LoamyCoffee: Hmm, that is a toughie. Especially since, with as much series as I've seen, I don't doubt there's a menagerie of them I've not heard or seen. But this is a good chapter, and I certainly can't blame other immortals for having a bone to pick with Ozma. I'd like to use that gun from Drive Angry on him, myself. Sorry, Canon's influences are strong.

Re: Since this story's a multi-crossover, but Immortals already exist in Remnant and Remnant itself is a big place, it only makes sense there's more than 2 Immortals beyond Salem & Ozma; at least in the Fanon. And yeah, it seemed like Ozma never had any oversight and he was just jerking everyone around by the chain, so I thought it interesting to paint a little "gray" onto his character.
Or at least a little more gray since the Fandom was in an "over/under" about whether he was really the Good Guy or not, based on some cryptic song lyrics.
As for the Godkiller from Drive Angry… Yeah, in RWBY, that'd probably be the only thing that could kill Ozma. As for Salem… It might kill her Soul, but her body might just be left empty; and typically, that is either a "fate worse than death" or a non-factor.
And of course, another way of killing an Immortal for good could be the Shun Goku Satsu (lit. "Instant Hell Murder") from Street Fighter. And UQ Holder, the sequel to Mahou Sensei Negima, is filled with Immortals, but depending on what kind of Immortality they have, they can still be killed; thus preventing any sort of "Infinite Power Fallacy" from occurring. OH! And it's possible the Rule Breaker from Fate/Stay Night could do the job too, depending…
Went on a bit of a tangent, there, but yeah, glad for the Review.

Blaze1992: . . . I don't know how to feel about this.
On one hand kinda furious that someone who nearly killed the MC is getting away scott-free, on the other this means Jack in the future will know Oz is not as kind as he appears to be.

Re: To be frank, while Jack acknowledged the strength that Ozpin was restraining so he could live in peace with everyday Humans, he never once trusted him with any level of absolute devotion. Jack working with/for Ozpin is purely motivated by "self-interest", not any sort of "patriotism", nor any particular "allegiance" to the Human species who subjugate the Faunus. And not to mention, since he was born on the Atlesian Frontier, but Atlas is still wildly racist, he isn't even all that much a patriot.
As for Alumon "getting away scott-free", I hardly think having his heart ripped out of his body, counts as such~

*NEW WORLD*

The evening after Jack had been admitted to the hospital, there was almost no end to the questions Ruby had about Weiss' new summoning technique once propriety had allowed for it. The young heiress on the other hand, drunkenly exhausted once all the adrenaline had finally left her, collapsed face-first into bed and was out like a light when her head hit the pillow.

Yang would've teased her relentlessly about her drunkenly stumbling into Jack's bed, unoccupied though it was, but Blake helped maintain propriety on that front as well.

The following morning was swift to come, slow for some, but come the morning did. Weiss, flushing bright red once she realized she'd spent the night prior breathing in Jack's musk from his sheets and pillow, would've played the whole thing off coolly were it not for the powerful blush of red on her face she couldn't get rid of.

Yang had thusly speculated that Weiss took a very cold shower, based on the lack of a steam cloud spilling out the cracked door, but Weiss denied the over/under about that, and went about her business like all was normal.

*NEW WORLD*

Aiming to have a bit of privacy, Weiss abstained from joining everyone for breakfast. Once she was sure she was alone, she pried open the false bottom in the regulation-sized desk drawer she'd installed her first day under everyone's notice, and withdrew an unassuming-looking manila envelope.

What Weiss had gone to such lengths to conceal, handled with the utmost care reserved for cultural artifacts, was a beautiful handkerchief the color of pristine snow woven of fine silk from Orient; hand-embroidered into the corner with a lovely sapphire-colored floss was the Schnee Family Crest, possessing an exquisite sheen only a master craftsman could provide. Nicholas had given it to her grandmother, who had passed it down to her own mother, who in turn gave it to Winter before she foreswore the family name and returned this heirloom. One of the last things Myra had done before her death was bequeath it to Weiss herself, hoping to uphold the tradition.

