Halo, it's time for the newest chapter. Enjoy the reading.


As the days passed, Salem finally calmed down and was able to think straight, but the fact that Ozpin had reincarnated so quickly made her and her inner circle to create a new plan. Currently, Hazel, Watts, Tyrion and Neo were sitting at Salem's conference table.

- Are you sure about that, Mistress? - Watts wasn't sure Salem's plan was a good idea. - It's true that Ozpin can still get General Ironwood to come to his senses, but it's too early to attack Atlas.

- This is our only chance, - Salem, on the other hand, was completely sure of her plan. – to strike a final blow against our enemies, Arthur. Sometimes you have to take risks.

- We must obey our almighty queen. - Tyrion giggled and clapped excitedly.

- Atlas' days are numbered, Mistress. - Hazel also assured her of his loyalty.

- You stay here with me, Hazel. - Salem turned to the big man.

- But...

- In Ozpin's presence, you become unpredictable and this will be a complicated operation where even the smallest mistake could be fatal. Also, Arthur, Tyrion, and Neopolitan's abilities are just perfect to cause such chaos in the kingdom that they will destroy each other themselves. - She turned to the other three, Watts, Tyrion and Neo. - The key will be speed and if you succeed, - She looked first at Watts and then at Neo. – you can both get what your heart desires. For revenge and freedom.

- You mean, Mistress… - Watts was happy to finally get his revenge.

- You can finally make the Atlas elites, who took from you everything and made you destitute, suffer the same fate. You can finally crush their big ego, so that they fall into the trap of their own arrogance and lose everything that's so dear to them.

- Yes, - Watts smiled and ran his fingers along his mustache. - that would be nice to see.

- And you, Neopolitan, - She turned to her. – you get a second chance to finally get rid of Roman and finally be free. - She stood up from her chair. - Now go.

The three men and Neo immediately stood up and left the meeting room, Hazel, since he wasn't going to Atlas with them, headed for his room.

- Where are you going, Tyrion? - Watts noticed that the mad faunus man had gone in a different direction.

- I'm just saying goodbye to Cinder's kids. – He answered quietly and with an excited giggle, as if he was preparing for a prank. – Should we intervene? - He worriedly asked Neo, who took out her Scroll and started writing at lightning speed, then showed it to Watts.

"The real question is, do we even care what happens to them?"

- Not really, - Watts shrugged. - but did you hear what Salem just said? Time isn't our friend now.

"Let's bet, will Emerald or Mercury survive longer? Mercury's tough, but Emerald's smarter, my bet is on her."

- Well, - Laughed Watts. – since Cinder is no longer here, their loyalty isn't so sure.

"Do you think that's why Salem didn't send them with us?"

- I don't know, it's quite difficult to guess what that witch is thinking. Sometimes I have no idea what, why or how she does things, but as long as we obey her, we get what we want.

"Tyrion's staying with the two kids for a little while longer."

- Considering your height, I don't think you have the right to call anyone a kid. - Neo narrowed her eyes offended and raised one of her eyebrows. - But I see what you're saying, I better step in while Emerald and Mercury are still alive.

They walked the length of the corridor and Watts' worries became real as Tyrion stood over Mercury and the tip of his mechanical stinger was inches from the boy's throat.

- Tyrion! - Watts yelled at him while the faunus man turned to him and Neo. - It's time!

- Do what makes you happy, kids. - Tyrion got off from Mercury. - Please, I'm begging you. - He was still staring at the two young people with his crazy gaze, which scared them almost to death, and on top of that, he even dangled the scorpion's stinger, then left the place with his hands were clasped behind his back.

Watts started one of the Mistralian planes, which would allow them to leave Salem's hideout and not even stop at Atlas.

- Won't be a bit unusual, - Tyrion stepped behind him, but so quietly that he didn't even notice. – if we fly to Atlas with a Mistralian plane?

- It would be, - Watts was confident and looked at Neo who conjured up a new look with her Semblance, a pair of white and black high heeled ankle boots, a pair of tight white leather pants, a white top that exposed her stomach, a chocolate-colored jacket that was pink inside and left her shoulders exposed, a gray scarf, a pair of white gloves and of course, Roman's hat, which was an essential element of her outfit. - without Neopolitan's ability.

