Weiss stirred as she felt it, an insistent pressure on her leg. She swooned, a throbbing in her head.

And then she remembered, freezing as her eyes fixated upon the lump under the blanket…

"Nnnn… No no NO!" She shrieked, pulling Myrtenaster out from under her pillow. "GET AWAY FROM MY FRILLIES!"

She tore the blanket off… to reveal the nosing, surprised corgi staring at the blade tip, the whites of his eyes showing in concern as his ears folded with a whine.

The dog tore off as she stood up in regret. "Wait! Zwei, I'm sorry!"

There were groans all around the room as its occupants awoke, the barest mid-morning light streaming through a window, mixing with the breathing blue of the Lamp as it floated over the mantelpiece. Surrounded as it was by forest, the burn of dawn was too steep to hit them for the trees.

Yang yawned as she gave her a groggy stare. "Weiss… what the heck…"

"I-I-I thought it was…" Weiss turned to see Goku's upper half rise off the couch like a monster from its slab.

"Hmm…?"

Weiss sat back down. "I'm sorry…"

There was a groan beside her as Ruby tossed and turned. "Nnnnn… My head and tummy hurt…"

Blake's wrists dug into the floor as her back arched in a deep stretch. "You were really smashed last night, Ruby. You're hung over…"

Ruby rubbed her forehead a moment more before her eyes shot open as she gave the slightest belch. She froze… and seemingly vanished as a whirl of red ripped around the laundry room door and into the bathroom. A wet, uncomfortable retching sound followed.

Gohan rubbed his eyes as they turned back from the laundry door and noticed Yang leaning on her right side. "Hey Yang… what's that…?"

Yang blinked at him. "What? Did someone draw on my face?"

"Didn't you break your arm?"

She blinked. "Yeah, I—" She gasped, realizing she'd been leaning on something that wasn't there when she lost consciousness.

Attached to her right arm was a black, metal prosthesis, obeying her mind's every command. It was crude, composed of less natural, more basic parts like snipped bits of pipe for fingers. She could hear the buzz of less sophisticated servos as it moved, and there were gaps between pieces. It wouldn't withstand combat…

...But for basic use? It followed her movements with surprising accuracy. She hadn't noticed it at all.

"Oh hey, look who's up!" Bulma called from the kitchen, leaning against the doorframe with a mug of coffee in her other hand, draped in a thin, pink nighty. "Hey Tai," she called behind her, "she found it."

"How's it feel, sweetie?" he called from inside.

Yang reeled. "You worked through the night for this…?"

"Nah, just an hour or two before bed and after I got up," she explained. "I forgot a few of the capsule-houses have some goodies leftover inside."

"Including coffee," Taiyang relished. "I don't know what Papaya Island is, but they make a mean roast…"

Yang shook her head. "I-I can't believe you did this in a few hours… Sorry, you don't seem like the type."

"Beauty and brains, it's true…" she bragged. "Don't worry if you're not married to it, this is just what I could scrape together right now. Once I can machine parts and get some higher quality materials, I'll tinker it up into fighting shape. I know it needs a good gun too…"

"I… I… Thanks, Bulma…" She looked up with a contemplative grin. "You're alright…"

Qrow squeezed past with a red cup in his hand. "You kids, if you feel like death after last night, be sure to hydrate-up, you'll feel better."

The toilet flushed as Ruby wobbled back out into the room, looking pale. "I think I chucked my soul out…"

"Eh, you just need some breakfast… and a swig of this."

He offered the cup… and she turned bright green before her cheeks puffed out again with a spasm. She covered her mouth with both hands and vanished around the corner once more.

"Bleghhh!"

Qrow stared, implacable, sniffing the cup. "Can't handle her water…"

Nora groaned as the Sun hit her eyes. She had a mild headache, but mostly she felt super snug against the covers she was lying on.

Well, except for the stale cold of her butt in the air, and a strip of her inner thigh—

Her eyes jerked open as her thoughts woke her. She turned onto her back to see the cozy little bedroom she'd never seen before. Grimm figurines on the shelves, a window on both sides of the room and a single door she was presently facing.

There were two beds, twin size, and on the other sat Ren, rod straight with his back to her.

She strained to think in the haze of waking. She'd had a honey of a dream last night… and that snail-trail on her leg was the proof.

Wait. RIGHT!

She was reminded of the cold again. She wasn't wearing anything under her skirt. She'd taken them off… the laundry room… the dream…

Slowly, laboring not to alert Ren, she traced a hand up her thigh. She found it… the trail, wet, and… different.

She lifted it away and inspected her fingers. She couldn't tell by the sight, too thin to be anything but clear… so she sniffed it.

"Uff…!" That was NOT a smell she produced. She wasn't even sure how to describe it, aside from being generally pungent and unpleasant. She felt her breathing grow rapid.

"Nora I…"

Of course he figured out she was awake. His back was still to her.

"Ren… th-that… That wasn't a dream was it? Did we really…?"

He looked back at her, fear and guilt in his eyes. "Nora, I'm sorry! I… I was weak, I was stupid, and I… I took advantage of you…"

He caught his face in his hand and looked away. "I can't believe I'd…"

She shook her head kicking her feet around to sit on the edge of her bed. "YOU took advantage of ME...?" She scoffed.

"You were drunk…"

"Ren, we were BOTH drunk."

He shook his head. "And that's my only excuse… I was tempted, so terribly in that moment, and I didn't stop myself!"

"Well la dee da, I didn't stop you either!" she told him, oddly amused despite how terrible he felt. "Do you really think you could force me if I didn't want it too? Remember who you're talking to here."

He wrestled with himself, stammering. "I took something from you that you'll never get back!"

She let him simmer for a moment or two. "Ren… who do you think I was saving it for? Hey, look at me…"

He obeyed, twisting to see her reach across to his bed and pat the nearest spot she could reach. Again, he listened, sliding over to hang his legs off the bed.

"I might have ruined our lives…" he declared, defiant of his Innocence.

"What, from one time?" she asked. "We took the same awkward classes, it's a one-in-twenty chance. Hell, it's only a one-in-three chance any given month if you're trying!"

He sighed. "Maybe…"

She tipped a finger under his chin and lifted it. "Hey…! So it wasn't two months in, after a night at the carnival, a dinner of corn dogs, some bowling and a somersault behind the hay bales while the fireworks went off…"

He smiled in confusion. "Corn dogs?"

She shrugged. "You have your fantasies, I have mine…"

He suppressed a laugh.

"But regardless how you try to make me regret one of the happiest moments of my life, Ren… I just don't…"

" 'Happiest…?' "

"I mean, I wish I remembered it better," she admitted, blushing as she stared into the ceiling. "But… it was so impulsive, and raw, and… I really was worried for a long time that this was a one-way street, and then you just… just… went for it! I didn't think you had it in you…"

He smiled, pink in his cheeks.

Her voice lowered to a grumble. "And then I had it in—"

"Nora…!" He winced, eyes agape. "It… Doesn't it seem… fast?"

"Maybe," she admitted. "I think what's important is we're comfortable… And… if you're not, we can start fresh, call last night a trial run, and take it however you're okay with… I'll wait..."

He nodded, sighing with relief.

"Or," she laughed, "we can call it ice broken and go wild like the world could end at any moment… Pff… I mean, how likely is that, right?"

He felt heady kicking his legs idly as he smiled. "I'm sorry, I… I'm not used to anyone saying stuff like that to me…"

She shrugged again. "I want to be with you, Lie Ren…"

He blinked. "I… wait… Right now?"

"That's not what I meant, but…" She scooted against the bed, leaning forward. "Eh… I've never objected to dessert for breakfast…"

She held out her hand in offering, smiling a smile that seemed to question his next move. He took it, slowly, and she clasped back, pulling him taut.

There was a moment's pause as she gently tugged, waiting for him to take the hint before ever so slowly letting himself be pulled onto his feet and over her as she fell back. Her hands clasped both sides of his head as she traced up his neck, kissing every inch or so as his arms wrapped around her back, until she reached his jawline and caught him flat on the mouth.

From there, her knees fidgeted as he settled onto her, kissing him, nipping him…

He escaped to nuzzle her along the side even as she changed tact to nibbling his ear.

"What…" he began, already breathless, "Is there anything you…?"

"Shhhh…" she uttered into his ear. "Just keep it simple for now… Go ahead…"

She ran her hands over his back, shivering. God, why was she still nervous?

She could feel the jerks of his body as he freed his hands to do something she couldn't see, or otherwise feel. Finally, she felt that pressure again… And then his hands cupped under her knees, lifting them high.

Nora shut her eyes, giggling bashfully as she turned away. "Re-e-e-en…!"

"Uh… I'm sorry, should I—?"

She shook her head, wrists crossed behind his shoulders. "Just come here…"

She sought his lips again as he leaned forward, pressing her knees beside her chest as—

She winced, groaning against his mouth as he leaned fully forward. It was agonizing in its slowness. He leaned back to check on her, his own thoughts barely coherent. A blush had bloomed across her nose

Her breaths became airy. "Come on come on come on, I'm gonna SCREAM…!" she complained, one hand death-gripping the covers while the other clapped over her own mouth. She wriggled beneath him with yearning.

And so, with a rock and a creak, he set out to obey. They luxuriated in each other, parts in their now-moving machine. It was perpetual motion.

"God…" she gasped. "Lie…!"

But the sound of hollow wood broke the spell, and with an unthinkable sound, Ruby Rose shuffled in backwards as they froze.

"So Nora, your, uh… stuff was still in the dryer, and Bulma found a bunch of food in her house things, so you get to try Earth-breakfast-in-beeeaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

She'd turned around, laden with two trays of breakfast to be met with the unchaste sight, emitting a shriek fit to wake the dead. It nearly drowned out the clattering of the trays being dropped, the shattering glasses of milk barely edging her out for sheer discordant volume.

The door slammed as Ruby sped out, but she was far from gone.

"WHAT THE FREAK ARE YOU DOING?! IN MYBED!"

"H… Her bed…?" Nora croaked, embarrassment in her eyes as the pit dropped from her stomach.

Indeed, both of them took a closer look at both beds, each with the end of the covers in red… and yellow.

"We forgot to lock the door…"

"Oh my god, we're idiots…"

They disentangled awkwardly, Nora merely lying there, wide-eyed with both hands over her mouth as she heard the voices buzzing downstairs. Ruby sounded reluctant to speak, but it didn't seem like it was difficult for the others to deduce.

Nora Valkyrie looked positively ill.

"So, you still got Stormflower?"

"O-of course… why?"

"Eh… seems perfect for a suicide pact…"

"Okay… so explain this for me?"

Taiyang had been gracious enough to move everyone out of the kitchen and into the living room or outside. Raven had no stake in it, Ozpin wasn't about to get involved.

Ren, Nora and Ruby were all seated at the table, the latter's face nearly as red as her cape. She looked nearly as embarrassed as she did angry, arms crossed as she tried to sink into the cushion.

The other two were pale, eyes evasive, like children confronting a sub-standard report card.

"I was just trying to bring them food!" Ruby complained.

"And you saw…?"

Ruby went redder, reaching back for her hood and yanking it over her head. "I saw him, on my bed, on top of her! I-I saw her…" She scrambled for a word that wouldn't make it feel worse. "...Her BLAKE!" Her voice turned dark and low. "And what HE was doing to it…! I didn't want to SEE that, Nora!"

From the other room, Blake's ears twitched as her mouth dropped open.

"Uh…! I object to my name being used as a euphemism for… THAT!"

Yang, amused by the entire affair, snickered. "What, you don't get the jo—?"

Blake rounded on her. "Of course I get the joke!"

"Hey!" Taiyang warned. "Private conversation…"

Blake sighed. "I can't help it, my hearing is a lot better than a human's."

"And Ruby isn't exactly quiet…"

Weiss sighed, a hand in her face. "Well, this was probably coming at some point… At least she finally put it out there and we won't have to endure Nora's version of 'subtlety' anymore, right Jaune?"

Jaune sat at the table, avoiding everyone's eyes. "Is the gossip really necessary, guys?"

"Eh, gossip is usually negative," Bulma told him. "And not presently happening."

"It's none of our business," he insisted.

"They're your whole team," Weiss argued.

"Not really, Ruby's part of Team RNJR…"

Weiss frowned. "Team what?"

Taiyang sighed. "Okay, firstly… Ruby… This didn't need to be brought to everyone's attention."

"Yeah!" Nora snarled. "Seriously?! You had to out us in front of everyone?!"

A flash of guilt crossed Ruby's face. "I didn't mean to! Come on, I wasn't expecting to walk in on you… Especially in the room I grew up in!"

"I didn't know! I'm sorry! We weren't thinking!"

Ren finally raised his head. "Ruby… Mister Xiao Long… We were thoughtless... and we've disrespected your home. I apologize."

Taiyang nodded, unable to withhold a slight smile. "Alright, I respect that… I think disrespected is a bit dramatic, but yeah… Not really cool with kids just fooling around, sneaking around my house…"

"We're not kids, okay!" Nora objected. "I'm eighteen! Ren hit nineteen in April!"

"I don't think that's the point, Nora."

"I'm just saying, I'm not interested in 'the talk!' " Nora told him. "We're actual adults; if he doesn't want that here, we'll figure it out, but I'm not about to be talked down to! I mean, what're they gonna do, tell our parents…?"

He blinked in shock. "N… Nora!"

Tai frowned uncomfortably, leaning over to Ruby. "Uh… I'm missing some context with that…?"

She frowned apologetically, whispering into his ear.

"Oh…" he muttered. "Oh, I'm sorry…" As a gesture, he pulled out a chair and sat down, equals at the table. "Look, you're right, and it's not my business what a pair of legal adults do. I'm not challenging that. But you're also guests in my home…"

"You said you'd wait, Nora," Ren reminded.

"I said I'd wait for you!"

"Then wait for me," he pled, taking her hands.

"Well that's not gonna work," Qrow said, walking suddenly past.

Taiyang sighed. "And who asked you? You gotta stop with this 'sauntering into the conversation' bit."

Qrow leaned against the wall, fixing him with a stare. "Come on, we weren't much better at their age… you know it's gonna be too much for them to just drop it. Why fight a rising tide?"

"I'm not letting this place turn into a frat house."

"Not what I'm saying," Qrow argued. "But you know if you drop the hammer, they'll give in, go behind our backs, and get caught playing tiddlywinks on Yang's bike."

"I will stomp BOTH of you flat," Yang threatened from the other room, the humor vanishing from her person. Nora leaned as she stuck her tongue out in reply.

"So what then?" Taiyang asked. " 'Cause nothing is happening in these four walls as long as I've got something to say about it."

"Exactly," Qrow agreed. "But… now we've got three as-yet unassigned little private bungalows out on the lawn."

Ren and Nora shared a glance.

Tai grimaced, shaking his head. "Bulma's claimed one, we agreed you weren't staying in the house… Barty's leaving today. We've gotta house a bunch of kids, Raven, Goku's pal, and that walking carpet-bombing who still hasn't come back… We're giving up one of the few outdoor options so these two can build a love nest?"

"Sure," Qrow answered. "They keep it all to themselves, out of sight, sanctioned… Everybody's happy, all of it takes care of itself. Maybe I can convince Raven to bunk with me, but hey, I've camped the last several months. Won't kill me to do it until the barracks is finished."

Taiyang palmed his face, thumb and forefinger rubbing his temples.

"Fine… If nobody else throws a stink over it… whatever happens in that little house is fair game."

Nora gaped, disbelieving. "Seriously?"

"Hey, I'm a dad, but I haven't forgotten how it is. He's right. Only one way to tackle it in a way that works, and that's through an outlet."

Ruby looked just as stunned.

Taiyang put up two fingers. "Two conditions: First," he patted Nora's arm, "do me a favor, hit the clinic in town, inoculate against starting something you didn't mean to."

"Y'mean, like…?"

"Things are practically drive-thru these days," Qrow told her. "Kingdoms are bad enough, but towns like Patch have to keep a lid on population control. Hard enough to regulate in rural areas like this, so any kid that shows up looking to dodge the statistic is gonna get taken care of, no problem."

Ruby nodded. "I mean, I was already gonna head in with Gohan and stop by Signal…"

Taiyang met her eye. "Keys are in the same place as always. Say hi to Morty for me…" He turned back to Ren and Nora. "Second… We don't have a repeat conversation like this. Stick to the approved place, no clandestine meetings in weird spots, the lake, the woods… You burn me on this, and you're taking it off my property. We have an understanding?"

"We do."

"Yes."

"Mist—"

"Mister Xiao Long…"

He laughed. "Please, 'Mister Xiao Long' was my father… Just call me 'Tai,' everyone does."

"I don't…" Ruby muttered.

Nora's eyes flitted around. "So what about… like… PDA…?"

Taiyang smiled. "Hands off the merch, and nothing you can't manage in one breath."

"That's fair…"

"Okay," Taiyang said, straightening as he clapped his hands together. "I think that adjourns this meeting of the Bureau of Uncomfortable Talks and Truths…"

"Doesn't that spell 'butt'...?"

"Now, once we all finish breakfast, we can figure out just what's next on the docket… Clearly there are some plans."

They stood up, nearly in sync as Krillin sidled in, arms to the sky in a dramatic yawn.

"Sure smells good in here… You guys know Vegeta's on the roof, right?"

There were a handful of stares, but Bulma was the one to stomp her way past and crane her neck out the door. "Seriously?!"

The Prince himself lay on his back against the slope of the roof, staring into the sky without clear purpose. "Bald idiot…" he sighed. "What do you want, Earth woman?"

She stepped out, turning to face his voice. "Either this is the most dramatic disaffected cool-guy act I've ever seen, or you've taken the role of wallflower to new heights!"

He slid off and landed with a slouch, knuckles out at his sides in threat. "That's the last time you'll call me any kind of budding shrub, you erudite harridan!"

"Aww, couldn't help but pay me a compliment while tearing me down… Just shut up and eat something, you're no good to us on empty." She walked back inside, his eyes bulging in surprise as she turned her back on him, pouring more egg beaters into a pan on the stove and clicking it on as Taiyang did likewise on the other side with pancake batter.

"Besides," she continued, "I'll need those muscles today. You and Krillin are gonna help me stock up on materials. One trip, and I should have enough to work with for a good while."

Krillin blinked from his chair. "Huh? Wait, I thought we were buying stuff."

She cast an annoyed glare. "Load the washer if you're just gonna sit around!"

He jumped, nodding before gathering the discarded dirty wares and getting to work in the sink.

Bulma sighed. "Yeah, supposedly Oz has a bunch of cash somewhere…"

"And I'm going with him to retrieve it…" Taiyang added.

"...But that's all gonna take time to clear and—"

Qrow interjected. "And goods fit to wage war are liable to get us noticed if bought in bulk, especially given post-Beacon scarcities, communication lag, Grimm interference and— oh right, Vacuo's a hostile entity, and Atlas has blockaded all trade… So handy stuff like Atlas-grade steel is gonna be hard to come by."

"And I'm expected to aid in this endeavor?" Vegeta scoffed.

Bulma poured scrambled eggs onto a plate. "You will if you want that gravity chamber," she told him. "What have you got that's better to do? Your training won't mean a damn thing before you can really push it, I've been listening…"

Vegeta growled, but didn't argue. Krillin scrubbed the inside of several shot glasses from the previous evening and turned his attention back.

"Where exactly are we picking up a whole bunch of this stuff in the first place? Did I miss something?"

She sighed. "Think about it! Where do we know there's tons and tons of military-grade hardware just lying around?"

"Oh my god, you're not…!" Weiss said suddenly, entering with a handful of empty plates.

The kitchen door creaked as Raven stepped in. "Not what? I take it we're planning something?"

Weiss ignored the intrusion, eyes fixed upon Bulma, laden with betrayal. "The shipwrecks in Mistral, the ones with dead soldiers still in most of them… the ones I pulled my SISTER out of?! You're planning to use those as scrap metal?"

Bulma sighed sadly. "There's plenty of material that got thrown or ejected. We're not going to be desecrating bodies, I promise."

Weiss didn't relent, setting the dishes into the sink with a noisy clatter as Krillin jumped. "It's basically graverobbing! It should be a memorial, not a salvage yard!" She turned to him. "You can't be okay with this, can you?!" She asked, her eyes pleading.

"I-I mean," Krillin stammered, laboring to heed her, "we're sure there's no other way?"

Qrow grunted, sipping his coffee. "Sad thing is, Weiss, the only reason Atlas isn't down there salvaging or destroying the wrecks right now is they'll have to scramble just to secure Argus, let alone race down there after a whole company stopped reporting in."

"D-destroy…?"

"That far from home, recovery teams can't act in time to salvage the tech and whatever intel. Black boxes, working data drives… and Atlas has the best military-grade tech on Remnant. They can't risk it falling into the hands of bandits, scavengers, or enemy factions, not even for a few hundred dogtags."

"It's honorable you'd want to preserve it," Raven said, genuinely, "but your own people aren't so noble. Not that they're wrong to do it. I can tell you if my tribe even heard rumors of that much Atlas tech lying around, I wouldn't spare a man for anything but a salvage effort… and we weren't the only game in town. Once Windpath catches the scent, you can bet they'll be there too."

Qrow nodded. "Truth is, without guards on-hand round the clock, that site's getting picked clean one way or another, and once Atlas scouts see no survivors rallied nearby, they'll nab the black boxes and burn the rest. So if we don't take it, it'll be gone regardless."

Weiss grabbed a chair and sank into it, defeated. "I understand… I still hate it… but I understand."

Vegeta grunted. "I promise you, the ghosts of those men don't give a damn about their little ships. Such ceremony benefits the living alone. I've no taste for it."

Taiyang snorted, shaking his head. "Well I didn't hate everything about that sentiment, so that's a good start… So how are you planning to do this, exactly?"

Bulma smiled. "Weeeeell, if these guys can nab some reasonable specimens, my dynocaps can take care of most of it."

"Mmm." Taiyang nodded. "Right… those things that store cars, and houses and… Hey, how does that work exactly?"

She crossed her arms behind her head. "Ehhhh, that's a trade secret, but the basic idea is to punch pocket dimensions into the quantum foam and entangle them to individual containment units, and even to its contents for pre-loaded caps… People think the body of it is where the stuff is kept, but nah… It's mostly a fusion battery for powering the warp field around everything and then shunting it into the pocket dimension."

Weiss blinked rapidly. "Wait… foam?"

"Quantum foam. It's just finer spacetime…"

"Wouldn't punching dimensions take stupid levels of energy?" Taiyang asked.

"For a big hole, sure. We make a tiny one and warp space through it, taking anything inside it too."

Vegeta frowned. "Your people created warp travel, but never left that Earth of yours?"

"No, making a warp field and kicking it through a few feet is doable. Warp travel requires producing constant energy in a small package to move the field," Bulma explained. "Only a massive fusion reactor could do it, too big for the space it would move."

"I regret asking... I am now more lost than I was before," Taiyang admitted.

Weiss balked. "Fusion? I don't understand…"

Bulma's eyebrow tilted. "Nuclear fusion? Fusing atoms together to create a reaction that generates electricity?"

Apart from the Prince, they stared like she'd grown a second head.

"We make electricity from energy Dust," Weiss said, feeling foolish. "I mean, it's not that alternatives have never been tried, but it's always environmentally destructive, dirty, and we get less out of it." She bowed her head in shame. "...And it probably doesn't help that my father's company and its competitors have worked extremely hard to de-fund, buy out or suppress research into other means of energy production for the past half century."

Bulma brightened in surprise. " 'Your father's company?' Well how about that!" She closed the distance and put a hand on her shoulder. "A scion sister! Good to have someone here I can relate to… as if the clam-bake here wasn't already fresh air from the sausage-fest I'm used to…"

"S-Scion…?" Weiss stuttered. "You mean, you're from a… family of means too?"

"Yeah, I guess you did only show up after I mentioned that yesterday," Bulma noted. "My Dad founded the Capsule Corporation on inventing the dynocap. Richest on Earth, not to brag…"

Weiss stared, the slightest smile gracing her. "I'm sorry, I never suspected… You're… a lot different from any CEO, founder or board member I've ever met at company functions."

"Yeah, Dad never really lost the folksy charm," Bulma explained. "The money just kinda happened, and he's way more into the science of it. Can't stand the snooty types… So your Dad's the lock, stock and barrel type huh? Domination at any cost? The apple fell far…"

Weiss sighed. "Yeah, too far for his liking. It's all in the past now, my little brother will inherit it all. Good riddance…"

"Traded the cushy, stuffy life for thrill and passion," Bulma surmised romantically. "Sounds like my big sister, Tights. I'm only getting the company because she didn't want it… She's a science fiction writer now."

Krillin spun like a top to face them. "You have a sister?!"

"I mean, that's what I said—"

"Good GRIEF, you scatter-brained magpies!" Vegeta belted out at them, his gloves creaking as his fists flexed. "This isn't some Sunday outing! Get on with the plan!"

"Augghh, THANK YOU…" Raven sighed gratefully, eyes to the ceiling. "So how do we get there? It was a portal away from Mistral, but that's the other side of the planet. I can't just reopen it with no anchor."

"Circumnavigating this planet one way is trivial for us," Vegeta explained, waving her off. "The problem will be on you flightless peafowl…"

Bulma crossed her arms. "Ha… Why? I'm not flying anywhere…" She pointed at Raven. "She goes with you two, and then you'll just portal back here so I can step through and supervise! Easy."

Raven's red eyes fixed on hers. "So what, I grab onto their ankles for thousands of miles, dragged behind a living scramjet? Or do they carry me, like a bride to the altar?"

Qrow smirked. "There's an easier way, sis…"

Her eyes narrowed. "No…"

His grin only got wider. "You know how this'll end…"

A jet-black, red-eyed bird glared daggers out into the world as its head and wings poked out over the collar of the warrior monk's shirt, stuffed largely against his bare chest underneath.

"Never looked better, sis!" Qrow laughed, cackling at the sight as the two warriors waited outside.

Krillin did his best to ignore her responsive trill, looking nearly as uncomfortable. "It's uh… not too tight, right? Ack!"

He flinched as the black beak nipped under his chin.

"Okay, fine! I'll stop talking…"

Bulma strode towards them, eyes fixed upon a scroll. "Best I can give you guys to find the way back is a compass heading. Apparently Ruby, the blondie and those lovestruck kids were slumming it with paper maps traveling there on foot. Tai let me borrow this to figure it out…"

Vegeta let out a derisive breath. "You can stow your concerns, I had more than enough time to map the place in my head by the powers I could sense."

Krillin nodded. "Assuming Frieza's back where he was before, he's the only reference point we'll need to get our bearings."

"If you say so," she crooned, "just be sure to head back if you get lost…"

"It really is your confidence in us that keeps me coming back, Bulma…"

"Ha-ha… Good luck out there."

Both of them took positions as Krillin held the bird to his chest. "Alright… hold onto your tail feathers…!"

Taiyang and Oobleck stepped outside to watch as the pair were surrounded in the vaguely fire-like glow of their auras, buffeting the trees and grass as they took off into the sky like rockets, attaining an indeterminate altitude before a second burst of air revealed the jet-like trails as they angled ninety full degrees and sped east, quickly moving beyond their sight with only the faintest noise penetrating the trees.

Taiyang and Oobleck approached behind Bulma, necks craned. She idly handed Tai his scroll.

"Well, that's that," she sighed. "You're heading into town, right? I'll have to stick by Yang then. Need to be on-hand for when they get there."

Without another word she strode back towards the door.

"She's pretty jaded to all this," Taiyang noted.

"It is another thing entirely to see these abilities in person, isn't it?"

"Yeah, the vision sure didn't include the ground thumping on takeoff and the wind whipping past."

Neither could do much more than stare.

"Mmm," Oobleck hummed, tearing his eyes away. "Well as much as I've enjoyed your hospitality, I fear I must leave. Rest assured, should the need arise, there can be no greater cause… but Vale needs what few Huntsmen are available, and I fear I've little to contribute."

"Hey, I feel ya, don't justify yourself to me. I'm not far behind. God there's a lot of work to do…"

"Seriously? You guys get caught playing butt darts and Dad gives you your own personal screw hut?"

Yang's words caused an utter silence in the living room as Ren suddenly choked on his eggs.

"Heart of a poet…" Weiss droned as Ren's face went blue. Her expression unchanged from the annoyed stare she was giving Yang, Nora thumped his lower back with her fist a single, rib-bruising time. He spluttered, swallowed, and breathed easier.

"Th-thanks," he muttered.

"Anytime, babe," she told him, eyes still fixed on Yang.

" 'Babe…?' "

She finally turned to him with concern. "Y-You don't like it? I got others…"

"Uh! N-no, it's… Babe is fine…" He stared around his plate desperately, eyes settling. "Muffin."

She grinned, rubbing his cheek. "Don't force it, hon'."

Blake's smile was radiant as her eyes sparkled, and she made a noise that was like an adoring cross between a hum and a giggle.

Nora's glare turned to her. "What?"

Blake blanked. "Uh… nothing… just admiring what you have."

"Don't admire too much, toots."

The uncomfortable silence returned. Until Ruby suddenly snorted in spite of herself. "Butt darts…"

Weiss glared at her. "You would… Not to barge in, but… isn't this a little fast?"

Blake leaned in at her suddenly. "Every couple has their own pace, Weiss. There's no such thing as too slow or too fast, provided it's what they're both comfortable with."

She caught the quirk in Sun's eyebrow. She kissed him under the chin. "Keep dreaming, Sun… That is so not my pace."

He waved her off. "Come on, what do you take me for? I don't care about that…"

She fixed him with a skeptical look.

He shook his head. "What's that look for? I'm serious… Not every red-blooded guy is a tail-crazed baboon… I can say that, I'm a… you know..."

Nora turned to find Goku, quietly watching the conversation as Gohan in turn watched him. "What about you, married man? You've been quiet… Any blinding insights?"

The Saiyan scratched the back of his head. "I'm not the guy to ask 'bout stuff like that… I met Chichi when I was a kid, n' she had this whole plan to marry me… and I guess I said I would… Did the day after we met up at the tournament again years later. A year after that, this little guy was born!" he said proudly, mussing Gohan's hair.

