Transposition F — (For Chris Ayres)

by J-Dude2470

A change in fate leads Frieza to arrive just as the Eternal Dragon is summoned. A panicked wish sends not only Earth's fighters, but Namek's tormentor offworld. This wish has altered Remnant's fate, as all bear witness to a tyranny like no other. As hero and monster alike descend upon Mistral, what is set in motion will rock the very pillars of the world. —Post V4; Lng/AdultSit—

9. Lower Shambhala

"Dragonballs..." Blake repeated, after the crash course Bulma had just given her.

"That's unbelievable!" Sun remarked, seated upon the lacquered railing even as he leaned hard forward. "Any wish you could want, except all the bad stuff?"

"Yep," Bulma affirmed, eyes scanning the horizon as she lazily piloted the —reasonably swanky— fishing boat along the coastline, sharp cliffs of red rock for miles which had long passed the point of scientific curiosity. Even an alien world was only so interesting when it was scarcely different from Earth geography. "Not so easy making it happen without a means of tracking them though, which is why I invented a radar to read their specific energy frequencies. Kinda kicked off everything, really. We'd be up one nasty creek if I hadn't run into Goku that day, got him out of his hillbilly hovel in Nowhere, Paozu and set him on course to keep the planet safe."

Blake's eyelids sank as she sought Bulma's eyes with a wry grin. "You're positive he'd never have found his own way?"

Bulma gave a bark of laughter. "No chance at all, seriously. When we met, he tried to protect me from my own car, and couldn't tell I was a girl until I reintroduced the concept of girls to him."

Blake blinked. "He didn't know what a girl was?"

"No! Lived alone with his grandpa till he stepped on him, then went all Will Golding by his lonesome for however many years till I turned up. And trust me, he didn't really grasp the anatomical differences," Bulma finished, nose scrunched up and red-faced as she recalled the day they met Roshi. More specifically, the realization that Goku caused her to play commando the night before that and…

Blake blinked, ears twitching as something nagged at her. "What was that part about stepping on—?"

"Seriously though, faunus from another planet with tails and stuff like us!" Sun exclaimed, his own waving emphatically.

"You know full well I don't have a tail," Blake remarked lightly.

"Hey, not like I've been looking."

Blake's ears folded as she took visible offense. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Sun instantly backed towards the other side of the helm, hands raised in surrender. "Nothing! Just tails generally attach at a certain… and I don't think about you like that! I mean not like you don't look good, I'm just not the guy that would stare, especially not…like that… and..."

Blake's grimace could have peeled paint off the walls, an unwelcome redness around her nose. Bulma on the other hand smirked freely as both ignored her until she smacked a hand across Sun's back, making him jolt rod-straight. "So while you're digging that hole, I'd like to point out that Goku isn't a faunus, he's a Saiyan. They're these planet-clearing super-jacked aliens, and he got sent to our planet as a baby to wipe us all out, but he hit his head or something and forgot to?"

"Y'know, you don't make believing you easy," Blake admitted. "You're a scientist, but you believe in magic? … And… other weird stuff, but let's start simple."

"Hey, seeing is believing, but demonstrating, repeating and verifying are knowing. We summoned Shenron a bunch of times and it never failed. Was there for three of 'em so far."

Blake leaned over the rail, staring at the passing waves. "As if I didn't have enough regrets already… There's a lot I'd give up to have at least one of them just… wished away. A lot of people around me have been worse off for the pleasure."

Bulma heard the hurt in her voice and frowned in sympathy. "That's a real world-weary tone for a kid like you."

Blake said nothing at first. "The one we're stopping… Adam… he used to be my… partner."

Bulma caught her eye for but a split second. "Hmm," she intoned, nodding.

"At first, we started… I thought… on more or less the same page. Eventually I realized we were becoming… I was becoming something I couldn't stand for. We hurt people… usually it was justifiable, or he'd insist, an accident. A mistake. Then it was 'necessary', or 'acceptable losses.' And finally, it was 'who cares?' " Blake turned her back on the sea, sliding to sit down against the wall. "The White Fang was supposed to be the pushback. The prejudiced didn't fight fair, so it made sense if we didn't either. We thought we were stretching 'civil disobedience' to its limits, but the ones that suffered were only the worst, right?" Her eyes were so pale with memory. "But then it was employees and affiliates who deserved it. Then it was politicians who did nothing to help. Then, it was anyone who failed to act or speak out, the ones who 'let evil win.' I left when Adam stopped discerning enemies from bystanders, and he's only gotten worse! Now his own people, faunus who don't take his view are traitors, as culpable for our mistreatment as any human."

"Wow, my squeeze and I had problems," Bulma said, "biggest being he's kinda dead right now… but nothing like that."

"I'm sorry," Blake said to her, sympathizing.

"Well, whole point of going to Namek was to bring him and the others back… Now though, I don't know… I've gotta figure it was the Dragonballs that landed me here. Black sky was a sure sign, but what that wish could have been I don't know. What if I never get home? I'm all alone…"

Blake put a hand across Bulma's shoulders, but Sun was the one to tell her, flashing a grin. "Not right now, you're not."

Bulma caught his eye, beaming.

"It's kinda funny though," Blake told her, not laughing herself "your problem is getting forced away from the people you care about… I did that all myself. When I found Adam at Beacon, he was trying to butcher anyone in reach. He was worse than ever, and I've never seen that cold hard edge of hate… pointed at me. He swore to destroy everything I loved. He left me with a pretty decent scar…" Blake's thumb idly rubbed over her stomach. "...and then my best friend showed up… He cut her deeper."

Bulma fixed her with a fearful glance.

"Oh! No, she survived," Blake blurted, "but… she lost her arm... Knowing me, being close to me, cost her the dream of being a Huntress and ruined her life in so many other—"

Bulma stepped to face her with a clap of her heel, only one hand on the helm, her nostrils flared. "You stow that garbage right now!"

"Wait, hold on a… what—" Blake spluttered, uncertain she should take offense.

Bulma pressed the attack. "Stop punishing yourself for doing the right thing! If 'Adam' hurts people over you, you didn't hurt them!" Bulma released the helm altogether to plant her hands on the younger girl's shoulders. Sun rushed over to keep them from sailing into a cliff. "He's the problem, and we're gonna deal with him. This isn't the kind of thing you beat by yourself! And if your friend really would blame you for what happened, I say she deserved getting cut down to size!"

"No! No no," Blake insisted, eyes wide as she suppressed an illicit giggle. "Yang wouldn't say that, she—"

"Ah…" Bulma crooned, eyes lit up. "So you do realize it! So if your friends don't blame you, and you're not in the wrong, then you have no good reason to put this on yourself."

Sun shrugged, still steering the boat. "I mean, she's got a point."

Blake sighed. "I know. Guilty conscience, I guess. It's just hard not to feel… like, even if I came around before I sank to his level, the choice to get out should have been made earlier, and maybe if I had… it wouldn't have gone this far."

Sun gestured at the sea before them. "Well hey, if you hadn't, Adam would've done all this anyway, right? And we wouldn't be here right now putting a stop to it."

Blake smiled, ears wiggling to perk up with her grin. "Hmm." She couldn't really argue with that.

Bulma saw a flashing on the nav screen and practically bowled Sun over to retake the helm, killing the throttle and flicking a switch, the anchor dropping from the bow with a splash as chain fed over the top in a zip. "Speaking of, pleasure cruise is over… Cape London Bay, just around the bend."

Blake leapt out onto the bow. The craggy red stone was invariant, but she knew they were here regardless.

"Interesting your GPS works at all without a satellite network," Bulma mused. "Unless you have an array of antigrav broadcasting pods or high altitude towers, the only land-based equivalent I can think up involves cold-atom interferometry… and that's pretty sophisticated if you've never even been to space."

"Alright," Blake muttered, staring at the digital map. "High tide, so Adam's already in and everything is locked down. I really hope your plan works, Bulma."

Bulma reached into her case of dynocaps. " 'Bout to find out," she said, hitting the plunger and tossing one overboard.

There was a shimmering spray as the dynocap went off, a rainbow of colors from the sunlight filtering through the mist. The surrounding water boiled and foamed around the eggshell white sphere that had emerged, a glass canopy opening like a clam shell to admit its pilot.

"I'm still not used to that," Blake remarked at the techno wonder.

"Would have been a submarine, but that got crab-nabbed," Bulma explained in apology. "It's really just meant for quick escapes, but it'll do what we need for now."

"We all gonna fit?" Sun asked, noting the single seat. "Looks kinda… cramped."

Bulma took a running start and leapt into the seat. She found a switch behind her and a hatch extended to a space behind it. "Like I said, escape pod. But there's some room back here. Generally to connect with undersea airlocks, but hey, beggars and choosers. Get in."

The Huntsmen nimbly hopped upon the small vessel, slipping behind the seat until their heads alone sat over Bulma's shoulders, peering over.

"Augh! Sun!" Blake admonished, trying to peer over at her friend. "Personal space, please!"

Sun groaned. "Sorry, I can't help it! Now I know what a sardine feels like…"

Blake leered. "Don't butter me up…"

Bulma soundly ignored them, pulling out yet another capsule, this one with an actual suction cup at its neck. She tossed it skyward, then grabbed the stick-like ergonomic controls. A pair of comically oversized hands on steely arms shot out the pod's sides and neatly caught the cap between a thumb and forefinger, then planting the suction cup on the boat's side. In moments the ship appeared almost to glow, and burst all at once into white smoke. All that remained was a length of chain where the bow had been, which plunked into the sea with a splash.

Bulma's face went pink, a bashful grin plastered upon it. "I… owe your folks an anchor."

But Sun and Blake stared into the water to find nothing but the dynocap bobbing like a cork on the surface.

The pod scooped it out of the water, reaching back to where Bulma could idly snatch it, offering it to a bemused Blake. "Here, our options are a little better this way. Bonus, our tracks are covered if anyone does patrols out here. Just don't set it off till you need it…"

Blake stared at the little capsule in her hand, still trying to fathom that the whole boat they'd ridden in was now neatly tucked away as to fit in her pocket. "Right."

"Okay, seadogs!" Bulma cried. "Down we go!"

The canopy snapped down and sealed, before the great metal arms paddled around through the water before knifing both hands in and diving beneath the waves in a curtain of froth and bubbles. Sunlight filtered through the foggy blue that now surrounded them, the surface above shimmering and growing more distant as they sank.

