Jetstream Jaune: Revengeance

by Alfa21

Remnant and The United Continents. Two civilizations, separated by history with none knowing of the other. And Jaune was the first to have been to both, the only person from Remnant who saw a world destroyed by men and their war - all with no Grimm. Alone, he must adapt to survive, and face the truth of what fighting in a land of war truly that means. Cover by tsugeru

51. Inter-Time, Inter-Continental Connection

Alright! Sorry for another month-long wait, life came and made it hard to write. Also, the sheer length of this chapter, which is is by far the longest I've made yet didn't help matters one bit (two, possibly three chapters in one). There's just so much I wanted to cover…

As usual, thanks for all the favorites, follows, reviews, and so on! I really do appreciate it.

Without further ado, enjoy!

---

The Next Day…

To be perfectly honest, Jaune was in quite the happy mood. He had made up with his team yesterday, had a good breakfast with them this morning, and hung out with them until noon. He couldn't ask for anything more!

Speaking of which, they were due to do some team training this afternoon, that was if Tai wasn't busy destroying the droids at that time. But of course, since Pyrrha was still recovering, that only left him, Nora, and Ren.

Jaune hummed as he walked down the halls of Beacon alone, a small but visible pep in his step. The others should be gearing up now in their dorms, getting their weapons stocked and whatnot. Especially Ren, with his new bow and all.

Jaune walked past Tai's office. Ah, and he should probably confirm while he's at it too.

Jaune gave the door several knocks and then peeked his head inside. "Hey, Tai?"

Jaune saw Tai groggily lift his head up from the desk, scattered papers all around him. "Huh? Jaune…" He wiped his face with his hands and looked at Jaune with tired eyes. "What is it?"

"Oh, well…" Jaune looked to the side. He didn't really want to disturb someone's rest like that, but now that he was here, he supposed he should get it done with anyways. "Uh, you gonna use the training room later?"

"Ah… no." Tai rubbed his eyes again. "No, probably not."

"…You okay?"

"I'm fine." Tai stretched, feeling the muscles on his back crack. "Had a hell of a lot of training yesterday, I need to rest a bit more before jumping back in. Feel free to use the room however long you like."

Jaune gave a short nod. After several seconds, he spoke again. "How's it going with Summer?"

Tai closed his eyes, calmed himself, and spoke once more. "One more chance." Tai said solemnly. "And I'll make good use of that."

"By training with Raven?"

"So you heard about that? Yeah." Tai shot Jaune a determined look. "Won't let this chance go to waste."

"Mm." Jaune nodded. But still, with now reconnecting with JNPR, having his friends accept him for who he was…

He felt like there was more than fighting, and he wanted Tai to know that as well.

"Just remember, Tai, we've got people waiting for us." Jaune said seriously.

Tai's eyes drooped ever so slightly. His eyes shifted to his Scroll, and he let out a sigh. "Yeah, yeah… I've got it."

Jaune gave a brief nod, then closed the door behind him as he went on his way.

As the door closed, Tai shook his head and picked up his Scroll. He had checked up on Haven last night, on Mistral and its council. They were currently on stand-by if things got any worse, especially because of the Metal Gear.

But now it was time to check up on his daughters, wherever they were.

Tai scrolled on the screen and pressed call on Yang's contact number.

---

Jaune walked along the corridors once more and opened his Scroll, integrated into his head with his nanomachines. He quickly sent a text to the rest of Team JNPR, I'm heading to the training room right now. You guys ready?

An answer from Pyrrha, They're stopping by my place for a minute. We'll catch up in a few!

Ah, so they wanted Pyrrha to see to, huh? Well, that was fine with him, Alright. Just make sure not to overstrain yourself!

An answer from Nora, Don't worry, Fearless Leader! We'll make sure to keep her safe and sound!

:)

Sending the last message, Jaune closed the overview and went back to navigating his way. Alright, training room shouldn't be too far. Conveniently, the training area was also near the area of the dorms. This made it easy for the students to train and also for the teachers to check.

He took a left turn, brushing past some students. Then, he took another right turn, going down the final hallway. Alright, it should be the third room, on the right…

Jaune walked past Team RWBY's dorms. Ah, the training room should be right after this, right…?

Ah, there seemed to be someone waiting outside of Team RWBY's dorms. Jaune walked past the person and shot a quick glance. Black coat, cybernetic enhancements, wolf ears, and closed eyes. The man, because it was, seemed to be hibernating or sleeping, leaning against the wall next to RWBY's dorm with his head leaning down, his chest slowly rising and falling… meh, shouldn't be his problem.

Jaune walked past and took a few steps forwards. At this rate he should arrive early, maybe he could take a few minutes to revise his technique-.

Jaune's eyes widened. 'Wait a second.'

'Were those wolf ears and cybernetics?!'

Quickly, Jaune turned around and went to the person who was waiting for RWBY. "Wait- Bladewolf?!"

Bladewolf stirred from sleeping mode. He looked up and rubbed his eyes, forcing them to open and looking at the person in front of him.

"U-uh… Jaune?"

At this, Jaune beamed. "Yeah, it's me!" His smile was as bright as the sun. "It's been so long, Wolfy!"

Bladewolf couldn't help but stare, dumbstruck, for two facts; one, that Jaune really was. The last time he saw him, he was sure that Jaune would die of blood loss sooner rather than later. Seeing the fact that he really was alive, and the rumors and reports were all true…

And the second, because the Jaune he was seeing now was different.

In Desperado, he always had a certain… air towards him. Most of the Winds of Destruction did, but Jaune's was different. Beneath his flare and smirks, his taunts and mocks, there was an undercurrent of despair with every action. As such, whenever he found something amusing, not happy, it never reached the depths of his eyes.

But now, standing before him, Jaune was, dare Bladewolf say it… happy.

Well and truly different.

With Jaune's smile at seeing him, he was truly content with how things were. He wasn't just amused, he was well and truly happy at seeing an old friend.

"Come here!"

Bladewolf didn't have a chance to react as Jaune slung his shoulders around him and pulled him close. And then, he felt Jaune give him a slight noogie.

"Ngh…" Bladewolf grumbled, but didn't fight back. Jaune laughed and started dragging him along, bringing him to the training room with him.

"Come on, Wolfy, we've got some much to catch up on!" Jaune chuckled as he they walked together.

Even though he was being forced, Bladewolf couldn't help but smile as well. "Yes… let's."

---

"So, how did you manage to get to Remnant?" Jaune leaned back on his seat, Bladewolf sitting next to him. Thankfully the room was empty, which left them with some privacy they desperately needed.

"It's quite a long story." Bladewolf said. "Are you sure you have the time?"

"We've got all the time in the world, Wolfy. Trust me." Jaune stretched his arms behind his back, "So! Better get telling, then!"

"Alright." Bladewolf nodded. He began to speak, remembering everything that had happened in vivid detail. "We began the trip a few days ago…"

---

"Is everything set?" Bladewolf asked as he climbed the steps to Sunny's airship. Looking to the side, Bladewolf noted for the last time that the plane had the base of the one Raiden used to get to his fight with Armstrong. But now, it was modified extensively with parts and materials that made it much more strong and sustainable.

On the side of the plane, Bladewolf could see the designation it was given. RC-04, painted in big white colors contrasting with its jet-black color.

"Everything should be set for takeoff!" Sunny said from her side, speaking through Bladewolf's CODEC connection. "I've also set the destination roughly around the place where Raiden sent his transmission. Your autopilot should be getting you there without any trouble."

"Noted." Bladewolf stepped on the last of the steps. He heard the door behind him close with a clang, his eyes swiftly adjusting to the lit-up interior of the plane.

He could already see his 'teammates' sitting in their various positions of the plane. There was Otacon, sitting in the main pilot seat and flicking on the final switches of the plane. To the side of him, on the co-pilot seat, sat Solid Snake, looking around and making sure everything else on his end seemed okay. And then, to their backs, sat on the newly-made passenger side of the plane, was Kiryu, arms crossed and eyes closed, waiting patiently for the plane to take off.

Bladewolf took a seat across from Kiryu and strapped himself in. He heard Otacon flick a few more switches, "Everything should be according to the manual…"

"All okay on my end." Snake said gruffly. He then spoke to the CODEC, "Have you done a double check, Sunny?"

"Triple, and quadruple-checked, Snake!" Sunny chirped. "All we need is to-!"

"There!" Otacon flipped the last of the switches, and they could all feel the thrum of the plane coming to life. The lights lit up ever so slightly more as the plane vibrated, ready to fly, "Everything's all set!"

Thruummm!

"You've got it! Power's flowing through… all systems okay, Uncle Hal!" Sunny said with cheer.

"Thank you, Sunny." Otacon smiled. "So, control should be just like the simulations, right?"

"Once the Autopilot wears off, yes." Sunny nodded.

And then, another voice interrupted them, this one of Joji Kazama's. The representative of all of the U.C's council, assigned to 'head' the expedition, "Remember, all of you. Your mission is to establish peaceful relations with the people of Remnant. Do not engage first, and make sure to make the best impression possible. This is an expedition, not a wetworks assignment."

"Of course, sir." Otacon responded, "We'll make sure to keep everyone's best interest in mind."

"So long as they don't shoot first, that is." Snake grumbled.

"See to it that that doesn't happen, Mr. Snake." Joji said, "I trust your judgement, so make sure to use it wisely."

"Ngh…"

Bladewolf looked to Snake and Otacon, eyes to the back of their seats, "Are we ready for takeoff?"

"Should be." Snake grumbled. "Any last hesitations? You all brought what you needed, right?"

"I have everything I need." Bladewolf said, packing some electrolytes and repair packs in his trench coat.

Seeing no response from Kiryu, Otacon turned around and asked, "Ano, Kiryu-san, Hitsuyōna mono wa subete arimasu ka?" / Kiryu, do you have everything you need?

"Aa." Kiryu didn't open his eyes but did give a short nod to Otacon. "Nani mo wasuretenakatta." / I didn't forget anything.

"Ii yo." / Okay then. Otacon turned back to the console and began steering the plane. They all felt the plane began to move, tension yet anticipation building up in their guts.

"Remember, everyone, this is a no smoking flight! That means you, Snake!" Sunny chirped from the CODEC connection.

"Ngh… You know I quit those already, Sunny." Snake grumbled, but a playful smile graced his lips.

"Well! Doesn't hurt to keep safety on the top of everyone's minds!" As the plane began to move, none of them see Kiryu forlornly twirling with a lighter before putting it back in his pant pockets.

'Dammit, can't even smoke…?'

Sunny chirped again, "And don't forget! Once you're there, you can't communicate to us through the CODEC! You'll need to find a way to amplify it, just like Raiden did, and make sure to do it as soon as possible!"

"We'll make sure to keep in touch, Sunny." Otacon said, "Once we get to safety we'll get everything up and running to talk to you in no time."

"Great!"

The plane moved again, now aiming for the long straight of the runway. At the end of it all was a vast sea of water, their gateway to paths unknown and unexplored…

"Okay everyone," Otacon said, "Tighten your seatbelts and hang on. We'll be departing in about 30 seconds."

With that command, Bladewolf and Kiryu quickly strapped in their seatbelts even more and made sure to hold on to the handles available.

Otacon pushed the handles and all felt the thrusters power up. The plane began rolling forwards ever so slightly, calmly going down the runway…

"Failure is not an option." Joji said simply. "Make the U.C proud."

The plane kept on going…

"Departing in 15 seconds." Snake said.

"5!" The plane's speed began to pick up, "4!" They were going faster and faster, "3!" They lurched forwards and everything turned into a blur…

Bladewolf and Kiryu tightened their grips as the Gs threatened to unbuckle them. "2!"

"1! Go!" Otacon pushed the thrusters full down and felt the plane kick up, all of them flying into the sky right as the runway ended.

They felt their bodies lift as the plane flew off the ground, off to parts unknown and definitely unsafe.

---

"Ahhh…" Jaune smiled, to be honest, he didn't know most of these people, but he did know who Solid Snake was. "Raiden would be glad to hear that." Jaune concluded.

"Where is he?" Bladewolf looked around, noting that the cyborg was nowhere to be seen. Jaune waved hand, casting Bladewolf's concerns away.

"He's probably in talks with Venom." Jaune said. "Anyway, go on about how you got here, Wolfy."

"Of course. And then…"

---

Four Hours Later…

"We should be off the U.C radar by now." Otacon said. "Still, nothing on our radar so far…"

As soon as the takeoff had been successful, the plane descended into relative silence. Snake and Otacon were both busy manning the controls, and neither Bladewolf nor Kiryu were the talkative type.

That said, Otacon made sure to keep them all updated on their progress every hour or two. And now, after four hours of empty travel, he updated them once again, to empty silence.

Only then, he was then soon interrupted by the blinking of the plane's radar.

"We've got bogies." Snake growled. He looked at the radar, the dots blinking closer and closer. "Four of them incoming."

"That must mean we're approaching Remnant." Otacon chuckled. "Just when I was beginning to think the intel was wrong…"

From the commotion, Bladewolf finally spoke after hours of silence. "Do we have visual?"

"Hold on." Otacon said, pressing several buttons and pulling out a hologram for them to see. "There they are!"

All four inside the plane leaned in to look. They couldn't believe what they saw…

Several – what could only be described as monsters – were quickly approaching their plane, two shaped like large, menacing crows and the rest domineering and frightening dragons.

"Kore wa Grimm ka…"/ So these are the Grimm…

Bladewolf quickly turned to Otacon. "Do we have Octocamo?"

"We do, but they're closing in too fast." Otacon grit his teeth. "We don't have time to deploy!"

SCREEECH!

Even through the sealed walls of the plane, the frightening yells of those monsters – those Grimm – could be heard clear as day."

"I'll man the guns." Snake quickly turned his seat to the side and tapped out the gun controls. He quickly grabbed them and focused. "Everyone else, find something useful to do, NOW!"

"Initiating defensive protocols."

"Wakatta." / I understand.

---

Creak….!

Jaune and Bladewolf turned around to see the doors opening. The Faunus looked back to Jaune and saw him flash a wide smile as the new entrants came in.

"Guys, guys!" Jaune raised a hand and waved them over. "Over here!"

The others waved back at him and quickly went to their position, all the while Bladewolf took a good look at each and every one of them.

There was the silent one, looking at him with curiosity and measured calmness.

There was the other girl, with strength enough to carry another person on her back paired with a cheery smile and disposition that could rival the sun.

And then, the last girl, being carried on the back, she had an Aura of companionship and loyalty that rivalled even himself.

"Come here, come here!" Jaune beckoned the others to come, and they all took their seats beside him, Nora gently laying Pyrrha down.

"So, Jaune…" Ren looked to Bladewolf in curiosity. "Who is he?"

"Ahhh, I was just getting to that!" Jaune clapped his hands together and stood up, brining Bladewolf with him as he did so.

Bladewolf couldn't help but look at these new people with wonder as Jaune stood next to him, presenting him to his friends.

So this must've been what he was missing…

Clap! "So, guys, let me introduce you…" Jaune put his hands to the side, presenting Bladewolf to the team. "This is an old friend of mine from the U.C. We've fought together and watched each other's backs a few times, had some good missions together…"

Bladewolf's face lit up ever so slightly, clearly proud. He felt himself puff up his own chest. What, it was true, after all!

"But then he up and betrayed me, stabbed me in the back and all. Y'know, the usual, right?"

Bladewolf shot Jaune a betrayed look himself. That- that wasn't true at all!

"And so then he started rolling with Raiden, and then we met a few times, Raiden killed me, and then they both beat Armstrong together." Jaune nodded to himself and crossed his arms. "Yep! That's pretty much all about it!"

Nora looked to Bladewolf. "So… he's not loy-."

Bladewolf shot Jaune a 'Look'. "It was you who told me I was free to choose where I go."

"Ehhhh." Jaune waved his hand. "Semantics. You chose him over me in the end, didn't you? You even gave him intel!"

"It wasn't like that and you know it!" This was not how he wanted himself to be introduced to the friends Jaune always spoke so highly of!

"Yes it was~" Jaune smirked.

Bladewolf narrowed his eyes. "Your attempt at humor is not amusing."

Jaune gasped and looked at Bladewolf, thinking he had actually hit a nerve. "Aw come on! I didn't mean it like that-!"

But then, Jaune paused as he saw the tips of Bladewolf's lips rising.

"Aw damn you!" Jaune grinned and gave Bladewolf a light shove. Bladewolf let out a silent, almost unnoticeable laugh and shook his head. He turned back to Jaune's friends.

"My designation is Bladewolf. Jaune and I 'worked' together in Desperado before we parted ways for different reasons." Bladewolf gave a slight nod to everyone there. "It's nice to meet you."

Ren returned the nod. "Likewise."

"Any friend of Jaune's a friend of ours!" Nora beamed.

"What she said." Pyrrha smiled.

"Alright. Now that that's out of the way…" Jaune sat back down, Bladewolf following right after. "Continue with how you got here, Wolfy."

"Very well." Bladewolf nodded. "After that…"

---

Meanwhile…

"That must've been pretty scary…" Ruby's eyes softened in sympathy. "Those were really the first time you all saw Grimm? Ever?"

"Yeah." Kiryu said, "We've heard some legends and rumors before, but it's mostly faded from public knowledge. And even then, I never thought any of them to be true…"

Team RWBY were in quite the shock. Because it turned out that Kiryu was yet another native from the U.C, this time coming in with a whole Team with him. And that was still without knowing the whole reason they came here in the first place!

