Ruby and Weiss looked at the paper in front of them and then looked at Creed. He rubbed his face then sighed as he bounced his leg up and down. They were in the conference room and the door opened. Yang walked inside and her eyes widened before a happy expression slid across her face.

"Now that Xiao Long is here. We can begin." He said.

"What's this about?" Yang asked.

"The BSS has requested our help with the termination of an extremely dangerous Glowie. There will be BSS operatives in the area to collect samples and deliver a Killer Bee. Gears will be supporting this operation as well." He briefed.

The Killer Bee was a weapon that was absurdly dangerous. It was a bomb filled with potent toxins and chemicals that caused the individual caught in the area to suffocate, swell up, then explode in a gory fashion. The only upside of this was that it disappeared from the area after a few hours. Knowing how psychotic this weapon sounded and operated, it was most likely made from the Gears. However, the surprise came from discovering it was made by the BSS.

Yang immediately felt her mood drop when having to work with Gears. After practically being put on a leash because of them, she didn't necessarily have the best opinion of them. The ones she's met recently seemed to be more... unhinged in a sense. She loved fire, but this new group wore specialized armor that allowed them to withstand great amounts of heat. Their Scorchers were heavily modified to where the flames they spewed out could melt metal if the highest mode was set.

"How many Gears?" Weiss asked.

"Three." He said and they went quiet. Both mercenary companies usually sent five to six individuals on missions, and usually they worked together, so the number would be as high as twenty. Hearing that only three Gears meant either two things.

It was either the Obsidian and Onyx Guards, or the fanatical Gears. They didn't know which was worse. The fanatical ones were more unhinged than the normal gear. They were so loyal to Walker and the Gears that it made them fight at an unsettling degree.

Every kill they made up close in the name of Walker seemed to give them a small boost of strength. They were frighteningly zealous and it often disturbed some individuals. It made them seem like religious psychopaths rather than normal people. They thrived in close-quarters combat and often carried melee weapons such as machetes, Bowie Knives, and some even carried around cement saws repurposed for combat.

Creed then briefed them that this mission was extremely important, and that no matter how Yang felt, she was ordered not to cause any trouble. He even told her that he was going to send more qualified personnel, but all of them were resting and she was his last option.

She didn't know what was worse, that her commander basically had no faith in her or that she had to work with a group of chainsaw-wielding fanatics. Perhaps it was a little bit of both. The point still stands, but at least she got to go on a mission with her sister and Weiss. Sure they hung out after duty hours, but going on missions like these were different.

After giving them the brief, they left and walked through the building. They walked past a Gear who appeared to be new. He looked confused at where he was at. They could tell he was new because how much more skinny he appeared to be. Gears that have been in for several months were literal walking tanks half the time.

The girls had seen their average workout and even thought that it was ludicrous in several ways. Callisthenics were a big part, but also cardio and massive amounts of swimming then rucking. When Ruby asked why they worked out so hard, they would simply reply with their Basic Training was ten times as hard.

Walker put them through hellish training to get them prepared. He was training them for war, not a simple defense force. If one wanted to go through more specialized training, then the training was harsher. The Gears that told them had them added that it was worth it in the end because they got to go home to their families.

After Creed was done, he dismissed them and they left the room shortly after. The three of them talked with one another. It took a minute to get outside, but once they did, they just took in how much Beacon had changed.

This place had become a miniature city by itself and was often described as the last bastion of humanity. After the first attack, the defenses had been increased to the point where it could take a couple of mortar strikes before it cracked. A lot of money was spent on defensive measures, but the talk of expansion was making its way around Beacon's civilian population.

"What do you two think about reclaiming the territories?" Yang asked.

"I don't know. Wouldn't it be better if we just stayed here and defended?" Ruby asked.

"It's starting to get more crowded, Ruby. There's a lot of people that are still being found out there beyond the walls. Plus, if we don't do this, we're going to run out of food and other supplies to accommodate everyone." Weiss explained.

The three went silent as they thought about their circumstances. What was once a bright place of hopes and dreams turned to nothing but a condensed location of slight depression and little hope. Really the only ones that seemed to be comfortable with their living situation was the Gears and BSS.

Neither factions revealed their locations to anyone, especially the Gears. While it did create a slight bridge of distrust, they were quick to defend their reasoning that people had big mouths and all it took was one person to slip up. Not a lot of people trusted that answer, but it was the truth. It stemmed from Walker's understanding that the Locust could find out if they had any information.

They stopped when they saw a large container being carried by a cargo Bullhead with a cog on the side. It hovered over the designated spot before being lowered onto the ground and the aerial vehicle landed on its spot. The container was opened and the girls breathed in relief at the sight of boxes of food.

Seafood provided the inhabitants of Beacon and the VDF a source of protein. The other source was pork and chicken, but they were rare. Very few people knew about the abundance of the mercenary companies resources, but a few council members argued they needed more. They seemed to be quickly reminded that the companies had people of their own to feed as well.

"They have grilled tuna!" Ruby said excitedly as she spotted a vendor. A flurry of rose petals was left in her wake as she zoomed up to the stand.

"How do you think she does it?" Weiss asked.

"What?" Yang turned to her and scratched her head.

"How do you think she remains optimistic despite everything that's happened so far?" Weiss clarified.

"She's always been like that. No matter how bad things seem to get, she always tackles it with a smile." Yang said.

"..." Weiss just stared as she watched Ruby hold up three fingers and wait for some tuna to be grilled.

"What brought this up?" Yang asked.

"Winter's not talking all that much. After she saw what the Locust did in their free time, she hasn't really spoken to anyone recently." Weiss said and a shadow came across her gaze. She herself was deeply disturbed at the sight and it was hard to try and clear it from her mind.

"What did they do?" Yang asked. The only missions she's been on recently is patrolling and the occasional Glowie nest clearing.

"It's better you don't know..." Weiss shook her head.

"If you say so." Yang shrugged and walked towards Ruby while Weiss just stayed in her place.

It was better to keep quiet about what happened on the island. So much death in one place and even more unnecessary torture in the complex. She knew the Locust were horrible beings, but this just made her realize how evil they were. It made sense as to why the Gears had such an obsession with exterminating them, especially Walker.

She reached in her pocket and grabbed her scroll, bringing it up to see several missed calls from her mom and brother. Yet, none from her father unsurprisingly. She saw the message that a deal had been made with the Gears to avoid having Whitely be conscripted. While she wasn't necessarily pleased about having him with the Gears, she knew it was better than this.

If she had her doubts, she'd request to speak with Walker. It may take a while, but she'd eventually get in contact with him to discuss some things.

"Weiss! Come get your grilled tuna!" Ruby's voice called out and snapped her out of her thoughts. She shook her head and walked up to her and Yang.

Better to live in the moment now.


Several BSS, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang waited idly at a clearing in the Vale wilderness. It was several miles away from Beacon, and they were waiting for the Gears to arrive. They were rarely ever tardy and if they were, there was a good reason why.

Everyone looked up when they saw a heavily modified Drop ship hover over them. The doors opened and three heavily armored Gears jumped out, landing on the ground with a loud thump.

One of them carried a standard issue Mk. 2 Lancer with a Gnasher and a Snub. His melee weapon of choice was a blade that was three feet long and serrated. The second one wore a specialized suit of armor with a hooded cloak while welding a Longshot. The last one however was what drew eyes. A heavily modified Boltok in his left hand and a large hammer in his right. It crackled with power and his armor had small thrusters on the back. He appeared larger than most of them by at least a foot.

"Drop complete, commander." One of them said. As soon as he finished that the radio crackled for everyone.

"Good. Make your way to the nearby fueling station and get it up and running on the way to your destination. This will be crucial to keeping our vehicles full." Walker ordered and the radio went silent shortly after.

The Gears began to move quickly down a small slope, with the girls and BSS following them. Their strides were long and they surprisingly moved faster with each step.

"Lord Ronin seems to be in better spirits recently." The sniper Gear said. It was hard to say where he was from by his accent.

"It is due to him resting and not being on the battlefield for once." The Hammer Gear said as he continued to run alongside his two companions.

They all stopped when they saw an even larger open area with a large boulder in the center. On both sides of the boulder were infected Wretches. The vile beasts salivated over a corpse before spotting the group and screeching at them. They all raised their weapons as a small horde clambered over one another from a nearby ridge.

Bullets were fired into the horde and killed several of them within the first few seconds of them approaching. The BSS spread out to the right and left side, providing covering fire from a distance. The girls remained back a bit, killing the Glowies that were firing recklessly from the top of the ridge.

Ruby aimed her weapon at a Kantus Glowie and was about to squeeze the trigger before watching its head explode in a shower of gore. She turned her head to see the Gear with a sniper up in one of the trees picking off enemies from a distance. He practically blended in with the leaves and had she not looked closely, she wouldn't have seen him.

The Gear with the hammer drew a majority of the horde's attention. Each swing of his hammer crushed bones to dust and caved bodies into mush. An infected Wretch lunged at him, but he caught it by its arm and swung it into the ground with an unsettling amount of force. Its body was reduced to a blackish, red paste on the ground and he went back to swinging his weapon.

The Gear with the Lancer fired into another wave of Glowies and had to jump back a bit when an infected Faunus jumped at him, swinging a metal pipe that was fused to her arm. She swung again and he parried it with his blade; the force he dished out knocked her around a bit. That was all he needed before he flipped his blade around and stabbed it into her throat. He ripped it out before stabbing it into her torso and dragging down.

He gave a brief laugh before grabbing the back of her neck and throwing her to the side without a care in the world. He turned to his right to see an infected Grenadier rush at a BSS member; his Snub was brought out with his left hand and he shot the Grenadier instantly in the side of the head.

The BSS gave an appreciative nod before firing at another infected. The horde thinned out and only a few stragglers remained. One of them was picked off by the sniper and some of the others were killed by the BSS. The Hammer Gear headbutted one and gripped its head before squeezing tightly. The infected clawed at his armored forearms before suddenly going limp when he crushed its head like a grape.

A brutal display of violence that disturbed a few of the others. He twirled his hammer in his hand to flick away some of the blood before regrouping with the others. There was a trail to their right that they took, idly looking out for anymore threats.

"Brother, do you want to have a competition for this mission?" The Hammer Gear asked.

"A competition? What are the stakes?" The Sniper asked.

"The loser has to pay for the winner's upgrades." The Hammer Gear answered.

"Oh?" The Sniper raised an eyebrow in slight amusement.

"What do you say, brother? Care to see who can kill more Glowies?" The Hammer Gear asked as he continued to travel with the others.

"Deal " The Sniper nodded.

"Lord Ronin would not approve of your bloodthirsty behavior." The Lancer Gear admonished.

"Lord Ronin himself laughs in the face of death and slaughter. You have not seen it yet." The Hammer Gear countered easily.

"He's right, brother. It is an honor to fight by his side and even he seems to take pleasure in the death of the Locust." The Sniper said.

"I haven't had the chance to fight by his side yet." The Lancer Gear commented.

While the three were having a conversation with one another, the others remained quiet for the most part. It was different being on a mission with these three compared to the normal Gear. Whereas the normal Gears largely remained laser focused when completing tasks, these three talked in a relaxed, yet archaic manner. It made the others realize that not every Gear was the same.

There was no doubt about it that they were skilled. Usually Gears shunned melee weapons, but there were a few exceptions for certain individuals. They had to go through extensive training to even be considered eligible for this. These Gears often sought a challenge after being on so many missions.

Yang herself was the same way, but she realized that her style was better for Grimm that weren't infected or thugs. She missed the rush of hand to hand, but Creed had made it clear that her style did more harm than good.

"What's up with the whole lord thing? He's a commander, not a ruler." Yang commented. The others quickly glanced at her and mentally facepalmed at her comment, but to their surprise, one of the Gears laughed.

Speaking ill of Walker in the presence of the fanatical Gears was an easy way for a brawl to start. Luckily, this bunch seemed rather friendly to their comrades.

"He is though. Lord Commander rules over our home; although harsh in some cases, he is largely fair and just." He said.

"How come you guys can use melee weapons like that, I thought things like that were largely frowned upon?" A BSS operator asked.

"Lord Ronin has given very few individuals the honor of wielding what the Brothers crafted for him." The Hammer Gear answered.

"So that is technically the Commander's?" She asked.

"Aye. A weapon that is able to crack the armor of a Berserker with one swing. He has entrusted me with his prized weapon for this." He answered.

The closer one looked, the more they saw the carefully designed hammer that was masterfully crafted with utmost love. Even from a distance, they could tell it hummed with power to potentially punch a hole in the hull of a Centaur Tank. It made the girls realize that the Brothers could've crafted Huntsmen and Huntresses nearly unstoppable weapons and armor, yet they were working for a mercenary company.

"How much for one of the Brothers' master- crafted knives?" A BSS operator asked.

"Thousands. It is expensive but their weapons have saved the lives of many. They truly are remarkable in their craft." The Lancer Gear praised.

"They don't seem to like us very much." Weiss said.

"Tragic." One of the Gears responded calmly and kept going down the slope. They eventually came across a little refueling station but it was already destroyed. There was still fuel nearby though.

"Lord Commander, the fueling station is already destroyed. There are some tanks of fuel nearby though." The Lancer Gear informed.

"Mark it for retrieval for later use." Walker ordered.

"Acknowledged." The Gear responded and reached behind him, grabbing several little devices and sticking them to the underside of the tanks.

"Fuel tanks marked for retrieval, proceeding to settlement." A Gear said.

The settlement was in sight and as they got closer, they could faintly hear an unsettling noise. A pained noise of a creature suffering from a man-made weapon.

"I can hear the Glowie's abominable maw going to work." The Hammer Gear said.

The BSS went around the wall of the settlement to plant the Killer Bee bomb towards the heart of the nest. While they did that, the Gears and Ruby along with the other two would attract the target's main attention and kill it.

The six of them entered through the front entrance to see a giant Glowie in the center of town. It circled around a fountain in the middle and constantly salivated all over the place.

It stood on two muscular legs but had a hunchback appearance with multiple limbs sticking out of its back. Nearly thirteen feet in height, even while slouched over. Two large arms on the sides that were nothing but blades fused into them from Butcher cleavers. A spiked, muscular tail swung around erratically. Its head was the worst sight to look at. Multiple people had been fused into it and its lower jaw split in two ways, revealing a large, barbed tongue.

It was an unsettling abomination that had grown into a walking, armored tank from fusing multiple poor souls into it. Agonized moans could be heard from its back and the girls paled when they saw multiple people melted into it. A horrible sight that would make any lesser person run at the sight of it.

"What an unsightly abomination." One of the Gears muttered.

"What the hell is that?" Yang gestured.

"It's the target." Walker answered.

"We're supposed to kill that thing with these peashooters? Give us some real firepower or we're going to be sitting ducks." She shouted.

"Kill it or don't bother coming back." He said in a dark tone. That made her and the other two freeze momentarily at his words.

"It is best you don't disobey his words, girl. He is not one to go back on them." The Sniper warned as he quickly dashed to the side and quickly scaled one of the buildings.

An earsplitting mixture of a roar and a screech made them wince as the Glowie abomination spotted them. Its legs bulged grotesquely as it sped towards them at the speed of a train. They dodged to the sides as it crashed into a nearby car and flattened it with ease. It turned around and crossed its bladed arms over its face as they fired into it.

Their bullets bounced off its tough skin and Yang frowned at their seemingly hopeless situation. Just before it could charge them again, it stumbled and shrieked in pain when it was shot in the back. It turned around to the direction it took damage from and the others saw a weak point.

They began to fire at its weak point, causing it to shrink in pain some more before whipping around in their direction. It bent down and a thick plate of armor covered its weak point but opened up a section in its front. There were three holes in the gap and they began to fire a mixture of crystals and bone fragments towards them.

The five of them dodged out of the way and had to dive away further when the bone crystal clumps exploded near them. It shrieked before leaping at one of them, forcing them to dodge out of the way once more.

It gave a bloodcurdling roar as it charged at them like an angry bull, jumping up in the air at the last second and crashing down like a missile. A shockwave was left in its wake and it rapidly swiped its large, bladed arms at them with reckless abandon. Each swing caused the air to swish and they could practically feel the power from a distance.

Weiss yelped when its eyes glowed red and it honed its sights on her, picking her as the target and speeding towards her. She managed to dodge it with some grace and watch as it slashed a wall apart with ease. Had she not been a Huntress-in-Training in the past, she would've been a mutilated mess on the ground.

More bullets bounced off its tough hide and it whirled around, gurgling grotesquely and opening its mouth to spit a wad of corrosive saliva at them. It landed on a nearby bike and melted it in seconds, making some of them gulp.

Just as it was about to spit another glob of acid at them, its lower jaw was shot off. A howl tore from its throat and it stumbled a bit. Yang was about to charge at it but was knocked on her back when it smashed into her, knocking her weapon out of her hands and the air from her lungs . As she looked up, a deep sense of dread filled her body when she saw more bodies fused into the underside of the monster. Multiple hands tried to grab onto her and tear her to shreds.

The sound of something charging was briefly heard before a sickening crack came after. The hammer smashed against the side of the abomination's head and knocked it to the side, making it stumble painfully. It whipped around and swiped at the Hammer Gear, but he ducked underneath it and swung the weapon into the side of its leg.

The bone snapped violently and the beast was knocked down as some shattered bone protruded from the skin. It shrieked in agony before swiping at him and knocking him into a nearby building. He shook his head before looking up and diving to his right when it barreled towards him.

A cloud of dust erupted and covered the area. It was silent for half a second before the abomination's form erratically limped out like a rabid animal. It howled in a horrid cacophony of tortured voices.

Ruby and Weiss focused fire on an exposed part before having to dive out of the way when it charged at them. It decided to continue to target Weiss when it realized that she was a slower target and kept trying to crush her to death. She panted harshly as she kept maneuvering out of the way, but each attack it threw at her, the closer it got to either cleaving her in two or shredding her to bloody ribbons.

Yang fired her shotgun at it, but it barely did anything against the front of it. She quickly dashed around it and fired at the exposed back, ripping chunks of necrotic-looking flesh out and causing the monster to howl in agony. Her shotgun was lowered slightly and she flinched in slight horror when dozens of eyes from limp bodies suddenly slid in her direction. Each one looked dead and was slightly cloudy, but just the mere sight of all of them was disturbing.

One of the fused bodies slid onto the ground wetly and she panicked slightly when she saw it was a child. Its slightly distorted voice let out a bloodcurdling screech as it wildly crawled towards her. Upon instinct, she dropped her weapon and caught it when it lunged at her, holding it away from her at arm's length while it snapped violently at her.

A barbed tongue whipped out and lashed at her erratically. She kept moving her head to the side to avoid it, but the tip slashed her cheek painfully. Her eyes widened when she realized it cut through her aura somehow. The infected child continued to shriek loudly in her face and snapped its mutated jaws at her. Saliva flew on her armor and she slowly started to lose strength.

She let out a scream and threw the little mutant away. It gave a small yelp and a moment of clarity reached its mind. It let out a little sob and she froze in her spot. There was a moment of slight horror that reached her soul and she was about to hesitantly reach out to help the kid before the infection took over again.

It screeched at her and lunged towards her with an open mouth of razor sharp teeth. A bullet caused its head to explode and some gore splattered against her armor and face. Her head shakily turned to the building to see the Sniper's Longshot smoking.

"Yang!" Ruby cried out and activated her Semblance.

Yang barely had time to react before an overwhelming force slammed into her, taking every ounce of oxygen from her system. She felt her aura break from the initial impact and her lungs constrict painfully. It was like someone crashed a train into her and proceeded to carry her to a cliff and throw her off.

The Glowie abomination, despite having a broken leg, managed to use one of the fused bodies as a distraction against her. It slammed her into the side of a truck and raised one of its bladed arms at her. Her body was in so much pain that breathing felt like an impossible task. Just before it could slice her in two, the arm was blown off at the joint.

Dark red blood sprayed in the air like a geyser and it shrieked in agony before flailing around when something climbed on its back.

The Hammer Gear stumbled as he held on tightly with one hand and the weapon in the other. He grabbed his Boltok and aimed at the nape of the creature's neck. He fired three times, ripping off large, muscular chunks of flesh and causing the Glowie's resistance to dwindle considerably. It let out more agonized shrieks and he grabbed its head with both hands, maneuvering his body around to face it and the thrusters on his back activated. This allowed him to drag the massive abomination towards the ground.

With its head still in his hands, he slammed it onto the concrete before hoisting up its head and slamming his knee into it. Each strike cracked a bit of its armor and he did this several times. He jumped back when it slashed at him before grabbing the Hammer and charging it up. He spun around to build up momentum before he slammed it down with a shout of effort.

A shower of gore splattered all over the area as its head practically exploded from the impact. The rest of the body went limp and it gave a few twitches before forever going still.

All went quiet and he breathed in relief before looking around the area. The other two Gears approached him and looked at the Glowie champion's corpse. They turned when they heard Yang cough in agony as Ruby and Weiss tended to her. Her aura soaked up a majority of the damage, and did its job at keeping her from having any ruptured organs or life threatening injuries. However, she was still injured, more than she's ever been before.

"Lord Ronin. The target is dead." He informed.

"Good. An excellent display of violence. Secure the area and wait for the BSS to deploy the Killer Bee and rendezvous at the extraction point." Walker ordered.

"Acknowledged." The Hammer Gear said.

"Xiao Long." Walker called out.

"Commander, we need to abort this-" Ruby started.

"Choose your next words carefully, Rose." He warned and she immediately clamped her mouth shut.

"She has taken a hit from the abomination, my lord. It seems her aura has taken the brunt of the damage though." The Lancer Gear informed.

"Nothing is broken, Xiao Long. Get up." Walker ordered.

"You take a hit from that thing and get back up. I'd like to see you try and do this crap." She wheezed out.

"Get... up... now..." He said lowly. There was a shift in his tone and it actually made her flinch and shakily stand to her feet. Everything hurt and she felt like moving would kill her.

"Yang, don't push yourself too hard." Ruby said.

"Ozpin recommended you and I'm taking a chance with this. We have time to reclaim settlements and I'm not going to waste a second of it. Now get up and continue on with the mission." He ordered and everything went silent.

"Come. Feel proud about yourselves. You've killed a champion! Now onto more!" The Hammer Gear said as he gave a hearty laugh and gave each one of them a rough pat on the shoulder.

The other two Gears followed the larger man towards the sound of sudden gunfire. The girls just quietly watched the three rush off towards the source of the carnage to an almost fanatical degree. They were eager to cause the destruction of humanity's foes and that kind of behavior wasn't normal.

"Freaking psychos..." Yang wheezed out as she limped alongside the other two. If this was what Gears went through on a daily basis, no wonder people often spoke so highly of them.

This was a living nightmare, but to some of the more deranged individuals, it was a dream.


"I told you to dress yourself in the right clothing for that exercise." Walker said as he fixed some soup. A few sniffles were heard and he just sighed underneath his breath before stuffing his hand in his pocket. The stirring of the spoon made a dull noise inside the pot.

Red sat on the couch wrapped up in a thick blanket. Her face was the same color as her nickname and she sneezed once. She had been conducting an exercise to train more marksmen and decided to do it while there was a storm going on. On the bright side, the group now knew how to deal with the condition and adjust accordingly; the downside was that she ended up catching a cold.

He tasted the soup and decided that it was good enough. He poured some of it in a bowl and grabbed a spoon, putting it in and carrying it over to the couch. The cushion compressed a bit as he sat down.

A notification on his C-Droid made him look at it to see that the settlement was captured recently. This put him in a good mood because it was the first step to the Reclamation movement. Not only did it open up more room for people, it allowed them to have more resources. He immediately sent the order to have a couple hundred construction bots to start building the walls connecting it to Beacon.

"You don't have to..." Red sniffled as she grabbed the bowl. It shook as soon as her hands wrapped around it and she sneezed. Luckily, she didn't end up spilling any of it.

"You can't even hold the bowl still." He said as he grabbed it from her hands. His helmet was taken off and set on the table. He scooped some of the soup onto the spoon and blew it a few times.

She just watched as he cooled it down for her and held it up. Her mouth opened and she ate some of it. The soup was salty, but not too salty to where it upset her stomach. It wasn't the best, but it wasn't even close to being gross at all.

It just felt right...

She wondered why he put up with her at certain times. Those times when she acted stubborn or was being clingy. He took care of her and Blake whenever they got sick, he listened to them in silence when they needed to vent and simply needed an open ear, even to help them deal with the death of their comrades.

Walker was always there. He helped Jaune as well despite the blonde's idiotic nature sometimes. It made her wonder why he spent so much time and effort on them despite them breaking his trust in Atlas.

"Why do you put up with me so much?" She asked in a congested tone.

"..." He just scooped another spoonful of soup and blew on it a few times, holding it up to her and watching as she ate it. The silence was comfortable and she was unsurprisingly tired.

"After breaking your trust, you still put up with me... why?" She asked and finished the soup. Her eyelids started to become slightly heavy and the pleasant smell of hickory and cinnamon entered her nostrils.

"..." He still didn't say anything and simply leaned her against his left shoulder after putting a small pillow on it. Her shivering stopped after a minute and he leaned back in his spot a bit.

"Walker?" She asked tiredly.

"I'm here." He reassured and that little bit was enough for her to finally let go and fall asleep. She was curled up in a ball and leaned against him in the blanket. While he usually let her sleep on the couch, he just decided not to move for once.

It was silent for several minutes before the door opened up and Blake slid inside with Amiya on her hip. They spotted Red and him on the couch and Walker made a shushing gesture to Amiya before she could greet him loudly. She was always so excited to see him and it usually made his day a bit brighter.

"I thought Jaune was here?" Blake looked around.

"He went to go pick up some medication." He answered.

"Baba. Here you go." Amiya said as she waddled up to him and clumsily showed him some art. It was some macaroni art and while he usually wasn't one to waste food for something so trivial, Amiya seemed so proud of it and he accepted it.

"Did you make this?" He asked as he flipped it around and pointed at it.

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Who's that?" He asked.

"It's baba." She answered and pointed at the odd shape with blue painted macaroni on it.

"Well how about that?" He chuckled and gently placed Red's head against the couch before taking the artwork and grabbing a frame. He took out one of the certificates of his he earned recently and slid her art in carefully.

Amiya beamed proudly seeing her art in the frame and scampered off into her room to grab some toys. Walker just sat back down on the couch and leaned Red against him again.

"That was sweet." Blake commented.

"What was?" He asked.

"This." She said as she lifted the framed macaroni art and gestured to it.

"It's nothing." He shook his head and rubbed his face.

Blake couldn't help but shake her head and give a small smile. If there was one thing she knew Walker cherished dearly, it was Amiya. Whenever he was in one of his moods, he always forced it down to give Amiya a smile or two whenever he had his helmet off. Despite him not wanting to be referred to as a dad, Walker was still one in her eyes.

He took the time out of his day to spend time with a little Faunus that wasn't even his own flesh and blood. That didn't matter though because he didn't care. If anything, Amiya probably wouldn't see anyone else but him as her dad.

She sat down to his right and glanced at Red. She looked so comfortable and a part of her felt jealous at the sight.

"Where's your spare blanket?" She asked.

"Blake, you have an entire apartment to yourself. I know you have blankets." He said.

"Oh come on. Those aren't as comfortable as the ones you have." She whined.

"You and Red steal my shirts all the time, eat my food, and sleep in my apartment. The least you can do is use your own blanket." He said easily.

"You're no fun..." She clicked her tongue and stood up. She left the apartment for a few minutes before returning and seeing Amiya in her spot on the couch.

She couldn't even get mad at her and had to bite back a laugh when she leaned over the side, only for Walker to grab her at the last second before she fell. The toddler hung upside down as she was held by her leg then set gently on the couch.

"Dammit." He sighed.

"Dammit." Amiya repeated.

"Amiya, no." Walker and Blake responded at the same time. Their voices meshed together and the toddler just looked at the two of them, looking at their faces and realizing that it wasn't a word she should be saying.

Blake picked her up and spun around with her before plopping down on the couch with her on her lap. They were wrapped in a black and dark purple blanket, staring at the screen.

A movie was put on, something that was appropriate for Amiya, who had seen it dozens of times, but was entertaining enough for the other two to enjoy as well. Red had adjusted herself and briefly woke up before realizing where she was and falling back asleep shortly after. Usually she slept on her side or back but her nose was clogged and simply sleeping against him seemed to allow her to breath somewhat normally.

There was a knock on the door and Blake set Amiya down before peeking through the peephole, seeing that it was Jaune. She unlocked the door and opened it for him before tiptoeing her way back to her spot. She wormed her way back in and snuggled with Amiya once more.

"Jeez, don't you guys look like a happy, little family." Jaune commented.

"Hilarious... did you pick up the medicine and things I requested?" Walker asked.

"The medicine, yeah. The items you wanted, no." Jaune answered as he took out the medicine and tossed it to Walker.

"Catherine, wake up." Walker said as he shook Red slightly. She stirred in her sleep and slowly woke up, glaring at him tiredly before spotting the medicine.

"You're lucky I don't mind you using my real name." She huffed in a congested voice.

"Yeah, yeah..." He dismissed and opened the bottle, pouring in the necessary amount into the cap and setting the bottle down.

"That smells like shit." She murmured.

"Stop cussing in front of Amiya." He said instantly and held the cap up to her lips.

She frowned and slowly drank the medicine, gagging as it went down before handing it back to him. Once he finished putting it back on, she leaned against his shoulder and closed her eyes again.

"Shut up, Jaune." She said.

"I didn't even say anything yet." He protested and held his hands up defensively.

"You were about to." She responded.

"Stop arguing, you're ruining the movie for Amiya." Walker cut in.

"Walker, she's asleep." Blake said and he looked over to see the toddler sleeping against Blake's chest. The movie ended up being paused for a second and Amiya adjusted her head a bit, rubbing her face in Blake's shirt before going still again.

The moment wasn't enjoyed very long before his scroll buzzed and he looked at it. He saw who was calling and frowned then answered it.

He listened to the other person for several seconds before standing up and walking to the other room. The others couldn't hear anything for several minutes before they heard him suddenly raise his voice a bit. It was clear he was angry but trying to keep himself in check to avoid waking Amiya up. From what they gathered, he was needed on the mainland yet again, but this time it was an emergency.

He hung up and stormed back into the living room, stressfully rubbing his face. None of the other three said anything. Just before he could say anything, Red leaned against his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"How long will you be gone?" She asked.

"Hopefully nothing more than a week." He sighed.

"Do you want us to come?" Blake asked quietly.

"Not this time." He shook his head.

"What's it about?" Jaune asked.

"Ozpin needs to talk about something." Walker sighed.

"Why couldn't it be discussed over the scroll or email?" Blake asked.

"Because he's a manipulative, senile old man." He shook his head.

"Is it related to that Amber girl?" Jaune asked.

"He says it's related to the Locust but I have my doubts." Walker said.

"When are you leaving?" Red asked.

"In a couple days. Amiya has that play and I'm not going to miss it." He said.

She hummed and got in a slightly more comfortable position. His natural scent was one she seemed to remember the best; it was a weird thing to some but to her, it was normal. She could always tell he was nearby just by that mixture of hickory and cinnamon scent alone.

"..." Blake just looked at him and he knew she wasn't happy. Her displeasure wasn't directed at him, but more or less the fact that he was being called back after just returning so recently from the mainland. She wasn't one to shy away from being out on the field but Walker's desire to fight on the frontline wasn't something to not worry about.

"I know you're worried, but I'll be okay." He reassured.

"There's always the chance that you could get hurt. I'm always going to worry." She responded.

"This ain't my first rodeo. I'll be come back fine." He said as he glanced at her.

That saying he always told her made more sense now. It filled her with some comfort but not much. She knew that he would come back, he always did, but the thought of him in the hospital or that damned life support pod filled her with dread. The one person who was so strong, yet had the greatest chance of dying just filled her with worry. He had no Aura or Semblance to give him an edge over their enemies.

All he had was his iron will, intelligence, and grit.

"I can come with you if needed." Red sniffled before sneezing.

"You're sick and just got back. I'll be fine." He said and gave her a few reassuring pats.

"I'll keep him out of trouble." Jaune held up two fingers and played on his scroll.

Walker was about to say something but decided not to. It was best to just enjoy this right now before he had to leave yet again.

When he looked around, he saw them look content despite their current situation and the status of the war. Blake looked at peace with Amiya, running her fingers through her hair, Jaune looked content playing on his scroll, and Red looked like she was the most comfortable person in the world leaning against him.

These were the faces he wanted to see when he got back. These three were the ones he'd tell first about Sera...


Hello and here's another chapter for you all. Thanks for reading the story so far. I don't really have much to say except for a few things.

To the guest who asked how Basic was for me, it was alright. I've had harder so it didn't really break me like some others, just gave me a new perspective on a lot of things in life. I'm working on WTWA so a new chapter will be coming sooner or later.

Anyways, thanks for reading and I'll see you next time.