Dust and Echoes (RWBY/Halo)

Chapter 31: Revelation Day

[~][~]

Remnant, Oum System

Beacon Academy, Vale, Kingdom of Vale

August 5th, 2541, 1900 Hours (UNSC Military Calendar)

Ozpin and the room he was in was dead silent as Qrow and Clover finished debriefing him and the other headmasters as to what they experienced out in space. Not a word was said between them, for none needed to be. They all understood the stakes that were now all too real and staring them right in the face like a loaded gun. His heart was thundering inside his chest, and it was taking all of Ozpin's many lifetimes of experience to maintain his composure.

After all, how else was one supposed to react upon learning they were a hair's breadth away from Armageddon?

"Once the Cartographer and the copy of its data was destroyed, we high-tailed it out of Peponi as the Covenant glassed the planet behind us," Qrow explained. "Recovered on Reach for a bit, then came back home. So, yeah…things didn't exactly go according to plan."

"I'd think saying that is a colossal understatement, Qrow," Headmaster Theodore countered, his earlier exuberance gone and replaced by focused seriousness.

"If I may, I respectfully disagree there," Clover politely spoke up. "Our objective was to verify the UNSC's claims about the threat the Covenant poses to Remnant. Although I will readily admit that our circumstances were far from ideal, we more than accomplished our mission. The Covenant threat is real, and we need to prepare."

Ironwood nodded in agreement while clasping his hands together before replying, "That you did. Let me be the first to tell you and the Ace-Ops, Clover, that your service and sacrifice on Peponi has not gone unnoticed. Words cannot express the gratitude we all feel."

"Thank you, General, but we were just fulfilling our duty," Clover immediately declared, and a ghost of a smile graced Ironwood's lips.

But it quickly disappeared and was replaced by a frown, and Ironwood said, "But I suppose what's important now is what we do next."

"Well that's obvious. All of the Kingdoms need to build up their militaries," Qrow immediately answered, causing Ironwood's eyes to widen in shock. Recognizing this, Qrow glumly nodded while saying, "Yeah, yeah, I know. 'Who are you, and what've you done with Qrow Branwen?' But the things I saw out there… Huntsmen alone can't stop the Covenant. Even if we doubled the size of classes immediately, it wouldn't be enough. We need soldiers, tanks, airships, everything, and even all that won't accomplish much without the UNSC helping us to actually touch space."

The room fell quiet once again, before Headmaster Lionheart, who'd been most openly grappling with his fear ever since the debriefing began, shakily asked, "So…are you saying we are at war?"

"I'm saying we don't have a choice," Qrow answered. "The Covenant made it for us."

After a moment of thought, Ozpin nodded to himself then said, "Qrow, Clover, thank you both for…everything. You are excused. The headmasters and I clearly have…things to discuss."

"Of course, Headmaster," Clover said as he and Qrow stood up from their seats in front of Ozpin's desk. The Atlesian Ace-Operative flashed a crisp salute while Qrow simply slipped his hands into his pockets and curtly nodded towards them. Then both veteran Huntsmen turned around and walked towards the elevator at the other end of the room, stepped inside, and descended to the lower floor.

Once the elevator car was far enough, Ozpin took a sip from his mug of now cold cocoa in an attempt to calm his nerves. It didn't do much, but the act was somewhat soothing. His mind was racing, however, over everything Qrow and Clover had told them. The Insurrection, the Covenant, the UNSC themselves, and most importantly of all, these mysterious Forerunners. The fact that the Cartographer had highlighted several artifacts on Remnant, four of which were in the kingdom capitals themselves, had not gone unnoticed by the Headmasters, even if they didn't openly comment on it in Clover's presence. It raised several questions as to the nature of the Two Brothers. Up until now, he had thought them to be actual divine deities. But if the Relics were, in truth, Forerunner artifacts as the Peponi Cartographer implied, were the gods themselves Forerunner as well? If so, why were they on Remnant?

Ozpin released a sigh and shook his head before adding it on top of the pile of questions he had, a pile which had grown ever larger as of late. As much as he wanted to know the truth, it wasn't the most important question right now. They had far more pressing concerns to deal with.

Ironwood was the first to speak up and say, "We need to declare martial law."

"Of course you would be the first one to say that," Theodore shot back while giving the Atlesian general a harsh glare, one that Ironwood returned.

"Is it not warranted here?" Ironwood rhetorically pointed out. "We're all in agreement that the Covenant is the biggest threat to Remnant since Salem, possibly even bigger than her. An entire alien empire spanning hundreds, if not thousands of worlds is gunning for our own, aiming to murder every living thing on it. We cannot afford to waste any time, and putting the Kingdoms under martial law would allow us to cut through bureaucratic red tape and put Remnant into a total war economy quickly. It's what the UNSC's done, and if they hadn't, arguably they would've already lost the war."

"I agree that we need to prepare Remnant for war," Theodore admitted before pointing a finger towards Ironwood. "But I will not sacrifice my people's personal freedoms for the sake of expediency. You talk of martial law as a means to an end, to maximize efficiency. But with martial law comes abuses of power, violations of human rights, and corruption, and these only get worse the longer it goes on. And I don't believe using the UNSC as an example proves your point, James. Based off what our delegates have told us, the UNSC was practically already the true power by the time the Covenant arrived. Their 'emergency provisional government' merely solidified what was already happening, and there's no guarantee they'd give up their power should they win the war."

"You speak of them like they're fascists," Ironwood pointed out in an offended tone, and Theodore shrugged.

"I wouldn't go that far, but they're definitely too authoritarian for my liking," Theodore admitted. "Vacuo has already been exploited by the other kingdoms in the name of Dust and ideology. I won't have it happen again in the name of security."

"Am I the only one terrified at the idea of fighting both the Covenant and the Grimm at the same time?" Lionheart asked as he pressed his knuckles to his lips, almost chewing on them. His face was remarkably pale, and he looked to be on the verge of an outright panic attack.

Ozpin couldn't help but look at his old friend sympathetically. He had known Lionheart since his previous life, and had personally worked to get him installed as Haven's headmaster in Mistral during that time. Although Ozpin's intention was to have Lionheart serve as a bridge between the gap separating humans and faunus, and his old friend had proven to be quite skilled in navigating Mistralian politics over the decades, having to deal with the most corrupt and openly racist kingdom on Remnant every single day alongside the constant threat of Salem and the Grimm had clearly taken its toll. The once strong and brave warrior in his youth had slowly but surely been replaced by a much more timid and cautious man. So it wasn't hard to understand how the added wrench of the Covenant could affect him so strongly.

But before he could say anything, Ironwood said, "Get a hold of yourself, Leonardo. I'm overwhelmed too, but panicking isn't going to help anyone. You're a Headmaster. Act like it."

Ozpin and Theodore shot Ironwood a harsh look, but before Theodore could tell him off, Leonardo Lionheart took a few deep breaths, closed his eyes, then said, "No, no, he's right. Apologies, it's just… The Covenant are a threat, one we need to take seriously. But we can't ignore the danger already at our doorstep."

Ozpin nodded before adding, "Leonardo is correct. The Grimm will not stop because of the Covenant. If anything, Salem is liable to try and exploit fear of the aliens for her own ends."

"Even if she doesn't," Ironwood began, "moving Remnant into a war footing is going to require us to inform the public about the Covenant's existence. I've been able to justify a moderate increase of Atlas' military forces since the UNSC's arrival without much issue, but the Covenant are going to require a mobilization we haven't seen since the Great War. Probably bigger than that, actually. Factories and assembly lines are going to have to be constructed, military recruitment ramped up exponentially. We can't make such huge societal changes without telling the public why. When they find out about the Covenant, depending on how we frame it…we're looking at a potential Grimmtide."

Ozpin and the others winced the idea of a Grimmtide. Such events were rare, referring to large hordes of Grimm attacking everything in sight all over the planet, and in such numbers that they threatened to destroy entire kingdoms. The last time a Grimmtide occurred was during the Great War, nearly lasting the entire duration of the conflict. Ironwood was absolutely correct. When the public found out that there existed a collection of hyper-advanced and dogmatic aliens who were already at war with their Terran siblings and would treat them the same, and had already come within an inch of locating them, the resulting fear and unrest would attract the Grimm like sharks to blood.

Propping up his elbows on the table and clasping his hands together, Ozpin said, "This is true. We've been able to keep Salem's existence from the people because she prefers to work behind the scenes and out of the public eye. The Covenant will not do that, and efforts to combat them will require more direct collective support. Which means we will need to inform them. But the question, then, is how to manage it."

"That's the dilemma, isn't it? How to tell the world about the Covenant without the news making them run around like headless chickens," Theodore remarked as he frowned deeply. "I hate to say it, but it sounds like we may have to take a few pages from ONI's playbook and…selectively edit the truth."

"I don't think we need to go that far," Ozpin insisted, "but we do have plenty of experience in framing the truth in a manner that doesn't result in mass panic, or at least mitigates it. There are laws on the books against yellow journalism and sensationalism for a reason. We'll work directly with the news media, run focus groups and test screenings, everything we can to help make the blow as soft as possible."

"I'm certain the UNSC would be more than happy to assist in that regard," Ironwood pointed out. "They've been doing it since the beginning of the war, and they have more knowledge about the Covenant than we do. It would be foolish to disregard their expertise."