"Whoa…" Sun exclaimed in hushed awe, a thin kelp forest rising to meet them, hypnotically swaying with the current as it eerily surged in and out.

"Never been?" Bulma asked, a school of silvery fish dashing past as the light above grew ever so slightly dimmer.

"No," Blake answered, as the sandy bottom came into view.

"Not a lot of… y'know, ocean in Vacuo," Sun offered, uncharacteristically quiet.

"Deploy legs…" Bulma muttered, a whirring heard in the lower section of the pod as she worked a complicated pedal system. In moments they all heard and felt the thick, waterlogged thud as they finally struck the ocean floor, a plume of grainy sand clouding the water. "...and touchdown! Alright, here we go."

She spun the control sticks, the machine hands curling into fists as it suddenly bounded through the water, cutting through past coral and a wary grouper before touching ground once more. Before long, they were moon-bouncing through the murk at a steady pace.

"Alright!" Sun cried, head nodding appreciatively. "So even if they've got radar or something…"

"Sonar," Blake and Bulma corrected at once.

"Or that," Sun agreed, "they won't track us down here!"

Bulma found a patch of empty sand and comfortably idled forward, turning to face him completely. "Yep," Bulma affirmed, "steady road from here."

She shared a friendly glance with Sun, before his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Uh…"

"Hm? What?" Bulma asked, facing forward with a snap, seeing nothing but a flush of sand in a current racing to the right of them.

"A tail," Blake said, a firm hand gripping Bulma's shoulder. "Whatever it was, it's big."

Bulma brought the tiny mech to a stop, landing heavy on both feet as she readied its arms. They twisted left and right, checking for any signs of life.

Nothing.

Bulma let out a breath. "I guess it swam off or—"

They all jolted with the impact as a mouth full of teeth loomed from the left and snapped shut upon the mech's arm.

"Mother flounder!" Bulma shrieked, fighting to regain control as she stared into a glowing orange eye attached to a broad black head, its underside white. Above its clamping jaws were several pits lining its snout.

The creature released the mech as the right fist dully collided with its head, mouth open in threat as it drifted back to reveal its full form. The neck went on over its curving girth to its tail, such that neither ended nor began. A dorsal gossamer fin ran the entire length of its muscled body.

"Giant eel?!"

"A Grimm!" Sun noted.

"A what?!"

"An Abaia," Blake finished as it stared them down.

"Well which is it?!" Bulma demanded, just before the beast whipped into a somersault, its tail lashing at them from a distance. A tremendous current threw a line of sand into the air before the entire mech was blasted backwards by the force and embedded with a dusty crunch onto a cluster of coral.

"Damn it!" Bulma cried, working to right themselves. "This craft doesn't have any weapons; how do I spook it so it leaves us alone?!"

"What?! It's not an animal, it's a Grimm!" Blake reiterated. "It's not going to back off! It isn't hunting, it's trying to kill us."

"Then I need a better way to fight it!"

Blake considered. "Is there a way to get outside?"

Bulma sighed. "Not without flooding us, if you mean something human! All I have is just for smaller objects!"

Blake reached back, pulling out the katana half of Gambol Shroud. "This work?!"

Bulma stared. "I don't know… might be too bi—"

Even as she said it, the blade hinged back along the pistol part of it, becoming far more compact.

"Okay," Bulma said, still pondering. "Rather have something like a spear, but with machine strength behind it—"

They all cried out as the Abaia lunged forward again, teeth scraping over their canopy as it carried them all back through the water.

"Whatever, give it here!" Bulma shouted, eyeing the needle teeth in terror as Blake shoved the blade in her hands.

"Do not lose my weapon."

What had looked like a glove box opened to reveal a space not much larger than a game console, and Bulma wasted no time sliding it in and slamming the door shut. There was a noise of working servos before bubbles danced across the canopy and Grimm over it, and the mechanical hand reached for the relatively shank-like weapon.

The other arm pried the worming mass of darkness off of them as she held Gambol Shroud in the other hand, before a sheepish expression overtook her. "Um… so… how do I make it be a sword again?"

There was a silent second before Sun smacked his own forehead. "Ohhhh, right…"

The pits in the creature's snout glowed blue, before the mech's electrical system seized as lightning arced across their entire field of vision.

In moments they were flat on their backs as the Grimm gained distance, but slowly circled back, still radiating with an electric current.

"Where's the switch?!" Bulma demanded, the hand fumbling with the dark weapon. "This thing's sausage fingers aren't exactly articulate!"

"There's no button, Bulma!" Blake explained. "It's Aura activated, you have to channel your Aura through it and will it to change!"

"M-my will?"

"Yes, and you've got plenty!" Blake replied. "Don't even think about it, just make it happen… you can do it, Bulma."

The arm reached for the pistol grip, enclosing it easily. Bulma took a breath. The creature surged towards them, somersaulting again as bolts charged over its long body.

And then it happened, the katana's innards working as it snapped back into a proper blade. Bulma gasped, before narrowing her eyes and taking action.

They all heard the wailing screech of the Abaia as, in the backswing of sending an electrical shockwave, its tail was sliced clean off.

Bulma's fists, in both senses, shot up as she broke out into a triumphant grin. "I DID it!"

"Don't let up!" Sun advised. "I think you just made it mad."

Indeed, even as black ink trailed from its wound, the Grimm only became more aggressive, turning to strike like a snake, getting slashed across the face for its efforts as Bulma hacked away rather clumsily.

"So help me, I'm having unagi for dinner!" Bulma blustered angrily as she fought.

Inevitably however, Bulma landed a solid stab into its body, and even as it roared in agony, the mech's systems sent off sparks and flashed chaotically while current jolted all but their insulated cabin.

But as the beast drifted off again, they fell onto their backs as the mech went still. Bulma pulled and twisted the sticks that had suddenly gone lock stiff. "No no no no no, we've lost motor control! Reboot reboot reboot!"

They stared up at the eel's black figure, rippling against the bright blue surface as it doubled back. Steadily however, it began drawing closer again. Bulma checked the readout, which registered… "We don't have ten seconds!" she shouted at the timer, flicking switches and resetting minor systems as she tried to think. "One more shot like that and we're just canned goods on the— SWEET DEAD KAMI, I'VE GOT IT!" she suddenly blared, eyebrows risen at her own cleverness.

The two Huntsmen watched as she flicked one more switch and pulled out another empty dynocap, even as the eel returned its attention to them, charging as it wound through the water. Bulma inserted the cap into a slot that looked more like a cigarette lighter port, which accepted it readily.

"Go!" she said, flicking the same switch again, as they watched the tiny thing shoot through the water like a miniaturized torpedo. It sailed past the Grimm as it neared them, just as the mecha blinked to life, the reboot complete. "Brace for it!" she cried, as the pod whirled around to face the sandy floor, embedding Gambol Shroud in a nearby rock and holding the grip with both hands.

The capsule shredded any calm in the sea as it suddenly sucked at its surroundings. Water was siphoned along with it and dragged kelp towards its center. A tendril of air slowly threaded down from the surface as a whirlpool formed above then. The Grimm stood no chance. Feet from their craft, it screeched as it fought the current. But the insatiable force claimed it at last, even as the very sand beneath the mech began to drift up in rivulets.

But moments later it all stopped, and taking its place was a wash of current as the ocean closed the slight gap.

Bulma flipped them upright again, catching the resulting capsule which floated down from above.

"You caught it?" Blake asked, surprised yet again.

Bulma nodded. "It, and like, a million odd gallons of seawater."

"It can't escape from that?" Sun asked, wincing as if it might explode.

"Not anymore. Dynocaps can't sustain life. All neural and cardiac activity stops dead inside. You couldn't imagine the disclaimers we've had to post…"

With the creature conquered they traced the sea wall until they found the clear outsider: a great barnacle encrusted iron door thirty feet down from the waterline. It wasn't sophisticated, nor sealed, merely painted the same color as the stone to match at a distance. They floated before it, the buoyancy regulators keeping them level. Upon the door was a simple numeric keypad.

"What do you think?" Bulma asked, one of the mech's fingers already extending a precision pointer to match the keys. "No cameras, but are they the type to trip an alarm on submerged access, or the wrong code?"

"They'd be careful," Blake affirmed, "but the White Fang aren't renowned for having much in the way of engineers. My Dad told me they contracted humans to design it and then just followed a blueprint. Didn't go so well the first time."

"First…?" Sun inquired.

Blake winced. "Well, they tried to build it originally at Jack's Point, closer to home…"

"You mean they sank it," Bulma said, rolling her eyes as Blake nodded beside her. "Not shocking, contracting people to do something this ambitious. Let's assume a three strike lockout alarm…" The finger-stylus approached the keys. "Three...two-two...one, three."

A red LED strobed for a second, but remained silent.

"Okay, maybe add the pound sign?" Bulma said to herself, before plugging the digits in a second time. The red LED flashed as before, and the iron door remained deathly still. Bulma sighed. "Sonava'..."

"Ilia told them the code was compromised, they must have changed it," Blake concluded, glaring at the keypad.

"Or it just knows not to open underwater," Bulma countered.

"Guess we can see how well your sword works as a crowbar?" Sun suggested.

Bulma turned to stare in surprise. "Huh? The sword has a freaking hinge built into it! I'm surprised it hasn't snapped in two already, let alone doing tha—"

"It's an aluminum/steel alloy forged under grav-Dust compression treatment and generally Aura-hardened," Blake blurted, stung. "Those hinges take the strain just fine."

Bulma stared, eyebrows shooting into her hair. "You… built it yourself?"

"Yes," Blake said flatly, almost daring Bulma to challenge her over it.

"Okay, well, time to see how advanced this is…" Bulma deflected, back to the task at hand. Each of the mech's fingers opened to reveal a suite of small tools. As if conducting a mechanized orchestra, it all set to work removing the keypad piece by piece until the pad hung limply to a clear polycarbonate case, three mounted copper wires sealed and safe from the ocean.

"Ha! Yeah, consumer grade security." Bulma exclaimed. "Well, this'll be easy." And then she tore the plastic casing clean off.

"Bulma, wait, you don't!—"

There was a bright blue spark as the wires met salt water, shorting in an instant before Blake or Sun could stop her.

"Open Sesame!" Bulma sang, before the door gave a heavy, screeching lurch and lifted into the ceiling, revealing the dark interior as gears along the sides spun with a thick clatter that passed through the water with ease. "Seriously though, that wouldn't trip a real alarm, the pad just sends a signal on wrong entries. Run current through the water and it hits each wire, including the signal to open the door."

