Some things do not make a lot of sense when they first come to attention, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they are nonsense. Sometimes you have to think about it for a bit to make sense of it all or just give it some time, an example of this would be the Democratic Council system that replaced the Monarchy after the Great War. Back then it was considered a baffling decision by the King of Vale, many opposed it but lacked the strength to stop him. Many nobles, merchants, and even common citizens protested in vain against what they feared would be an era of mob rule but history vindicated the last King of Vale. Nowadays the man is considered one of the greatest thinkers in all of Remenant's history thanks to his idea ushering in an era of unity, peace, and prosperity.

To a much much much lesser extent, the Academy Dance was similar. On the surface, it was nothing more than a taxpayer-funded supposedly formal party thrown for a bunch of young adults who would just see it as an opportunity to have a bit of fun… and that wasn't an incorrect assessment. The students would indeed see the party as an opportunity to have a good time, some were going to get drunk and potentially get in trouble, some would get in trouble without getting drunk, and nearly everyone would be trying to get laid.

And that was fine.

The Dance was to allow these Huntsmen-in-Training a break from constant training and an environment to properly meet and interact with people from outside of their teams and respective kingdoms. That latter part was far more important than most people and students themselves realized, the career of a Huntsman was a dangerous one but it was also one filled with opportunity in every sense of the word. The people that Huntsmen served and protected did not live inside of bubbles separated from the rest of the world, they were all connected and those connections mattered in big ways. For example, a Huntsman who did a lot of work with Atlas military or other self-defense forces would often find further and grander opportunities opening up to them, and many retired Huntsmen would go on to have splendid military careers.

And that was just one example, the path of a Huntsman was one that lends itself naturally to many different fields. Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck originally worked as a Huntsman before he earned his doctorate and kept working even afterward because the life of a Huntsman allowed him to go find and investigate ruins of ancient civilizations that were hidden away in the untamed wilds of Remnant. Dr. Oobleck wasn't a special case, many fields of research and engineering made use of Huntsmen and counted the defenders of humanity among their greatest contributors.

Even the fields of politics and business lend themselves to Huntsmen, it was only natural since any Huntsman worth their Dust would build a reputation as they met and helped out many different people. Over time that would evolve into a network of contacts that would come into play if the Huntsman decided to run for office or found a product or service that they could offer to consumers. Even if the Huntsman never ran for office or started a business, they would still develop a level of influence as the mere act of hiring a Huntsman, especially a well-known one, was a statement by the employer.

But no matter what form the career took, it would be one marked with mutually beneficial agreements and relationships.

This Dance was the beginning of all of that. The students from the four major academies were not just young adults here to have a good time, they were the future defenders of Remnant and nearly all of them had already proved their mettle on the battlefield. Their careers would be full of ups and downs, some would not make it to graduation, some careers would be cut tragically short, some would be unremarkable, some would retire to quiet lives, and some would go on to be the next leaders of the world. This Dance was their opportunity to begin constructing a personal interkingdom network that if maintained, would serve them well for the rest of their lives… but all of that was in the future, tonight they were young and the party was for them.

"How does anyone walk in these lady stilts!?" Ruby nearly shouted in frustration to her partner Weiss who in comparison was having an easy time.

"It's just something that requires a little bit of practice." The Heiress answered as she held Ruby's hand to help her keep her balance. "Think back to when you first tried to handle your scythe, was it easy?"

"It wasn't."

"Exactly! But now it's like second nature to you, walking in heels is the same. It's difficult at first because you've never once had to think about how you walked before and now you do and it's hard. But once you figure it out, and you will figure it out, you will never forget."

Ruby smiled as she took another uncertain step, "Well I don't think I'm going to figure this out anytime soon… so who taught you how to walk in heels?"

"Winter, my older sister did. She even took a day off from her job to come over and help me practice."

"That was nice of her, what does she do for a living?"

Weiss proudly answered, "She's a Specialist in the Atlas military and Ironwood's second in command."

"Is that good?" Ruby asked not because she didn't know, she knew who Ironwood was and knew that anyone who worked with him had to be impressive. Rather she was asking because Weiss didn't talk about her family, Neither does Blake but hopefully Yang can crack her shell.

