Edited by: Priapus, Marethyu, Immortal Spank, Old Man of the Mountain

Note: I fucked up a bit with last chapter by uploading the wrong version, only noticing a few hours later (Thanks Argo). You haven't missed much, only that Blake unlocked Armament Haki near the end of the fight against the Titan. Terribly sorry about that.

– Kali –

It had been a few hours since the group had gone out to the mines, and to a point, things were relatively quiet. Everyone, including her, was confident that with the Titan Slayer's help, they'd vanquish the Dreadnought rather easily, and things would return to normal.

After all, nobody thought things would go south. They had Reid Astera with them, and while not a fighter herself, Kali lived among warriors and could tell he was the most formidable Hunter she'd ever seen. The way he was on guard at all times while holding himself in true confidence was the sign of a true warrior.

She thought he was… strangely kind. She'd agreed with Sienna to a degree, he did seem very idealistic, even though she could see the exhaustion in his eyes, but unlike her more aggressive partner, Kali knew he had been telling the truth from the beginning.

He'd shown genuine courtesy to them in their meeting even though he held all the cards. He was generous and nice enough to lend a hand to them out of the goodness of his heart because he felt like it was his responsibility. True, he'd gain from it, but Kali knew he wasn't doing this for money.

He did want to help. The fact that he went to kill that Dreadnought while actively denying a payment was enough proof.

Kali felt terrible for him, however. He was putting the weight of the entire world on his shoulders. The pressure he was feeling had to be immense. They were lucky that he turned out to be a good-hearted young man.

A very handsome one as well, but she digressed.

Things had gotten rather worrying the past hour. Not long ago, a massive explosion was spotted in the sky. It was so powerful that it turned everything dark blue briefly, and the shockwave even reached them. No one knew what caused it, but such power scared the civilians. It got even worse when they heard some rumbling in the distance.

Unfortunately, the negativity attracted a lot of the nearby Grimm. In the hundreds, they all attacked. From Beowolves to Antlions, they tried getting through the thick walls of Kuo Kuana. This could've been terrible, had Ms. Schnee not 'come bearing gifts'.

The Golems scaled up the walls and countered the monsters. They ripped apart the Grimm effortlessly, tearing their heads off and slicing open their bodies with staggering brutality. They proved to be better than any of their soldiers and hunters, as not one beast managed to sneak in.

This sight made the people forget about the explosion momentarily as they cheered for their new protectors, singing praises of Weiss Schnee. It was quite the scene for Kali– she'd never thought she'd live long enough to see the day.

Kali smiled a little as she stared at the Golems patrolling from the walls. That man truly had a heart of gold. Giving his partner the credit and spotlight was incredibly kind of him. She understood that Weiss needed it more than him, so she'd said nothing and pretended she believed him.

Still, the explosion earlier remained in her mind. What was that? What happened in there, and was everyone okay? She did not know, and Kali felt incredibly anxious. If the worst happened, despair would be rampant everywhere, not just in Menagerie. The entire world would be crippled.

But she knew she should be hopeful. She trusted Sienna and Reid to lead a successful mission. She believed they'd be back, bringing the great news of their victory.

And her faith was not misplaced as she heard one of the guards signal their return.

"They're back!" He shouted, his voice full of excitement and joy. "The Titan Slayer has done it!"

Kali, alongside the guards near her, walked down the stairs of the wall, watching over the road to the mine, and made it to the open gate, welcoming the heroes with open arms. However, what she saw froze her in place and nearly stopped her heart.

She couldn't believe her eyes. Was this a dream?

"Blake?"

Her daughter stilled as she met her mother's eyes. She tried to say something, but no words were uttered. Blake quickly looked away as Kali slowly approached her, who was partially terrified that she was imagining this. That this was some sort of dream.

It was her daughter in the flesh. She hadn't seen her beautiful, sweet, stupid girl since she'd joined the White Fang. Four years ago. And only last year had she gone MIA, according to Sienna. Kali had assumed the worst.

She'd thought her baby had been killed. But here she was, right before her eyes.

"Blake." She cupped her daughter's cheeks. "It's you, my dear."