Nora's eyes gaped, before instantly invading his space, standing with her back bent at a forty-five degree angle to loom over him. "W-w-wait up! You had a childhood romance that blossomed into marriage, with a kid and a house and everything after years apart… after just a day?!" she finished, grabbing the open collar of his gi as he stared back nervously.

"Uh… kinda?" Goku admitted as her eyes twinkled. "I mean, I didn't really understand she liked me that way… I thought a 'marriage' was some kind of fancy meal."

Weiss frowned. "What cave did they drag you out of?"

"A spaceship."

"I'm going to stop asking you things."

Nora, unfazed, stood up straight as her face went taut with contemplation. "Wait, so it was a one-sided romance that years later was confessed and unveiled only for you to accept and get hitched the day after?!"

"Uh… I guess so."

Nora spun on the spot, bouncing as she hummed pleasantly. "Even better…!" Ren watched as she caught his eye, nodding her head at Goku. "What'cha think? Is it like looking into a mirror?"

He stared between her and the Champion of Earth, puzzled.

Yang sighed. "So you guys get your own bathroom, the works… Ugh! That's so unfair!"

Ruby frowned. "Why? We're gonna be back upstairs in our room," she turned to leer at Nora, voice darkening, "after I burn those sheets…"

Yang scoffed. "Dramatic much?"

"Just… mourning the loss of my innocence…" she replied, eyes going distant.

"Eh, you got that for free…"

Ruby's eyes lowered, teeth bared as her hands framed her temples. "I can still see it…!"

"Look Rub', you know Dad wouldn't have been this cool if it were us," Yang argued as the others watched it become a ping-pong match. "There's no way he'd roll out the red rubber if we brought someone home."

Weiss winced. "We just got done eating!"

Ruby smirked. "I dunno, did you ever actually bring a boyfriend home and find out?"

"O-of course not! I mean, there was never anyone to bring… Look, parents don't do that, everyone knows this!"

Jaune sighed. "Is it our place to—"

"I'm not against them being together!" Yang told him. "Why are you such a wilting flower over this, Jaune? This is the biggest shakeup of the group since… Look, would you rather it was all behind their backs?"

"No, I—"

"Jaune," Nora projected, fixing him with her eyes. "Of anyone here, your opinion is probably the one with the most right to say anything. We survived JNPR together… You're basically a brother to us. If you have anything to say…"

Jaune slowly paced, letting out an uncomfortable breath of laughter. "I don't have a right! And I've got nothing to say against it! I'm happy for both of you, it's just…"

"Just what?"

"I'm just… processing it, is all. I'll be fine."

Yang got a shrewd look in her eye. "Oh, I get it… You've got a protective big brother thing going on. I get that."

He went pink, smiling. "Pff! What? Nah…"

"Nah back, I see you, Jaune… So Ruby's the only one making it weird."

The crimsonette crossed her arms. "I'm not 'making it weird,' it's already weird! I saw a few of my favorite people… saw them…!"

Yang scoffed. "Ruby, come on, you're way too old for the 'boys are icky' phase!"

"I don't think they're icky! Just…"

Weiss blinked as a notion struck her. "Ruby… do you like girls?"

She recoiled. "W-what?! No…! I mean…"

Blake shrugged. "She could be asexual, just not into any of it."

"I don't… I don't know, I… Maybe?"

Weiss shook her head. "Can't be, we saw her plant that fat one on Oscar last night."

Ruby went puce and seized two handfuls of her own hair. "I WHAT?!"

The room went quiet as she looked around, only briefly meeting Oscar's eye before hers darted away. Gradually she let out an uncertain laugh. "Oh… you're joking! Ha ha… that's a good one, Weiss, you old kidder!" she finished, jabbing her bestie with her elbow.

"No," Oscar croaked suddenly, "you… did that."

Horror slithered onto her face as the color drained from it.

"You said he was 'cute.' " Yang added, eyeing Oscar with mistrust as Ruby's eyelids rolled into her skull.

"Why am I developing a HISTORY of doing weird stuff while unconscious?!"

"B-but it's fine!" Oscar declared wringing his hands over the hilt of his cane. "Can't happen anyway, Yang set me straight…! Yeah…" he added, deflating.

Ruby fixed Yang with a look.

"Hey, I'm putting my foot down about this!" Yang said, simultaneously defensive and aggressive. "I'm not letting you canoodle around with a kid who has Ozpin in his BRAIN…"

Ruby slumped into her seat, hand over her eyes. "Can… can we just… not talk about this right now…?"

"Is there anything more to say?"

Ruby shot Oscar an apologetic look, but sighed in defeat. She saw Nora hand in hand with Ren, poking his nose and giggling. She shut her eyes, sighing harder.

Yang found it in her to grin. Then she glanced at her arm, and the grin turned wicked as she twisted it off. "I can see you're frustrated, little sis'..." She offered the prosthetic, which Ruby took in surprise. "Here, I hear it's better when it's not your own… Have some 'me time!' "

Ruby blinked, mouthing " 'Me time…?' " in confusion.

"Just careful you don't grow hair on your palms…" she warned, winking.

Ruby stared between her and the arm three times before her eyes flew wide, she recoiled, and she threw it back at Yang in a fit of red-faced anger. "Augh! God, NO!"

Yang's chest spasmed as she withheld her laughter, flinching.

Weiss attempted to roll her eyes, but couldn't keep the smile off of her face. "Yang, did you just… tell her to—"

"Oh fine," Yang drawled, "I'll draw a nice bath and light a few candles if you need the mood…"

Ruby blanked. "I… you…! I d-d-don't…"

"You don't?" Yang repeated, grinning all the wider. "Come on, you're almost seventeen! Are you gonna tell us to our faces that you never bumped into a cute boy —or girl, whichever— put on a slow song in the bathroom and—"

"It's okay, Yang! Ruby and I already were gonna today," Gohan said helpfully.

There was a collective recoil as Ruby locked eyes with him in horror. "G-G-Gohan… what…"

Weiss stared at Ruby like she'd never seen her before.

Yang went ghostly white. "What… the hell…" she croaked.

Sun leaned in to Blake. "So… is that what she likes…?"

"Stop!" Blake squeaked, jumping at his suggestion.

Jaune blinked, shaking his head. "Wait… Gohan, what do you think we were just talking about?"

Gohan smiled brightly. "Oh! So… Ruby caught Ren and Nora kissing and playing her dart game… she's upset about it… and to get her mind off it, Yang thinks she can fix up her arm while we're working on her scythe, because she really likes weapons."

The air returned to the room, literally, as several of them dared to breathe again in relief.

"Jeez, guys!" Ruby complained. "Thanks Jaune."

"I'm sorry," Weiss offered. "Head's in a really weird place right now."

"Let's be more mindful what we say by the five-year-old?" Blake suggested.

"So you're going into Signal to fix Crescent Rose?" Yang asked.

Ruby finally had a reason to smile again. "Yeah! Gonna show Gohan, maybe whip him up something…"

Weiss hummed in interest. "I'd sure like to see how you made it," she admitted, wincing as a thought crossed her mind. "I didn't make mine, so…"

"Sure! We can all go!"

"Hold it."

Stares were drawn as Bulma emerged from the kitchen. "Yang needs to stick around for when her mom opens that portal. Tai is going into Vale with Oz, so she needs an anchor here."

Yang sighed. "Yeah, makes sense… Wait, what about Qrow?"

Taiyang followed in after. "Qrow stays here too, because in spite of myself, I trust him more to mind the house than a bunch of kids and strangers, no offense… And I trust you, Yang, to keep him in check."

Oscar's eyes flashed. "And while Miss Rose's venture will be conducive to the task, the remaining hands here must use this opportunity to purge the property of Grimm."

Nora snorted. "You don't think 'Getes managed that earlier?"

Ozpin smiled. "All the same, my magic will have roused Grimm that might have slumbered, hidden in this region for a long while. Any one of them could grant Salem passage within the barrier's boundaries, so our extermination must be thorough."

Jaune laughed. "Honestly, dealing with Grimm feels like vacation after all of this."

Taiyang, Ruby, Oscar, Gohan and Weiss gathered outside by the dirt trail leading off-property.

"Hey hon', you forgetting something?" Tai asked, glancing about his daughter's person.

"My… manners?" Ruby guessed.

"Your scythe, you're getting it fixed, right?"

"Oh!" She fished a dynocap out of her pocket. "Yang had one of Bulma's little doohickeys for her bike. I can't collapse her all bent out of shape, so this is the next best thing."

He hummed, nodding as he rubbed his chin. "Man that tech us useful… Easy to see why her company's so big on Earth."

They waited as Ren and Nora held hands in brief parting.

"You be careful, 'kay?" Nora told him.

He chuckled quietly. "It's just a few Grimm, and we're waiting on you to come back before we get serious. You know me…"

"Yep! And I aim to know you better…" she whispered. "Want to try it?"

"Heh… okay. On three?"

She raised her hand to face height. "One…"

He did the same. "Two…"

"Boop!" they sang simultaneously, prodding the other's nose and giggling.

Weiss suppressed her frown, settling for a grimace. "Do you find this charming? Because I'm of two minds here."

There was a noncommittal mutter of assent and bare tolerance throughout the group.

Nora planted a kiss on his lips. "See ya' tonight, stud… I love you…"

This time there was no hesitation. "I love you too."

Nora made a pleased squeal as all her muscles tightened and she bobbed on the balls of her feet before turning around to all but skip over to them. The moment she rejoined them, they turned to make down the path.

"You like to watch so bad, y'should've snapped a photo, keep it forever why don'tcha?" Nora grumbled through her teeth, leering at them in spite of her smile.

"We were waiting on you," Weiss noted. "Not everyone is obsessed over your little tryst."

"Fess up," Ruby bade her, "you've always loved the attention."

"Hmph!" Nora snorted in a pitch-perfect imitation of Weiss as she jabbed her nose high. "Shows what you know; I've always been indifferent to being myself and making a scene. It's like you don't know me at all…" she teased. "Try as you might, jelly-girls, nothing you say can ruin this for me."

"You think we're jealous?" Weiss asked, more matter-of-fact than offended.

"I don't want to ruin it for you…" Ruby muttered sadly.

"Jee-e-eze!" Tai laughed. "Bunch a' teenage girls yakkin' about boys! Guess this is to make up for skipping that till this point. Wealth of subjects, I'm just saying…"

Oscar cut-in helpfully. "Okay… so… how are we getting to town? I'd have thought you had a car or something."

Ruby brightened. "Nah! We live close to a stop for the PRTL. Best way to get around the island."

" 'Portal?' " Gohan sounded out.

"Patch Rapid Transport Loop," Tai explained. "It's just a local passenger train."

"Oh!" Gohan exclaimed with awe. "Our family lives in the woods away from town too, but I've never taken a train…"

"I can't be sure if that would excite or bore a kid like you," Weiss said with equal parts curiosity and amusement.

"How did you get to town?" Ruby asked.

"On Nimbus."

Nora gave a dry laugh. "Oh I get it, that's a funny name for a bus… Nim-BUS…"

He frowned. "Uh, no… it's my dad's magic cloud."

"Magic… cloud…"

Tai snorted and shook his head, glancing at Nora. "Who's surprised at this point? Kinda set yourself up for failure there."

Weiss couldn't help herself. "How does one ride a magic cloud?"

"Well, not everyone can do it," Gohan admitted. "You'll fall through if you're not pure of heart."

A light seemed to fill the three girls' eyes at the notion.

"Pure of Heart…" Ruby sighed wistfully. That's so…"

"Romantic!" Nora finished. "So it can tell that sorta thing?!"

Weiss snickered. "Like you or I qualify, Nora. Ruby's probably the only one here that would, besides maybe Oscar," she said, making Nora pout as the elder of the boys blinked in surprise. "Except maybe for all the Ozpin weighing him down."

Ozpin emerged briefly. " 'Weight' would be an apt way to describe it, I'll not deny."

"W-w-w-wait!" Ruby laughed. "Me? What's so pure about me?"

Nora leaned in aggressively. "And what's so un-pure about ME?!"

Weiss scoffed. "Firstly… Ruby, don't fish for compliments… And Nora, you got liquored-up and got to know your best friend carnally… Don't play dumb."

"And all roads lead to Mistral…" Taiyang sighed, shaking his head as the topic returned. "Can your dad ride the cloud?"

Gohan nodded. "Yeah, of course!"

"Well, seeing as he's produced a kid, I'm guessing purity has nothing to do with that, so who knows… you all could be."

Weiss hummed. "Well I guess all that weird stuff we learned about him last night really was innocent… That's a weight off my mind."

"Know anyone your Nimbus won't take?" Nora asked.

Gohan considered. "Oh right, we talked about it on the way to Namek. There was nothing to do for like a month, so…"

"And?" Oscar prodded.

"I guess neither Bulma or Krillin were able to ride it. Bulma always insisted there was just a trick to it."

Taiyang snickered. "She ain't pure, but she sure ain't boring."

"Krillin? Really?" Weiss said, surprised. "He seems like such a nice guy."

Ruby leaned against her. "Yeah, cuz' 'pure' probably isn't the same as 'nice.' I might be nice, but I've got a lot of guilt… and grief… and a lot of negativity running through my head."

Tai had to hold back an exasperated laugh. "Because you take responsibility for everything that goes wrong! You've got a truckload of guilt, but a tablespoon of fault. Negativity isn't impurity, we're not talking about Grimm here."

Ruby sulked defiantly. "I swore an oath, and I haven't kept up my end…"

"Oh for…" Taiyang stopped himself.

Ozpin returned with a flash. "Miss Rose… I helped pen the Huntsman's Oath. It was meant to inspire and describe a standard to strive for, not a minimal expectation. Holding yourself to it is noble, but it was always meant to be out of reach. It compels even the best of us to…"

But her face soured, and before he could say more, her pace quickened, and she steadily marched several feet ahead with every stride.

The rest of them stopped at once, surprised, Ozpin most of all.

"What… did I say?"

Tai took a breath as he sagged.

Cinder awoke to the breaking of dawn, and the sound of a loudspeaker echoing through the streets of Vacuo. From up in Shade it was indistinct noise, but following it she could hear the relentless march of feet in the halls beyond their door.

On the other side of the room, she saw Emerald, awake and staring at her left arm.

There was a knock at the door. Emerald locked eyes with Cinder, who nodded towards it.

Emerald opened it to reveal Hazel, impassive as ever as a crowd of students filtered past in droves. Tyrian stood nearby, his stunted tail twitching as he watched them pass like a spider eyeing a procession of roaches.

"We're expected in the dining hall. Apparently it's important."

Cinder huffed. "Of course it is. We're bound for ascension, after all."

"To stand in a citadel where Ozpin's hierophants cozen his flock…" Tyrian hissed with distaste, "made a temple unto a false, profane idol…" His eyes met Cinder's, and he grinned. "Only natural you see a profit in it."

"What does that mean?" Emerald demanded.

His eyes glared at his own arm. "Our Lady bid me imbibe his vile power into myself… I wept to be tested so, steeped in his darkness in service to her light!" His voice crept to a whimper. "Such a burden…!"

He truly seemed as though he might cry… until his eyes snapped to hers again with a scowl. "Oh, but you take to the dark with that self same hunger… You glut yourself without shame, without mind, like a pig! As soon to eat its master as from its trough!"

Suddenly, a black arm like a tree branch moved to block sight of each other as Hazel's eyes crept to the corners to eye the mad faunus. "Perhaps she'll prove more useful for it than your whinging."

Tyrian growled, bending low while considering the muscled mass. "Anointed for your failures, and you'd question me…?!"

"Her willingness aids the mission… complaining does not."

Mercury hummed as they took notice of the red-veined limb having replaced Hazel's lost one. Unlike Cinder's, no claws took root in them, though the muscles contained a handful of bony protrusions, particularly at the elbow. One even curved beyond the weave of Grimm and human flesh to form a sort of pauldron over his shoulder. "She was quick about that. Thought you'd go with the Doc's handiwork."

Hazel's left arm massaged the right. "She saw an… opportunity. It wasn't my place to object."

Cinder fixed Tyrian with a long look. "Naturally. Now might we see what the fuss is about, Tyrian? Or would you like to spend another few hours, drooling unconscious on the floor?"

The glint in his eye was dangerous, but he stalked away from the frame as they journeyed out.

Attached at the northern end of the pyramid was the great dining hall, its ceiling low and held up by intermittent pillars, more akin to a lodge or tavern than a grand place for pomp and speeches. Better that way, as far as the locals were concerned. Rather than long tables spanning the breadth of it, small ones fit for a Huntsman team dotted the room. It was more than possible for half the room to ignore the faculty tables entirely.

But none dared it now. As Salem's lot took their own seats, they quickly recognized tense, hastily learned behaviors unlike the reputation of Vacuo. All faced forward, unearthly quiet as Frieza himself stood to face the throng.

"Good morrow, my hominid swine!" he laughed. "Today marks a most momentous occasion! From the ashes of my exile arises one I thought lost in my campaign on Planet Namek. I present the former Captain of my Ginyu Special Squadron, now acting as Supreme Commander of martial operations on this Frieza Planet Four-Eight-Three!"

Rising from a seat behind him, Ginyu rose, hands on her hips as she looked out into the crowd of students, rogues, and the blue-uniformed Minutemen since conscripted.

"Commandeeeeeeeeeer GINYU!"

There was largely just confusion as the platinum blonde addressed them. Lacking alien features, how could they be certain she wasn't some mad fool, soon to be obliterated for speaking out of turn?

Cinder, Emerald and Tyrian leered to see her again, but she was clearly different since their last encounter.

Her hair was tied back clumsily, much of it still hiding her ears and framing her face. She wore a sort of thick-collared, long-sleeved, lavender shirt-dress down past her hips with pleats running the height of it all, sleeves tucked into white gloves that run up to her elbows. It would have looked downright feminine if not for the white belt fastening it to her waist. Beneath it she wore gunmetal tights tucked into tall aquamarine boots of all things.

But the cherry/whip-cream combo that made it impossible to ignore was the pure white cape trailing behind her back, and the sandstone colored armor over her chest and shoulders which at first blush looked like leather for the matte finish. Comprising five pieces, two breastplates, two swooping pauldrons and a backplate, they were sewn together by holes punched into the edges with thick fibers.

Altogether it was impossible to ignore.

Ginyu finally leaned over quietly. "Mmm… still not feeling it. 'Commander' just doesn't have the same ring to it."

Frieza's smile didn't fade, though it was tempered by something resembling discomfort as his eyelids flagged. "Ginyu acts with my authority. Offend her at your own peril… She presently wears a facsimile of the traditional Frieza Force armor, a light-weight ceramic sourced locally, to be requisitioned to all under my command in due course. To my dismay, the superior models are irreplicable given this world's lacking in material technologies."

There was the faintest mutter of the crowd, but silence fell again the moment Frieza made a minor motion.

"Come tomorrow, Ginyu will begin to specially train select applicants for our new Elite Uplift program. As she's demonstrated to me, humanity is not wholly bereft of real power… But in your cultural ignorance, you fall far short of your true capability. This program will see to correct this, forging a caste of champions composed only of the strongest, most ruthless and capable of your number!"

This time the crowd was far more animated. Whispers of worry, disbelief and confusion were almost overshadowed by the handful of hungry eyes and sharklike smiles turning to their fellows in barely-contained glee.

In particular, Emerald watched a trio of punk girls with a porcine tail, tusks and ears respectively egging each other on. Though the eldest, tusked one with streaked red and grey hair gave a commanding glare as Frieza spoke again.

"Mayhaps you've heard tell of a recent conquest of mine since yesterday. So allow me to confirm it myself: The City of the Kingdom of Mistral has been entirely annihilated."

The air was full of gasps and exclamations of surprise and fear. Frieza didn't wait this time.

"Yes, of the three Kingdoms of this world, the grandest territory lies a headless body, a prize worthy of conquest and ripe for acquisition! I knew not that I would go so far when I set out to pluck the fruits of revenge for the fools that wronged me, but across the sea we shall establish a foothold and conscript a force fit to strike out at the remaining foes from the dregs… while the main force presses East, to the husk of Vale. So armed and positioned, we will take Atlas, and thus, the world."

"He's serious, isn't he?"

"Of course he is! You've seen what he can do!"

"World domination… this is really happening…"

Frieza grinned. "It might interest you to know that Atlas itself sent a delegation to oppose my attack… and that they now rest in fire and ruin along the valley floor. A first strike to stoke their blinding rage or bid them cower…"

"Hail, Lord Frieza!" Ginyu cried out, a mug sloshing from her fist as she raised it. Sovereign of the Stars!"

A number seconded the notion, the noise approaching something more expected of the Kingdom's repute. Frieza shut his eyes with a smile, accepting their adulation even as he limply held out a hand for quiet.

"The global communications blackout will mask our actions, but to advantage ourselves, we shall mark our advances with an array of short-range towers. On the one hand I'm told the local dark beasts tend to target such things, but by then they'll hardly be an obstacle for the elites."

He turned back, scooping a glass of red wine off his table. "Those seeking to volunteer for Uplift must speak to a superior officer for details. Just bear in mind, few rewards come without sacrifice…" He drained the glass in a single draft. "The boundless dark, the same hunger… May the cup of life never drain."

He let the glass fall before him, moments before his foot stamped it to glittering dust with a brittle crunch.

With that, the lot were dismissed, filtering freely apart from those actually sitting down for breakfast.

Seemingly on a whim, however, he glimpsed a man clad in jade-painted armor with shoulder-length brown hair.

"Oh, Major Kelly... I have a lower-priority directive for the men. Not a public address, you see, I'd rather catch them unawares."

He stiffened in surprise. "Your orders, Lord Frieza?"

"Those beastly faunus creatures... they're largely beneath my attention, but I admit myself irked by the simian sort of their number... As a start, I'd like if the apes were interned."

"I-interred, sir?"

He laughed. "The ship afore its haul, Major... but it would be a lie to suggest differently..."

Kelly seemed to freeze for but a moment. "I'll see that it is done, my lord."

Cinder and the others waited as Ginyu took her time crossing the distance.

"Morning, scum!" She greeted. "Good to see you can keep to a schedule. I've got your asses all to myself for the next twelve hours, so fill your gut and meet me outside in ten." As if in example, she swiped a cheese danish from a forlorn student's table and stuffed it in one, taking her leave.

"Twelve hours…?!" Mercury repeated. "Didn't think anyone could compete with my old man for slave-driving."

"You train every chance you get!" Emerald pointed out.

"Yeah, and that's my choice."

"We're here to work," Hazel told him, "not lie around."

Cinder huffed, still staring into Ginyu's back. "We're trying to do what no one on Remnant has ever done… That doesn't just HAPPEN…" She turned around stalking towards the courtyard. "You have to MAKE it happen…"

Yang locked the door behind them. "Alright, we good?"

Qrow, Blake, Sun, Ren and Jaune readied their weapons while Bulma emerged from her Capsule house clad in her yellow space gear, hefting an enormous machine gun, only counterbalanced by the backpack of belt ammunition feeding into it. Leather was bolted to many of its surfaces. "Ready on this end! Bulma… Monster Hunter…"

Qrow cackled. "That thing's bigger than you are!"

"And it fires seven-hundred rounds per minute…" she added. "I'm not fighting the things by myself, it's a support weapon… I'll support."

"Fine by me," Yang said, cracking her knuckles. "Not at my best anyway. Only got ol' lefty today."

Blake balked. "Why didn't you take that in Lower Shambhala…?"

"I wasn't bringing this thing into a submarine," Bulma answered simply.

Yang shook her head. "Submarine? Man, you guys got into some stuff while we were apart."

Jaune got a curious gleam in his eye. "Hey wait… You guys don't have Dust on Earth, right? How do guns work?"

Bulma stared. "Gunpowder."

Unsatisfied, he inquired, "Which is…"

"Ten percent sulfur, fifteen charcoal, and a healthy seventy-five of potassium-nitrate," she elaborated. "But don't try making it yourself."

Sun froze. "Wait… isn't that in bananas? Do bananas explode?"

"Did you never take a chemistry class?" Bulma asked. "Potassium is an alkaline metal… explodes in water… and mildly radioactive."

He turned mildly green as his eyes widened.

"Potassium-nitrate largely occurs in natural cave deposits or bat guano."

There was a lot of blinking at this, but Yang couldn't be helped. "So for real, Earth weaponry is literally batshi—"

"Hey, language…" Qrow groaned, to her bewilderment.

"Since when do you—?!"

"Since I'm on thin-ice with your dad, not gonna deny it," he sighed. "Let's head out. Those Grimm aren't about to kill themselves."

"Hey! Hold up!"

Behind them, they saw Goku on a crutch, gingerly stepping out of the house. He locked it again, crutch nudging it shut.

Bulma fumed, marching over. "Goku, we're going to fight monsters! You're supposed to be healing!"

"Aw, I'm fine, Bulma, not even fighting! I just want to see these guys in action!"

"How are you even going to keep up? You can barely walk!"

"Maybe…" he muttered. "Buuuut…"

He let the sentence fade as he concentrated, a smile growing under a furrowed brow.

Suddenly, the grass fluttered underneath him, and as if on a string he levitated into the air.

"See! I can't walk… but I can keep up!"

She growled. "Oh fine! Just don't blame me when something happens."

She took a few steps to set off, but Goku paused. "Hey, Yang."

She turned in surprise. "Huh? What?"

His eyes were surprisingly focused. "Do you have any neighbors?"

"Uh… yeah. There's a family a mile off west… and the Bombadils to the northeast."

He turned, still serious. "That way?" He motioned.

"Yeah… why?"

He turned back, smiling. "Just keeping track. Making sure my senses are in tune, all that!"

"Er… sure," Yang laughed in relief.

As they walked off, Yang turned to Ren, her voice echoing back to the house even as Goku snuck a furtive glance back at the distant trees. "So… Ren… how was it?"

There was a thud.

"Oww!" She complained. "Who did that?"

"The… tree?" Jaune's voice carried. A branch fell on your head."

"Just bad luck," Qrow laughed.

As they left the house alone, a figure stepped down from the trees and hurried over, quiet as a flea as they leapt to the rooftop.

Needed to get her alone. Draw her out? Steal something precious in the house maybe?

They found a window and wedged it open…

...But the house was not abandoned. The monochrome corgi leapt up against the glass, yapping in alarm. They slammed it shut again, floating back to ground level even as the beast turned and raced down the stairs to follow the would-be intruder.

Killing the mutt would be easy enough… but it would be obvious, the element of surprise lost. Taking it would be nearly as bad.

It was still a bad hand. But the target wasn't going anywhere. With patience the opportunity would arise...

Cinder landed flat on her front against the inlaid brickwork. "Ngg!"

"I said FOCUS!" Ginyu ordered for the umpteenth time that hour. "Focus your power into a steady, controlled RAGE!"

The others were already bruised, Auras constantly at work to heal the damage as she surprised them one after another with lightning-fast strikes.

"There's gotta be more than tha— HLGH!" Mercury complained, before being knocked off balance.

"You're right!" Ginyu told him. "But I gotta weed out what you screwheads are doing wrong if I'm gonna fix you! You think this is tough? Frieza gave me explicit instructions not to injure you creampuffs beyond a day's recovery. This is the VIP treatment, kids!"

Hazel stepped back cautiously as she vanished from sight again.

"Pump power into your senses!" She demanded, voice emitting from several places with every word. Hazel reeled as he caught strikes from his front and back almost simultaneously. "Your eyes can't catch my movements without it!"

Emerald caught a fist to the ear and bowled over with a pained cry.

"Hearing is useless, maggot! I'm moving faster than sound! Do your damn homework! Only your eyes can track me!"

Emerald paused as an idea struck her. She caught Ginyu's eye, and the Winter Maiden watched her filter out of existence with a confused grunt.

She laughed as her ear twitched. With a single move and a backhanded swing of her knuckles, Emerald appeared again out of thin air ten feet apart from where she'd stood before, Aura breaking as the blow went through to her nose. She screamed as red exploded to paint her face, and she fell to writhe on the floor, clutching it in pain.

Ginyu stepped on her gut, pinning her as she smiled. "Think you're clever, don't you? Well my movements are faster than sound, cupcake… yours aren't. I'm not training you to sidestep my power, I'm training you to reproduce it!"

Hazel took a worried step forward as Emerald continued to whimper, tears in her eyes. But Ginyu extended an open hand in threat, a pulsing orb glowing into existence.

"Stay right there, big guy… a lesson is being learned here."

Hazel backed off, catching Tyrian with the foulest gleam in his eye as he watched Emerald's pain. He put it out of his mind. "You keep talking about our power, but we're not feeling what you want us to. We need direction, or we're not getting anywhere."

Ginyu managed to wilt and growl at the same time. "Your… Your power!" she exclaimed, almost frantically. "Any other creature born with power knows how to use it! What's wrong with you rejects?! You draw from HERE!" She stamped back down on Emerald's middle in demonstration. "From the pit of your belly! Deep… deep… ughh… Oooogh…"

The lot of them watched suddenly as she stepped off of Emerald and clutched her own gut with both hands. There was a gurgling so loud it was audible to Hazel as she doubled over in distress, face turning blue.

"K-keep doing drills, I need to… Gotta find the… What…"

Stunned into silence, they watched her waddle away back inside the pyramid. She didn't return for a great while.

"LACTOSE INTOLERANT?!"

Ginyu, clad only in a spotted medical gown, sat on the bench in Shade's infirmary as the prognosis was delivered by the affable Jacqueline Heide, a bespectacled physician with sleek black hair.

"That's what the test indicates," Heide sang back, shaking her head. "And you say you've never had problems before?"

Ginyu was stark white, bent over, head in her hands, heedless to her uncovered buttocks poking out the back of her gown. "I've only had this body a few days! Nooooo! This can't be! Milk…! Butter…! Cheese…! I can't just quit them! What mockery of life IS THAT?! I nearly soiled my skivvies in front of the men, and that hag's puppets no less!"

"Well, there are—"

"Wait!" Ginyu barked, sitting straight up. "The Cinder harpy! I'll switch for hers!"

"There are a number of remedies that can—"

Ginyu sulked again as she thought about it. "Wait… no… Frieza needs ME to open and close that Vault! I can't relinquish that power to her! And it would break our truce… damn it!"

Heide busied herself in a cabinet and shoved a stoppered bottle into her hands.

"Now now, just take a swig of this before any meal you suspect will distress you," she offered sweetly. "It should separate that evil within you and make the condition more manageable. Just don't overdo it."