Just like Ruby had hoped, Weiss was more than happy to talk about her sister, "It's incredible, she is the trusted lieutenant of the most powerful man in Atlas and she did it without relying on our family at all! Dad didn't even want her to join the military! But she did and accomplished so much! She's the reason why I'm here. Because she is living breathing proof that I could be more than what my father wants me to be, Winter is everything I want to be."

"Oh wow! She sounds amazing, you've got to introduce-!" At that moment, Ruby lost her balance and fell landing on her ass while dragging Weiss down with her. "Sorry!"

Some of the people nearby started to laugh at the pair and a few even took pictures. Had it just been Ruby that fell then perhaps most wouldn't care but it wasn't every day that the Heiress of one of the biggest corporations in the world tripped up. A photo like that was potentially valuable, especially to someone who might want to damage her reputation, it was silly, the world of the ultra-wealthy was silly and incomprehensible… But it was also a world that Weiss had become quite numb to, she didn't care about the pictures, she didn't care about the laughter, she didn't care because this wouldn't matter in the long run.

"It's alright," Weiss untangled herself from Ruby and helped her partner stand back up, "I fell plenty of times myself while learning." She could see Ruby eye's darting from her to the people laughing and then back to her. Ruby didn't say anything but her eyes did all the talking, "I told you that it's alright."

"But what if you get in trouble over this?"

Weiss bitterly laughed, "I was going to get into trouble with Jacques no matter what, these people don't matter."

Ruby wanted to know more but recognized a landmine when she saw one, this was not the time or place and she was not the person to pursue this topic. The best thing she could do for now was let it go while empathizing, "That sucks."

Weiss laughed again, it was still bitter but there was a sincerity to it. "It really does."

It was at this moment that Yang arrived by pushing through anyone who was still staring and laughing at the pair, this was on purpose. She wanted to disrupt the crowd and succeeded thanks to her great physical strength. And as shoved them aside, she shot each one a warning with her burning red eyes that made it clear that they were not welcomed anywhere near her team. That was a warning that the crowd took to heart, they had seen enough of Yang's fights to know that getting on her bad side was a good way to find themselves knocked flat on their ass during sparring practice.

"Ruby, Weiss are you two okay? You took such a nasty fall!" Yang asked her sister and teammate when she reached them, her voice was sweet but her eyes were still crimson.

"I'm fine," Ruby took an unsteady step, "Maybe I ought to take a break?"

Weiss nodded, "That's a good idea, we wouldn't want you to twist your ankle." Weiss then took Ruby's hand and with Yang's help picked Ruby off of the ground. The closest seats available were at an empty table that was only a few yards away, the only problem was that there was also a bit of a crowd between them and the table.

However, Yang quickly solved that problem, "Make some room!" Her voice was stern but not angry, these people had done nothing wrong, unlike the ones who had laughed and taken pictures.

Enough people in the crowd complied and before long Ruby was sitting comfortably as Weiss and Yang stood close by. But then Ruby noticed that her sister was still a bit agitated and asked her a question to try and calm her down a bit, "By the way, Yang, where's Blake?"

"Oh her? She's talking to Velvet, they hadn't had much of a chance to catch up after the Rally. I'll be heading back to her pretty soon but is there anything I can get you in the meantime?"

"I'll be fine, go have some fun with your date!"

"I will, don't forget to have fun with your date when she shows up!" Yang pretended to walk back to Blake, she was going to go back sooner rather than later but for now she wanted to hover around just out of sight for just a little longer. Blake could wait, the night was young and they would have plenty of time together, it would just happen a little later.

Ruby knew that, she knew her sister well enough to know that she was going to stick around for a bit longer and that was fine. She appreciated it but was also somewhat annoyed and worried by it, Yang had been taking care of her for a long time… sometimes at the cost of her own desires. And now I'm feeling bad over something that isn't my fault, how do I keep doing this to myself?

Ruby then sighed and started to look around the room in an attempt to distract herself.

The room hosting the Dance was one that Ruby and every single other Beacon student had seen at least once before, it was where the entrance ceremony was held. And it was where many future and would-be students learned that they still had to pass initiation before they were admitted into the school. Back then, the place was rather plain, or at least as plain as a large hallway filled with grand pillars, chandeliers, roomy balconies, and an impressive stage could be. Though the truth was that neither she nor anyone else at the time was all that interested in the design or architecture of the ballroom, far more exciting things were on their mind.

