Hey, everyone, sorry for the delay, as you know. I transferred my stories to another device on my new laptop since my old one was breaking down. My cousin tried to save as many files as he could, but in the end, some files were incomplete or missing. I had to start over from scratch and I hope you understand due to my situation and combined with my work, all stories will be delayed.

Just want to let you all know.

But here's the next chapter.

While Lionheart was busy doing his usual business, the students of Beacon and Qrow went to the Uta Estate, where the Uta Clan are trained in ninja arts. The estate was massive. There were many houses, a huge temple, Karesansui garden, and training ground. The group stood in front of a Torii that has the Uta Clan's Symbol on top.

Wade lets out a long whistle. "Talk about private property." He mutters out, lifting the tip of his hat to get a better view.

"How rich are the Uta Clan?" Nora asked the group.

The Uta Clan are considered to be the most powerful clan here in Mistral. Regina explains to the group. They were the stronghold during the Great War or any Grimm attacks. The clan was honorable and brave, earning great respect from the people.

"And with them on our side, we can turn the tides against this invasion." Ruby said with determination. "We just hope they can be on our side."

"That won't be a problem, Ruby." Voltaria said to her. "For we're in the good grace of the Uta Clan's heiress."

"You mean Uri?" AJ asked Voltaria.

"Yeah, we have a good acquaintance with her and her team." Voltaria said before her expression became dreadful. "Aannndd…we know one that will accept us besides Uri."

"Who?" Qrow asked.

~Moments Later~

"Grimmy! It's good to see you again, darling!" Sirena Constantine exclaims happily, smothering Voltaria in her hug.

Before they entered the estate, they had to get past the guards. At first, they didn't allow them, but the group was able to contact Team MUSE about their situation. However, the only one who has one of their contacts was Voltaria since Sirena wrote her number in Voltaria's scroll. So, to have the audience with the Head of the Uta Clan (Uta Satori, who is Uri's grandfather), Voltaria had to return into her original attire to get Sirena attention, which it worked and the Diva was crushing Voltaria to death from a hug that Sirena was giving her.

"Hello to you too, Sirena." Voltaria greeted her blankly, feeling her bones breaking.

"Oh~, darling! It's been almost a year since the last time we saw each other!" Sirena said, holding Voltaria in her arms.

They were inside a dojo where they will meet the head of the Uta Clan. They were lucky that Team MUSE's diva, Sirena, was close to Voltaria. And they happily help them to speak with their leader.

"So, where have you been all this time?" Melodia Bluebird asked the group.

"Yeah, the last time we saw you all was in the hospital." Ekko said to them.

"It's a long story." Yang said to them.

"You can tell everything soon after talking with my grandfather." Uri said before hearing a loud gong, signaling the arrival of the Head of the Clan. "Speaking of which…"

They turned towards the shoji door as its slides opened, revealing a robust elderly man, with a katana strapped to his side. He wears a gold/silver hakam with a black kamishimo. Behind him were two loyal guards, following the master to a platform. They sat on their knees under the cushions.

The others followed suit, sitting on their knees, while looking at the Head of the Uta Clan.

"My granddaughter told me you came here with urgent news?" Satori questions them calmly.

Voltaria nodded her head. "Yes, Grandmaster, as you know, Vale was under siege by a massive Grimm invasion."

Satori nodded his head. "I am aware of the attack. Afterall, we all saw it and we learned about the people who orchestrated it."

"Yes, but they are not done." Voltaria said to him. "There will be another attack, and this time, it will be on Mistral."

"Hmm…so our dear city will be the next target, correct?"

"Yes, they will attempt to destroy the academy and the people." Voltaria responded.

Satori was silent, eyes closing briefly, as he let out a long exhale. "I knew this day would come, but I never knew it would be now."

This surprised everyone, especially Voltaria.

"Wait, you knew?" Jaune asked the grandmaster.

"I was suspicious considering why the defenses in Mistral are low and learning that numerous Huntsmen and Huntresses are disappearing from their missions." Satori explained the situation. "We did not think much, but one of my spies found a survivor and brought her here in secret. And that's when we learned that the hunters are being hunted."

"Wait, what?" Qrow suddenly got up from his spot and looked at Satori in shock. "Numerous huntsmen? Like Shiro Wan, Griffin Blanka, Boyd Raine, Amethyst Kreiss…"

"Yes, all hunted and killed by unknown assailants." Satori answered Qrow grimly. "Our sources believed that there is a mole amongst the council, giving out the location and information of the huntsmen."

