Larger Issues

AN: Sorry about the wait folks, life has been rather busy, especially with the weather being a little better for working outside. Lots of stuff needing to be done with family there. But yeah, this is a shorter chapter, shortest of this series at least so far. And a big thanks to anyone who faves and follows this series and/or my other works. Plus I got a pic of Raven and Vernal in their new outfits as described in chapter 1 over on my DA page. But enough talking from me, on with the show.

Winter Wonderland

Cinder clawed her way onto the bank of the stream, gasping for air.

During her escape from the cave with the Vault, as desperate as it was, she had been lucky enough to find an air pocket before being swept further down the underground stream. She had no idea which way she was going at any time as she tumbled in the water, doing everything in her power to focus on holding her breath and maintaining what little aura she had to shield her from being shredded by the rough walls of the tunnel.

And after what felt like hours, she emerged into an open area and fell into a stream outside of the cave.

She had no idea how long she lay there, barely having the strength to drag her body from the water. All she could tell was that it was dark, the sky illuminated by stars and the shattered moon. After being trapped in the cave for so long and with no idea how much time had passed, she could not help but marvel at the beauty of the sky above her. It gave her an appreciation for her own life to see it again.

"Madam? Are you alright?" A woman's voice asks, snapping Cinder back to reality

Opening her eye, Cinder found the woman nearby, looking hesitant to approach yet concerned. She wore a dark yellow robe with light brown edges.

But the expression lit a spark within Cinder. She did not want to be pitied. She did not want to be helped. If someone was doing something for her, it should be by her command.

Then the woman saw her exposed left arm. The Grimm arm.

The spike of fear in the woman gave the Dark Beast grafted to her strength. Strength that fanned her anger, turning the spark into a roaring fire in a second.

Before the woman knew it, her throat was slashed open as the black hand pulled her down. As quickly as she could, Cinder disrobed her and dressed herself, relishing not just the warmth that the robe provided but also the kill. It was just another time to prove that she had the power to live, to dominate, the refusal to ever give up and let another control her.

She felt no guilt from her action, simply making sure that what clothes were left on the woman were filled with stones before tossing her into the stream.

She found it convenient that the robe has a hood and the previous owner had a small wallet full of lien. Now she could get some food in herself and see about using what's left to get some information on what has happened since she was beaten.

—

In the port that served Mistral, things were winding down as the Grimm were dealt with through the combined forces of the Huntsmen, port guards, and Menagerie Militia.

Some of the Faunus could use their unique traits to help them in battle, such as Amelia, the pufferfish woman filling her stomach with several gallons of water before starting combat. While most would find that weighing oneself down with so much to be a detriment, she used it as a ready source to assist. She could use her stored water to spit a stream into eyes and mouths, either blinding the Grimm or making them choke on the unexpected liquid before Amelia or another would use the opening to dispatch the beasts.

Others would use any weapon they could get ahold of, sword, spear, or firearm, even the shields proved to be deadly to the Grimm when some of the Militia began crushing the beasts between them.

For a short time, it was a scene of chaos but the Grimm rarely encountered so much resistance to their attacks and had no leadership to direct them. As a result, they were halted and destroyed before any serious damage could occur to the port and injuries were kept minimal.

"What do you think caused that?" Kali asks as the trio of herself, Sienna, and Ilia returned to the ship as the rest of the Militia and port guards helped to clean things up so business could return to normal and the Huntsmen had set out to patrol a bit further away to look for any Grimm hanging back for an opportunistic moment.

"No idea, with Grimm it could have been simply for existing." Sienna shrugs.

"I may have an answer." Ghira states from the top of the gangplank where he was waiting for them. Silently, he beckoned them to follow to their room where he had previously left their belongings.

"You left our stuff here?" Ilia questions with a raised eyebrow.

"In the heat of the moment, yes. But it was when I returned to get Mufasa… I found a white Nevermore trying to take off with this." Ghira placed a hand on the lamp still attached to his waist.

"A white Grimm?" Sienna asks. The only one I know like that is the half of a King Taijitu."

"I came to the same conclusion… but there is what the others have said about this thing." Ghira trailed off, just in case there were others listening in.

"Then She was trying to get it." Kali states. "We should leave as soon as possible and lock it away in the Vault under Sirius."

