RWBY: Destiny of Remnant

by UGX7

In the wake of the fall Team RNJR sets out to bring Cinder Fall to justice while the new Fall Maiden overlooks her master's plan in Haven City. Meanwhile Weiss tries to help a friend, Yang struggles with the loss of her arm, and Blake deals with guilt over the White Fang. Meanwhile someone from Cinder's past returns and Salem's newest pawn rises. Arkos, WhiteRose, SunnyBees, Renora

39. Nightmares Part II: Dreams

RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.

Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts. Please try to spread the word about this story so it gets more attention.

Let's hear it for Relentless Crusader aka Golden Crusader who helped write this chapter.

RWBY: Destiny of Remnant

Chapter 39: Nightmares Part II: Dreams

Kane walked down the gray hallways of the Elite Guard's ship which was currently on the ground outside of the White Fang's headquarters in the mountains of Vacuo. He was exhausted and bored after hearing Razor go over the plan of attack for the next time they were to encounter 'Team Beacon', Kane didn't know how long it would be until their next encounter but Razor had come up with a pretty decent plan; Branwen and the elder Schnee were the biggest threats as they had years worth of experience in battle and their skills were impeccable, as Razor could attest after dueling with Qrow, not to mention Winter's Summons could do some serious damage if given the opportunity. So with that in mind the plan was to take them out of the fight first which could leave the young Hunters-in-training in confusion and uncertainty.

Even thought Razor had ordered his troops to not use lethal force on the young ones he had made it clear they would have to fight them. The Rabbit Faunus, for instance, wouldn't be much of a threat without her odd camera weapon which, as Piper... sort of attested to, could pose a decent threat. They had come up with various strategies for dealing with the various targets including the Schnee girl, who combined with the elder sister they could hold them for ransom and use them as leverage against the Schnee Company, the traitor Belladonna who Adam wanted personally, and the girl that Kane himself had battled; Ruby Rose, was a very high priority for the Fang's mysterious benefactor and her faction. Apparently the young girl was someone Adam's ally wanted deeply, for what purpose Kane didn't really know and didn't want to, the less he dealt with those people the better.

He heard some music coming from the Elite Guard's rec room and a hammering sound so he he walked towards the room to see what was up. He entered the large room only to see Piper sitting on the couch, her scarf still carefully covering her neck as her radio weapon played music while she controlled the melodies with her Semblance via making gestures with her hands. Kane smiled at the rather nice beat of the music and walked closer into the room to see some of the other like Jinty and Babara having a conversation as they played pool with the Giraffe Faunus, whose name was Warwick, and the Hyena Faunus, who was called Morgan.

Misha, the Mandrill Faunus who had fought Weiss, danced with Selena to the music while Thayer, the Rabbit Faunus who served as one of the group's pilots sat next to Piper on the couch fiddling with his scroll. Kane then heard a hammering sound and looked up to see Penn, the Spider Monkey Faunus, doing pull ups on the rafters while behind him on the catwalk was the Polar Bear Faunus, whose name was Russell, was hammering another car's licence plate to the wall.

Kane smirked and shook his head in amusement, despite the fact that Russell was easily one of the more normal people in the White Fang, with no extraordinary taste for violence or any weird Semblance he still had this odd hobby of collecting licence plates from old abandoned cars. Everyone had their quirks, this just happened to be Russell's.

The large Faunus finished adding another place to his collection on the wall, this one brought the number to twenty-seven, and he he climbed down the later and walked over to the couch to sit down next to Thayer and Piper so Kane joined them by taking up a wooden chair next to the couch.

"Where'd you get that one?" he asked.

"Found it on an old scrapped car outside of the base when I went with Razor to talk with Commander Taurus." Russell stated.

"Speaking of which I wonder how long we're gonna stay here." Selena said as she continued dancing.

"For as long as Taurus wants us to stay here I guess, I hope this business with Team Beacon is over soon, I hate being kept on a short leash." Morgan voiced.

"Amen to that." Babara agreed. "I want to be out there proving that the White Fang aren't a bunch of terrorists, Adam's keeping us from doing that."

"Hear, hear." chimed in Penn. "You wanna know what I think?"

"No." everyone said at once, except Piper who merely shook her head 'no'.

"Too bad, I think Adam only cares about getting Belladonna back. He's a little desperate for a certain pussy if you catch my drift." the Spider Monkey Faunus said as he hung by one hand and his tail, while everyone groaned at him bad joke, except Piper who merely shook her head in disappointment at the bad joke.

"Sad thing is he might not be wrong, Commander has some serious issues with that girl." Misha said.

"That's as obvious as saying I have big ears." Thayer said dryly as his long ears twitched. "I'm more curious as to what he'll do with the others." Although deep down he was very much concerned for Velvet's well being.

"He'll probably ransom 'em off. That's what he's planning to do with the Schnee girls, but knowing him he'll probably keep Blake and do something to the Monkey and the Xiao Long girl, 'cause he's kinda obsessive like that. I do know he has to give Rose over to the big bads." Kane stated.

"Yes... something to do with the girl's silver eyes. Which means that the rumors about that girl are probably true." Russell surmised.

"I'm tellin' you guys, I got one bad feeling about working for these people like Cinder Fall. Ever since Adam got involved with them it's been one big conspiracy!" Jinty proclaimed.

"Jinty, you think everything is a conspiracy." Babara told him.

"That's because everything is!" the Weasel Faunus cried, which got a laugh out of everyone.

Outside of the room stood Razor who listened in to the conversations between his soldiers. He smiled as they laughed together, even Piper who made some kind of musical noise that resembled a laugh. He walked down the hallway with his room as a destination, but deep down he began to think deeply. Was Jinty right? Was there some kind of conspiracy going on with Adam? He had heard what Babara had said and he agreed with her; he would very much prefer to be out there doing good and helping Faunus in need but Adam's orders prevented them from leaving until Blake and her group was captured. And even though he knew the reason for Thayer's concern he deep down had his own curiosity for what would become of some of the young Hunters... and he didn't like the idea of handing someone as young as Ruby Rose over to the forces Adam had allied them with.

As Razor approached his room he remembered Qrow Branwen's claims that Adam was willing to kill a Faunus child, and while none of those present could back him up Razor still wondered if Qrow had been telling the truth. He remembered how Adam had been so furious after the retreat that he suggested bombing the entire town, which had a great many Faunus in it, as well as young human children.

Razor grunted as he opened his door and knew that if he ever saw or heard anything that would prove Branwen's claims true... if there was some sort of conspiracy to keep him in the dark over Adam's actions then he would have a very serious talk with Adam...

---

Blake looked over to see a very young version of herself, four years old at the most, on what looked like a playground as she ran to her mother. Esther Belladonna saw her daughter weeping and ran over to her child, she looked almost exactly like an older version of her daughter, except for the ears as her Faunus trait was a long black cat's tail. It was so surreal to see her mother like this, exactly how she remembered her.

Ester captured little Blake and held her up, hugging her to her chest. "Blake, calm down my sweet. What happened? What's wrong?"

"I was playing with a little boy, his mommy came and yelled at us then took him away!" little Blake explained through sobs.

"Was... was he a human?" Esther asked quietly.

Blake nodded, still crying before she asked "Mommy, what's an... ab-om-in-ation?"

Esther held her daughter closer, her eyes wide with shock and wet with tears. "Wha... sweetie, where did you hear that word?!"

"The mean lady said that's what I was." the child Faunus answered.

Esther held her daughter closer as they faded away.

Blake remembered that day, it was probably the first time she saw the dark, ugly side of humanity.

The scene changed to show her mother and father, a reasonably attractive Cat Faunus whose ears she had inherited, as the former was speaking to someone on the phone in the kitchen of their small apartment.

Blake looked over to see her younger-self in the living area, playing with her meager few toys, cheerfully unaware of the harsh reality around her. How she wished it could have stayed that way for a while longer. Blake turned away from her younger-self to see her mother getting furious with whomever she was talking to on the phone. Blake was confused, as she didn't remember this... or did she?

"Dad, for Oum's sake! That bitch called your granddaughter an abomination! Aren't you the least bit mad? ...One person?! I saw other parents giving me looks! It was a children's playground, a place where kids can have fun with each other! If that isn't proof that your cause is doomed to fail I don't know what is! As long as you think humans like that aren't so bad I don't want you to see Blake! In fact I don't think I'll even recognize you as my father until you wake up and smell how hopeless the chances of equality are!"

Blake thought about her grandfather, whom she did not remember meeting as she was too young. Her mother turned off the phone and collapsed into her chair, crying. Kurt Belladonna hugged his wife and said "I'm so sorry, Esther. He's nothing but a blind, idealistic old man who has fooled himself into thinking the White Fang have a chance. I promise you we will make the world a good place for Faunus-kind, our baby will be safe."

Blake watched as the vision of her parents faded away and was replaced by a much bigger, more familiar sight that happened two years after that day, this was something worse; this was the day she lost them.

"No... not this..." she said to herself as she heard a man scream.

"They killed him! Those filthy Faunus killed Wang!" cried a human guard. Blake could see a tanned human guard dead with a dagger in his eye, his body still twitching. Her mother had her younger-self in her arms and held her against her shoulder so she wouldn't see the grisly sight. Up ahead her father stuttered in horror at what had transpired.

"Oh gods above! We didn't mean it! We didn't want to hurt anyone! Lano, what that hell...?!" cried Kurt Belladonna before the crazed Possum Faunus cut him off.

"I did mean it! I'm glade another filthy human is dead! You all deserve to die! Kill all humans! Kill all AH!" the Possum Faunus screamed as his body was riddled with bullets so fast he was dead before his aura even began to shine.

Screams erupted from the crowd as Esther began to move away from the crowd, fearing for the safety of her child. The commanding guard yelled "Hold fire! Hold your fire damn... GAH!" he was cut off by a Faunus who leapt up and began to stab him wildly in the chest, neck, and face with a dagger.

The details of it, however, were odd and faded, but Blake surmised this was because these were her memories of these events and with age they had deteriorated or she had simply forgotten them. She knew what happened next, she didn't want to see it but knew she had no choice in the matter.

Things spiraled out of control; human guards panicked and opened fire on the crowd while a couple dozen Faunus protesters surged forward and attacked with blades, blunt instruments, claws, and anything they could use. The battle, however, began to fade away as Blake's attention was drawn to her parents.

"Esther! Get Blake out of here now!" Kurt yelled.