"They're not going to notice that?" Blake asked as Bulma activated the mech's forward lamps and floated inside.

"Did you see how new that casing looked?" Bulma asked. "That seal must break pretty frequently. Even if they do notice, they won't assume intrusion till we're long gone. This is the sort of place where on certain weeks the door is just stuck open…"

The submerged dock within was only designed to harbor a few small craft, which were presently bobbing safely in cutouts in the stone ceiling, air pockets and a collapsible steel cage keeping them safely aligned in high tides.

"That our way through?" Sun asked.

Blake considered. "No. They wouldn't force themselves to wait till the tide rose that high."

"Pretty sure it's the lit one," Bulma said gazing left at the air pocket attached to an actual ladder on the sunken walkways, a bright shimmering square. "Classic moon-pool/wet porch design. And if it likely has surface ventilation, it's probably safe to poke in. First thing's first though…"

Bulma leveled with the keel of the two boats, Gambol Shroud still in hand. Like punching a hole in a watermelon she stabbed each below the waterline. "Yeah, I think that'll buy us some time."

With that, they ascended the ladder and surfaced, the mech pawing its way onto solid ground of what looked akin to the inside of a submarine. They each hopped out as the canopy opened, the humid air washing over them, stale from stagnation. Blake retrieved her katana-gun from the mech's grip, shaking the saltwater off of it ruefully.

Sun stretched himself out, groaning in delight. "Good to be outta that… so what now?"

Blake pointed her thumb at the only bulkhead door, roughly oval in shape and painted white like the rest of it. They followed her lead, stepping slowly. A single window saw through to a room no bigger than a phone booth, and yet another door across from it.

"Yep, airlock," Bulma muttered. "Only way through, door's locked from the other side."

"Can we have the robot just bust it down?" Sun asked. "I mean, if it's what we've got it's what we've got…"

Bulma shook her head furiously. "We're still below sea level, and the rest of the base has surface ventilation!"

Sun stared. "So?"

Bulma spluttered, but Blake nodded. "So we equalize pressure and this little haven we're standing in floods to submerge the whole base."

Bulma took a breath. "Yes, exactly. Hard to survey or rescue anyone if they're busy drowning."

"So we're just stuck here?" Sun demanded. "Sierra Khan—"

"Sienna."

—"could get the ax any minute!"

Bulma nodded, deep in thought. "We just need another way to…"

"What's in this?" Blake asked, indicating a sheet metal box in the corner, angling into the base proper a head above the ground.

Bulma glared at it. "That's impossible." she declared. "There's no way they put a surface duct here! Seriously?! An idiot with a sledgehammer could reach their front door, punch this in and doom the whole base?!"

"An air duct?" Blake asked, eyes like pinpricks. "Seriously? A man-sized air duct?"

Sun watched in confusion as both wrestled with the existence of this spy trope made real, this affront to reason and practicality. Somehow, Bulma managed to calm her throbbing mind.

"Okay… okay… If I'm not having a fever dream, we'll have limited access, but still access. We'll seal the pod and use the docking port in its back, cut a hole in the duct and then weld that hole to the seal and crawl in."

"Will… that work?" Blake asked, trying to follow.

"Eh… I've done harder with less," Bulma told her, already reaching for the pod's emergency tool kit, complete with an acetylene torch. She pulled the trigger, a jewel blue blame hissing out.

---

"Yeah, Atlas is tapped out, so next stop for me is probably Vale," the smuggling pilot shared, his helmet seated upon the bar table as they finally got a look at his face, hard brows light over green eyes and beneath a mop of wavy brown helmet hair. "The outer townships, I mean. Travel ban bred a scarcity, so at least like this I keep a clear conscience… get stuff to folks in need, all that crap."

"A lovely notion," Weiss told him, sipping her strawberry martini, more out of politeness than anything else. She wasn't a fan of alcohol on account of her mother, but given all their social functions and the lax enforcement, she was quite used to it. As it turned out, liquor sales in Mistral were permissible as young as seventeen years of age, so their smuggler chauffeur incurred less risk than expected in buying her a drink… which was to say none.

Well, aside from the ever expanding risk to his pocketbook, as Vegeta tore through the short menu of appetizers: the establishment's sole food items. Weiss and the pilot were doing all they could to pretend he wasn't stripping chicken wings at a rate piranhas might respect, not breaking his resting scowl as not even the other patrons could resist staring. He wasn't even rude about it. The food just vanished, like sleight of hand in a magic act.

It wasn't a fancy bar. It was just part of the airship terminal: a Mistrali themed sports bar dubbed —in rather poor taste per Weiss' opinion— 'The Baggage Claim.' Which beside its cynical play on words was also unhelpful and confusing to new arrivals.

Vegeta finally took a breath, a hostess in flowing attire swooping in after another emptied plate, as though she'd have lost the flesh on her hands if she lingered. The pilot finally looked at him properly. "Guess I'm not shocked you're balancing things out. I don't know what it takes to shake off a bottle of straight absinthe, but that's a fine start."

"Saiyan metabolism…" Vegeta managed between mouthfuls, "...far exceeds your kind."

Weiss winced. "I think he got over the drink inside of a minute."

"Saiyan, huh?" the pilot asked, examining the bill left by their server and holding it at varying distances, as if getting the focus right would reveal a different sum. "What Kingdom are they by?"

"The Saiyan race is nearly extinct, but our sovereignty sat apart."

"Right… but where?" he said, the number on his scroll reflecting the bill before he tapped a white lien chit, which promptly shimmered patent green as the funds were transferred.

"Vegeta."

Weiss perked up, questioning that she heard right. "The land is called…?"

"The planet."

The pilot reached for the empty absinthe bottle, examining its label. "Hundred proof… yep. So what's next for you two?" he said, stool screeching along the floor as he stood up, dropping the green chit atop the bill.

Weiss finished the last of her drink in well-practiced silence. "My sister Winter is stationed with the Atlas forces here. With any luck, I'll find her and at least we can figure it out from there. I didn't see any ships, but these mountains are huge…"

The hostess, who had collected the last of their tableware and pay, took sudden interest, sleek black hair swaying as she turned. "Atlas? I'm afraid your sister's likely gone, miss."

Weiss snapped around. "Wait, gone?! How do you mean?"

The hostess lowered her serving tray, slouching respectfully. "The Atlas lockdown also ordered a recall to all overseas forces. If she's with Atlas, she'd be no exception."

"That's insane!" Weiss cried, standing up as well while Vegeta watched, impassive. "Mistral is all well and good, but Vale is crippled! So the lockdown isn't just a civilian precaution, it's total isolationism?!"

The hostess shook her head with sympathy. "That's just what I know. The withdrawal was quite sudden though. I suppose it's possible for there to be stragglers."

"Thank you," Weiss said curtly, grabbing her case, heels clapping as she made for the door.

"And just where are you running off to?" Vegeta demanded, not even raising his voice. Still she stopped dead.

"To find my sister," she said plainly.

Vegeta closed the distance between them slowly. "Yes, and then?"

She shrugged. "Well, find what's left of my team, I guess."

He scoffed. "Your team. Do you expect I'll train them as well? If you're not a complete waste of my time, they'll scarcely be more than a burden to you."

Weiss sighed. "No, I don't expect that. You let me worry about them."

"That's not really the point," the Prince said, following her out the door. "I said stop!"

She obliged, turning in the corridor to face him, the rest of Mistral just beyond the hall. When she waited, he spoke again.

"Let me spell out exactly where we stand: I am not your traveling companion. And you are not free to leave wherever you like. I didn't agree to teach you just to kill time. You'll see this through till you've learned, or it becomes clear you don't have what it takes. I agreed, because you might be of use to me as a lieutenant.

"Once we've dealt with the other being of power that prowls your world, you're free to do as you wish. But make no mistake… until that time, I own you."

Weiss recoiled, his words striking her, forcing her to act somehow. "I never agreed to any such thing!" she said in a stage whisper, wary of causing a scene and attracting rescuers. "That wasn't the deal!"

"There was no deal. I'm dictating terms now." Vegeta gave a wicked smile. "You're in no position to refuse. Come now, girl, you're a poor judge of character if you didn't figure on this. Remember, you came to a scoundrel like me."

Weiss didn't answer immediately, scowling in silence as a rare crowd of arrivals shuffled by. "I'm not just going to do whatever you say."

He chuckled, raising his palm flatly in her direction. "But you will." A brilliant gold sphere hummed into existence in his hand. "Know this: even were your full power made available, I am far over a hundred fold what you are. Only one being on this planet could even challenge me, and he is an even greater threat to your kind than I… So you will do as I command, learn under me, and we may just save your little world."

They stared at each other, Weiss brimming with anger as she felt the heat of the energy aimed for her. "My father kept me under his thumb my entire life…! I suffered and worked and sacrificed to get out… and I'm not letting the first person I run into put a leash on me again!" She reached out with both hands, gripping his wrist as she winced. "D-Do it…! I will never submit to anyone in fear again! Not like I did to him…!"

Vegeta's eyebrows raised, the blast still humming in his hand. For a moment, every trace of a smile had been replaced with thin-lipped contemplation.

"What are you waiting for?!" Weiss demanded, her grip intensifying. She refused to close her eyes.

"Hmm!" Vegeta grunted, as the grin returned. Passersby couldn't help glancing over as the sphere vanished, and he instead unleashed a blast of laughter. "Pride…! And the spine to back it, if not the power… I didn't even feel you tremble. It takes sheer nerve or unbridled psychopathy to stir the sleeping wrath of the Super Saiyan and invite what comes next…"

"Super Saiyan?" she breathed, grip slackening even as she awaited the killing blow.

He chuckled again. "Never mind. I advise that you let go."

"Our situation hasn't changed." Weiss answered.

The ease of her grip was all he needed to rip his hand away, arms crossing even as she stumbled. "No, not really. But I'm still in the planning phase for dealing with that bastard, and I've little else better to do. And with your ambition, I doubt you'll refuse our common goal."

She flexed her fingers. "How can I be sure you're not the one we need to worry about?"

He closed his eyes. "You don't, but you won't say that once you've met Frieza himself. Point is, I'm a lot more likely to let you and your kind live."

Weiss sighed. "Can we find my sister now?"

He shrugged. "If it means leaving this port, by all means… If I see that pilot again, I feel I won't resist destroying him."