They all respected Kiryu's decision to tell them where he truly came from after the incident last night. They all saw it as what it was – a gesture of trust, to amend the wrong impressions they got before. And yet, Ruby knew that Kiryu wouldn't have done this to any other person. There was something he saw in them, something that made him deem them trustworthy. So far, he hadn't asked them for anything more other than their time, and even that was a stretch. But even so…

"Sorry to interrupt," Weiss butted in, "But are you sure it's okay for us to just sit out in the daylights right here?" Weiss asked Blake.

Kiryu paused his storytelling and looked back towards Blake.

Currently, all of Team RWBY + Kiryu were sitting in the outer stands of a café, one that Blake had directed them to and seemed to be familiar with. At this very place, Kiryu had sat down and told RWBY his story of how he got here, complete with a clearer memory with his new understanding of the locally used language.

That said, Weiss did raise a good point…

"It's fine." Blake waved her concerns away. "I know the owner. We go a long way back, so anything we'll discuss here will be kept shut." The words 'From my White Fang days.' didn't need to be said.

"Is that so? Well then, I suppose we should take your word for it." Weiss looked to the side, "And what about you, Yang? Are you feeling alright?"

"Y-yeah." Yang muttered out, though she still leaned her head on her hand. She fiddled with an empty bottle on her other hand, one that she had drank right after her fight with Kiryu. The bottle's label read out 'STAMINAN X'.

"Feeling better?" Kiryu asked, Yang looked up. He was looking at her with mixture of concern respect...

Ah, it was good to be able to understand each other now.

"Yeah, at least." Yang shrugged and pocketed the bottle back. Had it not been for that little bottle, then she no doubt would have barely any stamina.

Kiryu nodded. "I'm glad." He said simply.

Blake looked at Kiryu and chuckled. "Heh, don't need me to transcribe for you anymore, huh?"

"Aa." Kiryu nodded. "Though, I don't really like the police all that much…"

And wasn't that true, Kiryu thought. After the fight against Yang, Blake was pretty much in a panic. This all came about because of a misunderstanding, and this was not how she wanted her team to meet Kiryu. Because of that, she had insisted that the first thing they did was to find a way for Kiryu to properly communicate with them.

After that, it was Weiss who gave the recommendation that they head to the police station. She logically deduced that there must be someone who could translate them there, or at least give them a more permanent solution.

And in the end, that was true. They went to the police station together, making sure to keep the marks of combat out of sight, and entered it asking for help on the situation.

Good for them, it turned out that someone in the police station had a translation Semblance, one that helped out Kiryu to speak normally, at least in Remnant terms anyway. However, to get to contact with that one person, they had to wait several hours, hence why here, in almost-noon, they were still at the city. But once they got into contact, everything was a breeze.

It was a good thing they left Junior's Club when they did; not a moment after they left the police station, they got a call to investigate the ruckus at that very location. It was then that Weiss asked Blake and Kiryu why they didn't just do that in the first place; even a child could figure it out, after all.

In sync, both Blake and Kiryu said that they had bad individual experiences with the police. Weiss supposed that was true and didn't bother digging deeper.

It wasn't like she was in any place to judge either.

"Alright then, since everything's all fine and dandy," Weiss motioned to Kiryu, "Please continue, Mr. Kiryu."

"Alright then." Kiryu nodded. He dove back into his memories, "So after we saw those Grimm…"

---

Bladewolf and Kiryu quickly manned their respective positions. While Snake took control of the plane's 35mm cannons, Bladewolf patched himself in and took control of the plane's machineguns. At the same time, Kiryu took control of the plane's Anti-Materiel gun.

SCREEECH!

"They're coming in!" Otacon shouted. "Get ready, everyone!"

"Right."

As one, the three other passengers of the plane began firing at the Grimm.

BANG BANG BANG BANG!

Kiryu grit his teeth as he aimed and fired the plane's anti-materiel rifle. He could see the Dragons and Nevermores flying closer and closer, and yet no matter how hard he tried, they just seemed too nimble for him to hit.

"Haya sugiru!" / Too fast! Kiryu growled. They got past his defenses, he can't cover them anymore!

"I've got them." Snake growled and aimed his cannons at the enemy as they flew through Kiryu's effective range. With another growl, he fired his cannons at the enemy right as they got into his range. "HYAHHHH!"

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

The shots hit the Dragons true, the 35mm ammo exploding against their bodies, yet the Nevermores still proved to be too fast.

Snake clicked his tongue as he saw the Dragons screech and retreat, but they still didn't seem to be too worse for wear. He took a closer look at the fleeting dragons, "They've got some kind of bone armor." Indeed, and that armor was also incredibly thick and spread across almost the entirety of their bodies, the cannons making cracks yet not much else. Snake growled, "Managed to crack a few, but we 're going to have to keep-!"

"Nevermores incoming. Adjusting aim and firing." Bladewolf said simply. With a flash from his eyes, the machineguns of the plane started firing at the Nevermores.

BRRRRTTT!

The higher rate of fire of the machineguns managed to pierce sections of the Nevermores' wings, forcing them to retreat.

But that was far from the end.

The dragons had regrouped, and was now vying for another strike at the plane. Snake grit his teeth and aimed his cannons at the dragons, even if they were still out of range.

"GET SOME!" BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Snake fired the cannons and let them explode in the sky, frightening the dragons and forcing them to evade. He kept the patterns easy to follow, yet enough to keep the Dragons off their backs. He just hoped that Kiryu could understand what he was doing!

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Snake continued to fire, fending off the Dragons from coming too close to the plane, keeping them busy and unfocused.

BANG!

SCREEEEECH!

'Ah. Good to know you understood.' Snake smirked as he saw Kiryu finally manage to hit one of the Dragons, the anti-materiel round piercing through the armor right on its underside and creating a larger spread of cracks.

But still, the damn Dragon was still alive, its wings flapping slower but still keeping up with the damn plane.

"Mada owattane yo…" / It's not over yet… Kiry growled as he fastened his grip on the guns' handles. But he did get the general idea of Snake's strategy. To be honest, he was quite relieved – it was nice to know that some things could still cross over language barriers…

---

"That must've been a hell of a trouble, right?" Yang said. "I mean, not being able to understand each other, and when you were in trouble too…"

"Aa. But we're here, right? We managed to get through it just fine." Kiryu said, "Though understanding each other better would've been a lot easier…"

"Y'know, that does make me questions something! So, Blake…" Ruby spoke, and said Faunus' attention turned to her leader, "How could you of all people speak uhm… what was it?"

"Japanese." Kiryu said, right at the same time Blake spoke "Menagerian."

"Yeah, that?"

"Pure chance, really." Blake shrugged. "According to the history books, Remnant actually had a lot of languages before we settled on English as the official one. Over time, those other languages eventually became extinct, but some of those are still practiced by niche communities even today."

"And so Menagerie…" Weiss trailed off.

"Yeah." Blake gave her a short nod. "A sizable portion of the original settlers there spoke in Menagerian, and when the Faunus were given the land after the revolution, a lot of people decided to adopt it. It also helped us maintain a degree of secrecy since there was a large belief of humans being hostile at the time."

"And the SDC probably didn't help much either, did it…?" Weiss smiled bitterly.

"No offense Weiss, but it didn't." Even so, Blake offered an assuring smile to Weiss, "Don't worry though, that's not what we're discussing right now."

But then, off to the side, Yang snickered. "Heh, Blake, are you sure those books didn't help either…?"

Blake's face turned beet red, "Hey, those are literature!"

"Sure, sure." Yang waved her off and continued snickering, "Trashy romance at best…!"

"Yang, come on! Yang!"

Kiryu shot Ruby a look, "Uh, should I continue?"

Ruby looked again at Blake, still embarrassed, Yang still snickering to herself, and Weiss looking as exasperated as usual. Ruby shook her head, "Please go on, Mr. Kiryu."

"Alright. So after that…"

---

BANG BANG BANG BANG

BOOM BOOM BOOM

BRRRT

It was a desperate defense, one that Snake and the others were managing well enough despite the circumstances, but the legendary soldier knew that they couldn't keep this up forever.

"OTACON!" Snake yelled, "How much longer till we get to Remnant?"

A quick tap across the controls of the plane, "We're still an hour off, Snake, and that's an approximation!" Otacon shouted.

"Damn!" Snake roared and fired his guns again, forcing back another Dragon from coming in too close. Kiryu quickly followed it up with a blast from his anti-materiel rifle, managing to nick its wings and slowing down its flight. But then-!

CRASH!

"Agh!" Everyone grimaced as the entire plane shook. They heard another screech from the Grimm outside, no doubt in triumph from the damage managed to deal.

"Doubling defensive protocols." Bladewolf simply stated, and took control of yet another machinegun then dual wielding it to handle the Nevermores.

BRRRRT BRRRRT!

Bladewolf poured all of his power into getting the best accuracy possible. His machineguns trailed the Nevermores, hitting their wings and slowing them down ever so slightly, but then they grew faster as time went on.

"They are adapting." Bladewolf said. One of the Nevermores lunged at the plane, "Focusing fire-!"

BRRRRRRT!

The Nevermore flew in, but instead now prioritizing its chest as it moved forwards. The machineguns' fire then hit its chest, striking right at the armor of the Nevermore, and thus becoming totally ineffective.

The bullets clanged uselessly against the time-hardened bone armor, and the Nevermore then slammed its beak on the hull of the plane.

CRASH!

"Grk-!" Bladewolf bared his fangs as the plane shook once more, "I need assistance!"

"Covering!" Snake quickly turned his attention to Bladewolf's side and began providing covering fire, scattering the Nevermores and scaring them with the booms of his cannons. Meanwhile, Bladewolf diverted half of his attention to Kiryu's side by providing him with fire from one of his machineguns.

BRRRT!

"Damn it-!" Otacon tapped around his controls, "We've lost autopilot and its directions! Diverting to manual controls now!"

"Will it makes us go faster?!" Snake yelled.

"I'll try!" Otacon disengaged what remained of the autopilot and gripped the thrusters with his hand. "Hold on tight, everyone!"

Otacon pulled the thrusters down to engage full power and hoped for the best. "Full thrusters, engaging!"

Thum…

FWOOSH!

Everyone felt the Gs strike them immediately as the plane pushed all its capabilities into maximum speed. The sudden increase in speed, casting them flying threefold their original cruise speed, manage to give them some distance against the Nevermore and the Dragons they were fighting. But even so…

Kiryu aimed his anti-materiel gun to the back of the plane and enhanced the zoom through his hologram, "Oi! Oitsuite kite iru!"/ They're catching up!

Snake didn't need a translation to know what that meant, "Otacon, could you go any faster? They're gaining!"

"Can't! We're already pushing the limits as is!" Otacon felt sweat trickle down his brow. Based on the last-last estimate of the autopilot, they were about 40-45 minutes away from Raiden's coordinates, but with the current pressure and the speed of the aircraft, he didn't know what to estimate anymore.

Let alone if they were going to survive or not!

"Those bones are our main problem." Bladewolf said matter-of-factly. "They're some sort of armor… some kind of mutation, maybe?"

"Either way, we'll need to crack them and strike at their hearts – if they even have one…" Snake grumbled out the last part. Those Grimm were flying closer and closer, so they needed to find a way to solve this problem fast…

"We'll need to find a weakpoint." Snake concluded. "And then, strike fast and strong – one hit so they won't get a chance to adapt."

The problem was, those bones were so damn strong. They either needed to find a gap, or make it themselves…

---

"Those Grimm must've been on the lookout for centuries." Pyrrha whispered. "Most Nevermores don't have that kind of armor, they've always been classified as lightly armored – and I didn't even know there was anything like a Grimm Dragon…"

"And what would age have to do with it?" Bladewolf tilted his head, tone rising in curiosity, "And why are yours so different?"

"The longer a Grimm lives, the smarter it becomes, as well as the more armor it develops." Ren said, "It's the reason why humanity always struggles in making new settlements and pushing forwards. Because for every misstep we take, the Grimm become stronger – and yet, the same goes if we stay back and plan extensively."

"…An interesting dynamic." Bladewolf said.

"So then how did you get outta that situation?" Jaune asked. "I mean, that couldn't've been easy, right?"

"Yeah! Those Grimm must've been more than two hundred years old!" Nora shouted, "Just how did you manage to beat 'em?!"

"Well, we – and by that I mean Snake - managed to think up of a plan just in time…"

---

"This isn't working." Snake said coldly, "We'll need to get back to stealth."

"And how exactly are we going to do that?" Otacon asked.

"Just follow my lead." Snake said. "Think fast, alright?"

"You got it, buddy."

Snake smiled and then turned to Bladewolf, "I need you to be ready to help me overwhelm them once we get the jump on 'em. Use the machineguns to crowd control."

"Understood."

"And you, Kiryu."

"Aa."

"Hit them once we manage to crowd control them, so they'll be easier to hit. Precise shots, and as many as you can."

A quick translation from Otacon, and Kiryu understood what that meant. "Wakatta. Makasete." / Got it. Leave it to me.

"Alright." Snake nodded and turned back to his hologram, waiting for the right moment.

The Grimm were drawing ever so closer…

"Otacon. Dive down, fast, and activate Octocamo."

"Done!" Otacon plunged the plane straight down into a nosedive. They all grunted as they felt the Gs slam against their bodies, the sudden pressure change straining their facial muscles and ringing their ears. Once they've went far enough down, Otacon turned on the Octocamo and let themselves fade into invisibility with even the engine sounds significantly dying down.

The extreme move paid off. Looking upwards through the plane's cameras, they could all see the Grimm's flights immediately slowing down. While their eyes were fast, they weren't fast enough to track both the sudden movement and sudden invisibility of the plane.

But Snake knew running wasn't a viable option.

"Pull us back up, this time behind the Grimm." Snake ordered. Otacon complied and slowed down the speed of the aircraft, enough to end them up behind the enemy. Then, with enough distance to keep the engine sound silent enough, he pulled them all back up to the same level as before.

"Alright…" Snake grinned and gripped his guns' handles tight. "Otacon, pull us a bit closer. Make sure our guns can be in range, but only just. Bladewolf, crowd control. With me. Kiryu, get ready.""

"Gotcha, Snake."

"Understood."

"Wakatta."

Otacon increased the speed of the aircraft little by little, inching them closer and closer…

"BLADEWOLF! NOW!"

BRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTT!

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

The three guns fired in sync, surprising the feathers out of the Dragons and Nevermores. Snake roared as he continued firing alongside Bladewolf, making sure to keep all of their aim at but more around the Grimm. With the surprise and the perimeter created, the Grimm had no room to move or escape. They were crowded in one single dense airspace.

"KIRYU! FIRE, NOW!"

"Hai!" Kiryu clenched his teeth and aimed the best that he can. With the Grimm crowded up, aiming was easier, and now, the only thing he had to do was to just let loose.

BANG BANG BANG BANG!

The Grimm screeched as anti-materiel bullets impacted their armor and cracked them wide. But Kiryu didn't let up. He continued the volley of bullets, and as they kept coming, the new ones broke the armor completely and pierced the Grimms clean through.

BANG BANG BANG BANG!

SCREEEEEECHHHH!

The Nevermores fell, their bodies lighter and more damaged from a single wound. And the, the only remaining Grimm were the Dragons…

BANG BANG BANG BANG!

Kiryu fired again and again, his bullets impacting their armor repeatedly, but it just didn't seem to crack! What was it going to take-?!

But then, Snake's eyes widened as he saw the Dragon beginning to regain its form even as it was shot at. Snake saw the edges of both the Dragon's jaws begin to light up-!

"IT'S GONNA ATTACK! MOVE!" Snake yelled.

ROARRRRRRRRR!

FWOOOSH!

Both dragons roared and unleashed a fireball from their mouths, both soaring straight towards the plane.

"Hold on!" Otacon swerved the plane to the side, tilting the body 90 degrees to the side, letting the fireballs pass by to the top and the hull of the plane.

Otacon let out a breath as the fireballs safely passed them and he stabilized them once more. He could feel sweat drip down his brow, even though it wasn't from the pure heat.

"Kantsū shine yo!"/ My bullets aren't piercing them! Kiryu yelled.

"Tch." Snake clicked his tongue. That trick won't work twice, and so they needed a new plan…

Since they were closer now, Snake decided to take a closer look at the Dragons from where he was. Indeed, the bullets hadn't pierced the armor, but then…

Snake looked at the throats of the Dragons. Whereas the other parts were heavily armored, even the wings and especially the head, the throats had wider gaps than most, probably because it was the part that need to be flexible the most.

"We'll need to aim for the throats!" Snake shouted to everyone else. "Strike them when they're most vulnerable!"

'And that's when?!' Otacon shouted back.

Snake knew what his old friend was leading to with that question, but with all the time they had spent together, Snake knew that they both didn't need the answer. However…

"…When they're about to attack." Snake finished grimly.

"…Okay then." Otacon let out a loud sigh and trusted his partner.

"Bladewolf, with me, volley your attacks on the Dragon while we approach." Snake said, "I want it stunned as long as possible!"

"Understood." Bladewolf said, cold and calculating but layered with concern.

"Kiryu, I want you to fire on the gap between the armors. We'll be getting as close as we can so you can make your shot count." Snake ordered.

A quick translation from Otacon and Kiryu understood. "Wakatta." / I understand.