"Where?! Where am I going to go?! They'll kill me and take her..."

"Go to Claudandus! He'll help you!" her father said.

"But after everything I've said he won't help us!" Esther protested.

"Yes he will! This... tell him I was wrong, we were both wrong! He was right! He won't turn you away, it's not in him, now go!" He looked to Blake and kissed her forehead. "Blake, my baby girl I love you so much, never forget that, okay?"

"O-okay daddy. I love you." she muttered.

"And I love you." he said before he kissed Esther passionately, "And I love you too. Get away nowAH!"

Her father fell as a Dust bullet slammed into his shoulder.

"Kurt!"

"GO!" he screamed.

Esther, with tears in her eyes, ran off as fast as she could, away from the crowd and the chaos, but she didn't get far. A heavy bullet slammed into her back, causing her to fall to the ground but she quickly rolled around, allowing her now wounded back to take more damage so Blake wouldn't be harmed. Young Blake looked at the ground, listening the sounds of guns, screams, and death as a man's shadow came over them.

"Using your brat as a shield? Low, even for a Faunus like you. I'll be doing you a favor by killing you, bitch!" ranted the man as he slammed the butt of his rifle into Esther's face. He raised up his gun and aimed it at her head but before he could get his finger on the trigger Kurt Belladonna slammed into him knocking him down.

"Go my love! GO!" he screamed.

Esther forced herself to get up and run off. Little Blake felt something on her mother's back and saw a small glow coming from behind her as well. She then lifted hp her hand and cried out "Mommy! You're bleeding!"

"I know baby, be quiet for now, okay?"

"Mommy, what's going to happen to daddy?"

"... Just be quiet for now, okay?"

The scene faded away again and Blake, with tears staining her face, knew what happened next.

Suddenly a beam of light in the shape of a door opened up to reveal the familiar, albeit slightly younger, form Claudandus as the figure of her injured mother let the little Blake down before collapsing.

"Esther!" Claudandus cried as he caught her. "I saw the news, thanks goodness you are alright... oh gods no..."

"It hurts... it hurts so bad! T-take care o-of Blake..." Esther managed to say as Blake began shaking her.

"Mommy! Please stay awake! Mommy!"

Blake fell to her knees, covering her ears with her hands as she heard her younger self cry out while the scene faded away.

Just then she felt two hands being placed on her shoulders. She looked up to see Yang and Sun looking down on her.

"You did nothing wrong." the both said in monotone voices before fading away, those four words echoing in the void.

Blake sat, alone and in total silence.

Just then a fiery light appeared in front of her and before it was a dark, but familiar figure.

"Adam." she said nervously.

Adam stood up, only to reveal he was holding something, the dead body of a little girl.

"Look what they did to her Blake. They took her from me, they murdered my entire family. They killed your family. And here you are, fighting for them."

He rose up and the small body faded away as Adam turned to face Blake.

"I will take everything from you, my love."

Blake jolted awake in the bed she shared with Yang in a Preshia hotel.

"You okay Blake? Judging by the look on your face and how you were moving I'd say you were having one bad nightmare." Yang stated.

Blake's ears twitched nervously as she made sure she was awake, and sure enough she was.

"Yeah, it was just a nightmare." she said with a nod as she sat up.

She looked over the room to the bed that Ruby and Weiss shared, the former of whom was taking a nap after an intense training session in the hotel's gym. They were currently waiting in this hotel for Neo to show up, as they couldn't infiltrate the prison without her Semblance disguising them, and they knew without a doubt that every White Fang base and outpost would be keeping an eye out for them.

"Did I miss anything while I was asleep? Has Neo gotten here yet?" the Cat Faunus asked as she stretched her arms out, allowing Yang to get a good look at her upper body, the sweat her body had created during the nightmare was making her shirt cling to her chest and Yang liked what she saw.

"Oh yeah... I mean, not yet. I don't think she'll be here for a few more hours." Yang said, looking away and blushing a bit.

"Smooth." Weiss deadpanned, amused by the sight of her two blushing teammates, which earned her a glare from the blonde brawler. "We did, however, get a call from Jaune, apparently Violet was attacked the other night by something they think was a new Grimm Commander."

Blake's eyes widened before she asked "Is she alright?"

"Yeah, she's in the hospital but she'll recover. Right now he and the others are going to investigate the nightclub in Cadia to see if Ante and his thugs are there. Apparently Violet saw the guy who called us to tell us about Ashe." Yang elaborated.

"This isn't good, I don't like the idea of our friends taking on those criminals without backup." Blake voiced.

"Relax, after what happened in Haven I think it's safe to say that Jaune and Pyrrha can take care of themselves alone and they got Ren, Nora, Fox, Sage, Ross, and Bianca with them. I think they'll be fine." Yang assured her partner.

"Let us hope so, but it looks like you're not the only one having a dream, Blake." Weiss said as she gestured to her partner, who was moving around in her sleep mumbling out loud.

"Oh yeah Weiss... keep it coming..." Ruby said drowsily. Yang's head snapped up and she glared furiously at Weiss who was now blushing madly. "More cookies Weiss, this Ruby commands... nom..." the youngest girl whispered as she began to chew on nothing.

"Sometimes I wonder what goes on in her head." Weiss said out-loud.

IN RUBY'S DREAM

Ruby sat at the chess table atop the twenty-five foot and three quarters tower across from the giant white kitten, which moewed at her.

"You fiend! I will beat you at laser-chess!" Ruby cried as the kitten licked itself.

Ruby looked down to see all of her friends under the kitten's evil spell which made them fight each other, expect for Ren and Nora who were singing show tunes for some reason and Penny who was making a giant pizza.

"You got this Ruby." Weiss said as she gave Ruby another cookie. Ruby admired her partner, who was for some reason dressed only in a tight one-piece swim suit.

Ruby ate the cookie and then gave the giant kitten a determined look. "Okay, let's go!"

"I wonder what she's dreaming about." Blake said.

"I will be the laser-chess champion, not a big kitty... nya..." Ruby said as she gripped the bed tightly.

The three girls all looked at each other before Yang said "Some things are better left unknown."

"Agreed." Blake said with a nod.

"With the things we deal with that goes without saying." Weiss voiced. "So Blake, what was your nightmare about?"

"Yeah, I mean if you want to talk about it we're here for you." Yang said gently.

Blake sighed and said "It was about my parents, how they died, how my mother had been shot and beaten but she didn't quit moving until I was safe. It's... it's a very painful topic, alright? I don't think now is the best time, can we talk about it later with Ruby and Sun? Is that okay?"

Weiss was about to give Blake another lecture about trust but Yang said "Sure thing, but you do know you can always trust us, right?"

Blake smiled and said "Of course I do, I just need time to think about it."

Yang nodded and said "No prob Blake."

---

Bianca parked her car on the large lot in front of the seven story nightclub the lit up the landscape of Cadia. In the front seats was Bianca driving and Nora, who had called shotgun, with Jaune and Nora in the middle seats and Ren, Sage, and Fox in the rear.

"Note to self, civilian cars are not a good place to wear the blades." Fox said dryly as Jaune pulled the side door open and hopped out

"Everyone out, thanks Bianca." Jaune said as Pyrrha followed him out, with Ren, Fox, and Sage coming after her in that order.

"No problem, I shuttle around my sisters because most of them don't own a car, why shouldn't I do it for something big every now and then?" she said as the Hunters-in-training got their weapons ready.

Jaune smiled and said to her "Thank you, now get out of here sis, if we have to fight I don't want you getting hurt."

"Hey, I was at Haven, remember? If I can handle something as insane at that I can handle a few local punks. I'll be out here if you need me." she said sternly.

Jaune sighed, he knew there was no arguing with his oldest sister so he said "Point taken, just don't do anything dangerous, okay?"

Bianca gave him the thumbs up and he smirked but returned the gesture, and with that he led the present members of Team Beacon to the entrance of the club. He looked up to see Ross' ship flying around in case they needed backup, so far so good.

He took out his scroll and called the pilot. "Ross, we're about to go in, any sign of hostiles?"

"Negative kid, there's a nice looking ship up here for getaways, though. I'll keep standing by, good luck in there. Over."

Jaune turned off his scroll as they approached the door. The door man, a tall man with dark skin and sunglasses, looked at them and said with a deep voice "Identification please."

Nora tilted her head and asked "Why are you wearing sunglasses? It just got dark?"

"It's... the dress code around here for us guards. Now identification please." he repeated.

"I believe this will suffice." Pyrrha said as she showed him her I.D. card.

"Pyrrha Nikos, I thought I recognized you. I heard you moved in to this city, but I've never seen you. Now the rest of you." he ordered.

Everyone showed him their own I.D. cards be it a physical copy or on their scrolls.

"Alright, go on in. What is your business here, by the way?" the door man asked.

"Let's just say that's need to know, and you and your employer do not need to know." Pyrrha said as she took out a small wad of lien bills and handed it to the man.

The man counted the money and nodded as they went inside.

The main floor of the club was large and noisy, loud music playing as people danced to it on the main floor, lights of many colors flashed on and off from the ceiling.

"Huh, wouldn't expect a place like Cadia to have a place like this." said Sage.

"Every town does, from seedy taverns to big nightclubs." Fox told him as a large black-haired bearded man dressed in a while shirt and a black vest, gloves, pants, and shoes with a red tie approached them.

"Hello, I'm Junior, how can I help you?" he asked.

Jaune and Pyrrha glanced at each other and the later nodded at her boyfriend to take this one. "Well we just wanted to ask some questions..."

"Wait a minute... I think I recognize you... from the news..." Junior said suspiciously.

"Well we have been on TV a few times, but she's been on it a bunch." Nora said, gesturing to Pyrrha.

"No, I know now! You're friends with Team RWBY!" Junior said angrily.

"Is that a problem?" Ren inquired, tightening his grip on his weapons hidden in his sleeves.

"It is, especially concerning a particular big boobed blonde who I want nothing to do with! Get lost!" he barked.

"Wow, lousy service here." Nora joked before saying "Hey, I remember now, Yang told me about you!"

"Yeah, Neptune told me too, how you guys helped out Torchwick back in Vale." Sage added.

Junior growled and said "I only lent my men to Torchwick once, I didn't have any other dealings with him or whoever he was working for."

"Torchwick worked for Cinder Fall." Jaune revealed, making Junior gasp. "So, technically, you aided one of the most dangerous terrorists Remnant has ever seen."

