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Somewhere in Hokkaidō, Tuesday 3 April, two hours before breakfast (Vale time: Gayatit 52 Treichleam, suppertime; Anádyr' time: Tuesday, an hour after breakfast)…
A flash of energy appeared out of nowhere in front of a well-hidden stone torii-like gate somewhere on Japan's northern island, revealing two people having just teleported the many light-years from Remnant to the third world of Sol. If anyone from Yiziba saw them at this time, s/he would be totally shocked to see the likes of Leno Lu'umlo of all people dressed in a black Terran business suit; the underlying dress shirt, though, was in his preferred deep purple. Of course, Neopolitan — who was now starting to consider going back to her birth name of Trivia Vanille given all the changes in her life — was dressed once more in her preferred multi-colour style, though it was altered to match Terran fashion than Remnantian, which was in many places a few decades behind that of the mother world of humanity.
"What's with the trip here, Padre?" the Ballerina of the Final Darkness asked as she followed the Mad Prophet of the Future through the gate into a somewhat darkened compound well shielded from outside view except high in the sky.
"You require training, my dear," Leno noted as he walked towards the largest of the well-lived in buildings in the compound. "If I know the good doctor, he'll be training his new recruits as well. He is very good at that."
An anticipatory grin crossed the Valean mercenary's face. She had to admit, Isaac Thomas totally surprised her. In the experiences of her past-selves, hyper-genius polymaths like the Wise Lone Sage were more content in making use of their gadgets to survive a fight scene. Seeing Isaac willingly mix it up with the likes of Adam Taurus — and WIN! — was quite the eye-opener to Neo. "Pretty understandable," she then admitted. "So, who'd you get to help out?"
He gave her a knowing smile. "Only the best."
He then knocked on the door…
…before his smile grew wider as someone literally stepped out of nearby shadows to approach them. Said fellow was dressed in black from neck to toe in the same fashion as the Mad Prophet donned for this meeting…though he had a long black trench coat draped over his shoulders in lieu of a proper business jacket. A dark grey fedora was perched on his head, that framed with slicked-back raven hair. His brown eyes were protected by tinted aviator sunglasses. Gazing at him, Neo immediately shivered on sensing the level of emotional control this man had, to say ANYTHING of his remarkable fighting skill. Even more so, her well-honed ability to sense a person's Aura potential revealed that despite him NOT being a metahuman, he had long mastered his body's abilities through LOTS of training and experience.
"Leno-san," the newcomer greeted. "So, you came through with your promise."
"A promise is a promise, Master Jō," Leno stated as he reached out to grasp their host's hand. "That is as sacred to faces and heels alike on Yiziba as much as it is in many places here on Earth. And on Remnant as well," he added as he gazed on his first Remnantian recruit. "May I present Mistress Trivia Vanille — also known as Neopolitan — of the city of Vale on the planet Remnant, who is now the Ballerina of the Final Darkness; you'd call her 'Danzatrice' here." As Neo curtseyed to their host, Leno waved to him, a warm smile crossing his face. "And this is Master Amon Jō, the current leader of the Amon Clan, the finest group of assassins that exist on this planet."
"Save, of course, for those whose training is descent from the Immortal Master like the Earth Angel and the Protector of All Life themselves, of course," Jō calmly noted as he returned Neo's curtsey with a bow, inwardly smiling on seeing the pained look on Leno's face. Even if they were acquaintances, the leader of the world's most proficient clan of assassins felt the reborn preacher was still too blinded by his own prejudices. "Welcome to Earth, Neo-san."
"Dōmo," she replied in Japanese before some snark entered her voice. "What's with the Matrix look?" At the surprised stares from Leno and Jō, she added, "My immediate past-self visited Earth twelve years ago. She saw the movie."
Both men laughed. "My dear, the Amon-ichizoku make this look be feared long before that movie came out…though I confess, Reeves-san did an excellent job performing in that film!" Jō stated with a smile. "As Leno-san just stated, I am the leader of the Amon-ichizoku. Amon Jō at your service." He gazed on the Mad Prophet. "So, you brought your first recruit from this Remnant planet as your promised. I assumed you would desire her to be trained?"
"Given what Isaac's been doing, do you blame me?" Leno wondered.
A hum answered him. "Yes, given his interests, he would have been quite the student himself."
The reborn prophet nodded. "So, why should a professional mercenary who has thrived on Remnant of all planets be NOT trained by the greatest assassins below Mistress Negako herself on this planet?"
Jō tried not to blush at that praise…
…before he tensed, spinning around. "Who…?"
"Calm yourself, Jō."
Neo almost felt her bowels let go at that voice, which reminded her of the one time she heard the Queen of Darkness speak to Cinder Fall before the attack on Beacon. The shadows nearby melted into a woman looking to be about her age, dressed like her host in black from neck to toe, though she wore a more traditional kimono-and-pleated hakama combination with a black belt wrapped around her waist, that topped with the golden kanji 地 at the ends of the belt. On seeing her, Leno looked pale as Neo nearly fell to her knees as the sheer level of emotional control this being had over herself nearly overwhelmed her empathic powers with its seemingly magnetic pull. Jō wasn't bothered by her appearance. "Shihan-sama," he greeted the personal assassin of the Heavenly Sovereign with a respectful bow.
Moroboshi Negako returned that with a polite nod. "Jō. Leno." She then focused on Neo before she reached over to tap several places on the right side of her neck, making the just-Gifted mercenary tensed before sheer steel flooded her heart to clamp down on her new metahuman abilities. As the young mercenary blinked in confusion, the grandmaster of Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū nodded. "Recently Gifted. And still grieving for a lost close friend. From Remnant, Leno?"
"Um…y-yes, Mistress Negako," the Mad Prophet stuttered. Which was for good reason. Despite his many abilities, he wasn't going to test himself on a being who once duelled Earth's very own Jewel Warrior of all people, fighting her to a STANDSTILL in the recent world war. "The man who rescued and trained her in her native gifts was killed last night in an attack orchestrated by that death cheater Salem on her former paramour. Has Master Isaac informed you?"
"I maintain contact," Negako coolly stated. "Roman Torchwick?"
Hearing that name, Neo felt her eyes mist over before she silently nodded. Seeing that, Negako nodded in turn. "He trained you very well, Trivia," she declared, making the younger woman gasp as she gazed in wide-eyed shock at this strange creature in the form of a very beautiful brown-haired woman with nearly black eyes. "Live and thrive, then avenge yourself of those who orchestrated Roman's death. That is how you will properly heal from his loss, Trivia."