"Mom…" Blake's voice cracked as she started tearing up. "I'm sorry."

She kissed her daughter's forehead and embraced her tightly, feeling her own tears running down her face as she smiled in relief and happiness. Blake broke down almost immediately, sobbing in her arms as she continued to apologize.

"I'm sorry." Blake hiccuped. "I'm so sorry for leaving you."

"Shhh…" She hushed her baby girl. "There's nothing to be sorry about, dear. Nothing at all."

Frankly, she didn't know where Blake had even come from. Especially since she arrived with the group, as if she'd left with them. But Kali didn't care about that. All she cared about— all that mattered to her —was knowing her daughter was safe. She was back home. After so long, her daughter had changed so much. She had grown into a beautiful lady. Oh, if only Ghira was here to see this…

Kali, who still had Blake quietly sobbing in her embrace, looked at the smiling Reid. She noticed him carrying an unconscious Weiss wrapped in a large black cloak in his arms, but other than that, everyone had little to no injuries on them. Must be the work of their potions.

"Where's Adam, ma'am?" A soldier next to her asked the High Leader.

Ah, she was so preoccupied with Blake that she didn't notice. Adam was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm afraid he didn't make it." Sienna shook her head. "Neither did the mine."

"So it collapsed?" Kali questioned.

"Unfortunately."

"The Dreadnought is taken care of, though," Reid added. "Grimm activity should drop significantly in the next few months."

"Thank you so much," She said, gently running a hand through her daughter's hair.

"It was a team effort." He shrugged. "Things wouldn't have gone anywhere near as smoothly without Blake."

"I see." Kali exhaled, pulling away from the sniffling Blake, who had calmed down. "Come. I'm sure our heroes are tired after such a long battle."

Reid nodded and walked through the gate, and so did everyone else. Kali smiled lovingly at her daughter, leading her through the city behind everyone else. She didn't know who to thank for giving back her daughter, but Kali knew this was a day she'd never forget.

– Reid –

It's already been a few hours since we came back, and we returned to thousands of people cheering for us and praising our names. I basked in the spotlight, as per usual. It's a sight I'll never get bored of.

Many people showed their concern for the sleeping beauty in my arms, though, which I found incredibly sweet. They were starting to see the difference— that she was unlike her father and his wretched company. I told them that Weiss was fine, just unconscious.

As for the man responsible… well, we refrained from mentioning him. At all. Frankly, Adam did not deserve to be martyred after what Blake had told me — seemingly trying to attack Weiss even though the Titan was right there — but condemning could hurt what I've been trying to do here.

People might get the wrong idea and try to make up some stories about the White Fang trying to get us killed or something along those lines. I couldn't let that happen. Not with the immense progress I've already made in a short while.

Thus, he had to be forgotten—no words of him anywhere. We didn't mention him, and no one noticed. We never particularly specified how we would handle the mines to the public, only that 'Reid Astera and Weiss Schnee accompanied the White Fang High Leader' to defeat a possible Titan-class threat.

And now that I've confirmed that to be the case, people are once again going wild on the internet.

I love fame.

After we made our way to Kali's villa, I put Weiss to bed before making another speech to the people, ending up with a party being thrown. This one will probably last until sunrise, but I ain't complaining. I like parties, and I'll be joining them to dick around soon enough.

But I still have responsibilities like debriefing with the leaders of this land. Also to tell Ozpin, but that can wait.

I can pick up on several dozen scents mixed together from here, and all of them smell absolutely delicious. I don't know what they're cooking down there, but goddamn, it's driving me crazy. I don't need to eat, but can you call it living if you never have great food?

"It is a miracle that most of you came out of there alive," Kali says, looking at the colorful lights of the city from the balcony. "To think there was a cave-in while you were still inside…"

"From what I've seen, the Grimm did it knowingly," I respond, feeling the cool wind on my skin. So refreshing. "They knew they were getting overpowered and decided to separate us in an attempt to protect their 'queen' so to speak. The mine was going to collapse anyway, but the real Dreadnought accelerated the process when it blew itself up."

