Roaming the forests near the heart of the Valley, Blake moved from tree to tree, hiding in the shadows to avoid both civilians and those of the military, carefully slipping behind all Atlesian bases, away from the jeeps and tanks, and over any hint of even a single low-ranking private. She moved fast, faster than the eyes could track. All a child's play in the end.

Moving nearer to the east of Vale, closing in on some large mountains, she was now far away from more civilized places. No eyes were upon her now that she slid down into hidden stones buried beneath thick bushes and ancient trees. Camouflaged behind some large boulders bordering the edge of some small caves, too narrow to enter, was this large horizontal container the size of an ordinary locker, about as large as half a car.

It was exactly as Watts had instructed.

Dusting off some of the dirt and debris covering the top, Blake came across a keypad. Sliding it open, she input in a secret combination, and within seconds the large container came to life, opening its hinges like a treasure chest. Inside, was that old relic she once held with great familiarity.

Adam's old original sword. Placed neatly back in its sheath.

Next to the blade was a small black orb that came to life, beeping with a blue light that emerged into a hologram – showing her Watts' face.

"I believe this belongs to you," said Watts. "Feel free to suggest any new modifications, I'd be happy to provide."

Immediately, Blake took the sword and sheath out of the chest and strapped it on her waist faster than Watts could react. Holding tightly onto the handle and feeling the strength of the steel, she finally felt all was right with the world once again, even for just a brief moment.

Looking down at the hologram, she nodded at Watts.

"Excellent," he said, "now please resume your mission. It is very important, and very dangerous as well. That's why I thought you should carry something to defend yourself."

"Professor Gardenia Silva, is it?" Blake asked, maintaining a stoic expression. "What makes her so dangerous?"

"She just is. She isn't flashy like the soldiers or the Huntsmen, but she can kill. So don't underestimate her."

Blake nodded her head. Watts continued:

"I've known for a long time that she was the one who developed those GOLD brats. You've met their leader, obviously. Ghost Vester. He is a… difficult one, to say the least."

"Yes, clearly."

"If she is capable of growing these Atlesian lapdogs from a lab, then that just begs the question of what else they might be brewing in secret."

Immediately understanding the implication, Blake said:

"You think she's responsible for the Superman."

"Well, it's hard to say. I can't be sure right now, not until I get more concrete evidence. Only five people on this planet know the truth, and she is not one of them. But maybe she knows something else. Maybe she can be the stepping stone to the truth. The story of the Superman is something that does not want to be found, at least not in our world. It will try everything in its power to stay hidden. But we will find it – we must."

Interrupting their conversation, Blake's scroll lit up from her pocket, alerting her of a new development with a loud beeping sound. Taking it out to see, her eyes lit up in pure shock the moment she skimmed the headlines on the news, popping up all over social media nonstop.

"Professor," she said, "please check your scroll."

Nodding his head, he complied, taking out his scroll to now see what it was Blake was referring to, joining her in a moment of outrageous confusion. This ludicrous title printed in massive bold fonts read:

BREAKING NEWS: MENAGERIE LIFTED INTO THE SKY.

"We are gathered here today at the Council of New Eden, christened as the new Kingdomic name rising from the old branding of Menagerie, the fifth Kingdom, here to discuss various congressional and theological issues of import now that we are in the presence of the one of prophecy, Adamantine, son of Belladonna. May the Spirit of the LORD be with us this day so that we may find righteousness on our new path laid out before us, amen."

"First order of business, a short preface on the various issues that need sound theological agreement upon. Going through them one by one, please allow me. Ahem: the unification of all Faunus kind and churches not only those on New Eden itself, but those from the other four Kingdoms. The treatment of foreign humankind of all the four Kingdoms. Reformed doctrines to now surface and be taught against Seasonic idolatry of the four Kingdoms. Righteous resistance against the forces of the Empire of Atlas in addition to old laws from the Kingdom of the Valean Valley. The mobilization of local militias in accordance with our natural LORD-given rights. A review of the prophecy detailed in the Holy Book of Dawn, the Books of Law, and the Oniyurian Scrolls. A revision or a reform or a complete overhaul of the constitution to christen the birth of this new country."