Weiss took a moment to soak in the nostalgia as she held one of the last objects her mother had touched. The scent of her mother's perfume had long-since evaporated, but the lingering aura of her presence for but a moment made Weiss harken back to better times. If anyone from Atlas were to learn what she was about to do with this handkerchief, there would be no end to the ensuing scandal.

However, after what she and Jack had gone through together, after his near-death had made her come to terms with her own feelings, and all the growing-up she'd done after getting out from under her father's thumb...

If it came down to it, she wouldn't mind making her father's PR guys work for their paycheck.

Or at least a little more than usual.

"You'd better take responsibility, Jack. I wouldn't give this to just anyone," the heiress said to herself, path set in stone.

*NEW WORLD*

It was a simple-enough matter to visit Jack's room once guests were allowed, though she'd enabled the Privacy settings on her School so Ruby couldn't chime in, just to be safe.

When she arrived at the "Jack Braxton Suite" however, she was shocked to see it was no longer occupied, returned to its inert state with only a single bed and standard medical equipment in place.

"Excuse me!" Weiss called out at the nearby orderly. "Do you know where my friend's gone? He isn't in his bed and I know he was there last evening."

"Oh, Mr. Braxton?" the orderly blinked. "He's gone on to a better place."

"Wh… What…?" she gasped, her eyes going wide as the color drained from her face.

*NEW WORLD*

Elsewhere in Beacon, while the Schnee heiress had fallen prey to a passably-common misunderstanding caused by the poor wording choice of a hospital orderly, Vincent Valentine was off responding to a summons courtesy of Beacon's master seamstress, Elisa Anderson.

"Ms. Anderson, you wanted to see me?" Vincent asked poking his head into the back office he'd been directed to.

"Please, call me Elisa," the woman smiled brightly. "Sit down, sit down, take a load off. I have a bit of a task for you, but first I'd like you to ask a couple questions."

"Okay, shoot," the RA replied.

" . . . How much do you trust Ozpin?" Elisa asked in a serious tone.

"Well, I mean… Just because I play 'The Fool' doesn't mean I am one, it just gives me more latitude than if everyone has my measure," Vincent admitted.

"Oh? That's… weirdly smart," the seamstress blinked.

"Yeah, well… Wok told me when I went out into the world, I should keep an ace or four up my sleeve, play it close to the vest. Ozpin's nice, he gave me this great job and I've made so many new friends since I came to Beacon, it's just… He's hiding something. I mean, I know a man in his position would have confidential stuff to keep to himself, but I just get this… vibe, off of him, that he's hiding more than people know he's hiding and it just…"

"Makes it hard to completely trust him?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Vincent shrugged. "So… this task you have for me?"

"Right, right," Elisa replied, drawing a large, covered picnic basket from behind her desk before setting it between them. "Long story short, I've been looking after another of Ozpin's 'strays'- no offense- and, well… she's a bit of a recluse. She's perfectly capable of looking after herself, and we do talk to each other, but…" she trailed off. "She… She's so alone up there, and after I learned a little more about you, I really feel like you'd be good for her. Someone who can… accept her, unconditionally."

"Well, I mean, sure, she's a bit of a weirdo if she stays inside all the time, but that doesn't make her a bad person."

"Her being a recluse isn't the issue, it's why she's a recluse; or at least the part of the 'why' that's outside her control," Elisa elaborated. "She… I want her to have a friend closer to her own age, and I don't want her only points of contact with the outside world being only Ozpin and myself."

"Aaand you want me to drag her out for a nice picnic?" he asked eyeing the basket.

"What? Oh! Nonononono! Nothing like thaaat, this is just a convenient carrying case for her care package. I know she's eating well, but a nice home-made meal will do wonders for her," Elisa clarified. "Can you try reaching out to her, for her sake?"

"Sure, of course I would," Vincent nodded, a smile tugging at his face.