Neo touched the plane and began to concentrate, then the entire plane was covered in pink and white glitter and instead of the Mistralian black and gray plane, an Atlasian white and blue plane appeared.

- Impressive. - Tyrion's eyes sparkled with joy. - This ability of yours will be of great use to our mistress, little lady.

Neo let out a weary sigh before the machine changed back and snapped with her fingers the two men with a confident smile.

- Will you be able to maintain the disguise for a longer period of time? - Watts asked and Neo nodded. - It's very good, because there will be no obstacles for me to get the Atlas' access codes. Those conceited monkeys have always been predictable.

They boarded the plane, Watts started it and they were already on their way to Atlas.


Oscar has been missing for hours and his friends have been searching for him for hours, not caring that the night has already fallen, the teams have split up, Team RWBY, Team LLMM and Team JNR have been looking for him, in addition, Saph with Team JNR, Maria with Team LLMM and even Roman helped Team RWBY in the search.

- Oscar! - The JNR team searched for the boy in the town's main square, without success.

- It's a big city, - Ren stated. - he could go anywhere.

- This is my fault. - Jaune whipped himself, desperately trying to find Oscar. - I overreacted.

- I still don't understand what happened. - Saph, who of course couldn't be initiated into the details because it would put her and her family in danger, tried to understand. – Is this about your mission?

- Well... - Nora would have liked to initiate her as well, but they all agreed that they shouldn't talk about the mission. - it would be difficult to explain.

- I get it, I get it, - Saph understood that they can't answer. - top secret. But did he do something wrong?

- No. - Jaune replied with a half-truth. - He didn't. We just… learned new information about our mission and… it's going to make things a little more difficult than we thought.

- If it were easy, it wouldn't be so important. – Saph, who knew her brother couldn't tell her the details of the mission, had no idea what a dangerous and vital mission her little brother was going on with his friends.

- We're just a little unsure of what to do. - Ren concluded.

- You could stay in Mistral. - Saph suggested. - You could get your Hunting License in Haven and come back to Argus. You could do a lot of good things here too. I know your mission is very important, but aren't you the only ones who can carry it out? You could do many other missions besides this one. I mean, - She shrugged jokingly. – it's not the fate of the world depends on your missions.

- Well… - Jaune didn't know what to say, "Yes, exactly, the fate of the world depends on us getting to Atlas," he thought to himself. - it's not that simple.

- I… - Saph realized that she couldn't talk her brother about this mission. – I have to pick up Adrian from daycare. I'll tell Tara and see you at home. Good luck. - She turned the corner with that and left the JNR team alone.

Ren and Nora could see that Jaune was still blaming himself, but Nora tried to lighten the mood.

- Hey, there's a cafe! How about buying something to warm us up?

- I'm fine. - Jaune didn't want anything, he just went on alone. - You two go ahead. - Not knowing where he could continue his search, he just sat down on a bench, bewildered.

- Are you sure you're not asking for anything? – Nora was worried about him and of course Ren did too.

- We'll be right back.

Jaune didn't know what to do, he felt like he had let his friends down and now Oscar was gone because of his fault. He wasn't angry at him, but at Ozpin, for keeping so many things from them and for leaving them here when they needed him the most, and unfairly heaped this anger on Oscar.

Suddenly, on the snowy street, the wind blew a reddish-brown leaf, which is unusual this far north, especially in winter. At this time, there are no tree leaves for a long time, but this one leaf, it was as if it had been sent by some greater force, the wind played with it as if it wanted it to follow.

He had no idea why, but he stood up and began to follow the tree leaf that led him to the park, in the middle of which stood a statue of an old acquaintance. Seeing the statue, Jaune's heart skipped a beat and he could hardly believe his eyes. It was a 5m tall statue of Pyrrha, standing majestically with her sword on her back, her shield held in both hands in front of her and it was as if she was looking sadly at Jaune.

"In memory of Pyrrha Nikos, just one of the students who fought heroically and lost their lives when Beacon fell," Jaune read on the plaque on the base of the statue.