Blake has told me everything already— or at least the important bits. I didn't want to pressure her when her emotions were going wild. The past few days have been terribly stressful for her. At least she was reunited with her mom.

I sensed the shame Blake felt when she saw her mother after god knows how long, but that barely lasted after Kali hugged her. All the guilt and sadness vanished, replaced with a colorful array of positive emotions.

That was the first time I'd ever felt love that intense before; it almost made me jealous. The bond between parents and their children can be very special. Makes it extra fucked that Weiss didn't get to have any of that as a child.

I seriously need to beat the shit out of Jacques.

As for Blake, well, after her tearful reconciliation with Kali, I told her to go and rest; to get something to eat or take a nap, but she insisted on staying with Weiss until the latter woke up. I respected her choice, obviously, and didn't argue. I think she feels responsible and wants to stay with her friend until they both feel better.

I don't blame her, either. Seeing Weiss on the verge of dying like that almost made me fly off the handle. I only barely contained my anger because I needed to save the girls and get the fuck out of there before they were killed. That rage may have leaked a little when I saw the Dreadnought dig out of the ground, but it's fiiiiiiine. It was beaten nearly to death, and I killed it immediately. Nobody really noticed.

I only leveled up ten times from it, which is great, but honestly? I expected more. But I think I understand its gimmick now. Instead of one singular and powerful entity, this Titan spread its power across its minions, mostly the two bastards I dealt with.

…Huh, now that I think about it, isn't it weird that I got no quest telling me to kill the Titan and free the mines or whatever? That's kind of odd. The system was always so eager to give me quests about the stupidest shit, but when it came to this, it just stopped?

What's up with that?

Every day, I thank whatever influenced me to take Alchemist as my first production skill. Potions are an actual godsend. Without them, everyone I know and I would've been killed a hundred times already.

And if Blake hadn't been there, then Weiss would've surely died. I knew my faith wasn't misplaced. I knew Blake could break this cycle of her running away from her problems. All she ever needed was her friends' assurance, support, and her own bravery.

This wasn't a case of Blake and Weiss being unprepared to handle Titans. In fact, this was proof that they were ready. There were close calls, but that's simply hunter work. It's risky, and many people die on the job. The two handled it professionally and better than anyone in their position.

If anything, it feels like… I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was. But it wasn't a case of a lack of strength or equipment. It's clear to me now that the battlefield itself can be highly disadvantageous, and I have to find a way to stop it from affecting the outcome so much.

If we had faced the Titan and its entire army on an open field, we would've slaughtered them with relative ease, even with our vastly lower numbers. That's how big of an advantage we had. An advantage we couldn't utilize because we were fighting in its home turf.

So I have two options here. Either adapt or gain the power to turn the battlefield into whatever I damn desire.

And I'll find a way to do both.

I'm so glad that the girls made it out of there alive. And once again, thank god I chose alchemist. A single HP pot healed Weiss almost completely. 80% if we go by system numbers. That's a lot.

"I see," Kali mutters.

"It's far more intelligent than anything we've ever dealt with." Sienna nods to herself before glancing at me. "What do you think? Would you say this Dreadnought was Titan-class?"

"For sure," I confirm. "It's not as direct as the other Titans I defeated, though."

"How do you reckon?"

"All three Titans I faced before operated alone," I answer the High Leader. "Meaning they didn't particularly share their power around. This one did. Instead of focusing on the quality of its main body, it decided to amplify the quantity of its troops. Its strategy was overwhelming its enemies with vastly superior numbers. A good strategy, considering where it made its nest. Overall, it's most definitely a Titan-class Grimm."

I'm certain, because the Titan slaying quest now says 5/17, which is also confusing. Five? Fenrir, Skov'les, Anantashesha, and the Dreadnought. That's four, not five. Unless those twins counted as entirely separate Titans?

Heh, imagine if some random people just killed a Titan somewhere else. That'd be so fucking cool.

"Then what was it trying to do before we arrived?" Sienna wondered out loud, then shook her head. "No, it does not matter now. We've dealt with it finally, and now we can begin operating the mine again."

