Author's Notes: About damn time we've had a brand new chapter!

Ironwood stared at his reflection and for a moment didn't recognize the man looking back at him, his hair was a mess, there was a five o'clock shadow, he had bags under his now bloodshot eyes which were also twitching but none of that mattered to him! What mattered was who he was and what he was going to do, "So these lost boys think they're clever, they think they're a bunch of comedians! Well, it is funny that they think they can pull the wool over your eyes, and do you know why?"

"Um, are you talking to me?" asked a very confused man who just wanted to wash his hands.

"It's because you are General James Ironwood and you never back down!"

"Okay… um, I see that you're busy, I'll go wash my hands somewhere else." The man then began politely and quietly edging his way towards the door.

Meanwhile, Ironwood rudely ignored the rather considerate man and instead slammed his hands down on the bathroom sink as he continued his rant without care over who else might be witnessing him, "So that wise guy thinks he's funny? Ha! We'll see who will be the one laughing in the end! Do they think they can just jerk you around? Well, wait till they see how hard you can jerk them around! Do those Lost Boys think they're hard? Just wait until they see just how HARD JAMES IRON 'DADDY' WOOD CAN BE!"

"Are you sure that's what you want to go with?" asked a familiar voice in a humored tone.

The General spun around to face the speaker and to his horror found his friend and mentor standing right in front of him sipping a cup of coffee and acting like there was nothing unusual going on but the smile on the man's face told a very different story. That simple help the promise of hushed whispers and a rumor that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

"Oz? What are you doing here?" he asked, trying his best to pretend like there was nothing unusual about his behavior while feeling the ever-pressing weight of awkwardness clinging to his back.

"What do people usually do when they enter a public restroom?"

On the surface, it was a perfectly innocent question that had been asked by a man sporting a smile that was far from either perfect or innocent, So that's your game Oz? Fine but you have chosen your opponent poorly, "Many people use the washroom mirrors to give themselves a pep talk, nothing unusual about that old friend." And that would be Check, let's see how you wiggle out of this.

"And you chose to hype yourself up by talking about how 'Hard' you can be?"

"Uhhhh, I'll admit that it was a rather poor choice of words…," Masterfully done old friend.

"Well that's putting lightly and what about the 'Iron Daddy,' thing you mentioned. Where on remnant did that come from?"

"I- I, um… when I graduated from the academy I was scouted by a producer of a certain genre of... film who was looking for new talent and I needed a way to pay off my student debt."

"Oh! Um, I'm sorry I didn't know… would, you like to pretend this conversation never happened and instead focus on our guests?" Ozpin asked while being outwardly calm and inwardly begging James to agree with him.

"Yes, let's do that!" Without any hesitation, the two men then walked out of the restroom and into the busy hallway of the Vale police department with Ironwood leading them to the interrogation room, "Have you been updated on the situation?"

"All I know is that earlier today some men have been taken into custody and they have testified to working for Salem."

Ironwood nodded, "I'm afraid that it's a bit more complicated than that."

Ozpin gave a heavy sigh "It's always complicated with her..."

"You know, when you say things like that it kind of gives the impression of you and her being more than mere enemies."

"Really? How so?"

"Well as ridiculous a thought as it is, you almost make her sound like… an ex-wife. But you wouldn't hide something that massive from us!" he said with a friendly chuckle.

Under normal circumstances, Ozpin would have laughed alongside his friend but unfortunately, he was too busy choking on his drink to do so. It was a real shame as he also wanted to thank James for the undeserved faith he was receiving while spouting something vaguely wise sounding and ultimately conversation ending to make sure the subject could never progress further than a joke. Fortunately for the old man, the two of them reached their destination before James could think to push the subject, and as a result that would-be conversation was promptly forgotten as they entered the observation room to discuss who was waiting inside the interrogation room and how they would approach him.

From behind the one-way mirror, Ozpin watched an oddly youthful-looking man dressed in green sitting at a table he was handcuffed to and fidgeting around impatiently in a disturbingly child-like manner, "So that's the leader of the Lost Boys?"

