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

98. Moving Day

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Chapter 97: Moving Day

With all the fighting and excitement Team Beacon had been through since being dispatched to Vacuo, it felt like years since they had actually sat down and listened to a lecture from their professors. Teams RWBY, JNPR, SSSN and Penny were listening to one of Professor Port's lectures on obscure Grimm species. While Team CFVY had gone into another part of the large living room area, listening via headphones to Professor Crane's lesson on vaults discovered from the previous world before the cataclysm that shattered the moon and had made Remnant into the world it was now.

"The Ahp, or Krasue as it's also been called, is a nasty and strange species of Grimm that has only been discovered in the Coraq Archipelago off the southern coast of Vacuo, however they are known to sneak aboard ships at the port and then wreak havoc on whatever unlucky cargo vessels or fishing trolleys they managed to stowaway on, creating a few so called 'ghost ships' over the years," The video of Port said, gesturing to photos and images of a disturbing Grimm, a floating head resembling a woman with a disturbingly wide, split open mouth with huge, overgrown fangs and out of its neck hung organs with a spinal column-like thing.

"The long bone, resembling a human spinal column, is used for attack. It flails it around like a whip and if you're not careful, it can land a very nasty blow! Why, when I was a young Huntsman I witnessed a friend of mine get a nasty hit across his back when we encountered one of these things. The organs hanging from the neck emit a slimy fluid used to weaken and sedate its prey, making anyone unfortunate enough to become its target too tired to fight back. Fortunately, while the organ sacs are less durable than they look, with enough well-placed shots of Fire of Combustion Dust shells or blades will be enough to make the organs explode. Its large eyes are also optimal weak spots," Port's image went onto explain, "So when fighting one, be sure to remember to exploit these weaknesses and you'll do just fine!"

"Ugh, hate those things," Sage muttered.

"What was that?" Asked Amethyst with a faux-stern voice as she did her best to play the part of teacher's assistant in the absence of Beacon's teachers and was clearly enjoying it, "Do you have something to share with the class, Mr. Ayana?"

"Oh, he was just talking out that time we encountered an Ahp back at Haven." Neptune spoke up as Heliosia paused the video as the others looked at him.

"If you have a story about it, please tell us," Heliosia invited.

"It was a really nasty bugger," Scarlet added, "We were at this abandoned warehouse that we used to hang out in, the one that we had Team RNJR and Ashe stay in back when they came to Haven. It was a few weeks after Beacon Fell, we were all feeling pretty down in the dumps-"

"Yeah, when this ship came in and the crew were freaking out big time because their captain and a few of their mates had been killed by a Krasue, er Ahp, whatever it's called," Sun took over quickly, "And we decided that since we were there we might as well help out."

"We went into the huge cargo hold with some of the braver crewmen who were armed with pistols and shotguns, and when we were moving down the main aisle slowly and carefully the freaky Grimm suddenly came down right on top of us! It knocked me and a crewman out of the way before wrapping itself around Neptune with a piercing hiss!" Sage explained.

"Whoa, really?! How come you never told us?" Ruby asked the bluenette.

"Because it was NOT a pleasant experience, and I had nightmares over it for like two weeks," Neptune justified as he shuddered.

"I can't blame you, just looking at it gives me goosebumps," Weiss mentioned, making a disgusted expression at the pictures of the Grimm's disturbingly humanoid face.

"I wasn't underselling it when I said it was nasty," Scarlet commented before continuing, "That thing bit down on Neptune's right shoulder, but I shot it off with my grappling hook-"

"And then Sage and I blasted it into a big grease stain!" Sun exclaimed, he glanced at his girlfriends and added, "We all got some praise from Headmaster Argo that night."

Blake and Yang both smiled at him as Heliosia nodded, "Team SSSN, thank you for sharing your story, it was very insightful. Everyone else, please remember what Professor Port said as well as Team SSSN's advice, it will be very helpful for the quiz." The Summer Maiden reminded her 'students'.

The hunters-in-training diligently took notes on the other lectures, doing their best to memorize what they were being told while mentally preparing themselves for the upcoming quiz.

After about five hours of long lectures and note taking, Heliosia spoke up, "All right everyone, we'll take a break for about forty minutes, and then it's quiz time!"

"This should be easy, considering how fresh the information is." Ren remarked.

"Speak for yourself, Renny." Nora moaned, exaggeratedly rubbing her fingers to show how tired they were from jotting down notes.

"Well, we do have a lot of catching up to do," Blake added as she stretched her arms up, cracking her fingers.

Weiss had already informed the manor's servants through her scroll earlier to bring Team Beacon's lunch to the living room, and so it wasn't long before a group of ten servants entered with all but one carrying two steel trays each. The young butler Gunter was carrying only one tray which had a full salad, some toasted bread and a cup of freshly-brewed tea which he presented to Weiss in a respectful manner.

"Your meal, Miss Weiss." He told her.

"Thank you very much, Gunter." The Schnee heiress said as she took the plate and sat next to Ruby on the long sofa, which was situated in a corner and curved at a nearly ninety degree angle.

The rest of Team Beacon thanked the servants who had brought their meals, who all bowed and left in an orderly manner. Gunter, who was the last to leave, stopped at the door and looked back at the gathered group, "Oh yes, Miss Heliosia and Miss Amethyst, we have obtained a pair of maid uniforms for you both to disguise yourselves while the refugees are staying with us. You can try them on once they are done, so we can make adjustments when necessary."

"Thank you, Gunter. We'll be sure to do that." Heliosia replied with a nod, and Weiss dismissed him.

"So, you two are really going along with the maid disguises?" Ruby asked both Maidens.

"Yes, it would be for the best," Heliosia explained as she looked back at the young silver-eyed Huntress, "Besides, I'm the one who willingly made myself known to the world. Even though the Guardians of Remnant have tried their best, a few recordings made it onto the news and were seen by millions of people, so it's necessary to remain incognito for the time being. We could disguise ourselves as other Huntresses, but the presence of two extra young Huntresses here would inevitably draw unwanted attention, so maids are possibly the safest bet."

"Do you really think it will fool them?" Coco asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm reasonably certain of it. Don't forget, as Maidens we had to live on the road and learn the arts of subtlety before…the attack on Amber. And I have made my way through enough busy places across Sanus unseen by its inhabitants, so disguises such as this should present no problems for either of us." Heliosia answered, sharing a nod with Amethyst.

"Besides, maids can be badass and hot, like on that show Dark Lake. So I suggested that 'Sia wear an outfit that was a bit more revealing, that way everyone would be too busy looking at her cleavage and not at her face, then she wouldn't have to bother with the phony glasses." The Spring Maiden remarked, making a few of the others snicker softly which earned them a glare from Heliosia.

"Honestly Amethyst…sometimes I wonder if you really are mature enough to be a Maiden or if it was just a weird fluke." Heliosia muttered while shaking her head, but deep down she was suppressing a smile.

"Ah lighten up 'Sia, it was just a joke. Still, you'd knock 'em dead and steal a lot of hearts with that kind of look. So what do you think, Sharp Strike?" Amethyst asked teasingly, looking over to the armored knight standing a small distance away with a cup of tea in his gauntlets, "Won't she look drop-dead gorgeous as a maid?"

Seeing the other members of Team Beacon turn their heads in his direction, Sharp Strike simply shrugged before replying, "Personally I think the both of you are too lovely and full of vitality to be properly disguised as simple maids. Besides, Heliosia would look striking no matter what she wears, but if she did put on such a revealing outfit it would attract far too much attention. Not to mention, those who had previously witnessed her beauty could probably figure out who she is."

Heliosia blushed at the young knight's compliment, "Thank you, Sharp Strike."

The Spring Maiden grinned, "Flirting with a Maiden, sir knight? I didn't know you had it in you."

Sharp Strike's posture seemed to stiffen a little, "I'm not flirting." He quickly pointed out, "While I don't really think anyone in this room could deny that Heliosia is indeed quite attractive, perhaps disguising yourselves in the uniform of Atlesian Specialists would be a better option."

"That's not a bad idea, but we've already made ourselves known to some of the refugees back at St. Kraken as servants to the Schnee family. I think it's best to keep things consistent to avoid any awkward questions," Heliosia remarked while looking at Sharp Strike again with a faint blush on her cheeks, which made Amethyst's grin widen, "Though, we will have to be subtle whenever we help the rest of you out with your remaining lessons and Huntsmen training."

"Man, I hope we won't have to do too much homework," Jaune said as he picked up his, rather delicious looking, piece of grilled chicken with a fork. The blond knight was personally looking forward to spending more time training with his emotion Semblance, since he was getting pretty decent at using it to create shields as well as empowering himself in duels.

"Yeah, we've got enough to worry about without wondering if we're gonna pass the end of year exams or not." Neptune agreed as he dug into his bowl of noodles.

"You're doing all right so far, though some of you seem a little distracted," Heliosia mentioned. She had noticed Blake, Yang and Sun constantly glancing at each other with what looked like lovestruck eyes, but they were still taking notes, "Tomorrow, after we've helped the refugees settle in, we'll work with Professor Branwen and Argentius for advanced combat and weapons lessons."

"And then we'll have more to do the day after, no doubt." Fox remarked dryly as he took a bite out of his sandwich.

"Ah, don't be down in the dumps," Amethyst told him as she sat between Fox and Velvet, leaning back into the soft cushions of the sofa and sinking in a little, hands behind her head, "I think it's obvious Ozpin and Goodwitch are going to cut you guys some slack, given your situation."

"Yeah, saving the world should be some pretty meaty extra credit." Coco quipped, making many of the others laugh in response.

"Hey, would you guys like to play a little game?" Amethyst asked, her violent eyes glimmering.

"What kind of game?" Velvet asked.

"A game me and my old team, KARD used to play while we were studying," Amethyst explained, "Renard was a Cavy Faunus and he liked wondering what kind of animal humans would be if they were Faunus instead. We'd choose an animal at random each time, but the first, and best, time we did it was when we all tried to decide what animal best suited us and what animal parts we'd have."

"That sounds fun!" Penny said cheerfully.

"I must admit, I have wondered what some of you would be like as Faunus," Blake confessed.

"Ooh! Me first!" Nora said, raising her hand with usual enthusiasm, "What kind of animal do you think I'd be?"

"Panda." Jaune stated with a smile on his face, getting a few laughs from the others.

"Oh, that fits her to a 'T'." Scarlet commented with a chuckle of his own.

"Hey, that's what I was thinking too. With cute little Panda Ears poking right out of my hair!" Nora confirmed, "My second guess would have been sloth."

"You would look rather cute with Panda ears. Well, cuter." Ren commented, making Nora grin at him.

"Okay, what about me?" Jaune asked, "What kind of animal do you think I'd be?"

"Golden Retriever." Almost everyone answered at once.

Jaune's face dropped a little, "Golden Retriever, really? I was thinking I'd be more like a Lion or Wolf or something."

"No offense, Jaune, but you are practically a Golden Retriever in human form. I mean, just look at your hair and your eyes." Coco gestured at him.

"Yeah, I mean if you'd be any animal, it would be that." Sage remarked, nodding his head as well.

"And it's obvious you'd have a tail. I can just picture it wagging like crazy whenever Pyrrha talks to you." Velvet added with a giggle.

Jaune slumped a little, but Pyrrha leaned into him and whispered, "Don't worry, everyone loves Golden Retrievers, my good boy," before she planted a kiss on his cheek, making him smile and blush slightly.

"Okay, what do you guys think I'd be?" Coco asked, posing a little as if to give them some ideas.

"Hmm, I think you'd make a pretty good Mink, one with a long tail." Velvet answered, which everyone agreed with.

"That would fit you very well," Yatsuhashi noted, "Given the species' association with fashion and all."

Coco smirked, "Hmm, not a bad pairing. Brown or white?"

"Brown, maybe a little bit of white." Fox answered with a palm to his cheek, "Let's get me out of the way. Let me take a wild guess; you guys are probably going to say I'd be a literal Fox, right?"

"Oh come on, give us more credit than that." Coco jokingly scolded.

"Yeah, we're way more creative than that!" Ruby added, before wondering what kind of animal the white-eyed young man would be if not his namesake.

"How about a Flying Fox?" Scarlet offered, making his teammates smirk.

"I think you'd make a pretty good Tiger," Blake, "I mean, you can be a bit of a loner at times and male Tigers are quite solitary animals."

"Hey, not a bad fit for you, all orange and whatnot," Amethyst remarked, patting his back, "Though personally I think a Tiger would be an even better fit for you, 'Sia."

Heliosia looked at her sister Maiden and raised an eyebrow in surprise, "A Tigress, really?"

"Yeah, why not? Mama Tigers are badasses when their cubs are in danger, and whenever someone you care about is in danger you don't mess around." Amethyst justified.

Sharp Strike, who was sitting off to the side, snapped the lower part of his faceplate back into place before saying, "I think Amethyst has a good point. You're graceful and a force to be reckoned with, just like a Tigress. It's a perfect fit for you, my lady."

Heliosia grinned at them, subtly blushing a little at the young knight's compliment, "Thank you for such a wonderful suggestion, and I think I would like a long beautiful tiger tail as my distinguishing Faunus trait." She paused for a quick moment before asking her 'students', "But what about Sharp Strike? What do you all suppose he would be if he's a Faunus?"

"I think you'd be a Wolf." Ruby quickly answered, looking at her armored friend.

"Yeah, no contest, you would definitely be a Wolf." Yang agreed, nodding her head in agreement.

"Yeah, a big, noble Timber Wolf suits you perfectly." Jaune agreed as everyone else nodded.

"Hmm…I suppose the Wolf would be my preferred species, if I had the choice," Sharp Strike confessed, "But is it really that obvious?"

"I can't think of an animal more fitting." Blake remarked, her lips curling upwards.

"I mean, maybe a wolverine or something like that, but a Wolf suits you much better." Velvet told the young Knight.

"Very well, a Wolf I would be. What about Penny?" Sharp Strike asked as his helmet turned towards the female android.

"Huh, that is a tough one," Coco admitted, "Cat? Puppy?"

"Maybe a Chimp," Neptune suggested with a hand scratching his head.

"I think she'd be a Chinchilla or something." Sage added.

"You're very close to what my personal choice would be Sage, but now that you mentioned it I think a Chinchilla would be very nice." Penny answered simply, making many of the other members of Team Beacon look at her with curious expressions.

"What do you think you'd be?" Ruby asked her friend.

"A Mouse." Penny answered simply, "Back when I was pretty new, back in my original body, I'd sometimes watch the lab mice run through their little mazes inside their glass cages. I've always found it amusing that some humans can get so freaked out by the sight of them despite the considerable size difference."

Yang glanced at Blake, "Huh…now that she mentions it I'm kinda curious what would happen if you came across a mouse," At the Black Cat Faunus's visibly annoyed reaction, Yang quickly defended herself with, "What? Female cats are the mouse-killers after all!"

"Okay, I've gotta admit you'd look even cuter with big Mouse ears." Sun told her, making the android girl smile cheerily.

"Thank you, but I think a Chinchilla would be equally cute." Penny answered with a smile.

"Okay, so she'd be a Mouse or a Chinchilla, I guess that's settled. What 'bout me? Personally I'd think I'd be a Dragon, but since that's not exactly possible..." Yang told the others before she continued chowing down on some juicy slices of chicken.

Pyrrha smiled, "I suppose a Dragon suits you perfectly, but since we're stuck with mammals…"

"A Lioness." Blake suddenly spoke up, "Sorry for cutting you off, Pyrrha."

"Oh, it's all right, Blake. I think that's an excellent answer." The Spartan excused with a smile.

"Yeah, it's actually really easy to imagine Lion Yang," Sun agreed as he grinned at the blonde brawler, "If you had a Lion tail we could tail wrestle anytime!"

"Oh hell yeah! I think I would look pretty good with a Lion tail," Yang agreed, her mouth still a bit full of food as she imagined using it to smack foes in the face during a battle. She swallowed and then added, "Lionesses are the ones who do most of the hunting and fighting…I love it, Blake!"

Blake blushed a bit, which was pretty noticeable on her pale skin, "As I said, I sometimes wonder about this myself."

"What about Ruby and I?" Weiss posed her question, "What animals do you think suit us the most?"

"Yeah, I'm curious too," Said Ruby.

"Well Ruby, your silver-colored eyes and your black hair have always reminded me of certain Wolf breeds, so I've always pictured a Faunus version of you being a Red Wolf." Blake admitted.

Ruby found herself smiling, clearly liking the idea of being this mysterious and yet noble animal. "Oh man, I'd really like that! Cute yet mysterious, admired or feared, and it could also attack with enough biting power to rip a Grimm's head clean off!"

"I suppose it's a perfect match, a Wolf tail constantly wagging behind you," Weiss commented, smiling at the mental image.

"More than my tail would." Jaune chuckled.

"Even in her sleep." Yang laughed in good humor, "Okay, what about Weiss? I'm dying to know."

"Weiss? I have to admit I've always pictured her being a Cat Faunus like me, but with White hair. A Persian or Tortoiseshell." Blake commented.

"Hm," Weiss said with a pensive look on her face, clearly thinking about it.

"It's. Perfect." Ruby voiced, her silver eyes widening and even sparkling at the idea, "Weiss would totally be one of those award winning white cats you see on magazine covers!"

"Like mine, though Singer never won any awards," Jaune laughed, thinking back to his family's lovable old cat.

"Ears or tail or claws?" Sage wondered.

"Oh surely a tail, there's no doubt about it," Neptune said with a smile, "Long, fluffy and well-groomed…really easy to picture."

Weiss slowly nodded, "I suppose if I did have a tail it would be quite beautiful." She said, though she personally disliked the idea of cutting a hole in her pants or skirts that would allow such an appendage to hang out freely.

"Speaking of cats, I'm pretty sure a Cat would be a good fit for my partner here." Sun said, gesturing to Neptune with his thumb.

"Hey, yeah!" Sage agreed while grinning, "Like one of those dark gray cats that people say are blue for some reason."

"Well it does easily fit you with how hydrophobic you can be." Weiss remarked, smiling at the bluenette.

"Okay, I guess it does suit me. I think I'd have Cat ears, since that would probably look really good on me, now that I think about it. What about Scarlet?" Neptune questioned.

"Well, I think his gliding Semblance helps us narrow it down slightly, I think he'd probably be an animal that flies, like a Bat or something." Ruby voiced.

"Nah, Bats are too hardcore for him." Sun laughed.

"Oi!" objected Scarlet, frowning.

"Yeah, no offense Scarlet but you'd probably be something cuter than a Bat, like a Flying Squirrel or a Sugar Glider." Velvet said.

"Flying Squirrel is definitely it." Sage said, grinning widely.

"I think so too." Nora agreed, and so did some of the others.

"Don't I get a say in this?" Scarlet asked.

"Jaune didn't." Sage reminded him gently, "Okay, let's finish off Team SSSN with me. What would I be?"

"Something strong, definitely. Not as strong as Yatsuhashi, obviously." Velvet said, glancing up at her boyfriend.

