It was past midnight in Mistral. The shattered moon shone brightly over the city of Wind Path, where Adam and his entourage had just arrived.

"Alright. We're finally here." Douglas told them.

"Hooray..." Daphne said with an unenthusiastic tone.

"I hope Athena is here." Ilia told her boss and cohorts with an anxious look. "I think we're all nearing wit's end."

"Let's split up." Adam pointed to the lizard and her associate. "Ilia and Hector, you take the east." He gestured to himself, his lieutenant and the Loyalist messenger. "Me, Daphne and Douglas shall go west. We met back here in three hours."

Ilia nodded. "Got it."

And so did Hector. "Roger that."

The two groups split up in their intended directions.

The camera zoomed out to show a binocular's perspective as they split up. Unbeknownst to them, a woman with a dog tail, White Fang uniform and an owl-feathered mask was watching them. "So they're looking for Lady Bruna, huh?" she spoke to no one. "We'll just see how far they get."

She dashed off as the camera shifted to show the shattered moon.

Sometime later, Athena Bruna was shown flying about ten feet above the rooftop of a fifteen story building. The city below was asleep, most of her own crew included. Her wings beating together to keep her afloat was the only sound heard on the otherwise silent night.

"Ah, I've always loved flying." she spoke aloud to empty air. "The wind in my hair, the views from high above, and the feeling of being free."

"Lady Athena?" a male voice called out. "Is that you?"

The owl-winged faunus flew down to see Marrok, the faunus with sheep ears and human ears, present before her. "Marrok? What brings you here at this late hour?"

"Forgive the intrusion, but Ares told me that you were awake and I needed to speak to you. We have received word from one of our Revolutionist spies that someone named Adam Taurus is looking for you."

Her wings still kept her afloat, only a foot or two off the ground. She paused and thought to herself for a moment before responding. "That name sounds familiar. Correct me if I'm wrong, but he is Vale's White Fang leader, isn't he?"

The sheep eared faunus nodded in affirmation. "Last I looked."

"Hmm..." She crossed her legs, as if she was sitting on the air. "This would mean he's the same guy that led the attack on Beacon."

"Do you think that this would be a problem?"

"I'm not sure. Is there anyone else in his party or is he traveling alone?"

"From what the reporter has gathered, there seem to be a few people traveling with him- a veteran specialist with a curled ponytail, a faunus with dark brown scales not wearing a mask, Douglas, Adam's trusted lieutenant, and a Loyalist messenger in their ranks."

She unfolded her legs and chose to land. "The Loyalist messenger is disconcerting. On the other hand, since Maura is dead, they may have given up their allegiance to the remaining Loyalist force and just kept their mask and/or ribbon for lack of alternate accessories."

Marrok inquired, "So what do we do?"

"Hmm... We could confront them, but it might not end well. We need to figure out more about Adam's intentions; we need a negotiator. But who would be best suited for the job?"

"What about Tawny?"

"I already asked her to pretend being a guard and impersonating Maura during the Destruction of the Argus Harbor Prison. I was planning on being nice and letting her rest. Besides, sometimes she stammers when she's nervous. We need someone calm and composed."

The sheep grimaced. "Well if that's the case, then Ares is definitely out, and considering Gilford's lack of patience he wouldn't be very viable or desirable for this task either."

"That leaves you, Aoi, and Cola." Her lips pursed into a sly smile. "How would you feel about this task?"

He gave her a respectful bow. "I would certainly be willing to aid you, my lady."

"Riddle me this, Marrok. What makes you believe that you're best suited for the negotiation?"

"I can be very persuasive and if need be, manipulative."

She paused and thought to herself for a moment. "I knew you claimed to have skills in manipulation. How exactly would you say you can manipulate people?"

"Well, I once led a human girl on, convincing her that I could be trusted and she even fell in love with me, but when the time came, she was left in the dust and her mind shattered."

A brief flashback of him and a younger Corvina was seen as they walked in the park, hand-in-hand.

"I suppose that counts as manipulation, even if it's cruel by my standards. I would ask anyone else to do this task, but it's 3am, and I don't feel like asking the other two in the morning." She gave a soft yawn. "I'm going to bed. When you wake up again, start looking for Adam and his crew. Goodnight."

"Sleep well, my lady."

Athena exited through the door, leaving Marrok to his thoughts.

Oh, she doesn't know the half of it. She underestimates my abilities and skills. Then again, if she did know the entire truth, I'd get the scolding of a lifetime. He paused, fearful. Or worse. He exhaled. No matter. She won't find out. He walked away. No one will.

The next morning in Mistral city, Blake and Sun were shown in an abandoned apartment.

"Good morning Blake."

"Good morning, Sunshine."

Sun gave her a look indicating that he was annoyed. "You're still calling me that?"

"Yes, I am. Now come on, we got things to do."

After getting dressed, having breakfast and getting ready to face the day, the two made their way around Mistral city to retrieve supplies and new gear. At around 2pm, they found themselves at a thrift store. Sun was carrying a few items in his hands as they made their way over a dressing room. They made their way over to the dressing room and Blake turned around to give him privacy.