"And we need to call the other teams." Ilia was openly worried. Not only was her girlfriend somewhere out in Anima trying to track down the guys who attacked Haven, but her best friend and her boyfriend were split up for their own missions. "They need to know to watch out for attacks."

"We'll make the call once we shove off. Spread the word to pick up the pace." Sienna orders.

—-

"That was crazy!" Reese was a little too excited, in a happy way, after Sun's last stunt to fight the Ravagers.

"It's no big deal." He tries to dismiss it.

"No big deal? You were riding that thing just to get up to the others!"

"And you couldn't do it?"

There was a moment of silence when the combined teams remembered that the skater girl was a fair bit heavier than the monkey. Nobody had the nerve to say it, though by now they had all largely forgotten about the girls' weights, not that the boys hadn't gained over the last year. The only real difference being how hard they were hit and how hard it was to lose it.

"Still, what was up with that weird Grimm?" Neptune diverts the conversation.

"What weird Grimm?" Arslan asks, her eyes narrowed as she couldn't remember anything but the bat-like Ravagers flying around and trying to carry off people.

"I was busy shooting at the bats so I didn't see it come up but Reese saw it checking this thing out." The blue-haired boy pats the Lamp attached to his belt. Sun stiffened at that, being the only one among this group who knew the full implications. "But she saw it pecking at it and shot the pest."

"Ha! No biggie!"

But Bolin saw Sun's reaction and could connect the dots- Grimm didn't attack until they had landed, a small, clearly specialized Grimm only having an interest in what they were charged with protecting, and Sun's seriousness about it… like he knew more than the others but it was a need to know basis only.

"We should call up the other teams and let them know to watch for Grimm attacks." Most of the others gave him questioning looks as it is their job to fight Grimm. "More than normal, I don't think this was a random attack." From the corner of his eye, he saw the blonde relax a little, letting him know that his thoughts were on the right track.

Still, as the team made their way to a small restaurant for shade and refreshments, the two staff wielders hung back a bit. "Sun, I don't know why this Relic is so important but the sooner we get it to Professor Theodore, the better."

"Yeah."

"Will you tell us why later?"

"If needed."

"But you are thinking that you'll have to?"

"Yeah…"

"Okay, I'll leave it at that but I'll take a guess that Professor Theodore knows why it's so important?"

"That and more."

"Alright, let's get something to drink and eat."

—

"Woo! I missed that kind of rush!" Tai cheers now that the battle is over as he emerges from one last portal on the ground.

"It has been a long time since we've done that one." Raven comments. "Honestly with as rusty as we are from not doing that in twenty years, I'm glad we don't have the full team or someone could of hit the ground."

They shared a moment of silence for Summer before Vernal caught up to them. "Everything here is taken care of." She reports casually. "But what was that!" She suddenly shouts as she points to the air where the fight had been taken to the Lancers.

"What? Our Portal Mayhem?" Tai grins. "Just a little something that we used to do back in the day."

"Really? 'Portal Mayhem'?"

"Hey, we were teens when we came up with the move. And you should have seen us use it as a full team if you thought it was nuts with just the two of us."

"Hmph, and don't forget that it relies on me to pull off." Raven smirks as she punches the blonde in the shoulder, lightly.

"How could I forget?"

"Raven!"

The woman whipped around to her large enforcer. "What's wrong, Tater?"

"A white Grimm. It went after the Relic."

"What?!" The three yelled together.

"Is the Relic safe?!" Raven asks as she didn't want to have it stolen from a former master bandit.

Tater reached behind his back and took the Lamp from his belt. "It's safe." Relief swept through the group at the sight.

"And the Grimm?" Vernal questions.

"It was a Nevermore. Small and white all over."

"'Was?' I assume it's dead now?"

"Yes."

Raven and Tai shared a look before glancing at their adopted daughter. "We need to move now. Get that thing to Glynda ASAP and warn the others that Salem is after the Relic." Tai declares as he marches back to the airship… only to find that Zwei was sleeping inside.

"You have got to be kidding me." Vernal facepalmed at the sight.

"Zwei… I know you're getting old but really?" The man pokes the snoozing corgi with his toes and he instantly picks his head up, ears swiveling as much as his neck to see the four humans looking down at him incredulously.