But now that Ruby was taking a break she could appreciate the beauty of this room and the work that went into it. Beauty that was only accentuated by the crimson carpet that led partygoers inside, the soft blue lights along with other smaller white lights hidden the rafters to mimic a starry night sky, banners of the four kingdoms, and tasteful decorations inspired the culture and history of each kingdom. And then there was the music, at the moment what was playing was a soft relaxing rhythm and beat performed on traditional Mistrialian wind instruments and drums. Before that was some Atlisian Industrial acoustic and while neither was her taste in music, she could appreciate the artistry behind it. Right now the music was purely atmospheric but it was slowly picking up the pace, soon it would turn into music meant for dancing. Some of it would be slow and romantic and some of it would be wild and a lot of it would just be plain fun. Dancing wasn't something Ruby really did but she enjoyed watching others do it and was going to enjoy trying to enjoy it with Penny.

Ruby was happy that she came to this party and it was weird to realize that. When she first came to Beacon she had intended to keep mostly to herself and Yang, then she met Jaune, and all of that got thrown out in the worst way possible. But she was glad that it happened, it forced her out of her comfort zone and helped her and her friends to grow… Granted, a lot of that growth was the result of some messed up things happening that she would have rather gone without. Experiences that have left a lingering feeling in the back of her head and the heads of her friends, a feeling that whatever was going on was so much bigger than they could comprehend.

"Ruby, are you alright?" asked Weiss as she pulled up a seat next to her partner.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about how I've grown and then I started to think about why it happened… have you heard the rumors about the Rally?"

For a moment Weiss wondered if Ruby was trying to change the subject, What do rumors about the Rally have anything to do with this? She was tempted to speak that thought out loud but decided it would be better to see where the conversation went. "I've heard a few, mostly stuff about the Grimm that JNPR were sent out to hunt, what about them?"

Ruby didn't speak right away, Jaune had told her and her sister the truth about that Grimm when he told them the truth about himself. Weiss was not included due to how she acted back in initiation and now Ruby was trying to figure out if there was a way to explain her feelings to Weiss without saying something that wasn't hers to say. It was difficult because even though she had accepted Jaune easily, it still added to the growing weight on her head, a weight that she knew that Weiss had as well. I could just not bring it up, sure it would be a lie by omission but Weiss would understand why.

"I've been thinking a lot about the Rally, about what happened, about what led up to it, and about what it's all possibly leading to," Ruby finally said.

Weiss didn't say anything, what could she say when she had just as many questions as Ruby? The incident at the Docks, the Raid, and the Rally were all clearly escalations leading to something big, to make matters worse was that each one of those events came with all manners of complications that made them harder to comprehend. Roman Torchwick was a human and a casual racist but he was working the White Fang? Did the White Fang have anything to do with Rage and why did they steal the barrels? If they did then why were they running that hospital for Faunus victims of Rage? What about those people that were found during the Raid? Who killed the police sniper and their spotter?

And none of that compared to the Rally…

Ruby kept talking, "I've tried speaking with Penny about what happened during the Rally, most of the questions I had were either things she wasn't there for or wasn't allowed to talk about… I'm sorry, I'm bringing everything down."

"No, you're not." Weiss quickly said even though it was a lie but it wasn't something she was going to blame Ruby for. "Being aware of what's going on around you and having concerns about the future is part of what being an adult is about."

"That's wonderful," Ruby answered with a voice that was dripping with a level of bitter sarcasm that seemed so out of place coming from her that for a moment Weiss wondered if this was really her partner.

Don't be ridiculous Weiss! It's not like you know this girl enough to have any idea what's normal or not for her. Instead of wondering what's normal for her, you should be lifting her spirit and you know just how to do that. "Yeah, it does suck. A Lot. I mean seriously, just how incompetent are the adults around here? We should be studying Grimm's anatomy and learning about Dust Infusions! Instead, we've been repeatedly shot at, dragged from one mess to another, and then the Adults have the utter gall to leave us in the dark despite how we're the ones who uncovered this nonsense! It's maddening!"

Ruby stared at Weiss in complete disbelief, she had never heard her partener rant like that… it was nice. It was nice to hear someone put to words everything that she had been feeling. It was nice to know that even the most prim and proper person that she knew was agreeing with her. It was nice to hear some validation, to know that she wasn't just being a whiny kid, and to know that there was yet another person that she could be honest with.

