Nora couldn't quite believe what she was hearing through her earpiece as she and Ren remained at their campsite deep within the outer reaches of the Emerald Forest. Judging from Ren's facial expression as he sat upon a fallen log next to her before the fire, it seemed that he felt much the same way. Though neither of them had seen Jinn's projected vision, the sudden knowledge of Astrid's existence followed immediately by finding out she was somehow still alive had sent them both reeling. It was simply another wrinkle in the war that Nora wasn't sure how to handle, and one that she knew she would have to contend with all the same.

"So… that's it?" Nora asked, holding a finger to her communicator to broadcast out to the others. "Astrid left, and we're just… in a ceasefire, effective right now? All of our plans to scout and sabotage the countryside and locations taken over by grimm and whatnot are just… over?"

"Seems that way," Glynda confirmed. "If she's true to her word, the grimm should start departing from Sanus, and any you may encounter are supposed to leave you alone. We've got time to consider our options and plan out our next move, but I'm not advocating for letting down our guard. I don't trust this, as much as I'd like to. We'll still do patrols and scope out areas that were overrun by grimm to see if the beasts really are leaving… but I suppose we should hope for the best. What's the situation with Hazel? Astrid said he wouldn't be a problem anymore, whatever that means."

"Perhaps she knows he intends to defect," Ren suggested. "That would be the most pleasant possible scenario. Qrow is currently circling above the forest, doing reconnaissance on the area before we proceed to the location Hazel told us to head for. He's been listening in from the air."

"Good," Raven replied. "We'll need to debrief and make some decisions about what to do in Sanus soon, and Qrow should be a part of it. That being said, I do think continuing the work from this morning this late at night would be… a lot. Atlas has immediate, local concerns to deal with, and this whole new layer will only distract us away from things that keep getting shoved to the side."

"Agreed," James said. "Those of us in Atlas will have a brief meeting about next steps momentarily, but other than that… I think it best to adjourn for the night and worry about the overall war effort in the morning. I'll be in touch with each team separately, and our next 'big' joint venture will be determined at a later date. There's a lot to think about, especially if Sanus is now suddenly free for a time."

"Sounds good," Nora agreed. "We're signing off. Professor, I'll call you once we figure out what's going on with Hazel. See you soon."

"Good luck."

A subtle beep rang out in Nora and Ren's earpieces as the call ended, and the redhead immediately looked to her partner as she waited for him to break the silence.

"…well… fuck," Ren said softly, causing Nora's eyes to go wide.

"…I don't think I've ever heard you say that word," Nora said, completely stunned.

"I figured I would save you the effort," Ren replied with a shrug before gently putting his arm around Nora's waist. "That is what you were thinking, is it not?"

"Yeah," Nora said with a sigh as she leaned her head into Ren's shoulder. "Sorry. I've been a little… not myself, lately."

"Not true," Ren corrected as he tilted his head sideways to rest it atop Nora's. "You've been under immense pressure, trying to help Ruby and then take her place in her absence. Stress brings out a different side of people, but it is a side of you I love all the same."

"You don't have to do that," Nora grumbled. "I know you care, but my attitude isn't your problem."

"We've been over this. You stuck with me through Kuroyuri and brought me back from a dark place," Ren reminded. "I intend to do the same for you."

"Yeah. Thanks, Ren," Nora offered softly as a small shadow passed over the fire pit. "That's probably Qrow."

The bird matching the man's namesake descended into the nearby trees before Qrow himself walked out from between the trunks. Qrow had Harbinger drawn and down at his side as he approached, looking to be on high alert.

"Scouted pretty much the entire forest from above while listening to the call," Qrow began. "It looks like it's true. The grimm are just… leaving. There's a mass exodus out of the woods, all headed for the same general area. If my sense of direction is right, it's toward the Land of Darkness, but they're not going to be able to just walk across the sea."

"Doubt they would try," Nora replied, keeping her head in place on Ren's shoulder. "They're probably backing off to the edge of the continent to make it seem like they're gone, only to come charging back when our time's up. What reason do they have to go all the way home? If anything, they're probably headed for Vacuo."

"That, too, seems unlikely, given what Astrid said," Ren pointed out. "Though all of this could be a distraction to get us mired in confusion while the enemy does something out of sight. For now, let us focus on the task at hand."

"Let's," Qrow agreed. "There's a fire not far from here, in the direction that Hazel wanted us to meet him. Could be a trap, grimm or not, so… stay alert. There's also always the chance that Tyrian's somehow aware that we're meeting Hazel, and he could be the one starting trouble. Let's get moving."

"A… fire," Nora emphasized as she suddenly stood up and grabbed Magnhild from beside the log. "Fire falls under the Summer Maiden's domain. There's a good chance Astrid is involved, and either already did something in the forest or just arrived to try to intercept us. It would probably be safest to pull out, but… we're not leaving without finding out what Hazel's up to. If he's ready to switch sides like Emerald and Mercury, we could use someone with his strength."

"Agreed," Ren echoed as he rose and unholstered his weapons. "Let's get going… and stay alert."