"…Alright…" Snake let out a breath and adjusted his grip on the cannons. He could see the dragons circling them, preparing for another dogfight.

He didn't feel the sweat on his guns' handles. Didn't feel any wavering beliefs, any wavering doubts. As Snake let out a breath, his mind settled on pure efficiency and hardened resolve.

ROARRRR!

'One's about to fire again.' Snake thought. Outwardly, he barked his orders. "Otacon, dodge the next five attacks. Everyone else, hold your fire."

Sounds of agreements from various languages, and they all felt the Gs hit them as Otacon did his handiwork.

The flames just barely missed them, Otacon swerving left, right, up, and down, to the point where no one could remember the original direction anymore.

The fifth fireball scraped by, the flames licking the plane's left wings, but it was still a miss.

Snake looked around and saw that the Dragons took a small moment to compose themselves after their attack. No doubt they had drained all of their stamina, so now was their chance!

"Now!" Snake yelled, "Go straight to the nearest Dragon!"

"You got it!" Otacon turned the plane around and adjusted the plane to head for a dead-on collision with one of the Dragons.

The Dragon, realizing what must be a suicide move by the humans, quickly prepared a raging fireball to fire from its mouth. The flames burned from its gut, heating up through its throat…

"BLADEWOLF! ON ME, NOW!"

"Acknowledged."

BRRRRRT BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM

Just as the Dragon prepared its fire, Snake and Bladewolf sprayed it all over with their machinegun and cannon fire. The bullets hit its body and its face, and while none did truly significant damage, it did delay the Dragon from taking proper aim

Snake kept calm as he continued firing. They were getting closer and closer…

BRRRRRT BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM

ROARRRRR!

The Dragon began to adapt, began to push through the knockbacks, its fireball now pushing through its throat-!

This'll have to be close enough! "NOW, KIRYU!" Snake yelled. "TAKE THE SHOT!"

Kiryu quickly took aim at the Dragon's throat. He could see it begin to glow red, burning from the inside and the fire going through it, and from that…

The gaps between the armor became clear as day.

"ORA!"

BANG!

The bullet ripped clean through the gap and then Dragon's throat, cold shining metal bursting past black Grimm flesh.

SCREEECH!

The dragon screeched in pain as it felt a sudden wound form on such a crucial area. With its focus disrupted, the Dragon's fireball went out of control and exploded right as it was about to go out, destroying the Dragon's upper part with it. It exploded into a mixture of bright red flames and burning black Grimm flesh, all the while…

FWOOSH!

The plane burst past the explosion, flames licking its body yet standing tall after destroying the opposition.

---

"That. Sounds. AMAZING!" Nora shouted out, opening her arms going to the sky as she jumped out from her seat with glee. "I can't believe you pulled a risky move like that off!"

The tips of Bladewolf's lips quirked upwards. "We couldn't have done it without Snake's leadership, and without everyone working together. But… thanks for the compliment."

"Staying calm in a situation like that… your leader must be quite the warrior." Ren said.

"He can be a little bit gruff, but he's an excellent soldier. And an even better man." Bladewolf said. "Solid Snake is known far and wide across the U.C, for his skills and more so his dedication towards doing what's right. It wasn't too hard for the government to convince him to get out of retirement… especially for his former protégé."

"Wait a second." Pyrrha raised a hand, "Solid Snake… We have a Snake here right now, don't we?" She shot Jaune a look, "Y'know, the one that came with you, Jaune? Venom Snake?"

"Uhm… I don't really know much about that…" Jaune scratched the back of his head, "I mean, I know the whole basics and stuff, but now that you mention it..."

"I do not believe I have ever heard of a Venom Snake either." Bladewolf added, his ears twitching ever so slightly, "I suppose I should meet him later…"

"There's still one Dragon left, right?" Ren pointed out. "You only mentioned taking out the one."

"True." Bladewolf said, "As such…"

---

As the plane flew past the explosion, everyone let out a sigh of relief. That was a risky move, and they just barely managed to pull it off!

ROAR!

"Shit!"

Bang!

The plane shook as the last Dragon flew by impacted the body of the plane with the edges of its fangs. A large dent was formed as the Dragon flew past.

"Dammit!" Otacon looked around his dashboard in panic. Error signs popped up everywhere, and he knew they couldn't risk another long fight. 'We can't take much more!"

The Dragon roared again as it flew back around, preparing to attack once more.

"Otacon! What's the ETA?!" Snake shouted.

"I don't know…! Around 23 minutes, give or take!"

"Then we gotta finish this fast." Snake growled. 'Evasive maneuvers, Otacon. Quickly."

"You got it."

"Bladewolf, Kiryu, we'll do the same tactic but while moving. We can't afford any more risks."

"Understood."

A quick translation, and then, "Aa."

"Okay…" Snake gripped his handle. He could see through the holograms that the Dragon had finally turned around, its throat burning to launch another fireball…

"Moving, now!" Otacon shouted.

ROARRR!

The Dragon launched a fireball and Otacon quickly spun the plane out of the way. Another fireball, and Otacon dodged it with deceitful ease. Another attack, another dodge, all the while he flew the plane closer and closer to the Dragon.

Dodge, dodge, dodge…

And now, they were just close enough.

"HYAHHHHH!" Snake yelled and began firing his cannons, explosions bursting from the Grimm's armor. Bladewolf attacked in sync and trailed his machineguns across the entirety of the Grimm, peppering it with sprays of lead.

The Dragon roared in pain and flew past, turning around for another attack. Kiryu kept his hand on his handle as he watched the hologram intensely, 'Mada da…' / Not yet…

The Dragon flew in again, another fireball in its throat. The others fired again as they drew closer, and then Otacon got managed to dodge the fireball just in the nick of time. Kiryu kept his heart steady, his fingers not twitching. He kept analyzing the movement of the Dragon. 'Mada da…' / Not yet…

And now, for a third time, the Dragon was circling back for another attack. Otacon did the same, as did the others. But now, as they approached another head-to-head, Kiryu could see changes in the Dragon's demeanor.

It had missed two times before, not to mention its comrade had fallen – as such, it began to adapt. Now, the Dragon pulled its throat higher, holding its fire to wait for a definitive shot.

As such, as they began to draw closer, Kiryu didn't need any clearer warning. The gaps between the armor were now clear as day.

BANG!

SCREEECH!

He fired the last shot he needed, the bullet easily piercing through and doing all it needed. The Dragon roared as it fell down, another explosion bursting forth and the plane flying away with amazing grace.

"Hah…" Kiryu let out a breath, sweat dropping down his eyebrow, and he let go of the handle of his anti-materiel rifle. The others did the same, relief sweeping across the plane like a cold wind across the desert.

But then, all of that relief came crashing down when Otacon spoke again.

"Guys… We can't really take much more."

"What do you mean?" Snake asks.

"The damage's near critical levels… we need to land as soon as possible."

"And the ETA?"

"Unclear." Otacon sighed. "We took too much damage, so the navigation system's not clear anymore."

"So we need to land on the first piece of land we see." Snake concluded with a growl. And then, "…Shit."

---

"And Vale was the first one you saw?" Blake asked.

"Yeah," Kiryu said, "And the sight was quite to behold…"

---

They continued flying, hearts tense and hoping for a view of land as soon as possible…

And then, they all saw it.

Off in the distance, a patch of land began to form in the middle of the endless sea, and then it grew and grew as they got closer.

They could see it then, growing in the horizon. Small, barely visible, but also there. Buildings that stretched high into the sky, unlike anything in their home. Walls and homes built by another civilization, one that truly survived without any contact with their own.

And if that wasn't enough…

"I'm picking up other flights." Otacon said, voice tense but also containing a pitch filled with glee. "They're going on different frequencies, and I can't recognize their tech…! But they're here!" He said breathlessly.

Bladewolf and Kiryu could only look on in amazement at the sight. The sheer fact of it all, and how such a piece could have been hidden, lost, for centuries…

Snake too looked on in shock, but he quickly shook it off as he did every other revelation in his life. He quickly barked out his next question, "Otacon. How close are the other planes?"

"Not close enough to see or detect us, since we're using state-of-the-art radars…"

"Then get into Octocamo, quick. We can't afford being seen in our current condition."

"R-right." Otacon quickly focused back on his orders and initiated the camouflage protocols. In mere moments, they were back into near-invisibility, complete with silent thrusters and radar-cloaking technology.

And so, they flew in silence, undetected by the inhabitants of Remnant, even as they got closer and closer. Eventually, they reached the start of the land and began flying over it – and before long, they flew right above the Kingdom of Vale, undetected by all.

They could all see the prospering city beneath them. The cars driving around, the people living their lives, the buildings that marked a prospering civilization, all having been hidden from their own civilization for so, so long.

But they needed to move, quickly, so Otacon quickly began to scout out a place where they can land their plane safely – perhaps an empty airport, or a hidden space, where their plane can remain undetected. There was bound to be some place after all, seeing that Vale had strange planes flying around as well, though he noted that they didn't seem to need any thrusters or jets…

Eventually, they found a place and settled their plane down stealthily and quietly – an old, abandoned airplane boneyard, where their plane wouldn't look too out of place and no one would think to look there in the first place.

---

"Once that task was done, Kiryu and I went to town to do some recon. Otacon and Snake chose to stay behind to ensure the airplane would stay functional." Bladewolf concluded.

"So in the end you guys met Team RWBY, who then helped you set up a place to live?" Nora said.

"That is correct." Bladewolf said. "After that, the Metal Gear fight happened, and I was sent to survey out the damage. I didn't get a lot, but it was enough for us to start thinking on what exactly had happened."

"Huh, Raiden must've just missed you then." Jaune nodded to himself.

"Perhaps." Bladewolf concluded. "After that I did some patrols, which was when Blake called again and asked for our help on something."

"So that's why you were leaning near RWBY's dorms…" Jaune trailed off.

"Something like that, correct." Bladewolf said. "We met each other mid-way to a shared destination, but by the time we did meet my estimations calculated that we would be late anyways. So I decided, rather than waste energy, I could just wait here in Beacon. And besides, Blake knew Kiryu best. Everything would have turned out fine based on my profiling."

"Profiling…?" Pyrrha echoed. That seemed like a rather cold-hearted way to put it…

"And no one took a second look once you entered?" Ren asked.

"My appearance must not have been too out of the ordinary." Bladewolf said. He looked to Jaune, eyes searching for answers. "Perhaps… you may know why, Jaune?"

At this, Jaune shook his head. Team RWBY probably dragged them into this… but he couldn't say anything, not really. Bladewolf was his own man now, and he had the ability to make his own choices.

But still, he couldn't help but feel a little sad that yet another one of his friends was dragged into this mess.

---

Meanwhile…

"That still doesn't explain how you guys met, though." Weiss pointed out once Kiryu finished his story.

"Well, it wasn't really anything special…" Kiryu trailed off. He looked to Blake, "Unless you want to tell them?"

"I don't see why not." Blake shrugged. Besides, this would also be a good way to improve her teammates' trust with her.

Blake rolled the words around in her mouth, before speaking right as the rest of RWBY leaned in in interest.

---

"Thanks for meeting me here today, Sun." Blake said as she put her cup of tea down. She gave him a small, but sincere smile. "Especially on such a short notice."

"It's no problem!" Sun stretched his arms and put his hands behind his back, leisurely relaxing on his chair. "'S not like I've got much to do today anyways."

Blake arched an eyebrow. "Oh really?" She asked, "What about your Team?"

"They can handle themselves for now. We're third years, remember?" Sun said. "Most of them should be getting ready for the Vytal Tournament," He nodded his head approvingly, "And I think we're going to go past the Doubles round today just fine."

"Well, if you're that confident, I suppose…"

"Trust me, Blake. We're gonna do just fine." Sun said with an easy tone. Then, his expression turned conflicted as he fought to find the words, "So…"

Blake, for her part, stayed silent and watched for Sun's reaction. They had known each other for a long time now – ever since their first time participating in the Vytal Festival, which seemed like a lifetime ago now – and she was curious to see his reaction.

(Did she change at all from back then?)

"…Is this like anything the docks with Torchwick?"

(On second thought, maybe she hadn't.)

"I don't know." Blake settled on. She reached for another sip of her tea, but then withdrew and put her hands on her lap. "I've just got a lot on my mind right now."

"…" Sun was silent, and yet she knew that he was listening. Loud and mischievous he might be, he also knew when to listen. And now, it was her turn to talk.

"Sun, you remember Jaune, right?"

"A- yeah, a little." He was never really close to the guy, but his death did mark quite a turning point in dealing with the White Fang. Especially in Vale. "What about him?"

Blake took a deep breath. Here comes the hard part. "Well, long story short… he's back."

"What do you mean his back?!" Sun nearly shouted. A quick glare from Blake and Sun settled back on his seat with a mumbled 'sorry'. "But still!" He added, "I thought he was- well, you know!"

"Turns out it wasn't that easy for them to get rid of him." Blake sighed. Her tea was no doubt lukewarm now, and there was no real point on drinking it now.

"And now that he's back, let me guess… he's gunning for revenge?" Sun asked.

"That's – I don't know." Blake put her face in her hands. "What's clear is that he's different, not from back then, but from us. He's – well, he's the reason the Fang have turned out dead in droves."

"That was him?" Sun whistled as he thought back to all that had happened in the past few days. The Fang, being cut down by precise sword strokes everywhere around the city, and the more gruesome details he got as a junior detective.

"Must mean that he's on a bit of a rampage, then."

"That's putting it lightly." Blake said, "So I guess I'm left wondering… did they deserve it?"

"You mean the Fang?" Sun asked.

"Yeah." Blake said. "I mean, I know they're bad, and we need to stop them, but – I've lived with them once, fought for the same damn cause, Sun. They're still people! But-!"

"But you weren't the one the Fang killed and made the family vengeful, right?" Sun finished. Blake nodded shortly and silently.

"Listen… Blake." Sun struggled to find the words. "I'm a cop, y'know? I'm not gonna have the best view on the Fang here."

"But-,"

"Don't get me wrong, I get where they're coming from too." Sun said, "The stares at the police station aren't all friendly, to be honest. Most of 'em look like they've got a bone to pick since I've got a tail on my back." He shrugged, "And to be honest? I can see why too."

"The Fang have driven a lot of people to their bones and then some. Lots of comrades dead, lotta time spent not coming home to a loving family, and lots of hair going grey prematurely, not to mention the morgue being full on most days. But that's it! At a certain point in time, the line kinda blurs, and you just wish it could all end right now."

"So that's it, then?" Blake said bitterly. "Just slaughter them until there's nothing left?"

"Nah, that's not it." Sun shook his head, "All of us have our own way with dealing with the Fang, y'know? I don't like seeing them dead… but you can't deny that that takes them out of the picture for good."

Blake struggled with her words. If that was the case, then where did they draw the line, really? What can be considered too far? "Then what will you do, Sun?"

She didn't want to run away again.

"I'll deal with 'em like I always have. I think the time back at the docks wasn't so bad, right?" Sun shrugged. "They're our people, but we gotta be fair. And well, if I see something I don't like, then I'll step in and take care of it. On both sides of the law."

"And what do you think about Jaune?" Blake asked. "He's just- you've seen the bodies he's left behind." Blake whispered. "He's out of our league now. Should we even try to stop him…?" Her voice was barely audible.

In contrast, Sun's sounded firm. "Is that what you really want?" He asked back.

And Blake couldn't find it in herself to answer.

She had run away, all her life. From her family, and then from the Fang. She had resolved to do things with her Team, and yet here she was, talking with Sun and leaving her Team in the dark. Leaving Ruby hanging with uncertainty.

In the end, what did she really want to do about them? If anything at all?

What was the correct choice?

CRASH!

Blake and Sun both looked across the street, their heads snapping to the source and their bodies springing to readiness. They saw the street across from them, to a store with its windows smashed and the body of a thug having flown through it, landing on the pavement flat on his ass.

Blake and Sun silently drew their weapons as the civilians scattered. Blake looked at the thug; from his attire, it was clear that he wasn't a White Fang, what a relief. Instead, it seemed like just another gangster. A lowlife.

Those kinds of people, she knew what she could do about.

Blake and Sun quickly went to the store and breached in. To say the inside was a mess would be a complete understatement – furniture was thrown around everywhere, products were scattered across the store, some even ending up on the ceiling – and in the center of it all, a man with a grey suit, red dress shirt, and pitch-black eyes and hair, fighting back countless thugs with practiced ease.

Blake was eager to step in, do something right for once – but she looked at the man just before she went and interrupted him. It came down to the way he ducked and weaved, the way he struck with force but not overly so, and the way it all just came naturally to him.

But most of all…

"Get that damn Faunus bastard!"

"Filthy animal lover!"

He didn't have any Faunus features, no eyes and no extra appendages, and it wasn't like he was hiding them either. These thugs fought him, and Blake had no doubt that prejudice was also a factor, and yet-

"Shinitai yatsu dake-."/ Only those who want to die – the man dodged and weaved, struck and took down, and yet not killing despite it seeming so easy to do so – "Kakatte koi!" / Come at me!

He spoke in the language of those from Menagerie…?

"Come get some-!"

"ORA!"

Smash…

"HYAH!"

Another smash…

"Sei-YA!"

And another hit, and now all of the thugs were down.