Weiss gave an exasperated sigh.

---

It had been touch and go, but Bulma had successfully cut and welded the duct to the emergency port. There had been a few scares, like the realization that lighting a hot flame in an enclosed space sealed off to exterior air wasn't conducive to breathing. But in the end it had worked out, and the wet porch chamber was only knee-high with seawater between breaching the air duct and sealing it all together.

Bulma was liking this 'Aura' business more and more. Despite what the movies would tell you, air ducts were not designed for human travel. Their fit through the first bend from the mech had been a cramped, claustrophobic exercise in contortion, and the passive shielding of Bulma's Aura had prevented the razor sharp sheet metal from cutting her.

Thankfully, as the bit of duct large enough for them to traverse tapered off, they had discovered a better mode of travel.

Sun's foot kicked out the slitted vent and they each crawled out. Harsh, half eroded sandstone was all around them. Blake looked behind to see the ducts traveling alongside the heavy steel corridors, ceiling of the same stone unevenly passing above it.

"Well, this is an improvement," Sun noted, nodding to himself.

"W-where are we now?" Bulma asked, blinking around. "Shoot, did I bring a flashlight?!"

"Flashlight?" Blake asked, reeling around at Bulma, whose eyes couldn't find hers. Then the penny dropped. "Oh, of course…" She squeezed Bulma's hand, watching her jump slightly. "Bulma, faunus like us all have night vision."

"Wow, seriously?"

"Yes, and that means Sun and I can see you perfectly. It also means… well, can you make out those squares?" Blake guided her hand, bidding her to look at what she could see were bright single squares of light at regular intervals. "This must have been a natural cavern they dug out and turned into a bunker, and we're in a crawlspace where the fit was imperfect. Those squares are access vents, and since everyone else here is a faunus, your light is really gonna give us away."

Bulma's eyes sank. "So I'm stuck in the dark?"

Blake knew she couldn't see it, but smiled kindly. "Hold my hand and I'll guide you."

"Won't I just slow you down?"

Sun shook like a dog ridding itself of water. "What? You kidding me?"

"What…?" Bulma asked, perplexed.

"Bulma…" Blake began. "I can't stress enough. I had my doubts, but… you've been amazing! We barely had a plan coming here, and if not for you, I think we'd have blown our cover already fighting that Grimm or getting through that door. We couldn't have gotten this far without you."

Bulma blushed in the dark. "Well… yes… that is true."

Blake giggled. "So if we come across something in here we can't sneak around or force our way past, we want you with us for option three."

Bulma nodded, beaming. "Well of course you would."

"So, stealth being my thing, just follow my lead… Watch your footfalls, heel-toe steps if we need to walk on the metal. I'll pinch your hand if it's okay to talk, do the same if there's something wrong."

With that, they carefully walked, crawled and climbed through the access caverns, occasionally looking through the vents for anything of note. After a particularly tight squeeze, they encountered the largest sections yet. One was merely the mess hall, another a barracks and training center. But finally…

"Throne room!" Sun cried out, both girls instantly shushing him in the dark.

"No doubt about it," Blake muttered, peering through the gap. Unlike the rest of Lower Shambhala, which seemed little more than a bunker, the cavernous room at forty feet in height was largely comprised of stone. Smooth brickwork lined the floor, a red carpet with gold accents running between the raised, empty throne and great door. Banners bearing the emblem of the beast and clawmark were draped along columns stretching to the ceiling, and statues of hooded, armed figures sat within insets along the walls between them.

"Wow, take themselves pretty seriously, don't they?" Bulma muttered, noting the stark contrast with the rest of the base.

"Nobody's here," Sun said, unnecessarily. "Did we miss it?"

Blake hummed, amber eyes searching the room. "No sign of a struggle. No blood. They couldn't clean it up that fast. It must not have happened yet. They wouldn't be in a hurry either, Ilia's scroll said they'd been shuffling Adam's sympathizers onto the base's staff, so nearly everyone is on his side. He wouldn't need to hide it from anyone stationed here."

"So… we wait?" Sun asked.

Blake sighed. "So we wait…" She pulled out her scroll. "Bulma, the moment this starts, record everything you can, like I showed you."

Bulma took it, fiddling with the barely understood device before giving a nod.

And so they waited, lying in the dry, cold cave for what felt like hours. As the minutes wore on, that ever sneaking doubt entered Blake's thoughts. If they had changed the passcode due to Ilia's scroll being stolen, could they have changed anything else? Certainly not the date? Sienna Khan had arranged the meet herself…

But no sooner had they resigned to the notion than a side chamber hidden in the walls had opened, and in strode the High Leader herself at an agitated pace.

Bulma gave a soft gasp as she readied the scroll. "Oh my gosh, she's beautiful…!"

Indeed, Sienna Khan was an imposing, impressive presence. Dark caramel skin was striped many shades darker across her arms, making her eyes —the same shade as Blake's— seem to glow. Tigress ears sprouted from jet black hair that barely touched her shoulders, but was wild as a surging river. A red gem sat upon her forehead, apart from the various rings adorning her person. She wore a flowing ensemble of crimson, black and sandy beige.

She gave a snap, signaling a contingent of guards with steely spears to enter through the main door, arranging themselves in ceremony before staying put. Only then, having stood perfectly still for the duration, did Sienna sit down to glare at the door.

"I'll see him now," she commanded, before the doors opened again. The doors cracked open heavily, echoing over the stone as another stepped in. Clad in black, a kimono over long pants, the man stepped forth, chokutō and sheath —dubbed 'Wilt' and 'Blush' respectively— at his side. Two horns poked up to blend with red hair, chaotically streaked darker in spots. His Grimm-like mask hid much of his expression behind four thin eye slits, but it didn't hide the assured grin below it.

"Whoa…!" Sun exclaimed quietly. "Is that—?"

"Adam," Blake hissed, unconsciously gripping her blade handle.

"High Leader Khan," Adam Taurus began, strolling in. "You said my presence was required?"

"Yes," Sienna said, eyes steely. "If you understood your position, you'd wipe that smirk off your face. For months you avoided this meeting, so I hope you've taken that time to redeem yourself in the eyes of the White Fang. My eyes."

Adam's frown did sour a shade, himself taking a breath. "I came here when I could afford to… and I'm not sure what you mean, Leader. Redemption for what?"

"You have done much for the faunus in the past," Sienna projected as she raised her voice, bending far over in her throne, "but these slights, these insults you've made of late… to me and your people… You have exhausted my goodwill, and it is by what remains of my mercy that you were not killed on sight!"

The smile left Adam's face completely. He was still, inscrutable. "You still haven't told me my crime."

"BEACON!" Sienna roared at last, her eyes huge with fury. "This is too far, Adam! The repercussions of your attack are now felt far and wide by the faunus! Those that vilify us are poised to act upon their hatred! Those who tolerated us are now driven into the arms of the humans that would enslave and destroy us! The Transmit system, gone, crippling our own efforts with humanity's! And these human allies of yours, criminals who the world has seen use us like common dogs! And these… others among them, whose motives you cannot possibly know!"

Her words literally rang through the throne room. Adam stood, statuesque as he waited.

"Adam Taurus…" she began again, concern and patience returning to her demeanor, "the White Fang is fierce… for we are small. The faunus are outnumbered ten to one! We keep the humans at bay, make them fear and respect us… but their full attention, united against us, was NEVER sought! You have awoken a sleeping giant, and filled it with a terrible resolve…!"

She let the weight of her words fall, the three hidden far above hanging on to each of them.

"She sounds almost reasonable," Bulma said with surprise.

"She does," Blake said, eyes softening, "but really it's just the instinct of a cornered animal… and sometimes the best approach defies instinct outright. Sometimes the best weapon to fight oppression isn't a weapon at all."

"Outnumbered," Adam scoffed, his smile returning. "That's fair odds. Because I'd say a faunus is worth ten humans any day."

Sienna merely shook her head, eyes narrowing.

He continued. "We're the next step in evolution. We're all that they are, but more. Our siege proved their power is a lie! A whole Kingdom, hobbled overnight, the rest of them scattered and confused! We can win, put the humans in their place and take what's rightfully ours!"

"You've completely lost your mind," Sienna whispered, eyeing him as though she'd never seen him properly. "What has happened to you? Have you completely forgotten that waiting beyond this fight for equality, the Grimm lie, ready to descend upon the survivors of your war?! For all the troubles we've endured, the Kingdoms are a necessary evil. You are so intent upon your own hate, you forget the Grimm agree we're equal to humanity…"

Adam laughed softly, with clear excitement. "But that's the best part. That's the secret. We needn't fear the Grimm any longer. Hazel!"

The doors opened heavily, and in strode a mountain of a man. Sienna stood up immediately. "What is this?!" she demanded. "How dare you barge into this c— Is… is he…?!"

The man didn't stop. Clad in an olive green coat, broad faced with walnut hair and a beard that swept from his sideburns to his chin, he was as imposing in form as he was by his very entrance.

"A representative of the humans who aided our attack on Beacon," Adam explained, teeth just visible in his smile. "Their master has sovereignty over the Grimm themselves! The beasts were weaponized, domesticated and thrown at the gates of the Huntsmen until—"

"Until naught but the Grimm inhabited it!" Sienna concluded, fury mounting. "I can have you killed for this, Taurus! A human?! In Lower Shambhala?! How did you even bring him this far?!"

Adam only smirked. "That's not important. I've seen them summon a great wyvern from the earth which laid waste to their city. I'd think you might at least be interested in the men behind such power."

Hazel offered a smile. "Ma'am, I come with respect for the faunus on behalf of my leader. I'm only here to present you the means to break your stalemate, and give the faunus what's been denied to them. We only ask for your cooperation."

Bulma looked between Blake and Sun, both of which were sporting brows furrowed with confusion. "Someone you know?"

Blake shook her head. "Command the Grimm? What is this…?"

"Do they mean that guy with the hat?" Sun asked. "Lampwick, or whatever?"

Below Sienna Khan glared at Hazel. "Your master? I've been reading every report on Vale that's left the continent; my information tells me Roman Torchwick was killed by the same Grimm horde that stormed the city."

Blake reeled. "Torchwick is dead…?"

Hazel closed his eyes and gave a gravelly grunt of laughter. "Torchwick? He was common vermin that met with a fate befitting vermin. I answer to someone far above a mere street criminal."