I wince.

"Sorry about that." I apologize sheepishly.

"Please don't, Mr. Astera. You've done more than we could've possibly asked of you." Kali says with a gentle and grateful smile. "We will forever be in your debt."

"And it wasn't your fault in the first place," Sienna adds.

"Yeah, but still…" I rub my neck. "I should've tried to handle it more gracefully."

Also, the legendary tier dungeon is still fucking down there, goddamn it. I cannot let that dungeon go. I must finish it because god knows what I can get from there. Imagine the artifacts and magical resources I might find.

"I'll fix it," I add before either of them speaks up.

"You will?" Sienna raises a brow. "I didn't know you had experience in mining."

"I have my ways." I wink.

"Of course you do." She chuckles. "You've been a tremendous help to Menagerie, Titan Slayer, and I recognize you as a great ally to us. I speak for everyone when I say thank you. Truly, we could not have done this without you."

Heh, I think this is the first time I've heard her laughing.

"Any time."

"Be sure to enjoy the festivities." She tells me, patting me on the back. "The citizens of Menagerie would love it if their hero spent some time with them."

"What about you? Join us for a little while."

"The offer honors me, but honestly, I've had enough excitement today."

"Oh come on, it's not like you can do this every day." I wrap an arm around her shoulder. "You're going to waste the chance to party with me, the Titan Slayer?"

"I'm simply not a party person."

"Go on, Sienna." Kali assists. "Take a break for once."

"Exactly. Being stiff all the time is tiring." I agree. "Know when to relax sometimes. Connect with your people."

The High Leader relaxes her posture as she sighs.

"You're rather insistent about this." She says. "Very well."

Success!

"What about you?"

"Oh, I'd love to, but I think I will stay here," Kali responds. Before I protest, she gives a very good argument. "In case Blake needs anything."

Right, can't argue with that.

I nod and offer Sienna an arm, which she hesitantly takes, and we walk off to the exit. Though before we make it there, I glance at the room where Weiss and Blake are at the moment, slowing down my pace and pausing once I'm directly in front of it.

"Can you go on ahead?" I look at Sienna. "I think I want to talk to Blake for a bit. I'll catch up, don't worry."

"And here I was, just starting to look forward to this." She deadpans. "What a terrible partner you are."

"Sorry."

Sienna's fake frown drops as she pauses.

"For a worldwide hero, you sure apologize a lot."

"Being a hero doesn't make me always right."

"Fair enough." She snorts. "I'll wait for you at the entrance. Don't take too long."

She lets go of my arm and leaves me alone in front of the door. I was a bit busy earlier, so I never got the chance. I'd feel terrible if I didn't ask her how she felt.

Right before I open the door, my scroll starts vibrating. I pause as I see Ozpin's name on the screen, and after a bit of contemplation, I put it on silent mode. Maybe later. I still have a student to check up on.

– Blake –

It felt like a miracle that most of them made it out of there alive, especially when their situation was that dire. Blake didn't count on her to live after that explosion, certainly not when she was at death's door like that. She'd never been this close to dying in her life.

And that experience was terrifying beyond belief. Every atom of her being was telling her to run, as it was what she was used to doing when things got too rough, but Blake knew deep down that if she had attempted to run away, then it would never end well for her.

Because even if she had survived, the shame and disgrace she'd be in could only be rectified if she executed herself. Leaving a friend to die was something only irredeemable cowards would do.

And Reid put his trust in her. He believed she'd do the right thing, and she had to prove him right. She couldn't let another person down, not when he'd shown her so much kindness and understanding. So much that she felt undeserving of it.

Blake, on a chair next to a bed where Weiss rested, looked at her sleeping team leader, unsure of how to feel. She was relieved that they made it out of there, of course, but it was… weird to her.

What was she supposed to do now? Was she supposed to feel proud of herself? Was she really not a coward anymore, or was this a fluke? The next time this happened, would she just run away again?

And most importantly, would Weiss be willing to forgive her when she woke up? Would the rest of the team and Ruby be okay with her afterward? Reid might not have given up on her, but Blake didn't want to lose the friends she'd made. Sure, she had not known them for long, a few months at most; even so, she still loved them.