For the first time since they had really met, Sun felt no joy upon seeing Ilia's name pop up on his scroll. Somehow, without even knowing what the call was about, he could tell that the news was going to be bad… and probably personal. The faunus sat alone in his shared bedroom at Qrow's house, the sounds of the shower running in the adjacent room providing the only noise other than his buzzing scroll. With a hard swallow, he connected the call and brought the device to his ear.

"…hey."

"Hey," Ilia returned. "The others are already patched in, so let's get this over with…"

"The others?" Sun asked as he raised a brow. "I thought you just wanted Neptune and I."

"Apparently, this involves me, too," came a gruff reply.

"Sage…?" Sun asked, his tail flicking happily behind himself at his friend's voice. "Hey, man! We need to catch up, maybe after whatever this is."

"Maybe," Sage agreed, sounding less than enthused. "But I don't know if any of us will be in the mood. I think I have some idea as to what's going on."

"I mean, I think it's pretty obvious," Ilia replied, her voice full of trepidation. "Part of me doesn't even want to dump this on you since it isn't going to do anything but make all of you upset, but… Emerald ran into Scarlet, down in Mantle. She wanted me to tell you all that he's, uh… he didn't make it. Watts took him out remotely with the same collars he got onto the White Fang."

Sun's mouth felt incredibly dry as he waited for someone, anyone else to say something. He wasn't sure at all how he felt about the news, but the sum total of his mixed emotions certainly wasn't positive. Neither Neptune nor Sage replied, leaving a period of dead air before Ilia spoke again.

"…I'm sorry, guys. Maybe I shouldn't h-"

"No," Sun jumped in, sitting up a bit straighter on the bed. "I… thank you for telling us, and I get why Emerald didn't want to do it herself. I think… I think we all knew one way or another, this was bound to happen eventually. Doesn't make it feel any better, but… he threw in with Salem…"

"Over a petty grudge," Sage added. "One that I shared for a while, but I wouldn't have gone that far. Scarlet made his choice and paid for it."

"How can you…" Neptune started, sounding much more upset than his teammates. "Guys, our friend is dead. Yeah, he fucked up, but that doesn't erase the good times we had on our team…"

"It doesn't," Sun agreed, feeling more cold than anything else. "And I'm going to try to remember him that way, but… he was there with us at Beacon. He saw what Salem does. I'm not taking pity on him when he knew what he was walking into and that he was standing against his entire team over his issues with me."

"Yeah, I get that, but…" Neptune floundered. "But I just… he was prone to angry fits. It would be so easy to make one wrong decision a-"

"And it's just as easy to make a right one," Ilia interrupted. "Throwing in with all of you took one instance of trust, and it saved my life. Yeah, the path after that hasn't been easy, and making the decision sucked, but… I'm not going to lie and pat myself on the back for it. It was easy to just decide to be better and jump to the right side, and all of you have done just as much heavy lifting as I have to start to make things right. He could've done the same when you showed up again, Sun. He didn't. He chose this."

"I don't really know Ilia well at all, but I agree with her completely," Sage replied. "Neptune… we'll both be there for you if you need us, and neither Sun nor I are happy that Scarlet's dead… but this is the reality of the situation we're in. This is something we're going to have to deal with more and more as time goes on. Ruby hit a lot of people hard, and for good reason. Don't let this one shake you like Ruby did to them. Scarlet's not worth that level of stress after what he did."

"Yeah," Neptune agreed quickly, sounding almost sick. "I… I think I'm gonna go. I need some time…"

"I think we should all take some time, honestly," Sun suggested as he slipped off the bed and headed for the door. "And spend that time thinking about how important everyone who has stuck with us is, no matter how they got here. Falling to either side is easy… at first. That much is true, and you're right that staying on the right path is a joint effort. Thanks, Ilia, for keeping us in the loop, and for sticking with us. I'd hug you right now if I could."

"Ew," the girl replied, though her appreciation carried through the mockery. "Hopefully you'll be able to soon, through the magic of portal bullshit. Later."

Sun swiftly exited the room and made his way into the hall, turning right to head toward the kitchen and common area. He stuffed his scroll in his pocket as he sighted his target, who was laying atop the couch with her legs bent upward as she stared up at the ceiling absent-mindedly.

"Hey, Neo?"

The girl jumped slightly and craned her neck to watch the faunus as he approached the couch. Neopolitan watched silently as he sat upon the cushion next to her legs, his expression something she couldn't quite understand. Fearing the worst given their awkward encounter the previous night, she scooted backward and sat up to put a bit of distance between them.

"…I just wanted to say… I'm glad that you're with us, now. Even if things are a little…weird with some of the others here, I appreciate you, and I'm sure they will, too, given some time. Keep doing what you're doing, and just know that you made the right choice coming with us. When this is all over, I'll make sure that you're treated well. Alright?"

Neopolitan just nodded slowly, raising a brow as the faunus returned the gesture and got up off the couch. He offered her a small wave and smirk before heading back down the hall as quickly as he came, leaving his ally alone in the living room. Sun completely missed Neopolitan silently mouthing 'The fuck?' before taking out her scroll and beginning to send a text as he returned to his bedroom.


Author's Note:

Next week- Hazel…

-RD