"Thank you, brother Fennec. There are many other issues to discuss as well, but for now, this should be plenty to spread over a couple of weeks. Speed, of course, is of the essence with the pressure of the war between the Kingdom of Atlas and those of the West who are siding with the God King. Our New Eden is currently not the target for the overwhelming might of the Empire, but we ought to be ready when they come bearing arms to persecute this country, the Auric disciples, for our acts of treason and rebellion."

"One quick matter that needs clarification. Now that this continent, this country has been named anew, alongside the fact that the land itself is very clearly outside the jurisdiction of the Atlesian Naval influences, is this Council then in agreement that this act of rebellion is indeed a declaration of independence?"

Here, Adamantine said:

"My blood boils the same as the blood of all my brothers and sisters gathered here today. It is very clear that this agreement had already been a prerequisite for all who are a witness here before we even prepared for this Council. All who are opposed to the declaration of independence, please – speak up now, this is your chance."

Silence.

"Let us move on."

Hovering out in space, with the godly Aura protecting her, Weiss hovered in the dark cold air far above the stratosphere. And in her hand, she held her scroll, now looking at another one of Ironwood's recordings.

This one was not really a lesson or a story of any kind. Instead, it was merely a moment in the past. Another training session between the two, one that peculiarly her father Pietro had no memory of recording. He wasn't even present in the footage. Which could only mean that Ironwood himself went ahead and made some private recordings on his own, without Pietro's knowledge, which was baffling to both him and Weiss alike.

This video told of a session that was over a decade ago. She recognized this memory, but what was difficult to understand was the purpose of including this among the recordings. Here, Weiss was young, still growing, sitting in front of an exhausted Ironwood in a grey tank top with white military pants and black boots.

She herself wore a similar attire to him, with the General sweating buckets while Weiss' breathing still remained stable. She couldn't for the life of her remember the last time she actually felt tired. The healing in her body was always lightning quick, getting her back to full strength in no time, and this was back when she was much younger, back when she was still growing stronger, with seemingly no end in sight.

Now, the growth still remained in her, but it had been quiet in recent years. Creeping in inches, because nothing on this planet was a challenge.

General Ironwood foresaw this, for he was a clever man. The strongest of the military.

"One day," he said, "your strength will be unstoppable. When that day comes, you will have to be ready."

"Sir?" Weiss looked up, handing him a bottle of water.

"People will fear you, soldier. And they will try everything they can to take you down. There's a lot of behind-the-scenes politics going on, it's all very… difficult to understand. But you will have to learn these lessons."

"But sir, with the power of the Empire, we can conquer all of them. Their politics will mean nothing."

"I'm not talking about those foreign nations, Weiss. I'm talking about those from within."

"I… I don't understand."

"There are good people here, people who believe in the same things we do. But not everyone is like that. So you will have to be prepared. Ready for the fact that even with the strength to move mountains, there will be things that cannot be fought with brute force alone."

Sitting in silence, not knowing what else to say, she simply nodded her head. Ironwood continued:

"Our responsibilities are great. My responsibility as a General, a Council member. Atlas' responsibility to the world to rule and protect. And soon, your responsibility will be the heaviest burden of them all. I hope you can handle it, Weiss."

To that, she simply replied:

"Anything – for Atlas."

And there, a smile slowly crept up on his face, and he too nodded his head.

"Let's finish up here, soldier. You can take the rest of the day off. I have a Council meeting after this. Say hello to your family for me. And remember to go to church."

"Sir… I have a question. Permission to speak, General?"

"Yes, go on."

"Why do you spend so much time… for me?"

Upon hearing this, his expression tried to remain in that stoic position, but in the end, he could not help himself but smile ever so faintly, so subtle that perhaps only Weiss' superpowered vision could've picked it up from where she was sitting.

He said:

"Atlesians must always care for their own. Go on, now. Get some rest."