The extermination team ventured into the thick trees, eyes and ears peeled for Grimm.

Qrow sighed. "Wandering off is never ideal, but we might need to fan out if we're combing this place."

"Okay," Jaune agreed. "Ten feet apart maybe in a single direction, like a search party. We spread out, but don't lose sight of each other."

The grizzled Huntsman gave an approving chuckle. "Smarter than ya' look, kid. Alright. Our Earth volunteers, stick to the middle. Don't want you getting picked off."

Goku snickered, still stiffly hovering. "If you say so, old man."

Qrow leered. "Watch it…"

They fanned out, growing more distant as they covered more territory. A rustle in the bushes drew Qrow to raise a hand in caution.

There was a moment of silence as they honed their weapons.

With a squeal, something with skin like pitch and bony plates tumbled out at them. A chattering of automatic gunfire of varying calibers and deafening blasts of shot tore the brush apart in a spray of dirt as the black demon boar splayed to a stop. It whined in death, hooves waggling feebly in the air after being ejected from its death-roll.

Bulma alone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Boarbatusk," Yang noted, as black smoke erupted from the evaporating corpse. "Not usually grouped-up, pretty rare on Patch."

"Aw," Goku sighed. "That was over pretty fast…"

"Plenty more where that came from," Qrow told him. "Keep it moving, job ain't done."

And so they carried on, occasionally disturbing a handful of mid-sized beasts, but their mobile killzone and excess of Huntsmen was truly making it more of a chore than an escapade. Most anything was cut down in a hail of bullets before switching from range was necessary.

Qrow spared a moment to look the Saiyan up and down, still covered in scabbed, superficial wounds.

"Hey, you heal pretty slow for a guy in his prime," Qrow noted, elbowing his ribs and making Goku wince with a sour expression.

"That's not what people've told me…"

Qrow blinked as he put a hand on the man's enormous bicep. "Wait wait… your Aura's still sealed."

"Y-yeah, Tai pointed that out too."

"Can't say it'll help much more in a fight, but every little bit counts. You'll heal faster. Gimme a sec here, I'll—"

"No thanks," Goku said politely, easing his arm from his grip.

"What?! Why…?"

Goku scratched the back of his head. "Well, Tai offered too, but he also told me Huntsmen can unlock it for themselves."

Ren hummed. "That is true. I did it when I was a child."

Goku's black eyes gleamed as he smiled. "See! I know it sounds strange, but… I don't much like the idea of a power I didn't earn, y'know? If I can figure it out myself, I might make even better use of it."

"I've never known the difference, myself," Ren added, respectfully.

Qrow, by contrast, just stared. "World and more's at stake, and you're gonna hold back from action on the off chance of… I don't even know, Super Semblance?"

Goku only flashed an assuring grin. "It'll be fine, I've gotten about as strong as I can get already. I'll focus more on getting these kids up to speed…"

Qrow grit his teeth, shaking his head. "Man, I don't get you…"

Spread out enough, Blake engaged Yang.

"Y'know… I don't think anyone has actually let it sink in yet."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"Twenty-four hours ago… we all lived in a completely different world. Magic didn't exist, the Grimm were mindless, violent beasts, and the sum of our fears was the Kingdoms going to war or more schools being attacked. A few days ago, we were alone in the Universe. "

Yang sighed. "Yeah… really raised the stakes."

"And it's like everyone is trying to just accept it ALL and push forward, but… it's just too much, and when it finally hits us…"

"Is this about the faunus?"

Blake stopped. "It's about everything. Yang, I don't think it's exaggerating to suggest we might know more about what's really going on, in the world, in the Cosmos… than anyone ALIVE!" She picked up her pace, but there was no chance of her spotting anything beyond the soles of her feet. "We've seen the shape of the Universe! We've seen the face of GOD! We know that Heaven and Hell exist, saw deities and devils borne and died! Your sister has the power of a god! We're working alongside aliens of our own species to fight off an alien that can crush worlds, and an anti-god! I don't understand how everyone can pal around and be so calm when I'm still stuck on my people being such a cruel joke…"

Yang reeled, but had to chuckle at the last of it. "So it is the faunus thin—"

"Yes it's still the faunus thing, okay?!" She leered as Yang smirked. "I mean… It's good to finally know there's zero difference between faunus and humans, but… That should be obvious anyway."

"I wouldn't say that," Jaune said suddenly.

Blake stopped and turned, plainly offended as her ears bent down. "Do you want to rephrase that, Jaune?"

"Sorry," he said, wincing. "I mean… That can have a lot of value to faunus who don't live in a place with a lot of faunus culture. If you're only around humans, you might just start to believe the ones that treat you less like them."

Blake's ears pricked with surprise. "That's…"

"You're from Menagerie, right?" he asked. "You have pride for the faunus, you know better… You have a firm connection to your heritage."

Yang rattled her head. "Where'd this come from? Didn't you botch all Oobleck's questions about the faunus war?"

"Hey, I just said," he laughed. "My family doesn't have a great connection to the rest of the faunus."

Blake reeled. " 'Rest?' "

Jaune nodded. "Sure, my three youngest sisters and my step-mom are faunus."

The black and yellow partners gaped at each other. "What?!"

"Since when?"

"This whole time?!"

He winced. "M-My Dad never raised us to make a big deal of it! My Mom died giving birth to my sister Lin' three years after me, and Dad remarried four years after that to my step-mom, who was a faunus with her own two kids… A year later, they had my kid sister together too."

Yang staggered to keep up with the line as she fought the urge to freeze. "What the he— Since when do you have so much in common with my family; I thought you were the most white-bread dude in the group?!"

Blake gave Yang a soft look. "Yang, Ruby never brings up her mom… You never brought up any of your family history before you decided to give me a one-woman intervention."

Jaune chuckled. "I-it's not a sore point or anything, I don't even remember my Mom. Just a lot to bring up. Freja's been Mom for as long as I can remember, and Dad never wanted us to treat her or my little sisters differently. We lived in a small town outside the Kingdoms without many faunus."

Yang nodded sympathetically. "I know what that's like…"

Blake considered. "So you felt no compulsion to help Velvet that time Cardin grabbed her ears? I was shaking with—!"

"Blake, none of us exactly stood up for her," Yang told her, "and Jaune was having his own issues with that jerkwad. Besides, you do remember Coco found out later and kicked his ass, right?"

Blake sighed. "Sorry, I'm projecting… I didn't want to risk my cover at Beacon, and I always regretted just sitting there."

"I-I wasn't trying to upset you, Blake," Jaune told her, leaning on his greatsword, "I just… it wasn't the easiest thing for my family, in a place where faunus advocates were few and far between. It wasn't like every street corner had some Man-First initiative, but those bad encounters all take a piece from you."

Blake nodded, wincing. "Yeah…" She gave a contented sigh. "I guess the truth isn't all bad."

"Hey, eyes peeled!" Qrow ordered. "Have your chatter, just don't stagger the—"

"Beringel! Beringel!" Sun called out, before a huge, black, moss-covered gorilla the size of a tank swiped his legs out from under him and tossed him high overhead with a warbling cry of surprise. The beast gave its barrel chest a single thump as it roared in pride, shaking dirt off itself.

Qrow nodded appreciatively, settling into a combat stance. "Alright, now we're talking…"

They stepped off the little red and brown train, scarred from occasional Grimm attacks deflected by its tastefully dense armor or shrugged off by its angled prow. Two cars in length, the stations weren't much to write home about either, barely more than glorified bus stops. The distant rooftops of Patch's only town, Copse Landing, were just visible peering past the coastal trail and the shallow, pebble-strewn beaches.

"Wow, this place is…" Weiss began, as they approached the first of the buildings, the tallest of which were two stories, apart from the crimson lighthouse on the tallest crag at the furthest end of town. The salty sea winds whistled occasionally through the warping wood panels of the oldest buildings, rattled the corrugated tin roofs and gutters, long corroded. The brick-laid streets were easily the most kept feature, despite the blades of grass piercing the cracks. A faded paint advertisement for a cannery called Pequod Poisson spanned a bridge between the upper floors of two commercial buildings.

"...rust… ic…" Weiss finished with strained kindness.

"Y'mean rusty," Nora said, looking over at the barnacle-ridden marina full of fishing boats. "Yeesh, not used to seeing stuff this old that isn't outright abandoned. A lot more scenic when it was covered in snow."

Tai laughed. "Yeah, well, that's what happens when Grimm attacks are few, far between, and the town in question builds to last. Not the richest place, and this is the old fishing district anyway. Real money's tied up in Signal and, therefore, Huntsman-related businesses. Armourers, tailors, dust shops, student housing…"

"Housing?" Weiss asked in surprise. "There aren't dorms? People have to pay if they don't live here like you?"

Ruby and Nora caught each other's eye.

"You… had to pay for dorms too, it's just included in the tuition," Nora explained.

Weiss went pink. "O-oh… right… Sorry, all the schools in Atlas are combat schools, so…"

Nora gave a knowing stare as a smile crept onto her face. "You forgot people paid to go to Beacon, didn't you?"

Weiss stammered, but sighed in defeat. "Yeah… B-but hey, I'm trying to learn how things work when you're not super rich! Things my father set up just sort of happened, and high class places tend to tally behind the scenes, and the unspoken understanding is 'if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it,' so nothing has a price-tag. And then you can't be certain what things are complimentary, and what aren't…"

Ruby snorted. "Like that time you liked the napkins that came with the silverware at Hausmärchen's, and got chased down by the staff?"

Weiss went redder. "I didn't know! Nobody'd ever stopped me before!"

"I've never been to a restaurant," Gohan told them, "Mom always cooked back home."

"Only a few times," Oscar added "We made most of our food."

Tai shook his head. "Y'know, I remember thinking Ruby was exaggerating when she told me she had a Schnee on her team, or maybe it was a different Schnee family… not the dutchess of Dust herself."

" 'Dust-chess!' " Nora corrected to her own satisfaction as Weiss grimaced.

"And then I saw you in action on TV," he continued.

Weiss stared at the floor. "And now one's buried in your backyard… I hope it's thrilling," she muttered bitterly.

He blinked. "Hey hey, no, it's not like that, not starstruck or anything… What I'm saying is… I'm relieved to see you're really friends, and not the sticky-wheel on the shopping cart," he laughed.

She sighed in regret. "It didn't start that way."

"Yeah, well most things don't start that way. The best things take work. And the way I understand it… you made a lot of hard choices you could've sailed past, and life wouldn't have been any worse." He dared to put a hand on her back. "But you did it, 'cause you were looking out for MORE than just 'number-one,' more than some cushy career or inheritance."

The contact surprised her, but she smiled. "That's not entirely true… I didn't like who I used to be… I couldn't stand my life being decided for me anymore… and… I missed my friends."

Ruby and Nora smiled at the smaller smile that sprouted on her face at the word. Tai nodded, patting her back. "Well… not everything you do for yourself is selfish…"

"I'll labor to learn the difference," she told him. "I've made my bed, certainly not going back now."

Taiyang stopped suddenly as they turned a corner. "Oh! Forgot how soon this place came up."

They peered around the building to see what he meant, a tiny building with a sign on the lawn. 'Doctor Shelly Allwissend M.D., Holistic Practice of Patch.'

"This is your stop, peppermill," he explained, patting Nora's shoulder.

She glanced between him and the modest little place, hesitating.

"Oh, don't worry," Ruby told her. "Doctor A's great!"

"Y-yeah, sure!" Nora said back, taking a breath. "Just… weird… awkward visit."

Ruby blew her lips. "Ah, she doesn't judge. I once had to make an emergency visit for getting an action-figure's head jammed up my nose…"

"Well that's not that weir—" Weiss commented.

"She was thirteen," Taiyang clarified.

"And there it is," she sighed. "Oscar, when did you last play with figures?"

Amber eyes raced as he tried to answer. "I'm a bad example, farm life is—" He stopped dead at her baleful gaze. "Nine."

Nora hesitated. "So… just go in and say I'm there for…'

"Family planning," Taiyang said casually. "She'll get the idea after a couple follow-up questions."

"Okay," she sighed, looking the least confident Ruby had ever seen her about anything, before forcing a smile. "Wish me luck!"

There was a mutter of assent, but with a wave, she set off, ultimately disappearing through the glaring glass door.

"Alright," Tai began with general satisfaction. "So, Oz and I'll need to wait on the ferry for our business in Vale. Been a few since I've gone to the city, but short-comms between have stayed pretty solid, so I'll keep you posted.

Ruby nodded. "Okay." She twirled a set of brass keys on her finger. "And we're headed into Signal. If we're still here when you get back we'll help with the shopping."

Her father scoffed. "The way you work that machine? That's a laugh. We'll see ya' at home."

With that, they separated, one group to the marina and the other into the more upscale part of the small town. The shabby, near-rotting cannery district gave way to the warm, homey small-town charm of proud old trees intermingling with unique mom and pop stores.

Weiss beheld with her own fascination something she'd only seen glorified in movies or described in books. Something that, to her own realization and shame, made her feel an instinctive distrust from a life spent in corporate culture. No focus-tested slogans, logos, no perfectly edited advertisements on the windows... No smiling staff in formal uniform… It was all made with a sort of clumsiness, borne of business owners who knew little of marketing or art, but nonetheless painted their own signs and came up with their own catchy phrases in plain fonts anyone could have used. Summer sales were declared in washable paint on the windows with novice flair, awash with cliches like the ever perplexing Sun wearing classy black shades.

"When I was a girl," Ruby said wistfully, "this island was my whole world. I remember the first time Dad took me to Vale, I'd never seen anything so big."

They passed the delightful aroma of a bakery and a barber pole when a tall man, a fox faunus with an apron and messy jet-black hair hurried down the steps with garbage bags in his fists on the way to the dumpster. His neck might have cricked as he set eyes on Ruby and snapped back in surprise. "Ruby Rose!" his baritone boomed.

"Hey, Mister DeSeville!" she said back warmly.

"Well it's been an age since I had you in the chair," he laughed. "And I haven't given up on your sister…"

Ruby snorted. "I would sir, she'll never want it short."

He hummed in acknowledgment, tossing the bags. "Well, you've always been more amenable anyway. Call on me if it's ever bothering the ears."

He ascended the steps again, bell jangling as he stepped back into the barber shop.

Weiss saw the other side to it: these weren't just the thralls, the tendrils of corporate bodies, these were friends and neighbors, and it was a community.

At last they reached the wrought-iron gates of Signal Academy. It was a vast property over a rolling hill leading up to the sea cliff, covered in thick grasses. The red brick buildings were sturdy and stout, the same as the road leading to them, the same as the lighthouse at the furthest cliff.

They stepped between the creaking gates and up the path.

"The lighthouse doubles as a CCT extender," Ruby explained as Gohan hung onto every word. "Supplies the whole island. Pretty on-brand, y'know… Signal."

"I'm surprised it doesn't look more like Beacon," Weiss opined. "They're meant to funnel one to the other after all. Plus, Signal… Beacon… It's hard to miss."

Ruby shrugged. "Weather gets worse here than in Vale, so they're built to survive the storms. Our place is sheltered by the woods, but the East shore gets pretty rough."

As they got closer, they began to notice a great swath of shorter grass in a vast arc of separation as they neared the buildings. Where Gohan might have expected a school to have sports equipment, pitches or even playground equipment, there were training dummies, obstacle courses and every amenity a budding Huntsman might need.

"Whoa," Weiss breathed. "Who's that?"

Even Gohan nearly missed it with a chill as he saw the figure by the divide in the grass, dressed in black and silently swiping at the longer grass with a simple garden scythe.

"Oh!" Ruby cried. "That's Morty, the groundskeeper. He's always been here."

"Ruby," a high, aged voice greeted as Weiss and Gohan jumped to see the man suddenly standing before them like a phantom, leaning on the handle of his scythe. His skin was pale and taut, but despite his frailty a suggestion of muscle tone lurked firm beneath it. His brow was shallow, an eye of muddy brown and another cloudy white, grey hair short and tight to his scalp. "Seen to your Dad? Doesn't say much, but I know he's been worried sick about you."

"Heh… nothing gets past you, huh? Yeah, first thing, been home a day now. Just getting some work done in shop."

He chuckled like a scything hacksaw. "Naturally, naturally… Terrible business, that. Worst I've seen. Good you're safe though, such as it is."

Weiss shuddered as his eyes found her. "H-how do you know wh…"

"Mmm… You've been visited," he said, looking through her. His eyes drifted to Gohan. "And you more than most… Not over, is it? No, not by a mile."

They stared as Ruby grimaced. Morty's piercing stare relented, and his smile returned. " 'Scuse me, that comes and goes… as all things do. I trust you remember the way? Been a spell since you walked these halls."

Ruby laughed politely. "It hasn't been that long."

He pursed his lip and gave a nod. "Alright… alright… Just… take care with that old bull… Horns is no joke…" He shook her head as he returned to cutting the grass. "No joke at all…"

Ruby labored to speed them past to the north cluster of buildings without clearly doing so. Weiss stared her in the face with a look that demanded 'what was THAT?!'

"Morty's semblance… That one eye has an interesting view of the world. He just says things like that, picks up on other things. Everyone's kinda learned not to get into it. He's a nice guy, just…"

She didn't finish, but found steps leading to a below-ground floor of the building and pulled out the key.

As the door opened, the first thing they noticed was the lingering odor of sulfur, and the sourness of metal, and Ruby flipped on the bright lights to reveal the entire floor of the building as one huge workshop. Work tables dotted the space intermittently, surrounded by stools with a large tray of scrap steel under it. There was a wall of simple tools and heaps of metals in various grades and finishes, from thin plates to whole ingots. One wall seemed devoted to a series of identical 3d gantries linked to computers and monitors protected by cages and plastic screen protectors respectively. Off of those were box-like stations that looked like miniature deep fryers, and larger windowed appliances roughly the dimensions of a player piano. In the far corner was a partition of rougher, classical iron forging tools complete with its own forge.

Ruby immediately powered on two computers, fryers and the piano-shaped things, the latter of which merely hummed while the gantry heads raced around their bounds in a calibration process, their screens presenting as 'Fluidworks' with a simple curve-laden logo before displaying 3d grids marked with unit distances. She slotted her scroll into a port in the computer and with a few keystrokes had loaded a grey but exceedingly detailed model of Crescent Rose.

"Gotta warm the machines up, especially the furnaces," she explained, working at a practiced, breakneck pace as she tossed the dynocap with a burst and retrieved her mangled scythe. "I just have to swap out the damaged parts and we can get to yours, Gohan, kay?"

He nodded, smiling as the machinery whirred. She grabbed an appropriately-sized screwdriver and cleared a table, beginning to tear the massive weapon down, removing the shrouds for the blade to access the mounts for the barrel and quickly detached the head from the rest of it.

"Might as well put in a new blade, she hasn't been cutting that clean lately. I built her tough, but field maintenance is kind of a pain. I didn't usually risk it when I was out with Jaune and Renora."

"We are not calling them that," Weiss chuckled, still watching her work like she was in a trance.

"So what, 'Norren?' "

"That's even worse…"

Ruby handled the barrel, forlorn as she looked at how neatly it had folded to fit that massive hand that had gripped it. She swore even Frieza's alien fingerprints had been embossed directly into the steel. "Man… the whole receiver and trigger assembly are a total loss… It's like they melted! Maybe I can save the scope, I can't make that here… I'm gonna need to sight her all over again..."

She unmounted the little monocular and gave it a harsh tug along its rail, grunting as it came off.

"Guess I'm lucky the blade-head didn't get hurt," she told them. " 'Cept for the edges, she's titanium. All the gun parts are carbon steel, like the blades. Dad heard me geek-out over what I could do with some better striking metal and got some for me."

Gohan said it before Weiss could ask. "Why just those parts?"

She smiled. "Titanium can't keep an edge, or flex without coming apart, but it's super light and great for blunt impact! I like to smack stuff with the blunt-end if I don't want to kill it, and it's her heaviest feature, so it's all easier to carry around and better balanced!"

"It's just so… complicated," Weiss noted, looking at the exploded view of the digital model as Ruby hid parts of it that didn't need replacement. "And it's not just a blade and a fifty-cal—"

"Twenty-mill," Ruby corrected instantly.

"...What?"

"It's a twenty-millimeter, bigger than fifty. Tank-buster rounds!" she elaborated gaily.

Weiss sighed with a smile. "Right. But it also has a dedicated ranged mode, right?"

"Yep, the blades double as magnetic rails along the barrel!" Ruby said proudly. "She turns into mini-railgun!"

Weiss blinked. "Wouldn't the blades need to be copper or something? What powers it?"

"Don't have to be… It's Aura-powered. Yeah, carbon steel isn't ideal for the job, but it's just to add more kick to the gun."

Weiss pulled out Myrtenaster. "I'm just saying, I've got a revolver and a Dust vent. I didn't even make this, someone made it for me… Just one more line I skipped thanks to my family, and not in a way that even benefits me as a Huntress." She planted down onto a stool. "I can't believe I was such an arrogant little girl when we first met. I was trying to distance myself from my Father even then, trying to be more like my Grandfather, Nicolas Schnee, a kind and honorable man… It's like I didn't know the first thing about being kind or honorable!"

Ruby had stopped working altogether, watching as her best friend sulked. She listened.

"Stupid me, I thought having his semblance, his blood, meant I was destined to be great. That I was already great. How didn't I get one LOOK at Crescent Rose, see you swinging that thing with ease, GRACE even… and realize I was at least among equals?" She held Myrtenaster on the flat of her hands and stared at it, shaking. She tilted her palms, and it dropped to the table with a clatter. "I didn't earn this. It was just given to me… like everything."

Ruby and Gohan glanced at each other, the same disquiet in their eyes.

"Weiss… everyone looks back at who they were and feels a little embarrassed," Ruby told her, remembering how they'd squabbled in the Emerald Forest with a grin. "I think… the more embarrassed you are now, the more you've grown… right?"

Weiss blinked, a grimace coming over her. "I… guess that makes sense. I've still got a lot of growing to do though. I can't believe how many things I still assume…"

She smiled. "Also… Huntresses don't have to make their own weapons, y'know… Jaune's was inherited, and we pooled money from bounties to pay a smith to upgrade it. Nora's hammer too."

Weiss frowned. "I've heard you call our weapons 'an extension of our souls.' How can that be true if someone else made it?"

The crimsonette chuckled. "Well, is there something wrong with Myrtenaster you'd like to fix? Anything to add? Does it not lend itself to your fighting style?"

She recoiled. "N-no, it always fit my style… I don't need guns because my semblance can conjure projectiles. It's simple, elegant, and I…" Weiss stopped herself, seemingly realizing something.

"See, it doesn't matter! Myrtenaster is an extension of who you are… No point throwing it away. It fills the missing pieces of the Weiss Schnee jigsaw puzzle."

Weiss smiled and sighed, closing her eyes. "Alright, alright… You make a good point."

Gohan nodded. "I don't think a gun would help anyway. I've never known them to be very good with our fights. Some of Frieza's men had them, but those were some kind of blaster things that wrecked our ship."

Ruby sighed, nodding. "Yeah, I don't expect it'll help much, but… better to have it and not need it, right?"

"So… this machine will print out pieces of molten metal?" Weiss asked, turning her attention.

Ruby gave a relieved sigh to see her friend in better sorts, returning to the computer program and deleting the last of the irrelevant parts, hitting a menu and sending the remainder to a linked application that sorted the pieces out and arranged them, horizontally slicing it all into layers. "Nah, it's not like casting a mold, it uses a metal powder mixed with binding material. Then it gets de-bound in a solvent bath… that's these machines here," she said, indicating the deep fryer-like machines. "Then the furnaces burn out the rest of the bind and sinter the powder into usable metal parts! I still have to polish and paint them and stuff, but it's way faster than the old days! It's so accurate, I don't even need to rifle the barrel! It's built-in!"

Weiss shook her head. "You… really thought this into the ground, didn't you?"

Ruby waved her off. "I geek, but it's all pretty standard… Still, sure… Crescent Rose is the only weapon I ever dreamed of making or having. Making her a reality, knowing how to use her… it's hard not to get excited when it's in your hands…"

She grinned wistfully, setting the task to execute, and in moments the print heads set about on their paths, laying down material as it built up the pieces in layers.

"That'll go for a while," she explained, finding a second computer and rolling over to it in her swivel chair with a single kick. "Now… Gohan! It's your turn!"

His eyes went wide as he nodded, racing over as politely as he could. "O-okay! Uh, so…"

"Don't worry, I've got some ideas if you can't think of anything. So what do you want in a weapon? Is there anything in a fight that gets in the way, or limits you at all?"

He looked down, almost bashfully. "I uhhh…"

He trailed off, but she only smiled. "Do you think you fight more with your hands or your feet?"

"Oh, well definitely my hands," he said, digesting the more focused question easier. "I… I guess I have to move a lot to reach someone I'm fighting. Piccolo told me unnecessary movement wastes energy, but I'm just a kid, so…"

Weiss nodded. "You don't have much reach with those little cannon arms."

Gohan nodded again. "It was easier when I had my sword, but I could lose it, and Mister Piccolo showed me how predictable it could make my attacks, since I favor one hand, and switching to the other was easy to spot."

Ruby's teeth showed as she grinned, a glint in her eyes. "So a good weapon for you would give you more reach, keep you hands free and not favor one arm over the other… I'm thinking something that attaches to your wrists, like Yang's gauntlets… definitely retractable… with a punching force on top of it to deal more damage!"

"Uh…!" Gohan uttered. "C-can it sorta…"

"Yeah?"

"Can it sorta look like yours…? On the outside?"

Weiss couldn't help a whine escaping her as he blushed, and Ruby's smile turned soft.

"I think we can put in a little something from all of Team RWBY," she agreed. "And we'll design it to easily swap the mount so it fits as you get older. Something to remember us all by."

Gohan blinked, eyes racing as he processed what she said. "Remember?"

Ruby blinked right back. "Well, you know… the day we stop all this… and you go home."

Weiss watched the two sides in almost morbid fascination. The child nodded back hesitantly. It was clear to her the boy couldn't even see this future where Frieza was behind them, a memory, while they returned from whence they came.

Then there was Ruby, so seemingly convinced, or unwilling to admit her fear, that she was planning for something that might never happen… That the little boy she'd befriended would survive this to grow up.

The ferry's horn blasted as it left the marina at full speed, spraying the sea, only adding to the chill of cooler waters on the overcast day as Oscar peered over the rail into the murky blue.

"Never been?" Taiyang asked.

Oscar shook his head. "Landlocked my whole life, actually. I don't even know how to swim," he laughed, gripping the rail with more intensity nonetheless. "It's funny… I've never set eyes on this much water, or smelled the salt on the air, but then another part of my head gets all nostalgic about it. Takes some of the wind out of the sails, when a new experience still feels familiar."

"That's a bit over my head," Tai replied, "but hey, all worth doing. Like that kid Deha said, seeing it through a window or TV is one thing, but being there is another."

"Y-yeah… It's not like it isn't new to me, but…"

He never finished. Taiyang, however, worked up the nerve to sigh and speak up, even as an older couple passed by on the deck above.

"So… about Ruby…"

Oscar seemed to freeze, tense like wound piano wire.

"R… Ruby, sir?"

"Is Oz gone even harder with his 'last best hope,' thing?"

Oscar blinked, but sighed as he felt the change coming on. "Here we go…"

Oscar flashed, and Taiyang kept his stare to the patchy fog.

"I wish you'd have simply asked, Tai," Ozpin told him. "It's rude to talk about someone who is listening."

"I want to know just how much you're staking on her."

The boy sighed. "Less than I expected… More than I dreamed… But I have no intention of placing that weight on her shoulders. She demands too much of herself as it is."

Tai's hands shook as he gripped the rail. "So if not for the Relics, she was the best you had," he surmised.

"Tai, we both know her power is all the more important now we've ascertained the truth. I never hid that from your team… I'm to understand you accosted Qrow for his part in this, but you must have guessed my reasons for accepting Ruby to Beacon… and yet you didn't stop her. Nor confront me, when I, if anyone am equally culpable for Summer's decision to—"

Taiyang finally snapped to face him fully. "Because Ruby always wanted this life! And whatever happened… I know you have to do what you do. I get it, her gift is rare…"

Ozpin hesitated, but nodded. "Vanishingly so… I'd dare to guess there were fewer than ten left alive with it, and I don't think it's a mystery as to why… So you must understand, especially now, that it's virtually certain she'll have a deciding role to play in what's to come?"

"I don't have to like it," he said, as they penetrated a layer of fog.

"Taiyang… you have my promise that I'll guard her with my very life."

Tai scoffed. "Your life? What do you say to that, freckles?"

Ozpin smirked. "I admit, I was speaking colloquially and not for Oscar… though he might earnestly embody the sentim—"

He paused as the boy's eyes turned to the now visible Vale Bay and the mouth of its estuary, the River Ambroise.

From this distance, the sprawling kingdom, not so grand in height but breadth, looked largely unchanged. Nestled before the far green mountains, only one sour note loomed at the river source, the grand cliff upon which the great academy still stood, its tallest towers shrouded in a permanent haze.

"What is that?" Ozpin asked, peering out.

Taiyang didn't need to ask what he meant. Forward of the river's end was a black wall just behind the furthest buildings, dwarfing them, segmented in pieces and arranged along the terrain, each with a sort of pronounced bump along the top.

"A stopgap for the whole Beacon problem," he answered. "They call it 'The Cordon.' Tried to build a smaller, fixed wall around the grounds, but closer they got, the more Grimm surged almost out of nowhere and pushed back. Wall fell and the city forced an evacuation of the nearby districts. It's a no man's land."

Ozpin sighed. "I think we know who to thank for the amassing forces."

Tai nodded. "Council commissioned these huge mobile walls. Basically dump trucks with treads and those huge shields on lifters. Guns too. Idea is, they can advance or back off depending how the Grimm are concentrated, arranged like some kind of reverse-phalanx or something. If one gets too damaged, they swap it out or close ranks, but it's been pretty successful."

The Cordon stood collectively higher than any of the buildings, its inky paint job visible for miles as a twisting black band across the city. "Need it be so tall?" Ozpin asked. "A constantly visible, shifting front-line seems unhealthy for the city's peace of mind."

