Original upload date: 8/12/2020

Revised upload: 11/3/2023

Well, uh, I did not mean to take so long. For whatever reason, Uni decided to go from Medium to EXTREME-HARD mode between year 1 and year 2. I was working on this chapter for months. But, thankfully, I've found some time to start putting things out. (Yikes, has it really been 6 months?!)

Nothing huge was changed in this chapter. But I did alter the picnic scene a bit to focus more on things that'll happen down the line.

I hope you all like this chapter. This is one of my favorites. So I hope you all have as much fun and excitement reading it as I did writing it.

Metal like Roses

By ReaderWarrior

Beta'd by: Icarus720

I do not own Mistborn or RWBY.

It's a Brawl in the Family

Vin mentally kicked herself. While she was able to follow Ruby, she was not able to follow her true target- the man called Qrow. He had avoided her questions on his nature and presence before running off as the strange ship appeared in the sky. Ruby had chased after her uncle, and Vin after her. Sadly, Ruby lost him in a crowd and ended up leading Vin in the wrong direction. By the time they realized this, the two women had reached the landing strip and saw Blake and Weiss there as well.

"Weiss!" Ruby called out as she walked up to her teammates. "What's going on? Who is here?"

The Schnee heiress' eyes sparkled. "Winter!"

"Your sister?" Blake asked.

Nodding, Weiss turned to one of the unloading bullheads. "I haven't seen her since I came to Beacon."

Ruby smiled. "Say hi to her for me!"

"You…" Weiss' walk stuttered as she turned back around. Her normally pale-white face seemed to have lost another shade of color leaving her even more ghastly than normal. "You're not coming?" She directed that to all three of her teammates.

"Do you want me to? I thought you'd want to spend some time alone with her," Ruby said as Blake's eyes flickered with panic.

What does she have against Winter? Vin wondered. With a sigh, she stepped forward and stood next to Weiss. "I'll go with you. Ruby, take Blake back to the others and we can meet up later. Maybe your uncle went back there."

That was a lie. Vin was almost certain that Qrow would be lurking around the bullheads. Whoever this Winter was, she had his eye as well as Weiss'.

After a quick nod, Ruby grabbed Blake's hand and started to pull her back toward the picnic. "Come on, let's go see if Ren saved you any pancakes."

They left, leaving Weiss and Vin alone together. The two women then began to walk toward the airship. "What's so special about your sister?" Vin asked.

"Winter is a special operative in the Atlesian Military," Weiss explained. When Vin frowned, she continued, "That means she is a very skilled and dangerous woman working for the most powerful army and government on Remnant.

Vin raised an eyebrow. "So she is an assassin?"

"Gods no! Nothing so barbaric. She is far more dangerous than any would-be bandit."

Frowning, Vin looked down at where her knives would be sheathed. Why does a society that spends its time fighting Grimm have any need for someone to kill other skilled warriors? Do they deal with threats greater than Grimm? But what?

Vin didn't have much time to ponder this because they had reached the bullhead. Weiss kept alternating between having her arms behind her back, at her side, or folding them across her chest. They watched as the ship neared empty, with the last of its occupants leaving now. Six metal guards stepped out first, followed by four armored men in red. They were all well-armed with large guns across their fronts and kept looking around for any threats that might be charging at them.

Then, out stepped Winter. She was a tall and fair-skinned woman with slate-blue eyes much like Weiss. She wore her white hair in a bun, high on the left side of the back of her head, while her bangs were shaped around the right side of her face with a small, curled lock of hair almost reaching her left shoulder. Her outfit consisted of a white, long-sleeved coat with a single dark-blue clasp around the waist, holding it shut alongside a red jeweled brooch on the collar. The coat's length ran down to her ankles and the sleeves were split from shoulder to elbow. She wore a white pleated and sleeveless blouse with a dark blue waistcoat. She also had on a pair of white trousers with dark blue garters alongside a pair of gray, thigh-high boots with black detailing around the knees. Winter also wore a pair of black, forearm length, gloves with gray-trimmed cuffs.

Vin also saw her blade and weapon hanging off her belt.