"Buffalo, maybe?" Amethyst suggested.

"Something like that…how about a Bull?" Penny offered.

"Like the ones used at the Bull fights in South-West Vale?" Ruby noted.

"Yeah, hey, I like that!" Sage said, smiling at the orange-haired android, "I think it'd be awesome to have big badass horns like that, I could use 'em to impale Grimm."

"Oh, I'd pay to see something like that," Coco said with a laugh.

"Would be a big pain in the butt when you're trying to sleep or going through a narrow door, though." Scarlet pointed out.

"It can be an annoyance most of the time. I know a Bull Faunus back home who had to put up with problems like that until he started filing down his horns to make it more manageable." Blake explained.

"Huh, guess that would work. So, yeah, Bull for me." Sage said, giving a satisfied nod.

"Okay, now that we've gotten you guys settled, what about my team?" Nora asked, "What kind of animal would Renny be? Something stealthy and cute."

"'Stealthy and cute'?'" Ren echoed, slightly amused.

"Yeah! Don't pretend like that doesn't describe you perfectly." Nora teased, leaning into him.

"How about a Raccoon?" Velvet suggested.

"No, Raccoons are too goofy and not sneaky enough," Nora remarked, "Not to mention I think something that eats trash would kinda be an insult against my man."

Ren allowed himself a small grin as Pyrrha thought about it.

"Well, if Fox isn't going to be his namesake, then perhaps Ren could be." The redhead recommended.

Nora gasped, "That's perfect!" She cheered, looking at Ren with incredibly bright eyes, "Renny, you'd look so cute with a pair of Fox ears or a tail!"

Ren smiled at her, "I suppose it's appropriate, though I'd prefer Fox ears over a tail, I think they'd be very useful in detecting enemies approaching."

"They are." Blake confirmed.

"Indeed, very handy." Velvet also agreed, as both Faunus girls made their own pairs of ears twitch for show.

"I don't mind, I think I'd be honored for Ren to have some traits from a Fox." Fox remarked.

"Okay, now we should focus on our resident Champion," Coco said, pointing at Pyrrha, "Pyrrha needs something big and beautiful, strong but graceful."

"How about a Gazelle?" Ruby suggested.

The redhead Spartan gave a nod, "I like that."

"Nah, not big or good enough." Yang disagreed, "I mean, Gazelles are just fancy Goats, right? Pyrrha deserves way better than that!"

"Let's hope no Gazelle or Goat Faunus ever finds out you said that." Weiss quipped, making most of the gathered group laugh, including Yang.

"I'm just saying if I would be a Lion Faunus, I don't think Pyrrha would be such easy prey." Yang joked, "Likely something bigger…"

"How about a Deer?" Amethyst proposed, looking thoughtful.

"Maybe…very graceful and pretty, stronger than anticipated, but I don't think I'm comfortable with Pyrrha being something that gets hunted down all the time by predators." Jaune said, glancing at one of the big taxidermied Deer heads mounted on the living room's walls.

"Oh, good point," Amethyst admitted before thinking about other options.

"I think she'd be a Horse Faunus," Heliosia voiced.

Pyrrha looked at the Summer Maiden with her emerald eyes shining, "Yes! I'd love that!"

"That's an amazing pick." Jaune agreed.

"Very appropriate," Weiss commented.

"Yes, but what animal trait would you have?" Penny inquired.

"What else? A literal ponytail." Pyrrha answered with a smile, swishing her own ponytail behind her head, which made the android and a few other members of Team Beacon chuckle.

"Ooh, me next! What would I be?" Amethyst asked as she sat up.

"You? Well, it would have to be something cute and graceful but deadly and powerful." Heliosia stated, smirking a little at the wide grin that spread across Amethyst's face at her description.

Ruby glanced at Blake, then at Amethyst before saying, "Maybe some kind of feline?"

Amethyst grinned, "Yes! I'd like that, some kinda Kitty Cat, but a big one."

"Well, Tiger and Lions are already taken," Sun noted, gesturing to Heliosia and Yang, "Leopard?"

"Lynx?" Velvet suggested.

"Hmm, very cute but not badass enough, I think Sun's closer," Sage stated simply. After witnessing how powerful Amethyst could be and what a dangerous threat she could pose to her foes, he knew a relatively peaceful animal like a Lynx didn't really fit the Spring Maiden.

"What about a Mountain Lion?" Neptune offered.

"Cougar, you mean," Sharp Strike corrected in a curt manner.

"What's the difference? I think Neptune's onto something." Ruby said.

"Heck yeah, he is! I love the suggestion! I'd love a big, thick and beautiful tail as my Faunus trait," Amethyst exclaimed enthusiastically, glancing down at her lower body as if to picture such a tail gracefully extruding from her body.

"Well, I can't deny that it fits you quite well." Heliosia said, smiling at her Sister Maiden.

"Okay, so that leaves just one of you non-Faunus," Velvet said, looking up at her partner and boyfriend.

"Well, it goes without saying that I'd probably be a large animal." Yatsuhashi stated.

"Unless we want to be smartasses and say you'd be a Chihuahua or something," Fox snarked, which caused Velvet to burst out laughing. Fox raised an eyebrow at her and deadpanned, "It wasn't that funny."

"I'm sorry, I just pictured Yatsuhashi with big Chihuahua eyes!" Velvet said, which caused many of the others in the room, even Fox, to laugh loudly as well. Even Sharp Strike couldn't help but give a soft chuckle.

Despite himself, Yatsuhashi couldn't help but crack a grin and laugh at the mental image.

"Okay, okay…but really," Coco said, wiping her eyes after she removed her aviator sunglasses, "I think it's obvious that Yatsuhashi could only be a big animal. So, what? Moose? Elephant?"

"Hm, I was thinking more of a Hippo, those are pretty strong." Amethyst quipped.

"And deadly!" Neptune exclaimed unexpectedly, "Seriously, those things could easily crush a human head with one bite, Aura or no Aura!"

"I don't know…how about an Elephant or a Buffalo?" Ruby suggested.

"Actually, I was thinking a Rhino would suit him better." Velvet voiced.

"I think you're onto something, Velv," Coco noted, looking at the largest member of her team, "Yeah, I can see it."

"What do you think, Yatsu?" Fox asked.

"Well, it's certainly better than being a Chihuahua," He answered, eliciting some more laughs from his friends, "I think I would likely have a secondary horn, since it's not as big or as intrusive as the primary one. I've seen some Rhino Faunus with a horn emerging from their noses, and I believe it would come in handy in close quarters combat."

"Yeah! A Grimm gets too close and bam! Slamming it right through a Beowolf's lower jaw with your horn!" Ruby described the vivid image in her mind.

"Okay, that does sound pretty awesome," Yang agreed.

By then, everyone had finished with their meals. The various members of Team Beacon then left their individual trays in a neat stack atop a nearby table for a servant to collect later.

"That was actually pretty fun. Thanks for suggesting it, Amethyst." Neptune told the purple-haired Maiden.

"Yeah, we definitely have to figure out a way to do it again." Nora remarked.

"Well, there is a charades variant-" Amethyst began before she was quickly cut off by Heliosia.

"All right, 'class', now that our break is over and we've had our lunch and fun, I think it's time to resume your lessons," Heliosia announced, causing Sun, Yang, Scarlet and Nora to groan. Heliosia smiled, she glanced over at Sharp Strike as he and Team CFVY returned to their corner and couldn't help but suspect that he was smiling behind that helmet of his when he glanced briefly in her direction.

"Okay, next up is Dr. Oobleck's class," Blake mentioned, getting her notepad ready.

"Correct. It says here that today will begin a series of lessons about the Crusade of the 47 Hunters." Weiss added.

"Ooh! I know that one, since I read about it a lot back at Signal!" Ruby spoke eagerly. She had always enjoyed the tale of the large group of Hunters who went on a crusade to slaughter Grimm after their hometown had been wiped out by the beasts. It sadly ended with their deaths, but they had also managed to wipe out the roving Grimm horde and in the process, saved countless lives.

"Believe it, she even memorized all their names," Yang laughed.

"Well then, I'll be expecting you to get a passing grade on the quiz, Ruby." The Summer Maiden returned with a sly smile.

"Ugh, quizzes," Nora groaned, "How am I supposed to pay attention when I'm thinking about Fox Ren, or Golden Retriever Jaune or Chinchilla Penny?!"

"Don't worry, we'll make sure to keep you focused." Pyrrha assured her teammate with a smile while everyone returned to their seats on the floor.

"I hope so. Now since we're all ready, let's begin," Heliosia said as she used her scroll, connected to the tv, to show a recording of the green-haired teacher.

"Greetings, Team Beacon. While I regret that I cannot be there in person to give you these lessons, I hope that you will all live up to, or even exceed, your usual academic performances. Now, if you would please draw your attention to Chapter 15 of your e-textbooks…"

---

It was morning within Salem's palace, the place Cinder had learned to call home for the last twenty years. Though it was hard to tell just by looking at the perpetually twilit sky, but according to the clocks which were always kept as accurate as possible by their keepers, it was indeed morning. The Fall Maiden herself was dressed in a rather nice black outfit that had only one long, flowing sleeve and was decorated with gold trimmings.

Salem's various servants bowed to her as she walked by, keeping their eyes downward. It was something Cinder always enjoyed, since it did her ego good to feel that rush of respect, superiority and the knowledge they were feared by those far weaker than they. Salem seemingly had no end of servants; they came to her through her various allies, willingly or otherwise, as those who had been cast away by Remant's society. They were once common criminals, lowlifes, fugitives wanted for robbery, murder or other times or simply people who had awful luck and hence had fallen on hard times, growing vindictive to the world that had treated them so badly. People who had no families or anything in the way of friends, so their disappearances went unnoticed by the world at large.

Like many of Salem's followers, she had also won their servitude with the fear she instilled in them, as well as their mutual disdain for the world of Remnant and its current state. Indeed, some of the older servants were Faunus who had been treated so terribly by the human race that they felt only one as powerful as Salem could ever obtain real change, and if that change had to be obtained through genocide, then so be it. With all the changes that had been happening in the last few years, Cinder had no doubt that at least a few of them now regretted pledging their lives to Salem, but there was nothing they could do to escape their situation. It was either serve the Mistress of Grimm or die, so it was no surprise they chose the former.

As Cinder approached the closed doors to Salem's throne room, a voice caught her attention.

"Good morning, Lady Cinder." Faunus woman in her late fifties called out. She had been working as a simple maid in Salem's palace since before the Fall Maiden had arrived. While Cinder had never really bothered to learn most of their names, this woman was one of the few she had managed to remember.

"Joon," Cinder acknowledged, "Is my Master in her throne room yet?"

"Yes, Lady Cinder. Dr. Cadmus went in about ten minutes ago to speak with Mistress Salem about his new machines. The Son is also in there as well." She warned, shuddering a little at the mention of the walking corpse that was Salem's newest bodyguard.

Cinder nodded, "I see, thanks." She dismissed Joon who hurriedly vanished down the empty hallways, and placed her hands on the large doors before giving them a push. Despite their size, the doors made no squealing groan as she opened them with ease, revealing the usual lavish and gothic throne room where Salem sat upon her throne, listening to Dr. Isaiah Cadmus who was holding an electronic tablet.

Cadmus briefly glanced back to see who had entered, but Salem paid Cinder no heed. In fact, the Mistress of Grimm seemed somewhat distracted with a distant look in her crimson eyes. The enigmatic Son of Salem stood off to the side at the right side of Salem's elaborate throne, standing guard as usual.

"It's just my apprentice. Continue, Isaiah." Salem ordered, her tone seemingly uninterested as Cinder halted a respectful distance from the former's throne.

"As I was saying, Madam, the upgraded combat systems for the Grimm Knights are showing significantly increased combat capabilities and weapon accuracy, with the collected combat data transmitted back to the central processor by the models that did not survive our recent attacks, they will only continue to adapt and improve in terms of tactics. Whenever you see it fit to attack the Schee Manor or go after the Relics, I have no doubt in my mind that my Grimm Knights will be an even greater boon to you than they have been before," The dark-skinned man informed her, his mechanical goggles gleaming a little with light as he allowed himself a smile of satisfaction.

"Very good, Dr. Cadmus. See to it that their future progress is not disappointing. I expect mass casualties and fatalities when the attack on the Schnees began." Salem gave a nod, "However, you will designate one target to be completely exempted from the Grimm Knights' targeting systems until told otherwise."

"May I ask who, Madam?" The scientist inquired as he opened a program on the glowing green screen on his tablet.

Salem's fingers curled a little on her throne's armrests, "Commander Central of Task Force Omega."

"What?" Cadmus looked up sharply while Cinder's face frowned a little, "Uh, I beg your pardon Madam, but why spare that particular man? The Kingdom of Atlas has plenty of Specialists that can replace him, and it would be advantageous for us to eliminate Commander Central since he's caused significant problems for us by capturing Odinson and hunting down several Red Fang cells across Atlas."

Salem simply glared at Cadmus for a few moments, as though reminding him not to question her, before replying, "An ally of ours has a great personal interest in keeping Commander Central alive. Should he die then we will likely lose that ally and all the advantages she could provide us with after successfully infiltrating the Guardians of Remnant. So you are to make sure that in combat the Grimm Knights will prioritize other enemy targets aside from Commander Central, and even if they openly engage him in combat the programmed protocols are only to incapacitate the Commander of Task Force Omega, not kill him."

"Understood," Cadmus said, and then asked, "And the rest of his personal squad?"

"Are all fair game to be eliminated," Salem answered.

"Very well, I will make the necessary modifications to the Grimm Knight's overall combat protocols." Cadmus tapped a few commands onto his tablet's glowing screen, "And with the new and improved armor plating we have managed to construct from the new supplies of ore harvested through those mines we have contracted through our various shell companies, they will be even more effective in withstanding enemy weapons fire."

"I'm sensing a 'but' at the end of your sentence, Cadmus." The Grimm Mistress said softly.

"Uh, yes," Cadmus adjusted his collar nervously before continuing, "As we have deployed a significant number of Grimm Knights on the previous attacks on both Kingdoms of Atlas and Vacuo, I can roughly estimate that we will only have just around sixty-five fully operational Grimm Knights of different variants with this new armor ready for the upcoming attack on Schnee Manor."

"I see. With all the agents and Grimm hordes we will be sending, I think that number will be quite satisfactory. Now go, and make sure they're all adequately prepared for maximum carnage." Salem commanded.

Cadmus bowed respectfully to her, before turning to leave. As he approached Cinder, he leaned in to whisper, "Good morning, Lady Cinder. I'd be careful if I were you, because our leader is in a…certain mood today."

Cinder nodded in appreciation before walking past him, allowing Cadmus to exit. She moved past the meeting table before bowing deeply to Salem, doing her best to play the part of the loyal disciple, hopefully to the extent that her master would never suspect her of any kind of treachery.

"Good morning, Mistress. You've summoned me?" She asked.

Salem didn't answer Cinder right away, instead slowly shaking her head as she stood up from her throne and turning her head around to gaze out of the massive stained-glass windows and out at the shattered moon that was just barely in the distance, faded through the clouds. It was a few moments before she spoke again.

"I did, Cinder," Salem told the Fall Maiden, "Dr. Watts claims to have made an important 'latchkey discovery' in his research to translate the recovered Relic scrolls and he believes that you are needed for whatever it is. He will be here shortly.

"Watts didn't tell you what it was he discovered?" Cinder asked, her voice intrigued.

"No, he wishes to tell me in person." Salem replied as she kept her sight fixed on the shattered moon, even though it was low in the dark sky. Cinder took in a slow breath, her master hadn't been in a moon-gazing mood for quite a while now, but it was something that would happen every now and then.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Salem asked suddenly.

"It always is, master." Cinder answered.

"Do you know that I have seen what the moon looks like before it was shattered?" Salem mentioned.

"I remember you mentioning it to me, a long time ago." Cinder confirmed.

There was another short pause before Salem started speaking, "The Darkness that transformed me from a dying Maiden into the being you have come to serve showed it to me during my transformation. I was in a coma for many years, feeling my broken body slowly healing, changing to become something more than human. In that deep sleep, I was shown visions of the world that was, visions of the intact moon. It was just as beautiful as Remnant was, but like our world it was spoiled by the parasite that is humanity.

"Out of all the glimpses of the world that was before it was violently transformed into Remnant due to the Great Shattering, the one that caught my attention the most was the original moon. I watched its silver pale, shining beauty circle this world. Orbit after orbit, waxing and waning. It has been in my dreams ever since, but I always wake up to see it ruined," Salem said, lifting one of her hands to point at the shattered moon, low and distant in the sky outside the palace's windows.

"Ruined by humanity." Cinder said darkly.

Salem turned and gave her apprentice a slight smile, "Astute as always, Cinder. Yes, ruined by humanity and their science. In the eons past, humanity's own zealotry and fear of those different from them forced the people and things of magic throughout the world to go into hiding, giving birth to the rise of science. Because those who lacked any morals were allowed to rise to power, the world was plagued by evil, greed, cowardice, dishonesty, cruelty, apathy and hatred. Magic gradually faded into myth as centuries went by, while the humans used science to distort their world, rape the land and kill its inhabitants, human or otherwise. Eventually when the Darkness entered this universe, just as the world was on the brink of a terrible war, those who still practiced magic in secret felt it. Some with bolder ambitions fell in with the Darkness, seeing it as a form of salvation but others were driven by their fear of it and came out of hiding in an attempt to warn the world.

"However, their exposure had sparked quite the fiery response from the world, many of whom saw magic as an affront to the gods they called science and logic. Others still saw it as something they could experiment on, to use for their own selfish purposes such as creating new energy sources for deadly weapons. This only accelerated tensions throughout the old world and thus the terrible war began, with the many practitioners of magic taking sides. Some sided with humanity but others refused to concede, they stood up to the tyrants posing as well-intentioned and wise rulers and used subtle methods of magical persuasion that most witches or wizards wouldn't dare use.

"They reached into the souls of men and touched the festering hatred within them, some subdued it while others nurtured that evil, accelerated its growth, shattering the illusion of morality that humanity pretends to have. Oh, what chaos it wreaked; friend turned against friend over the pettiest of differences, families were ripped apart, persecution against faith or against those who had none was everywhere. The Darkness saw how easy it was for humanity to fall apart and the suffering caused by it. Those without power, the poor, wretched ordinary people paid the price for simply being there, all suffered greatly."

"Suffered as we all have?" Cinder asked.

Salem looked down at her with her piercing red eyes, "Yes, Cinder. The suffering was inconceivable, and the Darkness showed me oh so much of it as I slept, even the suffering on the moon. The moon had been colonized by humanity, and even it was not spared from the war. You see, humanity back then had harnessed a power known as nuclear energy, something that was immensely devastating in the wrong hands. In the midst of an intense battle on the moon base, a nuclear explosion set off a chain reaction that shattered the moon. Nature's beauty was devastated by humanity's arrogance and evil."

"And yet science has proven to be such a great advantage to us, it allowed you to create the Grimm Hybrids, after all." Cinder pointed out.

