruby thought. Be confident, and you'll be fine. Who said that doesn't apply when dealing with Grimm too?

Another crunch, but this time, Ruby didn't yelp or scream. Instead, she only twirled about silently and assumed her guard, frowning at the incoming Grimm. Seven more of the little ones and one of them was slightly armored and holding a short bone sword from the looks of it. The one in the middle looks older, so it's probably one of the stronger ones, right?

Ruby took a step back, then quickly dashed forward with her Semblance, swinging her Scythe to bisect two of the weaker ones. Thankfully, Ruby had her gravity cartridge on and used her shot to evade an incoming strike from the armored Grimm. She planted her feet firmly into the ground and fired once more, sending her flying at the strong one to kick it in the face.

She used the abrupt stop of her momentum to her advantage, swinging Crescent Rose in an arc and killing three more. She aimed at the last one and shot it right in the face, making sure to hold her ground as to not fly back with the gravity dust's recoil, but was only slightly pushed back.

Ruby gasped as the Grimm threw its sword at her, hitting her square in the shoulder as it charged. It swung its claws like a wild animal, so Ruby sidestepped and used her Semblance circle around the back of it, sweeping it off its feet before slamming the back of the Scythe on its head, cracking its skull(?) through the force.

The Grimm gurgled, but without even showing a hint of mercy, Ruby quickly cycled her cartridges to a shell with Fire dust with her dexterous hands, blowing its head off merely moments later.

Ruby sighed, grinning confidently seconds later as she looked out at the disintegrating corpses. That wasn't too bad. She managed to handle them with relative ease, ignoring that minor hiccup of course. She nodded to herself and moved on her way, but then a familiar voice stopped her.

"Ruby…?"

Ruby paused, frowning slightly before checking behind her, and as soon as she did, time stopped for the girl. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, her heart suddenly racing as her head swam with emotion. Her grip slackened as she dropped her weapon from the sheer shock. This… this couldn't be real, right? It can't be. There's no way she's…

She's…

"...M-mom?"

Ruby took a step forward, still in disbelief as she gazed at her mother's equally shocked face. The young girl felt weak in knees as her heartbeat got faster and more erratic, her mother slowly approaching her as well.

Two pairs of silver orbs locked with one another, both filled with hope and disbelief. Their approach was so agonizingly slow yet so unbelievably fast – Ruby felt like her mother was about to vanish again any second now if she didn't catch her right away, yet fears that what she was seeing was some kind of a hallucination that'll dissipate the moment she touches her.

"I-is it- is this really you?" Ruby mumbled, her voice cracking. "I-I'm not dreaming, right? It's you, right? P-please, tell me I'm right?"

"Oh, Ruby…" Summer rushed at her daughter, embracing her tightly. "Oh, I missed you so, so much!"

"Mom…" Hot tears trickled Ruby's eyes as she fell to her knees, sobbing in her mother's chest. "I-I thought- I thought you were gone…"

"Shhh, there there…" Her mother soothed. "It's been so long since I held you like this. My beautiful girl…"

Ruby could barely form coherent words, her emotions deadlocking a jumbled mess. All she could do was sob in relief, gripping tightly at her mother's white cloak as she vented the pent-up emotions she'd accrued since the death of Summer. Her mother soothed her with words and gentle pats.

"Y-you're finally back…" Ruby mumbled. "Y-you're…"

"Yes…" Summer whispered. "I'm back home."

"W-we can finally go on that... picnic you promised…" She said. "B-before you-"

"Of course." Her mother nodded. "I'll do anything you want me to."

"D-dad won't have to be sad anymore." Ruby hiccuped. "H-he's gonna be happy again with you around, right?"

"I'll make sure of it."

"A-and Yang, too!" Ruby stated, not noticing how… 'robotic' her mother seemed to get by the second. "She won't have to look for aunty anymore! W-we're gonna be a whole family again!"

