Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1

If I had to make an educated guess as to how I ended up in this sticky little situation of mine, I suppose I would probably say that I was hit by a bus.

Seriously, there's not many other explanations that I could work with at this time. The blunt force trauma of a double decker must have sent me flying straight into Hell with a first-class ticket. After all, if I was where I thought I was then I had certainly not checked into that grand ol' hotel in the clouds.

Lying in that field for the thirty minutes or so after waking up, looking up into the night sky at what qualifies as - or remains - a moon, I couldn't help but feel that I really didn't deserve this.

I'd not kicked any stray puppies.

I'd helped at least two old ladies cross the road in my lifetime.

I'd certainly not signed any form of document which would see my soul becoming some cruel god's plaything.

...

Well, at the very least I'd not done any of the above whilst sober, so I would have liked to think that I was safe from reincarnating in fucking Remnant of all places.

Evidently not, considering the surroundings I've found myself in. Still, it's not exactly Warhammer so I suppose there had to be some silver lining in regards to this proverbial haymaker to my jaw.

Right, well, let's take a step back and start from the top and see if we can't figure out what happened and why, shall we?

My day had started just fine, first and foremost. I woke up, showered, dressed and all that normal stuff. Nothing out of the ordinary, right? Well, then I was walking to work, stopped at the lights and waited for that dutiful green man to appear.

I'd seen a bus on the far end of the road coming up, but he was nowhere near me when the lights began to change. Once they went red, I stepped out and started crossing.

Then my memory gets real fuzzy. As in, I can't remember a single detail afterwards. Almost like the memory had been knocked out of me. 

Again, I blame the bus.

After a bit of screaming, pleading and crying to the Heavens got me nowhere I decided that I'd just have to roll with it for now until I could find somebody to tell me just what in the fuck was going on with this second life I'd seemingly been granted.

Maybe Ozpin would have some answers. Or Salem, considering they're both immortal wizards or some shite. 

Then again, Salem is also trying to end the world and kill/enslave everyone with a pulse, so maybe she won't be as forthcoming with what I need.

Joy.

For now, I couldn't just stay where I was forever. Sure, I might have somehow survived whatever got me here but if I stuck around for long enough then exposure would likely finish the job.

If the Grimm didn't find me first.

"Could have been reincarnated in fucking My Little Pony or somewhere similar," I grumble, pushing branches out of my face, "you know, where nothing bad happens and there's not some bitch hellbent on world destruction with creatures that want to disembowel me for the heinous crime of existing."

I've been walking now for at least an hour or so, relying on my surprisingly good night vision to guide me to... wherever I end up. Preferably civilization of some sorts - at the very least somewhere with a phone. 

Or a bus. That way, I can throw myself under it and hopefully get sent back home.

"And why the fuck do I sound like a child? What am I, seven? Eight? Fuck sake."

Yeah, turns out that, whatever had happened to me seems to have turned me into, well, a child. I think. At the very least, I'm not the 21 year old that I was earlier today.

My clothes were now ill-fitting and I had to rip parts of it off to keep from tripping over myself every few seconds. 

Another good reason for me to be a rather pissed of individual I'd say.

So far, I hadn't really found anything to point me in any particular direction. For the most part I've just been walking in a straight line, hoping for some sort of road or path to make itself visible. So far, I've found nothing but shrubbery. At the very least I've not seen nor heard any sign of Grimm in the forest, so I at least have that going for me.

The small bit of happiness I get from that is quickly replaced by worry when I realise that, should I encounter any in my current state, I am certainly fucked. I have no weapon to speak of and I have no Aura to protect me should I be attacked.

I think?

Looking around, I see a rather large tree just a few yards to me left. Striding up to it, I punch it as hard as I can.

The result really should have been obvious from the start. 

I carry on making my way through the forest, albeit now with what feels like a broken hand and with the knowledge that I certainly do not have my Aura unlocked. 

Truly, I am a genius the likes of which the world has never seen.

Ignoring the pain, I carry on walking, my thoughts drifting to other aspects of the world that I have found myself in. Storywise, I knew that everything had gone to shit for the cast.

I hadn't seen the newest Volume yet but I did know that Atlas became Atlantis, half the main cast were either dead or in the void and that everyone had gone through the evac portal and landed in Vacuo.

All in all, not the future that I'd like to be living through. Or in, for that matter - I don't even know where I am.

Hell, I don't even know where I am full stop. 

Considering my general area, I can probably safely assume that I'm in neither Vacuo or Atlas. With what limited knowledge I possess, I'll have to guess that I'm in one of three places: Vale, Mistral or Menagerie. At least they're my best guesses anyway.

The thought of Faunus central makes me pause quickly. Time to double check something. Teeth? Normal. Tail? Nope. Hands and feet? All accounted for and nothing out of the ordinary.

I rub a hand through my hair, sighing in relief. Still being human means I get to stay sane a little longer and, at the very least, means I'm not going to be designated a flight risk at Atlas international anytime soo-

I frown, coming to a stop. I flick my ear and the sensation makes both of my ears twitch. My furry ears twitch.

Not human, then. Yay.

"Oh wonderful, yet another thing to add to my growing list of 'Things that are suddenly going wrong in my life'." I mutter ruefully, trying my hardest not to start screaming in misery and despair.

What am I exactly then? As in, what type of Faunus? They feel like dog ears. A wolf, possibly? Sure hope not - that would just be unoriginal as fuck, that. Regardless, I guess it would explain how I've managed to see so well in the dark up to this point. Were I not trying my best to not curl up into a ball and cry Id have probably clocked on to that peculiar fact earlier on.

Curling up into a ball can come later, then. For now I need to keep moving and find a settlement or something resembling civilisation. Debating my ongoing existence can wait until I have a roof over my head and a drink in my hand. Until such a grand time, I just need to-

A sudden squawk from up above has me jolting in place, letting out a rather unmanly yelp.

I turn quickly upwards towards the noise, finding a crow having perched atop a branch just above my head, staring down at me with its beady red eyes. Letting out a relieved chuckle, thankful that it wasn't anything bigger, I give it a friendly wave.

"Hello, Mr Qrow." I say, smiling innocently at the avian. Yeah, imagine my luck if I've been wandering around just to stumble on best Drunkle in the middle of nowhere. That would be really funny, that.

The bird tilts its head in what I assume is curiosity at the noises coming from the creature below its perch, before looking up behind me and squawking again, this time a bit louder.

Huh, if I didn't know any better I'd have thought it was trying to warn me. I follow its eyes and my smile instantly evaporates.

My bowels nearly do so also. 

Standing a good dozen or so meters behind me is a Beowolf.

Well shit, how’s that for bad luck?

For a few comical seconds I stare at it in silence, wondering just how it managed to get so close behind me without making even a sound. I suppose I'm lucky enough that it hasn't made a move yet but that was most definitely besides the point.

Alrighty then, I think I have time for some quick maths before I get bloody devoured. How about an ‘X’ plus ‘Y’ equals ‘Z’ scenario.

That thing is a Grimm.

I don't have a weapon or any means of self-defence to speak of.

If ‘X’ is the former and ‘Y’ is the latter, then the result must logically mean that ‘Z’ equals me moving right the fuck away from here rapidly.

And by rapidly I mean right fucking now, please and thank you.

I don't have to tell myself twice before breaking out into a sprint, diving headfirst through the bushes and onwards. Behind me, I can hear the Beowolf giving chase, its oversized bulk ripping right through the shrubbery behind me as its growls grew louder and closer with each passing second. As it was I had no hope of outrunning it just as equally as I had no chance of fighting the damn thing.

Damned if I do, damned if I don't. Lucky me.

Suddenly, my instincts scream at me to dive. I do so, just in time for the Beowolf to pounce over me, its claws passing through the space where my torso just was. It lands clumsily and tumbles into a nearby tree, momentarily stunned as it thrashes on the ground.

Finally, some good luck.

I don't even think twice before taking advantage, clambering back to my feet and continuing my sprint through the forest, my little legs burning from the exertion. If I can just keep dodging it, maybe, just bloody maybe I'll end up finding help. Who doesn't want to help a child in need, after all?

Another scream from my instincts has me dodging yet another swipe of an oversized claw, leaving me desperately scrambling up and forwards once again.

Have I mentioned just how much of a fan I am with my current situation? If not, just know that I am positively dying of joy right about now.

I make it only a good few feet before my foot catches a stray outcropping and I'm sent tumbling forward, landing face first into a small clearing. I have just enough time to roll over onto my back before I find myself looking up at the snarling Grimm, its baleful red eyes staring down at me with evil intentions. 

With nothing else to lose, I decide that my best course of action is to throw the biggest punch to its face that my childlike body possibly can. It served to do nothing but anger the beast and to further aggravate my already injured hand, eliciting a pained and despairing wince from yours truly.

As if savouring the moment the Grimm took its sweet time, slowly opening its mouth and showing off the great many teeth within its gaping maw.

Well, I have to say my short stay here was most certainly not enjoyable and I that I will certainly not be recommending it to my friends. One star review, coming right up-

A loud bang reverberates through the forest and directly into my ears. All of them, that is.

And I guess I'll go deaf as well whilst I’m at it just before I get eaten.... alive.... oh, maybe not.

The now headless Grimm doesn't move for a few seconds before it topples to one side, its body already beginning to disintegrate before my very eyes.

I blink, not exactly sure just what in the fuck had happened. 

I'm not too sure I want to know just what in the fuck had happened either.

"Hey kid," a man off to the side, his gravelly voice very familiar, "not sure what you're trying to achieve out here, but there's easier ways to get yourself killed."

I turn my head to the side, looking up at the man with his big fuck-off scythe with smoke emanating from a pair of barrels at the weapons handle. He's staring down at me with what looks like amusement. Or annoyance. I'm not too sure, considering my position on the floor. "Do you maybe feel like going somewhere that's not gonna turn you into Grimm food?"

I'd laugh at how I've somehow managed to just have Qrow Branwen stumble across me in the middle of nowhere to save my life, but I think I'd rather just nod and follow along before something else decides that I'd be a tasty morsel.

I do just that.

Mayhap my luck is actually turning around, hey?

The two of us sit in silence for a few moments, enjoying our drinks in peace. I was given something non-alcoholic which completely sucked considering I could really do with blacking out after today's events, but I guess even Qrow is responsible enough not to give alcohol to a literal child. What a Saint he is.

The tavern he had brought us to was a quaint little place and certainly a much more pleasant environment than that damn forest and it's horse sized man-eating wolves. The silence is broken after a while by Qrow, who seemed to have been unsure on quite what to say to the lost child in front of him.

"So, Harrow, yeah? You, uh, got anywhere to go?" He asks, eyeing me with uncertainty.

Qrow had quickly put me on the spot shortly after we arrived, the older man having been mostly quiet whilst he brought me to the town. I had to make up a hell of a lot of bullshit to pass off as a backstory. I couldn't exactly say to the guy, "Oh you know, I just woke up in the middle of nowhere after probably dying in a previous life, finding myself in a fictional world where everything not walking on two legs wants to eat me alive and everything else with two legs have giant weapons and soul powers and want to either murder me, enslave me or otherwise do mean and horrible things to my person," and hope he took it well.

That would be silly and, whilst I may be going crazy with each passing second, I don't think I'm that stupid.

So long story short? I introduced myself under the newly made-up alias of Harrow Grey, telling Qrow that I had been shipwrecked by a Grimm attack on my way to Vale from Atlas and that, for the past few days or so I had been slowly trying to find civilization - or fellow survivors - and trying my best to keep away from any wandering Grimm.

He didn't seem to believe me at first, so I made up some stuff about how I had lost my parents in a mining accident and that I was constantly mistreated due to my Faunus heritage in the orphanage I was placed in, leading me to run away and stow away on the first ship I could find.

Mentioning the mistreatment seemed to get me some points - he likely knew all about how Faunus weren't exactly first class citizens in Atlas of all places, even more so when it came to the mines and their SDC owners. He didn't seem to enquire much further about my past after that which served my purposes just fine. The less details in a lie, the stronger it was to uphold.

Thank God I can still bullshit my way through life, even when forced into a new one out of the blue. 

Furthermore, I now knew that I was not in any of the places I had assumed earlier. Turns out I'm on Patch, that little island just off the coast of Vale. Not the most important of places in regards to the story I guess, but famous enough for me for being the home of best girl Ruby herself. I suppose that's not too bad, then. There are certainly worse places that I could have ended up in, I guess? Certainly would have been the final nail in my proverbial coffin if I'd ended up in the Grimmlands.

Last I checked this place has Signal Academy, yes? Maybe an option for later, if I need to learn to be a Huntsman. 

Then again, do I? Going there would mean learning to fight and whatnot which, whilst very, very essential considering where I am, that path likely leads to Beacon as well.

Well, maybe not exactly but, with my foreknowledge of future events I'd certainly be a very useful individual at Beacon in terms of keeping people alive. It's certainly-

Okay, no. That train of thought can stay at the station for now. It is far too soon to be planning for anything in the future when I'm still trying to wrap my head around the present. Still, disregarding what just just happened with the Grimm nearly an hour ago, the island is probably a good place for me to, well, get my bearings I guess. 

At the very least, having met Qrow I can maybe try and get on his good side. Or try and get in good with Taiyang and his girls - knowing some of the main characters on a first name basis will get me closer to that damn Wizard in his high tower.

Maybe. Fuck If I know what I'm doing in regards to how I approach Ozzy Ozbourne over there. That's even if I get the chance to do so.

One step at a time, Harrow. Future later, present now. Learn to walk before you run and whatnot.

I shrug, looking away from Qrow and at the table in front of me, putting on a show of looking like the sad, orphaned child. Shit, I really need to figure out how old I'm supposed to be. A 21 year old stuck in a child's body.

It would be a lot funnier if it didn't sound very illegal. Or if it also wasn't exactly what was happening to me. 

"Not really." God I hate how young I sound. I sniff loudly, willing tears to appear in my eyes. "I don't wanna go back to the orphanage - everyone is m-mean to me there." So far so good, he looks sympathetic. Keep pressing, Harrow. Looking up at the man, I give him the best teary eyed look that I can muster. "D-do you know wha-what I should d-do?"

Christ alive, this hurts my pride. I'm a grown man, for fucks sake.

Regardless of the battering my self-esteem was taking it works in getting Qrow to nod sympathetically, his hand coming up to scratch at the his stubble. A few seconds later and he grins, a mischievous look in his eyes.

"Yeah, I might have an idea with what to do with you. Not sure if he'll agree, but I don't think he'll have the heart to turn you away, kiddo."

Well happy days, progress. About time something went my way.

Wait, he? Who exactly is 'he' supposed to be?

An hour later and I was sitting on the floor inside the Xiao Long households living front room, willing myself not to throw myself out of the nearest window. It would be bad manners, after all.

"Girls?" Taiyang says, drawing the attention of the two girls away from me for the moment. "I'm just going to talk to your uncle a bit more, okay? Play nice." 

"We will!" Ruby and Yang reply, watching as their father turns and heads into the next room, the door shutting behind him. With that, they turn back to me, happy to continue from where they'd left off. 

My ears twitch at their touch and I scowl, though they cannot see it.

I'm going to throw myself at that bus with a damn smile on my face.

I was hoping that Qrow would put me up in a room somewhere and leave me to it, or, at the very least, maybe he'd have a friend willing to take me in for a few days whilst I figured out just what in the hell I was supposed to do with my new life.

I mean, he did go with the latter, I just wasn't expecting him to hand me off to fucking Taiyang. Sure, I said earlier that I would have liked to meet some of the main characters, I just wasn't planning on sleeping in the same house as them on day one.

Ah well, if there's any positive to this it's that I now have a better grasp at how old I am and where I am in terms of canon. I'm only slightly taller than a 7 year old Yang, so I'd like to think that I'm more or less correct now in my assumption of being a 7 year old, likely pushing on 8. Not great, not terrible, just simply annoying as all hell. At the very least I don't have to be stuck living throughout the toddler era.

There's a reason nobody remembers their early years and I am in no mood to find out why. So long as I can walk and talk, I can work with that.

Furthermore, timeline wise? Well, if Yang and Ruby are seven and five years old respectively then that should put me a solid decade before the events of Volume 1, right? Ruby is fifteen by the time she starts Beacon after all, so I should have quite a bit of time before the shit hits the fan.

Plenty of time for me to figure out how and where to run off to before the inevitable.

That's one less thing to worry about then. For now, I won't have to worry about anything horrendously life threatening, I guess. So long as I keep out of that forest for the foreseeable future anyway.

Turns out also that there are barely any - if any at all - Faunus on Patch from what Qrow told me on the way here. This means I'm the first Faunus that Yang and Ruby have ever seen. As a direct result I had fallen victim to their childlike curiosity and wonder at seeing someone with wolf ears. It was equivalent of a child seeing a dog for the first time, promptly followed by the inevitable reaction of wanting to poke, scratch and cuddle with the fluffy four legged creature.

Except I have two legs and I sure as shit didn't consent to this.

Oh and yes - turns out my earlier assumption about being a wolf? Taiyang and Qrow had confirmed it for me before I had stepped foot in the house.

Pop off me, I guess.

"Your ears are really fluffy, Har-rooow." The older sibling says, the big grin on her face showing just how proud she is of that particular pun. I can only stare forward at the wall, refusing to take the bait and encouraging the blonde's likely beginnings of what will be a long and miserable string of abysmal puns. "You are paws-sibly adorable!"

I swear to God, I will end myself right here and now.

Ruby, who is sitting to my right and is thankfully being a damn sight more gentle with my other ear frowns at her older sister, pointing at her as menacingly as only a five year old child could. 

"Pway nice, Yang!" Ruby says, before the frown melts away and to the gleeful expression she was sporting a moment ago as she returns to her slow yet amazingly satisfying scratching with a wide smile.

...Okay, maybe not right now. 

Ear scratches first, planning second, bashing my head into a wall until things begin to make sense third.

Never let it be said that I can't prioritise the essentials. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

I'll admit, I was actually rather annoyed with Qrow for just ditching me with Taiyang and dipping out. The guy had more or less dropped me at Tai's feet, told him what had happened and effectively guilt tripped the poor man into putting me up in his house for a while.

Granted, I would have done the exact same thing to get a roof over my head as well, but because I'm such an adorable little child he would have said yes a lot quicker than he did for Qrow.

I suppose there has to be some benefit for being stuck as a child, even if they're heavily outweighed by the cons

Hell, don't get me wrong for I was very much grateful for the fact that he had, you know, saved my life and whatnot, but I would have at least liked the chance to talk to him a little bit more. I might've been able to try and get him to speak to Ozzy on my behalf, or something. Or at least maybe pass on a message?

...Nah, far too risky.

I doubt Qrow would listen much to the ramblings of a terrified 7 year old, even if he were to be relatively sober enough to listen. All that I would probably accomplish if I started bringing up Ozpin to Qrow would be to have quite a bit of unneeded suspicion thrown my way from the shapeshifting alcoholic as to how or why some random kid from the other side of the world wanted to talk to his boss - I'd rather he weren't paranoid over whether I worked for Salem or some shit when I was bunking in the same building as his nieces.

I could probably have still said something to Taiyang but I think it'd be the same result; Taiyang is more or less a semi-retired single dad-of-two so I doubt he'd be as much in the know as Qrow is anyway. I think so anyway. That and he's busy at Signal half the time anyway, I assume. He's always out for at least half the day teaching whilst we're here.

I am right in my belief that Tai is, like, detached from the goings on of the main story for a while, right? If I remember correctly, after Summer died Taiyang more or less retired and became a stay-at-home-dad for Ruby and Yang growing up. How much does big daddy T know about Salem and the gang? Considering how close he is to his daughters, I doubt he'd have just stayed at home if he knew about the relics and whatnot, so I can probably assume that he only partly knew about the goings on in regards to the main story. 

Out of all of Ozymandias's little boyband Tai is probably the one who knew the least about how fucked the world was getting. I doubt Oz or Qrow told him much and I assume Glynda and Ironwood would be equally tightlipped, the general likely even more so.

Summer probably knew a lot more than he did, but she's sadly not around to pass that knowledge on.

Shit, how old were the kids again when she passed? They can't have been too old - Ruby was, like, a toddler at the time if I'm right.

Fuck me, I wish I'd read up on all of this before I embarked on this involuntary holiday of mine. I'll need to spend a solid while trying to piece everything together into some sort of timeline for later.

Ramblings aside, Taiyang was kind enough to let me stick around with him and the kids for as long as I needed, though I wasn't about to just live with them rent-free. I at least told him to let me help around where I could to earn my keep, I.E cleaning, cooking, manual labour and whatnot.

He was hesitant at first at the thought of me helping around - likely not a fan of how it would look for him to have a Faunus performing such menial tasks in the house - but I was adamant and, in the end, he got an extra hand to help around the house and I got to remain safe in the XiaoLong residence.

A win-win for the both of us.

I wanted to do those things anyway; there's a sense of normalcy in basic tasks that help to offset my growing insanity.

Plus, manual labour means exercise and exercise means I get to grow up big and strong and I'll be less likely to be eaten by a Grue.

Delightful.

'Chop'

I've been with the Xiao Long's now for the past two years and, to be honest, it's been a rather peaceful experience.

'Chop'

Well, as peaceful as it can be in a world where strolling the countryside is to court death. Rough with the smooth, or however that saying goes.

'Chop'

I had expected by now to have had to go through at least another dozen of life and death experiences by now but thankfully, for both my sanity and health, that was not the case. The perks of living with an elite class Huntsmen - semi-retired as he is - are certainly worth it. Taiyang is most definitely a capable fighter - to be expected from a Huntsmen of his caliber.

'Chop'

That's not to say however that I wasn't at the very least preparing for a likely inevitable encounter with the Grimm. I was lucky enough to survive my previous encounter with that Beowolf a few years ago when Qrow popped in to blow it's damn head off and bring me here. I'd like to avoid being in that helpless situation in the future and if that means being able to hold my own in a fight and kill the damn things before they kill me? 

Well, I can certainly work with that.

'Chop'

Have you ever chopped wood before? It's not easy to do in the body of a child, but it's gotten a lot easier with practice.

When done correctly, it works all the muscles in the upper body, including the arms, back, chest and shoulders. It also strengthens the core and legs, depending on the type of chopping motion you perform. It's also a full body activity that requires using your own bodyweight and involves cardiovascular conditioning to keep your heart rate up. When combined with other movements such as jumping or running, it provides a great aerobic workout. Overall, it's doing wonders for my health.

Additionally, it’s an engaging workout that can help keep you motivated. 

Motivated to not be mauled to death by a Grimm.

'Chop'

"Hey kid?" I pause, my chest heaving. "You still going strong?" Taiyang shouts, his voice coming from the other side of the house. The joys of being a wolf Faunus - not only can I see in the dark well, I seem to have also picked up a better sense of hearing. 

If only I got a sick pair of claws, I could've made for some shitty fanfiction Wolverine or something stupid.

"Yes sir," I shout back, dropping the axe and leaning against the wall, sweat pouring down my face, "having the time of my life." I can hear him laugh in response, his footsteps getting louder. A few moments later and he appears around the corner, nodding appreciatively at the amount of wood I'd chopped for the cabin.

As I said - I'm earning my keep one way or another. 'Mama didn't raise no slacker.

"Well you keep having fun then, kid. I'm going to be out for most of the day - I need to head into town and sort some things out. Can you keep an eye on the girls for me?" He asks. I nod and he smiles, his hand coming to rest on my head, ruffling my hair. "Good boy."

I should really bite his hand for that. It'd be funny, I think.

"That's racist." I remark, swatting his hand away with a grin. I know he doesn't mean it like that.

He's a good guy, Mr T.

"Only if I meant it like that. I'll see you later, alright?" He says, before walking away. "Keep swinging for the trees, kid." I wave him off, placing another piece of wood onto the block, before looking back at Tai in the distance. I keep my eyes on him until he disappears into the forest, before shrugging and turning back to the log.

'Chop'

I've also given a lot more thought as to what I'm supposed to do with myself. For now, I've given up on the whole 'how did I get here' question and instead focused more on the 'what do I do here' question instead. Out of the two it's certainly the one that I've probably got a better chance of answering for myself.

I keep going for an hour or so before I finally decide that I've done enough for now. I'm absolute exhausted and I could barely raise my arms above my head. Something to eat right now sounds great. Water, also. Water sounds positively divine. Leaning the axe against the wall of the house, I stumble my way to the front of the house. 

When did Tai say he was gonna be back again? Oh yeah, not for the day. Okay, cool.

Just me and the girls then I suppose.

Speaking of...

"Girls?" I call out as I enter the cabin, wondering what the two kids were up to. Usually one of them would have been pestering me by now in the middle of my routine but, for the first time in a while, I'd had no interruptions. "You both alright?" I'm met by silence.

Huh. That's unlike them. They still asleep? A quick search upstairs reveals that neither of the girls are in their room. Another callout and I'm met again by silence. 

Are they playing Hide and Seek? Against the guy with, like, super hearing?

"The hell are they?" I murmur to myself, trying to pick up on any noise in the house other than my own breathing and rising heart rate.

Nothing. Huh.

My search brings me into the kitchen, where after finding yet again no trace of either Yang or Ruby, I sink into a chair. I'm beginning to worry now - finding missing children is not exactly my specialty. It's as I'm trying to think on my next course of action that I glance at a piece of paper on the other end of the table. I stare at it for a second, before rushing over and grasping it, bringing it up to my face.

Once I've read it back a couple of time, I gently place the piece of paper down. Well, as gently as I could with my hand shaking the way it is. I calmly stroll over to the window, staring out into the forest with my face void of expression. I remain where I am for a good few seconds, processing what I've just read. 

Shortly afterwards, anyone who might've been wandering the forest nearby would have been shocked to hear just many curses a livid, axe wielding seven year old can string together in quick succession when he's sprinting at full speed into the trees.

I'll take my chances with the Grimm.

At least they'll be gentle compared to what Tai would do to me.

I feel the need to re-iterate a point I made earlier.

I hate my life.

Seriously. I really do.

That note that had been left on the kitchen table? That was written by Yang, who oh so kindly decided to leave it there for me to say she'd taken herself and Ruby to find her mother. Her birth mother, Raven. You know, the bitch who decided to just up and vanish after she gave birth the blonde because of whatever silly reason she had at the time. It doesn't matter now. All I knew was that both the girls had headed into the forest and I was in no way shape or form letting them stay there alone.

Especially not when I knew what was in the forest. 

I'd really rather not have two of the most essential characters to the plot get mauled to death before they even hit their teens. That would be very ungentlemanly of me. Furthermore, their dad will rip me a new arsehole and I'm quite content with the one I have.

Fucking Yang.

Fucking stupid, thoughtless Yang.

What in the fuck was she thinking!?

Who in their right fucking mind decides that strolling into the forest full of man eating beasts is a good idea? Just to search some random ass abandoned building that is likely to have nothing of value? Furthermore, who in their right mind decides that all of that is such a good idea that it's also worth taking their defenseless baby sister with them!? Ruby is seven years old, damnit. Yang is bloody nine!

Hell, I'm nine!

Biologically anyway!

And I'm sprinting through the woods with a bloody axe!

This isn't even stupid, it's fucking insanity.

I've known the girls personally now for two years. I like them, I really do. They're adorable little things. Ruby is the most adorable child to exist and she gives the best ear rubs and for those two reasons alone I'd be happy to let her get away with murder and armed robbery if she wanted. Yang I also enjoy, only so that I can just mess with her hair and watch her have a mini-meltdown at my monstrous act.

Christ, I knew the girl was a hothead - literally - but this?

This grand decision she's made right here?

This takes the cake and launches it at terminal velocity into a fucking wall. 

It's so inconceivably dumb and ill-thought that I don't know whether to laugh in her face when I find her or just straight up backhand the stupidity out of that blonde head of hers. 

God, I hope they're okay.

Soon enough, my ranting comes to an end when I pick up on a noise ahead, probably half a mile or so north. It sounds like... wheels? Like a wagon? My eyes narrow. It has to be them, surely. Tai's wagon was missing and I hadn't seen him take it with him when he left. Yang must have taken it so that Ruby wouldn't need to walk. At least she was kind enough to give her baby sister something to sit in whilst she lead them both into the lions den.

I pick up the pace, gripping the axe handle just a little bit harder. I was still exhausted from my earlier activities, so sprinting through the forest for as long as I have been? Definitely not a healthy combination. I felt like throwing up, but I really didn't have time to stop. 

I cut my way through a bush, the branches breaking apart at my swings. I step through and spy a small path, the tracks of the wagon evident in the ground. I grin.

Progress.

They're not far; the wagon tracks look fresh. I carry on running, my adrenaline kicking back in. A few minutes later and I spot a figure in the distance pulling along a wagon, with what appeared to be a dilapidated barn just ahead of her. 

Fucking finally. Striding up to the wagon, I leave my axe just inside, next to a clearly sleeping Ruby. Typical of her to be dozing off in such a serious situation like this.

Never change, Rubio.

"Yang!" I shout, the girl in question freezing up at my voice. She just about manages to turn around before I grab her and pull her close, my arms wrapping around her. You silly, stupid girl. How dare you make me care.

She looked an absolute mess. Her clothes were muddied, sleeves torn, cuts and bruises adorned her legs and arms. There was also the clear signs of exhaustion on her face - it looked like the girl had been dragging that wagon for hours. With what energy she had, she returned my hug though it was obvious it was more for her own balance than it was out of affection. The girl could barely stand as it was. For now, my anger gave way to relief.

Thank fuck they were both fine.

"H-Harrow?" She whispered, "H-how did you find us?" I lean away from her and lightly tap my ears. She chuckles tiredly, before her head droops to rest on my shoulder, her breaths coming out raggedly. I'm effectively propping her up by this point. "'Mm so tired."

"Clearly," I reply, coming to her side and putting her arm over me to help her balance. I need to get her and her sister out of here and back to the house. I'd rather we weren't found by those that called the forest home. "You can barely stand, Yang." Ruby is somehow still sleeping as I take up the wagon handle, dragging both it and Yang back the way we came - away from that barn. 

I had a bad feeling about what was inside. I start to lead her away, pushing the wagon back down the path we'd all come from.

"Just what in the name of all that is damn holy were you thinking, Yang!?" The girl shakes her head, struggling to keep her eyes open. If it weren't for me propping her up she'd have likely collapsed by now. The poor, hotheaded fool.

"My... my mother, she-" 

"-isn't here, Yang!" It's true. Why in the fuck would she think that Raven would just be chilling around here? "Why would she just be out here in the middle of nowhere?"

"I found a picture, Harrow," she replies, "it was... it was in the house. It was that barn... I thought that... I thought it would be a clue to finding her." I stare at her for a few seconds, before shaking my head, my hand still pulling the wagon behind me. At least she had some reason for coming all the way out here, however ill-thought out her plan may have been.

Doesn't make it any less bloody stupid however.

"Trust me, Yang, I doubt there's anything good in that barn. Wherever she is, your mother isn't going to be in there - the only things wandering around in this forest are rabbits, squirrels and-"

A growl emanates from behind us and we freeze.

"-oh bollocks."

The two of us turn and, sure enough, in the darkness of the barn we can make out the familiar and unwelcome sight of those glowing, red eyes in the dark. If we survive this, Yang and I were going to be having a long and serious talk on the definition of what common sense means.

"Oh great, now PAW Patrol's rocked up. Grand, that." 

As if the one Beowolf two years ago wasn't bad enough, now I get three of them. I am so fucking happy.

Am I going to kill these Grimm? Un-bloody-likely. I can barely pick the thing up at the point, let alone swing the damn thing. I'm far too exhausted to put up a fight and I know it. I can probably manage one or two swings and that'll be that Still, I'm not going down without a fight and, at the very least, maybe I can give those two a few seconds head start before I'm inevitably dashed against a tree. "Yang, take Ruby and start moving would you?" I can only take a single step towards the Grimm before Yang grasps my arm.

"N-no! You-you can't!" She's certainly not wrong. If I'm being generous, in my current state I reckon I can survive for, like, five seconds? Ten if I'm being ultra kind to myself. 

It's a coin toss, really.

"We're not outrunning them without a distraction blondie. I have an axe and a dream, so if you could kindly take Ruby and start fucking running then that would be grand." I pull away from the girl, leaving her to take Ruby and hopefully start running. Hopefully the adrenaline will see her home before she collapses in the middle of the damn forest. At the very least, hopefully the two won't be around to watch me get absolutely destroyed. Saving them the trauma would be nice. 

So would surviving, but unless divine intervention decides to spare me I don't think an axe will cut it. I smile grimly at that.

"Suppose I'll have to fine out," I remark to myself, giving the axe a test swing as the Grimm prowl closer, snarling. My ears pick up on a sudden movement to my left. Sure enough, that particular Grimm decides to lunge towards me. For a split second I remember what it was like to be pinned under that Beowolf two years ago. 

Unlike that time however, I'm just that little bit more prepared and I'm able to duck under it as it launches itself at me, it's claws sailing harmlessly over me. It lands back down a moment later, turning back towards me with the intent on trying again.

It's reward is an axe to the face. 

Much to my surprise, it actually bloody works. The axe goes straight through it's bone-like mask and, if the resulting howl of pain is any indication, further in. It thrashes around for a few seconds before it collapses to the ground, no longer moving. Time seems to slow down around me as I take in what just happened.

Huh, I think it's dead. 

I think I actually killed it. 

I think I actually fucking killed it!

Holy shit! Being a lumberjack paid off! 

I'm then promptly sent flying like a ragdoll when one of it's fellows decides to swipe at me, clearly not sharing my joyous mood at having vanquished one of his friends. 

He must be fun at parties.

I can just about hear Yang shouting my name in terror before I crash into a nearby tree, my body crumpling to the floor like a sack of potatoes. I could taste iron in my mouth, my vision darkening rapidly.

The sounds of a scythe being swung was the last thing I heard before I lost consciousness. I could've sworn I also smelt vodka, but maybe that's just what Heaven smelt like.

I wouldn't say no to that right about now.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I decided that that was a bad idea. The pain lancing through my head forced them shut again and I was left gritting my teeth whilst I waited for it to pass. It did after a moment and I was able to try again. This time, no pain. Always a good sign for a man who by all accounts should be six feet under right about now. 

Speaking of, why aren't I in a box ol' wooden box right about now?

A quick glance at my chest shows that I'm covered in bandages. Surprisingly enough, that seems to be the only part of me that is outwardly showing off my injured state. As far as I can tell, the rest of me feels fine. Surprising, considering I was more or less twatted into a tree by a Beowolf with what should've been lethal force. Hell, I'm surprised I wasn't bisected by the swing itself but I'm not exactly going to start complaining about that, no sir.

I'll just be happy that I get to continue living.

Taking in my surroundings, I'm surprised to find that I was back in my room back at the Xiao-Long's. Tai had been kind enough to let me bunk in their spare bedroom these past couple of years, but that's besides the point. Why was I here? How am I here, even? I eye a rather sizeable glass of water on the table next to my head and I don't think twice before pushing myself up, grabbing that bad boy and downing it like a man possessed.

Much better.

With a content sigh, I drop my head back down into the pillow, happy to stare at the ceiling and contemplate today's events.

For the time being as well, I can enjoy some well deserved peace and qui-

The door slams opens and there's a gasp, followed by what I can only describe as a joyful squeal.

"Oh for fu-"

The air promptly escapes my lungs as Ruby throws herself on top of me, trying her damndest to squeeze the life out of me. 

So much for peace and quiet I suppose.

"Hey Red," I rasp, my arm wrapping around her to return the hug, "I'm happy to be alive as well, thanks for asking." 

"You know, kid," I turn to the doorframe, surprised to see Qrow standing there, "that's twice now that I've saved your furry ass."

Ah, that explains the scythe and the strong scent of ethanol I'd heard and smelt before I blacked out. He's not wrong either. Twice now he's saved me from certain death by being in the right place at the right time. What is he, a plot device?

Standing beside him is Yang, who is looking at me with a clear look of guilt on her face. I really should just tell her to fuck off, but I really don't think I have the heart to do that.

I wave Yang in and, just as fast as Ruby, she's on me, burying her face into my chest, the sobbing following shortly. I can hear her mumbling apologies and whatnot into my shirt, the girl evidently feeling a hell of a lot of guilt for my current state. Realistically I should be utterly pissed with the girl - she'd almost gotten the three of us killed just so she could have a chance at finding a woman long gone.

Then I have to remember that, despite everything, she is still just a child wanting answers as to why her mother had left her so soon after her birth. I can't really blame her for wanting answers - even if her idea of getting them turned out to be an idiotic one.

I'll just cut her hair in her sleep later. That'll make us even I think. For the time being, I'm content with letting the two try and kill me via affectional asphyxiation.

Beats death via Grimm in my book.

"Someone has to keep you in a job, old man," I chuckle, before grimacing in pain. It hurt to laugh, it seemed. The girls noticed this and relinquished their hold slightly. The Huntsmen chuckles in response, shaking his head before taking a hit from his flask. 

Wonder if I ask nicely he'll share.

...

Fuck it, why not.

I ask and, surprisingly, Qrow just looks at me, then to his flask, back to me and shrugs before throwing it over. "I suppose you've earnt it, Wolfy." I ignore such a stupidly apt nickname in favour of holding sweet release in the palm of my hand. Opening it, I take a careful sniff of the liquid, my senses being blasted by the strong smell of... 

"Is this battery acid?" 

"No?"

I take a swig.

I promptly regret my decision.

It's battery acid.

What the fuck.

"It's battery acid, Qrow."

"That's not what the guy I bought it from said it was." I stare at him, bewildered. He's actually being serious right now.

"You have literally been drinking battery acid. How have you not noticed this?" 

"I dunno," Qrow replies, shrugging, "a week, maybe?" My jaw is hanging open. "Hey, if it works then it works, right?"

I stare at him for a few seconds, unsure on how his liver is still functioning. In the end I give up, deciding that it's probably for the best that I don't know. Instead I turn to Ruby who has now moved to a sitting position on my chest, looking at me with those adorable, teary lil' silver eyes of hers. I offer her the flask.

"Hey Rubes, you wanna drink some battery acid?" 

"Eww, gross!"

Coward.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

Needless to say, Taiyang was pissed. And I really do mean pissed. With Yang mind you, not with me or Ruby - that little cookie monster was off the hook considering the little darling had slept her way through the entire thing.

Still not sure how she managed that but I digress.

After he'd 'vented' - I saw him punch a damn tree off of the ground and throw it into the forest - he quickly calmed down, sitting his daughter down and giving her a very stern talking to. I'd quickly decided to stop eavesdropping when I heard him mentioning 'Summer' and 'Raven'. I might have known their backstories, but right now they were living, breathing people. I didn't feel too comfortable on listening in then on clearly private conversations. I was content with what I knew. Anything else that I needed to know would probably make itself known sooner or later anyway, one way or another.

After he'd calmed down, he more or less offered to adopt me there and then for saving his girls, saying that he owed me an unpayable debt and all of that jazz. I was flattered, really, but unless he had the power to snap his fingers and return me to my own reality then I was more or less satisfied with my continued stay. I left that first part out, of course. I didn't need him to think that getting wrapped around a tree gave me brain damage. He was more than happy with me staying, saying in no short order that I could stay with them for as long as I wanted. 

The girls were also happy with that arrangement. By this point they were even referring to me as their newest sibling which I genuinely found rather endearing. I'd grown up an only child, so it was certainly a delightful experience. Ruby was specifically adamant that if I left then I would never find anyone as good as her at giving ear scratches.

That was more than enough for me to want to stay. I see now why animals love being scratched behind the ears so much. This shit's like sipping on McDonald's sprite on a hot summers day.

Damn wolf ears and their receptiveness to the magic touch. My one and only weakness in this world.

That and blunt force trauma.

On a more positive note, guess who had their Aura activated to heal any internal bleeding? This guy, that's who.

Turns out that my body did not react well when it got sent careening into that tree by the Grimm. I may have genuinely died had Taiyang not directly unlocked my Aura for me. From what he told me, my Aura was strong enough to seemingly heal some of my more serious injuries, though not all. I'd broken multiple ribs and my arm but, within a week or so most of my more serious injuries had healed. A few days after that and I was back to my normal routine of hitting logs and bullying children. 

Also, just to reinforce this world's whole obsession over colour, my Aura was grey. Like my name. 

Shock.

And whilst I'd sure love to go on a whole rant about how stupid the concept of Aura is and how coincidental it is that it appears just as I'm seriously injured like damn plot armour, I'm not going to do so. If I'm being really honest? I could not give a fuck on how it came about or why it chose that specific point to come into being. Might be divine intervention, might just be me winning a cosmic lottery ticket. As it was, I now had an omnipresent energy shield powered by my fucking soul to keep me safe. 

I'm certainly not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, nor am I going to get all philosophical about my soul being its battery. Another day, maybe.

Anyway, life continued to march ever onwards in the Xiao Long household. Yang, after everything that had happened, seemed to just mature almost overnight. Evidently almost getting herself, her sister and I killed got to her personally. She became a lot more careful when it came to anything concerning Ruby. In a way, I think she became a bit more... you know what, I think 'motherly' might be a good description for it. She was still her big sister, but she took a hell of a lot more consideration into things when Ruby was involved. I suppose she wasn't wrong when she said in the show that she had helped to raise Ruby. She'd certainly taken on a closer role in her upbringing. The young Ruby practically looked up to her, both figuratively and literally. 

Adorable little midget.

Some more years pass and Yang and I are suddenly both 13 years of age. Thankfully, Remnant seemed to operate under a similar calendar system that we have, just with alternate names that I won't bother to explain or describe. It's easier to go with what I know already than try to replace it. Translating their calendar into ours meant then that Yang's birthday fell on what would be July 28th, mine on September 12th and then Ruby on October 31st - fitting for our little Grimm Reaper.

Also, I hope nobody ever tries to find my birth certificate. I wonder if that's going to impact any future job applications I make? Is Beacon going to be asking for that?

Oh well, that's a bridge I can cross later. For now, Yang and I were heading off to high school to make friends. Yay me, I suppose.

Whilst more or less every child attends your basic Primary here, where they'll learn basic skills like Maths or Science or whatever else they teach here, there are alternative options when it comes to Secondary schooling. What are those options, you might ask? Well I'm glad you asked. There's your basic Secondary schools where they further the basic education and then, after five or so years, you go off into the wider world in search of work. More or less the same as back on Earth, yea?

Well we really don't need to care about them. What we're interested in are the Huntsmen Academies. The big boys being Beacon, Shade, Atlas and Haven. However, there are also smaller, less famous ones scattered through all of the kingdoms that act as 'feeders' into those big schools, molding potential students into candidates for enrollment. They are then whittled down via entrance exams, initiation ceremonies and whatever else the bigger academies employ as a requisite for entry.

Now, from what I've learnt these Secondary academies will start students in at 13, and teach them up until their 17th birthdays. From there, they're free to take the entrance exams to go onto the higher academies, like Beacon, or to do something else with their lives if they want to be a bit more boring. It's up to them, really. Then those bigger academies will go for around about another 4-5 years until you hit graduation.

So, start at 13, go on until around about your 21st birthday and then boom - you're now a qualified Witcher.

Huntsmen, even. My bad.

When it came to the term lengths they did it a bit weirder than what I was used too back in the U.K. There, you'd be starting in September and finishing up in July, with some fortnights in between for half-term breaks. Here, they weren't exactly following my old system of things. Instead students would mostly be starting in November and then finishing up near the end of September instead? Maybe at the tail end of August?

At least I believe this is how this is going. Things are weird to understand when you've had years of a different experience in mind as a source.

It also doesn't help that not much was explained in the show itself and whilst I'm certainly no expert on the timeline of the show - a fact that will more than likely come back to haunt me somewhere down the line - I believe that this would mean mean the first Volume kicks off in early November and ends somewhere within the Winter months, likely around February and just in time for Volume Two to roll on in.

From there they punch, study and all around whine their way through to the third Volume and the clusterfuck which is the Vytal Festival somewhere around late September or very early October, seeing as how the next school year would be starting in November.

That is, of course, if I have my facts right. Chances are I'm chatting shit however, because, again, my memory is a funny thing and I really cannot remember every last fine detail that comes from their academic schedules.

Was there ever an actual timeline beyond word of mouth from the show and the creators? Fuck if I know - I can't exactly run back and find out unfortunately. When the time comes, I'll just do what I've been doing so well thus far and improvise.

But I'm getting off track; I can worry about when everything is supposed to fall apart later as, for now, I needed to focus on my early years of schooling before I could worry about my impending brush with the cataclysmic fall of Vale.

Priorities, my friends.

Now of those smaller aforementioned academies is Signal Academy, located quite conveniently on the same island I was living on. Furthermore It's the same one which Yang and Ruby attended before they came to Beacon, with Ruby swapping out midway through thanks to good ol' Ozmodius.

This time around however I was going to be joining them. Unfortunately for her, Ruby wouldn't be able to join until Yang and I hit our 3rd year, so until such a time it would just be me and Yang rocking around. I'm still surprised I was allowed to enroll, considering I had more or less no form of identification. Again, having appeared overnight in this world I didn't exactly have any form of identification on me.

Regardless, I was still allowed to enroll thanks to Tai vouching for me. It certainly helped my case then as well that he was one of their best teachers.

Not sure if he had to pull any strings, but who was gonna say no to that guy?

Tai was circling me like a hawk, the two of us in the middle of the practice ring in the training hall. Behind us, the rest of the students are sitting in rapt attention as they observe their teacher at work. It's only my second week at Signal and, so far? It's been quite alright. It had only been a few years since I had finished my education, so the routine wasn't amazingly different. Sure, there's the added courses revolving around fighting for my life against man-hungry terrors and their relevant sub-courses, but for the most part it was rather similar to my own schooling back on Earth.

As in, it was boring beyond belief. 

Just when I thought I was done with constant essays and playground drama, I'm forced right back into it. I wasn't too happy, but there wasn't much to be done about that. Better to get it over with and endure until we finish up at Signal. There'll be a lot to learn here that'll help out if I should decide to gun it for Beacon.

"Your stance has improved, but there's still some errors that I can see. Your left foot - bring it slightly more forward."

I do so. He stands there for a moment, then lets out a grunt of approval.

"Better. Now then," he holds his palm out, "show me a decent punch."

I hit him as hard as I can in the palm. His aura flares slightly but, for the most part, he doesn't react.

"The strength is there," he says, "but you still need to work on your technique. It's going to be clear as day to your opponent that you're going to swing at them when they see you winding your arm like that. Your punches, whilst strong, need to be quick and unpredictable, not televised for all the world to see. You're just going to be countered at every turn by a proper fighter if you showcase yourself like that."

Tai turns away from me and towards the rest of the class, pacing back and forth. "In a fight, the way you balance yourself is of the utmost importance. If you're not in full control of your body, then you're only setting yourself up for your opponent to take advantage. Your stance keeps you balanced, keeps you aware and, more importantly, keeps you in control of yourself. That, children, is the most important thing in a fight: Control. Controlling your emotions, controlling your body and, if possible, controlling your environment. The moment you lose control is the moment you lose the fight. Remember that."

With a nod of dismissal he sends me back to join the rest of the students and calls up two random students to spar. Whilst they do that, I make my way over to Yang who, even without me looking to confirm, is definitely sitting there with a smug smile. I flop down into my chair with a groan, gesturing for Yang to get the jokes over with.

And she does so with that damnably smug smirk on her face.

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Yang had quickly asserted herself as the dominant fighter in close quarters these past two weeks. Even before we enrolled into Signal, we’d started doing light sparring back home, with Tai teaching and supervising every step of the way. It became quite clear from the beginning that Yang was far better than I at hand-to-hand combat. The amount of times she's knocked me on my arse has long since been uncountable on both hands. I doubt I'd be able to surpass her in close quarters before our time at Signal comes to an end, but at the very least I'm hopeful that I'll remain in a respectable position behind.

I'll be content with being in the top five if I can.

Regardless, I'm hoping that I'll fare a lot better with an actual weapon. That way, I won't be stuck with just my hands in our spars. I already know that she'll be rocking around with those shotgun gauntlets of hers, further enhancing her close quarters capabilities so I'll have to take those into account when we get to that point.

I'm still unsure on what I'll be making just yet next year when we're allowed to craft our personal weapons. A Huntsmen's weapon is an extension of themselves, or however the saying goes around here. Whatever I make then has to be as much a representation of myself as an individual just as much as it has to be an effective tool for combat.

A shame then that I can't just build myself a fucking nuke and call it a day. Would certainly solve a lot of problems that I might be facing in the future. 

Imagine the look on Salem's face if I were to just launch a nuke at her like I was Liberty Prime? That'd be a sight and a half.

I'd definitely like to make something similar to what Ruby has; a melee weapon that can transform into something to be used at range would give me a much needed edge. Something hard hitting, regardless of whether it's close or afar. Yang has her shotgun and Ruby will have her sniper. Maybe I can have, say, a sword that turns into a revolver or something? It'll be hard hitting enough to do a hell of a lot of damage whilst being easy enough to handle without ripping my shoulder out.

We'll see.

”Hey, I didn’t even say anything this time.” Yang remarks, crossing her arms. "Maybe you should have some more faith in yourself." I turn and stare at Yang, whose nails have suddenly become a far more fascinating thing to look at than I. "Or maybe you should pay more attention to your big sis' when she tries to show you how to throw a real punch?" She adds with a smirk. I scoff at this, flicking her on the nose.

"Firstly, I'm older than you."

"Huh?"

"Secondly, I do know what a real punch is. It's just hard for me to land one of them on you when I know that in doing so I'm just going to make your next hit feel like a sledgehammer to my damn jaw. It's like asking me to put out a fire by drowning it in whatever liquid-of-the-week Qrow's got in his flask today."

God I remember when her Semblance first manifested. Remember how I said I'd cut her hair as payback for almost getting me killed when she went galivanting into the forest with Ruby?

Fuck me, that was a mistake. A few strands and she went absolutely wild - red eyes and fiery locks and all. Scared the absolute shit out of me and almost burnt down the front room. Granted, she calmed down very quickly when she realised she could've done some real damage even despite me still having Aura, but I'd still learnt a very important lesson that day: No touchy.

"It's not my fault I got my Semblance before you, Wolfy."

I'd been taught already that a Semblance is the manifestation of one's innate and personal power as an ability unique to each individual, with the effects varying greatly from user to user. For example, Yang could take a punch to the jaw and return with a swing equal to a dozen Mike Tyson's, whilst Ruby will eventually become a flowery Barry Allen whenever she gets to unlocking her Semblance. My current theory is that she'll get it some point soon, maybe before she joins Signal.

After all, when we first see her she's already adept at using her Semblance against Roman and his boyband when they're holding up From Dust 'Till Dawn in the first episode and by that point she's only 15. Two years into Signal and she's already skilled enough to be flooring fully grown and armed men? Aura or not its still impressive to me. She can't be amazingly far away then.

"Just you wait until I figure out what mine is supposed to be."

"Any ideas on what it might be?" Yang asks, leaning forward as the spar picks up slightly. One of the students - whose name I haven't been arsed to remember - is thrown from the ring and to the floor, his opponent raising his arms in celebration. "Maybe something to do with your Faunus traits?" Not a bad thought I'll admit. Maybe an enhancement to my natural traits? Super hearing would certainly be useful, but I'd much prefer something flashier. 