"Good, that's good," Elisa sighed. "Just… when you see her, I need you to try really hard not to freak out."

"Why would I do that? Does she have a weird hobby, or something?" he asked with a tilt of his head.

"Let's call it 'or something'…" Elisa answered. "I'd tell you more, but then you'd come across as 'disingenuous'. And that's the last thing she needs right now. Not after…"

"After what?"

"After Ozpin gave up on her."

-is what Elisa couldn't say out loud.

Something like that was too heavy to make this young man bear, and his innocence might be the only thing that makes Ozpin's reclusive stray open up to someone again. So instead Elisa chose to say-

"After someone she thought was her friend let her down."

"Wow… What a jerk!"

"Thaaat's one word for it…" Elisa trailed off, grabbing a Beacon Academy pamphlet from her desk drawer before scribbling on the included map.

*NEW WORLD*

To say that Beacon Academy was one of the biggest schools in the world was a major understatement. Between its high walls, CCT Tower, Guilds, and Hunters on retinue, apart from food production and it had all the accommodations of a mid-to-large-sized college town all unto its own. Because of its sheer volume of accommodations, as well as the diversity thereof in style and function, Beacon Academy's campus map was often compared to those you'd find for large amusement parks; and it didn't really help that when the map needed revising every couple of years, that Beacon would often deal in-house with its Graphic Design course and have one of them re-draw it.

When it came to the students who only had to worry about a single academic course, and they rarely chose to venture away from the areas dedicated to their craft and the common areas like the Food Court, Library, Rec Center, and so-on. For those like the groundskeepers, handymen, and students aiming for a Minor alongside their Major, a map was essential so as to not get lost amongst the maze of new, old, and older buildings, some of which had stood since the Dark Ages.

And it was a good thing Elisa had given him that detailed map, otherwise Vincent would never have found his destination.

It wasn't that it was hard to get there, but between the shadow cast by the east wall and the overgrowth of ivy on the building, and any normal person would've been hard-pressed to find "The Abandoned Dorm" at the edge of campus. The building wasn't condemned or anything, it's just that between its proximity to the Emerald Forest a short hike away and its distance from the prettier more-trodden pathways of Beacon, it hadn't been a popular place to live for a very long time.

Unbeknownst to Vincent, the reason such a piece of "prime" real estate wasn't a haven for drug fiends and/or randy teens looking to get some nookie in a dark corner away from prying eyes, was because of all the rumors surrounding the place. Some were about ghost sightings at the top floor dormitory windows, others were about a monster chained in the basement, and so on, and so forth. While it looked like the sort of place people "went missing" in ghost stories told by the campfire, to Vincent's untrained, innocent eyes it looked "rustic" rather than "creepy".

"Well this place looks cozy and rustic~"

See what I mean?

"Now… Elisa said… Ah! Top floor it is!" the seemingly-oblivious teen hummed, paying no heed to the half-dozen ruby-red eyes peering at him from a darkened window.

The inside of the abandoned dorm wasn't anything too spectacular; all the furniture had been covered with sheets, and groundskeepers brave-enough to do so would air the place out with leaf blowers. At present the dust build-up wasn't too bad, so Vincent paid the creepy atmosphere no mind as he made his way toward the building's north wing.

Making his way toward the landing in front of the staircase, as his eyes adjusted, he beheld an elipse-shaped mirror with frame of gold leaf. Blinking at his reflection, the teen still ignorant of the atmosphere around him, bent forward to pick at any breakfast left in his teeth, wanting to remain confident in his winning smile and "boyish charm"; whatever the hell that meant. The next moment however, the background within the mirror grew an abyssal black, and eight hands white as bone reached out to lay claim to him.

Any normal person would've run for the literal and/or metaphorical hills while singing the newest hit single, "Fuck This Shit I'm Out~". Vincent however, still failing to read the mood, set his cargo aside and engaged the octuplet of grasping limbs in a slap fight, palms of flesh and chrome ineffectually grappling and grouping at one another.