Hearing that made Neo's face brighten as she sensed that this highly-trained being was quite honest in the words she just spoke. "Well said, Shihan-sama," Jō affirmed with a nod. "Any recommendations?"
"A trial bout."
"Would you care to call the dance?"
"If you desire. Leno, we must talk afterwards."
Hearing that, the reborn socialist preacher shakily nodded…
Vale City on Remnant, that moment…
"General Ironwood."
James Ironwood perked on hearing that prim voice, then he turned to see one of his prominent subordinates approach him as he was about to walk through the main entrance gate to Renaissance Industries; the expert huntsman had been beamed down from the Normandy close to the ground command site of his expeditionary force so he could get updates on what was happening with the withdrawal to Atlas before seeing RI for himself. "Captain Schnee. I thought you were supposed to be in Mistral," the leader of Atlas' military stated as the elder daughter of Remnant's richest resident came up to stand at attention before him, she escorted by a small troupe of Knight-200 combat androids.
Winter Schnee took a breath. "Forgive me, General, but I was en route to Mistral when my father's butler alerted me to last night's and this morning's…" She scowled as she gazed around her. "Activities!" she coolly added. "Once word got to the Council about Father being attacked by some rogue while you and the local forces were attempting to capture that monster Taurus, they overrode your decision and had me come here to ensure Father and my sister return to Atlas."
Ironwood nodded. "Return to Captain Schnee's ship, men," he ordered the androids before he waved the silver-haired special operations officer with him towards the nearby expertly-rebuilt old warehouse. As the androids obediently about-turned and marched off, the two Atlesians walked through the main entrance gate leading into Renaissance Industries' main complex. Such a structure was in the southern part of Vale's commercial district overlooking the shores of the Beacon River, an inlet that extended from its namesake academy westwards towards the open ocean well beyond the industrial zones and the dockyard that was the scene of the final engagement between the forces of the White Fang and local huntsmen augmented by human soldiers from Atlas. "What did you learn?"
"That we lost Penny," Winter declared with sadness. "Which was a shame. Her potential was amazing." She nodded to the security guard — a scowling crocodilian therianthrope who towered over both huntsmen, standing well over two metres high — as Ironwood presented his scroll. After Winter did same, the guard tapped a control and waved them inside. "Quite intimidating security," she quietly added as they found themselves in the main reception all.
Fortunately, a guide was waiting for them. "Good to see you again, General," Mikazuki Yozora stated as she politely bowed to them. "And you must be Weiss' sister," she added as she gazed upon Winter, earning her a surprised look from the special forces officer. "I'm sure your family must be proud of your service with your kingdom." At that comment, Winter blushed, which earned her a smirk from her superior officer. "If you're here to see your sister safely returned back to Atlas City, she's in one of the employee lounges right now. Please follow me, General, Captain."
She waved them down a hallway. Gazing upon the raven-haired teenage girl now escorting them through a place that Winter's father would gladly wish burned down for the many threats such presented to his own business holdings, the young special forces officer blinked as her own ability to read someone's Aura potential clicked in. On noting what she could see of Yozora, her sky-blue eyes went wide with realization, then she moved to snap-draw her duelling sabre.
"CAPTAIN!" Ironwood snapped, causing the younger huntsman to yelp in shock.
A pair of twinkling amethyst eyes then focused on the two Atlesians. "I take it the captain just sensed the truth about me?" Yozora playfully asked before she waved them towards a nearby elevator.
As Winter gaped at such joviality from the artificial person in front of her, Ironwood chuckled. "Yes, she just did. I did train her in being able to detect people's Aura potential when she opted for special forces training. Allowing you to mask the truth of your existence is something that Isaac needs to work on with people like yourself, Miss Mikazuki."
Weiss Schnee's elder sister blinked in confusion as she gazed on her superior, then the obviously advanced artificial person who was their escort through Renaissance Industries, then back again. "I'm sure Isaac can do something about that, General," Yozora stated as she tapped a random code into the security lock governing the elevator's movements. "Although I was never built to be a full combat unit such as your people created Penny as, I can defend myself well."
Winter blinked several more times as the subtle hum of an elevator car approaching echoed through the space. "Mister Thomas created you, Miss Mikazuki?" she then finally asked.
"Yes, he did, as he did many others, Captain. Including the senior scientists," Yozora affirmed. "General, are you sure the captain is ready to accept ALL the truths about what we're doing here?"
"She's more than ready, Miss Mikazuki," Ironwood declared, making Winter immediately stiffen as she realized she was about to be let in on a rather BIG secret concerning their hosts.
The car then arrived, the doors swooshing open…
…before Winter exclaimed in disbelief and shock on seeing who was there.
"Oh, sorry about that, Yozora-chan!" the living goddess standing inside the car then apologized. "I didn't know you were escorting Oji-chan and Winter-chan around the building…"
KK-KLONK!
Ironwood winced as he heard Winter hit the floor in a dead faint!
"Huh?" Kasuga Ayumu breathed out. "Gee! Was it something I said?"
Minutes later…
A moan escaped Winter Schnee as her eyes fluttered open.
"Winter!"
Blinking on hearing the voice of her sister, the special forces officer found herself gazing at a well-lit ceiling before she looked to her left to see Weiss Schnee kneeling beside her; they were in a large cafeteria. "Weiss…" the eldest child of Jacques Schnee breathed out before she looked once more at the ceiling. "I just had the most incredible dream…!"
"What of?" the younger huntress asked.
"That I just encountered the One Above the Gods…!"
Weiss' own eyes twinkled. "No dream."
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
Then…
"What…?!" Winter eeped.
Weiss pointed to her left, making her sister sit up and look…
…before her jaw dropped to the floor in disbelief on seeing a brown-haired woman in a modified version of the famous grey uniform once worn by the being who had banished the Two Brothers forever from Remnant standing beside her own superior officer and her old rival from Anima, chatting away excitedly about something. Before Winter could sputter out anything, footfalls heralded the approach of a much younger woman in the same model of clothes, though hers were gold with tenné brown belt and boots, protective goggles on her face protecting the most expressive brown eyes the special forces officer had ever seen on anyone! In her hand was a tray with a very large sundae on it, topped with a very sweet red cherry. "Ah! Winter-san! Are you okay?! Ōsaka-san didn't scare you that much, did she?"
Winter blinked before she gazed at Kasuga Ayumu, then back at Mihama Chiyo. "Er…are you from…?"
"Adopted of that planet, as are Ōsaka-san and the others dressed like I am," the young pre-teen genius declared with an understanding nod before she handed Winter the sundae. "Here you go. You have something to eat, Winter-san. You're going to be shocked about a lot of things over the next few minutes, so this will help you settle your stomach." She then winked. "Reveal scenes like this are ALWAYS upsetting to the stomach."