The sword had a single-edged, slightly curved, blade. Its hilt sported a wide, crescent-shaped guard that would envelop the hand of the person who wielded it - likely to protect the hands and fingers from damage. The hilt had a spiral design etched down its length but stopped at an orb-shaped pummel.

However, Vin realized that, like Winter herself, there was a secret hidden inside. With her steelsight, Vin noticed there appeared to be a secret compartment in the blade's handle. Possibly a lever - hidden between the hilt and guard. Of what purpose, she could not tell.

"Winter, I'm so happy to see you!" greeted Weiss. Then she paused and curtsied. "Your presence honors us."

Nobles, Vin realized and a part of her felt relieved. Mercenaries from unknown kingdoms and powers made Vin feel as if she were out of her depth. But a noble expecting regality? That Vin knew well how to fake.

Winter stepped forward, her arms now crossed behind her back. Her eyes fell on Weiss first, softened, then sharpened as she studied Vin. The woman then looked towards Ozpin's tower. "Beacon," she whispered, "it's been a long time. The air feels… different."

"What brings you here?" Weiss asked.

"Classified."

"Oh, right." Settling on a more conservative style, Weiss clasped her hands in front of her and nodded. "How long are you staying?"

As quick as a pewter's pulse, Winter responded with another "classified".

What is so important to keep secret in this world? Vin wondered. If the Grimm are so dangerous and are a threat to all the kingdoms, why aren't they sharing all of their information?

But that was the new her. The old Vin, the one raised in ash and fought monsters of spikes and steel knew that anyone could pretend to be your friend while positioning themselves to stab you in the back. Were the kingdoms not in as much peace as she had been told?

Or is there another threat that no one else knows about? Perhaps something to do with Cinder and her crew.

Vin realized that as she thought, Weiss and Winter hadn't said a word. Her teammate was uncharacteristically shy. So, Vin did the logical thing. She burned zinc and gave Weiss a little Push.

"You're going to love it here!" Weiss exclaimed. "I know you travel a lot, but so much of Beacon is different from Atlas. The government and school are completely separate. Can you believe it? I-"

Winter cut Weiss off. "I'm more than familiar with how this kingdom handles its… bureaucracy ." Looking down at Weiss, Winter added "But that is not why I came here."

Weiss' back straightened as she returned to a prestigious attention. "Right! I'm sorry."

"Nor did I come here to watch my own blood fail so miserably in battle. But it appears I have no choice in the matter."

"But we won," Weiss argued.

"Only a novice would refer to that as a victory," she responded coldly. "I counted at least two strikes missed."

Dejectedly, Weiss looked down at her feet and frowned. This was obviously not how she had hoped her meeting with Winter would go. But to Vin, was the nicest she had ever seen two siblings behave. Marsh and Kelsier, the few times she saw them together, were always either ignoring each other or one was yelling at the other. Then there was Zane, who had some strange fixation and jealousness of his brother, Elend (though she only learned of his bastardized birth as he tried to kill her).

Then there were her siblings. Reen, who she could now tell was beating her to train her survival skills. And as much as she hated him, she still felt a bit of love in her heart for the times he was kinder. And though Vin hadn't met her, she had a sister that their mother killed when she was an infant.

Winter waved at her entourage of Knights and men and ordered them to leave. They took a few steps back, remaining close enough to protect her if something happened but far enough away that they couldn't hear her speak. She sighed and asked, "How have you been?"

Like a koloss smelling blood, Weiss perked up and smiled. "Splendid, thank you for asking. I'm actually in the top ranking of our sparring class. The rest of my studies are going wonderfully too. I'm-"

Again, Winter interrupted Weiss - though this time she used a smack to the forehead instead of a glare. "Silence, you boob! I don't recall asking about your ranking. I asked how you've been ." Vin noticed a small smile on Winter's lips escape her frown. "Are you eating properly? Have you taken up any hobbies? Are you making new friends?"

Rubbing her forehead, Weiss turned and pointed at the newest addition to her team. "Well, this is Vin."

