Gamer4 in. I think I underestimated just how long ago I wrote the original version of this episode- and just how short it was. On this occasion, just for you, I'll extend the length of this one beyond its original boundaries. If you wish to reward me for this show of initiative, I take payment in the form of reviews- the well's a little dry lately, and I've got bills to pay. At any rate, time to pay my tribute to the game that started it all- for me. My very first Xeno game, and still my favorite! Xenoblade 1, let's rock!

Episode V

Chronicles of the Crescent Blade

"Perhaps... perhaps we could use a break from that particular world," Pyrrha suggested, barely seeing the tears on her friends' faces through her own misty eyes.

"Fine by me," Vanessa shrugged. "Word from the Hand is to ease up on that world until you've seen more of Road to Shambhala and Chronicles of the Crescent Blade anyways."

"Chronicles... Crescent Blade?" Jaune asked. "I don't remember that one."

"Oh, right, we haven't reintroduced it yet," Vanessa facepalmed. "Alright, in that case, let's make that our next order of business. Should be a nice change of pace- this one stars Little Red over there."

Ruby gasped, and laughed nervously, tapping her fingers together. "Er... maybe we can pass on this one-"

"We're watching it!" Yang immediately beamed.

"But Yang- normal knees!"

"Forget your knees, I wanna see a world where my sister gets to be a hero!"

"I... um... Ren?"

Ren leveled a half-lidded gaze at her, the message clear: If I have to lead one of these worlds, so do you.

She sighed. "Okay... let's see..."

Much like the world before it, the screen started off in black. Finally, a young, feminine voice spoke. "Yang... can you tell me a story?"

A slightly more mature voice chuckled and answered, "Sure, Rubes... whaddya wanna hear about?"

"Tell me... about the beginning! How everything started!"

Yang smiled nostalgically. "Well, this is bringing back all sorts of memories." She reached out and pulled Ruby near, ruffling her hair. Ruby's efforts to fight her off were noticeably more subdued than usual.

"Alright, sounds good ta me! A-hem..."

As she spoke, her words seemed to form pictures upon the screen.

"In the beginning, there was nothing... nothing but the Great Sea, cloaked by a boundless sky. For eons, there was nothing more... until they came. The two great titans... Bionis and Mechonis."

The audience's jaws slackened when they spied the great creatures lumbering towards each other across the endless ocean. "Those are even bigger than the titans from the other world!" Ruby squealed.

"Those were large enough to hold kingdoms," Weiss judged, "but these... it's like entire continents rose and started walking around!"

"Born within each," Yang's narration continued, "was a deep, undying hatred for the other." Suddenly, her voice started cracking up. "Not really sure why- iunno, I think I remember Mechonis sayin' something about Bionis's mom, but-"

"Yang!" Ruby's voice chastised.

"Sorry, sorry!" Yang apologized, as the Bionis- a great white behemoth wielding a weapon of pure light, lashed out at the darker, more metallic-looking Mechonis, severing its arm at the shoulder, sending it crashing into the sea below.

"Really, Yang?" Blake stared at her partner in half-lidded bewilderment. "You can't even tell a story like this without adding some commentary of your own?"

"Nah, she pulls stuff like that all the time," Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Ah, ya know you love me," Yang leaned back into the sofa.

"Their battle went on for thousands of years, until one morning, the sun rose on two corpses- at long last, they had slain each other, at the end of a battle with no winner."

The camera focused on the two titans, the Mechonis's great sword slicing into the Bionis's side, the Bionis s blade disappearing altogether, leaving its opponent's fatal blow unclear.

"No winner," Ren noted quietly. "As so many conflicts resolve. Everybody loses."

"But that wasn't the end of the war, was it?" Ruby's voice asked gravely.

"No..." Yang agreed, also sounding rather solemn. "No, it wasn't."

The camera shifted, appearing in what seemed like a canyon or valley, where an entire army of soldiers were clashing against an opposing army of what seemed like robots of some sort- sleek metal armor concealing any body that might lie beneath.

"Even as the homs were rising from the ashes of the Bionis," Yang continued, "the mechon rose from the Mechonis- and they want nothing more that to see us all wiped out."

"What the-"

It was the general reaction of the audience to seeing the fierce battle.

"So... these mechon..." Weiss shuddered. "They're... like grimm?"

