Indol

On the ship, Blake got a little curious about what Gyro and Pierce were talking about, so she went to find Nia and ask her about it.

"Why do you want to know?" Nia asked with her arms crossed.

"…I guess I'm just…curious," Blake admitted.

"…You know they say that curiosity killed the cat," Nia said with a small grin, earning a small laugh out of Blake.

"But satisfaction brought it back," Blake countered easily.

"Fine," Nia said in mock defeat before taking a more serious expression," Several weeks ago, before we ended up on Remnant, when Rex, Tora and I were in Mor Ardain, we got attacked by bandits that called themselves Core Crystal Hunters. As you can guess they hunted Core Crystals by stealing shipments and killing Drivers."

Blake's eyes widened significantly at hearing that, "Were you guys hurt?"

Nia rolled her eyes, "None of us were hurt…badly." The way Nia sounded thoughtful didn't inspire confidence from Blake. "Anyway, we contacted Mòrag about this and we agreed to set up an ambush by letting out a rumor about a Core Crystal shipment. We had two teams which consisted of us, Mòrag, and a mixture of Ardainians and Garfont Mercenaries."

"Wait, how did you convince them to help?" Blake interrupted.

"I was getting to that," Nia said in annoyance, "Now, The Core Crystal Hunters had been a slight problem for Garfont too so they were more than happy to help. Well, the ambush was a failure, because apparently, they had dealt with something like this before. Although later on, Mòrag found out that they had an informant inside the military. Anyway, they had a second team taking out our ambush team and came in to deal with us. Except they underestimated us." Nia had a smug smirk at the last part before frowning, "Then the idiot twins showed up. Turned out that their big brother Azure was killed by them when he tried a similar ploy. The morons weren't even Drivers so they couldn't beat them, Pierce would've actually died if the ambush team hadn't killed Praxis' Driver."

"Wait what?!" Blake said in surprise.

"Oh, right. The ones ambushing us were the leader of Core Crystal Hunters, Waldemar who was Theory's Driver at the time, while another of their Drivers was Praxis'. They had the brilliant idea of keeping Praxis' Driver away from us so that we couldn't beat Praxis at the very least, but their plan backfired because Praxis' Driver was fighting our ambush team and was killed. With that, Waldemar and Theory retreated."

Blake was astonished to hear that. To think that Praxis was previously bonded to a criminal…Then again, so was Perceval. "What happened then? How did Theory end up with Gyro? Or Praxis with Pierce?" Blake then asked.

"Well when we picked up Praxis' Core, Mòrag said that unless we wanted to resonate with her, she would be under Ardainian Military's custody. We thought that would be the end of it when we continued our journey," Nia finished with a shrug, "It was around that time that Mòrag decided to join us, by the way. But back to the story."

At another cabin, Ruby had asked the same question from Rex that Blake had from Nia. And the salvager had just reached the same part. "We didn't hear about Praxis until we reached Indol. There we met Pierce and Gyro again, and Pierce had become Praxis' Driver." Rex explained.

"Quite a twist of fate if you ask me," Azurda added in with a chuckle.

"Anyway, we heard that shortly after Pierce had awakened Praxis, the two had started getting strange letters, telling them to go to different places. And their next stop was at Temperantia," Rex explained, "At the location before Temperantia was where they found out it was Theory. Apparently, she was trying to jog Praxis' memory of their time together."

"Pierce and Gyro were apparently forced to tell Praxis about her being part of the Core Crystal Hunters," Pyra then took over with a slightly sad look before smiling, "To our relief, Praxis was horrified to hear that she was a bandit once."

"That's great," Ruby said feeling happy that Praxis was different.

But Yang, who was also listening frowned for some reason. Weiss and Dahlia were also in the room listening and the white-haired Driver couldn't imagine how Praxis must have felt.

"Anyway, we decided to go with the twins to Temperantia and we faced Waldemar and Theory again," Rex said before frowning, "Towards the end of the fight, Waldemar boasted that he could defeat Mòrag because he killed coroner Azure, who we learned was the older brother of the twins. This caused the two to fight harder, almost getting themselves killed again."

Then Pyra took over again, "But when we were winning, Theory begged Praxis not to fight. But Praxis said she would never want to be a bandit's Blade, so Waldemar ordered Theory to destroy Praxis." As Ruby, Weiss and Yang had worried looks, Pyra revealed the next part.

Back with Blake and Nia, the Gormotti was about to wrap up the story, "But Theory refused and killed Waldemar instead."

Now Blake was having a slight flashback of when Perceval killed Adam, except in his place was Theory killing her own Driver.

"The worst part was," Nia then said, snapping Blake out of her mental image, "As Theory was reverting, Praxis promised that she would do everything in her power to ensure that their bond wouldn't disappear."