"Hands off! That picnic basket's not for you!"

After several seconds of this, sensing a confusing, utter lack of malice from the odd-eyed teen, the phantom limbs retreated into their home. Vincent picking up the food meant for Ozpin's "stray" with a huff, ascended the stairs as though nothing had occurred, oblivious to the eight fiery pinpricks of light following him.

*NEW WORLD*

The rest of his ascension to the height of the abandoned dorm was completely unremarkable. While the building itself was creepy as all hell, due to the lack of any frame of reference on Vincent's part, he navigated the dead, empty hallways with what some might mistake for undaunting courage.

In actuality, it was pure obliviousness.

"Looks like this is the spot," he hummed eyeing an access door in the ceiling of the top floor, a robust draw cord laden with dust swaying in a fell, whistling breeze.

The odd-eyed teen giving it a tug, the panel came down and a collapsible ladder extended toward the floor. The ends of it striking the floor with a *Thunk* that echoed throughout the abandoned dorm, cradling the basket to his chest once more, Vincent ascended the final leg of his journey.

The attic in question was quite large, dimly-lit by whatever natural light the building could draw in from the shadow of the eastern wall. The walls, as short as they were below the angled incline of the roof's underside, were lined with shelves, cabinets, and appliances leaving a great deal of open space through the middle of the room. All in all, it resembled a recluse's ideal studio apartment.

"Either whoever lives here really loves hammocks, or there are some really big spiders up here…" Vincent hummed as his eyes were drawn to either the biggest hammocks he'd ever seen, or just really, really big spider webs.

As he was taking in his surroundings, picnic basket in one hand and Scroll light shining in the other, a giant many-legged mass moved through the shadows out of sight of him, six ruby-red eyes narrowing on his back as he moved about the room.

"Helloooooo? Anybody home?" Vincent called out as the thing in the shadows strafed through the darkness in the opposite direction from his eyes.

Six crimson eyes narrowing, the mass in the dark silently skittering forward, right as black chitinous fingers were about to wring his neck, Vincent suddenly tossed the picnic basket overhead before leaping over theirs with a high somersault. Vincent landing with a *thump* and catching the basket without jostling its contents, the other was quick to raise the Scroll light straight into the six-eyed figure's face, body tensing.

"Oh, you must be Elisa's friend," Vincent hummed acceptingly as chitinous fingers shielded ruby red eyes from the light, skittering legs carrying their owner into the dark before Vincent could get a good look at them. " . . . What? Did she not say I was coming?"

"She diiid. She just never told me you were so… spry, for a guy with a corner office," the figure in the dark replied in an irritated, but undeniably silky-smooth tone, swaddling themselves in the lanes of darkness between the windows.

"Eh, that might be a bit of an exaggeration," Vincent waved off as though the acrobatics he performed were old hat. "You know, it's awfully dim inn here. Let me find a light switch."

"Hey, hold on a min-"

*Click*

Turning on his heel from the light switch, Vincent got his first good look at the sole resident of the abandoned dorm. She had the body of a beautiful young woman with snow-colored skin, short lavender hair covering the right side of her face, six pupil-less monochromatic red eyes, and sharp pointed teeth. Her attire consisted of a revealing halter top with shoulder-less sleeves colored black with gold accents and frilly white trim, a loin cloth to match.

Her most-noticeable physical trait was the giant spider body located at her humanoid buttocks; all black and sleek chitinous armor, easily larger than a horse with a large angular skull design on the back of the abdomen. In addition to this, she had black carapace covering her arms from the biceps down, gauntlet-like plating on her hands and her fingers ending in sharpened points.

"You uh…"

" . . . !"

"You got a little something in your teeth."

" . . . Whut?" the spider-like woman blinked confusedly.

"Yeah, right there," he said curling back his lip and pointing between his own upper-right incisors and canines.

"Oh, uh… Thanks…" the young woman said as she picked between her fangs with a single stiletto-like finger. "You uh… You don't seem shocked by my appearance."

