A/N (IMPORTANT, Please Read): *drums roll* Ahem… WELCOME BACK EVERYBODY! I'm back, and I've brought with me Ben 10 RWBY: Ultimate Omniverse, Season 2! That's right, I promised I'd be back in May and here I am! I hope you guys are excited for this, because this season is gonna be packed to the brim with action, adventure, and plenty of new additions that'll rock your socks off! With that said… we're actually NOT starting with the main team today. No, instead, we're headed back to Bellwood a bit ahead of the team to see how the people back home are doing. And it's a two-parter, no less! Also, just a fair warning; the start to this chapter is rather… spicy. Nothing too graphic, but think of it as an… experiment to see how I handle scenes like this in the future. In any case, let's get started shall we? This is…

Chapter 32: When at Home, Part 1

…..

As Sunday morning dawned over the town of Bellwood, a certain Spring Maiden began stirring from her slumber. Raven Branwen grumbled in frustration at this, aware that she was starting to wake up. She didn't WANT that. 'Dammit, need more sleep…' The woman moved her head slightly so she could peak past her own hair, her red eyes peeking open only slightly so that she wouldn't chance waking up fully. The clock next to her bed read; "3:00", and it only made her groan again. 'No, MUCH too early.' She rolled away from the glowing red numbers and shut her eyes again. 'Another four hours and… hm? Strange, I don't remember the pillow being this… firm.'

Raven had opened her eyes again slightly to see what was up… only to come face-to-face with the handsome blonde man that she shared a bed with. Of course, this wasn't any surprise that Tai was still in bed… but what WAS a surprise was just how close he was. Sure, they had managed to make progress on their… very strained relationship a lot over the past couple of weeks. Hell, Tai had even taken her out to dinner a couple times here in Bellwood. It felt like they had picked up right where they'd left off… once they got through the eighteen years worth of drama, that is.

But still, sharing a bed again was the one thing they couldn't help but feel a little awkward with. Sandra had apologized, but they assured her they'd make do. Granted, that way was sticking to opposite sides of the bed, but it was workable. …Until now, that is. Here Tai was, directly next to her in bed… and it was only then did she realize that one of his arms was around her.

'…Oh my god, he was spooning me in his sleep.' Raven thought… as a giddy feeling started to work its way into her chest. The way he held her, his warm breath against her cheeks as he snoozed, his firm chest acting as her pillow… it made her flash back to when they were young and adventurous. As well as that first night of passion that they shared with one another. She smiled to herself before reaching up to cup his cheek, wondering if they could ever recapture such passion. 'Tai… lord, I was such a fool. All these years, I missed out on everything. You and I could have been so much more…'

She leaned in closer to kiss his cheek… but then Tai stirred as well, making her stop. "Mmph… wh-wha…" The Huntsman blinked groggily, still in a daze. Though that wouldn't last long before he realized that his arm was laying on something, and then caught sight of Raven, making his eyes shoot wide open.

"Hm, good morning." Raven said with a smirk.

"Ah! R-Raven!" Tai gasped, making to pull away. "I-I didn't—ah!"

He didn't make it far, though. With surprising speed in bed, Raven grabbed onto his arm and actually rolled him over herself before laying him flat on his back. In an instant, she was now on top of him, her legs pinning him on either side as she grasped his shoulders, firmly yet gentle as well. "Oh no you don't, mister." The Spring Maiden denied with a wily smile, her wild mane of dark hair cascading over both of them. "Enough is enough and I'm not beating around the bush anymore. And I don't think you should, either."

This only left Tai in even more of a stupor than he already was. "B-But didn't you say—"

"Tai, it's quite obvious that you and I still have feelings for one another." Raven stated, thankful that the dark room was hiding her heated cheeks. "We've made it absolutely no secret, and yet the fact that we've shared this bed for a week and haven't tried anything is staggering."

"…Wait." Tai's jaw dropped in shock. "S-So… you want to…"

"Now hold your horses, we can't exactly do that." Raven reminded. "We're guests in another person's home. It'd be rude to do that here…" Her grin came back as she lowered her head down to press their foreheads together. "Buuuut… you were totally spooning me in your sleep, and that was enough to flip my switch. We've got four hours to do whatever we like within reason before everyone has to get up." She raised an eager brow at him, hoping he'd take the initiative. "So, what do you wanna do… stud?"

And just like that, Tai's own switch was flipped. It had been too long since he shared a bed with anyone, much less in a relationship. But now, Raven was back in his life, and she was here, now, and wanted to do things that they hadn't done in years. …Plus, her pinning him made him think all the way back to when they'd do things like this on the regular, and he felt like a part of his youth had returned to him somehow.

"Well, Tai?" Raven whispered huskily. "We don't have all nigh—oh!" Much to her surprise, the former tribe leader felt her partner's arms move up and grab a hold of her lower back, feeling his fingers already starting to work their way under her thin pajama shirt. "Mmm, wise choice there, Tai—MMPH!"

Much to her shock, the man had made a move she was not expecting. His head shot up and he captured her lips with his. Raven's eyes shot open wide, a surprised moan escaping her before she felt herself succumb to the act, reciprocating the kiss without hesitation. It wasn't anything intense, though. Needy, perhaps, but they weren't making out. Instead, they simply let eighteen years worth of pent-up desire and passion pour out of them, with Raven reaching to the back of his head to make sure he didn't go anywhere.

After about a minute, they needed air, much to their chagrin. The lovers separated and breathed hard, regaining themselves after the rather passionate act. Raven was still in slight disbelief, and Tai could tell. "…T-Too much?"

"No!" Raven denied, gripping his shoulders to reassure him. "If anything, I'd say not enough. Taiyang Xiao Long, it has been years since I've felt this way, and I want to experience it with you." She glanced away briefly, a guilty feeling starting to build up within her. "I mean… I-I can only imagine how you've felt after all this time. I… know that you and Summer must have—"

"Raven." Tai interrupted, reaching a hand up from her back to take hold of her chin and bring her eyes back to him. "The moment is here, let's not take it for granted. Yes, things HAVE been difficult since I… we lost Summer. But I've moved past it… at least I like to think so." He moved his hand to her cheek, giving her a reassuring smile. "What matters now is that you're here. That we're here. In this moment. We have two beautiful girls who're ecstatic to have a mother back in their lives, even if one of them isn't your flesh and blood."

The Spring Maiden sighed doubtfully. "I don't know. I honestly think Ruby and I still have some work to do…"

"You'll get there, I know it." Tai smiled. "You're already at "hug" status with her, so I bet by next month, she'll be calling you "mom" for sure."

"Hm, wishful thinking." Raven hummed as she settled her head on Tai's chest. "Hopefully I can make good progress with her, especially since you won't be here to help most of the time."

Tai grumbled at that. "Ugh, right. I have to go back to work tomorrow. I wish I could stay longer."

"How do you think I feel?" Raven asked. "In hindsight, we REALLY should've taken advantage of this bed sooner."

The Huntsman shrugged. "Well, we are now, so I guess we might as well make the most of it. …So, I'm guessing you're not opposed to kissing again?"

Raven rolled her eyes at him with a smirk. "Gee, what do you think? At this point, Tai, I'll take anything you can throw—OH!" And just like that, she felt his hands move down to her rear, sending a shiver down her spine as he gave her a firm squeeze. "…Boy, you just opened the floodgates."

"Have I, now?" Tay said with his own smirk. "Then how do you wanna… proceed?"

The man got his answer as Raven sat up and took off her pajama top, flinging it off to the side as she gave him a full view of what lied underneath. "Hmhm, how do YOU think, babe?" Raven snickered before reaching down to the hem of his own shirt to pull it up over his head, shocking him all the more. "This is gonna be the best damn four hours if it kills us."

…..

Several hours later and halfway across town, a different household was just starting to stir. Ken Tennyson emerged from his room with a yawn, grimacing at the fact that he had just gotten up at six in the morning on a Sunday. His day off, no less. 'Ugh, the universe must hate me.' he thought to himself as he made his way to the bathroom. 'How anyone can get up this early is beyond me. Whoever's up and ready for the day at this hour must be an insane person.' He reached for the knob… only for the door to be promptly pushed open, taking him off guard. BAM! "Yowch!"

He heard a gasp, followed up by the last voice he'd thought he would hear this early. "Ken!" The young redheaded man felt a gentle hand on his arm and another go straight for his forehead, his unintended assailant's voice filled with concern. "I'm so very sorry! I didn't expect you to be on the other side, I—oh, this is just a mess!"