"And that's why Gyro has Theory," Blake said, being a little shaken by this.

"We didn't think Gyro would be the one to awaken Theory, but I guess that's fine," Nia shrugged, "Those Blades acted like sisters, so I guess it's fitting that the brothers have each of them."

"That's…incredible," Blake asked now having a lot to think about. If Praxis and Theory weren't anything like their previous Drivers, then why would Perceval be? Especially when he turned on Adam of his own choice. Still…Blake wasn't sure if she wanted to have anything of Adam back. Then again, she could have given up Perceval's Core Crystal to her parents or even Ilia, but had kept it instead.

"Something up, Blake?" Nia then asked as Blake was looking absentminded.

"What? Oh, nothing," Blake said quickly before getting up from the chair she had sat on and walking out of the cabin. Leaving a confused Nia behind.

Back with Yang, she had some other things to think about. Namely if she could truly control Dragunov's power. And then it hit her, back when Dragunov said he wanted a strong Driver to unlock his power. "Was this what he meant?" Yang thought.

Then the gang felt a shift in the ship's movement, it felt like they were going up now.

"What the heck's going on?" Qrow asked, having spilled his drink he had in the ships small bar.

"We must be close now," Zeke said with a grin.

"Oh, is Indol's Titan large like Mor Ardain?" Oscar asked with a slightly eager look.

"Nope, it's just flying," Zeke said and moved out of the bar area to a set of stairs that would lead back to upper deck.

"…Flying?" Qrow said aloud as he decided to not even try to clean up his mess and moved to see what kind of Titan they were docking to this time.

To everyone's surprise, Indol looked like a giant bird, or a dragon. Similar to the Titan that fought against the dragon Grimm, only much bigger. Evidenced by the city on its back that continued on each of its shoulders.

And the docks were, of course, at its left shoulder. As soon as the ship landed, and the gang got out, they had several Indoline warrior monks waiting for them.

"Driver of the Aegis." One of the monks said to Rex, "The Praetor has been expecting you."

"He has?" Rex asked in surprise, a surprise shared by everyone else.

"Yes, and he requests an audience with you and your new companions." The warrior monk said as he eyed the rest of the Aegis team and the Remnans.

"Excuse me, but how does the Praetor know about us?" Weiss asked with a skeptical look.

"Please follow me," The warrior monk said without answering Weiss.

"Well, guess we can ask that from the Praetor himself," Zeke shrugged and the gang moved on. Although Ozpin and Qrow were already suspicious of the Praetor. Qrow because apparently the man knew about them. Ozpin, because of Mythra comparing him to the Praetor.

As the gang walked past the pristinely white city, they took in the Indoline that live here. Blue skinned people with pointy ears, it was so…odd for many of them. But for the Alrestians, this was normal. Then as they were walking up large set of stairs and over a walkway, Blake noticed something down below.

"What are those tents?" Blake asked as she pointed down below where there were multiple tents set up. And from what she could tell the people down there were Gormotti.

"That's the refugee camp," Zeke explained, "People who escaped the war between Mor Ardain and Gormott about 10 years ago."

"10 years?" Jaune sounded out in surprise, "Why haven't they returned to Gormott?"

"Because they think that they don't have a place there," Zeke explained.

"The Empire has sent several envoys to tell these refugees that they can return home, but each time they were driven away," Mòrag also explained, "And as you can guess, none of them wish to live in Mor Ardain."

Ruby looked a little sad to hear about these people before brightening up, "Hey, is there anything we can do to help them?"

"None that I can think of," Zeke replied, "The Praetorium is providing the people with basic necessities so they can live. And occasionally some people throw gold from this very bridge down to them. And I would especially recommend none of you to go down there with your Blades."

"What? Why?" Nora asked.

"Because these people hate Blades, thinking they are the cause of all wars," Pandoria replied instead.

"That's stupid," Qrow piped up with a big frown, "Wars have been happening in Remnant and we didn't have Blades. It's not like taking them away here would end all wars."

"I know it and you know it, but there are too many who just don't want to accept that," Zeke said as he looked down to the people that still had those huge signs that said, "No more Blades. No more war.".

"It's…awful," Blake couldn't help saying as she looked to Nox.

"And stupid," Nora muttered as she kneeled down to hug Electra.

"I know, right. Anyway, we should keep going," Zeke then said as the warrior monks looked a little impatient. As the gang reached the top of the stairs which put them now directly on the Indol Titan's back, they reached a large open plaza. "And here we have Seoris Plaza, where choirs are practiced, and outdoor school is held." As Zeke explained that, the gang indeed took note of a choir some ways away practicing. And there was a black board on another part with several children being taught, Gormotti, Urayan and Indolines.

"It's…beautiful," Blake couldn't help commenting on this place. Actually, all of Indol was very beautiful and grand.