"Why would I? Don't all Spider Faunus look like you?" he blinked.

Hearing those words, the woman's hackles were sufficiently riled, her lips curling back and fangs bared, claws poised to rip and tear. Before she closed half the distance however, her six eyes looked into his own two, and she faltered.

The eyes were the portals to the soul; metaphorically and possibly literally as well. Beyond that, the eyes were the biggest "storyteller" of the humanoid body; and in those odd-colored eyes was a genuine, almost painfully honest belief that all Spider Faunus resembled her. And to her shock, he found no fault in that.

No fault… in her…?

"No…" she said frankly, processing the almost ludicrously-innocent look in his eyes. "No, all Spider Faunus don't look like me…"

"Oh? Then why do you have a spider body? And pedipalps?" he asked gesturing to her humanoid thighs and calves, which took the role of the spider's secondary appendages as well as her own primary legs.

"Faunus Atavism. It's a thing. Don't poke too much at it," Rachnera sighed. Vincent for his part just nodded, looking around now that the lights were on. Place looked like a college girl's flat, just… less messy. One shelf was filled with bolts of fabric, a few work desks had clothing designs on them, there were spools of thread on another table, plenty of books, and a jury-rigged kitchenette off in the corner.

Kinda dusty though…

"So… Elisa sent you here with my care package?"

"Yeah. Here you go," he said handing it out to her. The spider-like woman took it from his hands, opening the cloth wrapping. Taking out the Tupperware of homemade casserole, sandwiches, and side dishes at what passed for a dining room, just as she was about to send him on his way, she spotted place settings for two in the basket instead of the usual one.

" . . . Wait," she sighed, getting Elisa's message loud and clear. "Do you… Do you want to stay for lunch?"

"Can I?"

"Yeah… Sure… Why not…"

"Oh, alright then," he nodded. "Ah, by the way, I never caught your name."

*NEW WORLD*

"Sooo… How'd you come to be here at Beacon?" the now-named 'Rachnera' asked after tossing the casserole into the microwave for a couple minutes. "You aren't a student, and I heard Glynda was way too frosty two decades ago to have a kid your age," she said eyeing his outfit.

"Oh, well, grandpa is an old friend of Ozpin's and he didn't want me spending my whole life behind a cash register, so he just… got me a job here," Vincent shrugged. "As for my clothes… I think Elisa did it because Glynda became my de facto guardian for while I'm here."

"Hm," she replied, looking him over as he ate. "Well… Thanks for coming by… I guess."

"You know, I have to ask… Why are you out here all alone? I'm sure there's plenty of room for you closer to the heart of campus."

"Yeah, I thought so too, back when I first came here…" Rachnera hummed looking out her window to the heart of campus. "Ozpin rescued me from a mob when I was a little girl, brought me here because he said I had such promise… But in the end, everyone rejected me, treated me like I was a monster…!"

"What?! Are you serious?!" Vincent cried slapping his palms on the table. "That's awful…!"

"Let me be perfectly clear…!" Rachnera growled angrily pawing the ground with her foremost legs. "I'm not looking for even the slightest bit of sympathy. I'm just sick of Humans. They spout their lofty ideals till they're blue in the face, but it's all an act. All they really like are other Humans! You're just like the rest of them, aren't you? The only part of me that your web shooter responds to is the part that looks Human," she said gesturing to her own curvaceous form. "The rest of me is just a huge, repulsive blob to you, isn't it?"

"Where are you getting 'blob' from?" Vincent asked with a raised brow. "It's obvious you're part spider, not part blob."

"That's not what I… Nevermind," she groaned raking her fingers through her hair. " . . . I don't even know why I'm talking to you about this. It isn't like you'd know what it's like to be judged by the way you look."

"Of course I do. I'm part robot," Vincent said showing off his chromed limb, causing the spider-woman to blink her six eyes owlishly at it, then him.

" . . . And how did that happen?"

"Honestly…" Vincent said raking back his bangs nervously, revealing the horrid scar on his forehead, "I have no idea."