Jaune could barely hold back his tears as he looked up at the statue, "You should be here." He thought back to his time with her in Beacon, the girl who saw something in him that he didn't see in himself. Jaune never understood that someone as famous and talented as Pyrrha, what could she see in someone as clumsy and stupid as him.

- It's beautiful, isn't it? - He heard a female voice behind him that reminded him eerily of Pyrrha's. He turned and for a moment he thought he saw Pyrrha but this woman, if she had the same red hair and green eyes as Pyrrha, was older than her, her hair was shorter and she wore glasses but she was holding a bouquet of red flowers and looked respectfully at the statue, "Perhaps one of her relatives?".

- Yes. - Jaune didn't know what to say to this woman who looked so much like Pyrrha. - Why are you here?

- She studied here, at the Sanctum academy. - Answered. - Everybody was totally freaked out when she chose Beacon over Haven. - She hugged the bouquet. - No one wanted her to go, but she wanted to be there. - I'm just happy, - She looked at Jaune as if she knew exactly who he was and how much Pyrrha meant to him and vice versa. – that she was surrounded by such wonderful people.

- She should be here. - Jaune just hung his head, blaming himself for not doing more to save her.

- She is. - Jaune raised his head at the woman's statement, but understood that she was only meaning of the statue. - She knew, it's her responsibility to try. I don't think she regretted her decision in the end, because for a true Huntress giving up isn't an option and she always wanted to be a Huntress.

- Pyrrha… - Jaune finally accepted the fact that there was nothing he could have done to protect Pyrrha then, he only would have died with her. She saved his life by locking him up and shooting her out of the closet. – she was never able to graduate, but she was a real Huntress. – Tears gathered in the woman's eyes, but she quickly wiped them away.

- Thank you.

Jaune took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment, but when he opened them, she was gone and nowhere to be seen, only the bunch of flowers she left here, "Was she really here or was I just imagining?"

- Jaune? – Suddenly, he heard another female voice behind him. - What are you doing here?

- Weiss? - Jaune turned around when he saw the girl whose white hair was being played with by the wind and reminded him of a real snow angel in the snowfall. - Where are your teammates?

- They went back to the house, I wanted to buy another hot chocolate and I saw you. What are you doing… - Weiss just noticed Pyrrha's statue and remembered how much she meant to Jaune. – Oh, I'm sorry.

- I never understood what she saw in me. - Jaune remembered. – I was always the most incompetent in everything, I was but a joke, a fool who wanted to be a hero, but she still dealt with me and saw something in me.

- Jaune, - Weiss was more overcome with guilt. - I'm sorry for treating you like that at Beacon. If it's any consolation, I was an arrogant and conceited brat for being so cruel to you.

- You know what's the saddest thing about this? That Pyrrha kept supporting me in my stupid pick up tricks while I didn't realize how amazing she was.

- We both grew up since then. – Weiss stood next to Jaune and together they looked at Pyrrha's statue.

- I don't know what she saw in me, - Jaune firmly, but fighting back tears, clenched his fists. – but I will do everything I can to be the man she thought I was.

Weiss looked over at Jaune, a tear escaped from his blue eye, which he wiped away with his glove and tried to cover half of his face with his hand as he ran a hand through his hair. She realized that Jaune still blamed himself for Pyrrha's death.

- Jaune, - Weiss grabbed Jaune's hand, which was bigger than her own, causing him loose a little and let her hand slide inside his. – I don't know what I could say that would help, but I'm glad you're with us and you didn't die. I will forever be grateful to Pyrrha for saving you, I will never forget the friend who meant so much to all of us and I will respect the hero who was at the end.

Jaune's heart began to beat faster, but the memory of Pyrrha filled him with enough courage to give Weiss a more confident grip, which she didn't mind at all.

- Thank you. - Jaune turned to Weiss, he still had her hand in one of his hands, but he turned her towards himself with the other, he put his other hand on her shoulder and saw Weiss' reddened face, she was almost lost in her light blue eyes and he felt like he was about to take the big step, he leaned closer to her face, aiming for her lips, from which he heard the gentle snuffing, he closed his eyes so that he could touch his own lips with the girl's.