"Yes, of course." Summer responded blankly, a bone sword in her hand resting inches away from her 'daughter's' neck. "We'll be a whole again."

"W-what were you doing here for more than a decade anyway?!" Ruby questioned, looking up at her mother's empty face. "You had us worried! W-we thought you were dead!"

Her mother didn't respond.

Ruby blinked, slowly realizing how her 'mother' had been oddly emotionless in the past moments. "M-mom?"

"Die."

A simple word made Ruby freeze completely, her eyes widening.

"Huh?"

A blade pressed on Ruby's neck, but before it could even start digging into her skin, a large silver blur rammed into them. Ruby rolled across the ground and looked about in shock as Reid's huge wolf growled and struggled to bite off her mother's head as the latter forced him away.

"G-Gwyn?! What are you doing?!" Ruby stood up in shock. "Leave her alone-!"

Gwyn smashed his large paw on her mother's chest, making her Summer's appearance flicker to a black and white entity. It was long enough for Ruby to figure out what had happened, but she didn't want to believe it.

"...Mom?" She muttered. "Y-you… you're not my mom…"

'Summer' glared at her hatefully, pushing the giant wolf away before grabbing her bone sword. She pointed at the two as Gwyn got next to Ruby, growling at fake-Summer.

Ruby glanced down at her shaking hands, an emotion she'd grappled with many times before, yet never so intense as it kept bubbling and boiling forth. Not once had she been so disgusted with something, feeling such a depth of contempt for anything in her life. Not once had she felt hatred and anger so strong she could barely even think anymore. Not once has she gotten the urge to smash a Grimm to bits.

She scowled deeply, grabbing her weapon from the ground as tears flowed freely, but unlike a minute ago, these were tears of rage.

Without wasting another breath, Ruby rushed at the Grimm that dared impersonate her mother, using her Semblance while propelling herself with her rifle. She kicked the Grimm right in its damn face, dragging it through the ground until their slide was broken by the stump of a long-dead tree. Ruby leaped off, twirling her Scythe before smashing the butt of it on the faker's face.

"How dare you use my mother's face!" She roared.

Smash!

"How dare you impersonate my hero!"

Smash!

"You think you can spit on her legacy!?"

Smash!

"Disgrace her name!?"

Smash!

"What gave you the right!? Huh?!"

Smash!

"What gave the right to a filthy, disgusting, worthless Grimm like you?!"

Smash!

"ANSWER ME!"

Smash!

"I KNOW YOU CAN TALK, SO TALK!"

Ruby was about to slam its head again, but there were no remains from the previous abuse, and as the corpse began to disintegrate, she began to breathe heavily, blood still hot and hands still shaking, though her heated emotions began to drain away.

Ruby fell to her knees, her weapon falling beside her as she sobbed. Tears of grief raining on the grass as she felt that old, familiar hopelessness, but then something fluffy and comfortable wrapped around her.

Silver eyes opened to see the silver fur of Gwyn surrounding her, the wolf nuzzling her face with his snout as he whined, in an attempt to comfort her. Ruby returned the giant wolf's affections, hugging it. Her sobs being mixed with chuckles as she petted him and ran her hands through his fur.

She stayed with Gwyn for a few minutes as she regained her composure, wiping away her tears as she controlled her breathing and it settled and relaxed once again. Ruby stood back up, pulling her weapon up with her, then winced at the dented butt of the Crescent Rose before shifting it to its storage form, shaking her head with a shaky sigh.

She didn't have the luxury of showing weakness, nor did she have the time. They're on an important mission, and she'd hate to disappoint Reid.

Ruby took one last deep breath, her eyes burning with resolve. Gwyn then barked at her, tail wagging as he tried to point at something with his snout. Ruby blinked in confusion, tilting her head a little as she pointed in the same direction.

"Um, you want me to go over there?" Ruby questioned.

Gwyn nodded.

Oh wow, he's pretty smart.