"Mattaku…" / Good grief… The stranger shook himself and straightened his jacket. He rolled his neck, catching a glance of the store as he did so, and sighed. He really didn't want anything like this to happen, not when they had just landed, and the fact that these thugs had picked on him when he just walked in the store and asked for some directions…

Kiryu turned to look at the two newcomers, who still stood by the door. He tilted his head quizzically. These seemed different, though he didn't know if he should talk to them or not. The last time someone heard his language they attacked him, and, well, he didn't want the store to be more ruined than it already was…

Meanwhile, Blake stayed at the ready with Sun beside her, and yet her guard was slowly lowering. The fact that this man seemed not angry, but confused with her, and that he hadn't spoken at all after the fight…

Blake put a fist to her mouth and coughed. "Ano… Sumimasen," / Um, excuse me,

And when she saw his eyes widen in surprise, she knew that for once, what she did was right.

Sun's head looked towards the outside, hearing the sounds of sirens approaching. In this moment, he decided to help the stranger out. If the thugs here decided to attack just because the stranger only spoke Menangerie, then what did it mean for the officers that had been dealing with people like the White Fang for most of their careers?

---

"And that's basically it in a nutshell." Blake finished with a shrug. She had omitted some of the more personal details, of course, but as long as her Team got the general idea, then she hoped that that would be enough.

And it seemed Kiryu didn't want to divulge too much on that as well. Instead, his question asked to the present, "Where's Sun, by the way? I haven't seen him since last time we met."

"He's off with his Team right now, as he should be." Blake stressed the last part. "I- I mean, not that I don't appreciate him…"

"Ah yeah! They managed to get through to the finals, right?" Ruby said.

"That's right," Blake said, "Especially with Cinder out of the picture…"

The mood quickly took a turn for the worse. Everyone's expression soured, silence descending on around the table.

At this, Kiryu took note of the name, 'Cinder…' He felt that Snake and the others would want to know. A part of him thought that maybe this was just school drama, but the atmosphere still felt much more than that.

Kiryu coughed into his fist and decided to take the conversation back on track. "After the whole police deal, Blake and Sun helped the rest of my team. That's how she got to know the rest of us." Kiryu nodded a thanks to Blake. "I have her to thank for getting my team an apartment to settle down."

"Ah, so that's why you left us hanging back then, huh?" Ruby tilted her head. Back then, when Yang was out of the question with Raven and it was only her and Weiss…

Blake's eyes softened, filled with guilt. Again, she had run away, even though she truly wanted to change… "Ruby… I'm sorry…"

At this, Ruby smiled. "Don't worry, Blake. I understand. Just- just don't do it again, alright?"

At the end, Blake noted that Ruby's voice seemed kind of shaky. She would like to apologize again…

But looking into Ruby's eyes, she knew that now wasn't the time. Nevertheless, she let her Leader down, and she needed to prove it won't happen again. "I won't." Blake said.

"Okay." Ruby took a deep breath. "Okay, okay."

"Just- please don't leave us alone like that again, Blakey." Yang said, "Please?"

Blake looked at her partner and offered her most sincere apologies. "Sorry, Yang."

Yang looked neutrally at Blake, head still leaning against her arm. Then, her eyes shifted to Kiryu, then back at Blake.

Well, it was for a good cause, and Blake did come back anyway…

Yang closed her eyes and gave a light shrug, though it was far from anything truly playful. "Okay..."

But then, Ruby remembered something from Kiryu's story. She visibly perked up while asking her question, "Wait, Kiryu… did you say Solid Snake?"

"Aa. A legendary soldier, apparently. But the legends usually are true." Kiryu looked at Ruby with a raised eyebrow. "Have you heard of him…?"

Ruby's eyes lit up. "As a matter of fact, we do have another Snake here!"

"O-oh…" Kiryu leaned back, surprised. 'Then that means… she knows something?'

"We could introduce you, if you like. Maybe you can contact the rest of your team?" Ruby asked. This was important information, after all!

"Of course." Kiryu said, "They'd like to know something like that, anyways…"

That tone held something interesting to Yang. 'This must be something related to that mission of his…' Yang spoke up, and she focused her eyes on Kiryu. "So then… what really brings you to Vale, Kiryu? Here to see the Remnant's sights?"

Kiryu sighed and shook his head. Of course they'd ask eventually, and it's not like the U.C could spend thousands for a mere vacation, "Sadly, that's not it. I'm here on a mission."

"A mission?" Ruby echoed. This was, perhaps, her best chance! "Ah, well then, maybe we could help each other out?" She offered, "It turns out, we would like to ask for your help as well, Mr. Kiryu."

The others in RWBY waited with bated breath as they threw out the line. Now, it was just to see how Kiryu would react…

Kiryu closed his eyes. Then, after a moment, he opened them once more and asked Team RWBY with an open tone. "…What is it?"

Ruby smiled, a tad hopeful. Maybe they didn't get off on the wrong foot after all.

"Mr. Kiryu… there's a threat out there that wants to destroy Vale, and all of Remnant itself." Ruby said. "And- and we're at a bit of a crossroads. We don't know what to do… so we'd like your help in figuring this stuff out."

"…So we're talking an international threat?"

"An inter-Kingdom one, yes."

"…" Kiryu mulled things over with a stern gaze. On one hand, he had his own two missions to attend to, and he couldn't stray too far from that.

And on the other hand, helping Ruby with this would also mean increasing the reputation of the U.C here. He just had to ask Solid for the go-ahead first.

…And besides, did he really have it in him to say no?

"…Alright." Kiryu said softly. "What're we dealing with, exactly?"

Ruby looked around. Even though the privacy in this café was secure… she didn't want to risk it. "How about we head back to Beacon? Bladewolf's already back there, so we wouldn't have to explain this twice."

"That seems reasonable." Kiryu said. "Let me contact Solid first, though. That way, we can all get the proper picture together."

"Of course." Ruby nodded, and Kiryu pulled out his CODEC-communicator, specifically designed for this mission.

After several quick taps, a quick call to Solid, Kiryu put his communicator back in his pocket and spoke again. "He'll be catching up soon. We could head out now if you want."

Before Ruby could speak up, however, a loud ring sounded from someone's Scroll.

"Oh! That's mine." Yang chuckled and pulled her Scroll out of her pocket. She looked at the contact's name… "…Dad?"

"Is it?" Ruby leaned in close to her sister and looked at the Scroll; indeed, it was their father calling. "He hasn't called us in forever! Come on, pick up!"

"Yeah." Yang nodded and picked up the phone, putting it on speaker so her sister could hear. Meanwhole, Kiryu watched on from the sidelines, eyes flicking between Yang and Ruby.

'They're sisters? Huh, they look nothing alike…' But then, it seemed that Yang wanted to protect more than her friends. No, it was her sister too. Honorable.

Tai spoke from the other end, "Hey, Yang. Sorry I haven't called in a while."

"I-it's fine, Dad." Yang said, "We know you're busy."

"That's no excuse, either for you or Ruby." Tai denied. "So I was wondering… maybe you girls could come to my office sometime today? I want to talk to you both… it's been too long."

"We'd love to, Dad!" Ruby perked up. Her eyes shot to Kiryu for just a brief moment, before heading back to the Scroll, "Just so happens that we're heading back anyways. Around 15 minutes, give or take?"

"Sure. Is your Team coming with you?"

"Yeah." Ruby said, just a little bit slower than usual, "Something like that."

If Tai recognized this, he didn't act on it. "Okay. I'll make sure the office's ready for you girls. See you then, girls!"

"Bye, Dad!" The girls said in unison, and then the call closed off.

Yang pocketed her Scroll again. "So then, everyone good? This way, Kiryu, you could learn about everything that's happening from the source itself. Dad's been in the thick of it a bit longer than we have, so he'll know a lot more I bet."

The rest of Team RWBY voiced their agreement, and Kiryu just shrugged. "I don't mind."

"Great!" Yang beamed. "Well then, I guess we should get going!"

"Aa."

As the others cheered, gathering up their belongings and preparing to head to Beacon, Ruby let her thoughts mull over. A meeting with Dad…

Her smile faltered for just a moment, unnoticed by everyone else. They hadn't talked in forever, and with Dad almost dying back at the submarine…

Ruby sent a quick look to Yang. She had a smile on her face, and she didn't know about any of this at all.

Ruby sighed silently, unnoticed by everyone else. With her being the only one in the know about that mission Mom took…

Ruby felt her resolve crumble. She wouldn't, couldn't avoid it, not while looking Dad right in the eye. They already got Kiryu to help, and things really were looking up, but she couldn't shake the feeling in her gut that things would get worse.

She didn't know the contents of the file, not yet. But the thought of just opening it sent chills down her spine, and she knew that with Dad right there in his room, she would never be able to keep it to herself.

---

"So, you got any idea how we're going to get to Beacon?"

"Says right here we should take the bus, then there's a Bullhead ride, and then we should be home free."

"Huh. And any idea where the bus stop is?"

"Eheheh… it's actually kinda far, Snake. The only one that I could find's a 40-minute walk from here."

A strap of a familiar muscle suit, and then put over it a fashionable suit. "That's fine. Just make sure to stay vigilant with me, Otacon."

"Sure, sure."

---

As the others went, and one catching-up session later…

"I'm in." Bladewolf said firmly, eyes burning brightly with determination towards Jaune's.

The others took note of the steel in Bladewolf's tone. Such determination…

However, in response, Jaune sighed. "Wolfy…" he couldn't decipher his tone. "Are you sure?"

"Without a doubt."

"It's just- I thought you wanted another life?" Jaune looked to Bladewolf, eyes searching for something he didn't know. "I thought you wanted to be free."

"I am free, Jaune. I'm doing this of my own choice." Bladewolf said.

Jaune held his gaze, still searching for something. Far be it for him to interfere in Bladewolf's decisions, but still…

In the end, Jaune shook his head and relented. He really had no choice, didn't he? e really had no chice, did he ? "Fine then. We'll be doing some training right now; me, Ren, and Nora. Maybe you could show them the ropes later?"

"It would be my pleasure."

"Right." Jaune shook what doubts he had and stood back up. He nodded to Ren and Nora, his expression dead serious. "Come on, guys. Let's go get ready."

"Of course, leader!"

"Yeah, Jaune."

The three of them left for the changing rooms, leaving Bladewolf and Pyrrha behind. Not long after, the two of them saw the others get on the stage and begin their training.

Clang, clang, clang!

Pyrrha became engrossed in the fight, watching with utter focus as her partner sparred against the other half of JNPR. He blocked, he weaved, and he tested the guards of both Nora and Ren. Seeing him wield HF Murasama with such ease, as if it was just another limb, she became amazed at just how far he had went; it felt like yesterday that Jaune had walked through these doors as the weakest member of their entire year, and now…

Ah, if only she hadn't gotten injured in her fight with Cinder. Maybe she could've sparred against him today…

Clang, clang, clang!

"You're too predictable, Nora! Try to switch it up!"

"Ren, get in here! Are you gonna let your partner do the heavy swinging all by herself?!"

Fwoosh, fwoosh!

"Ah, that's good, that's good! Come on, try to get a hit in! I'm just getting started after all!"

Pyrrha watched on as Jaune continued to push his teammates further. But then, her eyes narrowed as she realized several things.

First, the red glow on HF Murasama was non-existent. Jaune had turned it off completely, leaving it a simple katana. This, she could understand. But the next…

The second, he was barely throwing out any blows. Sure he did swing and stab several times, but it was one that Pyrrha knew would be blocked or dodged. She would know; her championship training had shown her these things more than others would have.

And then the third and last, was that for his standards, Jaune was particularly slow today.

Pyrrha's thoughts led her to one conclusion. And that conclusion was-

"He's holding back." Bladewolf said monotonely.

Pyrrha turned to the Faunus in the room. "You see it too, huh?"

"It is not hidden at all." Bladewolf said, eyes still focused on the fight. Huh, maybe someone who's been with Jaune longer could pick it up easier? Made sense why Nora and Ren haven't, "However, I am more surprised that he is holding back at all."

"Oh?" Pyrrha raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"Jaune doesn't hold back. At least, not like this." Bladewolf explained, "When he does hold back, he does it to toy with his opponents; those who are on that receiving end never realize that he could've ended the fight with a single stroke until it was too late."

"So?"

"I suppose this is clear… but he's not giving it his all. No, he won't give it his all." Bladewolf said. And then, he looked to Pyrrha dead in her eyes, "He never would give that to you."

Jaune's shouts echoed in their ears.

"Too slow, Ren! Faster, faster!"

"Nora, try to keep me occupied! Ren can't come in if I just counter him right away!"

Pyrrha didn't feel insulted at all. Instead, she felt intrigued. This was another window to Jaune that she had never expected to be opened. It was one thing to hear the recordings – it was another thing to hear an account from someone who knew him close. "So… I take it he trained you as well?"

"We sparred, but it was never anything formal." Bladewolf said. He recalled the times in Desperado, the times he spent with Jaune… and then Jaune lying in a pool of his own blood in that desert.

All alone.

"Jaune… for a long time, he's spent his time alone in Desperado." Bladewolf said. "What he did there… has he told you?"

"He told us he was an assassin – that he's killed countless people." Pyrrha said. But her eyes told Bladewolf a different story, as if saying, 'But, even so…'

"I take it you could imagine the depths he dived in. I won't give you the details if he doesn't first." Bladewolf said. "But that doesn't excuse the fact that for him, the coldest of murders were not and never were off the table. At least not then."

"When he trained me… he was brutal. What he's doing now's child play to what sparring we did." Bladewolf closed his eyes, and tried to remember the brief times they fought…

---

Clang!

"Get up, Wolf! You're not strong enough, and I won't take a single whine out of those fangs!"

A loud bang, "Slow, predictable, weak! The hell are you gonna do with an approach like this?!"

A slash as fast as lightning! "Not even a scratch and I've cut off your little chainsaw! Think, Wolfy! Counter my attacks!"

"…I won't be here for you forever."

---

"But-!"

"But he's different now." Bladewolf opened his eyes looked at Jaune again. That smile, the weight off of his shoulders, the way he took every step… "He's different because of you… Pyrrha."

"…I already swore to him that I'd stick by him. No matter what." Pyrrha said determinedly, steel in her eyes and every part of her body. "We're partners. He'd do the same for me."

"Ah." Bladewolf turned to her again. "Partner…"

Pyrrha tilted her head.

"You know… my time in Desperado wasn't a pleasant one." Bladewolf said sincerely. "I was a slave, bound to my chains. But when Jaune came, he set me free. He was the first one to consider what I actually wanted in life."

Jaune spoke again in training, oblivious to Pyrrha and Bladewolf yet his words being heard all the same. "Good job, Nora. Try something different, I won't fall for that twice. Ren, good job weaving in and out. I'll be stepping up my speed, so you better watch out. Now, Go!"

"…"

Bladewolf continued and turned his focus back to Pyrrha. So this girl, she was the one Jaune always mentioned?

He could definitely see it.

"My old master was someone named Mistral." Bladewolf's face then twisted to disgust. "For a lack of a better word, she was a bitch. Jaune saw how she was treating me and wagered my freedom in a match with her. He won, and in doing so, unbound my chains from her."

"…"

"I couldn't believe it at first. I thought everyone at Desperado was a total scumbag. No exceptions. But then Jaune came and did something that was actually good."

Pyrrha listened on, captivated.

"He and I talked afterwards, he set me up for a better time in Desperado, but in the end I still needed to understand why. So I replayed the footage over and over, sometimes missing hours of sleep. And after watching it hundreds of times, there was one word I could never forget. One word he said to Mistral that I remember"

"And that was?" Pyrrha asked.

Bladewolf looked at Pyrrha with every bit of his eyes sincere. "You remind me of my partner." Bladewolf said, his voice echoing with Jaune's recording as well. "And I hate seeing her face on a bitch like you."

Pyrrha leaned back once she heard the words.

She- she couldn't find the words… and finally, after a moment that seemed like an eternity, "So then, he freed you b-because of me?"

Bladewolf gave Pyrrha the barest of nods. And from this, Pyrrha smiled.

"So he never really was gone, huh…" Pyrrha whispered out, her smile louder than her words.

Bladewolf continued on regardless. "He didn't hold back against Mistral, not really. He and I sparred, and he didn't hold back there too. But whenever he seemed to mull the past… he always held you and everyone else in high regard."

"He regrets that he could never be like you, that he failed you. In that sense, he always felt that you deserved better – no matter what the facts were."

"In the end he 'died' alone, in a dry and empty desert filled with nothing but the consequences of his actions. But… he didn't seem to regret his last actions."

"J-Jaune..."

Bladewolf looked at Pyrrha softly. "I suppose… Heh, I suppose he got what he deserved, being a terrorist and a murderer. But through all of that, all that time without a word to each other… I don't think he ever forgot, nor did he ever regret, the special love he had for you. And for all of you as well."

"But then why?" Pyrrha asked Bladewolf hotly. "Why's he still- still holding back against us? We just promised that we'd do things together! Right before you came!"

"His days became long. Much too long for any sane man, and in the end he wasn't. But even through all that bloodshed, in the end he tried to make things right. By his friends, by his family, by a lot of things… and by you. In the end, he didn't want to do you wrong. The question now, with you standing by him, is he betraying that version of Pyrrha? One of his few lights when he was alone?"

Bladewolf continued, "He did that life all alone. He made this decision, and every single decision in the U.C, all by himself."

Realization dawned on Pyrrha. It wasn't that Jaune had only made a promise. An Arc never went back on their word, so that mean there was something much more than that. Something beneath it, something even he didn't realize.