"Let's just go." Raven orders as Tai got ahold of the pilot. They were airborne a few minutes later.

—-

"How bad do you think it was back there?" Nora asks, not having to be specific for the rest of the team to know what she was referring to.

Pyrrha was the only one who had a clear view of what happened but even then all she had seen was the dining car exploding. But what she had seen, it hadn't been enough to outright destroy the cars that had been detached but just the one car. With any luck, they had drifted to a stop and would be following on foot soon.

"They will have no trouble, that I'm sure." Pyrrha tells her team.

"It's just the cold and the Grimm we have to worry about for our friends." Ren adds, keeping the team grounded.

"Should we try calling them?" Nora holds up her scroll, but looking at the holographic screen showed that they had no signal this deep into the mountains. "Oh."

Jaune saw the screen too. "We'll… we'll just have to try calling again once we get to Argus, maybe use their comm tower to boost the signal."

"Argus does have a military base, they regularly patrol the area." Pyrrha lends more information.

"Wait? Really?" Juane was surprised. "I guess Mistral does have a long reach then." Then he noticed the slightly uncomfortable look on his girlfriend. "What is it?"

"It's… not Mistral who runs the base there."

"But Argus is a Mistral Kingdom city, right?"

"It is… but Atlas runs the base there. It's… a holdover from the Great War where Mistral still runs the city but Atlas provides the protection with its military."

"But then we can just ask whoever is in charge there to send out a search party." Nora suggests.

"And inform the other teams to watch out for Grimm attacks." Ren crosses his arms. "Something about that one… seemed too focused. They didn't fully commit to attacking us until something happened."

It would be a long ride to Argus, but at least Team JNPR and Dudley made sure they kept themselves occupied with the passengers so they wouldn't have to dwell on the losses. Especially Dudley since he lost his best friend.

—-

"The General will see you now." The door to the office opened as the secretary kept going about her duties behind her desk.

It had taken a lot of nerves for Robyn to get this far but she was doing this at last. "Thank you." The Huntress says as she passes by and enters the office, the door closing behind her.

"Robyn Hill, I was almost expecting this to be a prank." James Ironwood says casually from behind his desk that required a short set of stairs to reach.

"I wouldn't have bothered coming here if it wasn't important."

"Please, take a seat." He gestures to one of the two chairs across from him.

Robyn took her time sitting on the surprisingly comfortable chair, the seat seemingly conforming to her curves for maximum support wherever it was needed. At the same time, she looked around the office and wasn't surprised that it was mostly bare, metallic dark blue walls, bright blue lights built into the columns, and arches that supported the entire domed wall of windows, the central hub of supports having a large circular light to illuminate the main working area of the office. And it was hard to miss that his position allowed a grand view over most of the floating city and occasionally the city below.

Between the steps and the door, the floor is a deep blue with stars in the patterns of the constellations surrounding a central ring as wide as his desk, a ring that Robyn knew was a holographic control station that would lower into the floor when not in use.

"Coffee? Tea?"

"No thanks, I'm not expecting this to be long." She leans back with her arms crossed.

"Really?" As casual as he was trying to be while maintaining his well practiced military posture, he knew from experience that Robyn is a skilled Huntress. Skilled enough to be part of the Special Operatives if she would choose to join.

At the same time, she is a very proud woman who could sway crowds, as demonstrated during her campaign for a Council seat. She is loyal to the kingdom of Atlas but the majority of her efforts have been focused on helping Mantle, being a voice for those who lived there.

And she had a streak for pushing the bounds of the laws. She could find loopholes or go to the extent of what laws would allow, and whenever there was an accusation of exceeding the bounds of the law she could always find a way to stay free. No doubt, her commitment to Mantle won her many friends in the city who would bend laws for her so long as what was done for the people.

"Look, I'm here for one thing only and you are the only resource I've yet to use." As curt as she was, her usual teasing and disregard for high authority were clear in her tone, practically ingrained by this point.

"Well, that is certainly something." James leaned forward to rest his arms on the desk. "Considering how much you have to work with in Mantle. But what is it that you needed to ask for my help?"

"Weiss Schnee."

Those two words were enough to put James on alert, to play his part carefully. "Go on."