She smiled. "Alright, I'll trust you. Let's go- uwah!"

Ruby yelped as the giant wolf bit her by her cloak before throwing her high up. Ruby landed and held onto Gwyn's back, slowly opening her eyes.

Without any warning, Gwyn sprinted forward, forcing Ruby to tighten her hold over his fur.

"Slow dooooooooown!"

Her pleas, unfortunately, went unanswered.

(Reid)

I duck under another little tree Grimm – what I know now as 'Lesser Servants' – then quickly blast it with a gout of fire, dodging another Servant before plunging a spear of light into its face. I make sure to destroy whatever Servants I come across, Lesser or Greater, it didn't matter. I prioritized one shot spells while also focusing on Light Magic.

Any creature I can't end with a Light spell in a single shot would get incinerated with Fire Burst. I have no time to waste as I sense the light getting dimmer and dimmer. It's a slow process, but readily noticeable still. The Titan has been sending legions of these Servants at me while also hurling huge-ass logs at me. I was able to dodge them of course, and thankfully it didn't try that stupid banshee scream again.

Aside from it trying to stop me physically, I can see the shape of the forest changing. It was extremely subtle, showing the skill of this Titan with illusion magic, but with my Sharingan active at certain moments I was able to notice it.

Of course, it won't be able to stop me even if I hadn't noticed because it can't fool my Haki senses. I can see a life signature, and no matter how much the place changes, the small light doesn't move around too much. It stays in roughly the same place.

A giant tree Grimm – the normal servant – blocks my way as it throws a wild punch which I easily evade before sticking a fire bomb in its face, continuing my advance as it explodes and burns behind me. I'm close-!

I duck under a Greater Servants bone sword, burning it to ash with a double Fire Burst, then swiftly dodge another log by jumping over it. This is getting damn annoying…

I notice something in the distance – a figure from the looks of it, exactly the same dim light I was seeing. Frowning, I slow down my pace as to not startle them. The Lesser Servants try to jump the figure, but he evades their attacks before using his wrist-blade to hack them to pieces.

I take a step forward, my eyes widening in horror and relief as I see Taiyang, panting from exhaustion. He looks so weak – his eyes were sunken, his figure was abnormally thin, his legs were shaking, his hair had greyed – altogether he looked like he was about to collapse any second now.

A check with observe told me everything I needed to know.

Name: Taiyang Xiao-Long

Title: Dragon of Vale

Age: 42

Race: Human

Level: 100

HP: 950 [Severely Malnourished = 100]

MP: 0

AP: 4031/22,500

STR: 223 [Severely Malnourished = 65]

VIT: 78 [Severely Malnourished = 21

DEX: 129 [Severely Malnourished = 42]

INT: 81 [Severely Malnourished = 26]

WIS: 52 [Severely Malnourished = 14]

CHA: 120 [Severely Malnourished = 37]

LUK: 20

Holy fucking shit.

This guy was fighting in this state for how long?!

Taiyang notices me, eyes widening as he aims both gauntlets at me, a crazy look on his eyes. I immediately raise my hands up, trying to defuse the situation.

"Woah there!" I slowly move backward. "I'm a friend-"

"Y-you think I'm gonna fall for that?!" He screams. "Y-you've done the same fucking trick too many times! Come up with something different for once why don't you?!"

"Oi, oi." I try to calm him down. "I'm not an illusion. I'm with a rescue squad-"

"Yeah, right!" He laughs mirthlessly, his arms shaking. "You think I'm gonna fall for that again? And taking Astera's image too?"

"I'm the real thing," I state. "I can prove it to you if you want."

"Oh really?" His eyes narrow. "How can you do that?"

"Shoot me."

He freezes. "W-what?"

"When the illusion is hit or damaged, it flickers, doesn't it?" I say. "Encountered one of them, and this is what happened when I crushed its arm. If I flicker, then I'm a fake."