Bladewolf said Pyrrha's thoughts aloud, even as Jaune continued to train Nora and Ren.

"Good job, guys! Now… show me what you can really do!"

And even hearing those words, Pyrrha knew that Jaune would never go past half his power.

"So he doesn't want to bring people close - No, that's not it." Bladewolf shook his head. "I don't think he can bring people close." Bladewolf said.

He then asked Pyrrha, "What did he say to you?"

"He said that he'd do things together with us from now on." Pyrrha trailed off. She nodded at her own words, "Yeah… he said we'd all by side."

"Saying and doing are two different things – no matter the facts." Bladewolf said. "I was with him for a long time. He's a killer and a smug bastard, with a penchant for being a stubborn asshole, but every once in a while, I could see glimpses of the man he once was.

Of his love for the people in Remnant shining through."

Pyrrha let out a breath. "I- I want him to know…" She forced out, spilling out her heart to Bladewolf.

"He does." Bladewolf said, with softness that cracked Pyrrha's heart. "He just doesn't want to destroy it."

But Pyrrha clenched her eyes shut and curled her fist. This was her chance, to talk to one of the few who knew Jaune before his return.

"I want him to know that I'll always stand by his side." More than words could, more than her actions up to now could, "Because I know, deep down, that Jaune's a good person. I believe…"

Bladewolf leaned in ever so slightly.

"I believe that as long as Jaune is Jaune, then he'll always do good in the end." Pyrrha said. "That's why… that's why I'll stay by his side."

Bladewolf looked back to the stadium, and Pyrrha followed. "And that's what Jaune wants as well."

Nora and Ren were still hard at it, Jaune guiding them to improve their stances. Their techniques. Their very approach.

Nora and Ren were relentless. They tried again and again and again.

"Good, good, you two! But try harder. I know you can do it!" All the while, Jaune's lips began to turn to a grin.

But even so, after Bladewolf's words, Pyrrha could now see a glimmer of doubt in his eyes.

What Bladewolf said was true. He didn't trust them fully yet. How could he? They weren't as strong. Working together meant relying on other people… all the while, what fights Jaune won in the U.C were done while doing it solo.

And where did trusting his teammates go? Her in a coma, his partner.

Was it any of their fault? No. But then, with no one to blame, what or who should Jaune base his actions on next?

"How do I do it, then?" Pyrrha asked Bladewolf. Her tone was sincere, from the depths of her heart. "How could I show him that he could trust me?" 'Without the same results?'

"The only other person that ever saw Jaune for who he was, in the end, was myself and Raiden. And of the two of us, Raiden was the only one he ever admitted as an equal." Bladewolf admitted. "I am only beginning to understand why he chose me… but he showed respect to Raiden, and opened himself, because Raiden never gave up. He persisted and prevailed, and in the end, proved his strength. That's why Jaune gave his sword to Raiden – in the end, he trusted Raiden to continue the fight."

The gears were turning in Pyrrha's head. "So then…?"

"I… don't think he wants you to win. He knows that you could, and he himself has done as such many times." Bladewolf said, "No, I think he's looking for something more…"

The words were on the edge of Pyrrha's lips. 'How can I? Haven't I done enough? What else do I have to do?'

'He feels the same… right?'

But Pyrrha bid her time. She waited two-and-a-half years. She could wait a couple of seconds more.

Seeing Pyrrha's questioning gaze, Bladewolf decided to say more. "Jaune was a lost man. I may have lost my freedom, but he lost his self. He still is, in a way."

"He could easily flash away to Mistral and never look back. Go back to the U.C, even, if he wants to be certain. But that's not him, and he's not doing that. Deep down… he needs you. "

"…"

"So please… Show him the way, Pyrrha." Bladewolf closed his eyes. "I'm asking you. He's- he's hard…" Bladewolf opened his eyes and looked at Jaune again.

He was training Nora and Ren as best he can. Dodging, weaving, testing their limits… but even so…

Bladewolf could see a glint in Jaune's eyes, something familiar when he had trained him too. The silver of doubt that came out when he cared for others.

He was scared of losing them, because Jaune cared.

"…But he's Jaune." Bladewolf finished.

"…Show him…?" Pyrrha looked to her hands.

And then, despite herself, Pyrrha couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

She opened and closed her hands, still not yet fully healed, and looked back to Jaune, still training his teammates despite everything.

She came to Beacon because she felt alone, because she kept winning and was too strong.

Jaune came to Beacon because he was weak, yet despite that, wanted to achieve something that seemed so out of reach.

And now they were reversed.

Pyrrha smiled, clenching her fist in determination. Her voice turned to steel as she realized what Jaune was looking for.

It wasn't her victories. He just wanted, no, needed to know if she could bounce back. Something harder than victory ever was.

Even if he didn't know how to say it yet.

"Don't worry." Pyrrha said, her hands just barely glowing black. "I'll make sure to show him how strong we both are."

---

"Right! I think that's enough from me." Jaune put his hands on his hips as he assessed his teammates. Ren was panting, breaths heavy and slow, while Nora was leaning heavily against her hammer. And yet, still, he only had scratches on his armor. More than he expected, but his point still stood.

Jaune tilted his head. "Um, you guys can still go on, right?"

"Y-yeah." Nora forced out, "We can do this all day!"

"Good." Jaune looked back to the stands and nodded to Bladewolf. "Wolfy, you're up."

"Understood." Bladewolf stood up and walked towards the locker rooms right as Jaune did the same.

The two of them met inside the locker rooms, no one else but the two of them. Seeing as there was no one else was there to interrupt them, Bladewolf decided that it was prime time to speak to Jaune with no interruptions.

"Jaune. Have a moment?"

"Huh? Yeah, sure." Jaune turned around and faced Bladewolf. "What is it?"

The Faunus waited for a moment, trying to find the right words. In the end, he asked bluntly, "…How are you?"

Jaune sighed. "Not the best, but…" Jaune looked up and smiled at Bladewolf. "I've definitely been worse."

Bladewolf gave a short nod. He took a look to the door leading to the training stage, thinking of the people Jaune has here. "JNPR… they're what kept you holding on, weren't they?"

"Yeah." Jaune said. "Without them…" 'I'd never be as calm as this.'

Bladewolf looked at Jaune's eyes once more. There it was, visible even after just a simple prod for him.

"Wolfy… I trust them, but I don't know if I can trust myself." Jaune said earnestly. "I just… I want them to be safe."

"They've got it under control." Bladewolf said firmly. "After seeing them training… I'm sure."

"So you'll show them the ropes?"

"I'm already here, aren't I?"

Jaune let out a breath. "Good, good."

Bladewolf turned around, heading towards the stage entrance, before he heard another sentence from Jaune.

"But Wolfy…" Jaune muttered uncertainly.

Bladewolf tilted his head to the side, giving Jaune a side-eye glance.

"What if we don't win?" Jaune said, barely above a whisper. His eyes were cast to the ground, his body shaking very subtly.

"Wolfy… I don't…"

"Then when you fail at least you'll know you gave it your all." Bladewolf interrupted firmly.

Jaune looked up, and his eyes met Wolf's own.

"It's the freedom to choose." Bladewolf said. "And they chose this."

"I know respecting their choice isn't easy… but try to do it for them, please? After all," Bladewolf smiled. "You did it for me."

Jaune closed his eyes and composed himself. "Alright, alright." He said, "I'll do it."

Jaune saw Bladewolf give him a nod, mouthing out the words 'thank you'. Jaune said nothing but nodded back in return, then turned around to watch his team train again from the stands.

But then, imagine his surprise when instead of his Nora and Ren on the stage, he found Pyrrha, still in her hospital gowns, standing with her weapons ready against Bladewolf.

"P-Pyrrha!" Jaune leapt from his seat and quickly ran as near as he could. "A-are you okay-?"

"I'm fine, Jaune." She stood firm in her stance, shield and spear ready, and gave him a small smile. "Aura works wonders, you know. I'm already feeling wonders compared to this morning!"

"B-but…" Jaune sputtered, trying to convince her to step down. Alas, Pyrrha was firm in her decision. She had a theory to test, after all, and once she was strong enough, she didn't wat to waste any time to ptove her strength.

And he cared for her, even now. How sweet of him!

"I'll be okay, Jaune." Pyrrha soothed. "After all, I've sparred thousands of times! A new enemy is, well, nothing new."

Jaune averted his gaze away from Pyrrha and to Bladewolf, who was standing tall across from her. He gave Jaune a short nod.

Fine then. He'll leave this in Wolfy's hands. "Don't kill her." Jaune stressed.

Bladewolf gave the barest of nods, and Jaune stepped back and sat down with his teammates. And with that, Pyrrha and Bladewolf's training began.

Jaune watched on as Pyrrha seemed to dodge and weave in instinct. Even draped in her hospital gown, Pyrrha seemed as elegant as ever.

But still… 'Pyrrha… be careful.' Jaune thought. '…Please.'

Meanwhile, up on the stage, Pyrrha let herself become one and did her best to keep up with Bladewolf. She worked every part of her skills to do her best. No more holding back, no more giving the other a chance to fight back. She gave it her all, and what did you know?

Pyrrha saw, but before that felt, a chainsaw slash coming for her chin.

With elegance, Pyrrha flipped back and let the saw's fangs miss her by a milimeter.

There was a difference now, Pyrrha knew, ever since her coma and her near-death fight with Cinder. Something within herself…

Hm, it seemed she wasn't all that bad with metal.

Pyrrha's lips quirked upwards as she landed and immediately launched herself at Bladewolf.

'Don't worry Jaune… I'll pull myself to your level in no time.'

---

After Catching Up in Tai's Office…

"So… that's it, huh?" Kiryu muttered. Granted, Tai didn't give him any real names, there wasn't any time for that – but he did get the general picture. Lives were in danger, and everyone was scrambling to find the enemy before it was too late. It even got so bad that Tai, as the Headmaster of another Kingdom's Academy, had to step in.

In this state, Kiryu didn't feel that names were important. A life was a life, and he'd do his best to preserve them all no matter what. He would never take a mission that would cross that part of his code.

"Pretty much." Tai nodded across from him, sitting behind his desk. "Vale itself is experiencing a threat that's far greater than it can handle alone. We need all hands on deck; I'm sorry to burden you, but if Ruby called for your help…"

"I'd be glad to help." Kiryu interrupted tai mid-sentence. "Lives are on the line. I couldn't say no to that."

"Alright then." Tai pulled out some papers. "I'll need to fill in these forms about your identity, that sort of stuff. I heard you're from the U.C. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Then you're in luck – we've dealt with two of your people before. Aligning with us shouldn't be too hard, since we're sort-of familiar with where you come from. And besides, we both want to save Vale, so it should be a mutualistic arrangement."

"Aa." Kiryu nodded. Then, he spoke again, "But… I would like to invite my other teammates too. Two of them are my supervisors, and I wouldn't want to go about this behind their back."

"Oh, that's fine." Tai pulled out three more forms and handed them to Kiryu. "Just give them these, and don't forget the rundown. Uhm, you can fill these out, right-?"

"I can help him, Dad." Yang piped up, more than a little eager. "It's just filling out some forms, and I need some downtime from fighting anyway."

"You're sure?" Tai turned to Yang. "I mean, I've seen your handwriting, honey-."

"Daaaaaaaaaaad!"

"It's not the best, and it's not like you to choose to rest up." Tai chuckled. "So, just watch out for yourself, alright? And make sure to make a good impression on the other U.C residents!"

"Pffft, I'm all grown up now, Dad. I can watch over myself just fine!"

Kiryu looked at Yang and chuckled. "I think we're quite past that point, Mr. Xiao-Long."

Tai smirked. "Let me guess; you two fought?"

Yang sputtered.

Tai's eyes softened. "Honey, you're my daughter for a reason. I got the report on Junior's Club just before you came here. This is what – the third, fourth time? Heh, I honestly lost count."

Yang grumbled, but didn't fight it.

"Anyways, if you two are amicable now, especially after Yang's fought, then I think there's nothing more I could say. From personal experience, anyways." Tai said.

"So… we're free to go?" Weiss asked.

"I'd like for you all to meet me again this afternoon, once Kiryu's familiar with his surroundings. It's been too long since we've all caught up. All of you. But you were all out for the night and I think everyone needs sone proper rest." Tai said. "We haven't got the chance now… but I want to see how far you've all improved since the last time I saw you girls."

"For the Vytal Festival?" Blake asked.

"For everything." Tai said.

"Of course, Mr. Xiao-Long." Weiss nodded, "We'll get ready for that."

"Then I'll be waiting. Dismissed."

Everyone nodded and left the room, leaving Tai alone with his thoughts. Originally, he wanted to just meet up with his girls, reconnect with them, but with Kiryu there he couldn't get into the nitty gritty details. So instead, he just hoped that that time later would be enough.

But he wouldn't hold it against Kiryu, especially since he wanted to help. Things were dire now, so he didn't particularly care what reason he came here, U.C or not. And besides, judging from the girls' reactions, he was trustworthy, definitely not a liar.

It was just a matter of how far that trust would go…

Tai shook his head and focused back on his desk. Now, time to review some mission files-

"Uhm… Dad?"

"Eh, what?" Tai looked up and saw Ruby still standing before his desk, hands behind her back and shuffling nervously. Tai looked to her sides and noticed that her Team had left as well, leaving them both alone with each other. "You're not leaving with your team?"

"There's something I want to ask you, actually…" Ruby said nervously. And as for her Team, they could handle being alone for a few minutes, couldn't they?

Tai's eyes softened. "Ruby, you know I'll always be here for you."

"Right, right…" Ruby took a deep breath. After a while, she found her courage to speak , "It's about Mom, Dad."

"Your mother…" Tai sighed. "Sit down, Ruby." He said gently. He pushed aside his files and put his hands on the table, patiently waiting for his daughter to tell him her worries.

"It's just…" Ruby struggled to find the words, much less open her dam of emotions. It had clearly been building up for a long time, and untangling it would take much more than a moment's notice.

Tai waited patiently.

"Dad…" Ruby's eyes shot up to Tai's, brimming with tears. "Dad… I don't know what to do." Ruby whispered.

Tai quickly grabbed Ruby's hands from across the table and nursed them gently. "What do you mean, Ruby?"

"I-." It took several more moments for Ruby to find what to stay. This was it. Once she told him this, there would be no turning back.

But who else was she supposed to turn to anyways?

Eventually, Ruby managed to force out the words. "Dad… I know about Mom."

At this, Tai closed his eyes and his face contorted with pain. But if anything, his grip on Ruby's hands seemed to tighten. "You know… everything?"

"I know that she's still alive." Ruby said. "Mr. Snake told me, and- and uncle Qrow left his file behind when he went after you."

"So that's where that went…" Tai muttered. Then, he asked again, "So you've opened it, then? And I'm gonna guess your Team knows as well?"

"No." Ruby said certainly.

"No?" T ai parroted back in surprise. "You haven't?"

"I haven't, and no one else knows." Ruby said. "…Not even Yang."

Tai closed his eyes. "So that's why you came to me?"

"I want to know from the real source, Dad. I don't- don't want any false assumptions." Ruby said with a shaky breath.

"Ruby-."

"Please, Dad." Ruby pleaded. "I don't wasn't to stand here and do nothing. I want to know the truth and help, so we can save everyone – it's what Mom would've wanted, right?"

'What Summer would've wanted, huh?' Tai sighed as he ran his fingers over his daughter's hands. They were by no means delicate, hard and calloused over years of training to become a Huntress. Then, Tai looked into her eyes and saw his daughter's eyes staring into his own, pleading.

Silver Eyes…

Tai sighed and pulled one hand away. "Ruby…" He said softly as he pulled out his Scroll and presented her with a digital copy. He kept his tone careful, "This- this won't be easy to hear. Or read, I suppose in this case."

"I know…"

"Not everything's in here either. Some, I think, only Ozpin himself knows." Tai said. "That's why I was going to ask him, but with you here now…" He sighed and shook his head.

"I'll keep an open mind, Dad…" Ruby muttered.

"Y-yeah…" Tai breathed in, "I suppose I just wanted you to keep in mind… this won't be easy."

Ruby took the Scroll from her father's hands and made sure to look him in the eye before reading it. "No time like the present."

Tai sighed and cast his gaze away, Ruby taking the Scroll and reading the digital copy.

But then, as she read on…

Ruby became horrified with the implications of what she read. As her Dad did say, there were some key components of the mission that were omitted, but still…

"Mom…" Ruby whispered. Her eyes quickly scanned to the end of the document, detailing the final moments of her mission.

And, more importantly, the final requirement – no, order – she made to Ozpin before she took the mission.

"Mom never had a chance to go home, did she…?" Ruby said, her voice just barely audiable.

"Yes." Tai nodded. "Ever since the beginning…"

"S-she took the mission knowing she would die…!" Ruby voiced out. "B-but what did she even fight-?!"

"Evidently, that's what Ozpin took out of the documents." Tai sighed. "I found this after some deep digging, and even then, not everything was laid out. Obviously, this could only mean that Summer fought something related to Salem."

"But why?!" Ruby yelled out. She lowered the Scroll and looked her father in the eye. "Says here that Mom took the mission alone. Why is that?!"

"Because she knew we'd only slow her down."

"W-what…?" Ruby breathed out.