"Rumor was the Goliaths were being used by lesser Grimm like ladders, but I think they're trying to hide the school. Bad enough it's all looming in the dark like that, but a symbol of protection like Beacon, fallin' to pieces while they watch? A lot of people'll take the big scary wall."

Ozpin sighed. "A tension like this isn't going to hel—"

But then, over the water, Ozpin heard the high-pitched siren blaring up and down from several points, echoing through the city. It was the same siren that sounded the day Grimm breached the city from underground, bound to dredge up memories of panic.

On the north side of the Cordon, the protrusions of each wall segment twisted subtly, and silent flashes of light revealed them to be automated turrets pointing into the derelict zones. Only seconds later did the chatter of distant gunfire reach them, barely as conspicuous as construction noise.

"They're making a push," Ozpin noted, squeezing the handle of Long Memory.

Taiyang, however, seemed relatively unconcerned. "Yeah, that seems to happen a few times a day. She's keeping 'em on their toes."

Indeed, after a spell the flashes and gunfire ceased, smoke rising from the area. But all went still, and within the minute, the sirens abruptly cut out.

"This should not be normalized," Ozpin said, shaking Oscar's head at the sorry scene.

"It could be worse, Oz… a lot worse."

Finally docked, they made their way through the sparsely traveled streets. Up close, Vale seemed far more normal, if subdued. In particular, the docks were moving much slower, and passing certain storefronts revealed arbitrarily bare shelves. Food stores looked to be largely untouched, but in other areas stock seemed to almost vanish.

Ozpin took the lead, but couldn't help eyeing the plight of these businesses. "I suppose this is the effect of James' Embargo? Curious… Dust is essential in the production of many things, but some of this… The borders closing ceases all trade, but that's an extremely recent event…"

Tai nodded. "There've been fake scarcities, and a lot of it is panic-buying. Nobody wants to get caught without the stuff they need. The news just fanned the flames."

Breaking the trend, they passed the little Dust shop at the end of the road, abustle with shambling prospective buyers. The shop itself was almost bare, and the normally public interior was gated-off in favor of the squinting, grey-haired, red-aproned man packing purchases to order. A line wrapped around the storefront of impatient folk glued to their scrolls as they waited to be served. Specific products were being reserved on a ticket-based system per limited availability.

"Course, some people make out like bandits."

They rounded a corner to find a grand building that might have easily been mistaken for a courthouse, its painted brickwork as arches alongside angular columns holding up an enormous stone roof. Statues lined it like sentries of scholars and warriors alike. The Baum Et Al Memorial Library was a wondrous sight for the marked lack of foot traffic.

And yet, they passed the entrance, Ozpin set on some other destination as Taiyang clambered after.

"Arranging for contingencies and unexpected reincarnation has taken up more time and resources than I'd rather admit," Oz told him. "I had to be careful in guiding the Vale Preservation Society without being a known member… all to keep this wing free of tamper and safeguard this cache."

They slid behind one of the columns, in a nook separate from the rest of the building.

"Think you'd save a lotta trouble with a safety deposit box or something," Tai opined, shaking his head.

"Such as it is, I prefer to keep things to my own eyes… and my securement is second to none."

In the back of the wall, he found a single, square, yellow brick. He took aim with his retracted cane and squeezed the trigger as the onyx staff projected into it. The brick yielded as green sparks danced between the tiny cogs of the weapon as they spun. Like a key, he twisted the handle, and a deep series of muffled clunks sounded in the walls before the bricks all twisted in their grout to open a door to a small space. The bare wall had become more like a brick oven in dimensions, with a handful of paper kindling upon it.

"I think these should cover any costs our endeavors might incur," Ozpin said, scooping up the sizable papers, looking remarkably like comically huge and stubby paper bills as he handed them to the father of two.

Tai's eyes raced over them as he thumbed the stack. " 'Value received, promises to pay to the bearer the sum of…' What the hell, these are friggin' bearer bonds!"

He smiled. "You expected gold bullion?"

Taiyang scoffed. "I learned to expect anything with you a long time ago, but who even redeems these things anymore?"

"You'd be surprised," Ozpin told him, also grabbing a pair of blank plastic cards and a similarly bare sheet of paper. "We'll need these as well. Can't have your personal accounts flagged after all."

Oscar followed Taiyang meekly as they passed the huge doors of the cool, musty-smelling old bank. The Montgomery and Boz Trust and Fiduciary was quiet as a library with four times the bustle, its red fez capped staff moving between terminals, records and vaults in the back with mechanical efficiency. The building was old, stubborn, wedged into a corner of the market district with the air of some holdout of urban development. And yet, all so persnickety in its cleanliness.

They followed the merlot colored carpet over polished stone flooring —not helping the cold— to one of the tellers, a silver-bearded man who looked astonished to see them.

"M-might I help you, sirs?" he warbled.

Taiyang felt a nausea in him. The plan was solid, but it was still eerie as he handed the full stack of bonds. The teller's brows shot higher as he adjusted his wire-rim glasses.

"I'd like to redeem and deposit these to my old savings."

"My my my," the teller whispered, thumbing through it all. "You've the appropriate tax form?"

Feeling like a fool, Taiyang slipped the blank sheet of paper over the dark mahogany and into his trembling hands. Oscar watched the tendons in Tai's neck spasm slightly against his skin as the teller appeared to freeze…

"That seems to be in order," he said, filing the sheet away. "Forgive me, as policy I must fetch my superior. I don't need to tell you these redemptions are a rarity these days. Now and then we get some sly jape counterfeit… usually leftover from that Candlewick cad years back."

He turned almost instinctively to a passing bookkeeper, whispering an order. His eyes widened. "Yes, Mister Dawes," he agreed, spinning on the spot behind the shelves.

Oscar watched with apprehension. The bonds were real, he knew… but Tai's identity was not. Ozpin had a matured account under a fabricated human being, who, if traced, would leave any suspicious parties chasing a figment. But it all depended on these enchanted documents, bewitched to show a recipient whatever might convince them…

"Relax," Ozpin told him, "it's a tense crowd, but reasonable. The current proprietor has some notoriety of course."

Before he could wonder just what that meant, they could hear a heavy clatter of shoes brusquely clapping the tile through the carpet and the clack of a third impactor. The sound pricked the ears of nearly the entire staff, who froze to confirm it for but a moment before returning to their tasks with twice the fervor.

The sound echoed off the shelves, but rang clear as a bell when the end of a black and steel cane thrust into sight around the corner. Around it stepped its owner, who didn't hobble a twitch as her steel-blue eyes found them. Grey hair in a tight bun, tall and firm, her sunken cheeks tightened as her thin, blue glossed lips thinned at the sight of them.

The air caught her open black button coat as she strode their way, red scarf trailing as well. She idly hung her cane upon the edge of the teller station without a word. Her pointed nose jabbed suddenly their way as she took a breath.

"Don't look like criminals to me," she sighed, straightening the bonds as well as her bifocals. "But I shall keep an open mind."

Taiyang let out a nervous chuckle, which drew her eyes as though he'd just spat on the floor.

"Sorry, you're his superior? What do we need to—"

Dawes dared to indicate the matronly banker. "Th-this, sir, is Ebony Rouge, our branch auditor and—"

" 'Miss Rouge' will do," she snapped. "Propriety first…" She returned her eyes to the pair. "Right to maturation… As a handler of interest, I admire such shrewd timing, Mister…?"

"Burns," Taiyang replied, recalling the pseudonym. "Michael Burns."

She flipped a switch on the desk, and a light built into the table illuminated the translucent bonds. "Well, Mister Burns, these don't cross me as forgeries," Rouge admitted, checking carefully, eyes asquint against the light. She switched it off, returning to the blank sheet. "Tax form…" she poured over the information Taiyang couldn't see, eyes adjusting to the relative darkness very quickly. "For a man that sullies his skin," she criticized, nose wrinkling at Taiyang's tattoo, "surprisingly sensible you'd invite the boy along to do something useful with his time. Not out there, chasing fleeting frivolity… Picking our pockets every summer while the schools sit empty, teaching them only to be leeches, layabouts… Bah! Grift… mischief…"

Tai glanced at Oscar uncomfortably, and couldn't help himself. "Hey, I'm a teacher myself. Even faculty need a break; throw work at anyone forever and their eyes mist-over, nothing gets through."

Her mouth slacked open at the claim, eyes drifting once more to the tattoo. "The only thing worse than a shirker, Mister Burns, is a purveyor of shirkers…"

She returned to the form with a pen as a ghostly accountant sidled in from the rear. "Ma'am, again, we can't say things like that… Human Resources—"

"Pampered world," she hissed. "If Human Resources wants rid of their only reason for gainful employ, my pension sits ready. I remain only for this Trust's future, and to stave off the idleness of age… Soft hands breed soft minds, Mister David, you may have that in writing."

Taiyang chewed his cheek, still stunned at the insult, when she handed David the form and muttered an order to have it filed.

"Scroll for your account?" Rouge prompted, dispassionate.

Tai reached into his pocket. "Actually, I keep a physical." He pulled out the plastic card, entirely blank besides the magnetic strip on its back, and slipped it to her.

Her brows rose. She scanned it and scrutinized her screen and the card for discrepancies. "Once more, sir, sensible. I keep my information off those devices myself; too much risk of fraud."

The irony of that was palpable to both boy and man, as Taiyang knew fully well that the jig was up if Rouge insisted upon checking the ID against his scroll to find a wholly separate identity. An identity registered with the Huntsman boards no less…

"And that's that," Rouge confirmed, routing the funds as she sorted the bonds. "You'll see the lot in the account in two to three business days… You've a sturdy line of credit; you're certain there's nothing else you need?"

"Nope… Nope, think that'll do it," Tai said, almost too readily.

"Well then, thank you for choosing M and B…"

He and Oscar turned to leave, made it five steps…

"Mister Burns."

Tai froze. Of course… She wasn't fooled. This was all a terrible idea… He turned to see the plastic card held out in Ebony Rouge's gloved hand.

"Your identification, sir."

Tai strode the distance to retrieve it, she never breaking eye contact. He took it, pocketed it. She shook her head.

"May well have left your own eyes in the till," she grumbled.

Taiyang made certain they'd rounded three blocks before he could finally breathe, Ozpin all the while tapping away on Oscar's scroll.

"Jeez, Oz…!" he gasped, letting himself lean back against a wall. "What was your backup plan?! I thought we were dead!"

Oscar's smile was wistful, and he chuckled. "What, if she tried your scroll against that card?"

"That's pretty cut and dry fraud," he said, nodding.

Oscar's smile only widened. "I promise you, there was no chance of that whatsoever. That matriarchal maven has been old of soul since childhood. I knew her in my last life. The rivers and seas could erode Vale into a fine delta, and that woman would be investing into empty shells for hermit crabs."

Taiyang stared.

"Every bit was a calculation, Tai. She was giddy to exchange bond notes, tickled to see a child educated in finance, and downright pink at seeing someone with the same apparent mistrust of networked electronics, in spite of their necessity in her work."

"So that was her in a good mood?"

"As agreeable as I've ever seen," Ozpin told him, finally sliding the scroll shut.

Tai blinked. "Who were you talking to?"

"A mutual friend. We'll need her help for the next bit."

They waited at the outdoor, shaded seats of the cafe, steaming coco in hand. They had barely diminished the contents when she appeared around the block, green eyes locking onto Oscar —and moreover, his cane, propped against the table— blonde hair bouncing under a brown cloak as she walked, face inscrutable.

"Professor?" she whispered, gripping the cloak tight.

Ozpin chuckled into his mug. "Hardly now, I'm sure you'll agree. It's good to see you, Glynda."

She seemed nearly as relieved as alarmed, collapsing into a seat while taking steady breaths.

"It is you… undoubtedly," Glynda Goodwitch declared. "Within a year? With all that's happened… Maybe there's some hope of setting things right…"

He bowed his head. "Perhaps, be it by my knowledge… or theirs… the urgency of the time has bid me return."

She kept staring. "But… a child… Perhaps James… But the Council would never…" Finally though, the Patch patriarch reached for his own coffee, and her eyes followed his limb up to the rest of him. "Taiyang…?"

" 'Sup Glyn'," he greeted. "Wondered when you'd notice. What's with the disguise?"

"I thought you were 'out.' "

Tai grimaced as he set his mug down. "Hard to stay out when your kids bring it all home. Seriously though, why so jittery?"

"Meeting with a child would be strange enough before I became the face of Huntsmen and Huntresses in Vale! That's not to mention all that's happened since; I have to assume I'm being watched."

Ozpin sighed. "Glynda, there are a great many things I must tell you—"

"And I you, Profess…" she paused as he raised a brow. "...Tip…"

Oscar grunted as an uncomfortable smile graced him. "Must you?"

' 'Tip…?' Oscar asked from within.

"I-it's… short for 'Tippenhauer,' " Ozpin explained quietly. "My last live's first name."

'Wait… Are you embarrassed of it?'

Glynda blinked. "Are you talking to…?"

Ozpin nodded. "Oscar Pine, yes. You haven't met him properly as yet."

"Forgive me, I… I forgot the change was so gradual."

"Yes, but…. that's not important right now. I will absolutely delight in hearing of the state of Vale and what's occurred in my absence, but… there is grave news that's yet to carry here…"

And so he explained. Of the fate of Mistral, the subjugation of Vacuo… and the new and terrible being who made it possible. He told of the otherworldly heroes and their kinship as Remnant's prodigal children. With every new feature, her eyes gaped and her brow writhed, but ultimately settled on freezing altogether. By the time he'd summarized the revised tale of the Brother Gods, her eyes were flicking constantly between his eyes and Taiyang's, waiting to see any part of him contradict it all.

"The Lamp is just sitting there?" she croaked.

"The protection around the property is quite secure," he assured her. "In all my existence, I never dreamed the nature of Salem and the Brothers would be so fraught with pain and tragedy. Glynda, we truly understood nothing… Salem is as much a victim in all of this as any she's claimed in her grief."

She blinked. "Pardon my saying, but fascinating as that might be… You're saying a worse being of apocalyptic power has conquered one Kingdom and erased another?! Leo… Dahlia… is there even a chance my cousin hasn't been brutally deposed?"

"I wish I could truthfully offer such a hope," Ozpin admitted, "but that demon cut down the young and the helpless with almost gleeful dispatch. To those assuming authority that is not his…"

Her palm caught her forehead as she appeared to lose strength before their eyes. "Damn it…! I… I'm sorry, I'm being torn apart. You have yet to claim fantastic things that aren't also true, and I've followed you in aid of safeguarding the world and people to whom I'm sworn… But this?" She tried to sit up again, hands braced against the little round table. "I'm sorry… I'm having a great difficulty understanding. Half the world, already fallen to another preternatural tyrant —from space— while Salem still works her will in the shadows. All the while, I've been here, watching this deteriorating merry-go-round, struggling to keep it all from falling apart!"

Oscar's eyes were downcast. "The good news is we're joined in our efforts this time, by those who know how to fight this manner of war, and a deity besides. And another's shadow has blessed our efforts."

"These others wield that power?" she asked, disbelief strong in her eyes. "These… cast-offs, with the strength to erase worlds?"

"If Taiyang is willing, you're free to visit and see for yourself. My word alone? No… Words can scarcely describe what we've seen."

"That's fine," Taiyang agreed. "Pretty sure Oz's second is okay in my book. Deputy Headmistress and all that."

She took a breath. "The position is official now, actually. The Council has seen fit to 'grant me' the honor as Headmistress, little as it means with the school overtaken."

Ozpin took another draft from his mug, frowning. "That's as much of an overstep as their threat to my position prior to the Vytal Festival. The Council has no say regarding the school's function beyond its legal adherence."

"And I told them as much," Glynda agreed. "But with one seat already vacant before the Fall, they lost a second with you. The fear was that a Council of three would come off as diminished in a time of necessary action and strength. I was offered your seat in an emergency capacity, but I won't pretend it isn't the first step towards making Beacon an extension of the State. As always, Councilman LaSalle has been the brunt of that movement."

"Hmm," Ozpin grunted, recalling the most outspoken of the Council, frequently at odds with his decisions and decidedly more hawkish than was typical of Vale.

"I had no choice though," Glynda admitted. "At least the seat gives me a say, and the power to deadlock their worst instincts. Maneuver the conversation away from hypothetical wars with Atlas. I think LaSalle and Dandelion assumed I'd vote their way out of pressure or gratitude, fast-track invasive measures on the public and pressure Huntsmen into military service. They assumed I wouldn't be as… difficult as you."

Oscar's smile was as warm as August. "And even suggesting your removal would tip their hand in the public eye."

"That didn't stop the media arm from doing it for them," she sighed. "But yes. It was easier at first when Persimmon found it in him to stand with me, but the election for our missing seat went poorly in short order."

Taiyang scoffed. "That's an understatement. Vox about freaked."

Ozpin blinked. "What happened?"

She took a breath, eyes winced shut. "James happened. Sent a hasty escort to secure Amity Coliseum and tow it back to Atlas. Swore up and down that it was routine, but even staunch anti-war voices weren't buying it."

He shook his head. "He was eager to secure the Coliseum…?"

"I don't know what James is up to, but he's been nearly blind to the effect it's had on Vale. Whatever his intentions, an outsider could be led to think he's shoring up for war, and enough people have been scared enough to vote in a firm voice to the Council and break the ties in favor of more aggressive action. One Oxford Oberon, who has been vocal about funding anti-human defenses."

"Vox Populi Network lionized the guy," Taiyang explained. "VNN started feeling too milquetoast and waffly about everything, so a bunch of people turned to their outlet, who was pushing for action."

Oscar nodded. "Patience requires an adoption of risk, and in the grip of fear it is a scarce commodity."

Glynda adjusted her cloak with a sigh. "They've painted me a fool, a coward… even a collaborator. I've been accused of softening Vale for Atlas to annex, toothless as it is."

The boy's brow knit as Ozpin considered. "You don't think she is spurring this on?"

She shook her head. "No more than our Rogue Maiden's parting words from the Fall. No… Vox is being funded precipitously, pushing the interests of anyone who might have gotten rich off supplying a glut in Kingdom defense spending."

Tai laughed. "Until, of course, Sonny Jim up north locked-down Atlas and blockaded all trade. No money in a stalled economy, so they've changed their tune to prove Vale and Atlas are buddy-buddy. Now it's all about Mistral and Vacuo and the faunus being the real threat."

Ozpin snorted. " 'Vox Populi'... voice of the people, indeed."

Glynda sighed. "But some of their audience aren't buying it, turning to fringe sources validating their fear of Atlas… funded by the few industries that stand to profit from total war. It's such a mess! When news of Mistral reaches the other Kingdoms, the Grimm will swarm worse than at The Fall, worldwide. And now Vacuo is a clear and present danger, I'll be hard pressed to keep whatever peace remains!"

Oscar nodded sympathetically. "Nonetheless, Glynda, you must."

She gripped the table, leaning forward with desperation in her eyes. "How?! When this Frieza moves towards the other Kingdoms, how can I justify—?!"

Oscar's eyes turned down. "I don't know…! But… when that time comes, I will support you however I can."

Taiyang sighed. "Y'know nobody asked me… but with this thing breathing down their necks… might just be time to come clean to people."

She shook her head. "We couldn't possibly prove all this. It already sounds like crazed ravings to ME!"

"Regardless Glynda," Ozpin began again, "I watched as that thing offered us our lives, provided we slaughtered each other until a handful remained. Any attempt he makes upon the Kingdoms that involves any less than his own hands, in person… is mere sport." He glowered, eyes fixed on the table as he remembered it. "If he wields the people of Vacuo against the world, he does so for his own amusement. He will pit brother against brother and watch as we flail in vain to survive."

"So we do nothing?"

He fixed her with Oscar's hazel eyes. "No. Position defenses in preparation for the news of Mistral as tactfully as you can arrange them. It can even be seen as an olive branch to the other Councilmen. For the rest, you know as well as I that this will not be a war won by numbers or nations. Any clash of armies, as ever before, will be a pointless… pointless waste of life. I won't lie to you, this is certain to get worse before it hopes to get better."

She was quiet for a long while.

"Very well then," Glynda sighed. "I'll do whatever I can to keep them apart. They'll call for my resignation before the end, but I won't lie down."

"Call on us for anything, however small," Ozpin told her, hand upon hers. "You don't face this alone. And more immediately, Bartholomew is aware of the situation."

She frowned. "Oobleck?"

"Yes… though he's tendered his resignation from the school itself."

"We'll be lesser for it…"

Taiyang cleared his throat. Their eyes met. "So, hate to cut this short, but we got any other business? I think the staff have made you, Glyn."

Ozpin dared to glance in the cafe to spot two employees near the window jerk away as he spotted them, returning to mundane tasks with dollar-store subtlety.

He laughed. "Yes, we really should be moving on. However, there is one more order of business to briefly attend to, executor," he finished, smiling at the bedraggled Councilwoman.

Oscar stepped with wobbly legs down the steps of the probate court building alongside Glynda, who smiled to see the more expected boyish personality of Ozpin's second half.

"Wh-w-what just happened…?" the boy demanded.

"You've become a considerably wealthy kid," she said simply as they approached a waiting Taiyang.

"How'd it go? Can I ask now?" Tai probed, still seated on the bench.

"Nothing simpler," Goodwitch told him. "Professor Ozpin named me the executor of his last will and testament. Always planned to legally transfer a portion of his accumulated wealth to his next life. He just enchants a sealed envelope to reflect the name of the form he takes next once within range of the spell, then entrusts and registers it to the probate court. I present Oscar here as Professor Ozpin's named heir, the probate court opens the envelope to confirm."

"I apologize for surprising you, Oscar; it helped your reaction being genuine."

"I-I need to si'down," Oscar wheezed, collapsing next to Tai.

Tai's teeth flashed as he smiled. "What's the damage?"

"Elev… eleven… Eleven million..."

Glynda cut him off. "You're to receive the maximum pre-tax sum for inheritance as dictated by Vale law. A fair amount was already deducted as bequest to the school, numerous charities and scholarship funds for non-combat education."

"I-I-I don't even know what to do with… I'm gonna pass out…!"

She chuckled. "Well, you'll have a fair amount of time to consider that. You won't be able to collect on this inheritance until the age of eighteen."

Tai shrugged his hands. "Ah well… just one more reason to save this crazy mudball, right?"

Oscar laughed dryly, eyes unfocused. "Right! Good point! No point worrying about that when we're all gonna die by then…"

There was a fair silence at that.

Taiyang's lips skewed. "Every party needs a pooper…"

Weiss and Gohan watched Ruby work while the new weapon sintered part for part. It was hypnotic how readily she worked, having received each new piece of Crescent Rose' barrel and receiver as soon as they were ready and test-fit the matte-grey parts with a box of screws. Some parts she kept matte, where others she'd whisk off with to polish in a blur to a mirror-shine, then suspending in a gravity-rack to float idly as she spray-painted them their proper shade of rose red or jet black.

It certainly beat hanging them from fishing line…

Before long the scent of machine oil filled the air as she began testing the trigger assembly, inserting a firing pin and stuffing on a one-size-fits-all rubber grip for the handle. Then, at last the pieces were all in place. She slotted a magazine and worked the bolt action several times, ejecting rounds. Satisfied, she installed the fresh blades, and cycled rapidly between scythe-mode… war-scythe mode… ranged mode…

Satisfied, beaming as though reunited with a lost puppy, she collapsed the weapon into its compact form.

"Good to have you back, old girl," she sighed fondly, clipping it onto her back. "And if I timed it right…"

The final sintering furnace buzzed loudly as it finished the last of the new weapon's parts. Ruby squealed, nearly more excited than Gohan as she hurried over.

"You are spooky-good at this," Weiss muttered appreciatively. "So that's everything?"

Ruby nodded. "That's everything!"

Gohan blinked as the gears, blades and cylindrical parts sat on the tray as Ruby removed it with the enthusiasm of a mother with hard-core fresh-baked cookies. "That was a lot faster than yours."

Ruby blushed as she blew on a piece. "I mean, yours is simpler…"

Weiss chuckled. "Nothing wrong with simple, it'll work just fine. Better even. A lot more ways to break a grandfather clock than an hourglass."

The process repeated as they carried on with the assembly, the rose red paint combined this time with a gunmetal grey. Ruby had to fish a cushion material from the racks to spare Gohan's wrists. The blades were already lethal-looking as they came, but all the same she brought a whetstone to one as she instructed and guided the boy into doing the same with the other.

She found a pair of digital sensors and set them into the cuffs as they took shape and ran wires to the triggers for the blades and the revolver mechanisms. She bade him to attune them, testing the fit as well over his wrists.

"Okay, so funnel Aur— energy into it, and keep extending the blades in your mind."

His tongue poked out the side of his mouth as he concentrated. They did this multiple times as the same mechanism responded to his actions.

"Now the same thing, but just for firing…"

In minutes, the bare skeleton of the twin armaments were responding to him accordingly as Ruby dialed-in the frequency of his intentions with nothing more sophisticated than a screwdriver. More a testament to the accessibility of the technology than her own skill, to be fair.

"Have you thought of a name?" Weiss asked.

Gohan's mouth parted, having never considered it. "I uh… no…"

She laughed. "Well that won't do… Bad luck not to give a weapon its name."

"What should I name it?"

Ruby's bright eyes found his as she began to fit the blades to a pair of thick, telescoping rails. "Well… a Huntsman's weapon is an extension of you. It's almost funny to name it; it's like… naming your hands. It should represent you, who you are, maybe what it does. I guess there's not much wrong way to name it, unless you gave it your name… or… Bob or something…"

Weiss hummed. "Let's see… Did you always want to fight?"

Gohan shook his head. "I always wanted to be an orthopaedist."

Both girls froze, catching the other's eye.

"A foot doctor?" Ruby asked.

He shook his head again. "It's a bone and joint specialist. Mom said I always wanted to be one."

The Huntresses blinked some more.

"She always taught me words, and arithmetic, how to study… to diagnose and treat carpal tunnel syndrome…"

Weiss recovered with a rattling of her head. "God, it's like if my preschool was also finishing school…"

Ruby found it in her to grin, shaking her head in disbelief and admiration. "So all the fighting came naturally, just that one year… No wonder you're such a smart cookie… Well-rounded… A kid like you, protecting the world, barely in it a couple years…"

Weiss nodded. "Most kids your age are barely learning to tie their shoes."

Ruby frowned. "He's like some kinda… What's that word that's like 'genius' but not as full of itself? About people really really good at… stuff?"

" 'Prodigy?' "

"Nah, not that…"

Gohan's eyes lit up. " 'Savant!' "

Ruby's teeth gleamed. "YEAH!"

Gohan stared into the ceiling, grinning as only a child could. "That's it, that's the name!"

Weiss chuckled, tousling his hair. "Great name, squirt…"

The final assembly seemed to fly by, and at last a pair of thick red and grey cuffs sat side by side, cushioned in the middle, the other sides composed of angled panels with tech-savvy flare. The red and black cuff in particular held uncanny similarities, only confirmed when Ruby lifted it to the sky in her hand, and with a sudden hiss and shudder, two top panels rolled aside as something sprang upright. In a flash, segments of a scything, telescoping curved blade shot out to full length, its shining steel broken up by its core rail, that same rosy red.

"On this day I am cast," Ruby began, her eyes solemn even as the smile remained on her face. "Not a sword but a shield. Not of borders, not of bounty, but of brotherhood."

She let the blade retract as she raised its grey twin. Another blade sprang out, this one straighter, narrowing as it stepped down twice before its puncturing point.

"My life as I've lived it is over. I am an aegis of the weak and the weary." With but another thought and gesture, the hidden revolver cycled, and flame spurted from some hidden jet to imbue the blade. "I will burn before they swelter, break before they bend." She retracted the grey blade, triggering more Dust as a spurt of frost wisped into the air to shimmer neath the ceiling.

"I am the first bulwark and the last bastion. While strength and steel buckle, my Will is unbreakable; the fiercest weapon, to sunder earth, sky and time."

She held both on her palms, tiny, with hidden ferocity. She stared fondly as she carried on, the boy hanging on her every word with polite fascination.

"I take up the mantle of guardians passed. I am a Huntress. I swear to protect the people, from all threats at home and abroad… From monster and man... From foe and friend… From my Brothers and Sisters, strayed from the path… till my wounds bid me rest, scattered on the winds…"

He hesitated as she knelt down to him.

"This is the Huntsman's Oath," she told him, "the promise of a hero. Huntsmen aren't born… they're forged."

Gohan and Weiss noticed her voice warble as she finished the last word, her eyes glistening with added sheen as her upper arm shrugged to dab at one of them. The conviction behind it all was unquestionable. For her, this was hallowed ground.

"You may not be a Huntsman, Gohan, but there's no doubt in my mind you'd make a great one. And this… Savant… a weapon fit for a hero."

She held both cuffs out, awaiting him. He slipped his right hand into the red, his left into the grey. Weiss watched as he rolled his wrists. The concealed weapons looked no more out of place than thick wristbands.

Cautiously, he aimed his forearm high, fist clenched as the red blade sprang forth over his knuckles to add a forearm's reach again past his wrists. He aimed out the grey blade as it too revealed itself. To test, he concentrated as the blade slightly retracted, and in rapid succession punched out three times, fit to skewer anything in its path.

He was so rapt in this new feeling, he barely noticed the ring of sliding metal, and the barrel of Crescent Rose resting upon his shoulder. She held it aloft one-handed, beaming. "With the power ingested in me…"

Weiss snorted. "Invested…"

"...which I totally, totally have, for real," Ruby continued, switching her scythe to his other shoulder as if knighting him, unable to keep her lip from wobbling humorously, "I hereby deputize you, a Junior Huntsman! Do you accept…?"

She barely had a moment before he closed the distance suddenly, wrapping his arms around her middle. "Yeah! Thank you so much, Ruby… They're amazing…!"

She beamed, setting the scythe on the ground as she knelt down to hug him back.

Ruby looked up to catch the eye of Weiss, who giggled in spite of herself.

"Should've guessed you'd be good with kids."

Suddenly, all three of their eyes widened as the sound of unsheathed steel rang out. Gohan carefully released Ruby to reveal the fully extended blades.