If Ruby gets to become the Flash and Yang is more or less the Hulk, can the world be kind enough to make me Superman or something? That'd be grand.

"Hey, maybe he'll turn into a big bad wolf-"

"I didn't ask for your input of all people, Burgundy." Carmine Burgundy was just one of the few twats who seemed to be consistently insulted that he had to share classes with a Faunus. Not like he'd ever try and do anything about it, at least not physically anyway. Whilst I might not be as good as Yang, I'm definitely in the top 10 in the class when it came to hand-to-hand fighting. The private sessions back home with Yang and Tai had done wonders in securing me as a capable fighter.

Compared to a clown like Carmine, I was more than capable of dropping him on his arse if needs be.

"Real mouthy, dog. Your girlfriend let you off the leash today?" The boy snarks back, his little band of circus followers 'ooing' and 'aahing' at his words.

I love school bullies. They're real mouthy until you punch one in the jaw. Just remember kids, if you're being bullied at school just punch them in the jaw. Disclaimer: Do not do so if the guy is twice your size and built like a fucking truck. Instead, punch them in the balls.

Improvise. Adapt. Overcome

"Watch your mouth Carmine." Yang growls, jumping to my defense. "Or do you want me to toss you around the ring like a little girl again?" The boy scoffs at her words, rolling his eyes at the blonde dismissively.

"Please. You got lucky." 

No, chief, she really didn't. If anything, you were lucky not to have had your spine bent like a pretzel. Carmine is many things, but a fighter on the same level as a fifteen year old Yang? Now that he most certainly is not.

At just half an inch taller than me Carmine could cut quite the intimidating figure if he so desired. Imagine Cardin, but far less ginger and perhaps equally as cunty in his opinion of the general Faunus population of Remnant. If he keeps growing the way he's looking like he has then I wouldn't even be surprised if they end up being almost indistinguishable from one another - both in personality and in appearance.

And like I probably will with Cardin, I'm more than happy to put Carmine down a peg or two.

"Lucky?" I turn around, staring at Carmine as if he was mentally challenged. "Mate, if she slammed you into the wall any harder you'd have become a permanent fixture. You're lucky you can still walk, you mouthy little twit." He stares back at me as if I was dirt on the bottom of his shoe, frowning in disgust.

"Keep barking, mutt. I'm sure there's a kennel for you somewhere around here." 

Yang goes to stand but I place a hand on her shoulder, pushing her gently yet firmly back into her seat despite her unsaid objections. I really don't need her punching this cocky little shit's teeth in and getting herself in trouble before we've even gotten through the second week of Signal. That'd just be giving the pair of us a bad rep. At least let me get away with something funny before you end up getting us excluded, Yang.

Plus, I really didn't need her help in handling Carmine 'Twatface' Burgundy of all people.

"It's funny that you're making all of these dog jokes Carmine, when the only bitch around here is sitting in front of me, trying to big himself up to hide the fact that the doctor cut off his balls instead of his umbilical cord." 

"Why you-"

"Students!" We all turn our attention back to Taiyang, who is glaring disapprovingly at the commotion in the stands. I'm not too sure if he'd heard what was being said but, regardless, a distraction in his class isn't exactly a good way of getting on his good side. "If you're all done with your playground banter, maybe some of you would like to spend some of that excess energy in the ring? Maybe show the class what you can do instead of mouthing off in class?" He says, gesturing to the circle. 

You know what one of the joys of being a Faunus like me is? If I focus hard enough, my hearing can pick up on an individuals heartbeat.

When I turn to face Carmine, staring down at him with a wide, toothy grin, I only hear it beat faster.

"Afraid of the big bad wolf, Carmine?"

"Oh man! Now that was a punch! Did you see how far you sent Carmine flying?" 

The unofficial match had ended just as I had expected - I was no Yang Xiao Long but I certainly wasn't Jaune either. Carmine was promptly demolished and thrown out of the circle within the first 30 seconds, though I probably could've ended it in half the time. I just wanted to get a quick feel for the stance that Tai had been drilling into me the minute prior. He certainly wasn't wrong about it - I'd felt a lot more confident in my footwork during the bout.

Maybe I'll do better against Yang later today. No doubt after that performance she'll be wanting another chance to go at it.

"Well I didn't have to worry about him absorbing the force of my punch Yang, so I didn't really need to hold back." 

"Oh!" She smiles widely at this, "So you're saying that you've been holding back in our spars, then?" 

The two of us had, after class ended, decided to head out and enjoy the free period that came after the morning lessons. An hour of free time to do whatever we wanted within school grounds: spar, read up in the library, explore the campus or whatever else we felt like doing whilst on school grounds. For the most part, whenever the two of us had free time together we'd just wander about aimlessly. There wasn't much to do, at least for now. 

Sure we could train, but Carmine and his lackeys were still recovering in there and we didn't feel like exacerbating their injuries just yet. The library was also out of the question as Yang wasn't feeling up for being 'nerdy' just yet. She was far more interested in what our next year would bring us more than she was our first.

Once our second year rolled around, we'd be able to craft our weapons and enjoy a more hands on teaching experience. I was as equally looking forward to this as Yang was for two simple reasons. Firstly, I'd be able to make my own weapon. Still not sure what my plan is for it but I'll figure something out. Maybe I'd ask Ruby for some tips? She was already becoming more and more fascinated with weapons by the day. She'd likely know a lot more about what I might want.

The second reason, of course, being that I knew who our combat teacher would be from the second year onwards: Qrow Branwen. Though I knew that Ruby would end up learning under him whilst at Signal - the man training her to use Crescent Rose - he wasn't teaching as of yet. Taiyang however had let slip a few days back that Qrow would be coming to Signal earlier than planned so as to help teach Yang and, by extension, myself as a favour. 

Have I mentioned just how much of a chad Taiyang is?  

That and it'd be nice to see Qrow again. The guy doesn't visit much but, when he does, he's a proper laugh. He also might be more willing to secure me a more stable supply of alcohol now that I'm a little bit older. It's a long shot, but there's always hope. 

"But of course I do! After all, why would I ever want to damage such a pretty face as yours, blondie?" I say, smiling innocently. She simply stares at me with a raised brow.

"This pretty face can knock you into next week if you'd like, lil' bro." 

"Not if you want Ruby kicking your shins into red mist, you won't."

"Nice try. I'll just offer her my share of tonight's cookies and she'll forget all about you." 

"Only if I don't offer her mine first." Hearing this she scoffs, her hands on her hips. 

"I'll have you know that, as her big sister, she'll take my side over yours buster." I laugh mockingly at such a comment, knowing full well that she is totally mistaken. After all, nobody spoils Ruby like I do. 

"Out of the two of us, who has a set of delightful wolf ears that she simply adores to scratch at any opportunity?" She frowns at this, knowing full well how powerful a tool they are in getting into her little sisters good graces. If Ruby is ever upset, the typical routine is to either A) offer cookies, or B) offer ear scratches. 

Sometimes, she gets both if she's particularly needy.

Regardless, Yang knows she's beaten and can only sigh in resignation, before a grin overtakes her. After nearly 6 years of living with her I can recognise that look anywhere.

Here comes this week's shittest pun.

"Stealing my sister away from me Wolfy? That's just pawful of you!"

... 

...

...

"That right there was just godawful, Yang." 

"Hey!" She says indignantly, "I thought it was pretty good! Didn't you get it? Awful? Pawful? like, like a paw? Eh?" My eyes widen in shock as I slap my forehead, looking absolutely flabbergasted.

"Noooo, really? Whaaat? That's what you meant? No way! God how could I be so blind!" Yang snorts at my display, having gotten used to this sort of behaviour by now. "You truly are the Shakespeare of our time, Yang."

"...Who's that?"

"Some Faunus author. You obviously haven't heard of him."

I need to stop dropping Earth references. It makes me look weird.

"Oh. Well, anyway I thought it was a good one."

"I'm sure you did, blondie."

"Come on, lighten up a little bit, hey Harrooooow?" When she sees the deadpan stare I'm giving her she immediately bursts out laughing, clutching at her sides. Unbeknownst to her however, I've noticed a rather delightful patch of mud on the ground near where we were standing. I look at it, then back at Yang. More specifically, her hair. A most devious plan is formed.

Evidently, I had not learnt my lesson when it came to Yang and her precious golden locks.

Lord, protect your humble servant whilst he performs his work. 

Her laughing ceases when she realises just what I've done. I don't even hesitate in immediately booking it the fuck out of there. Just in time too, as I'm quite positive that had I not moved then I would have been burnt into the wall. I hear Yang screaming my name in righteous anger but it's far too late to make amends. All I can do now is run and pray that she doesn't catch me. 

It was not to be.

Turning the corner, I find myself facing a dead end. 

"Shit."

I turn around just in time for Yang to skid into view, eyes red and hair ablaze. Looking around quickly, I spy an open window, a locked door and a brick wall. Not much help. What's also not much help is seeing a very angry Yang stomping forward with bad intentions. I probably have about ten seconds until my reckoning is at hand.

Well then, how do I get out of this conundrum? Do I:

A) Jump out of that window and pray for a swift end?

B) Roll a Nat20 to try and charm the dragon?

C) Curl into a ball and cry?

Yeah, I'll take my chances with the window.

I'm barely even half way out before a strong pair of hands drags me back and throws me effortlessly into the wall. Crumbling to the floor, I look up at the fiery figure before me, standing over me like an angry God. I raise my hands, smiling through the terror I was feeling.

"~Is it too late now to say sorry?~" 

She reaches down and grips my collar, the heat emanating off of her beginning to make me sweat from more than just the fear.

"Oh, very much too late, Wolfy."

I need an adult.

Suddenly, the aforementioned locked door opens and both Yang and I turn to see who had come to save me. Peaking his head through the door, Taiyang sees the two of us and, for a moment, I have hope again. His eyes flicker to me on the floor, then back to his enraged daughter. He frowns at Yang and I know in that moment that he's going to save me. He won't let her throw me around like a ragdoll in the middle of the corridor! That's my guy right there, ladies and gents.

Taiyang Xiao Long, the pimp daddy of Remnant, here to save his wayward student from certain death at the hands of this fiery demoness.

"Firecracker, if you're going to murder your brother could you at least do it in the Training Hall? I'd rather you didn't leave any evidence right outside my office door."

Oh you mother fucker.

The last thing Tai sees before he shuts the door and seals my fate is the sheer look of betrayal on my face as his daughter proceeds to drag me by the neck towards the training hall.

She was not gentle.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4

You know what really sucks about Signal? The fact that I am more or less the only Faunus in attendance. I don't mean just in my year group either, I genuinely mean the entire school. Sure, Patch has a relatively small population compared to, say, Vale, but still you'd have thought there'd be a few roaming about the island?

Compared to somewhere like Atlas this place would be paradise. Sure, Patch is a part of the Kingdom of Vale and so follows the same laws and whatnot, but Vale is still a forgiving place compared to that arctic kingdom up north. Surely there would have been at least a family or two living near some of the smaller settlements near the coast?

Who would have thought that of the small island's 3000 population I'd be the only one sporting furry ears?

I'd feel privileged if I wasn't also facing racial prejudice because of it. A real shame too - I was hoping to build up a furry army to throw between me and Salem's merry band of arseholes.

Oh well, I'll think of something else.

The rest of mine and Yang's first year at Signal then more or less followed the same pattern of: Turn up, suffer through the same tedious classes, deal with the racial superiority complex of particular students, kick ass and/or be kicked in the ass in the training hall and then, after all that, you get to stroll on home and hopefully avoid any Grimm that had accidentally wandered out of the forest and onto the main roads.

I can't wait to tell my kids that this is how I had to walk to school.

Anywho, repeat the above process for 210 days and boom - one year at Signal is done and dusted. All in all, I guess it wasn't too bad. Then again, being able to beat the living hell out of my fellow students if they got particularly mouthy was always one reason that I turned up with a smile. That and Yang, of course, though I won't be letting her know that. She'd be teasing me for the rest of the academic year if I said anything of the sort.

Do you know it took her two months to forgive me for the stunt I pulled in our second week? Two months! Two months of her not holding back in sparring and effectively throwing me around inside and outside the ring at both the academy and at home. Forget Carmine, I was the one lucky to still be able to walk. Meanwhile, Tai would be watching on with a big shit eating grin, telling me to take the punishment and "learn my lesson".

Murderers get less I tell you.

At least Ruby would be cheering me on. She's always been loyal and that's why she da' best.

Oh, speaking of Ruby, she'd turned 12 this year, shortly after Yang and I turned 14. Next year, she'd be joining us in Signal for the two years before Yang and I finished up our schooling. Our little Grimm Reaper had by now long been fascinated by weapons. It was all she ever talked about at the kitchen table these days, much to the family's amusement.

I'd also noticed that she had developed a rather... well, I dare say unhealthy obsession with Qrow's own scythe. Taiyang and Qrow had let her have a few supervised practice swings with 'Harbinger' when Qrow came over on her birthday - appropriately sober - and the girl had taken to it very quickly. I think that might have been the happiest I'd ever seen the little angel since she discovered the existence of cookie flavoured ice cream.

I'd told Ruby that my present for her 12th would be a late one but that if she was patient, she'd absolutely love what I got for her. She was doubtful that it could beat being able to swing Qrow's scythe around the garden and decapitate Tai's poor hapless flowerbed.

My darling little Ruby, how wrong you'd be.

After all, I know what the ladies like.

The day had finally come. Our second year at Signal Academy meant one thing and one thing only to an individual such as I myself. The opportunity of a lifetime if you will. To create something that would define you as both a Huntsmen and as a warrior in the years to come, to create that which will be responsible for both keeping you alive and keeping you in a job.

Today, we began to process of creating our signature weapons.

Oh yeah, baby. Now the real fun can begin.

The main 'exam' if you will of Signal's second year was all about weapons. More precisely, the designing and creating of said weapon, shortly followed then by constant practice both within and outside of the academy. Every second year student had at the very least about six months to have created and flourished with their weapon of choice. Failure was not an option - that would mean our weapon would be melted back down for the next years students and you'd be out of the running for becoming a Huntsmen.

Harsh, sure, but that's life in Remnant for you. If you can't swing a sword properly then you're only going to get yourself killed. Might as well do something more useful than act as cannon fodder, I guess.

The person responsible for both overseeing the process and then grading us on how well we have mastered our weapon by the end of the school year was the new combat teacher, brought all the way from whatever tavern he had been held up in for the past few days by Taiyang. I can't remember exactly how long Qrow had been teaching at Signal before Ruby got in, but here he was regardless. For me, that meant having another S-Tier Huntsmen kindly offering his expertise in furthering my goal of not dying horribly which was grand.

However, what he wouldn't be doing is telling us how to create our weapons. That was for the individual student to decide on as, after all, their weapons would reflect them as an individual. I can already guess how that's going to turn out for the student body; the bigger students would be going for the heavy hitting weapons of war whilst the smaller and more agile amongst us would be wanting more precise and technical combat tools. Yang had already been gushing over a design that she'd been working on in her head before we'd started the new year and had had Ruby help her with some rudimentary drawings of what she wanted.

Whilst it was certainly a rough sketching of what was to come down the line, it was quiet easy to recognise Yang's signature gauntlets on the paper. They looked rather unwieldy, but then again I'm not exactly a close quarters beast like Yang was so I'll happily leave her to it. 

But enough about that - it's my weapon that I'm more interested in.

Standing in one of Signal's specialised forging rooms, I was happy to see that I had the entire workshop to myself for today - I'd booked in advance for a specific reason. All around the room were ingots, tools, practice weapons and anything else a prospective weapon designer would be salivating over. However, whilst I was many things I was certainly not an expert designer. I did, however, know someone that just might be.

Now today was a special day and not just for the fact that I'd be starting on my weapon. No, today was what we in the isles would call a 'taster day'. Basically, it's where students from a Primary school would wander around a Secondary school and sit in some lessons so as to get an experience to what they'd be going through for the next half decade. Today, some of the staff were taking the resident ex-Primary schoolers of Patch around.

Lil' Ruby was amongst them.

And lil' Ruby would probably like to help her big brother come up with a kick ass weapon than she would like to be staring into boring old classrooms all morning. Pulling out the scroll Taiyang gave me for my last birthday, I grin.

Time to enact 'Operation: Guns and Roses'.

Today at 09:31

H_Grey323 :  "Hey kiddo, enjoying the tour so far?"

GrimmReapprr :  "its so coool! everyones running around and talking about their weapons and what they wanna make!! i heard someone talk about making a fire sword!?! how cool is that!!"

H_Grey323 :  "Have you even paid attention to what the tour is showing you yet?"

GrimmReapprr :  "erm...maybe?"

H_Grey323 :  "Ruby >:( ."

GrimmReapprr :  "hEY! its not my fault that the tour happens when everyone is talking about my favorite thing in the whole wide world!!!"

H_Grey323 :  "Whose talking about me?"

GrimmReapprr :  "shush you <3"

H_Grey323 :  "Anyway, ready for your late birthday present now?"

GrimmReapprr :  " :O oooo??"

H_Grey323 :  "How do you feel about helping your big bestest brother in the whole wide world design his weapon?" 

GrimmReapprr :  "right now???"

H_Grey323 :  "Preferably yea."

GrimmReapprr :  "WHERE ARE YOUUUUUU!!!?!?!"

GrimmReapprr :  "?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!??!?!??!?!?!!??!?!??!??"

GrimmReapprr :  "DONT LEAVE ME HANGING OR I WILL BE VERY UPSET WITH YOU!!"

H_Grey323 :  "Chill, was just checking that I had the forge room to myself."

GrimmReapprr :  "HARROW GREY YOU WILL TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE RIGHTT THIS INSTANTS >:(!!!"

H_Grey323 :  "Instance* you goblin. Well when you can manage to sneak away from your little oompa loompa group, come find Forge Room 13R. It's on the west side of the side, you should've been picked up near there by the tour guide anyway so you should recognise the building."

GrimmReapprr :  "Omw!"

H_Grey323:  "Cool. Let me know when you're nearly there kiddo. Just need to prep some stuff for us."

The door door to the forge room immediately slams open.

"Big bro!" 

I almost end up flinging the damn scroll right into the open maw of the smeltery out of fright but I just about manage to keep that from happening. 

"Bloody hell Ruby, I thought you were on the other side of the school?"

"I was!"

"Wha-" She dashes forward, grabbing onto my arm and tugging me towards the forge.

"Stop asking silly questions, Harrow! Come on, I want to see what ideas you have for your weapon. Oh! Did I mention the fire sword I heard someone talking about?" She yammers on, completely unaware that she was more or less just walking on the spot in her attempts at pulling me. It was rather amusing actually, watching this little girl who barely came above my waist trying to drag me around.

A part of me hopes that she stays this tall forever. That way I can just keep making fun of her for being so smol.

Still, a fire sword, huh?

Now there's an idea...

It had taken a solid hour or so before I was able to actually start pitching my ideas to Ruby. She was far too enamoured with getting to know each and every corner of the forge before giving me the time of day. She was pointing out different types of tools and alloys spread around the tables as if I was supposed to know them by heart.

Granted, I was technically, considering everything in this room was supposed to be used in our development of our weapons. Still, watching her dashing around the room with that exuberant smile on her face reminded me of how a child might look when they walk into a candy store, seeing all of those glittering chocolate wrappers on the shelves.

Except to Ruby, the chocolate in question probably consisted mostly of explosive rounds and high caliber barrels. I suppose a girl has to have a hobby, even if the hobby was centered around big fucking guns.

"So let me get this straight - you want a gun. A handcannon to be precise. One that can be loaded with Dust rounds that can be chambered with each type of Dust depending on what you want to shoot. Not just that, you also want it to be able to chamber as many rounds as possible whilst at the same time having as little recoil and weight as possible. Have I got that right? And not just that, you also want it to be able to turn into a sword. Like, an Atlas's officers sword? Okay, and in that sword form it's also going to be enhanced by the already pre-existing Dust that was helping to infuse the handcannon rounds? Basically, you want a mechashift weapon that can be switched freely and instantaneously between a handcannon and a sword, with both variants of the weapon able to be used as a normal weapon or to be enhanced with Dust?"

"More or less, yeah." 

"Okay, well that would definitely be a challenge. I mean, mechashift weapons like that are already hard enough to create on their own simply because of how demanding it is on the individual parts of your weapon when it switches between forms. That's why most people stick to a weapon that mixes well with their Semblance. You'd want specialised alloys from Atlas just for the foundation of the entire weapon alone and they're really expensive as well. Not just that, but you'll also want to try and channel a portion of your Aura into the weapon as well to strengthen it's overall integrity to ease the stress that shifting between forms will take on your baby. Furthermore, you'd need to very, very careful in installing the correct components just for storing and loading the Dust. Otherwise, it'll malfunction in your hands and the whole weapon might just explode when you pull the trigger. As for the ammo? Well, the rounds would be easy enough, you can just use normal high caliber rounds and fill it with the specific powder. Or you can just buy the pre-existing Dust rounds. But for the sword? That would be a lot more difficult to setup. It would need to be infused into the blade and then activated by heat. Maybe a device on the handle to activate the particular Dust or-"

God this girl can talk for hours about weapons. No wonder she's such an adorable little gun nut in the show. Still, I hope this ends in her saying 'yes'. 

I would really like that fire sword. 

"-re likely to work? It would definitely make more sense to do it like that then to have it happen if you swung it hard enough. I mean, you'd look really silly if you tried to slash a Beowolf or something just for the Dust to not activate because you didn't hit it right. You'd look really stupid, then. Activation by touch would be your best bet I think. A button on the handle, maybe? But then there's also the weight of the whole weapon to consider. The weight of one form of your weapon has to be able to translate properly to the other form - the handcannon needs to be as heavy to hold as the sword, otherwise the sudden change in weight might cause issues in the middle of a fight. Atlesian alloys would probably be your best bet - they're light and flexible enough. Oh, but then I do know that Mistral now have something similar but I think that might be more suited for throwing weapons? Like a javelin or a boomerang? Unless you're planning on throwing your sword at every Grimm you see and then having to rely on your fists I don't think that would be for you. Oh! Maybe I-"

It's honestly quite cute actually, seeing her get so invested in such a thing. She's just standing there, pacing back and forth with her hands flailing all over the place.

I'll admit, moments like these make me happy that I was hit by a bus.

Hmm. That sounds quite morbid now that I think about it.

"-mething like this for my weapon! Oh I know! A sniper! I can make a sniper for my weapooooh actually I have a much better idea! A scythe and a sniper! Like Uncle Qrow's! What do you think? Wouldn't that just be so cool!? I can be all 'swish' and 'swoosh', cutting off Grimm heads and then if they try and get away I can be all 'nuh uh' and shoot them in the butt and-"

Hold on a second - did I just inspire Crescent Rose? Huh. Now that is genuinely cool.

"Ruby?" I say suddenly, interrupting her monologue. "I'm happy that you're getting so invested into this, but all I need to know from you right now is that, as our resident family weapon nerd-

"Hey!"

"-if what I've suggested is possible? Ignore the cost aspect for now, let me worry about that. All I need to know is can it be done - preferably can it be done within six months - and can I get away with it as a valid long term weapon if I knew how to properly maintain it?" Her face scrunches up all cute like as she brings a hand up to her chin, adopting a thinking pose. After tapping her chin for a few seconds, she slowly begins to nod. I can't help but grin in excitement. "So it is possible then? All of the above? You're sure?"

"...Yes?"

Well happy fucking days.

"But don't forget you can only do it if you have all the right parts and-eek!" I didn't need to hear anything else, I was more than happy to sweep the little red genius into my arms and into the air. Granted, I have no idea how the fuck I'm supposed to get my hands on specialised Atlesian alloys but I can cross that bridge later. At the very least I knew a guy on the island who might fit the bill for a weapons specialist so there was that on my side. For now, I'm just happy to swing the giggling red ahead around in my arms.

Once she's had her fun I place her gently back onto the ground, chuckling at the sight of her trying not to fall over from dizziness. Turning back to the table, I neatly fold up our drawings and initial sketches of the weapon. I'll give them another look over later on with Ruby at home and probably see what Yang or Tai have to say.

Chances are they'll have a few things to say, both in regards to the weapon itself and to how I'm actually supposed to get it built in time before the final examinations.

Tai especially, considering he's going to be helping to pay for the costs.

In my defense it's not as if I have a steady income. Vale's labour laws dictate that children can't legally be employed in part-time or full-time work until they reach sixteen years of age.

I didn't write the law so it's not my fault.

A quick glance at my Scroll also tells me that I've also most definitely kept Ruby far longer than I should have. Chances are that, if they hadn't already, Ruby's tour group is going to probably notice the lack of their most adorable prospective student. Best let her get back before I get in trouble. "Well kiddo it's been fun, but you'd best be heading back to join the rest of the little urchins before someone realises you're gone." 

"Aww, but I wanted to start building it now." Ruby pouts, looking up at me with those silver puppy dog eyes. 

Resist Grey, resist.

"I'd love to keep you longer Rubes, but I'd rather I didn't end up starting a manhunt for a missing child. If you can get back to your group before they notice you're gone then, when I get home, we can go over our design a little bit more tonight after training. Deal?"

I could've sworn I saw stars in her eyes then. She nods and, after ruffling her hair, I send her off. Before I can even blink, she's gone. I shake my head in bemusement before turning back to the forge, pondering the information Ruby had given me concerning the weapon.

On the plus side, it was definitely doable. It might be over-the-top but, considering she'll end up building a scythe/sniper, who cares? Hell, Coco Adel had a handbag that turned into a fucking minigun at will so at this point I don't much care whether it's practical or not.

If I can have a gun that shoots ice rounds and can turn into a flaming sword at the push of a button then I sure as shit am going to get that.

Though of course I'll have to be cautious with how I actually get about building this wonderful little thing. After all, Ruby did say that if I cocked it up then it was likely to just blow up in my hand and, whilst I'd love nothing more than to lose my hand to spontaneous combustion, it wasn't something I was actively hoping for.

If I wanted something like that, a grenade would do just fine.

Would attaching a grenade launcher beneath the barrel be overkill or...

...Hold on a second.

Turning around, I open the forge door to look into the corridor and I frown. All over the floor and the walls were rapidly disintegrating rose petals. 

Rose petals that would appear when Ruby uses her Semblance.

Ruby's Semblance had unlocked.

I'm sorry, when the fuck did that happen?

Today at 12:58

H_Grey323 created a room.

H_Grey323 added user 'MrXiaoLong' to 'Room'.

H_Grey323 added user 'Goldilocks' to 'Room.'

H_Grey323 renamed 'Room' to '*I HAVE A QUESTION!*'.

MrXiaoLong :  "What's up kid?"

H_Grey323:  "Since when did Ruby have her Semblance? "

Goldilocks :  "Huh?"

MrXiaoLong :  "Come again?"

H_Grey323 :  "Yeah, seriously. She's just literally dashed from the forges and back across the school in like 3 seconds. No lie."

Goldilocks :  "OMFG WHAT!?"

MrXiaoLong :  "So you're saying Ruby just unlocked her Semblance. Today. Out of nowhere. That's what you're telling me right now."

H_Grey323 :  "I think? Idk I just asked her to sneak over to the forge so I could get her advice on making a weapon."

Goldilocks :   "HAHA NO WAY!! DID RUBES GET THAT EXCITED SHE GOT HER SEMBLANCE???"

H_Grey323 :  "Idk? I don't even have mine yet so I don't know how tf they're supposed to operate bozo. I sent her a msg to come over when she had a second and then boom - she literally was there before I even put the scroll away. Almost gave me a heart attack."

MrXiaoLong :  "Hold on."

H_Grey323 :  "Holding."

Goldilocks :  "Wheres rubes rn? I wanna go give her a big hug."

H_Grey323 :  "She's with one of the taster day groups. Dunno where they're getting about though."

Golidlocks :  "Fk this class im gonna go find her now"

Goldilocks :  "I see them they're in the courtyard"

Goldilocks :  "Omg dads with her and he's picking her up!! this is so cute!!!"

H_Grey323 :  "Top man."

Goldilocks :  "Wait im gonna record it"

Goldilocks :  "Look at this xxx"

Goldilocks attached a file (7MB).

H_Grey323 :  "That's our girl right there."

Goldilocks :  "Omfgs I think im actually crying she looks so happy!! Do you think she even knew she was using it??"

H_Grey323 :  "How tf do you not know when you're going supersonic? Holy shit she's actually made such a mess of R-Block's corridor, all the wall fixtures are on the floor. Trying to clean it now before I get blamed."

Goldilocks :  "Well now we just gotta wait for you to get yours Wolfy! Then we can all start kicking grimm ass >:D"

H_Grey323 : "I'll get on that. What they up to now?"

Goldilocks :  "Hes carrying her on his back and marching around haha im still recording them"

H_Grey323 :  "Send me it."

Goldilocks attached a file (37MB).

H_Grey323 :  ":D."

Goldilocks :  "I sooo wanna see how she uses that in training later tn."

Goldilocks :  "You still there Wolfy??"

Goldilocks : "Hello???"

H_Grey323 :  "Bare with. Graves just found the mess and I'm getting bollocked for it. When you see Ruby tell her she owes me."

Goldilocks :  "Booooo nooo you can't blame Rubes!! Its not her fault she has such a cute Semblance! Bad dog, bad!"

H_Grey323 :  "This bad dog is having to stick around an hour after classes to help clean up the entirety of the Forge, polishing and all >:( ."

Goldilocks :  "Oof"

H_Grey323 : "Oof in-fucking-deed."

MrXiaoLong : "Language, mister."

H_Grey323 : "Sorry :/ ."

Chapter Text

Chapter 5

After the clean-up was finished and I was allowed to head back home, the first thing I did was head into the nearby settlement of Patch - creatively named after the island itself - and got my hands on a diary. In hindsight it should have been one of the first things I got my hands on after I had settled down but, being so far away from the events of the story, it had honestly slipped my mind. 

It was a mistake that I was now happy to rectify, albeit later than I would have liked.

The purpose of it was simple: I was going to write down anything and everything that I could recall regarding the events of RWBY. I needed something to help me with planning around future events as I did not and could not just rely on memory alone. Though I may not be able to pin down dates I'll certainly be able to clock onto familiar events that would act as the prelude to anything major. Furthermore, I also needed to be remembering to note down certain characteristics and abilities of specific characters.

It wouldn't do well for me to die because I'd forgotten that 'Bad Guy A' from Volume 'Whichever-The-Fuck' had the ability to flick her hair up and rip a tear in reality that would suck me straight into the seventh circle of Hell.

Adam Taurus for example. He's like Yang, but instead of charging up her next punch you're instead just empowering his next sword swing and, unlike Yang, who would break all your ribs with a lightest of punches, you'd instead be facing an unfortunate case of bisection à la Adam.

So yes, I'd quite like to avoid forgetting about that particular trait of his, lest the same thing that happened to Yang during their fight happened instead to yours truly. I like my limbs just the way they are, you see. Attached and functioning and wholly organic.

I'll leave the machinery to her and Ironwood.

Of course, this came with the obvious risk that if someone were to discover it then I would be downright fucked beyond belief in terms of keeping everything I knew secret. I doubt even I could bullshit my way out of a hole that deep. It'd be even worse for us all were someone of a particularly evil standing got their fine hands on it.

Looking at you, Cinderella.

So how to go about keeping it secure then, you might ask?

Well when it wasn't hidden in my blazer pocket then it was instead buried under the chopping block in Tai's garden. It was rare that the girls used that place as both Ruby and Yang had their own exercise routine - Ruby in particular was rather averse to it - and Tai only rarely used it himself. That had been part of our earlier deal years ago about helping around the house for my continued stay: I continued to have a roof over my head in exchange for me helping to heat up the building with said roof.

I'd like to say that it's all me thinking ahead but I'm really not. It's all been improvisation mostly, with some minute acts of sheer genius sprinkled in.

However I did know that I couldn't just risk leaving it in the garden forever in case someone actually did manage to sniff it out and I certainly knew the risk I was taking in just having it on my person. The diary then would simply have to serve as a temporary measure. The real end goal for this would be to acquire a secondary Scroll. A 'burner' if you will. As soon as I had my hands on one then I could just re-write what I'd already written down in the diary into the Scroll and then promptly incinerate the former.

I'd then ensure that I, and only I, could ever feasibly have access to the Scroll. Not only would it be a more discreet item to hide, I could also work some of my own creativity to further keep it out of unwanted hands. If there was one thing I'd found myself taking too quite easily in this world it was the technology. I'm certainly no programming extraordinaire but, compared to the tech back on our world, Remnant's equivalent of an iPhone was surprisingly easy to navigate and tinker with.

Especially their security measures. I'd already discovered options on my current Scroll that were rather... inspiring to put it lightly.

No wonder Arthur Watts was always having so much fun with what he did.

For example, I'd already figured out a way to set it up so that if a certain file on my Scroll were to be accessed then it would instantly deactivate the Scroll for a set period of time and send a ping directly back to my main Scroll - the one that Taiyang got for me. If I'm feeling particularly nasty, I could even set it up to deliver a delightful voltage to whoever hand their hands on the burner, or even have it self destruct internally and give them a nasty third degree burn. Some small testing had confirmed that these security measure were at least viable on my current Scroll.

The tingles in my hand were enough confirmation that the shock measure would work at least. I wasn't exactly planning on testing the other option just yet.

However I would have to sort that out at a later date, though preferably before I got to Beacon. My weapon was my first and foremost priority. It took four of the allotted six months that we had been given by Signal's combat expert before I even had a working prototype on hand.

Well, as in I had the frame of one. It was all a rather slow process, really, but you can't rush perfection. Rome was not built in a day after all, and neither was my weapon.

Tai had been more than willing to help with getting me what I needed to build it, same as he was when Yang pitched the idea for her gauntlets. I had honestly expected him to be a bit reluctant to my idea due to the fact that the cost of importing the necessary Atlesian materials that Ruby had suggested were quite expensive, but Tai had simply patted me on the back and told me to leave it with him. All he needed to know was what I needed exactly and that he'd call in a favour with some old friends.

I was fine with that, but had lingered out of sight to listen in whilst he pulled out his Scroll in the next room to make a call. I had thought he was speaking to Qrow at first, but I certainly would have recognised his voice on the other line. The person on the other side of the call had a much more refined and grandfatherly undertone to their words - more so than what the birdman was capable of.

It was a bit worrying to hear Headmaster Ozpin referencing me by name.

Hopefully he just thinks of me as the stray that Tai took in and borderline adopted, otherwise it's going to make for a pretty awkward conversation if he investigates my origins and realises that there was no ship heading to Vale from Atlas the day I got picked up out of the forest nearly a decade ago.

I'm still surprised that Qrow and everyone else had so readily accepted the whole 'rock falls, parents die, jump on ship and wash up ashore on a random island' story that I'd concocted on a whim that initial night. 

Then again, I suppose not many people would feel particularly comfortable with coming up to me and being all, "Hey kid, I know you said your parents died in a mining accident and you stowed away on a ship and almost drowned at sea and then was almost eaten alive, but can you explain it in a bit more detail for those sitting at the back of the audience?" 

Who would want to ask a child that sort of thing, anyway? Smart people with a reasonable amount of paranoia, that's who. Evidently there's not many of them around. At least not on Patch.

Thank you Tai for being so trusting of your adoptive furry wolf boi.

I also need to admit that, despite all evidence to the contrary, the whole forging process was not all sunshine and roses. The work was long, arduous, stressful as hell and almost cost me an eye and a leg.

Literally.

At some point I royally fucked up during the forging process and had carelessly left some rather volatile Dust rounds near the open smeltery. The inevitable explosion that followed almost took both the forging room and myself out of commission for the near future. Had there been even an additional ounce of Dust near that furnace then chances are I'd have been seriously injured in the blast. Miraculously, both I and the weapon had survived reasonably intact.

Despite my initial fears, the senior leadership team of Signal were fine with merely telling me that mistakes of this sort were inevitable and that I merely needed to taker greater care of how I approach forging a weapon in such a volatile environment.

In English, they were telling me politely to get my fucking act together and to stop blowing up their forge rooms.

Thank God for Tai getting me those materials from Atlas, otherwise I'd have been looking at restarting the entire project with only a third of the time left to get it done. To make matters worse, despite the weapon having come out of the blast relatively intact, it still needed repairs to some of the more invaluable components - repairs that I was certainly not qualified to be doing.

And whilst I was working on it, I was certainly no expert in the field.

Thankfully, I knew a guy who was.

Aren't I just lucky?

"By the Gods lad, what in the damn blazes were ya' thinkin'!? Ya' canny just have such a combustible substance like tha' sittin’ so close to a forge an' expect it not to blow up in ya damn face ya wee idiot." 

"In my defense, I was following the instructions that you gave me old man. I just didn’t realise they were that close."

"Oh, so almost blowin' up half o' the academy were part o' me instructions, aye?"

Allow me to introduce to you my good friend: Mr Ezekiel Silva. Resident blacksmith of Patch, ex-Atlas sergeant and most importantly a real life weapons master.

Imagine Ruby but, like, three times the eight with a magnificently trimmed silver goatee and an even more magnificent accent.

Seriously, I can't understate just how massive the guy is compared to me. At 14 I'm currently 5'5. This big burly bastard is at least a solid 8 feet tall. He's like a Scottish version of Hazel.

I can almost feel my neck breaking whenever I have to look up to make eye contact.

"You tell me, you wrote the damn book. It's a poor shepherd that blames his flock, or however the saying goes."

"Lad, ya' canny be makin' analogies about sheep when ya's quite literally got a pair of wolf ears on ya' noggin'."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Hey, at least the weapon survived the blast. Be a hell of a lot worse if the whole thing went up in ashes." He grunts affirmatively, turning the damaged weapon over in his hand. He then picks up some sort of item that, when he held it up to his right eye, would expand and shrink at a whim. It was like some sort of telescope, except I assumed it was more for seeing damage extent than it was for looking for land.

His other eye was covered by a small patch of plain, silver coloured leather. From past comments I knew that he had lost his right eye in a skirmish years ago against some criminal gang that had cropped up somewhere in north-eastern Atlas. After his injury, he said that he had simply lost his passion for serving and decided that he'd be much happier practicing his forging skills in a more civilian environment and had elected to move somewhere that was unlikely to see him lose his other eye.

I could certainly see the appeal in that. I, too, would like to keep my 20/20 vision intact thank you very much. 

"Aye, I'll admit you did good with buildin' it so far. That sister o' yours knows what she's sayin' when it comes to alloys I'll give her that. Good call too about how it'd affect the recoil - ya' shoulder would feel like it got thumped by a Beringel if ya' ain't usin' the proper material." Thank you once again Ruby you adorable little nerd. "Anyway, the damage ain't too bad from what I can see which in itself is nothin' short of a damn miracle. Good ol' Atlas savin' the day once again."

He gestures for me to follow him as he turns and heads towards the back of the store, where his workshop was. Stepping in behind him, we come to a stop at one of the myriad of workbenches Mr Silva had at his disposal.

Gently placing my weapon down onto the nearest one, he pulls up a pair of chairs for the two of us. "Sit with me lad an' let's have a gander at what we can be doin' for this lil' beauty o' yours."

The two of us sit as he reaches down for tools, hefting the box up with a grunt, dropping them loudly onto the desk and rattling what felt like the entire store. "So tell me sonny, why are ya' wantin' to be buildin' a weapon as complex as this anyway?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"Well," he reaches into his bag, pulling out what seems to be a blowtorch of some sorts, "most Huntsmen an' Huntresses I've ever met tend to go with somethin' a little bit more... well, I guess 'simple' would be the word I was lookin' for. Ya' know, like how a big man might be appreciatin' havin' a big bloody sword on his back, or how some more your size might be wantin' a more elegant weapon in their hands. Granted, I've seen plenny' o' weapons that can shift at a whim, but you?" He presses the heat of the flame towards the scorched remnants of the gun barrel. "Well, ya' seem deadset on havin' such a sophisticated piece o' kit that it has got me wonderin' just what exactly ya' plannin' on fightin'. After all, those Grimm beasties can be killed easily enough so long as ya' hit them good and proper. Why the need to be addin' all this extra baggage, lad?"

"If I'm going to be fighting for my life every other week as a Huntsmen then I'd rather be overcompensating than underequipped. Well, that and you really can't tell me that you don't find the idea of a flaming sword appealing, right?" I reply, watching as the smith finally manages to dislodge a particularly burnt piece of debris that had fused partially into the weapon, before picking it up and placing it into a small bag.

"Aye, I can see the appeal alright. Why, when ya' first showed me those rough sketches you's had drawn for me, I thought ya' was tryin' to copy ol' Ironwood's weapon at first. The shape an' design is actually quite similar to one of his individual handcannons, just without the whole attachin' into one big cannon but instead with the added part o' turnin' into a big ol' fiery sword o' doom. Mite overkill, but who am I to argue with the youth of today?" 

"Wait, you've met General Ironwood?" That's a surprise. I knew the guy was ex-Atlas but I hadn't realised he was that high up in the chain to be carousing with the top dog of Atlas himself.

"James? Aye, I have. Was servin' with him a few years back before I lost me eye. 'Jolly old James' we called him when he weren't around on account o’ his fixation on ensurin’ discipline. Good man, though. Sure, he was mighty strict but he also took good care o' the men under him. Chances are without his leadership half o' the lads would never a' been comin back from that damn scrap with the Snow Serpents. Right horrible gang of miscreants them lot, I tell ya'."

Well I certainly didn't know about that. Sounds like some cool background lore. "Was the General the one who lead the attack on the gang?" 

"Aye. Bloody good leadin' he did as well, before he transferred fully to High Command. Dropped us right on top o' them. Bastards never saw us comin' I tell ya'. The General had half o' the lads droppin' from the transports, actin' as a big distraction. Then when the criminals came callin', the other half of us came in from the flanks, havin' been waitin' to charge over the snowbanks into their exposed sides. They'd no warnin' that we were comin' either. All their early warnin' devices had been disabled by some sort o' EMP that took out their sensors for a good solid mile around. God's bless the 'RnD' division an' that egghead, Peetro or whoever." 

Peetro? Is he talking about Pietro? Huh, he even knows Penny's dad/creator. 

Damn. Next he'll tell me he's also a cyborg from the future sent to protect me from a rampaging AI.

"What about your eye? How did that happen?" The smith stops his work for a second, seemingly lost in thought. The silence was uncomfortable and I was beginning to regret asking. "Yea, sorry. Sometimes I think before I speak. I didn't mean to-" he waves me off, shaking his head. 

"Don't worry about it lad, just... just bad memories." He seems to ponder for a moment, simply staring down at his hands before he laughs softly. "Was just unlucky I suppose. Took too many shots durin' the initial charge an' my Aura was takin' a proper batterin' from a sentry they'd rigged up. I took the blasted thing down and decided to 'ave a quick breather whilst it were all quiet like. All the shootin' had stopped by that point. Thought it was all over, that the rats were scuttlin' away. Then out o' nowhere this... scraggly little thing just comes runnin' at me with a tiny little blade in her hand. Must've been about... well, I don't rightly know how old she were. Probably a wee' bit younger than you I reckon. I went to go disarm her an' she ended up slashin' my face. Turns out that turret I took down had left me with but an ounce o' Aura an' I hadn't bothered to check me'self over. That knife o' hers was just the final nail in the coffin to shatter what I had left. I managed to disarm the lass, but not before... well, feel free to 'ave a gander if ya' want." 

He lifts up the patch from his eye, revealing the extent of his injury. Judging by the cheeky grin that he was sporting I assume he got the reaction he was hoping for. "Aye, not a pretty picture I know. People always love t'say that pretty lasses love a man in uniform, sportin' their battle scars. Well, ya' take my word lad when I tell ya' it ain't bloody true. Ya' much better off keepin' ya' mug all shiny and clean." 

Well that is certainly one of my permanent life goals on Remnant to be fair. 

I feel a bit better when he lowers the patch back over his disfigured eye, enough to try and cheer him back up. "You never know old man, I'm quite sure I saw old lady Brandy at the florist looking you up and down the other day. I think you might have a fair shot if you ask nicely." He laughs boisterously, clapping me on the shoulder. Much better.

"Oh that there would be a right dream come true lad. But nay, tha's wishful thinkin' that. But enough about an' ol' grumpy veteran like me. Ya' came to get yer' little beauty all fixed up. Leave her with me for the week an' I'll have her all patched up for you's by the end o' the week. That alright lad?" 

I nod. It's only a weeks delay and, if I'm right, I should have a working prototype to try out a good month or so before the final grading with Qrow. "How much am I looking at for it all?" I ask, in no way shape or form asking Tai for yet another cash infusion.

Again, I would love to get a job. Unfortunately, it is quite illegal to hire a minor under Vale's laws. Trust me, I've asked nicely and I still get a firm no from any potential employers.

Even the SDC have to legally state that they abide by international labour standards when it comes to the ages of their employees.

That's not to say they aren't running any sweatshops around and about in secret - they most definitely fucking are - but what isn't on the books can't be taken to court.

It can however lead to a pipebomb being shoved through the nearest S.D.C official's letterbox, courtesy of the White Fang. But hey, that's none of my business. 

"Ya' know what lad? I'll let this one slide. Ya' made an old man chuckle an' at my age, tha's a proper achievement believe me. That, an' I'm rather curious about this little beauty you've been dyin' for. Why, ya' even got me thinkin' of some upgrades that I might be able to throw in for you's."

"Upgrades?" Colour me intrigued. He nods, rubbing a hand across his goatee.

"Aye. Back in the day I did quite a few tinkerin' jobs for some o' the Specialists that visited the barracks one time. One o' them had a rather fancy rifle that she was wantin' some work doin' on. Wanted it to be able to better track a target at a distance. Well, I installed for the lass a pretty nifty tracker that would, when aimed, lock onto the Aura of whoever was on the opposite side o' the barrel. No matter where they ran, jumped or dived, the bullet would, even when in motion, track the target's Aura. Ya' interested lad?" 

Am I interested?

In rounds that can track a moving target?

In rounds that will quite literally track an individuals soul?

But of course I would love to have soul seeking rounds that can immolate a target on impact. 

Anymore silly questions?

No Your Honor, I am not a psychopath. We merely have differing opinions on the ethics of warfare. Where you see the Geneva Convention kind sir, I instead see a to-do list.

Giving him a look that quite clearly stated my interest, the man gives me a toothy grin. "Aye, thought that'd get ya' interested. Well, keep in mind lad it'll only be good on those who've got their Aura unlocked - you'll do well against ya' fellow students an' anyone who might be wantin' to mug you's but tha's far as it'll get ya'. Don't be expectin' it to apply to the Grimm. They aren't packin' souls, just hatred to ya' fellow men." 

Now that is unfortunate. It would have been great to have a way of hitting airborne Grimm in flight but I guess I can't get everything I wanted.

Still, it'd definitely give me an edge against those of a more two legged nature.

"How would that even work?" I ask, curious as to how a gun can track Aura. "Would it be similar to a radar system?" He grins, wagging his finger in the air.

"Bingo lad, exactly that. The tracker will effectively be a miniature radar within the gun itself that'll then feed into ya' weapon sight. I'll just be installin’ a... well, a battery o' sorts into the weapon that'll be responsible for powerin' the targetin' system. However, ya' shan’t be usin’ Dust as a power source for this bad boy. Instead, the power supply will be comin' from you's own Aura." This surprises me.

I'd asked Qrow once after class on how difficult the process was of transferring Aura into a weapon to enhance it and his reply had been to, "go read a book and find out, Wolfy." 

What he failed to mention was that those books are only available to those attending the actual Huntsmen academies. Meaning I wouldn't be able to try anything until I got to Beacon.

Prick.

"I thought that was a difficult process? Transferring Aura into an object, that is." 

"It is, aye. But tha's why it'll only be a small portion, small enough that I honestly doubt it'll even make a small dent in what you's got already. That and it won't decay either when it's been transferred. It'll remain in the battery until you's used it all up or if you's own Aura is depleted, at which point what is in the battery will be transferred back as, well, an emergency backup o' sorts. Effectively a fallback for you's in the event that ya' findin' yourself very much on the backfoot of a fight."

Good Lord this is sounding better and better by the second.

Not having to use Dust as a power source is in itself economically wonderful. After all, I already know that it'll be a small fortune just to keep my weapon supplied. Being able to power this via my own Aura, which regenerates overtime? Both economically friendly and efficient at the same time. Outstanding. Absolutely outstanding at that.

"What about when I'm using it as a sword? Will the Aura in the battery strengthen the sword or is that just overkill?" Mr Silva's smiles apologetically, shaking his head.

"Sorry lad, the battery won't be workin' that way. It'll only be able to power the tracker and nought' else. If ya' wantin' to be infusin' ya' blade with Aura, then ya' better off askin' one o' those fancy trainers you's students got up at the Academy. They's can answer that question a whole lot better than I. After all, I was but a humble soldier. My knowledge on Aura application ain't as grand as what they'll be havin'." He looks over his work with a satisfied smile, nodding to himself as inspects what he had done so far. "Once the week is up, come back to good ol' Mr Silva. I'll have ya' weapon fixed up an' the tracker ready for an exhibition." Nodding to the man, I lean back into the chair, content to watch as he leans back in to carry on with his work and remaining silent for the time being.

All in all this had been a rather educational and productive day. Now I just had to wait a week for Mr Silva to work his magic, fix up my baby and show me how exactly this tracker will work. 

I certainly live in exciting times.

"Mr Silva, sir?" A familiar voice calls from the front of the store. "Are you open?"

"In the back, Miss Rose." Silva shouts back, placing the blowtorch down and turning to face the door. He smiles fondly as the girl more or less skips through the door. "How've ya' been keepin' up with ya' studies, lass? Excited for when ya' head up to Signal?" Ruby nods excitedly, yet to even acknowledge me. In her hand is a neatly folded piece of parchment which she offers towards Mr Silva.

"Yes sir! I passed my entrance exam last week! Ooh I'm so excited. I've even brought another sketch for you to- oh, hi big bro!" 

"Nice of you to notice me finally, sis." 

"Well maybe if you answered your Scroll then I would known that you'd be here, duh." I check my Scroll, noting that she had in fact tried calling four times in the past hour. 

"...I literally told you where I was going before I left the house, you goblin." Ruby opens her mouth to retort but then stops, realising I was right. She decides to take the responsible and mature response of sticking her tongue out at me. 

"Anyway," she looks away from me as I roll my eyes, "I brought this for you to look over, Mr Silva, sir." The giant of a man laughs good naturedly at our banter, reaching over and plucking the parchment from Ruby's hand. 

"None o' that 'sir' business, lass. The pair o' you's been comin' 'round here long enough now that ya' might as well just be usin' me last name." 

"Yes sir- I mean no sir, Mr Silva, sir. No wait, not sir, sir." He waves her off, laughing to himself as he looks over the parchment that the now embarrased Ruby had handed over to him. I get up and stand next to her, repeating her 'yes sir no sirs' back to her in a high pitched voice.

My reward is an elbow to the ribs.

After a few seconds of analysing, Mr Silva let out a very audible groan. "God's give me strength, you's really are siblings, aren't you's? Lad, look at this an' tell me what ya' see." He hands the parchment over and I take it from him, giving it a look over. 