Junior growled and whispered "Okay, what do you want?"

"We know Boss Bressi owns this place and we know he's been in contact with Damien Ante, take us to a room where we can talk." Jaune said.

"Or what?" Junior asked.

"Or we'll call Yang, it seems you don't have a good history with her and she's in town. She's just a call away. Should I get her involved?" Jaune inquired as he took out his scroll.

"No, no, no! Follow me, I'll hear you out." Junior said.

As they followed him deeper into the club Nora whispered to Jaune "Nice bluff."

"Thanks." he whispered back with a smile.

Junior led them to a back lounge that was nearly empty, save for two raven haired girls with lime green eyes who would look identical if it weren't for their clothes; one was wearing a white strapless dress while the other wore a dark red strapless shirt.

"Junior, who are they?" asked the girl in white.

"Some Hunters looking for info. These two are Melanie" Junior said pointing to the girl in white, "and Militia." he finished, pointing to the one in red, as he locked the door.

"Hunters, huh? Last two times that happened it was that blonde girl." Melanie said while Militia nodded.

"Yeah, well these kids work with her and apparently she's just a call away, so if we want to avoid trouble we're gonna have to answer their questions." Junior explained to them.

The twins looked at each other and nodded.

"Alright, so what makes you think Bressi is working for Ante?" Junior asked.

"My sister saw them together last night at the old Water Treatment Plant. Some police officers lost their lives in the gun fight and my sister is currently in the hospital. What do you know about it?" Jaune asked as the twins began to circle him, liking what they saw.

"Oh, straight to the point." Militia said.

"And he wants to help out his sister, isn't that sweet?" Melanie asked as she pressed herself against Jaune, giving him a generous view of her cleavage.

"It is indeed, sis." Militia agreed as she began to feel Jaune's abs.

"Uh..." Jaune said as he looked to Pyrrha, his eyes asking for help.

"Uh-oh." Nora said as Pyrrha walked forwards, grabbed both of the petite girls and lifted them up.

"He is off limits." she said darkly with an intense look in her eyes before adding "Got it?!"

The twins glanced at each other and they said in unison "Sure thing."

Pyrrha's glare softened a bit as she let them down.

Jaune smiled and said "Thanks Pyrrha. No offense girls, but I'm spoken for. Permanently."

"Well someone is clingy." joked Militia.

"And someone else is as loyal as a pet." stated Melanie as they cast a glance at Ren, only to be scared off by the sight of Nora gesturing to them with Magnihild.

"Sorry about them, the girls like to flirt with most guys, and even some girls." Junior explained as he took a seat in a chair. "Now what exactly do you want?"

"We want to know if Ante and his Enforcers are here." Pyrrha stated.

"Heh, they're here all right, arrived twenty minutes ago for a meeting with Bressi up stairs. What do you know about Ante?" Junior inquired.

"More than we'd like to, but I can tell you that he works for Cinder too." Jaune said bluntly.

"What?!" Junior cried.

"Yeah, we fought him in Haven, some of us more than once. We know about him and his enforcers, Trooper, Little Steve, Lao, Tom-Tom, Fireball, and Merrick. There were two others but they were killed." Jaune elaborated.

"What about the freaky one?" asked Militia as she and her sister admired Fox's arms

"What freaky one?" Fox asked as he shooed the twins away.

"They have another member, weird creep who has freaking spider legs coming out of his back. Name's Ana-C or something like that." Junior elaborated.

"Anansi." Pyrrha corrected.

Junior nodded, then he sighed and continued with "Look kid, I'm only here because of what happened in Vale nine months back. I know the city has been reopened and we were gonna leave in a few days for the reopening of my club but we needed the work until things settled. Bressi is an old friend and gave me a job, I haven't had anything to do with the... unofficial business except making sure it comes in or overseeing a deal every now and then, and I sure as hell kept away from Ante and his thugs."

"Especially that Tom-Tom punk." chimed in Melanie.

"Yeah, he keeps hitting on us whenever he comes by. I'd rather deal with the spider-thing than him." Militia added.

"How long have they been around?" Pyrrha asked.

"About a couple weeks now." Junior answered, "At first they were trading Dust for goods but recently they've been getting a little more personal. I don't know where they stay but every night they come around to meet with Bressi, except yesterday when they wanted to meet somewhere private. I wasn't there so I don't know what for, but Bressi's been acting nervous ever since he got back."

"The fact the cops saw him probably has something to do with it, even if most of them were killed." said Sage, who was enjoying the attention he was receiving from the twins.

"My sister made it, and though it might take a while Bressi will be in trouble and be involved in the deaths of several police officers, I don't think you want to be involved in that." Jaune said.

"You got that right, but if Bressi finds out he could do something to keep your sister quiet..." Junior was interrupted by Jaune grabbing him violently and slamming him against the wall.

"Are you threatening my family?!" Jaune roared as he eyes began to turn red, scaring the hell out of Junior.

"What the hell?!" Junior cried as Pyrrha, Ren, and Fox all grabbed Jaune.

"Jaune calm down!" Pyrrha said firmly.

"Don't hurt him, he didn't mean anything by it." Ren told him.

"Don't let your dark side control you man." Fox added as the twins got ready for a fight, only to be blocked by Nora and Sage.

Jaune growled at Junior but he felt Pyrrha's gloved hand touch his cheek and she brought his head over to look her in the eyes. She placed her head against his and said "Jaune, let him go. Nothing will happen to our families. They will be safe, don't let the Grimm control you. Remember who you are."

Jaune's eyes snapped back to blue as he dropped Junior and staggered backwards. Pyrrha held him to the couch and embraced him. "You're okay Jaune, you beat it."

"What just happened?!" demanded Melanie.

"Yeah, what did she mean Grimm within him?" Militia added.

"None of your business." Nora said, "And if you tell anyone... well I'll leave that up to you."

The twins looked at each other again and decided it was best to remain silent.

"I am sorry about that, Cinder did something to him months ago, this must be a side effect of it. I've been told about it but I've never seen him do that in person." Ren said to Junior who was getting back up.

Pyrrha knew this was serious, the sudden burst of anger and fear must have triggered some of the Grimm within Jaune, over the months of training they had discovered that whenever they got angry or let any negative emotions get the better of them their Grimm side would begin to show, mostly just the eyes. The fact that she had managed to prevent most of the Grimm essence from taking him over didn't mean that the root of it couldn't spread, even with the Aura Crystal keeping his physical appearance normal it wouldn't prevent their Grimm sides from rearing their ugly heads if negative emotions took over.

Once Jaune calmed down he said "S-sorry about that... I just lost it for a minute. Look, we need to find Ante and catch him, maybe he can lead us to where Cinder and the rest of her little gang are and we can put an end to their threat for good."

Junior nodded, but was still weary for the blonde after what had happened. Now that he thought about it he seemed to have bad luck with any blonde from these Hunter teams.

"Look, let's make a deal; you let us go up there and catch 'em, and when you go back to Vale Professor Ozpin will reward you for helping us out. Maybe even get your club built a little faster." Fox offered.

Junior thought about it and sighed, while there was a part of him that knew this was a bad idea another part of him wanted to make Cinder Fall pay for what she did to Vale, this was his best chance at that.

"Okay, I'll get you upstairs and past the guards but nothing more." he said.

"That's good enough for us." Jaune said as he finished recovering from the little Grimm incident. "Sorry about that."

"I have been through worse, believe me." Junior said.

"And from another blonde too." Militia stated dryly.

---

Outside in the parking lot Bianca sat in her car. So far everything was quiet, except from the noisy music coming from inside of the club, heck there hadn't even been some drunk loser coming up to the car to hit on her. She looked at her scroll's clock and saw that it had been nearly ten minutes since they entered the club and she didn't get any word from them, so naturally she was a little worried.

"Jaune... come on, call me." she said.

As if on cue her scroll began to vibrate and she answered it as quickly as she could.

"Bianca, everything's good so far but Ante is here." Jaune told her.

"I wouldn't call that good." she voiced.

"Neither would I but if we can catch him we could figure out what he's up to and where Cinder and the others are. Ross is still overhead so if things get bad he'll be our backup. Call you once this is over, be safe, love you sis." he said.

"Okay one; Be safe yourself! Two; I love you too." she stated, and after that she ended the call. She sighed and looked around the parking lot, mentally assuring herself that they could pull this off together. As she fiddled around on her scroll to pass the time there was a sudden knock on her window making her jolt up in surprise.

But she soon saw who it was, someone she knew. She rolled down her window and asked "What are you doing here?"

---

Junior pushed open the metal door and said "Down this hall, to the left and down the main hall, take a right at the end of it and you'll find Bressi's business room, that's where they'll be."

Jaune led the others out of the stairwell as Fox asked "What about the guards?"

"When Ante's here Bressi keeps 'em close, they'll be at the doors to the room, just be quiet until you get there and you won't attract the attention of the other guards, good luck." he said.

"Your wishing us luck? Why?" Sage inquired.

"Because if you screw up Bressi will have me capped. See ya later." Junior said as he shut the door.

Jaune looked to his team and those who were now officially teammates and said "Okay, no backing down now. We check how many we're dealing with and then we strike, take out as many as we can and we help each other out whenever we can, got it?"

"Got it." they all said.

"Good, now let's move." Jaune said.

As they moved down the hallway they heard the music from down stairs become louder, loud enough to make it nearly impossible for anyone downstairs to hear a fight.

Just then from up ahead they heard the sounds of a door opening. "Take cover." Jaune whispered, and everyone quickly pressed themselves up against a door or went inside of a room. Jaune peered around the doorway and saw half a dozen guards with their arms behind their heads and a familiar figure forcing them on; Trooper. The former solider was pointing a gun at them and making them march into a room across from the business room at the end of the hall.

Once the coast was clear the young Hunters quietly moved down the hallway only to hear the sounds of an argument.

"You'll never get away with this Ante!"

"Won't I? Well let's see now; some of your guards have turned on you, we've already killed four of your loyal guards and six more are about to be executed, Tom-Tom just had the DJ turn up the music so no one will hear us, and we got you outnumbered. I'd say we're getting away with it." said the cocky voice of Damien Ante.

"Looks like we got here just in time." Ren observed.

"And with two of the enforcers gone for now we'll have a way better chance at winning this." Sage added.

"Right, let's..." Jaune was cut off by a new voice speaking up.

"Ante, quit wasting time and kill him." spat the voice.