Reid was as charismatic as they come, except even he would have difficulties convincing the girls to give a murderer like her a second chance. But perhaps it wasn't wrong to hope, right? If the biggest, strongest Grimm killer around was more than happy to lend her a hand, then maybe things would be fine.

Blake was sure of one thing, however. Even if they rejected her, then so be it. She'd face the consequences of her actions even if things turned out for the worse. She'd never run away again. She was done.

Her ears twitched as Reid gently opened the door, taking a peek inside.

"Mind if I come in?"

Blake couldn't help herself and smiled as he slightly lowered his head to avoid hitting the door frame.

"Sure."

He got inside, closing the door behind him.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better." She answered before chuckling sheepishly. "I'm kind of bracing for the worst when she wakes up, but oddly, I don't feel as scared as I thought I'd be."

"It's a lot easier now, isn't it?"

"It is, yeah."

"You know what we call that?"

"Yeah?"

"Progress." He said, suddenly wrapping an arm around her head and giving her a noogie. "Which is what you should've been doing ages ago, by the way."

"Owow, stop!"

"But you just had to get all melodramatic about it." He teased in good spirits. "You drama queen."

"Okay, I get it; I'm sorry," Blake said, pushing him off before rubbing her head. "That hurt, you jerk."

"It should." He nodded as he stood beside her with a big grin. "That's for coming here without permission."

That's what he was worried about? Well, her score at Beacon had probably tanked a bit, and he'd always made it clear to her and her team that he wanted them to be the best because he didn't want his students to be worse than anyone.

It was probably a pride thing, but admittedly, not being number one when you're the pupil of the most powerful man in the world would be pretty embarrassing. For them, too.

Everyone on the team was pretty studious for the most part, except Yang. She'd never once opened a book outside the lecture hall, but Yang had the bullshit power of never needing to study because she absorbed everything in the lecture like a sponge. Somehow. The blond never even looked like she paid attention.

Either she had an incredible memory or was paying attention while doing her stupid spinning pen trick.

"How's everything with your mom?" He asked again.

"I thought she'd be mad," Blake answered truthfully. "And she'd have every right to be, so watching her look so happy when she saw me was relieving."

"I think she was just worried about you the whole time, Blake."

"I know." She sighed. "She told me she assumed I was dead. Since I went MIA for a while, Sienna couldn't confirm whether I was still around. I should've at least reassured her with a message."

"But you were terrified."

"Yeah. I was." She confirmed. "Before we parted ways, I said really hurtful things, you know? I'm… so glad she's forgiven me."

"She's your mom, after all," Reid said. "I've only known her for a few days, but she's been very kind and understanding the whole time. She accepted Weiss pretty quickly."

"My parents were alive when Nicolas Schnee was in his prime," Blake explained. "When they were around twelve years old, maybe. They witnessed all his achievements firsthand."

"Not Sienna?" He raised a brow, and then he paused. "On second thought, Sienna looks way younger than Kali."

"Sienna is only twenty-four." Blake snorted. "My mom is twice as old as her."

"I see."

Reid remained silent for another moment, and so did Blake. Now that she thought about it, Reid was younger than her, wasn't he? Yes, she could never forget the shock she had when he said he was sixteen in his first interview. He was seventeen now, but Blake was seventeen then.

It was still absurd that he'd come out of nowhere and killed a Titan so randomly like that, but then it got a hundred times worse - or better - when she discovered he had magical powers and that he'd given two of her teammates plus Ruby their own magic by…

…She'd rather not think about that right now. It was something straight out of a silly smut story with just enough plot so it wasn't just porn.

Blake still wondered what kind of magic she'd have. Seeing Yang and Ruby throw around magical blasts of fire and light looked so fun.

"I know I said it already, but I'm proud of you, Blake," Reid said so suddenly, catching her off guard. "I am. You proved to yourself that you're no coward."

Blake felt herself blush at how unexpected this was.

"T-thanks…" She said, feeling her heart skip a beat. "I don't think I could've done it without you."

