Today, with one maybe two exceptions, had been a rather lackluster day in the life of this receptionist which was an odd thing to think considering how he was also a part of the Red Axe gang. Though perhaps the lack of excitement was simply the price for living within spitting distance of one of the most prestigious Huntsmen Academy in Remnant. Personally despite what some of his colleagues might say, he thought that a little boredom was a fair price to pay to be able to go to sleep without having to worry that his body would still be in one piece and after the Breach, yeah he was grateful for the existence of Beacon even if one of those students was smoking hot blond with the most vicious right hook he has ever seen and felt.

The opening of a door caught his attention and he saw walking out of one of the rooms a green-scaled Faunus that had earlier rented a room with some blond one-armed guy that he assumed was her boyfriend. Though that guy had left not too long ago looking pretty upset so maybe he was an ex-boyfriend now. Either way, a couple having spat wasn't something that he'd normally care about, in fact, it was something that happened more often than most would think, but then that creep dressed in green showed up and asked him to deliver a message to her making things just a little more interesting. So despite what the ever-present voice of common sense told him, he decided to look at her for a little while from behind his red-tinted sunglasses, this proved to be a mistake. She saw him look and immediately started walking right up to his desk with a gleeful skip in her step while flashing a smile that allowed him to see and despite the distance notice how big those teeth were, he immediately turned away. I'll just ignore her and hopefully, dat freak will just leave.

It didn't work and not only did it not work but it somehow made things worse as she immediately caught on to what he was doing and quickened her pace leaving no doubt in his mind that it was he that she was coming for. Not wanting to have to deal with a woman that he slowly believing to be a damn psychopath he tried to futilely hide behind his desk but his actions only seemed to be making her happier and therefore scarier, soon she reached his desk and began to stare him down, Alright remember what da boss said: Most freaks are just posers. So he tried to stand up straight and return the stare and his reward for his bravery was a nice big smile exposing allowing him to see that her teeth were much bigger than he first thought and were oddly sharp-looking to boot, Welp looks like Junior was wrong.

"Ye dinnae hae tae stand up fur me," her voice carrying a small predatory growl, the man immediately looked away and sat down on his seat which he then immediately regretted as she was now staring down right at him making him feel oh so very small. "Sae ah hae just one question fur ye, who wis it that left me th' message 'n' kin ye describe them?"

"L- look it was some young asshole in green who called himself Peter," He nervously answered, Please just go away!.

"That's it? He wis young 'n' liked green? Whit did that laddie look lik'?"

"Brown short slightly curly hair and eyes and a face that made him look like a kid! He just came here asking me for your name, I told him to fuck off and then he got a call, once dat was done he wrote da note and paid me to make sure you got it!"

"Is that all? Are ye sure that thare isnae something else ye lik' tae tell me?" She slightly leaned over the desk as she said this while placing her hands on the surface giving him the impression that she might just leap over it and lunged at him if she didn't like what she heard, it was an intimidation tactic that he recognized and now respected more than ever.

"Yes! Please I'm telling you dat is all that happened," he leaned as far back as he could to try and get some distance between himself and her as his situation finally dawned on him, She's a Huntress! Just like dat blond bitch!

"Thanks," and to his great relief, she turned around and walked right out of the place while typing out something on her scroll.

He watched her walk out of the place and it was only when he was certain she wasn't coming back did he finally allow himself to relax, "Seriously why are all Huntress' so damn scary… she was kinda hot though and da way she just so completely dominated... wait! Am I a sub?" With the rest of the shift ahead of him he sat down to consider what he had possibly just learned about himself.

Tock was not happy. Our former gaffer hired someone tae fin' us? How come thay wid go sae far just tae fur us 'n' that guy thay hired, th' way he wis described he sounded lik' that bastard, Peter! if it's him then a've git no doubts that our gaffer did hae something tae dae wi' th' attack which means that me 'n' mah crew ur a part o' this! The note felt heavy in her pocket, Tae think ah wis happy whin ah git it. She quickened her pace, the sooner everyone was together the sooner they could form a plan, the sooner they could take care of their previous employer and the sooner she could get an answer to one question that was bugging her, Why was Jaune followed instead of me? She channeled some Aura into her legs and ran as fast as she could back to the hotel.