"Yes, the architecture is very beautiful," Weiss agreed. None of them noticed Nia or Pyra frowning a little.

However, Talos leaned down to whisper something to Nia.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Keep that thing on," Nia replied quietly enough that the warrior monks couldn't hear, but the rest of the gang did.

"What do you mean, Nia?" Jaune asked the Gormotti who took a look at the warrior monks as they kept walking to see they weren't looking. Confirming that they weren't, Nia pointed a thumb at the red tabard on Talos that covered his bloodstained Core Crystal. Jaune's mouth made an O shape as he realized what she meant.

After passing through the Sanctum which had a large open grassfield with circling walkways, the gang had reached the Audience Chamber. A large circular room with a throne at the back. At the wall behind this throne was an artistic carving of what the Remnans assumed to be the World Tree.

But on the throne itself was Amalthus in his white robes.

"Is that guy Amalthus?" Nora was the first to ask, unfortunately the orangette was loud enough to be heard by the warrior monks.

"How dare you speak that way in the presence of the Praetor?!" The monks said angrily.

"Stand down," Amalthus commanded firmly.

"But your holiness-" "I am not so petty as to get angry at a child," Amalthus said with a pleasant smile, "Although minding her manners would be appreciated."

"My apologies, Praetor," Ren quickly apologized with a bow, "Nora has…limited knowledge on manners around people of authority."

Nora was about to speak up before feeling a lash to her butt, earning a pained yelp out of her. Turning to the culprit, Nora saw a stone faced Otohime retracting her right tendril to curve over her head once again.

"Please ignore her, your excellency," Otohime then spoke to the Praetor politely, "It would be best if this girl was completely forgotten."

For some reason, Nora felt more offended than was necessary. Still, she decided to keep her thoughts about Otohime bottled up while rubbing her abused rear.

"It is quite alright," Amalthus replied before turning his attention to Rex, "Rex, you cannot possibly imagine my relief to see you alive and well. When I heard that you disappeared into a Breach I was afraid that any force capable of opposing Malos would be lost. Tell me, how did you manage to return?"

"Well…It's a long story, but to answer how we got back…We don't know." Rex admitted, "But Pyra and Mythra believe that the Architect himself brought us back."

Amalthus quirked an eyebrow at this explanation, "That is quite a claim for the Architect to bring you back. Tell me, what evidence do you have to support this?"

"We don't have any," Pyra then took over, "But considering that as far as anyone knows the Breaches have only opened to take things from Alrest, but suddenly a new one opened and sent us back. I don't know if Father was truly responsible for our return, but right now that's the only explanation that makes sense."

Amalthus brought a hand to his bearded chin and seemed to ponder the answers. "…I suppose that is the only explanation for now. Now, onto other matters, could you introduce your new companions to me?"

"Well, sure, but…I'm not sure if-" "I am already aware that they come from beyond the Breaches." Amalthus interrupted Rex who was hesitant.

"With all due respect, Praetor, how would you know that," Roze asked with a hard look.

"Roze." Ruby hissed at her Blade.

"There is no need for that tone," Amalthus said with a small smile, "For you see, I have never seen people so…colorful. And while this could be a fashion from a town I have never visited, it would not explain how the Fire Storm of Torna, who disappeared at the final days of the Aegis war, found himself in your hands. Not to mention the lost Imperial Mother."

At this point Yang and Dragunov perked up alongside Ren and Otohime.

"So, you remember me," Dragunov said with a frown as he crossed his arms.

This caused Amalthus to quirk an eyebrow, "Correct me if I am mistaken, but the way you said that indicated that you know me?"

"I know of you," Dragunov replied easily, "I stumbled upon my previous Driver's journal in Remnant."

"Dragunov!" Yang said scolding her Blade revealing info so casually.

"Remnant?" Amalthus questioned, "Odd name. Is that the name of a town? A nation? A Titan?"

The Remnans all shared a look between each other before Ozpin gained control. "Remnant is the name of our world where the Breaches that have been opening here lead to." The headmaster in Oscar's body then explained.

Amalthus hummed at the answer before giving a firmer look, "Why is your world called such?"

This time it was Qrow who answered, "Because that's what many historians say we are, 'Remnants of a bygone era'."

"And what would this 'bygone era' be?" Amalthus asked with an intrigued look.

"Well…it would be easier to give a simple summary of our world since I believe there are quite a few things that would be…world shattering to you," Ozpin then spoke up.

"Is that so?" Amalthus said with an intrigued smile, "You have my attention."

With that, Ozpin gave a simplified summary of Remnant, leaving out the parts that aren't common knowledge. Such as the Relics, Maidens and the current affairs with the Kingdoms. But when the topic of the breaches came, the headmaster was unable to come up with a good cover story on the spot, so he revealed the part about the time difference between the openings of the Breaches. Though he did leave the fact that they suspect Salem being the one opening them.