Ruby had only recently taken and passed the extrance exam into Signal and, despite only starting early next year - when both Yang and I would be starting our 3rd year - had already begun to make rough sketches on what would eventually become 'Crescent Rose'. 

Evidently she had finally come up with the winning design - the outline was quite clearly the same weapon that she wielded throughout the show. However, this one had a few notable differences.

If I had to guess, I would assume that the part Mr Silva was referring to was the part of the parchment where Ruby had written in very big and bold writing that she wanted to be able to load her weapon with, and I quote from her own writings, '100120 125MM SUPER DUPER ANTI-GRIMM SHELLS FOR AWESOME RESULTS :) - R. ROSE'.

Turning slightly in Ruby's direction, I note with a great deal of amusement the utterly innocent expression on the face of a girl who had probably already written 'Atlesian Battleship Cannon' at the top of her Christmas list this year.

Sweet Jesus I fucking love this girl.

"Well lad? Notice anythin' in particular?" Mr Silva asks once I hand the sketch back over. I nod over at Ruby, grinning.

"That my weapon is definitely one-hundred percent cooler than hers?" 

"What!?" The girl exclaims. "It is most definitely one-hundred percent not!" 

"Will you be able to set your weapon on fire?"

She turns to Mr Silva with a hopeful look in her eyes. 

"Oh Gods, this be gettin' out o' hand. Now there be two of 'em." Ruby frowns, stomping on the ground and crossing her arms, pouting cutely at the both of us. "Lass, actin' all cute an angry ain't gonna work on me. Ya' may as well accept that an' move on right quick." Knowing now that she would not be able to convince Remnant's answer to Andre the Giant, she instead turned her pouting to me.

"Harrow, you know you're my favourite sibling right?"

"As I should be."

"And you know that I'm a big, strong girl now?"

"Jury is still out on that I'm afraid."

"I am so going to tell Yang it was you who put that fake spider under her pillow if you don't listen to me right now!"

"...Fine. What do you want exactly?"

"Well, could you please be so kind to explain to Mr Silva that, not only can I definitely handle it, the difference in shell size would also be so much more effective to a Grimm's armour, but that it would also-"

"Okay, fine."

"-because it'd be really cool and-wait, really?"

"No, Ruby."

Though it took a herculean effort on both our parts, Mr Silva and I finally managed to convince Ruby that it would not, in fact, be practical for a girl of her size to be firing literal tank shells without expecting the resulting recoil to send her halfway across whichever continent she happened to be standing in.

Ruby swore that she would never, ever forget my heinous betrayal and that I would forever come to rue the day that I had so harshly turned my back on her.

She then promptly forgave my misdeeds once we stopped by the bakery on our way home and I secured her a bag full of cookies. Granted it wasn't exactly my money to spend, but what Tai doesn't know won't exactly hurt me.

Favourite sibling indeed.

Chapter Text

Omake #1

It was just supposed to be another meeting with Oz's secret little 'brotherhood'. Just some reports on things that, quite frankly, he did not need to be listening to. After all, most of the things mentioned were reports that he himself had sent over. Mostly regarding local Grimm movement, or any particular waves being made in Vale's underworld. 

Roman was still an ongoing issue, but Oz' did not see the need to bring down the hammer just yet in case the flamboyant thief managed to slip through the net and go underground again.

Qrow personally thought that there were much better things for him to be getting into. 

His secret stash of rum hidden in the second drawer of his desk for example. Always good to have something for a rainy day.

Still, he supposed it wasn't all bad. At least Ironwood had been missing from the meeting thus far. That was always a good way of cheering him up no matter the situation.

The meeting, however, was interrupted upon the arrival of Taiyang, who had come to Qrow's office in Signal rather suddenly. He wasn't privy to what he and the rest of Ozpin's shadowy group were up to these days and, for now, they were fine with keeping it that way - Ozpin had masterfully changed the direction of conversation the moment he was aware of Taiyang's arrival.

Losing Summer was bad enough. Nobody wanted to worsen the pain by putting her husband at risk as well.

He would not accept Tai's girls being orphaned.

Their meeting adopted a more familial tone, with both the Headmaster and Glynda enquiring into how both he and his daughters were getting on. Once he had satisfied their curiosity, Tai had then brought up the Faunus that Qrow had plucked out from the forest just over a decade ago.

Now, Qrow Branwen was many things.

A raging alcoholic? Guilty as charged.

A much loved honorary and biological uncle to the two best nieces in the world? You know it.

A shapeshifter capable of transforming into a crow at will? Runs in the family.

An authority figure on what constitutes the perfect skirt length of your average barmaid? He surely had a degree in that field.

More importantly than those aforementioned qualities - or lack thereof - was also the fact that he was a highly experienced Huntsmen who had been fighting for Ozpin for over two decades now, ever since he had been recruited by the old Headmaster after his tenure at Beacon had ended and the team broke up. Ever since that day, he had seen and done so much all across the continents.

He had seen the world and all the good and evil it contained. He had been fighting alongside an immortal wizard, a highly decorated albeit hardheaded military leader, a stern yet sometimes kindly deputy headmistress and other Huntsmen and Huntresses from all walks of life.

There was little, he thought, that could take him by surprise these days.

"Whilst we're talking about him, can I ask you a question Qrow?" Tai said suddenly, bringing Qrow out of his thoughts. He had been happy to remain silent, wistfully staring over towards his hidden cabinet behind one of the many unused bookshelves in his office. "I know you told me that he lost his family in Atlas, but I just need to clarify: are you absolutely sure that Harrow isn't actually your bastard son?"

Until now, that is.

"Oh? This would certainly be news to me." The Headmaster of Beacon says, leaning forward in his chair. "Have you been keeping secrets from us, Qrow?" 

"What." Came the deadpan response of the now clearly befuddled veteran Huntsmen.

"I'm serious." Tai continues, much to Qrow's growing despair. "He takes after you a lot more than you'd expect a child to do so. The way he talks? His 'sunny' outlook on most things not Ruby and or Yang related? His... well, his vocabulary? It's definitely inspired by someone in this room and, being Ruby's dad, it definitely isn't mine."

"Is this happening? Really?" 

"Qrow Branwen, will you ever learn the meaning of responsibility!?" Glynda is next to chime in having now replaced Ozpin's face on the screen. The stern disciplinarian was evidently unwilling to treat this as the prank that it had to be and was now fixing him with a glare brimming with disappointment. "Please tell me you haven't just... concocted a story to shirk your duties as a father and drop the poor boy in Mr Xiao Long's lap?"

"Wow. I'm... wow. This is actually happening to me right now. Amazing. Well and truly."

"There! Right there! You're both as sarcastic as each other!" Tai exclaims, before doubling in laughter at the deepening glare he was receiving from his old teammate. "Seriously! He's almost the same as you were back in our old STRQ days."

Suddenly there's the familiar 'ping' of someone joining an ongoing call.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone. There was an incident that required my... have I missed something?" 

"It's alright, James." Ozpin replies, still sporting that infuriating grin. Glynda had stepped back from the screen and was now just staring disappointedly at Qrow over the Headmaster's shoulder. "We've just learnt as of this moment that Qrow here is, in actuality, the true father of Mr Xiao Long's adoptive son."

The general's face remains impassive for the few seconds that it takes for the news to fully register, before he frowns and turns to glare at Qrow through his Scroll.

"Are you really that despicable that you would just drop the responsibility of raising your own child onto someone else's shoulders, Branwen?"

"Oh for the love of-he's not my damn kid!" The room goes quiet.

"...Are you sure, Qrow?" 

"Yes." He growls at Tai. "I am quite sure!" In the background of Ozpin's call he can quite clearly hear Glynda sighing.

"Qrow, you may no longer be a student but I must ask if you were ever taught about the existence of protection during se-" 

"Holy fucking shit Glynda, please do not start lecturing me on how to use a damn condom." There's a 'tsk' of disappointment from the General.

"You know Branwen, if you were one of my men and I found out about a situation like this there would be severe conse-" 

He's heard enough. Ripping open the second drawer of his desk, he pulls out his emergency stash and slams it onto the desk. Pulling out a rather sizeable glass, he goes to pour but, much to the surprise of all in attendance he then stops, pulling both his hand and the bottle away.

Slowly, he places the glass back into the drawer and closes it.

"Abstinence, Qrow?" Says Ozpin, perhaps surprised by the uncharacteristic behaviour on display. "Are you perhaps trying to set a better example for your son?" 

Qrow promptly proceeded to down the entirety of the bottle in front of all in attendance, putting such thoughts to rest.

"Oh. Nevermind then."

Chapter Text

Chapter 6

True to his word, Patch's resident Scotsman delivered exactly what he had promised and more. Not only had he fixed up all damages that the weapon had sustained during the forging accident, he had also created and showed off both the battery and the tracker sight that he had so kindly offered to install for me. 

Whilst he could not give me a practical demonstration with my own weapon, he was able to install it onto an older rifle that he had lying around in storage. With it, he was able to demonstrate how exactly the Aura-seeking rounds would work. He did this by having a target with Aura running through a customised obstacle course that he had set up behind his store. The goal was for the target to make it from one side to the other whilst under fire. Scattered around were obstacles that the target could hide behind, but it would only delay the inevitable - no shots fired would miss.

If it wasn't obvious, the test subject in question was me. No matter how much I zigzagged or dived or whatever else I tried, once those rounds were in flight I was a dead man running.

Aura or not, my ribs were screaming for the next 24 hours. But in the pursuit of ensuring that it worked as intended, it would be worth it.

At least I hoped it would be; I had but a fortnight until we were to take our 'W.E.S.T's, which stood for 'Weapons Exhibition and Suitability Tests'. The clock was counting down fast and, to make me jealous, Yang had already finished with Ember Celica nearly a month ago and had been having the time of her life getting to grips with her gauntlets.

She had even been so kind as to let me have a try at testing them out with her at home in the forest once. I'll admit, throwing a haymaker at a tree and leaving it with a hole the size of my head embedded in the wood was a most delightful experience.

But still, Ember Celica was not my weapon nor was it what I was wanting to use. With the clock ticking, the work continued to progress through its final stages. Dust rounds were tested vigorously, the mechanisms checked twice over by both I and Mr Silva before I even attempted to put in any of the final required pieces and, even when I had it all done, I still had to take it all apart and piece it back together again before I felt satisfied enough that nothing more could be done at that time.

And so, with but two days left to spare, the work was done.

It. Was. Finished.

If they were to ever update the Oxford Dictionary with pictures to help describe certain words, then most assuredly there would be a picture of me holding the finished product for the first time in my hand under the word 'Exuberant'.

That same picture would probably also be under the word 'Deranged'. 

Or 'Avoid'.

Hey, I'd spent the last six months crafting this damn thing and it almost blew me the fuck up in the process. Any cackling heard from within the forging corridors of Signal was merely a result of the sheer amount of dopamine released from firing it properly for the first time.

With the gun now fully built and ready for action, the final touches that it needed now was a simple bit of personalisation. No self respecting Huntsmen would be found dead without at least adding a touch of colour to their weapon and I did not plan to deviate. However, I was rather limited due to this world's rather strange obsession over matching colours and whatnot. 

Now I'm no historian but I guess I'll try and explain it somewhat. Basically, all you really needed to know was that roughly 80 years ago, both Mistral and Mantle, which would later become present day Atlas, decided that they no longer found the concepts of self-expression and individualism cool enough to allow to continue. They thought that, in banning such ideas, they could more effectively control the emotions of their citizens and, in doing so, make it harder for Grimm to latch onto negative emotions in general.

Vale and Vacuo however took one look at this theory and kindly told the Mistral-Mantle alliance to take their ideas and fuck off home. Their response to their refusal to conform was unsurprisingly hostile. So began the world's greatest party which, these days, is called the 'Great War'. Once he led his allies to victory, the King of Vale decreed that self-expression and individualism were to be forever celebrated throughout the land. So began the aforementioned tradition around colours that has lasted from the end of the war up to the present day.

However, I did not work so hard on this motherfucker just to be told that I couldn't paint it the way I wanted because some fucker nearly a century ago decided that his reward for winning our equivalent of a world war was that he had the divine right to have his grandchildren be named after the colours of the rainbow.

I therefore went and painted the entirety of my weapon in a much more appealing black and gold. It may not have suited my namesake, but, personally, it made the weapon look far better than it would have with just a typical grey/silver scheme. Diversity is always important, after all. 

If anyone wanted to complain then they could take it up with someone who actually gave a shit.

On both sides of the gun were two strips of metal which would glow according to the type of Dust round that was chambered. At the moment I had only accounted for four types of Dust to be loaded in, with any extra in the future requiring a bit of tweaking. For now the four most basic types of Fire, Lightning, Ice and Gravity were all that I needed.

Anything else would have to be added in at a later date, probably once I was settled in at Beacon and had a better idea of how everything worked. I'll be learning a hell of a lot more there about Dust and weapons than I had at Signal so my options will expand in terms of what I could add or upgrade concerning the gun form.

Again, thank fuck that I had both Ruby and Mr Silva on call for all of this. They deserved the credit for the whole thing almost as much as I did.

Furthermore it's also worth mentioning that it could hold 16 rounds before needing to reload. A fresh magazine, upon insertion, would be automatically unloaded and the rounds quickly extracted and delivered to their respective chambers in preparation to be cycled into their lane. This would allow me to sustain fire so long as I could keep pumping in fresh rounds during a fight, meaning I'd have to be stocking up quite well when it came to Dust-related ammunition.

I could theoretically get by on normal caliber rounds to get myself through a fight, especially seeing as how the impact of a normal round would be enough to do more than just kneecap an individual with a gun of this size, but if you to ask me to choose between a normal 10mm bullet versus a 10mm bullet that can deliver a high enough voltage to a man that he starts breakdancing in the middle of a combat zone then it really isn't a hard decision for me.

Dust or bust, my friends.

Anyway, I can't just give all of the love to the gun. The sword variant of the weapon was as vitally important to me as its ranged sibling.

As stylish as it was practical, the sword was a breeze to swing around in the forge room. Again, thank fuck for Ruby when it came to advising on the material of the weapon. The whole weapon should weighed twice the amount that it did already, but it felt comfortable enough in my hand to both swing around and to aim with when in its appropriate form.

The blade, however, was what made it so damn good. 

From the guard to the point it was a beautiful 35 1/2 inches of pure Atlesian steel. Tempered within Mr Silva's blazing forge, the blade would most certainly cut through a Grimm like a hot knife through butter. At least the unarmored part of one, that is. Hell, even then I might just get lucky if I have enough force behind the attack to break straight through their plate.

The best part however was the secret addition that I had yet to tell anyone but Mr Silva about. Along the edges of both sides of the blade were runes of an old Faunus language that I had read up about. Together they would roughly translate into 'Grey Wolf' which I found pretty fucking awesome to inscribe into the blade when I read up on them. Beneath each of these runes were stored a partial amount of Fire Dust that would glow beneath the steel, giving them a sort of glow. Just above the handle of the weapon lay a small, nearly unnoticeable button which, upon being pressed, would set off a reaction within the blade to kickstart the Dust into combusting - the result was a blade wreathed entirely in fire.

If I wasn't passing this exam for style points alone there would be a reckoning.

Now as much as I would love to describe in detail just how it is that a weapon of this complexity can so easily shift between taking the shape of a gun or a sword, I... well, I'm just not going to even try. It took Mr Silva nearly a month just to brute force the knowledge into me, and even Ruby found the process baffling enough that she was content to just work on keeping her future weapon design simple in comparison.

Well, as simple as a scythe folding into a sniper rifle can be.

Maybe I should have made some sort of scythe-like weapon as well. It would have made training with Qrow later on a lot easier. That, and Ruby would have been overjoyed.

Then again, that would be pretty unoriginal. Both Qrow and Ruby had scythes already. A sword and a gun on the other hand are a more practical and simple combination to work with.

Oh what the fuck am I talking about? I'm literally breaking physics so that I can have a flaming sword which, at my pleasure, can turn into a the abominable love child of a revolver and desert eagle, able to fire bullets powered by the elements which could track and follow a moving target due to them having a forcefield around them, powered by their soul.

Simplicity had long since been removed from the equation.

To swap between forms, there would be a switch on the side of the gun barrel that, when flipped, would begin the process of unfurling the blade like a bayonet from beneath the barrel. The rest of the gun would devolve and take up the necessary components of the sword - the grip for example would expand into the handle. If I then wished to return to using my weapon at range, all I needed to do was twist the pommel of the sword and the sword would devolve back into a gun.

Again, I will agree wholeheartedly that it does not and should not make sense. But having lived here now for a decade, you get used to such general insanity. 

Now of course nothing is perfect and, despite my best efforts, there were some obvious weaknesses with what I had made.

Firstly, the usage of Dust. Considering how much Dust I would need to both fuel the blade and to restock ammo, I'd need to find a steady supply of Dust one way or another. Signal could only give out so much Dust to students before the risked going over budget and having Vale's council baring down on them, so relying on the school was a short term measure. Furthermore, I could only afford so much with whatever Lien I had earnt around town, so that wasn't feasible either. A solution would have to be found sooner or later for this, though I did already have some ideas forming.

It would most certainly be an uphill battle considering her personality early in the show to those with my kind of heritage but befriending Weiss might be an in to securing Dust related products early into my tenure at Beacon? A girl of her standing would more than likely have a way of getting a discount - especially for the rest of Team RWBY. Definitely worth investigating at least.

Secondly, my current lack of a Semblance was leaving me rather worried in how any future fights will be going for me, especially against fellow students or other major/minor characters. Almost any and all aspiring Huntsmen and Huntresses had adopted their Semblance into their fighting style, strengthening their overall combat capabilities against both Grimm and other students. I cannot overstate just how powerful Semblances are, either. Let's go through a few prominent examples, shall we?

Well, Ruby can effectively turn into The Flash but with a big fucking scythe and a sniper with recoil strong enough to propel her across the battlefield like the adorable little Beyblade that she was.

Meanwhile, someone like Blake who could leave cloned mimics of herself which, if she enhanced with Dust, could detonate at will in such a way that would give even Al-Qaeda a wet dream.

An individual like Hazel can just snap his fingers and forget about the concept of pain, allowing him to continue to inhale Dust like the madman he was and just overpower almost any and all opponents.

And then there's Pyrrha who drank a bottle of magnesium and turned into Magneto.

Until such a time then that I had my Semblance unlocked, I would be at a permanent disadvantage in any encounter with a Semblance user. My Aura enhanced strength, reflexes and speed would simply have to carry me through. That, and quite a bit of creative thinking.

Finally, if the weapon were to be damaged in any way during its transitioning phase then the entirety of the weapon would more or less breakdown and jam. Again, it's a very, very sophisticated build, even by Mr Silva's rigorous standards. That it works as it does is already a miracle of engineering. Were it to be damaged in such a way then I would quite literally be relegated to throwing hands with my opponent.

Not to say that I'd lose in such an event. I am, after all, a decent fighter but I'm not exactly Yang. I'd much prefer to just shoot the Grimm instead of trying to suplex them into submission. 

But these were worries for another day. For now, I had at long last taken the first major step to becoming a Huntsmen. All that was needed from me now to finish everything up was, of course, to give my child a name. A name that would be long remembered in the history books.

I'd long since had the perfect name.

And whilst I had not drawn it from the stone nor had the Lady of the Lake bequeathed it unto me, none could challenge my claim to Excalibur nor could anyone ever accuse me of historical appropriation. 

Except maybe the Welsh, but I doubt they'll care too much to deviate from herding sheep and mining coal to come kick the shit out of me.

Judgement day had arrived for all 2nd year students at Signal Academy. For the last six months each and every one of us had toiled to forge our own unique weapon, one which we would be responsible for from this day forth. Already a myriad of weapons had passed through the halls; prospective Grimm hunters wandered the halls comparing and complimenting one another's choices of weapons and wishing good luck to those next in line for their 'W.E.S.T'. 

The past week had seen the examinations begin. Today, I would be taking mine.

For some, today was to be a day of joyous celebration as, if they passed, they would be allowed to continue through Signal for the next two years. For others however, it would be a day of sadness and failure as not all who had taken the examination had met the standards set out by Signal's leadership team. Those who failed simply had to give up on their dreams of hunting Grimm and saving cats stuck in trees and had to find some other purpose in life to pursue.

Harsh I know. But the world of Remnant isn't exactly known for its kindness. It's known more for its fairytales. For valiant monster slayers. For those striving to accomplish the impossible. For those with big fucking guns and even bigger fucking swords.

And if I play my cards right ladies and gentlemen, I may just start ticking a few of those boxes.

The examination itself consisted of three separate trials. The first trial was simple enough: the invigilator - that being Signal's combat instructor - would inspect the weapon and confirm that it was fully functioning. There had been recorded cases of students attempting to pass off old antiques as actual weapons. They did not get very far and, were any to attempt so today, would be caught out very quickly.

After passing inspection you would then promptly be taken to your second trial. Here you would be facing a makeshift obstacle course. The goal was to get from one side to the other as fast as possible, whilst simultaneously taking down Aura infused dummies that would spring out from all around the course. They were optional of course but each one taken down would add to your overall score at the end of the examination. The name of the game here then was speed and precision.

The third and final trial was both the simplest yet dangerous of all three. Once you had passed the two previous trials, you would be taken to one final testing area located just outside of the school ground. Here, there would be a collection of cages, all differing in size and all shaking rather aggressively thanks to their occupants. As you may have figured out by now, the final trial would be the ultimate test of a student's newly forged weapon - you had to kill a Grimm.

Being 0-2 in terms of Grimm encounters, I did not plan on extending my losing streak today. I'd need that confidence to stick as well, as once the current student finished their final run I would be the next one up.

"Nervous, Harrow?" Yang asks, the two of us nearer the back of the room, watching up at the televised run on the screen. Myself, Yang and those other students taking their exam this afternoon had been asked to wait patiently in one of the training rooms until we were called up. For our viewing pleasure, a large T.V screen had been set up rather haphazardly against the wall. Evidently Qrow had been too lazy to buy a stand for it and had decided instead to just tape it up against the wall and leave it hanging.

Classic.

"Only slightly." I reply, wincing slightly as the girl on the screen was sent flying back from the swing of a Beowolf's claw. I knew how that felt, sweetheart. "I've tested Excalibur enough times today to know that it'll get me through stage one and, if I'm fast enough, through the second trial as well. All things considered, it shouldn't be too hard overall." A small cheer goes up from the back of the room as the student on screen rises back to her feet and charges towards the Grimm, whip in hand.

"That's the spirit." Yang says, fiddling with one of her gauntlets. "Just be careful, Wolfy. Between the two of us, we need to at least leave some Grimm for everyone else."

"I'll try my best. What about you, blondie? Think you'll be joining me at the finish line?" 

"You know it, lil' bro. Big sister Yang is going to breeze through this with no questions asked. After all, someone has to show you how to get it done." 

"Don't be too sure of yourself, Yang." Oh joy, just when I had forgotten about Carmine's existence he just had to come back into my life. "It'll be quite embarrassing for you and your boyfriend when you both fail." Turning around to look at Carmine Burgundy's disgustingly punchable face, I give him a look of curiosity.

"It's a bit weird that you don't know the difference between 'sister' and 'girlfriend', Carmine. Is there, uh, something going on at home that you wanna share with the group?" Having been listening in, those around us began to laugh at the insinuation. Before the reddening racist could retort, a cheer by those who had ignored what was going on here and had kept on watching arises. Evidently this group were friends of the student. Turning back to the screen it showed the girl standing triumphantly in the arena, the Grimm's corpse already evaporating.

Congratulations, random student whose name I do not remember. You will live a long and prosperous life I am sure. 

"Can Mr Harrow Grey please make his way to the grounds?" A voice asks over the loudspeakers. The cheering dies down as the crowd of students to look over at me.

Time to face the music.

Once I had parted the red sea of 2nd years, taking my time to thank those that had wished me luck on my way out, I stopped at the doors. Reaching to my hip, I withdraw Excalibur from its holster, turning the gun around in my hand and giving it one final check. For practicality I always kept the weapon in it's gun form when not in use, allowing me to holster and carry it around with ease. It would also be quicker to draw and utilize in a fight than it would were it a sword.

Content that there was nothing of issue with the gun, I look up and grin at Yang who had followed me to the doors. "Is my 'girlfriend' going to give me a good luck kiss before I go?" 

"Don't be weird, Grey." Yang replies with a smirk. She glances down at Excalibur. "Your baby better be up to put on a show. Ruby's been dying to see how it all looks, and so have I for that matter. Might not beat my two girls, but I still wanna see what my future competition looks like." 

In attendance as well were the families of the students, but they were seated away from the trial areas for their own safety. Wouldn't go down well if a stray round took out some random child minding his own business. Somewhere amongst them was Ruby and Taiyang, the blonde teacher having taken the day off to be able to watch Yang and I perform today. Knowing Ruby, she had more than likely been having an absolute field day watching all of the new weapons being put on display for the crowd. 

She would be in for a bigger surprise later on as well. Ever since I'd finished the weapon, I had refused to practice with it anywhere near Ruby, Yang or Tai. I wanted it to be a surprise for everyone when I unveiled it properly for the first time in the examination. That way, we'd all get to be impressed by the finished product.

Hopefully Tai will be recording. Ruby's face when she sees the fiery display I'll be putting on will be priceless.

"Oh don't you fret, blondie. I'll do more than just put on a show - I'll be stealing it. I'll just have to try and leave some Grimm for you to play around with."

She lightly punches me in the arm, shaking her head. "You better, otherwise I'll just have to use you as my testing dummy, dummy." 

"Once more, can Mr Harrow Grey please make his way to the grounds? Your examination is about to begin." 

"Right, time to go. I'll see you afterwards, Goldilocks. Oh, and do at least try and beat my top score when I get it, alright?"

"You? Top score? Please. You'll be lucky to even be on the same leaderboard as me, Harrow." The blonde brawler retorts playfully.

"I guess we'll see about that now, won't we? See you later, Yang." With one final nod to the blonde, I turn and reach for the doors, only for a hand to come to rest on my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks. 

"Just one more thing before you go?" Looking over my shoulder, I see that Yang's playful smile had now morphed into something a little bit more feral. "Kick their ass, Wolfy."

I return the grin in kind, twirling Excalibur in my hand.

"Yes ma'am."

Chapter Text

Chapter 7

It didn't take too long to reach the examination area. Located just outside of the main building of the school there were a number of different training fields. Most were used by the higher year students for basic and advanced combat courses to better prepare them for when they moved up to one of the higher academies, such as Beacon in Vale or Haven in Mistral. This week though they'd all been fully allocated for us 2nd year students to use for the W.E.S.T's. 

All three trials were to take place more or less a short walk from one another, with Qrow supervising all three examinations to ensure that nothing got out of hand. In addition, the friends and relatives of those running the gauntlet today were all seated on a small grassy hill overlooking the three trial areas, with the third area being covered by a Hard-Light field to ensure that no stray rounds fired against the Grimm came anywhere near those without Aura.

Whilst the school could afford to dip into it's rarest stock of Dust, it could not afford to be sued into the ground by the relatives of whichever individual was unlucky enough to be taken the fuck out by a stray bullet.

Ofsted would have had a field day with the schools in this world I tell you.

As soon as I'd stepped out of the building and into sight of the spectating crowd, I was easily able to spot a few familiar faces waving in the crowd. Ruby and Taiyang were easy enough to spot. Both had gotten themselves quite a good view of the entirety of the testing ground - likely due to Ruby wanting to see every single weapon in use in greater detail.  It was not just the family who had turned up to support myself and Yang; the rather prominent voice of an 8ft Scotsman was also quite distinguishable. Sure enough it only took a second to spot the gigantic Mr Silva waving nearer the top of the hill. Obviously being at the front would have meant obscuring the view of at least a third of those in attendance.

If all went well, I'd be getting that man a bottle of Vacuoan Firewhiskey. Not legally, mind you. I was still a minor after all and no respectable establishment would dare serve me until I was legally an adult at 17.

Then again, if Jaune can fake his way into Beacon then I shouldn't have too much difficulty in sneaking into a few clubs every so often. 

But all of that could wait until after I had finished with the W.E.S.T.

Despite my earlier words to Yang I was not actually as confident as I would have liked. Six months of blood, sweat and tears went into making this weapon and today would be it's first official showcase to the world at large. Having only finished Excalibur with barely 48 hours remaining before the examination, there hadn't been much time to get as comfortable as I would have liked with my weapon.

Compared to Yang who had had at least a solid month of time to practice, I had only been able to take Excalibur for a test run for a few hours over the past two days. 

Overall I had been satisfied with how the weapon felt in my hand and how it handled when wielded, yet there would be no better test for it than actual live combat. The Aura dummies in the second trial would be a good test for Silva's tracker, whilst the Grimm in the third and final test would be a great way of seeing if the last six months had been worth all of the effort put into Excalibur's creation.

After all, how hard could a Grimm or two be when I'd already killed one when I had no Aura and only an axe to wield?

I had a feeling I’d do just fine.

"Well, well, well. You sure took your time, hey Wolfy?" I hear as I stroll towards the older Huntsmen. As Signal's combat instructor it was Qrow who was responsible for overseeing the trials. So far there hadn't been any major incidents under his watch, but I guess with his Semblance there was definitely still time for something to cock up sooner or later. Hopefully not for me, as I really didn't need anything going wrong today. "If this were a mission, innocents could have died in the time it took you to get from one point to another. Maybe I should start deducting points already?" 

"I could always tell the other professors where you've been stashing your alcohol if you'd like?" I fire back. Qrow lets out a bark of laughter.

"Not even you can have found all of them, kiddo." Oh really?

"C-Block janitor's cupboard, second shelf. Forge room 17-B underneath the workbench on the far side of the room. Your office desks first-no, second drawer. Top righthand corner of the library, above the non-fiction section. Your combat classroom desk. Your-" 

"Okay, I get it." Qrow interrupts, shaking his head at the shit eating grin I was sporting. "Damn bloodhound. You better not be touching any of my booze, kid."

"As if I'm trusting your taste in drink. Remember the battery acid?" He rolls his eyes at this.

"Get over it already."

"You were drinking it for a week. From a full flask as well. How are you even alive?"

"Eh, Aura is a wonderful hangover cure."

"It wasn't exactly the hangover I was worried about." 

"Well stop worrying about my liver and start worrying about what's going to happen in the next few minutes. You're aware of how today is meant to go, yeah?" I grunt affirmatively. "Good, then I don't need to go over it all again in detail. We haven't got all day and the clock is ticking, so pull that fancy toy of yours and let's get started." 

Reaching to my hip, I withdraw Excalibur from it's holster and hand it over to Qrow, who starts to turn the gun over in his hands. "This is the weapon as it is in it's gun form. It can chamber 16 rounds at a time before needing to reload. There's a near-complete lack of recoil and, in addition, there is a lack of bullet drop for quite the distance. Furthermore the gun can take in and fire a variety of differing types of Dust Rounds, allowing me to hit an opponent with differing types of elemental attacks in quick succession. The ability to swap out the chambered round as well means that I can easily change at will what needs and needn't be fired. Overall, it's quite the heavy hitter and, regardless of what's on the other end, it will do the job quite nicely." Once I've finished speaking, Qrow is content to just stare at it for a little while longer.

Eventually, he nods in approval and spins it around for a moment, seemingly testing the weight of the weapon.

"Hmm. It's lighter than I would have thought for a gun it's size. Let me guess: Ruby?" I nod, eliciting a small laugh from the man. "Yea, thought she would have. You know she wants me to teach her how to wield a scythe when she's your age?"

"Of course I do. She can't stop talking about the damn thing, even wants me to help build it with her seeing as how I apparently 'owe her' for her suggestion on what materials to use for the weapon. She also wants it to shift into a sniper." He pauses at this, glancing back up at me.

"A sniper. Really?"

"Yep." He shakes his head, grinning.

"Typical. Ah well, I'm sure she'll surprise me. As for this? Well, it's clearly a gun so you have that going for you at least."

"How'd you come to that conclusion?" I ask in curiosity and not at all mockingly.

"Zip it. Now, is there anything else I should know before I pass judgement on your shiny toy?" 

"Yeah. See that switch on the side of the barrel?" He nods. "Flip it and don't let go of the weapon." He does just that and, before our very eyes, the transition begins. It amuses me to no end to see the look of genuine shock on Qrow's face as what was once a gun suddenly morphs in his hand into a sword. Once the process has finished, he's left staring in disbelief. A few seconds pass before he shakes his head in bewilderment.

"Damn kid, I know Tai mentioned you were going all out for your starting weapon but this?" He holds the sword up closer to his face, looking over the runes etched into the blade. "Well, it sure looks fancy. The runes are a pretty nice touch. They mean anything or are they just there for show?" 

"It's an old Faunus language that I read up on in the library, but it roughly translates to 'Grey Wolf' in todays language. Thought it was an appropriate addition."

"Heh, well it certainly looks cool. I like it. Still, I don't think the Grimm will care about style more than they will about whether it can put them down. Compared to it's previous form, is there anything special about this that I should know? I'm assuming that the Dust beneath the runes that I can see is not just for storage?" I shake my head, biting my lip to keep the shit eating grin that was threatening to form. I lasted until I saw his eyes widen in realisation. "Kid, please tell me it does what I think it does."

"Yep." 

"Knew I liked you for a reason, kiddo. It had better work when you face off in your third trial, or I'm going to be disappointed. How do you swap it back to a gun?" I gesture to the pommel, making a twisting motion with my hand. He twists and, once more, the weapon shifts. "Nice. I take it that's pretty much all there is to it?"

"For now? Yeah, more or less." I reply, straightening up and getting ready for Qrow's final decision regarding whether or not I've passed the initial inspection. For another minute or so Qrow plays around with Excalibur, analyzing every part of what he could see. In the end, he shrugs and hands the weapon back over.

"Everything looks good to me, Wolfy. It's a pass."

One down, two to go.

Arriving at the second trial I finally came face to face with Qrow's very own obstacle course. From an outside perspective there wasn't much to say. It was effectively just one large box in the middle of a field. On the side facing the spectators was a much larger and much more secured screen to showcase our performances to those watching from outside. From what little we had seen televised into our own waiting area, the interior of the box was, in effect, a large obstacle course. Inside would be a myriad of challenges designed to test our strength, our speed, our reflexes and, most of all, our capacity to - if you'll pardon the pun - think outside the box.

As previously mentioned there were targets scattered throughout the course however that, when taken out, would remove a few seconds from our time and further beef up the participants score. Of course it wouldn't be as easy as simply hitting them and running; the targets were all infused with Aura to ensure that, if you wanted to take them out, you had to actually hit them and hit them hard to do so.

Luckily for me, I had Silva's tracker sight to work with. The Dust rounds would do the rest.

Having lead me to the entrance of the course, Qrow stops just before the door and turns to me, gesturing behind him at the big box-like structure. "Welcome to the gauntlet, Wolfy. You know the rules of the course: get from one side of the course to the other in no more than five minutes. Any targets you take out on the way will both improve your final score and add a few precious seconds to your time. Now, as soon as that door closes behind you, the clock will start ticking. Failing to get to the other side of the course within those five minutes is an instant fail. Your performance will be getting televised on the big screen as well, so put on a good showing for your adoring fans. Any questions?"

"Run in, shoot targets, be out in five minutes. I think I've got all that down." He grunts, smirking.

"Guess were gonna see about that. Whenever you're ready kid, step inside." With that, he moves away towards the other side of structure, leaving me alone at the entrance. 

No time like the present, I suppose.

Entering the structure I make sure that the door does not behind me, not until I was ready to begin. It was a very small room that I had entered, with no discernible way in or out other than the entrance. If I had to guess then a way would make itself clear once the door shut. Already I could hear something behind the wall in front of me, my Faunus ears picking up on the whirring of gears and pumping mechanisms. I take a deep breath.

Then I kick the door shut behind me.

Instantly my theory is proven correct as one of the walls collapse into the ground, revealing a veritable obstacle course of platforms, beams, high walls and everything else that you would expect from an obstacle course designed to challenge prospective Huntsmen students. Just to add a bit more risk to the entirety of the course as well, there were also traps lining the course; bursts of fire and electricity were spouting from certain points around the course, cutting off the more obvious ways of getting around certain areas.

Evidently it was designed to have you think creatively and not just rush ahead. I can see the appeal of it, though I wasn't finding the experience appealing however.

My eyes then landed to the opposite end of the course where, quite visible, was a large electronic screen. On it, a large, virtual crow was holding a stopwatch in its beak.

Very funny you old drunk. 

Time remaining - 05:00

04:59

04:58

Ah shit, time to go. With no time to waste, I began to move, keeping an eye out for any obvious targets to increase my time.

I quickly came to a stop as I reached what was evidently my first challenge of the trial. A large wall separated me from the rest of the course with no apparent way of getting up nor around it. At least it looked that way for a moment, until suddenly small platforms began to emerge from the wall before quickly returning and shutting themselves away. I waited around for a small while, analyzing any patterns that became apparent in the platforms appearances and exits. It didn't take long until I figured out a path up.

With a jump, I landed on the first platform. Before it had time to move again, I was already jumping to the second and then to the third. So far it was going very easy for me.

Then my ears picked up on something moving in the wall just besides my head. Instinctively I duck and not a second too late; a burst of flame shot out just where my head had been. With a growl of frustration, I come to realize that this challenge wasn't going to be as easy as I had thought. Before the trap can be set off once more I jump to the next platform, though not without some issue as I barely make the landing and almost skid off the other end. 

This was taking far too long for my liking. With a few moments to get my bearing, I look up to the top of the wall; there weren't many platforms left until I reached the top and, with a bit more effort, I could make it. However, my eyes caught onto something pecular on one of the platforms further up. A vibrant, circular target had sprung up on one of the platforms, shimmering with Aura. Before it can withdraw back into the wall, I'm already aiming Excalibur and, with two shots fired, the Aura shatters and, with it, the target as well.

My reward is a loud claxon blaring through the course.

That should hopefully buy me some time to get this damn wall vaulted. The platform beneath me begins to shift and I'm once more forced to move, springing up and vaulting to the platform above me. It doesn't take me too long after that to reach the top, albeit with a few close calls from other existing traps put in by Qrow. Reaching the top, I spot the clock in the distance counting down. It read 04:02, with a small +5 underneath the timer.

"So each target is five seconds. Got it." I murmur to myself, albeit annoyed that it had taken a nearly a fifth of my time just to get up a damn booby-trapped wall. I needed to pick up the pace.

It didn't take long to reach the second exercise. This time, it resembled something out of a ninja warrior competition. Unlike their courses however, this one packed a lot more heat. Literally. Whilst the previous challenge merely had some bursts of flame, this one instead had more to be wary of. Supersized mallets, electric fields, burning rings and, if I had to guess, what looked like miniature landmines were all over this course. Below it all was what appeared to be a river of Ice dust.

So if you fucked up you'd be facing a further penalty by being slowed down by the river as you attempt to get back on track? Joy.

Not sure why I had expected it to be easy. With it being a test for prospective Grimm killers, it'd be disappointing if it was easy.

I take longer than I was comfortable with to get an eye over the landscape. Already I could see Aura targets scattered throughout this particular area, albeit some were in places that, realistically, nobody could be getting too. Even with the tracker sight, it would be challenging to get them locked in without being knocked off of the course and into the river below. Regardless of how difficult it would be, I still needed to get some of them taken down if I wanted to keep my chances of success high.

Time to move.

With my natural speed enhanced by Aura it doesn't take long to dash through the first part of this challenge, jumping through hoops and using beams outcropping from the walls to propel myself across the gaps in the course and to the next side. The second part was a lot more challenging however. Have you ever watched Total Wipeout? You know those large, red balls that the contestants have to somehow jump across without being bounced off like a ragdoll? Those annoying fucks were here, just to spite me

Even being enhanced by Aura I almost got taken the fuck out by them, only managing to catch onto the ledge beyond by the skin of my teeth after the last and final jump. By the time I was up and over, the clock had ticked down to 03:39. I was still on track. After those annoying inflatable fucks were done and dusted, I came to a stop and took a few shots back across where I had come from. One of the targets had managed to get behind a wall after I had fired, but unfortunately for the target my Aura seeking rounds were more than happy to just sail past the wall and double back around like a boomerang.

The claxon blared thrice and, spying the clock, I saw that I had earnt 15 additional seconds overall. As good as that was, I still needed to keep pushing forward.

The rest of the course follows a similar system of analysis, target elimination, running, jumping and all around improvising my way across numerous chasms and moving platforms. 

Eventually I reach the last and final challenge. A great wall was all that seemingly remained of the course and, at the top, I had seen the exit. Similarly to the first and initial challenge of the entire course, this wall has a number of platforms that I would need to climb. The differences ended there, however. This time, the platforms were stationary and unmoving. They were also everywhere, with there being a great deal of options for where to jump. If I desired, I could simply just keep jumping up and it'll be all over within a minute. Even despite the wall being almost twice the height of the previous one I had had to climb, it really shouldn't be too difficult.

At least that's what I was thinking. The moment I jump onto the first platform, I hear a portion of the wall opening. I turn, just in time to be hit by what felt like an explosive round and sent flying from the course and into the river of Ice Dust down below. 

Hopefully the recordings weren't able to pick up my curses, otherwise I'd be having a long talk from Tai about Ruby hearing me calling her uncle a cunt as I plummeted into the ice.

By the time I managed to drag my way out of the Dust river and up a ladder back to the wall, I found that my remaining time had taken a deep hit. The clock showed that I now only had 01:40 to reach the top of the course. With determination, I jump to a different platform. This time, there is no trap. Cautiously, I jump to the next. Again, nothing. Feeling a bit more confident, I jump once more and, before I even reach the platform I was aiming for I'm sent flying back by an inflatable fist that had sprung out from the wall suddenly to clock me in the jaw. 

I almost fall straight into the river once more but at the last second I'm able to hang on precariously to the side of the ledge, forcing myself back up and over. I spare a second to check on how much time I had remaining now.

01:00

00:59

00:58

Oh fuck me, that's not good.

There was no way I was getting to the top of that wall in the time that I had left. Not conventionally at least.. Jumping to my feet, I look around the rest of the course. There were no Aura targets that I could see and I let out a frustrated growl at the realization that I just may be fucked.

"What I wouldn't give for a jetpack right about now." I mutter angrily, pacing back and forth, sweat beginning to build on my forehead. A few moments later and I almost trip over myself, my eyes widening as I began to piece together some semblance of a plan to get my sorry self to the top of that wall at speed.

A jetpack I certainly did not have. However, I had something else that may just do the trick.

Emptying the remainder of Excalibur's magazine I pocket all but four Dust rounds. I glance back to the top of the wall, and then to the floor. Loading a Gravity round into the chamber I dash back to the base of the wall, getting myself into a position where there would be no platforms above me. With a manic grin on my face, I aim upwards and fire, the Gravity round now lodged into the ceiling.

With that done I will my Aura into strengthening the bottom half of my body and, with one final prayer to whoever was listening, I utterly dash the pair of Fire Dust shells in my hand into the floor.

The resulting detonation does exactly what I was hoping for as I find myself propelled upwards at great speed.

Fuck you Superman, I don't need the power of flight.

I have high explosive munitions and a dream.

All around me I can hear parts of the wall opening as they register my presence but, at the speed I was going, they were harmless at best. It's as I get halfway up the wall that I feel myself being further pulled upwards - the Gravity Round in the ceiling serving to pick up where the previous round had now stopped. However, I now faced the prospect of going too far up that I miss the top of the wall. With a lot more difficulty to aim with how fast I was going, I just about manage to fire off the final Dust round left in the gun.

This time an Ice round impacts just next to the Gravity round and detonates, encasing a good chunk of the ceiling in ice.

The gravitational pull ceases and my momentum begins to slow just enough for me to stop at the ledge. Before I can fall back to certain defeat, I throw my hands out and, with a heave, throw myself over the ledge and onto the top of the wall with as much grace as I could muster. There's no time for celebration however as I glimpse back over to the clock. 

00:09

00:08

00:07

Time to move, ladies and gents.

With only seconds left I'm back up on my feet and sprinting like a man possessed. With one final shot I blow the door off of it's hinges and, just as the alarm rings out, I dive through and the door and land face first into the dirt.

"Neat little trick you pulled, Wolfy." Spitting out grass I roll onto my back, glaring at Qrow who had been leisurely leaning against the wall that I'd just blasted past. "Was beginning to wonder if there was only fur in that head of yours. Good to see you do have a brain to work with. Now clean yourself up and get moving - you've still one more trial to go, kid."

One more trial indeed.

At long last I had come to the third and final test of my W.E.S.T and, knowing what was to come, I was rather... well, I think I'm feeling pretty confident with myself. The test, of course, involved killing a Grimm or two. It was unlikely that I would be facing multiple Grimm, albeit the option was there for those who were feeling pretty sure of themselves. I personally was content to just face off against a Beowolf and get some much needed payback for my previous two encounters.

The first time I had nothing. The second I killed one but was still summarily throttled. This time?

This time I had a gun and a big fucking sword.

Surrounding this particular field was a rather noticeable Hard-Light shield, powered by some sort of Dust powered generator. Giving it a kick, Qrow let out a 'hmph' of satisfaction. 

"Alright Wolfy, listen up. As fancy as your weapon is and despite the fact that you have Aura, I need to hear it from you that you're going to be taking it seriously in there. You were very lucky the last time you met them, considering you managed to actually put one down. This time? Well, this time you're as prepared as you possibly can be. But I still need to hear from you that you're up for this: Are. You. Ready?"

If Qrow had thought me scared of the upcoming trial then he would certainly be mistaken, let me tell you. I hadn't been throttled in two separate encounters with them just to quit at the first chance I had to meet them at an equal footing. Nervous? Sure. Apprehensive? Most certainly. Scared? 

Not yet. Matching Qrow's stare, I nod.

"Every time I've faced them, you've had to bail me out. I don't plan on making it a third time thing. This time, I have my Aura and a weapon to match. I'm as ready as I can be, old man. Send me in and I'll light them right the fuck up." For a moment he simply stares at me, looking into my eyes for any traces of fear. If he finds any he doesn't say, but I know full well that it wasn't fear I was feeling at that moment.

It was more excitement than anything.

I wanted revenge after all, and I had the right tools to get it. Content with whatever he had seen, he shrugs.

"Heh, fair enough. Well then kid, let's get you in there." He leads me to the entrance of the Hard-Light arena, but doesn't allow me in just yet. "Now before you go in, let me explain to you how this will work. Once you're inside the Hard-Light field will close off your entrance. It ain't coming back down until either you win or I have to intervene for whatever reason. Now you see those cages up there?"

He gestures up to the roof of the enclosure. Following his finger I quickly spot them hanging above the field. "Let me know when you're ready and I'll lower one of them down. Not sure if it'll have just the one or two, but whatever you get you'll have to deal with. Don't be a show-off, just get the job done. You're still being graded kid, so be quick and be clean with how you get it done. If I feel at any point that you're in actual danger, I'll jump in and drag your furry ass out. Understood?"

"Sir yes sir." His answer is to reach over and pat my head, chuckling good naturedly when I swat his hand away.

"Well what are you waiting for? Get in there Wolfy and show us what you can do." As he did at the previous trial he turns and heads away to the side, leaving me once again facing down my next and final trial. I do another check of Excalibur before I do anything further. I had replaced the used rounds from the previous trial but, in doing so, left me without any reserve ammunition. One full magazine would be all I had to work with in terms of using Excalibur at a safe distance.

At least it was only meant to be a Grimm or two that I'd be facing. They should go down easily enough so long as I don't have a stroke whilst aiming. After all, the tracker sight won't be working on Grimm so it'll be down to me and my own aptitude at aiming a gun. If not, then I guess I'll just have to get in close and do it the old fashioned way.

With nothing else to do, I step inside. 

As Qrow had said would happen, the Hard-Light field shimmers back into existence and closes off the entranceway that I had just stepped in through. There was no fancy arena this time, either. Now it was simply a large, football field sized area surrounded by translucent Hard-Light. From here I could even see the hilltop on which all the spectators had taken residence. I couldn't help but wave at the crowd, grinning as a few cheers came my way.

Hopefully they'd enjoyed the previous trial. I did not plan on throwing highly combustible Fire dust at my feet this time around. My Aura hadn't taken as much of a hit as I would have imagined from firing a Dust round at my feet. I guess it's more of a direct impact that'll shatter it faster? Or maybe the size of the explosion? I'll do some testing on that later.

Spotting Qrow off to the side near some sort of machinery, I wave over at him to say that I was ready. He waves back and, moving my attention upwards, I look to the hanging cages of Grimm. Sure enough, one begins to slowly lower and even without my Faunus ears I can hear the telltale sound of a Beowolf growing behind the cage bars.

I wonder if it'd be cheating if I just started firing through the bottom of the cage at the Grimm?

Suddenly the cage comes to a screeching halt, leaving me confused as to what was going on. I look back over in Qrow's direction to see him as equally confused, the man seemingly tapping the same button again and again. I can hear the machine trying to respond but, for whatever reason, it ceased to move. With nothing else to do until this issue was solved, I decide that I was better off heading over towards the birdman to see what exactly the issue was.

I barely make it five steps towards him before I pick up on the sound of something snapping above my head. I don't even need to look up to know just what was happening, so I instantly roll to the side. A moment later and I'm hit by the force of something very heavy landing next to me, blasting me with dust.

I don't bother to turn, already knowing full well that the cage had just fallen from it's hanging position and landed right beside me. 

Already I could hear the growling intensifying.

As if to just further hammer in the fact that everything was going wrong, something seemed to explode further above from where the cage had just fallen. A quick glance confirms exactly what I had feared. The entirety of the mechanism holding all of the cages had decided that now would be the most astute time to suffer a catastrophic failure and collapse, resulting in every single fucking cage plummeting to the ground. 

Looks like Qrow's Semblance finally decided it wanted to remember that it did in fact exist by coming to life at the worst time possible.

I've no time to start cursing my luck as I'm forced to roll out of the way of yet another cage before it can flatten me into a fine paste.

By the time I'm out of the danger zone of falling steel cages I've up to the still Hard-Light shut doorway that I entered in. "QROW!" I roar, banging hard on the Hard-Light field. "I DID NOT ASK FOR THE ENTIRE FUCKING CIRCUS ACT TO BE DROPPED ON TOP OF ME! WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!" He's by the door an instant later, scythe already in hand.

"The damn machine just decided to die on me, kid! Just hold on, I'll get you out of- MOVE!" I'd already heard it lunging before he'd even shouted. With as much finesse as a man could muster when he's about to be skewered alive I yet again roll out of the way, just in time for a Beowolf to bounce off of the forcefield. There's no hesitation from me as I spin back around, withdrawing Excalibur and dumping two rounds into the side of it's head.

I've no time to celebrate my first kill and technical passing of the actual exam as I'm charged by another Beowolf. I line up a shot and fire, the round sailing right over it's head and into the forcefield on the far end. A second attempt unfortunately decides to ricochet off of the Grimm's shoulder, bouncing harmlessly off of its thick plate.

Bollocks.

I'm unable to dodge out of the way at this point and so I proceed to get absolutely clotheslined as a result, bouncing off of the Hard-Light field and falling to the ground in a heap. Were it not for my Aura, I'd likely have been knocked right the fuck out. Or worse.