The Students of Mistral and Qrow lowered their heads and realized that Lionheart must've given the information to Salem. Qrow clenches his fists in anger, for Lionheart betrayed them by selling off the Mistral Huntsmen, leaving the city defenseless.

"Lionheart…" Jaune suddenly whispers out, his eyes widened in horror while he was adjusting to this information. "He's doing this…"

Voltaria looks at Satori. "Did you know what Lionheart did?"

"We had suspicion towards the headmaster, but we didn't have any proof that would lead him to the crimes."

"And you can't confront him because he is part of the council." AJ said, recalling that every Headmasters in the academies are council members.

"Yes, that is why we lay low, keeping our security tight for any assassination attempts in our clan." Satori explained the reason.

Wade scoffed. "Tsk, that lying coward, using his status to not only give out the location of Mistral's huntsmen, but also using it to save his own damn skin!"

"A coward indeed." Satori said in anger. "Betraying his kingdom and the people for his pathetic life. Such cowardness shall not be forgiven."

"I'm with you on this one." Qrow said, clutching his hands into fist in anger. "I knew those hunters and huntresses, they were killed in vain, betrayed by that lying scumbag!"

"As much as I want to face that coward, we cannot risk ourselves from being exposed." Satori said calmly. "My clan cannot risk being falsely blamed for the attack of the headmaster."

"Agreed, we can't let Salem have another opportunity on her hands." Voltaria said to the group.

"I take it you have a plan?" Satori asked Voltaria.

Voltaria nodded her head. "For now, we stay low, keeping a close eye on Lionheart." Voltaria explains the situation. "He's planning to ambush us in the school with back up."

"And we'll be ready." Ruby said in determination.

"So are we." Satori said in a strong tone. "My clan shall stand by your side, no matter what. To protect our city from the threat that will come, and bring that cowardly lion to justice."

With everything in motion, the group was ready for anything.

"Oh, um…Grandmaster Satori?" Ruby asked, earning a nod of approval from the leader. "You found a survivor, right? What's her name and does she know who attacked her?"

"Her name is Heather Shield. She has a husband and daughter. Our spies found her in the forest when she was returning from a mission. She was heavily wounded, but we brought her back to our clan just in time in secret. We treated her wounds and before she passed out, she told us who attacked her."

"Who did?" Ren asked.

"It's actually them. They are from the Terminus Group."

Qrow gasped at this while Voltaria stayed silent, recognizing that group.

"What's the Terminus Group?" Nora asked in confusion.

"The Terminus Group are rogue mercenaries, huntsmen, huntresses, and soldiers." Qrow explains who they are dealing with. "They're a combat unit that operated outside the normal chain of command in the Huntsmen community. Haven't been caught by Atlas Military nor any police force for years."

"They're that good?" Wade asked the pro huntsman.

"Oh, yeah, their leader, Ivan Makarov, a total jackass. He's a rogue Mercenary Commander leader of the Terminus Group. And their base of operation is unknown."

"I heard of them from my uncle." Wade said, recalling the tale from his uncle. "The Terminus Group was so deadly, that they almost had every huntsman on their knees but soon…they started to diminish."

"Diminish?" Pyrrha asked in confusion. "What caused their downfall?"

Voltaria sighs and looks at her friends with an unreadable expression. "Let's just say…I may have been the cause of their group to lose members."

This caught everyone's attention. They always knew that Voltaria had many enemies during her life on the run, but they never expected her to make enemies with a dangerous group of mercenaries.

"I take it the group doesn't like you, Grimmy?" Sirena asked Voltaria, sitting next to her.

Voltaria shrugs her shoulders. "More or less, their leader has a vendetta and grudge against me for years."

Her friends became concerned and worried for Voltaria. Whatever Voltaria did to anger the leader must have been personal.

"What did you do to piss off the head honcho?" Qrow asked her.

Voltaria sighs. Her friends have the right to know. And she can't hide it forever.

"Because…a long time ago, before I enrolled into Beacon, Makarov sent a squadron to hunt me down since I had a bounty on my head."

"Ah, I remember that." Satori spoke up, recalling the news article that came years ago. "The Grimm Girl taking out a squadron of the Terminus Group. It was the biggest headline ever known as she demolished them."

"I didn't have a choice. I didn't like the idea of being captured, so I did what I had to do to survive. But the price was me having another enemy, for my action caused Makarov to grow resentment towards me over years." Voltaria said, her mask covering her face, feeling the hatred that Makarov has for her.

"Wha…what did you do?" Jaune dared to ask.

Voltaria took a deep breath and sigh, clutching her pants tightly, as she gave them her answer.

"I murdered Makarov's daughter."