"Not one-to-one, but kinda, yeah," Vanessa agreed. "Except these have metal armor that take special weapons or tactics to even get through."

A chill ran through the audience's spines at the idea of grimm wearing such armor.

Indeed, though they fought bravely, the humans- or homs, as Yang had described them- were at a clear disadvantage. It took three to knock over one mechon in particular, and even as they tore it apart, a shell landed between them, knocking them all backwards with a scream.

A few had given in to fear. "Retreat! Retreat!" one screamed, racing across the uneven ground, only to stumble and cower as a large mechon approached him.

His salvation came in the form of a man- a dark-haired man sprinting forward through the enemy lines, fighting in what seemed almost an elegant dance, spinning around his weapon- a great, crimson scythe. He struck the attacking mechon, slicing it in half as though it were made of butter.

The man below seemed taken aback as the man above turned to him, revealing a tattered red cape of sorts, unshaven scruff, and a cross around his neck tilted to one side. His voice was slightly gravelly, but not at all unpleasant as he extended a hand to the man. "Can you still fight?"

The man accepted the hand, stuttering madly. "Q...Q... Qrow... Qrow Branwen?!"

"UNCLE QROW!" Ruby squealed, eyes lighting up. "Oh, this world just got ten times cooler!"

"He doesn't look like a nopon this time," Blake observed, scrutinizing the man closely.

"He was pretty cute as one," Ruby giggled.

Pyrrha, however, was looking closely, her eyebrows knitting slightly. "Ruby... isn't that Crescent Rose?"

Ruby paused, looking back to the screen, and gasped. "It is! But what's Qrow doing with my baby?!"

"Different world?" Pyrrha shrugged. "Perhaps its his weapon here?"

"But... but... butbutbutbut!" Her eyes were starting to shine with tears.

"It'll all make sense later," Vanessa sighed. "Let's get back to the world."

Qrow pulled the man back to his feet with relative ease before repeating his question. "Can you still fight? They're advancing down our weak right flank- for a bunch of soulless machines, they seem to know a thing or two- but we'll see, won't we?"

The man seemed starstruck, nodding open-mouthed.

"Good- get over there- you're needed, soldier!"

The man nodded again before turning and running in the indicated direction.

"Your uncle seems to be something of a legend in this world," Blake noted.

"Yeah, you could tell- that guy was looking at him the way a lot of people look at Pyr-Pyr!" Nora nodded fervently.

"I'm inclined to agree... even if I'd rather form a different comparison," Pyrrha whispered.

"Iunno," Ruby tilted her head. "He's a pretty awesome hunter, but he never really made that kind of name for himself."

Qrow watched the man go, then turned to meet the two fighters approaching from behind- a tall, well-muscled blond wielding a large shotgun, and a dark-haired woman in red with a remarkably long katana.

"Dad!" Ruby cheered. "And- oh..."

Everyone looked from her to the suddenly-stony-faced Yang. "Raven," she muttered, venom dripping from her voice.

"Qrow!" Taiyang Xiao Long called as they crossed the final distance. "We've been given orders to retreat- we're pulling back to Colony Six! That's where we'll set up our last line of defense!"

"Not a bad idea..." Qrow started.

"Agreed," Raven nodded. "Hang around here any longer, and we're done for."

"Or we could stay anyways," Qrow smirked.

"What?" Raven narrowed her eyes at her brother.

"You're joking, right?" Tai stared. "Who am I kidding, of course you're not."

"Huh, Qrow trying to talk Dad into rushing in- it'd usually be the other way around," Yang reflected, very clearly moving to completely ignore the woman there.

"Sure, we could die if we make our stand here," Qrow admitted, "but staying gives us the chance to change our destinies." He brandished his great red scythe. "We have Crescent Rose- with this, the future is ours for the taking!"

"Ooohhh, such an awesome line!" Nora fangirled.

"Very well said," Ren gave a small smile.

"So, what, Crescent Rose is a legendary weapon in this world?" Ruby asked, with the tone of a parent very proud of their child.

"Kind of reminiscent of the Holy Grail from the Shambhala-world," Vanessa agreed. "It's the only thing the mechon are weak to- cuts through them like butter, as you saw."

"Very important, in other words," Weiss agreed. "So, how did it fall into... Mr. Branwen's hands?"

"Eh, just call 'im Qrow, I doubt he'll give a crap," Yang assured her.