It only took a matter of a few seconds for the Atlesian soldiers to set up a long mechanical fence around the Kaisar camp, pushing them further into the center of the Forever Falls. Thick metal walls now surrounded them, with various beeping lights, which many assumed to be some kind of surveillance system. The people were not entirely sure.

What they were sure about, however, was the fact that if they were to attempt to climb over these walls, they would surely be electrocuted by the vicious energy field that coated all over from top to bottom, leaving no space to even grab onto, much less escape to the other side.

The soldiers continued to flood the forest by the thousands, parking numerous airships all over the place in all four directions. With many of the Skyknights still circling the sky for a more thorough inspection.

The turmoil made the very air hard to breathe, on top of the heavy pungent smell of oil and Dust, with the people being crowded in and pushed back by men with rifles and shields. The tribe's elders and leaders were still allowed a chance at conversation with some of the higher-ranking officers near the entrance of the encampment. And everybody's focus was anxiously placed on that negotiation, which none of the ordinary tribesmen could really get the full picture of on account of this booming deafening commotion, people pushing one another back and forth, shouting, demanding answers, while still being hemmed in by the brute force of the military.

Standing with the tribe's elders was Jaune himself, trying to make himself known of his status as part of the Empire.

"I'm telling you, I have orders from the Chancellor herself. These people came here all the way from the western front. They need a place to stay."

"I can't just take your word for it, pal," said one of the officers. "I'll have to verify this order with my superiors. In the meantime, you and the nomads are to remain here under supervision, and that's final."

"Can we at least know why we are being kept here like this?" Jaune asked.

"For security purposes. Riots are breaking out in the inner cities, and there have been numerous reports of foreign Huntsmen and spies attempting to infiltrate Atlesian lands now that we are at war."

"I assure you," said one of the elders, "we would never pose a threat to our own country."

"Step back!" The officer shouted. "I'm warning you!"

"Please sir," the elder raised his hand, "we've been nothing but a great boon to this land. Our families have been harvesting from Mt. Glenn for generations. It's been a great profit to many peoples far and wide."

"Listen," said Jaune, "why don't you just go ask the Chancellor herself about everything I told you? She will vouch for me. I swear, I am not deserting my rank or hiding from the draft. I was specifically told to be here. And these people need help, they need the Empire's help, right? You've read the news, you know how these people were forced to relocate. So that's all I'm here for."

"Very well, if what you said is true then we will assist your tribe to a proper secure refugee facility. But I swear if I find even one spy among you people, just one Vacuan, or one Valean rebel, or worse, a damn pirate, I'm sending you all to reeducation! You got that?"

Jaune and the tribesmen looked at each other, all with a concerned look in their eyes. But here they were, not wanting to escalate the situation, they all nodded their heads and agreed to the terms and watchful eyes of the Empire.

"Good," said the officer, "go back to your camp now. Get some rest."

Here is something strange.

In a place far away…

"Well, we did it."

"If we don't get extra credits for that, I'm going to be extremely disappointed."

"Weiss, a two-headed snake literally crushed a bakery. I wouldn't count on it."

"Plus… we didn't solve everything. A lot of people were hurt and there's still tons of work to be done. We still don't know why they did this."

"We might not have all the answers, but we do have a lot of dangerous people behind bars. And I think that's something we can be proud of."

"Okay, yeah. And if anyone tries something like this again, we'll be there to stop them."

"Yay, teamwork, camaraderie, good job guys… phew, so – what now?"

"I'd suggest training for the tournament, but… I think we have that covered at this point."

"So then…"

"Time for bed?"

"Yes, please."

"Absolutely… wait, guys, what is that?"

"What?"

"It… it's gone! It was there just a second ago."

"Did that… come from our dorm room?"

Located at the top of the girls' dorm, next to several other living quarters, that room was on the top floor of this building that seemingly had strange vapors coming out of the top corner, almost looking as if it came from within team RWBY's bedroom right below that.

Far above this building, the clouds looked almost entirely dissipated, towering straight into the stratosphere far above. Nobody heard a sound, nor did they even panic, which could only mean that everybody else except the four girls here did not even notice this strange phenomenon. And still, Blake, being the first to see this, was terrified of the overwhelming power that could split the clouds so high into the deep depths of space.