And worse my situation gets in fact as I now found myself staring up at the Grimm, one of it's gigantic paws pinning my right arm - and Excalibur - to the ground. It's head lunges for my own and I'm almost too slow to move, only just managing to twist my head away. For the split second that I had before it brought its head back up, I throw my left arm around its plated temple and tug as hard as I can. 

The damn thing barely moves but it does move just enough that I'm able to drag my right arm out from under it, which was all that I needed.

A second later and Excalibur is under it's chin. I pull the trigger, smirking evily when the bullet passes through the Grimm and sends his corpse flying upwards and off of me.

Not this time, fucker.

Springing back up, I take stock of what I was now dealing with at the present time.

Two Beowolves were dead. Good progress, yes, yet there were still four more attempting to surround me as I'm forced into the center of the arena. Strange, seeing as how I had counted seven cages in total in the field. A closer look revealed that one of the cages had been crushed under the weight of another, so at least I had had some good luck in seeing that one of the bastards had been taken out at the start.

Looking over to my left I saw that Qrow was still trying to bring down the field to get to me and yet, much like the machine responsible for handling the cages, the generator powering the field was now also refusing to respond to his... well, rather unorthodox method of working the machine. Were I not fighting for my life, I might have found the man bashing the handle of Harbinger into the generator rather amusing.

However, I had much bigger things to worry about. Those worries actively seeking to eat me in front of a bunch of families to be precise.

"Anytime today would be grand, Qrow!" I yell at the struggling Huntsmen, who responds by screaming in frustration as he starts hammer fisting the machine out of anger.

"Piece of shit! Atlesian tech is oh so great and superior but only when it actually does it's damn job!" 

"Stop antagonizing the fucking machine Qrow and get the hell in here would you!" I don't bother listening to whatever useless remark he had to say in reply as I turn back to the situation at hand, flexing the arm that had been pinned just moment ago.

Odds? Not great. Chances of survival? Could be better. Well kids, when in doubt? Mag dump the fuck out of everything.

I do just that and, before they can all start pouncing I'm already firing Dust rounds at anything that moves. Unfortunately for me I'm certainly no expert gunslinger and, despite landing a good few shots and downing yet another pair of Beowolves, I'm still forced onto the backfoot as the final pair of Grimm continue to attack, relentless in their pursuit. Even with my enhanced speed and reflexes I was still running out of space to maneuver as they pressed me more and more towards the wall, leaving me unable to get another shot off.

Aura or not I did not feel like getting used as a chewtoy.

Using one of their disintegrating friends as a springboard I vault over the pair, their claws missing me by a literal inch. The second I land on my feet I'm sprinting to the far side of the field, hoping to secure some distance between the two of them. Hastily checking over Excalibur's remaining ammo count, I curse aloud as I find only two Fire Dust rounds left to my name. Once they were out, I'd be going into close quarters where, despite all of my excitement for the sword, I was not feeling amazingly comfortable.

At range I am as safe as can be. That changes when I'm in range to be bisected after all. However, I may not even need to get in close at all. Thinking back to the previous trial and how I had managed to get through it at the end, I smile maliciously at the plan now taking shape in my mind.

Those two rounds may just get me somewhere after all.

At the last second before they're on me, I drop to a knee, letting both Beowolves fly harmlessly over me. I'm back on my feet a moment later, sprinting to the nearest wall of Hard-Light. Now I just needed to time this exactly right and...

Now!

Just as I'm about to reach the wall I fire one of the Dust rounds at my feet and jump, allowing the force of the explosion to launch me upwards towards the wall. I'm able to adjust myself mid-flight so that I am then able to effectively backflip off of the wall, Excalibur pointed right back down to the ground where both Beowolves were now staring hungrily up at me.

Staring hungrily yet motionlessly.

Perfect.

I pull the trigger once more. The result is the obliteration of one's head and the other being sent flying away, slamming hard against the wall, yelping in pain. 

Please, please tell me this shit was still being recorded damnit. Fuck you Yang; I wasn't lying about taking that high score!

The landing was not as graceful as I would have liked, and I land unsteadily back onto the ground, stumbling to the floor. Now out of ammo and with only one injured Grimm left to deal with, there was nothing else to do but finish off this damnable trial. Getting to my feet one more time, I bring Excalibur back up and flip the switch, letting it shift into a sword for the first time since the inspection.

Looks like I'd have to do it the old fashioned way indeed. Seeing the sword being challengingly pointed its way, the last Beowolf snarls furiously at me.

I snarl right back at the son of a bitch. 

Holding the sword aloft, I decide that now would be the perfect time to unveil my last and final trick to both the Grimm and to the spectators still watching. At least, those who hadn't decided to fuck off when they saw everything going wrong. Grinning in excitement, my thumb hovers over the button near the top of the handle for a moment before pushing it.

Then I press it again 

And again.

Then I start punching the damn thing, my excitement giving way to anger. The Dust embedded within the sword just would not combust.

"Oh you must be fucking kidding." I growl, cursing at that damnable shapeshifters Semblance deciding to kick in now of all times. "Oh yea, just wait for me to take this test. Don't fuck up the other guys and girls though will you? Piss taking Semblance!" I smack the button one more time, yet still nothing. By now the Grimm was slowly prowling forward, evidently drawn to the sheer negativity I was radiating at that moment in time. By the time I've given up on lighting up the sword, he's already pounced.

In the moment I have before he reaches me, I side step and, with all the might I have, I swing upwards, hoping to take his head as he sails past me.

And the world erupts into flames as Excalibur blazed to life.

The now headless Beowolf sails harmlessly through the air, skidding to a stop as it hits the Hard-Light wall directly in front of Qrow, who was gaping at the scene that had just unfurled in front of him.

Oh. Oh yes. Oh that felt very, very satisfying.

Seeing both his slack jawed expression and having just survived the most bullshit end of year exam in recorded history, I can't help collapse to the ground onto my back, laughing hysterically up to the Heavens, Excalibur having extinguished itself and fallen to the ground beside me. By the time Qrow finally managed to kick the generator into action and bring the Hard-Light field down, I was still giggling like a madman.

Fuck you world. I don't need a Semblance! I have highly explosive Dust and a flaming sword to get the job done.

"Holy shit kid." I look away from the sky and to my side, seeing Qrow standing over me. "I've seen some crazy stuff, but that? Heh, that was certainly something else. You alright?" He asks, holding a hand out. I take it and he drags me to my feet, patting me down and looking me over for any obvious injury. Luckily for me, my Aura had held spectacularly well.

Hell, this time I hadn't even been hit that bad. Aura really does do wonders for a man's physique I tell you.

"Yeah... yeah, I'm good." I say casually, dusting myself off like it was nothing. As much as I'd like to throttle the fucker for what just happened, I can't wholly blame him for the entire clusterfuck that just occurred. Well actually I could - his Semblance does randomly fuck you over after all - but considering the lack of any previous incidents... well, I guess someone's luck was going to be hit hard today. 

Lo and behold, it just had to be mine. Good thing I make my own luck, apparently. 

Suddenly, the sound of raised voices getting closer towards us brought both mine and Qrow's attention to outside the arena. We were met by the sight of a very angry Taiyang marching with a purpose towards the arena, albeit with a much more amazed looking Ruby following close behind.

At least I still have my number one fan on my side, even if she didn't seem too aware of the fact that none of this was supposed to happen the way it had.

"Oh man, Tai looks pissed." Qrow says besides me. If I was a betting man, I'd say that Qrow probably had about another 10 seconds or so to start making peace with himself before he gets uppercutted to the shadow realm by an angry Taiyang.

"Qrow, I'll make you a once in a lifetime deal that you've only got five seconds to agree to. Give me one of your stashes of alcohol - preferably one with Vacuoan Firewhiskey - and I'll tell Tai that this was all planned in advance, or something. Deal?" Qrow's head swivels back to me so fast that I think I heard something crack. He opens his mouth, likely to refute such a deal, but then glances back towards Tai. Then back to me, looking positively reluctant at the thought of having to hand over that which was so sacred.

"Can't believe I'm getting blackmailed by a damn kid. Why do you even want my booze? You're not even old enou-"

"QROW BRANWEN!"

"-yep, fine, go wild! Just keep your dad away from this handsomely rugged face, please and thank you."

All three trials passed, The W.E.S.T examination finally put to rest, validation to both the world and myself that I could put down Grimm without issue and, most of all? Mr Silva would be getting that Firewhiskey I'd mentally promised to get him after all.

Not a bad days work at all.

I've no time to think on that any longer as I'm then promptly glomped by the speeding bullet known as Ruby Rose who, despite having seen me fighting for my life, decides that tackling me to the ground is the correct course of action instead of, say, asking me if I was alright and not aggravating any potential injuries.

I was fine, but that's besides the point. At the very least I expect to be met with roses and alcohol for such a stunning victory in Qrow's bullshit clusterfuck of a coliseum.

Then again, I did just strongarm Qrow into handing over what is likely to be an absolute stash and a half of alcohol and had the veritable rose of Remnant affectionately rugby tackle me back into the ground, so I guess I did get exactly that in the end. 

A winner is me.

All's well that ends well I suppose.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8

Despite knowing full well that it was Qrow's Semblance at work that was responsible for the way in which the trial went and therefore knowing that I was chatting absolute shit about it being a pre-planned event, Tai did, in the end, not roundhouse the literally unlucky Huntsmen over the ocean and back to Vale. Sure, it was very much unlikely to do with anything I had said in Qrow's defense but I still counted it as a win in my book regardless.

Never let it be said that I'm not a man of my word; I kept that man breathing so his stash was mine.

That wasn't to say that he wasn't just going to let it slide however. Whilst it was true that I had put up quite the display and had acquitted myself quite nicely in the W.E.S.T, that still didn't change the fact that it shouldn't have been necessary in the first place for me to deal with all of those Grimm. Nobody taking the examination was meant to be dealing with more than two Grimm at any one time.

They were especially never meant to endure a lethal game of Tetris to then fight off 6 Grimm simultaneously.

But yes, Tai still wasn't happy that it had happened at all. And neither was Qrow. From what I managed to pick up with my enhanced hearing, the two had discussed that, in the future, Qrow couldn't oversee any future examinations like that out of the shared fear that it could have been so much worse. Qrow had gone even further by suggesting that, once the three of us - Yang, I and Ruby - had finished up in Signal then he'd likely be resigning from his position and returning to the mainland to "help some old friends."

Evidently he'd be returning to Gandalf and friends in time for the events of Vol 1.

A shame, really. I liked the guy and I didn't exactly enjoy the guilt of thinking that I was at least indirectly responsible for his forced future resignation, even if it was an inevitability to get him back into the greater fight against the pasty white woman and her gaggle of evil minions.

One week after all of this the remainder of the W.E.S.T's were finally done and dusted. Yang had unsurprisingly passed with flying colours, albeit she was disappointed that she hadn't come close to putting up as good of a performance as I had. Of course, nobody would be able to do so as the school wasn't exactly planning on having a repeat. I could only enjoy being able to tease her about it for a good while like the smug sibling that I was.

Of course with the W.E.S.T's done that also meant then that our 2nd year at Signal had now finally come to an end. And what a year it was. Now free of our academic responsibilities, I would finally be able to kick back, relax, and enjoy the finer things in life to do around here.

Which was, as usual, fuck all.

Not to say that Patch was lacking in things to do - there were a number of bars in the uncreatively named town of Patch - but it was just that my preference of activity wasn't exactly legal for me to partake in. As much fun as the attempt might have been, trying to sneak into a club or a bar with both my distinguishable Faunus characteristics and my newly found celebrity status from the recordings spread around town of my W.E.S.T meant then that I was just asking to be thrown back out. I really didn't feel like having Tai coming down on me for underage drinking. 

That just meant then that until I hit my 17th, I would just have to find a new hobby until I could get back to the good stuff.

It didn't take too long until I found one such hobby.

Having been satisfied with how we handled ourselves in our respective trials, Taiyang had offered to take both Yang and I on future expeditions around the forests of Patch to hunt any roaming Grimm packs that had been reported by the islands' inhabitants. To say that we were excited to partake wouldn't even be an understatement - it would just be an outright lie. Of course we'd jump at the chance to further develop our skills against wild Grimm. 

By the time we had returned from our first hunt Yang and I were already pestering Tai with letting us go by ourselves and hitting any smaller, less dangerous packs that might be prowling around the forests when he was busy. 

I mean seriously. What was there to say no too exactly? A girl who could throw punches strong enough that they'd give Mike Tyson pause and a man with enough firepower to level 50 acres of square woodland with a few well-placed shots working together versus dozens of sedan sized beasts strong enough to tear a man limb from limb with nary an effort? 

If you were betting on the dynamic duo then congratulations: your winnings can be collected from the front desk.

Admittedly it was actually easier than I would have first thought to fight Grimm nowadays. They're still a valid threat, especially in numbers, but when you take into account my Aura, my partner and my weapon? Well, individually a Grimm is nothing less than completely fucked. Granted I had yet to encounter anything worse than a Beowolf - they seemed to take up much of the Grimm population on Patch - but they were just that easy to kill and no longer as terrifying a foe.

Who would have thought that almost a decade ago I was simply a 21-turned-7 year old running for his life in the forest? Now I would be coming up to 15 and able to take down creatures almost three times my size with weapons so obscenely overcomplicated that they'd be frowned upon even in a sci-fi novel.

How time flies, huh?

Our Grimm hunting escapades were especially helpful in getting me better at handling Excalibur in both forms. As competent as I had proved to be in the trial, there was still a lot to learn. My biggest mistake in the third trial - other than trusting Qrow's Semblance not to fuck me over - was that I was just... slow, really. Sure there wasn't exactly much space for me to move around in once you're surrounded by a pack of Grimm but I had spent a good portion of the initial fight standing still and simply praying my shots landed.

I needed to keep moving in a fight or, at the very least, land the shots long before an enemy got close enough for me to need to bring out the sword form. Hunting Grimm with Yang and/or Tai then allowed for a nice bit of practice in smoothing out the cracks in my form.

And let me tell you now that regardless of being enhanced by Aura, actually landing your shots when you're dashing around the woodland like Usain Bolt high on methamphetamines was quite the damn challenge. But I'm nothing if not stubborn and with each attempt I was improving little by little until, finally, I was beginning to see results. By the fifth outing with both Tai and Yang I was managing to pull off some rather impressive exhibits of marksmanship whilst on the move.

Yang had been relentless in her teasing at first when she saw how diabolical I was at landing my shots, but what could you expect from someone whose only solution to a problem was to punch it into red mist?

Not to say that it wasn't an effective solution - it most certainly bloody was. But I really just can't see the appeal in punching something to death and wasting all of that time and energy when you could just as easily pull the trigger of a weapon like Excalibur and remove both the problem and everything standing within a 10 meter radius of said problem.

Some people just aren't able to appreciate art in its most appealing form like I do.

And on the topic of art, I had recently begun to think on how to further enhance my arsenal for the future. As downright useful as they are, restricting myself to four types of Dust - Fire, Gravity, Ice and Electricity - was simply not going to cut it in the long term. There were so many different types to utilise for both offense and defense that my options were, relatively speaking, limitless.

Earth dust for example. If I'm caught out in the open and under fire from whomsoever wishes me harm, I could just fire an Earth Dust round into the ground and within seconds I'll have a cheap and easy form of reliable cover to work with. 

Another possibility would be to actually change up the usage of Dust in sword form. As it was, it was currently only able to wreath the blade in flames but that could certainly be improved and changed up later on. Being able to swing around a flaming sword is cool. Being able to slash the sword into the area and send forth a wave of ice is both also cool and practical.

But even better than simply using Dust in Excalibur was the thought of using Dust in grenades.

Picture just how funny it would be if I were to start throwing around Gravity Dust grenades into the air that would detonate and form a miniature black hole in the process, or perhaps I could take a page from Vietnam and start throwing enhanced Fire Dust grenades that would be reminiscent to dropping napalm across a field. 

Gooooood mornin' Remnant.

Hell, they don't even have to do that. Dust is a very flexible substance to work with if you knew what you were doing with it. If I had the knowhow, I could tweak the properties of whatever Dust I was using to switch up their affects in a battle. I could reverse the affects of a Gravity round, turn a Fire dust round into something less incendiary but more volatile, etcetera etcetera. 

Again, the practicality of having such a varied supply of weapons and the ammunition required would only further my chances of staying alive.

Oh but I also suppose there would always be the option of simply stabbing an entire crystal of it into my veins like I was some sort of heroin addict, but I really did not feel like that would be a good idea for the long term. As strong as Aura made me, I wasn't exactly bulked up like Hazel was and it was quite possible that the only reason he could do so as effectively as he had in the show was likely down to both his abnormally quick Aura regeneration and his Semblance working in tandem during his fights.

Yeah, I think I'll stick to keeping Dust out of my own body and instead embedding it into somebody else, thanks.

Unfortunately though I couldn't really test any of these ideas whilst I was at Signal. My current knowledge on the workings of Dust into Excalibur's blade and rounds was not advanced enough for me to risk another incident.

I really did not feel like blowing myself up again.

Whilst Patch had Mr Silva, the absolute legend that he was, he had already given up a great deal of time and energy in getting my weapon into shape. It wouldn't be right then for me to start asking him to dedicate even more resources to me when there were other priorities that the man had to see to. I wasn't the only customer of his and, for now, what I had would be deemed necessary by his standards to see me through Signal.

That and I doubt he'd be as willing to do it for free this time. Dust is an expensive commodity and I was already pushing my luck as it was with asking Tai to continue to help with paying for a restock every post-hunt. 

Fuck me, no wonder the Schnee's are the so rich. They're basically the Saudi Arabia of Dust in this world. 

Until then, what I had would suffice. I'd just have to settle with further refining my pre-existing skills and continuing to master my usage of Excalibur. 

I could be patient until then. Well, as patient as one can be when he's planning on creating miniature weapons of mass destruction.

An artist can only wait so long before painting his masterpiece.

"~Sun is shining in the sky, there ain't a cloud in sight~."

The song I was singing quietly to myself was seemed a prudent one. For the past hour or so I had simply just been relaxing in one of Patch's few parks, reading through the diary that I had been writing in over the past few months and thinking over events past and present, content with enjoying the relative sunshine as I enjoyed a day away from Signal.

Had always thought it rare to be able to see such a clear blue sky. Then I remember that I'd lived in England all my life so it wasn't really that surprising I suppose. 

"~It's stopped rainin', everybody's in a play~."

England. Hmm. I've not thought about home for a long time.

Do I even call it home at this point? Nearly 8 years I've been here now, living in a world that by all accounts had been fictional. I had long since given up on even trying to piece together how I got here and was more than happy to just try and move on. But though I could put how I was here behind me I was struggling more with wanting to know why.

Seriously, real or not, why RWBY of all places? Why me? What exactly was the point? Was there some sort of grandiose destiny written in some shoddy scroll somewhere in the desert that detailed how I was going to be some sort of mythological hero reborn to smite down the collective evil of the world? Was I fated to unite both Faunus and Humankind and usher in an era of undisturbed peace and prosperity for all? Am I going to end up having every major player in the story gunning for me one way or another for the crime of existing?

Fuck if I know.

All I knew for now was that, regardless of whatever future plans I may have, one way or another I would have to get involved in the main story. What was the point in knowing exactly how things would unfold if I wasn't going to abuse the hell out of it and start changing things for the better? I was many things, but what I'd like to think that I was not was a completely heartless bastard. If I could keep people alive whilst simultaneously keeping the world turning then happy days.

Fuck, it wasn't even me trying to be a hero or anything. I certainly was not that. Its just that, at the day, Salem and I would be foes for no other reason than for the fact that I lived on the same rock she was hoping to destroy.

Self-preservation is as much a wonderful reason as any to square up to the spooky bitch.

"~And don't you know, it's a beautiful new day~."

We were now past the halfway point of our time at Signal Yang and I, having started our 3rd year not too long ago. Our training was beginning to pick up a lot more in combat classes and, much to my delight, I had quickly made a name for myself as one of the more dominant fighters when it came to sparring now. Not only had I managed to start catching up in hand-to-hand with Yang but I had solidified myself as one of the better duelists of the year group so far.

After all, nobody had yet to come up with a solution to avoid Aura-seeking Dust shells beyond either relying on Semblances that they had not fully trained with yet, or by hoping that they could just tank the hits and get in close enough to counter my ranged superiority. 

Carmine Burgundy had tried that the other day, the cocky arsehole having decided that my initiation must have been a fluke and that he could simply charge at me and take me down with his admittedly superior strength.

However strength does not mean invincibility and, with only a few Dust rounds, both his Aura and his ego had been put down.

"~Hey hey-huh?" My ears pick up on something - or maybe someone - moving nearby. Swiveling around, I glance around the park, seeing nobody around. Strange. I knew that I had heard something. Just as I'm about to turn back around, I yet again hear the same noise as before, albeit slightly louder. If I had to guess, I'd say that someone was... giggling?

I jolt in place as, out of nowhere, my Scroll decides to let out a loud ping. Still keeping a wary eye out, I pull out my Scroll and glance down to the screen, seeing Ruby's avatar popping up next to an unopened text box. The little reaper had only just started Signal a week prior and seemed to be enjoying herself from what I could tell; from her first day she had been adamant in preparing not for anything in the first year but instead to throw most of her energy into learning what she needed beforehand to prepare for 2nd year and weapon crafting.

Chances are Tai will end up knocking some lessons into her before she gets anywhere near Qrow's combat classes. Curious then as to why she was messaging me when she should have been knee deep in textbooks or something by now, I open the message.

Today at 13:45

GrimmReapprr: "Look behind you >:D"

Well someone's feeling ominous today.

I do just that. All that was behind me were a few trees, park shrubbery, a small pond and a little girl who though that she was perfectly hidden behind an oak tree but whose skirt was sticking rather noticeably out from the side.

Now what exactly is she doing out of class and carousing around the park, disturbing her big brothers well earnt peace and quiet? 

"Oh no, I guess there's nothing behind me worth looking at at all. I guess I'll just go back to not looking at the girl standing quite obviously behind that big oak tree over there." I say aloud, not reacting to the latest burst of giggling from the poorly camouflaged Ruby. As I begin to turn, there's a sudden shift of something moving to my side and, as I finish turning, I find my adoptive little sister now standing in front of me, arms raised as if to make herself look big and threatening.

It didn't really work considering she was about as frightening as a newborn kitten.

"Boo!" Ruby shouts, obviously expecting me to recoil in fright and scream like someone her size might. Instead, I simply stare at her, eyebrow raised as if to say 'nice try, bozo.'

"You understand I could both hear you giggling like a demented child, yeah?" I say, pointing back over to the tree that she had been hiding behind. She scoffs at this.

"Pfft, no you couldn't." I slowly raise a finger, pointing to my wolf ears. "...Okay, maybe you did, but I bet I still nearly frightened you."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, kiddo." I reply as the girl proceeds to flop down next to me onto the bench, letting out a loud yawn. "Speaking of sleep, you sound tired. What have I told you about reading those gun comics all night when you have school in the morning?"

"Oh come on, now you sound like dad. If you didn't want me to read them then you wouldn't have gotten me them for my birthday. I'm only using what you bought for me, so if anything that makes it your fault."

"Well in that case I suppose I'll just not get you the latest edition when it-" A hand slams over my mouth.

"Blasphemy! Traitor! You wouldn't dare-" She's interrupted as I proceed to bite her hand, causing her to withdraw the offending appendage. "Ewww! You bit me!... Am I going to turn into a werewolf?" 

"...What?"

"Hey, it's a fair question. Yang said that if you ever bit someone then they would turn into a werewolf, and that you'd start making a pack of wolves to take over the island or something." 

Heh, typical.

"Remind me later to roundhouse her when I next see her, okay?" She doesn't respond, far more fascinated with staring at her hand, as if she was about to start sprouting claws or something equally stupid. "Ruby, you're not going to turn into a werewolf or anything, you absolute goblin child."

"Aww," she whines, "but it could have been so cool! Then I could have had a pair of wolf ears as well and I'd be able to hear whenever someone tries to sneak up on me. It's not fun when you or Yang tiptoe behind me and scare me all the time." 

"Nope. Only person allowed to be sporting these bad boys is my fine self. Now what exactly are you up to anyway? Don't you still have, like, two more classes today before it ends?" I say, curious as to why she was out so early. It was rare that I ever got out of Signal so early during my first year considering the first few weeks were heavily orientated in getting students into the rhythm of higher education. Free time was a bit of a commodity then.

My curiosity only deepens when Ruby looks away, shrugging her shoulders and mumbling something that not even my enhanced hearing could pick up on. From the tone however, I could clearly tell that she wasn't happy.

Uh oh. Something or someone has upset my little sister. Who has to die today, then?

Big brother mode: Activated.

"You know," I begin, "having lived with you all now for the past eight years or so I've learnt to tell when something's got you down, sis." 

"Mm' fine." The girl mumbles again, refusing to look at me. I scoot closer to the girl, putting an arm around her that she doesn't make any effort to get away from. I smirk, nudging her softly with my elbow.

"Wanna know how I can tell? You have this exact same pouty, puffed-up cheek expression you have now whenever Tai tells you there isn't going to be desert after dinner, or when we tell you you can't just build an anti-airborne Grimm cannon on the roof of the house." 

"I don't pout..." She replies, the ghost of a smile playing on her face. 

"Oh yes you do. You're doing it right now and all it does is make you look silly. It's almost like if a red panda decided to stand on two legs to try and make itself look like a bigger threat." She lets out a gasp of indignation and swats at my arm.

"Stop implying that I'm small you... you big, hairy wolf!" I recoil, aghast at such an accusation.

"As if I'd ever insult their height by comparing the two of you. Now, how about you stop sulking and tell your big brother what's wrong so we can all live happily ever after. What's up, Rubes?" The smile slowly fades from her face as she refuses to meet my eyes. It's kind of hard to tell, but I'm quite certain I could see tears forming in her eyes.

Now I was beginning to worry. It was rare that I ever saw the cheerful girl get so upset over anything.

"I was in the library," the girl says, shaking slightly as she talks, "reading about some of the things the first-years were expected to know by the end of the week. I was all by myself, just minding my own business. But... but then this group of boys came over and... and started making fun of me. They were saying really mean things, like how I was only able to get into Signal because dad is a teacher, and that I didn't look like I belonged in the academy like everyone else. I was ignoring them, but-but then they... they started talking about you as well."

"By chance did the guy have burgundy highlights in his hair and have a really punchable looking face?"

"Mm'hm."

Aah, Carmine is definitely getting his teeth kicked in I swear to fuck. "Yeah, thought it would be. The guy's been a bit of a racist cu-uunstant bully ever since mine and Yang's first year here. What nice things was he saying about me today then, exactly?"

"He was saying that you must have cheated somehow to pass through 2nd year, and that uncle Qrow must have weakened the Grimm or something. But then... then they started to be really mean and-and started making fun of you for being a Faunus and saying how unlucky I was living with... with a disgusting animal. But then it got worse. I told them to stop...I said that you weren't an animal, but then they... they just laughed at me and said that you weren't really my-my brother and that you were just a pet and a freak and-and that you-and-" the dam finally breaks as she's overcome by her emotions, the girl latching onto me and burying herself into my chest.

Outwardly, I look about as emotional as a rock, a serene look on my face as I held the crying girl close to me.

Inwardly, I was fucking seething.

They want to pick on this girl - a thirteen year old girl - because of me? Really now? That's the sort of game they wanna play? Fucking arseholes, man.

Carmine can say what he likes to me, I don't particularly listen to whatever bullshit he wants to come out with. Hell, he can say what he wants to Yang because I know full well she'll just twat him around the ring like he's nothing. But to my sister? Whose barely even started at Signal and is now facing abuse because of both it and me?

Fellas, now you're just begging for a dinner date with God before the hour was even out.

With one arm still wrapped around Ruby, I reach into my pocket and pull out my Scroll. Flicking around until I find the right number, I start typing up Carmine's death warrant.

Today at 13:51

H_Grey323: "You in lesson or is it a free period?"

Goldilocks: "Free period Wolfy, was gonna go see if there was anyone wanting to spar for a bit in the gym. Wassup?"

H_Grey323 : "Rubes has just come to me in the park in tears. Said that Carmine and his little circus followers were harassing her in the library. Thought you should know."

Goldilocks : "....."

H_Grey323 : "Try to leave them breathing at least please. Tai won't like you leaving bodies in the corridor blondie, even if I think they should be strung up, drawn and quartered."

Goldilocks : "HA! Bold of you to think that I'm going to even leave a trace of them to be found bro. Take care of our Ruby, H <333." 

H_Grey323 : "Bakery + let her play with Excalibur. Never fails. See you when you get home sis."

With Yang now entrusted with the holy quest of bashing Carmine's head against every solid surface within Signal I turned my attention back to Ruby, who by now had stopped crying was had instead buried herself into my chest, hugging me tightly. Running a hand through her hair soothingly, I rest my head atop of hers.

"Don't listen to anything the guy says, Rubes. He's just a spiteful little arse who has to pick on someone smaller than him to make himself feel better."

Heh, if he survives long enough.

"But it's not fair," she says, turning her head slightly so as to not to be muffled, "you shouldn't be treated differently because you're a Faunus. Just because you have another pair of ears doesn't make you any different from the rest of us. Nobody should think like that. It's not right that you get treated like this by other people. Why do they have to be so... so cruel?"

"That's just how some people are, sis. Not everyone is as loving and caring as you, or Yang and Tai. They see someone - or something - like me and they just, well, they just can't accept that there are those who are different than them. People just don't like what they can't understand or explain and, heh, compared to a human, a guy like me is just so... different. I mean how many people can you honestly say you've met that have wolf ears?"

"That still doesn't make it right, Harrow." She replies, looking up at me. I shrug in response.

"Right or wrong, it doesn't matter. You let me worry about those delightful people out there who think me being a Faunus is a crime against existence whilst you focus more on settling in. If they - or anyone else for that matter - come near you again, then tell the staff. Or better yet, tell me, and I'll give those fuckers sixteen Dust loaded reasons as to why picking on my little sister is a bad idea." 

She's silent for a few moments, seemingly pondering my words. Her eventual response is to poke me firmly in the chest. "Ow?"

"You swore again." 

"...Really? That's what you're going to focus on?" She giggles at the exasperated expression on my face.

Eh, at least she's perked up now. I'll happily take that.

"It's rude to swear you know. Dad keeps telling you that and you don't listen, so one of us has to be the bigger person and tell you off." 

"I know full well that you did not just try and tell me that you of all people are going to be a bigger per-" A small hand clamps over my mouth.

"Zip it mister! I'm going to be taller than you one day, I just need to drink more milk-stop biting me!" She exclaims, jumping off of me and to her feet, wiping her hand on her dress as she glares at me.

"Then stop putting your grimy hand over my mouth, you weirdo." I retort as I too get up from the bench, stretching my arms out until I hear a satisfying click. "So, doubt you're feeling like heading back to Signal I take it?" She shakes her head. "Yeah, I don't feel like walking you all the way back anyway. Feel like raiding the bakery?" The way her face lights up is as good an answer as any. "Thought so. Alrighty, come on then."

I only take a few steps before I realise I can't hear her following behind me. Turning back around to see what was taking her so long, I can barely blink before there's a sudden impact against my chest. I roll my eyes. "Yes, yes, you love cookies, I am aware-" 

"They were wrong." Ruby says suddenly, interrupting me. I smirk at her words.

"I mean technically they might be right about whole animal thing, considering I am part wolf. I don't just wear these things for show."

"No, not that. I mean when they said that you weren't my brother." 

Oh, that's what she meant. Well, I mean technically again they're not wrong about that, considering neither Tai nor Summer were my parents. 

I think? God I hope not. I could really do without any sort of "you're actually the son of 'insert main character here" scenario cropping up. It would be rather awkward. And very inconvenient, considering my own fabricated upbringing.

Being an orphan was and still is a good enough backstory for me, thanks.

"Well, I am adopted Ruby. Hate to say it, but they have a poin-"

"No!" Taken aback by the sudden shout, I can only stare wide eyed as Ruby glowers up at me. "You're not allowed to say that! You-you don't get to make it sound like it's no big deal! It is a big deal! I don't care that you're adopted! I don't care if you're a Faunus! You're my big brother! So what if my parents weren't your parents? I don't care, Yang doesn't care, so why should anyone else? You're my brother and I love you. That's all that matters, and if anyone else says otherwise? Then... then screw them!"

There's an unfamiliar tightness in my chest as I stare slack jawed at the still scowling girl. Honestly? I don't know how to feel. Relieved? Joyful? 

What I can feel, however, is an overwhelming sense of pride. 

Maybe I don't need self-preservation as a motivational factor to oppose Salem. Maybe moments like these will be reason enough to kick her in the teeth.

"...You're laughing. I'm being super super serious right now and you're laughing." I shake my head, getting down to a knee to be more level with the smaller girl, before pulling her into a tight embrace.

"I love you too, sis."

"That's better." She replies, returning the hug and content to enjoy the moment. She doesn't see it, but I'm grinning ear to ear.

"But I'm still telling Tai you swore and told the world to go 'screw itself'." 

No matter how hard she struggled to get out of my grasp, I couldn't find the will to let her go just yet. Not until I got my emotions back in check, at least. Damnably adorable Ruby making me all teary eyed. 

What happened to the snarky, edgy teen that I'm supposed to be portraying?

Get back here you rat bastard.

Just as I'd told Yang I would, our first stop on leaving the park had been to head straight to the bakery. It was a quaint little place located on the outskirts of the town, located on a side road nearer the one that would take us home. It had even gotten to the point that we - and by we I mean Ruby - were such regular customers that the kind old lady who ran the store was happy to effectively hand them out to the girl like they were going out of style at a discounted price.

It also helped that I think the owner might have known Ruby's mother before she disappeared. 

Summer Rose. Hmm, I've not really thought about you too much, other than the few times when Tai takes Ruby and Yang to visit your grave. Shit, I don't even know if you're actually dead or not; I never saw the latest Volume so fuck knows if you were revealed to be kicking around still or not. 

It's going to be real damn morbid if it turns out Salem got her hands on her and did something similar to what she'd done with that silver eyed Faunus.

Really don't fancy seeing Ruby's mother Grimmified. More so for her daughter's sake than my own admittedly. 

Once we had finished our sugary shopping spree, the next stop was to make our way to Mr Silva's forge. Located behind the workshop was a decently sized shooting range which, when we asked, Mr Silva was more than happy to lend to us for the hour whilst he carried on working on some other projects. Nothing too special, just some odd jobs for the townsfolk. He may have been an expert weaponsmith, but he was still also the town's blacksmith.

Whilst Ruby was left to blast apart test dummies in the range with Excalibur, I took the time to run through some of my ideas regarding upgrades to the weapon and on the viability of changing the properties of Dust. As I had expected, he confirmed that, with a bit of skill and knowhow that yes I could in fact edit the affects of what my Dust rounds would do on contact. He also agreed that Dust grenades were certainly a grand idea, and that he would be more than happy to supply me with some in the near future.

Looks like the Vacuoan Firewhiskey I supplied him earnt me quite the good will from the Atlesian. Alcohol, ladies and gentlemen. It'll get you far in life.

By the time we had left the forge, the sun was beginning to set and it was time to head on home. Classes had long since ended and whilst I knew Yang was home as she had messaged me beforehand, I would need to speak to Tai about todays events. As both her father and a teacher, Tai deserved to know what Carmine and his prickly little followers had gotten up to today.

He'd scare them straight if Yang hadn't done so by now.

"Hey, I can see our house from up here!" Ruby exclaims, pointing over my head and towards the house. The girl had very much been cheered up after her experience in the library and had taken to using me as a mule, 'forcing' me to carry her on my back whilst I carried home the remains of her baked goods for later.

"Bet you can. Hey, how does it feel being able to see things from a normal height."

"I am a normal height for my age, big bro." She replies, bonking me on the head for good measure. 

"Yeah, and I'm the King of England."

"King of where?"

"Where indeed, kiddo." 

"...And you say I'm the weirdo of the family."

Soon enough we get close enough to the house that Ruby climbs off of me and back onto solid ground, stepping alongside me as we approach the front door. As I'm reaching for the handle however, I freeze. 

Somethings... wrong. I can sense it. It's like I can tell that there's something just… well, out of place. The fuck?

"Harrow?" Ruby says, having noticed that I was just standing there motionlessly. I don't answer her just yet, instead slowly withdrawing Excalibur from its holster.

Something was in the house. Something foreign and most certainly unwelcome.

Whatever it was, I didn't like it.

Cautiously I reach for the handle and, as quiet as I can, I open the door. It creaks open ominously. Stepping inside, my senses can only scream even louder at... well, something being here. A quick survey of the living room reveals nothing out of the ordinary, yet I know full well something has been in here.

I could almost smell it.

A Grimm? A thief? An assassin? 

Oh shit, where's Yang!?

My ears pick up on the sound of running water in one of the rooms in the hall. If I had to guess, that much be Yang in the shower or something. Fuck, not good. Something must have snuck in whilst she was busy. I'm about to call out to her when, suddenly, I pick up on the sound of something skittering across the floorboards.

Instantly I swivel around, Excalibur pointing to the source of the noise. My eyes narrow 

"Harrow?" Ruby whines behind me, "What's going on-"

"Something's in the house, Ruby. Run to the bathroom and get Yang. Now." I growl, refusing to take my eyes away from where I had heard the noise. A moment later and I hear it once again, this time coming from behind the sofa. Instantly I have Excalibur aimed right at it, waiting expectantly for whatever was behind it to jump out and attack.

I wouldn't be taken by surprise. 

With Ruby dashing into the hall towards the bathroom, I wait patiently for a moment. There's neither movement nor sound, only silence. I frown, knowing that whatever it was was waiting for me to make the first move. 

As you wish.

Stalking quietly around the sofa, I keep Excalibur steady, ready to pull the trigger if necessary. With one final step I'm around and... there's nothing. All that was here was a small cardboard box of sorts and naught else. I quickly check around the room to confirm I hadn't been snuck up on or anything, but no. There was nothing.

And yet I could still feel something in the room with me

What the fuck?

Then the box moves a slight inch and my eyes widen, having to will myself not to shoot the damn thing out of existence. Whatever it was had managed to get itself trapped under the box. Therefore it was an easy target.

Grinning evily, I step forward, Excalibur primed and ready to deliver swift justice to the clumsy house invader. Gently, I place my hand on the box, feeling a slight vibration from whatever was under it trying to claw itself out from it's cardboard prison.

I take a deep breath, steadying myself.

Then I rip the box off of the ground and, in one fluid motion, I'm aiming the gun at what turns out to be-

Oh you can't be fucking serious. 

"Gods, can't a girl wash her hair in peace these days?" I hear Yang say just around the corner, my attention turning away from the fluffy little invader and to the hallway. "What in all that is good has got you both in such a...panic...exactly..." Her sentences trails off as she takes in the scene before her. A second later and I see Ruby's head peaking out from behind Yang, her expression matching her sisters when she too sees what was going on.

As for me, I'm still staring dumbfounded at the fucking Welsh Corgi staring up the barrel of Excalibur, looking dumbly up at me with zero thoughts running through those eyes of his. 

Looks like my senses weren't picking up on a wandering Grimm, or someone trying to steal our valuables. No, they had instead picked up on the scent of another dog.

Fucking Faunus traits making me out to be an absolute fool and a half. 

"Yang, in the space of leaving Signal and getting here, when did you- no, where did you even get a dog from?" I say, looking over towards the stunned pair of girls. Yang's jaw slowly swallows as she blinks away her surprise, before shrugging.

"Found him."

"You... found him. What, like in the street?" She nods. "And you just thought "hey buddy, you're my friend now" and carried him home?"

"More or less. He looked like a lost puppy. Literally!" She holds her hand out to Ruby who, still processing, slowly high fives her sister. I frown.

"Okay, well, I almost just sent it to doggy Heaven because you didn't say anything about picking up a stray in your message, idiot."

"What's wrong with that? It worked so well the first time, hey Wolfy?" She grins, both thumbs up. By this point Ruby had decided to completely ignore anything else going on in favour of using her Semblance to just appear next to the dog, giving it all the affection she could muster whilst simultaneously ignoring the fact that there was still a gun pointed at its head.

I'm about to reply when the front door opens. I, Yang and Ruby all simultaneously turn to the door, watching as Taiyang walked in. 

"Now I don't know which of you two did it - and I know at least one of you is guilty so don't even try and deny it - but whoever left Mr Burgundy and his friends knocked out cold and locked in their individual lockers, I expect you to own up to it before dinner, otherwise-" His tirade is cut short when he finally takes notice of what he had just stumbled into.

Picture the scene.

On one side, you have Yang, still wrapped up in a towel and dripping water across the floor. Then you look across the dance floor to me and Ruby, the latter holding a corgi up in her arms whilst the former has a gun pointed at the back of its head. 

Certainly not what one would expect to return home to after a hard days work. "Okay, well I guess I'm just going have to ask the obvious question that we're all waiting to hear: why is there a dog in my house?"

"Because he's the cutest thing and we need to keep him, pretty please?" 

"Because he was lost and I couldn't really bring myself to leave him wandering around by himself?" 

"Because... well, actually I don't know. Blame Yang, I guess."

Tai purses his lips as he takes in our answers, though he doesn't exactly say whose was correct. He runs a hand through his blond hair, sighing.

"Alright, fair enough I suppose. Okay, then I guess I'll ask the second most obvious question: why is there a gun pointed at said dog?"

"Because Harrow is a maniac?"

"Because Harrow is a deranged lunatic?"

"I resent these remarks wholeheartedly."

"...Yeah, I'm just not going to actually try and make sense of what's going on in my own living room right now. Sort this out amongst yourselves whilst I get started on dinner. And please don't shoot anything when it's on my nice carpet. It's vintage, you know." 

With that, he wanders off into the kitchen, leaving the three of us still in our awkward take on a Mexican Standoff. I decide to be the bigger man and holster Excalibur, ignoring the sigh of relief emanating from the two girls.

Did they really think I was going to incinerate a puppy?

Come on now, who do they take me for? I'd never do such a thing. Dust shells are far too expensive to waste in this situation.

"So, what now?" I ask, flopping down onto the sofa. Ruby follows suit, sitting next to me with the dog still happily licking away at her in her arms. Yang, still robed up but mostly dried off, shrugs again. 

"I don't know? I didn't really thing that far ahead when I brought him back, Wolfy. I just thought we'd take care of him for the night and then, well, I don't know. Take him back into town and see if someone wants him?" Glancing at Ruby who had now begun to talk to the dog as if he were a baby, I shake my head.

"No need, I think we already found our volunteer."

"Yeah I didn't think we'd get far with that plan anyway. Oh well, looks like we have a real dog this time. Don't be jealous, hey Wolfy?" I roll my eyes at the smirking blonde.

"Well you said it yourself - it worked so well the last time right? Anyone got a name for him?"

"Good question." Yang replies. She seems to ponder for a moment before shrugging nonchalantly. "I've got nothing. What about you Rubes?" The girl in question lets out a 'hmm' in response, before letting out a gasp.

"I know! What about Zwei?"

And there he goes, getting named. Another character to be checked off of my meet-and-greet list.

"Zwei? That's... interesting?" Yang looks at me and I shrug. I can't exactly tell her that Ruby's unknowingly named him in reference to Ein from Cowboy Bebop. The show doesn't even exist in this universe after all. "Why that name?"

"I dunno. He just looks like a Zwei." I can't really argue with that, so whilst Yang is staring at her in confusion I'm content to just go along with the show. The feeling of something pawing against my arm brings my attention down to my side, where I see that the dog has escaped from Ruby's grasp and now made its way over to me, staring up at me with his big beady eyes. 

A minute ago I had you at gunpoint. Now you're wanting affection? Talk about Stockholm Syndrome. 

Picking him up gently, I hold him at eye level, staring deep into his eyes. The dog simply tilts its head, his ears flopping cutely in the air. "No hard feelings about what just happened?"

He barks, tail wagging.

"Cool. So, friends?"

Another bark and the wagging only intensifies.

I'm just going to pretend that he can't actually understand me and keep my sanity relatively intact as it is.

"Happy days." Satisfied, I place him into my lap and scratch him behind the ears, the dog proving to be rather receptive to my touch as he melts into my hands.

Yeah, I know buddy. Ear scratches are the best.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9

I must admit that despite my initial assumptions, the 3rd year had by this point been relatively easy compared to the previous two. I'm not sure whether to blame that on there being less of focus on the academic side and more on the practical; now that we all had our weapons Qrow's combat classes had taken precedence over last few months so as to prepare us for our final year before graduation.

Or I could pin it down to the fact that meandering through classes had become less of a struggle and more of a routine by this point. Suppose it helps as well that I had been through all of this before in a similar yet weapons-free environment.

Not sure which one I prefer, really.

Amusingly the biggest challenge I had faced this year was not school related at all, but instead was just biological: Puberty.

Having been a comfortable 5'5 a few weeks ago I had suddenly shot up and overtaken Yang as my body underwent a sudden growth spurt. Now I was standing at a respectable 5'9 and I still had a few years to go before I stopped growing. Aura is a fucking wonderful thing, I tell you. Back home I was just barely above 6 feet and that was as a 21 year old, but here I seemed to be looking to break my personal best with a good half decade yet to go. By my own estimations I was probably looking to end up somewhere between 6'0 and 6'4, though that is certainly me being generous.

Pros: Bigger target on dating apps.

Cons: Bigger target in general.

Rough with the smooth and all I suppose. 

However this also came with the rather awkward fact that I was now having to regularly shave a hell of a lot more than I ever remembered having to do so back on Earth. Maybe it’s a Faunus thing, having more hair sprouting up? I'm not too sure if it's that or just me being an apparently hairy individual. What I do know is that, as elegant and majestic as I would look with one, beginning to sport a full beard before I've even hit the age of 16 would be rather awkward to say the least.

I'm leaning more towards being a Faunus is what has lead to the rapid growth of... well, being a wolf Faunus I suppose 'fur' would be a good way of describing it. Bloody weird is what it is.

Funny as it could have been, roaming around Signal looking like some sort of undercover officer trying to peddle drugs to the students didn’t really appeal to me all that much. Maybe in another year or so - then I can start letting my proverbial hair down.

As a way of celebrating how well we had been doing recently Tai had decided that, as a family, we would all fly into Vale and make a day out of it. This act of affection was very much appreciated by the rest of us but even more so by me. I had been hoping to visit the city for a good while now, preferably before I got to Beacon. This then would be the perfect opportunity to get shit done.

Now it might come as a surprise to know that despite having been on this world now for nearly 9 full years, not once had I left the safety of Patch. The closest I had ever gotten was by swimming every so often near the coast, with the continent being over the horizon. Beyond that, this small, loveable island had been all I had known growing up in this world. It wasn't for my own safety or anything, but because there had never been any reason for me to leave.

Signal was here, the family was here and, if I needed practice or stress relief, there were Grimm here. What more can a growing young man need in life?

Well a few things actually and, in Vale, I was hoping to get my hands on some of them earlier than I planned. Initially I was planning on waiting until I enrolled into Beacon before enacting some of my early day plans but, if I was in the city earlier than I had expected then why not get the ball rolling a little bit?

The clock was ticking fast. I had just about a year and a half left until the events of canon started to pick up. From there, I'd have, what, half a year or so before shit starts falling apart give or take a month or two? Roman and the White Fang end up blowing a train-sized hole into the city, followed then by the Vytal Festival and Atlas's fleet being hijacked - all culminating in the Fall of Beacon, mass devastation throughout the city and the deaths of Ozpin, Pyrrha, Amber, Penny - albeit temporarily - and god knows how many other poor fuckers caught in the middle of the crossfire.

And we all know what follows after that delightful shit show. From Haven to Atlas to whatever the hell came after falling into the void, only misery and death awaited our young heroes.

All in all, not exactly a bright and prosperous future for the world at large. Or more importantly, for me.

Time was beginning to look less and less on my side and whilst I might not have been in any position beforehand to start making solid plans around these events, a trip to Vale now would allow me some wiggle room to work with laying the groundwork for a few future events.

Now I did have ideas on how to prevent some of the more catastrophic events of the story. Whether or not I'm actually able to see them through let alone get far enough to even make a difference is a different story altogether, but I'm a hopeful individual so, for now, I'll pretend that I can get that far. To that end then, the first thing that I would see about doing the moment I set foot in Vale then was to get my furry hands on a new Scroll.

I'd had by now far too many near-disasters when it came to the secret diary I had been using. Whether it was Ruby speeding into the room or Yang just barging in like a damn bull through the door there had been times where the diary had almost been seen by others and I couldn't afford to risk a time in which I wasn't quick enough to hide it away again.

Once I had my hands on a burner Scroll however, I'd feel a damn sight more secure when it came to writing down those important moments revolving around the literal fate of the world and its inhabitants.

Hypocritical of me to say that considering I was going to end up putting everything into a digital format, which was basically the same as putting pen to paper.

On the other hand, paper can't detonate and take out any snooping individuals who input the wrong code like a Scroll can. If there is one thing I can count on this world, it's my ability to make things blow up in peoples faces. I've had plenty of practice on self-testing that exact ability throughout the last couple of years after all, as the staff at Signal can attest.

You can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs and neither could you forge a beauty like Excalibur without coming close to being charged with grand arson.

I had already missed out on changing events due to both my location and age and there was little to be done regarding certain events. Personally I would have loved nothing more than to drag Cinder out of her situation with her step-family and from the very start remove her from the board. Considering her powers that she absconded with from Amber she is then Salem's most dangerous minion.

Would have really solved a lot of the worlds problems if she was taken in by someone not hellbent on devastating the world for shits and giggles.

But, lo and behold, all of this was more than likely happening to her before I had even started Signal so that was beyond a pipe dream.

My options would have to therefore be limited then to what was going to happen just before, during and, come what may, after the early few Volumes of what we saw occur in the show. Once I had a spare Scroll to work with, I could start coming up with actual, feasible solutions on how to sort shit out before it all goes tits up without fear of it being found. As I've already mentioned, I had some ideas but I couldn't guarantee any of them coming to fruition.

They're not solid, they're not definitive and there's a great chance that they'll never take shape. Yet they existed nonetheless.

And I'll get to explaining them when the time arises. For now, have faith that at least one of us knows what I'm doing.

For the time being Tai had been content to give us all a set amount of Lien each and, so long as we all stayed in contact with one another, let us go off on our merry way unsupervised throughout the city for the next few hours. Stellar parenting I'm sure you might say, but let us not forget that his children were all, in their own right, capable combatants and more than able to look after themselves.

Chances are his biggest worry would be that someone decided to forgo candy and instead high quality munitions instead to sucker Ruby into the back of a white van. Even if she fell for it I had full faith she'd more than likely throttle whoever tried such a thing. 

If not, they'd be eviscerated within the hour by whichever one of us found them first.

So whilst everyone else was free to wander around and enjoy the bright flashing lights of the big city of Vale, good ol' Harrow Grey had some shopping to do. That, and some sightseeing wouldn't go amiss either. 

From the very second that we had touched down in Vale I had been struck by the sheer size of the capital city. In fact, it might even be insulting to simply refer to it as 'city', considering a solid percentage of the worlds entire population calls this place home. The joys of having thick walls and thicker weaponry to keep the Grimm out of your living room unsurprisingly makes a good sales pitch for residents and it showed by the size of the residential areas. 