"Stupid beast!" Tai growled. "Your body can't take any more of that damn weapon- I can tell just by looking at you!"

"Should have worn your contacts, old man," Qrow smirked. "I'm fine."

"'Can't take any more of it?'" Ruby asked.

"This version of Crescent Rose is a bit... temperamental," Vanessa explained shortly.

Tai held Qrow's gaze for another several seconds, then groaned. "Should have known I couldn't talk sense into a beast." He looked down, reloading his gun. "Welp, someone's gotta drag your corpse home- I'm coming with you."

"You two are idiots!" Raven hissed. "If that's how you wanna reunite with Summer, fine, go and die- I'm a survivor. I'm leaving."

Ruby winced. "So... Mom is..."

"Yeah," Vanessa nodded. "Team STRQ was one of the greatest threats against the mechon- really legendary stuff. Summer actually died on the same mission that discovered Crescent Rose."

A somber silence fell.

But Qrow didn't lose that smirk as he turned towards his sister. "Well, I say you're coming with us. What would we do without that?" He glanced at her sword.

Tai glanced over at the advancing waves of mechon. "Well, if we're gonna do it, no time like the present. Let's give these bastards a warm homs welcome!"

"Let's rock," Qrow nodded, and the two rushed into battle.

Raven lingered behind, frowning at their reckless advance. "Macho idiots... what're they trying to prove? Nothing else for it- I'll have to use them as a distraction, give myself time to escape."

"Atrocious," Pyrrha found herself spitting, only to slap her hands over her mouth as she glanced over at Yang.

Yang, however, looked more disappointed than anything. "Yeah... yeah, that's... kinda what I expected."

For the moment, however, she followed, joining in the battle. Qrow led the charge, slicing through mechon after mechon as if they were no more than grass.

"A little help over here?!" Tai called.

Qrow nodded. "Enchant!" He spun the scythe in a circle, sending a wave of energy that caused Tai's gun and Raven's sword to glow. Suddenly, Raven's sword cut through the mechon's armor just as easily, and each shot Tai fired took out entire swaths.

"Humanahumanahumanahumanahumanahumanahumana-" Ruby stammered, drooling at the weapon her uncle was using on screen. It went beyond just what it could do- this version of Crescent Rose had discarded steel for a blade of what seemed like pure light.

"I hope you understand exactly what you've done," Weiss crossed her arms at their hosts. "She's going to spend all month trying to make her Crescent Rose do the same!"

"Qrow- goliath!" Tai called. Qrow looked over and spied a mechon the size of a tower making its approach, surrounded by twitching, reaching tentacles.

"Buster!"

As he rushed forward, the blade of light extended, becoming larger and larger, over five times its original size. When Qrow finally swung the goliath didn't stand a chance, collapsing into a pile of scrap.

An entire river was forming from the drool leaking from Ruby's mouth.

Unfortunately, the attack seemed to have taken something out of Qrow as well- he faltered, lightning coursing through his body from the weapon he carried- he finally collapsed onto the scrap heap he'd just created.

"So..." Jaune whispered uncomfortably. "That's what you meant by 'temperamental?'"

"Yeah," Vanessa nodded, "Thus far, Qrow's the only one who can use it at all."

"If that's what it does to its chosen ones, I hate to think what it does to people it considers unworthy," Blake shuddered.

"Damn!" Tai growled, rushing forward just in time to take a hit to the back intended to be Qrow's killing blow. He smirked at the mechon that had tried it, aiming his still-glowing shotgun in its face and pulling the trigger. "Try again in ten years," he muttered, before turning to his comrade. "Qrow, you alright?"

"Yeah... of course..." Qrow muttered, fighting to hide the blood he was coughing up- but he couldn't hide the fact he was relying on Crescent Rose to keep from collapsing.

"No! Bad Crescent Rose!" Ruby chided. "Stop hurting Uncle Qrow!"

A very derisive tone came from nearby. "So, this is what happens when the great hero reaches his limits..."

Tai and Qrow turned to see Raven walking steadily backwards, sheathing her sword.

"Raven," Qrow called warningly. "What're you-"

"Sorry to break this to you," Raven continued in that withering tone, "but its Crescent Rose they're after. Have fun keeping them occupied for me- I'm going to do what I always do- namely, survive."