"I know you know she was sent out on a mission to Mistral, you are the one who ordered it." Robyn began and making Ironwood tense a little- he had sent the team but it had been kept secret. Either she had enough eyes and ears out to gather the clues or either Winter or Farkas had mentioned it to her.

"I know that her ship crashed on the return trip." She continued. Perhaps a fair bit may have been the usual scuttlebutt for that part.

"What I want to know… is what are you doing to find her?"

"Robyn…I can assure you that we've done everything reasonable to find her."

The way he said that, she recognized from her dealings with political figures. This wasn't the tone of one who would try to fake sympathy; as much as the General tended towards stoicism he still showed genuine concern and other emotions… he just didn't express them as much as others.

No, his tone reflected that of one who had done as they said but also knows more than they want to say. And it was that last part that Robyn wanted to pry out now.

"And what did you find? There has to be something."

"We recovered her pilot's body and gave them a proper funeral."

There was a moment of silence for the man. For James, it was because of one of those he was responsible for being killed in action. Just because losses were expected, some more than others, it didn't make it easier to deal with but he had learned to not let that control him beyond trying to provide for his troops as best he can in the form of training and equipment. For Robyn, as much as she didn't like or trust the Atlas military, she respected those in it who did their jobs well and would never speak ill of those fallen. Her criticism was reserved for those making the decisions at the top.

"And Weiss? I'm assuming that because you made no mention of her at the crash site that she survived. And because she did, either she walked away on her own or was taken away." Any of her normally flippant tone was gone, she was all business and reading between the lines to demand straight answers. "Or should we be looking into the bounties for both Weiss and Winter? Find the source and squash it."

James sighs, knowing that she was going to hound him on this until he relented. It didn't help that she had many of the pieces already but not the key ones to start fitting them together.

"Tell me James? Who do you send in first, the scout or the flagbearer?"

That line from an old friend came to his mind and made him think about his situation in a different way.

"Robyn, I know we haven't agreed on too much as of late."

"A bit of an understatement. If you hadn't allocated and delivered materials to fixing the walls around Mantle, I would be considering stealing that to fix them myself."

"Be that as it may, what we can agree on is the safety of the people of our Kingdom."

"True, though I am often left to wonder how much of the civilized world is really considered to be part of the Kingdom and thus worth protecting." Her words were accusatory, though not directly aimed at him yet he knew some of the blame lay at his feet.

Atlas did not always have its place of prominence in the world, not until after the Great War. Mantle and Mistral were both on the losing side of the war but from the ashes, peace was achieved and fostered thanks to the newly renamed Alsius Academy now known as Atlas Academy and the various technology labs that were founded around it giving the world the Cross Continental Transmit Towers that gave easy global communication. And with that new and much faster form of communication between Kingdoms, hostilities declined rapidly.

But with that rise in communication and superior technology used by Atlas, more wealth and influence accumulated there. To the point where Mantle lost its title as the capital city and it was given to Atlas as it achieved a new marvel- lifting itself off the surface of Remnant including the entire mountain that the school was built on and much of the surrounding land to create a floating island. The new capital of the Kingdom became Atlas.

But with that shift in title and many of the 'elites' already living on the new island in the sky, Mantle lost much of its luster as the decreased funding led to increasing poverty and infrastructure needing repairs that would be put off for years as funds were scraped together only to be allocated to new emergencies instead.

Not only did Mantle exist in the literal shadow of Atlas as it floated overhead but the city even had the crater from which Atlas rose from occupying nearly a third of the official borders. But that crater was simply used as a ready place for mining as it was so deep without anyone even having to lift a shovel.

And as more mining was done as the main occupation of the inhabitants of Mantle, the more dust and grime settled over the city as much of the Dust and other finished material resources were sent up to Atlas rather than being used by those who made them. And with more pollution came more health problems, followed by rising costs of goods and services, leading to a rise in crime as more became desperate to make ends meet or just to forget their problems for a while.

For many, they found themselves at the bitter mercies of their overlords who resided in Atlas while others took advantage of the wealth accumulating up there to join the military or Huntsman Academy. And for those who did, they recognized the stark differences between Mantle and Atlas like night and day and they also saw the cruel irony that for the better life they desired that they were required to take up jobs that WOULD put their lives on the line frequently while those who had grown up in Atlas rarely even had to do any traditional work.