Salem gave an enigmatic smile, "A fair point, my dear, but would you call them natural? I have indeed come to admire science in its own way, if only for the abominations and living weapons Giger and Merlot gave life to. Science and logic, for all the good they have done, have been the tools of humanity's downfall; for every cure developed, they create a new disease for germ warfare or weapons of horrific destruction…those were the progeny of man's greatest science discoveries. The shattering of the moon and the incredible devastation upon the world was the ultimate answer to all the questions man could ever ask. The world should have been free for the Darkness to take and heal…and yet Humanity survived like the pestilence it is."

Cinder managed to suppress a shiver. She had come to expect this kind of thinking and philosophizing from her master, especially after the significant amount of time she had been around Salem. But what always impressed the Fall Maiden was that despite how it could easily be judged as the insane ravings of a mentally unstable lunatic, Salem spoke about these incidents and her own views with such serene conviction.

"That's why the Darkness needs us, master," Cinder spoke up, "We all work to remake the world into something better, a world where there's no pain, suffering or even cruelty. I'm honored to be a part of this crusade, and feel indebted to you for recruiting me."

Salem turned and walked towards Cinder, smiling at her, "And out of all the followers and agents I have gained and lost over the many years while I have been working towards my goals, you are one I feel the closest to," She said as she extended a hand to cup Cinder's chin, lifting her head so their eyes met, "So I am trusting you to accomplish the mission task at Schnee Manor and have Garrett Odinson eliminated. Do not fail me."

Cinder's eyes didn't falter or look away from the Grimm Queen's piercing red eyes. She looked right back into them and said, "I swear to you I will not, master. This time, Ruby Rose and her friends will not escape unscathed."

"I trust in you, Cinder. Prove to me that it is not misplaced, and never forget what I have taught you; that if we do not overthrow the current ruling governments of Remnant, it is inevitably bound to repeat the same disasters that befell the world before and the Darkness cannot purify this world. If we are to truly remake the world, then you must be as dedicated to my cause as I am." Salem told her in a calm manner.

"I am, master. I have sworn myself to you and your mission, and I will die for it if necessary." Cinder swore, hoping she was convincing enough. It wasn't easy, because she had figured out the truth about her mentor.

Salem was not just the Queen of the Grimm, she was also a queen of lost souls. Whatever paradise Salem had in mind would no doubt be a desolate and lifeless one. The last Kasai knew that Salem's transformation from a kind-hearted Winter Maiden to the Mistress of Grimm had been a terribly traumatic experience that tore apart her soul and replaced it with a gloriously malignant hate. She had been deceived by those she trusted, broken and then left for dead until the mysterious Darkness had reached out to Salem, proving to be her salvation.

Did Salem truly believe that the Darkness she served would transform the world of Remnant for the better? Or was she lying to them? It didn't matter, in the end. Cinder would figure out how to deal with the 'Darkness' after she had dealt with Salem. For now she would play the part of the obedient disciple and willing tool, biding her time until the perfect opportunity presented itself.

Salem nodded and gave Cinder an honest smile, "Very good. Please me enough, and I shall heal the scar you were punished with."

Cinder blinked in surprise before quickly bowing her head, "I-I am honored, Mistress. I shall do everything I can to appease you."

The huge doors to the throne room opened up yet again, revealing Dr. Watts as he made his way inside with an old tome in his hands. He was clearly fresh out of the showers as his hair was a little damp and there was also a distinct smell of fresh cologne. Cinder wondered if he was trying to impress Salem in more ways than one..

"Mistress, Lady Cinder! Forgive my tardiness, I wanted to make sure I was presentable when I revealed my latest discovery." He excused, bowing to Salem who sat back down.

"You're forgiven, unless I find your discovery to be lacking." Salem replied with a warning tone in her voice before she returned to her throne.

Watts hid a nervous smile, instead nodding as he rose to his feet and revealed, "Well, I've been working tirelessly to properly translate the scrolls I obtained from the Grand Temple of Vacuo and during yesterday's research in your archives, I sought out a reference I found in one of the older books I've been using to translate the scroll. It was a tome about the ancient wonders of Remnant and it made reference to something that could withstand the power of the Silver Eyes."

Cinder's eyes widened in surprise. If Salem was excited by this information, she did nothing to give it away, she simply had an intrigued expression.

"Is this true, Arthur? I've read of such possibilities, but my experiments on Grimm against the Silver Eyed warriors in the decades long past proved to be less than satisfactory." Salem remarked, a tinge of clear interest in her voice.

"I don't know how this obscure fact somehow managed to escape you, I only found it by happenstance," Watts told her, trying his best to sound modest in the process, "You see, the reference I found led to a book on hunting dragons and there just so happened to be a copy stashed in your library. After much searching and some further translating, I discovered that the skin of a dragon is impervious to the cleansing light of the Silver Eyes."

Cinder and Salem shared a look, Cinder's skepticism was clear but Salem seemed somewhat intrigued. "Indeed? How, pray tell, did the author of this supposed fact discover this? Dragon skins are incinerated when the beasts are killed, whenever they die their bodies self-immolate, that's why there's so little evidence they were real." The Grimm Queen pointed out.

"This book mentions that a group of Dragon Hunters from many centuries ago, and among their number included a warrior with Silver Eyes, were able to successfully trap a dragon and cut off large portions of its skin before it finally died. Afterwards they fastened these pieces of skin into coats and some time later, when they were setting up camp they happened to be attacked by a pack of Creepers. One of them was jumped on from behind and managed to escape by tearing off his coat, which entangled the Grimm. The Silver Eyed Warrior used his eyes to wipe out the attacking Grimm, but because that one Creeper was covered by the coat of dragon skin, it was spared from the attack and managed to badly wound one of the brigands before finally being killed," Watts opened up the tome he brought along with him and explained, "That is how it was discovered that Dragon Skin could protect Grimm from the power of the Silver Eyes, and now that I have rediscovered this fact, whatever threat the Ruby Rose could pose to you is rendered null and void!"

"And how exactly do you suggest we obtain the skin of a dragon?" Cinder inquired doubtfully, "As far as we know, those beasts are extinct, or at least very difficult to find if they're not and I doubt that we could sacrifice the resources that would be needed to track them down. Unless you're suggesting we search for these coats made from Dragon Skin, which would have probably been destroyed or even rotted away by now."

"Why bother searching for a dragon, when we already have one?" Salem remarked.

Cinder and Watts both looked at their leader. "Are you referring to the Wyvern, master?" Cinder questioned, her tone unsure.

"Indeed I am. Arthur's discovery could potentially be a great boon to us. Besides, the young Wyvern has been nothing but moody and rebellious ever since Fotia left us; struggling in its cell and chains, and resisting the efforts of our other Grimm Commanders' attempts to control it," Salem said as she stood up from her throne, "Perhaps it's time that we remind the Wyvern of its place."

"Wait, the Wyvern is a Grimm. It was born a Grimm, right? You found it after its mother burst free from the mountain." Cinder pointed out, frowning.

"Very true, but that dragon had already been pregnant with the egg before I had tainted its being with Grimm essence. The Wyvern came into being with the Grimm essence, but its true self should be under it. I see now why you asked me to summon her, Arthur." Salem said thoughtfully. Even her small praise was enough to inflate Watts' ego and make him give that sardonic smile of his Cinder would personally do anything to wipe off his face.

"You wish for me to burn the Grimm essence off of it?" Cinder asked.

"Precisely, Cinder. With your natural skills and incredible power, it shouldn't be hard to cauterize the wound so the Wyvern won't die," Salem told her, "After all we still require the young beast for future battles."

"Do we? Forgive me for saying so, Mistress, but considering the Wyvern's strange attachment to our wayward Grimm Commander and that we have now gained the Tyrant, I think it might be a waste of time and resources to keep the beast around." Cinder stated.

"A valid point," Salem raised a finger as she walked down from her throne, "However, I think the Wyvern is nonetheless far more valuable to us alive. Its attachment to Nikos might have inspired a defiant streak, but nothing is unbreakable once enough pressure is applied. Picture it; the Mistress of Grimm riding a Grimm Wyvern into battle when the time is right. It will be a sight to strike paralyzing fear into our enemies and the common people of Remnant."

"Forgive me master, but I'm still skeptical about this. If Watts's discovery is true, why wouldn't the Darkness have told you long ago?" The Fall Maiden pointed out.

"A very good question, I must admit. I can only assume that the Darkness wished for me to discover this on my own, and it took Arthur's rigorous studies to uncover this lost fact." Salem remarked, doing Watts' ego even more favors.

Cinder slowly gave a nod, before Salem added, "Now, shall we get to it?"

It wasn't long before Salem contacted Hazel, Tyrian, Sheer Kaa, Steppenwolffe, Ziz, Anastasia, Thorn, Matilda and her Grimm Keepers and ordered them to meet them within the huge caverns down below where the Grimm Pools were located, along with the caves where certain terrifying Grimm creatures were kept.

Everyone present bowed to Salem as they arrived before she addressed them and explained the situation. However, not all of Salem's agents were fully convinced of the new discovery. "This all seems rather vague, Mistress," Hazel voiced as the Grimm Keepers carefully went about releasing the Wyvern from its cavern, "What if this turns out to be a false lead?"

The muscular man ignored the angry expression Watts shot his way as Salem answered with, "It is worth a try, Hazel, and even if it doesn't turn out to be immune to the energy of the Silver Eyes, it will still be a good way of breaking the Wyvern's will and forcing it to submit."

"So we'll be bringing the Wyvern into battle when we attack Schnee Manor, correct?" Sheer Kaa asked, and when Salem confirmed this with a nod he gave a doubtful look. "Mistress, Nikos's bond with the Wyvern from when she was Fotia Drakos was surprisingly strong, what if she is able to turn it against us?"

"I admit there is a distinct possibility of that happening, Commander Kaa," Salem conceded, "But even if she was able to turn it against us, it would die shortly after. You all know how infamous and feared the Wyvern Grimm is amongst the people of Remnant, and its progenitor's role in the Fall of Beacon only reinforced that fear. Ozpin, Ironwood and those meddlesome Remnant Knights will likely force her to execute the creature because, even under her control, the Wyvern will be far too dangerous for them to keep alive. This will drive a wedge between Nikos and the Guardians of Remnant, possibly even creating a potential schism within Team Beacon."

"Wait, you plan for me to burn away the Grimm part of it, couldn't they do the same thing?" Cinder mentioned.

"It would take extreme amounts of purifying fire to purge the Grimm essence from the Wyvern's entire being, far more Fire Dust than they'd be willing to waste. Though you are right to see a flaw in this plan, and it shows how intelligent you are becoming," Salem told Cinder, "Should the Guardians of Remnant somehow find a way to restore the Wyvern to its true form, we already have a contingency; we'll just kill it."

"And how exactly will we do that?" Anastasia questioned, secretly jealous of the praise her mentor had just gifted upon Cinder.

"Should Nikos somehow turn the Wyvern against us during the attack on Schnee Manor, then the task of eliminating it would fall to you, my Grimm Commanders," Salem explained as she looked around at them, "To guide the Grimm hordes under your control, as well as the Celano, to attack the Wyvern, drive it beserk and out of Nikos' control. This will inevitably force Ruby Rose to use her powers against it to stop the Wyvern's rampage, and her actions would also create a schism between her and Nikos if she performed such an act."

"Brilliantly devious as always, Mistress." Tyrian praised.

Salem looked over to the Tyrant as it was being guided out of its barred cavern, snarling softly yet menacingly at the Grimm Keepers but nonetheless kept under control by her mental will. Any growl that was too loud and threatening would earn it a stern look and tightening of mental control from the Grimm Queen that reminded the Tyrant of its place. The Wyvern, on the other hand, was kept in place by electric shocks from the large collars that encircled around its neck and legs, the painful zaps of electricity making it groan in pain and its black skin to smoke visibly as Calabrese and the other Grimm Keepers, aided by a number of additional Grimm Knights, forced it out into the open area with powerful shock prods.

"Cinder, Hazel and The Son are to come with me. Thorn, if things get out of hand I want you to begin teleporting the Grimm Keepers and these three to safety, is that understood?" Salem spoke to the teleporter thief.

"Got it, master." Thorn answered with a nod.

Salem led the three down the staircase formed from black stone down towards the floor where the Grimm Keepers brought both Elder Grimm to a stop. The Tyrant and the Wyvern looked at each other, their blood red eyes seethed with hatred, and it wasn't long before they began snarling at each other in a fierce and nearly deafening manner.

Salem calmly addressed her head Grimm Keeper, "Matilda, release the Tyrant on my command."

"Yes, Mistress!" The middle-aged woman replied.

"Hazel, help the Grimm Keepers maintain control over the Wyvern and release it when I order you," Salem instructed. Hazel said nothing, instead he simply nodded and walked over to join the Grimm Keepers, who had ensnared the dragon Grimm's wings in heavy titanium chains in order to make sure it could not escape or lash out.

Salem closed her eyes, allowing herself to concentrate as she focused on taking full control of the Tyrant. The Tyrant's growls softened as it lowered its head submissively, looking towards the Mistress of Grimm. She opened her eyes, which subtly shined a brighter shade of red than usual as she reached out to the Tyrant.

"Release it."

Matilda obeyed the command, and signaled for her fellow Grimm Keepers to release the beast. The chains were dropped and the Tyrant slowly stomped its way over to Salem, placing its heavy head down so her pale hands could caress its lower jaw.

"Good. Very good," Salem said with a smile. She glanced over at the snarling Wyvern and looked at the Tyrant, gesturing over to the Grimm dragon as she mentally commanded the revived dinosaur.

"Hazel, release the Wyvern." She ordered.

Hazel, Calabrese and the other Keepers and mechanical Grimm Knights immediately released the Dragon Grimm, finally allowing it to lurch forward while groaning as it struggled to free its wings which were still firmly bound to its draconic body. It looked at the other massive Elder Grimm and with a roar, began charging.

Matilda and the other Grimm Keepers quickly got out of the way, but Salem stood still. The Tyrant stomped its feet, roaring as if accepting the Wyvern's challenge. The Wyvern spat out a massive blast of fire that was intercepted by a blast of dark energy from Salem, causing the fireball to explode harmlessly. Chunks of flame were sent flying by the collision, landing against the cavern walls in bright showers of heat and light

The Wyvern lurched forward to bite the Tyrant's right leg but it managed to get the first blow in by kicking the Wyvern right in the face, knocking it back before whipping around to slam its spiked-tail into the side of the Wyvern's head and body which caused the latter Elder Grimm to slam into the side of the cavern's wall. The impact caused small rocks to fall down upon both Elder Grimm as well as the spectators.

"Oh, now this is a good show!" Tyrian said, grinning madly.

"I'd personally like to watch it from a safer distance." Anastasia muttered.

The Tyrant ran forward, each step echoing loudly throughout the expansive cavern and causing dust to fall from its roof. Cinder watched intently, as it was an awe-inspiring and admittedly frightening spectacle to behold, despite the ever-present danger of being collateral damage to the brawling Elder Grimm.

The Wyvern crouched down and as soon as the huge Grimm was close enough it leapt up, opening up its wide-slit jaw and capturing the underside Tyrant's torso, but left its arms still free. It tried to bite down hard, but the Tyrant's clawed arms dug into the Wyvern's lower jaw and the side of the dragon's upper face just as it brought up one leg and stomped down on the Wyvern's lower body, causing the Wyvern to roar in pain and that granted the Tyrant the opportunity to rip itself free from the jaws of its foe, leaving a row of leaking wounds on the lower sides of its torso.

The Wyvern let out a snarling hiss as it felt black blood oozing from the deep claw marks left by the Tyrant's foot. It kept struggling to free its wings from the titanium chains but it was far more preoccupied with its enemy, as the Tyrant attempted to slam its huge head down on the Grimm dragon. But the Wyvern suddenly rolled out of the way, causing the Tyrant to accidentally drive its head into the ground instead. Taking advantage of this opening, the Wyvern whipped its long tail and slammed it against the thick legs of the Tyrant, with enough power to topple the huge Dinosaur Grimm.

However, the Tyrant managed to shift its weight enough to fall right on top of the Wyvern.

Things soon devolved into a rapid, violent frenzy as the two huge Grimm beasts struggled for dominance. The pair of Elder Grimm brawled around on the ground, kicking up a small dust storm around their violently thrashing forms. The Tyrant maneuvered itself around just as the Wyvern let out another blast of molten fire out of its mouth which shot forward and past Cinder and The Son, slamming into the wall behind them.

The Tyrant finally managed to ensnare the Wyvern's upper-head and neck within its massive mouth and the Wyvern, though still struggling uselessly like a wild animal being forced into a cage, slowed its thrashing. It clearly understood the dangerous situation it found itself in, it knew that the Tyrant could easily close its deadly maw and literally bite the draconic Grimm's head off.

Salem strode forward, using her powers to silently instruct the Tyrant to hold its opponent down, the dinosaur Grimm complied and used its weight to keep the Wyvern trapped. Salem glanced back at Cinder and The Son and gestured for them to come forward.

"Where should I land my fire, master?" Cinder asked as she came to stand beside the Mistress of Grimm.

Salem walked towards the pinned down Wyvern and planted an outstretched hand down onto its skin, on the spot between its legs and its boney ribs that emerged from the main body.

Cinder nodded and activated her Semblance, igniting powerful twin flames in her hands as Salem withdrew. The Wyvern glanced back and saw the flames, which confused it just before Salem walked over to its face, planting her hand on its bone-armor mask, leaning in close so her face was right in front of the Wyvern's blood-red eye.

"I can sense your emotions, dragon," She calmly told it, "It's obvious that you're different from the other Grimm because of your hybrid nature, but you still feed on hate as I do. Understand that you are mine, and there's no way of completely undoing what has been done to you. You are mine to do with as I please, now and forever."

The Wyvern growled at her, a light of flame appearing inside of its barely opened mouth. Salem smirked and said, "Oh, I know you hate me. But I thrive on hatred, as do you."

She looked back at Cinder and nodded. The Fall Maiden let loose an immensely powerful blast of fire which slammed hard into the Wyvern's flank and upper leg, causing it to roar loudly with agony as it was held in place by the Tyrant.

Cinder kept pouring the flames on, slowly burning away the black Grimm skin which covered the Wyvern's body, revealing scaly skin colored dark brown, deep red and gold.

Salem used her powers to force the Wyvern's head into the ground as Cinder ceased pouring the intense flames on the dragon's skin. The Son of Salem then moved in, drawing out Chaos Edge and using his considerable strength he stabbed his dark sword into the thick hide of the dragon. He pushed the blade several inches deep into the skin before he began to drag the blade across the dragon's flank, causing it to roar loudly in pain.

Salem smiled, amused by the pain the Wyvern was experiencing, "You deserve this for defying me," She seethed before her face and voice calmed, reaching out to touch the Wyvern's snout as it kept struggling. Its red eyes looked directly at Salem, which blazed brightly with hatred. Salem smirked as she used her powers over Grimm to flood the Wyvern's animalistic mind with images of Fotia becoming Pyrrha, "I am not the only one you should hate. Fotia Drakos, or Pyrrha Nikos as she is also known, left you to me. She abandoned you without a second thought and allowed you to suffer like this, so do not exempt her from your hate!"