The camera turned to show Blake's face.

"You know, since we're facing one leader of the White Fang, do you think we'll have to face other leaders?" Sun asked off-screen.

"I hope not." Blake answered. "The White Fang has a structure with a total of six leaders."

"Is that so?"

"Indeed so. We have the High Leader, one leader of the White Fang for each kingdom, plus one for Menagerie. We already know Vale's leader Adam Taurus, but last time I looked about a year or two ago, the leaders are as follows; In Atlas, there's Laverna, a bat winged faunus who's last name is currently unknown to anyone. In Vacuo, there is 'Wungeng' who is working under an alias. I've never seen or gotten to work with him. In Mistral, there's Maura Celandine. In Menagerie, there's Diane Albain. And at the very top is the High Leader, Sienna Khan, who is responsible for keeping everyone in line. Now that's assuming nothing has changed since I left the Fang."

"I see. Alright, you can look now."

Blake turned to find Sun wearing a black unbuttoned shirt with a sun image on the right side of his chest and a gold trim around the waist of the shirt. He also wore ripped jeans exposing his right knee, wrapped in bandages for sport and he took off his pendant.

The catwoman smirked. "Well you certainly look handsome."

"I think it's missing something." He pulled out a long, red ninja bandana with long tails and put it on. "There."

"Sun, can I ask you something?

He gave her a warm smile. "Sure. What is it?"

"Why did you chose to become a huntsman?"

"Well, it's somewhat of a long story." He paused, thinking of how to tell her his story. "You see, I'm part of a tribe known as the Sanzang Tribe. My parents, Jinjing Wukong and Rosa Houng, were also part of this tribe." He frowned. "Unfortunately, they died when I was very young at the hands of the Grimm, and I have no memory of what they looked like. Fortunately, my extended family members were able to give me some pictures so that I never forget them."

He showed her some pictures in the form of paper photographs. The first one was of his father, and the second of his mother.

Jinjing looked a lot like Sun, with the same sun-colored hair, tanned skin and blue eyes. Like his son, Jinjing also had a monkey tail that matched his hair. He wore a black button up shirt with only the first few top buttons done along with jeans and white sneakers. On his left ring finger was a golden band with miniature heart designs.

Rosa had tanned skin, auburn hair with a light pink streak on her left side, worn in an up-do ponytail. Her eyes matched the streak in her hair. She wore a magenta skirt and a pink cotton candy colored sweater paired with pink painted hiking boots. She wore a golden heart locket around her neck and a golden ring with the same heart designs as Jinjing's wedding ring but with an addition of a heart-shaped pink diamond in the center.

Blake briefly smiled at the image of Jinjing. "I can see where you get your good looks from." She gave the photos back and turned back to him sadly. "But if your parents died, then..." She hesitated. "Who raised you?"

"I was taken in by my aunt Vanna, who is my mother's older sister. She and her husband, the leader of the Sanzang Tribe- Altan Sanzang, took me in and raised me as if I was their own. They actually have two children of their own, a boy and a girl, both of which are older than me named Shiva and Starr."

He showed her a few images. The first one was Altan and Vanna Sanzang together.

Altan had tanned skin and green eyes. He had strawberry blonde hair that was much shorter. He wore a pair of knee-length brown trousers, an unbuttoned tan dress shirt with a tucked in collar and a porcupine roach headdress.

There was little family resemblance between Rosa and Vanna. The elder sister had pale skin, brown eyes with a hint of gold in them and long brown hair. She wore a tan sundress with golden sun designs scattered through the outfit. On her feet were golden sandals and around her left ankle was an orange glass sun charm on a black cord.

The second one showed Vanna and Atlan with their two children taken when they appeared to be in their teenage years.

Shiva had tanned skin, bright red hair and brown eyes. He wore red trousers and a white sleeveless shirt along with brown moccasins.

Starr had slightly paler skin, spiky white hair and blue eyes. She wore a yellow tube-top, showing off her curves along with a pair of red jeans with fabric stretched on the right leg, revealing her skin underneath. She wore white sneakers with orange laces and a necklace with a phoenix charm.

And the third picture showed the Sanzang family with Sun and an unknown individual. Sun wore a similar outfit to his current self, only his shirt was yellow and partially buttoned-up from the bottom. He roughly nine years old in this photo and was shown smiling next to the stranger.

The unnamed boy looked to be older than Sun by a few years, but not quite as old as Starr. His skin was also tanned, but closer to a light brown. His hair was auburn and unkempt and his eyes were pink. He was shown to have a pig tail the same color as his eyes. He wore a pair of jeans and a plain red t-shirt. To complete the look, he wore a pair of red and white tennis shoes with white laces. In the picture, he was shown sitting on a wooden crate, frowning with his arms crossed.

"So who's he?" Blake pointed to the frowning boy.

"Just a former friend." Sun answered. "He's long gone now."

"So you really have no immediate family left? Man, that's sad."