"Robyn… I know that not all of my decisions are well liked." James began.

"Like the increased scrutiny for those trying to travel between Kingdoms?"

"Well… yes." He admits that he did enforce more restrictions in the wake of the attack on Vale and the one on Mistral only reinforced his decision along with the rest of the Atlas Council to keep them in place.

"And the extra tariffs on Dust being exported?"

"You know that is not my call."

"But you are in charge of the soldiers who have to enforce it."

"They are there for security, not tax collection."

"Perhaps, though I'm sure that if Weiss were here now, she would have ensured that there would be enough Dust in Mantle so the people could hear their homes."

"W-what?"

"You heard me."

"But there is always the heat generators all around the city to keep it from freezing."

"Those run, yes. But it's only just enough to make the cold bearable this far north, we get snow down there regularly."

James used his left hand to rub his brow. "And why doesn't this ever come up in Council meetings?" His tone suggested that he already knew the answers.

And Robyn was far too eager to provide. "Probably because there aren't enough people up here who care, probably some who think it's fun to see the poor suffer, and quite frankly… we've gotten used to Atlas ignoring Mantle to the point that we've largely stopped asking knowing nothing will be done."

"Great." The sarcastic moan was almost music to her ears.

"Now, how about those bounties I've heard about?" Robyn switched back to the original topic so quickly that James almost answered without thinking.

"A-And just how do you know about that?"

Robyn gave him a small victorious grin. "I have connections all over Mantle because I help them the best I can. So news like that comes to me pretty quick." She gives a small chuckle as she leans back in her seat. "Besides, learning that someone put out a bounty on any Huntsman or Huntress would catch my attention and I'd do my best to root it out. But for both of the Schnee sisters? Whoever did it made it rather personal by including Weiss."

"You don't feel anything for Winter?"

"Hmph! I guess you do have a heart in there." Robyn crosses her arms. "But normally, her being a loyal lapdog to you would make her drop a few pegs in my opinion… though being a skilled Huntress earns her some points. What really matters to me about Winter is through Weiss and how close those girls are."

"They have been quite close when they were here. Training and such."

"And I don't suppose you ever heard too much about their life in that big fancy house, huh?"

"And what does that part have to do with the bounties?" James tries to steer the conversation back to the topic.

"Simple, it may be everything." Whatever levity her tone had was lost as she continued. "Everything I have been able to track down points to someone trying to remain anonymous yet wants them alive, unharmed being preferable. And that someone seems to be from up here in Atlas."

"Those are some rather bold accusations."

"And whoever put out those bounties has to be pretty bold themselves… with deep pockets. And generally lacking in ethics."

They locked eyes as she continued.

"Sound like anyone we know?"

The General let out a deep sigh as his face was filled with a mixture of emotions. "Do you have any direct proof of his actions?"

"Good to know we're on the same page and that we've both been looking into this." She smirks at his slip. "Seems that you have a suspect in mind without me having to say a name."

James' eyes widened as he realized he had been played. "And what do you intend to do with this information?"

"At the moment, watch to see what they do. They will slip up sooner or later."

"Hmm… better than seeing you trying to smear him when he's about to throw his hat in the ring for a Council seat."

"Believe me, it is very tempting." Robyn narrowed her eyes as she stood up and offered her right hand to the military leader. "But you've also been rather calm talking about Weiss. Care to tell me what she's been up to?"

James glanced at the hand and back to her face knowing that he had few options but the truth would need to be brought to light. Otherwise, she could make his life miserable and he'd much rather have her on his side.

With only a little hesitation, he reached out and took hold of her hand with his left. Instantly, their hands were enveloped in a pale lilac aura.

"Is Weiss safe?"

"I have spoken to her, last I checked she was." The aura turned green as he spoke honestly.

"Do you know what happened to her?"

"Yes and you can ask her yourself when she gets here." The aura remained green.

"She's on her way?"

"She should be now, if not she'll be coming from Mistral soon." Still green.

"You're hiding things from me, and not just about Weiss."

"Haha, true there are a great many things that are kept to a rather small group of people, probably for the best that they stay that way." Still green before Robyn let go and her Lie Detection semblance faded away.