Weiss returned the kiss, hugging Jaune, who stroked her cheek during the kiss and held her close as if he was ready to protect her from anything in the world. After the kiss ended, the two young ones just stared into each other's eyes in silence, Weiss lost in Jaune's innocent dark blue eyes and Jaune couldn't get enough of Weiss' light blue eyes either.

- FINALLY! – Nora jumped out from behind one of the benches and pulled Ren with her, with whom they each brought a cup of hot chocolate for themselves and the team. - I TOLD YOU THEY WOULD GET TOGETHER! - She yelled in joy while Jaune and Weiss just blushed awkwardly but didn't want to let go of each other's hands.

- So, it's official now? - Ren just smugly handed one of the glasses to Jaune.

- Well… - Jaune just scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

- Totally! – And Nora gave Weiss a glass of hot chocolate. - The spark between you has been there for a while!

- Maybe… - Weiss only managed to push some words through her teeth with a nervous grin. - probably...

- Together... - Jaune tried to help Weiss out. – …ish…

- We are…? - Weiss craned her neck.

- THIS IS AMAZING! – Nora, who was smaller than them, hugged them with amazing strength and lifted the new couple up. – Isn't that, Ren?

- Amazing. – Ren, if he was quieter, didn't hide his joy that his best friends found happiness in each other's arms. - We'd better go back to the house.

- I can't wait to announce the big news! - Nora practically jumped for joy, but Weiss and Jaune just held hands and followed their friends back to the house together.

- You know this is going to be super awkward right now? - Weiss asked the obvious question.

- Trust me, - Jaune tried to sound confident. – I've been through a lot of super awkward situations, but none as awkward as this one will be.


- It is always a pleasure to watch a professional Hunter at work. - Roman shook his head awkwardly as he, Maria, Team RWBY, and Team LLMM looked disappointed at Qrow snoring drunk and passed out on the stairs to the house. - It's really not funny anymore.

- I've never seen it in such bad shape. Yang added.

- Let's help him up. – Ruby and Yang sat up their drunken uncle, who woke up grunting, rubbing his face and not knowing where he was.

- Why am I in front of the house.

- Probably because no one is home, Uncle Qrow! - Ruby was already angry at him. - We went to find Oscar!

- Who's Oscar? - Qrow just rubbed his forehead.

- You know, our friend whose head Ozpin lives. - Ruby explained, growing impatient.

- And who's Ozpin?

- Okay, - Yang also rolled her eyes and agreed with Roman. - it's really not funny anymore.

Just then the others came back, none of whom had found Oscar.

- This must look good in front of the neighbors. – Tara awkwardly looked around the neighborhood, who can only guess what a dead drunk Hunter is doing right in front of their house, but Saph just nudged her to the side to show some understanding.

- We have great news, guys! – Nora couldn't wait to break the big news.

- Prepare. – Jaune took a deep breath and he and Weiss prepared to be the center of attention.

- Jaune and Weiss got together! – Nora couldn't hold it back any longer, now everyone found out.

- My God!

- This is incredible!

- Amazing!

- Was it romantic?!

Many similar questions were asked of the new couple, who just nervously held each other's hands, drawing strength from the other to answer all the questions. They didn't know how long they would have endured the team's overzealous bustle and questions if the front door of the house hadn't opened and the person they had been looking for all day hadn't appeared.

- I was wondering when you would come back.

- OSCAR!

Team RWBY, minus Weiss, Team JNR, minus Jaune, and members of Team LLMM stormed up the stairs at the same time to hug the boy they worried themselves sick about.

- Eternal thanks to Oscar for saving us. - Weiss sighed in relief.

- I have something else to do. - Jaune let go of Weiss's hand and followed the team up the stairs to talk to Oscar who was finally free from the hugs and grips of his worried friends.

- Is something cooking? – As the others entered the house, Tara noticed that the oven was on in the kitchen.

- Oh, - Oscar looked awkwardly to the side. – yes, I thought some hot meal would be nice if you've been looking for me all day.