"No... Raven!" Tai called.

"Don't you worry," Raven shrugged off as she turned. "I'll organize your funerals."

And with that, she was gone.

"Not trying to step on your toes or anything, Yang, but your mom's a bit of a bitch," Nora commented.

Yang sighed wearily. "Yeah... tell me something I don't know."

Tai punched the scrap heap as he glanced back towards the other end of the valley- where an entire army was still marching on them. "The main force... they're hell-bent on taking us out... well, at least we know our luck can't get any worse from here..."

To his own amazement, he turned to see Qrow forcing himself to his feet, readying Crescent Rose once more. "Qrow- what're you..."

"He is tenacious, I'll give him that," Weiss admitted.

The camera cut briefly towards Raven, sprinting across the ground towards a brief downward slope. "Well, someone will have to come back for Crescent Rose- may as well be me. Time to finally take that scythe and-"

She was cut off as she stumbled and slid down the slope.

Before her, another legion of mechon, all with their sights clearly set on her.

Her face filled with terror just as the screen cut away again.

"Hmm... not the longest-lived character either, I must say," Blake noted, slowly glancing at Yang. "Are you okay?"

"She... got what she deserved," Yang muttered, failing to make eye contact.

The camera returned to Qrow, staring down the oncoming army. "Vile mechon... if you think the homs, the people of Bionis, will just sit and wait for you to pick us off... you're sorely mistaken."

He took one step forward, then another- and finally, he was running head-on, Tai at his side.

Abruptly, the camera began pulling out, revealing the entire canyon was, in reality, embedded into a giant sword- it panned over vast landscapes- a city over a sea, a great forest, and finally revealed it all to be stationed on the bodies of the two titans, still standing after slaying each other in their millenia-old conflict.

At last, the screen cut to black, with the title in blazing white:

Chronicles of the Crescent Blade

A lingering silence fell. "Well," Yang commented, "that was a stupidly epic opening for a world."

"You don't think Dad and Qrow died, do you?" Ruby fretted.

"I suppose we can go a little further to find out," Vanessa decided.

When the title faded away, it was replaced by another title card:

One year later...

The camera returned on a large field, dotted with what looked like the wreckage of mechon. Rummaging through it all was a young girl in a red cloak. "Let's see... M32? No... no, that's got more holes than swiss cheese... 87? No..." She stood up and stretched. "No good, it's buckled... completely useless."

She fell back on th ground, looking up from the grass, the blue sky above reflecting in her silver eyes.

"There's my sis!" Yang grinned.

"Er... what's she doing?" Jaune asked.

"Looking through scrap... to find parts for weapons, most likely," Weiss assessed.

Ruby beamed. "My bestie knows me so well!"

Weiss sighed, but didn't respond.

She lay there for a long time- for a moment, it seemed that she might slip into a nap. Her attention was caught by a passing dragonfly- she smiled as she watched it gently land on a flower- until her eyes widened upon seeing what lay just beyond it. She flipped onto all fours and scrabbled towards it as quickly as she could. "An M-69!"

Yang let out a loud snort, rivalled only by Nora's. Ruby glanced from their faces to Blake and Pyrrha's violent flushes. "Er, Weiss? What's so funny about M-69?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "This gag again? Alright, Yang, spill it."

"Nothing funny- on with the world!" Yang backtracked quickly.

Ruby's eyes were gleaming as she knelt to the broken unit's level. "Yes! The propulsors are still working- this will be perfect for those new gauntlets!"

The unit in question was lodged slightly in the earth- she dug her fingers beneath it and began grunting as she attempted to prise it free. "C'mon... just a little more...!"

Finally, it popped out of the earth- and from underneath came a large creature- a giant caterpilar. Ruby screamed when she saw it, suddenly paper-white with fright. "No- no, stay away!"

"Really? That scared over a caterpilar?" Nora crossed her arms. "I thought better of you, Rubes!"

"I... don't think I'm scared of caterpilars in our world," Ruby crossed her arms and tilted her head. "Then again... maybe it's 'cause of how big that one is?"

The caterpilar turned towards her, performing the closest action it could to tilting its head in consideration before another girl appeared- taller than Ruby, with wild blond hair, who proceeded to beat it to death with her bare fists. "Leave- my- sister- alone!" were the words that accompanied the furious blows.

"Damn right!" Yang cheered, smashing her fists together.