"Okay, okay. I swear it was better when I had to deal with Cinder, at least she was hot... in more ways than one! HAhahaha!" Ante laughed, but his joke only earned groans from the others.

Fox silently peaked over the hallway to see into the room and he could see that Ante, Fireball, Lao, and Little Steve were there, along with five of Bressi's guards who had turned on him, lest they get slaughtered by Antes's men and there was Bressi himself, a man in his early sixties tied up in a chair. Fox quickly drew his head back before he could be spotted while the sounds of gunshots could be heard from other room, meaning Trooper had executed the remaining loyal guards.

"Go ahead and kill me Ante! Get your hands dirty!" Bressi shouted.

"Oh I would... but I promised Merrick the chance to use his new silent gun." Ante said.

"What your sniper isn't... oh n..." Bressi was cut off by the sound of breaking glass and a small thump sound, followed by a louder thump.

"Well, another one bites the dust." Ante said.

"They killed him." Nora muttered angrily.

"Okay, make that three enforcers out of the picture. We couldn't save Bressi but we can still stop Ante! How many are we dealing with Fox?" Jaune asked quietly.

"Five guards, Ante, three enforcers, and possibly one or two more, plus the sniper that killed Bressi." Fox reported with a whisper.

"That voice talking to Ante was unfamiliar so it is a safe bet someone else is in there, probably Anansi. Okay; Ren, Pyrrha, Nora, you guys use your ranged weapons to take out the guards, after that Pyrrha and I will take on Anansi and Ante, the rest of you will work together to take down the enforcers and find a way to keep that sniper off of us. Everyone ready?" he asked. They all nodded as they gripped their weapons. "Let's go!" Jaune yelled and with that he led his team into battle.

"What the...?!" a guard cried before Pyrrha blasted him in the chest with a round from Milo's gun mode, hitting him so hard he was sent down on his back and knocked unconscious by Nora jumping on his head.

Nora leapt into the air and shot off a few grenades, sending guards flying into the air where Pyrrha and Ren quickly took them out of the fight with their guns while Nora saw a switch that had a little label above that read 'Window Shields Activation'. The redhead grinned and flipped the switch, bringing large black shields down, blocking Merrick's gunfire.

"Good job Nora!" Jaune said as he ducked a blast of Fireball's flamethrower.

Ante and his men got into battle poses, with Little Steve hoisting up his massive minigun, Lao drawing his blade, Fireball aiming his flamethrower, and Ante whipping out a gun. "Well look who it is! If it isn't Arc, Nikos, and some of their little friends! Long time no see, kids!" Ante laughed as he opened fire on them, only for Sage to block the shots with his sword.

"Get in there Jaune!" Sage cried, and the blonde did just that, he rushed forward, screaming in fury as he parried a strike from Lao's katana which was pushed away by Fox's arm blades.

"Take him!" the white-eyed teen said as he began to exchange blows with the swordsman, the blades moving fluidly as they slashed against each other.

Jaune swung his sword out and managed to cut the gun apart, he then slammed Crocea Mors down at Ante, but the crime lord jumped out of the way, before there was a loud crash behind them. Everyone turned to see a man of average height that most definitely a Grimm Commander, if his odd skin coloration and eyes were anything to go by, but what drew everyone's attention were the four, massive spider legs coming out of his back not to mention the gray jacket he wore that seemed to having something moving underneath it.

The legs lifted the man up and he said "Well, looks like the plan worked after all. They played right into our trap."

"Holy crap." Nora said in creeped-out awe at the sight, after she blocked an attack from Little Steve.

"Anansi, I presume." Pyrrha snarled as she got Milo and Akouo ready.

"You are correct, little sister." the man said as reared up and slammed his front spider-legs down on her, which she quickly dodged and took a stab at him with Milo in xiphos form but he sidestepped it. "We didn't meet each other before, I was still an option, but once you betrayed us I got these things, not to mention these!" he snarled as he launched gobs of web at her, throwing her to the wall and sticking her there.

"Pyrrha!" cried Jaune, he moved to help her but Ante slashed him across the upper back with his daggers, forcing Jaune to cry out in pain.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried as Anansi moved towards her. She looked around the room to see Nora fighting Little Steve, Ren dodging Fireball's blasts, Fox and Sage both dueling with Lao, and Jaune was busy with Ante.

No problem, she could take Salem's new minion on even with her arms stuck. As Anansi approached her she used her Semblance to lift up some chairs in the room and throw them at him.

"Ah! What is...?!" he cried out before Pyrrha launched a table at him from the side, nearly knocking him over. She quickly used her Semblance to lift up Milo and used it to cut herself free of the web, and once she was she glared at Anansi as he recovered. "Neat tricks, girl, they weren't kidding about you being tough."

"You don't know the half of it." Pyrrha said as Milo transformed into its spear form and she used threw it right at his face, but he quickly caught it. She allowed herself a small smirk as she rushed forward, sneaked under his arms and slammed Akouo right into his face as she grabbed Milo. Then she jumped up and landed two successful kicks into his chest, knocking him on his back.

Pyrrha launched herself into the air and aimed to come down on his chest but his spider legs came up and protected him, knocking he away into the wall.

"You're not bad." Anansi hissed as his legs began climbing up the wall.

"Salem wanted me for a reason, and she'll never have me again." Pyrrha said darkly as she transformed Milo into gun-mode and opened fire on her arachnid foe.

The battle went on, with Fox and Sage moving and slashing at Lao as he dodged many of their strikes and met others with parries or attacks of his own. The blades moved about wildly in the room while the other fights went on around them. Many blade users will tell you that a fight like this, up close and personal, with nothing but the warriors and their blades clashing against one another, was the best kind of battle. Fox and Sage moved carefully as the latter just narrowly avoided getting a sword ran through his arm.

"You kids are better than the last one of you I fought, how is he doing by the way? The boy with the pink hair? Can't be easy being a sword user with one hand!" Lao mocked. Neither of the teens said anything, Fox just allowed himself a growl of fury as he jumped up and overhead, allowing Sage to slam his big sword at Lao who quickly blocked it only to have Fox come down and attack from the rear, forcing Lao to kick Sage in the gut so he could bring his sword over to parry Fox's blades.

"I don't know, but I think you'll find out what it's like to be a swordsman with no arms!" snarled Fox as he pressed forward, only for Lao to use his free hand to punch the dark skinned teen in the face and kick him down to bring his sword around and parry Sage's next strike.

Ren, on the other hand, was still dealing with Fireball who had put away his flamethrower in favor of an ax, which allowed for a more physical fight. The man in the body suit that covered his burned body spun the weapon around, blocking the bullets from the StormFlowers and occasionally trying to strike forward, but Ren dodged the attacks with relative ease, since Fireballs outfit and wounds prohibited his body from moving too fast.

Fireball slammed the ax at Ren but he parried the attack with the blades of his guns but then Fireball slammed his head forward, catching Ren off guard and dealing him quite a blow, knocking the black and magenta haired teen on his back. Fireball brought up his ax, aiming to slam it into Ren, but the teen rolled out of the way right as the ax came down. Ren moved quickly and used his hands to lift himself up and he kicked Fireball right in the face.

"You go Renny!" Nora cheered as she ducked a blast of Little Steve's minigun.

"You are still very strong, girl. How have you been?" Little Steve inquired as he slammed his minigun at Nora, but she ducked and it slammed into the wall instead.

"Um... Pretty good, me and Ren are together now." she told him as she tried to slam Magnhild into his legs but he jumped out of the way.

"Really? You two are cute together." the thug admitted as he tried to blast her, but she took cover using the table Pyrrha had thrown at Anansi.

"Aw thanks!" Nora said cheerfully before she jumped up and fired a grenade at him. "Why do you care?"

"I'm not mindless thug people think I am, might want to move, that table can't take much more." he warned before he fired at her. Nora nodded and got out of the way and fired another grenade at the large man.

Jaune and Ante went head to head, sword and shield to daggers. Jaune bashed Ante in the chest with his shield and moved forward to attack again but Ante ducked the slash attack and moved to stab Jaune, who avoided it by mere inches.

"I bet you're surprised it was us, right?" Ante asked as he landed a small cut on Jaune's forearm.

"Not really, what did Anansi mean by plan and trap? What's going on?!" Jaune demanded as he slashed at Ante over and over again, who met Jaune's attacks with parries using his daggers.

"Well it's like this Arc; our boss, you know who, wants to see just how much Grimm you and Nikos have left in you so one of her men concocted this little scheme to draw you out and fight us, but we needed something to get you mad so we leaked out some info about a meeting in a Water Treatment Plant and your sister just happened to find out..." Ante explained mockingly.

Jaune roared in fury as he slammed his shield into Ante's face, knocking him into the wall. Jaune was furious, Ante was the reason Violet was hurt... he'd pay for it.

Jaune's eyes turned red as he plunged his sword forward, aiming to stab Ante in the heart but the crime lord got out of the way, all the while a little voice in his head was telling him Violet's injuries were his own fault but Jaune shut out that voice, for now he just focused on Ante.

"You know Arc, I saw your big police-girl sister, maybe I ought pay her a visit and give her a little something." Ante said suggestively before making suggestive motions with his groin area.

Jaune screamed angrily as he surged forward, swinging his blade wildly, forcing Ante to duck and dodge the barrage of strikes as fast as he could. Jaune managed to land several hits on Ante including a slash on his forearm, a large cut across his chest, a slice on the leg, and amputating a few of Ante's dreadlocks. The entire time that little voice kept telling him 'It's your fault.'

"Oh you little dickhead..." Ante growled as he defended himself from Jaune's next attack.

"Jaune! Don't let him play you! He wants to get you mad!" Pyrrha called as she stabbed Anansi in the legs, making him cry out in pain.

Jaune could hear Pyrrha and he knew she was right so he quickly began to think of the things that helped him calm down; Pyrrha, his entire team, Ruby and the rest of Team Beacon, his family... He did this while defending himself from Ante's strikes, his eyes fading back to blue but as he focused on calming down he allowed Ante to out-pace him and he got a painful slash across the back for his troubles. Jaune spun around and slammed the side of his shield into the side of Ante's head.

Ante fell to the ground and Jaune quickly placed a firm foot atop the crime lord's chest while pointing his sword at his neck. "All right, stop fighting my team now or we see if Ante can regenerate his head!" Jaune shouted.