Training under Sazed guided her as Vin bowed, splaying her arms to her side and leaning forward. "Vin Venture," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Winter raised an eyebrow. "I do not believe Weiss has told me of you yet."

"I am… new," Vin explained, Soothing her mistrust and concern for safety regarding her sister. "I'm the newest member of team RWVBY."

"It's my fault, there wasn't a lot of time to write and tell you all that's happened recently," Weiss said.

"But there was enough time for you to get arrested," she glared.

Weiss winced. "Well, you see, we were just trying to look into something. Everything afterward was purely accidental. And I am very grateful that you were willing to provide bail for me."

"Then do not repeat your mistakes ever again," Winter scolded. She turned to Vin and gave her a small nod. "Greetings, Vin Venture. Thank you for watching over my sister."

"Your thanks aren't necessary, it's Weiss who has been looking after me." She resisted the urge to touch the spot on her chest where she had been stabbed. "Perhaps I need to thank you for helping to raise a kindhearted woman like Weiss who accepted me into her team so quickly."

"I hope you don't forget that, Venture. My sister's kindness is not my own, mine is much more limited to the faith I have in keeping her safe."

"Team RWVBY would do whatever it takes to care and protect one of their own."

Hmph-ing, Winter turned back to Weiss. "I have business with the General and your headmaster. But seeing as I am early, why don't you take me to your quarters?"

"Really?" Weiss asked as she jumped to Winter's side. The two began to walk toward Beacon Academy and Vin fell back behind one of the machine-men. But Weiss noticed this, ran back to her, and pulled her up to join them. "I'm not letting you out of my sight this time," she whispered.

Winter noticed this and gave a small nod to Vin. "Yes, I wish to inspect the rooms and make sure they are up to my personal standards."

"Ignore the bunk beds, then," Vin said.

Weiss waved her hand. "They only look unstable."

"Bunk… beds?"

Ruby pulled Blake back to the picnic blanket where everyone was still enjoying REN's (delicious) cooking. "Look who I found!" she yelled to the group as she and Blake walked up.

"A lost kitten?" Yang gasped. She then got a flick to the forehead as Black walked past and sat down, taking the last plate of pancakes. Ruby giggled and sat down across from them.

"Did I miss anything?" asked the young Faunus.

"Our uncle Qrow showed up."

"Pyrrha and I are being sent to the doubles!"

"Weiss' sister is here."

"Nora ate all of my backup pancakes."

"First you've got to tell us if Sun won."

Setting down her fork to rub her temples, Blake turned to Yang and said "Let's go through this one at a time. Who's Qrow?"

Yang smiled. "He's our uncle. Qrow's a teacher at Signal every once in a while but usually he's out doing freelance work as a Huntsman."

"Why is he here, then?" Ren asked.

She shrugged. "Maybe hired security?"

"Makes sense," Jaune nodded. "Since Vin showed up, and the whole thing with Cinder and her team, there has been a larger security than ever."

"Well it is the Vytal Festival," Nora said.

"I don't think they had Knight patrols last year, though," Pyrrha added, nodding to a small group of the automatons as they stomped past.

Blake turned to Nora and raised an eyebrow. "And you're surprised that Jaune picked you and Pyrrha?"

"Nope!" the young Valkyrie grinned. She stood up and posed, flexing her arms in the same manner she'd use if she had her hammer. "We're gonna break their legs!"

Pyrrha placed a hand on her arm and brought her back down. "We should try not to actually hurt our opponents, this is all a sport." Nora deflated slightly and hunched over. "But that doesn't mean we should hold back completely."

"Speaking of upcoming matches, Sun and his team will be going to the doubles as well," Blake said. "They won."

"Good for them," Yang smiled.

"You still want revenge for when he put a banana in your blouse?"

Her grin widened. "Yes!"

Meanwhile, the other blonde of the group crossed his arms. "If I were to guess, Sun would probably pick Neptune to go with him."

"That sounds correct," Ren agreed. He pointed up at one of the larger holo-boards and it showed a list of all the Double's that had been ratified already.

Jaune blushed, earning a pat on the back from Pyrrha.

"Where's Vin?" Blake asked.