When she got back she discovered apart from herself only Mason had made it back and was already preparing for a long night of planning by busying himself with cleaning the trash from the floor. For a moment she felt a pang of anger since the others hadn't arrived yet but she pushed that feeling back down and grabbed a broom to help him clean and work some frustration out, "Where th' others at?" she asked.

Mason stopped what he was doing and gave her a surprised look, "Didn't you get the other texts? Cecco and Turley are out buying some food for the meeting, by the way, can you help me move this couch?" he asked as he placed himself on one end of the couch.

That answer did wonders for her nerves, "A've mist hae missed them while ah wis running 'ere, bit kin ye blame me?" she asked as she grabbed the other end of the couch. Together they were able to easily move the thing away from the wall revealing even more garbage that was hiding behind the furniture as well as some extra Lien. "We've git a lot tae talk about 'n' a'm aye trying tae wrap mah head around it a'," she spoke while pocketing the Lien and sweeping the trash into a dustpan Mason was holding. Once the pan was filled Mason deposited the content into a trash bag before returning to help Tock push the Couch back into place. When that was finished they moved on and quickly checked the rest of the room to see if anything else needed to be done only sitting on the couch when done.

"So, what's wrong?" Mason asked her purposely waiting till after the work was done and she had a chance to work some stress out.

"Well, Jaune 'n' ah hud a bit… o' a rough moment,'' she looked at Mason and saw from his expression that being vague wasn't going to work here. "Look whit happened wis that he didnae lik' bein' kept in th' dark sae he demanded tae know whit wis going oan. Sae ah tell him, then we argued, we made up 'n' then ah nearly blew it again!"

"Oh shit, really? Damn, I liked those guys but you said that you nearly blew it. So does that mean that things are alright now?" He asked rather hopefully.

*Brrrz*

Tock grabbed her scroll and read the message as Mason watched. Once she was done she place the scroll on the table in front of them and turned to her friend, "Jaune just sent a warning that one o' his friends wis gonnae ca' me soon 'n' he asked me tae tell her everything."

"Huh… Well, I guess we've been putting that off for far too long, either way, more help is always a good thing!" Mason's cheer soon died when he saw a look of regret come over Tock's face, "What's wrong Captain?"

She didn't look at him, instead, she stared at the scroll for a bit before reaching into her pocket and pulling out the note and placed it next to the scroll, "This wis a note given tae me by a guy hired by our former gaffer, ah asked th' guy at th' desk fur a description 'n' he described a manchild dressed in green."

"Manchild dressed in… wait! Are you telling me that he hired that fucking psychopath and his band of wannabe mercenaries to find us! Why? Why would… oh, oh shit." It was finally dawning on Mason what was going on, "We…no, it far too early to assume anything after all the timing between the Reaper and the Breach could just have easily been a coincidence."

A light bulb went off in Tock's head, "That's right! a' this time we hae bin assuming dat th' two wur planned th'gither, bit whit if thay weren't! whit if th' reason that they're looking fur us is fur things aren't going according tae whatever peely-wally plan thay ave? whit if th' reason that thay hired Peter is that he'll dae anythin' fur attention !"

The door suddenly opened up as both Cecco a Turley walked inside carrying some bags of food and drinks but, they both stopped in their tracks when they saw the oddly inspired moods of their other two teammates, "Are we going to have a meeting or are two of you finally going to write that silly novel of your's?"

"Now listen 'ere that novel is a bonny story o' pirates in th' modern-day fixin a mystery 'n' finding love! Now jokes aside grab a spot oan th' couch 'n' sit-down, we gots loads tae about," Tock said as she pointed some at the recently cleaned couch.

*Ring*

Cecco and Turley both looked at the scroll with an annoyed expression on their face and then turned to Tock who was reaching to grab the offending device. "If it is not important then just decline the call," Turley suggested with Cecco nodding in agreement.

Ignoring the protests of both men Tock grabbed the scroll, answered the call and quickly brought the speaker to her mouth, "Could ye hauld yer horses fur a second love, ah gotta git th' boys settled foremaist 'n' afterward a'd lik' tae pat yer ca' oan speaker if that okay whit ye? It's? Cheers!." She then without ending the call put the scroll back down and turned to her men, "A'right, a' o' ye sit down! noo we git hings tae blether about aye? Bit here's th' catch! we ain't gonnae dae this alone nae if any o' us wants tae see this thro'! Now a'm gonnae murdurr two birds wi' one stone 'n' explain whit's going oan tae baith ye 'n' her at th' identical time, then we gonnae decide whit tae dae next! Aye?"