Ozpin nodded in agreement, even though he had his doubts about the UNSC's character. Like Theodore, Ozpin found the UNSC to be far too authoritarian for his liking. It was somewhat ironic that, as time went on, his and James' position on the UNSC had nearly flipped. Ironwood had grown into their most ardent supporter on Ozpin's inner council, while he himself had grown more reserved. But while he didn't trust the UNSC and their motives completely, and would always watch them with careful eyes, they had a common enemy in the Covenant, and were willing to help them with their own problems so long as Remnant helped with theirs. That was a dynamic he could work with.

"James, reach out to Agents Adler and Hudson, request their and ONI's assistance in breaking the news. But make it clear that we have the final say, not them," Ozpin requested, and Ironwood nodded.

"That still leaves the threat of the Grimm. None of this would be a problem if we could…neutralize them, at least for a time," Lionheart pointed out, and Theodore scoffed.

"Good luck getting Salem to see the Covenant as a threat to her," Theodore remarked. "As we already said, she's going to take one look at this massive garbage fire and throw raw Dust onto it the first chance she gets."

"Agreed, but if we can thin the Grimm's numbers before Revelation Day," Ozpin thought aloud, "it would make things easier. The UNSC might be able to help with that."

"That's right," Ironwood agreed, already thinking on the same lines. "The UNSC's only had a light presence up until this point. If we ask them to help bolster our defenses, they'll do it if they want us as allies."

"People were already nervous at the idea of UNSC starships hanging overhead," Theodore pointed out, "and mitigating the threat of a Grimmtide is going to require substantially more, alongside dedicated ground forces like they've been requesting. The bigger the UNSC's presence on Remnant, the more questions people are going to ask."

"Which is why we're going to have to work as fast as possible and get the ball rolling immediately," Ozpin declared. Up until now, all the UNSC had on Remnant were a few thousand marines with Warthogs and Pelican dropships, with direct orbital bombardment strictly prohibited. But to deal with a Grimmtide would require Scorpions, Vultures, ARCHER missiles and more to combat. Having that large of a foreign military marching around on his home soil did not sit well with Ozpin whatsoever, but sadly he didn't have much of a choice.

"So, we're all in agreement," Ironwood spoke up, with the other headmasters nodding, although a distracted Lionheart was the last to do so. After a moment, Ironwood nodded back, then he said, "I suppose, then, that we need to address the other Goliath in the room."

Ozpin knew exactly what Ironwood was referring to and released a sigh. After all, this wasn't the first time they had this discussion. It probably wouldn't be the last, either, not that it changed his mind.

"James, I am not ready to tell the UNSC about Salem and the Relics," Ozpin told him.

"And I'm telling you, that is a mistake," Ironwood insisted as his frown deepened. "For something as important as this, telling the UNSC about Salem at least would help bolster our efforts to contain her. Not telling them is essentially the same as trying to fight with one hand tied behind our backs."

"We have been able to hold Salem at bay without informing the Kingdoms until now with no issue," Ozpin countered, "and I'm reluctant to inform a foreign government who might inevitably have ambitions of power over us."

"You're stalling and you know it," Ironwood declared. "And don't think I don't recognize what you're doing right now with Lord Hood. You're trying to gauge if he's trustworthy enough to be brought in or not. If and when he is, Hood will be obligated to inform the UNSC about Salem's existence. It is inevitable at this point, so we might as well bite the bullet early."

Ozpin knew Ironwood had a point, reluctant as he was to accept it. The UNSC was already beginning to suspect that something was going on behind the scenes, particularly Doctor Halsey, and he was trying to ascertain the contents of Hood's character. Namely his intentions towards Remnant. Thus far, the man seemed to be a good, honorable military commander who genuinely wanted the best for Remnant, and for them to remain independent. But he couldn't guarantee that sentiment from the rest of the UNSC, particularly the Office of Naval Intelligence. He had trekked across the surface of Remnant for millennia, and there had been times where he had trusted a king or council with the truth of Salem's existence along with the Relics. Too many times, it had ultimately ended in disaster. Whether it happened quickly or after generations, the gains from relying on such powerful yet fallible people wouldn't last. Someone would turn against him, switch sides to Salem for their own personal benefit, or try to exploit the Relics themselves.

No, while informing the UNSC about Salem felt inevitable, Ozpin was determined to put that off for as long as possible. It was bad enough for a powerful king and kingdom to learn too much, then betray him. It would be another for an extraterrestrial hyperpower to do the same. Still, he knew Ironwood was going to keep bringing it up, so he had to placate him for now.

"I'll inform the UNSC personally if, and only if, I can guarantee that none of their leaders will try to ally with Salem or seize the Relics for themselves. Or at least when we have enough allies to ensure such people will be held in check," Ozpin told him, but Ironwood merely frowned.

"I remember you once told me, Ozpin, that sometimes you only find an enemy when you go looking for one," Ironwood told him. "The last thing any of us needs is for you and your need to keep secrets from everyone, including us, to turn a potential ally into an enemy."

"I want to be allies with the UNSC just as much as you do, James. They offer much to our people and I'd be blind to ignore that," Ozpin replied. "But ask yourself this: If the Covenant didn't exist, and all the UNSC had to concern themselves with was the Insurrection and colonial independence movements, do you honestly believe our relationship with them would be as cordial as it is now? Or that they'd let us remain independent?"

Rather than give a response, Ironwood simply remained quiet, and that was all the answer Ozpin needed. Nodding towards the general and the others, Ozpin continued, "I thought so. In any case, we have far more immediate concerns to deal with, and much to prepare for. Let's begin, shall we?"

[~]

Patch, Kingdom of Vale

August 5th, 2541, 2100 Hours (UNSC Military Calendar)

"You don't have to escort me back home, Avery," Qrow remarked as he and the marine sergeant walked along the dirt path towards the Xiao Long household on Patch Island, but Avery shrugged him off.

"After all the times I've had to remind you of the promise I made to your nieces, you think I'm going to slack off right at the finish line?" Avery pointed out, causing Qrow to chuckle.

He had set off for Patch as soon as he was finished telling Ozpin and the others about his experiences out in space. As much as he wanted to stick around to help them figure out what to do next, he wanted to get back to his family even more. Besides, he knew that discussion involved things like politics and industry, things that went far above his head. Qrow liked to think he was smart, but at the end of the day his place was on the ground, gathering information so that people like Ozpin could figure out what to do with it.

Clover had also left for Atlas, and the two bid each other a polite farewell before getting on separate airships. Apparently, the rest of the Ace-Ops had already left for Atlas, namely so that they could properly inspect Harriet's new arm and bring it up to their standards, and the leader of the Ace-Ops wanted to join them. Qrow also suspected that, after seeing so many dead worlds, he just wanted to be home. It was a sentiment he completely understood and fueled his own desires to get to Patch.

Still, although he considered Avery to be a friend after everything they'd been through, he hadn't expected the marine sergeant to be waiting for him at the airport. By this point, Qrow had learned that there wasn't much he could do to get Avery to change his mind on something, so he'd just shrugged and went along with it. Waiting for the flight to take off took longer than the actual flight itself, and once they landed they began the long, peaceful walk through the woods towards Tai's cabin.

"You know, the last time I was here, I didn't get a good look at the place," Avery admitted as they continued to walk, their path illuminated by the light of the full moon and a few standalone lampposts. "It looks nice. Can see why your friend wanted to raise a family here."

"Patch is peaceful, yeah," Qrow confirmed. "The ocean around the island is shallow, meaning we don't have to worry about any deep sea Grimm like Sea Feilongs and Leviathans. The most we have to deal with is the occasional Beowolf or Ursa, things that even students from Signal can take care of. Combine that with the nice, temperate climate, and you got yourself a prime patch of real estate."

"Heh, I'll bet," Avery admitted, and the pair continued their walk in silence.

But despite how seemingly peaceful the night was, Qrow kept his eyes and ears peeled for any signs of danger. The last thing he wanted was to get picked off right as he was about to get home. After everything he'd been through, that would've just been embarrassing. Thankfully, they hadn't come across any Grimm as there'd been a recent culling of their numbers just before they got back. And Patch was too small and was in too close proximity to groups of active and retired Huntsmen to have the kind of bandit problems that Mistral did, so he didn't have to worry about getting accosted by highwaymen.

But that didn't mean they were alone, and he knew that despite Avery's outward appearance, his companion had picked up on it too.

Stopping in the middle of the road, Qrow took a deep breath and said, "I know you're out there, Raven. Come on out."

At first, no one said anything, and Johnson's hand, which had already been hovering near his holstered M6D, twitched in anticipation. Then, breaking through the silence, came a loud ringing noise as a red portal suddenly appeared right in front of them. A woman soon walked out of it, wearing a black and red kimono with a black pleated skirt and black shorts underneath. Around her neck were several beaded necklaces, and wrapped around her waist was a red obi sash and red tasset bearing the holster for her weapon, an ōdachi she casually held to the side. Fur was hanging off the tasset, serving a similar role as Qrow's cape in her attire. Her arms were protected by red armored gauntlets, and her black boots went all the way up to her thighs. But the most distinctive feature was the large white mask that resembled the face of a Grimm, completely obscuring her head.

Johnson acted immediately, unholstering his magnum and aiming it right at Raven Branwen's head and saying, "Drop the weapon."

"Unless you want to lose your arm, I'd tell you the same thing," Raven calmly shot back as Qrow simply sighed and calmly put his hands in his pockets.

Undeterred, Avery simply flicked off the safety and retorted, "Lady, I don't care what magic bullshit powers you got. You don't scare me."

Raven simply stared at Avery for a moment, then she chuckled in amusement and sheathed her blade before staring right at Qrow. The twin siblings stared at each other for a moment, then she slowly reached up to her head and removed her mask, allowing Qrow to look into her red eyes and pale white skin.