"Are you seriously-"

"I have Aura, I can handle it." I cut him off. "Now shoot!"

He scowls and does so. An ice bullet hits my chest, making me grunt as an ice flower sprouts where it hit. I click my tongue in annoyance and burn off the ice flower, turning my glance at Taiyang's wide eyes.

"Y-you…" He lowers his arms. "You're real…"

"Yes, and I came here to save-"

"Hehe…" He chuckles, taking a step back. "So it wasn't hopeless after all..."

"Huh?"

"Thank the gods…"

With that, he falls back, rapidly losing his consciousness. I dash to catch him before he hits the ground, my face morphing into one of worry.

"Hey, stay with me!" I say. "Don't die on me now! Your daughters are waiting for you damn it!"

"T-the forest…" He mumbles quietly.

"The forest? What about it?" I question worriedly.

"A-a core…"

This was the last thing he said before losing his consciousness.

The forest… has a core? And the core controls the forest?

I grimace. Shit, it's as Observe said. He's severely malnourished, and my HP potions can't fix that so they're useless here. Cure Diseases is no help here either, so the only solution, for now, is to feed him something – or somehow create a potion of nutrition.

I pull out my pestle and mortar from my inventory, scrolling through my ingredients to look for anything with high nutritional value, then scowl as I don't see anything immediately useful.

I hear something nearby, making me turn around as I ready two light spears in each hand, glaring at the incoming Servants of all shapes and sizes.

Well, fuck me sideways…

I get take a stance, giving Tai a backward glance before giving the newly arrived Grimm my full attention.

I can never catch a fucking break, can I?

(?)

It's been so long since it felt so… threatened. It always made sure not to kill too many too fast so as to not attract the attention of the humans, and even then, it made sure to not attack them or reveal itself when a large number came looking for their comrades. They might be weak as individuals, but humans were always terrifying in great numbers.

For hundreds of years, it patiently waited in the heart of the forest, quietly absorbing the magic in the air left behind by the weaker Grimm and crystals. Wars were waged nearby, hunts for Grimm close, and hundreds of crystals growing in the heart of the forest.

It waited, biding its time as it slowly consumed whatever magic was close.

Even when large armies of humans arrived on the island, it never attacked. No, alerting such numbers with a Shining One in their midst would have simply been a death sentence.

Instead, it waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Slowly growing stronger, becoming wiser, and expanding its influence over its lair. None of the humans were astute enough to notice the quietly growing menace.

Eventually, it was able to shape and change the forest with its own powers, its own magic. It would use its powerful influence to control and shape the trees and forcefully grow poisonous plants, all to kill any threat that might come its way.

And so, it learned how to hunt.

Once it did, the thrill of the hunt was an addicting thing. It killed whatever human made their way into its lair in the cruelest ways, forcing them to relive their regrets and nightmares over and over until they abandoned their will to live. Some would fight off the nightmarish illusions, but with its powerful influence, they could never find an escape. It manipulated the very ground they stood on, changing the lair to something completely unrecognizable.

Humans needed to eat and drink to survive, a vital weakness that it exploited by dirtying the water and killing any animals nearby.

Unlike its brethren who always went into a deep slumber to recover their magic, it discovered a way to harvest it much faster. Humans always carried around the magic crystals as weapons, and even while Grimm are highly sensitive to them, it found a way to absorb the magic of the crystals and powder little by little.

A slow process, but far faster regardless.

Everything was going well. The humans were stupid enough to send in more and more whenever some didn't return. It knew that killing too recklessly might become its undoing, so it learned when to kill and when to wait.

But then… this white-haired human came along.

He smelled of magic, radiated power, he blocked its attempt at reading his memories and very easily noticed the nigh-perfect illusion it sent at him. He was worried, but never afraid for his own well-being, in fact, it felt the faint bloodlust he exuded.

As if he was challenging it.

And the way he wielded that accursed light… He was a threat.

A threat that had to be eliminated at all cost.

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