"You wouldn't dare, boy! You don't have it in you!" Anansi barked as fought with Pyrrha.

"Wanna bet?" Jaune asked, giving Pyrrha a wink.

Pyrrha smiled and asked "Would Salem be happy to know that one of her pawns was killed by him under your watch?"

Anansi growled and said "Stand down for the time being."

Little Steve, Lao, and Fireball all backed away from the Hunters-in-training as Anansi retreated to the back of the room.

Jaune allowed himself a little smile before a gun shot went off and Jaune was knocked off his feet and onto the floor, a blast had hit him dead center in his chest armor.

Everyone's attention go to the doorway where Trooper stood with a grim look on his face.

"What the fuck kept you?!" Ante demanded as he got up.

"Sorry I'm late, a few guards gave me trouble. Mind if we cut this short?" Trooper asked as he aimed his gun at Jaune.

"Nah, let's keep this going!" Jaune snapped as he blocked a shot from Trooper with his shield, jumping up as he did so while the others grouped around him.

Trooper was about to move in and fight when something slammed into him and knocked him down. "Ah... what the hell?" he asked as he saw the out cold and beaten form of Tom-Tom laying on top of him as another figure approached, one very familiar to the Hunters-in-training.

"Mr. Xiao-Long?!" cried Nora as the blonde man looked inside.

"What are you doing here?" Pyrrha asked as she used Akouo to block a web attack from Anansi as he and the other criminals moved around them.

"Ozpin sent me a few hours after you left, just in case there was trouble. He was right, your sister filled me in on what's going on." Taiyang said as he moved to enter the room, only for Trooper to trip him. Taiyang growled as he jumped back up, Trooper doing the same, as the blonde slammed his gauntlet-clad fist at the former soldier but Trooper caught the fist and tossed Taiyang over his shoulder.

"Be careful Mr. Xiao-Long, that man just killed six guards!" Nora warned as Anansi spoke up.

"I think it's time we left, but you can still play with some friends of mine!" he said as most of the teens just now noticing that something was moving under the old gray jacket. He unzipped it to reveal his bare torso, which was covered with baby Tarantula Widows. "Meet my babies, I think they'd like to play with you."

"Oh shit!" cried Sage.

"I think I'm gotta puke..." Nora said in disgust as her body shuddered.

"Well... there's something to welcome to my nightmares." Jaune said quietly.

Anansi smirked and his eyes glowed, "Get them!" he yelled. The young horde of spider Grimm leapt off his body and onto the floor to attack the group.

"Let's move boys!" ordered Ante as he and his enforcers ran out of the room with Anansi who controlled the spiders to make a path for them as the students began fighting off the small Grimm while Trooper and Taiyang fought.

"Go ahead, I'll catch up!" called Trooper as he pushed Taiyang out the door where he had taken the troops to, which led to a staircase entrance with one set of steps going up to the roof while the other went down. The two went down the stairs, Taiyang using his gauntlets to throw fireballs at the enforcers while Trooper used his guns and his fists and feet with furious punches and kicks.

Little Steve picked up Tom-Tom and looked back to Anansi. "Let's go!" he called. Anansi held up one finger, the hybrid looked out to the Tarantula Widows and with their task in mind, and attracted to the teens by their disgust and shock of the sight, Anansi released them from his control. He still had one last thing he needed to see.

As the spiders began attacking in a frenzy, on the floor and walls which made it hard to get them all Pyrrha noticed that Anansi had relinquished his control of them, giving them an opportunity to stop this. She looked to Jaune and said "Jaune! Together!"

"Right!" he agreed. The two reached out with their minds and stopped the swarm of spider Grimm in their tracks, Pyrrha doing many of them but Jaune was able to control a lot of them too thanks to their small size. "Take 'em out! We can't hold this many for long!" the blonde ordered, and with that the others went to work, with Nora enjoying the spider smashing all too much.

While Anansi hated to see the young Grimm be destroyed their sacrificed proved something; despite their seemingly normal appearances Arc and Nikos were still hybrids. They could still control Grimm. This little fact would be one that Mistress Salem would be most intrigued to know.

With that he retreated after the others while Trooper and Taiyang battled at bottom of the stairs; with the blonde member of Team STRQ sending out blasts of fire at the disgraced soldier who fired at the Huntsman with guns. Trooper ran forward, ducked every blast and punch that Taiyang threw at him and skull-bashed the man head on.

Taiyang stumbled back which gave Trooper an open shot, he rushed forward and opened up a barrage of punches and kicks on Taiyang, finishing up with a fist to the face, but Taiyang grabbed the hand before it could draw back and he kicked his leg outward, knocking Trooper down as well. Taiyang's aura helped him recover from his injuries and he leapt up and slammed his clawed gauntlets down on Trooper's back, but the enforcer kicked his opponent off of him. He grabbed his assault rifle from off his back and began beating Taiyang with it like a blunt instrument.

Taiyang cried out in pain as it was slammed into him over and over again before Trooper grabbed him by the neck and hoisted him up, aiming a gun at his face. Taiyang's gauntlets heated up and the Huntsman got ready for an attack, hoping that he would like through this for his daughters when Trooper spoke up.

"I am not on your side." he growled before he dropped the blonde man to the ground. Taiyang looked up, confused as his enemy put away his weapons. "But I'm not on their side either."

"Then... whose side are you on?" Taiyang questioned.

"Mine. I don't want Salem and her psychos to win but if I openly defy them I'm dead. They won't know about this since Ante had me take out the security cameras when we arrived so I'll be okay for now. I'll help when I can." Trooper said.

"Nora said you killed six guards, why not kill me?" Taiyang asked.

"I didn't kill them, they're down that hall, hiding in a room." Trooper answered, pointing to a door that led to a hallway. "I'm leaving now, don't try to stop us, I wouldn't want your daughters to lose their father."

As Trooper began going up the stairs Taiyang asked one last question; "Why didn't you kill me or the guards?"

Trooper paused and answered "At Haven... I saw what Salem does to the people who work for her; Saul Jude was a monster, and my friend died refusing to be like him. It's too late for me to be a hero, but I refuse to be one of her monsters."

They said no more to each other, Trooper went back up while Taiyang let his aura nurse his wounds.

---

A short amount of time earlier as the battle began another skirmish happened, across the street in a large finance building Merrick stood in an office and uttered a curse as the shields prevented him from taking shots at the Hunters. "Bloody hell, better get over there and help out." he muttered as he placed the sniper rifle over his shoulder and ran out of the room, right as Ross' ship began to hover around the building, looking to corner the sniper.

He went down in the elevator and came out on the third floor and made his way to the balcony area to grapple his way up to the nightclub's roof only to spot Ross' ship.

"Looks like I got company, better not draw attention to myself." Ross muttered as he took out a grappling hook and fired it just below the nightclub's roof and the hook slammed into the building nice and tight, but the shot drew Ross' attention.

The ship began to descent towards Merrick and he noticed it. "Wanna have a go, fly-boy? Okay by me." he said as he quickly and carefully aimed his rifle at the ship's guns and fired twice, hitting both guns before Ross could open fire on him.

"Crap! He hit 'em dead on." Ross griped as he saw the damage readout on the ship's computer, so if he tried to fire there was a high risk of a weapons backlash that could damage the ship and cause it to crash.

Merrick allowed the grappling hook to pull his body across the street and through the air, but Ross gave chase with the ship. Merrick's feet landed on the side of the nightclub and the grappling hook began to pull him but Ross hadn't given up at all. The ship hovered behind the marksman like a wasp.

"You just don't give up..." Merrick muttered as he attached the grappling hook to his belt and grabbed two guns from his pocket. He leaned back and opened fire on Ross' ship, shooting open the window which allowed him to shoot Ross twice; one bullet merely grazed the pilot's ear but the other one slammed into his shoulder.

"Damn!" Ross cried out as a few more bullets hit the ship's controls. "Crap!" he cried again.

Merrick smirked as he began going up again while the ship began to descent to the ground. Ross forced himself to ignore the pain while his aura began to glow. Despite the damage done to the controls he could still direct the ship away from the parking lot and off to the side where no one would get hurt.

He managed to land the ship with a loud thud in an old lot beside the nightclub, as the engines died down Ross unstrapped himself from his seat and opened the door to see Bianca running over to him.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"A little injured but I'll manage." he answered, "I just hope those kids are okay."

"Trust me, no matter how insane things get they'll find a way to win. Somehow they always do." Bianca said as she began to examine the wound.

---

Once all the young Tarantula Widows were destroyed, or nearly all of them anyway, Team JNPR ran up the staircase while Fox and Sage went down to help Taiyang. Pyrrha used her Semblance to fling the door open, just in time to see that the ship had already taken off and left.

"Pyrrha, can you bring them back with your Semblance?" Jaune asked.

"It's worth a try!" Pyrrha said, she reached out to the metal of the ship and grabbed on to it, managing to hold it back, but it didn't last long. Lao opened up the side door and lobbed an explosive at her.

"Pyrrha get down!" cried Jaune frantically as Nora stepped up and used Magnihild like a baseball bat to knock the grenade back into the air where it exploded harmlessly while the enforcer's ship blasted off, too far for Pyrrha to grab them again.

"They're gone." Ren observed.

Pyrrha looked at Jaune and said "Nora had the grenade Jaune! I had them! If you hadn't broken my concentration they wouldn't have gotten away!"

Jaune looked a little hurt, but he knew that Pyrrha was absolutely right. He looked down with guilt and said "I... I'm sorry it's just... it's just that I already have one person I love in the hospital, I don't want you to get hurt too."

Pyrrha mentally scolded herself for hurting his feelings but she quickly grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. "I'm sorry Jaune, but I promise you I will not get hurt."

They went down the stairs to see Fox and Sage helping an injured Taiyang to the doorway. "Come on down, let's get out of here before more guards show up." Fox said.

Jaune nodded, "Good idea, let's get out of here."

About four or five minutes later the group made it out of the nightclub via a side entrance and sure enough they could see Ross' downed ship with the pilot and Bianca outside of it, but there were surprised to see that they were accompanied by Junior and the twins who had about a dozen or so bags and suitcases with them.

They came over and saw the Junior had brought a first-aid kit for Ross' wounds.

"Taiyang? What are you doing here?" Ross asked as Junior tightened the gauze around his shoulder.

"Ozpin sent me just in case these kids got into trouble, naturally they did. When I came to the hospital Joanne and Hera told me what was going on and that they had the crystal. I came here to help out and sure enough I was needed. You kids are gonna have to help me on this report." Taiyang said to the students.