As expected, Amalthus did ask the big questions, such as Remnant not having Titans or Blades before the Breaches. The lack of Ether and how the Blades had sustained themselves through eating Dust.

"…It is…quite astonishing to hear about a world so different from ours," Amalthus said.

"And we get to experience a world so different from ours," Ruby said with a bright smile, earning a small chuckle out of Amalthus.

"Tell me, what did you all plan to do now?" Amalthus then asked, "Now that you are so far from home, do you plan to find new lives somewhere in this world?"

It was Zeke who decided to answer for the Remnans, "We still plan to get to the World Tree and Elysium. If the Architect was really responsible for this, he might be able to send everyone back."

"Yeah, but…we're not exactly in a hurry to do that," Yang also added in, "I mean…so many new places. I wanna see them all."

"That may be the case, but as long as the threat of Malos looms over Alrest, I would recommend you deal with him first," Amalthus then said with a more serious look.

"Well, we still needed to go to Tantal to get this Omega Fetter anyway," Rex said with a smile.

"Excellent, in that case, I shall prepare you a ship to take you all there by tomorrow," Amalthus said with a small smile, "In the meantime, I'm sure you are weary of your travel so I will have rooms prepared for you until then. Of course, you are welcome to explore the city too."

"Thank you, your excellency," Mòrag thanked Amalthus, "Is that everything?"

"Almost." Amalthus said before turning back to Rex, "Rex, do you still have my letter to King Eulogimenos?"

"Yes, sir. I still have it," Rex said while patting his vest.

"Excellent, that will be all," Amalthus said, and with that the gang left.

"He seemed…nice enough," Nora said with a shrug once they were outside.

"He reminded me a little of my father on a good day," Weiss added her opinion to the mix, "I'm not sure if that's a good thing."

Then Dragunov stepped towards Rex and tapped Pyra's shoulder.

"Yes?" The red-haired Aegis said.

"Can I borrow Mythra for a moment," Dragunov asked the red-haired Aegis.

"Umm…Mythra doesn't want to talk to you," Pyra said with a frown.

"Please, this is important," Dragunov said lowering himself more to Pyra's level.

After about 2 seconds, Mythra was out with her permanent pout, "Okay, I'll bite. What is it?"

"Follow me, this is private," Dragunov said as he took a few steps away from the gang.

Mythra let out a sigh, before turning to Rex, "I'll be back, Rex." And then she followed the draconic Blade.

"Wonder what those two have to talk about," Blake said as she gave Yang a meaningful look.

"Who knows." Yang shrugged before remembering something, "Wait, I think Thauron's journal mentioned him meeting a Quastor named Amalthus. Maybe it was the same guy."

"The time would match," Zeke supplied helpfully, "Considering that Amalthus is Malos' Driver. So, what did Thauron think of him?"

"A creepy guy who does weird stuff to kids on his spare time," Yang replied bluntly, earning several blanched looks.

"Yang! Don't say weird stuff like that." Ruby scolded her sister.

"You're making that up," Zeke said with a disturbed look and just a little heated tone.

"I wish I was, but so far I think he was overreacting a little," Yang said with a small shrug and smile.

"…Lady Mòrag." Brighid then said.

"Yes, Brighid?"

"Is it wrong that I can't decide if I want to get angry or laugh at this absurdity?" Brighid asked, sounding completely serious.

"…I'm not sure I'm qualified to answer that." Mòrag replied with a sigh.

"Hey, we should do some sightseeing." Nora said with a grin, "I wanna try local foods."

This perked Ruby up, "Yes!"

"Sorry to disappoint you guys, but there isn't much to do here," Nia said with a small shrug, "Besides, we're not tourists."

"Yes, we are!" Ruby and Nora passionately corrected, causing Nia to sigh.

But then Weiss noticed a little something, "Hey, Aizen! Where are you going?!" The nobleman Blade had walked off on them in what looked like great hurry.

"What is he up to this time?" Otohime said in a tired tone.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Dahlia shrugged.

"Why would you say that?" Weiss asked her Blade.

"I just can't think of what he would be doing alone that might be harmful to us around here," Dahlia said with her usual warm smile.

Unfortunately, Weiss wasn't buying it, "Dahlia…you know something don't you?"

As Dahlia was being grilled, Aizen had found what he was looking for. A stall with different textiles in display. It was being ran by a female Indoline with brown hair.

"Welcome to Silktu Tekstiles, is there something I can assist you with?" The shopkeep asked pleasantly.

"Greetings, I have heard that you take commissions on detailed enough clothing. Is this true?" Aizen said with a small smile.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, though I must ask, why would a Blade need new clothes?" the Indoline woman asked with a curious look.

"Not me, my Driver," Aizen replied with a smile before taking out his notebook and opening it from a particular page, "Do you think you can make clothes like these?"