"He calls himself Peter Pan though we don't know yet if that's his real name or some kind of bizarre alias."

"And his connection to Salem?"

"They claim that they had been hired by her to find and facilitate contact with a bounty hunter named Tock Arc whose testimony opened up another can of worms."

"Really?'

For a second Ironwood just stared at him blankly before sighing, "To start with Tock is married to one of your students..."

Ozpin choked on his coffee for the second time that day.

"...specifically she is married to a first-year student by the name of Jaune Arc which is oddly appropriate given their shared aesthetics. On top of that, her group along with Team RWBY were the ones to catch Peter and we have Call Logs that shows that Tock and Yang Xiao Long have been in contact with each other for at least a couple of days before the capture. We don't know what they were actually talking about but given what happened, I think its safe to make a couple of assumptions "

"That's a lot to take in…," All of this happened right under my nose!

"That isn't even half of it, these Lost Boys have been hiding right here in Vale for a least a month and they haven't just been sitting looking pretty. That settlement that JNPR was sent to-"

"They were the ones behind it." It was a bitter statement, not a question.

"And now Professor Greene is scheduled to return to Vale in a couple of hours with JNPR and three more Lost Boys in tow that I also need to interrogate," Ironwoods then rubbed his eyes and whispered under his breath, "Brothers give me the strength."

"Surely it's not that bad."

"Not. That. Bad?" Ironwood was now staring at Oz with what could only be called a death glare, "NOT THAT BAD!?" He stepped into Oz's personal space and looked him dead in the eyes, "You weren't there! I was! I have been spending the past several hours interviewing every single one of those bastards, I'm the one whose had to put up with river of Bullshit spewing out of their mouth like a Goddamned Waterfall, I still have to grill Peter and now Three More are on their way here!"

Ozpin took another sip of coffee, "How about you go to bed and leave the rest of these interrogations to me?"

For a few seconds, Ironwood was completely silent then his eyes widened as though he was having a revelation before softly whispering to himself "Of course, it's so simple!"

"It really is."

"Oz, you are my friend and I respect you as a mentor but shut the fuck up. Hehehe HAHAHA! Oh Ozpin my old friend, you have no idea what you're getting yourself into but that will change." A twisted smile appeared on his face, "Oh yes, that will change and you will understand, everyone will finally understand!" He pulled out his scroll and walked out the door so quickly that he was almost running down the hallway while giggling in a manner that could only be called maniacal, a few seconds later Ozpin got a text message with an attached file containing everything they knew about the Lost Boys.

Armed with this knowledge and a cup of coffee, the headmaster left the observation room and entered interrogations.

2 hours later

Ozpin liked to think he was a rather friendly guy that anyone to get along with, he also liked to think that he had a reassuring presence that made people want to confide in him. Even if he was dealing with someone he couldn't stand he had the confidence that his patience and acting ability that had been cultivated through his far too long life was enough to outlast any unpleasantness. Today he learned just how arrogant he had been, how foolish it was to assume that just because he had withstood some unpleasantness in the past that now he was somehow above it all, right now what he wanted to do was reach across the table, grab Peter by the throat, and look this punk in the eyes before shutting him up forever... But for now he'd have to settle for another sip from his favorite mug of coffee, Brothers I wish I never quit drinking or smoking or drugs… No! I must not focus on the past, not when one of Her minions is before me. "So Mr. Pan, are you absolutely sure that your employer's name was Salem?"

"I'd say so."

"Are you sure you didn't mishear her?"

"I'm sure."

"Good, it's good that we are on the same page, Peter. So this 'Salem,' wanted you to take your group named the 'Lost Boys,' into Vale in order to track down a bounty hunter named 'Tock,' because she wanted to have a 'conversation,' with her, is that correct?"

"That was the job and we completed it."

"So you are saying that they did have a conversation, do you know what they were talking about?"

"All I know is that they talked and then that scaly bitch attacked me with her crew of misfits."

Ozpin quickly checked his notes and found a picture of Tock, So that's what James meant by shared aesthetics, well having things in common is vital for any relationship. "Do you have any idea why Tock and her crew of… Pirates attacked you after she ended her conversation with your employer?'"