But seriously, this city could put London and Manchester combined to shame - if only for the fact that it was a hell of a lot more organised streetwise. I can't remember just how much of the place was shown off during the early volumes before the Grimm started to have their temporary way with the place but, in person, there was a whole lot more to be seen around and about the city and its goings on.

Of the city itself there were the four main districts: Industrial, Agricultural, Residential and Commercial. Effectively the areas that provided the lifeblood to keep a metropolis of this size running. To the absolute shock of nobody these districts were specialised according to their designations, albeit there was some light mixing between all of the districts according to peoples needs. For the most part however, you wouldn't be finding factories or other such industrial buildings in the heart of the residential districts or vice versa.

There was also an 'Upper class' section of the city lined out for those of a more affluent affinity which I had no interest in exploring nor talking about personally. I had a distinct feeling that them seeing a Faunus running around the neighborhood would be akin to seeing someone of a different skin tone prowling around your gated community and I wouldn't last long before being sent packing.

No matter where you go, racists are racists and it is a crying shame.

Beacon itself was also it's own district of the city but, compared to the rest, a hell of a lot more independent when it came to the running of the area. Whilst the city Council might have had the final say regarding the rest of the aforementioned areas of Vale, Beacon itself was, in a way, an autonomous zone in which the Headmaster - good old man Ozzy - could run it as he saw fit, provided he informed the Council beforehand of any major changes.

All of this I had learnt from some very helpful pamphlets that had been left in the airbus for us to read up on if we needed. Tai and the girls might not have needed it so much but I certainly did. All I knew of the place was what limited memories I had left of the city from watching the show. Try as I might I couldn't exactly recall the layout of the city from memory alone, though at the same time you must take into account the fact that what you see in the show doesn't exactly portray the entirety of a metropolis the size of Vale.

No wonder trips between Beacon and the city were conducted via air and sea travel. If you wanted to go by foot between the two then you were looking at quite a long walk.

There was plenty to do, plenty to see and plenty of places where I wanted to enquire around to get myself acquainted with the services of the city. Whether or not I'd be receiving such services due to my Faunus heritage would be another matter entirely. I wasn't an idiot - I'd already experienced a nice amount of mistreatment in Signal - so I knew that I'd probably be facing a few issues here and there. 

But never let it be said that my natural charm couldn't work wonders. All I needed to do was to head on over to the commercial district whilst everyone else did whatever it was that they wanted to do for the day and find myself the cheapest electronics store where I could get my hands on what I needed. From there I could then just head on back to the gang and carry on with the day. 

Shouldn't be too much of an issue.

"Sir, for the last time I'm telling you that all I want to do is to buy. A. Scroll. The small one right there on the shelf behind your head in fact. I am not, in fact, looking to rob you blind and make off with all the Lien in your register for fucks sake."

Oh who was I kidding - of course it was going to be a real big issue. 

The moment I was able to get away from Tai and the girls I had beelined directly for the commercial district, managing to secure what qualified as a taxi from the airport to the district. It hadn't taken long to find some semi-decent stores that were selling exactly what I was looking for - the high streets of the district were full of them - but unfortunately I was finding myself turned away from almost every establishment that I had hoped to do business with.

You get three guesses as to why that was. If you need to use all three guesses then you truly are hopeless.

My latest attempt at getting my hands on a smaller, more covert Scroll had initially been positive. My approach this time had been to simply cover my ears by throwing up the hood of my jacket and hoping for the best. As much as I disliked the idea of concealing them they had been more trouble today than I was comfortable with. I just wanted to get my damn hands on this device and go about the rest of my day. 

For the most part it had worked. The elderly clerk had been giddy at the prospect of selling some of his older, less popular stock. Easy money is still money at the end of the day. We had just been about to finalise the transaction - the Lien in my hand ready to pass over - when, as luck would have it, he spied the furry features atop of my head under the hood and promptly went off on a tangent.

Go figure.

"And I am telling you for the last time, you filthy beast, that I will never do business with your kind. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever!" The owner slams his hands down on the desk, the counter shaking somewhat from the impact. "Now take yourself from my store and begone." I pinch my forehead, already feeling the onset of a migraine at having to deal with yet another case of blatant racism in a kingdom where there was supposed to be equality.

Oh boy I sure do love living in this progressive world of ours. Fuck me, it's just paradise on Earth-Remnant, even.

A bell rings, signifying a new customer had entered the store. Unfortunately for whoever had entered, I was not yet through with this old fucker just yet.

"Mate, listen to me closely. I'm not here to fucking mug you godsdamnit. Hell, pretend I'm not even here. Look," I hold up my hand, showing off the appropriate amount of Lien, "do you see this Lien right here? See how it could all be yours? Focus on that and that only. It's all yours if I get that Scroll behind you." Please just take the fucking money. "Are you really going to turn away good money just because I have a pair of fluffy ears?"

"Yes." He growls, causing me to throw my arms up in exasperation.

"Oh for fu- why?" He crosses his arms, scowling at me.

"You likely stole it and I will not partake in stolen currency."

"...Oh fuck me running you are one miserable bastard."

"OUT!" Once again he slams his hand upon the counter. "OUT I SAY! BEGONE WITH YOU!" It takes a great amount of self-discipline to not reach across and throttle the man but for both our sakes I just about manage it. 

With a huff I pocket the money and turn to leave, trying my best not to burn a hole through the door via my gaze alone. Hopefully whoever had gone in after me gets some better luck with dealing with that twat. Once I'm out I hastily head on over to the nearest alleyway and, seeing that I'm alone and nobody was watching, bash my head against a brick wall. 

As one might have noticed, my search had, so far, gotten me absolutely nowhere. 

Seriously, are Faunus this detested? I know the racism was bad and all considering the White Fang decided to go nuclear and add murder, arson and tax evasion to their methods of making Faunus rights more well-known but I had at least expected to get some semi-decent treatment from the average individual.

Was Patch just more welcoming considering I had been a child at the time or was I just given amnesty from all of this shit because of who I had been living with?

It's a good thing none of them were here to see this. I doubt half of the stores I'd tried so far would have been left standing if they had - Yang would have had a field day well and truly. 

As I'm about to once more test the structural integrity of this brick wall I hear the tapping of heels against the ground to my right. Turning to the noise, I frown somewhat at the sight. Standing at the entrance of the alleyway stood a small child. At least, she looks like a child. She certainly had the height. 

We stare at one another for a few awkward seconds, before she decides to wave cheerfully, a big smile on her face. I suppose nobody taught her about stranger danger?

"Can I, uh, help you, miss?" I ask once my initial confusion wears off, stepping away from the wall and turning to face her. She doesn't answer. Instead she just daintily skips over towards me, still smiling.

Either this girl is lost or she is gunning for my kidney. Coming to a stop just in front of me, the small girl stares up at me with a look of... curiosity? Amusement? A second later and she simply shrugs, before her hand reaches around to her back pocket.

Definitely the kidney then. Surprisingly however, she doesn't pull out a weapon or a syringe or anything else that I'd deem a threat. Instead, what she unveils is actually completely unexpected.

In her small hand was the exact same Scroll I had been hoping to purchase just a minute ago. 

Huh. Certainly not what I was expecting her to whip out in an inconspicuous alleyway to a guy almost twice her size. She holds it out to me, nodding as if telling me to take it. "Did you... buy this for me?" She nods, the smile widening. My eyebrows shoot up in genuine surprise - this was certainly something. 

As I reach out to take it she suddenly withdraws her hand, taking back the Scroll whilst bringing up her other hand and wagging a finger at me. I frown. Of course it wouldn't be that simple. "Okay sweetheart, I'm starting to get mixed signals. What exactly is going on here?" I ask, leaning against the wall and staring down at the young lady. Her smile turns into one of a bit more devious nature as she begins typing something onto the Scroll.

Once she's finished she passes it back over to me once more. 

'You owe me ;) ' 

Great, it's one of those days is it? Fuck me.

"I... owe you? Miss, I don't even know who you are let alone why you've decided to buy that for me. Do you plan on filling me in or what?" Her grin only seems to widen as she pulls the Scroll back, typing out another message. 

'We can get to know one another soon enough. As of right now though, we are friends, and friends help each other out. I got you what you wanted after all, so don't you think it's only fair that you return the favour? :)'

Let's take a step back for a second, Harrow old boy. Before you is a girl who refuses to speak, communicates only through text and is more than likely trying to coerce you into doing something stupid to get your hands on the Scroll. Now logically speaking, the correct answer would be to turn around and walk away - especially if this is who you think this is.

Or maybe it's just a coincidence? Come on, first time in Vale and you think you're going to be running into Neopolitan of all people? What are the chances of that happening, exactly?

"Most of my friends have names so, until I get yours, I'm not sure you can qualify just yet." I reply, finding the pout that forms on her face rather amusing. Any amusement I had however fades as I read the next message that she types up.

'Fine then, Mr Grumpy wolfman. You can call me Neo. Does this make us friends now? :D'

Oh for fucks sake I just can't win can I.

"Well it's certainly a start, 'Neo'. Go on then, what exactly do you want from me for the Scroll? My kidney?" I take a moment to look the girl over as inconspicuously as I can, not wanting to look like I had recognised her name nor wanting appear as if I was checking out what looked like an underage girl. That would just be ungentlemanly of me.

From an outside perspective it looks nothing like Roman's little partner-in-crime from the show. In front of me was not the parasol twirling, pink/brown haired, Heterochromia'd and all around lethal delinquent that you'd expect. Instead she had the appearance of a brown haired, green eyed, innocent looking school girl out for a simple stroll through the neighbourhood. Definitely not the kind of person you'd expect to be partnered up to Vale's biggest crime lord and definitely not who you would expect capable of being able to gut someone with ease.

Have I mentioned how I love meeting new people? They always end up being able to seemingly kill people with their bare hands half the time. Maybe I just attract a weird crowd. Neo's grin turns mischievous as her fingers once more fly over the virtual keyboard.

'Tempting, but no - I just need some help with running an errand and you look capable enough. Nothing too complicated of course.'  I cross my arms, narrowing my eyes at the diminutive girl.

"Yeah, because when someone buys a complete stranger a gift and corners them in an alleyway to collect a 'favour' there's nothing complex about it, right?" Her eyes light up as she claps her hands in a sarcastic manner before holding the Scroll out once more.

'Exactly! I knew you were a smart one when I saw you ;)'

Oh nice, now I'm being sassed by the 4ft wonder of the world.

So on the one hand, I could just say no and maybe walk away from this unscathed. I doubt she'll try and off me if I get out of the alley and onto the main street. On the flipside, I could say yes and get both my hands on that Scroll and some points with the maniacal midget. Then again, do I want to do that? I'd be much better of hightailing it right out of here and-

Actually, hold that thought.

If I play my cards right here, I may have just found a wonderful opportunity to get the ball rolling for the future. If I can get into Neo's good graces then I might just have myself a potential line to Roman in the future. Something like that might just be invaluable in a years time when Cinder gets her claws into him. Roman was and, as of now, still is a very important player in how the story goes. If I could sway him over and away from Cinder? 

Well, that would be positively stupendous now wouldn't it.

Or this could all blow up in my face and see me thrown headfirst into the nearest cell and dash any and all hopes of whatever future I might have had going for me by this point. That is if I'm not murdered by Neo for a laugh. It's a bit of a gamble, really.

Hmm... decisions, decisions. 

'So what do you say, friend? Favour for a favour? It'll be fun :)'  She asks via Scroll one final time, before holding her hand out to shake.

It probably won't be fun at all. If anything it'll likely involve a firefight and a high speed chase, or, even better, my body being dumped into a nearby river.

Say yes to whatever Neo had planned and get that Scroll? Or turn around now and get the hell out of dodge?

Why, the answer was obvious of course. I reach out and grasp her small hand, already regretting not just sticking with Tai and the girls.

"Well when you put it like that, I guess I can't really say no. Call me Bigby, little miss Neo." Like fuck was I giving her my actual name right now. May as well be funny with it and use a different big bad wolf as my alias.

'Welcome aboard, Mr Bigby <3.'

This isn't going to end well for me, I'm sure.

"You know, one day I might just have to learn to say no adorable little girls when they ask for favours like these." 

'That would make you quite the boring person, I think :/ ' 

So here the two of us were, standing side by side in some old, abandoned warehouse on the far side of the district. From what Neo let me in on, the job was actually going to be rather simple for us. The two of us were to stand around in the back of the warehouse out of sight whilst some of Neo's friends - friends who were likely Roman's goons - conducted some sort of exchange with a rival gang, with both groups supposedly unaware that we were observing. Were it to go south, we would be there to ensure it all got back on track.

Translation: If shit hit the fan we were Plan B to recover whatever the hell was being traded.

Thankfully nobody would be seeing my face if anything did happen thanks to some handy masks that Neo had appropriated for me. She didn't need one of her own, of course. Her Semblance was still holding up strong and she had yet to change her face to the one I would be familiar with from the show.

When I had asked her on the way why exactly she wanted to string me along with all of this she hadn't exactly been forthcoming with an answer, merely shrugging and continuing to skip along to our destination. If I were to hazard a guess however I would assume that she must have been the person who had entered the store and had witnessed the end of my latest attempt at buying another Scroll.

From there she would have seen me being armed and had taken a calculated risk in assuming that I would be capable with a weapon and that, to get what I wanted, I'd be up for all of this shite to get it. It still didn't answer my question as to why she needed me of all people considering she likely had access to those who'd be more suited for this sort of role. Again, you wouldn't just pull some random guy off of the street and force them into what could be an important deal but fuck if I knew what her actual thought process behind this was.

If anything she's likely doing it out of boredom or something mundane. She is at the end of the day a psychotic little bitch lest we forget.

Understandably I wasn't too hyped about having been roped into this, but whether or not I was willing was no longer relevant. The Scroll had become a secondary objective in the grand scheme of things and getting an in with Neo to then get closer to Roman later down the line was now my top priority. Again, he'd be very important when it came to thwarting Cinderella and her schemes.

However, if Neo here expected me to start blasting peoples kneecaps out tonight then she would find herself sorely mistaken.

I had no intentions of just shooting or stabbing those unlucky enough to not be sporting a soul-powered forcefield like she or I were. Chances are that everyone else in the warehouse was packing only minor heat compared to the two of us, which would explain then why we were supposedly just here as backup in case things went haywire. 

A comforting thought.

"I mean seriously, all I wanted to do today was some shopping and not be roped into some backroom criminal deal. But alas, I am but a barbarous, savage animal and I must definitely be out to get every human out there."

'You could always just shoot them and take their stock if you're really this hung up on it.'

"Oh yeah, because that'll get me far in showing myself to be a respectable citizen."

'I'm just giving you options Mr Bigby. It's not like being a good person will change what people think when they see someone like you - people don't change after all. Like that store owner for example: regardless of what kind of person you are he was still not going to service you on the count of you being a Faunus.’

"And? It’s still no reason to go around shooting up every establishment that’s prejudiced against my kind. That’ll only prove the idiotic arseholes right when they talk about people with furry ears being deranged lunatics."

'Well it’s their loss at the end of the day - they look good on you ;). 

"You trying to flirt your way into me becoming your partner-in-crime or something?"

'Is it working ;D ?'

No. Not at all. I like my women like I like my tea. 

Warm, soothing and not likely to stab a damn parasol through my throat. Now the real funny question is whether I tell her she's chatting up a - technically - fifteen year old or not. It'd be pretty humorous to see her reaction to the fact that she had coerced a minor into an illicit warehouse deal.

Reckon she's evil enough to murder children? Oh who am I kidding - what a dumb question to ask.

Yeah, probably best not to risk it.

"Tell you what - you let me walk away from all of this afterwards with my Scroll and I'll get back to you on that." Her response is a thumbs up. "But can I get an actual answer to why you think bringing a complete unknown into what I assume to be a relatively important backroom deal is a good idea?" I don't get an answer at first - Neo seems content to just swing her legs back and forth from her seated position on a nearby crate.

Then she shrugs. "That's not an answer, Neo."

'You wouldn't believe me if I told you.'

"Try me."

'Fine. I was bored and after that whole scene in the store, you seemed interesting enough to have some fun with. Happy now? ' 

Well would you look at that! I was right! 10 points to fucking Gryffindor.

"Are you seriously telling me that boredom's made you drag a random guy out of an alley and into a criminal get together?"

'Yup :D.'

God I hate my life.

"Anyone ever tell you that you're crazy?" Her grin turns vicious.

'Only if they have a deathwish :).'

"Then I must admit that you are well and truly the picture of sanity."

' <3 Much better.'

My ears twitch as I pick up on the sound of multiple sets of tires scraping against the road outside. Neo must have noticed my reaction as she tilts her head in a questioning manner. I smirk, tapping a finger against one of my ears. "Couple of cars just pulled up outside - looks like your friends have arrived." 

'So they aren't just for looks? I knew you'd be interesting ;) '

Were I not worried about her slitting my throat at the end of all of this I might have been a bit more flattered.

The two of us move closer to the meeting, climbing atop a wall of crates to overlook the scene. On the one side I saw Roman's men lazing about, still waiting for the arrival of the second group. They didn't have to wait too much longer as the warehouse doors began to raise, revealing the occupants of the cars I had heard. Jumping up from their idle positions Roman's men gathered themselves and formed as the other group approached. 

All in all I counted around about sixteen men, split equally between the two gangs.

Meeting in the middle one man from each group stepped forward, with the new arrivals agent carrying a briefcase in his hands. They shook hands, exchanged pleasantries and, from what I could hear, were speaking about their respective bosses. Sure enough I recognized Roman's name, but I was also interested to hear them mention someone by the name of 'Junior'. If I recall correctly, that there was the same guy who ran the club Yang shoots the shit out of in her trailer, and then goes back too later on with Neptune.

What was this meeting about then, exactly? Lightly elbowing Neo to get her attention, I nod down at the two groups. "All seems to be going fine. Do I at least get to know now what exactly is going on?" The girl smirks, pulling out her Scroll once more.

'You know you're only here for my amusement, right? The more you know, the more of a loose end you become ;)' I chuckle at this, ignoring the thinly veiled threat for the time being.

"I became a loose end the minute you got me involved in the first place. What difference would it make now if I knew a bit more?"

'~You might be surprised~'

I'm tempted to push my luck but, considering who I'm talking too, that would likely not end well for me once this is all over. For now, I sign resignedly and nod. "Fine, whatever. Keep your indentured servant in the dark for a bit longer why don't you." My reward is a pat on the head by the smirking girl.

'That's a good boy <3.'

Not sure I quite liked how that made me feel.

Turning back to the meeting at hand, we stay there in relative silence whilst the two groups conduct their shady dealings. Thankfully it all seemed to be going off without a hitch. Eavesdropping as best I can, I'm able to decipher a bit more about what the meeting was about. 

Yeah, fuck you Neo - you forget I have the best ears in town.

From what I could make out it was that this meeting was more or less a final exchange of sorts regarding reparations from Junior to Roman over some sort of past disagreement. It must be quite the small fortune that Junior's having to pay out then, judging by the widening grin on the face of Roman's man down there. No wonder Roman was so successful at what he was doing in the show before he got caught up with Cinder and then yammed by the Grimm - the guy by then effectively owned the underworld. 

Wait, wasn't there a book that came out about Roman and Neo pre-RWBY a few years back? I never got around to reading that. I'd probably know a shit ton more about the goings on in the criminal scene and why Torchwick and Junior are, or have been, throwing hands. A shame - the more I knew about these people the more I could leverage it to my advantage.

Let's add that to my list of things that will more than likely bite me in the arse in a years time or so.

Regardless, the whole thing looked as if it was going to end up being a rather uneventful affair all things considered. I almost feel disappointed at having been dragged here on a whim by this pintsized criminal for nothing. Still, I suppose it was an interesting way for me to get my burner Scroll situation sorted.

"Well what do you know? Looks like you weren’t kidding about it all being simple, Neo."

Then our man who had taken the briefcase raised his hand and, with a snap of his fingers, every gun belonging to our men were drawn and aimed at Junior's group with barely a second for me to even react. To their credit, Junior's men, despite being taken by surprise, had drawn their weapons almost as fast as they had been drawn upon themselves. Were I not beginning to stress at the rapidly deteriorating situation I might have started clapping.

What had been a simple exchange had now suddenly become a tense standoff between the two groups.

I let out a heavy sigh as Neo shakes in silent laughter at my misfortunate timing of words.

Me and my big fucking mouth, hey?

Thinking quickly, I aim Excalibur down at the two groups. I needed to confirm something before I made my next move. The lack of any outlines through the tracker sight confirmed that none of them men below were packing an unlocked Aura which made my job, ironically, much harder, and I holster Excalibur once more. 

No Aura meant no protection against bullets and, considering both groups were aiming at one another, the situation could quickly devolve into a bloodbath.

Especially if this mute next to me had her way. Speaking of Neo, the girl was staring at me with a look of... well, dare I say amusement.

’Go on then, what's your play Mr Wolf? Think you can take them all on ;) ?’

In all fairness I probably could. That's the joy of facing opponents without an Aura - they're a lot squishier than I. Granted under sustained fire it wouldn't hold up for very long but, by the time it broke, I would have likely dealt with most of them.

And that's if I'm not firing off Dust rounds.

Hell, one simple First Dust round slap bang in the center of Junior's men and that would be that.

However, I sure as shit did not fancy being sent down for multiple counts of murder this evening, nor did I want to even injure anybody. At least severely, anyway.

"Maybe, but nobody needs to get hurt tonight. Let me have a word with the angry fuckers first whilst you flank behind them. Oh, and no killings of anybody down there, thanks." She pouts at this.

'Oh? And since when did you call the shots on my operation?' 

"You told me this was going to be a simple job. This?" I wave my free hand down to the two groups of heavily armed men below, still locked in a shouting match and threatening one another with more than just a bad time. "This is far from simple. Now let me try and fix this shit my way where nobody has to have their heads blown off whilst you get around behind them to make sure that nobody decides to run off with the briefcase down there. And I mean it Neo - no deaths. Not a one down there is to be bloody murdered unless they start literally gunning for me." The girl hesitates to respond for a few seconds, neither of us backing down. 

In the end, she just shrugs halfheartedly and smirks.

'No promises <3.'

That's probably the best I'll get from her to be quite honest.

With Neo beginning to move away and around the corner out of sight, I take one final look over our makeshift overlook and, hoping for the best, vault over and land with a heavy thud to the warehouse floor. I'm promptly met by sixteen pairs of eyes looking my way.

"Who the fuck is he with!?" One of Roman's men shouts. I curse under my breath, having forgotten that Neo had never actually introduced me to her employers men. Typical. "You trying to set us up you assholes?" The other group seem angered at the accusation.

"He sure as shit ain't one of ours." One of them shouts back. "He must be your guy you lying rats!"

"Ours!? We didn't bring anyone else!" There's a rather comical pause as both groups come to the realization that I was, in fact, a third party to their little gathering. Of course, the fun ends for me when I'm met with sixteen different gun barrels being pointed my way as the two groups form a semi-circle around me.

Bollocks.

"Who the hell are you!?" I quickly identify the man speaking as the same guy who had kickstarted this clusterfuck. Raising my hands to show I wasn't a threat, I cautiously take a small step forwards, hoping to buy Neo enough time to get around unseen.

"Would you believe me if I told you I just got lost on my way home?" The man flicks back the safety of his pistol, the noise echoed fifteen times over as the rest of the men follow suit. "Yeah, fair enough. I wouldn't believe that lie either."

"Last chance, friend. Tell us who the hell you are, or we fire. Simple as that."

Fuck me, if I hear the word 'simple' one more time today I might just ask him to open fire. 

"Well if you must know, friend, I'm the guy our boss sent to make sure you all played nice with one another."

"Yeah, nice try. He would have told me if he had sent anyone else."

Actors, take your places.

Ready?

Set?

Action.

"Really? A meeting of this importance and you didn't think the boss would have someone keeping an eye on thinks in the event that something like this occured? You can't be that dense, can you Mr... who are you, exactly?" The man spits on the ground, scowling.

"Bullshit. If you were telling the truth then Mr Torchwick would have told you who was running this whole operation."

"Well he did try but, to be honest with you, I think he forgot who you even were." His scowl only deepens, especially after hearing some of his men chuckling behind him. "And if you keep calling me a liar then I can promise you that, by tomorrow, everyone else will have as well." Said chuckling ceases as a tense silence descends over the room. The mans eyes narrow as his finger presses lightly against the trigger.

"Is that a threat, boy?" 

"Take it however you want, I don't really give a shit personally. All I care about right now is in making sure that that briefcase comes home with us and Mr Xiong's men go home alive and unharmed, as per the very specific instructions given to me by our boss." Looking away from the enraged man, I lower my arms and take a few confident steps towards the rest of the men in the warehouse, trying my best to ignore the fact that I was most certainly taking a very big fucking risk facing down such firepower. "Now unless you'd all like to explain to him personally on my behalf as to why those very specific instructions haven't been met, I'd probably begin lowering those guns, gentlemen." 

For a few heart stopping seconds I had thought that I had overstepped. Nobody was making a move. My fingers twitched as I made ready to try and improvise my way out of this shitshow with my life.

Finally, though, the men behind the dipshit in front of me began to lower their firearms. They couldn't see it thanks to the mask I was wearing, but the relief on my face would have ousted me right there and then. "Thank you kindly, gentlemen. Now, can someone explain to me why exactly you all decided that shooting up the whole room and alerting everyone in a country mile to our business was a good idea?"

"It was all that bastards fault!" I turn to Junior's group, my eyes landing on the man that had come in with the briefcase. Stepping past his friends, he comes to a stop in front of the guy I had just ben arguing with and presses a meaty finger into his chest, pushing him back slightly. "Everything was going just fine. We made the transaction as Mr Xiong told us to do and, when this rat took the money, he decided he was going to just off us all as thanks."

The bastard in question - who I have now named Tweedle Dee - crosses his arms and grins despicably at the bigger man.

"And what if I did? The Xiong Family is long past it's expiration date. Mr Torchwick runs this city now. You're all just trash, and I was just doing my part in cleaning the streets clean for him." I can't help but laugh aloud after I hear this little tidbit. Tweedle Dee turns back around to face me, that ugly scowl once more rearing its head.

"Shit the bed, you actually are just thick in the head. How exactly does piling those streets with bodies constitute 'cleaning'? All you'd achieve is getting the authorities to come bearing down on us all and, believe me, they'd come down on us hard, you absolute dimwit."

"For a guy that's this close to getting a bullet you're a mouthy son of a bitch. How about I fix that for us all?" Yet again his gun is aimed squarely at my face. Unfortunately for him, I'm a little closer to him than I was a few moments ago, though I don't pounce on him just yet. I'm still not sure I have the total faith of his men behind him.

"Let me try and fill you in, mate. There are only two people in this world that Mr Torchwick can trust to oversee operations when he's out handling the more important issues. Luckily for you and by extension every other man in this room, you're in the very, very coveted position of talking to me."

"Heh, and why's that?" I step forward and lean in towards the man, my voice lowering to a whisper.

"Because of those two, I'm the only one that's capable of actually talking. If you shoot me, guess who he'll send in my place?" It takes a second for it to sink in, but it does. Leaving the rapidly paling man to his own devices for now, I step past and look around the rest of the men. Seeing the ringleader crumble at whatever it was I had told him, the rest seem to fall in line and fully put away their weapons.

Heh, if being a Huntsmen fails I might have a good shot at being an actor.

Tell you what, it's a real good thing that my voice has dropped. Sounding more mature than I did last week has certainly made me a lot more intimidating than I would with my previous pitch by God.

Clapping my hands together, I slowly pace back and forth before them all. "Now that we all seem to have quietened down, can we get back to the business at hand? The trade has been made, so you fine gentlemen," I nod at Roman's men, "can take this silly cunt and the briefcase back home with you. As for you lot," I then nod to Junior's group, "you can accept my apologies for the actions of dipshit behind me and return back to your boss unmolested, and, overall, we can all go home happy and content that I didn't have to spend the rest of my day digging a great many holes in the ground and replacing a whole lot more bullets. Are we all in agreement?"

Everybody nods. "Happy days. Now stop standing around and get a damn move on."

Remaining where I was and putting on a show of superiority, I observe the two groups split off into their respective gangs and, with some muted apologies towards both myself and one another for what had happened, they all file out of the warehouse one group at a time, with Junior's men leaving first. Once the sounds of their cars faded into the distance, Roman's men followed suit - albeit slowly as they had to effectively drag a still paralyzed Tweedle Dee out of the building.

Fuck me I need a drink. Soon as I get back to Patch, Qrow's stash is being drained.

As soon as the heavy warehouse doors had shut behind them I promptly moved to and collapsed onto a nearby crate, pulling the mask off of my head and running a shaky hand through my hair.

That was fucking stressful. How in the hell I actually managed to convince those idiots that I was some sort of big shot in Torchwick's employ I'll probably never know, nor did I feel like knowing. This Scroll better have an added feature of being able to generate winning lottery numbers or I'm going to be so vastly disappointed.

The clicking of heels brought my attention back to reality as I looked back up to see Neo skipping towards me, sporting a rather w, I rise to my feet. "Next time you ask for a favour, I'm just going to run away real damn fast."

'Aww, but you did so well :( Not even a single shot was fired and we all come away smiling. I would have thought you'd be happy?'

"Believe me I am, but I probably came this close to being riddled with bullets and as good as you probably are, I doubt you'd have been able to intervene before that happened." She waves my concerns away.

'I wouldn't be so certain. I'm quite the surprising individual ;).'

"I don't doubt it, but I think I've had enough surprises for one day. Can I just get that Scroll and be on my way?" I ask, hoping that this nightmare was coming to an end. I'd had my fun, now I just wanted to get the fuck out of dodge before Neo decided that I had seen too much.

'Of course :D.' She replies via her Scroll. Reaching back, she pulls out the one that she had bought for me earlier. Nodding in thanks, I reach out and grasp it.

Only for both it and her to shatter into glass.

...

Well shit, so much for no more surprises. I guess I'm actually fucked now, aren't I?

Caught completely unaware, I'm unable to avoid the blow to the back of the head that sends me flying into the crates, effectively burying me under warehouse stock. By the time I dig my way out, I'm left staring up at a much more familiar face.

I was wondering when she was going to drop her disguise. Shame it had to be like this, though I really should have seen this bullshit coming. 

"Oh come the fuck on, really?" I wheeze, pushing the last crate off of my chest and staring up in betrayal at the traitorous girl. Aura or not I was no match for Neopolitan at my current level. A small pack of Grimm is one thing, a bunch of gun-toting yet Aura-less goons is another. But Neo? Who was more than a match for a good chunk of the main roster of characters?

Hell to the no was I winning any engagement with her.

Especially not when she had me dead to rights like she did here. "Not sure if I like the new you, darling." Coming to a stop right besides me she presses the point of her parasol against my neck. With her other hand she holds her Scroll up for me.

'You were certainly interesting, Mr Bigby. I'm glad you cured my boredom, but you were right earlier: you are, especially now, quite the loose end ;).' Her hand twitches and I can feel cold steel pressing into my neck. Her earlier hit had most certainly done a number on my Aura. 

It wouldn't hold long if she decided to start plunging that blade into me.

"I just saved you from having to bury a hell of a lot of men and explaining to your employer why a 'simple' exchange turned into an unnecessary bloodbath and the potential loss of a boatload of Lien. You owe me, Neo." I don't have many options but to plead, honestly. Any move I make towards Excalibur is just going to see that blade going a few inches into places they didn't belong. 

And trying to move anywhere in my position will just see the same result.

Not great. Not great at all.

'Maybe I do, maybe I don't. What I do know however is that debts don't need repaying if there's nobody to collect.'

"Oh yeah, sure, but if you killed everyone you'd ever taken a loan from then sooner or later you won't be able to ever take a loan out again." Slowly, she lowers herself to her knees next to my head, though the parasol and the blade within remain ever so frighteningly pressed against my neck.

'Are you implying I might need your services again?'

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not." I reply, echoing her own typed-up words back to her. "I don't exactly make it a habit of bullshitting my way through criminal dealings but even you have to admit I did a hell of a job diffusing that situation back there. And considering the current circumstances it's not as if I plan on ratting any of you out to the authorities. You're a smart girl, and I really doubt you didn't take the chance to get a recording or something to implicate me were the need to arise." She nods slightly and I can't help but sigh dejectedly.

Even if I do get out of this alive, I get that hanging over my head for eternity. Grand, that. "Okay, well with that hanging over my head for the rest of my life you know full well then that I'm not going to talk to anyone about any of this. Why go through the trouble then of cleaning up whatever mess you make of me and just let me go on my merry way?"

'Because it's far better to be safe than sorry, of course.'

"If you wanted to be safe, you wouldn't have brought in a complete stranger. To you this is just a game, right? So why not let the game carry on?" Her eyes seem to light up at my words and, to be quite honest, I sure as hell didn't like that.

'Are we playing games now, Mr Bigby :D ?'

"Sure, why not? We'll play a game of my own invention. I call it 'The Game of Life'. The rules are quite easy to follow: you don't kill me and I never tell anybody where I was nor what I was doing at this specific hour of day. How's that sound?" The blade sinks just a tiny bit deeper into my neck and I can damn well feel my Aura draining under the pressure. She probably can as well considering how her smile widens somewhat.

Just as it felt like my Aura might shatter under the pressure, she withdraws slightly. I'm not sure if I should be unnerved or relieved at seeing the girl seeming to genuinely convulse with silent laughter at what I had just said. Once she's composed herself, she shakes her head at me, smiling widely.

'You still need to die, I'm afraid :,(.'

Cunting fucking shit!

I'm just about make a mad dash at pulling Excalibur from its holster when, suddenly, the parasol moves away completely from my neck. I can't help but look up in surprise at the sudden change of heart. Patting my head once again, the girl types up a second message.

'But luckily for you, you're kinda cute. That, and you are far too fun to just get rid of so soon! And I agree - I do owe you somewhat after what had happened. Two Grimm, one grenade, or so the saying goes.'

"...It's two birds, one stone-" the parasol returns to my neck, "-but I like your saying better so yea, let's go with that." Nodding, she finally and thankfully withdraws her parasol fully away from my prone form. Slowly, I move to a sitting position, though my hand remains close to my holster just in case she decides to change her mind. At least this way I'll have a much better chance of doing more than just accepting fate. "So what now? Can I... go?"

She nods, and, slowly, I return it. I tense however when she moves her hand behind her back, though my shoulders sag in relief when I see that she was only pulling out that fucking Scroll I've been yearning for all day. When I reach out for it, I actually manage to get my hands around it this time. 

Progress is progress.

Just as I grasp it however, her hand shoots out and grasps my arm, pulling me towards her with surprising strength. Leaning in towards me, her smile turns feral as she pulls up her own Scroll one final time. 

'But remember the rules of the game, wolf <3. Maybe I'll see you again soon? ;) x.' As if I wasn't already intimidated enough, she leans in fully and plants a kiss on my cheek. After she's done that, she springs up to her feet and, with a playful salute, the girl shatters once more into glass, the pieces fading out of existence after a few moments.

Silence descends over the warehouse, leaving me alone to process everything that had just happened.

...I just. Wanted. A fucking. Burner Scroll.

For a while I'm content to just sit there and steady my rapidly beating heart. Today had certainly gone anyway but the way I envisioned. It was just supposed to be a nice, fun-filled family outing with Tai, Ruby and Yang. I'd hoped to enjoy that after I got my damn hands on that extra Scroll for later on. But instead I get stonewalled at every turn by the collective arsehole population of racist store owners. 

I've always prided myself on being able to adapt to most situations I find myself in. Somehow I had made it this far in my new life following that mindset. It's gotten me through the last 8 or so years, including the W.E.S.T examination and everything in-between. Coming into this clusterfuck, I had hoped to adapt once again and potentially earn myself some points with some individuals who might prove useful to me later down the line.

Instead I've managed to garner the attention of one of the more dangerous individuals in RWBY canon who now sees me as a - albeit reluctant - plaything for her own sadistic amusement and has already threatened me with quite the painful time if I disappoint.

Fantastic. And there I had been thinking a day out in Vale would be a simple affair of shopping and familial activities. 

Soon enough I pick myself up from the floor and leave the warehouse, believing that enough time had passed for both the two gangs and Neo to have left the general area. Double checking the area to make sure there were no mismatched eyes watching me from the darkness, I at least take in the satisfaction that, despite everything, I had gotten my damn Scroll.

At least there was a silver lining to all of this, right?

With some newfound happiness I pocket it within my blazer, content that I know had a much better alternative to that diary back in Patch - now I could burn it once I'd copied it's entries into the Scroll. Finally, things were looking up for me after the shitstorm that was today. 

A sudden ping from my other and main Scroll alerted me to a new message. It was likely Tai asking where the hell I had been all day. I had been pretty silent for the past few hours after all, so he was probably quite annoyed with me having broken his one rule.

In my defence, I couldn't exactly return any calls considering what I'd been doing for the better past of the afternoon. Pulling it from my pocket, I can't help but laugh at the contents of the message that appeared on my screen.

It wasn't so much a joyful laugh as it was one you would hear from a man sentenced to the firing squad.

Today at 16:28

Unknown User created a room.

Unknown User added user 'H_Grey323' to 'Room'.

Unknown User renamed 'Room' to 'The Game of Life :)'.

Unknown User: "A word of advice for you, 'Mr Bigby' - don't let a girl swipe your Scroll when you aren't looking. Who knows what juicy details she'd find? P.S: Harrow is a cute name ;) xx."

You have been removed from room 'The Game of Life :)'.

Chapter Text

Interlude #1

In another time this man might have brought about a wave of modified Grimm that could have eclipsed the world over, all in the name of science and bloody evolution. 

This would not be that time.

Doctor Merlot was many things. He was a scientist, a CEO, and both a survivor and a dead man. Those in the know behind why Mountain Glenn had gone the way it had would simply call him a monster, or even one of the greatest criminals and mass-murderers to ever live.

True or not, Merlot was all of these things and more.

But today, Doctor Merlot was one thing and one thing only: surrounded.

A distant explosion rattled through the foundations of the underground facility, causing the good doctor to stumble as he ran, falling to the ground in a heap and scattering his notes all around him. 

They should not have been able to find him, he surmised. He had taken every precaution to ensure that his tracks had been covered since his 'death' at the hands of the Grimm at Mountain Glenn. Every since he had come to this island he had taken every measure to ensure that nothing he did would bring about the attention of the Kingdoms. Not until he was ready to prove to the world the validity of his theories that the Grimm could be harnessed for the betterment of mankind.

He was, for all intents and purposes, dead. Nobody would have thought to look for him except within whatever tunnel he might have been buried in within that mountain, alongside the other unfortunate souls.

And yet regardless, here the vultures swarmed to destroy all that he had built.

Without warning nor regard to the importance of his work Atlas's elite Specialists had arrived and had begun purging the island of all that he had created. His android security force were decimated. The roaming Grimm he had both been testing and utilising as a deterrent to any would-be explorers were slaughtered. His unfinished defenses - albeit still able to operate - had been disabled as quickly as they were brought online. 

Another detonation shook the walls around him.

The military had finally breached the facility and Doctor Merlot, now back to his feet, could only frown in annoyance as they made such a marvellous mess of it all. Everything had fallen apart so quickly for the good doctor and his plans. How could this have happened? Had he overlooked some crucial piece of evidence that was somehow picked up upon by those damnable, ignorant fools?

His company might still be operating as he wished it to from behind the scenes, but the crews were paid off. The logos changed. The names censored. For all intents and purposes, his company had long since gone under. There was nothing that tied back to him and his island.

So how could this be?

It was a certifiable impossibility, but could he have truly... made a mistake?

His brows furrowed as he thought over this most unlikely of possibilities. Soon enough he came to the logical answer. The correct answer. The only answer that a rational mind such as his could come up with.

That answer was a firm and unquestionable no. 

No! It was impossible! The great Doctor Merlot did not make mistakes!

He made miracles! He made great leaps and bounds in the name of progress - in the name name of Humanity! They might not understand, but they would. Oh yes, one day he would make them understand that everything he had done, everything he had sacrificed and every life that had been lost at Mountain Glenn was for the greater good of Remnant.

Because at the end of it all, the ends will justify the means. But that would come in time. For now, he could not allow the intruders to get their hands on him nor his work.

With renewed purpose he continued to move deeper into the facility, hellbent on ensuring that this time they would have no reason to suspect him to still be alive. If he could just get to his personal laboratory then he could initiate the self-destruct sequence for the entire facility and bury his attackers - and himself he expected them to believe - under the rubble. 

Soon enough he arrived, bursting through the doors with a speed surprising for a man of his age. Dashing to the console, his fingers speedily flew across the keys, inputting password after password, confirmation after confirmation into the console until, finally, he was asked the question.

"INITIATE 'SECOND MOUNTAIN' PROTOCOL - CONFIRM?" Blared the automated voice of the console.

The doctor smiled as he casually condemned the many soldiers spreading out amongst his facility to fiery oblivion. All that was left for him to do now was to take his notes and make for his emergency evacuation chamber, where he had long ago stashed the submersible he had arrived here with. With it he would flee once more into the wild and start up his work somewhere else.

And this time, he would not be found. Not until he was ready to showcase the great works of his life.

"WARNING - FIREWALL HAS BEEN BREACHED. SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN OVERRIDEN. 'SECOND MOUNTAIN' PROTOCOL HAS BEEN PERMANENTELY DISABLED." 

"WHAT!?" The doctor screamed, turning and all but crashing into the console. Once again he input the myriad of confirmation codes required to start up the self-destruct sequence he had programmed years ago, but each and every time he was met with the same error message.

Whatever reason and stoicism the good doctor had left disintegrated as he begun to comprehend the extent of his failure.

When the Specialists blasted into the room a few moments later they surrounded the doctor, barking out orders for him to get onto the ground. He simply continued to stare at the console in silence. He remained silent when they forced him to his knees and restrained him. The silence remained even as the white haired Specialist shouted out orders for charges to be placed throughout the facility.

He was still silent even as they placed him onto an awaiting transport. Turning his head ever so slightly towards the entrance, he had just about enough time before the doors closed to witness the facility detonate. It was only as decades of work burnt to ash and his failure became absolute that the silence was broken.

By the time the transport landed at its destination, all that was brought from within was the shell of a man who had long since screamed himself hoarse in rage and despair.

"-have apprehended the rogue scientist and is now in our custody whilst we await confirmation for him to be handed over to Vale for his crimes. As for the island itself, we have ensured that, as per your orders General, the facility has been destroyed entirely, alongside all notes pertaining to the work of the scientist. There is nothing left on the island, apart from the rubble of Doctor Merlot's laboratory and any remaining Grimm that we did not eliminate during the operation." The voice of the general's most trusted operative said over the scroll.

Deep within Atlas Academy the general was standing at attention, looking through his office window across the city of Atlas itself. He had been awaiting an update from his team on the ground as to how the operation had unfolded. Apparently it had been a total success: Doctor Merlot had been captured and island and its abominable experiments destroyed.

Initially he had contemplated having the notes brought back for Atlas scientists to look over, but had thought better, and so had ordered that the entirety of the facility and all research within to be destroyed together.

Nothing good could come from the works of a man who had so happily allowed for the destruction of Mountain Glenn to occur.

"Thank you Specialist Schnee. Please ensure that the full report of the operation is in my hands by the days end." The General replied, nodding stiffly albeit unseen by the person on the other end.

"Yes sir." With that, the call disconnected and the room fell silence once again. 

He should have been satisfied with how it had all gone down. The operation had from all accounts gone perfectly. No casualties, only minor injuries sustained by those on the ground, and all objectives set out beforehand had been met and 

And yet he wasn't satisfied. 

After all, the only reason this operation had been done to begin with was because of an anonymous message passed up to the general from one of his subordinates.

From what he had been told, the message had arrived somewhere within Vale, though his analysts were unable to pull up an exact location nor the device used to send the message. Apparently any attempts at tracking the sender had been met with failures, likely due to a modification to the security.

Turning from the window he strode over to his private terminal and pulled up the message once more.

"To Mr James Ironwood of Super Prussia Atlas,

This should really be going to Vale's council but I don't exactly trust them to do jack shit about this without taking at least four-to-five business weeks to even open the message, so I'll just jump the gun and bring it to you fine folks with the even finer battleships.

Mountain Glenn was a tragedy, yet it wasn't the Grimm who were fully at fault for how it went down. Merlot Industries were responsible for leading Grimm to the settlement to use them as test subjects, all because the good Doctor Merlot is - and believe me I don't say it lightly - an absolute massive cunt of a human being.

A cunt who, unfortunately, is still kicking around somewhere in the ocean on an uncharted island somewhere.

Probably near Vale? I'm unsure. All I know is that he has people smuggling what he needs from Vale in large cargo ships, so unless he's being real picky about where he gets his shit from I doubt he's sitting pretty near Vacuo or your borders.

Geography wasn't exactly my strong suit back in the old days I'm afraid. I was more of a history person myself.

Which is why we're looking at getting some justice for past sins.

Check then around the ports of Vale for suspicious cargo ships, especially those with items coming too or from the areas around the Emerald Forest. If you're lucky they might even be brandishing the old logo for his company. Doctor Merlot is using the area to capture and extract Grimm subjects back to his creepy little laboratory for some pretty shifty experiments that, if left unchecked, will become an issue later on down the line for us all.

I'd much prefer to not have one of his little test subjects digging up my front garden on a Sunday afternoon, nor do I want it to start trying to claw out my throat.

I like living, thank you very much.

So if you can find one of those ships of his then you can track it back to the man himself and nail the prick for good. And this time, maybe ensure he stays dead?

Those poor bastards under Mountain Glenn deserve that much, me'thinks.

And I know you'll try it regardless but you won't get far with tracking this message. It took me a while to get my damn hands on this scroll and considering the shit I had to experience to get it in the first place I'm still not sure whether to call it a win or not. But believe me, I'm a savvy individual when it comes to looking after my own arse, so I'll know if you manage to get through my systems.

Do that, and you lose quite possibly one of - if not the - greatest ally you and this world might currently have. All you need to know about me is that I'm on your side. Whether I stay on that side depends on you.

You, and that old wizard in Isengard.

Hopefully I'll be seeing Doctor Merlot's mugshot on the news by the weeks end? Here's hoping, Ironman.

Kind Regards,

-A Concerned Citizen."

Whoever this 'concerned citizen' was, they had far more knowledge about the goings on in the world than he was comfortable with. Knowing somehow that Doctor Merlot was still alive when the rest of the world did not was suspicious enough. How could this person have known about this? Were they one of the relatively few survivors of the entire tragedy? It was certainly a possibility, but an unlikely one. 

He would still investigate regardless, but he doubted his chances of coming up with much.

Beyond that he didn't understand what 'Isengard' meant, so he made a note to ask one of his subordinates to research the word and find out what meaning the word had.

But he could understand who this 'old wizard' the message referred to as.

Ozpin.

Whoever this person was, they knew about his past. This fact alone meant that this individual more than likely knew then as well about both the existence of Salem and the Relics they were both fighting to control.

And whilst the message proclaimed him to be a friend, the General did not trust any third parties in such a scenario like the one he was so heavily involved in. This person was an unknown. An anomaly, even. 

A wildcard.

And such a thing made a stoic, unflappable man like James Ironwood nervous. A wildcard was not something a man like him could plan around and that made this individual at the very least a security risk.

At most, it made them a threat. An enemy.

And yet, this individual passed on information that had successfully lead to the capture of a man responsible for the deaths of thousands. Such an act does not seem likely to be carried out by one of Salem's minions. Could it be possible then that they were right when they named themselves an ally of the cause? Possibly. He couldn't be sure and, as it was, he had little to go off on figuring out where on the board this new player stood.

Again, James Ironwood did not like dealing with wildcards.

But he knew someone that just so loved to place a ridiculous amount of faith in them.

Picking up his scroll from the desk he sat back down into his chair with a heavy sigh and, after a few moments of hesitation, placed the call. It connected within seconds.

"Good afternoon, James. Am I right in assuming that this call is going to explain as to why it is that I've had Qrow taking leave from Signal to perform reconnaissance on cargo ships for the past two months?"

"Oz, we need to talk..."

Chapter Text

Chapter 10

That I managed to get through the next few days, weeks and months without having some form of nervous breakdown is in itself a small miracle. Constantly was I looking over my shoulder, fully expecting to see that damnably adorable little maniac, parasol in hand, about to stab me through the heart or something equally unappealing. Whether Tai or the girls ever noticed my strange behaviour was another question entirely.

The amount of times I was being startled in a single day had become real boring real damn fast.

Before the sun had gone down I had performed an absolute sweep of my internal systems, searching for any form of virus or lingering evidence of a hack that had been performed. Neo had somehow managed to get her tiny hands on my actual fucking scroll number and I sure as shit never gave that to her willingly. Such a big breach of both privacy and security needed investigating to ensure that neither she nor anybody else had such an easy time getting inside my systems.

In the end I found out that, much to my relief, there had been no actual hack. For now, I was somewhat in the clear regarding the system integrity.

So that begs the question then as to how she ended up getting my number. Well in hindsight and with a little bit of common sense the answer becomes quite obvious.

I'm a fucking idiot, that's how. 

You see, scrolls are pretty much like very advanced iPhones. They have the same functions, the same utilities, the same everything more or less. What they also have are similar ways of accessing your device. Facial recognition, for example. I, being rightfully worried when it came to people accessing my personal belongings, was more than happy to have my main scroll be accessed via said method.

Considering nobody else could pull off a face as handsome as mine, I had thought this a rather foolproof way of keeping my shit under lock and key. After all, most people can't exactly snap their fingers and change their face at will, right? 

Well you see my friends, the keyword in that sentence is 'most'. And, lo and behold, Neo was not 'most' people. 

According to the internal logs the scroll has been opened via that same facial recognition software shortly after I had met Neo. Considering I had never actually used it between meeting the girl and then leaving the warehouse, I quickly figured out what had happened. Between meeting her and her leaving me oh so mercifully alive, she must have swiped my scroll and, at some point, taken on my appearance to bypass the scanner.

If I had to guess she likely did this whilst I was sticking my neck out and putting on a show for the two gangs in the warehouse. Whilst I had over a dozen guns pointed my way, the little darling had been happily swiping through my phone and stealing my number for her own nefarious plans.

In the end then, my seemingly water-tight idea had been summarily punctured to death by, like, one of the only people capable of disguising themselves in this world. Typical, really.

Thankfully I don't think she actually did much else than that. All that had been accessed in the time it was unlocked was my contact list and, seeing as how she had have never met nor come into conflict with anybody but myself, I doubt she had gone through the effort of taking the numbers of, say, Ruby or Yang, which was a relief. For all intents and purposes, all she had done was swipe my scroll and skip away with my number.

Were it no so damn terrifying a concept I might have found it rather appealing.

What can I say? Puberty is weird, chief.

Hormones aside I would sure as shit not be leaving such a glaring hole in my defenses unchecked any longer, and so I disabled the feature altogether. Instead, I opted to move away from facial recognition and, instead, went with the more simple voice recognition instead, alongside a basic, rudimentary password check afterwards. This way, anybody - Neo specifically - who was capable of taking on my appearance wouldn't be able to so easily bypass my security in the future.