Weiss giggled as the Bright Genius of the Young Guns headed to rejoin Blake Belladonna and several other Faunus, including one Winter recognized as Monica Khan, niece of the current leader of the White Fang. As the younger heiress of the Schnee business empire helped her sister up, the special forces officer looked around. The cafeteria —about half the size of the dining hall at the Beacon Academy — was filled with excited people, mostly Faunus with a smattering of normal humans. Several more were dressed in the form-fitting uniforms the girl who presented her with a sundae and the One Above the Gods — Shouldn't that be a MAN?! Winter wondered as she gazed towards Ayumu, who still had both Qrow Branwen's and James Ironwood's attention — who were dispersed among the locals.
"Are you okay?" Weiss teasingly asked.
The elder heiress of the Schnee fortune blinked again before she sighed. "When was this discovered?" she wondered as she absently reached for her spoon, then took up a hunk of very tasty ice cream.
"Oh, Isaac…" — here, Weiss pointed to Isaac Thomas, who was currently standing by the serving area, discussing things with Glynda Goodwitch, Bartholomew Oobleck and Peter Port — "…had to reveal himself last night when all the fun began. Taurus' people were out to target him because he was introducing his native technology which doesn't need Dust. He got Blake's old lover and her friends to switch sides, saw Gray Haddock killed, then summoned some of his friends from his adopted homeworld…" — here, she indicated Chiyo, then Neville Longbottom — "…to help us with the Grimm. Did you see how clear the Academy grounds were when you came in?"
As she recalled what she saw when she had flown into Vale, Winter nodded. "How did that happen?"
Weiss indicated the Master of Plants again. "Partially Master Neville's doing. He has the ability to manipulate plants, including a type of dandelion that creates a mist which kills Grimm on contact." As Winter's jaw dropped — such plants would be devastating against the Grimm who had crowded the citizens of Atlas into their enclaves, denying them the majority of Solitas for settlement — her sister added, "Once Master Neville brought in the mist dandelions, Lady Ayumu used her power to spread them all over Vale." Here, she indicated the Goddess Who Walks Among Men.
The older woman gazed in awe at the living goddess nearby, then she allowed her well-honed sight abilities to click in. She instantly squeezed her eyes closed as she spun away, nearly blinded by the intensive corona of power contained within the body of the native of Wakayama. As Weiss winced, Ayumu automatically gazed over. "Oi! Winter-chan!" she gently scolded. "Don't do that, okay?! You're gonna hurt yourself!"
Winter blinked as she felt her vision come back while Qrow came over. "Hey, are you okay?"
Gazed upon him, the special forces officer blinked before her jaw dropped. "YOU'RE SOBER!"
That made the veteran of Team SRTQ blink before he chuckled. "Yeah, I am. Weird feeling."
"Are you alright, Winter?!"
Winter perked before she looked over…
…then she nearly collapsed to the floor in another dead faint on seeing a wide-eyed and clearly ALIVE Penny Polendina come over to her. "P-P-PENNY?!" she exclaimed as her eyes teared in disbelief, the images of the poor gynoid being sliced apart by the power of Pyrrha Nikos replaying again in her mind.
Weiss grabbed her sister's sundae to prevent her from dropping it while Qrow chuckled in amusement and Penny moved to kneel before her first combat trainer. "Oh, I'm so happy you're…URRRK!"
The gynoid-turned-synthezoid stopped as her evergreen eyes suddenly glowed a brilliant silver…
Tene lomher'buo, Persephone Polendina…!
"'Persephone'?" Isaac wondered from nearby as Penny straightened herself, her silver jumpsuit beginning to glow — as was her body — as something started to flow deeply into her.
"It was the name her creator gave her," Ironwood noted as his special sight sensed the ghostly echo of SOMETHING appear behind Penny before moving to merge with her body. "That is just AMAZING…!"
Sensing the huntsmen in the room were seeing the Gift crystal that had chosen the adopted Atlesian as her new host, the Wise Lone Sage then barked out, "EVERYONE! TURN YOUR EYES AWAY!"
People jolted before spinning away as Penny's whole body became as bright as Oum itself…!
Nesu…IMRAMR'BE!
A joyful cry escaped the transformed gynoid as the sheer influx of mesonium being pushed into her body by the Great Crystal of Power transformed the silicon of her current synthezoid form to carbon-type strands of proteins, forming perfect codes of naturally organic DNA and RNA while her pre-Gifting suit changed to a jumpsuit of the same evergreen shade as she once wore with her normal clothes, silver pouch-lined belt and boots completing the ensemble. Silver trimming in Yizibajohei numbers lined like computer code appeared along the outer flanks of her legs and abdomen, plus trimmed the sides of her top; on the chest above her cleavage was a silver computer power icon insignia.
As people spun back to gaze upon the just-Gifted woman, Penny's glowing eyes returned to their normal evergreen shade before she shook her head…then she blinked as Ayumu came over to stand before her. Gazing deeply into the eyes of the Mind-Moulder of Armour, Imramr'be ("Operator"), the Goddess Who Walks Among Men then reached up to once again probe her fingers into the transformed gynoid's head, making Winter screech in disbelief…
KK-KLONK!
…before she dropped once more into a dead faint on the floor!
"Ōsaka-san…!" a moaning Chiyo breathed out from nearby, her head drooping.
Ayumu hummed as she pulled her fingers out before she raised her hand in greeting. "O-ha!"
Penny blinked before she echoed that move. "Salutations!"
Silence fell…
…then a wild cheer exploded from everyone in the room!
In a nearby office…
"Eh?! Penny-san was just Gifted?!"
Hearing Saeru Hinako's exclamation, Pyrrha Nikos looked over at the native of Niigata, who had been busy with six of her fleet of shipgirls scanning PAAs to link with Earth's Internet system to get information to help prepare for what they now called Hinako's Spring Break Shipgirl Hunt, Part II; the youngest of the Fukushima sisters, Fukushima Urako — on Yiziba, the Speedy Tsunami, Boba ("Uranami") — was flying about, using cloud cover to keep aerial watch over the property. "Um…I didn't hear anything, Hinako," the native of Mistral stated. She had been placed in this office so Weiss Schnee's elder sister wouldn't be shocked by too much information crashing down on her all at once.
The Spirit of Innocence smiled. "Hina felt it when Penny-san was Gifted, Pyrrha-san," she affirmed as her caramel eyes then twinkled as a surge of reassurance flowed out of her body.