"Tell me, are you here for for Tai and Yang, or for me?" Qrow asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Is it true?" Raven immediately asked, her voice seemingly calm and controlled. But Qrow knew his sister better than anyone, and he recognized the hint of fear she was trying to mask.

Deciding to poke at her a little, Qrow nonchalantly shrugged and asked, "Is what true? A lot's happened recently, in case you haven't noticed. You're going to need to be a little more specific."

"Don't play games with me, Qrow. You know exactly what I'm talking about," Raven replied more forcibly this time.

Qrow locked eyes with her, debating how best to proceed before replying, "Then I think you already know the answer to that."

Raven didn't say anything, but Qrow saw his sister's eyes widen in horror. Seizing the moment, he added, "I think now would be a good time for you to come back, Raven. It's not too late."

The only response Qrow got was Raven visibly gulping. Then she steeled her gaze and slipped her mask back on. In a single, swift motion, she pulled out her weapon and sliced its blood red, single-edged Dust blade through the air, generating another swirling red portal that she prepared to walk through.

Before she did, Raven looked over her shoulder towards her twin brother and calmly said, "Staying with Ozpin's only going to get you killed, Qrow. Remember that."

Without saying another word, Raven stepped through the portal, which promptly closed right behind her. Silence and calm returned to Patch, and Avery released a sigh as he flicked the safety back on and holstered his weapon.

"So, that was your twin sister," Avery remarked as he took out a cigar and lit it.

"Yep," Qrow answered with a pop.

"She seems…difficult," Avery said, releasing a cloud of smoke as he exhaled. "Mind sharing with the class?"

Seeing no harm in it, Qrow admitted, "Raven and I…we came from a bandit clan operating out of Mistral. The elders sent us to Beacon so that we could learn how to fight like and kill Huntsmen. While we were there, we met Tai and Summer, becoming part of Team STRQ. They and Professor Ozpin helped me see that I could be more than just a violent bandit, and I turned against the clan. They were assholes to me anyway, so it really wasn't that hard. For a while, I thought they got through to Raven, too. She even had a daughter, Yang, with Tai. But shortly after Yang was born, she just…up and left without saying a word. Next time I saw her, she'd rejoined the Branwen Clan and had become its leader, a position she's held ever since."

"I see," Johnson muttered as he took another drag of his cigar. "And Ruby? How'd she come into the picture?"

"After Raven left, Tai was devastated," Qrow explained. "He was a single father trying to raise a young girl by himself. I tried to help however I could, but I wasn't really the child-rearing type, and my semblance didn't help matters at all. So, Summer stepped in to lend a hand and help Tai raise Yang. It didn't take long for her filling in as a mom to become the real deal, and out came Ruby."

Avery softly smiled at that part of the story, and Qrow continued, "I may be a bit biased, but you couldn't have asked for a better mom than Summer was to those girls. She adored them. Yang didn't even know that Summer wasn't her actual mother. Then, one day, she just…disappeared."

"What? How?" Avery asked as his smile immediately fell.

"We don't know. While Tai had retired to raise his daughters, Summer and I were still doing high-level missions for Ozpin and the Kingdoms. As far as we knew, she went on one and never came back. Tai and I thought Ozpin had given her the mission, but he was just as in the dark as we were."

"Meaning she went on a mission on her own," Avery surmised, and Qrow nodded.

"Yeah, it certainly looked that way. It wouldn't have been the first time Summer went on a personal mission," Qrow sadly said as he looked down towards his feet.

Ever since that day, Qrow had been wondering what, exactly, had happened to his dear friend. He couldn't even begin to speculate what kind of mission Summer had undertaken, one that she apparently didn't deign to inform the others about. He suspected that Raven knew more than what she let on, but she refused to say anything. On the rare occasions where Raven met up with him, she never talked about her former leader aside from saying she got herself killed because of Ozpin and his war against Salem. But the worst part wasn't that Summer disappeared. It was how it utterly destroyed the girls and especially Tai. It took him years to recover, and even then, Qrow knew he'd never be the same.

Shaking his head, Qrow starting walking back down the path towards the Xiao Long household. Avery quickly smothered out his stogie and followed him. When he caught up, he said, "I know it may not mean much, but I'm sorry for your loss. Believe me, I know what it's like to lose a close family member. My aunt Marcile raised me since I was six, and I joined the Corp to protect innocent people like her. Then, right before the Covenant found Harvest, I returned home and found her dead, her room already turned into a makeshift cryo-chamber for three days because the retirement home she lived in was over-worked. I'm not proud of the binge I went on after that, and I was literally found in a gutter by a recruitment officer who sent me to Harvest. You know what happened after that."

Looking up at the Huntsman, Avery continued, "But while I may not have ever met Summer, I do know this: what you're doing, going out there and protecting people against the Grimm and now the Covenant, she'd be proud of that. Hopefully your sister will realize that, too."

Qrow couldn't help but smile before saying, "Yeah, here's hoping."

With that, they continued making their way towards the cabin. After another half-hour of walking, they finally came into sight of the home, its lights still on. Part of Qrow wondered if the girls would still be awake or if they would've gone to bed by now. But right before he could knock on the door, it suddenly opened and he was tackled by red and yellow blurs.

"UNCLE QROW!" both Ruby and Yang screamed as they tackled him to the ground. Qrow couldn't help but laugh as he hugged them both, with Avery looking down on them with a smile on his face as Tai came out to join them.

"I tried putting them to bed, but they refused to sleep until you got back," Tai told him as Yang and Ruby bombarded their uncle with questions.

"What was space like?!" Ruby demanded, her silver eyes sparkling.

"Are there any Grimm in space? My classmate, Myrtle, said there was Grimm in space," Yang asked as well in a slightly calmer but still energetic tone.

"DID YOU BRING ME A PRESENT?!" Ruby practically screamed, with Yang quickly following up with fervent nodding of her own.

"Girls, girls, please! Slow down and let me get up. It's been a long day," Qrow said as he gently lifted the two girls up so he could stand. Dusting himself off, he then answered, "Yes, space was very cool, Ruby. No, Yang, there aren't any Grimm in space. And yes, I did bring you girls some presents."

Opening up his pouch, Qrow pulled out some souvenirs he'd picked from the many planets he visited. A pair of ushankas from Vyraj, metallic globes depicting Reach and Earth, along with a small assortment of various nick-knacks he'd thought the girls would like. Ruby and Yang looked at each one with wide-eyed wonder, and they fervently thanked their uncle before finally noticing that Sergeant Johnson was with them.

"Hello there," Avery said with a wide smile on his face and his hands on his hips. "Just as promised, one Uncle Qrow safe and sound. Not a scratch on him, despite his best efforts."

The two young girls looked up at Avery before Ruby chuckled. Yang, meanwhile, tried to look aloof as she crossed her arms over her chest and replied, "Well…good. That's what you should have done."

"Yang…," Tai lightly chastised his daughter, who promptly flinched before looking back up at Avery.

"Thank you for bringing him back," Yang sincerely said, and Avery smiled before ruffling her hair, which she promptly tried to wave off. "Hey, don't touch the hair!"

Avery chuckled and pulled his hand away as Yang pouted, and he replied, "Alright, alright. And there's no need to thank me. I swore to bring him back home safe and sound, and when a marine makes a promise, they keep it."

"Well, we thank you anyway," Tai said, then moved to the side and gestured indoors. "Please, come in and have a drink. It's been a long night. Besides, I'm certain the girls have way more questions for you."

"Yes!" both Ruby and Yang excitedly yelled, and both Avery and Qrow smiled before looking at Tai.

"Thank you, that sounds lovely," Avery replied as he and the others went inside, with Taiyang Xiao Long closing the door behind them.

[~]

Atlas Academy, Atlas, Kingdom of Atlas

August 20th, 2541, 0830 Hours (UNSC Military Calendar)

"This is extraordinary, Catherine," Dr. Pietro Polendina marveled at the sight of a green holographic woman with short hair, wearing a bodysuit with glowing yellow accent lines. "You're an artificial intelligence, aren't you?"

"Correct, Doctor Polendina," the smart AI answered. "My name is Kalmiya, serial number KMA 0991-X. I am an experimental third-generation smart artificial intelligence created by Doctor Halsey. My date of activation was March 19th, 2537."

"Fascinating," Pietro muttered as he circled the holotank Kalmiya was projected over. "And you were created through a human brain?"

"Yes, as are all smart AIs," Kalmiya informed the kindly doctor.

Pietro's eyes widened alongside his smile before he began fervently asking more and more questions as to the nature of artificial intelligence, each one happily answered by Kalmiya. Doctor Halsey, meanwhile, watched them from her seat, her mind focused more on current events as of late rather than her colleague and assistant's conversation. Although she was technically just a civilian, Halsey kept her ear to the ground and thus knew far more about what was actually going on than most everyone else. It helped that she had friends in high places, including Lord Hood.

She supposed Jacob Keyes also technically counted, but the two hadn't talked to one another in years. Despite now being posted to Remnant on an indefinite basis, a consequence for nearly botching Operation ODYSSEY, the man seemed determined to avoid her whenever possible. Halsey didn't blame him. She knew her presence brought up painful memories. On the rare occasion they crossed paths, he was polite and professional, but he always left as soon as the opportunity presented itself. Their longest conversation lasted less than a minute, and it was simply Jacob telling her how their daughter, Miranda, was doing. Apparently, she was planning to enroll at Luna OCS's pre-enlistment training program despite Halsey's attempts to dissuade her. Jacob had sounded proud.