"Sooo… what, Elisa sent you out here to try talking me back into the heart of campus?" Rachnera asked, trying to take this young man's measure. "If so, tell her it doesn't matter where I live. I can weave bolts of silk anywhere."

Vincent blinked. "No, she, just sent me here with your care package."

Even he had enough sense to know what to omit. Out of necessity.

"Isn't it… Isn't it kind of lonely out here?"

"Being lonely and being surrounded by buzzing flies that hate you isn't mutually inclusive."

"I see… That's a shame…" Vincent replied despondently, idly drumming the table with his chromed hand before asking. "Sooo… Do other Spider Faunus have to pull down their pants to spin thread?" he asked. "From their spinnerets I mean."

"No. Other Spider Faunus can shoot webbing from their palms."

"Wait, really? How the hell does that make any sense?" he blinked. "Or do they have spider bodies on their wrists instead of regular hands?"

"Ha. I wish it were that simple," Rachnera huffed, picking idly at her food. Sure, she bought food in bulk and had it delivered from an online vendor, never once interacting with another person in the transaction, but no matter what she did, she could never make her own cooking attempts taste as good as Elisa's. The woman said the secret ingredient was 'Love', but the spider-like woman didn't buy it.

After all, since when did Humans know the first thing about love?

"Well… I'm sorry you had to go through all that," Vincent hummed. "This is probably the point where I should say, 'all Humans aren't like that', 'you should give us another change', blah, blah, blah… But my heart wouldn't be in it," he said despondently.

"Oh? A skeptic of your own kind? That's rare."

"Yeah, well… I might have a memory full of holes, but even I can see the 'bad' in people… I guess that makes Humans pretty transparent, huh?"

"Oh trust me, Humans are anything but transparent… All but you, I guess," she shrugged as her six eyes roved over him, looking for any outward sign of duress. Arms weren't crossed making a "wall" between them, eyes always locked with her own primary pair and never dipping below the neckline, no "stalling" tactics of any kind. "So… What's your story?"

"Don't know. Comes with the amnesia."

"That bad huh?"

"Well… The evidence speaks for itself," he said raking his snow-white lochs back.

" . . . You really aren't scared of me?" she asked after a long pause, his unwavering gaze almost painful to someone like her.

"You aren't doing anything threatening, you're just sitting there. What's there to be scared of?"

"Trust me, Humans are masters at making up excuses to be afraid of others."

"Well… yeah, I guess the history speaks for itself…" Vincent hummed idly. " . . . What's with the tin cans?" he asked pointing up.

"Wire taps," Rachnera said pulling down one of aforementioned food storage units, a shining thread of spider silk taken along for the ride. "They let me hear what's going on around me. Wanna try?" she offered.

"Sure," Vincent hummed, taking the open end of the can and putting his ear to it. " . . . What's that sound?" he asked handing it over, the spider-like woman taking it from his hand and giving it a listen before turning it in her hand and spying the number painted on the side.

"Hm. Looks like a Grimm managed to get in again," she huffed.

"A Grimm? How'd that happen?"

"Sometimes they find the gaps in Beacon's security and dig under the walls," Rachnera answered going to one of the windows. "If they come under the east wall, I usually take care of them myself."

"Aren't there faculty for that, though?"

"Even if I called security for help, they wouldn't send anyone."

"WHAT?!" Vincent yelled indignantly. "But it's their job! Their one! Job!"

"And either Ozpin pays them too much, too little, or they just don't give a fuck."

"Wait a minute… This isn't because you're… you, is it…?!"

"You got three guesses; first two don't count."

" . . . Point me in the right direction, I've got this," he said pumping his chromed fist.

"Can the guy in the corner office even fight Grimm?" Rachnera asked raising her left eyebrows.

"Don't worry, I've got a mean right hook," he said flexing his mechanical arm for emphasis. "Besides, Veronica said actually using this thing might break up the 'silt' in my head."