- It's my fault that this happened. - Jaune stepped forward. - Oscar, I'm really sorry for what I said. I was very angry and had absolutely no right to…

- Don't worry. – Oscar just raised his hands apologetically. - These past few days I've been just as terrified as you have been. - He looked at himself and remembering Jinn's vision, he knew what fate awaited him. - I don't know how long I'll be… me. But I had time to think and I know that I want to help you with all my strength, no matter how much time I have left.

- Good. - A huge stone fell from Jaune's heart. - This team wouldn't be the same without you, Oscar.

The touching moment was interrupted by the beeping of the smoke alarm.

- The casserole! - Oscar ran nervously towards the kitchen, but Saph and Tara stopped him.

- We'll take care of it, chef. – Tara gave Adrian to Roman and she and Saph already went to the kitchen to save the food, which hopefully hadn't burned yet.

- I'm glad you didn't get in trouble. – Ruby also approached Oscar, whose eyes lit up when he saw her. - Where are you going? - She suddenly looked towards her uncle, who was just climbing the stairs to his room.

- I don't want to get in the way of the big celebration. – Qrow just tried to drive them away, but Ruby wouldn't let go.

- You were gone all day! Stay with us!

- Look, Ruby, - Qrow just sighed in frustration. – I'm glad you solved... whatever it was and I'm glad about the romance between the kid and the ice queen, but the thing is, we haven't gotten one step closer to Atlas.

- As a matter of fact, - Jaune stepped forward. - I think I have an idea. - Qrow just looked at him sternly, demanding details. - But it's quite dangerous and there is kinda no way back.

- Well, - Ruby looked at him. – let's hear.

- As long as Cordo oversees the border, only Atlasian planes are allowed to cross the border. So, - He spread his hands awkwardly, feeling how dangerous and stupid an idea this was. – we just steal an Atlasian plane. – At this statement, Adrian laughed in Roman's arms.

- I agree with the baby, - Roman just playfully shook his fingers in front of Adrian. - that's a stupid idea.

- And breaking the law! - Weiss, if she loved Jaune, she wasn't confident about her plan.

- And how do we get to the airport? - Yang didn't support it either.

- This… - Jaune wasn't so sure about this plan either. – is the part I haven't figured out yet, but...

- Okay, stop! – Qrow stopped listing further details of the plan. - Just stop, okay?! Look, if this situation breaks down, which I think it will, we can't solve it by fighting our way out! We're talking about the Atlas army! - He gave a disappointed sigh. - For your own good, just forget about it.

- I'm with Qrow, - Surprisingly, Roman supported Qrow. - this is a bad plan.

- Maybe you have a better idea? - Ruby asked sternly.

- Actually, - They could feel the indignation in Roman's voice. – I have!

- Since when? - Qrow asked.

- Since Cordo shut the gate into our faces. – Roman explained and everyone raised their heads in shock and looked at each other.

- What?! - Yang was the first to ask indignantly. - Why didn't you tell us until now?

- Because you're always snarling me, - Roman's suppressed anger just came out. - you choked the words in me and every time I shared my plans with you, you just drove me away! Now are you curious about what I want to say?! - Everyone looked regretfully at the gangster, who was judged because of his past and so far, they didn't even want to listen to him.

- It's out of the question! - Qrow was the only one who didn't want to know the details of Roman's plan. – You're unreliable and you only cause trouble! – The old feud between Roman and Qrow flared up again and the two men were ready to pick on each other.

- I want to hear him out. – The tense atmosphere was broken by Ruby, she was the only one who had the courage to confront her uncle and stand by Roman.

- Ruby, I don't want to... - Qrow just looked angrily at his niece and didn't want to be near Roman, least of all to carry out his plan.

- I want to hear him out! – Ruby didn't care if her uncle didn't allow it or thought it was a bad idea, but Roman's plan was their only chance to move forward. - I know you just want to protect us and you're afraid we won't be able to go through with this, but right now I don't care what you think! - Qrow was both shocked and disappointed that his niece would defy him and support the plan of the man he hates so much. - Just because you don't have any ideas doesn't mean we've run out of options! Honestly, ever since Roman joined us, he's only helped us, which can't be said about Oz or you lately! You and Ozpin made stupid decisions that got us and others into trouble! Roman tried to warn us and in hindsight, we should have listened to him! – Ruby looked at Roman, who had a rather unusual feeling that the fate of the team now depended on him. - So, we're going to listen to him now!