"Aye aye Captain!" The crew said together as they all sat down and watched their Captain hit the speaker button on the scroll, "Thanks fur waiting love, ah hope ye hae time tae spar cause this is aff tae tak' awhile ."

"Don't worry about me, just tell me everything I need to know about the whole silver eye business," Yang answered back.

Tock with the help of her crew, who would jump in to clarify, told Yang all that they knew starting with what they did for a living and how they were contacted to do a job. They explained their reasoning for the actions they took before, during and after the job. She explained her relationship with Jaune and her crew told Yang about the time they each spent with the other members of JNPR as well as anyone else from Beacon that she could contact, finally ending with how she got the note and her suspicions about the roles he and her crew may have played in creating the Breach.

Tock, however, chose not to tell Yang about the argument she had with Jaune or about Peter. We dinnae even know if it's th' Peter we know or just another asshole in green.

"That's… a lot to take in and quite frankly I'm not ready to trust any of you just yet," Yang sighed. "However Jaune is my sister's best friend and assuming that this isn't an elaborate joke then somehow also your husband… dear god, I'm gonna need you to explain that one again when this is all done." She paused for a moment to breathe and then continued, "However I do know that he would never do anything to hurt her so… I guess I'll be taking you on your words for now. I also suppose that's it only fair that I tell you what happened on my side of things."

Yang's story was considerably shorter in comparison which was something that Tock fully expected, however, what she and her crew didn't expect was just how involved these kids were and how far back the events that lead to Breach went. The robberies, the Docks, the White Fang, the stolen Atlas equipment, the Woman who snuck into CCT during the dance, Mount Glenn and the Breach but, most of all Yang emphasized how the actions of her team made the train left early and how she along with her teammates and Jaune's team believed that that the masterminds weren't done yet.

Yang did not tell them who had the Silver Eyes or that her father was coming to Beacon.

"Whit th' hell is wrong wi' yer town, yer cops, 'n' th' Headmaster? Howfur in Remnant did this go unnoticed 'n' unchallenged fur sae lang 'til 'twas tae late?" Tock loudly asked, not really expecting a response of any sort.

Yang blinked once then twice followed with a deep breath and with a big smile loudly declared "Oh thank God I'm not the only one who was thinking that! Seriously my Team got a reputation for meddling but every single break, in this case, came because of something we did! Were the cops at the Docks? No, it was us the meddling teenagers who had to stop them! Did cops ever discover that Torchwick and the White Fang were getting all buddy with each other? Nope! That was us again! The stolen equipment? Take a wild guess who found it! And our Professors are constantly on our back especially Glynda but did she ever think that maybe we'd relax a bit if the people in charge did their fucking job for once! And the Mount Glen Mission! Why!? Just why did they send us? Why send students at all where you think a terrorist base might be, especially when you have an actual army available to use?"

"Well, a Huntress-in-training is still a force that cannot be taken lightly, however you are right, That was a task that should have never been given to a first-year team no matter how good they were. We need to assume that the police are compromised." Turley flatly stated.

"Whoa, I know I was ranting about them for a few seconds ago, but can you really just assume that based on my story alone?"

"I've been using my scroll to double-check your story just like I assume you've been double-checking ours and you're right to complain. Sure the police have limits even before bureaucracy is accounted for but the level of sheer incompetence on display here is mind-boggling. There can be no doubt, the police are in the pockets of our former employer, that's or they simply are that dumb," Turley spoke his voice grim as he let the implications sink in.

"So we're really on our own," said Mason.

"Maybe not!" Yang spoke up catching everyone's attention. "So maybe the cops were being paid off or maybe blackmailed but do you think for a moment that they would still be on board after the Breach?"

"Sorry, tae break it tae ye lassie bit any cop that wid ave helped us wid hae confessed by noo 'n' th' others likely either hae something that thay dinnae wantae lose or just dinnae care. Bit beacon is different ain't it? sure th' professors hae bin twiddling thair thumbs bit thay hae bin on yer side or at th' least approve o' whit ye'r daein'."