In any event, everything she saw and heard around Remnant said the same thing: the Kingdoms, or rather their leaders, now knew that the threat of the Covenant was all too real, and they were preparing for war. Part of Halsey was saddened by this. Remnant hadn't been visited by the specter of war in decades, not since the Great War and the Faunus Rights Revolution shortly afterwards. When you ignored the Grimm, this planet was peaceful, only plagued by normal societal problems like criminals, corruption, and prejudice. All problems that could be resolved if they worked at it. But the rest of Halsey knew that, just like the UNSC, Remnant didn't have much of a choice. The Covenant was too great a threat to be ignored.

"Pietro, can you stop wasting our time talking with that AI and focus on the task at hand?" Watts complained from over at his table, where he was working on adapting UNSC munitions to accept Dust.

She supposed it was somewhat ironic that it was thanks to Jacob nearly getting his delegates killed that Remnant decided to join the war in the first place. Everything she'd been hearing told her that the Kingdoms were extremely hesitant prior to the Midsummer Night's return. All they'd been willing to agree to was to accept Terran refugees and allow for hired Huntsmen to be taken off-world. The reports of the Vacuo and Mistral delegations only seemed to cement that decision. Remnant's leaders sincerely felt that staying out of the war was the best way to protect their people. But after hearing the Atlas, Vale, and Menagerie delegation's report, particularly about the Battle of Peponi, their minds changed quickly.

What had previously been negotiations centered around trade and refugees were now focused on troop deployments, orbital defense platforms, rapid remilitarization programs, and more. Anything and everything related to Remnant joining the war and building themselves up as fast as possible were being considered. Their first and most immediate priority, though, was what was being called Revelation Day; when the people of Remnant would learn about the Covenant and how they were now at war with them.

"Forgive me, Arthur," Pietro called back without moving his gaze from the holographic woman, "but surely you understand how important this is to my work!"

The UNSC fleet had doubled in size in the past week once the Kingdoms gave permission, and with it came thousands more troops able to be deployed, with more on the way. In addition, heavy armor and air support were being strategically placed around the world, bolstering the native defenders as Remnantian militiamen and reservists were called back into active duty. The Kingdoms were also hiring every single Huntsman and Huntress they could get their hands on. Everyone knew that the presence of super soldiers could mean the difference between life and death in this instance, which was why the UNSC was deploying SPARTAN teams as well.

Even with his back turned, Halsey could see Watts roll his eyes as he muttered, "I swear, that puppet of yours…."

And with her SPARTANs' lives on the line, preparing for Revelation Day had since taken up the majority of her time and energy. Thankfully, much of her research on Remnant was able to quickly be reoriented towards it, and Doctor Polendina had been a tremendous help in that regard. Doctor Watts was of some help as well, even if she personally thought he was a blowhard with an unchecked ego the size of a planet. He made no secret that he thought he was better than everyone else, so it gave Halsey no small pleasure to put him in his place whenever possible.

"Puppet?" Halsey repeated while raising an eyebrow, and Doctor Polendina excitedly turned in his seat towards her.

"Ah, yes! Project P.E.N.N.Y!" Pietro began to explain. "It's a personal project of mine that I've been working on for a few years now. But I wouldn't call it a puppet. It's far more than that."

Her interest piqued, Halsey asked, "What is it, then? I'm assuming it's related to artificial intelligence, given your interest in Kalmiya."

"It is, yes, but not like yours," Pietro confirmed. "From everything I've learned, UNSC AIs are more like disembodied minds, with their bodies confined to the ships or data crystals they're installed on. This gives them unparalleled capabilities in the computational field, but their ability to affect the physical world is limited. What I want to do is put an AI into a synthetic body. But that part's easy. No, I want to do something more. I want to try and give Penny…an aura of her own. A soul."

"An artificial intelligence with an aura… Hmm, yes. I can see the appeal."

"No, it's a waste of time and resources," Watts countered. "Pietro, you've been hammering away at that puppet of yours for years, and you've made no real progress during that entire time. Whereas I've already rewritten Mantle's entire infrastructural code, designed the modern model of Atlesian Knights, and am well on my way to completing the Paladin project. And you can't program a soul. Last I checked, you need one to have aura, at least we do."

Watts shot that remark to the only Terran in the room as an apparent afterthought, and both Halsey and Kalmiya frowned. Shaking her head, Halsey continued, "I see. There certainly would be challenges, I admit. But I feel it's worth the effort. It could open the door to new advances."

"Thank you, Catherine," Pietro sincerely said with a warm smile, to which Halsey nodded.

"If nothing else, I'm intrigued by the possibilities afforded by installing Smart AIs into robotic bodies. We've only experimented with Dumb AIs," Halsey pointed out, only for Watts to openly laugh.

"Yes, I read up on those…efforts," Watts said in a mocking tone. "Compared to my designs, they were nothing. More like children playing in the sandbox rather than true robotics."

Halsey's face remained flat while an offended Pietro retorted, "Arthur, please. It took us years to get to the point where the Knights were able to be deployed at all. Just because the UNSC hasn't yet doesn't mean you get to insult their efforts."

"I wouldn't call them efforts at all. They tried once a century ago then gave up on the concept entirely as they felt it was 'irrelevant' despite having the technological and industrial base to make their own," Watts pointed out. "Now they see what we have and are trying to play catch up. It's amusing to me."

Nodding to herself, Halsey admitted, "Technological advancement isn't a ladder, Watts. The needs of one's environment dictate what one makes and invests their time and effort in. There's no need to belittle anything about that, or would you rather I be snide about how Remnant hasn't made personal energy shields with hardlight Dust despite having the technology to do so?"

Only now did Watts turn around in his seat to glare at his latest rival, and Halsey matched his gaze with her own. Her mind briefly went back towards the project taking up the bulk of her time, the prototype personal hardlight shield. Hardlight Dust, from what she understood, was a relatively recent innovation from Atlas that offered the ability to project solidified light in a similar way to what the Forerunners could apparently do. It had already seen applications in defense, with the city of Atlas itself being protected by massive hardlight Dust shield generators and smaller versions installed onto Colossus mechs. But up until now, the Kingdoms never really bothered trying to apply the technology onto foot soldiers and Huntsmen. Apparently, they figured that anyone fighting in the field would have their aura already unlocked so there'd be no point, as it would've been a waste of resources.

Then the UNSC arrived with tales of fighting the Covenant, and the environment changed. Not only was her government heavily interested in the city-scale protection that Atlas enjoyed, they were also hoping that they could use hardlight Dust as a substitute for the personal energy shields that the Covenant possessed. With that came renewed interest and investment in the possibility. Even if they could only protect a soldier from one or two plasma bolts, it could be a tactical game changer saving thousands, if not millions of lives. They already knew how to shape it, so now they just had to properly scale it down then later ship it off-world. In the long term, the Admiralty were even hoping that they could find a way to protect an entire ship with a hardlight shield, even in the vacuum of space, but for now they'd focus on the ground.

Arthur breathed in deeply through his nose, clearly frustrated at Halsey for her rebuttal, then he admitted, "Yes, well…even if we've started work on that problem, it doesn't solve the weight. These generator packs you've been making are heavy, Halsey. Too heavy for one of your marines, yet you've made sixteen of the damn things."

"We need as many working prototypes to field test as possible, Doctor," Halsey pointed out.

"Who's going to carry them, then? Huntsmen? Feels redundant in my opinion."

"You leave that to me," Halsey declared, her tone leaving no room for argument.

The lab grew uncomfortably quiet, the silence only broken when Pietro awkwardly coughed then said, "Well… I, for one, am heavily interested in the possibilities of combining Terran power generation with Dust. So much of it is lost by simply turning it on, and the efficiency could be exponentially improved."

Happy to change the subject, Halsey nodded and replied, "Yes, I agree. Kalmiya, have you finished running the preliminary calculations for the boosted yield?"

"According to my calculations, using Dust as a catalyst while supplementing its energy needs with a UNSC fusion generator results in an efficiency increase of twenty-five percent," Kalmiya revealed. "I believe this can be improved, however."

"Well, it's a start at least," Halsey admitted, then she chuckled. "I must admit, part of me is envious of Remnant. Dust is so plentiful and useful, not to mention clean. Earth's use of fossil fuels wrecked our environment. No wonder your people gravitated to it instead of them."

"Indeed. Some rural communities do make use of peat and wood, but Dust has always been the backbone of our society," Pietro said.

"I was referring more to hydrocarbons like coal, oil, and natural gas, but I suppose peat counts," Halsey nonchalantly pointed out, only for Pietro and Watts to give her confused looks.

"Coal? As in charcoal?" Pietro asked.

"By oil do you mean vegetable oil? Your people used that to power machinery?" Watts asked as well. "That seems very wasteful."

"And harvesting methane from cows sounds unpleasant," Pietro added with a grimace and shudder.

Now Halsey was confused, and she slowly began to explain, "No, that's not… Do neither of you know what hydrocarbons are?"

Pietro and Watts looked at each other, then Pietro slowly replied, "I believe we may be thinking of different things, Catherine. If you would?"

Halsey's mind was racing at how such intelligent men wouldn't know what coal and oil were. They were far too educated for this to be dismissed as typical ignorance, so something else had to be going on. She glanced at Kalmiya, whose body was much more flush with various symbols as she clearly started working through the implications as well. She needed more data.

Narrowing her eyes, she explained, "You clearly know what peat is. Think of coal, oil, and natural gas as the next stages of geological development that peat goes through after undergoing tremendous heat and pressure."