On the one hand, Kenny had to refrain from blushing given how close she was. But on the other… it was rare to see her this flustered, and he found it rather cute. "Hehe, Winter, it's fine, and I'm fine."

"Are you, though? I hope I didn't leave any bruises." Winter went up on her tip-toes and brushed Ken's hair out of the way, investigating his forehead further. "No head trauma? No bleeding?"

"Haha, I feel fine." Kenny chuckled, reaching up to gently grasp her hand in reassurance. "If anything, I'm worried about you. I don't normally see you this way."

"Hm, well, apologies if I come off as concerned for your wellbeing." Winter huffed as she turned her head up and away from him. "If you'd rather me NOT dote on you, then all you need is to say so…"

Ken's smile faded as her touch went away. "O-Oh, sorry, I didn't know you were…" But he trailed off the moment he saw a small grin of her own grace her lips, and he couldn't help but deadpan at her. "…You're messing with me, aren't you?"

Winter simply shrugged, her lips curling a slight bit more. "Hm, I haven't the foggiest idea what you mean." She saw Kenny shake his head and roll his eyes playfully, and it was here where she decided to REALLY throw him for a loop. She slowly moved back in and, much to his surprise, placed her hands on his arms in a light embrace, lowering her head onto his shoulder. "Good morning, by the way."

This time, Ken couldn't stop his blush. After an entire week of actually living under the same roof, neither one of them had really taken that next big step. Sure, speaking and bonding over interdimensional phone calls for a week was one thing, but physically being in the same space was… different. He had promised himself that today would be the day he took that step… and apparently Winter had as well. Still, he had to follow through, so he brought his arms up to Winter's, hugging him back. "…Good morning to you, too." he smiled.

"Kenny, I'll be honest… how has it taken THIS long for us to do something as intimate as this?"

"We're a couple of awkward messes, that's why."

"And both STILL at the age of twenty-four." Winter sighed. "This is sad."

Kenny laughed again, reaching one of his arms across her back. "Hmhm, don't worry. I'm going to make sure that our first date doesn't take this long to happen… in fact, I was thinking…" He could tell Winter's interest was piqued as she turned her head back to him. "Maybe… tonight? Dinner and a movie?"

The smile that radiated off the woman's face could've lit up the entire dark hallway they were in. "Oh, Kenny, I was hoping to the gods you would say that."

"Then I'm guessing it's on?"

"Oh, without a doubt."

FLICK! "Oh well isn't THIS adorable?"

"AAAAH!" Winter and Kenny screamed in unison and jumped out of their embrace the moment the lights came on. The elder Schnee created a glyph in her hand as they whirled around… only to see Natalie in a purple night gown leaning against the wall, her hand on the light switch while wearing a smirk. "AH! Natalie!"

"MOM!" Kenny exclaimed. "What the heck?!"

The Tennyson mother laughed at how startled the young couple were, her hand covering her mouth as she stepped closer to them. "Hahaha! Oh, I'm sorry you two, but when I heard a bang and someone say "ouch", I just had to get up to see what was going on." She placed her hands on her hips with a knowing gaze. "Imagine my surprise when I come out to see you two fawning over one another out here."

"O-Oh, well… ugh, I feel so bad." Winter bemoaned. "I accidentally hit your son in the head with the bathroom door and I was—"

"Checking to see if he was hurt." Natalie cooed. "Oh, Winter, you really ARE a caring soul, you know that?" She elbowed her son in the arm and gave him a wink. "Kenny, I knew you had an eye for the good ones."

The young man grimaced at his mom's embarrassing move, which Winter had to fight an amused smile at. "Mom, could we PLEASE not do this at Six A.M.?"

Natalie held up her hands and went to go back to her room. "Okay, fine honey, be that way. I'm just saying that you two are adorable, that's all." The couple sighed as Natalie walked off… only for her to spin back around with a curious eye. "Oh, by the way, Winter… why are you wearing that?"

"Huh? Mom what're you talking… oh." It was only then that Kenny finally take note of what Winter had on. She wore a pair of black workout leggings, a cyan tank top that matched her icy blue eyes, and a pair of white athletic sneakers that seemed perfect to run in. What's more, she had some wristbands on as well. "Uh… yeah, okay, she has a point. It looks like you're ready to work out. What IS all this, Winter?"

"Oh, I'm surprised that none of you have noticed before now." Winter reached down to her hip, pulling up a stopwatch that she had clipped onto her waistband. "I always go for an early morning run at this time. In all honesty, I'd thought you'd noticed by now."

Natalie and Kenny glanced to one another, still processing that fact. "Um… dear? What time do you usually get back?"

"Just a little before eight, why?"

The older woman sighed and smiled, realizing what the issue was. "Ah, well, that explains it. None of us have gotten up before eight in YEARS. Not since the kids got out of school, anyway." Natalie rubbed her chin in intrigue. "Still, the fact that you get up THIS early to just go for a morning run is quite the commitment." She eyed her son as an idea formed in her head. "Kenny, hon, maybe you should join her."

"…Mom, what?" Ken uttered worriedly. "May I remind you that there's a REASON why none of us get up past Eight A.M.?" Without warning, however, his mother suddenly prodded him in the gut, taking him by surprise. "Ah! Mom!"

"And may I remind YOU how out of shape you've gotten over this past month, mister?" Natalie recalled. "Just because you work a part-time job doesn't mean you should slack off in other areas of your life. I understand that things didn't work out for you immediately out of college, but that's no reason to lose your commitment to self-health." Her eyes moved to Winter pleadingly. "Winter, dear, please see to it that my son gets back in shape, please? You're a dedicated girl, I'm sure you can work some magic here."

"Um… of course, Natalie." Winter replied, though she seemed a bit uncertain.

Natalie smiled nonetheless and bowed her head. "Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me…" A yawn escaped her throat as she moved back toward her and Frank's room. "Ah, Since we're all up, I'm going to go wake Frank. See you downstairs, kids."

With that, the door closed, leaving the duo flabbergasted… and one of them slightly frustrated. "…Could you give me a moment, Winter?"

"Oh, yes, feel free to—" CLICK! Before the Schnee knew it, Ken had dashed into the bathroom, leaving her to wait as he did his business. …Though the fact that she could hear some annoyed shouting being muffled by a towel told another story. "…Oh dear."

The door opened after a minute, revealing a very peeved Ken Tennyson. "UGH! I can't stand it!" He marched right down the stairs, prompting Winter to follow him. "I love my mom, but I swear sometimes she can be a total control freak!"

"Kenny, she's only watching out for you." Winter reasoned. "Yes, she can be… a bit assertive in that regard, but… well, you ARE at that age where you'd theoretically "leave the nest"." She glanced off to the side and crossed her arms. "Gods know that I wish MY father had done that, but HE just tried to keep me under his roof."

"Well, yeah, but by all intents and purposes, from what you told me, your dad's an asshole." Ken pointed out. "I'd probably punch him if we ever met."

The white-haired beauty felt her smile return. "Alright, now you're just trying to sweet-talk me."

Ken made his way to the couch and laid back, breathing out his aggravation. "No, I'm serious, I'd punch him. Square in the jaw. But more to my first point, my mom's probably the nicest person… at least when it comes to anyone other than by grandma. But she's also the busiest and most work-oriented out of all of us." Winter sat down next to him and listened as he vented. "She's always expected us to take our lives seriously, so you can imagine that it's not exactly easy for me to do that when…" He trailed off, hesitant to say what was on his mind.

Winter set a hand on his shoulder, encouraging him to go on. "…When what, Kenny?"

"Hmph… when I have no idea where to go from here." Ken admitted. "I failed to adapt to the big city, I've got no clue where my art or animation career is going to go, and having a part-time job while performing gigs on the side isn't gonna pay the bills." He lowered his head into his hands, feeling his gut churn with negativity. "…Maybe I should just face facts; I'm a—"

"Don't!"

"Winter, I—"

"If you call yourself a loser or a failure, Kenneth Tennyson, then I WILL slap some sense into you." Winter warned. "I'm not afraid to do so." She took him firmly by the shoulders and locked eyes with him, making sure his attention was squarely on her. "I want you to listen to me; you've helped me see that I have plenty of other things to strive for than just my career. Ever since I've met you, you've helped me relax more than I ever have in the past, and for that, I couldn't be more grateful." She smiled at him once again. "So, thank you."

Ken was surprised at her words, needless to say. "Oh, well… you're welcome, Winter. But… I'm not sure if I—"

Suddenly, she pressed a finger to his lips, shushing him briefly. "So it's only natural that I help you. I will help you get motivated so that you can not only do your family proud, but do yourself proud." Winter sent him a wink as she rested on his lap. "When we're through, you will NOT be calling yourself anything negative, I can promise you that."