The woman took a look at the notebook's page before reaching her hand to it, "May I?"

"Of course," Aizen said as he placed his notebook on the woman's hand. Then he watched as the woman started going through the notes.

"Hmm..,Mhh-hmmm…Yes, this is doable," the woman finally said, "I can have this made in two days."

Aizen frowned at this, "I need it today."

"Something like this isn't made that quickly," the woman said with a frown.

Now Aizen looked disappointed, "So it's impossible?"

"Yes…unless…Well if I asked for a few extra hands I just might be able to do this by this evening." the woman said thoughtfully.

"And the catch is?" Aizen said as he crossed his arms behind his back.

"It will cost more," the woman said simply.

"How much are we talking about," Aizen then asked, wondering if his little plan would go to waste.

"I would estimate somewhere between two to three thousand gold," the shopkeeper replied, expecting the man to be more disappointed.

Only to be surprised when Aizen visibly brightened up, "I can afford that."

"Then I will get to work, do you mind if I keep the notebook?" the woman then asked, "I will need these notes."

"I would rather you did not, but one moment," Aizen said before taking the notebook back and ripped the pages with the required notes. He anticipated something like this so he made the final notes to the last pages so that it wouldn't be too great of a loss for him. "I believe this would suffice," Aizen said as he handed the removed pages to the woman.

"Very much so. You can expect this to be ready by this evening at latest, although I cannot guarantee that it will be exactly as you wished," the woman said.

"As long as they serve their purpose, I suppose I can compromise," Aizen said with a pleasant smile.

"Good, then I will get to it," the woman said before closing the shop, placing a notice that said she would be back and then ran off.

With his job done, Aizen decided to feel out his Resonance. Weiss was getting closer, but he didn't feel like being interrogated right now on why he left so suddenly, so he moved down the steps to find something to do until his order would be ready. Though a part of him hoped that Dahlia is able to cover his tracks until the end.

As Aizen evaded Weiss, Blake decided to go and check on the refugees. Of course, she had to leave Nox behind, despite his literal vocal protests.

She saw that despite the refugees looking healthy, none of them seemed too happy. She even saw small children here, if these people indeed fled 10 years ago, then these kids were born here, into these conditions. It was awful, but Blake noticed a small line in front of what looked like a small soup kitchen. People must be going to get something to eat now. At least that was being taken care of.

"Are you waiting for the line, miss." Asked a small voice from next to Blake. The feline Faunus turned to see a small gormotti boy looking at her curiously with a soup bowl in hand.

"Oh no, I'm not from here," Blake said with a small smile, as the boy looked at Blake's feet.

"Why are you wearing shoes?" the boy asked innocently.

A question that caugh Blake off-guard a little, but then she started taking note that none of the Gormotti here wear shoes. But she also noticed that some of them looked to have slightly paw-like feet. Then Blake remembered something Nia once said.

"Blake, I don't know if this ever becomes relevant, but not all Gormotti wear shoes. Some like to feel the rough soil under their feet, while others like me don't."

That was one of the small lessons that Nia gave in order for Blake to better pass as a Gormotti. So with that, Blake gave her answer.

"I just don't like walking barefooted." Blake replied with a small smile.

"…Why not?" the Gormotti child asked with a curious look.

"Because my feet don't like the ground." Blake said, now giving a child-like answer.

"Oh. Okay," the little boy said before speedwalking to the back of the line.

Blake couldn't help smiling. It seemed like things can be worse, but then again, she couldn't help wondering how bad it would be if Nox had come here.

"Get out of here, you warbringer!" Someone shouted from the way Blake came from.

"And the moment has passed." Blake sighed before going back to no doubt save Nox from being mobbed…Wait a minute! Nox knew how to stay out of sight, so who was being yelled at?

"What did you just call my sweetie!?"

And now Blake let out a weary sigh, "Nora. Of course it's Nora." As much as Blake knew that Nora's shenanigans come and go along the hammerer's whims, she was beginning to wonder if Otohime's scolding back in Uraya fell on deaf ears after all.

With the said orangette, she was hugging a teary-eyed Electra while glaring at a large Gormotti man who was glaring at the duo like they were pure evil.

"You better apologize or I will break your-" "Nora." Ren interrupted, coming between her and the Gormotti, "Let's just go. My apologies, we will leave now." With those words, Ren began herding Nora and Electra away. All the while the orangette was giving unusually weak protests.

"Hmpf. Filthy Ardainians," the Gormotti man said as he walked away. However, a Gormotti lady soon came beside him.

"Borig, they don't look like Ardainians," the Gormotti woman said as she looked after the retreating Drivers who were soon joined by a black haired Gormotti girl.

"What else could they be?" The Gormotti named Borig said with contempt as he continued.