When the creature had been thoroughly beaten into paste, Yang turned towards her sister, crossing her arms with a smirk. "Really, Rubes? Caterpiles again?"

Ruby glanced away sheepishly. "What can I say? I... I don't like caterpilars."

Yang wiped her hands off on her shorts and stepped forward, offering her sister a hand up. "To each her own, I guess. What were you doing up here all alone anyways?"

"Er... looking for parts?" Ruby was tapping her index fingers together.

Yang crossed her arms. "And what have I told you about going this far from the colony on your own?"

"Colony? Didn't the last world have colonies too?" Nora immediately picked up.

"I don't suspect they're the same thing," Ren shook his head. "Most likely, the colony she's talking about is just an ordinary town."

Ruby gave a sheepish smile. "All the best equipment falls down up here! Just look at this shell!"

Yang rolled her eyes. "I'm more worried about you than the stupid shell." She shook her head and sighed with a smile. "Well, whatever. Knowing you, you'll at least make a decent weapon out of it. C'mon, let's head back. And, uh... remember that you have a weapon of your own, would ya?"

Ruby glanced at her back, attached to which was a basic scythe.

"Oh, my sweet baby, I'd never betray you for a lame scythe that doesn't even shift!" Ruby whined.

"I suppose they don't have shifting weapons in this world," Pyrrha observed. "I've noticed very few worlds seem to have those, as a matter of fact."

"We're special!" Nora cheered.

"Well... some of us are," Blake couldn't help sniping.

Yang turned and led them down a narrow path, rocky walls on either side, until it emptied out into a field. At the edge of the field was a cliff overlooking a vast lake, above which was constructed Colony 9, one of the last two remaining homs colonies on the Bionis, nestled snugly in a dimple in the great titan's ankle.

"Ooohhhhh, so pretty!"Ruby's eyes glowed.

"Hmm, this world certainly seems livelier than the one I'm starring in," Ren agreed.

"I wouldn't mind living in a place like that," Yang grinned, crossing her arms and nodding.

The sisters stepped onto a bridge entering into town- overlooking it was a large two-story house that they both looked up at, suddenly rather solemn. "Think Uncle Qrow's up yet?" Ruby asked.

"Eh, take that find of yours to the lab first- give him another hour or two," Yang suggested.

"So he is alive!" Ruby perked up.

"Alive, but unwell," Weiss decided to be a buzzkill. "If he's still not up at this time of day."

"Nah, he's usually not out of bed before noon," Yang shrugged. "Hangovers."

"Well... I hardly know what to say to that," Weiss groaned.

Yang glanced back into the colony- they were entering into the commercial district. "Tell ya what- I know you're gonna wanna pick up some ether gems to go with that scrap of yours, but I gotta get back to the Witch, stat, so I'm gonna dip here."

"Right," Ruby winced. "Sorry to make you run out after me on your break!"

"Eh, don't worry about it," Yang waved aside. "Just make a damn good weapon out of that thing, and we'll call it square!"

"Er... 'the Witch?'" Jaune repeated.

"At a guess, a name for Goodwitch," Pyrrha let out a reluctant giggle. "So... Yang's in school?"

"No, the army- the Colony 9 Defence Force," Vanessa decided to interject. "Private Yang Xiao Long, answering to Colonel Glynda Goodwitch."

"Urgh," Yang wrinkled her nose. "Never wanted to join the military- way too stuffy for me."

"I hope I didn't get you in trouble!" Ruby fretted.

The center of the Commercial District was a large bazaar filled with shops, but Ruby skirted around the edge, making her way towards an open-air building nearby with a large furnace out front. Attending was the man Team RWBYJNPR referred to as 'Old Man Shopkeep,' due to his tendency to show up at seemingly every shop in and around Beacon.

"Actually, I'm surprised we haven't seen more of him," Blake admitted.

"Ah, little Ruby!" he smiled when he saw her approaching, as if looking at his own granddaughter. "Looks like you've been out looking for machine parts again?"

"Heheh... yeah," Ruby admitted, scratching at the back of her head.

"I'm guessin' you'll be wantin' some ether gems to go with it?"

Ruby nodded. "I'm gonna be making some gauntlets for Yang, so-"

"Ah, say no more!" the old man chuckled, raising his hands. "One good fire gem, coming up!"