"Well then, thank you for your time, Jimmy. This meeting did go longer than I thought it would."

"Would you like anything to drink now?"

"Some tea to go, if you don't mind. I have a small event to get to tonight."

"Good luck with that." Jane's laughs as he typed in the message for his secretary so the tea would be ready, with a small snack.

"Oh, and I hope I left you with a few things to think about. Either get them started with the Council or they will be among the first things I address once elected." Robyn says with a wave as she walks towards the door.

As the door closed behind her, James couldn't help but give a small laugh at his last round with her semblance. "Oz, no wonder you did that all of the time. No matter how serious the situation may be, things like that can be amusing."

Then again, he also now had things to investigate and bring up at the next Council meeting.

—

"Come on guys, pick up." Sun mutters as the call was made to each of the groups. Naturally, Blake's was the one he had at the top of the call list hoping for a group chat, followed by Kali, Itazura, and Taiyang.

"Hello?"

"Kali!"

"Sun, we were about to try calling you and the others!"

"Wait, you were?"

"Sun? Kali?"

"Oh, hello Tai!" The cat woman greets the man with a smile.

"Hey, Kali! So… what's this call about?" Something in his tone suggested that there were problems on his end.

"That's what I want to know." Itazura butts into the call.

"Hmm… Blake still isn't answering." The monkey was understandably worried.

"Really? Would have thought that she'd be through the mountains by now." The fox ponders aloud.

"Maybe she's sleeping?" The mother suggests.

"Give me a sec to try the others." Itazura says. A few seconds go by as they wait for an answer. "Hmm, Yang's not picking up." A few more seconds.

"Itazura?"

"Ren! Finally got ahold of you guys! What are you doing?" The fox was happy her call connected.

"What do you mean? We just arrived at Argus." His tone hinted at sadness but his normal flat voice made that difficult to tell.

Sun got to the reason he had called. "Ren, guys, we need to be extra careful. We had a Grimm attack just after we landed. The thing is, there was a weird white one that was checking out our Relic."

Kali gasped before she spoke. "Same thing happened to us at the port! Ghira said the white Nevermore was trying to drag off our Relic before he killed it."

"Damn, same here at the airport. I hate those wasps." Taiyang adds.

"Nothing here yet but we'll keep our eyes peeled." Itazura says, the rest of her team could be heard murmuring in the background, clearly listening in.

"I… I don't know about any white Grimm going after the Relic with us but there was a large attack on the train. Griffons, Manticore, and a Sphinx."

"Damn, we haven't found any Grimm that would make us sweat yet." Itazura laughs.

"Just Ravagers here." Sun comments.

"Lancers." Tai adds, turning it into a mini competition.

"Beowolves and Ursa." Kali put in her part.

"But you have a small army with you." The teacher points out to the cat.

"Really guys?" The fox resisted the temptation to keep it going but there was business to attend to first.

"That's part of the problem, actually." Pyrrha spoke over Ren's scroll. "Those Grimm attacked our train."

"What? Is anyone hurt?!" Tai asks.

"Are the civilians safe?" Kali adds to the questions.

"Yes, the civilians are safe. A few bumps maybe here and there."

"Oh, thank you Pyrrha." Kali was grateful for the good news.

"Hey, we tried calling Blake and Yang but they didn't answer." Itazura began. "They sleeping or something?"

With that, they didn't need the call to be video to feel the tension from that side though it might have been better if it was so the sadness and worry could be seen.

"They must not be out of the mountains yet to get the call." Pyrrha tells them.

"What do you mean 'not out of the mountains'? You guys are together!" Sun raised his voice as he began to be overwhelmed with worry.

"Sun… Kali… Taiyang…" Pyrrha's sobs could be heard now. "There was an accident thanks to the Grimm attack… one car caught fire and exploded, stopping team RWBY and the others with it."

"How bad was it?" Tai was deathly serious.

"The fire? It made the dining car explode once it hit the Dust. Ro-Ray made me decouple it before it went off."

"They ordered you to disconnect?"

"Y-yes."

"And they weren't in that car?"

"No… they were trapped on the other side as they dealt with the Sphinx."

Taiyang let out a deep breath. "Then I'm sure they survived."

Ren spoke up again. "They did say that they were going to do their best to catch up as much as possible."