The redhead was stunned by her positivity, but at the same time, curious. "Okay… so how do you plan on doing that?"

"Well, a good workout DOES always help me get motivated." Winter stood up and placed her hands on her hips. "So come on, let's get you into some proper work-out gear and get that blood flowing. By the time I'm through with you, your mother won't be complaining about ANY pudginess you may have."

"…Why do I get the feeling this'll end with me in the dirt? AH!"

The military specialist reached down and yanked him to his feet with a confident grin. "Maybe so, but believe me, it'll be worth it. Now come! We have to hurry before the sun rises or else it'll be excruciatingly hot."

…..

A couple hours later, just a little bit after Eight A.M. on yet another side of town, a certain other Huntsman was finally starting to awaken from his own slumber. The moment he woke up, he felt his five o'clock shadow bristle against his pillow, making him grumble irritably. 'Ugh, great, gotta shave. Freakin' pain in my ass—' SNAP! "WOAH!" BAM! Without any warning whatsoever, one of the wooden legs of his bed cracked beneath him and made the whole thing lopsided, sending him tumbling off the mattress and onto the floor. Qrow grimaced and rubbed his head, immediately starting to regret ever opening his eyes. "Oh, fantastic. Guess this is gonna be one of THOSE days, isn't it?"

Within moments, he heard footsteps rushing down the hallway and a rapid knock at the door, alerting him that the only other person in the house had woken as well. …Most likely due to him, which only made him feel worse. "Qrow?! Are you alright in there?" the Levin matriarch called out. "I heard a loud crash and… well…"

"Hah, it's fine, Evelyn. Just one of the bed legs broke. …Again." He stood up and went over to the door, opening it as he rubbed his neck with guilt. "Ugh, second time this week. It freakin' sucks and… uh…" However, the man trailed off the very second that he saw Evelyn, though she quickly stepped in before he could take in her appearance.

"Oh, I know it does." Evelyn said as she came in, inspecting the damage closer. Indeed, the bed leg that was opposite the broken one had been firmly glued back on, and it seemed like this one would have to be as well. "Unfortunately, Kevin's the only one who knows where that special glue is." Evelyn sighed. "We'll have to call him if we want to… Qrow? Are you alright?"

She had noticed the way he was looking at her, almost with a… surprised expression? Or… was that awestruck? Apparently Qrow was good at hiding his emotions, because she couldn't quite tell. What Evelyn didn't know, though, was that she was right on the money. Qrow had seen a lot of beautiful women without make-up in his years… but the moment he saw Evelyn without hers, he knew that she was a different case entirely. Very beautiful, for sure, but with an added air of maturity that none of the others had. Still, he couldn't let her catch onto him, so he had to make an excuse for his odd behavior.

"O-Oh, yeah, I'm good. It's just… ah, I'm sorry, I can't keep doing this." Qrow dejectedly shook his head and went over to his dresser, opening it to retrieve what clothes he had. "Evelyn, thanks for letting me into yer home, but I just can't keep wreckin' it! I've already broke two bed legs, a coffee table AND a chair. If that chandelier in the main hall falls on ya or somethin', I won't forgive myself." He started toward Harbinger in the corner, ready to pick it up and take his leave. "Maybe it's best I find somewhere isolated. That way I can't hurt ya or the kids when they get back."

There was a long moment of silence between the two, an unseen tension settling over them both. That is, until Evelyn stood up with a defiant gaze. "Qrow Branwen, if you think you're leaving, you have another thing coming."

"Evelyn, please." Qrow urged, moving to take up Harbinger. "We both know I'm a walking disaster area, so let me—"

"NO!" The black-haired woman dashed in front of him with surprising speed, stamping her slippered foot onto the carpet as she blocked his path. "I won't let you. Qrow, the last thing you need right now is to isolate yourself from everyone. Not only are you a recovering alcoholic who needs support, but hearing that you've lived a nomadic lifestyle for years…" Evelyn became saddened at that part. "…You must be incredibly lonely. And I'd hate for you to experience that again."

Qrow was stunned by her argument, but shook his head. "It's somethin' ya get used to."

"It doesn't have to be that way, though." Evelyn contended further.

"Maybe not…" With another show of surprising speed, Qrow rushed past Evelyn, even making her hair blow slightly as he grabbed Harbinger. "But it's for the best. I'll stop by everyone once and a—WHILE!" And just like that, the man suddenly felt himself being pushed against the wall and his arm wrenched behind his back. At first, he thought some random punk had broken in and pinned him… but the second he glanced back, he felt his jaw go slack.

It was Evelyn. She had actually gotten the drop on him and pinned him to the wall by pressing her whole body onto his, taking hold of his arm in the process. It hurt, but he could tell she was going easy on him… and the fact that this wasn't her full strength stunned him. "What in the hell is it going to take to get you to see how STUPID you're sounding right now?!"

Qrow blinked a couple times, taking it all in. "Er… well, this whole thing, for starters."

Evelyn's eyes widened, realizing what she had done pretty quickly. "AH! Oh my goodness." She stepped away from Qrow and turned away from him, her hands covering her face in embarrassment. "I am SO sorry! I-I didn't mean to do that, honestly. It's just you were being so difficult and it was making me mad, I—"

"Woah, woah, slow down." Qrow moved back and took a hold of Evelyn's shoulders, making sure to be as gentle as possible. "Let's… let's talk. You've definitely got my full attention now."

"…Do I?" Evelyn winced. "Wish I didn't have to do THAT to get it, but…"

"Heh, trust me, I've had worse things done to get me to listen." Qrow lead her over to the lopsided bet and they both sat down on it, balancing the bed back out. "Now, first question… how the hell did ya do that?"

The woman brushed a lock of hair from her eyes, her cheeks flushing a little. "Oh… it's not much, really. Just something I learned in self-defense classes." Her eyes went toward the window as she thought back to that time she spent working on those moves. "When you're a single mother for so long, you've gotta pick up a few things."

"Yeah, guess that makes sense." Qrow nodded. "I take it yer former second hubby wasn't exactly a fighter?"

"Oh, Harvey was many things, but a fighter? …Well, he had a stubborn streak, I'll give him that." She gave a shrug. "But he was a nice man and I felt he'd be a good father figure for Kevin, so we got along fine… for a good few years, at least."

"Hm, I see." There was another long pause before Qrow followed up, changing the topic back to the one at hand. "But gettin' back on track… why d'ya want me to stay, Evelyn? Ya gotta know that I'm not exactly the best person to be a guest in a brand spankin' new house like this."

Evelyn brought her attention back to him, her features saddened. "Because… you remind me a lot of how Kevin acted back then." She saw how surprised he was, so she explained; "When he was eleven, Kevin destroyed mine and Harvey's house. Harv was… rather harsh on Kevin, and that drove him away from us, even thought it wasn't what we intended." The woman hugged her arms around herself, keeping her focus on her lap. "And… hearing you being hard on yourself and wanting to leave because of that…"

"Reminded you of that hard time." Qrow concluded.

The woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Qrow, I want to help you. I couldn't do it for Kevin when he needed it most…" She locked eyes with him in a sympathetic gaze. "But I'll be damned if I won't give YOU the help you need."

"Heh… you think you can help an old drunkard like me?"

Evelyn extended her hand to him, her gaze resolute. "Only if you let me. Please stay." She lowered her head somewhat sheepishly, a tinge of pink appearing on her cheeks. "Besides, you… I-I've gotten so used to you being around, it'd feel odd with you not being here."

"…Ah, ya know what? What he hell?" Qrow reached down and took hold of Evelyn's hand. "Alright, I'll stay. If it kills both of us, though, don't be surprised in the afterlife, okay?"

A bright smile graced Evelyn's features, and just like that, Qrow felt just a bit brighter himself. "Ha! Excellent. Qrow, you will not regret this, I assure you. Now come on, let's go get some breakfast. You're going to need it with the day you've got ahead of you."

"Oh… yeah, right." Qrow grimaced. "Gotta meat up at Plumber HQ today, don't I?" He pondered his situation before putting on a hopeful grin. "Think after the rude awakening I had, they'd let me off the hook?"

"Qrow, no excused." Evelyn wagged her finger in disapproval. "You know how big of a day this is. You're calling your friends over in your world, you know." She reached over and set a hand onto his arm. "I'm sure that they'll be happy to see you there with the others, right?"