"I figured it was just her time of the month."

The headmaster kept a straight face but inside he was screaming, "Do you have any idea why a team of Beacon students helped her capture you?"

"Well, they were all girls so I'd figure that they were on their period too. I've heard that women can synchronize with each other so they have it all at the same time, creepy."

The truth be told, Ozpin already knew the answer and it was silver eyes, Ruby Rose had them which made her a target of Salem who liked to make use of disposable pawns like Peter to hunt down these people. Sadly this was a tragedy that provide effective however this situation was different, she had never given her name in the past and the timing for this mission was horrible, A job like this while Vale is on high alert? She's never this sloppy which mean that something isn't right here but this man is… he then got another message on his scroll informing that Professor Greene had arrived and she had three more Lost Boys.

On the outside, Ozpin was as calm as ever, on the inside he was crying.

"Home sweet home!" Nora was all but skipping ahead down the hallway towards her dorm room as the rest of her team followed behind tired but still very relieved that their mission was finally over. However, there was a lingering sense of unease tapping at the back of their minds, questions that they both never got an answer to and were unwilling to just let it keep simmering beneath the surface.

Jaune was the first one to voice his feelings, "I honestly can't wrap my head around everything that's happened these past few days. Seriously, if this mission had gone on for any longer it probably would have resulted in a second Breach."

Pyrrha shook her head at his comment, "Please don't make jokes like that, the memory of the event is still far too fresh for many people including myself."

"I'm sorry I shouldn't had said that... I guess I'm still a bit out of it."

She gave him a small reassuring smile, "I understand and I do agree with the point you made, not only did those people go out of their way to steal your arm but then one of them showed up disguised as your father! Who does that?"

"I most certainly won't argue that an evil doppelganger of my father isn't strange but what's really bugging me is that the missing Lost Boy. I just don't get how someone could just stand by and let their teammates be captured when they had the power to do something about it, what kind of person does that?"

Ren then cut in, "I'd say it was someone who had the clarity of mind to understand that the fight was lost, not to mention that those guys aren't exactly friends so abandoning them was just a sensible and easy decision. On the other hand, deciding that the best way to accomplish your goals is to pretend to be someone else's father is just beyond bizarre and that's before we consider how poorly he handled that role."

Jaune scratched his chin as he considered Ren's arguments, "The way he acted makes me think that he took one look at a picture of my dad, then took another look at my arm, and then just made every negative assumption possible. If you're going to commit to a bit, then at least put in some actual effort or don't commit to begin with!"

"Don't forget that Professor Greene thinks that he was also the one who stole your arm," Pyrrha helpfully added.

He opened his mouth to say something on the subject but was rudely interrupted by Nora who was running back towards them shouting something that sounded rather unusual without the proper context behind it, "There are Pirates in our dorm!"

"What?!"

"You heard me! We've been boarded by salty scalawags that have come to plunder our booty! We've got to raise the anchor, swing hard to port, and open fire on their broadside!" She then ran behind them and began pushing them all towards the dorm with her incredible strength, "Prepare to repel all boarders!"

"Nora what has gotten into you!?"

"I told you, we have been boarded!"

"What does that even mean!?"

Instead of explaining herself, she just smiled and kept pushing them forward and a short while afterward, they were close enough that they could hear a familiar voice coming from within their room, "Ah didnae kip wi' him because he wis pirate, ah did it because we wur baith drunk 'n' pirates! th' fact 'twas between ye is gey important."

"No way," Jaune without thinking channeled some Aura into his legs and broke off from the group in a sprint towards the door, all it took was a couple of seconds for him to cross the distance and one more second to swing the door wide open. He saw his wife Tock inside his room, sitting right on his bed, wrapped in his blanket, and she was looking at him with a raised eyebrow and a flirty smile.

"Is that a gun in yer pocket or urr ye juist happy tae see me?"

His face turned bright red with embarrassment and he found himself fighting the urge to use his hand to cover up his crotch, "A gun! It's definitely a gun!"