With the three Drivers and their Blades, Otohime let out a weary sigh.

"Nora…why must you insist on seeking trouble?" Otohime sounded very annoyed, "Do you actually care for Ren's safety that-"

"Shut up!" Nora interrupted, "They just started calling Electra a monster, and all she wanted was to play with the kids."

"And, Zeke warned us about going there," Otohime added in, totally unimpressed, "And while I will not argue that what they said about Electra was vile, I do not condone your disregard for warnings."

"Otohime, that's enough," Ren finally said.

"Ren-" "Otohime…Please." Ren pleaded with a slightly sad look.

"…Very well." Otohime looked very reluctant but decided to hold her tongue further.

Ren understood something that Otohime didn't. It was that Nora felt bad for putting Electra into that sort of situation. And unfortunately, sometimes Nora just has to learn things the hard way.

As this happened, Blake shook her head at what happened. Especially when she barely heard the man calling the two filthy Ardainians. It sounded like the beginnings of Adam's White Fang, but hopefully that's just her paranoia talking.

"Should I go and kill that insolent man, my lady?" Was the text that suddenly appeared in front of Blake.

"No." Blake said in a dead-pan tone to Nox who was holding his scroll in front of her face.

More of the scroll was rolled out. "My lady, I promise to not leave-" "I said no," Blake said more firmly, not bothering to read the rest.

"As you command." was the final message before the scroll got out of her face.

Meanwhile, Ruby, Rex, Yang, Tora, Penny, and each of their Blades were trying local delicacies.

Tora had instantly found his favorite, the fabled Juicy Samods.

Yang had gone for a platter of Estral Steak. While Dragunov decided to go for a variety and took a Mixed Meat Platter, which true to its name contained multiple types of meat.

Finally, there's Ruby. She decided to try a bowl of Ruska Noodle Goulash. Roze took the same.

Rex had a hard time deciding, but upon Pyra's request, he went for Herbal Tartare Kascha, along with the red-haired Aegis. Wulfric opted for a Wrapped Glarna Bake. As for Roc, to his disappointment there was no seafood being sold here, so he decided not to eat.

Fortunately for the avian Blade, Penny, Poppi and Kos-Mos weren't eating either for obvious reasons.

"Hey Rex," Ruby then piped up in the middle of her eating, the gang had found outdoor tables where to sit on the stairs where each of the foods was sold. "Why do you let Blades eat too?"

Rex gave Ruby a weird look, "What do you mean? You guys are letting yours eat too."

"Yeah, "Yang piped up after swallowing a piece of the juicy steak, "But we just felt like we shouldn't deprive our Blades of the joys of eating. I thought you would scold us for wasting food."

"…Didn't you guys know that food affects a Blade's battle abilities?" Rex then asked, earning several sets of incredulous stares.

"What?!" Ruby almost screeched.

"How does that work?" Yang had to ask.

It was Roc who decided to answer, "Us eating food does give some minor perks to us, minor but efficiency-increasing. If the food is something we especially like, then the effects are greater than what it would be for a Blade that doesn't like it."

"…All this time…we have been neglecting our Blades so much," Ruby said, now feeling bad about all those times Roze offered not to eat and her accepting. And then she realized something, "Roze, did you know this?"

"Of course I did. It's common knowledge," Roze replied easily.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Ruby asked with an accusing look.

"…I thought you knew." Roze replied with a strange look, causing Ruby to plant her face on the table. Somehow she avoided her food.

"Dragunov?" Yang said with a look that said, "Don't tell me."

"It was obvious." Dragunov said simply.

"How the heck is that obvious?!" Yang asked not sure if she wanted to be annoyed or laugh. In the end, she chose to laugh at the whole thing while covering her face.

"…I suppose what is obvious to us is not so obvious to Remnans," Kos-Mos then said in monotone.

"Why don't you eat, Kos-Mos?" Penny then asked.

"I see no purpose in that, master." Kos-Mos replied in monotone.

"But you could?" Penny picked that up. Kos-Mos turned her head away, not answering. "Kos-Mos, can you eat?" Penny asked again with a sterner tone. The android Blade didn't answer again. "Kos-Mos, answer me!" Penny demanded.

"…Yes, I could, master." Kos-Mos then said reluctantly.

"Well why don't you?" Penny then asked.

"Master, I do not wish to discuss this topic," Kos-Mos then said in almost pleading monotone.

"Is it because Penny can't eat?" Poppi suddenly asked.

This earned everyone's attention. "What Poppi mean?" Tora asked, pausing in his inhaling of his food.

"Maybe Kos-Mos feel bad that she can do something that her Driver can't?" Poppi theorized, causing Kos-Mos to actually glare at the Artificial Blade.

"Is this true Kos-Mos?" Penny asked, now giving her Blade a slightly downcast look.