I was aware however that you could perhaps just sample enough audio clips of my voice to string together a sentence and that was in itself a risk. It would be much easier than taking on my appearance, but I already knew that. Therefore, not only did you need enough clips of my voice to create said sentence, you also needed that sentence to be a coherent and correct response to whatever question or phrase the scroll put forward.

Believe me when I tell you now that nobody on this fucking planet is going to understand even a fraction of the niche cultural and historical references that I'm going to be using as added buffers for my security.

Should anyone - or even myself - fail to input the correct password or reply with the correct answer then either scroll you were attempting to access would immediately go into lock down and require some tinkering on my end to get it back up and running. An annoyance to be sure but one that was necessary.

Should the unthinkable happen however and somebody did get full access to my shit? Well, there's one final failsafe for that as well. You might recall a time in which I made reference to implementing a self-destruct mechanism into a scroll in the event that I were to lose control of my precious notes, but it was impossible at the time due to my lack of the technical expertise needed.

Well it was impossible no more, for I had finally figured out the quirks, baby.

Now whenever my burner scroll is accessed a hidden timer will begin, giving myself about 20 seconds or so to disable it. It wouldn't take me more than 5 personally, but that won't be the case for anybody else. All they'll have is short time window to try and find out my dirty little secrets before both the scroll and their arm go up in flames.

I'm sure their Aura will hold though.

Maybe.

Eh, what do I care? If you're trying to hack my shit and you get burnt for the trouble then I'm afraid to say that that's just natural selection and not really my problem to deal with. Well, beyond taking back the burnt out husk that was once my scroll, thank you kindly.

What was an issue however was the fact that the encounter with Neo had done more than just fill me with paranoia for a short time. It had made it abundantly clear to me that I was just beyond hopeless when it came to a superior fighter like her. Admittedly I had been taken by surprise - being attacked from behind isn't exactly a fair fight - but that wasn't the point. Within seconds I had been more or less disabled and at her mercy, effectively reduced to pleading to her sadistic nature.

All these years of behind the scenes preparation at Signal and at home, all my future and potential plans on bettering the chances of this world, everything that I had done or was building towards had, at that particular moment, meant absolutely.

A little bit more effort on her behalf and that would be that. Dead a second time running.

Not a fan. Not a fan at all.

Rightly the thought hadn't stuck well with me so I had thrown myself at any and all chances to train and better develop my skills, so as to better my chances in the future were I ever to be in the same scenario as I had been in with Neo. At the very least it might just give me a slight edge with my peers when we came to the fourth and final year of Signal and, from there, to Beacon itself.

My first stop was with Taiyang.

Though he was initially surprised at my request for more intense sessions, Tai had been more than happy to let me partake in the best family-bonding activity he knew. Which, as you might guess, would be to dribble my head against the ground repeatedly in hand-to-hand training sessions.

It fucking sucked.

On the plus side I was just about managing to get through these sessions with all of my teeth still intact. Furthermore I was making decent progress - the proof lay in the fact that, with each session, I was lasting just a tiny bit longer each time, landing some decent hits in when the openings presented themselves.

Unfortunately I knew full well that I was certainly not as gifted with my hands as, say, Yang was, but being close enough behind her to keep up would suffice. My real talents, after all, was with my weapon in my hand.

To that end then I'd also gone ahead and asked Qrow whether he'd be willing to let me use the big, funny, murder box of the second 'W.E.S.T' trial as my own private training course for a while. Seeing no real reason to decline when the next rounds of W.E.S.T examinations weren't to be taking place until the end of the year anyway, he agreed, though on the conditions that I would be helping with powering the furnace that kept everything moving and that were I to fuck up and be injured, he was, in no way shape or form, responsible. 

He did not want to incur Tai's wrath a second time when it came to a student - the same student in fact - almost dying again in his custom courses.

It was a fair trade all things considered.

Running the course every other week then had done absolute wonders for my development. My reflexes, my reaction times, my ability to fire on the move, my uncanny ability to avoid wild bursts of flames and rotating saws, and all those other lovely requirements a Huntsmen needs in life were steadily improving. After supervising my first few runs, Qrow had decided that so long as I didn't break anything internally and fuck up his entire design, I could tweak the settings of and randomise how the course played out to keep me on my toes.

The predictable result of this was that by the end of the first day I had successfully managed to burn down an entire third of the course. 

Qrow was not pleased. Impressed, but not pleased. Still, the grueling cleanup of it all was very much worth it when considering the benefits I had been reaping.

I'd also found myself with a great deal more confidence when it came to swordplay. As much effort as I had put into designing the sword form, I had found that it was at ranged where my preference lay. There was something to be said about the general safety of being able to take out an opponent before they got anywhere near you. That said, I'd begun to try my hand at relying less and less on the tracker sight and instead taking out my sparring partners at a closer range.

My win/loss ratio in combat class had certainly taken a dive as I forced myself to withhold on using my advantage in combat, but after a short while I soon found a rhythm that worked, much to the horror of my fellow third years. Everyone knew that my greatest strength was firing at range, albeit not many knew about the tracker sight. They just believed me to be a prodigy when it came to somehow landing impossible shots. My greatest weakness then was being engaged at close quarters, where I'd most certainly struggle to fire off a shot.

Now, that weakness was no longer as prevalent, and I could fence with some of the best in the class.

However, I'm still not as perfect a duelist as I'd sure love to believe. A brawler like Yang, or a big, mean bruiser like Carmine I could certainly deal with from afar easily enough. Their best bet is tank my shots and just close the gap, which, by the time they do so, I'd assuredly have the advantage in Aura.

My biggest challenge then were those who were, quiet simply, very much faster than I. There aren't many, but most of my defeats have come from the same fuckers who are just literal blurs in a fight. Unsurprisingly my tracker sight can only work if A) it can find my opponents' Aura, and B) if I can actually lock onto said Aura. 

It's a struggle to do so when my opponents are running around like Roadrunner on cocaine.

God only knows how I'll fare when Ruby starts swinging at me in sparring, the little red devil. She'll be having the time of her life running literal circles around me I bet.

Amusingly enough however I've begun to notice that Grimm in general are just becoming less and less off a threat. Hunting small packs of them every other fortnight with Tai or Yang was doing wonders in hammering in the fact that they really aren't as threatening as one might believe. Granted I'm effectively a demigod compared to the average civvie walking the streets of Vale, but that's besides the point.

The irony is not lost on me then that for someone whose entire job description revolves around fighting Grimm, they weren't exactly looking to be my most dangerous opponent in life. That award was more than likely going to be given too... actually, that's honestly still up for debate.

Salem I quite literally do not plan on engaging directly, meeting with or just downright speaking too whatsoever if I can damn well help it. I'll just oppose her in other ways, so she can fuck right off for the time being.

Cinder then would be my best guess. In a years time or so she and her two tag-alongs will have jumped Amber and taken half of the poor girls power with them. Even at half the strength I'm not too sure about my chances squaring off against her, and that's without Emerald and Mercury backing her up, but it was likely that we'd be in conflict simply because I fully and intentionally planned on fucking her plans off where and when I could.

If I cock up and she actually does get the rest of the Maiden's power then I'm assuredly in for a quick trip to the grave in any engagement at that point.

It could be worth dropping a message to Ozpin and the gang about keeping Amber under lock and key and away from the side roads so as to as to ensure that she can't be grabbed by Mrs Fall, but I can't guarantee that, even if they did so, Cinder wouldn't have a backup plan for getting what she wanted. For all I know they might have just grabbed her the day after if she were a no-show in the forest.

Times running out on whether I prevent the first half of her power-grab, so if I do do anything then it'll have to be soon.

Adam I've already mentioned here and there, so he's another fucker I've got to keep an eye out for. I doubt he'd be as hateful of me, considering my endearing personality and even more endearing ears but, then again, I plan on rooting for Blake and friends, so I'm of the opinion that he wont exactly appreciate me regardless of our shared heritage.

On the other hand, I think I'd just prefer to throttle the prick off of a cliff anyway, so any common ground to be had with man sunk into the earth quite some time ago.

Who else is there? Oh, maybe Roman and Neo could be a possibility? They'd certainly be quite the deadly duo if they're actively gunning for me. Then again, if Neo doesn't stab me for shits and giggles out of the blue one day then I might just have some ideas on turning them either to my side or, at the very least, pulling them away and out from under Cinder and, if nothing else, into being a neutral party.

Besides, it isn't as if they're helping Cinder out willingly - the fiery bitch had Roman by the throat half the time. The man himself said it best: lie, cheat and steal to survive. Well, helping Cinder means you help Salem, and for everyone that is not Salem then that's just the antithesis of longevity. I doubt he would have been as supportive of Cinder - coerced or not - if he knew what her end goal was by the end of Volume 3.

But that's a bridge I can cross or burn down later.

As for the rest of Salem's merry band? Well, there's Hazel, Tyrian and Watts. The first can just inhale crystals like an Olympic cocaine addict, the second is a giggling, speedy psychopath on par with Neo but who uses poison instead of parasols, and the third is just a narcissistic genius with a burning hatred for Atlas and a technological wizard. An unholy trifecta of individuals who I'd like to stay far, far away from for the time being.

And then there's just the White Fang in general under Adam and or Sienna to worry about. Who else, who els- ah, perhaps Weiss's dad and friends? You know, because, shockingly enough, they have quite a bad track record when it comes to people with fuzzy ears.

I suppose there's also big Iron himself if shit gets that bad that he decides to nuke half of Atlas à la Volume 8, though if this came to pass then it was in all likelihood that I was long dead and buried in Vale or Mistral or somewhere equally sunny and delightful, so this is a moot point. I had no intention of letting it get this bad in the first place.

The list can probably go on and on for half a county mile to be quite honest. There line of people whose toes I'll end up treading on is quite long. Don't I just feel lucky.

Oh well, if all else fails then as soon as I get to Beacon and I get those books on Dust infusion that Qrow's been withholding from me then I'll just have to start mass producing miniature Dust-filled WMD's and start burying my opposition under them.

There's nothing quite as effective at removing a man's problems than high-yield explosives. I can look forward to that at least.

Well, that and the whole 'everybody-is-going-to-try-and-fucking-murder-me' situation that I'll likely be facing in the near future. I doubt anyone would believe me if I said that that was actually in my top three things I was wanting for Christmas?

Trust me, it comes in 3rd place, beaten only by finding a cure for cancer at 2nd and getting Ruby to call someone a cunt at 1st place.

But as for the likelihood of me being in the crosshairs for quite a few nasty individuals? Well, as a wise man once said, "It is what it is."

A much wiser man would likely reply, "It's fucking bullshit is what it is."

And I am a very wise man.

I am most certainly not a very wise man.

If I were, I would have quickly realised that, as useful and downright necessary as they might be, signing up to have the literal shit kicked out of me by Tai in these extra training sessions was most certainly not one of my finest ideas. It pains me to think that I had thought this to be a good idea, both mentally and physically, considering the latest bout had left me in absolute tatters on the ground.

Having seen that we - and by we I mean him - may have gotten carried away, Tai had offered to take a break for a few hours and then carry on later if I were willing. I was more than happy to do so. After all, who doesn't enjoy being slammed into the dirt for hours on end in the name of self-care?

With quite some effort I managed to drag my broken body back into the house and what energy I had left I was more than happy to expend flopping down onto the sofa in the front room, content to lie there and wait for death to claim me for a second time.

Or so I had been until I was suddenly rolled off of the sofa and onto the floor, landing hard on the wooden floorboards.

"Maybe next time you'll shower first before you try and drop in on a girl like that, won't you Wolf?" My appropriate response to Yang is to weakly raise a particular finger. "Nice. Real classy. I see dad put you through the ringer again." The finger retracts and the thumb extends. "Yeah, thought so. Me and Ruby were watching you both go at it from upstairs. Made for some good entertainment, I suppose." With some effort I manage to roll onto my back, staring up at the seemingly bemused blonde.

"Glad to see my pain is entertaining for the two of you." 

"Well, more so for me than it is for her. Ruby thinks dad is being far too hard on you with these extra sessions, despite knowing you had asked for them in the first place." And that's why Ruby is the best. "Me though? Quite fun, actually. It's always good to see Mr Hotshot over here put in his place every so often."

"Pfft, you say that, yet I do recall the last time we sparred I actually managed to deck you clean, and that was without hitting you between the eyes with Excal-" there's a sharp pain in my side as Yang's foot connects against my particularly sore and painful sides. Letting out a pitiful groan I drop my head back against the floor, once again regretting ever asking Tai for these extra sessions.

~Cruel, cruel world, must I go on.~

"Watch yourself, Wolfy. You're not in the position to be talking a big game like that." I glance up at Yang, who, despite her cocky words, didn't seem exactly too happy. Huh, was she really that annoyed over me dropping on top of her?

"Seems someone's moody today." I note, smirking up at the frowning girl.

"Maybe because someone decided to try and smother me to death." Oh, maybe she is then. 

"Did you, I don't know, consider moving when you saw me coming in?"

"Oh right, because I was expecting you to just flop down on top of me like a fish with zero warning."

"And here I thought you liked the idea of men falling on top of you." Her eyes narrow in further annoyance, which I find quite strange. She's not usually this easy to rile up.

So it's not just me she's annoyed with then? That's somewhat a relief.

Though the relief is short lived as her foot comes a little too close to my side than I'm comfortable with. "...Fair enough, shutting up for now." With a groan I push myself up off of the floor and back up to my feet, taking a brief moment to steady myself. Once I was sure that I wasn't about to just drop after the first step, I take that and a few more towards the bathroom.

She certainly wasn't wrong about me needing a shower.

After washing up I make my back to the front room, finding Yang still in the same position she had been before I'd left. The girl barely glances my way as I once again fall upon the sofa, though at a much safer distance than before. For a small while I'm content to just sit in silence and fiddle around with my scroll. I knew better to prod at whatever was annoying her for the time being, so for now I'd err on the side of caution and keep my mouth - for once - shut.

Soon enough however the silence becomes just a little too awkward for my liking, so I decide that the television would do nicely to fill in the silence. Unfortunately, Remnant, as advanced as it might be, is certainly lacking in the entertainment industry. Beyond some semi-decent shows which are mediocre at best, there was quite the lack of

What's that? Do I choose between the most godawful cartoon that looked like it had been designed by a child or watch the second season of 'The Real Housewives of Vale'? Why, I'll happily choose cyanide, thanks.

If being a Huntsmen fell through then I might just see if I can't leech off of some famous shows back from Earth and make a small fortune by writing and directing them here. Copyright doesn't exist in a world where my product is the original after all, so I wouldn't need to worry about any lawsuits coming my way.

Walter White won't be so much cooking meth as he would be cooking Dust, and Jesse could be a Faunus to fill any diversity quotas the critics might throw my way.

It's a tempting idea, actually.

It's as I am flicking through the myriad of channels that I, upon skipping past the latest news, I immediately flip right back to the white haired news presenter, standing outside what seemed to be the city hall of Vale. Below her ran a headline that promptly took my full interest.

Former C.E.O Of Merlot Industries Found Alive By Atlas Specialists! 

Turning up the volume of the reporter on screen, I can't help but smile in satisfaction.

"-nd in a stunning revelation, Mr Victor Merlot, the former C.E.O of Merlot Industries and who had been believed to have perished in the tragedy that befell Mountain Glenn - which some conspiracy theorists believe he had a hand in bringing about - has turned out to be alive and well. Though the means in which he escaped are currently unknown, it is now known that Mr Merlot had been hiding away on an uncharted island off of the coast of northern Vale. In a lightning raid performed by Atlesian special forces, Mr Merlot was apprehended attempting to escape-" I tune her out for a moment and, after making sure that Yang wasn't looking, brought out my burner scroll and began making notes.

Well, well, well. Ironman did take it seriously, did he? Delightful stuff. 

A few weeks after I had my hands on my new scroll I had, after buffing up my security, promptly sent out an anonymous tip to the Atlas military in the hopes that someone might think it worth passing up the chain of command to the general himself. I hadn't much hope of course - I had assumed soon after sending that it would likely be lost or ignored by whoever read it.

However, someone must have thought it worth showing to the general who, in turn, seems to have done more than just investigate my claims. Good. Very good in fact. Hopefully this means then that he'll be likely to keep an eye out for anymore messages from a 'concerned citizen' like myself.

With a few updates concerning Merlot and Ironwood now noted down, I once again conceal the scroll deep within my blazer pocket and turn back to the presenter on the screen.

"-en asked to comment on the sudden and surprising events, General James Ironwood - the architect behind the operation - praised the efforts of all involved in apprehending Mr Merlot, before thanking an anonymous source who had passed on vital information leading to the discovery and capture of the man. The general refused to reveal his source, citing security reasons. In regards to Mr Merlot, the general has promised to ensure that the former C.E.O will, within the week, be transferred into the hands of Vale's judicial system to answer for his crimes - alleged or otherwise - that took place over two decades ago. This has been Lisa Lavender, reporting to you live from outsi-."

"Hey Wolfy." Yang says suddenly, drawing my attention away from the news broadcast and to the tetchy girl. "About what happened a few minutes ago? Sorry about that. Today's just not been a good day, that's all." I wave off her apology, turning the volume of the television down.

"No worries, blondie. You know by know that I can take a few hits here and there. So long as you keep my handsome face unmarked then I'll live."

"And upset all the girls in our year who were considering asking you out by the years end? I'd never survive the week." I shake my head at this, giving Yang a look of both disbelief and curiosity. 

"Oh they are, are they?"

"Try not to get too full of yourself, Grey. It's weird when you start preening like that." 

"Bah, I bet it's just an ears thing isn't it?" The smirk I get from her all but confirms that suspicion. "Typical, I knew they only wanted me for my body." Regardless of whether I'm right or not, her response involves throwing a sofa cushion at my face. "Childish much?"

"But deserved. Besides, half of those stuck up bimbos only care because you've suddenly put on a few inches-"

"I am proudly aware."

"-in height."

"And of that too."

"Get your mind out of the gutter, please? You're beginning to sound like Carmine with comments like that." I can't help but shudder at the thought of being compared to Signal's resident cuntboy. Truly a fate worse than death right there. 

Good ol' Mr Burgundy had become less of an annoyance to me in recent months and more of a general nuisance to the fairer sex of Signal. Apparently looking like a Cardin-wannabe seems to bring about the same personality of Beacon's future resident arsehole in Carmine Burgundy, and the guy had, thankfully, left me alone somewhat.

I won't complain - the more time he spends trying to hit on woman is less time he has to interact with me and remind me of his existence. 

Hell, he'd even tried hitting on Yang outside of class once. Somehow he thought that all of his previous altercations with her would mean nothing if he acted as cocksure as he always had - just this time being a little more bulky.

Bulky or not it didn't stop his head from connecting against the wall with quite some force when he got a bit too forward with the blonde. 

Ah, good times.

"Feel free to bash my head against the nearest solid surface if I ever start acting like that prick, please." The girl seems to perk up at this and begins to reach out towards me. "Preferably when I'm not still recovering from todays' torture session, anyway." After a moment of hesitation, the hand lowers. 

"I'll keep it in mind for the future. An open offer like that is all a girl wants in life."

You and Neo both, sis.

The two of us fall into a far less awkward silence for a few moments. The only sounds heard being both the background noise from the T.V and the chirping of birds flying overhead outside the house. With her being a bit more talkative now however, I decide now would be a good time to start prodding at what had pissed her off so.

I had a fairly good guess however. I'd noticed Tai wasn't as cheerful as he usually was this morning, which might explain why todays session was a slight bit more intense, and I knew of only one thing that could upset both blondes in equal measure.

"Anywho, now that I appear to have cheered you up somewhat, I don't suppose you feel like talking about whatever's got you down today, sis? It's not like you to be so... what's the word I'm looking for here?" 

"Bitchy?" She offers, grinning sheepishly.

"I was going to say 'temperamental' but if that's how you want to word it then be my guest." This time I catch the cushion thrown my way and place it neatly back down, resisting the temptation to backhand her with it. "Now, seeing as how the house hasn't been burnt to a crisp I can probably rule out your hair being messed with. And I can also probably assume that Ruby is all well and good as you haven't asked me to help bury any bodies. So, I'm going to guess it's your mother?"

She frowns at the mention of the winner of the prestigious parent-of-the-year of Remnant for nearly sixteen years running, but doesn't deny it. It was confirmation enough however. "Yeah, I thought it would be. Alright, well I'm going to make another educated guess and say that you brought her up with Tai and got shut down again?" This time I get a more clear answer as Yang hums affirmatively. "Do I get a prize if I get a a third question correct in a row?"

"Harrow..."

"Yeah, sorry, I'll stop. So, Tai still being tight lipped over it all?" Her gaze turns from me and to the front door where, looking over, I can just about hear Tai roaming around the garden. A muffled and playful series of barks also confirms that he's carousing with Zwei - the second best dog in this household.

Zwei cannot load and fire incendiary rounds. I can. You can do the maths. 

After a small while the girl lets out a groan of frustration, throwing her arms up in an exasperated manner. "Every time - every time - I ask, it's always the same thing; he'll just stand there and say "I'll tell you when you're older" or "you wouldn't understand" or some other stupid way off brushing me off. Like I haven't heard those words before in the, oh, I don't know, last two dozen times I've asked. I have a right to know - she's my mother, after all, and he can't just keep avoiding the subject forever."

Well she's certainly correct about the mother part, even if Raven barely deserves such a privilege. The woman not only dipped out on both Tai and Yang so that she could continue to raze, plunder and pillage outlying settlements with her groovy band of barbarians but she also groomed and then murdered the last Spring Maiden because, of course, that's the ideal mother figure right there.

I could understand the fear of Salem and even appreciate the general disdain of Ozpin and his magical yet manipulative ways, but quite literally flying out ? That's just not on if you ask me. I'm no expert when it comes to a woman and their maternal instincts, but I'd like to think that they'd have given her pause before she fucked off over the hills and far away.

Though I suppose she does care in some way about Yang, considering the few times the woman got involved to save her daughters life. Whether or not it was out of a some sort of maternal instinct or so she can try and whisk her into her own life of banditry with the Branwen tribe is not something I can currently weigh in on.

In the end she, like most people in life, are a mixed bag of good, evil and everything that comes in between.

Still going to call her a cunt to her face, though. Death wish or not it'd be pretty funny. I'll add her to the list, right below Cinder who in turn is just below Salem, yet surprisingly above Winter of all people.

I don't have an issue with her, actually. I just think it'd be hilarious to see Weiss's reaction if I did it, so on the list she goes.

"You're not wrong about deserving to know, I guess. Doubt Qrow is as willing to talk about his sister?" She scoffs at the mention of Raven's brother. "Yeah, didn't think he would. If Tai wasn't going to say anything then I'd be impressed if Qrow was brave enough to do so."

"But why!?" For a split second I see her irises turn red and, instinctively, I shuffle away ever so slightly. Yang seems to notice my movement however and lets out a deep breath, a hand coming up to rub at her forehead as she calms herself down. "Sorry, 'H. I'm just... well I guess saying that I'm pissed off would be an understatement. It's just... infuriating that everywhere I turn I'm just hitting the same brick wall, each and every time. Tai? Qrow? They both refuse to say a word. I've even asked around town with some of the older residents who must have known her and they're just as tight lipped."

"Can you blame them, though?" The look I receive in reply prompts me to hastily elaborate. "Considering what happened the last time you went out looking for her...?" 

"Oh come on, drop that already. I was, what, seven? I was young, I was stupid and I had never even known she had existed until that point. Nobody's ever let me live that down."

"Yang, I got fucking backpawed into a tree at terminal velocity and almost broke my spine, neck and everything under the sun. I'm legally obligated to hang that over you." 

"...Get over it, maybe? We're alive, aren't we? All's well that ends well?"

"And lose such valuable ammunition? No thank you. But seriously, why do you care so much about finding her anyway?" She frowns.

"Because it might have escaped your notice, but she's my mother, Harrow, and I'd like to damn well-"

"Bollocks is she your mother, Yang." She's taken aback at my sudden interruption. "You've told me a lot me a lot about her - much more than you might have realised. I might not know exactly everything there is to know about this-" That's a damn lie and we all know it "-but I've gathered enough about it to come to the conclusion that you've done well enough without her so far. So why go through all of this effort? What do you want, exactly?"  

"Answers, for a start." 

"Right, well, do you wanna expand upon that for the rest of the class?"

"Oh for- I don't damn rightly know, okay Wolfy? Happy now? There's a whole bucket full of questions I'd want answering. Hell, what do you think I'd ask exactly?"

"That's not even a trick question. It's easy, in fact." The speed at which I reply seems to genuinely put her on the backfoot.

"Wh- it is?"

"Of course! First thing I'd want to know is why she never smothered Tai in his sleep to silence his godawful snoring at two in the morning." 

"That's-" she pauses for a moment, "-actually a fair question, but it wouldn't be my first."

Shocker.

"Understandable. So what would it be exactly?"

"I-" her words seem to die in her throat. "I uh... well... huh." Trailing off, Yang looks up, staring aimlessly at the ceiling. I leave her to it, content with waiting for the girl to gather her words and thoughts. A dejected sigh is the response I get as she sinks further into the leather of her seat. "I guess I'd settle with knowing who my mother really was." She says softly, her eyes transfixed on the ceiling. 

Fucks sake, Raven. 

"Yang," I say, getting the girls attention. Reaching over and placing a hand on her shoulder, I give her a reassuring squeeze. "I won't pretend to say that I understand, or that I get where you're coming from, or anything like that because it'll just be half-hearted at best. Honestly I don't why you should even care this much about her, considering she never did the same for you. But if you're so dead set on finding Raven then, by all means, you keep pushing forward." She laughs at this, though its rather devoid of any humour.

"What do you think I've been doing this entire time, 'H? I told you already; every time I've asked for even the tiniest bit of information, the door gets shut in my face before I can get my foot past the threshold. It sucks. I just... I'm running out of patience with this. Dad seems set on keeping anything involving her locked away and out of mind, and it's just infuriating."

"You know, she didn't just leave you, Yang. She also left your dad with little to no warning whatsoever either. Have you given any thought to how he feels whenever you bring her back up every other day of the month?" She stiffens somewhat under my hand.

You can't forget that whilst Raven was Yang's mother, she was also Tai's first love. She not only abandoned Yang, she abandoned him as well. He might have recovered when Summer came along, but then when she went missing?

Well, Yang said herself that he more or less froze up after Summer's apparent death, and you can't blame him. Two separate women, two separate tragedies.

Poor bastard.

"Of course I do. I'm not blind, Wolf. It's quite hard to miss the look in his eyes when you mention her name. Especially considering mom-Summer, but..." she shakes her head. "But that just makes me want to know even more as to why she did what she did. If not just for me then for dad as well. He deserves the truth as much as I do, and simply trying to forget that she exists after all this time? I don't think either of us could do that even if we tried. I need - we need - something, and one way or another I'm going to find it."

"And you'll find something I'm sure. But if I'm being honest, I think you're going about it the wrong way." Hearing this the girl frowns, staring at me from the corner of her eyes. 

"And what exactly is wrong about me asking those in the know about what they know? Dad knows more than he lets on and it's obvious. Uncle Qrow even more so, but at least he pretends like Raven exists. Tai won't even do that half the time."

"Yang, they aren't going to tell you anything if you keep trying to force them to answer questions that we can both tell you yourself aren't sure you even want answered yet. You're many things, sis, but patient was never really high on that list. If people aren't going to talk, you can't force them to, otherwise they'll just double down and all you'll be doing is talking to the same brick wall at every turn."

God I wish I was dealing with Ruby or something. I'm not too big of a fan of any situation like this, especially when she has no idea that I know full well where her mother is and why she flew out for milk and never came back to the nest.

"Then what am I supposed to do exactly, Wolf?" Yang replies. "Just sit here and, what, stop searching? Stop asking? I might just be hitting a brick wall, but I know that what I'm looking for is just on the other side of it, and whatever it is I'll find it, even if I have to punch my way through it." 

Yang Xiao Long, summarizing half of her personality in one breath. I'm so proud of you.

"Yet all you're doing right now fucking up your hands, and that brick wall is most certainly not getting any weaker. But if you think I'm telling you to stop, then you're dead wrong. I want you to keep searching. I want you to keep looking. And I want you to find... well, anything really, if it makes you happy at the end of it all. So I tell you what - if by the time we're legally adults and Tai still won't give you anything, then I'll help you find her myself." I offer, patting her on the shoulder reassuringly.

Again she laughs at my words but, this time, there's a bit more warmth to it, which in my mind is a good sign. "Hey, I'm serious about all of that. I don't plan on serving jailtime just because I had to help you kidnap the first person you thought had answers that wasn't Tai or Qrow, though, so let’s keep it legal please." 

"Wolfy, as much as I appreciate the offer - and I do - I don't exactly know how you could help with all of this. You could ask around if you want but we both know you'll get just as far as I have, if not less. Tai won't say a word, Qrow hates talking about her in general and all the older busy bodies on Patch just smile and pretend like they know nothing. I mean, unless you can just snap your fingers and magic her here, then I'm not sure what you can do." She seems to smile at her own wishful thinking, chuckling sardonically to herself.

Unbeknownst to her, she's actually close. I might not be able to bring her mother here, but I could just as easily point her in the right direction to finding her.

After all I could just say fuck it and tell her that her mother is currently camping around somewhere on the continent murdering civilians, razing villages and avoiding her taxes like the un-model citizen that she is. An option, true.

However that is certainly not something I'm planning on doing for obvious reasons that don't really need to be stated. Sorry Yang. I can't exactly tell you where she is all things considered.

But I can give you a reasonable hint as to where to start looking, though.

"You're right. Nobody on Patch is likely to tell us anything. Asking around here will get you nowhere." I try not to cringe at her rather hopeless expression. "So I say we stop asking Tai. We stop asking Qrow, and let us fuck Patch right off and look elsewhere."

"Huh?" Yeah, that got her attention alright. Shifting in her seat, Yang nods for me to continue talking.

Hook.

"Tai, Raven, Qrow and Summer were all on the same team in Beacon: Team STRQ, right? Well, with Beacon being a rather prestigious academy with equally prestigious graduates then it's likely to have kept records of their students both past and present. And from all accounts I've heard from everybody the team were quite the capable bunch, so I'm willing to guess they must have been quite the team of Huntsmen and Huntresses and definitely a team to keep tabs on. You following me?"

Line.

The way her eyes begin to slowly widen tell me that she's quickly figuring out what I'm getting at and I cannot help but smile.  "Well then I reckon that you've got a much better chance finding whatever it is you want on the mainland than you will here. Granted I doubt that we'd end up running into her collecting bird feed for herself or anything but-uughk!" With little warning I suddenly find myself utterly crushed against both the sofa and a much more energetic and jovial blonde.

Sinker.

"Oh you are a genius! Of course they would! I've been going under the impression that the only people who knew she existed were on this damn island this whole time? I'm an idiot, Wolfy. Oh Gods, how have I never thought to look beyond this dirt patch!?"

"Because... I'm a.... genius.... who thinks with... his head and... not his... fists and who also... can't... breathe please-lemme-go-now?"

"Huh-oh!" Oxygen never tasted as good as it did just now I will admit. "Sorry about that, Wolfy. Heh, got a bit too carried away there, huh?"

Taking a good second to catch both my bearings and my breath, I shake my head, waving her off as she jumps to her feet. "It's just been so long since I felt like I've gotten anywhere when it came to my mother, and now I might have something worthwhile to look into! It makes perfect sense as well - Tai said they were one of the most sought after teams after they graduated Beacon for Huntsmen work. Somebody has to have kept tabs on them, even when the team disbanded. A team of that caliber would definitely be one to keep an eye out for." Her eyes widen and she stops in her tracks, her gaze shooting back my way. "Wait, do you think Beacon keeps ex-student contact information in their database?"

"I've no idea? Not sure what their policy is when it comes to private info like that but...well, maybe I guess?"

"Well, it'll be worth checking when I get there anyway. Who knows - I might just find a scroll number or something." 

"Possibly. But again, wait until we're adults, please. Tai, reserved about it as he is, probably has good reasons for keeping it from you, even if you don't like it."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Don't worry about it. I've waited this long, I can wait a little longer I suppose."

Seeing as how Yang was now back to her more jovial self I'm satisfied with my handiwork, albeit I'm not too sure if I really did much in the end. I'm not exactly good with these talks, but Yang seems happier so that works for me. Out of the two, Ruby is far easier to handle when she's in a bad mood, though that's probably because she has far less mature issues to deal with compared to her sister.

There's a difference when it comes to childish playground bullying in the first year of Signal versus having a mother that abandoned the family shortly after you were born.

"Hey Wolfy," I turn to my side as Yang sits back down next to me, a grateful smile on her face, "thanks for this. Usually whenever I bring up Raven, people just try to sweep her under the rug and I struggle to get anywhere. It's great that somebody's finally willing to do... well, anything really." 

"Don't worry about it sis. If you're just going to keep gunning for information then it's probably for the best that somebody keeps an eye on you so you don't rip up half the continent in the process." I reply, reaching over and bringing the girl into a hug, one that she reciprocates quickly. 

Good thing too, as with her head resting on my shoulder she couldn't see the regretful look on my face.

She would have done so anyway, but chances are she wouldn't have thought to bring me along with her when she hit up Junior's bar. Now I had a good enough reason to tag along with her, seeing as how I had given her this avenue of investigation. Where she would be wanting information about Raven from Junior, I'd be needing to have my own talk with the man, and this was a perfect way in.

He knew how to find and get in contact with Roman, and that was something I planned on exploiting when I got the chance. This was a perfect way of getting my introduction to the man without just waltzing in there and bringing suspicion onto my person. Now I had a reason to get there that made sense if questioned - I was a brother supporting his sister at the end of the day. Nobody would think I had any ulterior motives, right?

I just wished that I wasn't having to manipulate Yang like this. I love the girl as a sister, I really do, and God willing I'll get her some closure regarding all of this that doesn't involve Raven fucking back off into the wilds and burning down a few more orphanages to satisfy her Darwinist ideals.

I'm willing to do quite a few things in this world if it means that both I and those close to me come out on the other side as best off as possibly can. Some of it will be good, some of it will be bad. Hell, if I have my way some of it might even be insane enough to work wonders for us all.

From day one of Qrow dropping me here Yang had taken to me quickly and between her and Ruby had more or less convinced Tai into letting me stay indefinitely. And that was before I'd gone running after them in the forest.

Throughout the first year at Signal she had oh so happily dealt with anyone - Carmine particularly - who had issues with me being a Faunus. We had grown up together, done many things together. Again and again she had had my back, just as I had hers.

And here I was abusing that trust in a way that would assuredly break her heart if she knew.

"Thanks, Wolfy. I might not say it as much as Rubes does, but I love you brother."

If I didn't rip mine out first.

Lying comes easy in a situation like mine at first. I had to do so in order just to get myself steady. It's also easy to suppress the guilt, especially when you truly believe that the ends will justify the means. If I have my way, then everyone would come out of this better than in canon. I just needed time. 

But in a situation like this, with a girl who just wanted to know why her mother had abandoned their family, who had no idea that the person sitting in front of her had the answers she sought? Well, its just that little bit harder to justify to myself.

Damn, and here I was hoping that today would just involve being stomped into the dirt by Tai. Now my feelings get to be kicked in the balls as an added bonus. Absolutely delightful, this.

"As you should, blondie. After all, being the best brother in the world is quite the taxing role to play, you know." She rolls her eyes at this as I rise to my feet. Thankfully the pain from before had begun to abate, though my sides were still agonizingly sore. All I wanted to do now was lie down for a few hours and wish the pain away. 

It's as I leave the room that I hear Yang call out to me one final time. Turning back around to face her, she smiles.

"It might be a demanding role Wolfy, but I don't think that we could ever cast anybody else for it." 

How does that old Shakespearian quote go again? Something along the lines of "The whole world is a stage, and all men and women are but performers," or something similar? Fitting in a way. Just wish my role didn't come with all of this extra baggage alongside it.

It's all fun and games until the fun stops and you realise it's not all just a game and that these aren't just animated characters on a screen anymore. This is a real world I'm living in, with real people, with real fucking dilemmas and dangers around every other other corner. 

Yet I'll keep training, I'll keep improvising, and I'll keep bullshitting my way through day to day life so as to keep playing this backstage role for as long as I can. One way or another, I'll make all of it mean something. After all, I've already dealt with Merlot and the world is just a little bit better for it. It proves I can make some subtle differences that benefit everybody. 

For now I'll just keep leaving those messages for Oz' and his little group of crusaders to act upon. Ironwood's already taken a bite, so hopefully he'll act as a reassurance to the rest that they do have somebody else on their side. The clock will continue to turn and, bit by bit, all my work behind the scenes will have coalesced into something with which I could use to throttle Salem and Cinder out of sight and out of mind for the rest of my stay.

So if I have to take a page from Ozpin's little book and play the sly, devious manipulator to all those around me - close or otherwise - just to rip a happy ending for this shitshow? If I have to act like Roman and lie, steal and cheat my way to the finish line? 

Well then surely it'll all just be worth it in the end, won't it?

It better fucking had be, as I don't really have any contingency plans as of yet if I cock everything up.

I wink back at Yang, hoping the smile on my face didn't appear as brittle as it felt.

"Never has there been, nor shall there ever be, a better actor in the world, Yang."

The show will go on.

Chapter Text

Scroll Entry #1

ACCESSING...

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...VERBAL RECOGNITION REQUIRED. PLEASE PROVIDE THE APPROPRIATE VERBAL RESPONSE TO THE FOLLOWING: "DOWN TO GEHENNA, OR UP TO THE THRONE..."

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PROTOCOL 11 HAS BEEN MANUALLY OVERRIDEN BY ADMINISTRATOR. SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE DISABLED. 

"Happy days."

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ACCESSING NOTES... ACCESSING FOLDER - "The Main Players".

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ACCESS GRANTED. 

SHOWING FILE - 'The White Witch'.

Status: Alive, unfortunately.

Designation: Pretty fucking evil.

General Information: 

Salem. Last name unknown. Or maybe first name unknown - I don't really know nor do I really give two fucks. 

She is an ancient, mysterious figure from Remnant's forgotten past and the main driving force behind why everything goes to shit within and around the next two years.

She was a part of the original Humanity, before being cursed with immortality and falling into a Grimm Pool. She was married to Ozma - please see file 'The Wizard of Oz' - and had four daughters with him before their ideologies tore them apart, resulting in the rather unfortunate death of all four children and forcing both former partners into an eternity of bickering that no amount of couples therapy sessions could ever hope to resolve.

Her main goal is to bring together all four relics hidden away under the Huntsman academes to force a pair of rather pissy Gods back onto the scene so as to have them finally break her curse of immortality and allow her to die. Unfortunately, I cannot expedite her wish for the latter through common means as she'll just come back after a while regardless, rendering my efforts useless. It won't hurt to keep trying however.

For now, she is acting through her many catspaws scattered throughout Remnant. Chief amongst them is Cinder Fall - please see file 'Cinderella' - and a myriad of others who are under their own folder. Through them, she acts as the unseen puppet master for all the evil shit that unfurls throughout canon and, unless action is taken by yours truly, ends up taking direct action and actively throttling the heroes at almost every turn by the end of things.

When I last saw her she had turned Atlas into Atlantis, gotten her hands on two of the four relics and was actively digging for the one hidden beneath the ruins of Beacon, had helped to kill off a good portion of the main cast and by the end of Volume 8 had, for all intents and purposes, been on course to fulfill all of her goals. If she hadn't already won, she sure was approaching the finish line at great speed.

Hopefully things should turn out far differently this time around, now that I have my own personal stake in ensuring that she's fucked off at every good opportunity.

Weapon: N/A

Has no personal weapon - she is a weapon. The Grimm as a species might constitute, however.

Strengths: 

* Immortal:

Will recover from any and all injuries in time. Injuries have ranged from a stab wound, to a shotgun shell blowing apart her skull, to being utterly vaporized by Ozpin's atomic pipebomb in Atlas. She will be back at full strength within minutes/hours/days(?). At the end of the day she just won't fucking stay dead and that problem right there is quite the worrying conundrum for the rest of us to solve.

* Full mastery and control over the Grimm:

Can create unique and even more diabolical types to ruin the average persons day, such as 'The Hound' - will file you down later - which is a fusing of both a Grimm and a silver-eyed warrior. The one seen in the show was a Faunus, highlighting that Faunus can inherit silver-eyes and that biology does not seem to be a factor in what Salem can fuse with a Grimm. Disturbing stuff, especially considering the potential ramifications.

(Side note: Investigate possibility of Summer Rose being 'Grimmified' like this. Furthermore, keep Ruby out of Salem's hands at all costs. The pasty bitch is not to lay a finger on my adoptive sister. End of side note.)

*Regeneration:

As referenced earlier, Salem will regenerate from all sustained injuries. She has been seen to lose almost half of her body and retain complete control over what is left of her whilst she regains her form. This includes combat capabilities and, even if decapitated, she is more than able to continue fighting at full strength, albeit in a darkly comical fashion. The best I could do is temporarily cripple her just long enough to maybe get the fuck out of dodge.

*Magic:

Because my life isn't already unfair enough Salem is fully capable of wielding magic in and out of battle. Beams of energy? Summoning shadowy, demonic hands to immobilize opponents? Flight capabilities? All thanks to the joys of living in the same time period of a pair of pissy Gods who got upset when their toys started playing without them. Likely has far more uses under her belt with such a power but these are some of the ones I remember seeing directly in the show. Will have to try and think more on this if and when she should come into play.

*???: 

Salem is likely capable of far more than what is currently listed, but I have no proof of anything else in particular that doesn't fall under anything aforementioned. Will keep an eye out and update if needed. Even rumours or little tidbits from Ozpin if he should ever mention anything will have to be recorded - I do not feel like being taken by surprise, especially by her of all people. 

Weaknesses: (Side note: I have fuck all for this one, really. They can likely can be counted on one hand if said hand had lost most of its fingers. Theoretically however she should, if I have my facts right, have one major weakness that, whilst not showcased, is quite logical to assume exists. Will throw it down below. End of side note.)

*Silver-Eyed Warriors:

From what I can remember these particular individuals are anathema to the Grimm; able to petrify and decimate legions of the beasts with the proper training they are natural Grimm slayers. It stands to reason then that being part - or perhaps fully - Grimm means then that Salem would be as affected as her beasts when facing off against a silver-eyed warrior. If it worked enough to severely wound and scar Cinder then hopefully it would be far more detrimental to Salem's health than your average bullet.

(Side note: As mentioned, I do not feel comfortable throwing Ruby at her. However, unless I find somebody else with silver eyes or some other deus ex machina hidden away in Ozpin's closet then, for now, the cookie monster is this world's ace card. End of side note.)

Semblance:

Unknown, likely to not exist due to existing before Aura came into play. If she does have one, she has certainly not seen any need to utilise it. Will continue to act on the hopeful belief that she has no Semblance.

Overall Strategy:

AVOID AT ALL COSTS! This cannot be understated - I cannot beat her in a straight, dirty or any kind of fight without some sort of S-Tier superweapon at my disposal. Just packing up and running on sight is my best bet. Failing that, mag dump into the bitch and throw the gun at her for good measure, hoping the concussion disorientates her long enough for me to flee.

Additional Comments:

Honestly, I don't really blame Salem for being as much of a bitch as she is. Despite being the big bad of the show and wanting to more or less wipe this planet clean of life if it means she gets what she wants, she was effectively pushed to it from the get go.

At the end of the day she just wanted her husband back and the Gods decided to be a right pair of cunts and tease her with what she wanted, just to then take him away again. Once it's all said and done, the fault for everything doesn't just lie with her - though she's certainly not winning any sympathy points by trying to raze half of Remnant just so she can commit suicide via divine intervention.

I like living however, so one way or another she has to go.

Here's an inspired idea: what if we just put her down long enough so that we could throw what was left of her into a rocket and blast the fucking thing straight into the surface of the sun?

Reform from that, you cunt.

SHOWING FILE - 'The Wizard of Oz'.

Status: Complicated. Really fucking complicated.

Designation: Ally - hopefully. It could deteroriate pretty damn fast if he should find out about my extensive knowledge on everything.

General Information:

Ozma.

Ozpin.

Ozymandias.

Ozmodeus.

Ozzy Osbourne.

These are but a few of the many names that he has likely gone by in his unnaturally long lifespan as an immortal parasite. A rather rude description as I doubt he enjoys the whole assimilation thing, but it remains rather an apt one regardless. 

Ozma was an ancient human who, alongside his dear and darling wife, lived many millennia's ago. However, when Ozma fell ill and died, his wife set out to convince the Gods to resurrect him, which they did. And then they decided that this actually wasn't too cool and so one of the Gods decided to backtrack on this and smote the man down for a second time. Again, the Gods are a right proper pair of cunts apparently.

(Side note: The Brother Gods are currently quite an unknown on my end, so I will refrain from giving them their own file for the time being. They will be commonly referenced however, so it may be worth doing sooner rather than later, especially if brought up in any potential conversation with Ozma himself. End of side note.)

As would become a stable in his life - or lives - this did not stick either and, after a few other events that I will likely note down in the near future, Ozma was brought back to live again to act as a guide for Humanity. Settling down once more with his beautiful and completely unimportant wife, Salem - please see file 'The White Witch' - the two would go on to act as benevolent guides to Humanity.

Fast forward a few thousand years and everything has gone to shit for the two. Nowadays, he goes by 'Ozpin' and so that is how he will be referred to from now on for the sake of simplicity.

As the current Headmaster of Beacon Academy, Professor Ozpin is responsible for the supervision of the next generation of Huntsmen and Huntresses. On the surface, he is a kindly, grandfatherly figure to his students. Unofficially, he is one of the few people actively opposing the greatest threat known to life on this world in the form of his ex-wife. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned indeed.

As Salem has her own minions to do her bidding so to does Ozpin in the form of his own little circle of individuals. Ozpin's group - please see file 'The Ozluminati' - consist of a number of highly experienced individuals of both military and Huntsman calibre and overall constitute some of the most powerful and influential individuals in Remnant, giving Ozpin a veritable monopoly on backstage influence throughout both Vale and the world at large.

Having the other three combat academy Headmasters - including the top general of Atlas - in his pocket sure does wonders for solidifying your position as an international puppet master. Now if only he could pull enough strings to have the Grimmlands nuked into oblivion.

Would certainly solve half of my problems with ease at that.

Weapon: The Long Memory.

A rather ordinary walking cane that, at first glance, seems barely usable as a weapon let alone a tool for mobility. This is an incorrect assumption and will likely see you twatted over the skull repeatedly as a consequence. Not only is it sturdy enough to be used as a blunt instrument capable of dishing out devastating amount of damage, it also has the ability to store up vast amounts of magic and/or kinetic energy which, when used correctly, results in devastating effects.

Remember the Grimm take on Moby Dick in Atlas? Yeah, don't be on the other end of that walking cane when Ozpin/Oscar decides to go DEFCON 1 unless you're feeling like for a daytrip up to the pearly gates, with each limb taking separate business days to arrive in whatever shoebox can be found to accommodate them. 

Strengths:

*Immortal:

Though a much more inferior variant than Salem's own brand of immortality, Ozpin is, at the end of the day, immortal. Should he die, he will eventually return in the body of another. Granted the process will take time and, if he should take the body of someone relative young it will take quite some time for him to be able to wield the same amount of influence as he may have before. Regardless, he won't die, and will still be around to fight and bicker with Salem like an old married couple.

*Aura: 

Ozpin, unlike Salem, has access to Aura due to residing in a body born post-manifestation of Aura. This allows him the same super human strength, speed, reflexes and stamina of a Huntsman which, combined with his many millennia's worth of combat knowledge gives him a veritable edge against all opponents, even despite his old age. As the saying goes, "beware of an old man in a profession where men usually die young."

*Strategist:

The man has been warring against an equally immortal and equally powerful opponent for thousands of years and, for the most part, the world has kept on turning because of it. Whilst he might not be on the offensive as much as I would have wished him to be, maintaining the status quo is still an impressive feat in its own right and highlights the man as being very capable in this regard.

* Magic:

Is capable of wielding magic and has been seen creating rather powerful shields, albeit seemingly not strong enough to withstand the full power of a Maiden. On the flipside, he was the progenitor of said Maidens, highlighting his vast magical potential. He was also the one responsible for giving the Branwen twins the ability to take on the forms affiliated with their names. However, it should be noted that, due to his many reincarnations, it appears that in the present day his expertise of magic has dwindled throughout the years, and compared to Salem is likely the weaker practionner. Whether there is truth to this or not is irrelevant - the average individual cannot use magic, whereas Ozpin can do just that.

* Leadership:

Having lived for thousands of years he has likely become quite accustomed to leading his followers once more unto the breach, both as Ozma, as a Headmaster and even - if I remember correctly - the King of Vale a good century or so ago. Naturally this allows him to inspire quite the sense of loyalty in his followers who, even if they don't agree with all of his methods, will still follow and trust in him regardless. Nobody else knows the great enemy quite like he does - who else can we trust if not him to keep us safe?

(Side note: it's probably a good idea to disregard that last part. Trust him to do the right thing, sure, just don't trust him as a person. Thousands of years of constant warring against his ex-wife is bound to have left far more scars than what was seen in the show. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but my point stands. End of side note.)

Weaknesses:

* Age:

Ozpin's current form is that of an older man who, when facing off against half a Maiden, was destroyed. This was likely due to both his natural age catching up to him and giving him a distinct disadvantage when it came to dueling a much younger opponent and the fact that, with reincarnating again and again, his own magical abilities had degraded to the point that, faced with a full blown Maiden, he could not stand against. 

(Side note: I'm going to avoid saying that he died due to being inferior in terms of skill as, again, he has hundreds of years worth of combat experience in that head of his and even though was now a full blown Maiden, Cinder had only just gained the entirety of the Fall Maiden's powers at the time of his death and would have barely had any experience in utilising them - any memories gained from Amber would have been irrelevant due to the Fall maiden being mentioned as having being inexperienced also. For now, age will suffice for this little portion of the entry. End of side note.)

* Magic:

As referenced, compared to Salem Ozpin's own magic has degraded over the years. Whereas Salem can quite easily annihilate entire groups of Huntsmen if she so desired, Ozpin seems limited in his own applications - his duel against Cinder revolved mostly around defensive magic compared to offensive. However this might be pure presumption as we never actively saw the rest of his duel with Cinder, so whether their fight continued on or if he simply perished during the last few moments we saw I cannot say. Still, I think it's safe to say that he is certainly not as strong as he might have been decades ago.

* Immortal:

Again, whilst it is certainly a strength in its own right being immortal most certainly has had a negative affect on Ozpin's mentality. Thousands of years of warring against the one he loves? Sacrificing friends for the greater good? Watching those he calls friends wither and die whilst he simply keeps waking up in another persons body? This is bound to have affected him in some form or another and I don't see it being a positive one either. For all that he has learnt over the years, he has most certainly lost in equal measure.

* Detrimentally Secretive:

Ozpin has willingly withheld vitally important information from those closest to him which, whilst making sense, has actively lead to situations that negatively affected the story. Whilst I can understand the secrecy needed, in hindsight a lot of problems would have been solved if Oz' decided to be a bit more forthcoming to his inner circle of followers. Whether or not I should circumvent this by revealing said information in ways that don't directly tie me in is a question for another day, but whilst Ozpin does eventually come out of his shell somewhat in the future, it is not until the proverbial train is already derailing at high speed that he does so.