"Ugh, could you please conduct yourself with a little bit of class?" snapped Weiss who was sitting at a desk watching on her scroll one of Tock's fencing videos.

"Wait, what are you doing here?" He stepped inside the room as his team caught up to him and together they found that it was more than just the princess and the crocodile, sitting on a different bed was Blake and Cecco with a pile of books between the two, and sitting on the floor was Mason and Turley who were using their scrolls to play a fighting game that Jaune did not recognize.

Blake lowered her book to glance at JNPR who were still awkwardly standing at the doorway, and answered the question, "We were going to wait for you in our dorm room but then Ruby came inside and demanded to know what's going on behind her back which leads to Yang asking us to give them some privacy." She closed the book she was reading and noticed the concern on their faces, "We hid the Silver Eyes thing from her because we didn't want to worry her but she quickly noticed that something was off with the way we were acting."

Weiss explained a little further, "We screwed up but that's on us, either way, our first idea wasn't to wait in your dorm."

"Oor foremaist idea wis tae catch up wi` ye at th' landing pads sin we heard that ye wid be arriving th' nicht bit hud na idea whin that'd be. Sae we a' decided tae hauld yer horses fur ye 'ere instead." Tock then patted an empty spot next to her, "Dinnae juist staun thare, sit doon 'n' fill us in oan a' th' aw the info while we aye hae time."

That caught Pyrrha's attention, "While we still have time? Is there something happening?"

"It's just that they're not students so they can't stay overnight in the dorms," Blake answered as she picked up a new book.

"That makes sense," Ren commented as he walked over to her, grabbed a book, and sat down next to Cecco who was reading a comic book.

Meanwhile, Nora bounded over to Mason and Turley, "I don't know what you're playing but I'm calling the next match!"

"Finally some fresh meat, it was starting to get boring beating these loser over and over again," Mason replied with a grin while pointing at his crewmate.

Turley shot him a dirty look, "Brave words coming from someone who's about their third game in a row to me."

As for Jaune and Pyrrha, the two went over to his bed and Tock made some room for them beneath the blanket that they accepted to her great amusement, "Mibbie we shuid kick th' ithers oot 'n' hae a threesome unless you'd ower thay joined in?" The mere suggestion was enough to make them both blush, "A'm juist joking wi' ye, forby we hae far mair important hings tae blether aboot." Note tae self; Thay didnae say na tae th' threesome.

"Y-you're right, so should I go first or do you want to?" asked Jaune.

"Weel mines is pretty simple, we git intae contanct wi' yer mukkers wha hulp us catch Peter 'n' his lost wee jimmies. Och 'n' thare wur workin' fur a wifie wha cried herself Salem bit a'm bonny sure that's nae her name."

"Salem?" Pyrrha scratched her chin as she searched her memories, "I don't think the ones we encountered said anything about her," she looked back at her partner, "Did the guy disguised as your dad say anything?"

"Nope, but he did seem rather interested in constantly reminding me of how much of a failure he thought I was, I'm almost certain he was projecting his daddy issues onto me."

"Sounds like he would get along with my dad," Weiss commented.

"I don't think so, this guy was a Faunus, and well… your dad is basically their equivalent of the god of darkness."

She just gave a sad little chuckle, "He doesn't care as long as it can make him look good in front of crowd of reporters."

Blake frowned at the mere thought of such a Faunus shaking hands with man as people took pictures but then an idea had crawled into her mind, "Speaking of Faunus... do you think the White Fang might be involved?" She now had everyone's attention so she explained her reasoning, "The ability to change your appearance, Flight, and Invincibility are powerful Semblances that all just happened to be within Faunus that all just happened to gather in Vale around the same time. Sure it could just be coincidence but, it's sure is strange how often these coincidences have been happening lately."

"Ah admit that a'm sympathetic tae th' cause bit ah'ament a member, they've ne'er even approached me wi' an offer tae jyne. 'N' efter whit thay did that day, ah wid juist tell thaim tae gang bugger themselves "

"I don't think a group like the White Fang would appreciate a racist like Peter," Mason pointed out.