The Wyvern growled, hate, fear and misery flooding through its mind as the horrific pain it was experiencing kept coursing through its entire being as the Son of Salem went about his ghastly errand. Hot, thick blood spilled from the gaping wound, splattering onto the Son's armor as he kept slicing off the Wyvern's true skin.

The Wyvern bellowed out a horrible roar of pain, but Salem could only smile at its suffering. "Yes, she allowed this to happen to you, she left you behind. It is just as much her fault as it is mine." She said as her powers kept assaulting the Wyvern's mind. The Son was nearly finished, he kept dragging his sword, cutting more skin from the dragon Grimm's body.

Sheer Khan, Ziz, Steppenwolffe and the others watched on, their emotions ranging from impressed to outright horrified at what was happening before them. Even the normally stoic Hazel finally averted his eyes, giving in to the urge to look away from the gory display.

Finally, the large slab of flesh with hard scales landed on the ground with a horrible and disgusting thud. The Son stood back and Cinder let loose another intense blast of fire, quickly cauterizing the dragon's wound. The Wyvern howled in pain and struggled fiercely as its bloody wound was assaulted with searing flames.

Salem smiled as she felt waves of hatred and resentment flooding the Wyvern's mind. It hated her, hated her with such incredible intensity that she found it slightly intoxicating, but it wasn't just directed at her, but at Cinder, The Son, the Tyrant and most importantly, at Pyrrha.

The Wyvern looked at Salem with blazing hate, but it knew it couldn't do anything. Due to its natural hybrid state it had more of a sense of preservation than the typical Grimm, and it knew that if it did anything to harm the Mistress of Grimm, the Tyrant would undoubtedly finish it off.

"That's it. Hate us. Hate her. It will make you stronger, along with the pain." Salem whispered, savoring the negativity radiating off the creature. She then turned away from the Wyvern and walked past the Son and Cinder, the latter of whom was still cauterizing the wound. The Mistress of Grimm knelt before the large pool of black oil that was the Grimm Spawning Pit. Using her considerable powers she levitated a large glob of the tar-like substance that gave birth to the Creatures of Grimm.

Salem walked over, keeping the large orb of Grimm liquid suspended in the air. Cinder finally stopped, taking in several deep breaths as thin trails of smoke rose off from the freshly burned dragon flesh.

"There. It's done, Mistress," Cinder said as she took several steps back, just in case the Wyvern lashed out at her.

Salem nodded, "Excellent work, Cinder. Now…" Using her powers, the Mistress of Grimm covered the massive and freshly-burned scar with the black fluid, which quickly took root and flowed into the wound, causing the glimpse of the Wyvern's true form to vanish back under the Grimm skin once more.

Salem smiled, satisfied with a job well done. She walked back to the Wyvern's head and said, "Remember this; there's no undoing what's been done to you. You are Grimm. You are a monster, hated and feared by the entire world. You are my slave forever."

The Son of Salem picked up the large chunk of flesh that he had cut off and carried over to present it to his 'mother', with Cinder moving away from the Wyvern. "Flawlessly executed, my children," Salem praised before she used her mental powers to command the Tyrant to release its defeated foe.

The Tyrant growled and opened its huge mouth before it lifted its gargantuan weight off of the dragon, freeing the Wyvern and allowing it to scramble away. The Tyrant gave a fierce roar to intimidate the Wyvern, which responded with a submissive groan, showing the dinosaur Grimm that it had acknowledged its place. The Tyrant willingly returned to its cave under the control of Salem, giving a short bellow as it moved into the darkness within the cavern once again as the reinforced doors protected with magical sigils closed behind it.

Calabrese, Matilda and the other Grimm Keepers did their best to keep the Wyvern down, which was slightly easier due to the weakened state the creature was in. The dragon Grimm curled its body up as it groaned slightly due to the fresh pain of the cauterized wound, its long tail wrapping around its body so it could be a place for the draconic Grimm to rest its head on, and it occurred to Cinder that it almost looked like a massive cat or dog the way it was trying to sleep.

Salem reached out a hand to stroke the piece of dragon skin as the Son offered it up to her, likely considering the protection a cloak made from it could offer. She smiled gently, before looking up to the viewing balcony and said, "Arthur, you may resume your research on breaking the language code found in recovered scrolls. The Son will follow me and present this to the servants with the appropriate talents so that the dragon skin could be fashioned into a robe, preferably one with a hood for additional protection. Once it's completed, we shall test its durability with the silver bullets Dr. Sherizawa obtained from Europa Base."

"Of course, master," Watts replied, giving a little bow before taking his leave.

Dismissing the Grimm Keepers, Salem led Cinder, Hazel, Ziz and the Son up the staircase. As she walked she said, "I have decided to make an addendum to the orders for the attack on the Schnee estate; I want both Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc captured. I've allowed them to remain free long enough, I want them apprehended and brought back alive."

"And should they prove to be too difficult to capture?" Cinder asked.

"As the Fall Maiden, it shouldn't be a tedious task," Salem replied, "However, if capture isn't possible then you have my permission to execute them both. While we may lose a pair of promising Grimm Commanders, it will undoubtedly cause Team Beacon's fighting strength and morale to diminish significantly with their deaths. "

Ziz did her best to hide her nervous reaction to that order, while Tyrian and Cinder both gave sinister smiles. Hazel remained silent, his face expressionless.

"It will be my honor to do either, Mistress," Cinder said, bowing her head as she tried not to give away how eager she was to get revenge on the couple.

"The upcoming battle will not be easy, I can already see that," Sheer Kaa swore, "But we will do everything in our power to carry out this mission to the fullest."

"I hope so. Should the two escape once more, I will be quite…unsatisfied," Salem said warningly before she looked at the trio of Grimm Commanders, "And I want you three to resume your attempts to tame the Wyvern, since in its current state its mental defenses should be considerably more malleable under your combined powers. I want it to go on a real rampage when it attacks the Resolute."

"As you will it, master." Sheer Kaa, Steppenwolffe and Ziz spoke together.

"And what of Ruby Rose, your Grace?" Tyrian asked, rubbing his palms together.

Salem gave a small smile, "Dead or captured, either would be acceptable to me. Although I would so enjoy breaking her spirit if the dear girl were brought before me…"

Tyrian gave an insane-looking grin with mad determination in his gold eyes, "Then I'll capture her for you, and should she prove to be a difficult hindrance I could always bring you her head, Mistress."

"Very good. You're all dismissed to go about your duties. Come, my Son." Salem said and walked off down the castle's dark hallways, the Son obediently following her.

Hazel and Ziz both shared a careful look with Cinder, all wondering exactly what they were going to go about the assigned mission without failing Salem or totally wiping out Team Beacon, because all three of them knew that they would likely need Team Beacon as well as the Remnant Knights to keep Salem properly occupied.

As Sheer Kaa and Steppenwolffe turned and proceeded back down the steps of the black stone staircase, the Fall Maiden gave a subtle nod to Ziz when she walked past the winged Grimm Commander casually, giving the latter an expression that told her that the Fall Maiden would come up with something.

Ziz nodded back and flew off of the nearest balcony, landing atop the injured Wyvern which growled softly but thankfully didn't turn violent. She took a breath, before planting both of her hands atop its bone-masked head as the other two Grimm Commanders approached. She knew without a doubt that Pyrrha would be shocked and horrified when the Wyvern attacked, and would likely do everything she could to free it and get the Grimm dragon under her control again. But that wouldn't be easy with Salem's lies poisoning its mind…

Unless she were to put a wrench of sorts in their efforts to completely control the Elder Grimm.

Ziz smirked as she thought to herself, 'For Team BLTZ, and for Pyrrha, this beastie isn't gonna be yours for much longer, you wicked bitch.'

"Is something amusing, Ziz?" Sheer Khan inquired while giving her a stern look.

The aerial Grimm Commander turned to look at him before lying, "Just picturing our wayward girl's face when she sees us coming with this big mother." Sheer Kaa held her gaze for a few moments but nodded, apparently satisfied with her answer.

Meanwhile Cinder and Hazel walked through the dark hallways back to the upper floors, carefully whispering to each other in voices low enough that any of the castle's hidden security devices wouldn't pick up whatever they were talking about.

"You have a plan, don't you?" Hazel asked curtly.

"I do, but for now I'm doing exactly what Salem asks of me. True, Arc and Nikos might be more useful to us alive, but I won't allow either of them to go unpunished for my prior defeat. Nikos buried me under a ton of scrap metal, so I will make her suffer by making her watch her beloved partner die at my hands. I haven't yet decided what to do with her, but I suppose I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." Cinder answered.

"And what about the Summer Maiden?" Hazel questioned her.

"That will depend on how well she fights when I meet her." Cinder mused to herself, "I won't underestimate the Summer Maiden like Thorn did. As for Thorn herself, I could care less as long as she does what she's told by Salem." The muscular middle-aged man walking beside her gave a small silent nod of agreement.

She had already decided to make sure that Ilia would be kept in the dark about the attack, she couldn't risk the Fusion Faunus' bleeding heart ruining her chance for revenge against Ruby Rose and the rest of Team Beacon. The young silver-eyed Huntress was responsible for the scar on her face, so she would pay for that insult.

Yes, she would have her revenge, no matter what.

However, perhaps it was time to use Ilia and allow her to tip off Team Beacon about what Salem had planned for the Red Fang. That would divert her attention from the real matters at hand, and when the time is right, that's when Cinder will make her move.

Elsewhere in Salem's palace, the Grimm Queen walked to her destination with her 'Son' and Tyrian trailing her.

She couldn't help but allow a satisfied smile to spread across her face. The attack on Schnee Manor was likely going to succeed and Watts was getting closer and closer to fully translating the scrolls.

Once she had all the Relics and all the Maidens under her control, the world of Remnant would be theirs.

All would fade.

All would end.

All would become ruin and death.

All would be part of the Darkness. It was coming and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it or her.

Her smile slowly transformed into a grin.

---

Weiss took a deep breath. Today was the big day.

The S.D.C. transport airships that were carrying the two-hundred-and-fifty Faunus and human refugees, families and orphans mostly, had already landed. They were then being transported to the Schnee Manor via seven buses that her father had brought in from another department of the company the previous day. Winter had gone to the estate's airfield to greet the refugees in person, before leading the way to the manor with the long cavalcade of vehicles approaching the massive mansion.

Weiss wore an attractive outfit of indigo and periwinkle with a skirt that went down to her knees and long silver-trimmed sleeves. Despite all the changes she had gone through, she still wanted to leave a good first impression, something her parents had taught her at a very young age. She stood with the rest of her team at the front of the main doorway with Sun and Velvet, since they figured that seeing other Faunus front and center to greet them would be a nice way of welcoming the refugees to their temporary new home. Klein, Gretchen, Petra and Gunter were also present, but the Schnee estate's security guards had been instructed to keep out of sight so as not to intimidate their guests.

Soul Seer was in attendance, dressed in an ornate gown of white and indigo with gold trimmings and some ornaments to make herself look approachable to the refugees who may have been wary of the Knights and it wasn't difficult to understand why. The Chief Prognosticator had elected to come and help welcome the refugees as a show of goodwill from the Order. She wore her usual smooth battle mask, but had her hood down so her platinum blonde hair could hang out which was essentially a way of letting them know that the Remnant Knights were indeed flesh and blood.

"Good thing it's not snowing today," Ruby remarked before she noticed the somewhat troubled look on her partner's face, "You okay, Weiss?"

The Schnee heiress sighed and nodded, "As much as I hate to admit it, I'm a little worried."

Yang laughed and asked, "Wow, where was this modesty when we first met?"

"Yang, be nice," Blake chided lightly before looking at her white-haired teammate, "Not having second thoughts, I hope."

"No, I want them here." Weiss answered, "I'm just hoping they can forgive us for everything our family has done in the past."

"Weiss, relax," Ruby said, placing a hand on her partner's shoulder to comfort her, "I think they're okay with you. I don't think they'd have accepted the offer if they weren't."

"Ruby's right, you need to relax. Even if they really think that you haven't changed, they'll soon realize you have. We'll do everything we can to make them believe you and your family have no ulterior motive for inviting them here." Blake assured Weiss.

"Listen to them, Weiss," Velvet spoke up, "Trust us, once the refugees get to know the real you, any doubts they might have will melt away."

"Totally, and with us here to charm 'em, they'll make themselves right at home!" Sun encouraged.

"So don't worry about it, and if anybody tries anything, we'll be here to help you. " Ruby promised as Weiss looked into her pale blue eyes.

Weiss smiled with a look of confidence coming over her face, but it lacked the coldness and arrogance that had once been common in her demeanor, before the Schnee heiress had truly become part of Team RWBY and had gone through so many incredible and harrowing ordeals.

"You're right. This will be easy." She voiced, straightening herself out as the limo carrying Winter came to a halt in front of them. Winter, dressed in a more casual outfit with a long and quite stylish white coat, disembarked from the limo which quickly pulled away after closing the door.

"How did the landing go?" Weiss asked her elder sister.

"Smoothly, although some of the refugees still seem a little apprehensive, but many are just thankful to be out of the crowded shelters or hospitals." Winter replied as she came to stand next to Weiss as the first bus came to a stop a short distance away from the manor's main entrance and its door on the other side opened up, allowing the passengers to get out.

Forty passengers disembarked off of each bus, save for the final one which had fewer people inside, and soon there was a group of two hundred and fifty refugees, Faunus and human alike, standing in front of the Schnee Manor. Many of them were carrying suitcases or bags that contained whatever possessions that they had been able to take with them from their ruined homes.

Weiss found herself smiling a little as she recognized some familiar faces from Mother Hubbard's shelter, such as the Beaver, Mongoose, Koala Faunus and their respective families. Velvet also gave a little wave to the Lemur Faunus mother who she had met in the hospital, who returned the gesture with a smile as she grasped her little boy's hand.

Inside of the main hall of Schnee Manor, the rest of Team Beacon stood with the remaining servants. Qrow on the other hand stood on the second floor at the back and off to the side, casually leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed as he perched on the nearest handrail.

The Maidens were in their maid disguises, both wore black dresses which went down to their knees which were in turn covered with white aprons and frilly hair bands which were the same as the other maids in the Schnee Manor. Heliosia wore a pair of old reading glasses that had once belonged to Gretchen and her coffee brown hair was neatly rolled up into little buns that ran down the back of her head. Unlike Amethyst who slipped into her assigned maid outfit easily enough, the Summer Maiden had to make some adjustments to her own set of clothing due to her slightly more muscular physique and well-endowed chest.

Heliosia straightened up herself to look prim and proper, hoping the outfit didn't show off her muscles too much. She would be reprising her old pseudonym of Adara Aenia while staying with the refugees while Amethyst had taken up the name Violet Rye. The Spring Maiden still wore her purple gemstone necklace, while giving a sly smirk whenever her violet eyes met Heliosia's. She enjoyed dressing up and felt very comfortable in the outfit and couldn't deny she liked how it showed off her attractive figure.

The purple-haired Maiden couldn't help but notice Sharp Strike's head glancing oh so subtly over at Heliosia, only to turn away in order to make sure that no one else noticed him gazing at how well the modified maid uniform complimented her curvaceous figure while hiding the more muscular parts of it. The movement was so miniscule that none of the other members of Team Beacon didn't notice it, but not her. Amethyst grinned, mentally congratulating herself on pushing her sister Maiden and the mysterious Knight Errant even closer together.

Meanwhile as the buses kept dropping off the refugees, Ruby couldn't help but notice that after the initial surprise of realizing they really would be living in the utterly massive building, their faces had this unmistakable look of sadness or even conflicted expressions. Men, women and children, human and Faunus alike; they were all victims of Salem's evil. An evil that she couldn't help but wonder…how would they stop it?

Ruby knew that if they ever confronted Salem in some incredible epic battle like something out of a movie or an epic novel, stopping her wouldn't be as simple as just a big brawl where she and the rest of Team Beacon would just hit, shoot and slash the Mistress of Grimm until she eventually died. In fact, the Silver Eyed girl couldn't help but think that even with the advantage of her eyes' power they still wouldn't be able to come out of such a fight victorious without losing a grievous toll of friends and allies, which was something she couldn't accept.

Defeating Salem would be immensely difficult, probably harder than anything Ruby would be comfortable dealing with, but she also knew it was something they eventually had to confront. She had no idea how they would defeat Salem once and for all, but she knew that they had to do their best to at least try. Perhaps the Guardians of Remnant would come up with something once they found all the Relics and brought them together?

Surely not even Salem could stand against the Relics' combined power?

Yang unexpectedly noticed the troubled look on her little sister's face and asked, "You okay sis?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking about these poor people, about how they've lost so much because of Salem. I hope we can help them." Ruby said.

"Hey, don't worry, Rubes. We'll do everything we can for them," Yang assured her.

"And we'll make Salem pay for everything," Sun added quietly, with firm determination.

"Everything will be okay, Ruby. As long as we hold on together." Blake assured her.

Ruby swallowed and nodded her head, her silver eyes brightening a little, "Yeah. You're right. Sorry if I'm being a downer."

"It's only natural to be worried after everything we've been through, but just don't give in to despair. I honestly don't know if Remnant can handle a sad Ruby for more than a few hours," Weiss said, with some sounds of amusement coming from Yang and Sun.

"And by letting these disadvantaged people stay here, we're already doing a lot to fight the damage done by Salem's minions." Velvet pointed out.

Ruby couldn't help but smile at that, nodding her head, "Thanks guys, I really needed to hear that."

"It's all right, Ruby. If Salem tries anything, we'll all be there to help you," Weiss replied with a smile, slightly echoing Ruby's earlier statement as Yang gave her little sister half a hug by wrapping her organic arm around her and pulling her in close.

After the refugees gathered in the open area in front of the manor's main entrance, Weiss stepped towards the crowd with her scroll in her hand, already switched to broadcast mode, "Hello everyone, it is my honor to welcome you all to Schnee Manor, I trust that my sister Winter Schnee, my fellow teammates in Team Beacon and I need no introduction, given how much we have been in the news lately. However, this man is Klein Seiban," She gestured to Klein who stood beside her, "the head of our staff. If you would like to be employed as one of our estate's staff, he is the man you should speak to. My father, Willow Schnee, is still preoccupied with S.D.C. business, but he has recorded a welcome message for you all."

Behind Weiss, Gretchen pressed a button on her own scroll and a life-sized hologram of Willow Schnee appeared out of a projector built into the space directly above the wide doorway.