"Oh…" he exclaimed. "Oops…"

Ruby grabbed two fistfuls of her cape and inspected it, revealing two gashes in it around her shoulder blades. "Maybe adjust the sensitivity… and take them off when you don't need them… and practice, lots of practice…"

Having locked up, the three neared the gates out of Signal. As luck would have it, Nora had already texted an end to her visit and was wandering the town square.

Weiss, however, couldn't hold her tongue. "So… Ruby…"

"Hmm?"

"The Huntsman's Oath…"

Ruby's pleasant expression dimmed. "Weiss…"

"...So much of it says to risk yourself, and you heard what Ozpin sai—"

"Ozpin," Ruby said, bitingly, "didn't invent Huntsmen. Maybe he doesn't believe in those words, but I DO! We're sworn to protect the people, no matter what it costs us. We don't pick and choose whose lives are worth fighting for, or when it's convenient."

Weiss held her hands out defensively. "I-I know, I'm not saying we forsake the people who need us, but… you know it's really scary for us to see you throw yourself into harm's way, right? I know you were trying to protect Sun. Of course we protect each other, but Frieza… what did you hope to do?"

Ruby stiffened her lip. "I don't know! But how can I choose to do nothing?! When Haven fell, all those people died! I wasn't… wasn't strong enough to reach them… I wasn't strong enough to stop Frieza, but… I dunno! Sometimes miracles are sitting there, waiting to happen, waiting for you to try! Even if it's hopeless!"

Gohan watched, eyes bouncing between them as Weiss frowned.

"I don't have some deathwish," Ruby continued, "I just… I have to believe if you're brave enough to step forward that you can overcome the odds. The greatest heroes pulled off things that should have been impossible, things they never knew they could do. I've seen it already."

There was a glimmer in Weiss' eye. "You're talking about Beacon Tower."

Ruby held a fist against her chest. "Deha told me trust myself, and whatever might have happened, we both followed our own path up there, and Cinder—"

"D-don't you…! No! Don't tell me she served some 'greater purpose' or something! If that was 'destiny's grand design,' then SCREW destiny!"

Ruby winced, but couldn't marshal her thoughts before Weiss continued.

"If you dig in your heels and pick the wrong battles, we're going to drop like flies, and all this is too important to risk ourselves! You're too important! We're all the world has right now. Recognizing your limits and living to fight another day isn't selfish, you're not betraying the Oath by running from something you can't fight."

Ruby sighed. "Then we remove those limits… because I'll never turn my back on someone who needs me."

"Fine, but… Ruby…" Weiss fixed her with an apologetic stare. "What Pyrrha did was brave… Maybe if she hadn't done what she did, we wouldn't be out here, and you wouldn't know your own power… but I'd still rather she were here with us. Dying a hero can just mean you can't help anyone else. Make sure it's worth the ones you can't help later."

Ruby only sighed with frustration. "I'm sorry I worry you."

As he listened, even Gohan noticed it wasn't a promise. It was barely an acknowledgment. At least her eyes were grey with the apology, and not the resentment they burned with at Ozpin.

They found Nora window shopping, a fresh bandage on her upper arm as she feigned acute interest in a bookstore display, while plainly shooting glances at a brick building next door simply labeled "HeartthrobZ" with a chintzy neon sign, the glowing heart animating between a small heart and a bulging red heart in a facsimile of beating. There were no windows, but she stole glimpses between the beaded curtain with pink in her cheeks.

Weiss approached her back. "So…"

Nora jumped. "AYEEEK!"

"...Think it's " 'Heartthrob Z,' or 'Heartthrobzzzz?' " Weiss asked, clear amusement on her face as she emphasized the last syllable with her teeth.

"Mmm," Ruby agreed, nodding. "Yeah, I knew this fighting game that did that once…"

"That was sneaky!" Nora complained, arms crossed.

"We didn't need much help with how distracted you are," Weiss noted. "You can clearly see us reflected in the window… Considering some accessories?"

She went even redder. "If you must know, I considered picking up some… b-but then I remembered I can't get… and we've never… so neither of us can have any nasty… y'know? So that's out…"

Even if Ruby got the gist, she still looked nearly as lost as Gohan did.

"Th-then I wondered what other stuff might be fun, or useful, but that might be weird to bust-out immediately, so…"

Weiss nodded. "So you hemmed and hawed, trying to look inside without looking like you're looking inside," she surmised. "I think you're safe. Plenty on your plate between you, him, and the… one… circular wall," she finished, adapting the old phrase with difficulty.

Nora nodded in agreement. "So, all set? Anything else before we head back?

"Actually," Weiss began, "we passed a Huntsman's tailor on the way in here."

Ruby's face practically rattled. "You want a new outfit? I've never even seen the one you're in before yesterday…"

"Need one for every day of the week?" Nora jabbed.

"What, this?" Weiss laughed. "It's… nice… for ballroom dancing and awards ceremonies. It's not for combat though. I want something a bit less Schnee… a bit more me…"

They found the boisterously themed establishment deftly positioned on a street corner, "Seven Slain," proudly sporting mannequins in various action poses, frozen in combat with giants, a Boarbatusk… and a unicorn? Clever marketing, as the extreme stances demonstrated the flexibility of the worn wares.

A short and stocky man ran the business, and after a spell, Weiss Schnee emerged as the entry bell jangled.

"I'll just wear it out, Mister Schneiderlein… Thank you!"

Ruby gasped. "Wow…!"

Nora thumbed her chin. "Stay away from traffic, you'll blind somebody…"

Weiss scoffed, instead turning to Gohan. "How about an impartial judge?"

He looked her up and down, a small smile on his face. "I like the top part! You look like a… old timey healer, or cleric or something!"

She beamed. "Interesting take… It's called a 'capelet.' " She lifted the garb. "There's a tank top under it too, but I like it…"

Indeed, the outfit was understated, easy to move in, light and classy. All of it was pure white save the blue buttons and symbol on the back. The capelet hung from a collar, draping over her chest and upper arms, stopping at her elbows and bare middle. Beneath it, she wore a pleated box skirt down to her thighs and stood upon consistently white wedge shoes. Even pleated gloves covered her hands just past the wrist.

Nora's concerns would have made sense, the whites bright enough to almost eclipse her hair, but thankfully it was broken up and contrasted by black ribbons that came off as stripes in strategic spots. They wrapped her waist, thighs, and even served in place of socks. It was enough to make a monochrome look and offset the oppressive white just enough.

"It's not too modest, is it? Snow Pea got left behind in the dorm at Beacon, and I wanted something like it," Weiss explained, tugging the edges of the capelet. "I know it kinda covers my…"

Nora smirked. "Don't think the boys are missin' much."

"Oh hush!"

Ruby considered. "I dunno, was my old outfit 'too modest?' "

"Well, with you it came off innocent."

Nora snorted. "Yeah, plus Ruby's always had boo—"

"I said HUSH!"

Jaune ran pell mell down the near-vertical hill as the massive scorpion gave chase, dirt spilling down after him as the creatures legs found purchase. He lost balance and rolled to the bottom, face up on his back as the golden barb stinger just missed, embedding into the ground.

The Deathstalker chittered as its tail pumped, and around Jaune, black ooze like bubbling crude spurted out of the soil around him just before a trio of maws on legs erupted from the earth. Creeps.

Jaune rolled back to his feet and swept his blade in an arc, slaying the three beasts before they could strike. "Okay… didn't know what was in the stinger, that's on me. Come on… try it again…"

As if the arachnid heard him, the tail whipped forward again, only to strike his waiting luminous sphere and bounce. He took a vertical leap and swiped, cleanly slicing the barb off as the Grimm squealed, limbs recoiling before its claws snapped in frustration and it spurted down the hill.

The shield emerged again, leaving it vertically tilted as it scrabbled after him. With another overhead swing, the force of the shield projected, carrying the creature several stories into the air.

Yang, Blake and Qrow reached the edge of the hill to see the feat, the blonde whistling appreciatively. "Whoa-o, Jaune!"

Qrow's eyes were focused. "Fall won't kill it…"

He took aim and hurled his sword to catch it in midair, on the underside just below the tail.

With a thunderous crash, it landed in the glen, landing upon the enormous blade and driving it through as the sky filled with its ashes.

Qrow slid down as Jaune stared after the swift kill. "Underside's a bit softer in places. Bit of a risk to go under; they'll just try to crush ya… but wedge that sword in the right spot…"

"Uhh!" Blake broached, as the sound of a tree branch ripping with cacophonous cracks emitted through the trees, followed by a bassy thud of earth. "I think the others are having trouble!"

Gunshots of different calibers followed the sounds, echoing through. But then the stamping of numerous paws slowly overtook them.

"Got our own problems!" Yang said, hopping down and sliding as well. "We stirred up the hive!"

Blake's clone took the hit from a sudden swiping claw as she leapt off after the others, kusarigama hooking the Beowulf's back as she tugged it towards her. It met her in midair as she planted her heel into its back, freeing her weapon as she rode its body to the ground, cleaver against its back as she landed to impale it with the full force of gravity in a cloud of ashes.

"Get some space!" Jaune ordered. "Into the glen!"

They fired behind them as they fled into the grass, black beasts pouring down the hill as Qrow finally reached his embedded blade. As the others raced past him, he grunted as he pulled it, and an entire chunk of root-strewn earth out with it to meet the charge of a pouncing canid. The beast was stunned and driven off course as the bludgeon of dirt blasted off into bits, and a following uppercut divorced its head from its shoulders as the blade whirled into the steely scythe.

A small pack of the creatures barked and hesitated even as they surrounded him, only slightly heeding the fall of their fellow.

"Alright… if you insist…"

Yang found herself struggling to keep pace, literally left to battle one-handed. It might have been a decent challenge, as she focused on sure kills and labored not to be trapped on her bad side, except that Grimm punished mistakes in rather permanent fashion…

'*KUCHINK*'

Yang's eyes widened as a Beowulf was dropped mid-pounce, a hole in its center as it was thrown back, momentum entirely canceled.

The four spared a glance as the pack hesitated, sniffing the air and spotting the distant newcomers as they crested the opposite hill.

Blake smiled. "Finally… backup."

Prone on the grass, Ruby fiddled with her sight as she took aim. "Too low… Weiss, overhead-flank!"

"Got it. Come here, you!"

An angled glyph appeared as Weiss beckoned Nora, who leapt onto it a split second before it turned red and launched her across.

Like a Javelin missile, she coasted until she was just beyond the black hoard, hammerhead aimed up as she triggered the blast to fire herself onto the shoulders of an unsuspecting ursa and flatten it to the floor. The nearby Grimm snarled as they took notice, but Nora had already squared her shoulders and taken aim at the stunned Ursa's head.

"FORE!" Nora shouted, her stroke popping off the beast's head, which toppled an advancing Beowulf as it soared. She sidestepped another's claws only to balance on her heels as she hit the trigger again, spinning like an ice ballerina as the hammer punished anything fool enough to approach… or stay put as she traced the area like a spinning top.

Weiss prepared to join her.

"Wait, hold up," Ruby said, redundantly.

"What? Why?"

"We'll stick to range. Gohan? You ready for a test run?"

The boy smiled, bracing both hands on the ground like a runner before bursting ahead. To the surprise of both girls, rather than vaulting whole acres between strides, he traced the ground step by step, kicking up dust as his legs became a flurry.

Blake was engaged with an Alpha Beowulf, twelve feet tall and a spindly terror, claws clashing with her blades as she gripped them each in one hand. Its tremendous strength vied with hers, but ultimately she slipped by, a stone clone taking her place as her feet caught its slavering jaw and she leapt back.

The beast's red eyes burning, it reeled from the blow and spent its rage on the faunus statue, crushing its arms in a spray of stone until the claws gripped its middle. Jaws clamped over the head before ripping it off and tearing the chest from its lower body.

But then it doubled over as a bowl-cut head slammed into its gut, reeling back several huge strides with a snarl. Gohan stood firm as it advanced, paw making to swipe… but the boy had caught it, vying with its strength easily as black muscles creaked. The other paw swung only to be caught as well. In rage and frustration, its feet clawed the dirt as it tried to shove the boy, and in a final bout of frustration roared as it loomed overhead to reach its jaws for him.

With a shriek of metal, the twin blades sprang out, piercing the Grimm through both red eyes as it froze dead. The limbs went slack as its body evaporated, and Blake blinked, smiling as she glimpsed the shape of the grey blade.

With that, Gohan set out on a frenzy, coupled with shimmering white projectiles from Weiss and the constant report of Crescent Rose as its shots honed in with ever greater precision.

But nothing could top the miracle child, blades out as he diced Beowulves like onions, beheaded Ursai. One Ursa Major with spines on its back like a hedgehog received a more merciful treatment as the blades retracted, and he baseball-slid under its swiping claws before launching up into its flabby gut with his left arm and lifting it off the ground with a cycle of piston-punches. The demon bear was stun-locked as its body jiggled with the constant impacts, but at last he crossed both blades as he punctured the beast with both, hitting both triggers as a hint of frost and arcing bolts emerged from the wounds as the Ursa swelled.

Without another thought, he tore the blades past each other like huge scissors… before all Hell froze over.

Gohan vanished as the others only had seconds to cry out and acknowledge the blast of wind and snow that suddenly blanketed the entire glen as flashes of lightning illuminated an impenetrable fog.

"Holy heck!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Thundersnow…?" Weiss asked. "Did Gohan do that…?"

"Hey! Who turned off the Sun?!" Nora's voice complained from the mist.

"One sec, I got it!" Gohan told them, before a burst of air emerged from the center, buffeting the crackling clouds high into the air to reveal their flash-frozen bit of forest. Wintry as a January evening, the fighters trudged through the sudden snow to see the few Grimm remaining still as statues.

It didn't last, as Ruby finished them off with several quick shots as they burst into pieces.

"So… what was that?" Jaune asked, dragging his sword behind him as Nora shivered, zipping her jacket up as she gripped her elbows.

Gohan stared at his wrists. "I used the Dust stuff…"

Blake shared a look with Yang. "I've never seen Dust that strong."

Qrow hummed. "Easy answer there. Dust's effects enhance the stronger the Aura pumped in. If the kid's power counts too, this is just proportional."

Weiss gasped. "I've seen this! Of course…"

"Yeah, look in a mirror, ice-queen!" Nora boomed, forming a snowball in her palms. "It's called 'snow!' You're practically invisible in that new getup!"

Weiss' eyebrows flattened. "Teh'! No, not…" She stopped gripped the sides of her skirt and flashed between it and the slush. "Well, yes… but I meant something else."

Ruby frowned. "What?"

Blake yelped, teeth grit as Nora's snowball found its way down the back of her shirt. She snickered before a flash of movement formed an ice Belladonna, which was kicked over by the flat-eared faunus to pin her beneath it before stomping away.

"Vegeta and I took a smuggler ship out of Atlas," Weiss began, "and we ran into Lancers trying to cross the floating grav-Dust islands of Lake Matsu. At one point, Vegeta blasted them, but it's like it imploded! Everything in the air was getting sucked into the center, like a black hole, even the other islands."

"So…" Jaune surmised, "the blast created a huge gravity well, and it got worse the more Dust got sucked in!"

"Yeah, kay, this is cool and weird," Yang interjected, "but Goku and Bulma are both with Ren and Sun fighting somewher—"

With a suddenness that made even Blake jump, an entire tree smashed into the glen as the two teens just mentioned sailed through the air.

The cause unseen, Blake's kusarigama flew to tie around Sun's ankle… to limited success as his trajectory changed to spin around her as he crashed piteously end-over-end in the snow. Yang winced, sucking air through her teeth as Blake's jaw and ears dropped. "Oh god… I'm sorry…"

Meanwhile, sheer bull-headed determination bade Nora to pole-vault with the explosion of Magnhilde's head and propel herself into Ren's path, catching him in both arms even as their combined trajectory changed. She took the impact with her shoulder as they slid to a stop, leaving a trail in the white.

Ren tried to lift himself up. "Nora! Are you oka— Why is there sn—?!"

But her arms were like anacondas as they pulled him tight against her as she kissed him full on the mouth.

"Knew you'd fall for me in the end," she snarked, ignoring a distant groan from Yang. "The doctor slipped a shot a' something under my skin… and now we can… Huh, I guess I already described it, didn't I? More fun though..."

"Get a room," Weiss droned.

"Already did!"

"Hey!" Qrow interrupted. "So where's Bloomers and The Human-Cowlick?"

Ren worked to escape Nora's grasp. "We were keeping it away from them! Nora, stop, we've got to get over and help—!"

A tree was felled with a dusty series of snaps as a scene of chaos burst into the snowy glen. A golem of mossy, red-veined granite thirty-feet tall swung an arm of schist past some unseen foe as it staggered into the clearing. In the midst of the giant's wide central boulder, a single yellow eye in a bony white mask searched silently with untold rage.

Apart from the screaming of course.

The Geist's body of loose floating stone ignored the sound emitting from the knothole in its left arm, a dead log where a blue, red-banded coiffeur ducked for safety as the limb swung wildly.

"GOKU QUIT MESSING AROUND!" Bulma shrieked, gripping the sides of the knothole for dear life. "THIS THING IS GONNA CRUSH ME!"

But no sooner had she voiced it than the felled tree rose into the air beside the floating man in orange. The Geist barely turned towards the sound before the tree swung into its back like a club as if wielded by an invisible titan. Yet Goku himself had scarcely moved a muscle.

The giant stumbled as the wood splintered over its piecemeal body, but twisted around to lunge at the man in a flurry of movement. The Huntsmen watched in befuddlement and awe as Goku, stiff though his motion was, flowed like water around its swings with the grace of a squirrel.

"You're big, but that doesn't mean a lot 'less you're fast!" he advised, the words lost to the enraged thing as its log limb lashed out.

But Goku merely grunted as he held a hand out towards the attack beside him, which stopped as suddenly as if it had been gripped in massive iron hands. The yellow eye flicked back and forth in silent incomprehension before it tried to retrieve the limb with a half-hearted tug.

"What in the…" Yang breathed. "Is he fighting it… with his brain?!"

But then the Saiyan's brows and body tensed as he drew his fists to his sides.

"HYAAAAAAAARGH!"

The throat-rending cry echoed as pure force projected out in front of him, branches swaying in its wake as the Geist was tossed on its back into the snow and dragged like a child's doll.

"Those pipes…!" Nora noted.

"Knocked it on its ass," Qrow said, head shaking. "N' he's not at his best either."

A massive cone of snow was blasted off the glen altogether, leaving a grassy green footprint behind of the attack as the aspiring heroes shielded their eyes and swayed from the aftershock of the initial blow.

The beast seemed to lie there, absorbing a situation it had likely never dreamed while its assailant let out a sigh of effort before smiling and drifting to the group for an uneasy landing, wincing as he caught himself with his crutch.

"Phew!" he exclaimed. "Alright, who's up? I want to see how you guys handle him!"

Weiss tilted her head around him. "Is Bulma okay?"

Gohan rushed forward with concern, but Goku laughed.

"Yeah, she's tougher than she looks… If you're worried though, you can lend her a hand…"

Ruby sprinted beside him. "Come on, RNJR, we got this!"

As she took off, scythe raised and ready, Jaune, Ren and Nora shared baffled looks before the latter scooped Ren under her arm and ploughed forward with a shark-like grin.

"Yeah! Geist/RNJR Rematch!"

Ren looked like a confused cat as he was spirited away. "But… we won last time?"

The four surrounded the Geist as it finally pushed itself into a sitting position.

"Nora, charge-up! Like last time!" Ruby ordered, as the grenadier swept her hammer back in preparation, pink lightning dancing as the battery engaged. "Ren, hit from its blindside!"

Jaune stepped directly in front as the beast stood back up to tower over him. "I'll pin it down!"

The Geist raised its rocky limb to crush him as Ren peppered its backside with bullets, but as it came down it struck only the luminous shield, reflecting the force back to throw it off balance, wobbling on its extended granite legs.

Jaune slashed through the shield again, the arc of force blasting through its knees, bending more supple branches and snapping others as to give the bit of forest behind it an even trim.

Goku's eyes lit up. "Whoa! Well that was cool…"

Yang, Weiss and Blake shared looks though.

"What… are they all doing?" Weiss asked.

The Grimm colossus froze as it fell onto its shins with a quake of earth, eye blinking as the shattered stone comprising its thighs scattered behind it.

There was barely a moment for it to react before it shielded its body with the schist arm as electricity impacted it over and over again from Crescent Rose.

Ruby turned to Nora. "Almost got it?"

"Uhhh…!"

Nora's eyes widened as the beast slammed both arms into the ground and began gorilla-walking towards them in a charge, lifting its stub legs over Jaune entirely.

Ruby prepared to grab Nora and run, but then from the knothole, Bulma had emerged with her gun. It chattered as she strafed its exposed front with rounds, three impacting and shattering the bony white mask as an unearthly screech filled the air.

The four teens watched stunned as the Geist's body fell to its component parts, tumbling into an unassuming heap of stone beside the one log as it rolled to a stop.

Grumbling and fumbling, Bulma dragged herself out of the log, shaking.

"What… the hell… was THAT?!" She demanded of the still stunned Rose.

Goku wilted like Christmas had been canceled. "Aww, Bulma! I was hoping to see more a' them in action!"

She ignored him as Ruby still scratched her head. "I-I… how'd you know to…?"

"You were using electricity against STONE?! What was the PLAN exactly?!"

Ruby stammered a moment. "It… last time we blasted off its… It lives in dead stuff, so Nora blows it all away and goes for the…"

"How'd you guess the face first?" Nora asked, puzzled. "First time, we—"

Bulma recoiled, and struck back at full force. "IT'S MADE OF ROCK! What ELSE would you attack but the big glowy eyeball?! It's, like, the most obvious thing! It's the only thing that looks even vaguely vulnerable!"

The four of them blinked.

"I…"

"Um…"

"So you decided to brute force your way through it?! Have you kids never played a video game?!"

Ren coughed. "When you put it like that…"

Ruby stared resolutely at her toes before muttering. "I mostly do fighters, so…"

"Okay, okay," Qrow began, stepping between them with his hands out defensively. "Lessons learned… nobody got hurt. I think that does it for the big, ancient Grimm sleeping 'neath the surface. Concentration's never that high, and Oz' magic should've roused 'em enough that our stomp through the property brought them in. Now, we just draw in the stragglers somehow."

Ruby shot one more apologetic look at Bulma, who crossed her arms, but had ceased her stink-eye.

Nora fell backwards, splatting into the fresh fallen powder, promptly doing horizontal jumping-jacks as she grumpily formed a snow angel.

Ruby glanced across to a nearby plateau. "I know how to wrangle the rest."

They watched at a respectful distance as Ruby approached the angled stone slab, adorned with an engraved rose.

Bulma winced and looked away. "Jeez, well now I just feel bad…"

Goku stared, puzzled. "So… how's this bring the monsters?"

"They always come," Yang answered, sitting on the ledge with her feet dangled. "Every time she visits. Grimm are drawn to…"

"Always a straight face," Qrow started, "always a little smile… Talking like she's there… but you can't lie to a Grimm about what's inside. She pretends it's coincidence…"

Weiss caught Blake's eye, wincing as she blinked rapidly, sucking her own lips.

Jaune, Ren and Nora kept their backs to it.

"We stopped here just before we made for Haven," Jaune told them. "I'd never even heard her mention her Mom before… She just said she had to visit real quick… which was weird after leaving a goodbye letter for everyone else."

Nora sighed. "Imagine our surprise when we're expecting to see… y'know…"

Ren nodded. "Someone who could talk back."

Sun nodded. "My folks are over in Vacuo… All I know, I could be in the same boat."

That drew a few stares, especially from Blake and Bulma, whose sympathetic eyes sank helplessly.

Goku stared into Ruby's back, his eyes soft. "I remember after my Grandpa died… I was alone after that. It was hard. I thought his spirit was in my Four-Star Dragonball, talked to him every day."

Yang's brow rose in surprise. "You were alone? No parents?"

"Didn't know 'em," Goku replied. "I arrived on Earth in a spaceship, from Planet Vegeta I guess. I was supposed to wipe out the planet. Grandpa found me instead and raised me, taught me how to fight."

Weiss tilted her head. "That's what you meant before…"

Goku caught Bulma's eye. "Bulma… why didn't you guys tell me all this time? Yamcha, Roshi, Krillin…"

Bulma gave a soft gasp, jaw slack. "You… you know?"

"I figured it out after Vegeta changed back on Earth, under the glow of a fake moon."

Bulma closed her eyes. "We… we didn't know how to tell you. How could we explain that you crushed your own Grandpa?!"

Goku didn't answer, but didn't press the issue either.

"I'm sorry…" she muttered.

Nora exuded uncharacteristic caution as she asked. "Crushed…? Changed? Huh?"

Gohan tore his eyes from Ruby. "Saiyans are all born with tails. The full moon makes us change into giant apes, like a hundred feet tall and ten times stronger."

They universally gaped.

"So to top it all off," Yang sighed, exhaustion in her voice, "you're werewolves… apes… Right, Krillin mentioned vampires earlier, so why not..."

"You're messing with us," Weiss insisted. "You don't have tails."

Bulma nodded. "Goku's got removed."

"Vegeta got his cut off in the fight back on Earth," Gohan said. "Mine too, after I changed. Without them, the change doesn't happen anymore."

Qrow groaned, nodding. "Moonlight's pretty sporadic on Remnant… for obvious reasons. Always had a suspicion it had some tie to Summer's eyes though."

Ruby stood before the stone, the same numbness in her limbs.

"Hi Mom… It's… It's been a few, huh?"

As always, she listened with immaculate patience.

"Well… didn't die yet. Met some… interesting new friends from 'out of town…' And by that I mean outer space, so… super cool… 'Cept now there's this worse guy than Salem from space too…"

She blinked.

"Oh yeah… Salem… Qrow told us all about it. Don't be mad, he's… he's trying his best with all this craziness."

The wind whispered.

"I know… You never wanted us to fight this. That's why you… That's why you're here… not at home… That's why you went… you're more of a hero than I thought."

She frowned. "I wonder though… if you learned any of what I found out. I guess I'm… we're… gods? Demigods? I don't really know, but… Oh, and Salem… She's his daughter! Doya, the 'God of Darkness,' 'cept… not really? It's hard to explain, but people really got the Brothers all wrong… they're actually really sweet, and…"

Another murmur through the grass drew her mind.

"Salem… I know I should hate her… She took you away… I should blame her for everything… right?" She sighed. "But she's a victim too… I… Is it wrong that I want to save her?"

She watched, and waited. "Not if it means risking other people, I mean. I don't forgive her, but… I just know it didn't have to be this way. I wonder what you'd do…"

The stone sat, like it always did. Implacable, stern, expectant.

"Well… good news is, I'll be around. We can have these talks more… regular...ly."

From the trees, a howling came filtered through, muffled, but loud.

She sighed, snatching up Crescent Rose. "I'll catch you in a bit… some old friends are coming."

She hopped down off the ledge to the glen below, half-melted slush still clinging to the grass.

There was a general consideration to aid Ruby as the scattered fodder Grimm filtered in, but it was quashed as the first couple charged her, only for her petalburst to whirl before hooking the confused canid's middle in the scythe's bladed jaws and swinging around it. Red ruts trailed in its skin as she used the beast as a fulcrum, boots catching the chin of a second Beowulf as it charged before planting them in the ground swinging hard.

The half-bisected beast turned from anchor to ammo as she flexed and pulled, lifting and tossing it at a pair of its fellows, bowling them over. With a whirling flourish, she pinned the blade tip into the ground and fired three shots, executing the bunch as she coolly turned to the next set.

The rest watched her carry on, a ballet of destruction unfolding with effortless ferocity as the beasts warred for as much as a drop of her blood. As always, it was a fool's gambit.

Still, Bulma checked her rifle, watching uneasily. "Y'sure she's okay?"

Yang nodded, legs over the edge. "She does this every visit. If we missed anything too big, we'll jump in. Let her have this."

Bulma couldn't help being lost in the display as Ruby slipped the scythe around one's neck as she planted both feet into its back, riding it as another tore into its fellow to reach for her.

She neatly stepped down as she thrust the weapon's broad head into the other wolf's, stunning it a mere moment before she slipped the blade behind its head, twisting back to back with the first before firing. Both were decapitated as she swung into a third flanking her, amputating it at the knees and carrying the momentum to spin once more as the scythe head snapped back to spear what was left through the head.

Goku nodded, grinning. "She's creative! If she can master her power, I'm itching to see what she can really do."

But Bulma couldn't get past the feeling in her stomach as she glimpsed the red reaper's eyes. She tore away to look back at the stone. "I think I overheard what happened, but… they were really close?"

Yang blinked. "She's her mom…"

Weiss shook her head. "You grew up in a really close, genuine family, Yang. Not all families are like that."

Qrow grunted. "Can say that for certain. Yeah, Ruby and Summer… she wasn't even that old when it happened, but the two'd been inseparable."

"Summer…" Yang hesitated. "Summer was her hero… Mine too, I guess. She focused on the both of us more than anything, but being a Huntress… home life couldn't take that outta her. Ruby idolized her for it… She meant everything to her. I mean, c'mon, she's Ruby Rose, not Xiao Long."

Bulma hummed, understanding. "I'd wondered about that."

Yang's eyes were pained. "I remember Qrow and Dad coming home… Never seen anyone look so defeated. They explained they were looking for her, but… she probably wasn't coming home."

Qrow just stared as Ruby's cape whipped and whirled as she fought, dancing across the field as the Grimm were left scratching their heads. "Ruby didn't buy it. Never admitted she was gone. Saw her wait at the window, day after day, shine dulling in her eyes. It was a ritual. A year later, Tai put that stone up here, tried to ease her into the truth. Eventually, she started talking to it."

Bulma approached the stone, Gohan daring to follow. "Thus kindly I scatter," Bulma read.

"Summer'd say that before a good fight," Qrow explained, smiling. "Always a flare for the dramatic… Made for great bedtime stories though."

"I think…" Yang began. "I think Ruby knew well before the stone… but she couldn't say it out loud. She couldn't make it real."

Bulma looked past the stone to the crimsonette, standing ready.

"Poor thing…" she whispered, genuinely. "It sounded like a wonderful bond."

"I remember," Gohan said, "when Piccolo told me Dad was gone. He said he'd be wished back in no time, but… if he hadn't… I couldn't…"

The very thought made his lip quiver, and his father had an arm on his shoulder before the frown could even set in. The boy turned, leaning into him.