"It doesn't necessarily matter," interjected Weiss. "Before his arrest in the Breach there was a human named Roman Torchwick working with the group and that man is very open about his opinions on the Faunus."

What followed was a heavy silence as everyone began trying to wrap their head around just how big and interconnected everything appeared to be; Maria, the Dust robberies, Roman, the White Fang, The Breach, The Lost Boys, Silver Eyes, and finally this Salem woman whose true identity and the extent of her reach were complete unknowns. It was an imposing riddle whose stakes were lives and somehow they have found themselves not only involved but also way in over their heads.

"To hell with this!" Nora shouted as she stood up. "We're smashing our heads against the wall when we should be celebrating!"

"But-!"

"No buts! We just got back from a messed-up mission and have just been reunited with our friends and how are we spending this limited time? Trying to figure a puzzle when we don't even have all the pieces, we might as well be making pancakes without a pan!"

Pyrrha also got up from the bed and confronted her teammate, "This is important! We need to figure this out before something happens again!"

"Sorry but, Nora's right," Ren softly spoke.

"Aye she is," Tock nodded her head in agreement.

Jaune was just dumbfounded, "What!? How can you of all people say that? Out of everyone in this room you and your crew have the most reasons to be worried, Salem wanted you and Peter was willing to kill people just set up a damned phone call! This isn't something we can ignore, we have to figure this out as soon as possible!"

"Possible is the keyword here and to be honest, it is not possible for us to figure it out tonight," Ren bluntly stated.

"Y-you don't know that."

"I do and I'll tell you why. As we speak the police are processing the Lost Boys we brought in along with the ones Tock brought in, what are we going to figure out that they with their resources aren't? Sure we have Tocks's help but they have experts who dedicated their lives to solving these exact situations and they have the help of both Beacon and Atlas! Surely you are not arrogant enough to think that we're going figure anything out before they do!"

"I-I… don't know," Jaune let himself fall back down on the bed feeling utterly dejected, "I just can't stand the idea of doing nothing.

Blake put her book down, got up from the bed, walked over to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Before that incident with Paladin, Yang pulled me aside because I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out the White Fang's plan and was getting nowhere. It had gotten so bad that my grades were starting to slip alongside my combat performance, I was accomplishing nothing except hurting myself and my friends… do you know what she asked me to do?"

"I'm sorry but I can't stop."

"That's what I told her too but I'm not asking you to stop, none of us are. What we're asking is for you to slow down just a bit until you regain your breath, until we have a lead that we can follow."

"But what am I supposed to do in the meantime?"

"Relax and gather your strength so that you will be ready when the time comes."

It was such a simple answer but that didn't make it less true. The harsh reality was that if something was to happen now, he would be nothing more than a burden to his friends. Blake, Tock, Nora, and Ren were right and he needed to both accept that and follow their advice if he wanted to be of any help if and when the time came. By the Brothers, what the hell am I doing!?

Feeling emotionally and physically drained he sat right back down on the bed where he was joined by Pyrrha who sat right next to him but kept a small respectful distance between herself and him. That distance was promptly erased when Tock came up from behind both of them and gently with almost motherly tenderness placed a blanket on top of the pair, afterward she just sat quietly behind them but close enough that they could still feel her there beside them. Despite everything on their minds the pair began to feel a certain calm wash over themselves their problems were still there but now it didn't seem so overwhelming anymore, it was a difficult thing to explain. Perhaps it had something to do with feeling the warmth of another person or maybe it was the knowledge that there was someone by your side, either way, it was making it easier for them to think things through in a logical fashion.

They're right, Thought Pyrrha to herself as she snuggled a little bit closer to feel a little bit warmer. We only got this far because we trusted others with what we know. So why are we acting like we're suddenly the only ones who can figure this out? She looked over to Jaune and watched as his face slowly but surely relaxed leaving no doubt in her mind that he was coming to the same conclusion as she did. "I guess it's okay to relax a little, don't you think?"