"Ruby, you never saw your mother fight…" Tai sighed. "But she was beautiful… Strong. Fast. I had no doubt that she was the best in her generation. But… I don't think that's the sole reason."

Tai leaned forwards and looked at Ruby right in her eyes. "It's because she had the same eyes as yours."

"M-my eyes…?" Ruby whispered. She instinctively blinked. "What about them?"

"I only figured this out now… but apparently those Silver Eyes have some kind of importance in this fight. But Ozpin never told the rest of STRQ what it was about. The only reason I knew now is because of Venom."

"Because of Venom…" Ruby whispered. "But that's not enough. If he- our eyes are so important, then why did she even go alone? More numbers make more sense!"

"S-she…" Tai looked away. "I don't know, Ruby. I think we're missing too much… but I can only assume."

"Assume?" Ruby whispered.

Tai stayed silent.

"W-what do you mean, assume, Dad?" Ruby asked. When Tai didn't answer, Ruby leaned forward and grabbed her father's arm. "C'mon, tell me. Please-!"

"B-before she took the mission, your mother was… off." Tai managed to force out.

Ruby furrowed her eyes. She didn't remember such a thing…

"You were too young to know. I doubt even Yang remembers…" Tai voiced out, his gaze far in the past. "But I do remember one conversation we had."

"It was dead in the night. The both of you were asleep, and I woke up with Summer gone from my side. So, I went downstairs…"

---

It was the middle of the night, and Tai didn't know exactly why he was awake. All he knew was that when he did wake up, Summer wasn't by his side, and that was enough to put an uneasy feeling into his stomach.

Tai soldiered through it and went outside his room. In the hallways of the household, he noticed the light in the dining room being turned on.

Tai rubbed his eyes and went inside the dining room. Leaning against the entrance, he saw Summer sitting alone with a cup of lukewarm coffee in front of her. Her eyes were downcast, not staring at anything in particular.

"Hey, Sum." Tai greeted, knocking Summer out of her thoughts. "What're you doing up so late?"

"Huh? Oh, hi honey." Summer cast her eyes to her husband, mumbling out her answer. "I just – couldn't sleep is all."

"Same here." Tai approached the table and took a seat across his wife, "Sum… is there something wrong?"

"It's nothing…"

"Are you sure?" Tai tilted his head. "This doesn't look like 'nothing' to me."

Summer mumbled beneath her breath, but didn't deny Tai's answer.

"Tai…" Summer said, in a tone barely above a whisper, "I've got a question to ask."

"Shoot."

"Which do you think is better? Happiness… or the truth?"

"What?" Tai raised an eyebrow. He pulled his hands out of his pockets and grabbed Summer's hands in his own. "Sum, what's this about?"

Summer looked away and didn't answer.

"Is this- is this why you've been off lately?" Tai asked.

"…"

"Of course I noticed it Sum, you're not exactly making it subtle." Tai gave a small smile. In the past few days, Summer had been, for a lack of a better word, rather distracted during their times together. During their walks through the park, during their times together with their daughters, Summer always had a subtle, yet noticeable look in her eyes – she took a second longer to answer, and always seemed to have something stuck that she couldn't say out loud.

Tai thought it might've just been the weather, but now…

"…What do you think, Tai…?"

His wife's words forced him out of his thoughts and made him focus once more, finding her eyes staring into his own. Happiness or truth… what kind of question was that?

"Heh, don't I get some kind of context in this?" Tai chuckled weakly, trying to lighten the mood. "I mean… there's a lotta factors we need to consider, right?"

"Just… in general." Summer said quietly. "Which one do you think is more important?"

"Sum…"

"…"

"Well, to be honest, I- I can't choose, Sum."

"You can't…?"

"No, I can't." Tai shook his head. "I just don't get making hard decisions like that."

"Are you're scared...?"

"I don't want to lose what I have. That's s all." Tai said simply. "Sum… what's this about?"

Summer shook her head and cast her gaze away again.

Realizing Summer won't give out the information, at least not tonight, Tai settled on one thing. He gently ran his fingers over his wife's hands…

"You're my truth, Sum." Tai said softly. "This whole family is. And for me… that's enough to make me happy."

Summer closed her eyes, but gripped Tai's head in turn. Feeling her warmth, Tai smiled. Because his truth seemed to soother Summer, plain as it might be.

Because it was true, after all, at least for him.

He didn't need to go on active missions all the time anymore. He didn't need to be the strongest of the Hunters, to be out exploring the world, to chase down deserters, to fight the Grimm constantly, and to be out there making a name for himself…

This family was enough to make him happy. What else could he ask in life?

"…Okay, okay." Summer opened her eyes back again and looked significantly – well, not happier - but it seemed like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. "…Thanks, Tai."

"Anytime, Sum." Tai said. He then looked at the clock, taking note of the time, "Oh, looks like the kid's will be waking up soon. We should get ready for them, shouldn't we?"

"They did sleep pretty early last night… they'll probably be waking up super early." Summer smiled, "I'll make sure they're ready to be up and about."

"Right, I'll make sure breakfast will be ready by the time they get down." Tai pulled back and set about making preparations for breakfast.

As he began preparing, he could hear Summer begin to walk away. Just before she was out of hearing range, however, he managed to ask one more question, "Um, Sum! You're still free today, right?"

"Yeah! I've got my break's until the end of the week. What about it?"

"Ah, remind me to thank the Headmaster for the break next time I see him." Tai said, "So, since you're free today… anything you wanna do?"

"Um… I was thinking we could spend the day at home, actually."

"Oh?"

"Yeah… just relaxing with the girls." Even though he couldn't see him, Tai heard Summer's tone turn hopeful at the end, "Just us. Watching movies and eating snacks together, laughing at a bunch of corny shows. I'd like that."

"…Sure, we can do that." Tai said. "But you're making the cookies, okay? Ruby won't eat anything else."

"Heh, sure."

Before Summer could fully leave, Tai asked another question, "And about that the next mission… have you got any of the details yet?"

"No… No I haven't." Summer said.

"Oh, okay then. Just make sure to tell me if you need anything, alright?"

"Of course." Summer nodded at Tai's back, turning to leave the dining room.

Tai went back to preparing the breakfast, a basic mix of pancakes and toast before he had to do some other stuff…

"Tai…"

Tai turned around and saw Summer leaning against the door, just about to leave for the girls' room. "What is it, Sum?"

Summer smiled, but it held a hint of something Tai couldn't decipher. But still, the sincerity was clear in her voice, "…Thank you."

Tai smiled, his eyes soft and comforting for his wife, "Anytime, Sum."

---

"Happiness and truth…?" Ruby whispered as Tai finished his story. "W-what did Mom even mean…?"

"Look at the last lines of the document, Ruby." Tai said solemnly. When her Dad didn't offer anything more, she did as he recommended and looked at the final lines. It was the final condition that her mother made, the only reason she decided to take the mission in the end.

Condition from Huntress to-be-deployed (Rose, S.): Her daughters (Rose, R. and Xiao-Long, Y.) are 'off-limits'; To be excluded from any dangerous missions in the future, barred from Academies if needed. Beacon Academy is to ensure stable living conditions and their safety from threats.

Conditions accepted, on the agreement that the mission is kept a secret.

Signed,

Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy

Ruby felt her eyes begin to brim with tears.

"Ruby…" Tai soothed.

"S-she didn't want me to be a Huntress?" Ruby stuttered out, "But- but I did all this because of her! I thought she was a hero!"

"And she is. I don't doubt that at all." Tai said, "But we're human, Ruby. She wanted to save as much people as she could… and I think she thought that keeping this mission a secret was her only way of making us happy."

"D-did she think we would be happy?!"

"Did you really think we would've ever let her go if we did?" Tai said simply.

Ruby fell silent, fists clenched and fighting back tears.

Tai sighed. "…It was her only way. Your eyes made you a target since you were born, I think Summer realized that in the end. And this was the only way she could ensure that you lived a full life."

Ruby scoffed, but even that was shaky. "But I'm here now… I spent my whole life trying to be like her a-and she didn't want me to be that anyway?! I can't back out now!"

"Dad. What am I supposed to do? I'm a leader, damn it! But- but I don't know how to figure this out!" Ruby pleaded. "I- I just can't!"

With his hands still gripping Ruby's own, Tai quickly pulled Ruby across the table and pulled her into a hug, resting her head against his shoulder.

Ruby cried, the stress, the threats on Beacon, the lives of her teammates depending on her, and the thought of her family… all of it overcoming her and breaking her facade.

"W-we're just students!" Ruby breathed out, "I-I never expected anything like this..!"

Ruby remembered the night right after the Metal Gear fight…

"Dad… I thought I lost you too." Ruby whispered. She hugged her father tighter, Tai quickly returning the motion.

"Ruby…"

"I don't even know what I'm doing here anymore…" Ruby hiccuped and buried her face in her father's shoulder, more tears coming out. "But please, Dad…!"

"…Yes, Ruby?"

"I- I can't lose you too….!" Ruby breathed out, before succumbing to more tears.

Tai closed his eyes and placed a hand on Ruby's back. It was true. All of it. If Qrow had been distraught when he found him in that sub, then he didn't need to imagine Ruby's reaction. In fact, he shouldn't have had to imagine at all.

The condition Summer took for that Operation…

Tai pulled Ruby close and hugged her tight. "Ruby…" He whispered to her ear. He breathed out, "…No matter what your mother believed… You're just like her."

Ruby buried her face and let out a gasp.

The condition she took. "We never knew back then… but now we do. Summer told Ozpin that the only way she'd take the mission was if he promised that-."

"Was if he promised that Yang or I never got involved." Ruby finished, giving a slight nod shuffling against her father's shirt.

Tai gave a silent hum.

Several minutes passed, Ruby savoring the warmth her father gave her. She had nearly lost him, and it had been so long since he had held her in his arms… for this…

For this…

"She didn't want me to be a Huntress, Dad… so what've I been doing here all this time? …What should I do, Dad?" Ruby breathed out.

Tai stayed silent, knowing that Ruby wasn't done. He mulled his own thoughts over, closing his eyes.

"…Should I just quit?" But for this, for her family, Ruby would give everything.

Tai remained silent.

"It's- it's what Mom wanted, after all." Ruby let out a shaky breath. "…Right?"

And Tai felt himself stop, because what Ruby said was true, wasn't it?

He let out a breath of his own and answered honestly. "Ruby… I don't know either."

The two of them held to each other tight as Tai spoke again. "I'm sorry, Ruby… I haven't been the greatest father, have I?"

"Dad-."

"Please… don't try to deny it." Tai whispered, cutting Ruby off. "Back when Summer died, I shut down. It took years of coaxing, and if Yang didn't take care of you back then then you wouldn't be half the woman you are now."

"That's not true…"

Tai said nothing but hugged Ruby tighter in response. "I… appreciate the confidence, Ruby… But…" Tai took a breath.

"I left for that mission to Mistral and haven't been the same since. I barely called, I barely talked, and I wasn't there for your most important moments. I should've guided you closer – I shouldn't have let you come to a breakdown like this."

"Ruby… you and Yang are… I can't put what you are to me into words. For you two, I'd do anything. I'm sorry I haven't been around too much these past few months. I'm sorry I've been absent too long."

"No, I understand, Dad." Ruby said, above a whisper. "You were chasing after Mom-."

"But your mother isn't here." Tai said firmly.

Ruby stiffened, and Tai let out a breath. It was true, after all, wasn't it? He had chased phantoms all this time…

He forgot what was real, what was right in front of him.

He kept his grip around her tight, "Ruby…"

"D-Don't leave me, Dad…" Ruby begged, "I- I can't lose my family… Please… help me, Dad…"

"I won't, Ruby. I won't leave you, I promise." Tai closed his eyes and promised her, holding her close and tight. It had been years since Ruby had needed a hug like this, having far outgrown it even before Beacon…

But his daughters needed him. His daughters, the few things that had anchored him for a long time.

All the while, Summer…

She was a grown woman. She knew how to make her own decisions, even back then. He swore to bring her back, and he swore to do the best for his family, just like she did before then.

But right now, it was the young ones of their family that needed him. He could never forget them.

"I'll always be here for you." Tai whispered to Ruby. "I won't leave you… I promise."

"I love you, Ruby, and I'm sure you're strong enough to handle the heat." Tai rubbed his hand in circles around Ruby's back. "You've got a good heart, so I'm sure you know what to do."

"…You think I'm good enough? That I'm ready for this, for all of this?"

"I believe you know what's best." Tai soothed.

"Even if Mom didn't want me to be here…?"

"I think if she could look at you now, without everything that's affecting her… she'd be prouder than the whole damn world."

Ruby sniffed. "Then I- I think… that we deserve to know. That everyone deserves to know." Ruby said shakily but firmly at the same time. "Mom didn't want anyone to know. Not even us. But- but I think it's time to bring the truth out. She deserves to be honored… and Headmaster Ozpin..."

"…"

"People deserve to know about what's really happening – at least, everyone important." Ruby said. "Keeping secrets, it- it costed Mom her life, and I- I won't let that happen again."

"If that's what you think is best, then you can do it without me stopping you." Tai said solemnly.

"Y-yeah, I think so, and then from that, we can bond together stronger and fight Salem together." Ruby said. "A-And Mom…"

"What about her, Ruby?"

"Dad, I love her, and I want to be like her, you know that… but-." Ruby broke off, searching for the right words through her tears, and it was a while before she found the proper words, "But you're the one who's here now… and I need you. Yang and I both."

Tai closed his eyes and heaved out a sigh. Of course, he got what Ruby was trying to say. Even through all of this, he got it loud and clear.

We need you, Dad… don't die chasing her for us.

Tai sucked in a breath. He wanted Summer back so badly, and he'd fight for her to the ends of the earth… but what he wanted wasn't important.

Because one man's judgement may easily get clouded over time, over emotions, and it was good to have someone to clear it of obstructions.

More than ever, with Ruby's words, Tai felt his age weigh on his bones. He wasn't a young adventurer anymore, wasn't someone at the prime of his life.

His reflexes were pitiful. His reactions were slower. His strength had diminished. His speed had decreased. And more than that, he knew that he couldn't keep doing this forever. There was a reason Ruby kept being pushed into the frontlines, and people like Jaune were the strongest…

He knew the storm was approaching, the end drawing ever nearer. He only hoped that when he was softly laid down, he could finally see her face…

But as for whose face he could see at that time…

He'll keep fighting, then. He'll keep being a Headmaster, doing everything he could for a victory, but with this recent brush with death…

He had people to come back home to, and in the end it was them that he hoped he would be could finally rest with.

"Okay, Ruby." Tai breathed out. "I-I'll remember that. And I promise you…"

Ruby buried her face in her father's hug, and Tai held her closer.

"I won't try anything crazy anymore. No more submarines, no more close brushes… I promise to come home."

"P-promise?"

"No more crazy stunts. I promise to come back. Period." Tai confirmed.

"G-good." Ruby sniffed. But she didn't let go, keeping her face stuffed in her father's warmth. "C-can we stay like this? I-it's been so long…"

"Of course, Ruby." Tai said solemnly. "We can stay like this for as long as you'd like."

Wordlessly, Ruby shuffled past the desk and sat beside her father. From there, she hugged her father close and tight, never letting go.

Tai pat the back of Ruby's head and rested his head over hers, pulling her close and letting her body rest against his own. They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity, until eventually, Ruby's stress took the rest of her stamina and she fell to a deep sleep.

Tai felt immediately the moment Ruby lost consciousness and drifted into sleep, all signs of tenseness leaving her and slumping against him for support completely.

And with that, Tai closed his eyes and rested his chin atop Ruby's head. And as he closed his eyes, tears silently dripped down from his eyes down to Ruby's clothes.

Tai pulled Ruby closer, his daughter never fighting his request. He kept his eyes closed and focused on the steady, rhythmic, and calm breathing of his daughter… all the while he closed his eyes and let the tears silently and freely fall.

He remembered the final lines in Operation Grimm Eater's file's transcripts.

For his family…

Ruby didn't shift in his arms even as tears continued to flow. Feeling how warm she was, how calm she breathes, how heavy she is, and how much she's grown…

Tai hugged her closer. Yeah, for his family, he'd do anything.

---

In an empty classroom…

"Name?"

"Kazuma Kiryu."

"Alright…" Yang scribbled down the name down on the forms, "Um, wait a second, which one's the first-."

"Kazuma's my first name, don't worry. You've got it right."

"Okay, okay." Yang went back to writing them down, "Age?"

"26."

"Got it…" scribble scribble "Previous occupation?"

"Special Agent. And, uh," Kiryu rubbed his chin in thought.

"Huh? What is it?"

"How do I put this… clan leader, I guess you could say."

"Clan leader…" Yang mulled the words around in her brain, before shrugging and writing them down anyway. "Well, whatever you say."

"Next up, reason for joining up." Yang tapped the empty space on the form, "Got any special words?"

"To improve relations between the U.C and Remnant; More specifically in this case, the Kingdom of Mistral." Kiryu said.

"Alright." Yang wrote that down, making sure to keep it as close as to his words as possible. "Next up, some basic combat data. Aura unlocked?"

"Yes, I've been training with it for 10 years."

"Preferred weapons?"

"Barehanded, though if forced, fisticuffs."

"Semblance?"

"Battle Styles."

"And what kind of Semblance is it?"

"Enhancer, always on passively." Kiryu said. "It allows me to quickly analyze any move or fight I see, adapt it into one of my own styles, and easily gain mastery of any other new styles of fighting."