"We'll do our best." Ren said with a nod.

"It's only fair after what we got you into." Pyrrha agreed.

"So what happened up there, anyway?" asked Junior.

"Turns out this entire thing was a trap for us, Bressi was a pawn and a disposable one at that." Jaune explained.

"So... Mr. Bressi is dead?" Militia asked, her questioned answered with solemn nods from the young Hunters.

"And there probably will be proof so they can't say you did it, that Trooper guy told me they deactivated the security cameras before they came in so it's a safe bet we'll be safe from any murder charges. And the guards who work here can probably attest to Ante being the culprit." Taiyang stated.

"And those guards we knocked out will say he did it too." Nora added.

"Why did Trooper tell you that?" Sage asked.

Taiyang pondered the question and answered "Well... he let me go. I think it's safe to say we can't call him a friend or a foe just yet."

"So what are you doing out here?" Jaune asked Junior as he finished patching up Ross.

"Figured crap was about to hit the fan, might as well leave a little early and leave a thank you note for Bressi, but I guess that ended up being pointless. Saw this ship come down and we decided to check it out." the bearded man answered.

"Well I'm grateful you did." voiced Ross as he placed an arm on his bandaged shoulder.

"We better get somewhere secure and report this to Ozpin." Taiyang stated.

"And get some help, knowing Ante he probably knows where our families are." Jaune said.

"That's right, and I for one would feel safe if there were someone guarding my parents." Pyrrha agreed, wondering just what Ante, and by that extension Salem, had in store for their families.

"I think that can be arranged. Can your car fit all of us?" Taiyang asked Bianca.

"Well... if someone is willing to sit in the trunk or on the floor." she said.

"Something tells me this will not be a comfortable ride back." Fox said dryly.

---

Meanwhile at Vacuo, Ruby had woken up from her nap and was feeling hungry, so the girls went down to hotel's dining room to have some dinner, meeting up with the present members of Team CFVY along the way who decided to join them for dinner while Team SSSN simply preferred room service.

As they sat around a large round table eating their evening meals, with Ruby happily munching on a plate of cookies, a hotel worker approached them.

"Excuse me, may I interrupt your dinner to ask you a question?" he asked.

"Go ahead, we can eat and listen." Coco stated as she crunched on a crouton.

"Well, I saw you come down here and a few minutes ago this young woman arrived, asking via text on a scroll, for some odd reason, to see you." the man said.

"A young woman? Let me guess; short, has an umbrella with her, pink and brown hair, eyes, and clothes?" Yang asked.

"Umm, yes. Are you expecting her?"

"We sure are, bring her in." Coco said.

The man bowed respectfully and came back with, sure enough, Neopolitan.

"Neo! You made it!" Ruby said.

The multi-colored girl nodded, giving them a cat-like grin as she took a seat between Yang and Coco.

"How was the trip?" Coco inquired.

Neo held up a flat hand and slanted it back and forth to give off the emotion of 'meh'.

"Well it was awesome of you to come to help us out. How's life been treating you since Haven?" Ruby asked.

Neo gave off another cocky smile and shrugged, being sure to show off the new necklace she had... obtained. They all got the picture, with Weiss, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi giving her disapproving looks but she merely smirked.

"So you're sure your up for this mission, right?" Yang asked.

"It's going to be very dangerous." Blake told her.

Neo smirked once more and texted something on her scroll, then held up to show them what she had typed: 'I'd be disappointed if it wasn't.'

"That's the spirit." Yang said cheerfully.

"Yeah, it's the kind of attitude you need to be in this team. So do you want some food?" Ruby asked. Neo answered with an eager nod.

---

It had been quite a day.

After a few hours of talking to the police about what had happened and reporting to Ozpin and Goodwitch, both of whom agreed to get that the Arc and Nikos families needed looking after for time being should Salem and her ilk try anything and would get Ironwood to provide some tomorrow. After a long day had left the teens feeling exhausted, some both physically and emotionally, it was time to retire for the night. Taiyang, Ren, Nora, Fox, and Sage would stay at the Arc household while Pyrrha and Jaune would spend the night at the Nikos home, in the guest room while Pyrrha kept the Aura Crystal under her bed.

Jaune sat on his bed in the guest room, watching a comedy show on the television when Pyrrha walked in.

"Are you comfortable enough?" she asked.

"It's pretty good, nice of your parents to let me sleep here." Jaune said.

"Well they know of the nightmares we've been having, my mother feels it's not a good idea to separate us for too long. Are you sure you don't want to be with me in my room?" she inquired.

Jaune blushed slightly and said "Well it... feels inappropriate for us to sleep together in your house so soon, you know? I mean I don't want your parents to think I'm a pervert or anything."

Pyrrha couldn't help but smile at that, "They won't think that of you."

"Well better safe than sorry, how do you like the new armor?" he asked.

She smiled and said "Love it, it will do wonders for future missions. How do you like it?"

Jaune blushed harder at her flirty smile and said "Well I... think it makes you look like a goddess, but everything you wear does."

Pyrrha giggled and said "Why thank you." She gave him a kiss and then asked "Will you be okay tonight?

"I think so, but I promise you if I have a nightmare I'll be outside your door." he said.

Pyrrha suddenly got serious and she said "Speaking of which; after all that's happened today I've forgotten to talk to you about your nightmares." She saw Jaune's expression doured but she didn't give up. She placed her hand atop his and said "Jaune, do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Do you love me?"

"Of course I do!" he cried.

"Then please, tell me what happened in your nightmare last night." she pleaded.

Jaune took a deep breath and began, "I... at first I dreamt about our friends turning on us, killing us for... what she turned us into." he said. "I... I watched as Ruby sliced open your throat and then I was in... in another dream or something, I don't know how to describe it but that's what it was like. We were Team RNJR again, in Mistral still looking for Cinder and we had never met Ashe, we never found you. I ran off and I... I saw Cinder and Salem... and you."

He stopped talking and buried his head in his hands before Pyrrha placed a comforting arm on his back. "What did you see?" she asked gently.

"I saw you die. Over and over again, turning into golden dust, an arrow in your chest, you said you'd always be here for me and..." Jaune stopped as Pyrrha captured him in a tight, loving hug.

She held him as close as she could before saying "Now I understand why you knocked me out of the way, I don't blame you. I've had nightmares too Jaune, visions of losing you and... I know how you feel. But my dream-self was right; I will always be here for you."

Jaune smiled and hugged back back, saying "Thank you." as he did so.

---

Ozpin sipped his latest cup of steaming coffee, one finger idly tapping against the top of his cane even as the lift ascended towards a room in the hotel that served as an area for business conferences. Usually he would hold a meeting like this in his office but this would do for the time being until Beacon Academy was rebuilt. His mind was currently going over the items of the latest meeting with Oobleck and the other scientists on the project with updates for development of the bullets created with energy harvested from Ruby's eyes, which Crane had affectionately dubbed 'Silver Bullets' after the old legend about how werewolves could only be killed using such weapons. The constant soft hum of the ascending lift filled his ears as he pondered over his next course of action to counter Salem and her agents, and mentally sighed to himself that he still might have more difficult choices to make in this new war to come. Qrow had called him and had informed him that Neo had arrived so they would be heading out to the prison at Oro tomorrow, so hopefully this ordeal with the White Fang would be over soon.

Taiyang had also called him and had informed him of what had gone down in Cadia earlier that evening, and the report meant many things, such as: one new Grimm Commander identified, it was a safe bet that Salem now knew that Jaune and Pyrrha can still control Grimm, Trooper aka Alexander Camos wasn't entirely a foe, and the Arc and Nikos families needed body guards from potential attacks, something General Ironwood was happy to supply.

What was on his mind right now, however, was the meeting ahead of him. Councilor Henry had messaged him that afternoon to inform him that the meeting was to take place that night in his office. A meeting between himself and a warrior.

After the lift came to a slow halt with a soft chime, Ozpin's slow footsteps carried him to one of the meeting rooms that the hotel possessed which was mostly used for meetings between various working companies doing their business in Vale. Mentally checking the number of the meeting room with his brown eyes, the headmaster of Beacon Academy politely knocked and then pushed open the oak doors. He then stepped into the meeting place, closing and locking it behind him as he did so. His eyes took in everything in the room, and saw his guest standing near the windows which provided a view of the streets leading to Beacon Academy in the distance, observing with arms crossed at the inhabitants of Vale going about their business below, most of them just happy to be back in the city.

The distance separating Ozpin and his guest was a large meeting table made of fine mahogany and black obsidian marble, and a number of office chairs populated the two opposite sides of the meeting table. An expensive-looking glass chandelier illuminated the room in a dim white light, reflecting off the smooth surface of the meeting table and the transparent glass of the windows Ozpin's guest was currently staring out of. As the click from the closing doors echoed throughout the meeting room, the guest turned his head and studied Ozpin with a careful and emotionless gaze.

The new arrival was almost as tall as him, and cut and lithe, muscular figure fully decked in armor plates of gunmetal grey with black trim highlights, and a robe of blackest night flowed from his armored shoulders and was connected with metal clasps to his pauldrons. A hood concealed the figure's head in shadow, and if Ozpin squinted a little he could catch a glimpse of the figure's head glancing at him, the figure's shadowed face-plate reflected on the glass surface illuminated by the dim lights of the meeting room. The guest stood a respectful distance from the meeting table, and watched as Ozpin walked around the table and approached him in slow, purposeful steps.

Stopping a short distance from the armored figure, Ozpin placed both his hands on top of his cane and looked at his latest visitor in the eyes. Or more specifically at the eyes of the other person through the eye-slits of the face-plate partially concealed by the black hood. The silence in the room dragged on to uncomfortable levels as Ozpin and the armored figure eyed each other intensely, like hawks about to swoop in for the kill.

"I was expecting Tranquility, but I do remember you; Shadow Reaper. That's your Knight name, is it not?" Ozpin spoke and took a small breath, preparing himself for whatever the armored knight might say in return.

"Headmaster Ozpin, it is good to see you safe after your capture. It has been a long time." The voice of the Remnant Knight was low and measured, and was spoken more like a counselor than a warrior. It gave Ozpin the impression of the sound of water flowing over stone in the rivers leading to lakes within the mountains. There was not even a single breath wasted in the Knight's speech, just enough to state his intent and nothing more than that. If he had not replied Ozpin thought he might have mistaken the Remnant Knight for a statue instead.