"Greetings, refugees. I know I need no introduction, since you all likely know of me. I'm truly sorry that I could not be here to physically greet you, but hopefully we can be properly introduced once I have gotten the necessary matters attended to. Many of you have known of me only through reputation, which was not an entirely positive one, I must admit," Willow's holographic recording said, "I am grateful that you people have found it within yourselves to forgive us for our past mistakes and accept our offer to stay in Schnee Manor until this crisis had ended and your homes have been rebuilt. My daughters, Team Beacon, and our manor staff will show you to your assigned rooms which you will be staying in for the foreseeable future. I also humbly ask that you show the proper courtesy and respect the manor's staff and also to our ancestral home. Welcome to the Schnee Manor, and I hope you all will enjoy your stay here. I shall see you soon."

With that, the holographic recording came to an end and promptly shut off, allowing Weiss and Winter to retake center stage.

"Now, allow us to introduce Soul Seer, who has been appointed to us by the Remnant Knights as a liaison to ensure the safety of Team Beacon and all of you as well," Winter added, gesturing to the robed mage, who stepped forward.

"It is a pleasure to be here. We know that some of you are wary of our Order, since we have remained hidden in the shadows and the realm of legends for so long, until the recent attacks forced us out. I am here to say that we are aware of your plight and as a show of solidarity and good will. Welcome to this manor." Soul Seer said, bowing a little.

"Please come in, we would have plenty of time to get acquainted later," Weiss invited, gesturing for the large crowd to follow her. Gunter and Gretchen stood off to the side, as their job was to make sure everyone was accounted for, and they began counting as the large group of refugees slowly made their way inside. Many of the children in the crowd were looking around in awe, as they had never laid eyes on such a huge building before, and it was like a castle from a fairy tale had come to life out of the pages of a picture book. Some of the human kids were doing their best to keep an eye out for any of the legendary Remnant Knights, but none of them managed to catch a glimpse of them, other than Sharp Strike who stood with the rest of Team Beacon.

Meanwhile, up on the upper floors of the Schnee Manor a small group of Remnant Knights observed the gathering below them quietly. Argentius and the Knight Vanguards Snow Blade, Fire Walker and Wind Runner all kept a careful watch over the crowd from behind an ornate doorway situated within a long parlor room, which was hidden further by the white embroidered curtains that were hung over its entrance.

"I'm still not sure if I'm comfortable with allowing so many refugees to get this close to the Maidens," Fire Walker voiced apprehensively, "There's always the possibility that Salem could have slipped an assassin or two among them…"

"We have already discussed it and your concern is duly noted," Argentius said, "The Spring Maidens are both well disguised and since they already have been able to stay hidden for a long time without exposing themselves, they should be fine. Also, Sharp Strike and Team Beacon are with them."

"Fair enough," Wind Runner commented, "Although that was before Heliosia revealed herself in a spectacular way at Vacuo Academy. While Amethyst has so far remained undiscovered by the people of Remnant, there have been exceptions; supposedly the man known as Dr. Eastwood managed to deduce who both Maidens are without any problems."

"Eastwood is an experienced Huntsman and a doctor, therefore it's only natural a man like that would be smart enough to notice certain details and deduct who they truly are," Argentius told the Knight Vanguard of the Eternal Warriors, "The human and Faunus refugees gathered below are simple folk who have been put in a terrible situation, and with all that's on their minds they won't be looking too closely for any Maidens here, which is why they haven't even suspect that the humble maids Violet Rye and Adara Aenia of being the Spring and Summer Maidens."

"Argentius, I've spotted her," Snow Blade suddenly spoke up as he cautiously peeked through the white curtains, "Right there on the left, towards the back, the feminine figure in the brown hood." He pointed to a lone cloaked individual, who easily walked among the refugee families as they moved forward.

"Ah, so it's a good thing my sister foresaw this," Argentius said, his voice sounding amused, "Team Beacon will be in for quite a surprise then."

"With all due respect, are you sure about this?" Wind Runner couldn't keep the caution from his voice as he pointed out, "I mean, she used to be one of Salem's agents."

"And she risked her own life to free Pyrrha Nikos, Jaune Arc, Ruby Rose and William Ozpin from Salem's custody, which I'm incredibly grateful for." Argentius remarked, "Nonetheless, we must remain vigilant. Inform the other Remnant Knights not to take any action against the young woman without Soul Seer or my explicit orders."

"Are you certain that we can truly trust her?" Snow Blade inquired cautiously.

"Team Beacon trusts her, and my sister also saw nothing bad coming out of her arrival," Argentius answered plainly, "That's good enough for me."

Down below, as the crowd was almost entirely inside, the hooded figure looked around and smiled, a pair of mismatched eyes glinting from underneath the hood.

Team RWBY, Sun, Velvet, Winter and Soul Seer came into the grand entrance hall of Schnee Manor, regrouping with the rest of Team Beacon as Klein and the other manor servants made sure to carefully count and take note of everyone who passed through the main doors and briefly speak to those who were interested in becoming employees of the S.D.C.

The newly-arrived refugees looked around the main entrance hall in astonishment, as none of them had ever dreamed that they would be able to set foot in a place so decadent with large statues that resemble huge versions of medieval knight armor.

"If you think this is impressive, wait 'til you get a load of the rest of the manor," Sun said to the first family that came through, which just so happened to be the family of the Koala Faunus who had spoken out in support of Weiss back at the shelter.

"Mommy, are we really gonna live here?" Asked a young girl who seemed to be about six years old and had cute Koala ears coming out of her head.

"Yes dear, though I don't know for how long…" The child's mother, who was still blown away by the sheer size of the residence, answered but she soon stopped upon seeing Sharp Strike, "Oh my…"

"Welcome to Schnee Manor," Weiss greeted politely, "May we show you to your room?"

"Yes, please," The woman's husband said, "I'll stay here for a while, to speak with Mr. Klein about our employment. You and the kids should go on and get settled in, Karla."

Karla nodded, "Okay honey, I'll see you later at our room. Thank you so much for agreeing to this," She said before kissing him softly. The man hugged his children and bid them goodbye as Nora stepped forward to greet yet another family behind him.

"Hi! I'm Nora Valkyrie, and I'll be showing you to your room!" The orange-haired Huntress-in-training greeted cheerfully, "Just follow me and we'll be there in no time, but stick close, it's pretty easy to get lost here! Trust me, we'll send your scroll a map later."

Weiss and Winter had worked out a system with Klein the previous night; a member of Team Beacon or the manor's staff would guide a refugee family to one of the numerous guest rooms in the Manor's West Wing and then marked it as 'occupied' on the map within their scrolls.

Nora led the family off, saying to them, "Hey, if you're feeling worried, don't be. It can be a little intimidating at first, but you'll soon learn to like it here. Cute ears, by the way!"

Ren shook his head, but he couldn't help but smile, "I'll take the next group and catch up with Nora. We wouldn't want her to overwhelm the guests."

"Probably a good idea," Pyrrha conceded with a laugh.

The green ninja greeted the next family genially, a human family of four, as the Lemur Faunus and her son came into view next, moving to wait off to the side. Heliosia recognized them and gave a small wave, which the mother returned with a grateful smile.

"Weiss! Can you come over here so I can introduce you?" Velvet called as she waved to get the Schnee heiress' attention. Weiss nodded and walked with the Rabbit Faunus over to the mother and son. "This is Tamara Zaru and her son Zephyr, we met them at the hospital. They lost their home in the attacks and she told me she'd be very happy to work here as long as they stay."

Weiss smiled warmly and offered the Lemur Faunus her hand, "It's good to meet you, ma'am."

Tamara slowly accepted the younger Schnee sister's hand and shook it, "Thank you for taking us in, Miss Schnee. Life wasn't exactly easy before all this madness started happening, being a single mom and all, I was really worried about how we were going to get by before your friends came along with your offer."

"We'll be happy to have you as part of the estate's staff," Weiss said, before she caught sight of Zephyr kept looking from her to something else. Weiss followed his gaze and noticed that he was gazing at the rest of Team RWBY, Sharp Strike and Soul Seer. She looked back down at the young boy and smiled, "I take it that you are a fan of us?"

Blushing, Zephyr nodded, "You guys were my favorite team in the Vytal Tournament, I was really worried when everything went crazy," He looked over at Ruby and asked, "Hey, did Ruby really freeze that dragon Grimm?"

Weiss smiled, "As a matter of fact, she did. I'll introduce you, if you'd like." She offered as Winter welcomed a family of Cat Faunus, who were then led to their guest room by Sage.

His amber eyes lit up, "Really?"

"Of course," The youngest Schnee gestured for her team to come over.

Ruby, Blake and Yang walked over to them, "What's up?"

"I think we have a fan," Blake remarked, having listened in on the conversation with her superior hearing.

"Always nice to meet an admirer! I'm Ruby Rose, what's your name?" Ruby asked.

Zephyr was silent, blushing and looking down shyly before his mother placed a supportive hand on his shoulder and he managed to say, "Z-z-zephyr Zaru…"

"Nice to meetcha!" Yang said, offering him her robotic hand, "Hey, you like my new arm? It might seem a little weird at first, but you come to love it eventually." She told him, slowly flexing her steel fingers.

Zephyr took Yang's robotic hand and they slowly shook. "Oh man, what a grip! Don't be nervous, Zeph, I know this place is big and fancy, but you'll learn to like it in time." Yang assured him.

"So did you get back at that Mercury guy for framing you? Did it hurt when your old arm got cut off?" The young Faunus asked, his words coming out in a rush, "And where's your old arm now?"

"Zephyr!" His mother softly scolded.

"Eh, it's okay, ma'am," Yang assured her, "You better believe it hurt, but man oh man, did it feel good when I got my robot arm on and I totally got revenge on Mercury as well."

Blake nodded to confirm Yang's claims, as Ruby knelt down and said, "Wanna see Crescent Rose later?"

Zephyr's eyes lit up, "Yeah! Can I?"

"Sure thing, later we'll show off all our weapons to you and all the kids." Ruby promised him. Up above, Qrow found himself having a small smile. It never ceased to amaze him how much like her mother Ruby was, and it was clear that his late teammate's gentle personality had rubbed off on his elder niece as well. Quite a wonderful pair they would make.

"It's wonderful to have people like you here with us. I hope you'll like it here," Blake said to the older Faunus.

"Thank you, Miss Belladonna. It's an honor to meet you, I've been an admirer of your family for a long time. When I was a teenager I wanted nothing more than to run off and join the White Fang, but my parents kept a good eye on me. I was glad they did when Adam Taurus took over. Thank you for stopping him as well. If he had gotten his way, who knows how badly the Faunus of Atlas and Mantle would have suffered." She said, glancing down at her son as he kept talking to Ruby.

Blake didn't know what to say at first, she simply nodded, "Thank you, it's a shame what happened to Adam, but he had to be stopped. I'll be sure to tell my family on Menagerie they have more admirers in Atlas."

Tamara smiled as her son pointed at Soul Seer and Sharp Strike, asking, "Are those really Remnant Knights?"

"You bet!" Ruby confirmed, "You wanna meet them?"

Zephyr nodded excitedly, but Tamara didn't seem so sure. Sharp Strike saw the child's reaction, and made a gesture which caused Soul Seer to turn her head and to look at them before coming over. As Coco guided a family of Beaver Faunus up the main staircase, some of them were looking back to gawk at the armored Knight.

"Ah, I can see our visitors are curious about us," Soul Seer said, her voice calm and friendly as she approached the mother and child, "Hello there; I am Soul Seer, the chief prognosticator of the Remnant Knight Order."

"Prog-nosty-cater?" Zephyr attempted to repeat.

"It means someone who can potentially see the future, honey," Tamara told her son, giving the blonde woman an uncertain look, "But if you can see the future, then did you foresee the Grimm attacks coming?"

Soul Seer glanced down, a look of uncertainty hidden by her smooth mask. She bowed her head apologetically before saying, "It's not easy being a prognosticator, and while I did see some possible futures it's quite difficult to know which one would be the most likely future that could happen. My gift sometimes gives me vague warnings, which I often heed but not everything can be prevented. You see, Miss, those of us with my gift have to be careful when using it, because the future is always in motion and if we let the visions of possible futures come freely to us and simply accept them without consideration, then we could very easily be driven mad by all the visions of what could be, and not always what will be. I'm truly sorry for your predicament and I wish we could have done more to prevent it. We can't change what has happened, but we can still change the future."

"Wow, uh…I didn't imagine you Remnant Knights are going to be so humble…" Tamara murmured, taken aback by the humility the Order's chief prognosticator displayed, "Well, I suppose no one's infallible, not even living legends."

"We have our flaws, and despite our legendary status we are all still very human." Soul Seer replied kindly.

"Hey, can you tell me my future?" Zephyr asked the masked prognosticator.

"Hmm…let me take a look at you," Soul Seer said as she knelt down to look the young boy in the eyes, even though her own were hidden behind the mask's lenses. The prognosticator hummed for a few seconds, before speaking in a voice that made it obvious she was smiling, "In your future, little one, I see you getting a nice hot meal and then having a nice dream while sleeping in a warm bed. Oh, and as well as -" She swiftly moved a hand behind the boy's head and acted as though she pulled something out of his ear, "- this!"

She presented him with a shiny silver lien coin, making Zephyr smile widely, "Hey, thanks!" He said as he cheerfully accepted it. Soul Seer chuckled as she stood back up, looking back at Tamara and Team RWBY.

"One of the few things I have picked up over the years." She told them.

"Well, welcome to the Schnee Manor," Weiss told the single mother, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to speak with a few other people who are waiting for me." The Schnee heiress returned to her elder sister's side with Soul Seer and Blake following her, while Ruby continued speaking with Zephyr.

"So, can your eyes really freeze Grimm and turn 'em into statues?" He asked the silver-eyed girl with curiosity.

"Heck yeah they can!" Ruby confirmed with a wide smile, "So don't worry about any Grimm coming around here. One look and zap! They're frozen!"

As more and more families kept coming in, it was soon clear that a vast majority of them wished to be employed, and so Klein made a decision and announced to the crowds, "Very well! It seems that since at least one member of each family would like a job, and it would only slow things down to keep the others waiting here, so I propose that after you have all settled in you can all meet me at one of the reading rooms in the West Wing in about two hours. Is that acceptable?"

No one objected, and those who had stayed behind to ask for directions soon went off to join their families in their assigned guest rooms while others were guided by yet more members of the manor's staff.

"Well, looks like we'll be going to a room earlier than expected," Tamara said.

"Come on, I'll take you to a room on the next level. Let me take your bags for you." Ruby offered, gesturing for them to follow her. She led them up the stairs and when she glanced back she found the sight of the mother's tail wrapped around her son's very cute.

"So, where are you from?" Ruby asked them.

"We lived in the outskirts of Hephaestus City. Thanks to the Remnant Knights the city wasn't too badly damaged, but our apartment building was one of the places that was hit badly. A Goliath smashed right through our home, but thank Oum I was at work and Zephyr was at school," Tamara answered, her tail squeezing her son's as she shuddered a little at the terrible memory of seeing her home destroyed.

"It was really scary," Zephyr admitted, "I was worried mom was gonna get eaten."

"Thankfully there were enough soldiers and Huntsmen in the city to hold off the Grimm until the Knights arrived, and thank the Brothers and Sisters the police force managed to secure the schools before things got worse." Tamara voiced.

"Yeah, I actually spent some time keeping a school safe during the Battle of Vacuo," Ruby recalled, "And I did everything I could to make sure none of the kids got hurt. So, what do you want to do here?"

"Well, I was a janitor for an office building in Hephaestus, I'm hoping I can get a job like that here." Tamara answered.

"Trust me, it'll be no problem. A house this huge always needs more maids." Ruby assured her.

"So, uh, how many Grimm have you killed?" Zephyr asked.

"Eh, maybe around two hundred or something? I'm not really sure. I tried to keep track at first, but it became so hard in the heat of battle that I eventually gave up." Ruby admitted as they walked past the room she shared with Penny, "I do know, I've got a lot more to wipe out."

Zephyr looked up at his mother a bit nervously, before he looked at Ruby and said, "Ruby? Do you think I could be a Hunter like you one day?"

The silver-eyed girl looked back at the child, giving him an encouraging smile, but she couldn't help but notice the worried look on Tamara's face and said, "Sure, I think anyone could become a Hunter if they try hard enough. Though me and my friends are probably gonna wipe out all the Grimm on Remnant by the time you're old enough. Because I want to make the world safe for everyone, especially kids like you."

Tamara gave Ruby a grateful look, "Let's wait until you're old enough to think about becoming a Huntsman. Say, thirty-five?" She joked, making the leader of Team RWBY laugh.

"Mom! I wanna be a Hunter like Ruby and her friends!" Zephyr whined.

"Honestly, my dad was the same way, and he's a veteran Huntsman! Don't feel too down, Zephyr, your mom worries about you because that's part of a parent's job." Ruby told the boy, grinning at him.

"Well, I still wanna be a hero like you, Ruby. Someone who makes a difference in the world." The young Faunus said, making Ruby smile.

"Everyone wants to, believe me, but you don't have to be a warrior to make a difference. Sometimes all it takes to make a difference or to be a hero is to be there for the people you love, to motivate them, you know? Because, as much as I'd hate to admit it, sometimes even heroes lose hope and need to be reminded of the good in the world that needs to be protected. They need help to see the beauty in the world and our lives, and to remind us that it's always worth fighting for. So maybe, just maybe, should I ever lose hope one day, I'll still have my friends, and that includes you Zephyr, to snap me out of it." Ruby told him in a very sincere voice.

"My goodness, that was very profound." Tamara remarked.

"Uh, yeah it was…I don't know where it came from though," Ruby confessed, placing a hand behind her head a little bashfully as they came to an empty guest room, "Here's your room, I hope you'll like it."

Ruby opened the door and revealed a nice, comfortable guest room not dissimilar from those Team Beacon was staying in.

"Oh wow!" Zephyr exclaimed, his amber eyes growing big.

"Oh my, it's almost as big as our old apartment," Tamara noted.

"So do you like it?" Ruby asked.

"Are you kidding?! It's great!" Zephyr cheered.

"It's wonderful, thank you very much, Ruby." Tamara said, bowing her head a little.

"No thanks are necessary! Happy to have you with us." Ruby told them with a cheerful face.

Zephyr took notice of a small notebook and pen on the room's desk, so he ran over and fetched them before dashing back to Ruby. "Ruby, c-can I get your autograph?"

Ruby was taken aback a little. She had signed autographs before for the students at Beacon, mostly younger ones, who admired her for all she had achieved but this was different, they were still her peers but this was a kid who wanted to be like her someday. She couldn't help but be reminded of when she asked Glynda Goodwitch for her autograph on that fateful night she had fought Roman Torchwick and his goons. The night that changed her life forever.

"Sure!" She signed the autograph for him and said, "There you go! Don't lose it!"

"I won't!" The young Faunus promised before he began looking around his room, leaping up on the bed and reacting with surprise at how comfortable it was, "Wow, it feels so soft!"

Tamara smiled and said, "Thank you, he really needed to hear that. His father…well, his father left before he was born, so he's always looked up to Huntsmen and Huntresses."

"He seems like a wonderful kid," Ruby told Tamara as she placed their bags on the floor, "I'm happy we can do more good than just killing monsters. Let us know if you need anything, okay?"