Yang gave a brief chuckle, "You'd think that but we've been getting into nonstop trouble with the professors. Especially Goodwitch, I swear that woman would place all of us in permanent detention if this was some kind of high school."

It suddenly dawns onto Cecco what Tock was trying to get at, "You would've no should've been expelled."

"What!? It can't be that bad!" Yang declared.

"The Docks are a bit of an iffy gray spot but the rally? The highway chase and the fight with the robot right in the middle of the city, that's the kind of shit that gets you expelled, blacklisted and possibly arrested. Hell, I got booted out of a minor academy because I damaged Dean's car in an accident," Cecco gave off a hearty chuckle "Ah good times."

"Maybe you should've had a princess in your team as Yang does, I've heard that they are pretty influential," Mason jokes.

"Please, Weiss is an heiress, not a princess," said Yang, rather confused.

"Weiss? I was talking about your teammate Blake," Mason responded.

"What?" Blake's not a princess! I'd know, though… She is awfully secretive of pretty much everything about herself, so I suppose it makes sense that she could still be hiding something… despite promising to be open and honest… goddammit, Blake."

Turley pressed a few buttons on his scroll and spoke up, "I just sent you a file on the Belladonna family of Menagerie, since the White Fang is an issue trying to get some sort of assistance from them would help."

"Alright I just got the file and I'm downloading it now but don't expect much, Blake is many things but she doesn't keep secrets just to keep secrets. If she didn't tell us anything it's because there is a reason, but no matter what happens I'll let you guys know what happened so you better keep me in the loop."

"We will 'n' ye better up yer training cause thare ain't na wey that this ends wi'out a rumble," Tock replied ending the call and eliciting a huge sigh of relief from her, before addressing her crew "Thank god that worked out, a'd hate tae imagine whit wid happen if she just went ahead 'n' reported us."

"Now what?" asked Cecco.

"This is whit a'm waantin' tae happen, a'm waantin' tae ca' Jaune, then a'm waantin' tae eat 'n' finally, a'm wanting' tae come up wi' a plan afore cawin that number," she pointed at the note still on the table. "Does a'body object?" She waited for a bit and when no one objected she grabbed her scroll and walked towards the front door, "A'm gonnae step out fur a bit, ah will come back ben wance a'm dane. Meanwhile, ye a' kin start eating."

Tock was never a person prone to sentimentality not that she ever had anything against it or against one who embraced it but, it just was something that she did not do. However, stepping outside she took a moment to just look around for a bit and found herself engaging in that every sentimental behavior as she for the very first time noticed just how late it was. Haes it bin sae lang atween now 'n' th' bullhead station? She thought back to the beginning of her day and mentally traced her steps from when she left the hotel to when she came back, from there her thoughts naturally drifted to the city itself. She compared and contrasted Vale to she remembered it before and during the Breach to how it was now and made note of the differences. For the most part, the city was fully rebuilt, a true testament to the resilience of the Four Kingdoms of Remnant and their status as the bastions of both Human and Faunus race. Mostly humans though, spoke a justified and bitter part of her mind that she brushed off desiring to think instead about warmer subjects.

Perhaps she shouldn't have been surprised when her mind eventually began to center on Jaune, Whit even are ye tae me? Legally he was her husband but that had been an alcohol-induced accident that was going to be fixed. Despite helping him train he wasn't an apprentice though there was something attractive about that thought, though it could just be the scandalous nature of being married to your student that was pulling her in. She did find him physically attractive just like how he found her attractive and from their interactions she could tell that a friend or at the very least a type of comradery could've organically formed had the two met under different circumstances. Sae, friends wi' benefits? Na, that doesn't feel right either.

She mulled it over in her head, Ah dinnae love him, in fact, ah barely know him. Sae then how come ah spend sae much time wi' him? How come did ah huv a go tae keep him safe, how come did ah give him mah gun? ah guess ah will just hae tae fin' out. She pulled out her scroll and dialed his number and the moment he answered she began to talk,

"Hello," Jaune spoke his voice sounding clear despite the distance between them.

"We git tae talk, Jaune," Tock spoke her voice portraying no emotion

"Why,?"

"That lassie ye said wid ca', well ah just cam oot o' a lang discussion wi' her 'n' a'm wanting' tae-"

Jaune cut her off, "It was because she deserved to know."