Rushing through the hallways, and skipping up the stairs, they arrived at the scene of the incident in what seemed like just a mere few seconds. It was definitely hard to tell with the rushing adrenaline.

But now standing in this room wrecked by an unseen force that crashed the wall and the window on the other side, disassembling their beds, flipping over the tables, the books, and leaving burnt marks on the carpet, the four girls were absolutely baffled by the fact that nobody seemed to have noticed this quiet destruction. A brief glance across the other rooms down the hall also confirmed this, as every single one of them appeared to be untouched. Not even a hint of a scratch.

"Welp," Yang scratched her head, "so much for nap time."

"What happened?" Weiss cried. "Did the White Fang attack us again?"

"Can't be," Blake commented. "A lot of them didn't make it out of those tunnels. Many more are arrested."

Hopping over the destruction and taking a closer look over the window, Ruby glanced into the open space and out into the wide forest bordering this dormitory building. So green and luscious, and thus nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Which was what Ruby also thought at first, until her eyes spotted far in the distance, hiding in the shadows of the bushes, a fluttering red shade that disappeared just as quickly as it appeared.

The pieces of the crimson seemed awfully familiar to her, and she could not really tell why. But now with this curiosity, she simply could not resist.

"Guys, there's something over there," Ruby cried. "Come on!"

"Ruby!"

Before any of them could stop her, she had already dashed out of the open hole in the wall, leaving behind long trails of red petals fluttering like butterflies splashing all over the others' faces.

"Well, I guess we should review our landing strategy," said Blake, before leaping out of the window after Ruby.

Yang shrugged, gearing up her gauntlets once more and jumped outside, grinning widely even when she was absolutely exhausted.

And Weiss, now left with no choice, shook her head and followed the rest of her team, unsheathing her blade, then proceeded to descend outside while dancing gracefully on her white glyphs.

Out in the forest, the shadows of the trees grew thicker as the sun began to set. And yet the animals seemed to have retreated for reasons that none of the four girls could really understand. There was no sign of any Grimm nearby, the Huntsmen and other students at the school had already cleared this place out long ago.

Some stray monsters would eventually make it back to these grounds, but nothing too big or dangerous. So normal animals had always been able to flourish here in these grassy lands right behind the school. But here, they all leaped off into the distance, deer prancing away instinctively, and raccoons hurrying off into small holes hidden in the bushes. Even the birds were scattering off from the far branches, disturbed by some very peculiar rumbling vibrational energies.

At first, the girls thought that this was a sign of something much more dangerous than a mere low-level Grimm they were encountering, and that both the animals and the ordinary Grimm monsters were somehow smart enough to recognize that and immediately take flight.

But the further in they went into the depths of the forest, the more they saw the decaying flakes of Grimm floating in the distance. Pieces of their flesh disintegrated before their very eyes at a pace that they had never really seen before. Here, they realized the truth – in that the monsters did not flee the forest.

Instead, they were being slaughtered.

Leaping over branches and bushes, they began to notice more and more Grimm bodies popping up. After just a few short seconds, they arrived at the heart of this new commotion where they saw before their very eyes piles upon piles of Beowolves with their limbs and torsos completely hacked off into chunks, sliced in such an effortless manner it almost like they were cut by a precision laser cutter.

The amount of bodies piling up to make a small mountain was bizarre to the girls, but what shocked them to their very core was something they could not have foreseen even in their wildest dreams.

Standing on top of the black corpses was a figure clad in a curious gray, black, crimson suit of some kind. A design that was alien with a color scheme they instantly recognized. And when the young man turned his head to face them, showing off his short black hair and pale skin, the girls began rushing through a million questions in their minds, struggling and failing to find logical conclusions for all of them. Especially now that they realized this man was holding that gigantic red scythe.

There, the sweat crawled down over his shimmering silver eyes. Sparkling like jewels.

With him now puffing and inhaling intensely as if he had been holding his breath.

He said:

"Where… am I? Why am I here?"

He did not know what this place was called. But this was Universe 2.