"Indeed, your reputation precedes you," Weiss nodded agreeably.

"'When grimm get in the way, fire comes out to play!'" Yang confirmed. "That's my code, and I'm sticking to it."

The old man worked the furnace for a couple minutes before producing a crimson gem. "Ah, good quality, that one. Here you go."

Ruby took it gratefully. "How much?"

"No charge today," the old man chuckled indulgently. "I haven't forgotten who helped me repair the furnace last week! The money I saved requesting a repairman from Colony 6 more than makes up for it."

"So, she knows how to repair furnaces, too?" Jaune blinked.

"If it has something to do with weapons, she'll know how to work it," Weiss sighed. "Anything outside that, however..."

Ruby tucked the gem into a pouch and continued on her way across a bridge to the center of town- a large tower that could be seen from anywhere in the valley the colony resided. To her right, the residential district, but she instead turned left towards the military. She cringed when, even from a distance, she heard a certain woman's voice:

"YOU USELESS IDIOTS! HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN ON THE FORCE?!"

"Whoah!" Nora and Yang retreated behind the couch by instinct.

"Goodwitch sounds... angrier than normal," Ren raised an eyebrow.

Uh-oh, Ruby winced as she peeked through the vast door of the district- a tall, platinum-blond woman was in the middle of dressing down a unit. The Witch is about to explode...

"CRASHING THE MOBILE ARTILLERY INTO A HOUSE?! IT'S LIKE YOU WANT A REPEAT OF THE SHAME YOU BROUGHT ON THIS COLONY DURING JOINT MANEUVERS WITH COLONY 6!"

"Wait, they crashed into a house?" Weiss's eyes widened. "Perhaps they deserve this after all."

"We're sorry, ma'am," quailed the woman in the lead, who Ruby recognized as May Zedong. "We were trying to do what you said- but it's impossible to get to the Military District in only forty seconds!"

"Or maybe Goodwitch is asking too much?" Jaune suggested.

"I don't know... she usually doesn't ask impossible things," Pyrrha pondered. "I'd have to see the distance they were supposed to cover to make any calls on this one."

"I DON'T WANT ANY EXCUSES!" a clearly not-pacified Goodwitch persisted. "CHAMPIONS DON'T WHINE, THEY WIN! NOW GO RECOVER THAT VEHICLE!"

May gulped, and almost whimpered, "We... we can't..."

Goodwitch glared, affronted. "YOU'D BETTER GIVE A DAMN GOOD REASON WHY!"

"Well... the thing is... when we crashed, the ether cylinder cracked, and the ether energy leaked out-"

"THEN CHANGE THE CYLINDER! CAN'T YOU DO SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS THAT?!"

"Of course, but... we have no ether cylinders to replace-"

"WHAT?! I TOLD YOU TO ALWAYS KEEP A STOCK OF CYLINDERS IN RESERVE!"

"...Sorry, ma'am..."

"DON'T BE SORRY, BE BETTER! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT SLACKERS!"

With no further reservations, she raised a fist and punched May across the face.

"Oof- I don't think I see our Goodwitch doing that anytime soon, at least," Pyrrha gave a sympathetic wince.

"I don't know... the way I see her look at Yang and Nora sometimes..." Ren recalled.

"Don't say that, Renny... please?" Nora whimpered- Goodwitch was quite possibly the one thing in the world she truly feared.

Ruby gave a sympathetic wince of her own. "Same old colonel- at this rate, she'll have killed the entire force before they see any action..."

Yang suddenly sat bolt upright in realization. "Wait, she hasn't hit Ruby, has she?!"

"No... it looks like she's an engineer, she wouldn't be dealing with boot camp," Blake guessed.

Indeed, Ruby was able to slink away into a building on the district's edge, moving downward into a large lab- in pride of place was Crescent Rose, cradled in a pedestal atop a large desk. Ruby was so transfixed on the crimson blade that she jumped when she heard a voice behind her- "How ya doin', pipsqueak?"

She spun around, but lit up when she saw who it was. "Dad!"

"And Pops made it through alive, too!" Yang grinned. "Should have guessed, an army was no match for Qrow and the old man!"

"That is... rather impressive," Weiss admitted, somewhat grudgingly.

Taiyang Xiao Long wasn't her blood father, but as he'd raised her since her actual parents' deaths before she was old enough to remember them, he'd indisputably taken the mantle in her mind.