This man was a Remnant Knight, a member of a legendary order of warriors who were dedicated to protecting Remnant and its people from threats of all kind, be it Grimm or otherwise. Many people had forgotten about them, allowing the order to fall into the realm of myths and legends, but there were those who believed they existed, Professor Crane was among them. Some had spent years searching for proof of their existence, but usually came up with nothing or, if they actually got somewhere, gave up for seemingly no reason.

"Confirmation Code: Crouching Drakes, Hidden Slayers - The Knights of Remnant." Ozpin continued, speaking calmly as he looked at the armor-clad figure in front of him, noticing the minuscule nicks and scratches here and there marring the Knight's otherwise pristine armor plates, which probably came from whatever combat operations he had undertaken in the field; be it from fighting Grimm or more normal threats like thieves or murderers.

"The unbreakable shield of Remnant against the encroaching darkness. Confirmed." Shadow Reaper replied, pulling back his hood to show the Knight's helmet and gorget, the former of which was fashioned in the snarling likeness of an alpha Grimm Beowolf with bared fangs. Detailed lines of archaic script written in ancient languages and patterns revealed themselves upon the exposed overlapping armor plates of meticulously-crafted Aegis armor commonly worn by the Remnant Knights.

Ozpin slowly extended a hand and clasped the Remnant Knight's armored gauntlet in a firm grip, feeling the firm grip that has doubtlessly wielded the two exceptionally lethal gun-blades sheathed in their respective holsters at each side of the Knight's waist. They shook briefly, and then released each other's hand. Taking their seats at the opposite sides meeting table, the headmaster placed his cane to lean against the table by his side, and knotted his fingers together, while Shadow Reaper reached up and unclasped his helmet, revealing a face worn by battles and conflict, with a mop of raven black hair and dark brown eyes. A few long jagged scars ran from Shadow Reaper's eyebrow all the way down across his face and ending at his lips, giving him a hideous look to what would otherwise be quite a handsome face if it wasn't chewed up by a Grimm creature. Ozpin's eyes widened a fraction momentarily, and he inclined his head a little in respect as the Remnant Knight placed his somewhat macabre helmet by the side and sat back on his own chair.

"Supreme Grand Knight Master Seraph sent his regards, Headmaster Ozpin, as do the others. We has received your message that you would speak with us and sent me to handle matters here in Vale. I speak with the full authority of the Knight Order as Master Seraph's proxy and would hear whatever you need to say and inform our Order accordingly." The Knight continued, and Ozpin gave another nod in response.

"Thank you. It has been a long time since I have seen a Remnant Knight in the flesh, and a lot of things have changed since your Knight Order has...focused its efforts on fighting various battles around Remnant throughout the intervening years." Ozpin began, speaking slowly as he regarded the Remnant Knight, "In fact, I seem to remember something on the news not a week ago about a mysterious warrior who appeared out of nowhere to save a village in Vacuo from a Grimm attack, one 'savior' who vanished without a trace as soon as they finished slaughtering the Grimm. I assume it was one of you?"

Shadow Reaper narrowed his dark brown eyes a little at the news report, and then a grimace came to his lips, and what passed as a chuckle seeped from his throat before nodding in confirmation, "Ah yes, that would probably be one of our Knights operating deep in the field. I'm pretty sure that this is the handiwork of a certain Remnant Knight, he's a young one, trained by one of our Prognosticars, Argentius; Sharp Strike. It would most likely fit his approach to be the one who would step in to save a village from the Grimm, and then vanish without a trace. He's one who tends to keep to himself and report in only after a battle. Battles like the one in Vacuo are all too common for him to fight."

Ozpin nodded and said "Well, he is yours to take care of. However, I regret to inform you that some things have gotten considerably...worse after the fall of Vale, and it was with the efforts of several Huntsmen as well as the supporting army of Atlas that we managed to take Beacon Academy back from the swarms of Grimm infesting the ruins."

"Taking back Beacon Academy and pushing the Grimm out of Vale is certainly a small victory." Shadow Reaper pointed out as he tapped a finger against the smooth black surface of the meeting table, "...but against the scale of what's facing us out there in the world of Remnant, this battle is but one small piece of the overarching puzzle." He took a breath and continued, "We know enough of the current happenings around Remnant; Grimm, the White Fang, pirates, criminal organizations, and... her. ..and to say that things have gotten worse would probably be the understatement of the millennium, especially after what transpired in Haven."

"On that, my friend...I can wholeheartedly agree with you." Ozpin sat back on his seat and rubbed his temples, absentmindedly sighing as he thought about what he would be telling the Remnant Knight in the next... however long this meeting would take. He was going to need more coffee later, of that the headmaster would have no doubt.

"How go the repairs on the academy?" asked Shadow Reaper.

"The damage was extensive, so the repairs will be too, but at this rate we will be up and running again before the month is out. So if you don't mind me asking, what have your fellow Remnant Knights been doing? I mean, did you come close to finding Cinder in Haven, or me? What have you been up to?"

"We have been countering the Great Enemy on an innumerable number of battle imaginable, though there are times when I feel the Mistress of Grimm doesn't even notice us we are of such little consequence to her." Shadow Reaper replied, his eyebrow raising a little on his scarred face, "Their hands have not been idle, and with each battle we fought against them the great shadow that threatens to overwhelm Remnant grows a little darker, and we have been trying to beat them back as best as we could and we've been... doing alright so far."

"And I take it that those battles have been...costly?" Ozpin prompted, and the Remnant Knight gave a grave nod.

"We have suffered some losses yes, but those are yet manageable at the moment. You see, our Knight Order is not as numerous as the times back in the Great Wars, but we are coping with the developing circumstances around Remnant as they arrive. We're not perfect but we're getting the job done." Shadow Reaper let out a small breath, "But one thing is clear...the Grimm are getting bolder with each passing day, with attacks on the Outskirts of the Kingdoms intensifying significantly as of late."

"A dire situation, I must say." The headmaster mentioned, "Speaking of attacks, it seems that the White Fang have also stepped up their attacks too on the various Kingdoms. Various raids on warehouses, robberies, etc... While the law enforcement agencies have managed to eradicate a few resistance cells and captured their members, they haven't given up the location of their leader, Adam Taurus, or the Fang's headquarters. I have heard word that many other sleeper cells throughout the kingdoms still remain undiscovered."

"Some of the other Remnant Knights have crossed paths with them before." Shadow Reaper said, sitting a little upright on his chair, "...and it's shocking how much of their ranks have been populated by Faunus who were little more than thugs or innocent people pushed over the edge by some less than savory humans, but we've also gathered reports of what quite possibly be mercenaries with clear connections to the Mistral underworld. The Remnant Knights have tried to neutralize the various White Fang members whenever we came across any of them, but even with the best of our efforts there are possibly some that escaped our watchful eyes, and those we do capture kill themselves before they spit out the location of the leader, wherever he may be."

"For your information, a considerable group of Huntsmen and Huntresses from Team Beacon are tackling the problem at the moment." Ozpin informed the Knight, "They have acted on a tip-off from a contact one of the young Huntresses has within the White Fang and are on their way to rescue Claudandus and hopefully help us sort out the White Fang problem."

"And do you trust the Huntress with the contact?" Shadow Reaper inquired.

Ozpin returned his piercing gaze with a nod, "I do, and The Huntress is Blake Belladonna, who knows quite a lot about the White Fang and has proven to be trustworthy in the past. She even shares a bond with its founder, but unlike him she stayed with the Fang when they turned dark but she abandoned their cause when she saw what they were becoming, even becoming a target of their wrath. We can trust her."

The Knight gave a barely perceptible shrug of his shoulders in response, "Then I am sure they will succeed on their given mission, and hopefully reduce one less problem from our rather huge mountain of current difficulties."

"That's not counting the foes that Team Beacon has faced during the battle which took place in Haven." Ozpin remarked, and when Shadow Reaper remained silent he continued, "It seems that Salem, the Grimm Mistress has assembled quite a formidable number of powerful allies and followers to her banner, and it has become clear to me that we require the help of the Remnant Knights once more."

"As long as our goals correspond with each other, I don't see any problem with our cooperation." Shadow Reaper replied, "Even as we speak, some of my fellow Knights are looking over the remaining three Maidens; Elsa, Amethyst, and Heliosia. We started do so after what happened to you and Amber, to ensure that they at least remain under protection so that the Great Enemy won't obtain their individual powers after getting the Fall Maiden's power."

"That...is indeed good news." The headmaster gazed at the knight, "...although I have to ask, what should happen if our enemies find the other three maidens? What would be your next course of action?"

Shadow Reaper looked contemplative for a brief moment, and he replied, "We will protect them with our lives. This is one bridge we have planned for, we will not simply 'cross that bridge when we get to it', headmaster."

"I understand." Ozpin adjusted his spectacles by pushing the bridge up his nose, "And there's a matter we cannot avoid for long; that of the Aura Crystal... what does your Order want with it?" The Remnant Knight pursed his lips, making the scars on his face twitch a little.

"We know of what happened in Haven, Henry sent us the details. We knew of Ashe Kasai and his passing. A certain few members of the Order, including young Sharp Strike, would want to meet the two new guardians of the relic you speak of in person, and we had been looking for the Aura Crystal for a long time but Kasai prevented us from taking it from him but now that he is gone and it has resurfaced, we would like to see for ourselves the relic and its two chosen guardians. But who are these two chosen ones?"

"Jaune Arc of the Arc Family and Pyrrha Nikos." Ozpin produced his scroll and opened it, tapping a few choice buttons and both Jaune and Pyrrha's profiles appeared on the transparent screen, before passing it to Shadow Reaper who studied both their faces with a careful gaze, "Yes. I can see you are acquainted with them, the crystal itself is currently with them in Cadia." The headmaster noticed the look of recognition on the Knight's face as he scanned through every bit of detail on both their profiles.

It was a few long moments before the Remnant Knight spoke again, "I thought the name Arc sounded familiar, as I think you and I both remember that the Order had wanted to recruit an Arc child into the ranks of the Remnant Knights, but the family politely refused that offer because at that time the child was still a baby. But since he has become a Huntsman now at Beacon Academy, I suppose that he had indeed put all his potential to good use."

"Both of them have been among our best fighters." Ozpin mentioned, "And I am sure they will surprise you if you give them a chance to prove themselves in battle."