Qrow had to admit, it was hard to argue her point. 'I mean, gods, who can resist that face?' He sighed once again and gave her a shrug. "…Hmph, well, I can only hope." He stood and beckoned her to follow him. "Guess I'll be taking that breakfast, then."

"Hm, good answer, Mr. Branwen. Come on, I've already started on it."

…..

Another couple of hours passed before Qrow made his way toward the Bellwood Plumber headquarters, taking on his crow form to fly there. He came to a landing in an alleyway near the plumbing supply store façade and changed back into human form quickly, hoping that no one was passing by. The last thing he wanted to do was freak out some unexpecting civilian. The Huntsman stepped out of the alley and continued down the sidewalk, though he was surprised to see that Tai and Raven were already there. "Hmph, well, glad I'm not the only one who's… on time?"

"Hey, morning Qrow!" Tai beamed and waved to his brother-in-law.

"Yes, hello, little brother." Raven grinned as well, which to Qrow, was extremely off-putting. "How's your morning been?"

Qrow narrowed his eyes suspiciously. They were… happy. Maybe a little too happy. "Alright, the hell's goin' on here?"

The couple eyed one another, confused at his accusation. "Whaddya mean, Qrow? Things are just fine here." Tai said.

"Yeah, sure, and I'm one of the Godly Brothers." Qrow gestured to the two of them with a frantic finger. "I'm talkin' about THIS! Why the hell're you two so damn happy? Did something happen last night or somethin'?"

"Oh, so THAT'S the problem." Raven said with an eyeroll. "Really Qrow? Must you make a big deal about everything?" She saw her brother scowl at her and she scoffed. "Ugh, alright, fine… maybe something DID happen last night." Raven smiled back to Tai, placing one hand in his while her other went to his chest, his own hand reaching around to take her by the shoulder. "Let's just say that last night… or more accurately, this morning, was rather special for the two of us."

Tai smiled from ear to ear as he looked to his best friend with excitement. "Qrow, we've rekindled something that hasn't been sparked in years. And lemme tell ya… I haven't felt this damn happy in a long time."

Raven gave a nod. "Same here. It's truly amazing."

As his gaze shifted between the two, however, Qrow started putting two and two together… and his eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. "Oh god… you two didn't—"

"NO. …No, we didn't." Raven asserted. "…Not yet anyway. I wouldn't do that under someone else's roof, especially after they've been so generous to us." Her smirk increased as she traced her finger around Tai's pecs, leaning in closer to him. "Let's just say that… we had a little preeminent fun, so to speak."

"Hmhm, oh, if you thought THAT was fun…" Tai leaned his head down, touching his forehead to hers. "Wait 'til you see what else I have in mind."

"AHEM!" Qrow piped up, his expression soured at all of the sugary sweetness. "May I remind you that yer talkin' about doin' the horizontal mambo with MY sister DIRECTLY in front of me!" He spun around and rubbed his eyes, trying to get the image out of his head. "Not exactly somethin' I wanna be picturin'."

Once again, Raven rolled her eyes. "Qrow, please, you should be happy that we're getting along. That's what you wanted in the first place, right?"

"Well if I knew it'd lead to THIS, I probably wouldn't be HERE right now." Qrow grumbled as he started walking away. "Maybe I was right to stay at home today."

But Tai called after him before he could get far. "Woah, woah, hold on Qrow. Okay, we'll stop talking about all that, but you HAVE to stay." His friend stopped midstep, which Tai was thankful for. "I mean, think about it; Jim and Glynda have been waiting a week for this, so the least we can do is all be there for the call."

Raven walked up to her brother, standing in front of him with her arms crossed. "Okay, I'll admit, probably not the BEST time to talk about our interpersonal matters. But this IS very important, Qrow. You and I both know that, so don't bail on us. …Please."

"…Man, it's been a LONG time since you asked me nicely for somethin'." Qrow snickered.

"Keep up the sarcasm and it'll be even longer." Raven warned.

"Ha! Alright, alright, I'll stick around." Qrow conceded. "Just promise me you'll keep what happens in the sheets outta the conversation and we've got a deal."

Right at that moment, the three adults heard the sound of an engine approaching, bringing their attention back to the street. They saw a car pull up to the curb, a cobalt blue one that had a golden plus-shaped symbol on its grill and its rear. The words "Chevrolet" and "Impala" were molded onto the car's trunk, so they could only assume that was the make and model. They didn't have to wait long to see who was in it, as Winter climbed out of the passenger seat, closing the door behind her before leaning over to stick her head in the open window. "I'll see you later this afternoon, okay?"

Inside the car, Kenny smiled back at her, the young man now in a store clerk uniform. "Heh, you got it. I tell ya, though, it'll be torture waiting that long."

Winter rolled her eyes. "Your shift is seven hours, you get out at five. You'll be fine."

"I hope so." Kenny shrugged. "Sometimes these shifts leave me bored to tears."

"Well… think of our date as motivation." Winter encouraged. "Believe me, Kenny, I know you can get through it. And just as a little extra incentive…" She suddenly opened the door back up and crawled in a little… only to give Ken a small peck on the cheek. The action left Ken stunned, and both of them were blushing like mad. "Ahem, how was that?"

Kenny's brain was in short-circuit mode, however, no longer processing words. "I-I… uh, I…"

"Hmhm, I thought so. Now go on, you're going to be late."

The redhead shook himself out of it, and just like that, he had new confidence etched on his features. "R-Right! Time to tackle this shift head on!" He nodded one last time to her. "I'll see you later, have a good time!"

"Same to you." Winter waved as Ken pulled away from the curb, rolling down the street as an excited feeling started bubbling in her stomach. 'Is this what I've been missing out on?' Winter wondered to herself. 'I suppose this is what General Ironwood meant when he said "live a little".'

But right at that moment, a certain chortle broke her out of her trance… and unfortunately, it was one she recognized all too well. "Hahaha! Oh man, Rae, Tai, you thought YOU made progress? Seems like Ice Queen and the ginger are comin' along just fine, hehehe…"

In moments, Winter's smile became a scowl, spinning on her heel to confront the former drunkard. "Branwen, I will NOT be having you ruin this day for me, do you understand?" She seethed as she marched up to him and poked him right in the chest. "Tease me all you want, but if you bring Ken into this, I swear to god, you will know my wrath."

"Woah, okay, fine… sheesh." Qrow held his hands up in surrender. "Forgive a guy for tryin' to have a bit of fun 'round here."

"Her love life is no laughing matter, Qrow." Raven admonished, stepping in between the two to separate them. "Honestly, I have no clue why you always feel the need to antagonize her, but if this goes on, I won't stand for it." Qrow simply shrugged again and went toward the door, leaving the ladies to themselves. "Ugh, sorry about that." Raven apologized to the Schnee. "My brother's always been like that… unfortunately."

"I can believe that." Winter deadpanned.

Raven wore an intrigued smile as she raised a brow to Winter. "So…" The younger woman gave her a confused look, only for Raven to place her hands on her hips. "How ARE things between you and the boy doing? Pretty good, I assume?"

Winter huffed, now clear that this was a topic that she wasn't going to escape from any time soon. "Well, yes, it is." She glanced back down the street where he had driven off, her mind already thinking up multiple scenarios for their date. "He promised dinner and a movie later this evening, so I'm looking forward to that."

"Ooh, VERY exciting." Raven agreed as she started in after the boys. "I'm sure the little sisters will want to know every detail when they get home."

"Hm, yes…" On the one hand, Gwen and Weiss were their best supporters. But on the other… they liked playing the pester game when it came to them dating. It made Winter and Kenny uneasy, but at the same time, they knew they still cared. "Well, I'll just have to deal with that when I get to it. Right now, it's time for this meeting to start."

The group ventured into the store and girded themselves when they had to enter the unsavory restroom to get into Plumber HQ. Why Max never cleaned it, they'd probably never find out. Still, they rode the elevator down into the massive extraterrestrial complex beneath Bellwood and strolled in, casually walking past several aliens and other Plumber agents before they met right up with Max. "Ah, morning all!" the old Plumber smiled. "Did ya sleep well?"

"Hm, technically speaking." Tai said with a knowing eye to Raven. "But good morning yourself, Max. How've things been?"

It was then that an unsure expression came to Max, holding up a data pad to read what it said. "Ah, well, day could've started better. Turns out one of our old Plumber bases down in Mexico was broken into recently. The place hasn't been used in years and it's highly likely that any tech left inside might've been taken." He typed in a command on the nearby console and brought up a holographic map of Mexico, showing a small red dot moving south from the U.S. toward it. "I've sent in Rook, Manny and Helen to investigate, though I also told them that they could stop by the team's location and see if they want in on the mission."