Yang wrote that down, and once done, sighed in relief. "Alright then! That was a bit of a mouthful, but I think I can handle the rest from here. Since you're a bit of a special case, I should be able to get this done in no time and hand it back to you soon."

"Thanks, Yang."

"No problem!" Yang smiled at Kiryu, and waved him off. "You can leave me here if you'd like. You've got your Team to meet, remember?"

"Yeah, they should be arriving soon." Kiryu shook his head, "But what about your own Team? I thought they'd come back in no time."

"I don't think Ruby's gonna be back that soon." Yang said, "And as for Weiss and Blake, well, you heard it from themselves – Weiss wants to catch up with her sister, and Blake's gonna be at the library looking for some more details."

"If that's okay with you…" Kiryu said carefully.

"It's nothing, really." Yang waved him off again, and without another word, went back to writing down the forms.

Kiryu watched from his seat as Yang scribbled away, sometimes muttering to herself before continuing to write…

His mind wandered back to the question Yang asked him before. His reason to fight…

"Yang."

"Yeah?" Yang anwered without looking up from her form, "What is it?"

"Ruby…" Kiryu said softly. "She's your sister, right?"

"Yeah." Yang said without a beat. "Why'd you ask?"

"Heh, you two look nothing alike."

"Weeeeeell, technically we're half-sisters, but who's really paying attention anymore?" Yang shrugged. "My mother bailed on Dad and the family when I was pretty young. As for Ruby, well, she came in a little after that, after Dad married Ruby's Mom. She raised us more than my own mother ever did."

Kiryu mulled his next words, "And is that why you chose to become a Huntress?"

Yang stilled for a moment, her writing coming to a pause and her body suddenly going stiff. But then, she shook her head and continued writing. "That's not it, not really. I just want a good fight, and to live life to its fullest. See what's exactly strong around the world, really. That's it – my entire reason for being a Huntress."

Yang stopped it at that, and yet the pause seemed just that – a pause.

Kiryu leaned in, and eventually Yang said a bit more. "But I suppose… protecting the others – Ruby, and the rest of my Team – That's also nice. Being this strong, It's not like I'm going to complain, y'know?"

Kiryu took that as his que to continue and gave an understanding nod. "I have a brother too, and I know how that feels."

At that, Yang's head quickly snapped up. "You do?"

"Aa." Kiryu nodded, and his eyes gained a faraway gaze. "His name's Nishiki. We grew up together, joined that clan I mentioned at the same time… we fought side-by-side for years. I was curious… is anything you have with Ruby the same?"

"I'd like to think so." Yang said, "Hey, we even got to Beacon in the same year! Even though she's two years younger than me… but she's my leader, so I'll do anything she says is for the best! She's always been better at those decisions than me anyway."

"Hm…" Kiryu nodded. He gave a small smile to Yang, "Then I guess that's another thing we have in common. Are you proud? Watching her fight, I mean."

"She's a prodigy, man!" Yang said, her eyes lighting up with pride. "I mean, she's one of the best in the year while being a whole two years younger! And we've been getting involved with things more than most Hunters ever will, and that's before we've even graduated."

"Ah…" Kiryu closed his eyes, his smile turning just a bit bitter. He struggled to find the words, but pushed through nonetheless. "I'm… glad."

"Huh?" Yang tilted her head, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing." Kiryu quickly shook his head, "I'm just glad to see someone having a great time with their siblings. With their family."

Yang stayed silent, and it was clear to Kiryu that she wouldn't be pushing him. But still, he could see that her eyes were curious, and he couldn't help but feel guilty if he didn't explain just a bit…

Kiryu sighed. "Nishiki and I… we didn't part on the best of terms."

"…Is that why you're so concerned…?"

"Like I said, we fought side-by-side just like you're doing now. I suppose…" Kiryu sighed.

Yang patiently listened.

"One of the reasons I came here was because of him." Kiryu admitted honestly. He wouldn't reveal everything, not when they just met, but a part of him wanted to find someone who understood, who also had another sibling that fought side-by-side in battles that endangered both their lives. "And seeing you and Ruby now, I can't help but remember how the two of us once were."

"You cared about him." Yang stated, "A lot. And then, something happened?"

"More than you can imagine." Kiryu said, and then his eyes showed a large amount of regret, "I failed him. Failed us."

It took a long while for Yang to answer. This was a sensitive topic for Kiryu, and while she never was much for being subtle, another person's boundaries were another matter. In the end, she said quietly, with a tone that left Kiryu room to deny, "...Why?"

But Kiryu didn't deny. Instead, his eyes seemed to glaze over into the past, into a place she could never know. But the fact was, he did answer.

"I wasn't there for him." Kiryu said in a low tone. "I left him – made a bad call when he needed me the most. And- and I suppose after that, there never really was a chance at going back…"

It was clear to her that Kiryu was full of regret. It didn't fit him, Yang thought. He was strong in their fight, tall and proud and unwavering, but seeing this side of him, even if Yang knew it was only a glimpse, was more than she had ever expected.

And no matter what others thought of her, it wasn't like she was free of regrets either. She had things she wished she never put Ruby through; that time they were ambushed with the Grimm all alone, where if Uncle Qrow wasn't there, she was sure they'd be dead. Her adorable little sister being the Leader while she, the big sister, was supposed to follow her, meaning extra pressure on the poor girl. Not to mention leading them through this whole mess of Grimm and now Salem…

And she was sorry to say, but she didn't have a solution either.

In the end, Kiryu sighed and shook his thoughts free, focusing their attention back on topic. "It doesn't matter. The past doesn't matter. What matters is what we do moving forward."

Yang noted that t seemed that Kiryu was more speaking to himself than to her, but she couldn't give anything more than a word of confirmation. "…That's true." She said, "The future is important…."

"Yang." Kiryu said. His tone was serious, and it was enough to make Yang stop filling out the forms, "If you were to choose between your family or your duty, which one would you choose?"

"My family." Yang answered within a heartbeat. "Family always comes first. I can always put a side being a Huntress if it means the world to my family."

"Even if you're halfway across the world?"

"Even more, and I would never hesitate." Yang said.

"Good. Good…" Kiryu bowed his head and let out a breath. He lifted his head and looked at Yang, "Then I'm glad we're on the same page. It's nice to know someone who could understand."

"Same from me." Yang said, "So then I guess… you're doing this – all of this, a lot of it's for your brother?"

"That's the gist of it." Kiryu said.

"Then that's something I can respect." Yang said. She blushed and looked down, slightly guilty, and then, "So I guess… sorry for forcing you to fight against me."

Kiryu chuckled. "It's fine. I understand."

Yang mumbled again, but Kiryu merely smiled. But, with his piece being said, Kiryu decided it was time to meet his Team now after all.

Kiryu stood up from his seat and turned around. "Well then, I'll be going-."

A voice from the intercom interrupted his words, blaring through their class' speakers. "Would Ms. Xiao-Long please report to the Headmaster's office. I repeat, Ms. Xiao-Long, report to the Headmaster's office immediately."

"Oh, well…!" Yang coughed and gathered the forms in her hand. She stood up and handed them off to Kiryu, "Guess you're gonna have to give these to them yourself. Don't worry, most of 'em's already been filled out! The rest should be easy."

"Alright." Kiryu took them in his hand and made sure to keep them close, "Any idea why the Headmaster would want you now?"

"No Idea." Yang shrugged. "But a call's a call. It's not like I can say no, after all…"

"Ah…"

"So! Guess I'll see you around?" Yang smiled.

"Let's hope so." Kiryu answered. They both walked out to the hallway, and Kiryu offered her a small smile before turning around and waving a hand in goodbye. "See you later."

"Bye!" Yang said back. She turned around as well and went the other direction down the hallway.

As Kiryu walked away, he couldn't help but notice the uneasy feeling settling deep within his gut. He didn't know why this feeling came all of a sudden, but he did know that he had received such a feeling several times before – most of it before something eventful was going to happen. The problem was, it felt like the 'big thing' that was about to happen still hinged on something…

As Kiryu walked on, lost in his thoughts, he began to hear several other sets of footsteps approaching, complete with voices conversing with each other.

"Wonder why Yang was called to the Headmaster's Office?"

"I'm sure it's nothing, Nora."

"I don't know, Ren, the last time Headmaster Ozpin called me, he offered me… well, you know…"

Sensing it to be mindless student gossip, Kiryu tuned it out and continued walking even as the voices drew closer. No matter, he'll just blow past them and make his way to Bladewolf-

"Statistics do not support your theory." A monotone voice said, "Data usually points to worse outcomes."

"Aw come on, d'you really have to say that, Wolfy?"

'Wait, was that….' That voice was familiar, Kiryu thought. In the end,Kiryu turned another corner and came face-to-face with the voices.

Step!

Kiryu's eyes widened as the other party came to a stop in their tracks as well. Their eyes scanned each other, both parties sensing the gravity of the situation.

For Kiryu, he looked to the left side of the group and saw Bladewolf. He glazed over the students, all three of them clearly having finished some sort of training with one of them in a hospital gown, but the most interesting person of all was the one who stood in the middle of all of them.

Kiryu's eyes locked on to Jaune's, and he let out a low and guttural growl.

"Arc."

Was this what that feeling meant?

---

Yang walked in easy strides, quickly arriving at the elevator that lead to Ozpin's office. She entered the elevator and then arrived at his office in no time.

As Yang stepped through, she started noticed just who exactly were in the room. There was, of course, Headmaster Ozpin. Professor Goodwitch was there as well, standing beside General Ironwood. What's curious is that her uncle was missing. That was strange, from what she knew he would've wanted to be included in this…

But well, it's not like she was in any position to demand things…

"Ms. Xiao-Long. Please, have a seat." Ozpin offered her. With a bit of carefulness, Yang slowly got into her seat and sat across from Ozpin.

"You wanted to see me, Headmaster?"

"Yes… I believe this is a matter of utmost importance." Ozpin said calmly. His head tilted down slightly, and only then did Yang notice a light obscuring her from seeing past his glasses, "Tell me, Ms. Xiao-Long, did you notice anything… strange, today?"

"Strange…" Yang muttered. Then, her eyes lit up as she realized, "Oh! Is it about the Vytal Tournament?"

"Correct." Ozpin nodded. "As you've noticed, today, there has been no match held atop the arena. The official reason is due to several emergency maintenance procedures, but of course, I'm sure you're smart enough to figure out that that isn't all."

"…The Metal Gear attack…" Yang said above a whisper. "Is this what it's really about?"

"We're trying to prevent large amounts of people from convening into a single place." Ironwood said. "That attack showed that the enemy has a more than considerable amount of firepower, and gathering large amounts of civilians would only strengthen that opportunity they have. Spreading out the population is our best bet at civilian safety."

"The remaining rounds of the Vytal Tournament – the finals – are to be broadcasted internationally to CCTs all over Remnant." Professor Goodwitch said, "The matches will still be held at the arena – it will not, however, host any more spectators."

"Okay… but I don't know what that has to do with me specifically, though." Yang asked, "Lots of people are still in the finals, right? It's not just me and Team RWBY…"

Ozpin let out a sigh. His shoulders seemed heavier now, as if weighed down by something that he couldn't hold. "Another reason we delayed the Tournament was to buy us some more time. The enemy had been knocked back by our defense against the Metal Gear-." At this, Yang noticed Ironwood flinch, "But we had sustained quite the number of casualties ourselves. We must make our move quickly, before they could mount another attack. And that's exactly why we called you here."

"B-because I made a big crack in its armor?" Yang stuttered out. She didn't like where this was going, not at all…

Unfortunately for her, Ozpin nodded in confirmation. "In that fight, you showed considerable strength. You didn't falter and stood up to the task…"

"Your Semblance lends well to survival, not to mention your exceptional combat performance during your tenure in Beacon." Ozpin said again, "And as such, we wouldn't need to train you too much to understand the basics…

And not to mention, we're out of options." Ozpin said. He could see the light of understanding starting to dawn in Yang's eyes…

Because they really didn't have another choice. Pyrrha was much too invested in Jaune, and as such crossed off their earlier consideration. Nora was the same, invested in JNPR. Ruby was their Silver Eyed trump card – it wouldn't do to put all their eggs in one basket. Weiss often struggled under pressure, having suffered under it her whole life. And lastly, the less said about Blake, the better.

And that left their wild card, an option that they didn't see before.

"Ms. Xiao-Long, we're asking you to become the Fall Maiden." Ozpin finished.

A heavy weight settled into Yang's gut. She swallowed thickly, sweat running down her brow…

"A-and what's in it for me?" Yang stuttered out.

Ironwood and Goodwitch shared a look with each other, both standing behind Ozpin, and yet the Headmaster himself seemed eerily calm.

"With this power, you would easily become the strongest Huntress to ever graduate our Academy. On par with – no, easily stronger than Summer ever was." Ozpin said.

Yang's mind went blank. What Ozpin had said - Stronger than Summer ever was…?

She had no doubt that strength was what they all needed in this time, to fight against Salem and everything else, but something like this always came with a catch right?

"You have 24 hours to decide, Ms. Xiao-Long. No more, no less." Ozpin said. "We don't have much time, and the enemy is marching ever closer, so please, consider our offer carefully."

And that was a problem too, wasn't it? They didn't have much time, and yet everything was on the line.

"A-alright, I'll think about it…" Yang managed to say. She got up from her seat, made her way to get out of this office quickly-!

"Oh, and if I may offer a word of advice, Ms. Xiao-Long?"

Yang stopped in her steps.

"Think carefully, because it's not all for you." Ozpin said slowly. "The power of the Fall Maiden carries a heavy responsibility – and with it she can protect those closest to her."

'Those closest to me…' Yang thought. This strength that she would get, to surpass any and all of her boundaries and win all of her fights, all if she were to accept Ozpin's offer…

And then she remembered the pained expression on Kiryu's face. When he spoke of his brother, all but barely holding it in while talking in the past tense.

'Nishiki and I… we didn't part on the best of terms.'

And how he went over an entire continent for that very same brother.

Did Ozpin mean that the power was to protect Ruby as well?

A heavy feeling settled in her gut, and Yang didn't like it one bit. It was like something was about to happen, something bad, and it was all hinging on something happening…

---

Blake internally sighed – in the end, she never reached her intended direction, the library. She was hoping that she could find some lead that they had missed – maybe some files on past Hunter missions, maybe some old news on newspaper clippings that could point them to whatever the hell the enemy was planning. But no, instead, she had been stopped on her way by someone she really didn't like dealing with.

Indigo Arc stood across her with her arms crossed and sternly looking down on her.

"So." Indigo broke first, "You're Blake, right?"

They had never interacted much before. Blake preferred to keep out of her way, since she felt that her dealing with the White Fang was teetering on the too extreme side. But now she was here, and there was nothing that she could do about it.

"I am." Blake bit out. "What do you want?"

"I want you to come with me." Indigo said coldly.

"And why should I do that?"

"Don't play around – we both know that you used to be a part of the Fang." Indigo said.

Blake kept herself from being bristled. That was old news, and she knew that Indigo had known about that part of her life for a long while. The Huntress never acted on that information before, so why now?

And Blake asked as such. "So?"

"I've been notified that you visited the police station earlier today." Indigo said, "I want you to come with me there again."

Blake cursed under her breath. This was another reason she didn't like going to the damn police of all people. They were closely tied with the Arc Family's unit, seeing as they were acting under the Valean government. And seeing their stance against the Fang…

"We just needed a translator." Blake gritted her teeth. "We did nothing that was related to the White Fang-."

"And that's all fine and dandy, but I that's not what I care about." Indigo said. "I want you to come so we can see a certain someone together."

A certain someone…

Blake blanched. "You mean Adam…?" She whispered.

"Correct." Indigo nodded. "Jaune fought him before the Metal Gear incident, and since the Fang fall under our jurisdiction, he was brought to us and is being detained in Vale's central police station. Coincidentally, the same police station you visited just a few hours ago."

Blake's face turned pale. She didn't know if she was ready to face him, ready to face the ghosts of her pasts just yet…

"Why exactly do you need me to come?" Blake whispered.

"You're the one who has the closest relationship with him." Indigo said, raising an eyebrow at Blake's question. Dammit, she knew about that too?! "Time is of the essence, and I need information as fast as possible."

Blake didn't answer.

Indigo took a step closer and dominated her vision, making Blake feel more and more closed off. Her eyes drifted to the side as she shrunk in on herself. S-should she run away? No, she promised her Team to stand and fight together-!

"I don't have time to get to know how he ticks – I need someone who's already familiar with his habits." Indigo roughly grabbed Blake's arm and forced the Faunus to look into her eyes. "That's why I need you to come with me. Or are you really willing to risk all of Vale because you're too squeamish?"

Blake felt herself run dry, her mind short-circuiting as she was faced with the facts and the implications. Whatever Indigo was planning, however she was going to break Adam and get what she wanted, she needed her to ensure that it was done as quickly as possible.

But Blake didn't really have a choice, did he? She was good, but would she really be able to fight against Indigo and win? Someone who's entire purpose to fight was to take down people like the White Fang? 'People like me…?'

And on the other hand, she promised her Team that she would never run again.

And so Blake had no real way out unless to comply.

Indigo felt Blake deflate and pulled her grip free. "Come on." She commanded, "This way. I want this done as soon as possible."