"If you really want to," Rachnera hummed, finding herself idly curious what Elisa's latest 'gofer' could do.

The last one ran away screaming the word "MONSTER!" at the top of his lungs for everyone to hear as soon as he saw her, so all things considered, Vincent was a marked improvement.

*NEW WORLD*

The Grimm that had snuck its way into campus was one Rachnera had dealt with many times before, a Barghest; a large dog-like grim with a goblin-like face, muscular forelegs and chest, with an emaciated-looking rear half. Even among Grimm it was ugly as hell, and because it was one of the few Grimm lacking in the species' "iconic" bone-like masks and bone spurs, one could be excused for thinking it a very ugly, hideously-diseased animal instead of a Grimm.

Rachnera had no illusions as to why she was singled out for stalking by any Grimm that snuck their way into Beacon's east-most side. It was why she'd accepted her lot in life, looking after herself in a building no-one wanted to live in and making money by selling the Aura-conductive thread her unique mutation allowed her to spin.

So to have who was essentially a complete stranger go out of their way to help her even though she at the least looked perfectly capable of defending herself, was food for thought on Elisa's continued insistence that she'd be able to find someone who could accept her whole-heartedly; she herself notwithstanding since she was more of a 'guardian' and not a conventional or non-conventional spouse…

And the spider-like woman had to admit, she found herself curious about the young man she'd overheard so many rumors about through her various bugs and wiretaps. Honestly, she thought one of the LN fanclubs had gotten a little too into their LARPing, or maybe the two had collaborated on some "campaign" to make their school lives less boring. It was quite another to find out the guy was real, what with how many "checkboxes" he filled out on the list of Isekai sub-genre troupes.

Not that she dabble din that sort of escapism.

. . . Shut up!

'Sooo…' Rachnera hummed from her window as she eyed Vincent leaping to the ground, ribbons of wind trailing around him and softening his fall. A Semblance perhaps?

"Hey! *FWEET!* Get out of here!"

'Wait, that's his approach?' Rachnera thought as the odd-eyed teen tried shooing the Grimm away. 'Really?'

Suffice it to say, the Grimm wasn't to be deterred; the negativity she perpetually gave off was too-tantalizing to ignore, often to the point it made juvenile Grimm outright suicidal in their zeal.

Spinning her threads and latching onto them with the minute hooks on the ends of her armored fingers as the Grimm charged, with another display of agility, Vincent somersaulted over the charging Grimm's head and threw out his hand. Ribbons of silver-colored wind spilling out, the Grimm was caught mid-charge and lifted off its feet, careening uncontrollably into a nearby tree with a loud *THUD* that shook leaves loose.

"Go on! Scat!" the young man shooed.

'Geez, take the hint,' Rachnera sighed as Vincent continued to seek a non-violent solution to this incursion, but finding her interest piqued when he took the feather-edged mantle from his shoulder and used it like a matador's cape, showing more of his Automail limb off in the process.

It was definitely different from anything she'd ever seen. The home-made stuff cobbled together in brilliant but under-funded people's garage, and the top-of-the-line stuff made by each Kingdom's best had their distinct looks to them, but what was sprouting from Vincent's right shoulder was completely different, somewhere between a work of art and a sci-fi anachronism. She'd heard word he might've been a "real-life Isekai hero" come to Remnant "from another world", but the possibility always existed that arm of his was a prototype, or maybe the result of another person's Semblance, assuming the Aerokinesis was Vincent's own power.

Partway through her musings however, Vincent suddenly let out a cry of pain and his hand went to his head, a pained expression on his face. Dropping to a knee in agony, the Barghest would've ripped his throat out if Rachnera hadn't caught the Grimm in a web and strung it up. Leaping from the window and standing between where Vincent kneeled and the Grimm was strung up, with a swipe of her arm she slashed the Grimm almost completely in two. The pitch-black body evaporating into miasma within her webbing, Rachnera turned around to help the boy up, but then drew her hand back, growing pensive.