The High Leader's eyes narrowed. "If by accident, then your control is incomplete… if by design, then your master's opinion of the expendable is the sort I will not share. Are we to be the next 'vermin,' discarded and unmourned by these… people, once we have fulfilled their purpose?"

"Ma'am, nothing could be further—"

"I've heard enough!" Sienna cried with finality. "Adam… you are a fool! You have been manipulated, and your division used for pawns. And if the Grimm, the enemy of human and faunus alike, are to be your weapon, then you are a traitor to either! Remove them all from my sight!" She echoed through the room, but not a single guard heeded her command. Her eyes narrowed. "That was not a suggestion! What are you…?"

She fell silent. Her guards failed to meet her eye.

"You put us on the right course, Sienna," Adam explained, "but your way can only take us so far. They have realized that, and sided with me. We need a High Leader with the stomach to take us where you couldn't."

Sienna stood frozen. "You expect I'll step down? I think you've quite forgotten what I'm capable of…"

"Let's see," Adam suggested with a grin. "Kill her."

"What?" Hazel growled, even as the guards rushed forward.

Hidden in her belt, Sienna Khan pulled a length of chain, ending in a steely blade she began to whirl around herself as a light flail. Even so, the ranks tried to close around her, Adam himself staying back, hand ready at his scabbard.

"We need to go!" Blake insisted, pulling Bulma into her feet as they hurried for the main door. Sun made it first to the space above the hall, staring through the grating to where a pair of guards were barricading the door and sealing Sienna within. With a whirl of his staff, Sun choked up on one end and swiftly stabbed through the grating like a medieval murder-hole. The first guard was struck in the back of the head and knocked flat, the other barely reacting before he was struck as well, joining his fellow slumped upon the ground. A simple flick of the staff lifted the bar sealing them in, and little sooner had he managed this than one of the doors was pulled open by Sienna's chain and she slipped through to dart into the halls, a confused shout emanating from the throne room.

"Bulma, stay put, I'm going after her!" Blake told her cerulean friend, even as Adam stalked out the door below with Hazel thundering in his wake.

"You idiots!" Adam cried, drawing his blade at the sight of the unconscious guards. "You let her—"

Bulma gave a sharp gasp as she covered her mouth, preparing for him to skewer the pair, but Hazel's arm closed around his wrist, even as Adam's head perked up to the ceiling.

"Is it not enough for one of your faithful to be slain?" Hazel demanded. "We're sealed in. Where could she run?"

Adam growled. "I'll thank you not to tell me how to conduct my own affairs."

"And for that matter, are you so blood-starved, you'll reward your own advocate with a knife in the ribs?"

Adam calmed himself, sheathing his blade. "You heard her. She wants no place in our new world. She's a hindrance, a backslider like the Belladonnas. She threw our offer in our faces."

Hazel crossed his arms. "Forget so soon? Cinder received much the same from you when she came calling. You were forgiven, and made to see the truth of things."

"I look to the future. She is mired in the past. I began the tradition of adopting humanity's fear of the Grimm to strengthen ourselves. If I could only have known it would be a prophetic act… but when faced with the sign, I didn't refuse destiny twice."

"Hmm," Hazel intoned. "Know this… In doing what we do, sometimes people need to die. That is not my goal. Cinder might be keen to throw lives away, and so you take after her methods… but one day, you'll come to appreciate the value of a life… even a misguided one."

Bulma watched in silence as he only appeared to stare at Hazel, before turning and brusquely following the clatter of guards that passed them.

---

Sienna was running short of ground and she knew it. She was well ahead of her pursuers, but the bunker was only so big, and she had no idea who, if anyone, she could trust. And she couldn't fight them all.

She heard a scuffling overhead as she rounded a corner, and jumped nearly out of her skin as she saw the girl with raven hair hanging upside down from the ceiling, arms extended.

"Sienna, grab my hand!"

She complied. She didn't understand it, but there was no threat here. She was hoisted up into the dark to see a monkey boy replace the grate they entered through. No sooner had they made it up than the contingent of guards stormed past below. They waited for the sounds to fade as Sienna stared curiously at her rescuer. "You… you're Ghira and Khali's girl."

She nodded. "Blake. This is Sun..."

"Yo!"

"...and we're getting you out of here."

She gazed around the stony crawlspace. "I'd nearly forgotten these old caverns were still out here. How in the world did you know I would need help to begin with, let alone slip your way past the defenses?"

"We had some help," Sun explained shortly. "But Adam's been planning this a while, by the look a' things."

"Well you'll all be commended," Sienna told the pair. "Their plans endanger not only the White Fang, but the faunus as a whole. I didn't part ways with your family on exemplary terms, but there's no doubt we'll agree what's best for the faunus here."

Blake nodded. "What's the best way out?"

"I was headed to the emergency hangar," Sienna Khan explained, pointing. "We keep bullheads fueled and ready under a sealed connection to the surface. We can only open it from the inside with explosive pins."

Blake nodded, checking Gambol Shroud's magazine before taking off with Sun into the darkness. "Alright, but we need to go back for our friend first."

Sienna followed tentatively. "Friend?"

As they shuffled off, Adam Taurus skulked the hall below them. He came to a stop, as his feet nearly stepped through a neat square of red dust on the floor. Hidden eyes stretched between the spot, and the similarly shaped grating directly overhead.

---

Bulma sat in the dark, apprehensive to the rumbles of the cavern and the ghoulish echoes of searching White Fang guards in the distance.

Then, something reached from the ink and slammed a small hand over her mouth. She tried to scream.

"Bulma it's m— ARGH!" the familiar voice of the attacker shrieked in an unusually high pitch.

Still gagged, Bulma reached behind and clutched firmly at a great deal of hair, as well as something velvety and cool to the touch.

"Ouch…" Sun whispered sympathetically.

Groaning slightly, Blake's voice whispered ruefully, "Bulma… please… let go… of my ear."

Realizing her error, Bulma did what was requested, turning to shine the scroll directly at Blake's scowling face. Her hair was still mussed, and the feline ear in question twitched angrily. "I… look, I'm sorry but you shouldn't sneak up on people!"

"Your friend is a human," Sienna observed with resignation. "Is nothing sacred anymore?"

Bulma slightly soured. "I'm here to help, beggars can't be choosers, all due respect…"

Sienna's eyes looked her over. "I can't place why… but I believe you. We need to make haste. We might hold some advantage traveling this way, but it won't be long before they've guarded the han—"

She stopped as a soft, steady thud began to reach their ears in the distant darkness between them and the place they had come from. Bulma knew she could see far less, but heard a ring of steel, before sparks trailed over the bunkertop ahead. A set of feet were briefly illuminated, before a great red blade slowly glowed into existence, like the coils of a toaster heating up. "You came all this way just to hurt me… to hurt your brothers and sisters… Shame on you, Blake…"

Bulma had to slam her hands over her ears as Blake's pistol split through the quiet and echoed forever in the ink, the flashes illuminating Adam Taurus as he stalked towards them, sweeping Wilt and catching every shot.

"Go!" Sun shouted, kicking the grate through as Adam's blade and the streaks in his hair and mask burned in the dark.

Sun grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back, shrieking as she fell through to the steel halls below and something soft, warm and living broke her fall. Sun, Sienna and Blake dropped through after, just before a crimson storm tore overhead. There was an awful noise of rending steel as the air itself tore across the ceiling. The force pried a dozen feet of it off like a can opener, curling up to the top of the stone cavern and ringing as it and the surrounding hall rattled and bobbed.

Bulma tore her eyes away to the person she'd landed on as they stirred, a White Fang guard with a gray and red assault rifle. She snatched the somewhat over-large weapon and smashed him in the back of the head with the stock, scooping up his backup magazines. Sun grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. "Come on, we gotta go!"

They sprinted through the hall towards the bend, but only got a few feet before the blood red blade punched down amidst them, through the steel like a great fang. Bulma screamed over the rest of them as they yelped, stooping low as they ran. Peering behind them, Blake saw the blade begin to trail towards them like an inverted shark fin, throwing sparks and glowing as it screeched through the solid steel.

"Hey, there she is!" shouted a number of guards rounding the corner, before weaving back as Blake and Bulma sprayed fire in their direction.

"BACK OFF, BUTTHEADS, THIS FLOWER'S GOT NETTLES!" Bulma screeched as they charged towards the —now defensive— fire.

They heard the voice issue through the grates, echoing and ever present. "You protect the past and fight change, you deny that the past must die for us to have our future! We need to CLEAVE the rotted limbs so we can stand TALL!"

"Against the wall!" Blake ordered as the blade raised out of sight. No sooner had they complied than a vertical swath carved through the hallway, bowing the floor and ceiling in all the way to the hall corner which buckled through and into the stone, blasting the area with red dust and knocking the emboldening guards off their feet.

Shellshocked, the group scrambled around the corner past the guards. The impact had left the lights mounted in the walls flickering eerily. Steam from a severed pipe filled the halls as they passed.

"There's no point, Blake. However you got in, you're not leaving the same way."

They rounded another corner, Sienna taking the lead to direct them, and stopped dead. Hazel stood at the end of the hall, statuesque. They all stopped, weapons ready. Blake kept glancing behind them as the steam formed a wall to her vision. They heard the tromping of boots down and around the right side of Hazel's T-section. The impassive bruiser turned towards the noise.

"She's fled to the armory," Hazel said, "if you can be quick, you'll have her cornered."

The crowd of guards sprinted across, Hazel himself largely blocking the view of the four as he turned his back to them. The sound dulled, and he turned again, hand sweeping to direct them down the right hall.

They hesitated only a second before sprinting down the hall and past him, their eyes locked with his as he watched them go, then skulking off after the other guards.

"What's with that guy?" Sun demanded. Blake could only shake her head.

They continued unimpeded as quickly and quietly as possible

"They'll have the door surrounded," Sienna told them. "I haven't been on the ground in a time, but I still remember how to lead a blitz maneuver."

Blake dual wielded her blade and cleaver. "Right!"

Rounding the next corner was the would-be ambush of two-dozen guards, and they stormed it like the wind. Blake channeled her momentum to run upon the left wall, linking arms with a shadow clone to throw herself into the mosh pit.

"CONTAC—!" a guard cried before Blake's foot connected with his sternum and sent him toppling into his allies. The other White Fang opened fire as she wove between and around them. Bulma began to lay down suppressive fire as Sun steepled his hands, a pair of golden figures charging like linebackers and absorbing the return fire as Bulma and Sienna swept in behind them.