"Thanks, Weiss. That means a lot to me."

"When you're right, you're right. But let's stop sulking and enjoy this party, at the very least we should try to get some fo- What the!?"

Ruby looked up at her partner before turning her head to find out what she was looking at, "Is there something wro-... is that Jaune? And is he wearing a dress?!"

Jaune was indeed wearing a dress, specifically, he was wearing a rather cute simple white dress with a skirt that ended just above the knee allowing him to show off his muscular legs. And he wasn't just wearing the dress, he was rocking it, he was strutting through the ballroom with unabashed confidence that was turning heads and dropping jaws as he walked over to his cheering team.

Ruby didn't know why he was wearing the dress, however, she wanted to know and that desire was punching her back onto her feet, "There is a story behind that dress and I wanted to find out what it is."

"Me too!" Weiss said as she took Ruby by the hand and helped her up.

The pair quickly made their way over and it wasn't just them, Yang and Blake were already there, Sun and Neptune were there as well, Velvet was standing along Fox, and team CRDL was there accompanied by their dates but Ruby didn't recognize those people. Mercury and Emerald were also there but they were standing off to the side like they weren't sure if they wanted to join in.

"And what is this about?" Weiss asked out of genuine interest.

"Jauny boy lost a bet with Nora and now has to wear a dress," Cardin answered with a laugh.

"Though I think it safe to say that Pyrrha is the real winner!" Russel added with a holler.

"Pyrrha?" Weiss looked over to the redhead and quickly noticed that Pyrrha was staring at Jaune with an intensity that Weiss had never seen before. Okay… so that's what she is into. I wouldn't have expected that but I guess that's on me.

"What was the bet?" Ask Ruby as she spotted a familiar head of orange hair making its way through the crowd and towards her.

Blake answered as she gently grabbed Yang's arm and stepped a little closer to her date, "It was a wrestling match against Nora. If Jaune had been the one to win then Nora would have to wear a white tux with shorts and a derpy horse mask."

"Where would she…-, " Ruby looked right at Blake, "You have a horse mask." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

Blake didn't even try to deny it, "My ex… was into costumes, it didn't matter what kind of costume it was."

"And you kept the costumes."

"I'm into costumes as well," Blake admitted.

Yang laughed, "Most people are! Even you are into costumes sis, or did you think I'd forget about the time you found Blake's officer uniform and decided to host a group meeting while wearing it?"

Ruby blushed with embarrassment that quickly passed and was replaced as she and her sister began laughing together in a way that was only possible with people who truly understood each other. Then it was over and Ruby acknowledged her sister's point, "Fine, you're right but that still doesn't explain why Black has a horse face mask." Blake opened her mouth to answer but Ruby stopped her, "Nevermind, I get the feeling that I don't want to know."

The music started to pick up as Ruby caught a second glimpse of familiar-looking orange hair, "I think Penny is trying to find me."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Yang asked. "Go find her and have a good time, I know I'll be." She grabbed Blake by the waist and pulled her closer while Blake did the same to her.

Ruby shook her head, "Please try to keep it PG-13 while we're still here."

"I'll promise not to embarrass you as long as you promise to enjoy the Dance with your date."

"I promise," Ruby said to Yang before slowly and carefully walking away to find Penny. "Stupid lady stilts."

Lucky for Ruby, she didn't have to go very far. Penny had heard the laughter, recognized the voices, calculated the position, mapped out a route, and was currently closing in. "Ruby! I found you!" The android happily cried out as she moved around the various couples heading out to the dance floor as the music settled into a happy melody that was just perfect for some light dancing.

"Penny! Where have you-!" Ruby lost her balance for the second time today.

However Penny was close enough to catch her, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just fine. I really hate wearing heels," Ruby caught a glimpse of the heels that Penny was wearing and gawked at how big they were. "How are you walking in those? Why are you wearing heels that big?"

"Penny gave Ruby a confused look, "Everyone keeps asking me that, I thought that heels were standard footwear for this sort of event and I wanted to make a good impression so I-"

"You bought the biggest heel thinking that it would make the best impression."

"Yes I did though I don't think I'm making the impression that I wanted… but that's fine! It's fun being so tall, though it is a bit of a bother having to calibrate my balance sensors just to walk in them. Would you like to dance?"