"I will, thank you again. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really need to lay down for a bit." Tamara told Ruby, who nodded understandingly before she turned around to leave after waving goodbye to Zephyr.

Ruby marked down the room as taken on her scroll as she set off to return to the main hall. On the way, she couldn't help but keep a bright smile on her face the whole time, knowing that Zephyr was just one of many children who looked up to her and her friends. She reached the main entrance hall at the same time as Yang who appeared from a corridor leading from the West Wing.

"Hey sis! Get Tamara and Zephyr settled?" Yang asked.

"Sure did! What about you?"

"I took a family of Kangaroo Faunus to a room. The dad's name is Irwin and he comes off as the kind of guy Uncle Qrow would love to hang out with," Yang explained.

"Oh boy…" Ruby muttered with a laugh.

"In a good way!" Yang laughed, "He was a security guard in Margarite Harbor and managed to take down a few pirates in the battle but his apartment got blown up in the attacks, so he and his family wound up here. He says he'd like to be a security guard for the estate, which I think he'd be a pretty good fit for."

Ruby nodded, "So how are his kids? Nice, I hope?"

"Oh yeah! They kept asking me all kinds of questions like how many Grimm I've killed, that kind of stuff." Yang answered.

"Yeah, Zephyr asked me the same thing. I probably gave him the same answer as you, too." Ruby remarked with a chuckle, "He wanted my autograph, so he'll probably want yours and everyone else's too."

"Heh, Irwin's kids asked for mine too! We're becoming pretty popular, aren't we sis? They wanted me to show them how strong I was, so I lifted both of them off the floor at once as a little demonstration." Yang told her little sister.

Ruby laughed again, "It's weird to have kids ask for our autographs, you know? I thought about that night I fought Torchwick, how I came off as a fangirl asking Professor Goodwitch for her autograph."

"And now you've got fans asking for yours, so we both know how Pyrrha feels," Yang noted with a grin, "We've all come a long way, Ruby, but I don't think I would have come this far without you. I know mom would be proud of us both, especially you."

Ruby smiled as she hugged her older sister, "Aw, thanks sis. She would be really proud of you too."

Yang smiled, hugging her sister back. It was a little strange for the blonde brawler to imagine Ruby as anything but her sweet yet badass little sister, but she had to admit Ruby had grown a lot. She had blossomed from a cute, weapons-obsessed geek into a strong, smart leader, one Yang was proud to follow anywhere.

---

Meanwhile, the rest of Team Beacon and the Schnee family's servants continued performing their tasks of escorting the various refugee families to any guest rooms available.

One rather unusual family was made up of Faunus from several different animal species; three of them were goats with horns sprouting from their heads, the eldest was about twenty-three years old or so while the other two were considerably younger, one being about fourteen and the youngest seemed to be about nine. With them was a rather pretty orange-haired Giraffe Faunus with ossicones rising out of the top of her head, who held the hands of a young Cat Faunus girl with flowing black hair, green eyes and a long, thin black cat tail.

Blake had taken upon herself to escort the mismatched group to one of the larger guest rooms at the West Wing's upper levels that could comfortably house them all, which Klein had supplied her the instructions to on her scroll's map after logging in all every single family's member's name and important details on his custom scroll.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, how'd you all end up together?" She asked them.

"It's a long story, Miss Belladonna," The Giraffe Faunus said, "We wouldn't want to bore you with the details."

"No, it's all right," Blake promised the older woman, looking back at her, "I'd like to know."

"Well, I'm Billy Jorgen," The eldest Goat Faunus piped up, "These are my brothers Peter and little Christen."

"Hey, don't call me little!" The youngest brother objected indignantly.

"Sorry," Billy said, smirking a little, "This is my girlfriend Femi and the little one is Risa. We all lived at North Point, I was living with Femi while my brothers lived with our folks when the attack went down."

Blake nodded gravely, quickly figuring out what had happened to bring the six together.

"Me and Christen were at school when the attack happened, but our parents were at work…they didn't survive." Peter told her, his voice turning dour along with the expressions of his brothers.

Blake stopped and looked back at them, "I'm so sorry, I lost my parents too. Not in the Grimm attacks, as it happened a long time ago."

"I know, I used to read about Faunus activists like your family," Femi told Blake softly, "They were very brave people. I'm honestly honored to meet you, Blake."

"The pleasure is mine," Blake replied modestly as she walked with them, "So you all lived in North Point? That place used to be pretty notorious for being one of the last places where segregation was legal, up until ten years ago. You must have all been very brave to live in such a place, even if it did get better over time."

"Eh, we put up with our fair share of bigots, but we knew a lot of nice humans too," Billy said with a casual shrug, "But no one deserves to suffer through something like that. Crazy thing was there weren't that many Faunus casualties, mainly humans, like the Grimm were going after humans specifically. Our families were among the few Faunus who were killed."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Blake told them, glancing down to look sympathetically at the younger Cat Faunus, who was tightly gripping onto Femi's hand.

"It's hard, but we're coping," Billy replied, "It was crazy to go through, I just ran to get Femi from her job and get us both to the nearest shelter or any place that could withstand a Grimm attack and hide until it was over. Weird thing though, when I was running to get to the shelter, I could've sworn I saw someone riding on a Beowolf."

"Billy, I don't think Blake wants to hear about it," Femi advised, sounding a little annoyed.

"No, it's okay, I've fought these Grimm Commanders before," Blake told her as she looked back at the older Faunus, "Are you sure it was like a man?"

"Man, Faunus, some weird Grimm I've never heard of, I don't know what it was, but I know I saw it." Billy replied confidently, "You really think it was one of those Grimm Commanders?"

Blake nodded, remembering how the Grimm Commander known as Steppenwolffe had been leading the attack at North Point, and if the Grimm there had mostly gone after humans, it made sense given what Pyrrha had said about him. "I think it's very likely," She confirmed.

"So, what about Risa? What happened to her?" Blake asked as she looked down at the younger Cat Faunus, who hid behind Femi shyly.

"She…well, her family were our neighbors in an apartment complex. Risa was home sick with a cold when the Grimm attacked, her mother managed to hide her in a sturdy cupboard in the basement before she apparently used herself as bait to lure the Grimm away. Risa hid in the back, out of reach of any Grimm that tried to pull her out. Took the search and rescue guys a couple of days to find her. Her dad was also lost in the attacks, and since she doesn't have any other family I took her in." Femi explained.

Blake's heart ached for all of them, but especially for the youngest Faunus. The Black Cat Faunus stopped and knelt down to face Risa, "I'm so sorry. No one deserves to lose their parents," She said, glancing at the two young Goat Faunus before firmly adding "No one. I'm sorry for all your losses, it's never easy."

Risa just looked at Blake, her emerald eyes looking quite dull. "Yeah," Christen said, "It's…well it sucks, but at least we have each other."

Blake nodded at him with a smile, "Listen to him, Risa, because he's right. If you ever need to talk, you can look for me."

"I'm afraid that's very unlikely," Femi said sadly, "She hasn't said a word since the attack. The doctors said it is normal for a child to go silent like this after such a traumatic shock, called selective mutism. Luckily there's a child therapist among the refugees and she agreed to see her later."

"We have tried talking to her as much as we can, but she doesn't talk back." Peter added.

Blake nodded before she looked back at Risa, "Well, you don't have to talk if you don't want to. You can just talk whenever you want, but you'll be safe here, I promise," She looked at Femi and Billy before adding, "You're all in safe hands."

Risa looked at Blake and nodded absently, letting her know she understood. Blake stood up and shared a sympathetic look with Femi before she resumed leading the way to the room.

Eventually they turned a corner down another long hallway, where Amethyst who was in disguise as the maid Violet Rye had just guided a human family of seven into another guest room in the hall.

"Ah, hello Miss Belladonna," Amethyst said in an exaggerated Atlesian accent to keep up her maid guise, "My, what a family! The rooms here are just perfect for you! We're happy to have you with us here at Schnee Manor!"

Blake repressed the urge to roll her amber eyes at Amethyst's fake accent, which elicited even confused reactions from Billy and his brothers.

"This is Violet Rye," The Belladonna daughter said, making sure to keep up the lie, "One of Weiss' personal maids."

"Uh, nice to meet you," Billy said as Blake went over to the guest room Klein had selected for the family.

"Hey," Christen spoke up as he approached Amethyst, "This place is ancient right? Are there any ghosts here?"

"Oh I don't really know, I haven't been here too long, but there are rumors that this floor is home to…something spooky!" Amethyst replied, her voice going very hammy when she spoke the last two words, "Seriously though, this place is very huge and can be pretty creepy at night, so I'd advise you don't go wandering around."

Blake chuckled a little as she opened the door, "Here you go, this will be your temporary home. I hope you like it."

She stood aside so the five could get inside, and it warmed Blake's heart to see the younger Faunus' eyes light up at the sight of the large room with enough beds for all of them. Even little Risa's dull eyes lit up briefly, if only slightly.

"This is…" Femi said, struggling to find the words.

"Amazing," Billy finished for her, looking at his girlfriend and saying, "Okay, I was wrong, this was definitely a good idea."

Femi nodded and smiled a little, "I'll try not to rub it in too much, Jorgen."

Billy sighed, "You're lucky you're a pretty girl."

He laughed a little as his younger brothers ran about the room excitedly, leaping onto the soft beds. "Now, don't jump! We don't wanna get kicked out!" Femi said as she went after them.

"It's fine, Miss," Amethyst assured as she stood outside the guest room's door, "These beds can take it, so let them have some fun."

"After what they've been through, they need it." Blake told the Giraffe Faunus.

Femi sighed, rubbed her face with one hand and eventually nodded, "Okay, I suppose you have a point." She admitted as Billy went in also, placing their bags and suitcases on the floor.

Blake brought out her scroll and tapped on its green screen to give her her scroll number, "If you ever need to speak with someone, feel free to text or call me."

"Oh, thank you very much Blake!" Femi answered as she exchanged numbers with Blake and took down the number on her scroll's contact lists. Blake looked down at Risa, who glanced back up at her but looked away very quickly.

"Have a good day, see you later." Blake said to them as she closed the door.

"Enjoy your stay!" Amethyst bid them before she joined Blake on a return trip to the main hall.

As the Huntress and disguised Spring Maiden walked back together, Amethyst asked, "So, how did I do?"

"You were laying it on a bit thick with the accent, might want to tone it down a bit." Blake answered, giving the Spring Maiden an amused look.

"Eh, I think it makes me sound fancy," The purple-haired Maiden replied with a shrug, "I assume there's quite the story behind why such different Faunus are together."

Blake nodded, "There is, I'll tell you and the others later. Right now, we still have other families to guide."

---

Elsewhere in the Schnee Manor, Sun and Neptune were both escorting two other Faunus families together, which just so happened to be the families of the Beaver and Mongoose Faunus who had initially been hostile to Weiss back at Mother Hubbard's shelter.

"Wow! This place is huge!" The Beaver Faunus's son exclaimed, "The front room was bigger than our old house!"

"Yeah, that's what I said when we arrived a few days back." Sun told the boy.

"It's nice to see you guys," Neptune told the boy's parents, "Weiss was really worried some of you would change your minds."

"Honestly? Despite all the bad blood, we were very much moved by Miss Schnee's sincere apologies and how desperately she wanted our forgiveness." Said the Mongoose Faunus, whose name was Olgaren.

"Besides, if our kids have a chance to live under a roof this fabulous, we owe it to them not to pass on the opportunity." Patrick the Beaver Faunus mentioned.

"Especially when they're offering us employment." Olgaren's wife added.

"Eh, I don't know if they'll have a decent job for an animal handler like me." Olgaren told his wife glumly.

"Animal handler? Did you work at a Zoo?" Neptune asked.

"Yeah, I was an assistant zookeeper for a zoo outside of Mantle," Olgaren answered, "I worked with all kinds of animals, both big and small. I mean, maybe the Schnees would have horses or something, I can help with those."

"Oh, they've got a little more than just horses," Sun answered with a chuckle as he shared a knowing look with his partner, "Just ask Klein, he'll fix you up with something."

"Wait, what do you mean? They don't actually have a zoo in this place, do they?" Olgaren asked as he looked around, "I mean, it can't be that big, can it?"

"Well, not an actual zoo. It's a small menagerie with a wide variety of animals. I won't spoil what species they have in it." Neptune informed him.

The face of Olgaren's daughter lit up at Neptune's words, her tail wagging, "Can we see it?"

"Sure thing, after you've gotten settled in." Sun told the young girl.

"Trust us, you're not going to regret taking up Weiss' offer." Neptune assured the families.

"I admit I was very doubtful at first, but seeing Weiss Schnee of all people swallowing her pride and asking for our forgiveness? That was a real eye-opener." Olgaren said.

"Sure was. I've known Weiss for like a year and a half now and she's changed a lot." Neptune told them.

"Tell me about it," Sun chuckled, remembering how Weiss had called him things like a degenerate and rapscallion when she first saw him. Now Weiss would never judge a person like that.

---

Meanwhile, Pyrrha had just helped a mother with two children arrive at a guest room on the opposite side of the floor, Ren was down the hall, directing a human family into another room.

"Brothers and Sisters, I can't believe THE Pyrrha Nikos is carrying my suitcase!" The young Faunus girl who had introduced herself as Emma exclaimed. She and her twin brother Emil had long brown ears that could either stand up straight or flop down. Their mother's animal trait, however, was hidden under her clothes.

"It's nothing really," Pyrrha said, smiling at the young children who kept looking up at her.

"So, what was it like to be a hostage to those bad guys?" Emil asked the former Mistral champion, "Everyone was saying you were dead."

"Emil, I don't think Miss Nikos would like to talk about that," The mother chided lightly, as she noticed Pyrrha flinch at the mention of the ordeal she had suffered through.

"Please accept my apologies." The young child quickly said.

"It's all right, I'm used to it by now," Pyrrha said as they arrived at an empty guest room, "Here you go!"

The mother opened the door and her children ran inside, astonished they got to stay in such a large and comfortable room.

"Oh my goodness!" The mother said, slowly covering her mouth.

"Is something wrong?" Pyrrha asked, a little concerned.

"No! Not in the slightest! It's just that a room like this is usually reserved for business associates, humans who make millions of lien a year! Not simple Faunus like us." The mother explained.

"Well it's for you now." Pyrrha said with a bright smile as she placed their bags down on the carpet while the children examined the room enthusiastically.

"Thank you very much, I hope it wasn't too heavy, Miss Nikos." The Faunus mother said.

"Please, just call me Pyrrha," The Spartan told the older woman.

"And you may call me Elsie. I must say I'm glad to be here, I was a little worried at first but seeing my kids' faces makes it all worthwhile. This is the happiest I've seen them since before the Grimm attacks; they really wanted to come here, to stay with you and your team and teams like RWBY, CFVY…and they really want to meet that Penny girl. They could use some levity, since things have been hard for us ever since the attacks." She told the redhead.

Pyrrha nodded, "I understand your situation. Did you lose anyone?"

"My husband." Elsie confessed quietly.

The Spartan gave her a sympathetic look, "I'm sorry to hear that. I lost a friend during the attacks on Atlas, but I can't imagine what it'd be like to lose someone that close to you."

"Then I'm glad you haven't had to experience something like that," Elsie told the redhead, "Then again, from what I understand you went through enough hell already."

"I suppose we both have, but let's not dwell on that," Pyrrha said before changing the subject, "Um, please excuse me for asking, but what exactly kind of Faunus are you? I can't place your childrens' ears and you could easily pass for human. Are they adopted?"

Elsie chuckled, "No, they're both mine, proud to say."

"We're Okapi!" Said Emil as he jumped up and down on the bed.

"Not surprised, everyone asks what we are!" Emma agreed as she looked out the nearest window to the breathtaking view of Atlas City in the distance.

"Their father was a Mule Faunus, a good and hardworking man. I'm an Okapi as well, my trait is my thighs." Elsie told Pyrrha.

"Your thighs?" Pyrrha asked with a confused look.

"They're black and white, and look a lot like a Zebra's skin. Okapi are weird little animals." Elsie explained, "Still, you have my sincere thanks Pyrrha. It's a pleasure to meet you in person."

"The honor was mine," Pyrrha said with a smile, "Enjoy your stay, and see you later! Sorry, but I have to go now, more refugees to help and all."

"Of course. May the Brother and Sisters protect you." Elsie replied

"Of course. Take care!" Pyrrha bid them before walking back down the hallway where she met up with Ren.

"How many families do you think are left?" He asked her.

"I'm not sure, but it's going to be a while before we're done." Pyrrha answered before she glanced at Ren and asked, "Ren, have you ever suffered from…survivor's guilt?"

The green ninja often had a calm and controlled expression on his face, but Pyrrha could read from his facial features that Ren was clearly surprised by her question, "I…used to. Nora and I both did because we were among the few survivors of the attack on Kuroyuri, but we eventually overcame it because we had each other. Why do you ask?"

"That family of Faunus I just escorted, their father was killed in the Grimm attacks. I couldn't help but think about how I survived, against all odds. I should have died that night when Beacon Academy fell, but I got a second chance only because she wanted to turn me into a weapon," Pyrrha explained while taking great care to avoid mentioning Salem's name in public, even briefly looking around to make sure that none of the refugees were around to eavesdrop.

"If there's one good deed that monster ever did, it's keeping you alive so we could get you back," Ren told his teammate firmly, "Don't feel ashamed that you survived, Pyrrha. It's true that we've survived some terrible things, but it has only strengthened our resolve to right what's gone wrong."

"You're right, Ren. It's just…Elsa, Kaifin, Ashe, Cardin and all those poor people killed in the Grimm attacks deserve better. Why do I deserve to live while they all died?" Pyrrha wondered as she turned a corner with Ren following beside her.

"I don't have an easy answer to those questions, Pyrrha. I don't think anyone does," Ren admitted as he lowered his head, "But I know this; we would be worse off without you, especially when it comes to Jaune and Ruby's emotional states. Think of it this way; considering the insane odds we've been up against, we are very lucky that we didn't lose more friends. That more people weren't killed. We're even luckier to have gotten you back and that we're all together again."

Pyrrha nodded, her face softening a little as she smiled at him, "You're right. I'm sorry if I'm being melodramatic or depressing. It's just that I felt bad for that family."

"I understand why you felt that way," Ren told her while placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, "I felt the exact same way after I lost my parents, I wished I had been killed by the Nuckelavee instead of them, but I realized they wouldn't want me to think like that. They would want me to go on and live for them, and make something of my own life. It's hard to come to terms with such widespread death, but we have to soldier on and do what we can to make things right."

"How did you learn to cope with it?" Pyrrha inquired.

"Nora and I had each other, and we both decided to become Hunters. Not just to kill Grimm but to help people, to make sure that we could prevent anyone else from suffering what we had gone through." Ren explained.

Pyrrha absorbed what he said, and then nodded, "I see. I suppose it's not too dissimilar from how I decided to become a Huntress because I want to really make a difference in the world, to save people and prove I was more than just some idol to be put up on a pedestal. I'm sorry to bother you with this."