(Side note: Again, I am not innocent in this. However, my reasons for secrecy are, quite simply, more important. Ozpin does not know the future. I do. Therefore, I need to be fucking keeping secrets up the bloody wazoo - I'll become Remnant's most wanted fortune teller if I cock up and I sure as shit don't need that publicity further complicating this already weird life I'm running with. End of side note.)

Semblance:

Unknown, likely to not exist due to existing before Aura came into play.

(Side note: So Ozpin's soul merges with that of his host. Does he therefore inherit the Semblance of his host? He shouldn't have Aura, but his Ozpin form does, so it stands to reason he might inherit their Semblance as well, yet we never saw any use of a Semblance on display. Then again, I suppose I could refer to Mercury or Roman who both have Aura's yet no Semblance, yet the former did have Semblance before it got yoinked by his dad and the latter just either never found it or never displayed it before he got his shit ran by a Griffin. Most likely he just takes the body of host and inherits the already pre-existing Aura, but doesn't get their Semblance. I think. This shit is weird and I doubt the old man will be forthcoming in the near future about it, so I'll just err on the side of "I don't have a fucking clue" and leave it at that. End of side note.)

Overall Strategy:

I'm hopeful that the two of us can be allies, so for the time being I'll continue to feed information to him and his allies in secret in the hopes that he'll act on them or at the very least take them into consideration. Should he deem me a threat, I'll have to just punch the old bastard in the jaw and improvise the rest. I doubt I'll make it far, but the game's the game.

Additional Comments:

Out of all the important characters that I'll end up dancing with in some form or another, Ozpin may be one of - if not the only - individual I would be willing to even consider divulging the truth to. Considering his own experience with coming back to life he might even have some helpful tips on the whole "back from the dead" bullshit I seem to have found myself dealing with for the last few years, though this certainly comes with a great deal of obvious risk.

Hell, I could even try and say that I was left behind by those two pricks that fucked both him and Salem over and see if he buys that story. It's unlikely that he'd believe me as at no point would he nor Salem have ever heard or found any trace of me until recently, but it's a backup option if I really get desperate.

As it is, I think I'll manage the way that I'm going so long as I'm careful and I don't take any unnecessary actions that might fuck me over down the line.

Still, I shall just have to wait and see on how the old man is in person before I start making any decisions one way or the other. Not too long now until then, I suppose.

SAVING CHANGES TO FOLDER - "The Main Players".

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ADMINISTRATOR HAS REBOOTED PROTOCOL 11. PROTOCOL 11 WILL INITIATE ON NEXT SYSTEM STARTUP. 

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ADMINISTRATOR LOGGING OFF. SYSTEMS SHUTTING DOWN. GOODBYE, WOLFY.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11

Like most things in my life, the beginning of things tend to be far more successful than however they end.

By no fault of mine however my fourth year at Signal was looking to end in a similar fashion. All you really needed to know is that this final year is beyond fucking dumb.

Do I need to explain?

Yeah, probably.

Alright, fair enough. I'll admit that I might be getting a little bit ahead of myself with such a statement so allow me to pause right there and rewind just a tad to explain what brought me to such a sudden realisation.

To do that however we must all go back to the very beginning of my adventures at Signal and explain once more what each year entailed for me as a student.

Now the beginning first year that I spent at Signal was, for the most part, nothing short of simple. I clocked in on the first day, got acclimatized to the whole new and unknown environment, performed as well as could be in any physical and mental evaluations that popped up throughout the year and before I knew it I had already gotten through the first year with flying colours.

Generally the first year was just full of the simple things a prospective student is graded on in real life more or less, albeit with far more emphasis on your literature and numeracy skills than on hunting Grimm. For most of us it was nothing too hassling - Signal wouldn't get too far in securing funding if most of its students were incapable of passing their first year.

But of course things had only gone uphill for me from that point onwards.

The second year of Signal was an entirely different challenge altogether, for it was here that things got a little spicy. For almost the entirety of the school year I had been solely responsible for the designing, manufacturing and showcasing of my own unique weapon with which I would likely have been expected to be wielding for however long it took me to retire at the ripe old age of never or, more likely, until I got shredded to pieces by one of those loveable fuckers in the woods.

Honestly, looking back at the whole situation if you took away the sheer insanity of throwing the responsibility of designing a literal hyper-lethal weapon to a child barely in the throes of adolescence then the entire situation becomes rather hilarious. 

It was the equivalent of asking a toddler to devise a fully functioning and capable stealth bomber within half the year and that if you failed you'd be told to fuck right off and leave the nursery.

Yet even more hilarious than this was that this ended up constituting the easy part of the year, as we all know that it was what came after this that really set the tone for the second year at Signal: ye 'ol 'W.E.S.T' examinations. Now if you hadn't wasted the last six months of your life and managed to survive the examination, then congratulations - you would have reached reached the halfway point.

Now in my humble opinion the third year was actually the easiest year so far in that it was - to me at least - effectively a continuation of the second year. Instead of designing a weapon, you would be testing it almost every day against your fellow students. A strange requirement considering you’d expect a Grimm hunter to be focusing on, say, Grimm, but fighting opponents with Semblances and Auras would certainly do wonders for an individuals capacity to think outside the box and to hone their overall combat skills. 

Considering who I will likely be squaring off with in the future I wasn't exactly going to argue against this, but my point stands.

So to recap; my first year was for prep and settling in, the second was around designing and improvisation and for the third it was mostly for a general development and showcasing of what I had learnt from the previous year.

What then, pray tell, would the fourth year of Signal have thrown my way? What last great hurdle would an up-an-coming slayer of monsters and all around geriatric bastard like myself have to vault over to reach the finish line?

Another trial against the Grimm?

Perhaps a frantic, class sized melee to eliminate the weakest performers from graduation?

Will we venture forth across the island in search of some old artifact like a bunch of rowdy demented treasure hunters?

The answer, ladies and gentlemen, was anything but exciting.

An essay.

Yeah. That was it. Despite everything we had done, everything we had built and trained for against one another, it all boiled down to just... sitting in a chair, pen in hand and writing your heart out.

As I said earlier: this year is fucking dumb. 

God forbid a combat school graduates you according to how well you perform in combat.

Anyone who has ever said that the pen is mightier than the sword is, quite frankly, a twat, and they should see about squaring up against a Beowolf or five. God this has really fucked me off something fierce.

Bollocks to it all.

Eh, all things considered one could argue that I am somewhat overreacting. Despite the size, it is doable. But it wasn't just tedious shit like this that was aggravating me so. Oh no no no, in the grand scheme of things this was fine. It's just that on top of having to write a small novel for whoever had the pleasure of reviewing it by the end of the month, a few things had happened in the wider world that had gotten my attention

Firstly, there had been an article written about an attack against an 'S.D.C' train heading through the forest of Forever Fall a week or so ago, detailing how two thirds of the cargo train had been found disconnected from the locomotive and looted of all its contents. Dust, weapons, android parts, more or less anything not nailed down had vanished with whomsoever had attacked the train. A betting man would say the White Fang were responsible, and he'd be walking away with some respectable winnings considering they sure as shit were responsible.

But it was who took part in the attack that had my interest, as I knew full well that Beauty and the Beast had just gone their separate ways.

Blake Belladonna was on the move. How delightful.

If I had to guess what the now ex-terrorist was up to at this particular point in time then I would assume that she would be hiding in Vale somewhere; were I a betting man I'd say that the introvertive feline Faunus was likely forging the documents she needed to take Beacon's stringent entrance exams. Not sure how she got her metaphorical paws on them, but if I had to place another bet then my money would likely go to that random bookstore owner that Mercury and Emerald kill off before the festival.

He was an ex-member of the group wasn't he? Tucker or something? No, Tukson, that's the one. Yeah, maybe him? It wouldn't be a bad guess. 

Though now that I mention it, he is certainly someone I could have a talk with at some point, if only to get him out of the crosshairs of the White Fang for his deserting.

But it wasn't the Blade/Adam love spat that had me so uppity this week. Oh no, what was gnawing at me was something far more important.

A local, relatively unknown Huntress had gone missing after taking a small job in one of the outlying villages near the capital. At first glance I had assumed the poor woman had been caught unaware and nabbed by Grimm. It was when I scrolled down and saw the grainy picture they used for reference that I realised it was not the Grimm that were responsible for her disappearance.

I knew this because I willingly acted against warning both her and Ozpin about the attack that would have happened within the near future. The near future was no longer near but now, and Cinder in the present now had her hands on exactly half of the Fall Maiden's power. As for Amber herself?

Well, we all know where she is: stuck on life support until either she expires naturally or the Ozluminati decide to risk the whole Aura transferal process that they had attempted to do with Pyrrha.

And we all know how that fucking song and dance fell apart.

Already feeling guilty over my manipulations regarding Yang and her mother, now I had to deal with the fact that I had so willingly left this woman to such an abysmal damn fate. Was it really necessary? Did I really need to leave her to suffer such a shitty fate, and give Cinder the exact power that made her such a catastrophic threat to each and every individual on Remnant?

I had to say yes.

Any plans I might have regarding the improving of our canonically shitty future prospects hinged on certain events being railroaded into happening. As much as I hated it, the attack on Amber was one of those events. After all, with Cinder feeling as omnipotent as she will be she won't think twice about going ahead with her current plans, ergo giving me ample opportunity to work around and, where I could, disrupt them behind the scenes.

I've said it before and I'll continue to say it, but I promise that I do have plans in the works. Whether I'm actually being truthful or lying to myself I won't say. I guess we'll find out together sooner or later on just how bad a mess I'll end up making.

For now, the dominoes were beginning to fall. The board was being set and time, once so heavily on my side, was running out very, very quickly. After almost four years of non-stop preparation, the end of my time at Signal was just around the corner. By my own estimates, I had... what, a few months before I'd be landing at Beacon with Ruby and Yang?

Almost there. Almost there indeed.

Now all that stood between me and the most pivotal events of recent history were 20,000 words, yet no more than 20,100.

Before I leave the school and Patch behind me I'm going to have shot that fucking alcoholic I swear to God.

"Hey big brother?"

For the past three hours I had been sat in this hot, stuffy room, trying my damndest to finish off the conclusion to this god-forsaken essay. Over the last few weeks I had become a man driven to the edge of insanity by this arduous and inane task and, finally, I was nearing the end.

"Hey Mr Wolf, look at this."

Well, nearing the end of both the essay itself and of my schedule. Today was the last day I had before they were due to be handed in to the faculty for reviewing and grading. Were I not to do so by 15:00 today then, according to Qrow, I would most certainly be facing quite a few issues regarding any potential plans I had regarding future applications to Beacon.

"~Oh Wolfyyy~"

Having done most of the hard work at the comforts of home and only needing a couple of hours to finish whatever was left I had gone ahead and set up shop in a relatively quiet and inconspicuous corner of the school library. Some peace and quiet was all I needed to finally finish up this damn essay and, at long last, call it quits at Signal.

"...Are you ignoring me on purpose now?" A small finger reaches over to poke me in the side.

Peace and quiet was unfortunately the last thing I would be getting today unfortunately.

"Bloody fu - what's up with you now, Ruby?" 

Within the first half hour of getting to work I was joined by Ruby. The girl, now almost at the end of her second year, had been absolutely all over the place in both excitement and trepidation for what lay ahead in her upcoming W.E.S.T examination.

"You know what's up, mister: Crescent Rose. Come on, you promised you would help me with testing out my baby this week. Can't you take just a small break?" She girl replies, oblivious to my frustrated tone. "You promised."

"When?"

"You said it last wee-"

"When did I ask?" The girl can only stick out her tongue in response to such an absolute put down.

It was true though that I had agreed to act as her own little test subject for her scythe-sniper hybrid. However that before Qrow sprung this essay on both Yang and I, and so any priorities with Ruby had taken a backseat compared to this. Of course, Ruby was not one to take no for an answer. Especially not when it came to Crescent Rose.

Having finished her weapon in record time compared to the rest of her year Ruby was adamant on practicing with it at every opportunity. I would too if I were in her position - I imagine the W.E.S.T would have been a damn sight more smoother for me had I been able to have more than just the day or two of practice beforehand.

However I had only a good hour and a half before my deadline was up, and so any priorities I might have had with little Ruby were unfortunately punted right to back of the line for the time being.

"Please? Pretty please?" I don't answer. "Double pretty please?" My eye twitches just a little bit. "Just for five minutes?" Then it twitches again. "Maybe even ten-" My head slams against the table in despair. "...so is that a no?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that this damn paper needs doing, Rubes. Otherwise according to your uncle I'll be dead in the water for applying to Beacon. For now, how about you, I don't know, go play Monopoly by yourself or something."

"...What's Monopoly?"

"That's a good question. Think on it in silence for a while."

She does just that and, for a few blissful minutes, there is peace. The birds are singing, the sun is shining and all is quite well with the world. To make things even better, I was making progress with final few paragraphs of this damn essay. With any luck I'll finish the thing with some time to spa-

"I'm bored."

-and there she is again.

"Hi bored, nice to meet you. I'm very fucking busy." The heel of her shoe connects against my shin in response. "Can you bloody well give that a rest?"

"Well excuse me for being the responsible sibling. Swearing is bad for you, you know?" The girl says in response, ignoring the glare being sent her way. Then her eyes light up. "Oh I know! What if we made it a rule that for every time you swear, you have to pay one Lien into a jar? How's that for drastic measures, hmm?"

"I'll show you drastic measures when I throw you through a window." 

"You'd never catch me in time and you know it."

"I'd find a way. Also, why are you here anyway. Why not bug Yang for a bit? I'm sure she'd be oh so willing to mess around with you whilst I'm busy with all of this." At the very least she'll be annoying someone else for an hour whilst I finished up this damn essay up at long last.

"Nuh uh. I'm not that brave, Harrow." Hearing this is enough for me to turn away slightly from the task at hand to look at Ruby in curiosity.

"...She has finished her own work, right?" The shaking of her head tells me otherwise.

"Last I checked she was threatening to burn down half of A-Block just to spite our uncle and the rest of the staff if she fails Signal because of whatever Qrow gave her."

Looks like we'll both be cutting it very damn close then. 

"Sucks to suck I suppose. Well if you're not going to waddle off and bug anybody else then could you at least sit there quietly whilst your big brother tries not to rip his furry ears off at this?"

If you thought I was handling this whole essay situation badly then you should have seen how Yang was taking it. Let me once again re-iterate that out of the two of us, I was far more adept at writing up an essay than she was, even if the size was astronomically larger than anything a university back home would throw at you. Now if I'm struggling, guess how badly the blonde was taking it?

Abandon all hope, ye who frustrated Yang this month.

Hell, even Carmine - who I by no means enjoy remembering even exists - had done little wrong in our last combat class yet the brawling blonde was extra careful in ensuring he became a fixture in the wall. Were he deserving of it I might have even felt sympathy for the poor bastard.

However, I did not, so he can cry about it in the corner far, far away from me.

"D'aww, you're no fun today."

Fucking sue me darling - I hate essays.

Thankfully Ruby soon lapses into a pleasant silence after this and focuses more on her own reading material. I didn't need to look over to know that she was still reading the exact same weapon manuals that she had "requisitioned" from the library earlier in the year and by some miracle had not needed to return as of yet. Even with Crescent Rose more or less finished she was still methodically going over every last nut and bolt in the damn thing to ensure that not a single inch of it was out of place.

Seeing her carrying it around the house when she had first brought it home halfway through the year was honestly one of my happiest moments in recent memory. The sheer joy and excitement that girl was running around with that day, firing off sniper rounds at test dummies and using her Semblance to dash around the yard with scythe in hand?

Well for just a short while it was enough to make me forget that very soon she'd be using that weapon on more than just test dummies and Beowolves.

In two months time I would be at Beacon. From there, I would have a rather small window to do what I needed to do and give Cinder more than just the middle finger and a raging headache.

Tick tock, Mr Grey. Tick tock.

I shake my head, silencing that nagging voice in the back of my mind. Time was running out indeed, but it hadn't expired just yet. What time I had left after graduation and before Beacon would be spent productively indeed. 

First I'd need to probably drop Ironwood another message - or maybe even go directly to the grand old wizard himself if I was feeling particularly brave. Not to drop another name like I had with Merlot, but just as a friendly reminder that they did have an ally out there, and that I'd shortly be in contact regarding more serious matters, or something along those lines. Considering what had happened to her it might even be worth bringing her up in the message, if only to prove without a shadow of a doubt that whoever they were talking to did know what he was talking about.

Heh, because having an omniscient third party out there would most certainly not unsettle that bunch. Perish the thought.

Furthermore, Yang had, before this whole writing extravaganza popped up, broached the thought of the two of us going into Vale in the near future to talk to a particular "guy who knows a guy who knows another guy" who might just have some information regarding her mother. On the surface I had agreed so as to play the part of the loving big brother that I had perfected oh so well this last decade. 

But of course we all knew I was gunning for a talk with Junior already, and that this was just a cover to do so to avoid any suspicion that might have arose from me just strolling in one night and forcing him into the backroom at gunpoint. 

There's also quite a few other things that need doing or seeing to but they're not as important as what I've already stated. As it is, not everything I'm planning or focusing on needs revealing just yet. Why show off my hand when the river is still being dealt?

All that you need to know ladies and gents is that, whilst the curtain begins to unfurl on our performance, I'm still putting together the finishing touches to the first act of the play.

The sudden ping of my scroll brings me out of my mental musings as it vibrates through my pocket. Pulling it out and into sight, I frown somewhat at both the message on the screen and at the time. What's the time Mr Wolf?

Well the time is about 14:43, and I'm fucking cutting it close indeed.

"Who is it?" Ruby asks suddenly from over my shoulder, startling me enough that I almost drop the scroll. Giving the girl a light glare I hold up the screen for her to better see. "Ooh, someone’s in trouble. What did you do this time around to be summoned into dads office?"

"Summoned? Look at you using big words today."

"What can I say? I'm a big girl and I use big words. Impressed?"

"I’m impressed at how brave you are to call yourself a big girl despite barely being able to reach the top of the fridge."

"Remind me again how your shins feel?"

"They are innocent in all of this you cruel, cruel girl. Right, I'd best finish up here and see what dear ol' Tai wants from me today then."

In all likelihood he probably just wanted to confirm if I was still deadset on moving from here to Beacon. A waste of time considering we both knew I'd say yes, but I guess at the end of the day he'd need confirmation so as to get the ball rolling in regards to filling out the correct forms and whatnot for whatever I myself will need for their entrance applications. He'd done the same when it came to Signal, but it certainly helped us both that he was a teacher at the school already.

Hmm, maybe I could get a reference from Qrow as well to sweeten my resume?

Actually, maybe not. The less attention I'm getting from his closest associates, the less chance of Ozpin deciding to see what was so special about the random Faunus that was waltzing into his school.

Guess I can more than happily stick with Tai being my best option. Best dad indeed.

"Oh, so when he wants your attention he gets it immediately. But when I ask, you're all "nuh uh, I'm busy and moody and blah blah blah". You should be feeling really guilty right about now."

"Tell you what Ruby - you take over my education and overall well-being and I'll give you all the attention in the world and more. How about that?"

"And what exactly was I doing for you in your second year when you needed help with making your weapon?"

"That's... hmm." That she had raised a quite the fair point was most certainly not lost on the teenage girl as her hands shot up into the air triumphantly.

"Ha! Ruby: One. Harrow: Zero!"

"The window is still right there if you want."

"I'll pass thank you very much, Mr Sore Loser." She replies, a satisfied smile on her face. Collecting her weapon manuals under one arm and with another balanced precariously upon her head, she pulls out her own scroll before her smile widens. "Luckily for you, I suppose I can let you off the hook for now. I have Uncle Qrow later on today who I can test Crescent Rose on instead. At least he'll be happy to give me the time of day."

"Only because he's literally paid to give you attention, Rubes."

"...That's irrelevant and completely untrue and any words to the contrary will see you hearing from my lawyers."

"Yeah, alright, whatever helps you sleep at night, Rubes." I reply as I forcefully erase yet another failed sentence from the paper. The frustration on my face clearly shows as my enhanced hearing easily picks up on Ruby trying - and failing miserably - to stifle a laugh.

"You know, if you're really struggling this hard with this then maybe you should have studied more in preparation?" The girl offers oh so helpfully with a not so helpful grin on her face.

Oh my bad, I must have forgotten to read up to the part of my itinerary that explicitly stated I had to write an essay a fifth of the size of a Harry Potter book within 30 days whilst also still keeping up with the intensity of my physical training. 

"Thanks Ruby for that absolute stellar piece of advice. Yeah, I'll just study for something that I had no idea even existed in the first place. I have told you already that your uncle literally sprung this fu-" her eyes narrow, "-un little sheet of paper that drains both ink and happiness on me out of nowhere, right?" She nods.

"You might have mentioned it a few times here and there." Quite the understatement that.

"Well then you know full well I'm despising every second of it, so I'll make you a deal: when you get to Qrow's class, hit him very, very hard with that poor copy of Excalibur you carry around and I'll spend all the time in the world with you this weekend helping you practice with it. Deal?"

"Done!" I have just about enough time to blink before she's already sped off out of the library and to the training hall for her uncle's combat class. Waving the disintegrating rose petals out of my face, I turn my attention back to my essay. Tai can wait just a few more minutes - this damn thing needs some finishing touches before I can go anywhere. Still, at least I'm finally able to focus in peace and quiet.

And then everything on the table is flung all over the place as the wind generated by Ruby's sudden return scatters my pen, my paper and my will to live all over the library. 

"And I'll have you know that Crescent Rose is much better than Excalibur, thank you very much!" Taking my lack of a response as a sign of victory, the girl once more runs off with the wind and out of the library, leaving me alone once more, staring at the empty space where my essay had once been sitting.

If I didn't love the girl so much I'd fucking live up to my earlier threat and throttle the adorable little shit out of the window and to the mainland in one go.

For now, I was content to bury my head into my arms on the table and scream. Thankfully I was muffled somewhat, so the sheer vulgarity of my words wouldn't be heard by anyone wandering the library presently.

Unfortunately not everyone was so lucky, and the stares I got from some of the poor first years as I made my way to the exit told me that some had most certainly been traumatized by what their poor virgin ears had just heard.

One particular young girl had decided to ask me at the door what I had meant in my tirade, and I was more than happy to take a minute out of my busy schedule to advise her to ignore everything that she had just heard coming out of my corner of the library and to go about her day as normal.

And with the promise that she would not repeat to anybody else about hearing me wanting to "bury my fucking foot so far up that drunk bastard's arse that he'd be brushing his teeth with my shoelaces." 

It certainly wouldn't do well for him to be warned in advance. 

With but a few minutes to spare before the deadline hits I'm able to make my way from the library and over to Tai's office. Preferably I would have liked to hand this over to Qrow himself but considering the circumstances I think passing it to Tai whilst we talk about whatever it was he wanted from me would suffice. 

Fortunately for me I had just about managed to finish up my writings before I had left the library, Ruby's efforts be damned. It may not be my best work nor is it likely to be used by the school as the model essay for future fourth years, but it'll have to do. 

They're lucky I was taking the whole thing seriously in the first place. 20,000 words - yet no less than 20,100 lest we forget - to explain what I thought a Huntsman was and why exactly I wanted to be one?

Why bother having me write my answer down in the first place? Considering I just could as easily tell you in person that being a Huntsmen meant protecting the innocent and saving the world, and that my reasons for being one more or less boiled down to having a big gun and a rather funny amount of highly volatile rounds to spare?

Though I suppose that's only half the answer. In reality we all knew it was so that I could put a stop to the end of the world as we know it, but I doubt I'd be able to throw that into my essay without going over Qrow's arbitrary word limit and shooting myself in the foot in the process.

A shame, well and truly.

Knocking on the office door, a few moments pass before I hear Tai shouting for me to come in. I do so, opening the door and stepping inside, closing the door behind me. A second later and Tai looks up from whatever paper he was reviewing and, seeing me, nods to the empty chair on the opposite side of his desk. 

"You sure took your time. Were you this late to training, I'd already have you running laps around the house for the next hour." Tai remarks, smirking at me from behind the desk. Looking over at a nearby clock, I roll my eyes as I make my way towards him.

"Go ahead and blame Ruby for my, what, twenty second lateness?" I respond, dropping down into the chair. "She's as demanding as usual now that she is able to start swinging that big scythe hybrid of hers around." He chuckles at this, nodding in agreement. He, of course, had been more than happy to help his daughter when it came to training with her weapon, albeit far more cautiously than he had around Yang or I. 

I don't blame him - her scythe is almost twice her size, and her swinging it around at Mach 5 wasn't exactly a safe scenario to be in regardless of Aura.

"Yeah, I know how she is. I thought you and Yang were bad when you got your weapons finished up; I still tear up slightly when I see the receipts for all the Dust deliveries I have to order for you, and you and I both remember the amount of property damage that our fire dragon caused when she "accidentally" unloaded a full slug through the bathroom wall when she "forgot" to take off her gauntlets."

"And then got debris all over and in her hair, and then decided to blame Ruby because it was her instructions that she followed, and that any accidental discharge of her gauntlets must have been Rube's fault." The two of us laugh at this particular memory.

It was actually not as funny as we were making it out to be. That shotgun shell that Yang misfired? My bedroom was on the other side of that wall.

You think being waken up by an alarm is bad? Try a 12-gauge shell disintegrating half of your wall without warning.

"If I manage to reach retirement without my house burning down around me I'll call that a success."

"How long's left until then? Two, three years?"

"Careful kid," Tai smirks, "or do I need to up the ante in our next training session?" I hold my hands up in surrender, knowing full well that that was a threat he would be more than happy to carry out. "That's what I thought. But seriously, as bad as you two were, Ruby is something else. Not only do I have to worry about her forgetting about her Semblance every five minutes and running headfirst into a wall, but now that she has her weapon built up - months earlier than expected mind you - I get the added pleasure of having to ask Qrow to being her private combat instructor during and outside class."

"What's wrong with that? If there's anyone perfect for the job it would be that drunken dick. Who else do you know is as capable with a scythe around here but him?" He snorts at my apt description of his old teammate, but shakes his head.

"It's not his expertise that I'm worried about. No, it's his attitude that I'm worried he'll pass down to her. It's bad enough dealing with his mini-me in the form of you-"

"-My liver is fully functional, thank you very much."

"-but can you imagine the sheer terror the world will have to endure if Ruby of all people starts taking after his mannerisms?" Oh right, as if that was even possible in this day and age. If she wasn't going to take after her big brother then she sure as shit wouldn't be copying him.

Trust me, I'm trying my best to convince her. I want - no, need to hear her call Weiss a stuck-up bitch the moment she sets off the Heiress's Dust. 

"Tai, trust me of all people when I tell you that if Ruby could be corrupted, I would have done so already. I mean, I'm the most dry-witted, snarkiest and all-around biggest smartass that has ever roamed this island, and if I can't get her to copy me then you know full well that Qrow has no chance either. Though do you really think two of me would really be that bad?" 

"Do I really need to answer that question?"

"Probably not, no." A shame too. Imagine how much I could get done if there were two of me? Hell, I could throw my double at Neo if she ever decides to pop her small head into my life again and run for the hills. "Anyway, what's up Tai? It's rare I get called into your office beyond answering the usual "unsanctioned usage of firearms in school corridors" accusations that strangely keep popping up." A small grin forms but he shakes his head. At least I'm not getting bollocked for that today.

"No, no, not this time. I just think it has been a while since we've had one of our talks." Hearing this, I sigh loudly.

"Ah, it's one of those talks. Fun."

Having more or less taken in the stray of Remnant, Tai had taken it upon himself to, every so often, sit me down in private and more or less just talk to me like he were some second-hand therapist. Mostly the topics just revolved around me in general, such as on how I was settling in or how I thought he was doing. Sometimes, he'd even touch upon my family. That last topic of course was always a bit awkward whenever it came into conversation.

For him it was awkward because he wasn't exactly too comfortable talking about the deceased parents to the orphaned Faunus that his old STRQ buddy had dropped on his doorstep one night.

For me it was even more awkward because they - the parents - never existed, and so I always had to make sure that I didn't mess up and backtrack on anything that I might have made up when he first asked years ago.

The last thing I needed was Tai being suspicious in some way shape or form about my history and asking for a few investigate favours from the funny immortal man and his nuclear walking stick. Thankfully Tai is and forever will be an absolute chad of a man, and any suspicions he might have had once upon a time are likely long dead and buried.

Kind of like my family. Or at least that's what I can keep telling him if he ever brings them up again. The dead can't talk after all and neither can they.

Haha, I'm such a prick.

"Well it has been, what, a few years since we last had one of these sit downs? I mean when was our last talk again? Just before the start of Signal?" I think for a few seconds, before nodding. Yeah, I remember now. He'd given me an entire lecture on what Signal would entail, and what risks and responsibilities I would have in doing so. Mostly things that any normal over-protective parent might tell their child on their first day of schooling.

Stuff like "make friends with your peers," and "look both ways before crossing the street," or even "don't shoot yourself in the eye with the teachers weapon during science."

You know, the usual.

Seeing that I was coming up empty in regards to his question he nods. "My point exactly. And as one of your teachers, I'm also getting paid to be asking you these particular questions, so buckle up Wolfy, because you don't have a say in the matter anymore. Now, I take it that you're still set on applying for Beacon when the month is up?" I nod, leaning back into my chair. "I see, I see. Okay then - why?" 

"Why what? Why Beacon?"

"Why, exactly, you want to be a Huntsman." Oh I see, I see. Okay, well that's certainly not too hard a question to answer.

"I like living. The Grimm don't like me living. Ergo, why not?" The look Tai gives me easily conveys the annoyance at such a casual answer yet I shrug half-heartedly regardless. "What? Is that not perhaps the straightest answer one could ever expect?"

"Because it's just not a good enough answer." He rises from his chair, walking around the desk to stand in front of me, a stern look upon his face. "Once you have that license, you become far more than just a monster slayer. It's far more than just about killing Grimm, kid; It's about protecting the innocent, and those far weaker than you. It's about setting an example not just to those around you but to every man, woman and child in Vale and beyond. It's about being a guardian for all Faunus and Humankind, fighting for every waking moment to make our world a better place for generations to come. But most of all, it's about knowing that, as a Huntsman, with great power-"

Surely not.

"-comes far greater responsibilities." 

Well, at least he doesn't have to worry about being sued for that blatantly stolen reference. Cheers for that absolutely delightful pep talk, bootleg Uncle Ben. 

"As much as I appreciate the fortieth or so time that I've heard about what being a Huntsman entails, I wasn't exactly planning on holding up Vale's central bank at gun point and using my Aura to shrug off police-issued rounds in the near future. I don't think that you'll need to worry about me abusing my 'great powers' and whatnot, Tai." The man snorts at my reply, crossing his arms and leaning against his desk. 

"I'll certainly be sleeping easier tonight after hearing such a reassurance, but it's not just the responsibilities that you need to be aware of. I've run you through them before, but, again, the life of a Huntsman is dangerous, and I need to know that you're absolutely certain you understand the risks you'll be facing. You've already had three encounters with Grimm in the past so far - two of which you came this close to losing your life too. Now I'm not saying you aren't cut out for being one, especially after seeing your, uh, 'inspired' handling of your W.E.S.T, but you'll be facing far more dangerous odds in the future if you carry on down this road. Every day out there, you'll be risking yourself in more ways than one." He moves off of the desk and stands right in front of me, and I can't help but feel slightly unnerved by the look in his eyes.

"One mistake, Harrow. Just one mistake out there, and you know what will happen to you?" He snaps his fingers. "You're done. That will be it. No more sarcastic remarks. No more atrociously foul language being thrown across my living room. Simply put - no more Harrow Grey. You'll be dead and buried, and that's only if you're lucky enough that there's enough of you to bury in the first place, kid." His hand runs through his hair and I can't miss the mournful sigh that comes from him. "And this world, quite simply, has buried enough people who believed themselves to be a hero."

Oh man, one guess as to whom he's referring to there then. 

"So I'll ask you one more time and, this time, I want a straight answer from you Harrow. No off-hand remarks, no smartass quip, no nothing." If I wasn't sitting up straight from how serious his tone was before I most certainly was now. "Why do you want to be a Huntsman?"

Alright, well this is most certainly a step up from the usual cheap therapy sessions he gives. Alright then - how do I go about explaining this without fucking myself over? "Oh yeah, I'm actually a fully grown man who has slept in the same bed as your children a few times when we were all much younger, but it's alright because I plan on saving the world. Whose that at the door? Oh, it's Chris Hansen, and he's brought both the police and a straight jacket with him? How fancy."

I'm good, thanks.

Getting up from the chair, I step away from Tai and to the side, looking out of his office window and into the school courtyard, thinking on how to properly word my answer without divulging too much information. When I turn back around after a small while he's still standing against his desk, still waiting patiently for an honest answer from a very dishonest man.

Taiyang Xiao Long. A veteran ex-Huntsman. A warrior far out of my current league and quite possibly a better man than I could ever hope to be. 

He's also very protective of his children, and that's something I can very much respect. I, too, am quite protective of them as well, albeit as both a sibling and because, quite frankly, I need them alive. Its a win-win.

Naturally then I can use his love for his children to my advantage then. Hell, this time I might not even have to lie. Well, other than the fact that I'm going to have to read from the absolute bullshit backstory script I fabricated years ago for this very scenario.

Fuck it, lets call it half a lie. How assuaging to my soul that is, hey?

"Do you remember what happened almost ten years ago?" I ask, sitting down on the windowsill. 

"You almost died trying to save my girls in the forest. As if I could ever forget that, Wolfy." 

"And do you remember asking me why I did it?" 

"Of course." There's a fond smile on his face. "It was one of the strangest things I ever heard. A nine year old boy, with no Aura and no Huntsman training, who didn't owe me a thing, decided that, instead of running for help or waiting for the adult to come home, he would just march right into the forest to bring my daughters back safe and sound. He embedded an axe into the skull of a Beowolf and, for his efforts, was almost killed for it. Were it not for his Aura being unlocked almost on the spot, I would have had to bury him next to my wife. And what did he say when I asked him why? Why he didn't just run into town for help, or wait for me to come home? He simply looked at me and shrugged, saying that he had "owed me"."

He shakes his head. "You never owed me a thing, kid."

And that, Tai, is where you are oh so very, very wrong.

"Alright, grand. Now, next question: have I ever told you about my family? Or how I grew up before washing up here?" Again he shakes his head.

"No, not really. The few times I asked regarding your parents you never really wanted to talk about it. After a while, I stopped asking and decided that, if you wanted to talk about, you'd do so in your own time when you were ready."

Ah, that explains why nobody ever decided to ask the orphan how his supposed parents died. Thanks Tai, I appreciate you giving me time to practice this script o' mine.

"Well feel free to get comfortable - and please try not to interrupt - because now is as good a time as any. Now, two'ish years before what happened in the forest I was in some nameless and probably now forgotten mine in Atlas. Not legally, mind you; Atlas is many things but even they abide by their own labour laws. But considering our circumstances and where we lived, it says a lot about how things were at home that mother and father thought me safer in a mine than left on my lonesome for, like, fourteen hours a day. Schooling cost money, so that was a no. A babysitter might have been nice, but good luck finding many willing 'sitters in one of the most unfriendliest Faunus nations in Remnant. I probably would have managed by myself, but, again, a shady neighborhood like ours? I'd like to think that I would have gone for a small fortune in whatever child trafficking ring might have existed around there were someone to come-a-callin' with just me in the house."

"Gods, kid, why-"

"Hello? Is somebody interrupting me when I specifically said no talking during story time?" He promptly goes silent. "Thanks. Now where was I? Oh yeah, child smuggling. Always a funny topic. Anyway, my parents would bring me into the mines with them whenever they both had to work a shift. Two wages were necessary, especially when food was scarce in... fuck, I can't even remember the name of the town anymore. It doesn't matter. All I knew was that as bad as things were for me, I had a family and that made things alright. They weren't ideal circumstances by any stretch, but I had my mum and dad, and that was fine with me. And then one particular day, when I was with some of the other shift workers who had volunteered to keep an eye on me whilst they finished up for the day, there was a collapse in the eastern side of the mine."

The look on Tai's face shows that he knew exactly where this story was heading. "I never did find out what happened to bring half the mine crashing down, or how many poor bastards in total ended up buried beneath the rubble. All I know is that on that particular day, a five year old boy entered that mine with his parents, and when the day had ended he left it with neither."

I turn away from Tai for a moment and through the window once more, staring down at the empty courtyard. I can’t help but frown. It wasn't as good a view as what Ozpin likely enjoyed, but I suppose there were certainly perks to having as high a wage as Headmaster compared to a simple school teacher.

That and a lifetime to amass secret wealth or whatever else the fucker had stored away for his next reincarnation probably helped to get the funding for turning the CCTS tower into his private office.

You know full well he's got a vault somewhere - bank or otherwise - for storing more than one of those fancy Relics of his. Though who am I to judge? I'd be doing the exact same if I were in his immortal shoes.

Everyone has some form of life-savings, right? 

"I remember not knowing what in the fuck was going on. I also remember going back the next day, still confused, to ask some of the other workers where mother and father were and... well, I guess none of them really had the heart to try and explain to a child what exactly an 'orphan' was, even in spite of the fact that I was definitely old enough to grasp what it meant. They didn't need to in the end - some guy in some fancy uniform did all the talking when he rocked up to the house one day. Said that I'd have to move into an orphanage.

"Naturally, I did the only sensible thing a five year old would do when faced with the prospect of being packed up and sent off to some random orphanage and ran away. Against all odds, I somehow managed to end up in the town harbour and managed to stow away on the first ship that I could sneak onto. Of course, just to remind me that my luck had already gone far below bedrock, the relatively small cargo ship I was on decided to keel over and capsize midway through the voyage, forcing little old me to chance swimming for shore before something decided I looked particularly appetising. Praise be to Atlas and their knowledge of maritime safety, hey?

"By the time I finally knew what in the hell was going on? Well, a dusty old crow decided to drop me off on your doorstep. And right there and then, my luck, as shitty as it was, suddenly did the most unexpected thing imaginable. It took such a sudden U-Turn that, a decade down the line, I'm still barely able to think it possible. This man, who owed me absolutely nothing, took me in and gave me a home. His two daughters took one look at me and all but forced me into becoming their friend and, later on, all but became a sibling in my own right. Together, all three of you gave me that which I had just lost - a family. So that day, when I saw Yang's note on the kitchen table saying that she had taken Ruby and just gone into the forest? I couldn't save my old family, but I could definitely try and save my new one.

"That, Tai, is why I want to be a Huntsman. If they're going to be Huntresses, then I need to follow along with them. I couldn't save my parents, but I could certainly save my sisters, because whilst I can't kill stone I sure as shit can kill a Beowolf. Now that, old man, is as good an answer as you're likely to get from me I reckon."

Sober, that is. Sober and with a hell of a mind for bullshitting through any and all scenarios that don't involve a literal blade to my throat.

Fuck you, Neo.

Wide eyed, Tai stands there for a few moments as he processes everything that I had just said. Looks of pity, horror, sympathy and anger were rather prevalent throughout my story. Honestly, I'm surprised it's taken this long before I had to start rattling off on my pre-fabricated story. I would have thought this would have come out years ago, either from Tai or either one of the girls enquiring about my very early childhood.

Perhaps Tai told them early on not to ask questions and, to this day, they've held off? Maybe. Picking up his desk chair he drags it over with him, joining me at the window. Taking a seat, he sighs heavily and runs a shaky hand through his hair.

"Harrow, I never... wow. We never wanted to pry; we doubted it would have had a happy ending and we didn't want to bring up bad memories, but... I'm so, so sorry. I can't even begin to imagine- this whole time you were with us and not one of us knew what you had gone through? Why didn't you ever say anything?" I can't help but scoff at the question.

Why, because it never happened you poor, gullible bastard. 

"Like anyone would have believed me at the time. Come on Tai, are you saying you would have believed me if I told you that I had, as a child, managed to slip out of the most technologically advanced kingdom in the world and then somehow not drowned in the middle of the ocean, only to appear on your doorstep one day? Nobody in their right mind would have believed me even with proof - of which I had a grand total of fuck all. Hell, to this day I'm still surprised you didn't send me off the day after. Sure, I was good for helping around the house for food and board, but still." I glance away from the window and back at Tai, who was still sitting next to me. 

"You want to know something funny?" He says, leaning forward. "I did plan on taking you into town the next day and seeing whether someone else could take you in. I, ah, well, I won't sugarcoat it kid, I didn't feel too comfortable with you in my house. Not because you're a Faunus or anything - don't even try and play that card on me you little rascal - but because I already had two children to raise and that itself was challenging enough. I had no idea how to handle a third, especially one already grown."

"So what stopped you?" 

"It's not so much what stopped me as much as it who. You know, I've never really told you much about their mother. You know a bit about Raven already, but maybe we can talk about her another day. Though, whilst I'm on that topic I would like thank you."

"For...?"

"For talking to Yang. It's hard not to notice that she hasn't been as demanding about her in recent weeks, and the only way I can see her holding back is either she's found what she was looking for, or somebody has talked her down. It is you I have to thank for that in the end, right?" I nod, grinning sheepishly.

"Sorry, but she started the conversation by throwing me off of the sofa and that kinda made it by business. Though, if I've overstepped -"

"No, no, you have nothing to apologise for. I won't pry about whatever it was that you said to her, but whatever you did say has put very much at ease, and that's alright with me. I... well, when she's a bit older I'll sit her down and we'll talk about things." Or if she loses her arm and falls into a depressive state, you mean. "You just keep focusing on achieving the impossible. But it isn't Raven that we're talking about. No, I'm talking about their real mother - Summer Rose."

I sit up a bit straighter at the mention of Summer. As much as I'm interested in hearing more about the relatively unknown woman from someone who knew her far more than almost anybody alive, that he was willing to talk about her in any form was a good sign in itself. Any mention of her at home from Ruby or Yang had always garnered a reaction from him, and not all were positive. Yang was not wrong about him freezing up when it came to Remnant's missing rose.

Perhaps talking to someone not directly related to her might help him somewhat. Then again what do I know - I'm certainly no therapist. Still if it makes him feel better then I'll happily be all ears - furry or otherwise.

"She was part of your old team as well right? Same as Qrow and Yang's mother?" He nods.

"Yeah. We'd just had Yang when 'Ray up and vanished on me. No note, no warning, no nothing. I just came home one day and the house - save Yang - was empty. I had hope at first that she'd return but it wasn't until Qrow told me that she wasn't coming back that I had to come to terms that my wife - well, ex-wife - had just abandoned her family. I was a mess, Wolfy. Not only had my she just up and vanished, she had left me with the responsibility of raising our daughter.

"Shortly after Yang's mother vanished, Summer came into the picture. Qrow told her what had happened and she didn't even hesitate to just drop everything to come and stay with me to help look after Yang. Thank the Gods she did - I don't know if I would have been able to manage without her. She did everything right; what Raven should have or could have been Summer became almost overnight. It was... well, it didn't take too long for me to realise then and there that I had definitely married the wrong woman. Luckily for me I got the chance to change that by the years end. Here, have a look at this." He reaches into his pocket and, a moment later, pulls out a small photo, handing it towards me.

Taking it from him I’m greeted by three smiling faces looking back at me. Tai and Summer standing side by side, looking far younger - scruffier in Tai's case - and far happier to boot. Then, of course, there's a much younger Yang trying to photobomb their wedding photo. Classy. Whilst I'm certainly no fashion expert myself considering my entire wardrobe can be summed up to "any colour so long as it's black and has enough pocket storage to put a small warehouse out of business", the black and red dress Summer was sporting certainly suited her nicely.

I can easily see where Ruby gets both her looks and her wardrobe choices from. "That was just after we were wed. One of the happiest days of my life, tied only with the birth of my two girls." I could certainly believe him - I don't think I've seen him smile like this since Rubes unlocked her Semblance back in my second year.

Good times. Tai laughs to himself, nodding down at the photo in my hand. "Fun fact: did you know that Ruby was conceived that night?"

And just like that the moment is ruined.

"Cheers Tai. Exactly the info I was wanting to know, that." I reply dryly, handing the photo back over to him. He takes it, grinning cheekily.

"The more you know, hey?" The grin fades somewhat. "Summer brought normalcy back into my life, and gave Yang the mother that she deserved. Then that time next year we added our darling little rose to the family. Everything was perfect. But what's that old saying about all good things? Well, you've come with us before a few times when we have gone to visit her grave, so you know that there's not a happy ending." He swallows hard and it's plainly obvious that whatever he wanted to say next was going to be a bitch to get out.

As curious as I am, It's plain as day that this wasn't exactly an easy subject for Tai to talk about so openly. For a moment I'm tempted to stay quiet, but even I don't need to know everything. 

Ironic, I know.

"Tai, you don't need-"

"No, Wolfy," he interrupts me this time around, "let me finish. You asked what stopped me and I'm almost there. Just... give me a second." I nod as he turns away, his hand fingers tapping against his knee. After a few seconds, he nods and looks back at me. "One day, almost a year and a half after Ruby was born, she went out on a mission that she had been personally requested to take on by Headmaster Ozpin himself. She didn't really give too much information concerning it and simply told me that she would only be gone for a few days. Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and once again vhistory repeated itself."

"I crumbled, kid. I'd barely gotten myself past 'Ray and even with Summer's help I almost lost it. But losing Summer? Seeing Ruby losing her mother and Yang her second? It was as if my whole word had ended and that I was just waiting for it all to go dark. But I didn't. I couldn't - not when I had two little girls depending on me. So I kept going, as best I could, where I could and however I could. Those first few years were the hardest of my entire life, kid, and it's only thanks to those around me that I didn't just shut down. As much as I hate his mannerisms half of the time, there's a reason why Qrow is their uncle both honorarily and biologically. I'd have never managed without them.

"And then one night, around three years after Summer disappeared, there was a knock at my door. Imagine my surprise when I opened it to find Qrow at my door, awkwardly holding the hand of a young Faunus that I had never seen before."

Oh now that certainly feels like a lifetime ago. Time most certainly flies when you’re having fun preparing for a bunch of end-of-the-world scenarios and lying to the family that took you in. 

"This little wolf looked on my doorstep looked like a lost puppy, pun absolutely intended. Now when Qrow had asked if I could after you for a few nights I agreed readily, thinking that, once you had gotten some decent rest and food that I'd take you into town and see what our options were. I didn't want too at first, especially when I saw how quickly the girls took to you. I mean do you remember that first night? How they just would not leave you be, despite the fact that you were almost glaring a hole through their heads every time they tugged on those ears of yours?"

"But of course I do. I also distinctly remember you not telling them to stop."

"And break their hearts? For shame, kid. Besides, if I were to tell you that it was Yang of all people who asked me not to send you away I doubt you'd raise so much of an issue over it now would you."

"...What?"

The fuck? Yang? I'm sorry, what exactly did a seven year old Yang do to convince a grown ass man to shelter some random urchin off of the street? With his two daughters, no less? Does stranger danger not exist in this world?

Actually, what damage could I have done? Other than raiding their fridge, that is. But I do that even now, even if I am paying rent- oh what the fuck am I saying, I don't even do that. I just do manual labour and fleece Tai of his savings to buy Dust rounds. "Yang told you to let me stay? Really?"

"Yeah, seriously. She must have realised that I wasn't going to house you for more than a week and so, one night, after both you and Ruby had gone to bed, she came into my room and all but begged me to let you stay with us. I asked why but she didn't say. Instead, she just told me to be very, very quiet and more or less dragged me by the hand outside and into the hall. She took me to your room and, as quietly as she could, opened the door. Inside, you were fast asleep, but it wasn't just you in the bed, Wolfy. At some point in the night Ruby had managed to sneak her way in without waking you up and had decided that you would make a far better pillow than the one she already had. She'd only known you for around about two days and already was comfortable enough to sleep in the same bed as you."

D'aww. Ruby, yet again you prove to the world why it is that you are an angel in four-foot disguise.

"Clearly I just make for a real good body pillow."

"So I've heard. The next morning when she came downstairs for breakfast whilst you were still out cold, I sat both her and Yang down in the front room and asked them whether or not they'd be happy with you staying with us for a little while longer. Of course, they were both ecstatic - they wanted to play around with your ears a while longer after all."

"Ah, classic."

"Then I decided to tease Ruby about sneaking into your room and sleeping with you. You wanna know what she said? "

"Probably something adorable?""

"She said "Mr Wolfy looked really sad in his sleep, so I did what I remember Mommy doing whenever me or Yang was sad and hugged him until he looked happy again.'"

Oh. Oh Ruby, you are far too precious for this world.

That right there might just be in the running to take first place for the most adorable thing I've ever heard in both of my lifetimes.

And here I am, lying through my teeth all these years to the same people that have put up with me from literal day one like the absolute rat bastard that I am. How's that for gratitude, you selfish prick?

Ah, yeah, I'm definitely going straight to Hell by the end of this wild ride I'm sure.

"Called it." 

"Suffice to say the argument was settled there and then for whether you stayed with us or not. I really didn't think that I would have had it in me to try and explain to Rubes why her furry cuddle buddy had to go." Then his smile turns teasing. "That, and you were so quick to volunteer to help out around the house that I just couldn't turn you down. Labour both cheap and good is very hard to come by nowadays, you know? I'd certainly have been a fool to turn down so many incentives being thrown my way."

"...Do I even have to comment on the whole "Faunus equals cheap labour" joke that I feel brewing, Tai?" He barks out a laugh, shaking his head at my words before rising to his efet.

"I'm sure you'll end up making it even if I said no anyway, kid." He replies as he picks up the chair and heads back to his desk, placing it back down behind it and sitting down once more. I join him a moment later, returning to my original seat in front of him. For a short while we sit in silence, before he chuckles slightly. "Well that was certainly a talk and a half, huh? No wonder you're not a fan of them. I guess this is why therapists charge so much - they get to listen to all of our sob stories and make a giant mountain of Lien for their troubles."

That kids is why bars are so popular. After all, why pay five figure sums to vent to some middle aged woman who is as likely to help you as she is to post about you on Reddit an hour later when you could just as easily get shitfaced for a twentieth of the price?

At least that depends on where you frequent. Furthermore, I am not advocating alcoholism, I am just making an experienced observation from past experiences. 

Just as I'm observing the fact that I too, could do with something heavy right now.

"Tell you what old man - open the third drawer on your desk and you'll find a far cheaper alternative to a therapist." I get a strange look in response but he does as he's told. I watch his eyes narrow in annoyance as he reaches down and, a moment later, brings his hand back up. I can only smile in happiness at the joyful sight.

Hello to you too, you absolute beauty.

"And you knew this was here how, exactly?" Tai asks, holding up a rather hefty bottle of strong liquor. I lean back in my chair, hands folded behind my head and sporting a shit eating grin.

"Trade secret." He rolls his eyes, placing the bottle down onto the desk with a heavy thud.

"Like I don't recognise one of his damnable stashes when I see them, Wolfy. You do know I don't drink, right?"

That's most certainly a lie. No way could anybody get through both Beacon and two marriages without some form of alcoholic assurances. "At least not with my so-students. I might as well hold up a neon sign saying "FIRE ME" and get it over with." 