Pyrrha shuddered before she felt herself relaxing from that flood of empathic energy from the young elementary school student. While still a little bothered that someone like Hinako — who was only SEVEN! — had such a great Gift, she did feel reassured by the mix of cute innocence and wise knowledge the Terran girl projected to others. The Mistralite was fearful of what the reaction would be if Hinako confronted the darker sides of what happened on Remnant. Even if her empathy was something the Grimm couldn't tolerate if what she learned from Team SSSN concerning that king taijitu was true, there were other things on Remnant that would make even the most hardened huntsman sick.
A beeping sound then echoed. "Uranami to Flag!"
Fukushima Fujiko tapped her PAA. "Flag, go."
"Gomen nasai, but I just heard screams emanating from a warehouse two blocks west from the main gate," Urako called out, the hint of a growl in her voice. "They sound like young women to me, Onē-san…and they all sound in terrible distress! There are some male voices shouting as well, I think!"
Hinako focused to her left, then she hissed. "Oooh! You MEANIES!"
"WHAT?!" Pyrrha demanded.
"Urako-chan, go see what's going on! We're coming to you!" Fujiko barked.
"Hai, Onē-san!" Urako called back.
"What is it?!" the Mistralite demanded again.
Hinako grabbed her PAA. "Some creep is going to do nasty things to nice girls, Pyrrha-san!"
She grabbed Pyrrha, then teleported out of the room, with the other Fukushima sisters following…
A half-kilometre to the west…
Cardin Winchester sneered as he gazed balefully at the gathering of several dozen Faunus — mostly women and young children — he and the members of his team had been able to gather during the broad sweep of the town they had made after last night's tragedy. "Stop whining, you freaks!" the leader of Team CRDL snarled. "We want answers! Our school's gone and that fucking steer Taurus was seen cutting down one of our classmates! Another one killed one of our classmates in the Beacon Tower and Headmaster Ozpin is missing, too! You all had to support the White Fang…!"
A finger tapped his shoulder. "Excuse Hina please, Baka-Baka-san!"
The caramel-haired huntsman yelped before he spun around…
…then he screamed in horror on seeing the living ghost now standing beside the very cute pre-teen girl who had just appeared behind him. As his own teammates Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing and Sky Lark exclaimed in disbelief on seeing the "dead" member of Team JNPR standing there quite ALIVE even if her clothes had radically changed to something that left next to NOTHING to the imagination and her crimson tresses now hung loose around her shoulders and down past her hips, the Mistralite shook her head. "Just give you idiots an excuse to go pick on poor people like you always do! How in Oum's Name did you all get ACCEPTED in the first place?!" she then demanded as her own evergreen eyes began to glow ominously, making Saeru Hinako gasp as she gazed wide-eyed at the older woman.
"The One Above the Gods…!"
That was one of Team CRDL's prisoners, a vulpine therianthrope Hinako's age who sported quite the shiner that had closed her left eye. Her mother was holding her; she also had bruises. Seeing that, Pyrrha's glowing eyes went wide, then she focused on Cardin, a snarl entering her voice as it began to echo with otherworldly power. "WHAT IN OUM'S NAME IS THIS, WINCHESTER?! YOU DON'T GO ABUSING INNOCENT PEOPLE LIKE THAT!"
Tene lomher'buo, Pyrrha Nikos…!
Hinako looked up. "Ah! It's Pyrrha-san's time!"
"WHAT IS THIS SHIT?!" Cardin snapped back as he shakily pointed towards Pyrrha, he faltering back. "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD, YOU STUPID ANIMAL-LOVER…!"
A hand clamped down on his shoulder, spinning him around…
"Don't swear in front of the Admiral!"
KK-KRACK!
Hinako winced as Fukushima Urako's backhand slap sent Cardin right into the wall of the warehouse! As the prisoners gasped on seeing yet ANOTHER being dressed like the cute girl who interrupted Team CDRL's attempts at extorting information NONE of them had about the White Fang — despite Adam Taurus' recruiting efforts, many Valean Faunus wanted to live their lives in peace and do good for themselves and their families — who swatted away the arrogant rich kid like an annoying insect! Roaring on seeing his team leader abused like that, Russel shrieked, "YOU BITCH!"
His twinned fighting daggers levelled on target, sending out a volley of Dust-propelled bullets right at the chest of the Speedy Tsunami. Urako smirked as said rounds splashed harmlessly against the dark blue tidal wave insignia above her cleavage, that embossed by 浦波 in white-framed black vertical reading formation. As both Sky and Dove drew their own swords and charged towards her, Urako then calmly gestured…
…which caused part of the wall where Cardin crashed into to implode, allowing a titanic jet of water to surge in like a horizontal waterspout. As the brightly glowing Pyrrha gasped in awe on seeing such abilities by the reborn warship, said waterspout punched into Russel, sending the punk-like man flying into both Sky and Dove, all three being sent careening into another far wall! As they collapsed to the floor and the "prisoners" whooped in disbelief on seeing that these strange humans — all dressed like the ultimate god-like being who saved their ancestors two millennia ago — were on their side, a certain Mistralite found herself metaphorically falling off the Beacon Tower into her new life…!
Nesu…DUTOR'BUO!
"TAEIM LETAM!" Pyrrha screamed out as her uniform morphed into a shiny gunmetal grey affair with black belt and boots, plus a black globe-like insignia on her chest, that encasing a tube with lines of energy projecting from both ends to form concentric circles above and below their origin. As the energy faded from the newly-Gifted Warper of Metal, Dutor'buo ("Polarity"), anything that was metallic within immediate range of her — including her schoolmates' weapons and armour — all started to shake, twist and bend, almost as if a legion of invisible mythological warriors had grabbed them to test their strength. As the "prisoners" shuddered in fearful awe at such a display of metahuman strength by the just-Gifted Mistralite, a flash of near-blinding light then blinded everyone for a moment…
"Ah, man! Pyrrha-chan, you gotta calm down!"
That made the Mistralite gasp as shocked cries of disbelief escaped some of Team CDRL's prisoners…
…before another flash of energy saw them teleported a half-kilometre away…
The headquarters of Renaissance Industries…
…where they appeared right in the main cafeteria!
"Healers, please!" Kasuga Ayumu called out as shocked cries echoed from everyone there.
Instantly, several of RI's local staff moved to swarm over the just-freed prisoners. James Ironwood, Glenda Goodwitch and Qrow Branwen also approached, they then taking in the much-WILDER looking Pyrrha Nikos in her new uniform, her face twisted in a scowl as she glared at the members of Team CDRL by her feet, their battle armour twisted around, weapons snapped, and clothes torn from the first exertion of the Mistralite's new electromagnetic manipulation powers. "What happened here, Miss Nikos?" the commander of Atlas' military demanded as he stared wide-eyed at the injured child that connected Saeru Hinako and Fukushima Urako with the most sacred legends of all the Faunus.