"Ah, I see. Must be an Earth thing. We got Dust, you got these…hydrocarbons. It's fascinating how one's environment affects societal development."

Slowly, Halsey started piecing the puzzle together, and she asked, "Before I say anything else, Doctors, tell me: how far back does Remnant's fossil record go?"

"Hmm, I'm not a paleontologist, but I believe it goes back roughly a hundred thousand years," Pietro revealed, speaking as though that was entirely normal. Halsey clearly wasn't able to mask her shock, causing Pietro's face to fall and, in a concerned tone, he asked, "How far back does Earth's go?"

Halsey's heart was racing inside her chest, and it took everything she had not to smack herself in the head for not noticing it earlier. She'd been so occupied with the new science afforded to her by Dust and aura that she never even bothered to look at the more routine subjects. No one from the UNSC did as the war effort took precedence, a massive oversight that held tremendous implications.

Gulping loudly, Halsey answered, "Life has been on Earth for nearly four billion years, as were most of the already habitable worlds we colonized."

Now it was the Remnantians' turn for their eyes to widen, and Watts softly muttered, "That…that can't be right."

"I assure you, Doctor Watts, it is," Kalmiya responded while simultaneously uploading the relevant data to their tablets. "Surveys on all non-terraformed worlds revealed fossil records stretching back billions of years. Remnant's only being a hundred-thousand is an anomaly."

Suddenly the Remnantians' confusion and ignorance of hydrocarbons made total sense. They weren't being idiotic, far from it. Their ignorance was simply because life seemingly hadn't existed long enough on Remnant for more energy-dense hydrocarbons to even form. Judging by the looks on Pietro's and Watt's faces, they were realizing the same thing, and what had once been a readily accepted fact of life was now suddenly being exposed as the aberration it was.

Halsey was already wondering why life on Remnant and Earth were so similar to each other, and this was further proof that it was far from a natural coincidence. In the back of her mind, she noted that Remnant's fossil record just so happened to correspond to the supposed Ross-Ziegler Blip, but she ignored that dismissed anomaly for now.

Shaking his head, Watts whispered, "We need to keep this quiet. Tell no one until we are absolutely certain. Understood?"

Halsey nodded in agreement while Pietro momentarily stammered, "I…yes. We need to verify this before saying anything."

The trio of scientists nodded, then Halsey ordered, "Kalmiya, I want you to analyze Remnant's fossil record and compare it to all other habitable worlds we've surveyed. Leave no stone unturned."

"Yes, Doctor," Kalmiya replied then, with a snap of her fingers, disappeared into the holotank, leaving the scientists to themselves.

[~]

Mistralian Highlands, Anima, Kingdom of Mistral

September 30th, 2541, 0900 Hours (UNSC Military Calendar)

Raven Branwen was silent as she and her advisors sat in a circle inside her tent. Everyone was utterly still as they stared up at her, waiting for their leader to say the word and begin the meeting. All of them knew this was part of the standard procedure. It helped to emphasize the hierarchy in the Branwen Clan. Gave a semblance of order and kept the others in line if they knew exactly who was in charge at each and every moment. With the current state of the world, that was more important now than ever.

Slowly scanning the room with her eyes without turning her head, Raven finally said, "Gray, what have you found?"

The thin man with short grey hair in question promptly nodded as he replied, "It's not looking good. Mistral's launched a complete crackdown in the region. We haven't seen one this large in decades. They're going after every bandit and raider clan they can find."

"The Rusted Blades and Coastal Raiders are already decimated," another advisor, a scarred woman named Flower, added. "From what we're seeing, the Venom Pirates aren't far behind. Everyone's getting encircled, and the only good thing I've seen so far is that our own numbers have swelled with experienced fighters seeking our banner."

"Only because everyone else is getting killed or arrested," the third advisor, a bald man with thick muscles named Crimson, remarked. "And it's not Mistral who's doing it. It's that damned UNSC. The Kingdoms are coordinating with them. Huntsmen backed up by marines, tanks, artillery, and aircraft. The Mambas tried hunkering down in a nice mountain pass after drawing some heat, as fortifiable and obscure as any gang could want. But apparently they weren't hidden enough some space, because those satellites the UNSC set up found them in hours, and they dropped so much ordinance on them that they were buried in that pass by a landslide."

"The question is, why now?" Flower pointed out. "The UNSC's been here for close to a year, yet it's only been in the past month that we've seen coordination against us at this scale."

"Flower, I've already told you why, remember?" Raven calmly reminded her advisor, who promptly flinched under her gaze.

"Ah, yes. Sorry, Raven," Flower apologized, but Crimson looked unconvinced.

"How can you be certain that the UNSC's at war with this 'Covenant,' and more importantly have somehow managed to convinced the Kingdoms to jump in?" he asked.

"Besides spying on my idiotic brother, you only need to look at the signs," Raven pointed out. "Atlas' military recruitment has jumped up extensively, as has Mistral's. Politicians in Vale are beginning to openly talk about rebuilding their armed forces, something they haven't considered since the end of the Great War. Most importantly, the size of the UNSC fleet over our heads is growing larger and larger each and every day without the Kingdoms protesting, and it is showing no signs of stopping anytime soon."

"Okay, but what does that have to do with us?"

"The public doesn't know what's actually going on. All they're seeing is the largest military build-up since the Great War," Raven answered. "They're growing more and more uneasy the longer this goes on, and with that comes Grimm. So far, they've been using the increase in Grimm activity and bandit clans like us to justify the UNSC's presence and the military build-up, but the public still doesn't know about the Covenant. What do you think is going to happen when they find out that we're at war with genocidal aliens more powerful than even the UNSC?"

Her advisors were quiet for a moment, then Gray answered, "There's going to be panic no matter what they say, so they're trying to thin the herd before it's too late."

"And Mistral's always hated our presence, so they're jumping at the opportunity to take us down," Flower added.

"Exactly. The only real question is what to do next," Raven said. "I'm open to suggestions."

"We should lash out and show the UNSC and Mistral we're not to be trifled with," Crimson suggested, only for Raven and the others to shoot him harsh glares.

"Absolutely not," Gray retorted. "The Mambas did that. They attacked a UNSC firebase and killed dozens of their soldiers and made off with tons of cargo. All they got for that was a mountain getting dropped on their heads."

"Exactly, and everything I've been seeing so far is that Mistral and the UNSC are focusing on the most active bandits in the region. The ones who brazenly attack entire settlements. All we've been doing is acting as highwaymen on vulnerable travelers, so they've been ignoring us for now," Flower added, to which Crimson scoffed.

"Being highwaymen isn't going to keep us fed for long. Our rations are already getting stretched thin as it is," Crimson rebuked. "We're going to have to change something if we want to survive the coming winter. Besides, just because we've been acting below their radar for now doesn't mean they're not aware of us, and you know it. They just think we're not worth their time, yet. And yeah, that's insulting, but better than getting bombed."

Crimson then narrowed his eyes and conspiratorially leaned forward to say, "Not only that, but my contacts in Vacuo have told me of…things that the UNSC's been fielding lately. Things that are wiping out entire bandit groups and packs of Grimm by themselves."

"Orbital bombardment? That doesn't make sense. The Kingdoms weren't allowing that, even now," Gray asked, but Crimson shook his head.

"No, nothing that overt," Crimson clarified. "Whatever this is, it's far more surgical. My contact described seeing four of those…what do you call 'em…HEV pods? The things the ODSTs drop down in. Anyway, she found four of 'em while out on patrol, and not long after when she returned to camp, everyone in it was dead. She only survived because she took a nap and got missed. When she returned, the pods were gone."

Everyone was quiet at Crimson's story, and Flower quietly added, "I've heard things like that in Mistral, too. Some kind of…super robot that the UNSC has decked out in so much armor that they're invincible, assuming you hit the damn things."

"Are you certain it's a robot? I thought the UNSC doesn't have those?" Gray asked, but Flower shook her head.

"The only other thing I've heard from rumors is that the UNSC has Huntsmen of their own, but that doesn't make any sense to me, either."

Truth be told, Raven had heard similar rumors as well. The explanations and answers ran the gamut. Some were mundane, others were completely outlandish like the idea that the UNSC somehow had literal demons in their employ. At first, she had completely dismissed them as hearsay by terrified survivors who didn't know what they had seen, and even now she thought they were most likely exaggerated as rumors tended to be. But with how many of them there were, and thanks to her years serving under Ozpin, she now felt there was something to them.

At the same time, though, she had more important things to worry about, so she shook her head and claimed, "We can't concern ourselves with mere rumors. Right now, our highest priority is figuring out how to survive, nothing more. When the Kingdoms and the UNSC finally tell the world about the Covenant, Grimm activity is going to skyrocket. If we're out in the open by then, we are dead."

The others nodded at that, then Crimson frowned and replied, "As much I hate pussyfooting around like a bunch of cowards…I think I have a solution. There's an old, abandoned Dust mine higher up in the mountains. If our enemies are going to spy on us from the skies themselves, then let's literally go underground. We can take shelter there and raid the nearby trade routes and homesteads for food, as well as hunt any animals we come across."

The others nodded in agreement, as did Raven who replied, "Send a scouting party up there to clear it out, and call for me if there are any Alpha Grimm in the vicinity. Once they give the go ahead, we'll pack camp and make our way up. Understood?"

"Yes, Chieftain," the advisors replied in unison, and Raven nodded before standing up and dismissing them.