Ruby's smile flagged. "Wait... he's not my real dad?"

"You treat each other as if he was," Vanessa supplied. "But no, not by blood. I'm guessing you're gonna ask, so ahead of time, Yang is his blood daughter- much like him, Yang is your sister in bond, not blood."

"That is... weird to think about," Yang raised her eyebrows. "But still, they're definitely acting like sisters!"

"I guess... that's all that matters, yeah!" Ruby smiled, reassured. "Family doesn't end in blood, after all!"

"When did you get back?" Ruby asked eagerly.

"Just an hour or so ago," Tai grinned as he looked through the papers his adopted daughter had left strewn over the lab. "Thought I'd stop in and check on my dear daughters, figured I'd find 'em in Military- one in her lab, the other getting read the riot act by the Witch."

"That's... heheh, my fault," Ruby admitted. "She had to come out and save me from... from a caterpile."

Tai shook his head and chuckled. "You and caterpilars... well, how's your research into Crescent Rose going? Any closer to figuring out how to replicate it?"

"That does make sense," Weiss nodded. "If it's the one weapon capable of standing against mechon, it only makes sense to try and replicate it."

"And who better to do that than Remnant's best weapon nerd?!" Nora grinned, moving to give Ruby a noogie- she was blocked by Yang, who delivered a glare.

"You want me to try flirting with Ren again?"

"Progress is slow," Ruby admitted. "But... I'm starting to think she's much more important than just a weapon for fighting mechon."

"You don't say?" Tai quirked a brow in interest. "Well, I know you're not the type to say things like that for no reason- what makes you think so?"

"It's this centerpiece," Ruby explained, her finger hovering lightly over a glass circle placed in the rough center of the weapon, between blade and handle. "The symbol that appears when its activated- it's ancient script for 'machine.' This centerpiece is made of multilayered glass- each layer is different, and the 'machine' symbol only appears on the top. I think... if we could figure out how to activate those other layers..."

"We'd activate even more power," Tai nodded, catching on. "'Course, getting the damn thing to cooperate is a challenge in itself- for everyone except Qrow."

Ruby winced, taken back to that unpleasant day one year ago, when her dear Uncle Qrow was carted back into the colony on a stretcher.

Ruby, Yang, and their friend Jaune had all been there, waiting on tenterhooks to see which soldiers would be returning. Out had come Qrow, barely conscious, his right arm thin, burned, mutilated- but he was alive.

"I repeat... if that's what it does to its chosen ones, what does it do to people it doesn't like?" Blake said ominously.

"Qrow! Qrow!" Jaune pleaded, rushing to the bedside of the only parental figure he'd ever known. "Are you...?"

"Only... parental figure..." Jaune asked.

"Parents killed by mechon," Vanessa answered briefly. "A very common story among the homs of this world."

"They haven't got me yet," Qrow had assured him with half a smirk before turning his attention to Ruby. "R...Ruby... c'mere..."

Ruby had obediently come to his side- he had whispered something in her ear that had her looking at the vehicle carrying Crescent Rose in a new light:

"I... I'm not the one who won that battle... it was Crescent Rose... it was... controlling me... but still, it... it saved us. Saved us... all."

"Despite all it did... it's also the only reason they have a chance," Pyrrha realized.

"A complicated relationship indeed," Ren mused.

Tai seemed to know exactly what was going through her mind- he raised his arms and sighed. "Rubes, you've really got to get out of the lab sometimes- get some fresh air, see the sun! You're starting to look pasty."

Ruby glanced momentarily at the scrap she'd collected earlier, but sighed. "I guess... that sounds good about now..."

She placed the scrap on a desk separate from Crescent Rose's, and followed her father in all but blood back up the steps. The camera remained behind, lingering on the great crimson blade that had won the homs their freedom from the encroaching mechon.

XXXX

A little on the shorter side even still, but I think we'll go ahead and keep it going next episode. So far, only one person has voted on the poll- should things remain unchanged, once we've gotten Xenoblade 1 thoroughly reintroduced, we'll be going back to The Voyage Home/ Xenosaga. I'm okay with that. If you have your own opinion, go ahead and cast your vote, and while you're at it, feel free to drop a review- feedback keeps me going! Until next time, don't you dare go hollow- Gamer4 out.