"Heh, good luck with that." Qrow commented. "I'll bet none of those kids will wanna cut out their beach time."

"Maybe, maybe not." The group craned their heads around to see Six and Holiday approaching, with Bobo not too far behind. The green-clad agent put a hand in his pocket as he went on. "You never know with those kids. As young as they are, they carry a strong sense of responsibility… more or less."

Raven raised a brow at that. "Well, good morning to you as well, Agent Six. What exactly do you mean by that, though?"

"I'm saying that some of them could use improvement in their discipline." Six elaborated, stoic as ever. "Not all of them, but a few select ones. Nora, Sun and Neptune come to mind."

Qrow immediately pointed to him. "Hey, to be fair, Valkyrie might be a bit… ditzy at times, but she knows when to get serious." He glanced to the side and waved his hand. "Now the SN goofs, you can have at 'em. Blue boy in particular could use a bit more training, 'specially with that hydrophobia."

Six hummed in agreement. "Yes, I've noticed. Maybe a little trial by fire would help him with that…"

But Holiday quickly stepped in. "Now, now, let's not go overboard here, Six." She placed a hand on her fiancé's shoulder. "Throwing someone into something like that may only make things worse and you know that. Neptune's trying to work on his phobia, Helen told me so. She's going to try to help him with that, so please let them be while they sort it out." Holiday sent him a hopeful smile. "Who knows? You might see some marked improvements sooner than you think."

"Hm… we'll see." Six conceded. "Still, sometimes a firmer solution is needed to drive the point home. Always helped me."

Tai shrugged at the agent's reasoning. "Eh, different strokes, Agent Six. So, where's Cesar? He's usually the one in charge of the calls around here, isn't he?"

"He's setting everything up as we speak." Holiday informed, her excitement clear on her face. "I don't know about you, but I'm thrilled to see Glynda and James again."

"Oh, and I'm sure they'll be ecstatic, too." Raven smirked. "I know I'm going to be glad to hear from Glyndie again, hehe…"

Bobo came up and took a nearby seat, pulling a bag of chips out from his back pocket. "So, eh, these pals o' yours, from what the chief told me, they sound like a pretty uptight bunch…" He scooped out a handful of chips and started munching on them, though he kept talking even with his mouth full. "Mmm… sho, dat true or wha?"

The humans grimaced at the chimp's lack of manners, but Qrow answered anyways. After all, he'd seen worse manners before. "Oh, you don't know the half of it, monkey man."

"Imma chimp, ya quack."

"Different bird." Qrow countered. "Anyways, James is pretty much a boy scout an' Glynda's got a stick so far up her ass that I'm pretty sure it can't come out."

Bobo grinned devilishly at that answer. "Oh, you just gave me all the ammo I need, my friend. I'll remember this…" And with that, he went back to his chips, spinning around in the chair as he chortled to himself. 'Hehe… Bobo's gonna have FUN today…'

Winter cleared her throat, hoping to get things back on track. "Well, despite that rather ominous threat, when can we expect to put the call out back to our universe?"

"Well, Cesar said that he should have the I-D Comm ready in about twenty minutes." Holiday explained. "He said that he wanted to fine tune some things to help make the signal better since he's been to Remnant and back now. So, feel free to hang out and do what you wish in that time. There's plenty to do around here."

Raven nodded to her. "Excellent. Qrow, Winter, let's go find Tetrax. I've been wanting to discuss a few things with him concerning the kids' training."

However, Winter held up her hand. "Um, actually, why don't you take Tai with you instead, Raven? There's something I wanted to do this morning that deserves my attention… and it's a bit of a private matter."

Tia and Raven eyed one another inquisitively, but Qrow's knowing grin returned as he leaned toward the military specialist. "Oh, really? An' this wouldn't have anything to do with yer boyfrie—OW! Ow, ow, OUCH! Seriously?!"

"ENOUGH of that." Raven scolded, having grabbed Qrow by his sideburns and yanked him back over to her and Tai. She gave Winter a respectful bow. "Winter, if you have something to take care of, then by all means do it. Just remember to meet us down in the communication hub in twenty minutes, alright?"

"Of course… and thank you, Raven." Winter bowed back. "For this… and keeping HIM in check." she sneered at Qrow, only for him to nudge his chin back at her. Thankfully, this earned him another yank as Raven and Tai escorted him to the elevator on the opposite side of the room. Six had followed them in as well, and within moments, they were gone, leaving Winter to sigh in relief.

"So, you want to find Molly, right?" Holiday guessed.

Winter's eyes widened considerably. "H-How did you—" The scientist winked and tapped the side of her head, making Winter smile and sigh again. "Ah, woman's intuition. But yes, if it isn't too much trouble, could you tell me where she is?"

Max reached into his shirt pocket and grabbed a keycard, handing it to her. "Two floors up, firing range. You'll need this to access the rifles if you wanna join in."

Winter held up her hand. "Oh, no thank you, Max. I'm not one for using guns."

"Hm, well, that's fine. Though I still recommend you take it." Max maintained, placing the card in her hand. "You'll never know when you'll need access to them in an emergency situation." The old man wore a serious face as he told her; "Trust me, it wouldn't be the first time."

"Duly noted, and point taken." Winter concurred. "Thank you, Max. I'll see you all soon."

As she made her way toward the elevator, Bobo waved and called out; "Ah, probably best she stay away from the guns anyway. Wit' dainty hands like those, the recoil alone would probably give 'er carpel tunnel. Hehe…" He reached for his chips again… only to get his hand and the whole bag frozen a second later. "AH! Hey, what the—"

"Hmph, you'd do well to keep that tongue of yours respectful, monkey."

"IMMA CHIMP!" Bobo shouted as the elevator closed behind Winter.

…..

Up in the firing range, meanwhile, the Alpha Squad was busy with their target practice, all of them hitting their marks with their blasters. One Plumber in particular was hitting all of her shots with great ease, hitting bullseyes left and right while others were having a hard time. What's more, she wasn't even IN the Alpha Squad's signature red Plumber suit, instead donned in a plain white one. Molly Gunther smiled to herself after her tenth consecutive bullseye, all while the Alpha Squad leader moved up behind her. "Heh, not bad there, Gunther."

The brunette woman did an about-face and saluted to a tall, green, humanoid alien man with pointed ears. He had black hair on top of his head styled in a flattop cut, and the bridge of his nose was curved instead of sloped like a human's. "Much obliged, Captain Brannigan. Always did pride myself on bein' a sharpshooter."

"Pride's a good thing." Brannigan nodded. "Just be sure it doesn't go to your head and you'll be promoted to the Alpha Squad in no time." He turned to his other troops and waved his arm up. "Alright people, take five, we're due for a break!"

At his call, the aliens all went at ease and they proceeded to put their rifles back. As they did this, the door to the firing range slid open, revealing a certain human woman on the other side. The aliens were taken aback, having never seen her before. But Molly knew exactly who that was. "Winter! Howdy there, sugah!"

"Molly, good morning!" Winter said with a cheery wave of her own. She walked in, taking no notice of the Plumbers' surprised stares as she strolled in. "Sorry to drop in unannounced, but Max told me this is where I could find you." She came to a stop as she noticed the green alien man giving her a curious look. "Oh, my apologies, who's your friend?"

"Heh, well… he's actually my commandin' officer." Molly said awkwardly.

Winter's expression fell, now realizing that she was being FAR too formal. Much to her shock, however, the alien just laughed and gave her a salute. "Hahaha! Ah, I've seen that look so many times. Don't worry, it's no big deal. Captain Brannigan of Alpha Squad. Pleasure to meet you, Miss…"

"O-Oh, Winter." The military specialist saluted back. "Winter Schnee of the Atlesian Army."

Brannigan's scaly eyeridges rose up, realizing who he was talking to. "Oh! You're that woman from Remnant that Magister Tennyson was talking about. The one who came here with the team and has a military background." He extended his hand to her and bowed his head. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Schnee."

A polite smile adorned Winter's features as she reciprocated the gesture. "The pleasure is mine, Captain. So, this is your squad?"

"Sure is." Brannigan nodded as he gestured toward Molly. "And you just happen to be friends with one of our potential new recruits." He spoke with pride as ne nodded to the woman. "Molly's been striving pretty hard these past few months to make it into Alpha Squad, and I've got a feeling that it's gonna be happening pretty soon."

"Really?" Winter brightened up at the news. "Molly, that's amazing to hear! Your commitment is very admirable!"