"She's with Weiss," Ruby explained.

Blake frowned. "You're not watching her?"

"She can handle herself," the leader of their team said. However, Blake could tell she wasn't so sure. The events of the night prior had given her a protective attitude towards Vin but she was trying to give her the space she needed. They didn't want to suffocate her, after all. "Weiss will keep her safe. And Uncle Qrow is down there too. He'll help out if he can."

"Or he will get drunk and start destroying stuff," Yang muttered.

The two Schnee sisters, and Vin, chatted aimlessly inside the mechanical men's bubble of protection as they made their way towards Beacon Academy. More guards, also of the non-living variety, marched behind them. Vin, with the help of Ruby's teachings, noticed that their weapons didn't have their safety on. They were ready to fire at any threat.

But if she is as skilled as Weiss said, why does she even need the protection? Vin supposed it could have been an act, like how Nobles would pretend that they needed sentries when they secretly had the power to Push any attacker out of the room. Or sense any threat coming at them. But Winter's weapon was on her waist and she was, according to Weiss, well-known both by name and title.

So surely no one would be stupid enough to try anything.

Vin's tin-enhanced ears perked as she heard someone charging at them. She reached for her knives, once again growling as she realized they were no longer on her person, and grabbed Weiss.

"Vin?" she gasped. "What are you- ?" The soldiers turned and raised their guns at them, only for a large metal sphere, one of the Knight's heads, hit them and knocked them down.

As they turned toward the attacker, another one of the robotic men's heads came flying. Vin Pushed it away easily. As her guards began to get on their feet, Winter turned around and placed a hand on her sword.

"Hey, I'm talking to you Ice Queen," Qrow drunkenly yelled.

They know each other. Looking back, Vin noticed that Winter's hand had moved away from her blade but her eyes still rolled with annoyance.

"Do you have any idea who you are talking to?" Weiss snapped. She broke out of Vin's hold and pointed at the dark-haired Huntsman.

Qrow ignored her and continued to glare at Winter. "Saw that gaudy ship of yours coming into town. I guessed you'd be here too.

"I'm standing right in front of you."

"… So it would seem," he muttered after leaning forward and squinting.

Just how drunk is he? Vin wondered. It had to be a trick. Not even Breeze would've been dumb enough to be this intoxicated.

"You realize you just destroyed Atlesian property, correct?" Winter asked.

Looking at his feet, and the pile of metal, Qrow shrugged. "Ooh. See, I mistook this for some sort of… sentient garbage."

"I don't have time for your immature games, Qrow."

Weiss turned back to her sister. "You two know each other?"

Once again, the young Schnee-heiress was ignored. "Geez, you Atlas specialists think you're so special, don't you?"

"It's in the title," she responded.

"Well, you know what you really are? A bunch of sellouts! Just like your boss."

"I'm not sure what you think you're implying, but I've heard enough."

Qrow raised his hands in mock surrender. "Oh, I heard too. I heard ol' Ironwood turned his back on Ozpin."

Both Vin and Weiss turned to Winter and frowned. "What about Ironwood?"

Instead of turning around to respond, Winter kept her eyes on Qrow. "I think it would be best for you two to leave," she warned.

"What?!" Weiss exclaimed.

With a chuckle, Qrow spread his arms like he was expecting a hug. "Listen to your big sister, Weiss. She'll protect you. Just like Atlas is going to protect all of us, huh?"

"If you won't hold your tongue," Winter growled as she unsheathed her sword, "then I will gladly remove it for you!"

A couple of students whistled and ooh-ed. Vin just then realized that the arguing Huntsmen had drawn quite a large crowd. Students, as well as citizens, formed a large circle around them as Qrow ran a hand through his hair and jutted out his chin.

"Alright then. Come and take it."

With speed near equal to Ruby's semblance, Winter rushed forward with her blade held out. She stabbed at his head as she finished her charge but he dodged to the side. They danced back and forth for a few moments as Winter continued to try and hit him but, aggravatingly, couldn't.