[~]

Kuroyuri, Anima, Kingdom of Mistral

October 25th, 2541, 900 Hours (UNSC Military Calendar)

"Another UNSC warship has arrived in-system this morning," the Mistral Today reporter on the television announced as seven-year-old Lie Ren sat at the kitchen table waiting for his mother to finish making their breakfast. "With it, the fleet orbiting Remnant has grown to over thirty vessels, up from six three months ago, expanding their ability to coordinate the ongoing anti-Grimm and anti-insurgent campaigns with Mistralian forces."

The image on the television behind the reporter changed to a video of dozens of protesters holding picket signs in front of the Council Building, where she continued, "Meanwhile, the proposed expansion and reorganization of the Mistralian Militia into the Mistralian Army continues to prove controversial. Opinion polls show that seventy-five percent of respondents oppose the measure. Opponents claim that the establishment of a proper military would only promote conflict with other kingdoms rather than protect them from the Grimm, with many claiming that the increase in Grimm activity over the past year was entirely due to the unrest caused by the UNSC's arrival. Others claim that the establishment of a military would serve Atlesian or UNSC interests over the Mistralian public. Supporters, however, contend that the changing security environment necessitates the reestablishment of Mistral's military, and point to Vale having the same legislative changes alongside the rapid expansion of Atlas.'"

As the journalist continued to report the news, Lie's father, Li Ren, openly sighed while saying, "What's the world coming to, these days?"

Looking up at his father as the man drank from a ceramic mug filled with tea, Lie asked, "Father, why do they want to make an army? You told me armies were bad?"

"They are, Lie," Li answered as he shook his head. "Our people got rid of them after the Great War. They were too easy for the governments to misuse, and now we use dedicated Huntsmen to protect us from the Grimm."

"Then why are they trying to bring them back now?"

His father didn't answer. Instead, he briefly glanced upward towards the roof and the sky above, but otherwise didn't say anything.

Lie couldn't help but shrink in on himself as he quietly admitted, "I'm scared."

"Oh, there's no reason to be scared," Li insisted as he warmly smiled and gently touched Lie's shoulder. "If you ask me, this is nothing more than grandstanding. The Kingdoms are trying to make themselves look big and tough. And besides, people have been trying to bring back the army for years, and it's never gone anywhere. This time will be no different, you'll see."

Despite his father's seemingly confident answer, Lie could tell that he wasn't being entirely truthful. There was a look in his eyes that betrayed how worried he actually was, but he was trying to put on a brave face for his son, nevertheless. Rather than feel upset, Lie understood what his father was trying to do and felt more at ease despite himself. He smiled back, and Li nodded before leaning back into his seat.

"Boys, breakfast is almost ready," Lie's mother, An Ren, announced as she opened the pot containing the steamed buns. It took everything Lie had to not bounce in his seat, but he didn't bother containing his excitement as his mother took the buns out of the pot, put them on ceramic plates, then carried them over to the table for the family to eat.

As Lie happily dug into his meal, An asked, "Li, have you heard back from the capital regarding our request?"

"Nothing yet, no," Lie replied while shaking his head. "But they need to get here soon."

Lie frowned as he slowed his eating. He knew what his parents were talking about. His father was a hunter, and during his last few trips out into the nearby forest for game, he had uncovered tracks of a particularly large Grimm. He didn't know what kind it was, or his father simply refused to tell him, but in any case the tracks were getting closer and closer to the village. Since Kuroyuri was fairly remote, and was a relatively young settlement that had been founded for the purpose of getting away from Mistral's central authority, they didn't have a Huntsman or Huntress to protect them, relying instead on the natural protection of the lake on one side and their stone walls covering the rest, along with a small militia. That had served them well enough so far, but clearly his father thought that was no longer the case.

Swallowing the food in his mouth, Lie said, "I hope the Huntsman they send is nice. The last one was a jerk."

"Yes, yes he was," An agreed, making a soft frown as the memories of the last Huntsman who came to their village sprang to everyone's mind. Lie didn't interact with the man very much, but did remember that he acted like he was better than everyone else, and that his very presence was the only thing keeping them safe, so he could do whatever he wanted. Apparently, the mayor had been considering hiring the man on a permanent basis, but after getting hit with several complaints, the Huntsman was sent packing.

His mother had commented afterwards that hiring a licensed Huntsman from out of town to move in like that probably wouldn't have been affordable anyway. That was the case for most towns that didn't already have any Huntsmen invested in the initial settlement. Which meant that their best option was for one of their own to show enough talent to get into and graduate from an Academy, and return to defend their home as their own resident Huntsman or Huntress.

Since then, Lie sometimes wondered if he could become Kuroyuri's Huntsman. Even better, Academy students became teammates too, so imagine if he came back with his whole team in tow? He was confident that he could convince his friends to move back with him once they saw how beautiful his hometown was. His father was the best Grimm killer in the village, and even if he was just a game hunter and not trained like a proper Huntsman, Lie was sure that his father could help him get strong enough to apply for a combat school.

As his father slowly consumed his meal, Lie turned to him and asked, "Are you going hunting today?"

"I am, yes," Li confirmed as he wiped some crumbs from his beard. "The butcher's running low on venison, so he asked me to get some more. Should be back in a day or two."

Lie glanced towards his father's bow and arrows, then eagerly added, "Can I come with you this time?"

"No, Lie. I already told you, you're too young," Li told him while shaking his head. "You can come with me when you're older."

"Aw…," Lie groaned while hanging his head, only to perk up when his mother chuckled warmly.

"Don't worry, you'll get to spend time with me today at the market. I'll get you those mochi balls you like," she offered, causing Lie to smile widely and his eyes to sparkle.

"Can you tell me the story about the Garden, too?!" Lie requested as he bounced in his seat, and when his mother laughed and nodded he could barely contain himself. It didn't matter if he'd been told it dozens of times. The Garden, along with The Girl Who Fell Through The World, was his favorite bedtime story. It was one that spoke of a mystical land free of Grimm. Where everything was plentiful and people lived forever. Sure, it ended on a somewhat sad note where the people tried to steal from the Good King who protected them and were cast out, but there was always the hope that they'd one day return.

Before he could say anything else, the house suddenly shook as a loud noise came from overhead, catching all of them off-guard. His father reacted immediately, shooting to his feet and racing out the back door, with Lie and An right behind him. To Lie's astonishment, a large dropship emerged from the clouds above and landed right in the center of Main Street. It didn't look like one of the Mistralian airships he'd seen before, and it took him a moment to recognize that it belonged to the UNSC. He didn't know what it was actually called, but he had to admit it looked really cool, as were the two others that came right behind it.

As dozens of UNSC marines carrying rifles in their hands and others on their backs walked out of the dropships, one wearing a cap on his head stood out watching over all of them, speaking in a language that Lie didn't recognize. By now, a large crowd of people had emerged from their homes to watch the spectacle, none of them quite understanding exactly what was going on. Lie was in that same boat, but he remained by his father's side as he marched right up to the man who apparently was in charge.

"What is the meaning of this?" Li demanded, prompting the marine to turn towards him.

Before Li could repeat himself, the marine held up a finger before bringing out a pair of small earbuds. He handed them to his father before gesturing to his ears, clearly telling him to put it in. That was when the marine noticed Lie's presence behind his father's leg, and he quickly smiled warmly before pulling out a second pair to give to him. Lie was confused at first, but after a moment's hesitation, he put the earbuds in.

"Apologies, sir," the marine suddenly said once the earbuds were in, now speaking in perfect Mistralian that for some reason didn't quite match up with the movement of his lips.

"What is this?" Li asked in a confused tone, and the marine tapped his ear in response.

"It's an auto-translator," he explained. "I'm afraid none of us have had the time to learn your language yet, and until we do, this is how we can communicate."

"…I see," Li replied before shaking his head. "Now that we can understand each other, tell me: what is the meaning of this?"

The marine stood up straighter and folded his arms behind his back while saying, "My name's Lieutenant Burns of the 24th Marine Division. Could you direct me to the mayor, or the hunter Li Ren?"

"I am Li Ren, yes," Li confirmed in a suspicious tone, and Lieutenant Burns nodded.

"We received a request for aid, and my platoon was assigned to respond," Burns confirmed. "I've been told that there's been an increase in Grimm activity in the area. Is that accurate?"

Taken aback, it took a moment for Li to collect his thoughts before he shook his head and replied, "I…yes, I did ask for aid. There's a dangerous Grimm nearby that threatens us. But I was expecting them to send a Huntsman, not a whole platoon."

"Yes, I'm aware of the Grimm you're referring to," Burns said as he nodded. "Apparently, it's been threatening other nearby villages in the region. We have a team on the ground already tracking it."

"Oh. That's…that's good," Li admitted before looking around at the dozens of UNSC marines handing out ear pieces to the other villagers. "Then why do you have so many people here if you're already hunting it down?"

"Just an extra precaution due to outstanding Grimm activity," Burns confirmed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to coordinate the village defenses with my marines."

With that, Lieutenant Burns turned around and began barking orders at the rest of his men, telling them where to offload supplies while others moved to set a perimeter, whatever that meant. All of it was astounding to Lie, capturing his utmost attention and rooting him in place. It was only when his father began pulling him away that his attention was broken, and soon he found himself being hurriedly escorted back to his family's home.

"Li, what's going on? Why are there soldiers?" An asked when they finally rejoined her.

"That request for aid I sent? The UNSC's the one who answered it," Li told her. Before he could say anything else, they heard another flight of ships arrive, this one being a pair of Mistralian Bullheads that dropped off militiamen before departing to parts unknown.