A small smile formed on her face as she imagined him getting a little flustered trying to defend himself, "Ah wanted tae ta thank ye fur telling her."

"What?"

Gods even his confusion sounds cute, "These bygone few weeks hae bin a real eye-opener fer me, a've fucked up Jaune, a'm a wee bit responsible fur this mess..."

"You don't know that for sure," he quickly answered back.

"Bit ye dinnae need tae see th' hail map tae know where it's pointing ye. Even if whit ah did hud hee haw tae dae wi' whit happened it doesn't chaynge th' fact that ah helped them. A've helped th' ones responsible fur th' Breach."

"Tock…," he was at a loss for what to say.

It was time for her to take the plunge, "Do ya trust me?" She held her breath waiting for his answer.

"No, but I want to."

'That guid enough fur me, just focus oan comin' back safely. Ah, git th' makings o' a plan 'n' whin it's duin ye'll know whit tae dae... goodbye Jaune," She hung up before he could answer. She didn't go back inside, instead choosing to linger on a bit longer, just letting herself feel the cool air around her as Autumn began to make its mark on the city. She didn't know how to categorize her relationship with Jaune and the phone call most certainly didn't help but then a small thought occurred to her, Does it matter now? It was a strange thing to think but the longer she allowed it to linger the more it made sense. It doesn't matter now bit, wance everything 'n' taken care o' we kin answer this question, th'gither. A warm feeling sprung up inside of her and she brought that feeling with her when she walked back inside to her crew and the small feast that had been prepared. And then as she sat down to eat inspiration struck her! She wasn't going to call that number tonight or tomorrow and possibly not any time this week. Peter no doubt awready reported his success tae his gaffer who is now waiting fur that ca'. Bit if th' ca' doesn't come then Peter 'n' his lost babies look lik' liars 'n' that means a very pissed aff gaffer 'n' a desperate Peter. Her face turned into a cruel bloodthirsty smile that her crew recognized and returned, "Boys, we nae gonnae look fer thaim lost wee jimmies. We're letting em come tae us 'n' our new friends 'n' then we'll mak' em a' squeal lik' pigs ?"

"AYE AYE CAPTAIN!"

Professor Anne Greene surveyed the situation: the night was finally over, the Grimm purged, the fires extinguished and Team JNPR had met all expectations and even went beyond. In fact, the four of them were currently assisting with the clean up instead of getting some well earned an important rest. No doubt their experience with the Breach had a lot to do this, she thought to herself as she moved through the settlement her bare feet protected from debris by a thin layer of Aura as she considered the events from last night, Several fires popping up around the same time triggering a Grimm assault could be a coincidence it has happened before. But that guy who ran into the forest changed everything. He was in the kids' room, why? He was disguised as a guard who is still missing, why? Looking around she soon spotted a house that seemed to be structurally stable and leaped up to the roof with an aura empowered jump.

She took a moment to just appreciate a cool early morning breeze before activating her semblance and turning her attention to the people below. Her eyes began to glow as her perception of the world widened and everything became clearer, brighter, more focused. The best way she could describe her semblance was by comparing it to a pair of glasses that you never knew how badly you needed until you put them on. With them she was able to notice details that would have normally escaped the notice of anyone else, soon she found what she was looking for and turned off her semblance before leaping back down to the ground and making her way to her target.

She found Nora Valkyrie using her incredible strength to help clear away debris while making it all seem effortless, much to the awe of the settlers who were truly grateful for the help. For a moment she was tempted just to leave the girl to her work but they needed to figure out what caused the fight last night. "Valkyrie! Moment of your time, please."

The pink bomber quickly turned to the people she was working with "I'll be back in a sec!" and then ran up to the Professor, "What's up Teach?"

Ann quickly looked over the young woman before her silently making a note of the dirt and sweat on Nora's body and the tears in the girl's clothes, She looks like she went right from the fight to work on the clan up without taking a break, I'd assume that it's the same for the rest of her teammates. "Take a break," Nora opened her mouth to protest but Ann was having none of it, "You fought throughout the entire night and if another attack happens you and your team need to be at your best."

"It's alright we got this," one the settlers spoke as the others agreed with him.