"…Yes." Kos-Mos replied, "Master has expressed small bouts of depression at inability to enjoy food like a biological Driver. Therefore, I have opted to give up consuming nutrients in favor of master not being sad."

"You gave up on ever eating for Penny?" Ruby mouthed out, before shifting her attention to Penny. "Penny, do you feel sad that you can't eat?"

"…Well you all seem to enjoy food, so I want to know what it's like," Penny admitted while pressing her index fingers together with an embarrassed look.

"Penny, I'm sorry I never realized," Ruby apologized, now feeling bad for not realizing this.

"Poppi can't eat or drink either," Poppi then said, raising her hand to gain everyone's attention.

"You can't?" Penny asked with a surprised look, "But…I saw you ordering a drink back in Uraya."

"Poppi able to smell," Tora then explained, "But Tora not able to figure out how to make a working tummy."

"Yes, Poppi can only enjoy the smell, but that okay," Poppi said with a smile, "While Poppi wishes for the day masterpon figures out the secret of artificial digestive system, Poppi is happy to even have a small joy like smelling what everyone else is smelling."

"Oh, Penny. Could Tora include a working nose?" Penny then asked eagerly.

"Wait? You can't smell either?" Yang then asked with a weirded-out look.

"Well, my nose does have scent receptors, but father said he was unable to perfect it," Penny said.

"Really? How so?" Tora said, sounding very interested.

"Well my databanks do have many scents that I can use to identify things, I can only perceive them as information," Penny said, "I feel no emotional stimulus from them."

"Hmm…" Tora hummed in thought, "Tora can fix that."

"You could?" Penny asked, now bouncing in place.

"You can?" Ruby also asked with a hopeful look.

"Yes, Tora make Poppi a working nose after all," Tora said, his voice oozing with pride, "Tora can finish what Penny's father started."

"Sensational!" Penny said before moving around the table to hug Tora.

"No! Tora not consent!" Tora cried out in panic before jumping off his chair and running under the table and from there, behind Poppi, "Poppi, protect Tora!"

"Roger that, Masterpon." Poppi said with a determined look as she smashed her fists together in preparation to fend off an overly affectionate Penny.

"Wow…It sounds like Tora is really trying to help Penny," Pyra said with a smile.

"…Hopefully, he will survive after doing that," Rex said, having a mental image of Tora being hugged to death by Penny.

"He might if he added some padding onto her," Dragunov commented with a grin.

"What do you mean?" Roze asked with a confused look which Ruby mirrored.

It took a few seconds before it clicked in Yang's head. "Oh, now that would be something." Yang said with a laugh at the mental image before she realized that Tora might give Penny more "padding" than the blonde Driver herself has. She still had bouts of insecurity with Pyra, Brighid, and especially Dahlia, she wasn't sure if she could take Penny having a bigger pair than her.

"Yang?" Ruby said unsurely as a dark cloud formed over her sister.

Dragunov rolled his eyes before giving his Driver a hard flick on the head. "Ow! What was that?!"

Dragunov leaned in to whisper something into his Driver's ear. Whatever it was it made Yang calm down.

"Oh? I guess that makes sense," Yang said in a slightly better mood.

"Ahh to be young," Azurda said as he enjoyed a cup of Indoline Tea.

"…What was Yang so worried about?" Rex asked in slight confusion.

"You may not always want to know with women," Roc said sagely.

"Do you know Mythra?" Pyra asked quietly.

"I'm not sure I want to know." Mythra said with a mildly annoyed tone.

It didn't take long until Nora, Ren and Blake joined the gang and decided to have something to eat themselves. And this time, Penny wanted Kos-Mos to have something as an apology for her having to suffer all this time without eating. Despite the android Blade's claims to the contrary.

With the "adults" of the group. Qrow was looking from a viewpoint down into the refugee camp.

"…Things don't look good for those people, but I've seen worse," Qrow muttered at the sight of the refugees.

"Have there been wars in Remnant recently?" Mòrag asked with a raised with a quirked eyebrow.

"Unless you count the Great War, then no. I'm talking about survivors from villages that were attacked by Grimm," Qrow clarified. Survivors from villages attacked by Grimm were rare on their own, because they were attracted to negativity. So even if they hid the monsters would be drawn to them. But there were a few miraculous moments where someone survived. Although the survivors themselves wouldn't call it luck. Some found a new reason to live, others moved somewhere else, and some... chose to reunite with their dead loved ones.

"Those things didn't seem much different from the monsters we face here," Zeke piped up, "But I have to ask, where do those things come from?"

"They were supposedly created by God of Darkness, we told you that before," Qrow replied. Zeke and Mòrag had already been told about the Brothers.

"Yeah, but you said they left Remnant, so where are they coming from now," Pandoria then asked.