"PYRRHA NIKOS?!"
That was a totally-white, wide-eyed Winter Schnee, who had bolted up — having just recovered from what happened to Penny Polendina — to stare in disbelief at the "dead" would-be Fall Maiden…
KK-KLONK!
…before she dropped to the floor yet AGAIN in a dead faint!
"Gee, Winter-chan! You really should stop doing that!"
Everyone stared at Ayumu as she gazed at the dazed special forces officer, then Qrow laughed…
Two hours later, back in a certain ice-lined cove in northeast Siberia (local time: Tuesday, noon)…
A tired sigh escaped the Fukuoka-jin who had been entrusted with direct command of Imperial Japan's largest warship seven decades prior. "There is much good news, Admiral," Captain Ogawa Gorō stated as he sat beside his formation commander in one of the many caves granted to the crew of THG Yonaga by their hosts to serve as emergency places of evacuation in case their ship was sunk while trapped here. Said cave now looked like the transformed carrier's Flag Plot, where senior staff of the fifth of the Yamato-class warships and the Sixth Naval Air Flotilla would meet to hash out plans for the future; the cave was now complete with tables, chairs, mounted navigation charts on magically-created blackboards, the floor covered with polar bear skin carpets covering cables connecting this particular cave with others via Yonaga's relocated internal telephone network. "All divisions and departments have checked in. All crew are safe and well, personal effects accounted for. Even better, the Shrine was relocated to Meeting Hall One." Here, the veteran pilot who had flown off THG Akagi as Fujita's senior squadron boss a decade before they were brought together on Yonaga shrugged. "All that's realistically missing is the ship itself, all fuel and ammunition and all her airplanes."
Hearing that, the native of Nagoya and adopted native of Hiroshima nodded. "I long heard from my grandfather how merciless the Great Old Ones were all those years ago," the veteran of Tsushima who was two generations removed from magical blood said. "The same tales being confirmed by our wonderful hosts since we were trapped here in Shōwa-jūrokunen. I foolishly hoped Túndra-sama would one day grant his mercy to us and allow us to leave Sano-wan to do our mission, either to return home or join our fleet mates in Yasukuni." He shook his head. "I pray Sljépjj-sensei is right and we will be released…" His dark eyes then brimmed with tears. "To learn the truth that we've long denied."
"We lost the war," Ogawa breathed out. "As you and Yamamoto-taishō always predicted."
"Hai, as Isoroku-san and I always knew," Fujita affirmed.
"Now you can embrace your TRUE future, Hiroshi."
Both men turned, then rose as an ancient, blind gamájun seer came into the cave. "Sensei," Fujita affirmed as he and Ogawa bowed to Sljépjj Z'rjéti, elder mother of the Nest of Seers, as she took her seat across from Ogawa, moving with incredible skill thanks to her mage-sight abilities that compensated for lost eyesight, deprived from her by an arrogant poacher who had been beheaded by Ogawa himself shortly after Yonaga's entrapment within Sano-wan in late 1941.
"Do not be saddened by this, Hiroshi," the aged seer declared as she seemed to focus directly on the would-be commander of Operation Z, she then tapping the table with a clawed finger. "The kami of your nest has become your chick, filled with the passion and fervour that attracted us to you and your mates all those seasons ago, then empowered by the Great Forge of the Tears of the Stars, one of whom gifted to the Protector of All Life herself…"
"Raeburn-shihan," Ogawa stated.
"Da," Sljépjj answered in Russian before continuing in her accented Japanese; languages were a very easy thing for the metamorphic avians to master. "Not to mention the other gifts of the Great Forge which blessed the Protector's adopted father and his adopted father, who fought with Master Tundra and the others to expel the Spirit Ones and the Hungry Evils from this world ages before our ancestors were hatched." As both men nodded in understanding, she grinned, flashing slightly sharpened teeth marking the influence of the earliest avians who had evolved from dinosaurs millions of years before. "Now, your own chick is Gifted as much as the All-Seeing One was Gifted not days ago…"
"Naomi Haight-Ashbury," Fujita affirmed, shaking his head as the unreality of the moment sank in. "The living kami of USS Long Beach. America's first nuclear-powered surface ship." He blinked as he considered that before he gave the seer a curious look. "'All-Seeing One', Sensei?" he then asked.
"Young Brent told you of the 'summer of love' when he himself was but a newborn chick after the passing of his mother, did he not?" Sljépjj wondered as she "gazed" in amusement at him.
He nodded. "Yes. One of the many results of that foolish war in Vietnam. The rise of the 'counterculture' movement where the children born after the Greater East Asia War strove to rise in social rebellion against previous generations, mostly out of a simple desire to wipe away all the barriers that had divided humanity for ages." He chuckled. "Too vast a dream, never to see reality…but one must indeed admire their passion and determination."
"The All-Seeing One was touched directly by the Eternal Power of the Summer of Love when those foolish stalebloods who dominate the magicals of your would-be enemies tried to enslave her…"
"WHAT?!" both men roared as they bolted to their feet.
"Whoa! Whoa! WHOA, cool dudes! Turn off the afterburners, huh?!" a strange voice called out in clear English from the cave entrance, causing both Fujita and Ogawa to look over. "Don't worry about the freaking magical squares! The magical SPs are already sizing them up for cement overshoes!"
Yonaga's operations officer then stepped into the cave. "Sumimasen, Admiral," Lieutenant Commander Kawamoto Masao of Ōchi in Shimane said, bowing. "Naomi-chan wishes to speak to you."
Fujita shuddered. "Precognitive, I would assume. Send her in, Masao-san."
"Hai, Admiral."
He stepped outside, then returned, escorting a certain adopted native of Quincy in Massachusetts and her namesake city in California. "Peace, Grandma!" Naomi Haight-Ashbury said as she flashed the peace sign to Sljépjj before she gazed upon the would-be commander of Operation Z, her green eyes boring into Fujita's dark orbs for a moment. She then walked over, leaned down and kissed the admiral's balding head, causing him to gasp in shock. "Arigatō, Oji-chan."
As Ogawa and Kawamoto tried desperately NOT to laugh at the sight of their admiral being treated like a favoured grandfather, the elder seer chuckled as she shifted one spot to allow Naomi to sit in the place normally occupied by Fujita's scribe Lieutenant Hironaka Kenji or his chief administration officer Lieutenant Commander Katsube Hakuseki. Fujita sputtered for a second before iron-hard control came back, then he gave Naomi a curious look. "Why…?"