Nora wasn't happy about it but she did consent and left to her room, One down now to find the others. Anne Greene continued her search and found the leader of the team Jaune Arc helping to babysit the children of the settlement who were too young to help by entertaining them with stories of his fictional exploits at sea. She called him over the conversation she had earlier with Nora and repeated itself as she sent the reluctant one-armed captain back to his room to get some rest, also making note of his worn-out appearance. Ren was found tending to the wounded by cleaning their injuries and occasionally using his abilities to keep a rowdy patient calm so that they could be treated and she found Pyrrha who was found using her semblance to help clear debris away much like Nora was but on a much greater scale. Both were reluctant to leave, both had clear signs of exhaustion and both only left once the villagers assured them that it was okay to do so.

Anne herself was feeling tired from the fight of last night but what she saw in JNPR went above and beyond mere post-battle crash, they were running themselves ragged and they way they just threw themselves into the cleanup… it was as if they felt responsible somehow. It could be Survivor's Guilt, it's rather common in this profession and they were at the Breach. Dammit Oz why didn't you give them mandatory counseling sessions?

"Um, Miss Greene?" spoke one of the settlement guards. "We found...," the man looked around briefly and took a step closer while speaking low so that others couldn't hear him, "We found the missing guard, he's dead and he appears to have stab wounds."

Professor Greene frowned up hearing the news, Shit! I guess this means that it wasn't a coincidence, someone possibly the man I found started the fires so that everyone would be too distracted to catch him! But why was he in the kids' room or is that just a coincidence? She made up her mind and began to make her way over to where the JNPR was staying, in a perfect world she wouldn't have aroused them from their much-needed sleep but the clues were pointing her in that direction and she must follow.

"Hey has anyone seen my scroll," Jaune asked his teammates as they made themselves comfortable in their beds.

"Sorry! But I haven't seen it but I can call you," Pyrrha offered as she pulled out her scroll.

"I'd appreciate that," he answered back as she dialed his number and waited for a ringtone that never came.

"Did you have it on silence? Ren suggested.

"No, I didn't and I left it charging here so it can't be out of energy either," said Jaune as he started to look under his bed begging to notice that something else was missing from the room, "Hey has anyone seen my arm?"

"Maybe it was a bird?" Nora suggested.

"Huh?"

"Well, the window was up when I got here so maybe it was a bird that took it. The scroll, not your arm, though I do suppose that a Vacuo Swallow could have taken the arm."

"Vacuo Swallows are nonmigratory and the Vale Swallow is too small to carry it," Ren pointed out.

"Wait! what do you mean the window was open?" Pyrrha asked. "I was the last one to get to bed last night and the window was closed. Did someone open it?" She looked at her team for a moment but no one took responsibility for the window.

"Oh my God! Someone broke into our room and stole the Captain's hook because the thief wanted to be a Pirate! That's why the room was a mess when I got here, that's why the window was open and the lock was damaged because the cunning rogue leaped through the window breaking the flimsy lock!" Detective Nora declared.

"Nora that's…-"

The door swung open and Professor Anne Greene stepped inside "Holmes you've cracked the case! No, but, seriously there was a guy in your room last night and so far everything is pointing toward that man to be either the arsonist or in league with one."

JNPR was stunned but it was Jaune who put their feelings into words "Arson? You mean someone went out of their way to recreate the fucking Breach!"

The Professor wasn't surprised by his outburst, in fact, she'd half expected that very sort of reaction. But, looking at them with their faces projecting horror, shock, and anger it was clear that now sleep was completely out of the question regardless of how much they needed it. At least not until after they had a chance to vent for a bit… I better not mention the dead guard, not yet anyway. "Look last night I caught a guy in disguise leaving your room through the window, I tried to catch him but he escaped through the forest so before we go looking for him I want to know everything that's missing in this building besides the arm and the scroll also as soon as you are all ready I want you all to investigate the village for any other building that might have been broken into, understood?"

"Yes Ma'am," they answered together.

"Good," The Professor left the room.

Jaune turned to Nora, "Lend me your scroll."

"Catch," she said, tossing her scroll over to him.

"Jaune, what are you doing," Pyrrha asked.

"Calling Tock, that guy took my scroll and my arm for a reason and I'm not about to take any more chances or keep anyone else in the dark," he responds as he dialed.

"You should call Cecco instead since he'll think it's Nora calling him and answer for sure, then he can hand it over to her," Ren suggested.