"Good question," Qrow muttered with a frown, "Although we saw a Wyvern that spawned new ones at Beacon."

"And you haven't found out how they…reproduce otherwise?" Brighid asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Believe me, there have been attempts, but the Grimm evaporate within seconds of their death so autopsy isn't possible. And live ones die in captivity, or worse, escape," Qrow replied with a frown, "Because the older they get, the smarter they become. And with that, more dangerous."

"Sounds like some monsters in Alrest," Mórag said in bemusement, "Similar to the Armraizing Jack that was gathering an army of bunnits." The Special Inquisitor resisted a laugh at the absurdity of the very concept. Still, those furry long ears with hands for tails are not to be underestimated, as Nora learned with her first encounter with one. Hopefully.

"Lady, don't say scary stuff like that," Qrow said, now picturing a giant Grimm acting like a general and commanding Grimm like Ironwood would.

"Fortunately, no such Grimm exists," Ozpin said, having joined them, "At least to my knowledge."

"Just out of curiosity," Qrow then said, "How does Core Crystal distribution work exactly, I mean you do have a system, right?"

"Yes, Indol supplies most of the Crystals for each of the nations," Mòrag explained, "But sometimes those shipments are hijacked, which is why less than savory people become Drivers. Other times, Drivers of a nation become killed and the Core Crystals are not recoverable."

"And that's not counting the black market," Zeke also added in with an angry look.

"Black Market?" Qrow asked, not liking Zeke's reaction to the word.

"Illegal Core Crystal vendors who accompany their 'wares' with the picture of the Blade that awakens from them. Especially Blades with pretty faces," Zeke then said with a deep frown.

"That sounds like…slavery," Qrow said with a very deep frown. And that's not even counting what some less than savory people would do with the pretty ones. This made Qrow look briefly to Kasandra who was with him, as usual. As much as he doesn't want to be a proper Driver, the thought of his self-proclaimed "Lucky Blade" being in the hands of such people did raise his ire.

"It is," Zeke said, "I wouldn't be surprised if Core Crystal Hunters were suppliers for those black markets."

"They were," Mòrag butted in, earning everyone's attention, "However, with the reports I had checked, the rest of the Core Crystal Hunters that weren't with Waldemar when he was killed became disorganized. And therefore, easy to apprehend."

"Guess that's one problem solved…for a time," Qrow said with a melancholic sigh, "Still…I can't help but feel that Blades are practically slaves."

"Jin said the same thing," Brighid piped up, earning a quirked eyebrow from Qrow and Ozpin. "When we last faced him he said some…strange things," the Jewel of Mor Ardain said with a deep frown.

"What kinds of things?" Ozpin asked with a curious look.

It was Mòrag who chose to answer, "He said that because of the way Blades are, they are slaves. And I cannot blame him for thinking that."

"Well, a Blade's life is bound to their Driver's life," Ozpin pointed out, "And not all Drivers are good people."

"Indeed," Mòrag said as he looked to his three Blades with a small smile, "But the ones that are, treat their Blades with the respect they deserve."

This made Qrow look to Kasandra again, before smiling and patting her head.

"What was that for?" Kasandra asked in confusion. Qrow never did something like that to her.

"For being you," Qrow replied with a chuckle, causing Kasandra to have a beaming smile.

Ozpin also smiled before frowning a little at something Oscar thought.

"I feel jealous." The farmboy said inside the head he shared with the former headmaster.

"Why is that?" Ozpin asked his current host.

"…Being a Driver seems so cool. I mean…yeah, it does have its problems but…it just seems so…fun." Oscar said with a downcast tone.

"Oscar, we've been over this, there's no-" "-telling what happens if we try, I get it." was the farmhand's frustrated reply, "It's just not fair."

"Some things aren't," Ozpin replied with a small sigh.

In his study, Amalthus was going over this new information he received in his head. A completely new world with only two species of humans. No titans, just land and a sea made of water instead of clouds. Amalthus wasn't sure what to make of this. "Before the Aegis War I might have wanted to visit," Amalthus said as a flash of memory came to his mind. "…I wonder if people like that exists in there too," Amalthus mused with a frown as he looked out the window to see a glimpse of the World Tree, "Why would you want them here? Or did you just want to bring the Aegis back so I can continue my work?"


AN: Here we go, the gang has now met Amalthus and are visiting Indol. Aizen's plan seems to involve clothing. Thauron had a very twisted image of Amalthus, not that he was entirely wrong given from the brief glimpses we had in the game. Blake went to take a look at the refugee camp, and Nora was the first to get the refugee's wrath upon her. Tora promised to at least give Penny a working sense of smell which nearly put him on another near-death experience. Finally, Qrow is showing some affection for Kasandra, and Amalthus has things to think about.

The latest episode... without spoiling anything that's gonna cause a few complications for me regarding Penny.