"I um, yes?" Ruby answered even though she was caught off guard by the question at the end.

Penny, despite what many people might have otherwise expected, was an excellent dance partner. She wasn't too fast or slow, rather she allowed Ruby to set the pace and matched it perfectly while helping her partner keep balance. In addition, she had taken the liberty to download a vast library of dances and was quite skilled at picking the movement for the right moment.

But the most important thing was her smile, it was pure unabashed joy and it was contagious. Ruby was truly truly happy that she had come.

Arthur Watts was a man who, like every single other person in the world, had regrets. But choosing to fake his own death to join Salem's side and destroy the very kingdom he had helped build… was not one of his regrets. If anything, he regretted not switching sides sooner because Salem was easily the best boss he had ever had. She was patient, understanding, hands-off, knowledgeable, understood the importance of privacy, actually trusted her subordinates to do their job, knew how to rein people in if they veered off-course, had a remarkable eye for talent, and had access to a trove of resources and connections that she had built up over her long life.

Compared that to Ironwood who was a naive fool who built his career taking advantage of Watts' creations as if he had been the one to build them! A fool who allowed himself to be distracted by the inane ramblings of a weirdo who wanted to build himself a daughter instead of doing what literally everyone else does and either get laid or adopt!

Though all of that being said, working for Salem wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, the Queen of Grimm didn't have many subjects that weren't soulless monsters that laughed at the concept of biological needs. That certainly had advantages such as being able to place your bases of operation in far-off places where no one had any reason to journey to… but it also made it a pain in the ass to get deliveries. Sure, Salem had enough foresight to create a network of companies and couriers that could send packages and messages without question but even the most insane daredevils amongst them had limits, Grimm were the ones who ultimately needed to finish the job.

"Oh look who finally showed up!" Watts angrily said as he stood outside of his lab and watched as a horse-like Grimm galloped across a wasteland towards him.

The beast in question was created from the template of a Bicorn and had many of the same features of one but with fundamental differences. The most important difference was that its stomach was modified to protect, preserve, and cushion whatever was inside instead of smothering it to death like a normal Grimm belly. In addition, its head and neck were changed to become a large tube-shaped mouth that could expand and harmlessly swallow things larger than itself, when combined with its increased body size the beast proved to be a reliable and safe way to transport cargo… However, it was annoyingly slow.

"Seriously, I've been waiting for you to show up for over a month!" Watts walked out to meet the creature while mumbling complaints to himself. The beast couldn't understand him and Watts knew that the delay wasn't its fault, the cargo was a bit trickier and fragile than its usual fare. Great care had to be taken during transport and the process to bring the cargo to where the creature could pick it up was the sort of thing that would capture the hearts and minds of conspiracy theorists.

"Well, go on, spit her out," Watts told the monster when they finally met in the middle.

The creature stared at him for a moment before opening its mouth and using its internal muscles to push out the contents of its stomach. It was a gross process but there was something fascinating about watching the bulge in its belly move towards the throat and then travel out the mouth. Soon there was a large puddle of dark oozy liquids with a large metal container that bore an appearance uncomfortably similar to a coffin, on its side was a glass-covered panel containing various buttons, a lever, and a small computer monitor.

Watts then walked up to the penal and moved the glass away, "Let's see if she's okay." He pressed a few buttons and the monitor came to life and began to display on its screen various graphs and medical jargon. "Alright… good, better than good. It's perfect!" He turned to look at the Grimm that was still standing there, "Good job, you're dismissed."

The monster stared at him for a second before walking away. Whether or not it had understood him was a question that not even Watts could answer.

"Now to take you to the lab," Watts then pressed a few more buttons. When he was done the bottom of the coffin began to glow with a purple light as electricity flowed into the gravity dust that was stored there. Soon the coffin lifted off of the ground and remained steady in the air as a handlebar appeared at the back of the coffin allowing Watts to push it inside his lab, "If only Salem could recruit me some assistants…"

After about ten minutes or so he was back inside his lab, he pushed the coffin past multiple workstations that each were housing a different project of his. One of those projects was an attempt to create a brand new type of Synthetic Dust that could be used to create Aura, but it was not going very well. Yet another project aimed to create prosthetics that were indistinguishable from normal limbs, visually he had succeeded but he soon ran into other issues such as trying to replicate the warmth of a limb. Another project was an attempt to analyze the black viscous liquid that gave birth to the Grimm… that project was dead on arrival but he hoped that what was contained in the coffin would help him out even though it was part of a different project, his main project.