Goku's brow knit in thought, laboring to retain what tact he possessed. "So she… Summer… She had the same Silver power? What was that like?"

Qrow stared at the sky, the smile returning. "It was… something, when she really got going. Till we met you guys, never seen its equal, not even from a Maiden. Was like a hundred Huntresses all rolled into one. I guess now we know why it made such a difference. Sure wish she was here now..."

They watched Summer's child mopping up the few stragglers left, scythe reaching out and tugging to remove a head, then whirling between another's legs to hook its groin and pivot into the sky with it. Disoriented, the beast snarled up at her even suspended in midair before she took aim and its head exploded into bits.

The last of the beasts waited below, but she'd swirled down as a petalburst and snipped one of its arms before it could register her movements, and ground it into the earth as she landed. Scythe-head pinning its neck and shoulder, she stood on its body… and hesitated to take the shot.

She watched as it spat and fought, legs kicking uselessly, its claws and teeth unable to reach her. A pull of the trigger would end it, but instead she waited. Waited as it raged blindly, red eyes burning with hate. But eventually, it paused, chest heaving with exertion. It relented, staring up at her. Then its eyes seemed to wander —difficult as it was to tell at times— and it almost seemed to accept its position, lone claw gripping the end of its lost limb.

Ruby stared with a conflicted, but curious gleam in her silver eyes. Ultimately, she leaned down closer, and whispered.

"Can you hear me?" she asked, studying its expression. "Do you understand what I'm saying? Salem?"

It showed no sign of comprehension, just grunting and wetting its own chops.

"If… If any part of you can hear me… I'm sorry for what we've all done to you."

It still only growled at her as she crept closer, lips peeling back to bare its maw of teeth.

"I know who your father was… He'd want me to help you, but… you need to tell me how. Do you remember him at all? Doyadano?"

Its ears only pricked for a moment as its lips sealed again, like a dog hearing a sharp rebuke from its master.

...Then it gave another snarl before it tried lunging at her with renewed strength, claws scrabbling and swinging in a tantric rage as Ruby reared back. She sighed.

'*KUCHINK*'

Smoke still rose from the massive hulks dotting the Mistral Valley as Krillin and Vegeta touched down in the midnight darkness. The desolation of what days ago had been among the most bustling cultural hubs on the planet was as absolute as when they'd left it. Even the Grimm saw no interest in this place anymore.

"Miserable tripe," Vegeta growled. "That girl had better hold up her end…"

"Just cuz you got lost for a bit," Krillin grumbled, opening his collar to release the ruffled bird.

"A pittance!" Vegeta snapped, rounding on him with a burst of air around him. "Compared to my time spent waiting for you to catch up!"

"Then fly ahead! Makes no difference to me!"

"Damn this darkness," Vegeta muttered, the task of finding this place made far more difficult for nightfall on this far end of the world. "Guess this is all the technique is good for now…"

He held his palm up, tensing as a misty white ball of power formed over it.

It was hurled skyward, trailing among starlights before suddenly bursting open into a pale but brilliant glow. The valley was illuminated as if by a flare gun, but the silver sphere hung in the air as if suspended by wires.

Krillin recognized it immediately. Vegeta's false moon, which granted his beastly transformation on Earth. It paled to the Sun, but for their purposes here it would serve them well. Even if it was more than a bit conspicuous…

There was a ring like steel as Raven stepped out from behind a battered fighter craft, plainly annoyed. "God! Even at a thousand miles per hour, even if I showered with acetone I'd never forget the smell of your pungent pits!"

Krillin chewed his cheek, stung. "Well sorry, it wasn't a treat for me either, sister… I mean, lotta time to wonder about certain things, like…" Krillin went red. "Maybe you get this a lot, but are you… y'know… 'decent' in… 'bird form…?' "

Krillin regretted the question immediately, as her red eyes shrunk dangerously even as they widened, Tearsign ablaze, her brows and lips both thin straight lines as she slowly drew her sword…

The Prince found himself torn at that moment, as the bandit chased after the diminutive Orin monk, swinging wildly with every opportunity.

Deeply amused and admiring of the bald one's misfortune as he let out a stream of apologies for his offense.

Deeply annoyed at yet more time wasted to the scamperings of vermin.

"Hey, Raven-girl," he called, withholding irritation.

She paused, having backed Krillin into a bit of pinched fuselage she'd begin carving like salami. "It's been a few years since anyone's called me 'girl,' let alone a 'prince' of absentees."

"Your own abundant subjects can set me straight, I'm sure," he jabbed in return, that self-satisfied smirk alight. "Kill the runt on your own time, but first put that sword to better use."

Raven sighed, turned, and gave a casual swipe of her ruddy blade.

Ruby met back with the others at the top, the Grimm threat purged from the Xiao Long property as near as anyone could detect.

Nora raised her hammer over her head, hands holding at both ends as she stretched with a luxurious groan. "Job well done, and I'm looking forward to dinner…"

There was a general murmur of agreement, particularly from the Saiyan father and son.

Qrow nodded. "Have to wait till Tai gets back, and it'll be a lean meal."

"Hm?" Bulma intoned. "How come?"

"Dad doesn't have a car," Yang explained. "If it's just him and Oscar, they gotta carry enough for like… twenty people?"

"Seventeen," Weiss corrected.

"Eighteen plus Oz!" Ruby added.

"Yeah, don't think he needs an extra seat at the table," Blake laughed.

Bulma shook her head even as she sighed with a knowing smile. "Need more than that, honestly."

"Right," Nora agreed, hanging off Ren's arm, "Should leave a place for Deha and Doya, yeah?"

Ren quirked his brow. "They… didn't want to be worshipped though…?"

Nora leaned in conspiratorially. "Shhh…! Back me on this one, I'll get you SECONDS…!" she schemed, then planting her lips against his chin.

Bulma shook her head. "No, I mean because Goku here has a black chasm where his stomachshould be. Seriously, I made the mistake of treating him before, and the bills I've gotten back could fund some kid's Bachelor's degree. Not. Kidding."

A number of them looked back at Goku, who grit his teeth and chuckled bashfully. "Grandpa always said I was a growing boy…"

Bulma leered. "You stopped growing vertical and horizontal years ago. Now you're just a space anomaly, a yawning abyss from which no rice ball can ever escape."

Weiss frowned as she remembered. "Think it's a Saiyan thing… The one time I shared a meal with Vegeta, it was… hypnotizing. I think he mentioned something about their metabolism…"

"Goku cleaned out Tai's house before we got here," Bulma clarified. " 'Nuff said."

Yang sighed. "So we can look forward to heaping helpings of instant ramen, beans, rice, powdered mashed potatoes, tuna…"

Blake's ears and eyebrows twitched. "...What's wrong with that last one?"

Goku stood up straight, a smile blooming on his face… before he flinched and doubled over in sharp pain.

"Dad? Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah! Just had an idea is all…" He took a brief sniff of the air, eyes closed. "There's a lake nearby, right?"

Ruby and Yang shared a glance, before the reaper croaked. "Nnn… yeah?"

Blake stared at him in surprise, taking a deep sniff herself. "I can barely make that out, and I'm a faunus! Saiyans have a great sense of smell too?"

Goku shrugged. "I guess so! Pretty good anyway. What I mean is, I think we can help Tai out a bit…"

The placid surface of the lake bowed out before a barbelled fish the size of a small car rocketed sideways from the depths on the wings of a disproportionately tiny uppercut, a trail of water spraying and sparkling in the afternoon Sun.

As they watched, he let the unsuspecting creature slip off his fist as he soared past it, just far enough to come to a sudden and total halt as his other fist spiked it down onto the pebble-strewn shore like a volleyball, with a meaty 'thwack.' It lay stone-cold dead instantaneously as Gohan landed and came to inspect his catch, his audience nearly as fish-mouthed as they gawked.

"Did he really just…" Blake began, hunting for the words, "punch a fish out of the water…?"

"Like, actually," Ruby droned, voice quiet and low, "for real…"

Yang tilted her head as she stared between the catch and her own fist with something like envy. "I've never seen a monster like that in our lake!"

"More where he came from!" Gohan noted, dripping in his boxers while Bulma held his clothes.

"Atta'-boy, son!" Goku praised, admiring the potent piscine with evident hunger. "A few more a' those'll last us a while!"

Gohan saluted as he turned back towards the water. "Comin' right up!" With a leap, he'd already disappeared in a cloud of bubbles.

Sun scratched his head. "Where we puttin' all that? No way even with all of us do you finish that off at once."

"Cellar's got a pretty hefty freezer," Yang told him. "We like having food stores to last when the market in town gets less stock, especially in winter."

Bulma shot Goku a look. "We are cleaning these this time, right? I've seen what you usually do, cooking the whole thing at once... I like fish without parasites or mercury poisoning, thank you…"

Goku pouted, arms crossed. "Aw, but the insides bring the flavor out! It never hurt me any…"

"I dunno, mercury poisoning might explain what goes on in your brain!"

Jaune remembered a few too many fishing stops in Anima —they mostly used Nora's grenades— and stared between the fish and his greatsword. "So… who volunteers NOT to have their weapon coated in fish guts… agai— Whuh!"

With a noise, a crimson portal opened up before him, and in his surprise he staggered directly into it and out of sight.

There was a moment's silence as the group regarded it, before Jaune casually stepped back in, blinking as he sought Bulma's eye. "Uh… it's for you."

She sighed gratefully. "Sure took those two long enough… Alright! Time to finally get things done! Be right back… ish…"

With that, she stepped through to the dry, burnt waste, immediately disoriented as she took in the desolation.

"Wow…" she breathed, finding the perfect crater in the near distance. "It really is just gone…"

The last time she'd seen the like of such devastation, King Piccolo had wiped out half of Central City. But even that hadn't been so strangely exact, precise. In spite of her limitations, she could tell Frieza was a different beast altogether.

The shadows of the dark hulks cast an eerie pall over the ashen grass. Weiss' words from earlier couldn't help but worm their way into her thoughts. This ground felt haunted… Cursed…

"Hey!" Vegeta barked, startling her, and for once not prompting a rebuke. "This was your idea, where do we start?!"

"R-right," she said, considering as she too sought a plan for dismantling what they needed. She took a breath. "Okay, I'm limited in what I can manufacture by myself, so collecting working components and instruments could speed me up in the meantime. Any surviving electronics, sensors, power and networking cables…"

Raven hummed. "Yeah, I got it. Know exactly what to look for. Promised Schnee we wouldn't disturb the bodies, so I'd search the fighters… The ones without bodies anyway… And knowing the Grimm, that's likely to be most of them. The Mantas are packed full of tech."

"This might tickle ya' too!" Krillin called from the air, touching down suddenly, heavily as he hefted a great cylindrical burden and grunted as he set it down, roughly the size of a pickup truck.

"What is that, a jet engine?" Bulma demanded before inspecting more thoroughly, staring down its black mouth to the intricate depths.

"Dunno for sure, but it's in pretty good shape."

Raven gawked as she checked. "Brothers' sake, it's a Gungnir Lance…"

Bulma lightly tapped her head on the inner lip of the tube as she tried stand up, wincing as she drew back to hum in question. "You sound impressed."

Raven shook her head. "I'd have sacrificed a fair few men to get the Tribe's hands on one of these… It's the main guns of the Theia Class. Jealously guarded Atlas tech, they won't let anyone access them. Strong enough to down one of their own with ease, as the ships at Beacon could attest, if I've heard correctly…"

Bulma shined a tiny flashlight into the gun. "What is this? It almost looks like a shaped charge or something, but it's a gun?"

Raven smiled. "Atlas would like people to think it's some kind of laser or plasma cannon, but from what people have sussed out, it's a stream of molten tungsten fired at extreme speeds. Gun's attached to the midship grav-nacelles, which probably provide the force."

Bulma's eyes widened, backing off. "Won't be molten long with that high melting point, flying through the air… You'd basically have a spear of a hot, super heavy metal running through like a freight train."

Raven shook her head, sighing. "People would give up their semblances to get their hands on one of these… Well not mine, specifically… So of course one falls into my lap when—"

"When you've learned what real power is?" Vegeta laughed. "Boys and their toys… As useful as a screen door on a starship."

She grimaced. "Don't mistake me, Prince… I don't put half as much stock in tech and numbers as that technophilic, pompous James Ironwood. I've always known real strength is about your own two hands… But tools have their uses."

Bulma looked the Lance up and down again. "I can still probably do something with it… Okay, you and I scrounge up what we can out here. You two with your 'real strength' and 'two hands' can gather the large debris, for raw materials. Like this big guy…"

She noted a huge, rusted spoke nearby, the length of the hull itself, segmented in the middle and bent in a few places from impact. If one might have guessed, it seemed to be one of the craft's many tail stabilizers.

"Course… the fire really oxidized the heck outta this stuff. Might take ages to get off—"

Vegeta rolled his eyes, planting a palm firmly against the spire before a burst of force rippled out from him as it rang like an enormous bell. In a pulse running its whole length, the dull, rusty looking debris clinging to the steel shook off in an ashen cascade. The bare metal beneath gleamed with a sudden luster.

"Or like half a second," Bulma whispered in surprise.

Krillin turned to the Saiyan. "When'd you learn to do that?"

"A Saiyan never assumes his limitations… His rage crashes over them." Vegeta answered vaguely.

Raven smiled. "He's never done that before in his life…"

They picked through the heaps, gradually forming and sorting piles of material. The stabilizing fins proved to be the true, raw prize, accounting for a great deal of the ships' total mass with no sections that risked disturbing any bodies that might lurk in the habitable sections.

Raven's familiarity with the endeavor led her to harvesting raw gravity Dust from the nacelles and strategic nodules of the Manta craft littered everywhere. She carved off a nacelle's outer shell, exposing the glimmering purple crystal within to be brought with the others, which floated above the ground at roughly the level as she gently shoved it their way. It clacked into one of its fellows, spinning slightly before coming to a stop.

"This is what you need for this gravity chamber, right?" she asked, as Bulma took the opportunity to clip and spool some exposed wiring.

Bulma gave the crystal —and the forming field of similar ones— a thoughtful look. "It's different from the gravitron unit we'd have made back at Capsule Corp, but I should be able to jigger something together…"

"Good, so I'm not wasting my time…"

Bulma shook her head as she looked at the field of totalled airships with fresh eyes. "Honestly, the way Dust solves so many problems for you guys, it's kind of a surprise just how… basic this tech is in certain ways."

Raven sighed, slicing up another nacelle. "I'll bite… how so?"

"Well, this stuff naturally maintains elevation, naturally dampens all motion when a force isn't actively employed upon it… You could make an airship out of a timber raft, a propeller, and an old boat motor! These ships are basically just glorified blimps without the bulk! The Dust handles all the hard antigravity stuff…"

"Sounding a mite bitter there…"

"Kinda, yeah!" Bulma grumped, crossing her arms. "We didn't have some magic crystals that defy gravity! We had to do it the hard way, with repulsors generating masses of fermions! Which are knots of space-time, by the way..."

Raven didn't even try to understand that. "You're right, we just had to deal with a being of Darkness spewing its lesser minions at mankind to the point of extinction…"

"Actually…" The ground shook as Krillin grunted, setting down another fin. "We kinda had that too… King Piccolo! He coughed up a bunch of his own little terrors too. No joke either, one of 'em killed me!"

Raven frowned. "Right… the voice speaking through your Kai last night, he mentioned something to that effect… I suppose you wouldn't need such terrific power if your foes were common vermin. So how does the other half NOT live?"

"Kienzan!" Krillin cried, slicing the few clinging fins from the wreck with a single motion as the golden saw angled to snip them off like a fine blade through paper. The fins shook the ground as they landed, rolling into each other on the charred ground.

He then turned at the question, processing.

"...Say what now…?"

Raven's voice died in her throat. "What was being DEAD like?" she rephrased.

"Couldn't tell ya'," he answered casually. "Anyone killed by Piccolo didn't really move on, and his little hellions counted too. S'pposedly I wound up in Limbo for all that, and I don't remember any of it. Not totally clear why, something about Piccolo being the Earth Guardian's dark half… Guardians don't kill the innocent, and he's technically still part of Kami, so somethin' weird happened… That's all I got from Korin anyway… You want more details, ask Goku."

"Well that's miserable," Raven droned. "What good is resurrection if you don't return with some experience of the other side?"

Krillin shrugged. "I mean… you get to live…"

"Hey, Rave!" Bulma called a distance away, slightly echoing. "Check this out!"

A muscle in the bandit's eye twitched. "That's not my name," she muttered, marching over all the same.

A small trench in the dirt led to another Manta, tipped forward with its cockpit wedged into a mound of fresh churned earth. Bulma was rooting around the vacant pilot's seat.

"What'd you find? A stash of 'illicit inhalants?' "

"Way way better! I think…" With a sudden series of clicks, lights surged from all over the craft, and with a slight whine, there was a vibration that cycled and pulsed until it became a constant thrumming. The dirt burying its nose cascaded down as the Manta lurched, lightly reversing to float mere feet above the ground.

Raven stepped back, blinking in surprise. "The damn thing still works?!"

Bulma parked the ship into a hover and climbed out to stand in the open gunner well. "Well, some systems are damaged, but nothing I can't fix! I think the pilots bailed, and it just skimmed to a stop!"

Raven couldn't help herself, leaping aboard and hurrying to the copilot seat, rifling through readouts.

"Manta callsign 'Five-One,' "

she read. "We have IFF codes for multiple Atlas landing sites… fleet makeup data, positioning… Shit! Crash landings generally prompt a data purge, but the landing must not have triggered it… A mother lode!"

Bulma looked over her shoulder, puzzled. "What good does it do us? These guys aren't exactly the enemy."

Raven sighed, tapping out of the console. "Don't kill the mood, kid. Yes, with a loss like this, Atlas will probably change up their codes to prevent this exact sort of thing. But I didn't make my tribe successful by leaving a major find like this to rot. And with the CCT towers down, updating the whole fleet will be a slower process. They'll be more likely to let an outdated code slide or interrogate on landing than fire on sight."

Bulma handled one of the two rail-guided, ceiling mounted guns idly, testing its bounds. "Well no matter what, transportation like this'll mean a lot for those of us who can't just take off like superheroes."

After this the salvage effort yielded no further surprises. The light of Vegeta's power ball dimmed as Bulma assembled Manta 5-1 and the raw metals into dynocaps, using an adhesive to sufficiently link the metals so they were warped in. The bowling-ball-sized purple crystals weren't as simple, but regardless they got there in the end.

"I'd better not hear you need a return trip, woman," Vegeta said as Raven swept the crimson portal into being.

Bulma huffed, securing the caps in her pocket case. "You won't be complaining in a few days."

"Okay, that does it for the food… hope it's enough. Now the list."

A mundane scene, as Oscar and Taiyang carted down the shabby market, "Salt's Mill" and entered the toiletries section.

"I think we dodged a bullet that nobody has any real food allergies…" Oscar noted. "None anyone knows they have anyway…" He flipped out the anonymous list from the night before, and only a cursory glance made his voice catch as his face pinkened. "B-boy… there's a fair few lady products listed…"

Tai chuckled. "Skip 'em for now, I'm used to it, I'll grab them after this. What else?"

"Uh… Shaving kit and bald head polish… Safe guess who that is," Oscar said with a smile. "Strawberry chapstick and deodorant… women's lotus-scented deodorant… Apple-scented bathroom spray… C-cigarettes…?"

Tai stopped in his tracks, gently snatched the list and peered at the words and handwriting with a flare of his nostrils. Satisfied, he handed the list back. "Okay, that's not Yang's handwriting… Still not doing it. Keep going."

"Er… catnip…"

Tai snorted, his cross expression melted away. "Different aisle, but okay…"

They traipsed up and down the aisle, piling their treasures into the upper basket of the cart.

"Goody Gothel's Long and Strong Shampoo and Conditioner…"

"That's Yang…"

"FaunPom All-Purpose Pomade…"

"That'll be in the International section, for whatever reason. Not like faunus came from Menagerie."

"Eyedrops… Idunn Golden-Protect Apple-flavored Toothpaste… an oil… drum…?"

Tai stopped again grabbing the corner of the list and getting a better look, reading the scrawl over and over again.

"...Well, they don't sell those here anyway."

Bulma's salvage crew stepped out to find themselves back on the lawn, greeted by the sunset and the smell of smoking fish as they turned to see a roaring, cracklingpyre built on the nearby dirt, a massive fish choked by the log securing it as it cooked.

"Hey guys!" Goku greeted, sitting lotus-style in a ring with the others around the coming meal.

"Bulma!" Blake called, parked beside Sun and Weiss. "Everything good?"

Before any could answer, a door opened on the stair to the cellar, while Ruby, Yang, Gohan and Qrow emerged. They were being notably careful about the placement of their hands.

"Blech! Fish slime…!" Ruby grumbled, racing up to open the kitchen door with the sides of her hands.

"Yea-ah, they're pretty gross!" Gohan laughed, following her as they fled to wash up.

Yang and Qrow managed to recognize the new arrivals though, stopping as they reached ground level.

"Mom…"

"Thought that might be you," Qrow said with a smile. "How was your little field trip?"

Raven hated the look on his face. "A few good finds, a lot to work with… Now it's up to little Miss Tinker here to prove she's not all talk."

Bulma crossed her arms, smirking as she gave a toothy, evil chuckle. "Doubt me while you can, great things are about to happen around here…"

Vegeta grunted, eyeing the fish and sniffing the air. "First of which had better be tonight's meal, or so help me I'm eating the dog…"

Krillin meanwhile gave a sly wave to Yang as he slipped off towards the fire, sitting beside Goku. His priority, however, seemed to be the former heiress.

He noticed Jaune, Ren and Nora huddled on the other side of the fire, and caught the former's eye. "Wow, sure looks comfy here! Especially those two," Krillin said, nodding to the contented Ren with the virtually unconscious Nora settled onto his shoulder.

Jaune smiled. "Either that, or they passed out from smoke inhalation…"

Sun blinked in annoyance, fanning an arm. "I swear that smoke is following me…"

Krillin turned back to Weiss. "Hey, so you know… we were as honest to that site as I think anyone could ask, short a' leaving it alone altogether. I hope that's enough, I know you were… concerned."

Weiss smiled. "Yes… Thank you. Really. I—"

"Hey, whoa, who started the—?!"

Taiyang tore around the corner of the house to the tranquil sight, fists full of shopping bags.

"That's a big fish…"

Goku waved. "Yeah, sorry Tai, not a lot else cooks these things through, so…"

Oscar rounded the corner as well, pushing along a miniature hovering barge full of their afternoon's purchases. "Wow, that smells really good… What do we have that pairs well with smoked catfish? Cilantro lime rice, maybe…?" he muttered, hauling bags into the kitchen. "Could put together some hush puppies…"

Taiyang shook himself back to attention, addressing the Saiyan of Earth. "Okay, next time, ask… and speaking of smoke, who's the joker who put cigarettes on the list? I'm not having that in my house…"

Bulma blanched, but couldn't stop herself from making a noise as she caught his eye. "Sorry Tai, that was me…"

He blinked. "You smoke? You don't seem the…"

"N-no, I'm not!" she insisted. "My Dad is, but it's not a habit, it's just if I'm really stressed, and… Well, look at all this!"

He gave an exasperated laugh. "Okay, Bul', I'm not judging, everyone's got their vices."

"I've only done it like, twice, EVER! I can quit…"

"Hey, just so long as you're not smoking CATNIP…" he projected, calling out again as eyes turned slowly to Blake.

"Oh all of you soak your heads!" she soured. "It's not because I'm a cat! It's not a narcotic for faunus, and it's not smoked, you put it in a tea."

Tai just kept blinking. "And it's for… what…?"

Blake gave a deep sigh. "It's partially a sleep aid… and it's good for… cramps…"

"Oh." Taiyang chewed his cheek as Blake stared into the fire. "That's uh…" His eyes widened as he remembered. "So who wanted the oil drum…?"

Goku's brows lifted. "Oh yeah! It's for a hot bath Chichi put me onto! You just stack it on some bricks and light a fire under it…"

"Mmm," Ren uttered. "Like kamaburo… but really improvised…"

Tai shook his head. "Y'know we have an actual hot spring in the area, so we don't need to jury-rig some kind of—"

"What?!"

"SERIOUSLY?!"

"Oh that sounds so relaxing…" Weiss cooed. "We once rented out this resort in the mountains north of Atlas. Pure glacier melt-water in a volcanic spring… When you got out, you didn't even feel the cold."

Taiyang backed off, hands out as if warding off a pack of wolves. "Hey, we'll visit in due time. Now if anybody could help bring this all inside?"

"No problem!" Bulma cried, leaping to assist, promoting a small surge of activity as others followed in her wake. She paused however, turning to find Ren and Nora as they sat up as well. "Hey, lovebirds!"

Nora winced. "Y-Yeah…?"

There was a jangling as Bulma pulled out a brass key. "This is for your home away from home. It's the only copy, so don't lose it. It's the house on the right. Have fun tonight…!"

Nora just stared at the key as she sped off, pivoting on the spot to find the little dome-shaped house sitting there. Her eyes met Ren's, and turned away, mouth small as her nose pinkened…

Krillin nearly joined the throng, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him as he found his best friend looming.

"Hmm? What's up?"

"Shh…! I need your help with something," Goku told him, walking around the corner of the house as the chirp of crickets reclaimed the dimming sky.

Krillin followed as Goku's face darkened.

"Don't look, but feel out a few hundred yards into the trees," he said, quietly. "We're not alone out here."

Krillin frowned, eyed his peripherals, and closed his eyes. "Yeah… I sense them… Stronger than the kids… Watching us. Can't get a bead on their intentions, it's not an evil power… but it's sure not innocent. How'd they breach the barrier?"

"They were already here when Oz made it," Goku told him. "They can come and go as they like now."

The monk's eyes shot open. "What?! No, we'd have noticed them!"

Goku shook his head. "They've moved in closer, but before I just figured they lived nearby. That's not what Yang told me though, this is something else."

Krillin shook his head, aghast. "Why're we being so hush-hush about this?! Tai oughta' know! They could all be in danger! I say we deal with this here and now…"

Krillin turned towards the woods, but Goku's hand found his shoulder, eyes pleading. "Krillin, wait!"

"For what?! For somebody to get murdered in their sleep?!"

"Please…! You trusted me with Vegeta before… Go confront whoever it is. If they know we're watching, they'll be more careful. Then later, once the kids can handle it… we give them the opening to make their move…"

"For what?! A pop quiz?!"

Goku smiled. "No amount of training will beat tangling with some guy really trying to lay you out."

Krillin rattled his head. "I thought we didn't know what they wanted... You're talking like you're sure it's an assassin."

Goku nodded. "Well, they had the house to themselves all afternoon if they were out to steal something… The Relic is still here, and so are they. I just… get this feeling…"

Krillin turned. "Well, one way or another, it's time to say hello…"

Krillin walked upon the dense bit of wood, pretending not to feel every move the Intruder made as they slipped into the boughs, barely snapping a twig in the dark. He didn't even need to sense power to take in the scene despite the predatory blackness, the bright cottage just visible through the gaps in the trees.

Beneath him was a pitiable sight. The remains of a tiny, long-doused campfire, with sticks and bleached paper for kindling. A tin of tiny rabbit bones sat beside it. A blue tarp was rolled against a tree. 'Roughing it' was one way of describing it…

With this in the forefront of his mind, he noticed something more now that he was closer. The Intruder's power wasn't exactly brimming. They weren't in top form, as one might expect preceding an attack. They were stable, but there was something diminished and pale about it. The air around them was filled with desperation.

"I know you're up there," Krillin called quietly. "I'm not sure who you're looking for, or what you want with them… but this sneaking around isn't gonna get you what you want."

He felt something strange as he waited for an answer, a trailing streak of power as they leapt to another tree in silence, flanking him as the streak remained in place.

The same thing happened as they leapt down, cat-like behind him… It felt like an odd ring of power surrounded him that he simply couldn't see, as if their body was stretching to engulf him. Yet his eyes saw nothing. Strange.

Then they struck.

It went for his back with an odd tinkling, but in a motion their stabbing arm passed under his, and he grabbed their upper arm as he backed into them, tossing them over and in front of him even as they recovered to their feet without missing a step. They pressed the attack. He blocked a swipe, dodged a jab, but on the second he caught their wrist.

Not a panic, but a pause as they realized he wouldn't let go. The weapon was tossed to the other hand, but the monk intercepted that, seizing both wrists as he forced them closer. They struggled all the more as the weapon clattered to the earth, and before more could happen his chestnut dome had collided with theirs.

He released them as they swooned, stumbling back in unspoken pain until they tripped onto their back.

"Sorry… but you asked for it," he told them, as those eyes labored to glare back. "Most people don't like when you try to stab them. I'm gonna leave you here with a warning… Come clean, back off, or get lost. If you plan to hurt someone here, you're not getting very far…"

He could sense their frustration, but as he left the squalid camp, he knew he was being watched… but not followed. He found Goku, smiling strangely.

"Well that seemed to go okay," the Saiyan surmised.

"I dunno their deal, but it doesn't seem like a professional hit. Actually, I mighta' just spooked 'em… not very chatty. Definitely dangerous though."

"We'll keep an eye out."

"Hey GUYS!" Bulma called, head out the door. "Quit fooling around and get that fish in here! Spread's nearly all together!"

"Ooooooh!" Goku squealed, hopping foot to foot. "Gonna be the first real supper I've had since I left Earth! Come on!"

He took aim at the pyre, spread his arms and let out a single mighty clap, and like a tiny hurricane the flame bent and vanished in a puff, leaving only coals as he hefted the steaming fish onto his shoulder.

"Hey wait!" A voice called from the window above. "YEET-us the SHEET-us!"

As the two friends watched, a bundled-up red sheet opened like a parachute, fit to smother the smoldering pyre as it landed, briefly taking its conical shape before flashing into a puff of flames. Fibers curled into black, ashen oblivion as a second voice —Nora's— gave a cry of shock.

"Wow, REALLY, Ruby?!"

"I do what I say I'll do…"

"Y'know, that's a little insulting!"

Goku and Krillin shared a look as the argument continued above, even as the window was slid shut to contain it. Ultimately, Goku shrugged and made for the kitchen.