- Wow, - Roman couldn't place the others' little shamed, but Ruby's hopeful look, that now he has a chance to be a hero. – amazing speech, Little Red.

- I hope your plan is as good as this. - Ruby suggested.

- Well, - Maria just laughed as she took Adrian from Roman. – I told you to listen to this man.

- So, Roman, - Ruby just stared at Roman, clearly giving him the chance to share his plan. - what's the plan?

- Hm, - Roman just spread his hands and started to explain his plan. - As you heard, - He looked at Weiss. - Cordo would be willing to be the ice queen. - Weiss flinched at that and snuggled up to Jaune.

- We won't send Weiss across the border alone! - Jaune nailed it.

- Yes, - Ruby joined him. – we promised not to leave her alone!

- I never said that she would go alone. - Roman just raised his hands defensively and pointed at Qrow. – Her exotic little pet will accompany her.

- Me? - Qrow just shook his head.

- Of course, - Roman continued enthusiastically. – you turn into a bird, we put you in a cage and Cordo hopefully allows Weiss to take you on the trip as her exotic pet.

- I don't know, - Weiss started to feel a little more confident, even though Qrow wasn't exactly the ideal travel companion she had imagined. - maybe this plan makes sense.

- Weiss, - Ruby wanted to know one thing. - if Uncle Qrow goes with you, will that be okay?

- I guess. The most important thing is that I don't have to go back to Atlas alone.

- And then? - Qrow still didn't want to support Roman's plan. - We get across the border, but then they take me straight to the Schnee mansion, Weiss's family.

- Yes, - Weiss began to worry again. - my father will surely not let us go from there.

- No, - Roman was still confident. – because you run away on the way. You go to the bathroom, which is a simple but incredibly effective method and then escape from the escort.

- After that, the whole Atlas army will chase us! – Qrow felt that he had now succeeded in thwarting Roman's brilliant plan, but the thug wasn't annoyed by this, but by the fact that he had to explain it clearly.

- Let yourself be caught! They take you to a prison where an officer interrogates you, you introduce yourself and announce that Weiss's f*cking Schnee is with you and also that you have an urgent message for General Ironwood! You said the general is your personal friend, if he finds out you've been captured, he'll send someone for you! As soon as they take you to the general, you explain everything to him, he tells Cordo to let us cross the border and they will accompany you straight to you. Question?

- Well… - Ruby put it together in her head. - this is a very good and logical idea.

- I had a good one too, - Jaune stood up to his own plan indignantly. – my plan was unnecessarily overcomplicated, in which we could have fought a lot and besides, we would have put a lot of innocent people in danger unnecessarily, whom we would have saved anyway and then we would have been considered heroes! - He crossed his arms, pursed his lips and looked angrily ahead.

- Yeah… - Ruby really didn't want to hurt her friend. – let's not do that.

- Obviously, - Blake wasn't a fan of Jaune's idea either. – it would be pretty crazy and irresponsible on our part.

- Like I said, - Maria joined in. – the Hunters and Huntresses must protect people to the end and not put them in danger, so that they can brag.

- Seriously, - Ren couldn't believe how crazy his team captain had come up with. - what was on your mind Jaune?

- Aren't you supposed to be the smart one? - Nora also scolded him.

- FINE! - Jaune was sick of everyone scolding him. - I'm sorry! It was just an idea!

- Good luck, - Lance also realized how little time it took for Jaune's plan to be carried out. – that Roman came up with a sensible idea.

- It's bad to even think about it, - Mike just nodded. – how much damage, accidents and deaths we could have caused with his plan.

- So, - Roman rubbed his hands together. – shall we stick to my plan?

- Of course! - Ruby stood next to Roman. - Uncle Qrow, - She turned sternly to her uncle. - be an amazingly cute and adorable little bird while you two cross the border! - Qrow had no desire to be in a cage, to humiliate himself, and for Roman's plan, but he realized that this was the only way to get the relic to Ironwood.

- Fine but I want a luxurious cage for the trip.


Thank you for reading. Please sign it to follow and as favourite and don't forget to write reviews.