The Plumber blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. "Aw, it's nothin', really. I just wanna do my best, an' I feel bein' in the Alpha Squad… well, it could put me in a better position to help more people, ya know?"

"And that's why SHE is one of the good ones." Brannigan said with approval. "Who knows? She could probably even take my place when I make my bid for a Magister position eventually."

"Ah, Brannigan, yer too kind, really." Molly sheepishly grinned. "Not sure if I'm cut out fer leadership material, but…"

Brannigan placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Gunther, you'll be fine, believe me. After seeing you in action, I'm convinced you will." He removed his hand and started off, waving to the two women as he left. "Well, as much as I'd like to stick around and chat, I've got a meeting to get to. I'll leave you ladies to it, so I'll see you later! Good to meet you again, Winter!"

"Same to you, Captain." Winter nodded. "Farewell for now." As he left, though, Winter couldn't help but notice Molly flushing a light shade of pink, but she made sure to keep her lips sealed until Brannigan was completely gone. Once he was, though, Winter made absolutely no qualms about telling her like it was. "…You like him, don't you?"

The redness on Molly's cheeks intensified immediately. "AH! Wh-Who said that? I-I didn't!" She spun around, folded her arms, and held her head up in denial. "I don't have a right clue what yer talkin' 'bout!"

"Hm, right, sure." Winter rolled her eyes. "You definitely don't have a thing for the handsome alien who just happens to be your superior." She saw the brunette go to object again, but interrupted her. "Don't even try, Molly. I've seen that face before on MANY soldiers, male and female. Always happens when they get feelings for a military comrade."

"I… pardon me, but ya don't exactly come off as someone who'd care 'bout that stuff, sugah." Molly pointed out. "Didn't ya say you always wanted to keep things professional?"

Winter wore a knowing smile. "Yes, I do keep an air of professionalism… but that doesn't mean I don't notice these things. I simply choose not to bring it up." She walked over and poked at Molly's shoulder. "But in the case of you, my friend, you obviously have it bad for the Green Man…" She trailed off with a thoughtful look. "Hm, probably shouldn't use that nickname, actually. Yang would probably call me out on that."

Molly rolled her eyes and went to put her blaster away. "Believe what ya want, sugah, I still say yer full a' beans." She locked the gun cabinet and leaned up against it, folding her arms again with a smirk of her own. "Besides, don't you have yer own romance troubles to worry 'bout?"

"Hm, no troubles here, Molly." Winter stated proudly. "Because this woman is going out on the town tonight with a very confident man."

And just like that, Molly brightened up. "Hah! No way, Jose!" She offered a fist to Winter. "Congrats, girlfriend! Ya finally whittled him down an' got a date outta him."

Winter reciprocated the fist bump, but quickly gave credit where it was due. "Oh, I didn't convince him to do anything. Kenny took initiative this morning and he asked me out, plain and simple." She pulled a lock of hair away from her face as she recalled the moment. "And to think that this morning started with me hitting him with a door…"

"Haha! Well, maybe ya knocked his marbles around an' got his mind in a better place." Molly figured. "So, what're you two gonna be doin'?"

"Dinner and a movie. Ken said that there was a theatre in town still showing "The Batman"." The military specialist bobbed her head off to the side. "Admittedly, superheroes aren't entirely interesting to me, but Ben and Yang seem to like it, so…"

"Aw, hon, yer gonna LOVE it. It's not really much of a superhero movie as it is a detective movie that just so happens to have a hero as the main character." The Plumber gave her companion a wink. "Trust me, I've seen it like three times already and it. Is. Fantastic."

Such approval definitely made Winter all the more optimistic about it. "Hm, well I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Thank you, Molly."

Molly nodded to her before moving onto the main subject. "So, I'm guessin' yer ready to contact Remnant, eh?"

"Indeed. It's almost time for Taiyang to go home and, when Cooper and Team CFVY come back, they'll be returning as well." Winter affirmed. "There's still plenty of work to be done in Vale and at Beacon, and Cooper's essentially the backbone of the entire operation."

"Well, I don't doubt that. That boy's got a knack fer gettin' things back up an' runnin'. They'll come back though, right?"

"Oh, yes, of course." Winter assured. "Weekends and such are fair game to come over to Earth and visit." She paused again before pursing her lips worriedly. "I just hope that nothing goes wrong over in Remnant while we're away and they're there. Bad enough that Salem seems to be focusing on Earth now, but we can't forget that she still has many hands in Remnant that she can still dispense at a moment's notice."

Molly sent her friend a sympathetic gaze, reaching over to squeeze her shoulder. "Aw, don't worry none, sugah. I'm sure things'll be fine. After all, we're literally one portal away from hoppin' back over there, ain't we?"

"Well, I suppose, but still, there are plenty of things that could—"

"Hon, let's not focus on what COULD go wrong." Molly asserted. "Doin' that'll just cause ya more anxiety." She tilted her head and raised a brow to her friend. "Besides, didn't yer general want ya to relax a little? I'm sure that thing's are good over there. If they weren't, we'd have heard from 'em by know. Get what I'm sayin'?"

Winter thought over Molly's words for a few moments, smiling as she realized her newest friend had a point. "Well, I suppose I can see what you're saying."

Molly gave her a playful jab in the shoulder. "See? It's all good." She moved away from the wall and started toward the exit, motioning for Winter to follow her. "Now c'mon. Why wait down here when the comm room's got more chairs?"

"Haha, good point." Winter agreed, following her friend back to the elevator.

…..

Several minutes later, after the two women had joined Cesar in the comm room, the rest of the adults came in, with some of them even bringing in a couple of extras. Raven, Tai, Six and Qrow strode into the room with Tetrax by their side, the Petrosapien discussing the topic of training with them. "So, what I think we should do is put the kids in a no-win scenario." Tetrax suggested. "Just to see how they would handle being in one and how they do under that kind of pressure."

Raven placed a hand to her chin. "It's an interesting concept, I WILL say that."

While Qrow just put his hands behind his head with a shrug. "Eh, I'd say go for it. Maybe this'll be what helps bring out that serious side that you've been wantin', eh Six?"

"Likely, yes." Six replied stoically. "I'll take it into consideration, Tetrax."

"Ah, are you sure?" Tai asked. "I mean, I get it, they're gonna be put in tough spots down the line, but… to be put in one this early?" He tapped his fingers together awkwardly. "Besides, I don't want my girls to be put through something like that without any sort of warning."

"Believe me, Tai, I understand where you're coming from." Raven placed a gentle hand on his chest, hoping to reassure him. "But with the kind of threats that the children face every single day, they'll have to learn that there are some situations that cannot be won by themselves alone. Ben, Gwen and the others probably know that, but it's still important to get the point across with everyone else." She smiled to him and gave her partner a peck on the cheek. "Don't worry, though, we'll make sure that these scenarios are perfectly safe."

Tetrax nodded in approval. "Of course. We'd never program a scenario in the Hazard Chamber that leaves anyone with serious injuries." He craned his head over to Six with a stern gaze. "Right?"

The green clad agent quirked a brow right back at Tetrax. "I'm not sure what you mean by that. I haven't left Rex with any bad wounds. A few bruises and cuts, some sore muscles, that's it."

The Petrosapien sighed and put a hand to his head. "My apologies, Agent Six. I've simply heard how intense your training methods can be and—"

"Understandable, Tetrax." Six interrupted. "I'm aware that my approach may not be the most agreeable. However, if we're to get results with these kids, we can only pull our punches so much."

"The term "so much" being the key one here, dear." The group turned around to see Holiday come walking off the elevator with Max walking in with her. "It may be imperative to train the children, but keep in mind that while they can take a hit, not all of them may be able to take a hit like Rex or Ben can. Aura can only help them so much, after all."

Max came over with his hands raised. "Why don't we save the talk of training for later, though, huh? After all, we've got a call to make." He set his sights over to the young man in the chair, who continued to work on the console in front of him. "We almost ready there, Cesar?"

"We are, Magister Tennyson." Cesar waved over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off his work for a second. "Just a few more moments and we'll have the I-D Comm up, running, and stronger than ever… hopefully."

Molly and Winter wore skeptical looks at that. "Uh, whaddya mean by "hopefully", Cesar?"

"Well, there may be a very slight chance that the tweaks I made might not be copacetic with the machine itself." The genius reached down and pulled up two massive cables, with one having a plug while the other had the slots for said plug. "But we won't know until we make the big move, so… here goes nothing!"