He was silent for a moment, but he responded with, "Yeah... it is. I try not to think of it too much, and I am very grateful for the family I do have. For a long time, the Sanzang family and tribe were only family I knew. For a long time I've internalized my grief due to outward displays of negative emotions being looked down upon because they attract Grimm. Somehow I managed not to bring Grimm towards me and the tribe. Once I met my teammates, it was nice to have friends to talk to about things. I guess ultimately I became a huntsman to protect my tribe and in the event of a Grimm attack, save lives that would otherwise be lost, so that no one else would have to lose their loved ones."

"That's really noble. You have a lot of loyalty to your tribe members. It's like you see them as a community, a family."

"Yeah, we all do." Sun responded. "Tribes are very much based of love, loyalty and community. We all have our part. Some members cook, some built, some lead, some defend. Everyone contributes in one way or another. We're very connected with each other. Most of the small few that settle down in permanent cities are still in contact with the tribe. One example would be my cousin Starr. When I was seven, she decided to settle down in Vacuo city, knowing her brother Shiva would take over the tribe one day. Upon her arrival, she opened her own training dojo. And it was there that I discovered my semblance."

Her lips pursed a curious smile. "How so?"

"I had been working very hard to try and unlock my semblance, arguably to the point of near-exhaustion. But she convinced me to relax and take a break from my aura training, and lo and behold, I discovered Via-Sun."

"Nice. So let me guess, you attended Oscuro Academy, didn't you?"

"I did. It was not easy to convince my uncle to give me permission to attend, but once I did, four years passed at Oscuro Academy with little to no problems. I wasn't the best, but I did pretty well for myself. After graduating, I was allowed to choose where I could go to become a huntsman. I wanted to get out of the desert and explore more of the world, so Shade was out. However, I heard that Atlas, as an academy, a city, and the kingdom as a whole, wasn't very kind to faunus, so I opted out of going there. Really my only two options were Vale and Haven. I chose the latter because of their warmer climates, interesting culture and the desire to see a really awesome theater play. I've heard lots of good things about the performing arts there."

"Did you get to see one?"

"I sure did. As an early birthday present to me at the end of our first year, Neptune, Sage and Scarlet all pitched in to get four tickets to Love Amongst the Dragons. It was a wonderful show. The music, the acting, I could go on and on..."

A knock was heard on their door. "Are you done in there yet?" a female voice complained from the other side. "You've been in there for like fifteen minutes just talking!"

"We should probably get going." Blake stated.

Sun opened the door and left with Blake as he responded, "Yeah, I think you're right."

The two were shown outside the store, having paid for their merchandise. The two walked on in silence, heading down the mountain.

"Blake?" Sun began. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"I know that we're currently trying to defeat Adam Taurus and make things right, but..." Sun faltered. "What would we do after we defeat him?"

"Honestly... I'm not sure." Blake answered. "I mean, I really have nowhere to go. I'm not even sure if I should return home. I haven't heard from my parents in two years, and I have no idea if they ever knew I was a student at Beacon before Vale fell to its knees. My dreams of being a huntress have been put on hold indefinitely." The two stopped their pace as Blake sadly folded her arms. "Not to mention my teammates hate me."

"Oh, come on, I don't think they hate you." He put his right hand on her shoulder. "I think you're being too hard on yourself."

She brushed away his hand and turned away sadly. "I wouldn't be surprised if they did." She looked at the sky. "I promised I'd never run away again. And what have I done? Run away to face the Fang. You're lucky, Sun. You have a team, a tribe to go back to if things go wrong."

The monkey smiled. "You say that like its a good thing."

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Eventually, I'll have to go back to my team, and then, back to the deserts of Vacuo. But honestly..." His smile faded. "if I did, I fear it would lead to the end of our relationship. With the CCT down, there's not many ways to communicate with each other, and our relationship would be difficult, if not impossible to nourish and maintain." He sighed sadly. "Messengers are expensive, and there's no guarantee that they would even successfully deliver the messages."

Blake sighed. "It seems all paths would lead to us being apart."

"Then again, with the CCT down, I don't have to explain why I haven't returned home yet."

The catwoman gave him a chuckle. "Leave it to you find a silver lining among the many grey clouds."

"I try to look on the bright side of life." Sun's eyes lit up and he smiled. "You know, we could do what Xanthe has done- continue fighting against the terrorist faunus organization much like he fights the Noire Armada. I mean, you said it yourself that the White Fang has many leaders."

"True, but it would be easier said than done." Blake sadly put her hand to her left elbow. "I mean, how could we undo so many years of hate? It almost seems impossible."

"But we have one thing that Xanthe doesn't-" He took her right hand. "each other."

She smiled thereafter. "I'm glad I have you. You're one of the most honest people I know."

The catwoman put her arms around her mischievous monkey, and the two comforted each other.

Blake... She's so amazing. I almost fear that I don't deserve her. he told himself. Then again, the past doesn't matter. It's the future, our future, that really counts.

He looked at the love of his life, gazing into her eyes. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now come on, we have a criminal to catch!"

The two walked forward hand in hand. Sun's mind drifted to him and the boy in the third photo.

The past doesn't matter. Better to let it remain buried... Sun thought. Then to dig up something painful.

The image burned before the screen faded to black.