By the time they reached the fight proper, Blake had already disabled six of them. A smash of Sienna's flail left a guard contorting as electric Dust played havoc across him, then catching a female Fang's sword in the loop of her chain and whipping it around to disarm her, the blade embedding in a wall. Bulma circle-strafed Sun's opponents with auto fire as he walloped a trio in the shins, paunch and top of the head respectively. His luck ran out, however as another with a stun baton tagged him in the back. Sun fell over with an agonized shout.

"Oh NO!" Bulma shrieked, adjusting her aim when her rifle clicked. White-faced, she sought the mag ejector as a pair of blade-wielding White Fang blocked her aim and creeped towards her as she backed towards the wall.

The stun guard stood over Sun. His baton telescoped into a skewering bayonet...

"Sun!" Blake cried, kusarigama whirling with the sound of a pistol shot and bowling over any hostiles inside ten feet of her. She hurled it overhead to hook the stunner guard around the shoulder as he raised his weapon, tugging hard to slam him neck-first into the floor with a nauseating 'thwack' of impact.

Bulma winced her eyes shut and held her rifle up like a shield, but it was then that Sienna Khan's flail wrapped around both guardsmen, its cutting edge striking the left-most of the pair and instantly entombing them in a cocoon of ice. They hobbled along, groaning with effort as they failed to coordinate, now frigidly conjoined twins. Utterly top-heavy, they inevitably tripped and rolled onto their backs, limbs flailing like an odd, mutant turtle.

"I can tell you don't usually fight, so your enthusiasm is endearing," Sienna told her, finding a subtle lever on Bulma's rifle and depressing it. The empty magazine clattered heavily to the floor. "Just don't let it get you killed."

"Thanks…!" Bulma squeaked.

Blake helped Sun woozily to his feet as Sienna went about kicking the heads of several White Fang still conscious on the floor. "Treacherous filth…" she spat, as her heel connected. "So if the rest of you haven't noticed…" She pointed to the hangar door, and its access panel, ripped cleanly off the wall, exposing only wires. "...they've hobbled us some."

"Ha!" Bulma barked, hands on her hips. "That's no problem."

She smiled as her eyes found Blake, who nodded, approaching the panel herself. "Right, it's an emergency exit, so it was never designed to keep anyone out."

Bulma beamed with toothy pride as she urged Blake on.

"So complete the circuit, the door opens, we're home fre— AURGGH!"

From above a black gloved hand clutched a fistful of Blake's hair, her face twisting in pain as she was lifted off the floor, ears flattening as she was yanked through the grate up to her shoulders. She shoved desperately against the ceiling and reached for her weapon as her shrieks muffled in the crawl space overhead.

"LET HER GO!" Sun shouted, preparing to grab for her dangling legs when Bulma slammed her hands on his shoulders.

"No, do you want to scalp her?!"

"Well what's your plan?!"

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" Blake demanded, trying her best to punch her katana through the steel at Adam. "I SAID LET G—rrrrrrrrkkk…!"

Blake's limbs flailed as she could be heard struggling to breathe.

"Any bright ideas from you down there, I'll let you have the bottom half…" Adam told them. "I've no use for it anymore."

They all stood and stared, afroth with nervous energy. Bulma's mind was buzzing as she tried to hack out a plan, even as Blake's limbs twitched as they lost their exuberance. Both halves of Gambol Shroud clattered upon the floor as she abandoned them to reach in vain for her throat."

"Don't worry, my love… I'd much prefer you saw them slain first. For now… just sleep…"

Then Bulma's eyes lit up, and she clasped something in her pocket. She turned to Sun. "Boost me!"

"What?!"

She pointed to a grate further down. "I have an idea, I'm the least threatening one here, so boost me up!"

Even Sienna stared at her as Bulma marched beneath the grate. "Of any here, he'll kill you first, you realize?"

"Just trust me, Blake doesn't have time!" Bulma insisted in a stage whisper.

Sun grit his teeth, but nodded, crouching to hug her around the knees before flinging her up as she yelled uncertainly. Her head popped through the grate and she reached for her flashlight, no longer concerned with discovery. She turned it down the hall.

Adam Taurus was already turned towards her unsubtle entrance as she crept to her feet, throttling Blake's throat with his one hand. Blake fought to turn her eyes to Bulma as they kept drifting skyward, her face puce.

"B-Bulmm...ng...ruh...uhn…!" she choked out, even as Adam's grip tightened.

Even though she couldn't see his eyes, Bulma could feel him leering. "I thought I told you what would happen if you interrupted us."

"Right!" Bulma scoffed, even as she started to sweat. "Because you're not obsessed or anything! We all know some pathetic psycho like you wouldn't settle for that!"

Adam didn't move an inch, seemingly, before he began to slowly draw Wilt.

Bulma noted his still-firm grip on Blake. "I thought she was supposed to see her friends suffer, you know, since you can't get over that she dumped you..."

Adam held the blade in front of his eyes. "Human… you think yourself clever…" He set the blade on the floor. "You think you're safe to berate me from over there… then I'll let her go when I come to punish you."

Bulma stood her ground, but trembled like a twig.

"There's a flaw to your plan," he said at last with a small grin, "you think I can't reach you..."

He reached for his sheath, which shifted into a rifle before Bulma's eyes…

Bulma shrieked as the shot struck her square in the chest, and she was thrown onto her back.

"Bulma!" Sun shouted from below, poking his head in before ducking back down as Adam fired suppressive shots.

"NO!" Blake cried, new life overtaking her as she pulled herself up just enough to reach for Wilt and swing.

Adam turned and caught the blade bare-handed, but at the expense of his grasp on her throat. His Aura flashed as he wrenched it from her, and she fell through to the floor at last.

Bulma analyzed the dulled pain in her chest, wondering if she was in shock as she saw Sun vault in and hover over her in fear.

"Hey, you're okay!" he said as she blinked.

She'd been afraid to move, but found she could sit up easily. Patting down as she looked, she found nothing of the ragged wound or seeping blood she expected.

"You're no Huntress," Adam noted, flipping his weapon as he regained its proper grip, "so your Aura reserve is surprising. Just as well… I'd much rather deal with you up close."

As he took a step, Sun stepped in front of her. She reached for it…

"Wait!" Bulma cried, Sun barely glancing at her in confusion. "I'm not done with plan 'A'," she proclaimed, holding out a fist.

Adam smirked. "Fine… I'm going to enjoy this far too much. You're out of your depth."

"Tch!" Bulma scoffed. "Like I'm not used to that… but you're right, funny enough!" she said, revealing a capsule with a click as the plunger depressed. "Total fish out of water…"

Adam readied himself to parry the little device as Bulma hurled it. Not at Adam or his feet, but well overhead and into the distant darkness.

Mouth parted, he traced its path, perplexed before turning to see Bulma dragging Sun down through the grate where Blake and Sienna were waiting. Bulma shrieked, "Tie us to something solid!"

Blake stared. "Wh—?"

"NOW!"

Blake looped her ribbon through an anchored pipe, as did Sienna with her flail reluctantly. "What good will this—?!"

They heard a war cry of reinforcement White Fang as they rounded the corner they'd come from. And there they were, trussed up on a silver platter.

Meanwhile, Adam stood, galled. "If you think such a childish trick will spare you my blade, YOU'RE—!"

There was a brief sound of the dynocap opening… before all Hell broke loose.

Adam barely turned as an astonishing roar and rush of air struck him, his blade sinking into the steel a split second before a wall of saltwater smashed over him as it filled every crevice of the cavern. Wilt barely held along with his grip, before both were struck by the flailing and enraged eel Grimm and carried off by the endless torrent.

Below, every single grate in Lower Shambhala had become a window to flood the halls with raging water, the openings quickly tearing wider with a shriek of steel and bowing inward from the sheer weight of millions of gallons forcing their way into the confined spaces.

The four strapped to the walls all screamed as the water tried to carry them off, watching in astonishment as the miniaturized sea bowled over and swept away the White Fang guards charging towards them.

"WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE?!" Sienna demanded, looking as though she were expecting to wake at any moment from an unbelievable nightmare.

"I'm sorry! It was the only thing I could think of!" Bulma shouted in defense.

"NO," Sienna shouted, the water reaching their waists, "I MEAN WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU ACTUALLY DONE?!"

"No time!" Blake told her. "We need to electrify those wires and get out!"

"I'm out of lightning charges," Sienna explained, indicating her flail.

At that moment, they screamed in surprise as the great eel's head burst through the grating nearby, too huge to pass and too bulwarked by the storm of water to reverse out. It writhed and wriggled about in frustration, jaws working silently.

"The Abaia?!" Blake noted.

"That thing is still alive?!" Bulma added, utterly astonished.

Blake and Sienna began to wince, their ears bending uncomfortably.

"Argh… is anyone else feeling…?" Blake began, Sienna nodding before both stopped what they were doing entirely, hands shaking before they began to groan in pain and reached to cover their feral ears.

Sun's eyes shot open. "Whoa, what…?!" But then he and Bulma began to wince as well.

"I-it's the pressure!" Bulma explained, as tears rolled down Blake's face, all the while hyperventilating. "The water is building… build…"

Blake and Sienna began to yowl in pain, teeth grit as even Sun and Bulma began to feel like their heads were going to explode.

Unbeknownst to them, however, their welded seal at the wet porch blasted off along with the pod mech. Like that, the flood gates almost literally collapsed. Overwhelming torrents of seawater gained momentum and widened the breach until the entire door, dock, and sea cliff in front of it calved and blew off into the bay with the force of a bomb, largely carrying the base's inhabitants with it in a rush of foam and mud.

The four steadily found the agonizing sensation ebb away, tossed limply around by the currents even as the sea began to ultimately claim Lower Shambhala.

"I… don't think my ears have ever popped like that," Bulma commented as Blake continued to wince.

"Try it with four…"

Sun recovered soonest and grabbed Sienna around the waist. "Here, go for it— OW!" he cried as the High Leader twisted to punch him in the face.

"What do you think you're doing?!" she demanded.

"Oghhh…" Sun groaned, holding his nose. "I mean I'll hold on while your hook thing lands that monster! We need electricity, right?"

The rest of them went stone silent as the Abaia still thrashed.