The armored knight gave a small nod, "While fighting me isn't necessary, yet, I certainly hope so, since they are the current guardians of the Aura Crystal, which must not fall into the wrong hands or we would suffer the most terrible of consequences."

"That would never happen." Ozpin felt his hands unconsciously tighten into fists, "...not when I am alive to prevent it. I will never fail so miserably again." He forced himself to relax his clenched hands, and if Shadow Reaper noticed his brief display of anger he gave no indication of it, "I've also been meaning to ask you a few things; were any of you at the Vytal Festival? Someone who could have prevented the disaster?"

"We had one; a simple warrior named Woodcutter, the morning of the fall we lost contact with him, we have heard nothing from him in months. I assume Cinder Fall found him out and killed him, left his body to be devoured by the Grimm. Anything else?"

"Yes, did look for Cinder Fall in Haven? Were you aware of what was transpiring there?" Ozpin inquired.

"As I said our numbers are stretched thin, we cannot conduct thorough searches of giant cities looking for a few people. We did send a few of our scouts out to search some major cities for any sign of her, including Haven. They came up with nothing, she must have been well hidden before those young ones arrived." Shadow Reaper said.

"The last thing is... rather personal; did you come close to finding Salem's palace?" Ozpin asked, remembering the horrible period of time he was kept there.

"...No. Many have searched for the Grimm's Kingdom for years and have found nothing, the only ones who have been there have either pledged their lives and loyalty to the Mistress of Grimm or have been killed. You are one of the only people to have been there, do you know where it could be?" Shadow Reaper asked.

Ozpin thought for a moment and answered "No, I was rarely ever let out of that horrible cell I shared with... him, Norvik. The only times I was ever let out was to speak with Salem and the only thing I could see outside was... an oddly beautiful view of the moon."

"Not surprising, even the darkest pits of Remnant have a bit of beauty in them, I've seen enough of this world to know that truth. I am sorry to hear about Norvik's survival by the way. Twice, no less. Henry told us what happened in Vacuo... those poor Faunus did not deserve such a fate. Make sure Taurus burns for that." Shadow Reaper said, a bit of anger rising in his voice.

"I'll do what I can, hopefully Team Beacon will bring him to justice soon. Is there anything else you require besides meeting the Guardians of the Aura Crystal?" Ozpin asked.

"In fact, there is." The Knight passed the scroll back to Ozpin, and the headmaster glanced down to see the profile of Ruby Rose, and he felt his eyebrows rise on his face, "I have mentioned him several times but you have never met him, and if you did his face was most likely covered, Argentius, would like to meet Ruby Rose in person. Her unique...abilities with the Grimm have come to the attention of our Prognosticar and Supreme Grand Knight Master, and Argentius has expressed interest in meeting her. We would like you to bring her to meet us with the two guardians of the Aura Crystal."

"And why her specifically? Is it because of her Silver Eyes?" Ozpin posed to the Remnant Knight who tilted his head a little.

"I am sure all would be made clear when the representatives of the Knight Order arrives in Vale. Whatever the case, Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos and Ruby Rose are of extreme interest to the Remnant Knights. We do not wish to force them into our order, we merely want to meet with them, I am sure you understand, Headmaster Ozpin."

"I suppose all would be made clear when those three meet the representatives of your order, wouldn't it?" Ozpin answered slowly, "I will make the arrangements for the upcoming meeting when the rest of Team Beacon comes back from their mission in Vauco. Thank you for answering my questions, Shadow Reaper." Ozpin finished, and stood up from his chair, "I suppose that concludes our meeting for tonight."

The Remnant Knight nodded his head, and reached for his masked helmet before locking it in place back onto his gorget, and clashed one fist to his silver-black chest plate in response, showing the specialized emblem of the Remnant Knights before saying, "Until we meet again, headmaster Ozpin."

"May you continue to walk as an eternal beacon of light against the shadows, standing against evil when all others falter, Shadow Reaper." The headmaster spoke and the Remnant Knight bowed a little.

"And you as well, fellow Huntsman."

---

Fotia stood on the battlefield, her armor and weapons covered with the blood of her fallen enemies, Huntsman, Huntress, Solider, and civilian alike. Behind her, growling with a festering hatred was the Wyvern, looking out for something else to kill. Her pale white body was poised to kill anything that tried to stop her, her blood red eyes filled with lust for war.

As the dragon rider walked forward she looked down to see her former comrades from Teams SSSN and CFVY dead by her blades or the Wyvern's fire, with them were Atlas soldiers and ordinary citizens young and old alike. None had been spared, just as Mistress Salem had commanded.

She glanced up at the Wyvern's armor-spikes and allowed herself a smirk at the severed heads of Ironwood, Goodwitch, Branwen, Schnee, Oobleck, Port, and the one she despised the most; Ozpin.

She allowed herself a small smile at the grotesque scene before feeling something touch her foot. She looked down to see the partially destroyed Penny crawling with her left hand, since her lower body and right arm had been destroyed in the battle.

"You aren't Fotia Drakos... this isn't you..." she said, her voice more mechanical than ever.

"Oh shut up." she said as she fired her gun at the robotic girl's head, destroying it with a small explosion. She kicked the now limp body off of her and she walked further into the battlefield, spying the charred remains of the traitor Neo's body.

She kept moving, seeing the dead bodies of Teams CRDL, NDGO, ABRN, BRNZ, and many others before coming across Ren and Nora, dead in each other's arms. She spared them a small glance and nothing more. Why should she? She was Fotia Drakos now, they didn't mean anything to her anymore.

She kept going forward, the Wyvern stopping to eat a corpse every now and then. Eventually she saw what had become of Team RWBY; Yang ripped limb from limb, Blake decapitated, Weiss hung and impaled with her own sword, and as for Ruby Rose... there was nothing left of her but the red cape and some ashes. A fitting punishment after she scarred Lady Cinder.

She moved onward, and amongst the corpses and debris she found the bodies of her former parents, their hands clasped together in death. A decent way to leave this world, she supposed. She remembered killing them, she had made if quick so they wouldn't suffer.

A noise stole her attention away, she turned, weapons ready, to see the wounded and weary Jaune Arc, likewise covered in blood from his wounds and enemies, his body dotted with battle wounds, and his eyes rich with misery and tiredness.

"Pyrrha... don't make me fight you... I love you..."

"I am sorry Jaune, but I am Mistress Salem's servant and you are an enemy. I love you too."

She charged at him with The Blood Blade out and with a mighty scream she swung the blade at his neck...

Pyrrha woke up with a scream, her hair and body wet with sweat as she nearly fell out of her bed from the nightmare she had just suffered from. She looked around, eyes wide with shock and relief as she realized she was in her bed in her room in home. She looked to the vanity mirror and was beyond relived to see that her skin, while pale, was still its normal color, her eyes were still emerald.

It was just a dream... but that didn't mean she hadn't been utterly terrified of what she had seen and disgusted by the mere thought that she could do such horrible things.

Just then the door flew open to reveal her parents.

"Pyrrha, what happened?! We heard you scream!" cried Zeus.

"Is everything okay? What's wrong honey?" Hera asked quickly.

Pyrrha looked them in the eyes, so happy to see they were alive, and she jumped up and rushed at them, capturing them both in a hug.

"You're okay, you're okay..." she whispered.

"Of course we're alright. Did you have another nightmare?" Zeus asked gently as he helped his daughter back to bed. Hera sat down next to her, a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Y-yes... it was so horrible! The t-things I did..." she said quietly as Jaune ran into the room.

"Wha... what happened?" he asked as he panted for air.

"She had a nightmare, don't know what it was about." Zeus answered as Pyrrha looked up at her boyfriend.

"J-jaune? Could you please come here?" she asked.

Jaune didn't hesitate for a second, he walked from the door to her bed and sat down next to Pyrrha. "I'm here, what's wrong?" he asked.

Pyrrha didn't say anything, she just hugged Jaune and buried her face into the crook of his neck.

"She had a nightmare, a bad one apparently." Hera said. She looked to her husband, her eyes asking a question and Zeus nodded in agreement. "Jaune, we think it would be best if you were to stay with Pyrrha for the night."

"Really? You don't mind?" he asked as he rubbed Pyrrha's back, soothing her.

"After everything you have done for our little girl, who are we to deny the fact that you two need each other?" Zeus asked with a shrug.

Despite the fact that she still felt uneasy Pyrrha allowed herself a small smile at that.

After a few minutes, when Hera and Zeus were sure that Pyrrha was alright and would feel better with Jaune they went back to their bedroom.

Jaune and Pyrrha lay together in the bed, both of them tired from the events of the long day behind them.

"Thank you for being here for me Jaune." she said as she snuggled into him.

"You're always there for me, and I will always be here for you." he said.

Pyrrha smiled, very tempted to begin a wildly passionate make-out session but for now she simply laid a thankful kiss on his neck before cuddling with him, his arms wrapped around her to hold her still while she found his body wonderfully warm and then, feeling safe in each other's arms they fell back to sleep.

And then Pyrrha had another dream, one that was somewhat brought on by her close proximity with Jaune, this dream was much... different from her other one she had that night...

Pyrrha snuggled into Jaune as they sat outside against a large willow tree, their bodies were slightly older and there were a few young, and rather adorable, children sleeping with them.

This was her dream, to be happy with the man she loved and to have a family with him.

It was a dream she wanted to come true so much but for now... a dream was good enough.

In the real world the couple snuggled together under the covers, sleeping a peaceful sleep together, happy with each other.

Next Time: Infiltration.

Special thanks to my friend Relentless Crusader for creating the Remnant Knights and allowing me to use them, and for writing a bulk of Ozpin and Shadow Reaper's scene.

So Junior and the twins finally appear in this story and we got the return of Ante and his men, hope you enjoyed it. Taiyang originally wasn't going to be in this chapter, but I decided to give him something to do, and I thought it would even things out in the fight.

I also made some Blake scenes myself because I decided that since this arc should be focused on her it hasn't been so far, so I decided to give you a bigger glimpse at her backstory we've heard about so far, and to play into Adam's past as well. Also I needed more Arkos goodness before I could move on to the next five or so chapters which will be focused of the White Fang mission.

If you enjoyed this chapter on Fanfiction . Net then please review, follow, and favorite it you liked it and if you're on An Archive of Our Own then leave a kudos and comment and possibly even bookmark it. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if possible at all mention this story on the RWBY Reddit. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback.