NOTE:

To start with, thanks to everyone who read the first chapter and to those who left comments/reviews. To start with, there's not really a timeline I can remember properly for how long is between the Breach and the start of the tournament so I'll be taking liberties with that.

I also want to thank the guest who left the review about how Ozpin was going to be involved with two Great Ones, I.E. the brothers. While that was never the intention and it was supposed to be the 'godly' feel his soul would have after Light gave him his immortality the Doll spoke of. However, I really like that idea instead so it's now a part of the story. Congrats m8.
Finally, note at the end with an update to the items Cazador has since I've decided on better combos fitting the new Hunter of The Dream. There will also be explanations about why this took so long for this chapter.

Anyway onto the chapter!

It was a few days after the Breach and many of the teams in Beacon, both Vale students and teams visiting for the Vytal Festival, were talking about it. It was a massive move on the White Fang's side and something the officials just couldn't ignore.

Due to the breach, the Vytal festival was forced to be pushed back to allow not only the time to repair the plaza and all other buildings that were affected but also to tend to those who had been injured in the attack. Alongside this, the teams that had assisted in the breach had been allowed a week's rest from classes so they could recover. There would also be a city-wide procession for those who had died in the attack.
However, that's not the focus as of yet. At the top of the Beacon Tower, a very important meeting had just finished as the morning sun began peeking over the horizon.

"I'll be sure to let you know of any upcoming meetings of this…nature. Until then, feel free to roam the school grounds." Ozpin says as he leans back in his chair, mentally and physically exhausted. "I'll set up a room for you to remain in as you please." He offers.

"We thank you for your kind words. We hope to see you soon Old One." The doll says before she and Cazador disappear from view. Even with his magic, what little of it remained, he could not feel their presence any longer.

Now alone, Ozpin lets out a weary sigh as he thinks back on the conversation and revelations he had gone through. To think that the Brother Gods were not alone. That they were part of a race of beings so above humanity… and that he had become the unwitting child of one.

It made sense, now that Ozpin thought of it. Before they left, they had hundreds of thousands of 'children' in the form of his people worshipping them. However, after their fight and consequential leaving, they were left with none. That did raise another question: If Ozpin was the Light Brother's child, was it safe to assume the Dark Brother took Salem as his?

All these years thinking he was blessed, or cursed rather, to be the savior of this world only to find out he was just the undying surrogate of a 'Great One'. It was disheartening, to say the least.
Ozpin stands up and walks to the window behind him, looking out over both the Beacon grounds and the city of Vale. He often did this when he was feeling conflicted about his mission. It helped to see just how far people have come over the centuries.

With a deep breath, Ozpin calms his mind before sighing and nodding to himself. Yes, perhaps his mission, however self-appointed it is, was not a waste.

-=OuO=-

Ruby let out a yawn as she and her team, her sisters in arms to be honest, walked around Beacon. They had just come from the cafeteria and were walking around for something to do. Yang, like her, was yawning. Weiss was all prim and proper as usual, though Ruby knew she secretly hated being up so early, and Blake was, as usual, reading her book.

Ruby looks around them to try to sate her boredom. Usually, she would hang out with Jaune, or Team Juniper if the other were joining her, but they were doing team training so that was a no-go. As Ruby looks around at the other teams, mentally squealing about the cool weapons she spots, she soon sees a shocking sight.

"Oh my gods!" She gasps with wide eyes as she spots a familiar woman. Even as she hears her team ask what happened, she rushes forward to the pair she spotted while leaving a trail of rose petals in her wake. "You're the huntsman from last night!" She says as she arrives in front of the two only to yelp as she dodges a bullet to the face.

Looking between the man, who looks surprisingly young with how skillful he seemed, to the long pistol in his hand, Ruby puts her hands up in surrender. "Wait wait wait wait! Friendly!" She says with a small nervous laugh.

The woman with white hair, which reminds her a lot of Weiss', softly giggles before placing a hand on the man's gun and pushing it down. "I apologize for that young one, the Good Hunter does not like surprises." She says while turning to Ruby. She was super pretty and looked like she could fit in with Weiss' family. The white hair, pale skin, and almost regal look she had to her, it was stunning.

"Ah, no it's my bad. I'm sorry for spooking you." Ruby says with a small laugh while rubbing the back of her head. "Maybe we can try again? I'm Ruby, theader of Team RWBY!" She says proudly. Ha! Take that, Yang. She was plenty confident now.

The man tilts his head with an arched eyebrow. "You're name is Ruby and your team is called Ruby?" He says confused. That made Ruby jolt before giggling in embarrassment.

"It's an acronym. R-W-B-Y, RWBY. It's the first letters of my-" Ruby starts to explain but she isn't able to get far as her team arrives, cutting her off.

"Hey! What's the big idea, shooting at my sister?" Yang asks angrily as she walks up to the boy while Weiss tries to stop her, though Ruby can see the heiress is peeved as well.

The boy, and it's now Ruby realized she hadn't gotten his name, looked down to meet Yang's fiery red eyes and frowned.

"I'm not to blame. She startled me and I reacted." He says, his voice a bit scratchy and hoarse. It wasn't like Uncle Qrow's voice was from alcohol but instead, it was like when her dad would wake up with a dry throat.

Unfortunately, Yang doesn't seem to enjoy that answer and Ruby swears she can hear her sister's teeth grinding together. Thankfully, Weiss is here to save the day.

"Perhaps we can start again, as Ruby seems fine and he has not made any actions towards us. Ok?" The short girl says as she manages to push Yang back near Blake who had closed her book and was looking the duo over.

With Yang calming down, though still glaring at the boy, Weiss clears her throat. "I apologize for my teammates Mr…" Weiss says, only to trail off awkwardly as she realizes they didn't know his name.

The boy looks between the four before looking at the woman. She smiles and nods, causing the boy to sigh before speaking. "My name is Cazador." He says, making the woman smile happily, like a parent seeing her anti-social son make friends.

Gods it was weird seeing this from the outside.

"Well I'm Ruby, like I said before," Ruby says as she hops back into the conversation. "This is Weiss, Yang, and Blake!" She continued, introducing each girl while pointing at each one when she said their name. "And you're Cazador and…" Ruby said before trailing off like Weiss had because they didn't know the woman's name. Gah! How can this happen twice?!

Cazador seems to realize that as well as his eyes widen a bit before he looks between them and the woman. He then clears his throat before speaking, not that it helps his voice. "Her name is…Maria." He says, wincing a bit as he says her name. Maybe his throat hurts a lot from the talking?

"Well, nice to meet you both," Weiss says, drawing Ruby from her thoughts. "And I apologize again for these two. They can be…less than cordial." She said, earning a 'Hey!' from Yang. "We were walking along the campus and wondering if you'd like to join us."

Ruby looks at Weiss confused since, while Ruby was going to invite them, it wasn't the initial plan.

"We would be delighted." Maria says as she smiles and gives a small bow to the four while Cazador gives a small grunt but nods.

With the acceptance, Ruby smiles. "Alright! Let's go!" She says while leading Team RWBY 2 on their journey through Beacon's grounds. They traveled for a bit in silence before Weiss broke it.
"So, if you don't mind, who are you two?" Weiss asks as she looks up at the two, causing a bead of sweat to run down her temple. To be honest, Ruby had wondered the same but thinks it could have been asked better.

Cazador looks down at the heiress before humming. "I'm Ozpin's nephew." He says simply. *That* gets everyone's attention.

"Really? Then how did Ms. Goodwitch not recognize you?" She asks with skepticism which earned her a small slap to the arm from Yang. The two glare at each other for different reasons while Cazador answers once more.

"We've never met." He says. At his lackluster answer, Maria continues for him. "It was decided that he would remain separate and hidden due to the attention his lineage could garner. Therefore he was never known about." She says, earning a confirmation hum from Cazador.

Ruby lets out a realized 'Oh' before she looks Cazador over. "So…you use a scythe too?" She says with a smile while moving closer. She was sure Yang would tease her for it later but since the only scythe users she knew were herself and Uncle Qrow, Ruby was excited to know about how he fought.

Cazador pauses for a moment before nodding. "I do. As do you if I remember correctly." He says as he looks down. Nodding excitedly, Ruby stops, causing the others to do the same, before pulling out Crescent Rose.

"Yup! This is my baby Crescent Rose." Ruby says with no small amount of pride in her voice. "She's a scythe, customizable high-impact sniper rifle, and can easily fold up into a compact form for easy carrying." She explains while her massive mecha-shift scythe slams down onto the ground much like when she showed it off to Jaune at the start of the year.

Ruby sees Maria and Cazador look over her baby and feels her smile grow in rising pride, "It's shit." Only to have Cazador send her tumbling down into despair.

"What? How can she be bad?!" Ruby asks as she pulls Crescent Rose close and hugs her beloved weapon.

Cazador opens his mouth to speak but Maria puts a hand on his shoulder and steps in. "He merely means he finds such… eccentricities to be un-needed." She says diplomatically. Cazador hums but nods in agreement.
"Yes. I don't understand why you would put a gun in your melee weapon. For a scythe, you need to be able to swing it fast and with dexterity. Adding unnecessary weight would cause it to lose one of its core aspects." He explains. "Though I do agree that the compact mode is handy." He adds, trying to be a bit more friendly.

Ruby gets where he's coming from but it still hurt a bit to hear her masterpiece be called 'redundant'. However, Weiss comes to her rescue by changing the topic.

"Forgive me if this is direct but, what is your relation to Maria?" She asks as she looks at the woman with a critical gaze. It seems Ruby wasn't the only one to think about how similar she was to Weiss' family.

"She is my most trusted friend." Cazador answers as he looks Weiss over. "Why?" He asks while meeting her eyes. It was then that Ruby also noticed how his eyes seemed reminiscent of Uncle Qrow's when he was really drunk. A sort of sad and firm look. It was gone fast though, to the point where Ruby wondered if she imagined it.

"Ah, my apologies but it just," Weiss says, biting her lip nervously before affirming herself. "I was wondering if you, Ms. Maria, happened to be a part of my family. You have a striking resemblance to the women in my family and was curious." She says, looking at the tall woman.

Maria tilts her head with a small laugh before shaking her head. "I am not, Young Child, I assure you." Maria says. A small but loud 'Snrk' catches everyone's attention and draws eyes to Cazador who's looking away with a hand over his mouth.

"Eh? What's so funny bird boy?" Yang asks as she grins and leans in. "You gonna let us in on the joke?" She asks.

Cazador looks back at them and quickly schools his expression before speaking. "Just imagining how her…progenitor would react to being part of your family." He says. Spotting Weiss' semi-insulted expression, he clarifies. "It's just that most of your family is more business-oriented from what I have seen-er, read while her…father was a hunter through and through. Didn't care much for people, just to kill beasts." He explains.
"Ah, I see. Thank you for the clarity." Weiss says as she looks away with some red on her cheeks, embarrassed from the small rant she was about to go on.

Ruby then looks back to Cazador and hums. "I still think Crescent Rose can beat you." She says confidently and with a large grin.

This earns an arched eyebrow from the tall male before he shrugs. "If you think so. We may find out at a later date." He says. "However, I'm unable to spar with you as my uncle doesn't want me 'showing off'." Cazador explains, shooting her an apologetic smile. "But I will be sitting in on combat lessons so perhaps I can see you prove how well your…Crescent Rose performs in action." He says, making Ruby smile and nod.

"You're on." Ruby says as she looks up to the headmaster's nephew who nods and heads over to join Maria. Ruby then looks at her team and sees Yang and Weiss speaking to Maria while Blake hangs back as usual. Unfortunately, her more antisocial teammate seems to be lost in thought. Ruby bites her lip, a bit worried for the hidden faunus. As the others descend into conversation, Ruby moves over to Blake and pokes her arm.

"You ok Blake?" The young leader asks as she looks up at Blake, said girl jolting at the sudden address.

Blake looks down at her and nods. "Yeah, I'm fine Ruby. Just thinking about stuff. Don't worry about it." She says.

It doesn't put Ruby at ease though, considering the last time Blake had troubled thoughts she dragged them into a fight through the city against an Atlas Palidin.

"If you say so." Ruby says before laying a hand on Blake's shoulder. "Just make sure to talk to us before you do something risky ok?" She asks.

Blake looks away at Ruby's request and she was worried Blake would refuse. That worry is dashed, however, when Blake looks back with a small smile.

"Of course Ruby." She says while patting Ruby's hand. "Now let's get back to the others before Yang talks our guest's ears off." Blake says, making Ruby realize they ended up coming to the Cafeteria again.

Ruby rushes off to join the others, leaving Blake to herself once more. She sighs and her ears flatten a bit behind her bow. "Sorry Ruby." She softly mutters while her gaze falls on Cazador, her amber eyes alight with confliction and determination.

-=OuO=-

It was an hour later when Blake confronted Cazador. The others were talking to Maria and Blake dragged the mystery man aside to pin him against a small alcove.

"Whose blood were you drenched in?" She demands while looking up into his eyes. Her amber sight met his duo-colored one as he looked her over.

"Why?" He asks, his blue eyes sharp as he meets Blake's gaze. While one eye was full and a deep but sharp blue, the other was pale and greyed out thanks to the injury the scar that cuts across it shows. However, even with it, both eyes were focused solely on her.

Biting the inside of her cheek, her mind rampant with thought. "I…I need to know." She says, taking a shaky breath. "And I need to know why."

Blake knew, or at least thought she knew, where the blood that covered him head to toe the night of the breach had come from but she needed confirmation. She needed to know why he had done what he did and if it was worth it.

For a moment, it seemed like he wouldn't answer her and Blake was ready to ask again but just as she opened her mouth, he spoke.

"It was from the ones that caused the attack and led the beasts to the city." He says, his raspy voice heavy with the finality of a man speaking of a corpse. "I killed those who thought to bring harm to the innocents of the city. They could not be reasoned with. If I did not act then they would have slaughtered the young and elderly, the sick, the disabled, and more." He continues, listing off his reasons for his actions.

Blake listens, but gods does she wish she didn't. She knew the White Fang. Her parents made it and she was there when it went from a peaceful protest group to a radical organization under Sienna's rule.

Logically she knew that things were bad. That's why she left in the first place. But to hear what would come from the members of the group she once called family? To see where it was going? It hurt and the thought of the atrocities that would have been committed made Blake sick in every single way.

She lets Cazador go and puts a hand over her mouth as she tries not to puke while she comes to terms with what the White Fang has become.

Blake's mind races as she stumbles back. Was Adam a part of this? Did he know what had happened? Blake wished he didn't. She wished that the boy she loved was unaware of the attack and was now trying to reign things in within the White Fang but she didn't know.

She knew that Adam was getting more reckless and extreme with things, coming to a head on the train, but a part of her hoped that he had seen sense. That he wasn't responsible for the Breach.

As Blake starts descending into her mind, a hand on her shoulder breaks her from her rapidly deteriorating worry. Her eyes, dilated to pinpricks as her breathing and panic grew, came up from the ground and stared at Cazador. The scarred man looked at her with an expression Blake couldn't quite describe.

"It was not your fault." He says gently, more than she thought he could. Blake gapes at him before letting out a small, broken laugh.

"Of course it is." She says, shrugging his hand off. "I just…" Blake continues before pausing and shaking her head. "I'm sorry. We barely know each other." She says, taking a deep breath while closing her eyes.

When she opens them, she looks up at Cazador with a firm look. "I'm sorry for being so…sudden with my questions but I needed to know." She says before walking off back to the others.

Cazador looks at the ravenette as she leaves before shaking his head. "Too much on her plate to be a good hunter." He mutters before following after her to rejoin the others as well

Hello everyone. I apologize so much for the long wait for this chapter but lots of IRL things have been weighing on my mind as well as me losing access to the site I used to watch RWBY. I suck at interpersonal interaction so this was kinda hard for me but hopefully, the next chapter is done sooner as well as longer than just a few thousand words.

Feel free to leave tips and tricks in the reviews and I apologize again for the long wait for a shitty chapter. Now here's the new list of items as well as a Lamp update.

Hunter Tools:

Slot 1: Numbing Mist

Slot 2: Poison Knives

Slot 3: Shaman Bone Blade

Slot 4: Bone Marrow Ash

Slot 5: Lead Elixer

Slot 6: Tiny Tonitrus

Current Lamp Locations:

Ozpin's office

Vale Plaza

Beacon Dorm

I have removed the Old Hunter's Bone as I've decided to let him have quickstep like Gherman and Maria do. Numbing mist is added since I have some ideas on how it interacts with Aura, and have removed the Madara's whistle because it's too circumstantial, especially in a show where nearly every fight is fast-paced which leaves few opportunities for the whistle to be used.

Hope y'all enjoyed the chapter, despite how short it was, and I hope to see you sooner than last time.