"You're not bothering me at all," Ren assured her, "Perhaps you like to talk to Jaune or Nora about it?"

"Maybe," She said, "But I would hate to bother them with it."

"Pyrrha, it's not a bother in the slightest. As your teammates, we all care deeply about you. When Nora and I were in the orphanage years ago, I learned from one of the monks at the nearby temples we stayed at that meditation can help alleviate such feelings. Would you like to meditate with me later?" Ren offered.

Pyrrha smiled at him, "Of course. Thank you, Ren."

"It's no problem, Pyrrha. You've said that Nora is like a sister to you, and Jaune has said I'm like a brother to him, and I can't deny you're like a sister to me." The magenta-eyed Huntsman said honestly.

"And you're like the brother I never had." Pyrrha replied, her spirit rising from the brief slump it had been in. She gave in to the urge and hugged Ren, and despite his brief surprise, he hugged her back.

"I'm happy to be here for you, Pyrrha. They also say helping other people also helps to alleviate any survivor's guilt. Shall we?" He said while gesturing with an outstretched hand.

"I'd love to." Pyrrha said with a firm nod, before she led the way back to the main hall.

---

After some time had passed, there were only about five families left in the main entrance hall awaiting their turn to be taken to one of the remaining guest rooms. Klein, who was standing by the side and checking through the list of refugees on his scroll's screen, soon took note of a short figure wearing a dark brown cloak and hood which kept her face in shadow. He could tell that the mysterious figure was a woman due to her black tipped but mostly white high-heeled boots that peeked out from the lower edges of her cloak.

"Excuse me, sir," He said to a human father who walked past him, "Does that lady over there belong to your group?"

"Uh, no. She's not with us." The latter took one look at the hooded figure and shook his head.

"Or us." The female Armadillo Faunus beside Weiss denied.

With quick replies, the other three families soon confirmed the mysterious figure wasn't one of their family members. Up on the second level, Qrow straightened up as his attention was soon captured, and adjusted his posture so that he was now poised to leap down at a moment's notice.

Weiss and Winter glanced at each other, their faces both concerned and serious. Soul Seer, who was off to the side with both Amethyst and Heliosia, glanced at Sharp Strike and gave a subtle nod of her masked face which caused him to slide both of his gauntleted hands down to his thigh revolver holster and the hilt of his relic sword.

Winter walked forward, a stern look on her face as Qrow jumped down as well, landing in a squat before he sprung back up right next to the hooded figure. Before she could turn her head, the veteran Huntsman reached out and yanked her hood away in one quick movement.

What was revealed in the bright lights shining from above was a head of mismatched pink and brown hair with white streaks on the pink side, as well as brown and pale pink eyes of Neopolitan. She couldn't help but give them a smirk, "Miss me?" The illusionist asked as she held out her arms akimbo, a large suitcase in one hand and her umbrella in the other.

"Neo!" Pyrrha cried as she walked over briskly to give the short girl a hug, but was beaten to it by Ruby.

"It's so good to see you! Where have you been? You bailed on us without even so much as a goodbye after we beat the White Fang!" Ruby spoke quickly, while Qrow stood back and looked at both Winter and Sharp Strike who had cautious looks on their faces.

"Sorry about the sudden exit last time, I didn't want to risk being arrested with all the Atlesian military folks hanging around. I was worried they'd hold a grudge against me for what happened at the Battle of Beacon. Heh, sorry about that by the way." Neo said to Winter and Weiss, before Pyrrha came over and hugged her.

"Well don't worry, you have redeemed yourself with your actions and that has earned you some forgiveness. At least from us." Pyrrha assured her. Neo smiled and returned the hug.

Sharp Strike turned his head and looked at Soul Seer, who he had known long enough to recognize when she was smiling behind her battle mask. "You foresaw her arrival, didn't you?" He asked the prognosticator.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Winter asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What can I say? Some surprises in life are better left unsaid." Soul Seer answered in a calm and somewhat cheerful tone of voice.

"I take it that this young lady will be of no trouble to us?" Klein whispered to Weiss.

"While I can't promise that she won't cause any trouble at all, Neo's all right, Klein. I can vouch for her." Weiss assured him, even as she glanced at Neo with an unsure expression.

"Yeah, we'd be dead if it wasn't for her!" Jaune chimed in, remembering how Neo had been instrumental in their escape from Cinder's Haven base as well as helping Ashe fool Jude.

"Or dead if it were up to her. It's a really complicated relationship." Yang quipped with a grin as she gave the short but shapely girl a slug in the shoulder.

"Oi!" Neo objected, swatting Yang's flesh-and-blood hand away.

Weiss sighed and addressed the remaining refugee families as well as those waiting to speak to Klein about employment, "Please excuse us, as you can see we have an uninvited but not entirely unwelcome guest. Klein and the rest of the manor staff will bring you to your assigned guest rooms, and I hope you will settle in comfortably. I look forward to getting to know you all later, thank you."

The Schnee Heiress then turned back to Neo and whispered, "Let's chat elsewhere, shall we?"

Shortly thereafter, Teams RWBY and JNPR, along with Sharp Strike, Soul Seer, Winter, Qrow and the two Maidens gathered around in a nearby drawing room, the elder Schnee sister made sure that the doors were locked properly and they had the privacy they required.

Neo sat at one of the fancy chairs near the tall windows with one leg crossed over the other and her umbrella resting across her lap. She whistled and said, "To think that I'm actually inside the famous Schnee Manor. You know, it's every crook's dream to rob this place. Whenever that topic came up, Roman actually said that anyone who tried was either an idiot or had a death wish."

"Then the late Mr. Torchwick must have been very intelligent," Winter said, her arms behind her back as she kept her eyes on Neo.

"Now, not that we're not happy to see you as you did leave us rather abruptly the last time," Weiss began, "So what are you doing here?"

"Are you kidding me? Salem's on the bloody warpath! That's why I'm here!" Neo exclaimed.

"Please keep your voice down," Sharp Strike advised, "We don't want the refugees to overhear anything about the Grimm Queen."

Neo looked at the Knight Errant up and down, "Oh yeah, you're that armored guy who showed up to the rescue with Ruby and the others when things got really nasty with the White Fang. Given everything that's happened, I guess you're a genuine Remnant Knight?"

"Indeed I am, Neopolitan. My name is Sharp Strike, Knight Errant of the Remnant Knights Order and a recent addition to Team Beacon," He stated, "They've told me some things about you and while I admit I'm somewhat wary of you, considering you're a former associate of Salem."

"'Former' being the keyword!" Neo asserted, "And trust me, I probably made myself an even bigger target for her revenge list when I helped defend Mantle from that masked agent of hers!."

"According to eyewitness reports, there was someone quite similar to you in terms of description helping out during that battle," Winter mentioned.

"Can you tell us anything about that masked woman?" Ruby asked.

"Ana-something. Don't really remember her full name but she's one of Salem's disciples, I know that much for sure." Neo told them, while noticing Weis frowning briefly.

Amethyst's face grew serious, since the assassin known as Thorn was clearly targeting Heliosia, then it was reasonable to assume whoever Neo had fought in Mantle was the one who she would have to face off at some point in the future.

"Well, at least now we have an idea of who'll be gunning for me," Amethyst muttered to Heliosia before seeing her sister Maiden's exasperated gesture of pinching her temple, quickly realizing her mistake of revealing her identity right in front of Neo.

"Ah, so you're the Spring Maiden. I was wondering who you are," Neo remarked to Amethyst before she looked over to Heliosia, "And you must be the Summer Maiden. My goodness, do you really think you could fool me with those disguises? Oh please, you would have to try much harder than that to fool an expert like me. But no worries, you can relax because your secret is safe with me."

Soul Seer shared a cautious look with Sharp Strike, with the latter noticing the miniscule tightening of her gloved fingers around the haft of Life's Requiem.

"It better be, ice-cream girl," Qrow spoke up sternly, "I'm grateful that you helped my niece, Jaune and Ozpin escape from Cinder and also for helping us out with infiltrating Adam's White Fang, we're already down two Maidens, so our trust isn't as easy to give as before. So if you do anything to compromise the safety of these two…let's just say I'm not going to be the one you'll have to worry about," He gestured over to Sharp Strike and Soul Seer to make his point.

"Ah, get the Rapier Wasp out of your knickers, Qrow! I have made my bed with you guys, so now I have to lie in it. Besides, there's no way in hell I'm going back to Salem after helping you all. That's why I'm here, because joining you lot might be the best chance I have of staying alive. I left Mantle because I was afraid Salem would send one of her other assassins after me and when I ended up in the capital when I happened to hear about your family extending your very wealthy hands out to those less fortunate. So, since I'm among those considerably less fortunate than you I was thinking maybe you would offer me a safe place to lie low? At least for a while?" Neo explained before making her pink and brown eyes big as she tried her best to look cute and innocent. The former was easy, not so much for the latter.

"You raise some good points, but that doesn't change the fact that you're still dangerous." Soul Seer commented quietly.

"And who are you?" Neo raised an eyebrow as she took in the Chief Prognosticator's robed form beside the Knight Errant, "Nice fancy flower wand by the way. You wouldn't happen to be Salem's long lost and much nicer witch sister?"

Sharp Strike breathed a little deeply, suppressing a sudden urge to draw Vanquisher from its left thigh holster. He almost expected Soul Seer to answer back with an indignant remark, but she surprised everyone present by giving a small laugh of amusement.

"I'm afraid not," Argentius' sister replied evenly, "I'm a prognosticator of the Knight Order."

"Well, you certainly look like the type that would be a dead ringer for a Maiden," Neo observed.

"That's what some other people have said about me," Soul Seer said, "But it's ultimately the Schnee's decision on whether to allow you to stay here." She gestured with a hand towards Weiss and Winter who shared a look with each other, their expressions doubtful.

"Oh come on, Weiss!" Ruby pleaded, "After everything Neo's risked for us, I'd say she's earned herself the right to stay here for a while."

"Yes, please just give her a chance, she deserves that much." Pyrrha added on her unlikely friend's behalf.

"I don't like it," Winter said bluntly, "Working with her is one thing, but letting a known criminal stay in our house is pushing our father's newfound generosity to its limits."

"For the love of…" Neo muttered before she placed her right hand over her chest, "Fine, you have my solemn oath that I won't try anything devious or even the slightest bit underhanded while I'm here."

Weiss looked at Neo, then at Pyrrha, who gave her a pleading look, one predictably mirrored by Jaune. But all it took to really push the heiress over the edge was one look at Ruby's big, adorable eyes, silently begging her to let Neo stay.

'Ugh! Why does she have to be so damn cute?!' Weiss thought before she told Neo, "Oh, fine! You can stay."

"Yes!" Neo said, pumping her fist down in victory, "Thank you, Weiss, you won't regret it!"

"Very well, you may stay with us for the time being," Winter agreed before looking over to the Knight Errant, "However, Sharp Strike, would it be too much trouble to ask if you and your fellow Remnant Knights can keep an eye on her?"

"I think it will be easy enough, Specialist Schnee," Soul Seer said as she stepped towards Neo, "You see, Neopolitan, while you are obviously gifted in the art of disguise and subterfuge, we Knights are on another level. We did remain hidden as mere myths to the public's knowledge for centuries, after all. So if you want us to trust you, I'll have to give you something. Your right hand, please."

Neo looked at Ruby and the others a little apprehensively before she slowly extended her right hand towards Soul Seer, who took out from her robes a gold bangle with a tiny archaic script written all over its surface. She slipped it onto Neo's wrist, and the ancient writing on its surface briefly shone blue before vanishing after its connecting ends clicked shut. Neo admired the striking bangle before asking, "So what is this? A welcome gift?"

"It's a high-yield bomb that will vaporize you to ashes should you do anything to endanger the Maidens or steal even a single lien from the Schnees," Soul Seer stated bluntly, much to the shock of almost everyone, with Neo's eyes growing as wide as dinner plates. The Chief Prognosticator then chuckled, "You can relax, I'm only joking! It's just a tracker that allows the other Knights to know where you are at any time. Team Beacon may trust you, but given your rather complicated past we Knights can't just allow you to do whatever you please."

"What's stopping me from just removing it?" Neo asked.

"The tracker can only be removed with the correct codeword given by a Remnant Knight or a Prognosticator," Sharp Strike explained, standing beside Soul Seer, "Should you attempt to remove it without permission, the anti-tamper spell on it will knock you out immediately while notifying all Knights on the Schnee's estate. Consider this your one and only warning."

"Would this be acceptable to you, Specialist Schnee?" Soul Seer turned to look at the elder Schnee sister.

"I suppose it is." The Atlesian Specialist answered with a nod of agreement.

"Personally I think it's a little harsh," Pyrrha voiced, sounding very unsure.

"Yeah, I mean, sure Neo's done some bad things in the past, but I think she's made up some of it by helping us." Ruby agreed.

"And Soul Seer knew she'd come, I don't think she would just let her stay if she could cause something bad to happen, so what gives?" Yang pointed out.

"You do have a point, Yang. I've known Soul Seer since I was young, and she is very good at reading people, even complete strangers, though she didn't foresee anything bad coming from Neo's presence, she sometimes doesn't see things coming until it's too late." Sharp Strike said.

"I do like to think I'm unpredictable," Neo replied with a sly smile as she gently rubbed the bangle.

"I can tell you understand the threat Salem and her forces pose to all of Remnant, the fact that you came here to request protection is proof enough you've made yourself an enemy of the Grimm Queen. However, you did play a major role in the Fall of Beacon, and while you have made great progress to redeem yourself, I think certain people still believe you deserve at least a little punishment for what you did back then." Soul Seer told her.

"My friends owe you a great debt, so I hold no ill will towards you for your past crimes, but we will still be keeping a watchful eye on you, so I recommend that you abstain from any unsavory behavior." Sharp Strike said carefully.

"What are you going to do, watch me twenty-four hours a day?" Neo asked with a small laugh.

"We are the masters of stealth," The Knight Errant said in a serious manner, "It's how we stayed in the realm of myths and legends for centuries without Remnant knowing about us. Trust me, you won't see us coming until you feel the edge of our blades at your neck."

"Don't worry about me," Neo replied, putting on a brave face, but deep down she was a little nervous as she had no idea what to make of the Knight Order, "I won't steal anything, my hands will stay clean. You won't catch me picking pockets or raiding safes. Trust me, I'm really grateful you're going to let me stay, I really am. I know I'm asking a lot, especially once you consider some of the more…devious things I've done in the past, but I promise I won't try anything the least bit underhanded while I'm here. I swear."

"You better not, because I will also be keeping an eye on you," Winter said to her, "But since my sister and her friends do trust you and that you have helped us greatly in the past, I suppose it's only fair for me to say; Welcome to Schnee Manor, Neopolitan."

Neo took one last glance at the golden bangle on her wrist before her smile returned, "Happy to be here, and I'm definitely looking forward to getting to know both Maidens. Now, word on the news says your name is Heliosia." She said, looking at the Summer Maiden, and Heliosia only returned a slow nod.

"And I'm Amethyst Rilo, the Spring Maiden. I might not know much about you Neo, but if Ruby, Pyrrha and the others can vouch for you then you're okay by me!" Amethyst said as Blake's scroll went off. The Black Cat Faunus took it out and excused herself, moving to a corner of the room and began reading the message she just received.

"Whatever the case, I suppose we do owe you a debt of gratitude for saving them from Cinder and Salem's clutches," Heliosia admitted as she looked at the petite girl with mismatched eyes, "Thank you for that, at the very least."

"Ah, gratitude! It was my pleasure to be a thorn in their side anyway," Neo replied, her expression letting all of them know how pleased she was with herself, "So…do I get a room to myself or do I have to share?"

"I'll see what I can do…" Weiss told her, just as Blake looked up with a worried expression.

"Blake?" Yang asked, concerned, "What's wrong?"

"It's a message from Ilia," Blake answered quietly.

"Is she all right?" Ruby questioned, "Where is she?"

"She says she still can't figure out exactly where Salem's palace is, but she's saying that…" Blake swallowed as she looked back at the short and concise message on her scroll's screen, "She's saying that the near-riot that happened the other day was the work of the Red Fang."

"We should have known they had something to do with it." Yang muttered darkly.

"Do you think she's telling the truth?" Winter asked gravely.

"Ilia wouldn't lie about this," Blake assured the Specialist, "She says that she and Hui were hidden in the crowd at Mother Hubbard's shelter and Hui was actively agitating them. She's sorry she couldn't do anything to stop it, since if she's going to stay in Salem's midst as a spy she can't run the risk of exposing herself."

"I suppose that's understandable," Weiss admitted, "Does she have any other news?"

"Yes…she says she's sorry she wasn't able to contact me sooner and that she's happy how much I've managed to change the Schnees and how they view Faunus and vice versa, and she promises me that there are no spies among the refugees, since no Red Fang members can pass for children, but she thinks that Salem will still use the Red Fang to keep agitating the relations between Human and Faunus within Atlas. She wants us to warn both Ozpin and Ironwood to make sure they don't succeed." Blake reported, her face grave.

"Well, it appears that your trust in your friend is paying off Blake," Winter said, "I'll inform General Ironwood of these developments as soon as I'm able."

"And I'll inform the teams of Winter Templars stationed within Atlas City, so they'll be able to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity among the refugees." Soul Seer added.

"I…don't really know what to think. If we do report this, it means a lot of innocent people will be placed under suspicion," Blake pointed out, "But I know Ilia wouldn't warn me about this if Salem wasn't really planning it."

"I know it's difficult and unpleasant to think about," Heliosia said as she walked over to Blake, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, "But that's how Salem operates, by dividing us and trying to turn us against one another. I'm afraid there's no easy answer, but if she does plan on starting a race war, then it would be very possible that there are both human agitators as well as the Red Fang agents, so it would be for the best if General Ironwood keeps an eye on everyone, not just the Faunus."

Blake felt her doubts lighten, taking in a short breath to calm herself as she nodded.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind when I make my report, Heliosia." Winter remarked to the Summer Maiden before looking at Blake, "I assure you that General Ironwood won't jeopardize everything you and your friends have done to mend the sordid past between we Atlesians and Faunus."

"We'll make sure that he gets the picture," Qrow promised her, his voice being quite sincere, "You can come with us and tell Ozpin and Jim in person if you like."

"Thank you both." Blake said, smiling a little.

"At least we know for sure there's no spies here, so there's no need for us to be paranoid, right?" Ruby said, trying to look on the bright side.

"You're right, Ruby, at least there's that." Blake agreed, her smile brightening at her leader's optimism.

"Well, if we don't have anything else to discuss, I suggest we get back before anyone gets worried about our surprise visitor," Weiss said, glancing at Neo before she let out a heavy sigh.

"What's wrong?" Nora asked as Sharp Strike opened the door and led the group out.

"Refugees are one thing, but someone like Neo is something completely different," Wiess replied.

"Let's hope this doesn't push your dad's newfound kindness too far," Jaune mentioned with a grin.

"Speaking of which…" Yang spoke up, "I've been wondering what would your dad have done about Crawford and the others if he hadn't changed his ways?"