"Then…" Kali was unsure but her confidence grew a little. "We should trust that they have a plan and survived the crash?"

"I wish I could be there." Sun growls, the slam of his fist on wood being heard over the call.

"We all do, Sun." Kali assures her daughter's boyfriend.

"Wait! Can't Raven portal to them?" Itazura asks. "Qrow and Yang are there so she should be able to get to them."

"She could…" Taiyang drawls.

"Could?" The fox repeats.

"Yeah, could." The man sounded a little uncomfortable. "But right now is not the best time… she, umm… used up a fair bit of her aura during the Grimm attack in our little combo."

"And?"

"And we got something to eat and it's really not agreeing with her stomach. Only got worse from the turbulence we hit just before you called."

"Great, fastest way to rescue them put on hold for a tummy ache." Sun spoke with heavy sarcasm.

"Sun, Kali, don't worry too much." Pyrrha tried to remain positive. "They've been through a worse train crash before and came out fine… mostly. We're going straight to the military base here in Argus to request a search for them."

"Not the best track record with trains." Tai comments… only to hear a small snort from Itazura.

"Was that meant to be a pun?" She had to ask.

"No it wasn't." He admits, though they could hear the smile pulling on his lips.

"Pyrrha, Ren, thank you for telling us what happened." Kali tells the young Huntsmen. "The least we can do now is to finish our objectives and trust that they will pull through until they are found again."

Tai spoke again. "Yeah, they trusted us to do our jobs, we can trust them to handle theirs, even if it has a few bumps in the road."

"Blake's dealt with worse things before than a little crash. I know she'll get through this." Sun affirmed, though part of it seemed to be more for his own peace of mind.

"Oh, and since we're in the general area as we make our way north, we'll keep an eye out for the team." Itazura adds. "Gotta go, got Grimm!"

With that, the fox was gone and the others said their farewells too before disconnecting from the call, leaving Sun to be sitting alone in a dark corner of the airport his team was about to depart from to go to Vacuo.

"Damn it."

—

Cinder wandered the streets of Mistral, trying to remember where things were from the last time she had really been in the city. The meal had given much of her strength back, enough that she was alert and not feeling that she'd fall over from a light breeze.

But eventually she found what she was looking for, a bar with a large spider on the sign. Entering the establishment, she found plenty of people at the bar with others at tables chatting, a few others playing darts.

But it was the rather portly woman in the fancy purple dress who she wanted to speak to.

"Oh? And what can Lil' Miss Malachite do for you?" The woman greets her, never bothering to stop scooping her next spoonful of pudding as she spoke. It may have had something to do with the two tall men flanking her, both having subtly reached for their weapons in case of any funny business.

"I need to find some people." Cinder tells her flatly.

"And would you happen to have any money to pay for our services?"

A wallet was dropped on the table. "It was somebody's."

Lil' Miss smirked at that. "Well then, we can begin. Although… you just helped me complete another job that was paid for a few weeks back."

"What do you mean by that?" Cinder was on edge from how the woman spoke, how she seemed to know everything even if that was how Spider operated.

"Oh, nothing much. Just that the other client wanted Spider to find you for her."

"Her?"

AN: Yeah... little action here this time but a lot of set up for future events. At the same time, for those who have been reading this series since Big Issues and know about the weights being effected, you could see how Sun reacts to Reese's weight in much the same way as Aang and the others did with Toph and her blindness... pretty much there was nothing from their situation to hold them back from living and fighting like normal until a specific situation brought it into the light. Having to read for Toph, weight and waistlines for many of the girls from the academies here on Remnant.

But the other things like the phone call between the groups and finding out that RWBY and ROQ were separated from JNPR... Sun is understandably upset that his girlfriend and his other friends have gone missing, while Taiyang and Kali are older and have dealt with loss before and thus don't let it control them. Yet all of them have confidence that their loved ones will pull through just fine and are relying on that to get them through this period. Unfortunately, they do not know that the train derailed... so we'll have to see how that plays out.

Plus Ironwood and Robyn have a little chat. That was fun having them actually interacting and how they both played on each other. Though if you are wondering where Robyn's snark was at, it will come back, she was just more focused on getting answers this time.

Reviews are welcome! See you all next time!