He must have been faking his alcoholic state because each step, dodge, and pivot was perfectly executed. It wasn't atium, but Vin was impressed at his skill. Even if he knew her well enough to predict her moves, he still had to be quick enough to dodge each one.

Winter growled as she swiped across her chest but Qrow dropped into a bow. He glanced up and smirked, earning a scowl from Winter. Her blade swung downward but bounced off of his back with a metal ringing. Qrow reached over his shoulder and grabbed his weapon's handle. Vin heard something click and a large greatsword extended from underneath his cape.

There was a flash of light and a flutter of cloth as the sword spun around Qrow's hand and into the air. Winter leaped back a few feet. Qrow tossed his weapon into the air, dropped into a pose, and caught it as it landed in his hand.

Winter, either out of respect or concern, fell into a combative form as well with one arm behind her back.

"Can't you do something?" Weiss whispered. "Using your mind-control metals?"

Vin shook her head. "It's not mind control. And they're too focused on what they want to do. Both want to fight. If I use zinc or brass, they would be able to tell their emotions were being Soothed or Rioted."

"So?"

"You're not using your glyphs," the Mistborn accused.

Qrow jokingly tapped the tip of his blade against Winter's. The foil and greatsword sang as they kissed before Qrow pulled it back and the edge of his sword whistled through the air. He sliced downward, catching Winter's blade as she blocked, and followed up with a lot of swipes from every angle. Upward, across, across - Winter, like Qrow before, dodged them all easily.

On the fifth swipe, Winter blocked the blade with her own and began pushing forward with her own attack. They began to speed up, their strikes barely visible except for the sparks that fell off as their swords met. But Winter was losing. Her initial attack had returned to a strong defensive. She must have realized it too and ducked, pivoting on her heel and swinging her pommel toward Qrow's chin.

"SCHNEE!" a voice boomed. Winter froze mid-swing and blinked as if to wipe away the bloodlust in her eyes. She, along with everyone else, turned to see General Ironwood marching toward them.

But Vin's eyes were drawn to the girl behind him. Head down and hands clasped submissively, her appearance seemed normal. But with steel, she saw something completely different.

The girl had short, rather curly orange hair that came down to her chin with a small ahoge on top, and a pink bow on the back of her head. She also had bright green eyes, light skin, and freckles. She wore an off-white, old-fashioned, styled off-the-shoulder blouse with frill detailed trim and frill flared cuffs that half covered her hands alongside copper button detailing on the lower parts of her sleeves. She also sported a short gray pinafore dress with golden trim on the hem, four light green stalagmite-styled stripes on the lower half of the dress - two on the front and two on the back - accompanied by two matching colored circles above the tips that had a stripe that ran around her waistline, with golden outlines, and a detachable black and light green collar. She also wore a pair of black, thigh-high leg pieces that were seemingly attached to her shoes. The leg pieces had a single green stripe up the sides that appeared to light up.

Beneath it all was machinery. Steel-lines covered almost every inch of the little girl. Vin had seen many things while here on Remnant, things that would make any Scadrian's eyes go wide. But this was something else entirely. This girl was no girl. She's a machine, Vin realized. Hadn't Ruby mentioned something about this? Penny, right?

Before Vin could ask Weiss to confirm, Ironwood stepped toward his subordinate. "What in the world do you think you're doing?"

Winter stood at attention. "He started an altercation, Sir."

"That's actually not true," Qrow said as he sheathed his sword and put his hands behind his head nonchalantly. "She attacked first."

Ironwood raised an eyebrow. "Is that right?" Winter struggled to come up with an explanation, but when she was unable, she sighed and bowed her head.

"Only technically!" Weiss yelled."That… ruffian taunted Winter! She had no choice but to defend her honor!"

"Even so," explained the Atlesian general, "she should not have fallen prey to Qrow's provocations." He ignored Winter and walked up to Qrow, asking "What are you doing here?"

"I could be asking you the same thing."

Before Ironwood could respond, Ozpin entered the center of the circle, cup and cane in hand - as well as accompanied by Glynda Goodwitch. "Now, now, everyone," he said. "There is a sanctioned fight happening just around the corner at the Colosseum that, I assure you, has better seats. And popcorn."