"Oh, for protecting one of my crew since he came here," the cruiser affirmed with a casual shrug.
"Brent-san sailed on you?" Ogawa demanded.
"Yeah, just before I got struck in '95. You know about that dumb war over Kuwait, don't you?"
"The First Gulf War," Fujita affirmed.
"Yeah! Brent came aboard from the ONI squares in Chocolate City…"
All three men laughed. "'Chocolate City'?!" Kawamoto, standing at the end of the table, exclaimed.
"Washington DC."
"Ah!" Fujita breathed out while trying not to laugh even more as he wondered how on Earth did the capital city of the United States got THAT nickname. "Pray continue, Naomi-san."
"Well, as I was saying, Brent got sent to me to help figure out what Saddam's squares were doing so we can keep the black gold pumping without people paying monthly wages for gas and the like." Here, her eyes twinkled. "That kinda makes him part of my 'family' as much as he became part of Yoiko's 'family' when he came here looking for his dad. So, thanks for taking care of one of my crew, Uncle H." She patted the now-flustered Fujita's shoulder in emphasis.
All three men gazed on her, then Ogawa's eyes widened with understanding. "Brent-san's karma influenced your karma!" the native of Fukuoka exclaimed, making Fujita look his way. "Like ours ended up influencing Yoiko-chan's, Admiral! Given how much she knows of our inner dreams and desires…!"
"Exactly," Naomi affirmed, winking.
"So, you understand our current predicament?" Fujita noted.
"Yeah, I do. And it's a downer!" Here, the cruiser took a breath. "You people have seventy years and more to catch up on. It'd be easy to ask Papa A to put out a Rescript to let you folks go home without feeling you gotta go hit the area around where Mama Ka'ahupahau crashes out tending to the sharks, putting up to Ari's oil messing things up…"
All three men blinked. "Of whom do you speak of?" the admiral demanded.
"She speaks of the Lady of Sharks in the eyes of the natives of the Isles of Sawaiki, Hiroshi," Sljépjj calmly affirmed. "Her domain is centred in the very harbour that was your target seasons ago."
Fujita, Ogawa and Kawamoto considered that before nodding in understanding. "Pearl Harbour," the former affirmed, a grim look crossing his face. "Ka'ahupahau-sama is obviously the Hawai'ian counterpart to our own Ōwatatsumi-sama. My thanks for your warning me of this, Sensei." He then perked. "'Ari'?"
"USS Arizona, I believe, Admiral," Kawamoto warned. "Brent-san told us that all it took was one well-aimed bomb to sink her during the attack. It killed over two-thirds of her crew!"
"And became the symbol of American resolve to avenge the 'day of infamy'," the admiral completed. "One of so many things Chūichi-san did wrong!" he spat out. "Then again, should we be so surprised?"
"He was more a battlewagon boss, wasn't he?" Naomi wondered.
"Hai, he was! Made my deputy all because of seniority! I begged Shigetarō-san to NOT stick me with that baka! I would have LOVED to see Tamon-san promoted to vice admiral and make him my deputy commander; at least HE understood carrier tactics! All because of Kami-be-damned seniority…!" He made a wave of his hand before shaking his head as memories of signals bounced down from Earth's atmosphere received by Yonaga during Midway replayed in his head. "Useless in kendō and believed too much in that stupid Kantai Kessen nonsense that drove development of our fleet before the war!" Here, Fujita shook his head. "So many died…on both sides…!" he quietly declared.
"Your crew need to hear that, Uncle H."
He turned to see the compassionate look coming his way from the transformed missile cruiser before he patted her hand. "You speak of Tennō Himself when you speak of 'Papa A', don't you?"
To the officers' surprise, Naomi seemed to change, becoming a very proper Navy officer before their eyes. "It is indeed of His Most Gracious Imperial Majesty, the Heavenly Sovereign, that I speak of with that term, Admiral Fujita," she declared in a voice that had no hint of the casual tones of speech she had used since she came here; such instantly made all three men stiffen. "Which pleased him very much. It was to His Imperial Majesty that His Excellency the President first called when I reported to him at the White House after I dealt with those who sought to enslave me."
That made Fujita, Ogawa and Kawamoto gape with surprise. "Why would President Bartlet do something like that?" the latter immediately demanded, clearly not speaking denials about that sort of situation given the ancient orders still hanging like Damocles' sword over the heads of the crew of THG Yonaga.
She gestured with her hand, allowing her PAA to appear. As Kawamoto came over to stand behind his captain to see what the transformed missile cruiser was showing, the image of a wholesome Japanese teenage girl of about sixteen appeared over the focusing control crystal of that miniature computer-like device. She was in a blue-trimmed, form-fitting white bodysuit with bared arms and shoulders; seeing that sort of uniform reminded all three would-be World War Two veterans of the many "mystery men" that had appeared across the world — starting in North America, in fact — in the decade leading to that conflict. With blue belt and blue buccaneer boots, she had a blue iceberg insignia over her cleavage; that topped with a white-framed pair of black kanji in vertical format: 吹雪.
"'Fubuki'?!" all three men exclaimed…
Back on Remnant, within the headquarters of Renaissance Industries (local time: Mid-evening)…
"…stupid baka-bakas hurting little helpless kids…!"
"AH-CHOO!"
Saeru Hinako yelped before she looked over. "Are you okay, Fujiko-chan?!"
A moan escaped the Blizzard of Death as she rubbed her nose, then she nodded as her sister Shirayuki automatically handed her a tissue. "Sorry about that, Hinako-chan," the adopted native of Maizuru said before she blew her nose to clear the mucus from her nostrils. "Someone was talking about me!"
"You can sense that?!"
That was Velvet Scarlatina, now seated with Coco Adel, Blake Belladonna, Monica Khan, Flynt Coal, Neon Katt and Pyrrha Nikos off to one side of the office where the members of Team CRDL were dragged to by the reborn Fubuki-class destroyers after they were healed from what happened two hours ago. Also present were Glynda Goodwitch, James Ironwood and Isaac Thomas; all of them wanted a crack at Cardin Winchester and his mates after they had seen how the freshmen bullies had gone full-tilt after a whole group of Faunus civilians, believing them to be White Fang.
The Spirit of Innocence and her "fleet" of shipgirls got there first.
Much to Glynda's and Ironwood's amusement, the native of Niigata proved to be even MORE harsh than Beacon Academy's senior teacher or the commander of the military forces of Atlas could EVER be!
"AH-CHOO!"