"Huh…" Bulma intoned. "That's actually not bad…"

With that, Sun returned to his grip on Sienna as she unfastened her flail. One precise throw and her end embedded in the nearby panel. With the next, the blade tip flew across the water to barb itself into the beast's snout, which thrashed in fury even as the current ran across the chains to the wall at last.

The door slid into the wall, the current around them sucking into the hangar as the seawater found a fresh avenue to flood and fill even as the water raised chest deep.

Sun's staff wedged inside a chain loop and tugged Sienna's weapon free as they waded inside, just as the water level rose to totally submerge the corridor.

The hangar was a great squared pillar reaching up to a set of hinged doors dozens of feet up, and looked fit to survive a carpet bombing. Luckily for them —or perhaps per design— the bullheads were on pads elevated well above ground level.

"It takes simultaneous hits of the emergency release to open the doors," Sienna told them, reaching the glass covered red button on one end of the hangar. "An identical release is over there."

Blake complied, reaching hers in seconds as Sun and Bulma picked out one of the twin turbine VTOLs.

"Does anyone actually know how to fly one of these?" Sun asked.

Bulma wedged past him through the access doors and leapt into the pilot seat. "If there's a lick of sense to it, I can fly it," she answered, grabbing the control stick and rifling over the dashboard. "Huh… I don't get this method of antigrav… too simple, but whatever," she concluded with a shrug as she brought the beast to life, engines whining.

"Three… two… one!" Sienna cried, as both feline faunus' smashed their respective releases with a tinkling of glass. Above them, sparks spiraled out from the crease between the enormous doors, and the grind of gears met them as they shuddered and sank a foot before retracting into the walls, red dust sprinkling as brilliant daylight filled every corner.

The last of them leapt in, and with a simple cry of "Let's go!" from Blake, they ascended to the skies, Sienna watching in stoic silence.

Below, Lower Shambhala's discrete surface ventilation shafts had become geysers amidst the craggy, newly made sinkholes shattering the land all the way to the cliffs. What wasn't crushed in the collapse had assuredly been flooded. "We were prepared for attack," Sienna told them, unable to look away, "but I never thought it would come from within… from our own. Have I truly been so blind to all that's happened around me?"

"Think of it like an opportunity," Blake said, hand on her shoulder. "Lower Shambhala isn't the White Fang."

Sienna sighed. "Not to diminish what you've done today… but nor am I…"

---

The ruddy blade embedded within the cliff top as Adam Taurus hauled himself up and out of the sea. Below, his soldiers were struggling to join him. He turned at the noise of the lone bullhead, soaring over the sands back towards Kuo Kuana.

He heard heavy footfalls behind him, and heard Hazel's voice ask, "So, High Leader, what will you do now?"

Adam didn't answer.

---

"What will you do," Village Chief Ghira Belladonna asked, addressing the crowd gathered below, "when the like of Adam Taurus, and these instigating elements speak for the rest of us in the eyes of the human Kingdoms, as the loud and the brash are wont to do?"

Potent in message as well as build, he stood beside his wife Khali, whose kind eyes scanned the crowd. Littered throughout representatives of the press and citizenry were several robed White Fang members, the Albain brothers nearest the front.

"Chief Belladonna," began a reporter with feathered owl-brows extending out like horns, "Tawny Strigidae, The Kuana Chronicle. Local authorities and the Menagerie Council have taken no action regarding your claims, citing the scroll in evidence as insufficient cause to specially expedite warnings to the Mistral authorities, particularly in light of the expense of long distance communication, and otherwise deny jurisdiction over the internal affairs of the White Fang as an organization. In which case, could it be said that you are advocating vigilante justice?"

Ghira shook his head. "I've no desire whatsoever to circumvent jurisprudence. My message has consistently been one of nonviolent advocacy for the faunus and peace with our brothers in humanity."

There was a building hum overhead as Tawny prepared a response, but all kept silent until a wash of wind and noise overtook the courtyard, and the bullhead hovered above.

There were gasps and a buzz of confusion as the doors opened and Blake leapt down with Sienna Khan beside the Belladonna patriarch.

"Blake!" Khali cried, rushing to her daughter as the bullhead tried to set itself down behind the house.

"Let's get this done," Blake told her parents, "everything else can wait."

Ghira swept his hand in welcome. "You have the floor."

Blake took out her scroll and stepped up to the microphone. A few swipes, and a square hologram projected towards the crowd.

— "You put us on the right course, Sienna, but your way can only take us so far. They have realized that, and sided with me. We need a High Leader with the stomach to take us where you couldn't."

"You expect I'll step down? I think you've quite forgotten what I'm capable of…"

"Let's see… Kill her." —

With that, the crowd was at once hushed and frenzied. The White Fang in the crowd had either frozen entirely or dropped their jaws, spinning to face their fellows in distress.

Sienna stepped up to the podium, Sharing a glance with Blake. "Adam Taurus has gone rogue, and tried to have me killed and assume my place as High Leader! And place the blame on a human assassin! If not for the Belladonnas, specifically their daughter, his plan would have worked."

The crowd was buzzing. She continued before it could overtake her voice.

"He desires nothing less than war with the human race, to cripple the Kingdoms and leave us all easy prey to the Grimm! He forgets that after any conflict, we must still coexist!"

"This has gone far enough!" Corsac Albain shouted, he and his brother brandishing sai as the stoic White Fang in the crowd likewise drew weapons. "Leader Adam is the salvation of all faunus!"

"This treason shall not leave here!" Fennec added. "If you aren't with us, you are against us! Brothers, TO YOUR DUTY!"

Sienna was pulled out of the way by Blake as a surge of wind and fire blasted from their sai, and chaos overtook the crowd. Several White Fang donned masks and fired upon the Belladonna household and reporters as they sought cover, but the rest still loyal to Sienna Khan split the fight immediately into a melee amongst themselves. Civilians screamed as they fled, even as a combination of police and Belladonna security tried in vain to restore order, though it became clear relatively quickly that the Fang aggressors were outgunned.

Fennec gave a war cry as he leapt for Sienna, and Blake readied her blade only to see her father cross in front to seize his arm with one hand and deliver a bone-cracking smash to his head with the other. Corsac came in on his flank, but the Chief stepped around to grab him by his thigh and shoulders, redirect his own momentum and power-slam him into the steps.

Blake, Khali and even Sienna looked to Ghira in awe as they beheld the unconscious brothers.

"What?" he laughed. "I advocate non violence… but I am not a coward. Blake, you've done beautifully. Khali, take Sienna inside a—"

Ghira turned to glance at Sienna Khan, nearest to the door, to find her halfway through it… and not alone.

"ILIA!" Blake cried, seeing the scene in full, the masked girl shielding herself with Sienna, the point of the whip at her throat.

Without a word she slipped inside, the rest following quickly, dulling the noise of combat. Ilia hadn't gotten far.

"Ilia, put it away and let her go!" Blake demanded, pistol out.

Ilia stood cold. "You first! You're not going to ruin this!"

"My dear," Ghira began, conciliatory, "this cannot be silenced. Your brothers and sisters in the White Fang won't abide a hostile takeover, as attested by those outside."

"They'll be made to!" Ilia growled. "Fear got us this far, and it can take us the rest of the way!"

"Fear only breeds hate, child," Ghira told her, kindly. "Fear is the root of the oppression of those others don't understand."

"Only one person in this room is afraid, Ilia," Blake told her.

Ilia froze, her eyes going blank before she took a glance at her situation and all the players within it. She shook her head, the fiery attitude returning. "I don't care what you think!" Ilia shot back. "All that matters is that she dies!"

Sienna Khan was utterly still. "Then why am I still alive?"

"What?!"

"You had us all at a disadvantage," Sienna explained, "had us by surprise. You didn't need a hostage, you could have killed me before even I knew what was happening. So what are we doing here?"

Ilia didn't answer, only increasing the threat in her voice. "Get BACK, I mean it!"

"I said it before, Ilia," Blake began, dropping her weapon. "You're not a killer."

"...I'm… whatever my people need me to be…!"

"Regardless of what happens," Sienna said, "I am of no consequence anymore. My tenure as High Leader is over. It's clear to me that my methods incubated something I never wanted. Nor something your parents ever wanted, Amitola."

Ilia tore her mask over her head, skin and eyes turning fire red as her freckles shifted gold. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP, SHUT UP, you didn't know my parents!"

This time Khali stepped forward. "No… but no parent wants this for their child."

Ilia's temper exploded. "Humans worked my parents like pack mules in a cheap Dust mine, and they were KILLED in a collapse! The investigators who came after were bribed! ALL SILENCED! PAID OFF! NONE OF THEM SAW JUSTICE, NOBODY PAID FOR THE LIVES THEY TORE TO PIECES!" Ilia's freckles trickled with blue as tears rolled heavily down her cheeks. "Nobody cared…! Nobody looked further… We were just animals! The Kingdoms did NOTHING, the White Fang under HER, didn't do enough! Only ADAM promised us justice…!"

"Adam wants a war," Blake told her. "And everyone is a target! Look at what's happening outside! Look at what YOU'RE doing! Is SHE human?"

Sienna hummed. "Taurus wants to fight the world with a minority of a minority. He's already dividing his own people. His strike on Beacon divided the world, putting pressure on human and faunus alike. He's fighting the wrong people and burning every bridge he crosses."

"W-what…" Ilia stammered, the blue in her freckles spreading. "What else am I supposed to do?! Who am I supposed to fight for?! NOBODY ELSE will do anything!"

Blake shook her head. "That's not true… When I saw what Adam and the White Fang were becoming, I was lost too… but then I saw my own way forward. I might have started alone, but if you're presented with only two sides, and BOTH have it wrong, you have to start somewhere, on another path."

Ilia said nothing, lost in the sounds of combat outside.

Blake continued. "Ilia… I can't promise you revenge. I don't believe in it. I know how hard it is, that it feels like you're conceding more and more, but… getting back at the ones who hurt you is a cycle that never ends. Not until someone is strong enough to let go of their hate… Not until someone is willing to forgive."

Ilia shook her head violently. "People like the Schnees won't be moved… they'll just keep doing what they've always done!"

"People like the Schnees aren't humanity!" Blake told her. "Just like the White Fang aren't the faunus! You know that, right...?"

"I…"

"We both have to find a way to live together," Blake continued, chin high. "Forgiveness won't change the worst of them, no. But it has the power to rally others to our side! NOT surrender, NOT capitulation… just cooperation."