He didn't say anything at first and for a moment she was afraid that she misread him but then he looked right at her and gave a smile. It wasn't a big one, instead, it was rather small, shy, and just a little sad but it put her at ease all the same, "You're right, we do deserve to rest for a while."

"Wid ye guys lik' tae be alone?"

"No, what I want is to go along with Nora's suggestion and celebrate," Jaune quickly answered to her satisfaction.

"OH YEAH!" Nora nearly leaped into the air and began rambling about something that they could be doing but was speaking in such rapid-fire succession that everyone was having trouble following "WecouldgodowntownandcatchaplayIheardthattheleon'stheatherwasputtingaspecialpreformaceofsomelikeithotduetothevyt-alfestival!"

No one knew what to say, no one was even sure what had just been vomited out of the redhead's mouth except for one person and while everyone else was busy nursing their headache, he was pointing out the flaws of his partner's suggestion, "The Leon theater requires patrons to purchase a ticket at least a week in advance but it's something we can do later."

Noa ran up to her boyfriend and hugged him while energetically jumping up and down, "Oh it's gonna be great!" She then got in close and whispered into his ear, "I heard that there are a few seats that are in hard-to-see places if you know what I mean."

"N-Nora! Someone might hear you!"

"Too late," replied Blake as she made a mental note to find out more about those seats.

Mason on the other hand was not about to let this pass, "You actually understood her!?"

"Trust me when I say that this is far from the strangest thing that they have done," commented Weiss as she went back to watching her video.

Unbeknownst to the heiress, she had just given Pyrrha an idea, "How about we stream a movie?"

Cecco quickly checked his scroll, "That's a great idea, as long as it's less than... two hours long."

"I'll go make popcorn!" Nora announced before running towards the kitchen.

"Well, that gives us plenty of options," Turley said as he began checking a list of available options, "Do you guys want to watch something funny or mindless action flick?"

"Why not both?" Weiss suddenly suggested to the surprise of everyone else but was too busy putting away her scroll to notice, "I know of an excellent Mistrailian film called Ultimate Versus which cares more about action and jokes rather than having a coherent plot or character development. The entire movie is what Yang would describe as a dumpster fire but it's so bad that it loops right around to greatness and genuine enjoyability. It's one of my favorite movies of all time along with the Room."

Blake pinched her own arm and then looked around the room before focusing on Weiss, "I'm sorry I think I might have dozed off for a second, what movie did you suggest?"

"Ultimate Versus."

She then pinched her arm again but this time she channeled Aura into her fingers to make sure it really hurt this time, "Ouch! Okay so I wasn't dreaming… wow, I never would have guessed you were into that stuff."

Tock chortled for a few seconds before saying, "That's juist pairt o' bein' oan a gang, na maiter howfur lang ye ken someone thay wull aye fin' a wey tae surprise ye!"

There was a soft unexpected knock at the door and Jaune got out of the bed to open it and when he found his dear friends Ruby and Yang standing there. More importantly, he noticed their reddened faces, puffy watery eyes, and finally tear stains on both their faces which left no room for doubt on how their little talk went, "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm...," Ruby's voice was shaky but she kept going, "I just have a lot on my mind right now and there is still so much that I'm struggling to understand."

"How can I help?"

She shook her head, "You and everyone else have already done so much for me, the least I can do is thank every single one of you."

He stepped to the side and motioned for the both of them to enter, "We're all inside and we'd love to have you both."

For a second she just stood there feeling overwhelmed but then she felt her sister's hand on her back gently pushing her forward, "Let's go, Ruby, I have some people I'd like you to meet." Yang then took her little sister's hand and led the way inside of JNPR's dorm room.

Once inside, the young reaper looked around at everyone present, her teammates, her friends, and even people who were almost complete strangers and yet had gone out of their way to protect her. It was only natural that she'd feel a little overwhelmed, she didn't like being kept out of the loop or being treated like someone to be protected rather than someone who could protect others, and the fact that she was never as outgoing as her sister was just the cherry on top of a bad sundae. A small part of her wanted to apologize for interrupting whatever it was that they had been doing and then use her semblance to blitz past her sister, go back into her dorm, and finally hide under the covers of her bed. However she was not the same girl she was back at the start of Beacon, one part wanted to flee but everything else wanted to stay and get something off of her chest.