Her words shocked her friends. They couldn't believe what they had heard. Yes she killed people before, but they were bounty hunters and mercenaries that wanted to sell her off for money, and she was just defending herself. Voltaria explains to them that when she was just seven years old, she encountered Yulia Makarov and her squad that were assigned to capture her, and if she resisted, she would die in their hands. However, they underestimated Voltaria, she may be young, but she was trained by Kurama and her entities. Moreover, she wasn't alone. Voltaria uses her ability to call out Grimm from underground, forcing Yulia and her squad to fight them off, but to no avail. Kurama was with her and fought the mercenaries off, one by one. The squad was overrun by Grimm, and some tried to escape. However, Voltaria did not spare any of them as she blew up a nearby mountain, causing a huge rockslide to crush Yulia and her squad, killing them in the process.

With the death of his daughter by the hands of Voltaria, Makarov swore revenge, vowing to kill Voltaria and avenge his daughter. But he always fails many times. And yet, he will not stop until he kills her.

"If Makarov is working alongside Salem, that means he's helping her kill off the hunters in Mistral." Qrow said in realization.

"If so, I'm surprised they didn't attack the Uta Clan." AJ said in shock.

"That's because they cannot face the clan of well-trained ninjas." Satori said in a strong tone. "They attempted before, trying to attack one of my people when they were on a mission, but to no avail."

"Still, we can't have our guard down." Ruby said in a serious tone. "Lionheart is probably keeping an eye and telling Salem about this."

"But he'll suspect that you all are here." Uri said to them.

"Not quite." Voltaria said before showing them her scroll, revealing their lodging and themselves, resting. "We left behind a fake trail of ourselves there. Making Lionheart believe that were in the house."

Sirena smirks in amusement. "Well played, Grimmy."

Satori nodded in agreement. "Indeed, making your opponent think they have the upper advantage is well planned.

"I have my ways." Voltaria said before deactivating her scroll. "We hope that you will assist us in our time of need."

"You and your friends save Vale, it will be our greatest honor to assist you in saving Mistral as well." Satori said with a simple bow, which Voltaria and her friends returned.

"By the way, Grandmaster Satori?" Ruby asked respectfully. "How's Heather Shield?"

"She's doing well, Ms. Rose. Recovering slowly from the attack." Satori assures the group. "Our healers made sure she got the best treatment. Although…"

Everyone looked at the grandmaster, showing looks of concern.

"What's wrong? Did something happen to her?" Pyrrha asked worriedly.

Satori shook his head. "No, she's fine, it is just before she passed out, she was muttering about four hooded figures saving her, and that there Grimm nearby."

Voltaria glanced at Oscar, who froze from his spot. The others don't know that she and Oscar encounter people like Voltaria, calling themselves Grimm Riders. Of course, they didn't tell the others yet. Voltaria was skeptical about them. She has yet to trust those Grimm Riders, even if they were like her. But if they saved the huntress from the Terminus Group, that means they can help them fight the odds against the attack.

Thanking the leader of the Uta clan, they went back to their lodging. There, the doppelgangers of them, puppets that they used when they saved Amber, and keep a low profile. Voltaria's entities make sure that there are no bugs in their room.

"Any words about Lionheart?" Qrow asked Voltaria, who was sitting close to the window bench.

The Grimm Girl shook her head at Qrow, not taking her eyes off setting sun. "None so far, although Tabitha is at Lionheart's office. He's talking with one of Salem's subordinates."

"That bastard is going to pay." Qrow mutters coldly. He still can't believe that Lionheart betrayed them due to his cowardness. Before Qrow could ask more details, he noticed how quiet Voltaria was. "…You okay? You're acting all…quieter than usual."

"It's…complicated?"

"What is?" Ruby asked, coming over to her with the others.

Voltaria isn't sure if she should tell them about their encounter with the Grimm Riders. She has yet to fully understand her situation. However, she can't hide any secrets from her friends, not anymore. Furthermore, the Grimm Riders did not show any malice. In fact, they saved Heather Shield from death. At least maybe they can help them. Her entities agreed that it was best to let them know.

"When me and Oscar were scouting, we stumbled upon the lair of the Nuckelavee, we encountered some strangers…"

"Strangers? What kind of strangers?" Wade asked worriedly.

"They're not bad, per say. They're just…they're just…" Voltaria was trying to find the right words to say to them.

"They're what?" Jaune asked, feeling nervous about her words.

"…They're like me…they can control Grimm." Voltaria finally answers them.

Her words shocked everyone. They couldn't believe what they were hearing. There are others like Voltaria? They always assumed that Voltaria was the only one who could control Grimm. Guess they were wrong. Voltaria explains to them that these people called themselves Grimm Riders, people that are capable of controlling Grimm. And what's scary is that they know a lot about her and her mother. And that they were sent by her grandmother.