"Oh, that's pretty simple. He would just had them killed and then play it off as a tragic accident as a coverup." Weiss answered plainly, while Winter simply nodded.

Everyone looked at Weiss for an uncomfortable moment. "Um, ha?" Amethyst said awkwardly. Qrow glanced over at Winter and the Schnee Specialist's face had the ever so slightest of smirks upon her normally stern face. Upon seeing that, he couldn't help but smirk as well.

"Uh, Ruby, is she joking?" Jaune asked, cautiously.

Ruby looked at her partner's sly face before confessing, "I honestly can't tell."

Noticing their uncomfortable expressions, Weiss couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing, so the others began laughing as well.

---

Ruby and Penny agreed to let Neo stay in their room. She could sleep in Penny's bed while the android would share a bed with Ruby, which didn't bother either of them. For over an hour, the two friends filled Neo in on their experiences with the Remnant Knights and their duty to protect the Maidens, which led to the formation of Team HAPS, as well as Penny's 'brother' N1CK3L, the intense battle they had endured at Vacuo City, the death of the Winter Maiden and their upcoming mission to retrieve the Relics.

"Looks like I missed out on a lot. Thanks a ton for letting me stay with you," Neo told the pair as she sat on her new bed, "I mean, I'd prefer a room of my own but I guess that'd be pushing it."

"Well from where we're standing, you've done enough to make up for whatever you did with Roman." Ruby commented.

"Exactly! You can't let your past define you." Penny chimed in.

"That's kind of hard to do when Roman was such a big part of my life," Neo remarked wistfully. She then looked at Ruby and grinned, "You know, I think you and Roman would've gotten along just fine if it wasn't for the whole crime boss vs. spunky young Huntress thing."

Ruby smiled back, "Heh, maybe if he hadn't been a criminal. I don't really know." The tone of her voice made it clear to Neo that she wasn't entirely convinced.

Neo smirked, "Yeah, he had that effect on some people. Then again, if he were still around, I would still be stuck doing Cinder and Salem's dirty work and probably never have made friends with you, Pyrrha and the rest. Don't really know what to think, I miss him a lot, but I definitely don't miss being Cinder's lapdog."

"I'm just glad you don't blame me for what happened to him," Ruby told her.

"Are you serious? Cinder's the one who got us into Salem's mess, not you," Neo replied a little too quickly, "By the way, am I part of Team Beacon? Because if you need help stealing those relics, my skills will come in handy."

"Well, I suppose we could consider you an honorary or reserve member, but we should discuss it with the others." Penny said.

Ruby nodded, "We'll talk about it later. We still have certain things to discuss with the team, so you might as well tag along."

A short while later, the entirety of Team Beacon, plus Qrow, Winter and Neo were gathered in the Schnees' library, where Blake informed everyone of the message Ilia had sent her in full detail.

"That's not good. If the Red Fang are trying to kick the hornet's nest, they could really screw up what we've got going here." Sun commented.

"And should they attempt to engineer major riots in the Atlesian capital, it would seriously damage Human and Faunus relations," Yatsuhashi agreed.

"At the very least Ilia's quite sure that there's no spies among our refugees," Velvet noted with a thoughtful expression, "So at least the Schnee Manor isn't compromised."

Blake nodded, "That's right Velvet, we should focus on the bright side. Qrow and Winter have allowed me to join them to personally relay the message to Professor Ozpin and General Ironwood. The General's going to have his agents in the capital keep an eye on anyone who appears to be trying to start a conflict between humans and Faunus, be they refugees or citizens of the capital."

"They've also promised to make sure Ilia remains anonymous to ensure any potential traitors within the government or military are in the dark about who our source is." Winter added.

"Which is an enormous relief for everyone," Weiss stated, "Hopefully Ironwood's agents will be able to prevent any serious damage the Red Fang might cause. Now onto another question, are any of the people you escorted seem like good hires?"

"You bet!" Ruby confirmed enthusiastically, "Tamara would probably make a great maid for you, that's why I gave her a room on our floor."

"And Olgaren, that Mongoose Faunus from the shelter? He used to work at a zoo, so he could help out with your menagerie." Sun suggested.

"I met a woman named Mrs. Solberg who apparently is an excellent chef, which you're probably going to need considering how many people are living here now." Heliosia suggested.

"They all sound like excellent recommendations, I'll keep that in mind when I help Klein interview our potential new employees. Speaking of maids, are you sure you don't mind playing the part of the Manor's staff until we leave?" Weiss asked both Maidens.

"Not at all, since it's quite nice to help people like this," Heliosia replied cordially, "Especially after what they've suffered through."

"Right!" Amethyst chirped in agreement, "After all, it's a Maiden's duty to help the people of Remnant and we've been kinda held back ever since this disaster started."

"Very good, now we do have a certain unexpected element in our midst we have to discuss," Sharp Strike, "Neopolitan."

Neo sat up on her chair, "It's good to be back among friends. So, according to Ruby and Penny, you'll be going after those relic things pretty soon, right? Mind if I tag along? Who knows, you might need the talents of someone like me."

"Let's put it to a vote," Jaune proposed, "All in favor of Neo joining us as a reserve member of Team Beacon?"

Everyone present looked at each other, before they all raised their hands. Even the Spring and Summer Maidens, even Sharp Strike slowly raised his gauntlet.

"Looks like I'm more popular than I thought I'd be," Neo remarked with a smile before she looked at Amethyst and Heliosia, "Even you're okay with me being around?"

"Since you're already here, I don't see why not," Heliosia assured the shorter girl, "Who knows how things would have turned out if you didn't find the courage within yourself to help Pyrrha discover her true self and find a way to free both Ruby and Jaune from Cinder and her dark master. We owe you that much at least."

"Yeah, anyone who has got the guts to try and backstab Salem and Cinder is fine by me! Plus, it wouldn't hurt to have another pretty face around here." Amethyst joked, which got Neo to crack a wide grin.

"I can definitely tell that we're gonna get along well," Neo chuckled.

"That's good. My apologies if I was too hostile earlier Neo, but I've been appointed as an emissary from the Knight Order to Team Beacon, providing support and protection to them as well as the remaining Maidens." Sharp Strike voiced solemnly, "I take those duties very seriously."

"So I've noticed. Don't worry about me, I'll be on my best behavior around here." Neo promised.

"That is very reassuring, Neopolitan,'' Came the voice of Argentius from above.

Everyone looked up to see Argentius, Soul Seer, Snow Blade, Fire Walker and Wind Runner standing on the second level, looking down on the gathered group.

"My sister is rarely wrong about people, so I trust you will not be an exception." Argentius said.

"And Sharp Strike speaks for all of us when he says we take the safety of the Maidens seriously." Fire Walker added as he crossed his vambrace-covered arms.

Neo swallowed, clearly more a little nervous by how the five armored Knights had somehow entered the library's upper floors, or at least had already been waiting up there, without her noticing them.

"Heh, you don't have to worry about me, I'll be as innocent as Ruby. Okay, maybe not that innocent. I'll be as good as Yang, at least." Neo eventually said, getting laughs out of the sisters.

"That's good enough for us," Soul Seer said with a sociable tone, "And Neo, I'd personally like to thank you on behalf of the Remnant Knights. Without your help, Pyrrha might still be in Salem's clutches and it would have been significantly harder for our young friends to thwart Adam Taurus."

"Oh, uh, thanks a lot. My pleasure, really." Neo replied, smiling up at the masked woman, "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough. We've informed my fellow Winter Templars stationed in the capital, they will help the General Ironwood's agents to keep an eye on any agitators or those associated with Adam Taurus's White Fang that have not been accounted for." Snow Blade told them.

"Thank you, Snow Blade, that's good to know." Weiss told the Knight Vanguard

"It's the least we can do, to prevent any further chaos and death." Snow Blade replied.

"Excuse us, we'll be maintaining a vigilant watch over the manor, just to be sure that everyone is safe. Enjoy the rest of your day, my young friends," Argentius said to the group as the Remnant Knights began to leave the library.

"We will, you too!" Ruby said, giving the Knight Champion a friendly wave before she turned to face the gathered group, "Okay, now that we have all that settled, I think we should do something for the kids. Something to make them feel welcome, since this is gonna be their new home for a while, and apparently a lot of them are fans of ours."

"That's an excellent idea, Ruby," Blake told her leader before informing the others about Risa's situation.

"Oh Oum, that poor little girl," Velvet said with sympathy.

"You're right, a lot of them could really use some cheering up. There's even a Faunus mother who said this was the happiest she's seen her children since their father was killed in the attacks." Pyrrha voiced.

"Yeah, if we can put even a little smile on their faces, then I'm in!" Penny cheered.

"Anything for our adoring fans." Coco agreed.

"I'd love to help," Heliosia spoke up, "Anything I can do to help brighten up their lives after what they've gone through would be wonderful. It could also be a good opportunity for our resident Knight to endear himself to the common people…"

She looked at Sharp Strike, who looked back at her with a tilt of his head.

"Me? My lady, I'm not exactly used to children," The Knight Errant said hesitantly.

"Oh, don't be silly," Nora laughed, "If you could survive hordes of Grimm, some kids aren't going to kill ya!"

"You'd be surprised." Fox deadpanned, making Sun laugh.

"Heliosia's right, it'll be good for the Knights' public image. I think I speak for my team when I say we're all for it." The fashionista said, glancing at her partner who sighed and nodded.

"I'd love to! It'd be wonderful to put some smiles on their little faces." Velvet voiced.

"As if we would ever pass up an opportunity to look cool, right boys?" Sun said to his team.

"Never!" They all proclaimed together.

"Then it's settled! We'll keep the kids busy while their parents go off for job interviews! Neo, you're going to help us, no getting out of it." Ruby said.

"Wait, me too?" The young girl with mismatched hair and eyes raised an eyebrow.

"You're part of Team Beacon now, you'll also have to partake in team activities." Yang said with a shrug, "You'll get used to it."

"Just don't encourage them to be mischievous," Blake added, smiling a little.

"Oh sure! Ruin all the fun!" Neo complained a little mockingly.

"Oh, and one other thing," Ruby suddenly announced to the rest of Team Beacon, "Bring your weapons, I have an idea."

---

A few hours later, the various children from the refugee families had gathered around to meet Team Beacon in the manor's gymnasium. They soon quickly found out just how popular they are amongst the kids due to their heroics at the Battle of Beacon, Haven City, against Adam's White Fang, in the battle of Vacuo City and of course their invitation to stay at the Schnee Manor.

Pyrrha smiled and gave her friends a knowing look as many kids clamored for autographs and requests for them to show off their weapons and skills.

"Now you know how I feel." She laughed, and Jaune couldn't help but chuckle.

"Hey, I could get used to it!" Nora quipped as she slapped hands with the kids.

Weiss had been utterly swarmed by kids thanking her for letting them stay in her family manor. To be honest, she was being more than a little overwhelmed by all the attention.

"Need any help, Weiss?" Ruby called out.

"Yes, please!" Weiss answered.

"So, uh…what kind of hair dye do you use?" A teenage human girl asked Neo, who was sitting off to the sides on the benches.

"Dye? Ha! This is all natural." Neo assured the girl as she gestured at her hair.

"No way." The look of disbelief on the girl's face was priceless.

"Way. You don't get hair this perfect with those cheap dyes they sell in beauty shops!" Neo told the girl, a sly smile on her own face as she lovingly caressed the pink side of her locks.

Meanwhile, Sharp Strike had tried to make himself scarce but soon found himself with many young admirers. He almost wanted to facepalm, as in hindsight he should really have been more prepared for the deluge of questions those children would assault him with.

"How many duels have you won?" A human boy asked.

"Are you human or Faunus? Oh! Or are you a robot like Penny?" A dark-skinned human girl questioned.

"Do you really sleep in your armor?" A young Kangaroo Faunus queried.

"Brothers and Sisters, give me a battle with a horde of Grimm over this any day." He thought to himself.

The Knight Errant glanced over at Heliosia, or 'Adara' as she was known to the refugees, who smiled apologetically, giving a small shrug of her shoulders.

"Kids, kids! Give the poor guy a chance to answer!" Yang laughed as she raised her voice loud enough to get their attention before looking over to the armored Knight, "Well, have you got answers for 'em?"

Sharp Strike sighed and was thankful that his expression was hidden by his helmet, he couldn't help but admit that Qrow's decision to decline the invitation was an incredibly wise move. Though he really couldn't blame them, he remembered he had similar excitement and curiosity when he was first told about the Remnant Knights by his father, "Very well, I'll do my best to answer you. During my training I have won numerous duels but I lost count some years ago, but the number I remember was around eighty. I'm a human. Sometimes I do sleep in my armor during missions but not always. Any other questions?"

"Were you born a Knight?" Another human girl asked.

"No, I was taken in by the Order." He answered.

"Do you have any scars?" Zephyr inquired cautiously.

"A few, but nothing that was ever life threatening." Sharp Strike told the boy.

"Why do you have three swords? Is there a robotic third arm in your armor?" Another Faunus girl made the query.

"What? No, we Knights must keep all my reach in case of an emergency." The Knight Errant clarified.

"So how strong are you?" Christen, who had joined Peter and Risa, asked him.

"I'm actually quite strong, and I'll leave it at that." Sharp Strike said curtly.

"Oh come on, how strong? How much can you bench press?" Amethyst asked from a few paces away.

"Violet, please! He has enough on his hands as it is!" Heliosia gently chided, being careful to use their false names.

"Oh come on Adara, I'm just as curious as the kids." Amethyst defended slyly.

Sharp Strike looked at the Spring Maiden, wondering what Amethyst hoped to gain from her antics. Eventually he answered, "Very well, I can usually bench press four hundred at maximum."

"Can we see your swords?" Asked Zephyr.

"Yeah, we would like to see everyone's weapons!" Emma chimed in.

All the kids, even the older ones, cheered at the idea.

"Yeah, up close! The cameras at the Vytal Tournament didn't really give us a good enough look!" A Sheep Faunus girl who had fluffy white hair agreed.

"You called it, Ruby," Weiss said to her partner, giving her a smile.

"Okay, who goes first?" Ruby asked.

Most of the gathered kids chose Penny, who was more than happy to show off her transforming arm cannon and her signature collection of swords she called Floating Array.

As Penny explained how her weapons work and sadly had to disappoint the kids by saying she wouldn't fire her arm cannon indoors, Ruby noticed that Blake was off to the side with Fox speaking with a teenage Goat Faunus while a young Cat Faunus was looking down at the floor, only occasionally glancing up.

"Hey, this must be Risa and her brother right?" Ruby said as she came over.

"I'm Peter, pleased to meet you." The teenage Goat Faunus introduced himself while blushing a little, "I'm an adopted brother, and still getting used to it."

"Nice to meet you," Ruby replied as she offered her hand, which he accepted. As they shook Ruby noticed that he was a little nervous. Did he find her attractive? She would have to ask Yang about it later. She knelt down in front of Risa so their eyes could meet, "Hey, I'm Ruby Rose. Blake's told me about you. I'm really sorry for what happened, I lost my mom to Grimm too."

Risa looked at her, but as expected she didn't say anything.

"I was just speaking to her," Fox mentioned to Ruby, "I wanted to meet her because…well, because I know how it feels for someone to sacrifice themself to save you."

Ruby looked up at the white-eyed boy and nodded, remembering the story about Fox's grandfather.

"I was telling her it's okay if she doesn't want to talk. I know I'm normally pretty quiet, but I was practically mute after I lost my grandpa," Fox confessed as he looked down at the young Cat Faunus, who glanced up at him. "But you should know that you do have people who care about you; this Femi must really care for you if she wanted to take you in. I know it's gonna be hard, but just remember that you're never really alone. Not completely. So you don't have to talk if you don't want to. I don't talk much either, but if you ever want to talk just know that you have people who are willing to listen, and that includes me."

Ruby was pleasantly surprised by Fox's openness towards the young girl, since she had always viewed him as the loner of Team Beacon and hearing such compassion without even the slightest hint of his usual sarcasm was a little surprising.

"Thank you, Fox," Peter said with gratitude, "And he's right, Risa. We're here for you." Risa looked up at her 'adopted' brother and gave a very small smile as she nodded.

Ruby smiled at Fox, "That was really great, Fox!"

"Uh, thanks Ruby," Fox replied, lowering his head a little as he tried to hide a subtle blush, "I just wanted to do my part to help."

"And we're very grateful, Fox. Thank you." Blake told her friend.

"No problem," Fox said nonchalantly before looking back down at the young girl and saying, "See you around, Risa."

Risa slowly nodded and Fox walked back to join Team CFVY, where Coco and Yatsuhashi were giving him warm smiles while Velvet was preoccupied with explaining how Anesidora worked to the group of kids that had gathered around her.

"I knew he was way nicer than he let on." Ruby noted with a smile.

"He doesn't show it often, but there is a soft side to him," Blake remarked before she knelt down next to Risa, "And he's telling the truth, Risa. We might be strangers, but we do want to be your friends and help you. Would you like us to be your friends?"

"I know I'm a total stranger, but I'd like to be your friend, if you'd have me." Ruby added gently.

Risa looked down at her shoes before looking up and gently nodded with a little smile. Ruby and Blake smiled back at her. "Thanks a lot," Peter said to them both, "She really needed to hear that."

"It's our pleasure," Ruby said as she looked up at the teenage boy, "My mom used to say that being a Huntress isn't just about killing Grimm, it's also about helping people."

Their attention was soon stolen away as the kids stood back to a safe distance while Sharp Strike, wielding Hong Long and Lan Feng, and Velvet got ready to have a friendly little spar to show off their weapons.

As the Rabbit Faunus and the Knight Errant sparred, albeit tamer than they would otherwise for the safety of the kids, the gathered kids and young teenagers cheered and exclaimed in excitement as Anesidora's Hard Light clone of Ruyi and Jingu Bang clashed against Sharp Strike's twin swords.

Ruby smiled, feeling a wonderful warmth in her heart. These kids, and kids like them all over Remnant, were the future and they needed to be protected from Salem's evil. The Silver-Eyed girl didn't have a single doubt in her mind that she and her friends would do anything to protect them.

Zephyr came over to her, his eyes full of excitement, saying, "Hey Ruby, once Velvet and Sharp Strike are done, can you go next? I wanna see you in action!"

"Who am I to deny a loyal fan?" Ruby said with a bright smile. She didn't know if she really could make the world safe enough for these kids, defeat Salem and the Grimm so that by the time they were old enough to attend an academy there would be no need for them to fight anymore…but she was going to do her best to try.

This chapter was edited by Relentless Crusader

To address the concern of one of my readers, the age gap between Blake and Adam when they were together wasn't that drastic, no more than a year or so. Aside from that, it's a tragically realistic situation for a girl like Blake to want to help Adam after what he had been through and for him to take advantage of that.

Sorry about the length of this one, it probably should have been split up into two chapters, but I felt it was important to get the refugees introduced and set up stuff for what will happen in the next few chapters. In fact, most of the next few chapters will be long, but I had to make them long to make chapter 100 special.