Lie didn't pretend to know anything about defense, but even he felt this was somewhat excessive. His father was worried about a single Grimm, so why did they send so many soldiers to deal with it? It didn't make any sense to him, and the fear that Lie had been trying to suppress came bubbling up once again.

"Li, I don't think you should go hunting tonight," An quietly told her husband, who quickly nodded in agreement. But Lie wasn't paying attention to his parents. Instead, he was keeping his focus on the soldiers as they continued organizing themselves.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lie noticed a young girl his age with bright orange hair and tattered clothes also staring at the soldiers from behind a box. He recognized her, even though he didn't know her name. She had arrived not too long ago, a vagrant from parts unknown with no parents looking after her. A few of the other boys had been bullying her when he wandered out of his mother's sight at the outskirts of the market a couple of days ago, and it shamed Lie to admit that, at the time, he didn't do anything about it. He saw what was going on, and all it took was a mean look from the lead boy to make him back away. It was only when his father unexpectedly returned home early and came across them that the bullies stopped, and the girl ran off.

His father had scolded him after that, telling him that the worst action one could take was to do nothing in the face of injustice. It was a lesson Lie vowed to take to heart, even if he didn't know exactly how to do it. How was he supposed to become a Huntsman to defend the whole village if he was too scared to even save a poor girl from some stupid bullies? Part of him wondered if he should reach out to the girl, but before he could come to a decision, she noticed him looking at her and she ran off, disappearing into the alleyways.

"Lie, come. Let's go home," Li told him as he and his mother looked at him expectantly.

Shaking his head, Lie replied, "Coming, father," and hurried after them.

Arriving at their home, Lie immediately sat down on the couch facing the television, which was saying something about how the satellites the UNSC set up was helping to track and eliminate Grimm before they could threaten settlements, but he wasn't particularly focused on that. Instead, his attention was centered on the fact that his father had locked the door behind them, and was now keeping his bow within reach.

[~]

Atlas Academy, Atlas, Kingdom of Atlas

1900 Hours (UNSC Military Calendar)

Standing in front of the window of his office overseeing the kingdom below, his hands folded behind his back, General James Ironwood tried to keep himself as calm and composed as possible. It was proving harder than he would've liked to admit, but so far he'd been able to manage. Over the past two months, he and the rest of Remnant's entire security apparatus had been hard at work preparing for what had come to be known as Revelation Day. The day when they would reveal to the world the truth about the Covenant, and how they were now at war.

If he was being honest with himself, James felt like he was at a crossroads. On the one hand, he had never dealt with anything on this scale throughout his long career, and Remnant was woefully unprepared. They hadn't had a war in decades, not since the Faunus Rights Revolution, and that was nothing compared to the Great War just years earlier, and especially to the ongoing Human-Covenant War. Up until now, they only had to deal with Grimm and criminals, not to mention whatever forces Salem had at her disposal. It left them woefully inexperienced.

But on the other hand, James was ecstatic at the opportunities presented before him. He knew it was selfish, but fighting the Covenant would finally allow him to properly use his ideas and tactics that he never could against everyday engagements. A proper military campaign against the Covenant meant having to worry about supply lines, troop composition, recruitment, and more. All things that neatly fit into his wheelhouse and expertise, and he was happy to finally be able to exploit his talents to the fullest. James had only been brought into Ozpin's inner circle recently, and although he was more than up to the task, it was clear that the others weren't all that keen about treating the fight against Salem like the actual war it was. With the Covenant, keeping it behind the scenes wasn't an option, meaning he could flex his muscles openly.

It certainly helped that he finally had actual peers he could talk to about military matters in the UNSC, particularly Lord Hood. The others in Ozpin's inner circle were veteran Huntsmen who were vehemently opposed to the idea of militaries in general. The only reason why they were going along with Remnant's remilitarization was because they literally didn't have any other choice. If they did, they wouldn't have had their previous conversation. But the UNSC was different. With them, he could properly discuss military strategy with people who knew what they were talking about and thought along the same lines as he did. It was a welcome relief from what he usually dealt with.

James was torn from his thoughts when he heard a knock at his door. Without turning around, he simply said, "You may enter."

The door opened, and after hearing some footsteps approach his desk, he finally turned around and faced his guest, saying, "Agent Adler, I suppose you have an update for me."

"I do, General," Agent Russell Adler confirmed as he sat down on the other side of James' desk, with James sitting down as well. Sliding over a data tablet which James immediately began combing through, the ONI operative continued, "Overall, the situation's proceeding on schedule. The last of the UNSC reinforcements should arrive within the next two weeks, and Operation POACHER has already eliminated high-value Grimm targets across the globe."

"Good, good," James muttered while reading the more detailed information. Glancing up at Adler, he asked, "How long can the UNSC sustain their forces here?"

"Another month at most," Adler admitted. "You have to understand. The forces we deploy here to reinforce Remnant are ones we can't use against the Covenant. Particularly our naval assets. The shipyards at Reach and Mars are pumping them out as fast as possible, but most of them don't survive their first engagement with the Covenant."

"Hopefully our scientists will be able to find a way to get Dust to work in space," James replied. "I've heard that the SDC's been making progress in developing specialized cargo units to hold Dust while in starships."

"Yes. Apparently, they're just taking a sealed container and putting a grav-plate on the bottom of it," Adler remarked while giving a soft smile and shaking his head. "I'm surprised the solution was that simple."

"Thankfully it was, and I suppose we have Fiona Thyme to thank for proving it was possible in the first place," James said as a ghost of a frown crossed his lips.

Even now, he still wasn't exactly happy that Robyn and her team took it upon themselves to join the expedition, much less that Commander Keyes just allowed it after-the-fact. It was particularly insulting when Keyes claimed he was trying to prevent a potential Insurrection-style conflict between Atlas and Mantle. Yes, there were divisions between the two cities, but their concerns were overblown. Mantle simply never got over the fact that they used to be the capital and now they weren't. That happened decades ago, and they needed to accept it. Still, even if he wasn't happy that it happened in the first place, he couldn't deny the results. Fiona's semblance provided a crucial test that proved Dust could work in space under certain conditions enabled by Earth technology, and she and the Happy Huntresses proved crucial in denying the Covenant access to the Peponi Cartographer. In a way, if Robyn hadn't done what she did, the Covenant would've found Remnant.

It was a dilemma James wasn't particularly keen to focus on, so instead he shifted gears and asked, "What about the news broadcasts?"

"Focus tests are going well, all things considered," Adler answered. "We've had the participants sign NDAs and their access to social media limited until the story breaks, per your laws, but most of them thought we were talking purely hypotheticals and nothing more. They seemed amused by the level of secrecy we were having them employ. Some were asking questions and had concerns, but with the right amount of money, they haven't said anything else."

James nodded, happy that Remnant's culture of avoiding sensationalist news was such a help here, but then Adler continued, "Still, no matter how we frame it, when this story breaks it's going to cause a panic. The only reason why the testers didn't was because they thought it was all hypothetical. When we break the story for real, people won't have that mental protection."

"Which is why we'll need to focus on protecting them physically," James insisted as he looked at the troop deployments, particularly the Army Divisions sent to reinforce Remnant. They had come from all over UNSC space. Tribute, Reach, Mars, but he couldn't help but notice a particular emphasis on one world in particular.

"Is there a reason why there's three army divisions from Sera stationed on Remnant?" James asked.

"Sera is one of our oldest, most established colonies. It's behind only Mars and Reach, really, and it produces some of our best equipment and soldiers," Adler confirmed. "More importantly, we've found that Serans are among the best suited to engage the Grimm."

"How so?" James asked while raising an eyebrow.

"For one, I know you've seen them," Adler pointed out, and James's mind belatedly flashed to his meeting with Colonel Hoffman, who was apparently in charge of all three Seran divisions stationed on Remnant.

"They are built like mountains," James admitted after a moment.

"A combination of Sera's higher gravity and their…questionable training and nutrition practices."

"You mean steroids."

"Ones that thankfully only have the problem of a reduced fertility rate. In any case, they result in soldiers much stronger than the average," Adler explained. "They don't just use that muscle in melee, either. Over the past year, we've found that our standard 7.62 rounds have reduced effectiveness against the Grimm's natural armor. Thankfully, the .390 caliber ammunition fired by the MA2Bs have proven more effective. And the Serans' homegrown assault rifles fire that same sound, so they're well used to the higher levels of recoil."

James supposed that made sense, then he raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why does Sera need that big a round for their standard service rifle if they don't have Grimm?"

Adler shrugged, then declared, "Mostly the wildlife. Honestly, we used to consider Sera to be the most dangerous habitable world in human space before discovering Remnant. Some of their native life forms can give the Grimm a run for their money, especially the subterranean stuff. Combine that with razor hail and windflares, and Sera's a death world that most people are scared to set foot on."

He paused for a moment, then the ONI agent chuckled and added, "Apparently, our Seran soldiers here are kind of jealous of your planet taking their number one spot."

James winced. He didn't know what razor hail and windflares were, but he could only imagine how bad they were. Still, the fact that people who were able to brave such an environment were now reinforcing Remnant could only be a good thing. Part of him wondered just how strong they were compared to the average person from Remnant. Obviously they weren't as strong as those with aura, but he was still curious.

But that wasn't important. Instead they had more pressing matters to deal with as he said, "In any case, once we make the announcement, I want to follow it up with the award ceremony. If we can do it right, we can celebrate the heroes who saved our world while also helping to convince the people that the Covenant can be beaten. We need to emphasize that rather than the Covenant almost finding us."

"Agreed. We've also been working on framing the unfortunate losses sustained on Peponi, making them out to be as heroic as possible," Adler added, to which James nodded.