"Hold up!" Krillin said, as Goku froze, puzzled. With a quick motion, he tore out a decent steak of fish. "Call it a peace offering…"

Towards the trees, a stump sat in the grass for chopping firewood, but it would serve for this. He sat the steak upon it, staring out towards the spot he could sense their new acquaintance watching.

"No tricks!" he called, before turning to leave.

He'd barely made it ten steps before he felt the air stir, and before he'd even looked back, he knew the steak's new owner had snatched it and gone.

"Heh… Have a good night."

Taiyang handed out piles of plates as the kitchen's bustle only increased in enthusiasm as the rainbow of aromas clouded the air.

"After we build a place for everyone, next order of business is some outdoor tables… For now, it's buffet style, one plate, one bowl, don't get crumbs in the cushions. Chow down!"

There was a certain majesty as the kitchen counter became a buffet line. The kitchen table creaked under the weight of the massive fish as it teetered upon a pizza sheet set on an inverted tea tray —nothing else would fit— as Blake labored to keep her heartbeat under control.

"Dad, this is unreal!" Yang marveled. "I was half convinced you'd come home with a pile of military rations from the surplus store! You really went all out!"

"What, you expected hardtack and gruel?" Taiyang asked, ladling tomato soup. "We've all been through it, and aspiring heroes need their energy. 'Sides, most of it was Oscar's idea, half these recipes are his."

Oscar laughed bashfully as he scooped up some casserole and several dumplings. "My aunt and I tried to make the most of what we grew, so…"

"Here's to Oscar, then!" Bulma cheered, raising a glass as others joined in gratefully, the boy's face only going all the redder for it.

In minutes they had all arranged throughout the first floor noshing contentedly. It didn't take long before Yang had plugged her scroll into the speaker system and a shuffle of music pervaded the house.

'I've got the fever,

and this heat's gonna last all night…'

'Came here for treatment,

but I don't see the end in sight…'

Ruby had already invited Gohan and Weiss to the couch as she fiddled with the TV, the translucent screen flickering on to project overtop its emitter.

Meanwhile, Bulma had dished up and set her eyes on the fish… to find an entirely expected sight.

"Oh no! Come on, that's cheating!"

She loomed over the two Saiyans, both seated at opposite ends of the table, looking each other in the eye like fated rivals as they tore through the fish chunks at a time, pausing only to take a mere step over to the counter to refill their plates and bowls.

"No it's not!" Goku complained like a wounded puppy, pausing to inhale lime rice. "One plate, one bowl!"

"The clown is correct," Vegeta agreed. "We are abiding by the malewife's obnoxious stipulations. This is merely the most efficient course."

" 'Malewif— Are you talking about TAI?!"

The commotion had drawn eyes over to the Saiyans and their sinkhole pace, pausing their own enthusiastic consumption to watch Goku sucking noodles and snatching shrimp with his little wooden utensils by untold dexterity.

"It's like watching both heads of a giant Taijitu fighting to swallow the same school bus," Nora noted. "Hypnotizing…"

"Where'd he get chopsticks?" Sun demanded. "Did he bring his own?"

Jaune made a decision as he stared between the carnage and his own dreg-filled plate, tipping his soup bowl back and shoveling his last few bites before marching back into the kitchen. "I'm getting seconds while I can!"

"Hold up!"

"Me too!"

And like that, it was like a run on the food bank. The feast of plenty was steadily picked clean as the hungry staked their claim, unwilling to let the space warriors' consumption deprive them. As it settled down, the crusted dregs were all that remained in the tins and platters. As Taiyang finished his own meal and set to washing the communal ware, Bulma took notice and shouted to the group.

"Everyone better rinse off their own stuff! Unless we all wanna draw straws and get stuck with the lot of it!"

There was a general mutter of assent… before a flash and combustive searing noise blared in the kitchen. All eyes found Vegeta, whose palm was smoking with a pale grey cloud of vaporized ceramic from the plate he'd been using.

"There… no dirty dishes."

Bulma looked like she might breathe fire. "YOU ARE THE WORST HOUSE GUEST!"

"Is 'royalty' not a concept on Earth?" he jabbed.

"No!" she cracked. "And neither is diplomatic immunity, so quit acting like a jackass! The sixteen-year-old GIRL is more mature than you!"

Ruby blushed, but her eyes also widened in apprehension as the Prince's eyes briefly met her in offense. "Please don't drag me into this…" she whispered hoarsely.

Taiyang nearly found it in him to stand up to the Saiyan Prince… but instead found himself cowed as the bluenette did it for him.

It rapidly turned into a ping-pong match of sniping and cheap shots as the room labored to ignore it, stop it —specifically Taiyang and Krillin— or —in Raven's sole case— merely lean against a wall and offer an amused grin to the world.

The rest just snuck by to rinse and pile their own dishes as the fight reached a feedback loop that ensured neither would concede nor surrender. It mercifully began to wind down as Bulma stalked the Prince outside, reducing it all to a dull roar as Krillin followed to mediate and ensure she didn't cross a line that might get her killed.

Meanwhile, Ruby brought up an app called 'MewTube' on her scroll, casting it to the TV.

" 'Mew… Tube…?' " Gohan asked.

"Yeah, originally made to host cute cat videos, but now it kinda does everything…"

Gohan caught Blake's eye, still noshing next to Sun.

"I have no greater opinions on actual cats, don't worry about it…"

Ruby typed something in as Yang simultaneously groaned and laughed. "Oh no…"

"Oh boy…" Taiyang groaned in like fashion, plopping down on a chair as Bulma stomped back in to do the same on the opposite side of the living room.

"Spoiled ingrate!" she spat, arms crossed. "He took off, of course…"

As the video played, plainly showing the same cabin they were housed within from outdoors with a shaky cameraman, only quiet nature sounds filled the audio.

Bulma's brows rose. "What's this?"

From off-camera, they heard Tai's voice. "Uh… what's my cue? What's happening?"

Qrow watched from an armchair, chuckling. "I remember this…"

"Shhh!" A younger Ruby admonished. "It's the title-card, Dad! We'll add it in post!"

The instant she said this, a static still image popped into existence, an artifact-ridden title emblazoned with the words—

Bulma's lips blew. "Pffffff! 'Guy Hard?!' " she wheezed.

"Oh, yeah!" Jaune said. "The Spruce Willis series! They're action movies."

"I'm sorry," Bulma said, "but 'Guy Hard' sounds like a…"

"Okay, now!" video-Ruby said, before a slightly younger Taiyang slid down the roof slope, flipped forward and landed catlike onto a lawn of thin embedded logs as part of an improvised obstacle course. He wore a hastily applied bald-cap and brandished an orange-capped pellet gun.

There was a pause.

"Dad, say the line!"

"Oh yeah… er… Yippee-Taiyang, Sarge n' Tucker!"

"Is that a catchphrase?" Krillin asked, dumbfounded.

"What is this?" Bulma asked, giggling at the younger Tai's action pose as the real one grimaced and scratched his neck.

"There was this casting call for stunt men in the next sequel, Huntsmen tend to fill the roles. I was trying to quit bounty missions and stuff and just do something safe close to home. Eventually Qrow landed me that opening at Signal. This was our… demo reel..."

"It was Ruby's idea," Yang explained.

Bulma's smile was like the sunrise. "So? Did you land the part?"

Tai smiled back. " 'Don't call us, we'll call you…' "

She shook her head, feigning injustice. "Crime of the century."

They continued to watch, finishing their respective meals and gently winding down as Taiyang's video self ran an action obstacle course befitting his skills, which were considerable in spite of the cornball nature of the production. Ruby's tiny pre-teen form managed to find its way in front of the camera no fewer than six times as she followed the action, and caught a newly teenage Yang in frame almost as frequently, her hair in twin tails… which Yang overtly lamented in the modern world…

Bulma peered at the television's emitter and the fact that she could plainly see the other half of the room through the translucent rectangle, spoiling the image quality. She frowned.

"Y'know every screen I've seen on Remnant is some kind of projection or screened against glass like scrolls… Even against a black background, it makes it pretty hard to see."

Blake sniffed with a knowing smile. "More lessons on Earth technology?"

Sun nodded. "How it's been as long as I've remembered."

Bulma leaned her chin on her palm. "Dust tech again?"

Weiss nodded. "Consumer-grade hard-light Dust projectors. What do you use?"

"We have physical screens with arrays of bright dots. LCD— er, I mean… Liquid Crystal Displays, Light-Emitting Diodes… The first ones we invented were just Cathode-Ray Tubes."

"Liquid crystal… like we put in cars?"

"The hell is a cathode?"

"Jeez, Mad-Bul'," Yang laughed. "You gotta stop flexing Earth on us…"

"Hey, don't worry about it guys," Goku told them, "I don't understand it either."

Yang scoffed. "No offense, Gok', that's not that reassuring."

Weiss huffed. "Honestly, Yang, it's two-syllables, you don't need to shorten it…"

Bulma considered. " 'Mad Bul' I could get behind… Like, because of that crap with Vegeta?"

"Well, you do get pretty loud," Yang admitted, "but also 'cause you're crazy tech-savvy, like a mad scientist…'

Eventually the tv was switched off in favor of music again, and at last Ruby let off a leading statement about Gohan's new fashion-forward gauntlets. The conversation successfully steered, the few yet to meet Savant properly got a demonstration.

Krillin nodded appreciatively. "Never been much for weapons myself. Can't really be gentle with a blade. Doesn't look like a problem for you though…"

'Be as free, as you can be…

A childlike love of fantasy…'

Goku gazed with curious intensity. "Huh… I mean, I liked my Power Pole, but that's back where it belongs at Korin Tower."

There were a number of snickers around the room, to which Weiss balked. "My mind went to actual electricity poles… Yours are firmly in the gutter."

Confused, Goku tried to help. "Oh no no, it's this little red stick that grows longer when I—"

Nora stood up. "Oh my GOD-UH! He's doing this on purpose, no WAY! No way!"

Goku appeared all the more nervous and baffled, while Bulma and Krillin looked at each other, pink-faced.

"Wow…" Bulma uttered. "Actually, when you put it like that…"

Krillin nodded. "I remember that old staff, but I'd never…"

Bulma caught Ruby's eye, one of the few souls in the room who were as lost as Goku. "S-so, Ruby! YOU designed and built Savant?"

"Huh? Yeah, sure."

"That's some keen work… The tech you used for the parts, I can't access that tonight, can I?"

Taiyang stepped forward. "It might be B&E if you just went there yourself in the dead of night. Night Watch might just tackle you. I'll come with."

The red in her face didn't fade. "U-uh… yeah! Sure… You think the equipment could be modified for alumina ceramic sintering?"

He blinked. "I mean, as long as it melts under twenty-five-hundred centigrade, shouldn't need to…"

"Perfect! I'll raid my drawers, it shouldn't take much. I'll be right back!"

She hurried out the door, Goku locking eyes with Krillin. Attention gained, the Saiyan frowned, staring back out the window toward those same trees. He gave a significant glance towards the door Bulma left through. The meaning was clear: make sure our new friend isn't stalking them.

Krillin nodded back.

Nora couldn't help yawning. "After all that… I'm eager to hit the hay…"

Yang snorted. "I'll bet."

It took Nora a moment to decipher her snark, snapping awake again as the keys to the capsule house outside felt suddenly heavy in her pocket. For once in her life… she said nothing, feeling Ren's eyes burning into her.

Goku nodded, cheerful demeanor returning. "Yeah, that's a good idea! Everyone, today's been good, but first thing in the morning, the real work begins!"

The members of Team RWBY looked to each other with a mix of nerves and enthusiasm. Raven gave the slightest smile, cracking her knuckles at the prospect.

"Rest up," Goku ordered. " 'Cause mark my words… this'll be the hardest training you've ever experienced."

The remark weighed heavy on the room. Krillin nodded. "He's not kidding. You don't break limits by doing the same old things. I wasn't prepared when Roshi threw it all at us… I hope you'll be."

Ren and Nora approached the dome-shaped house with distinct apprehension, barely glancing at each other. The door felt a thousand miles away, and so when they found it right in front of them, it felt truly surreal.

"Welp… let's check it out, huh?"

She used the key, letting the door open inward as she searched for a switch. She found it, and the sparse, but sufficient interior shined alive.

"Whoa…!"

"It's…"

"Small…"

"But… efficient."

Indeed, what they saw was what they got, which was effectively a studio apartment. It was furnished, for what it was, with a full bath taking up one quadrant and a tiny kitchen taking up another. The rounded surfaces and the cute, space-age style of everything gave off a distinctly un-Remnant vibe.

But what grabbed both of their eyes was across from the door, cut into the wall in a nook under a porthole window. A side-fit queen bed.

Their eyes met bashfully, but Ren made to step in before she stopped him.

"Hold it… Stay there a sec," she ordered, stepping in herself to close the door.

Ren waited, red, uncertain… until he faintly made out her voice on the other side.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…!"

He blinked in the moonlight before the light from inside streamed out past the threshold and onto the grass. She stood there and asked with as much innocence as she could muster. "Did'ja hear anything…?"

"Oh…! K-kinda, not much. Were you shouting?"

She sighed with relief. "Okay, soundproofing's pretty good… Even less to worry about."

She pulled an about-face, beckoning him inside as his eyes widened with understanding. She shut the door behind him, finding the lock and engaging it. There was a certain feel in the air, which only solidified as she found the window blinds and drew them. The space was entirely isolated, just the two of them… not to emerge until morning.

Ren seemed to freeze as she took the steps over to the bed and sat down, bouncing on it a few times with the barest creak. "Hmm… cozy! So uh…"

She leaned over, feet dangling, fingers folded as her elbows touched her knees.

He made a croaking sound. "N-Nora… If you're tired, or… we don't have to…"

"Oh! I mean, I was about to say the same," she laughed fakely. "But I… I…"

She seemed to collapse, head flopping forward as she relented. "What everyone said is true, isn't it? It's too fast, I came on too strong, just barreled ahead because I was scared! And STUPID! And… and…!"

Whatever force had frozen the young man thawed him in an instant as he tore over, hand on her shoulder as he saw her verging into tears.

"What?! Nora, don't ever say that about yourself…!" he insisted firmly, as she refused to look at him. "It is fast, but…" A thought occurred to him. "Nora… when did you start to…?"

Nora snorted, sniffing. "I don't really know. It's weird… I always saw you like the brother I never had… Which probably says all kinds of interesting things about me, right? And yet… as we got older, I recognized the way you made me feel every day. I realized I loved you… But that feeling was always there before, even if I don't know what it was."

He didn't say anything. He analyzed her words over and over, entranced.

She swiped a palm over her eye. "I feel like… I shoved you into all of this. After I realized how I felt, I was terrified… I didn't think you'd feel the same, and if I told you… I might lose you forever! I might ruin something I can't live without, because I was selfish!"

He took her hand, squeezing it gently in comfort as she gathered her thoughts.

"But when… When Frieza was on the attack, we got separated…" She blinked, a pair of fresh tears rolling down her face. "And for the first time, I was afraid I'd lose you anyway! That I'd die without telling you… That you'd die not knowing… And when I found you, I couldn't let another second go by without you knowing how I feel inside!"

He fought to find the words, but failed, frustration mounting.

"But I think even worse would be this…" she told him. "Would be telling you, loving you, feeling everything I ever hoped for… and just chasing you away!"

"That's NEVER going to happen!" Ren said at last, taking her other hand as the words finally spilled out. "Nora… What you said… I know exactly what you mean."

"W-what…? You mean—?"

"I… I never thought of you this way… I saw you the same way, like a sister. But when you told me, I knew it was right. It was obvious… It was like it was staring into my eyes all along and I'd missed it!"

She sniffed again. "It just feels too good to be true…!"

Frustrated with himself, he forced himself on. "Nora… last night, you didn't force me to do anything. Or this morning… I wanted… I found you…" He regathered his words. "I needed you."

She couldn't help her tears even as she smiled. She turned and found his lips. He pressed back. Her palm found his cheek…

But after a few blissful seconds, she pulled back. "No… I…"

"It's okay, we don't—"

"Lie, it's not… I want to… God, I want to…" She turned away, flopping back onto the bed. "You make me so happy… I don't think I've ever been this happy…"

He waited. "But?"

"But how is it fair?!" she said at last. "That's the other thing! How can I feel this good after so many people have died?! Mistral… Ruby was so broken by it… Sun lost his friends, and Frieza is making life Hell in Vacuo! Weiss lost her own sister… Pyrrha…"

His hand found her forehead, lightly running through her hair. "Pyrrha… Do you think she'd want us to live in misery…?"

"I… No… She was never like that."

He nodded. "Dark times… I think, if you can find happiness, you should embrace it, not snuff it out. It reminds us why we're fighting… A future worth fighting for."

She laughed breathlessly. "I knew I loved you for more than being beautiful…"

Her hand ran up his arm, and she tugged his sleeve as he twisted to loom over her. They kissed again, his hands awkward as one supported him and the other rubbed her shoulder. She kissed his neck, breathing in even as she shook.

"Y-you smell good…"

He winced with the sensation. "Th-thank you…? You're trembling, are you…?"

"I-I dunno why I'm still nervous," she giggled.

He paused, even as she fiddled with his overshirt. "So the… You got a shot, and…"

"Y-yeah."

"So, what can we…?"

She undid his clasps. "Well, it lasts six months, k-keeps anything from growing… so… Pretty much whatever we want, no consequences."

He swallowed, shrugging his shirt off even as she tugged on the black undershirt. "Whatever we…?"

"What do YOU want, Lie Ren?" she whispered, pausing and pink as she took his hand, guiding it up over her belly to cup—

She gasped as he finally unfroze, squeezing before he helped shrug her jacket off… then her white top. She slid back as she worked off her tall boots. All the while they kissed the softer spots on each other as they were exposed.

Finally they worked on each other's belts, flushed in the face as their clothes formed a pile, like the dregs and wrappings of a cocoon after a fabulous metamorphosis. His pants fell, and she leaned back, lifting her hips as he tugged her pink skirt off her legs.

All that remained were their underthings, and the hesitation on boths sides was evident.

"I…" she began, airily. "I don't want anything between us this time, but…"

He nodded, sucking his lips as he felt distinctly odd about looking at her body in this state. "You're not ready to be seen…"

"Is that childish?" she asked, hands over her face, peering between her fingers as she giggled with nerves.

He looked over to the door. "I might have an idea."

He walked a few feet, finding the light switch…

The room was plunged into darkness, only the barest moonlight peeking through the blinds. She laughed musically.

"That's perfect…!" she told him, ears keen as she heard his footsteps approach… then the creak and rock of the bed as she felt his warmth radiating in the dark. She leaned…

*'KONK'*

"AH!"

"Owwww…!" Nora whined. "Was that your teeth in my head?!"

"S-sorry!"

"It's fine… Lemme come to you," she said, reaching a hand out to find his chin, palming his cheek and guiding them together again.

The air filled with the sound of their breaths, the gentle hiss of skin sliding over skin, the creak of the bed as they adjusted and the chirp of lips separating.

"Mmm…! You… oh…" She began, leaning back, tingling as his lips and breath traced around her ear. "You wanna take off…?"

"Y-yeah, I'll—"

"Wait."

"Hmm?"

"We'll do each other's… 'Cept my… You're a guy, you don't know how these…"

Without elaborating, she fumbled with something as she grunted, and then gave a relieved sigh as something light flopped into his lap and then onto the floor.

"That's better…" she sighed. "You wouldn't know how much bras can suck…"

She took a deep breath. "Okay, so… you first…"

There was a rustling as Ren yelped, and creaking as his knees traveled the mattress.

"Th-there we go…" she stammered. "Me now…"

More creaking and rustling as she shifted, and his trembling hands reached in the dark. He was careful, cautious. Here was sacred ground...

"C-come on," she giggled, "it's easy…"

Still, she cooed as she was freed, the last article joining the others.

"Mmm…" she sighed, sprawling out. "I could get used to sleeping like this… Feels so good the skin can just breathe…"

Ren sat, unsure. "So… do we just…"

"Shhhhh…" she hushed, crawling closer. "Not yet… No rush, right? Right now… I just want to touch you… okay?"

He swallowed, nodding… only to realize how pointless that was. "Sure…"

There was the slightest hesitation… but her hands found his chest.

He sighed as she began to map him. God he was firm. She'd hugged him enough to basically know that, but this was altogether different. He was stoic as she went, only the slightest sounds interrupting as she traced him. Intimate though it was, it didn't really get to him until…"

"Oh!" she cried, slightly surprised. "Th-there you are… I uh… You really are looking forward to this, huh?"

He choked back a laugh, the spasm surprising her.

"This… this is okay, right?" she asked.

"Mm-hmm…!" he groaned.

"Feels… different than I was expecting…"

"But you… a-already—"

"W-well yeah, but not with my hands, dork…!" she giggled. "It's springy…! And down…"

"Agh!"

"Oh! I'm sorry, I was just… They're that sensitive?"

"I-I'd just rather you didn't…"

She continued on, the room temperature rising from their faces alone. But ultimately, she backed off.

"O-okay. Guess it's your turn…"

"I…" He leaned forward, shaking. "Um… Is there anywhere you don't want me to…?"

She laughed airily. "Let's start with, 'don't stick a finger up my nose,' and work from there."

"So… anything?"

"...Anything."

"I… uh…"

"Take your time."

They were quiet as he steeled himself. He took a breath…

She gasped quietly, head rolling. "O-of course you already know 'the girls…' " She squealed happily as his other hand joined in, kneading.

"Again, f-feel free to… take your… ti-i-ime…"

"Yeah…"

She basked in the attention, his razor sharp focus.

"R-Ren…?"

"Mmm?"

"I-if you venture… south… I uh…" She tried to gather her thoughts as his hands disrupted them again and again. "I d-didn't really have… mmm… a-anything on hand to… or the time…"

"What are you saying?" he asked, politely lost.

"I'm s-s-saying… It might be more… natural than you're hoping…"

"Huh?"

"Y-y'know… less tile more carpet… Weiss hasn't set fire to this forest yet…"

He could feel the heat radiating from her face as she said it, and his mind cycled and cycled until…

"Oh… OH…! I don't care about that…"

"...You don't?"

"I mean, for one thing it would be hypocritical…"

She snorted, laughing off the tension… for the moment anyway. "I-I mean, it's different for guys though! Girls don't expect you to…"

"I didn't expect anything."

She pecked him on the lips. "Yep… still a sweetheart… Man, I know I said 'take your time,' but you really are beating around the— aaaaand I'm not gonna finish that expression!" she said, catching herself.

He stopped. "So…"

She felt him change tact, the sliding sounded in the dark.

"Ooh…! You're flanking me… That's quite the strategy, General Re-HEH-HEH AHAHAHAHA…!"

Suddenly she squirmed, tensing as she fell forward into him and away from his hands, shuddering as she laughed, arms hanging off his shoulders.

"W-what?!"

"I-i-it TICKLES…! Hehahaha!"

"Your…"

"My BUTT tickles…! What the heck!"

"Did you not know about this?"

"Well I'm the only one who's ever touched it! I dunno!"

"Should I… stop?"

"J-just… not so slidey…"

She chuckled as he amended his efforts, and in time her giggling was intermixed with grateful groans. "That's more like it… That'll… EEK!"

Suddenly she grabbed for his hands pulling them away as she went scarlet in the dark.

"Huh?"

"O-o-okay…! Maybe no fingers up my nose… or THERE… I hadn't really thought of that, that's on me…"

"No… no problem."

"Maybe you could quit playing Foosball with the other kids and open your presents already…"

This time he laughed, understanding. She backed off of him, but kept his hand in hers as she placed it—

"I think… I think you can find your way from there…"

The next moments were quiet, save for her ragged breathing, hitching, her tiny mewls…

"Y-you're really…"

"Uh… huh…" she puffed. "Y-your fault… nnn… You can…"

She shadowed his hand with her own, gasping as it went right. "H-here…" Her breaths quickened as she shook. "And… back…"

She quailed and groaned with what came next, falling onto her back. He carried on wordlessly, taking cue from her voice alone.

"You can…" she wheezed out, "...another…!"

It took him a moment to understand, but the feral groan from her throat as he acted was his reward for solving it. And though his arm grew sore, he did not complain, did not relent. Not until her hands found it and gripped him firmly.

"Hmm?"

"Lie… I need you…"

Every bit of playfulness or snark was gone from her voice. All that remained was an airy adoration, a yearning. She hadn't said 'need' flippantly… it sounded as though she'd drown under the weight of it, and he was the only hope in the world.

Even in the dark, she felt his heat as the springs creaked, saw his shape loom black before her. Her hands slipped around his back. His body pressed down ever so gently. It rarely came into play, just how small she was compared to him, but her head rested in the crook of his neck… and she felt ensconced, enveloped by him as both his hands supported her head, elbows on either side. She felt so safe…

It was plain that he needed no guidance… and she felt him hover there.

"...Nora?"

Trembling, she said nothing at all, only nodding as her face rubbed against his neck and under his jaw.

It was enough.

He tensed all around her, and she held tight to him even as the boring began, air forced from her in spurts. It was like her very lungs were displaced by…

She groaned, winced, tried breathing through her nose. Damn…! The alcohol must have numbed her last night… It had been overwhelming, but she hadn't recalled it being painful… She couldn't admit it, he'd just stop… Come on…! Almost…

Finally, his breath puffed over her head to tickle her neck as he let it out. She shook as she released hers as well. He kissed her forehead. She found his lips as she turned up.

"Are you okay?"

She laughed, trying to ignore the constant intensity running through her. "Uh huh… Yeesh, you treat me like I'm made of glass… Still… I'm kinda down for that…"

He cradled her as all turned to movement, the springs squeaking quietly with every twitch of it. It felt impossible to get used to, even as she relaxed and the pain receded… but she wasn't sure she wanted to be used to it. The intensity would be a shame to lose…

She rarely felt like this, like a leaf riding out the storm, every hit a lightning strike —she'd made the comparison— vulnerable and entrusted to his mercy. His bare skin was so hot against her own… All passage of time was meaningless, obliterated.

She couldn't help almost breaking emotionally. It was no secret that Ren was quiet, rarely speaking unless prompted, or it was important. But here… it was incredible, heartbreaking… It was like everything he felt about her was conveyed through his touch, his movement… She'd heard the phrase "poetry in motion," but the love she felt in every twitch was like a painting, a sonnet… and only she would ever experience it. Nothing he could say would ever tell her more than how he was making her feel here and now.

It struck her how quiet it all was. For what it did to her nerves, there was only the barest patter of her thighs under their gasping, groaning voices reacting to it all. As they steadied, it snuck up on her… towering, a flame in her belly. She barely noticed her own voice crying out, again and again as if from somebody else's mouth, as a starry white-out obliterated her vision, head swimming in oxytocin and dopamine as her blood pounded through her.

The rest of it was a blur, a fog of bliss. She didn't know how long the gap was as she melted into him, but she was rocked into lucidity as his own chest heaved, and his heartbeat slammed… decidedly not anywhere near his actual heart.

It was all a wash and haze of heat and cool, inside and out. There were no words. Even forming words was too much to imagine as he held her all the closer. She'd never felt so close to anyone… and really, how much closer could you get?

But as the spell faded, she couldn't help but thirst again… In all of this, his blood was still hot.

"On… your back…" she ordered.

Steeling herself, he croaked in surprise as she rolled them to tumble, forcing him beneath her. She leaned back, upright.

"I'm not done with you yet…"

The Sun had nearly set in Vacuo, the burning heat relenting even if Ginyu had not. Hazel was doubled over. Tyrian was unconscious again, having tired of her hazing. Cinder alone was upright.

"Stubborn broad," Ginyu whispered. "Damn it, this is looking bleak for me too, y'know?! If you're the prime-cut around here, how am I supposed to make anything from the rest of the ground beef?! Lord Frieza needs real men! What am I missing here…? What do these human dreglings draw power from? I didn't do much different…"

She pondered, tracing back everything she knew about humans and their powers. Something had to reach them…

Then, an old, unpleasant memory surfaced. That damn Saiyan who stuck him in that frog… What had he said about using his power?

She grunted. "Err… maybe… Hey, Cupcakes! Listen-up!"

She looked around as they barely acknowledged her, all stumbling with exhaustion.

"Your power might only heed your call, when your mind, body and spirit are as ONE!"

There was silence.

"Is that it?" Mercury demanded. "What, you gonna read us a fortune cookie next?! This is a waste of time!"

"Piss off, worm!" Ginyu warned. "Or maybe I beat it into you again!"

Emerald paused. "I dunno, Merc, maybe take it seriously and—"

"This harlequin barely knows what she's doing!" he argued. "Face it, we're flying blind… You heard her, she was always able to do this stuff. Didn't know it could be taught at all. Might as well be off doing this on our own!"

"Maybe you're just a slow-learner," Ginyu growled, stalking towards him.

But Mercury didn't flinch, taking a step closer. "You don't scare me! You think this is anything new to me? My dear old Dad beat my lessons into me too."

Emerald watched in distress, all the while chanting to herself on the inside… the self same mantra. At the same instant Cinder's hatred burned as her Tearsign smoldered. She hadn't taken her eyes off of Ginyu, hadn't even really heard what she said. She was just so sick of her stupid god damn VOICE...

Ginyu, despite her size, seemed to loom over Mercury Black, face colder and more dangerous than she'd ever shown them before. "I'm not your Father, rat… but after I'm done, you might even scream for him…"

The last few steps Ginyu took were frightening and sudden, and in Emerald's shock and fear, she shrieked his name.

At that same instant, a jade pulse projected from her body in a cone, cracking the earth and bidding the Winter Maiden to turn before being blasted entirely off of her feet to tumble into a retaining wall, which itself broke. Ginyu was half buried as the dirt behind the wall poured out. She blinked, unfazed by the attack but unprepared for its force.

All eyes were on Emerald, who looked herself up and down in shock, ultimately eyeing the place where the Grimm parasite had burrowed—

"AAAAAAAUUUUUGH!"

…They should have noticed the seething Cinder, focused and wrathful. She hurled her hands out as a jet of raw, unrelenting power erupted, engulfed the awestruck Ginyu as she shielded herself with her hands.