"Break it up, everyone," Goodwitch exclaimed, waving at everyone to disband.

Ironwood adjusted his tie and walked back toward his fellow headmaster. "Let's go," he ordered to the specialist, who nodded and followed. As the brigade began to leave, the orange-haired girl waved at Weiss and Vin.

"Tell Ruby 'salutations'," she mouthed before chasing after the adults.

Vin frowned. "Is that Penny?"

Even though she was still upset for her sister, Weiss nodded. "Yes. She's the closest thing Ruby has to a best friend, I suppose."

She did know about her secret before anyone else, the Mistborn thought.

Ozpin nodded at the drunk Huntsman. "Qrow, a word please?"

"I think I'm in trouble," he muttered as he stomped past the two young women.

"As you should be you… you… befuddled buffon!" Weiss snapped.

He chuckled. "Tell Ruby I'll see her and Yang later.

As he, along with Ozpin and Glynda, left, Vin nudged Weiss and gave her a small smile. "At least Ruby's recklessness suddenly makes sense."

Weiss snorted and froze. "Did you… just make a joke? Vin Venture! Yang will never believe me!"

"Let's go find them and find out," Vin said, turning back with Weiss' spirits lifted already.

Waiting for the three Valians, Ironwood stood at attention next to Ozpin's desk as Winter paced across the length of the room. Penny was left at the base of the clocktower - this upcoming talk was not one he wanted to explain to her yet. After a few of Winter's 'laps', the elevator dinged and Ozpin, Glynda, and Qrow all stepped out.

One of which, to the white-uniformed specialist's annoyance, was grinning like a madman in a hurricane.

"What were you thinking?!" Winter demanded.

"If you were one of my men, I would have you shot," added Ironwood.

"If I was one of your men," Qrow said as he pulled out a flask from his back pocket, "I would shoot myself."

Glynda sighed. "While I wouldn't condone his behavior, retaliating like you did certainly didn't help the situation," she said, directing her gaze at the only other female in the room.

Winter stiffened. "He was drunk!" she exclaimed.

"He's always drunk!"

Qrow began to chug from his flask, making a loud gargling noise that drew everyone's attention back to him. He froze and dropped his trademark container, chuckling.

Not even Ozpin was amused this time as he walked past everyone to stand behind his desk. "Qrow, why are you here?"

"You've been out of contact for weeks," Ironwood added. "You can't just go dark like that out in the field."

"I'm not one of your 'special operatives', Jimmy," Qrow snarled, causing Ozpin to facepalm.

Winter stepped forward. "General," she corrected.

Qrow rolled his eyes. "You sent me to get intel on our enemy, and I've told you that our enemy is here. Then I got a message from Ozpin to get back as soon as I could, so I came back!"

"We know about the enemy, we handled it already," Ironwood explained.

"Oh!" laughed the near-drunkard. "Oh, you know? Well, thank goodness I'm risking my life out there to keep you all informed!"

Ironwood sighed. "Qrow-"

"Communication's a two-way street pal." He pulled out his scroll and held it up for everyone to see. "You see this? That's the send button! "

We were dealing with a crisis of our own," Glynda explained softly. "We believe we found those responsible for Amber's condition."

"And," Winter added, "they had reason to assume you'd been compromised."

"And I have reason to assume you don't need to be here," he directed at Ironwood and Winter. Qrow turned to Ozpin. "You couldn't tell me this why?!"

"It only just happened last night. Or this morning, to be exact."

After a moment taken to growl, Qrow nodded. But he still pointed at Winter. "Who invited her?"

In an effort to finish the argument between the two, Ironwood ordered Winter to leave. "Schnee, we'll discuss this incident back on my ship. You are dismissed."

"But, Sir-!"

"Winter. Leave."

She followed orders like the soldier he knew her to be. "Yes Sir." Winter snapped off a quick and stiff salute before walking to the elevator. She paused to glare at Qrow, who smiled and winked, before the doors closed and she returned to the ground floor.