"It… it sounds naive…" Ilia told her, the aggression gone from her voice. "It sounds too good to be true, Blake…"

"Hmm," Blake scoffed. "Well someday maybe you can talk to one of my best friends from Beacon, Weiss Schnee. I think you'll be surprised."

Ilia's lip thinned, eyes softening, her mind evidently working overtime.

She dropped the whip to her side, her body turning a uniform blue as she stepped back and receded into herself, hands on her elbows as she slouched. Sienna turned around and backed off.

"I-I'm… sorry…" Ilia choked, slinking to the floor.

Blake approached, offering her hand. "Ilia, if you want to help your people… if you want to honor your family… you can't do better than now."

Ilia took it.

---

"Uh, guys?!" Sun shouted as they left the back door. "We have a problem!"

As they made it outside, the rogue White Fang in steep retreat, the sound of screeching engines had filled the air. Five other bullheads had arrived and dropped rope ladders down, the fleeing Fang taking them and climbing up.

"They must have gotten to the hangar…" Blake said quietly, before Adam's voice blared overhead.

"This is a call to action for all still loyal to the White Fang! Rally now, and take the next step on the path! This day, Haven will fall!"

Blake shook her head in disbelief. "No…! No, they've moved it up! We have to stop th—"

A great sound of flaming plasma filled the air as one of the bullhead gunners fired an anti vehicle weapon, striking one of the engines on Bulma's bullhead, since landed in the yard. Smoke billowed as the bluenette herself left the cockpit with a shriek.

Adam watched Kuo Kuana pass beneath them as his reinforcements gathered. He'd be back for Blake later. She couldn't go far.

Hazel sat in the corner, head bowed. "This was not our arrangement."

Adam didn't move. "They left me no choice. We have to strike while the iron is hot."

"You mean before others can contest your claim to leadership."

Adam said nothing.

Hazel sighed. "If you do this, you do it without our help. And if you injure our own efforts, you may well have made a terrible enemy."

---

Qrow strode into the sparring room to find Oscar practicing his form on a training mannequin. "Hey, whoever's fronting, I gotta speak to Oz."

Oscar sighed… and then flashed green. "I wish you wouldn't equate our circumstance to an illness… So, how did it go?"

Qrow sighed. "Not good. Really not good. I couldn't find any independent Huntsmen. None of my regulars, none on the board registry."

"And I don't suppose it's possible they moved house, or the region is choked with the need for Grimm extermination?" Ozpin offered, clearly knowing the answer.

"If it were errants or nomads I might call it coincidence," Qrow answered, "but these are lifers. Never seen them outside of this part of Anima… I can only suspect the worst."

Oscar's head nodded solemnly. "So… we have nothing then?"

Qrow smirked. "Hey, I didn't say that, though we're kinda scraping the barrel. But there's something else: Leo called. Wants to meet with the whole team at Haven as soon as we can manage it. Some find about our Beacon saboteurs he couldn't sum up over the phone."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "Truly? After a year? That's rather curious timing…"

"Yeah," Qrow nodded with a humorless smirk. "Real serendipitous. So… gather the kids?"

Ozpin nodded. "I'll be up in a moment."

As Qrow walked off, Ozpin whirled his cane. A stretch of his youthful limbs, and his weapon pecked at his faceless foe, one final slash removing its head.

---

A/N: Phew!

Holy crap, it's been a good while, and I DEEPLY apologize, as it wasn't meant to take this long.

A TON of things have happened in the process of writing these chapters, none the least being that Chapter 10 was just a MONSTER to write (remember, I always keep a chapter shelved, so when I finish one, you get the one that precedes it).

But honestly, that wasn't the end of it. Strap in, because this is a LONG A/N.

Not helping is that my editors have been facing BOATLOADS of unexpected life issues, some of it truly harrowing and personal stuff, which basically prevented more than a few people from going over everything. One of them was even gone for several months due to issues with Internet access, and now that he's back he STILL hasn't been able to get enough break to justify catching up on those last three chapters.

It looked like he was going to do just that, in time for a Christmas release turned New Years release, and… well… life happens, and here we are. I just couldn't justify waiting any longer.

Another reason is that a story called "Dragonball R" got written as an homage to this very story —how cool is that?— ! And while I cannot personally recommend it AS a story —though I HAVE to respect how fast this author can write, I mean JESUS— its early review section was actually quite enlightening for me.

You see, there were QUITE a few people who reviewed DBR's first few chapters by contrasting it with THIS story… and taking quite a few shots at my expense. Most of it was in regard to power levels, and as such I basically just wrote them off. But Sivam and DMoose (of This War of Mine and Power Within respectively) took this as a moment to challenge me outright on this.

You see, I believe any good crossover necessarily needs to treat both its featured series with equal respect. I hate bad faith crossovers that just elevate one series over the other, or try to force one to basically ENGULF the other. This is why, when our RWBY cast start learning how to fight on the level of Dragonball, they're not going to ditch the weapons, and they're not going to fight identically to the Z Fighters. They're going to reach that level of power, but retain their own styles, just grander. EXPANDING their abilities, not replacing them.

But I'm aware many people just like to see one series solo an entire Universe, and typically THIS is the kind of reader I've chosen to ignore. By no means do I want to pretend ANY of the RWBY cast could TOUCH any of the Z Fighters as they are as of this Chapter of Transposition F. Their first encounter with TRUE power will be an utterly humbling one, prompting them to step up and face these challenges.

Buuuuut, as I've been informed, I might have started Remnant off with too much of a head start.

See, I wasn't considering that some people simply believed the implied power levels I'd given RWBY were wholly unbelievable, or potentially insulting. I thought I'd covered my bases in this regard by none of them being able to USE this power until they've learned how, but to some this was merely a dodge.

It's my fault really. Basically, I forgot an aspect of the Z characters' reactions to the RWBY folks ought to be confusion or curiosity. I wrote Vegeta, Krillin and Gohan as far too ACCEPTING of these people with power levels they couldn't use. Instead of a point of intrigue, their lack of evident confusion made it seem like I was forcing the fact of their power levels. Like this was something they'd seen a million times, when people who didn't reflect the power they could SENSE would be something utterly new in Dragonball, like power level puffer fish.

And yeah, implying the RWBY cast was around an average 4,000 power level was probably stretching it. Dahlia was the only one stated by Frieza's scouter at 17,000, but as a glass cannon, and a Headmistress to one of the four Academies, I WAS trying to imply she was basically the strongest non-magical Huntress there was. Even so, putting him equal with Saiyan Saga Vegeta was probably overstepping.

So what did I do about this?

Some minor rewrites! Specifically to Chapters 2, 3, 7 and 8. The gist of it is like I said: our Z characters make a bigger deal out of sensing power the Huntsmen don't evidently have, and question it more. Meanwhile, suggestions of powers have placed the characters a great magnitude lower. Dahlia is INSTEAD stated by Frieza to be around 700, with RWBY proper implied around 200 or so.

Are we good on that front? Haha, we better be, because that's as low as I'm going! Any lower and some things just become unbelievable, like Vegeta's interest with Weiss. As much as Vegeta finds a general interest in her, he DOES expect her to have potential as a proper fighter too.

This lower bar is probably a lot easier to swallow, and only presents a power gap that the RWBY cast needs to take slightly more time to bridge.

...Okay, so what else…

...OH RIGHT!

Holy crap, how bad do I feel knowing it's ACTUALLY been the entirety of Volume 6 since the last chapter?

It's come and gone… and I won't deny, Volume 6 managed to scoop a number of ideas I had for this story before it ended… but wow, it's really hard to believe, isn't it?

RWBY Volume 5 was the lowest point in the series in my opinion. In our group, I alone was soldiering on, hoping against hope that things might get better, even though I really didn't think they would. It was so bad that Sivam and the others basically all but ousted RWBY from general discussion. Volume 5's finale was so botched, with so many problems of character, combat animation and so little focus that Ruby Rose never shared a single word with Cinder. Adam became laughably petty and lost all his cold menace and turned into this mustache twirler, only to get ax-handled by Blake, which looked so stupid and easy I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Hazel's backstory all but ruined HIS character by making him seem incredibly dumb, even after being shown to have complexities with his valuing human life. Lionheart was just a coward with no redeeming qualities or redemption.

Oh, and there was the very real possibility that Cinder, the most personal villain in RWBY's rogue's gallery, had been killed by Raven, with none of the pathos or satisfaction that should come of Pyrrha's murder being avenged.

Volume 5 was the culmination of everything that Volume 3's ending had set up, and we all felt so ROBBED when it was over.

So I can't TELL you how refreshing Volume 6 was as we watched it unfold. Our group of writers was BLOWN AWAY by what we all saw, leading to theorizing and enthusiasm, in a time when most of us had given up hope that the series would ever achieve greatness again.

The animation was fixed. Fights are fun again, and use the environment, and don't shy away from spectacle. Ruby is a main character again (almost too much so, but hey) Cinder survived and teamed up with friggin' Neo! WORLDBUILDING, Grimm that actually pose a threat and have special abilities, towns and villages that feel ALIVE. After an entire Volume in Mistral, we finally see its criminal underbelly, and get introduced to a NEW wonderfully designed city with Argus.

We learn about Silver Eyes, Oscar has a PURPOSE now distinct from Ozpin, the history of the world is SHOWN to us, and we see how Salem came to be and why she's such a threat, what's at stake.

Sure, the finale was a little weaker than the first half, but not by THAT much, and I can forgive some silliness after the CRWBY clearly took the time to listen to fan criticism and address so many of its most frustrating issues.

No, Transposition F isn't using the canon here. Salem isn't human, and the history behind the Brothers and Silver Eyes are all VERY different, among other things. It's good stuff, but THIS story isn't likely to incorporate very much. For example, Maria Calavera will almost certainly never make an appearance unless I can grant her some alternative role, and even then I doubt it'll be more than a cameo.

But hey… apparently Miles and Kerry ALSO recognized that they needed to give Pyrrha some closure, because they had a scene that felt like a REALLY slimmed down (but no less effective, to their credit) version of MY events in Chapter 5. I loved that Pyrrha's mom was still voiced by Jen Brown. My version had her as a supportive, slightly vain parent taking the loss hard, and she was basically meant to LOOK like Jen Brown herself, but with red hair. As such, I've referred to the canon version as "Otrera" as my own little in-joke.

So ideally the next chapter won't take ANYWHERE near this long and we can start getting into the meat of this story. I'm sure you can tell from how this one ended… we're gearing up for a showdown...