But while she was safe herself, the energy surged past her,through the dirt, across the city to strike squarely in the distant foothills of a very occupied corner of the valley. As dust plumed and billowed from the spot, it had clearly annihilated a swath a quarter-mile wide. Even as the ground rattled in the aftermath and and alarms around the city sounded, screams of panic feared the rage of their unchosen ruler. Cinder stood to behold it all, gasping down air as sweat poured down her face. The most immaculate smile slithered onto her, hoping and dreaming it wasn't a mere hallucination.

Ginyu stood upright, arms held up in a defensive 'X', teeth bared, staring between the Maiden and her disciple. "Wha… What… Where the hell did THAT come from?!"

There was a sudden, familiar laughter from the Academy's rear pavilion entryway, and the lot of them turned to see Lord Frieza himself, walking close to analyze the damage.

"I must say, I was beginning to have my doubts, dear… Consider them quite assuaged. Good show…"

He stared out at the fresh wound in Vacuo, the smile not leaving his face.

"Ah, merely a residential block, and a slum besides… No great loss to such a find. Still… shall we continue this elsewhere? A newly molted dragonfly must be free to try her wings."

For Chris Ayres, 5/16/1965 to 10/18/2021

Sovereign of the Stars… Ever may he rule...

I never thought I'd have to say anything like this, but… Yes, in case you haven't heard, Chris Ayres, the voice of Frieza in Kai and onward succumbed to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

In an already difficult year on an emotional basis, this was quite the blow. Chris Ayres' performance, which I'd first encountered in "Resurrection F," forced me to take a second look at a character I'd scarcely appreciated. I can say without hesitation that if not for him, Transposition F would never have come to exist.

I thereby dedicate this story to him.

Yes, as I said… a difficult year.

This might be personal, but I feel I must be honest, because bottling these feelings is too much for me. If you'd rather not hear about this feel free to jump to the next line break, because this deals with some heavy topics.

It's now the time of year when another Volume of RWBY would be starting, but rather than dismayed at its necessary delays given the staggered production of Volume 8… I'm relieved I don't have to face it just yet. I'm glad for what feels like a stay of execution.

Full disclosure? My past words about Volume 8's treatment of Penny, and my ability to adapt and cope might have been grossly premature.

In all honesty… the last six-odd months have been a constant trial of pain I've never known. To the point that it confuses me, because not even the death of my best friend years ago, not even grandparents, or even Chris now has caused me such daily sickness. Any time I see Penny's face, any time I encounter her name —I found a JCPenney with a light out in its sign and felt my breathing stop— anything about robots or puppets or stars… my whole mood is ruined for an indeterminate amount of time, and inside I feel like Alex Delarge from "A Clockwork Orange" after the Ludovico treatment, sick and empty.

I'll admit to having what I can safely refer to as suicidal thoughts. It sounds ridiculous, and I don't think I'll go through with it, but… Yeah… not exactly out of the misery, but because a part of my brain concocted a means of saving Penny from the writers. Basically, the last chapter of Volume 8 included a message against suicide, showing they clearly feared their were advocating the act or seriously upsetting fans with what they did. I then learned that real humans taking their lives over fictional characters is rare, rare enough that any legitimate example would garner attention.

A part of me wanted to shame the writers into undoing their mistake by taking my own life in a manner similar to the way Penny was… "treated"… in the series. Putting down a note or vlog, sending it to every outlet while explaining my reasoning, and basically lying prone while releasing a blade on a rope to impale myself. To save face with the media, the writers would not let what I'd done be in vain, especially if it sparked a greater outcry against what they'd tried to do to such a beloved character.

I'm sorry if that's disturbing… I fear this sentiment might worry you, and again, I don't feel I'd actually do it. Transposition F, among other blessings in my life, is too important, too necessary for me to express. I MUST tell this story, and leaving it unfinished would be unacceptable.

But I'm at a very strange, desperate place in my life right now, especially where RWBY is concerned. But rest assured, even if I could no longer bear to watch the canon series, RWBY itself is an idea that transcends its canon. It's too special to me, and I'll never turn against it or its characters.

I'd like, dear reader, that you should be kind regarding this. I do not choose to feel this way, and I feel for something so frivolous —compared to people truly suffering— like I'm diminishing what they go through. Yet I know that gatekeeping depression is more than a little ridiculous… Pain is pain.

More than anything, if you can voice your own understanding or hopes, it would mean more to me than I can say.

A/N: Happy belated birthday, Ruby Rose. I really did TRY for a Halloween release, but given how long I've worked on this chapter, even coming THIS close is probably fortune in itself.

It's an extra-strength dose today, friends, at forty-thousand words it's nearly double my longer chapters. I'd considered trimming it, but frankly I didn't want you folks to wait multiple errand-focused chapters to reach the training arc. Here, we get all this out of the way so that next time the magic can really happen. If I split it, I feel I'd be punishing you with a gap instead of rewarding your patience with a rush of content.

Firstly, given it's bound to be fresh in your minds, let's address two things:

Emerald and Cinder. No. Ginyu might have stumbled onto a means of more proper training —recalling what Goku said in explaining why Ginyu could barely use his power— but the Rogue Maiden and her disciple have not solely accessed their abilities the way the Vacuo Uplifts will need to. They are HUGELY being helped by the sheer volume of power the parasites are soaking in from Frieza's presence, to the point that outbursts may trigger it. In time they will remember the feelings and more properly command this power… but they'll be improperly trained compared to masters like Goku with more perfect control and efficiency. That's all, I just didn't want to even VAGUELY suggest that a few platitudes had allowed Emerald and Cinder to suddenly access a power unknown to their world for eons.

The other elephant in the room… Yes, Renora again.

You might have noticed the rating of the story is upped to "M," and this is largely to cover my bases. I still firmly believe the content to be PG13 grade, but I worry some might disagree. I am not upscaling the content with the headroom this rating gives me; you're still not getting F-bombs, outright explicit content.

I forgot if I warned about this scene last time, but the love scene at the end is the most time I plan to ever dedicate towards the sexual exploits of any character in this story, and these scenes are not designed for the sake of titillation. That's not to say what's to come in snippets won't progress beyond the very vanilla stuff they've done to date, but it's not here to "satisfy" readers in "that" way, and the strategic lack of detail on my part would make it impressive if this was enough to serve as an alternative to adult entertainment. You'd have to be pretty desperate.

Well, why include it at all then?

Good question, voice in my head!

It was actually suggested to me to pack scenes like this into a side-story, but not only do I feel that's an admission of guilt… but again, these scenes aren't gratifying enough to serve THAT purpose. I'd have to be particularly explicit for it even to be worth bothering with, and that feels truly sleezy to me.

No, the reason I bother… is because I find I'm insulting your intelligence to pretend a bunch of subjective "tens," teenagers, in top physical shape in the prime of their lives, would restrict themselves to mouth-kisses and hand-holding. This feels real to me, like what the characters would actually do.

The other reason is… there's something harder to quantify about this sort of thing, but I actually feel like there's a certain cute, awkward wholesomeness you can ONLY find in this context. Yes, it's a balance to be struck, but sex can be wholesome, and I stand by that.

Having said that, if it's still something you'd just rather not deal with, you can pretty safely skip the scene, and if it had any impact on the plot the next scene will reflect that clearly.

With that out of the way…

So why ELSE did this take a while? Apart from the length I mean… Well, because frankly every few paragraphs I had to stop myself and research to be sure whatever new elements I added weren't pulled from the clear blue sky. It probably shows, but I had to go to special lengths to be as certain as I could that I wasn't making some obvious error or having a character do something overly complicated when the real world had superior solutions. A prime example being Ozpin hiding money accumulated over his past lives when something like a safety deposit box might have worked… which I have Taiyang suggest.

So how much research did I do…?

Alexa? Play "Offenbach's 'Can Can'..."

—No seriously, play along, it's fun—

*Breathes deeply…*

Goku, Gohan and Chichi's history following the tournament with Piccolo… The BART transit loop of San Francisco… Bulma's history with firearms… The chemical composition of gunpowder… Sources of Potassium-nitrate, or "saltpeter"... Treatments for lactose intolerance… The goddess Freja and animals associated with her… Proper design philosophy for cow-catchers… Ocean-related stories and fairytales… The utilization of school dormitories… Famous fairytale physicians… How to name a medical practice… How metal objects are 3d printed… The properties of weapons-grade metals… Crescent Rose's speculated bore… The principle behind railguns and coil guns… Various forms of assets and investments… The writing and redemption of bearer bonds… Charles Dickens' pseudonym… Famous bankers or money lenders of folklore and literature… Characters of Arthurian legend and Shakespeare's writings… The process of handling and collecting inheritance from a legal will… Famous fairytale tailors… Potential weak points of scorpions… Whether Goku had ever spoken to the others about hiding his transformation… The properties of acetone… Bulk foods… The benefits of cleaning fish… The effects of oxidation on metals… The final battle of King Piccolo… Arthur C. Clarke… Godly weapons of mythology… Science fiction methods of levitation… Appropriate toiletries for every hero with folklore influences… Whether the first television sets were CRT's… Advanced modern materials…

...and probably a bunch of other things I haven't mentioned.

These are gonna be some LONG Author's Notes…

In case the opening joke evaded you, last Chapter Weiss was disturbed enough by Goku's innocent adolescent years to follow up with her threat of keeping her blade under her pillow. She feared Zwei was Goku making for her delicates like in Bulma's story. Now that I've explained it, I'm sure it's HILARIOUS right?! That's how humor works…

In the broadest strokes, the bulk of this chapter being a bunch of errands might seem too granular for you. Certainly there were bits I skipped over, but I DID show a LOT of it, and it could be argued that I didn't have to. If I were extra lazy, the day's events could have been summarized in a few paragraphs…

Still, I saw value in establishing the state of the Kingdom of Vale since last we left it and truly earning the characters procuring their various resources and assets to start their crusade against Frieza off on the right foot. I fully recognize that visiting a damn bank and probate court —even if I skipped it for how similar it would have been to the former— is serious snore material, but I don't feel they were that distracting, and fit the relaxed pace of the chapter. And with this stuff established, the narrative can effectively fast-travel if characters need to return.

Getting a better idea of Patch itself also felt worthwhile, establishing old community friends of the XL house, finally setting eyes on Signal Academy, and getting a feel for the place Ruby and Yang grew up.

Backing up a bit, our first significant event is the fallout of Ren and Nora's inaugural romantic activities. First, with each other. The influence of drink gone, they come to terms with such a bold start and how they wish to act from here on.

Second… with everyone else, after poor Ruby is scarred to witness her two friends in a manner she never wanted to. I must say, Nora's deadpan of "Oh my god, we're idiots," is one of the better comedic lines I've ever written, speaking only for myself.

Then begins a long, awkward discussion that ultimately leaves the whole crew to weigh in on it.

I feel a LOT better about how Renora turned out here than my initial ideas, which in hindsight would have been pretty toxic and disrespectful.

See, I wanted a running gag of Ruby uniquely being miffed and uncomfortable with their relationship… because she'd keep running into them sneaking off to hook up in some secluded corner. Yang would have teased her for it… until catching them using her bike as a "surface," resulting in a "this means war" turn for her.

Qrow citing that scenario as a consequence of repressing Ren and Nora's needs —and Yang's threat at the idea— are all that remain of that. Ultimately, I thought this made them toxic. Sneaking around your friend's house to have sex, disrespecting her home… I mean, Ren says it all in the canon scene. I toned them down a great deal to feel more caught up in the moment, cutting their deal with Tai so that the only annoyance they might cause the others is from potentially being insufferably lovey-dovey.

Basically, I felt if I went with the original plan that the reader would HATE the pairing because of how disrespectful they were being. If you stop feeling for and rooting for them, then all of it falls flat. It becomes a problem to be fixed, and the reader will resent the author who pushes it anyway.

The kitchen scene planning the Atlas salvage operation I quite enjoyed writing, getting both Krillin and Bulma to interact with Weiss more directly. I also got to try my hand at explaining how dynocaps work, which I like quite a bit. There's definitely a theme of Remnant technology being really simple if not for the complex and miraculous properties of Dust. First here with the suggestion that energy production hasn't excelled very far… then the realization that gravity Dust really makes airships a simple endeavor to create… then the way television sets work and screens in general.

Also, I dunno why I didn't do this from the start, but I'm capitalizing "Dust" the substance from now on to differentiate it from dirt. I should have done this all along and might go back and fix it in previous chapters.

The last two have been observations I've made for a while about Remnant tech. I mean, yeah, imagine how much privacy sucks if scroll screens are visible from the back. I even went back to see if all large screens in RWBY use those holo-emitters —they do— and it truly must suck for everything to need some black background, which is clearly not always present. Doesn't matter how good the visuals are if it's always transparent…

...Though somehow defying the physics of light, these screens are able to project BLACK —the ABSENCE of light— so hell if I know what's happening.

Poor Raven's ordeal, stuffed into Krillin's shirt in bird form is such a simple thing that never fails to make me smile…

I really labored to get Goku into more conversations this chapter, and I think he got a pretty decent chunk of time here. He got to be subtle, contemplative… even pretty badass given what he managed without being able to damage things with his body. His conversation with Qrow, apart from referencing his philosophy from "Battle of Gods" about power he didn't earn —a scene cut from Dragonball Super's version which I'll never forgive— was helpful in also reminding me that Goku is only twenty-four here. Five years difference from most of the girls, and only SEVEN from Ruby herself. That realization helped me to feel less hesitation about him interacting with the kids. He's only got a few years on them to begin with. Hell, he's only got ONE year on ADAM!

It's kinda funny, but I was a little torn on the "innocent Gohan" joke that terrified the group into fearing Ruby could be a budding pedophile. I don't think I'll be repeating that.

We get a mention of the Flying Nimbus and its particular preference for who can ride it, largely as a shoutout to my Discord server. The question came up on what characters could ride the Nimbus and why or why not and it resulted in the longest, most constant post chain the server has seen to date with all manner of arguments.

Cinder's crew prep for their first day training under Ginyu, and ooh was it fun for me. Ginyu herself is finally wearing something more in line with the spirit of the Ginyu force, a design I paid for —image on my Discord… actually the whole character is my invention, so before or after it had to be paid for— and we see Frieza busying in preparation for war with the Kingdoms. And just as an aside, he casually orders the creation of faunus concentration camps… Yeah…

Ginyu has a time trying to train his new charges, and it truly is the blind leading the blind. They're spared a moment by one of the dumber jokes I've ever made… Ginyu, whose name is a Japanese pun for "milk"... has taken the body of a person with lactose intolerance. She is assisted by one Jacqueline Heide…

Jacqueline… Heide… Jekyll and Hyde…

I'll slap myself now…

If Bulma carrying a big damn gun seems odd to you, simply look up "dbz chapter 310."

In this and a follow-up scene with Goku, we see that there's an intruder on the Xiao Long property… I'm really not going to say anything about this individual because I have half a suspicion people will guess who it is anyway.

Blake gets real by pointing out just how incredible the things they've learned the past few days really are… something I really wish Volume 6 of RWBY had done more of, rather than ineffectually puttering about with Salem's immortality while offering no solutions, not even bad ones. I get there's a limited runtime, but for crap sake, you guys set eyes on your creators and confirmed the existence of the afterlife! Be impressed!

Then I make an alteration to Jaune's character —which I promise will be relevant at an undisclosed time later— by adding some wrinkles to his family. Instead of the lone son in a sea of blonde sisters presumably with very normal parents, Jaune's family is in more of a Brady Bunch situation with two families with children joining into one HUGE family.

Yeah, the Brady Bunch… You kids remember the Brady Bunch? God, I really AM a boomer…

But yeah, so Jaune has no real baggage about a mother he was too young to know, and despite living with faunus family, the faunus weren't much of a demographic where they lived, so a bunch of knowledge evaded him about this. Not all faunus have great night vision because not all ANIMALS have great night vision, therefore Jaune never suspected this when prompted by Oobleck.

I worry some people will object to taking away Jaune's strict "normie" status, but I've been surprised before. Just know that the payoff should be worthwhile... and yes, Saffron and Terra still exist in this version.

Then Ruby and crew arrive in Copse Landing… which could have just been "the TOWN of Patch," but I thought that would be a boring choice. The meaning fits the locale, but… yes, if you're Dark Souls fans, you'd be correct that the name is inspired by a small location in Dark Souls 2 called "Huntsman's Copse." It was obscure enough, and it tempted me.

Copse Landing is made out to be a small, cozy little fishing town long transitioned into supporting the school's infrastructure, with nary a brand name business in sight. A place of diners and general stores where everybody knows each other's names.

Signal being defined by a lighthouse seemed to fit the aesthetic I was going for, as well as the name. Then we get to one of the more exciting features, the process of creating RWBY's trademark transforming weaponry.

Given the precision involved, I have serious doubts that these kids are using tongs, hammers and a forge to make this stuff. That's not to mention the mechanics and necessary math involved. I partially mentioned this last time, but yeah, parts being printed out and hand assembled after a digital design phase makes the most sense to me. These are teenagers making these for Pete's sake, and as much of a weapon geek as Ruby is, this seems to be the manner in which she'd overachieve in this area rather than traditional blacksmithing.

I had to research exactly how you printed metal, because prior to this I had no idea, and sintering from powder is pretty ingenious as ideas go. Ultimately the physical process is paired down into a straightforward workflow.

Actually, we'll do all the workshop scenes now… Savant seemed like a good way for Ruby and Gohan to bond, and… yes, for the large part, Savant is basically the Doomblade from Doom Eternal, but on both arms. As mentioned, it represents RWBY's weapons. The red curved blade is for Crescent Rose, the grey blade is meant to match Gambol Shroud… Merely being gauntlets it already matched Ember Celica, and it vents Dust like Myrtenaster.

And while presenting it to Gohan, Ruby recites The Huntsman's Oath…

I was frustrated in latter seasons of RWBY that referenced how Huntsmen all swear an oath to protect the people… but we never saw that, and we don't know what that oath was. I took it upon myself to answer that, writing a vow that suited the stated values of Huntsmen, their self sacrificial nature, putting the least of innocent lives before their own. We see from what happened before with Oz and the conversation with Weiss that Ruby holds dearly to these principles, even to a fault.

Then to Oscar and Tai's little adventures. We get to see Vale in a delicate state of just-maintained normalcy. Life is relatively stable, but the undercurrent of dread and the pressure of external forces is weighing on everyone. As always, those with the motive will exploit their circumstances for the sake of wealth and power. Glynda is back and in over her head even BEFORE Frieza entered into this, vying against disinformation campaigns and other Councilmen to retain sanity and unity between the Kingdoms. Obviously we never saw the Councilmen, but Leir LaSalle you'd know as the one voiced member speaking to Ozpin at the end of Volume 2.

She's also dealing with the Grimm, who are securing the Beacon grounds for Salem until the resting place of the Relic of Choice can be found. I liked the idea of the Cordon as this looming shadow over the city, a symbol of the darkness lurking and the state of the Kingdom. The idea that a citizen could wake up one day to see the Cordon that much closer after a bad surge of Grimm is a cool image in my mind.

I won't explain every little reference, but I like to add things like naming "The River Ambroise," which Vale is built around. The river was named after the King of Vale —a past life of Oz's— who ended The Great War. The name comes from my idea that Oz's lives cycle through a set of names. If you didn't know, "Ozpin" is short for "OZPINHEAD," which is actually an acronym for the Wizard's full name in the books. "Ambroise" would be the "A" in the set, near to the end. He lived as a "Diggs" before resetting to a life as the "Ozpin" we know before dying and transitioning to Oscar… who would be supplanted by a "Zoroaster," as you might recall Oz referencing as his first reincarnation.

Speaking of names, Glynda refers to Ozpin by the first name of his life as Headmaster, Tippenhauer. This is in reference to the Oz books, where the Princess Ozma —a different character from Oz the Wizard, but that didn't stop canon RWBY— spends time as a boy named Tip, having been made to forget her prior identity.

Heck, even the "Montgomery and Boz" bank is a reference to Monty and the pseudonym of Charles Dickens.

...Yeah, no points guessing who Ebony Rouge is, but at least I'm trying to be better about the color naming stuff. Writing her was fun. I'm sure the scene was pretty dry, but at least it was short. Why bearer bonds? Because it wouldn't depreciate in value or be difficult/suspect to sell into usable money. That said, I'm no financier, and I doubt you really care, but I have a sense of integrity when it comes to putting effort into details like this. Choosing not to think about it feels lazy.

Weiss gets a new combat outfit… largely because I always hated her Volume 4 through 6 dress. Concept art always made it look nicer, more white, but the model in the series was textured this ugly mix of blue and grey, and it looked even less conducive to combat than her original design. I hired a designer to create something more in line with "Snow Pea" from "Painting The Town" without it BEING Snow Pea itself. Again, can be found on my Discord.

Not every character will get an update, but Weiss does here.

We see the others picking off the Grimm, becoming separated and dealing with some nastier examples. Since we never see what the Deathstalker's stinger injects, I'm making it Grimm ooze to create adds for itself. Seems on brand.

Gohan gets to go ham on some Grimm until using the Dust features and causing far more devastation than intended. Here we finally start on the path opened long ago when Vegeta caused the Dust islands to implode. Indeed, ki can translate into profound effects, whose full utility will be realized in time.

Then Goku gets to clown on a Geist without even touching it himself, demonstrating a shadow of his abilities to the kids.

...And then I tackle something that's bothered me for years.

Yeah, I hate to rag on RNJR, but I always hated the crap strategies employed in Volume 4's first battle. It felt like such a brainless and inelegant way of dealing with the Geist. I was so frustrated… Lightning against rock, Ruby? And you literally want to defeat it in the most difficult manner possible?

Read Sun Tzu's "Art of War": you NEVER attack the enemy at their strongest point. Going brute-strength against a creature whose advantage is brute-strength feels stupid, and if the Geist escaped to possess something else and you'd exhausted your one shot… good luck. I'd hit its face —more specifically its EYE— while it's in this huge, slow, lumbering body. Use the others to bait it so it's not blocking the face… then use your sniper with superhuman reflexes to shoot it DEAD. Ruby kills it by head-shot in canon anyway!

Maybe that's boring if its Achilles Heel is that exploitable… so make it create a helmet out of stuff to guard against that.

I actually got into an argument over this with someone, because usually bony segments of Grimm are unappealing targets, so maybe forcing it out of everything it possessed makes it an easier target… but again, if it escapes after that, you're screwed.

Then we have Summer explained to the group, as Ruby does her Red Trailer thing. Yes, I'm suggesting that Ruby's hidden grief is what brings the Grimm to her, and that it's a regular occurrence. She tries speaking to Salem indirectly, conflicted, looking at the Grimm with a fresh perspective. As she fears for the Witch herself, the Beowulf either ignores or is enraged by her efforts, forcing her hand…

Everyone begins to cap off the day with dinner plans, which I think came off pretty wholesome altogether.

In Mistral, Bulma finally oversees the effort to salvage Atlas tech and materials. Not a ton to mention here. The function of the Gungnir Lance might be familiar if you've heard of Arthur C. Clarke's "Stiletto Beam," or its more modern equivalent… the Mass Effect "Thanix Cannon." I figured if these things could down Atlas ships the way Torchwick did in Volume 3, it's probably not just a laser beam.

And that's right! I referenced it in Chapter 14… but be it by fate or happenstance, Manta 5-1 makes its way into the hero's hands from Argus like in canon… but without having to steal it so much. Guess it's technically still stealing, but it's just lying around.

The remainder unmentioned is pretty much just a lead-out with the characters coming together again after a long day. Goku and Vegeta game the system, and Ruby decides to share old family clips for bonus wholesomeness.

I'm trying to think of anything I forgot, but I'm failing if I did…

Next chapter we get to the stuff you've waited all story for. Darkness took the easy route to power… Our heroes will take the hard path, as typically it is...

Phew! Comments time!

Wolf1741: Dude… this story just isn't for you. Your comments have been a consistent proof of your immaturity and low attention span, and I feel I'm wasting time writing this. Salem WASN'T "contending with Frieza," she was withstanding him. I explained her equivalent of godhood already.

stephenadezio: Yeah, no. Pyrrha's death was a springboard to give the story and characters the weight and pathos to venture out into the greater world, especially Jaune. It was the secret sauce that made Volume 3's ending unforgettable. RWBY as a story would feel naked without it.

Penny IS a pointless shock that snuffs out more possibilities than it creates and serves as this enormous bait and switch, and they have the gall to pretend there's some kind of noble heroism that makes it all okay. Let alone what they apparently did to her sick, elderly father in the process.

fatquacker: This was a take that served as a pleasant surprise. I won't pretend it was an unimportant scene regarding Vegeta's development, but being between typical DBZ characters… I dunno, it's just how I see them. Thanks!

BlindAsABat95: Thanks! Yeah, mostly I just didn't want Salem to get shoved entirely aside, but if it makes her a greater threat in the process I'll take it.

Well, as you can see, Vale has DEFINITELY had a saga over Atlas, a Kingdom divided. All while things are on the course to become even more desperate.

Alex Bloodbane: Lose sleep, huh? Well, this one's long enough to qualify… Still, extremely flattered!

Guest1: Thanks! Yeah, admittedly it's plotted out with an animation in mind, and you'd need to see it to feel the timing in that moment.

Monster King: Thank you!

diamondteel4: You're too kind… Well, if it's a gift, it's a gift I feel the world needs, and I delight in providing it.

A secret though? I enjoy reading my work as much as writing it, so… in a way I'm providing my own entertainment.

Scott Kanouse: Glad we agree on so much! The SSJ/God transformation is an unintended side effect that sprouts from the same Divine Spark as the Silver Eye power.

TF2 Crossover Man: I thank you, seriously. For me, some risks are necessary to take in opposition to terrible tropes, and when they pay off it only proves what should have been clear to begin with.

Gojosin: For sure, but… Patch is the only island nearby, and we kinda need that for the plot…

X3runner: Ah, the doppelganger protocol! Yes, a wise policy. Though Salem would need to HAVE Relics first.

"Gohan pulls a Piccolo with Vegeta." I'm not sure what that means.

Bulma is twenty-nine. STRQ actually graduated early due to their talent —though more because as Oz's strike team, getting them their licenses greases a lot of wheels— so Tai is thirty-nine. At Bulma's age, that isn't too strange.

I'dMakeANameButIDon'tWantTo: Always look forward to your posts!

Well I hope this chapter wasn't too hard for you. I swear I feel undeserving of a lot of the praise I get from you guys. It feels natural to me to have explanations, realistic motives. It's harder to believe when people can't be bothered.

I'm no expert on what Blake had to deal with, but mostly I went off accounts I'd heard in terms of attitude.

lwarrior6: Sample size of one, I suppose, heh, but appreciated!

I'm glad people remark on Salem and Frieza's chemistry and contrast. Certainly I believe in my ideas, but it's different to see others glimpse the same thing.

Guest2: Yeah, if they survive, the years ahead will be wild. I probably shouldn't say more about the god stuff, hehe…

SuperSaiyanFever: Aw, but what about when/if Oz's duty is fulfilled? Then it'd just be Oscar…

Kage-kitsune9001: Sure! Frieza and Ginyu can't be the ONLY opponents, and it'd be a waste if Cinder and crew were irrelevant.

TheRightPrice: Glad you're enjoying it! Furthermore, thank you for your words about the details. To be fair, it's been YEARS of brainstorming. Long drives certainly help get the mind racing.

xana2: We reconciled this in pm's, but for the sake of readers, it's clearly presented that TF's version of RWBY and its world departs greatly from the canon.

I hide it as much as I can for cohesion, but Transposition F IS effectively a light AU. It's not productive to limit crossovers rigidly. Be creative enough and you can bridge a lot of gaps in believable ways to make it work.

G119: This feels pointless to post, but thanks for the input. Yeah, Junior was creepy, but technically self-defense limits itself to fighting your way to an escape. Yang was pretty clearly looking to lay out every comer in the room. And legal or not, she'd probably not want a criminal underground to have clear footage of her in case they sought their own reprisal.

King of Fans: Decent summation. "Got it out of my system?" I can't tell if that's condescending or not.

Coreldecortavar: Thanks a lot man, it means a lot to me, especially if you're bringing language gaps to reach out.

Jackalope89: Hey man, I'd wondered where you went! Your schtick is fun.

TimsonShay: From their echoes in the Relics, which observed Oz's first encounter with her and acted.

Given your back and forth in subsequent comments, I hope this chapter isn't too much for you.

Son Kenshin: I plan to be faithful to Dragonball while also evolving their methods from experience. There will be some nostalgia bombs for sure.

As to Vegeta, he's definitely got a lot fo figure out. Though whether he lets anyone into that is another matter.

Bullet: Like Janemba? How so?

Yeah, Ginyu is Frieza's top fighter for a reason. Don't count her out.

Raven truly has been a gift to writing, just so much involving her is interesting to write.

Colossus Bridger: Agreed!

KennySX: I'm glad you think so, he's simultaneously simple AND difficult to write. I guess I just keep his more serious moments in the forefront of my mind, but let him be laid back when it's called for.

Sabo88: Right? And in conjunction with the Relic of Knowledge?

Dreams0fCalamity: Hey man, me too, but if I can make anyone feel like that, it's truly amazing to me.

Guest3: I REALLY wouldn't get dander up over it. I've always thought it was cute, but Ruby isn't going to be engaging in romantic stuff much at all. That said, if your contention isn't Ozpin, then I dunno what to do with you, lol.

Maxim7: Stomp fic— Wha…? Dude, that's so at odds with comments I've received in the past and A/N's I've written that hearing anyone suggest this was a "stomp fic" is legitimately shocking and baffling to me.

If anything people thought I was giving RWBY preferential treatment.

Ultimatrix bearer: "Suffering the consequences of her actions?" You make it sound like Blake deserved to be hurt. Isn't that the OPPOSITE of her arc with Adam? That her guilt has been overblown in her mind?

Guest4: Staying the hell away from a Vault she could be coerced into opening. I explain in Chapter 5, but generally the Maidens are kept far from their Vaults, near opposite academies no less, but not always.

Guest5: I'm not spoiling stuff for you, just keep reading for your answers, lol.

Guest6: Thank you so much for saying so!

Guest7: Frieza's been around the block more times than you can imagine, and seen all manner of things. He knows what certain kinds of people sound like, how they speak. He knows people. TFS jokes about him keeping a tally of heroic phrases, but I don't doubt he can sniff out weirdness like Oscar's situation with barely a glance.

...It IS spooky though, I'll grant you that.