Winter reached out to him urgently. "W-Wait, Cesar, maybe we should—"

CHOOM! The moment Cesar plugged the device in, the lights blinked out for about three seconds before coming right back on again, taking them all off guard. As startled as they were, aside from Six of course, the genius beamed in excitement as the I-D Comm came online the moment the power came back. "Ah-ha! Excellente. Just like I was hoping for!"

"You were hopin' the power would go out, smart guy?" Qrow asked.

"Well, not exactly, but a little side effect never stopped anyone, right?" Cesar began typing commands into the console, homing in on the smaller I-D Comm that was in Remnant before attempting to call it. "Remnant, come in, Remnant. This is Earth calling, do you read?"

It took a few moments before they got a response, and before they knew it, the massive computer screen before them lit up with an incoming image. It was staticky at first, but quickly cleared up to reveal a certain pair of people smiling back at them. One was a man in his early forties with jet black hair that was starting to grey at the sides, along with clear wrinkles under his dark eyes to show that he was aging. He wore a white military suit a blue shirt underneath along with a red tie, and he had some sort of metal device implanted over his right eyebrow.

Next to him was a beautiful blonde woman in her late thirties, her hair done up in a bun while her front bang was styled in a way that it spiraled down the right side of her face. She wore thin spectacles in front of her green eyes and had on a white blouse that had a window that exposed a little cleavage. She also had a cape that was black with a purple underside, giving her an almost mystical air to her mostly academical appearance. "Well, well, it's about time you all called." Glynda Goodwitch greeted first. "We were wondering if you were enjoying your time on Earth a little too much, weren't we, James?"

"Hmhm, indeed." General James Ironwood gave a salute to the group on the other side of the call. "But nevertheless, this is Remnant hearing you loud and clear, Earth. It's good to see all of you again."

"The feeling's mutual, general." Max returned as the Hunters, Plumbers and Providence agents all gathered around the console, happy to see their old friends once again. "It may have only been a week, but I can assure you that you both have been missed."

Ironwood chuckled and bowed his head to the group. "Same can be said about you all, as well. The team's presence in Remnant has been sorely missed over this past week. Been awful quiet around here, too."

Glynda's brows furrowed as she searched the crowd, only to find none of the kids there with them. "Yes… and where ARE the children, exactly? We were expecting them to be with you."

"Oh, they're all on vacation down in Mexico, Glynda." Holiday explained. "All part of Ben's plan to help the Remnant crew really take in Earth and what it has to offer."

"…Really?" Glynda sighed and covered her eyes. "Those children chose this weekend to take a globetrotting adventure. A part of me isn't surprised, but I was also hoping we'd get to see them today."

Tai sent her a wave of his own, though. "Oh, don't worry, Glynda. I'm positive you'll get to see them soon. After all, Team CFVY and I gotta come back tomorrow anyways, so you'll have the chance to see 'em then, I'm sure."

"Very true, Tai. Hopefully we'll get some time to talk to them then." Ironwood then craned his head over to lock eyes with his trusted right hand, causing her to stand up straighter. "Hello, Winter. I trust you've been having a good time?"

"General Ironwood, sir!" Winter saluted. "Yes, I have, thank you for asking. It's good to see you again."

"At ease, soldier." Ironwood grinned. "Remember what I said? This is a vacation for you." He emphasized this with a stern gaze, though his smile belied it. "Save the formalities for when you come back home, that's an order, understood?"

As frustrated as Winter was about this, she'd be lying if she denied Ironwood's point. "…Yes, sir. Understood." She narrowed her eyes at her superior, however. "But why do I get the distinct impression that you get some sort of enjoyment from this?"

Ironwood balked at this. "What? Winter, of course not. I genuinely wish for you to just relax during your time on Earth." But then, he remembered something, causing him to smile again. "Which, by the way, how's it coming along with that young man? Gwen's brother, Kenny, I believe?"

"Oh James, stop it." Glynda gave the general's shoulder a light whip with her riding crop, shaking her head in disapproval. "The last thing that Winter needs is you butting into her love life." She smiled to the younger woman with a wave. "Though I do hope things are going well, Winter… oh, and who would that be next to you?"

Winter moved her head toward Molly just as the brunette gave a salute of her own. "Oh, my name's Molly Gunther, ma'am. Plumber lieutenant an' Alpha Squad trainee." She glanced over to Winter with a warm smile, which the specialist reciprocated. "Winter an' I've made fast friends with each other. It's a pleasure to meet both o' ya'll."

"Hm, I see." Ironwood saluted back. "Well, it's nice to meet you as well, Molly. Any friend of Winter's is a friend of mine."

"Thanks." Molly set her attention over to Glynda. "An' you must be Miss Goodwitch. I've heard some… interestin' things 'bout you."

The blonde woman couldn't help but grow curious at that. "Is that so? Such as what, exactly?"

Winter sent Molly a warning look, silently telling her to stop now and forever hold her peace. "Oh, um… that ya have a glowing personality, hehe." The brunette wore a hopeful smile, but by the unamused expression that Glynda wore, it was obvious she wasn't convinced. The woman's hardened stare slowly broke through Molly's façade and she screwed her eyes shut. "…And I've heard Qrow call ya "Bossy-Pants McGee" a lot 'round here." she blurted out.

"Hey!" Qrow grimaced. "What the hell, Gunther?!" Out the corner of his eye, though, he saw Glynda's features contort into an unamused grimace, causing him to sigh and roll his eyes. "Fer god's sake, c'mon Glynda, you KNOW I've called you worse things behind yer back."

"…What?" Glynda said in a dangerous tone, leaning closer to the screen.

Winter folded her arms and sighed. "I feel like I'm in a madhouse."

"Alright, alright, let's all calm down here." Holiday stepped in, getting between Qrow and the screen. "Now isn't the time to be fighting amongst ourselves. This is a courtesy call, not an argument."

"Holiday is right. Let's all get back on track." Ironwood supported as he placed a hand on Glynda's shoulder. The woman begrudgingly seemed to calm down as she backed back up. "…But I WILL warn you, Qrow, keep calling her names like that and we WILL have words." Glynda visibly brightened up at James coming to her defense, all while Qrow lowered his head and shrugged. "Now, how HAVE things been over there? I assume that the team's been going in hard on fighting alien criminals, right?"

"You'd be correct, James." Tetrax affirmed. "Since the team's arrival, they've been taking on any challenge thrown their way, whether it's from Earth OR space."

Raven began listing off the teens' accomplishments; "They've beaten back interdimensional robots, a gang of alien extortionists, a bunch of body-building goons who were planning on using electrical aliens as a fuel source against their will, an evil cult…" But then, she soured as she recalled what else they had been doing. "Oh… yes, that's right. James, Glynda, there's something important that you must know."

The duo on screen were concerned by the tone in Raven's voice, especially since she had used Glynda's real name. "Raven, what's wrong?" the Beacon Headmistress asked. "Did something bad happen?"

Max nodded solemnly. "Unfortunately, yes. During the day we had our big press conference to introduce the team to the public… we were hit with an unfortunate revelation."

Raven locked eyes with the two and delivered the news. "On that day, Cinder, Rojo, and their squad, along with the Mutants and Subdora, showed themselves. Somehow, they managed to travel to Earth."

There was a long silence as Ironwood and Glynda were left stunned by the news. Though that didn't last as the general's features contorted in shock and anger. "WHAT?! You're telling me that the Ministry of Darkness is ON EARTH?!"

"How?! How in the world did they get there?!" Glynda exclaimed.

"That part is actually easy to answer." Tai went on. "They said something about having a new ally named "Eon" who managed to get them there. Apparently he's an old enemy of Ben's who can dimension hop like Paradox does."

"Are you KIDDING me?!" Ironwood shouted, throwing his hands up into the air. The others couldn't do anything but stare awkwardly at the man as he went on a mini-tirade. "Great, JUST great! Even when we're prepared to face the Ministry here, they decide to follow all of you anyway!" He rounded back toward them, clearly unhappy. "Why in the hell didn't you call and tell us about this sooner?! This would've been valuable information!"

The other adults seemed hesitant to answer, all aside from Raven who didn't flinch once at James' outburst. "Because, Jim, we knew that THIS is how you would've reacted. And what's more, you would've been paranoid about it for the next four days before we'd call you again." She saw Jim about to start back up again, but interrupted him before he could. "Tell me I'm wrong, James. Tell. Me. I'm. Wrong."