So she took a deep breath to calm her frazzled nerves and then suddenly bowed, "Thank you for protecting me but never ever leave me in the dark again!"

"Dinnae be sae quick tae thank us, oor hauns aren't completely wash o' this fankle."

Blake shot back at the pirate, "I used to be part of the same group responsible for the Breach, if your hands are dirty then mine are drenched in filth."

Yang interrupted her partner, "I already told you, it doesn't matter what you did! What matters is what you're doing about it."

"And that's the point I was getting to," she looked at Tock, Cecco, Mason, and Turley, "I know how it feels to make mistake after mistake, that feeling of unworthiness that you're carrying is something that I've felt and still feel even now. I don't want to run away anymore, what I want is to become the person my team believes I can become."

"Ah thought mah days o' bein' lectured tae wur left behind whin ah left hame, ah jalouse that's oan me fur bein' arrogant enough tae think that ah oot grown thaim."

Suddenly Nora triumphantly returned from her conquest of the kitchen and was carrying two massive bowls filled with popcorn as war trophy while whistling a happy tune befitting a champion such as her. However that stopped when noticed the weird atmosphere of the room, "Soooooo… are we still doing the movie or am I going to have to eat all of this popcorn by myself?"

"What kind of movie?" Ruby asked hopefully.

"You do realize that dad should be arriving early tomorrow, we should be going to bed early," Yang tried to reason with both her sister and herself.

"But dad always said that it was important to relax before going to bed!"

"I guess you're right... ," Yang then addressed everyone else in the room, "Got any space for two more?"

The response was a unanimous, "Yes," followed by the noise and bustle of everyone shifting around trying to find the most comfortable spot with the best view of the TV screen. It took several attempts but eventually, everyone had found a nice spot and the popcorn bowls began to make the rounds as the opening credits played on screen. When the movie began proper it was just as shallow as Weiss had described it but at the same time, mindless fun was exactly what they all needed tonight to wash away the stress that had been building up since that day when everything changed for the kingdom of Vale.

Jaune felt something move behind him and in the next moment, he felt a scaly arm on his shoulder as his wife pulled him in closer with uncharacteristic gentleness and then just held him as he held her back. It was incredibly intimate but at the same time, there was nothing about it that could be called sexual, at this moment they weren't lovers cradling each other but rather friends embracing after they had been forced apart by forces outside of their control.

However, it was not a feeling that could last.

As much as he would like to pretend that the Lost Boys being in custody would mean that everything would return to normal, he wasn't that naïve. Things had changed and they weren't ever going to go back to how they were which meant that there were some dire conversations that he needed to have starting with the woman he was cuddling with, "I need to talk to you in private," he whispered to her.

"Ah ken bit let's nae dae this noo," she whispered back.

"Then when?

"A dinnae ken."

"So what then? Are we just going to keep putting this aside with promises to talk about later until one day it's too late and the damage is done?"

"Na, a'm waantin' tae pat it aff 'til we're baith stable enough tae hae that chat."

"Who knows how long that will take."

"We hae th' time, me 'n' mah crew aren't goin awa Vale anytime soon."

"Huh? But you caught the Lost Boys, what else do you have to do here?"

"Weel fur sterters th' polis ur aff tae waant statements fae masell, mah crew, 'n' yer freinds. Bit mair importantly…"

"What's wrong?"

"Peter 'n' his gang ur aff tae tell polis aboot howfur salem wanted tae blether wi' me 'n' that's aff tae mak' hings gey... pernicketie."

"I'm going to be perfectly honest with you, I have no idea what that last word meant. Frankly, it can be rather difficult to understand you thank to that accent."

To his surprise, she started to giggle, fortunately, it during a funny part of the film so nobody but him noticed, "Ah wis wondering whin ye wid bring that up. Let me huv a go at that again." She then began to go through a short series of voice exercises in preparation, "Dif-fi-cult, that's whit ah wanted tae say."