"Here we are, now let's get you set up!" Watts said when he arrived at an empty workstation that had a large computer with cables of various sizes and colors attached to it on one end and attached to nothing on the other. He then pressed a few buttons on the coffin and slowly pulled on the lever, this caused the Gravity Dust located at the head of the coffin to surge with power and lift the head of the coffin higher until the whole thing was standing upright. Then he took the cables and began attaching them to the coffin before booting up the computer and starting up a deep scan of the contents of the coffin. As he did that, he pushed the coffin up against the wall and pressed a few more buttons to remove the cover and reveal what was inside.

It was a young woman with brunette hair and tan skin that was marred by a nasty-looking scar on her side, what looked like a coffin was in actuality a medical stasis pod that was keeping her alive and in blissful sleep. Attached to her body were tubes providing medicine, nutrients, and oxygen, and in addition there were various devices to monitor her vitals.

"Who is she?" A deep voice suddenly asked from behind Watts.

Turning around, Watts came face-to-face with his coworker Hazel Rainart, "Ah, Hazel when did you get here?"

"I was always here. Now, who is she?"

"This young lady is Iris Manila, she's the niece of Professor Thumbelina Peach of Beacon and for a while, she was one of our couriers, though she didn't know that."

"And why is this child here?"

"Child? I know that many people our age have a tendency to treat young adults as thou-"

"Watts," Hazel crossed his arms to emphasize how little patience he had for this runabout.

"I understand how bad this must look to you but I assure you that there is a reason why I had her be brought here."

"Did she come voluntarily?"

Watts briefly considered lying but quickly dashed that notion, if and when Hazel realized that he had been lied to then the possibility for a violent confrontation would skyrocket. And while Watts was certainly capable of violence and willing to engage in it… he was also aware of his limits. Without proper preparation, Hazel would utterly demolish him in some misguided attempt to help a girl that he didn't even know existed until now.

"No. It was not voluntary."

There was a tense silence between the two, on Hazel's face it was clear to see that he was struggling to decide what to do. Conflicting emotions were playing across his eyes and for a moment Watts feared the worst, but then Hazel closed his eyes, sighed, and pulled up a chair that he sat on. "Explain."

"Do you remember Rage?"

"Yes. I remember how you created a drug that would go on to hurt many innocent people, what of it?"

Watts made a mental note to try and avoid that landmine in the future before continuing his explanation, "Iris despite what common sense would suggest has become addicted to Rage, more importantly, I have theorized that it has changed her biology in a way that is fortunate for my project and by extension, us as well?"

"Us?"

"Do you remember what I told you about my goal for the Grimmification project?"

"You told me that it was a way to save lives by eliminating the hostility between people and Grimm."

"And it is! But it isn't ready yet, Iris here is another stepping stone towards that goal!"

Hazel's eyes narrowed, "Stepping stone?" There was a dangerous edge in his voice, it was a warning to Watts, a sign that the brilliant doctor was treading on thin ice.

"That was a poor choice of words on my end."

"Yes. It was."

Watts recomposed himself and carefully considered what he would say next, "What I meant was that understanding her condition is an important step to completing the project. Naturally, that also means treating her condition."

"Really?" The tone of Hazel's voice communicated his doubts in Watt's words but at the same time, there was a hopeful look in his eyes. A part of him wanted to believe in Watts but his trust has been broken in the past.

"Of course! She's a valuable-," Calling her a specimen isn't going to go over well with Hazel. "-patient. Treating her condition will allow me to better understand the process that her body is undergoing and thus help me better refine it. More importantly, is that she would have found herself in a terrible situation without our interference, I am helping her."

"And yet… she did not consent to this treatment."

"No… no she did not. However, she was not of sound mind, she was incapable of consenting."

"Did you even try?"

"Mercury did and he was the one sent to find her, she attacked him and he defended himself," Watts answered without hesitation. His answer wasn't a total lie but neither was it a complete truth but that wasn't why he said it, the real reason was that Mercury wasn't here to counter that claim. There was an entire ocean between themselves and the boy, and that brat was on an undercover mission. Even if Hazel wanted to, he could not find out the truth from Mercury until after the dust in Beacon had settled and by then it wouldn't matter anymore.