"I only gave you the push you needed." He shrugged. "The strength was always yours, and it was always there. It just needed a spark to light it up."

"You're saying I've always been strong?"

"Yes." He nodded. "But being strong doesn't mean you can do everything by yourself. You shouldn't be ashamed of having others help you. Otherwise, why do you have friends, right?"

Blake didn't know what to say. She hadn't been expecting random words of wisdom from Reid today, but she certainly kept it in mind. The doubts were there, though—those you couldn't easily ignore or remove.

"And if I lose those friends?" She said, even though she didn't mean to.

"You won't." He responded, looking convinced. "I know the girls enough. If you explain everything to them thoroughly, they'll understand."

Blake looked directly at Reid as he put a hand on her head.

"And remember what I told you." He continued. "I'll always be by your side. No matter what."

Blake didn't understand how someone so powerful and scary-looking could simultaneously be so warm and kind. Especially at his age when he should be much more… maybe arrogant or self-centered. But so far, he'd always put everyone else before him.

Was this his nature? Was he simply born kind? Because Blake knew that Reid was also a little greedy and a playboy for trying to build his harem so eagerly, but what drove him to be like this? She just found it odd.

A certain sentence replayed in her head as she contemplated Reid's nature. 'I'm a monster in every sense of the word' he'd said. She didn't understand where that came from or what he exactly meant, but she couldn't see it. The Reid she knew— the Reid she loved, a monster? Perhaps monster as in stupidly powerful, but beyond that…

Something about the way he looked so hurt and exhausted spoke to her. Just what kind of things had he gone through to have that look? Behind his scary face and stature, Reid was always as bright and idealistic as Ruby.

It was very clear to her from that moment that he was hurting too, and even still, he'd put their problems over his.

"Reid?" Blake started.

"Yeah?"

"Do you…"

Blake stopped herself. No, she shouldn't stick her nose in his business— at least not right now. It probably wasn't the time or place for it. Perhaps when they're back in Vale, his home. In a more private scene.

She paused for a moment, looking to either distract him with something or—

"...Actually, I wanted to show you something."

"Oh?"

Blake extended her arm and focused on that feeling she had when she was pulling the beast away from Weiss. In an instant, she accessed her Armament Haki, turning her whole arm into the same metallic color Reid had when he accessed his.

Reid's eyes opened wide in surprise.

"Holy shit!" He said, which made her flinch at the noise. Reid quickly covered his mouth, giving the stirring Weiss a glance. "Ah fuck…"

"Relax, it was going to happen eventually."

"Yeah, but I didn't expect this for a few weeks at least." He replied, looking very excited. "Oh this is gonna accelerate your training so much. How'd you do it?"

"When the Dreadnought tried to eat Weiss, I tried to use my ribbon to pull it away from her," Blake explained.

"Then this is more proof that you're strong." He claimed. "No, you're even stronger than I thought. This is incredible."

"Is it?"

Now, she was feeling a little embarrassed.

"Trust me, they're gonna be so jealous." Reid chuckled. "Ruby, Yang, and Weiss might have magic, but this is a lot harder to do. You have bragging rights."

"I have bragging rights." She repeated, amused.

"So many bragging rights." He confirmed. "Personally, I think you should lord it over them as much as you can. It's going to either piss them off so much that it's going to be hilarious or just enough so they access it too."

She had to admit, that did sound fun.

"We'll practice a lot when we get back." He added.

"I look forward to it," Blake said. "Go on now. You have a date with Sienna, don't you?"

"Why not come with us?"

"I want to stay here in case Weiss wakes up." She said. "It would feel wrong if I leave her now."

"Heh, fair enough." He smiled at her, walking to the door. "Then I'll leave you alone now. Don't worry, I'll save you some food. Assuming I don't finish all of it."

Blake giggled as she watched him leave, but then, before he left, she grabbed his arm, pulled him closer, and kissed him on his lips. She didn't know what possessed her to do that so suddenly, but Blake didn't want him to leave without at least a gesture of gratitude.

None of this would've been possible without him. Blake would've never known about this strength of hers without him.