As Fujiko handed her younger sister the tissue which she herself had been given by Shirayuki, Isaac answered, "It's a common belief among Japanese people that if you suddenly sneeze, it means someone somewhere is speaking about you. No different than if your upper set of ears suddenly twitch, Velvet."
As the second Fubuki-class blew her nose, the Faunus member of Team CFVY nodded. "Do you think it was Miss Naomi who was speaking about you, Miss Fujiko?" she asked. "Say to her king? This…'president' you told us of…?"
"Feels like Naomi-san," Shirayuki answered as a sneeze echoed from outside, one she and her sister recognized as coming from their sister Hatsue. "Wow! What's she telling Bartlet-daitōryō about?!"
"We'll probably find out soon, Shirayuki-chan," Fujiko noted. "Go look in on the others, okay?"
"Hai, Nē-sama!"
As the shipgirl with her caramel hair styled in low twintails walked out, Glynda sighed. "Thank you, Miss Saeru, for those wise words," the senior huntress said as she patted the younger girl's shoulder before she glared at Cardin and his mates, all of whom tensed at that VERY disapproving look. "Indeed, I must agree with our nice guest from far away about your actions this day, gentlemen…and I use that term very reluctantly when it comes to you four!" she snapped as she put her fists to her hips, the Disciplinarian firmly grasped by her right hand. "If this hideous act had been done when you were in classes, you would have faced EXPULSION from the Academy! Much that I DO understand the anger many humans feel concerning the White Fang, that did NOT grant you the Oum-sent right to TORTURE helpless civilians, even if it was to track down Mister Taurus' supporters who faded from the scene when the Grimm attacked!"
"Professor! With all due respect…!"
"DO BE QUIET, MISTER BRONZEWING!" Glynda snapped as Hinako scowled at Dove Bronzewing, making the caramel-haired freshman wilt from the teacher's glare and the wave of empathic power from the Spirit of Innocence. "Your mission last night was to protect the city from the Grimm! THAT WAS IT! Once it was confirmed the Grimm had retreated, you were to IMMEDIATELY aide in rescuing survivors! I have it on GOOD authority you weren't anywhere CLOSE to the Academy grounds past noon today!" She slapped her crop in her hand. "What in Oum's Name made you go after those people that Miss Nikos, Miss Saeru and Miss Fukushima found you with?!"
"We had no choice, Professor!" Sky Lark answered, trying to look as unobtrusive as possible. "We heard what happened to Nikos, Xiǎo Lóng and the Headmaster! Taurus himself was seen in the school; he's the one who chopped off Xiǎo Lóng's arm! Everyone knows how much Khan's aunt and Belladonna are buddy-buddy with that cow!" He glared at Blake, making the latter's upper ears flatten in outrage as her former lover grasped her hand. "There were over a hundred of the damned beasts on the grounds! YOU'RE the one who confirmed those numbers, Professor! Only SIXTY or so were in that warehouse when Thomas here kicked that animal's butt! Where are the rest?!"
As Glynda's green eyes lit with outrage on sensing these four would gladly throw in their lot with various anti-Faunus groups that had been rising in response to the White Fang's recent actions, a hand landed on her shoulder. "Relax, Professor," Ironwood said as the young huntsmen brightened; they had long heard Atlesians maintained a harsh stance to the therianthropes whose presence of Remnant had rubbed too many humans the wrong way over the years.
They were about to be disappointed, though.
"Miss Saeru," the leader of Atlas' military said, his voice as bone-freezing as a northern wind. "I know your empathy doesn't have the power to affect people's memories. Are there people on Yiziba who have that sort of ability?"
As Cardin and his friends gasped in horror at what was now being proposed, the Spirit of Innocence hummed, her caramel eyes sparkling with an inhuman flame. "Hina knows Ayumu-chan's friend Yomi-san, Ojii-san. She's Yiziba's top telepath! She could turn these baka-bakas into BABIES if she wanted to!"
"I say let's let Yomi-san do just that," Fujiko snarled as she crossed her arms; if the look she was sending Cardin and his friends could kill, they would all be very dead. "Racist fools like this will wreck the campaign from the inside! We DON'T need no pathetic FIFTH COLUMN stabbing us in the back!"
As the boys croaked in outrage at being accused of something like THAT, Isaac cleared his throat. "Professor, General, let me take these people off your hands," the Wise Lone Sage proposed, making Glynda and Ironwood gaze upon him. "I've had to deal with such narrow-minded fools in ALL my lifetimes since the Dawn of Power, when Ayumu's first-self BANISHED the Two Brothers out of this very DIMENSION when they moved to destroy all living creatures on this planet." As the four young men gargled in horror, the native of Queens tapped a control. "I'll have Yozora prepare quarters for these four. They'll be staying here incommunicado until they can be properly trusted again."
Glynda nodded in acceptance. "Thank you, Mister Thomas," she stated before giving the four men of Team CRDL a very disapproving stare. "When Beacon reopens, I will ensure you can NEVER be invited back unless you show some HONEST contrition for today's actions, gentlemen," she then warned.
"And I'll make sure you'll NEVER be accepted at Atlas in case Beacon cannot rise," Ironwood added.
With that, the senior huntsmen walked out. As Fujiko guarded the door, Isaac turned to stare at them before he shook his head. "You stupid, blind FOOLS!" the hyper-genius polymath snapped, making all four men jolt. "Much that I understand — No! I APPLAUD! — your desire to avenge the deaths of your fellow students, turning around and blaming the Faunus for what happened last night is NOT the way to go about bringing justice for all those who were made to suffer by the monster who's ULTIMATELY responsible for this! Do you honestly believe I would willingly recruit from that community WITHOUT making sure that Adam and his friends wouldn't try to mess things up?!"
"How can we trust YOU, Thomas?" Cardin demanded. "You're an ALIEN…!"
"He's more human than YOU are, Cardin!"
He jolted as Pyrrha bolted up. As Coco and Blake tried to force her down, the newly-Gifted huntress raised a shield to keep them back. "What in Oum's Name were you THINKING?! Attacking innocent CHILDREN, you arrogant dolt?!" the Mistralite demanded. "Don't you see that pulling stunts like that on HELPLESS PEOPLE, you FEED more recruits into Taurus' 'crusade'?! You're luckier than HELL that the ONE being in the whole of the MULTIVERSE whom ALL Faunus know of intervened like she did before someone DIED! EVERYONE in this city suffered from what Cinder Fall and her friends pulled, you fools! WHAT IN THE NAME OF OUM WERE YOU THINKING OF?!"
"WE WERE TRYING TO AVENGE YOU, PYRRHA!"
That was Russel Thrush, who had bolted up. Pyrrha blinked as his brown eyes teared. "Russ…?"