Part of him wondered why they were putting so much emphasis on Gron's death. The man tried to surrender to the Covenant, and only acted against them because they made it clear that wasn't an option. Up until his death, he had proven to be, as Clover succinctly put it, a racist asshole. Yet the UNSC was framing him as a heroic symbol of equality between humans and faunus, one who bravely sacrificed himself to protect his fellow man despite the racial divides between them. It made no sense to him, but he supposed it might help reduce tensions between humans and faunus on Remnant to have a heroic symbol to rally behind.

That was something he noticed. The UNSC had taken a particular interest in trying to reduce said tensions, and Menagerie had proven to be one of their strongest partners on the planet. Mistral and some in Atlas didn't like it, particularly the SDC when UNSC satellites helped discover a massive Dust deposit on the continent that they immediately backed Kuo Kuana's exclusive right to claim. But, to be frank, James didn't care if Jacques' profit margins and monopolies were threatened. He had his hands full trying to keep Atlas safe, which meant he couldn't afford to distract himself with human-faunus relations. So if the UNSC felt it was prudent to concern themselves in that regard, and by doing so was helping to improve Remnant's stability, he'd be fine with it.

Handing the data pad back over to the ONI agent, James said, "Thank you for the update, Adler. I'll need to confer with Ozpin and the other councils, but at the moment it appears we're on schedule to inform the public once the last group of UNSC reinforcements arrive."

"Sounds good to me. The sooner we—" Adler began, only for the intercom in James' office to suddenly blare to life.

"General, we have a situation!" a panicked technician reported, causing both men in the room to look up towards the speaker.

"Report," Ironwood ordered, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"We've had a leak, sir!" the technician revealed, causing Ironwood and Adler's eyes to widen.

"WHAT?!" Ironwood shouted as he shot to his feet, with Adler joining him.

"What was leaked?" Adler asked in a dark, grave tone.

"Everything! Someone just leaked out an uncensored report about the Covenant onto the internet. Video, images, everything! We're trying to contain it, but it's just too widespread! It's on every forum, every video sharing website. Major news outlets had their broadcast feeds hacked into and just dropped them out there for everyone to see!"

Ironwood felt the world stand still for a moment as the realization settled in. His mind raced, struggling to figure out how everything that was going so well thus far had suddenly flipped on its head. It only took seconds to deduce the only person who could stand to gain from this kind of chaos. Somehow, Salem had obtained access to the information they had tried so hard to keep under wraps. She undoubtedly understood the same thing they did and chose to release it out into the wild purposefully to cause a panic. Given how widespread the knowledge was suddenly released, she likely hired one of many hacker groups to handle the spread, assuming she didn't already have an IT expert directly working for her in the first place. Part of him wondered why UNSC AIs weren't able to stop the leak when it happened, then he realized they were hampered by the fact that the Councils didn't feel comfortable in letting them have access to their systems. By the time they realized what was going on, it was too late.

Already he was beginning to hear sirens coming from below, which knocked Ironwood back into reality. Shaking his head, he immediately ordered, "Rally our forces, now! We're in Code Black! I repeat, Code Black! Adler, contact Lord Hood and request immediate fire support across the entire planet!"

"Already done," Adler replied, then he snarled, "and when I find the son of a bitch who leaked that information, I will fucking murder them."

Ironwood ground his teeth and clenched his fists before saying, "Get in line."

With that, the pair ran out of the office as warning sirens sounded all across Atlas.

[~]

"This is what the UNSC wants you to fight!" the masked man on the TV spat as the grainy footage depicting the slaughter was shown to everyone. It didn't matter what channel they were on, the footage was the same, showing scores of people running in terror as monsters gunned them down without mercy, reducing entire planets to glass. "They provoked an alien power, the Covenant, into waging a war of genocide against them! A war they are LOSING! Everything they have been doing for the past year has been to bring us into their hopeless war, and they've even convinced the Councils to join! But if we do, all we will get is our deaths! We, the Remnant Liberation Alliance, oppose this war, and encourage all true sons and daughters of Remnant to cast out these alien interlopers and-!"

That was when the news feed finally cut, replaced by a series of colorful bars that emitted a loud beeping noise. Lie Ren and his family could only sit in silence as they stared at the television, their dinner completely forgotten. His heart was thundering in his chest, and he was gripping his fork so tightly that his little knuckles were turning white.

"Li…," An muttered, her voice filled with abject terror. But before his father could say anything, they were interrupted by a loud cacophony of screeches and roars coming from outside the city walls, followed by terrified screams.

[~][~]

Hello, everyone! Here is the latest chapter of Dust and Echoes! Special thanks to NaanContributor and Jesse K for their help in bringing this chapter to life!

Revelation Day is here, and Remnant now knows that they are at war with the Covenant. Unfortunately, the method of delivery didn't go exactly according to plan, and now Ozpin, his Inner Circle, the Kingdoms, and the UNSC have to scramble to contain the situation before things get any worse. Not only that, but we also finally got to see more of the young members of team RWBY and JNPR, with a particular emphasis on a young Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. It will be through their eyes that we see a lot of the events that transpire next, which will shape their character arcs in the story going forward. You can expect a similar dynamic through the rest of the Integration Arc as we introduce the other members of Team RWBY and Team JNPR. They are, after all, the actual main characters of this story, even if up until this point the position of main protagonist has been held by Qrow.

Also, yes, the colony of Sera is a Halo-fied expy of the Gears of War franchise, just with no Imulsion (meaning no Locust), and it's the UNSC, not the COG. We have been planning that inclusion for quite a while, even before our decision to incorporate the CoD expies during Peponi. We're very happy to show them off as the story moves forward.

On another note, due to a personal issue that I'd rather not discuss at the moment, my writing schedule will be unfortunately slowed for the time being. Simply put, I have to prioritize other things at the moment, and writing fanfiction is at the very bottom of that list. Thank you for understanding.

Now to answer some of your guys' questions:

I can see where you'd find some parallels between the UNSC and Remnant's first contact between the US forcing Japan to open its harbors, but really a greater parallel would be when Christopher Columbus found the Americas. Only Admiral Cole wasn't a massive piece of shit like Columbus was, nor is the UNSC a bunch of colonizers looking to displace/replace the Native Americans with their own people as they have other, more pressing issues to deal with.

I'm really glad you guys have enjoyed the story so much! D&E is a lot of fun to write, and you can expect more good things in the future.

Please don't pitch other story ideas in the reviews. They are not welcome.

You will find out how the Covenant will find Remnant.

You'll have to wait and see if RWBY and JNPR get Spartan-IV augmentations. Same whether the Spartans will get aura and semblances.

We have plans for Cinder, and I think you guys are really going to enjoy them.

Please do not pitch OCs or OC names. They are not welcome.

And the Ross-Ziegler Blip outright gets namedropped in this story. At the time, everyone just dismissed it. But, as we all know, that was actually the Halo Array firing, wiping out all life in the galaxy roughly a hundred-thousand years ago. Which, coincidentally, is also just how far back Remnant's fossil record goes. Funny how that works out.

We do have plans for all the major RWBY characters. Some will have arcs that parallel their canon ones. Others will go in different directions due to the changes brought to the setting by the UNSC.

No, I do not accept ideas or suggestions.

Harriet is a bit rough and hard to get used to. She's not a particularly likable person, but at the end of the day she is a good person. It helps that she just got hit with a massive dose of humble pie.

The thing about the Huntsmen is that they aren't a part of the UNSC. They're foreign delegates, and there's only so much they can do to control them. Not to mention the UNSC is aware that a lot of Remnant sees them as very authoritarian and a potential threat to their independence down the line. So, they try to let the delegates off the leash a bit to allay those concerns. For the Vacuo and Mistral delegation, that went totally fine. But the plot followed the Vale, Atlas, and Menagerie delegates, which is where things didn't go to plan. Luckily it all worked out, but rest assured that Remnant's independent streak is going to continue being an issue going forward. It's not happening just because.

I'm not here to discuss whether characters in canon were wasted or not. Thiis isn't the place for that discussion.

Yes, Rooster Teeth did shut down between last chapter and this one. Luckily, RWBY does have a future now with Viz Media! Here's hoping we get an update on the future of the franchise soon.

The fifth relic is something original to this story and unrelated to the other four. What, exactly, it is will be revealed in due time.

There will be key Jiralhanae characters. Whether there'll be any hero ones will be revealed in due time. I will say, though, that Atriox will be a key player.

Daisy's whole running away thing happened before the Human Covenant War. Also, she sadly died sometime during the war.

You'll have to wait and see on Xytan. That'll be the answer to the question of whether any other characters will show up/play a role.

Yeah, last chapter was a bit slow. But you come to realize that you need those slow chapters after a lot of heavy, fast-paced and action-filled ones. Gives the characters and the audience a chance to breathe.

There is, indeed, a pretty heavy implication that the Brother Gods were not actual dieties in this story. As to whether they were Forerunner or something else, you'll have to wait and see. Things have definitely changed, though.

The Huntsmen will become a big focus from the Covenant. Speaking of, they'll be called "Witches" as, to the highly religious Covenant, the use of aura and semblances are akin to witchcraft. Funnily enough, that is a gender neutral term.

That's it for this time. We're very happy with how this chapter turned out. Let us know what you all think. If any of you have a TV Tropes account, any assistance in updating the page, particularly the more subjective moments like Awesome, Funny, Nightmare Fuel, and Heartwarming, would be greatly appreciated. We hope you enjoy and see you all next time!