There was another stretch of silence, the look of disapproval on Hazel's face made it clear that he did not completely believe Watts' story. But at the same time, his lack of action was proof that he either didn't know which parts were fabricated or whether it actually mattered. If Watts were to hazard a guess he would say that Hazel believed that Mercury had been attacked, the giant had a soft spot for that wannabe assassin and his street urchin of a partner. On top of that, he knew that Rage had earned its name from how its victims became seemingly feral and bloodthirsty. The idea that a user of such a drug would attack Mercury wasn't a stretch, it was predictable.

Hazel finally broke the silence"Let's say for a moment that I believe you… what exactly are you planning to do with her?" His voice was monotone and perfectly even, if he was trying to conceal his true feelings then he had succeeded.

"Well, I'm planning on tre-!"

"No," Hazel interrupted. "I know that you are planning to study her and I heard you the first time when you told me that you were going to try and help her. What I want to know is what you are planning to do with her."

"W-what do you mean?"

"What is your end goal and how does she fit into that?"

"You know my end goal; Grimmification and a peaceful resolution to the longest war in Remnants history."

"So you say… but that only answers half my question."

"I was getting there, Iris will be the first. Her body is far too damaged by Rage for anything else to even have a chance of working, an argument could even be made that she has already been partially Grimmifide. What I will be doing is taking control of the process that has just begun within her body and guiding it to completion. This method will guard against Iris becoming like her predecessors because unlike them, she will be under constant observation in a controlled environment. I will be there to step in in case something goes wrong and Salem has already agreed to advise me, we can save Iris. We can save everyone from the Grimm."

Watts wasn't lying, he wasn't telling the whole truth either but what he said was far closer to the truth. He was going to observe Iris, he wanted to make her the first successful case of Grimmification, Salem was going to help him, he wanted to create a world where people didn't fear the Grimm… But he had no particular attachment to the girl, he wasn't trying to save her. She was meant to be a Stepping Stone, a tragic story that he would tell of a young patient who had he tried and failed to save but whose sacrifice led to the greatest breakthrough in medical history. I suppose now I'll have to put some real effort in to save her, that way he can't get too mad at me if she doesn't pull through. Either way, I'll still get my data which should be a major leap forward for the project, all things considered, I don't have much to complain about.

"I don't believe you," Hazel then said as he got up from the chair.

"W-wait! L- Let's not do anything reckless! Salem won't forgive you if you do this!" Watts instinctually took a step backward, he was not a coward but he was not a fool. He needed time to prepare if he wanted an actual chance to defeat someone like Hazel and time was not a resource that he had available to him right now.

Hazel rolled his eyes, "Calm down and let me finish." He gave Watts a moment to recollect himself and only continued when the man did. "As I was saying, I don't believe you when you said that you wanted to help the girl but, I do believe you when you said that she will be under constant supervision. I also believe you when you say that Salem will be assisting you… you said that you wanted her to be the first, I'm not sure you were telling me the truth but now it will be true. "

"What does that even mean!?"

"It means that for your sake, she better be the first," Hazel then began to walk away.

Watts watched as Hazel left and didn't move until he was certain that he was once again alone in the lab, he then breathed a deep sigh of relief. "By the Brothers, there is something wrong with that man. I can never get a good read on him. One minute he's trying his best to avoid violence and next, he is threatening to rip out your spine and beat you to death with it, and he's strong enough to do it!" Watts shook his head, "I'd rather deal with Tyrian than deal with Hazel. At least you know where that psycho stands."

He then shook his head before turning his attention to the computer behind him, it was done with its scan and was displaying the information. One glance was all it took to tingle Watts' interest, the data was dense and demanded a keen mind like his to even try to make sense of it. "Looks like this is going to be a challenge. Good, I've been getting bored lately and this is just what I need. But first, coffee!"

Author Notes: This was one of the easiest chapters to write... until I hit those last 1500 words and got writer's block. In the end, I decided to focus on Ruby for the Dance portion while having fun with the others. Either way, the next chapter will be the start of the Vol 2 finale and it is going to be as fast and hit as hard as a runaway train. There are a couple of details that I still need to iron out but it won't be a problem.

Thanks for reading.