"Oh… things are going to suck for a while, aren't they?"

"Weel at least ah git a cute guidman 'n' ye hae a sexy guidwife," she then nuzzled his neck partly as a joke, partly because she knew he'd enjoy it, and mostly because she knew that she'd enjoy it. What she did not expect was for him to nuzzle her back but it wasn't something that she would complain about, given the uncertain future that laid before them all she would happily accept any relief. She and Jaune were near-strangers that had been brought together by tragedy, circumstances, and poor decisions but at this moment in time she regretted nothing and knew for a fact that he felt the same way.

Meanwhile on the other side of the ocean was a second pair of near-strangers staying at a cheap motel located in one of Mistral's more successful settlements. Just like the pair resting in Vale, these two had also been brought together by a tragedy but unlike the blissfully unaware pirates, their meeting was not due to circumstances. What brought them together had been the machinations of those far older and more knowledgeable than either of the two and they knew it. However that was not important right now, what mattered to them right now was that their journey was nearly at an end and they were celebrating that fact with cheap beer and telling each other tall tales.

"Bullshit!" cried Qrow drunkenly at the conclusion of Maria's latest story.

"Are you calling me a liar? I'll have you know that It is true and I have the scars to prove it!" She then decided that the best way to prove her story was to take off her top revealing a bizarre-looking spiral-shaped scar that started just below her wrist and reached up to her elbow.

"That alone does not prove the existence of the Chupacabra!"

She tossed her top into a corner of the room, "It's a million times better than what you offered for the Bunyip, jack shit!"

Qrow responded to this baseless allegation by following her example and taking off his shirt, throwing it into the same corner her top was, and revealing a scar of his own, "Behold the mark of the dreaded Bunyip!" The mark in question was a teeny tiny little scar that could have come from anywhere.

She poked the supposed wound with enough force that Qrow flinched as her finger sank into his skin, "Bah! That's just a papercut! Either show me a real scar or admit that there was no Bunyip."

He was not about to take this challenge lying down so he began to unbuckle his pants intent on showing off the scars on his legs, "I told you already, the body sank to the bottom of the lake where it dissolved. It's not my fault that the Grimm evaporate when killed, which is rude. Seriously, It's bad enough that they are trying to kill us all the time but they don't even have the decency to leave a corpse behind!"

"It's because they're a bunch of rude assholes! Have they ever considered that we might want a new rug or a coat or even just find out how they taste?" declared Maria before both she and Qrow then reached for another can which drank with alarming speed, crushed, and then added the now hollow container to an ever-growing pile.

"Exactly! They're always trying to eat us but they never let us eat them, it's not fair!" Qrow then succeeded in removing his pants that were tossed into the same corner as his shirt and Maria's top.

This continued until eventually the two were completely naked and laying together on the same bed, despite all appearances nothing had really occurred between them but that wasn't a fact that either would remember the next day. However before they closed their eyes to drift off into a deep restful sleep a promise was made to each other with the purest of intentions, a promise that they would remember the next morning and all the mornings after that.

"I'm going to help you, together we're going to make sure that Tock pays."

Author's Notes: The movie that Weiss suggested does exist but it's not called Ultimate Versus, it's called Versus with the Ultimate part being the name of the remastered Edition. It is as you all probably guessed one of my favorite movies of all time and it is also exactly as she described it, mindless action and fun with zero interest in plot or character but somehow it works. If nothing else I'd recommend it just for the last-minute plot twist out of nowhere which changes everything. Also, the Room is another real film that is the embodiment of, "So bad, its good."

As for the Bunyip and Chupacabra, they are cryptids which means that they are animals whose existence has never been proven though some people are trying to change that. Other examples of cryptids include the Mothman, the Lochness Monster, Bigfoot, and many others from every country around the world with my personal favorite being the North American ThunderBird which will eventually make an appearance as a Grimm.

Also, Ruby did forget to tell Jaune that his new weapon is finished but don't worry, he'll get it soon enough.