"Agh… Thanks for the help… Guess I kinda botched it, huh?" Vincent asked as he shakily got to his feet, the cool-ish metal of his hand a relief to the migraine forming between his eyes.

"Eh, you did fine," she shrugged, making sure the Grimm completely evaporated before turning her back on it. "What happened to using that 'right hook' of yours?"

"Didn't get the chance…" he said curling his fingers and then flexing his arm, the seams briefly glowing an iridescent orange.

"That headache come with any memory flashes?"

"Just garbled nonsense…" he sighed drawing a note pad from his pocket and sketching something on the pages. "I've been drawing what I can recall, bit of a 'scrapbooking' project of mine, but so far it's just been-"

"Garbled nonsense~"

"Yeah, pretty much," he sighed dropping it in his breast pocket. "Sorry your meal got interrupted."

"It's fine. The company makes up for-!"

"Hm?"

"Nevermind," she sighed. " . . . You wanna come inside?" she offered.

"Are you sure? I got the impression you weren't much of a fan of Humans."

"But you're not Human. You're 'part robot'," Rachnera quipped with a tiny smile.

*NEW WORLD*

While campus security had finally gotten around to looking into that Grimm incursion, actually doing their jobs and supervising the wall's patch-job, Vincent and Rachnera were well out of sight in the latter's 'flat'. Sure, the natural lighting wasn't that great, but it was homey. Even if it was a tiny bit lonely.

"You design clothing?" Vincent asked looking at one of the drafting tables.

"It's a hobby. Not like anyone would ever buy though."

"Are you kidding me? These are great!" he said eyeing a finely-cut suit in tones of black with gold trim.

"Maybe someday," Rachnera hummed idly as she played cat's cradle. "Not today though."

"Jesus Christ, how-racist can people be?!"

"Tell me about it…" she sighed with an effigy of Beacon Tower between her clawed fingers. " . . . You really like it?"

"Of course. The fact that I can see how great your designs are, well… That's saying something, isn't it?"

"Maybe you're right," she hummed. " . . . Take off your clothes."

"Huh?"

"I wanna get your measure," she said holding up a tape measure.

" . . . Makes sense."

"Oh~? Did you think I meant something else~?" Rachnera purred.

"Like what?" he blinked.

" . . . I can't get a read on this guy," Rachnera muttered to herself grabbing a bolt of fabric, leaving the odd-eyed teen to blink confusedly behind her.

*NEW WORLD*

Elsewhere in Beacon Academy...

"Hey Weiss, you've been kind of salty all day. What's the deal?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, Weisscream's just upset 'cause she thought Jack died~" Yang cooed.

"H-How was I supposed to know the Headmaster sent him off to a day spa?" Weiss stuttered, pink dusting her cheeks. "That orderly was very misleading!"

"Jack has made a lot of enemies," Blake hummed. "I'm sure the rest and relaxation will do him some good."

"Yes, but how long will Jack let himself rest?" Weiss asked aloud. "As long as I've known him, he's been the sort to burn the candle at both ends and from the middle."

"Actually~ I've been thinking about that~" Ruby chirped.

"Oh? Do tell~" Yang cooed.

"Right! So here's what we're gonna do!" RWBBY's youngest replied with an eager bob of her head.

*NEW WORLD*

AN:
Contextually, the Faunus in Canon always seemed like "softcore demi-humans", hence why in the prequel I had "Faunus Atavism" be a thing through the lens of a Remnant-centric Tony Tony Chopper (One Piece).

There are arthropodic Faunus in the Canon, but once again, the Canon doesn't do much crazier than scorpion tails or palm-mounted spinarettes (which make even less sense than wrist-mounted). Thus, that combined with the Faunus Atavism in my Fanon makes the segue of adding Rachnera (one of my favorite MonMusu characters) a little more seamless.

I also thought to add in the Storehouse from the RWBY: Black like Beauty Anthology manga, since it seemed like the sort of place that could've been touched up on if RWBY hadn't been in such a rush to get to the "end of the world" Season Finale scenarios.