Indigo walked away briskly, out of Beacon and onto the Bullhead, and then landing and heading straight towards the central police station. All the while, Blake followed her with hesitant yet desperate steps, knowing that she was about to face her old nightmares without any other choice.

In the midst of all this, she felt an unpleasant feeling settle in her gut. Blake knew that she'd rather face Adam in her own time, and that she'd have to face a killer whether she liked it or not, someone she once loved, but somehow this felt much bigger than that. She knew that facing what Adam had become wouldn't be easy, acknowledging that the world had changed to kill kill kill in so little time-

But Blake felt that there was something different at play, something bigger which was hinging at the balance.

Unbeknownst to Indigo and Blake, two pair of eyes trailed them both from the rooftops. One a grey that matched his black dress shirt, and the other a red that contrasted with her emerald clothing.

---

"Sir."

"Ah, Winter." Venom turned around and gave the Specialist a short nod. He was standing before the wreck of Metal Gear RAY, now positioned just before the cliff of the Emerald Forest to avoid making it an eyesore. He tilted his head to one of the people beside Winter, "I take it this is who you mentioned…?"

Said person stood straight and offered a salute, sloppy as it may be. "Penny Polendina, sir, at your service!"

"It's nice to meet you, Penny." Venom gave her a short nod to dismiss her as well. He took a look to the other person on Winter's side. "So you must be Weiss then, right?"

"Yes sir." Weiss stood with her straight, her posture proper, and lacking none of the easiness and sloppiness that came from Penny. She seemed to think over her words, though it wasn't as obvious, "Ruby told me about you." Weiss settled on that.

"I'm sure she did." Venom lips quirked upwards, "I wasn't expecting you to come with Winter today, but the more the merrier, I suppose."

"…Thank you, sir."

Venom grunted and turned his focus back to Penny. "From what Jade told me, he made a large portion of your parts from the schematics of a Metal Gear. The same Metal Gear which I assume was then evolved into the one we fought here in Vale. Is that true?"

"…Yes, it's true." Penny said. She took an eager step forwards, though still hesitant, "Um, may I…?"

"Go ahead." Venom stepped aside and let Penny approach the Metal Gear in question. "Raiden is currently digging in himself, though he hasn't managed to find anything useful."

Penny stopped in her tracks and tilted her head at Venom. "Raiden? …Is he the other cyborg here?"

"Yeah, that's me!" A voice piped up from somewhere around the Metal Gear rubble. "Don't worry, I'll catch up in a sec-!" Clang! "Ah, yeah, that's not supposed bend like that…"

"He's not that good with rubble." Venom smirked.

Penny's interest was immediately piqued when hearing about another cyborg, but she swallowed it down to focus on the mission. Just barely, though.

"S-so you want me to see some leftover data on RAY?" Penny said once more, trying to get over her nerves.

"Please." Venom said, "We need every bit of edge we can get."

"Alright…" Penny continued walking and

looked closely at the broken bits and pieces, big as they still were. She traced her fingers on the cold metal as she analyzed what similarities they had.

"So?" Venom asked, Weiss and Winter stepping near as well though still firmly behind him. "What can you tell me about it?"

"It's definitely improved, that's for sure – it's strayed a lot from my original design..." Penny trailed off.

"And why's that?" Venom asked.

"Dad stopped working on this a long time ago. Longer than Uncle Jade's dropped missing." Penny said, hearing another clang and a 'Dammit!' from Raiden as he tied to untangle himself from the rubble.

Penny's lips quirked upwards, while at the same time she felt her circuits form a connection within the broken Metal Gear, "And, well, the less said about Watts, the better."

"Watts…?" Venom trailed off.

"The original dissection project of Metal Gear RAY had three head scientists in charge - Dad, Uncle Jade, and Dr. Watts. They both had their own reasons to pursue the research…" Penny walked around and reached the head of the Metal Gear. She felt around its mouth and smiled when she found a hidden compartment. Gripping it with her hands, she yanked it out and plugged her own hand in, her eyes flashing again as she analyzed the contents of the RAY's database.

"And your father dropped out because?" Venom asked.

"Because by the time they reached the halfway point he had enough knowledge to create a functioning body for a brain." Penny said, continuing to look around the RAY's information. "That was the deal he had with General Ironwood. After that, I think the research methods kinda strayed away from the original vision…"

"So you're saying it's too different?"

"We've still got the same basis, so there should be some common ground." Penny reassured him. She narrowed her eyes as she focused on the database, her mind whirring as it scanned the RAY's information. Evidently, she found something wrong…

"Hold on a minute…" Penny said under her breath.

Venom took a step in concern. "What is it?"

"There's some kind of – I don't know what this is called…" Penny muttered under her breath. Her eyes widened as she realized something. "I- I think this is some kind of backdoor!"

With a final clang and an 'Ouch!', Raiden finished sorting through his things and approached the rest. He brushed off remaining bits and pieces from scavenging the RAY earlier and asked, "Backdoor?"

Penny hummed and gave a nod. "I don't know how, but it's planted in pretty deep. I- I don't think I can pull it out…"

"Might be because of the pilot that went in?" Winter piped up. "That woman… The Boss?"

Venom's eye lit up as he realized what she meant. "She didn't want us to repurpose the RAY…" He muttered. "Anyway to circumvent it?"

"A-ah… no Idea." Penny narrowed her eyes. "The only way to get rid of it is if I destroy everything… hard reset."

"That means taking out all of its A.I components?" Winter asked.

"Yeah… make it all analog."

"What about keeping the 'spine' of the A.I intact?" Raiden asked. "From what I know, we can still keep basic logics of the RAY if we spare the bare essentials of the A.I structure, right?"

"No we can't, it's in too deep." Penny shook her head. "I don't have that kind of control, it'd take a genius to do it in one go!" She shot an amazed and curious look to Raiden. Another cyborg, so interesting! And one original from the U.C too, her father's original ambition! Penny said above a whisper, "Unless…"

At that, Raiden chuckled. "Sorry girl, but I don't have what it takes. The data ports and encryption methods for this particular RAY are different. There's no way for me to do it either."

"Oh, that's a shame…" Penny sighed and cast her eyes to the ground. It would've been amazing to see how an original cyborg would've worked, and to lose out on such a chance… "General Ironwood must've made the data process different from the CCT, then…" Penny said sadly.

"Yeah, I noticed that. That's why in the end we needed you." Raiden smiled. "Jade said a lot of good things about you. Don't be so nervous - I'm sure you can do it."

"Mm-hm…" Penny shook her head and looked back up, "So should I just destroy everything…?" More than what she could do, this was General Ironwood's big project after all. Destroying its A.I component would disappoint him greatly.

"Do whatever you think is best." Raiden urged her. "If that's what it takes, then better we get nothing than leaving it in the hands of the enemy."

"Okay… Okay then." Penny nodded and clenched her hands. She shot one final look to Winter, the highest ranking Atlas official in the area, and she saw her give a nod for her actions.

'Aright! No pressure, no pressure…' Penny kept repeating the mantra in her head again and again, and she began the process of dissecting the entirety of the RAY's logic and A.I systems.

The others watched in silence as Penny's eyes began to flash, some lights even shining through her clothes as she began destroying everything she needed to. After a few more moments, a few more flashes in her eyes and flinches in her shoulders, Penny yelled and yanked her hand out of the RAY's compartment, pulling the cables free and then collapsing to her knees.

Weiss immediately dashed from her sister's side and went to help Penny up. She looked to her with concern, "You okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine... it just took a lot more out of me is all." Penny let out a light laugh. "It should be all good now… I made sure to destroy everything there was!"

"Then it's a good thing we got it out before Boss got any more ideas." Venom said somberly. He tilted his head towards Raiden and then motioned them to Penny. Raiden got the idea and quickly got beside Penny, supporting her by lifting her shoulders above his own.

Seeing Penny still incapacitated, Raiden pulled out an electrolyte pack and showed it to Penny. "Here, take this." He said, "It'll help bring you back to 100%."

Penny slowly took it from his hand, looking at it with wonder. "What is this…?"

"An Electrolyte Pack – Jade managed to reverse engineer it and packed some along with the Haven soldiers." Raiden said, "Crush it with your hand and it should give you a good boost. The electric receptors in your hand will handle the rest."

Penny did as Raiden recommended and crushed the pack in the palm of her hand. She felt an unimaginable rush go through her as power soared through her circuits.

Raiden saw her eyes briefly flash yellow, not far from his own red once he absorbed electrolytes. "So? How did it feel?" He asked.

"Whoa…" Penny looked around in awe as she absorbed the all-new power. Her sights, her motor functions, her speeds, it all felt so much better. Definitely more than 100%!

"This is amazing!" Penny broke free from her grip and smiled wide at Raiden, spinning around as she felt more alive than ever before. She did feel a little bit different… but that was normal compared to her new energy, right? "Thanks, Mr. Raiden!"

"Heh, no problem." Raiden chuckled.

Meanwhile, Venom and Winter watched from the sidelines with small smiles yet calculating gazes. They stayed in silence as Weiss, Raiden, and Penny interacted with each other…

Eventually, it was Winter who broke the silence. "The General isn't going to be happy about this."

"I guessed as much." Venom responded. "You didn't even tell him that you were bringing Penny here, did you?"

"That would've taken much more time. You said you wanted it done quickly, right, sir?" Winter said. "However, I did check on what the General was doing, sir. At that time, he was busy discussing things with Headmaster Ozpin. As such, I took executive action and brought Penny here directly."

"Hm… your call." Venom said. He watched with his hands behind his back as Raiden, Penny, and Weiss interacted… "But if you're looking for it – I do appreciate this, Winter. Thank you."

"Of course, sir." Winter nodded, her posture stiff and respectful. It felt nice being valued, not that she wasn't back in the Atlas Military, but something about Venom just seemed so different, like he viewed his men and women as more than just power and instead as extensions of his own…

But then Winter noticed Venom staring far off into space, at nothing in particular, with an intense gaze bringing though his single eye.

"Sir?" Winter asked. "Is something wrong?"

Ah, so she noticed his expression? "Something feels off." Venom said finally.

"How so, sir?"

"The Boss… it wouldn't be this easy. Can't be." Venom felt an uneasy and tense feeling settle in his gut. Like something bad was bound to happen. "I can't put it to words, but…"

"Sir," Winter interrupted, "With all due respect – could this just be paranoia?"

"No, it can't be…" Venom said. "I've learned to trust my instincts, Winter, and it's telling me that something's wrong…"

"Should we, perhaps, do another round of patrol around the city? Maybe regarding the Vytal Tournament?"

"I-." Venom let out a breath. "I don't know…"

He knew exactly what this was, but he was just at a loss. This feeling…

Something big was about to happen, teetering on something, but so fast, and right after the RAY attack as well?

Damn it, why was he all nervous all of a sudden? The instincts of the Big Boss were screaming at him, but what was he supposed to do?!

---

"I don't like this." Otacon said, and Snake confirmed it with a grunt of his own as well.

They were currently en-route to the bus station now around 10 minutes away, still deep in downtown Vale, and yet for the entirety of the walk Snake felt something was off. Currently, his gut was screaming at him that something was about to happen, and that he needed to be on the ready. He just felt nice that he had decided to put on his muscle suit underneath his normal attire, just in case.

They rounded a corner, going through people bustling around like nothing out of the ordinary. The both of them couldn't make heads or tails of it, but they still needed to head to Beacon. Snake asked again, keeping both of them on track, "Otacon. Where to next?"

"Says here we need to go through the shopping district, should the fourth left we see." Otacon tapped a point on his paper map, "It's gonna be pretty crowded, though. I can find us another route if you'd like?"

"Nah, the faster we get this done, the better." Snake said.

"Alright." Otacon folded the map and put it back in his pocket. "After that, we should be home free – just a straight walk down the road."

"Good." Snake nodded, and Otacon returned it with a hum of his own.

They continued walking, past intersections and turns, until eventually they reached the fourth left that Otacon was talking about. Snake turned first, Otacon not far behind him, and they were immediately greeted by a horde of people walking past them.

"Tch," Snake growled, "Just gotta get through quickly."

"I'm right behind you." Otacon said over the crowd, making sure to stick close.

Even though they were dead-set on heading to Beacon, Snake and Otacon still couldn't help but look around the shopping district as they walked by. It was a straight road, with not a lot of roads leading away from it. There were lots of stores selling and shouting their wares, people stopping by and having a good time, and Snake couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy. Damn, if he could just relax a bit...

But then, suddenly, they noticed the crowd begin to thin. Snake 's eyes narrowed as Otacon gave him a small nod. So, they were indeed going in the right direction, but why did everything suddenly become much less lively?

Snake looked around. The shops that just a few steps ago seemed to be open were now closed. The crowd hurriedly walked past them, and then they all but suddenly disappeared. The noises of people died down almost immediately. Just what was going on?

He felt Otacon quickly huddle close, the scientist's hand on a device beneath his lab coat. The completed version of his cloaking technology he had used so long ago, back on their first meeting. Snake himself clenched his teeth and put his hand on his concealed SOCOM, both their steps turning more and more careful by the minute.

That horrible feeling in his gut settled in again and Snake didn't like it one bit. His eyes quickly flitted around, and he could feel the bandana on his forehead more prominently than ever. He needed to keep an eye out at all costs…

Their steps became louder, or rather, more prominent with no one else around. Where…?

And then, Snake's eyes focused straight ahead. Immediately, he noticed another figure standing in the distance. The only one in this shopping district other than himself and Otacon.

Snake stopped in his tracks, Otacon right behind him, and the legendary soldier felt his blood freezing to ice.

He could see her clear as day. The white sneaking armor, paired with a green cape than surrounded her body. The infamous gun of a patriot by her side, relaxed yet also ready. The only thing that didn't match up was her Silver Eyes, but even then the way they were shaped also matched up…!

Snake had only heard of her in legends – in tales that his f-father had rarely told, once upon a time – of a woman who was the Mother of Special Forces. And then, the sheer weight of who she really was.

But she was dead, wasn't she-?!

And then she spoke, and all doubts Snake had crumbled away.

"Recognize me?"

Snake could see it clear as day. The tension in the air, the twitch of her fingers, and he knew she wasn't here to play. And whatever it may be, he had to defend himself and Otacon.

"The Boss." Snake growled. He quickly drew his SOCOM out of its holster and pointed it at her, The Boss doing the same with the Patriot with even greater speed.

And yet, when Snake looked into her eyes, he saw pain, regret, longing, and something else he couldn't decipher.

"And so we meet at last." The Boss said, and Snake could hear the charisma in her voice, the one he always heard about from his father. But still, that didn't dispel everything he knew about her. The fact was, she was dangerous.

The Boss toyed with her next words. Here he was, the last remaining descendant of her son. Her grandson, when she thought about it, and yet he looked at her with nothing but hostility and irrecognition.

She took in everything he was. The scarred right side of his face, the determination in both of his eyes, and the kindness beneath them, filled with steel-strong hope that her own son lost the moment he pulled that trigger.

And then, she also noted his age, the wisdom in his stance, and how he stood tall even before herself. Things no one else would've been able to achieve had they not been happy with their lives outside being a soldier. If they had something to come back to in the first place.

Perhaps he was what her son might've been, had the world been different – no, had she been better. In his own words… this one wouldn't have made the same mistakes he did.

But she had to know. What made him so different? What was it that made him, in his words, better? Better than the one raised by herself, for all those years?

She had to find out.

"I've been looking for you..."

The Boss looked into her grandson's eyes. How he was different, more hopeful and lively, and yet she also saw her son in them, and settled.

"…Solid Snake."

---

Done! Thoughts, comments, etc, leave in the reviews please, thanks so much!

Thanks a lot for reading, and see you next time!

Review Responses:

To KnightSpark, thanks a lot! And, with Kiryu, the point of her relationship isn't to beat her down, but to see some similarities between each other. Thanks a lot for reading!

To Renashi-RE012, thanks for the compliments! I tried to take some Heat Actions from the game, since they are the bread and butter of Yakuza. I'm glad it shone through, and thanks a lot for reviewing and reading the story! :)))

To SolSparda369, Kiryu has Aura and his own Semblance, one of the few that has like in the U.C. Their rematch will come, soon enough, in true Yakuza-style. And as for Jaune meeting Kiryu, well, that's coming next…

To Super Saiyan Rose Goku Black, I don't think Kiryu would've lost, but he definitely would've spent more time in the fight. Thanks for reading!

To CriticaofRandomness, and now it's up to Yang whether it's right to take it or not…

To JCraig5, that's why I'm trying to tie everything together in this chapter (also why it's kinda long) since there are multiple POVs? It is also at this point a multiple protagonist focused plotline now anyways… but I get where you're coming from, on why some things can be a bit overwhelming. I appreciate the review, and I'll try to be a bit clearer next time. Thanks for reading, and for the input.

To Afrikinreader, same as above too. Still, thanks for taking the time.

To Box Boss, BOXXXX

To BigSmokeYeet, yeah, those are some of the complaints I've been hearing… but I wanted to give them a chance to grow, at least before their deaths. But I do see where it conflicts, with Jaune's kill evil quicklypersonality… still, thanks for the review. I'll make sure to keep it in mind.

To Ogay the SIMPson, nah, Quiet brought him here. And for Adam, uh, I can see your point? Can't go back on it, though, but I can't deny the blueball part. Still, thanks for reading and everything!

To EroGekkouga, thanks!

To MASTER T-REX, I'll take a look of that. Sounds interesting! Thanks for reading!