"Look! We don't really like you, Pyrrha…but damn it all, you're one of US!" the man with the quasi-Mohawk style of grey-green hair snarled, he pointing to himself. "We saw how much the headmaster doted on you in those private lessons you had!" As Pyrrha gasped, he shrugged. "It didn't take a lot for people to figure out that you were being prepared for something damned special, something that could help a lot of people when the time came! And we ALL know that Shannon Ozpin NEVER abuses any of his students!" He then waved at her as his friends also stood up to stand beside their teammate. "So, what the hell happened last night, Pyrrha?! We just lost our SCHOOL! Yes, it's great that Isaac and that Mihama kid and that Kasuga girl saved you and that 'bot Ruby was crushing on, but that doesn't tell us SPIT! What the hell was Belladonna's old BOYFRIEND doing there last night, huh?! And who's this Cinder Fall chick you just mentioned?! You can't leave us all in this damned VACUUM, you know!"
The others in the room blinked, then Isaac nodded. "Hinako?"
"Hai, Isaac-san?" the native of Niigata said as she gazed at him.
"Call Shirayuki in Nagano," the native of Queens ordered. "Since it's spring vacation for you until the end of this week, we'll need help feeding people in this town until the markets are back up again."
The Spirit of Innocence nodded before she headed out, followed by her first shipgirl friend. Isaac watched them go, then he gazed once more on the four young men he now suspected had much more potential than he initially believed two hours ago when Fukushima Urako's report got to him. "As I said before, gentlemen, I applaud your desire to avenge your classmates," he said as he waved Cardin and his friends to sit down; they had been made to stand still as they got dressed down. "However, keep in mind that it's racist attitudes like yours that made the White Fang come to exist in the first place! ALWAYS keep in mind that as long as people like you — whom ALL civilians, human and Faunus alike, look up to so they can stay safe! — have such attitudes, people will ALWAYS suffer!"
He waved to the Faunus in the room. "Faunus like the good ladies here are people, too! Blake RAN AWAY from Adam Taurus when she realized how much of a MURDERER that he was becoming…and she's the DAUGHTER of the founder of the White Fang! Monica here is the NIECE of the current leader of the White Fang…and she walked away from it as well, disgusted by what Adam is doing to the group as a whole! Velvet here has never ONCE wanted to hurt anyone, human OR Faunus! Neon has been through things I can't begin to describe to you…but she maintains one hell of a good attitude despite that! I can't for a MOMENT understand why you people get fixated on nonsense like that! Don't you dolts realize by NOW that anger and hate are two things Grimm FEED ON?!"
Silence answered him as Cardin, Russel, Sky and Dove looked anywhere but at the New Yorker. Taking a moment to gaze intently at the four boys, Isaac then sighed. "You people need to make money and get new places to live while we're waiting for the Academy to be rebuilt," he proclaimed. "To that end, you will be hired by Renaissance Industries to help with work. Put simply, we need people with field experience to develop weapons that can deal with the Grimm at an INDUSTRIAL scale for what I hope will be the FINAL war against the monster that STARTED this mess in the first place!" As the boys gaped in disbelief at him and the others stared askance at the man for moving to HIRE the four bigoted jerks as part of his staff, Isaac smirked. "Do well and I'll personally recommended your reinstatement at the Academy when it reopens to both Headmaster Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch! Agreed?"
The four members of Team CRDL exchanged looks, then Cardin sighed. "We don't have much choice."
"Good," the Terran-turned-Yizibajohei hyper-genius polymath nodded. "Learn from this experience. I will NOT tolerate any prejudice towards future co-workers while you're working underneath me, either the Faunus I've hired since I came here to Remnant OR the androids and gynoids I brought with me from Earth and Yiziba." As Cardin and his friends gaped, the Wise Lone Sage's eyes narrowed. "Screw up about ANYTHING — and that DEFINITELY includes revealing about the survival of Pyrrha, Penny or the Headmaster to ANYONE before I say it's time! — and I WILL have the good lady Hinako mentioned to the general come here and turn your BRAINS into SILLY-PUTTY!"
"She can do it, by the way!" Pyrrha coolly noted.
All four rapidly nodded. "Good," Isaac declared. "Now, when the time comes, those who were behind last night's fun — ALL of them — will be pounded into the dirt and ELIMINATED! Do well under me and you're in on the final kill! You'll be training as much as working until that day, so think of this as study time for extra credits!" As the boys gaped, he raised a finger. "Remember this: The Faunus suffer from what the Grimm do as much as humans like you.
"Focus on fighting THEM, not your fellow sentient beings!"
With that, the Wise Lone Sage and the Warper of Metal walked out of the office, leaving a quartet of gaping boys behind, they joined by a similar group of very wide-eyed peers…
To Be Continued…!
WRITER'S NOTES
The Amon Clan (Amon-ichizoku) are the secret bosses in the various Yakuza video games (known in Japan by the title Ryū ga Gotoku ["Like A Dragon"]). Amon Jō himself appeared in the first Yakuza game and has been an antagonist of the lead character Kiryū Kazuma until Yakuza 6.
Moroboshi Negako has been a prominent character in Fred's writing since the days of The Senior Year. She first appeared there as a body-less sentience simply calling itself the Saikō Jinseijutsu ("Way of the Supreme Life") in the story "Spirit-War Tomobiki"…and she would become human in that series in the story "Children of Eternity".
Translation list and source language (all Japanese unless indicated): Shihan — Martial arts school grandmaster; Taeim letam — Let the Show begin (Yizibajohei); (name)-jin — Demonym used to indicate where someone comes from; Shōwa-jūrokunen — Sixteenth Year of Shōwa (the year 1941 CE); Taishō — Navy admiral/Army general/Air Force air chief marshal; SP — Shore Patrol, the Navy version of Army military police; ONI — Office of Naval Intelligence (the last two English short-forms).
RWBY character notes: Winter Schnee first appeared in "It's Brawl in the Family" (volume three, episode three); her actual rank in the military of Atlas was not revealed. Cardin Winchester and Russel Thrush first appeared in the first part of "The First Step" (volume one, episode three). Dove Bronzewing and Sky Lark first appeared in "Players and Pieces" (volume one, episode eight).
Penny Polendina's "proper" name of "Persephone" was inspired by a fan art of hers done by dishwasher1910, which can be seen on Danbooru at post #3240047.
The Seventh Carrier character notes: By the time of the first story, Yonaga's captain Ogawa Gorō had passed away; naturally, thanks to the advantages of the place where the ship had been trapped for so long, he would survive. Kawamoto Masao first appeared in the original story.