"Good idea!" he quickly found Cecco on Nora's contact list and called and just like Ren promised the Pirate answered almost immediately.

"Thunder Thighs! How are you and Magic Fingers? Did ya break the bed yet?" Spoke the incredibly cheerful voice of Cecco!

"Tell him I said hi and Ren's good as well, oh and I know this is going to sound weird but tell him that the bed is still in one piece but Ren and I are working on it!" Nora shouted seemingly knowing exactly what Cecco would say even though she couldn't hear him.

"We're thinking of adding a little electrostimulation next time," added Ren who apparently shared Nora's ability to just know things.

"TMI, Ren… TMI," Pyrrha said with a frown.

"It's Jaune, someone stole my scroll, Thunder Thighs said hi, Magic Fingers is good, the bed is still in one piece and they are going to try and add electrostimulation. May I talk to Tock?"

"Sure man, just give me a second," Cecco looked from his scroll and made his way over to the bathroom where she was taking a shower and knocked on the door, "Oi Captain, your husband lost his scroll and is using one belonging to his mate's to call ya, are you decent?"

"A'm aye in th' shower bit gimme th' scroll anyway!" She shouted from behind the door.

Cecco opened the door and shamelessly walked up the shower curtain between him and Tock and stopped right in front of it offering the device which she took before shooing him away with a laugh, "Jaune darlin' ah hud a dream about ye lest night, did ye dream o' me?"

"Actually ya, I did. We were sparring and you knocked me to the floor and the…, look that's not why I called you! The settlement my team and I were sent to was attacked!"

"Whit! are ye okay? Is a'body hurt?"

"We're fine just a little tired from fighting Grimm all night but someone came into our room and stole my arm and scroll, we're going to check to see if any of the other houses were broken into before jumping to any conclusions."

"Jaune listen tae me efter ye left that karaoke place th' guy at th' front desk told me that another bounty hunter who goes by th' name o' Peter wis looking fur me!"

"What? Wait, why didn't you tell me about this earlier?"

"Fur ah didnae ken fur sure 'til now! Peter 'n' his Lost Boys claim tae be bounty hunters bit thay act lik' mercenaries 'n' pretending tae kidnap someone is a favorite trick o' his!"

"Then why only steal my scroll?" Jaune asked.

"Maybe he thought that th' rest o` yer gang didnae ken about us or mah crew or maybe he's just stupid? Either wey be oan guard 'n' dinna worry yirsel, we git this!"

"So the two of you will be arriving soon? Excellent, that is a bit of good news that this day severely needed... No, there is nothing wrong, just a lot of annoying little things... Stay safe Qrow," Ozpin ended the call and just sat at his desk and just mulled over the past few days and if there was anything that he could have done better and like clockwork and million moments and situations came to mind all thanks to his accursed accumulated experience and hindsight. I shouldn't have sent RWBY to Mount Glenn. What in the Brothers' names was I thinking? I was thinking about STRQ, I was too focused on trying to recreate one the best team of agents to ever work for me and I allowed nostalgia to blind you to logic and common sense. And what happens? The Breach, Ironwood going around my back and yanking security duty for the Festival from me and... I don't blame him…

It was exactly times like these that first drove him into virtually every unhealthy addiction during his many lifetimes, it was truly a wonder that Salem never took over during all those years where he just pathetically wallowed in misery, Maybe it was the same for her? It was a strange thought that made some sense but simply didn't matter. What mattered now was supporting James, especially once people started complaining about Atlas' increasing presence in Vale, even if he himself didn't like it either, his personal wishes did not matter. What mattered was Qrow coming back with Maria as soon as possible and securing her cooperation and to do that they would need to capture her attackers and thoroughly question them. Following that came what mattered more than anything else at the moment and that was going against' the wishes of the late Summer Rose and beginning young Ruby Rose's transition from a kind sweet girl to a… hardened slivered-eye warrior, I'm sorry but it has to be done. If Amber is their target then we will need Ruby Rose to be ready to fight on the frontline as well as everyone else in this Academy Fortress.

Author's Notes: Sorry that this one took a while, but this chapter was extremely important for this fic to work. In fact, once I start the rewrite it will probably be revised twice. I'm honestly looking forward to it and I'm especially looking forward to the next couple of chapters.