Ozpin sipped slowly from his mug. Despite what the world thinks, we're not just teachers or generals or headmasters. The people in this room, the leaders of two academies, we're the ones that keep the world safe from the evils no one even knows about. It's why we meet behind closed doors, why we work in the shadows."

"Then explain to me why James brought his entire army to Vale." Qrow stepped right up to Ironwood's breath, so much so that he could taste the booze on his breath. "Did you think you were being discreet or did you just not give a damn?"

The two trained huntsman, who had seen more of Remnant's than anyone but Ozpin, glared at each other. While Qrow distracted the pain with whiskey, Ironwood preferred to hold himself with order and command. He wouldn't even need his semblance for this.

Slowly, Ironwood pulled out his scroll and set it on Oz's desk. He tapped it a few times and activated a live, holographic, feed of Beacon Academy. Amity was visible as well, alongside the dozens of ships that now filled the skies in a protective array. "Discreet wasn't working. I'm here because this is what was necessary."

"You're here," Qrow interrupted. "Because Ozpin wanted you here! He made you a part of his inner circle and opened your eyes to the real fight that's in front of us."

"And I'm grateful."

Qrow raised an eyebrow. "You've got a real funny way of showing it."

"The people of Vale needed someone to protect them," he explained. "Someone who would act. When they look to the sky and see my fleet, they feel safe. And our enemies will feel our strength."

"You think they're scared of your little ships?" Qrow laughed. "I've been out there and I've seen the things she's made, and let me tell you… They. Are. Fear."

"And fear will bring the Grimm," Ozpin warned. They all turned to face him as he sat down his mug and looked at them like squabbling children. "A guardian is a symbol of comfort. But an army is a symbol of conflict. There's an energy in the air now, a question in the back of everyone's minds. If this is the size of our defenses, what is it that we are expecting to fight?"

As Ozpin dropped his hands to his side, Ironwood sighed and grabbed his scroll. He didn't even notice the screen flashed red for a moment - and a symbol of a black chess piece. "So then, what do you suggest we do?"

"I suggest," Ozpin declared as he turned around to look over the world they had all sworn to defend, "we find our guardian."

"So she's a machine… but she's alive?"

After Qrow and Winter's fight, team RWVBY rendezvoused back to their dorm room, where Vin asked about the strange orange-haired girl. Ruby had felt a little nervous about talking about it, even in private, but trusted her teammates enough to not tell anyone else.

Ruby nodded. She had already changed into her sleepwear and was dangling off the edge of her bed. "Penny has the very first artificial soul."

"That's still quite difficult to take in," Blake said.

At first glance, the idea of an artificial soul, artificial aura, seemed like a great idea. People wouldn't have to worry anymore about training or fighting Grimm. And compared to the Knights, it did seem like the next advancement. But Vin's stomach churned at the thought of mass-producing Penny's as if they were the automatons. As Ruby had said, Penny had a soul. It may have been a man-made one but it was still there.

But beneath all of that, Vin wondered what the point of Penny was. Why create such an innocent-looking shell? It feels like a scam. Penny is the girl sent out onto the street to find out how many Nobles would grab her. They dolled her up to invite her to be seen.

Why? She, along with her teammates, changed into their 'nightgowns'. It was a comfortable outfit that would have been sold for thousands of boxings easily. Comfort, Vin thought. A strange concept to grasp even now.

"Oh, that reminds me," Weiss exclaimed. She marched over to Vin and held out her hand. "Where is it?"

"Where is what?"

"The receipt from earlier," she said. "I don't like staying in anyone's dept."

Vin nodded to her bedside where she had tossed her pants. After walking over to them, Weiss pulled out the receipt from the pockets and unfolded it. She frowned. "What's this?"

"It's called a receipt, Weiss," Yang giggled. "Have you ever actually seen one?"

"Of course I have! But this isn't a receipt."

Blake walked over and leaned over Weiss' shoulder. She too frowned as she read its contents. "Vin? I think this is for you. It's a chart of metals, I think."

Soon, everyone was staring down at the paper as it was laid down on one of the desks. It was an Allomantic chart, like the ones Sazed had shown her when she was first discovering her powers, but different in almost every way. Vin knew that there were more metals they had yet to discover, she herself discovered one - duralumin - and Kelsier's Eleventh Metal was later called malatium.