Reid was surprised as she moved back, which was rare to see, and Blake felt like she needed to clarify what this was about as the embarrassment had caught up to her. She'd actually kissed him. Thank the gods Yang wasn't here to see this.

"I-I just… wanted to say thank you." She said, looking away with a flushed face.

Blake caught his soft smile returning as she said that from the corner of her eye.

"You did more than say it, for sure." He chuckled, patting her head. "You're welcome, Blake."

With that, he left her alone, feeling a mixture of fulfillment and giddiness.

Perhaps Blake would need some time to fully acknowledge this strength Reid was talking about, but she never thought she'd ever be this brave…

– Ozpin –

Ozpin didn't know what would happen if they were even a minute late.

He'd gotten a call that a Titan Grimm was spotted around its usual hunting grounds, which was… okay? Happens all the time. Just don't provoke it, and you'll be fine. Most Titans don't care about humans anyway.

But then he'd gotten the news that the Titan was attacking for some reason, which had just been completely unexpected. The Harpy Queen, named Angelica, usually left people to their own devices. In fact, it would avoid them because it knew there would be retaliation by humanity if it tried to do anything.

And Titan-class Grimm, most of the time, avoid conflict because the magic they lose can't be regained very easily. To hear that the Harpy Queen had decided to start trouble wasn't what he'd expected at all.

To make matters worse, it was attacking Ruby Rose, the final Silver-Eyed Warrior, a pupil of the Titan Slayer and his girlfriend. She was of top priority— she could NOT die here and now. It would be completely disastrous for everyone.

While losing Ruby would already be genuinely painful to him as he didn't want to see a bright child like her lose her life when she's so young, it would also mean the entire bloodline would be erased, but most importantly…

Reid.

Reid's response would be terrifying. If a man with that much power were to ever go berserk, then Ozpin wasn't sure they'd ever be able to stop him. He was almost thankful that Reid hadn't picked up the phone.

"Ms. Rose, can you hear me?" He asked as some of his men brought her to the bullhead.

"Everything huuuurts…" She whined. "Owwwwww."

Fortunately, they did find her eventually after a few hours of searching. Unfortunately, she was beaten, bruised, and severely wounded. It seemed she'd tried to hold off the Titan as the rest of her classmates escaped. That was the trait of a hero.

Though, thankfully, she wasn't bleeding as bad as she could have been. It looked like she'd regenerated some of her Aura, just enough to slow down her bleeding and help her survive long enough until she was found.

But she was still severely exhausted. Her Aura couldn't regenerate well while she was like this. There were wounds all over her body, and overall it looked like she'd gone through hell. Just what happened exactly?

Ozpin took out a healing potion from his coat and helped her drink it. The wounds all magically disappeared in less than a second, and Ruby gasped suddenly, gaining her sense back as she frantically looked around.

"Easy." Ozpin said, calming her down. "Are you okay, Ms. Rose?"

"Huh? Y-yeah, sorry." She breathed slowly, then a big smile made its way onto her face. "I did it! Haha, holy crap, I survived!"

"That you did, Ms. Rose." Ozpin smiled back at her. "It seemed you managed to escape Angelica successfully. Even though you suffered quite the beating."

"Eh?" She blinked.

"You've made an incredible sacrifice today, Ms. Rose." He continued. "You are worthy of being called a hero. Truly, Summer Rose would be proud of the woman you're becoming."

"Um, I mean, thanks, that really means a lot, but–"

"Don't worry, we'll contact Reid and tell him about what happened," Ozpin added, knowing what she wanted to say. "He'll round up several veteran soldiers of his choosing and go after the beast that did this. I assure you that that monster will not get out of this unscathed."

"You don't have to do that."

"Ms. Rose, I understand what you're trying to say, but this is a matter of utmost importance. We do not go after Titans because they usually avoid us." He explained. "But when one of them hurt our people, then it means we must handle them before they become worse–"

"No, I mean, you literally don't have to go after it."

Ozpin blinked.

"What do you mean?"

Ozpin was not prepared for what she was about to say with her innocent and dazzling grin.

"I killed it!"

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