"Woah, a grandmother?" Wade asked in disbelief. "I didn't know you had a grandma."

"Yeah, we always thought Panny was an orphan." Nora said, recalling that time that she and Ren were living with Pandora, and they never even once heard her say anything about her family.

"Apparently, my mother kept it a secret. She is a Grimm Rider, part of them, and waiting for the right moment to tell me until I was ready to learn the truth. But the truth is…I'm confused." Voltaria said, looking back at the setting sun.

"So…what's their deal?" Yang asked, worried about Voltaria's feelings, recalling how fragile she was when they were in her dream realm.

"They…they wanted to take me back…"

Ruby forwards her brows. "Back where?"

"Home…"

"Home? Back Mineral Town?" Nora asked.

Voltaria shook her head and looked at the group seriously. "No, not there, but a hidden place. They said…that there are others like me…who can tame Grimm."

"Wait, are you saying that there's a hidden kingdom on Remnant that we don't know about?" Wade asked in shock.

"I believe so, I don't know what it is called, but the leader gave me this." Voltaria shows them a white gemstone from her pocket, "He said that if I'm ready or need assistance, I just have to contact them through here."

The group huddled to get a better look of the item. "That thing will allow you to contact those Grimm Riders?" Qrow asked her.

"Yes, and then saving Heather Shield was no coincidence." Voltaria said in a serious tone. "They even knew about Salem and called her 'the False Goddess'."

Now that shocked everyone, especially Qrow. "They know about Salem?" Jaune asked in surprise.

Apparently so, young Arc. Regina said to them, appearing out of the shadows with the others. They also show great disliking towards her, as if she was their enemy.

"Because she is the enemy." Nora added.

Moreover, they wish to help Voltaria in her mission. Regin explained to them.

"Hmm…kinda suspicious if you ask me." Wade said to the group. "Why are they now showing up?"

"They thought I was dead with my mother." Voltaria said to them. "My grandmother learned about my existence from news articles in Remnant. That's why she sent people to retrieve me, to take me home, where my mother was actually born."

There was silence from the group. They could tell that Voltaria was still uneasy by the fact that there are people like here that can communicate with the Grimm. Voltaria was having doubts if they are willing to help them, or if it was some trick. They knew the risk as well, fearing that these Grimm Riders will back stabbed them. However, they needed all the help they could get.

"V, I know it's wrong, maybe it's best that you keep that gem just in case." Wade said to Voltaria.

Voltaria looks at him and the others. "You sure?"

"I agree with Wade. We're outnumbered if Salem has the Terminus Group on her side, chances against them will be slim." Ruby said to Voltaria. "Just give them a chance. After all, they were sent by your grandmother."

That we have yet to know about. Wraith mutters in their minds.

Voltaria thinks for a while as she looks at the gem in her hand. Her mysterious grandmother sent those people to bring her home, and they were willing to give her time to think as well as offering her assistance. Even though she never met her grandmother, she felt something inside of her that she should trust her and those Grimm Riders. Even if they have Levistus, Amaryllis, Ripper, Blue, and Ultima, along with the Uta Clan, they still need back up, just in case the Creatures of Grimm breaches the city.

"I'll keep this close, I'll contact them soon if things go south." Voltaria said.

"Sooner than later if you ask me." Qrow said to Voltaria. "If we're dealing with those lethal mercenary groups and Salem's faction, and both are working together, we need all the help we could get."

Everyone agrees with this idea. For they need all the help they could get.

Unaware that someone will be the one assisting them.

"Dr. Kalokaíri, we're reaching to Mistral as we speak." Said a female flight attendant.

Aletheia smiles, sitting on the window seat of her private transport jet. She was heading to Mistral to display the fossil of a complete skeletal structure of a T-Rex with her crew.

Aletheia smiles at the flight attendant kindly. "Thank you."

The flight attendant returns the smile before checking with the other passengers. Once she was gone, Aletheia took out her pocket watch and opened it to see the time but also looked at a picture on the other side. Revealing her younger self, hugging a girl that resembles Volatria, but with only black hair and white streaks. It is revealed to be Voltaria's mother, Pandora. Indication that both she and Aletheia were once friends.

Aletheia smiles at the picture gently. Having fond memories that she shared when they were both young.

"Do not worry, Pandora. I will watch over you daughter." Aletheia said silently before looking at the setting sun from her window.

Sorry if it wasn't good. I'm losing some inspiration to write.

Uta Satori's voice actor is George Takei.