"Steel, iron, pewter, and tin," Vin read. "These are the physical metals.

Ruby pointed to the top right of the paper. "It says these are the mental ones. Copper, bronze, brass, and zinc!"

Vin nodded and waved at the two other sections. "But I've never seen this part before."

"The 'Enhancement' metals," Blake said as she read through it. "Aluminum, duralumin, nicrosil, and… chromium?"

"I've never heard of nicrosil or chromium. But aluminum wipes the next metal burned while duralumin strengthens it. The Lord Ruler kept aluminum secret so that he could trick Allomancers into becoming powerless."

"Then maybe the other two are metals you can use too!" Ruby guessed.

Maybe. But who would know about this?

"Gold, electrum, cadmium, and bendalloy," Yang muttered, covering the last quadrant. "'Temporal'... as in time travel?! You can do that?"

Vin grabbed the piece of paper just to make sure the blonde had read it right. There was no atium on it, or the Eleventh Metal. But considering how the basic eight metals were organized, as well as the ones she knew about, it did seem logical for them to be organized like this. She turned to her teammates. "These might not even be Allomantically sound. If someone made this, they know about me. It could be Cinder trying to poison me."

"Poison you?" Weiss asked. "Wouldn't you just not be able to 'use' it?"

Yang nodded. "Yeah, what's the worst that can happen?"

"Burning non-Allomantic metals can kill a Mistborn," she explained. "Even the wrong percentages can give me headaches."

This caused RWVBY to pause. "Then we shouldn't," Ruby said, her smile replaced with a serious frown. "If it ends up hurting you, we won't do it." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"It would give us an edge in the Festival," Weiss muttered.

Blake raised an eyebrow. "As if Vin herself wasn't already one?"

"I tested a dozen of alloys for aluminum before I found duralumin," Vin explained as she continued to study the note for something - anything, that could give her a hint to its origins. "But I can't just test brand new metals. We need to find out where this came from first."

"Didn't that old guy at the ramen shop give it to you?" Yang asked.

Vin nodded. She might have gotten comfortable in this new life of hers, but she wasn't novice enough to let someone slip a paper into her pocket without being noticed. Much less replace one already there. "I could have sworn that I have seen him before, though," she muttered.

"He was working at From Dust Till Dawn when I first ran into Torchwick," Ruby realized. She gasped. "And he was the one who almost ran me over when Penny showed me she was a robot!"

"Well that seems highly serendipitous," Weiss stated.

Perhaps he is a spy for Cinder, the Mistborn wondered as she pulled out her scroll. After a few moments of struggle, she was able to call up Ironwood and ask him for some bars of the new metals. He said he'd have someone drop them off the next day. Vin said thanks and through the scroll to the side and got into her bed.

Slowly, the rest of her team did too. The silence, however, barely lasted an hour before Ruby and Yang lept out of their beds and flung something at the other three. Vin winced and pulled down… a pillow?

"Pillow fight!" they screamed before the room fell into feathery madness.

xFel: Definitely. We've already seen that Vin can detect semblances and magic, so of course she could sense him. In fact, she already did a few chapters ago ;)

ARE YOU PROUD OF ME MOM?! This chapter had a lot of fun moments, Qrow vs Winter, which is one of my favorite fights to DATE, and Vin learning something new.

I'm sorry for cutting the fight short, but with Ironwood's increased security, it wouldn't make sense for the fight to last as long as it did in canon. And, to be honest, I don't need to include everything that's in canon if it is the same here.

Next chapter is going to have another fight, but probably not at the beginning. I want Vin to get some time with her metals and what they do. But she's a big girl, so it might not take too long.

In other news, I launched the pilot of my second story 'My Mistborn Academia'. It was a lot of fun to write, but I did use almost the same opening as I did this one (sorry). Maybe I'll write a story about what happens on Scadrial after Vin leaves.

Please, feel free to follow and comment predictions, thoughts, etc. I am always looking for new ways to improve my craft. Tell your friends!