The general wanted to argue… but then he felt a gentle hand on his own shoulder. He glanced down to Glynda, the woman gazing pleadingly at him. Just by her eyes, he could tell that she was asking him; "Stop, please calm down". This made Ironwood sigh and nod his head. "…Alright, I'll concede to your point, Raven. But still, this is a very urgent matter. If the Ministry have that much interest in Earth, then we must be prepared to fight them on both fronts. We need Cooper and Team CFVY back here, soon."

"And you will, General Ironwood." Max assured. "As soon as they get back tomorrow, they'll be headed right back to Remnant." He brought up a data pad and brought up the map of Mexico, which still showed the red blip that indicated where the Proto-TRUK was. "That said, the team might have their hands full down there as it is, since we detected a break-in at an abandoned Plumber base in Mexico early this morning and—"

BZZZZZT! BZZZZZT! BZZZZT! BZZZZZT!

Before Max could go on, however, a loud alarm started blaring throughout the entire base, accompanied by a flashing red light. The group were all on high alert as their necks snapped up, with Glynda and Ironwood even taken off guard. Many of them even took out their weapons as they put their guard up. "What's happening?!" Winter yelled over the alarm. "Are we under attack?!"

"Not necessarily!" Max shouted as he went over to another console and quieted the alarm. He began inputting commands into the computer, hoping to get some answers. "Not many people know about this bases' location, so it's probably not that. My guess would be—"

"MAXIE!" Everyone brought their attention straight toward the sliding doors as a certain Pisscciss Volan came stumbling in, landing on his chest while Bobo leapt in right behind him. Magister Pateliday propped himself up on one arm and pointed to the screen. "Y-Ya might wanna tune in to some of the security cameras downtown! Th-There's something REAL big goin' on!"

As Six and Molly went to help Pateliday up, Max furrowed his brow in concern while doing just as his friend asked. With a few quick commands, he brought up the camera footage… and was astonished by what he saw. Laying waste to the downtown area were several people armed with... well, medieval-styled suits of armor. They were covered from head to toe and all of them had strangely-shaped laser guns that practically melted structures within a single second. The thing was… the old Plumber knew that this had to be impossible. "No… it can't be."

Molly gasped the moment she saw them as well. "Forever Knights?! Where in the Sam Hill…?"

"That's impossible!" Tetrax added. "They were all wiped out… weren't they?"

Winter, Raven, Tai and Qrow, however, were still confused. As were Glynda and Ironwood back on the screen. "Uh, sorry, but who're these Renaissance Fair rejects?" Qrow asked.

"I've heard of them." Six interjected. "The Forever Knights were old enemies of the Tennysons who used alien technology in order to try and either drive off or exterminate aliens from planet Earth entirely." He looked to Max as the old man kept staring at the screen. "But… every Plumber I've spoken to here said that they had been wiped out after the Dagon incident. Their leader, Old George, was killed in that battle as well, right?"

"Yes, Ben even saw it happen." Max murmured, still trying to process everything. On nearly every security cam he checked, there were more Forever Knights, either on foot, or flying through the sky on hovercycles with powerful lances that fired red energy beams. He couldn't see a definitive leader of the attack, however, which worried him all the more. "I didn't think that ANY of them had survived the aftermath of Dagon… that was two years ago."

Bobo came up and jumped onto a nearby seat, his hands already on the handles of his guns. "Well apparently, you guys were wrong. Now, we gonna go kick some knightly ass, or what?"

Max put on a hard glare down at the EVO chimp, unimpressed with his rudeness and blunt behavior. "Keep that attitude up and you'll be staying here." He went back to the screen, trying to think up a plan of attack. "We can't take them head on, they'll see us coming. We have to be smart about this…"

"Agreed." Raven said as she and the other Hunters came over to get a better vantage point as well. "If we're to defeat these "Forever Knights", then we need to have a plan of attack."

"I suggest we gather as many forces as we can." Cesar typed in a command and brought up a holographic map of Bellwood, with several blips representing the Knights' location. "Because going by these numbers… there are a LOT of them.

Raven moved over and started pointing at the blips, noting how they were moving downward. "They seem to be making their way down in this direction, so we should come from the opposite way to take them by surprise." She faced Max again and gave him a nod. "Bring your Alpha Squad, we'll need the very best to combat them."

"Ahem…" The group were garnered back toward the I-D Comm's screen as Ironwood cleared his throat, straightening his tie. "If I may make a suggestion… perhaps some additional back-up would be necessary?"

"Jim, what do mean?" Tai asked.

Glynda was the one to answer, all while wearing a knowing smile. "Well, if I recall correctly, the Plumber Base and Beacon Academy are linked across dimensions when a portal is made, correct? Well, it just so happens that we ARE at Beacon…" She raised a brow at them to get her point across. "I think you can deduce what I mean from that."

The team of Hunters, Plumbers and Providence agents immediately picked up on what Glynda was implying, and to say that they were interested was an understatement. "Wait, so… ya'll wanna come here an' help?" Molly grinned. "Woowee! Now THAT would be mighty nice o' ya to do!"

Raven folded her arms as she and her teammates shared nods of approval. "Yes, the more the merrier, I say." She set her sights on the resident genius, urging him to make it happen. "Cesar, get your Dimensional Doorway up and running, quickly."

"Way ahead of you!" Cesar shot up from his chair and sprinted toward his lab a room over, coming back with the portal device in mere moments. He went back to the two headmasters and gave them a thumbs up. "Okay, I'm about to open the portal. Once you find it, head straight through and you'll be brought right to us, comprende?"

"Understood. We'll be over as soon as possible. Ironwood out." With that, the call was ended and the screen went black, prompting Cesar to take a deep breath.

"Alright, step back, everyone… here we go." The team did as he asked and Cesar hefted the Dimensional Doorway up, its green lenses glowing bright. And then, with a pull of a trigger… BAM! A green beam was shot out before disappearing all together in a huge sphere of energy, the portal having opened successfully. It made a low humming sound as energy spiraled within it, leaving the group somewhat disconcerted. "And now… we wait."

And wait they did for quite a few minutes. It was an admittedly agonizing wait as they just watch the portal continue to sit there, doing nothing but make its low hum. "…So anyone else concerned it could've just popped up in ANY random part of the school?" Qrow asked. "Or is that just—WOAH!"

But then, right then and there, the portal began to warp and distort. And from its center, two figures began to emerge before falling through. They both managed to land in a crouch, the intense light of the portal casting them in shadow before it closed behind them, and the group were left smiling at the successful transport. Winter went up and offered a hand to her superior. "Hm, welcome to Earth, general."

"Hah… alright, now THAT was a strange experience." Ironwood admitted as he took Winter's hand, only to then offer his own to Glynda. "Are you alright?"

"I am, James." Glynda replied. "And thank you." As she stood, she sent a happy yet determined smile out toward the team, ready for what came next. "Hello, everyone. So, where do we get started with these Forever Knights?"

…..

A/N: And there you have it! The first part of the Season 2 premier is in the books and I gotta say, we've got quite the amount of stuff going on here. But of course, our primary concern and the main conflict here will be with the returning Forever Knights. Indeed, just like in regular Omniverse, they've made their comeback, but in a MUCH different way than in the show. In fact, you'll find this new sect of Forever Knights to be VERY different from the ones in Omniverse, namely since they have greater numbers… but they may or may not have a different leader. You'll just have to wait and see on that front.

That said, we've also got TONS of inter-personal relationship stuff going on here. Raven and Tai have started to REALLY rekindle what they had lost all so long ago (and in a rather big way), we have Winter and Kenny finally planning out their first date after a bit of an awkward morning, and of course, there's the small bit of drama between Qrow and Evelyn. One wonders where all of this will lead…

Oh, and we can't forget the reintroduction of a certain Ben 10 character! Albeit, he's one who had only ONE appearance in Ultimate Alien, but I always found it odd how Alpha Squad always appeared throughout Omniverse… but Brannigan didn't despite being their leader. Quite strange. But as we also see, it seems Molly is on the fast track to joining up with the Alpha Squad quite soon… and may or may not have a tiny crush on Cadet No Neck as Ben called him, hehe…

And finally, we have the reintroduction of General Ironwood and Glynda Goodwitch to the story! Indeed, it's almost time for Tai, Cooper, and Team CFVY to head back to Remnant, but the least the two headmasters can do is help drive off the Forever Knights beforehand. With that said, NEXT TIME! The Plumbers engage the Forever Knights in the downtown area, learning that they're searching for the entrance to a certain underground city. As a result, the store that just happens to be right near that hole gets caught in the crossfire. …And Mr. Baumann and Swift are NOT happy. Thanks for reading everyone, and I hope to see you all next week! And as always, stay safe out there!