"Well not to worry then, as I can pick up the slack for you." Reaching out for the bottle I'm promptly met with my fingers being swatted away by the frowning blond.

"You're not even old enough to drink, Harrow." 

Oh if only you knew, you responsible, loveable dipshit you.

"Come on old man, I hit the legal age in two months time anyway. Drink enough of it with me and you won't even tell the difference." He stares hard at me for a moment, then back to the bottle, before shaking his head. I can only sigh in despair as his free hand once more opens the drawer so as to return the bottle, only to perk up once more as his other hand comes back up with a pair of shot glasses. "What are the odds he left that for you personally, anyway?"

"Knowing Qrow? I'd say fifty-fifty. Chances are if I didn't find it by the end of term he would have taken it back for himself anyway." Opening the bottle, he pours enough to fill both glasses and pushes one over towards me. I take it with a grateful nod, raising it in thanks. "Oh, and if anybody asks? This never happened, understand?" I mime a zipper going across my lips. "Gods, Summer would kill me if she knew I was actively encouraging underage drinking."

"From what little I know of her, I don't doubt it." He grins, raising his glass into the air.

"How about a toast then, Wolf?"

"To underage drinking?"

"Definitely not. How about... to family?"

Yeah that'll do nicely.

"Alright - to family then. And to beating the everlasting shit out of the Grimm."

"...I'll drink to that."

Atta boy, Tai.

Two hours later finds both Tai and I still in his office, enjoying both pleasant company and pleasant alcohol. At least I was enjoying the latter half of that more than Tai was by the looks of things. You see, Aura can do many things, but what it can't do is turn you into some sort of drinking heavyweight. Fortunately for me, I had experience when it came to consuming my fair share of intoxicants.

Unfortunately for Tai, it turns out he must have skipped those particular training sessions during his time at Beacon judging by how fast he's gotten drunk. 

"~And so there we were, wandering the corridors like a bunch of stupid, horny teenagers, trying to find our way back to the girls dorm. But of course we was lost and drunk and absolutely out of our heads so no way could we ever find our way. Buh' then Qrow stops jus' outside one o' the doors, right?~"

"Uh huh."

"~So he turns to us and he says, 'gentleman, I have lead you to the Promised Land, and now we but have to knock on the door'. He knocks on th'door, an' we's all there jus' waitin' for the girls to open up, tryna' act like we weren't absolutely hammered to Vacuo an' back~."

"And so what awaited you inside the Promised Land, conquering hero? The fair maidens of France? Riches beyond your wildest dreams?"

A glance at the bottle next to him reveals that we had only just gotten two thirds into the entire bottle. I roll my eyes and smirk at the man as I wait for the conclusion to this epic fable he was regaling me with.

£5 says it is not, in fact, the girls dormitory.

" ~Pfft, he had only gone and knocked on Mrs Goodwitch's office!~" His hand slams against the table as he guffaws loudly enough that I do worry whether or not someone will come in and investigate the noise. Thankfully however, there is no such investigation, and I'm happy to continue listening to a jolly old inebriated Taiyang. "~She rips open the door and, oh, oh Wolfy you shoulda' seen the look on her face. If looks could kill?~" He descends into another fit of giggles.

"How long did it take until she let you all leave the infirmary?"

"~Aah, Mrs G' isn't that bad. When you and the girls get to Beacon, you'll love her. All you need to do is never, ev-ev-ever say what Qrow said and you'll be a-okay~."

"And what's that?" I ask, taking a hefty sip from my glass. He sits up straight and, mimicking Qrow's signature cocksure grin, smirks.

"~'Hey sweetcheeks, you lookin' for a real man to unbutton that tight blouse of yours?~"

I almost choke on my drink at both the words and the impression. Tai, seeing this, can only descend into another bout of laughter. Once I've finally managed to clear my airways, I stare at Tai in amazement.

"And he's still breathing because why?"

"~Trust me kiddo, once he was finished scrubbing the entirety of Beacon's flooring, he was wishin' he wasn't~." 

The poor bastard. Still, I suppose there are worse fates. I'm surprised she didn't just bring him to the top of Ozpin's office with his Semblance just to throw the poor fucker from the top window. Lord knows he deserves it, especially after this whole essay fiasco.

Oh, speaking of which...

"Hey Tai, you still cognitive enough to read English?"

"~Englischish wha'?~"

"Doesn't matter. Look," I reach into my blazer pocket and withdraw the essay that had been this months constant source of pain and misery, "I just need you to have a read of this at some point after your eventual hangover fucks off." Placing it down in front of him, I turn it over so that he could see what it was I was presenting him with. Even with it being a literal foot away from him he still leans in close and squints.

"~Whassit?~"

"Ah, just Qrow's stupid essay that he's had me and Yang write." His eyes widen in recognition, before he suddenly erupts into yet another fit of giggles. I roll my eyes, waiting for him to collect himself yet again.

I can't lie - drunk Tai is hilarious and if I'm lucky enough to get the chance in the future I would love to get him drunk again. However, school ended like an hour ago, and I would like to get some training in at Mr Silva's shooting range before night falls. "But yeah, when you get the chance just, like, say it's a pass and we can call it day."

"~Pfft, I can't believe you actually did it, Wolfy! I won the bet!"

Huh?

"Bet? What bet?" I reply, leaning forwards in interest. The man responds by clumsily poking at the sheet of paper in front of him, almost knocking his glass over in the process. Cautious of him ruining an entire months work of suffering I carefully reach over and move his glass away.

"~Your essay, of course! Was never actually needed to be done, it was just a stupid wager that Qrow and I had~."

No.

No, no, no.

"A... wager?"

"~Yesshir!"

Surely not. 

Tell me you're wrong right now.

Please God tell me he's chatting shit.

"...Explain."

"~Ah well, you see, I bet Qrow a hefty amount of Lien that he could convince you and our fire dragon that you had to write a really big essay to pass when, actually, you didn't need too~."

No. No!

You can't do this to me, you motherfucker!

The sheer intensity of the glare I was sending Tai's way goes completely unnoticed by the drunker man as he proceeds to smile even wider at his 'victory'.

"~All you had to do was sit with me and tell me why you wanna be a Huntsman so badly! But I bet the other way and said that you both would. He didn't believe me though, but now I'm the winner! Wooo!~" Tai declares, throwing his arms into the air, shouting in unbridled triumph. He then promptly falls forward onto his desk and is almost immediately out like a light. 

But of course it isn't Tai that I'm concerned about right now. Oh no, I have far, far bigger things to deal with right about now. 

Such as the fact that I'm going to fucking strangle that birdbrained fucker to death. However, not even I'm cruel enough to enjoy such simple pleasures alone, mind you.

I pull out my scroll, immediately pulling up a certain number to let her know the good news, before rising from my chair and, giving Tai one last look over to make sure he's all good, turn to leave the office.

The door shuts behind me when my scroll pings in my hand. Giving the message a quick read I nod, before pocketing it once more and moving with vindictive purpose down the hall and towards a certain training hall, smiling viciously.

Qrow's days are fucking numbered.

And they are ticking down with each step I take towards his feathery arse.

Chapter Text

Omake #2

No sooner had the last of the students taken their seats in the training hall than the doors on the opposite side of the room slammed open. Striding through with scythe already in hand came the classes combat instructor and, in Ruby's mind, the best uncle in the whole wide world. Of course there was not much in the way of competition for this role but that was besides the point.

Once he had strode up to his desk the older man slumped into his chair and threw his legs up onto his desk, seemingly uncaring of the papers he had strewn about over the flat surface. Granted it wasn't as if he read half of them but appearances certainly mattered. 

A wage was a wage and Qrow was more than happy to be paid to beat up children whilst he waited for Tai's kids to fly the nest.

Everyone should have a hobby after all.

"Alright kids, listen up. The name is Qrow. Or Professor Branwen. I don't really care, so long as you pay attention. In their infinite wisdom the school - despite all evidence to the contrary - believes that I'm still the perfect individual for teaching all of you rowdy bunch of teenagers on how to actually fight, and so therefore that is what I will be trying to do. At least that's my plan, but looking at this sorry bunch in front of me I'm not too sure if I'll manage to even knock sense into even a third of you. Still, I've hit harder skulls together so here's hoping, hey?"

He's met with a silent and slightly uncomfortable looking audience. 

"Erm, Professor?" He glances over at one of the kids sitting in the front row. "You've been teaching us for almost the whole of the year."

"...I have?"

"Yes sir." It wasn't just the student who replied but a good third of the class itself. He stares at his students for a few seconds, squinting at the adolescent faces and trying to place names to faces. Though he certainly recognised the familiar crimson highlights of his niece sitting in the corner trying not to giggle at his antics, ultimately he gave up in the attempt. 

Whether or not this was because he was far too hungover from the night before or if he genuinely had not memorised the names of his own students was up in the air. 

"Huh. Well okay then - means I don't need to go over too much of the basics. Certainly makes my life easier." Qrow says after a small while, casually leaning back into his chair once again. "Now in that case, who can tell me what, exactly, is the most important element to have in a fight, whether against Grimm or your fellow man?" A gaggle of hands are raised. "Eh, you there, ginger girl in the second row."

"Aura?"

A fair answer, but no. Aura is all well and good, but a well placed shot against an unaware Huntsman could certainly do enough damage to severely weaken - if not outright shatter - an Aura to the point that it all but nullifies its advantages.

"A good try. Still, it ain't that." He points further back at another student. "How about you kid?"

"Having the support of your team?"

Again another good answer, albeit one that he was biased against. Experience had taught him quite well that relying on others was certainly a no go at times - especially with his rather unlucky track record. 

"You're doing good boys and girls, but that is still not the answer I'm looking for. Come on, use those brains of yours." Movement out of the corner of his eye brings his attention to the corner of the class, and he smirks slightly. "Fire away, kiddo."

"A weapon capable of firing 125mm anti-Grimm shells at terminal velocity?" 

Ah, now that's an answer he can both respect and agree with. Once again his niece never fails to surprise him with her wisdom, though if he thought about it he was also sure that such a weapon was something she had been asking for for her birthday a few years back.

At least he could remember some the finer things in life. The need to replace the stash he lost to Wolfy two years prior for example was still on his todo list now that he thought about it. "Was I right, Uncl- Professor?" He smiles at Ruby, and the joyful look on her face is certainly one that he would never think of wiping away.

"Nope." She sighs dejectedly in response.

"Awh."

"Better luck next time, Rubes. Now as valid as your answers are, they aren't what I'm looking for. But I will say that Ruby's answer was, though wrong, certainly on the right track. Because as overkill as it might be to hit your opponent with a literal artillery shell at point blank range it is this sort of approach that will keep you alive. Grimm don't care about playing fair - they just see you as food and won't give a damn about any stupid rules of engagement. The same applies if you should ever find yourself against a more two-legged opponent. Take it from me boys and girls when I tell you that honour means nothing to the guy trying to take your head off."

Once again the training hall lapses into an uncomfortable silence, though it isn't really noticed by Qrow who simply assumes his enraptured audience to be listening to his every word.

Kicking his legs off of the desk and getting to his feet, he walks around the desk, coming to a stop near a window. "Yeah, shocking. Who would have thought that being a Huntsman means fighting for your life every other day, and that surviving means rolling around in the dirt with the rest of us animals? So that element I mentioned? Well in any and every fight that you should find yourself in, it's beyond important that, every time, you go into it with the element of-"

Both his head and those of the entirety of the class turn suddenly to the entrance from which the students had entered as the doors are promptly kicked inwards. Striding into the room with a furious look on his face the Faunus newcomer raises his arm, grinning viciously and taking aim at the rapidly paling professor.

"Surprise, you horrid prick!" Shouted the Faunus.

"Oh fuck me." Murmured Qrow Branwen.

"Language!" Chimed in Ruby Rose.

The class could only watch in muted surprise as their professor is promptly sent flying back and through the window by the force of the impact.

Yet again silence falls over the classroom as the newcomer leisurely strolls towards the now shattered glass, whistling a merry tune and twirling his weapon as he went. Coming to a stop at the remnants of what had once been a pristine window the Faunus looked down towards wherever it was that their professor had landed. After a moment he nodded in satisfaction, taking a step back.

"Never let it be said that I'm not a man of my word." It was only when he then turned away from the window that he seemed to realise it wasn't just him in the room, though it didn't seem to faze him. If anything, the grin on his face only seemed to widen. "Enjoy your new free period, ladies and gents. Your professor won't be be coming back today. Or tomorrow. Or next week for that matter, if blondie has her way. Now then - anyone know where I can find a certain merry midget by the name of Ruby Rose?"

"Hey!" Something blurs across the classroom at speed, before coming to a sudden stop right in front of the smirking wolf-eared Faunus. "I'm not a midget, you fuzzy class-wrecker." He lets out a shocked gasp as both of his hands press against his face.

"And I'm not a Faunus! Vale's version of the Ku Klux Klan will rejoice to hear it." He reaches down and ruffles the smaller girls hair, grinning at her disgruntled mumblings. "Now, seeing as how you're more or less free for the rest of the afternoon - you're all welcome for that by the way - how about we give that weapon of yours the testing you've been bugging me for- Jesus Christ you're getting stronger." 

"Comeoncomeoncomeoncomeon!"

The class can only watch in their collective state of shock and confusion as the much smaller girl effectively drags the Faunus out of the classroom with strength unbecoming of her size, the doors slamming behind closed behind them. For a few seconds the remainder of the students in the training hall sat in their seats in shocked silence, contemplating everything that had just happened within the last minute and a half.

Time, like their unlucky professor, can certainly fly out of the room when you least expect it.

Finally one particularly brave student decides to voice what everybody else had been thinking at that particular moment in time.

"Did we just witness a murder?" Nobody can give a confident enough answer and, getting to her feet, this particular student decides that she had better investigate whether their professor had, in fact, lived or died. Peaking over the remnants of the glass panes, she sighs in relief at seeing their groaning yet still breathing professor struggling to push himself up off of the grass.

"No, he's alive." She's promptly joined by some of her peers, who can only wince at the state of their professor down below. Movement at the other end of the courtyard gets the attention of one of the observing students, who nods in their direction.

"Whose that blonde girl?" They ask.

"I don't know. Must be on her way to help." Someone replies.

"What a kind soul." A third responds, completely ignorant of Qrow's soon-to-be executioner.

"So does anyone know what the fuck a 'Ku Klux Klan' is meant to be?" The doors to the training hall slam open once again.

"Language!" 

"Ruby!" the Faunus from earlier shouts from just outside the room. "Stop shouting at the urchins and lets get a move on before someone decides to take offense to me trying to assassinate your uncle, please and thank you."

"Coming!" Silence descends over the classroom once again as the two disappear beyond the doors.

"...I should have stayed in Vacuo." 

Collective murmurs of agreement and similar such statements follow shortly.

Perhaps it had been a hasty decision to mess with Wolfy by setting him that fake graduation test to complete. 

Of course it's easy to say such a thing in hindsight, but when Tai had made that wager? Well, Qrow was certainly willing to match it. Now he was regretting even imagining the prank to begin with. Especially when he was likely going to have the cost of the window taken out of this months paycheck.

Figures. Thankfully the kid - despite having just bloody shot him - hadn't done too much damage. If anything Qrow had just been winded by the shock and the sudden impact of both the rubber bullet and the hard landing. At least he hadn't used one of those Dust rounds he was stocking up on with what remained of Tai's bank account.

Silver lining and whatnot. 

Hey, at least some of his luck was holding up, right? 

A branch snaps just behind his prone form.

"~Hello~."

Luck. Heh. What the fuck was that again?

Rolling onto his back he found himself staring up at the face of his other niece. But unlike Ruby, Yang certainly did not seem happy to see him. In fact, she seemed rather unhappy.

Well, unhappy may not be the right word in this situation he decided. Perhaps "incensed" would be a more apt way putting things - albeit mildly at that.

"If I were to tell you that it was all your dad's idea-"

"-then I wouldn't believe you for a second. Wolfy's already told me he was the one who bet against us doing it. You, on the other hand?" There's the rather noticeable sound of knuckles being cracked. "Did you know that gambling is bad for your health, uncle."

"Look at where I've ended up, firecracker. You think I don't know that now?" Qrow responds, chuckling to himself despite his current predicament. He stops when a hand comes to rest on his shoulder, Yang's fingers gripping his collar tightly.

"It's funny that you mention that. Know what else is bad for your health, Uncle Qrow?"

"Every woman I've ever met?" She grins, her eyes flashing red for a split second.

"Yup. And especially this one."

Shit.

His final thoughts as Yang proceeded to drag him by the back of the neck back towards the training hall were that Tai owed him a lot of money.

And booze. Lots and lots of booze.

And a new window as well.

And maybe a replacement spine whilst he was it. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 12

From what I was told afterwards Qrow would have likely preferred that I had shot him a second time to save him the torture at Yang's hands. Alas, mercy in this instance was certainly not on the table and I was most definitely not one to get in the way of karmic justice, especially when it was oh so deserved.

Still, I suppose I must admit that the entirety of the situation was rather humorous in hindsight, now that I think back to it. Were I in his constantly inebriated shoes I could most certainly see myself doing something similar to my poor hapless students, were I so cruelly inclined. 

Oh who am I kidding? Lets face it - I probably would have done exactly that if for no other reasons than for shits and giggles. 

And to prove that I'm not a hypocrite I would gladly welcome any of my potential students to try and shoot me in the face as I had Qrow. Of course, the first one is free. Anything after that is fair game, kids, and I sure as shit don’t plan on being blasted out of any windows in the future, thank you kindly.

Furthermore Qrow didn't exactly need long to recover from the myriad of bruises that both I and Yang had left him with. The joys of both an experienced Aura and half a lifetime of combat sure does wonders for the body to recuperate. Perhaps next time I'll twat him with a Fire Dust round and see how long he takes to get up off of the floor? 

On second thoughts, no. That, quite simply, is a horrible idea. Not only does his system have enough alcohol in it to put Amy Winehouse to shame and would likely see him spontaneously combust due to the heat mixing with the substances in his bloodstream, but more importantly it's economically unsustainable. Why waste Dust rounds when rubber bullets do the trick just fine?

And so after four years of training, preparation and all around general fuckery yet another chapter of my increasingly strange and erratic life closed as my time at Signal came to an end. So what comes next for Mr Harrow Grey, the world wonders? Well for starters that should be quite obvious - the next stop on this crazy carousel of mine is Beacon.

At least it will be once all of the necessary forms were signed off. Name? Date of Birth? Reasons for applying? References? Past schooling? Acknowledgement that the school is not liable for any injuries, crippling or otherwise, sustained during your time at Beacon? 

You know, the usual.

Once that was done I'd then have the more exciting job of partaking in their entrance exam. Unlike Signal who had used real Grimm during the second year, the entrance exam for Beacon would instead use holographic simulations with which prospective students would showcase what they had learnt during the last four years.

You might think it strange that a primary academy would use real Grimm whereas the secondary academy would not, but, then again, think on what Beacon's initiation ceremony entails and then get back to me on where you'd get it worse.

Let's be real - the initiation is going to be a lot harder to deal with compared to the W.E.S.T's.

But it wasn't all just paperwork and the likes that I would be dealing with leading up to Beacon.

A few weeks before Yang and I were due to turn up to Beacon - and Ruby in toe, though only I of course knew that - the blonde had excitedly cornered me one day with some rather exciting news: she had found a potential lead in regards to information on Raven. According to a friend of hers, there was a local nightclub halfway across the city of Vale whose owner might just be able to provide Yang with some possible leads in her search for her mother.

Of course I was more than happy to tag along for the ride. What kind of brother would I be if I didn't help out my darling big sister rampage through and utterly devastate local businesses in pursuit of her missing mother? A poor one, I think.

Then again, I'm not sure I can qualify as a great one either considering it wasn't just my good nature and sibling affection that was seeing me so readily willing to follow behind Yang into Vale. We both wanted information from Junior, but where Yang’s concerns lay with the whereabouts of her mother, mine lay with someone a little closer to home.

Whilst he had fuck all to give regarding Raven and her boisterous bunch of brigands, he most definitely knew where and how to get to the Remnant’s pimp-cane twirling version of Robin Hood, albeit far more of a prick than the original.

Buckle up boys and girls - time to talk a little bit about the first stage of my grand plan.

So, as we all know Roman is quite the player for the early volumes. Not only does he get the joyful pleasure of being the first on-screen antagonist and being the direct cause of Ruby jumping the proverbial queue into Beacon, but he’s also an essential support for Cinder’s operations in terms of gathering and stockpiling the dust she needs to bust a big enough hole into Vale for the cunts outside the walls to start running wild in the streets.

Roman is, therefore, quite important to the story and how it unfurls. Important enough that I need him alive and not in the stomach of some random fucking griffon by the end of the Vytal Festival.

What I'm hoping to get then from Junior is a way of contacting Roman in secret. Or, at the very least, a meeting in a very private backroom in an even more private setting where nobody who is anybody will recognise me. 

The last thing I needed was to be caught shaking hands with Vale's most infamous criminal and having my mugshot plastered on the evening news. 

But why Roman? Why is he so important? How does he fit into my future plans?

Look at you being so curious today, eh? I’m so very proud of the progress we’ve made together, so here’s twenty points to whatever-shitty-magic-club you belong to my friend. 

Now I’m not going to go into detail just yet as to what I’ll be needing him for exactly - I’m not quite clear on the details myself as of yet as they’re still in the making - but I will for now say that, out of all the villains in the show, he’s likely to be the one I can trust the most to live up to my expectations if things go correctly on my end.

Actually, no, probably not. If anything that would be Tyrian Callows of all people. He’s just a fucking psychopath whose so utterly enamored by Salem and her noble goal of curbstomping all life on the planet.

Compared to everybody else his goals and motivations are easy enough to pin down: stab everyone and ruin children’s birthday parties for shits and giggles all in the name of his ’Goddess’.

Roman just wanted to promote his non-discriminatory lifestyle of robbing both the rich and the poor for his own pleasure.

I’m accepting calls for those who wish to talk about who has the cuntiest lifestyle then.

So whilst I most certainly wouldn’t trust him to babysit my kids without emptying everything in my house of value up to and including the crib - baby inside or not - I can probably trust in Roman enough to say that, given the chance, he’d probably choose to shoot Cinder before shooting me. At the end of the day he’s only working with her due to being rightly fearful of what she’d do to him if he didn’t. Fear is many things, but it doesn’t inspire continued loyalty and I’m positive that at the first feasible chance he got to get out from under her he would have taken in a heartbeat.

Unfortunately for him his best chance came around the same time it all went to shit, and that heartbeat ended up being his last thanks to Ruby distracting him from Garry the Griffon.

At his core he’s a survivor however, and even he would have to openly defy her and risk the consequences if he knew what her endgame was. If the loss of his stomping grounds and livelihood wasn’t enough then I’m positive that he would be forced into action by the greatest of motivators - self-preservation. I’m willing to bet that if he knew what she was planning he’d have risked either slipping a message to Ozpin or simply grabbing Neo, a briefcase full of Lien and hopping into the first Bullhead he could find and fucking off over the horizon at his earliest convenience.

Nobody could blame him for running. I certainly would in his position. In my mind Roman would have met one of two fates if he ended up surviving and still sticking with Cinder by the end of the third Volume’s clusterfuck.

The likeliest of the two is that Cinder, shortly after her plans come to fruition, simply kills him off due to his usefulness coming to an end. He’s a loose end at this point, and we all know she’s not exactly one to leave them unaccounted for. I’d like to believe he’s smart enough to know this, but I doubt by this point it would help him - Cinder would be a full Maiden, and Roman would stand about as much chance against her as paper would to an open furnace.

The second outcome is that she simply lets him go on his merry way to hide under the first rock he could find. Realistically however he’s as fucked here as he would be if she simply killed him off in my personal opinion. Considering he had just helped in the attempt to effectively wipe the capital of Vale from the map would not do wonders for his reputation internationally, and he’d likely become one of the most - if not the most - wanted man in Remnant. 

And it’s hard for a criminal to go unnoticed and unchecked when your face is plastered across every street corner in the known world. Any contacts he might have had in the criminal underworld were just as likely to turn him in as they were to flat-out refuse him service. 

Damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t. Not really looking good for him under Cinder’s employ. Hopefully he’s smart enough to bloody well know this regardless of her threats.

Feel free to notice as well that I'm focusing on Roman entirely here and not at all on Adam, who plays as vital a role as Roman in Cinder's plans. Roman might be providing the ammo, but Adam's providing the men firing it. The two of them are as equally important in kicking off Cinderella's fancy ball, but I'll get around to dealing with the worlds shittiest boyfriend another time.

As it is then if I can convince ginger John Dillinger that he has a marginally better chance overall at living by fucking her off and helping me out then surely he’ll take it. Otherwise, I suppose I’ll just have to get creative with how I take him off of the board. Killing him is certainly an option but, unless he has a literal gun to my head, it isn't one I particularly fancy.

Imprisonment then? Well that was preferable to murder in my mind, but, again, not one that I saw working out. Considering how easily he got out of Ironwood's airborne jail and almost passed 'Go' for his £200 thanks to Neo before his death, I don't see many cells holding him for long. 

And I absolutely cannot disregard the merriest of maniacal midgets herself who has just been referenced. She's been radio silent ever since she skipped away with my number, but I doubt that Neo has forgotten about little old me. Getting involved with Roman in any regard means getting involved once again with her which, considering our prior interactions, brings in an entirely whole new set of risks right out of the gate.

Still it needs doing regardless. 

All things considered it’s a dangerous game I’m playing here; getting involved in Vale’s shady underworld the last time almost had me skewered my last time around. However, I was not exactly planning on going headfirst into all of this totally blind, nor was I going in without some form of leverage to keep me from being buried alive by the undesirables of society.

Let us not forget after all about that warehouse deal some time ago. You know, the one where I prevented an absolute bloodbath and almost had my throat slit by everyone's favourite midget for my efforts? Fun times. Anyway, I saved a lot of lives that day and, more importantly to them, a lot of money. Money saved which, hopefully, will have earnt me quite a few favours should it become common knowledge - favours which I sure as shit plan on cashing in soon enough.

But that’s for Roman to talk to about.

Junior on the other hand? Well, he caved easily enough to Yang. He should hopefully cave even faster if faced by Yang and myself. If all else fails, I suppose I could just try and take the blonde's tried and tested approach to the situation, albeit with my own fancy twist

In all but five minutes Yang had trashed the place and decimated half of the security in her trailer. 

In all but five seconds I could put a Fire Dust round behind the bar and into their alcohol stores and have half the street in flames and be back home before the flames are even put out.

You do the math and tell me who has the more effective way of getting what they want.

Today at 22:51

H_Grey323: "Just got here. How long do you think you'll be?"

Goldilocks: "Probs about another 15-20 mins? Traffic not great atm. How is it looking inside H? "

H_Grey323: "Sounds busy enough from out here. I'll go inside now and see if I can't find your man before you get here. Really tall and bearded you said he was?"

Goldilocks : "Yeah, looks like u but he's twice as tall, no cute furry ears and if u actually decided to grow out that stubble instead of shaving it every week."

H_Grey323 : "Reckon I should grow it out?"

Golidlocks: "Like ur not hairy enough as it is. Tho it might suit you actually?? Try it and we can see how many ladies at Beacon start swooning compared to those at Sig."

H_Grey323: "Tempting. Also, stop texting and driving, idiot."

Golidlocks: "Oh nooo, now i have to take out the family of four just to spite you. Its on ur head, Wolfy xx."

H_Grey323: "Shame. Guess I'll just have to drink to their memory and yours. More shots for me."

Goldilocks: "I'm gonna tell dad ur underage drinking >:D."

H_Grey323: "You're funny. Look for me at the bar when you get here."

Goldilocks: "XX."

Pocketing my scroll I gaze over the front of Junior's nightclub. It doesn't seem that bad of a place, actually, all things considered. Most of my experiences with clubs in general involve rather sleezy and run down looking entrances with overly buffed up bouncers, with the interiors not being too dissimilar. On the other hand I suppose I can't exactly judge these places - I'm more of a casual drinking kinda guy myself, so perhaps I'm being biased.

But Junior's didn't look too bad I must say. At least the front door looked clean, which is a good sign. That, and the bouncers are looking rather dapper which certainly sells the respectable image of a club this size.

Were I not looking stylish as it was in my fancy, ever-present grey blazer with its ungodly amount of inner pockets alongside the heavily tinted shades I was wearing to maintain a least a modicum of anonymity in case things went south, I may just have to ask Junior if I could get my hands on one of the looking suits his men were wearing. Maybe if I ask nicely he’ll throw in more than just Roman's phone number. 

Or I suppose if things go the way I expect I can just swipe one from one of the dozens of goons Yang will might end up throttling across the venue. 

Striding up to the doors I'm looked up and down by the two men standing guard outside the main entrance as I approach.

"Evening gentlemen." I say, nodding respectfully at the two men. First thing to know about bouncers my friends - be confident. One thing they know to look out for is any sign of nervousness. That's how they catch the idiots trying to fake their way in. Smile, greet them, show respect and they won't even have to bother ninety percent of the time with the usual tediousness of patting you down or asking for identification.

And lo and behold it works wonders as expected as the two men nod and wave me inside, leaving me free to just stroll on in with a smile on my face. Hell, they didn’t even make any mention to my ears. Truly we live in strange times when the average storeowner will raise holy hell at a Faunus perusing their wares, yet criminal bouncers won’t even bat an eye nor even ask for any identification to verify my age.

Mayhap I’ll mention how the two deserve a raise when I got to haggling with and/or blackmailing their boss. This way people might just go out of their way to make my life easier in hopes of a reward. Well, keep it up boys, and your reward will be to continue having homes to go back to by the years end.

Am I or am I not generous?

Pushing open a pair of double doors at the end of the corridor I find myself thankful at the fact that I was wearing shades at this exact moment as I’m met by a vast array of flashing lights dazzling the entire venue. Once I was certain I wasn’t about to have an epileptic fit I was then free to look around the club for the first time beyond what I had seen in Volume’s one and two.

Unsurprisingly it looked almost exactly as it had appeared in the few times we saw Yang rocking up to the establishment, dazzling lightshow and all. Above the dance floor spun the aforementioned ever-changing lighting system. Alongside it as well were a number of hologram systems which were currently displaying an array of foliage around the club. Further on, of course, lay the DJ stand and its Deadmau5 inspired Yogi Bear cosplaying DJ. He certainly looked like he was enjoying himself, so you rock on you bootleg Freddy Fazbear.

Of course it wasn’t the layout and the décor that I was here for, so for the time being I was happy to make my way down the stairs whilst the beginning notes of "I Burn" began to blare through the surrounding speakers. It’s as I circle around the dance floor to avoid the flailing mess of bodies down below that I spot a familiar group of individuals at the bar.

First I noticed two familiar ladies leisurely sitting at the bar, sipping on whatever concoction they had ordered. If I had my facts right and I was quite certain I did, these two were Militia and Melanie Malachite. I didn't really have to much to say about the lovely ladies, beyond that they probably weren't as threatening as they might have one believe. If Yang could put them on their arses easily enough after throttling half of the staff then I'd probably just about manage fine myself.

Then, of course, I saw Junior himself just to the side of them, conversing with another individual. He was as finely dressed as his men, albeit without the trademark shades and permanent frown that the rest of his associates seemed to be perpetually sporting. I wonder what he's paying them for them to be looking so miserable all the time? I mean it wouldn't kill the bastards to smile a bit more.

Or will it, considering they're supposed to be intimidating? Well, compared to the average citizen I suppose they might be threatening. To people like me, who have Aura, they're about as threatening as a stuffed puppy.

But none of the three aforementioned individuals were as important as the fourth noticeable person I spied from up high. With his ginger locks poking out from beneath his bowler hat it wasn’t hard to miss Roman Torchwick as he conversed rather animatedly with Junior. I had anticipated Roman at least making a small appearance whilst I was here - he had a rather small cameo in the trailer before he disappeared off-screen - but seeing him in the flesh when this entire journey revolved around him in the first place was still a small surprise.

Of course that didn’t mean that I was going to try and strike up conversation with the man here and now. It wouldn’t be too smart of an idea, especially not when I had him, Junior, the twins and all of their friends strapped up and wandering the premises against little old me.

That, and within the next ten minutes or so I’d also have Yang knocking on the doors and I didn’t need to be seen with Roman by her. The less attention I had coming in and out of here the better.

Of course this didn’t mean that I wasn’t going to at least try and see what he was up to.

Pushing my way through fellow clubbers I manage to reach the bar, plopping myself down on one of the empty seats near the group. A moment later and I'm joined by the resident bartender on the over side of the counter.

"What will it be, sir?” The bartender asks, speaking with a very heavy and prudently upper-class sounding cockney accent.

Were I not wearing tinted shades he might have been rather creeped out by how heavy I was staring at the man. In my defense I was just trying to clarify whether or not I was being served drinks one Michael Caine.

"So long as it isn’t lethal to Faunus or likely to put me on my arse within five minutes, surprise me." He nods, turning around and getting to work. It doesn’t take too long before he turns back to me, glass in hand. Taking it from the man and handing him the required amount of Lien, I raise it in thanks to the man and drink. My eyes widen in both surprise and sheer delight at what he had just handed to me. "Shit, you lot have Scotch in this place?"

"Scotch, sir?" Oh yeah, they have no idea what that is do they. Barbarians. "I’m not quite sure what that is, but what you’re drinking is my own personal recipe. Consisting of malted barley, water and yeast, all imported from outlying villages, it is my hope that amongst our patrons it will become quite a popular addition. However, I haven’t exactly a name for it as of yet."

Come on Alfred, please stop describing the ingredients of Scotch to me like it were some groundbreaking discovery.

Well technically it is but that’s besides the point. 

"Don’t ask me why, but I reckon you should just call it Scotch." I respond, smirking behind the glass and being met by a curious look from the bartender.

"I see. I’ve never heard of the word - is it Faunus?"

"Sort of, yeah. It’s hard to translate because I myself can barely speak any of the old tongue, but take my word that it’s a positive word and keep pouring." He stares at me for a moment before nodding, a small smile on his face.

"Perhaps I shall. Might I assume them that it is to your liking? I have yet to have the pleasure of serving it to my patrons until now.”

You know, I might just need to cut Yang off at the pass before she goes ballistic in this club. Not only are the drinks superb but the guy serving them is giving me heavy Alfred vibes.

I’d feel rather sad seeing him punched through a brick wall by the blonde.

"Trust me mate - offer this to the next bunch of people you serve and see what they say. You’ll be surprised." The bartender perks up at my words, offering me a small smile in response.

"I’ll think about it, sir. Can I get you anything else?" I shake my head and, with one more nod, he disappears down the lane to another bunch of customers that had taken up seats at the far end of the bar. Now alone with my drink, I’m free to finally turn my attentions to far more important matters. 

Being a Faunus of course has perks and despite the best efforts of the mind-numbingly loud speakers I could still just about make out what Roman and Junior were talking about, even despite them trying to speak at room volume. Shifting slightly in my seat, my ears begin to pick up parts of their conversation.

"-just need a few of your men Junior old friend. My employer needs Dust - far more than I can collect by my lonesome - and with the help of your boys? Why, I’ll have the job done by the end of the month, two at most." That was Roman. Looks like he’s trying to hire Junior’s goons for the Dust store raids that he’s been embarking on for Cinder.

"The last time I gave you my men, half of them were either in a hospital bed or in a cell. I’m already facing issues in my own territory because the other gangs believe my grip to be loosening and now you want me to spread myself even thinner, just so you can pick off a few stores? What happened to your own men?" And that’s Junior responding. From the sounds of things he’s still the - do not pardon the pun - junior partner in their relationship, despite him being the one asked for help. 

"Oh, them? Well, they got burned. Quite literally I might add." Roman remarks, chuckling sardonically to himself. It might go over Junior’s head, but it sure wasn’t going over mine.

Cinder’s been busy getting her claws into him I see. Shit, this might be one of the reasons he had to stick by her for so long. If Cinder had taken out Roman’s own goons, then no wonder he was having to rely on Junior’s men and, later on, on the White Fang for conducting his illicit Dust operations. 

"What do you-"

"Tell ya’ what," Roman interrupts, "I’ll even sweeten the deal a bit more. You give me some of your men for a few jobs here and there, and whatever I get paid by the end of this I’ll cut you in quite the fair share. I’ll even see about weakening that group at the docks that has been giving you so much trouble recently. What do you say, ’J?" Even I don’t need enhanced hearing to hear Junior’s deep sigh from further up the bar.

"Fine, Roman. You have a deal. But I swear, if you end up wasting my time and getting my men locked up again, I-" 

"Well hello handsome." A voice suddenly says to my right. A quick glance to my side finds a smirking, red dressed girl standing besides me.

Bollocks.

"Excuse me Militia, I believe I saw him first." Comes another voice, this time to my immediate left. As I expected there stands the mirror image of the first girl, albeit this one was wearing all white in place of her twin’s red.

Double bollocks.

"Only because I pointed him out, Melanie. It’s rare that we get a Faunus in here these days." Militia remarks. Out of the corner of my eye I can see her looking me up and down. She frowns slightly, though the smirk on her face seems to widen. "Especially one carrying a weapon like that. You’re not looking to cause trouble are you, handsome?"

"Not particularly my dear," I reply, keeping my eyes from wandering where they shouldn't, "Just looking for good drinks and a good time."

"And good company, perhaps?" Chimes in Melanie, bringing her chair just an inch closer to my own. Her twin does the exact same on my other side. I take another sip of my Scotch, biting back a frustrated sigh.

How typical that the one time a pair of very pretty girls - twins at that - give me any attention is at the exact same time where I could do with being ignored.

Truly, I live in the worst timeline possible.

"I certainly wouldn’t say no. Does good company come with names, or would you prefer me to colour code you both?" I reply, trying to keep the girls talking so as to not notice my continued attempts at eavesdropping on their boss. Unfortunately I was not having such luck at doing so. Not with both the girls demanding my attention.

"Militia." Comes the reply to my right.

"Melanie." Followed promptly by the girl on my left. “And you, handsome? What should we call you?” The girl adds, resting her head against her hand.  

"I don’t know - I rather like what you’re calling me so far. Why fix what isn’t broken?" I reply, eliciting a giggle from the pair. 

"I like this one."

"We certainly know how to pick them."

Place your bets gentlemen - odds are four-to-one that these two end up taking the Neo approach and try to kill me by the days end.

That is if Neo doesn’t murder them to get the chance herself the loveable little lunatic. Oh there’s a terrifying thought actually - if Roman is here right now does that mean she’s roaming around the club?

Sure fucking hope not.

Waving the bartender back over to me, I promptly get a much needed refill, before the two girls start to make their own orders.

As they do I turn slightly in Juniors direction, noting that him and Roman had now moved further into the club and, with the blaring music and general noise of the crowd, beyond even my hearing. Fucks sake. So much for hearing how that conversation ended. What must a guy who knows everything do to get some more knowledge around here, huh?

Turning back to the bar and taking another drink, I glance at the girls next to me. An idea comes to mind as I look at the twins, and then back to Junior.

Maybe if I play my cards right, I can get them to introduce me to Junior without me having to stroll on over and put half the club on high alert. Might as well play the role of the gentleman for a few minutes then. Reaching into my inner pocket I withdraw enough Lien for all three of our drinks.

"For their drinks and mine." I say, offering it to the bartender. Surprisingly he takes only a small amount before pushing the rest back to me as the girls watch on in amusement.

"As much as your kind gesture is likely appreciated by your lovely companions, they, unlike yourself, are not beholden to paying for their drinks due to their positions as heads of security. Enjoy your drinks, ladies and gentleman." With that he once more leaves to tend to other patrons, leaving me alone again with the grinning Malachite twins.

"Thanks Alfie."

"Love you ‘Alf."

Astounding - he actually is called Alfred. What a shocker that is. Don’t suppose there’s also a Batcave hidden beneath this particular club as well?

Well, one that isn’t owned by Ozpin and his geriatric Justice League. 

"That's new. Usually it would the girl who says no when I offer them a drink - never had the bartender shut me down before. Here’s to being surprised.” I raise my glass, saluting the departing bartender. The girls follow on, raising their glasses with a smile.

"Do you buy drinks for many girls, handsome?" Militia enquires with a smile, lazily twirling her glass in her hand. 

"Or maybe we're just special cases?" Inputs Melanie, whose paying far less attention to her drink and more so on me as her fingers trail lightly up my arm. Were I not here on business I might have been far more appreciative of what was going on around me. It's rare you get the attention of one beautiful girl - let alone twins. That's like the wet dream of the average pre-pubescent whose yet to realise that that never happens beyond some shite fanfiction. 

At least I'm not living through one of those, I suppose.

However I also can't forget that, legally, I'm still a minor - though only by a few weeks - which really makes this entire situation fucking hilarious in my mind. It's like how Neo was hitting on me whilst being unaware that I was only fifteen at the time. Uncomfortable for most, strangely humourous for myself, and a lengthy prison sentence at the end of it all. 

Then again I suppose there wasn't much in the way of humour by the end of that whole shit show considering she then decided that murdering me was an equally enjoyable experience as trying to flirt with me. Women, am I right?

In an ideal world I am, in fact, incorrect. This world, however, is far from fucking ideal. If it were there'd still be a full moon in the sky, the Grimm would cease to exist and I wouldn't be preparing for end-of-the-world scenarios every second day of the week and keeping life-changing secrets from anyone and everyone I know.

In the end I suppose I'm just some sort of magnet for the female population of the criminally insane or inclined.Hell, maybe that's my as-of-yet undiscovered Semblance? It would certainly explain a few things.

Lucky me.

"Consider it my way of saying thank you for not immediately comparing me to a damn Grimm because I have an extra pair of ears. Usually by this point I'd have expected somebody to try and throw me out by now but, as the kind man said, you lovely security ladies have yet to clothesline me out the front door. Basic human decency in this day and age deserves a reward, and a drink on me seems as good a repayment as any." 

That, and I'm hoping to get in your good books my dears so as to facilitate a less suspicious meeting between Junior and I than simply walking up to him, patting him on the back and asking him what his opinion is on ratting out the private details of one of his most prominent and powerful clients. 

"It's a shame, really." Militia says, her gaze resting on my ears. "So what if you can see in the dark a little better, or can hear a few more bird calls in the morning? As far as I see it, the Faunus aren't so different to us Humans at the end of the day, discounting a few little additions." She seems almost tempted to reach up and touch them, but she doesn't do so as her hand returns to the counter of the bar.

Her sister however is not so self-disciplined as a hand behind me reaches up to pinch at my ears.

"What kind of Faunus are you anyway? Certainly not a feline - not with these pretty little things." Melanie asks, lightly pinching at my ears and laughing openly at how I jolt in my chair as she does. Next to me I see her sister rolling her eyes at her twin's childish display, though she certainly makes no move to scold or stop her sister.

"Wolf, actually." I reply, reaching up and swatting her wandering hands away, eliciting a pout from the white-attired girl. "Next time I suppose I'll have to start charging prices for the pleasure of groping me."

Actually that's not a bad idea. The amount of times I've had, like, Ruby or someone else just poking at my ears can probably be classed in the triple digits by now. I could make a fortune from it I reckon, and that would certainly do wonders for allowing me to stock up on Dust rounds in the future.

And all I have to do is sell my body like it were a zoo exhibit? Considering present company I suppose it wouldn't even be the worst thing in the world to do. 'Tis a sacrifice I may have to gladly make.

"Sorry handsome," an arm finds itself linked around my own as Militia takes the chance to press herself against me, "but my sister was never one for patience. Now I can't help but notice you still haven't given us a name to match that pretty face of yours."

"Ah, where are my manners? If she could see me now my mother would kill me. The name is Mr Bigby, though friends tend to just call me Bigby.” Is my answer, ignoring the rush of blood going to places I’d rather it didn’t. "For you both, however, you can just call me anytime." The smirk on Militia's face grows as she hums appreciatively. 

"Hmm, smooth. What do you think Melanie? Does that sound like an offer we can refuse?" 

"I certainly wouldn't." The girl in question replies, grinning suggestively, pulling her chair close enough that both her and her twin were effectively hanging off of me.

And my friends said that I had no game. Look at me now, you boring fucks.

"You must be new around here - a pretty face like yours isn't one that we would forget so soon. What brings you to our little corner of Vale, Bigby? Are you looking for something?" 

"Or someone?" My eyes narrow behind my shades at the particularly accusatory tone Melanie had adopted. I turn, facing the girl and shrugging, glancing behind her at some of the nearby suited staff. Thankfully they don’t seem to be paying us any mind.

For now. 

"Who says I’m looking for someone?" There’s a chuckle on the other side of me and it’s only now do I properly clock on to the fact that Militia was still holding onto my arm. My dominant arm.

The one that, you know, I use for drawing Excalibur in particular situations - such as the one potentially developing right now. Hmm. That is most definitely just a coincidence I'm sure.

Yeah, you fucking wish mate.

"Well you weren't as subtle as you might have thought you were, looking over in the direction of our boss when we were just trying to make idle conversation, sweetie." Militia says, her grip on my arm tightening somewhat. The feel of something sharp pressing against my side is also not particularly welcoming. "Despite popular opinion we aren’t just pretty faces." I turn my head an inch, looking down to my side where the tip of her wrist mounted claw was lightly pointed towards my side.

How absolutely shocking that it was not, in fact, a coincidence. What a shame. So much for trying to play nice and get introduced to Junior the easy way.

"Despite very popular opinion." Her sister chimes in, casually sipping her drink and watching the scene unfold with a delighted smile.

I’m tempted to plead innocence, but considering I’ve already got a weapon pressed against me I don’t see the point in risking the situation further by lying to their faces. Telling half-lies will do the job for now.

Besides, I’m not exactly defenseless. Having learnt my lesson from when Neo had so easily had me at her mercy, I now no longer carried just my weapon. Sewn into the sleeve of my left arm is a small sachet of Dust which when slammed hard enough against a solid surface will send everything within a two metre radius flying.

Just long enough for me to withdraw my weapon, or, in this case, to simply put space between me and the twin threatening teases next to me. Regardless of who it aimed against, it would do the job wonderfully.

I think. I hadn't had much to test it on besides myself when stomping on the sachet. It certainly worked on sending me into nearby walls, so it should do as intended.

With a sigh I down the rest of my drink, savoring the taste. A real shame, but I might not have long to enjoy the simple things in life before shit goes sideways.

"Alright ladies, is this the part where you drag me off into the back and interrogate me, or would you like to let me try my luck at charming my way out of you trying to skewer me against the bar?"

"I don’t know handsome - you might just enjoy what happens in the back room." 

"Especially if you’re cooperative~." 

Down boy, down.

"I’m sure it involves a lot of water boarding and electric clamps attached to places they should never be attached to. However, I think I'll pass on that one darling - I prefer my privates to remain as they are thank you very much."

"Aww," Melanie groans, "now that's just no fun at all. Usually there's a lot more begging and pleading before the main event, but you won't even let us indulge in the foreplay? You really know how to break a girls heart, Mr Bigby."

"Maybe we should punish you for that, hmm?" Militia casually remarks, the point of her weapon brushing threateningly against my side once more.

I wonder if they realise yet that I've got a fully unlocked Aura? Would be pretty amusing for them to try and stab me just for it to bounce off harmlessly. Suppose I might get the chance soon enough.

"Sorry sweetheart, I'm just a heartbreaker through and through." I nod my head backwards towards the girl holding a weapon against me. "But maybe if your gorgeous twin besides me takes that weapon away from my side then I might be able to make it up to you." Hearing this she laughs, leaning off of the counter and facing me directly. 

"A girl has a blade pressed against you and you're still playing the role of the innocent charmer?"

"Only to the pretty ones, sweetheart." She grins, looking over my shoulder to her twin.

"I still like this one."

"We definitely know how to pick them."

"And what, exactly, is going on here?" All three of us collectively turn to the much deeper voice now joining into the conversation. Striding purposefully towards us is the main purpose of my visit. "What's this one done to be held hostage at my bar, exactly?" I shrug, turning away from Junior and looking over to Alfie the Bartender, whose standing a few feet away with concerned look on his face. Once more I pull out a handful of Lien.

"Same again mate - but make it two. I don't care if he doesn't pay, I'm still buying him a drink." I don't see what he does exactly to make them leave but, a moment later, both the Malachite twins simultaneously jump to their feet and leave the two of us at the bar. Of course the two still take their chance to lean in and plant a kiss on both of my cheeks before they take their leave, heading further into the club.

Regardless of whether I get what I need from Junior or not I'm still coming out of this a winner in some regard, so there's that. Good going, Harrow old boy.

And this time around there wasn't an active attempt on your life! Improvements all around.

Now alone with the grizzly looking information broker I reach over and pull up a chair for the man, nodding for him to take a seat. After a moment he nods and does just that, still towering over me by quite a fair margin even whilst sitting. Our friendly neighborhood bartender is with us a moment later, handing the two of us our drinks. Junior doesn't say anything, instead taking his glass in hand and raising it in thanks for my kind gesture.

I match it, and the two of us drink in silence. As we do this however I take a second to glance around us. It came as no surprise but there was a noticeable amount of men in suits standing around near us, forming a small, protective semi-circle around the bar. I roll my eyes, smirking to myself. If Junior wanted to be protected he should have kept the twins on hand. 

Yang had no problem demolishing this merry band and neither would I.

Furthermore, with the twins now gone and the nameless mooks around us keeping inquisitive passerbys at a fair distance, it meant that I could discuss openly with Junior things that I would certainly like to remain between the two of us. Finally, I can get some shit done.

A few moments later and Junior places glass back down on the counter, nodding to the bartender.

"Is this an original of yours, Mr Whisk?"

Oh for fuck sake. Alfred Whisk? Really? Just add on the 'Y' to his last name and call it a day already.

"Yes sir. Is it to your liking?" Junior nods.

"Make it a permanent addition to the menu from next week onwards." 

"Of course sir. Thank you sir." With that the bartender departs, but not before leaving the two of us alone once more. Once he's happy that we're alone Junior turns to look at me, his expression showing his curiosity. 

"As much as I appreciate the drink I'm a busy man, Mr...?"

"Bigby. Mr Bigby Wolf." Instinctively he looks up at my Faunus ears, a small smirk manifesting on his face. Once again I roll my eyes behind my shades. "Yeah, I know. The irony is not and never bloody well will be lost on me mate." He grins, chuckling to himself.

"I see. Well, would you like to explain to me why it is that I found two of my best staff holding you at the point of a blade at my bar?" He asks, the grin now melting away to a thin line. Alrighty then, straight to business.

"Oh, that? Just a small misunderstanding. They thought I was here to cause trouble when, in fact, I'm actually just here on business." Junior straightens up slightly when he hears this, but maintains the passive and uncaring look he was currently sporting.

"Business? What kind of business?"

"Your favourite kind I imagine. Now, I can appreciate that you're a busy man, so I won't take up much of your time. From what I understand, you deal in more than just liquor and lines in the cubicles; when you're not busy casting a literal shadow over half of the district when the sun comes out you spend your evenings dealing in both licit and illicit information, correct?" The cold look of indifference slowly turns into a glare. "Don't worry, nobody's around to listen in anyway - especially not over this jarring music you have blaring around the place." Whether or not he took offense to this I don't know, but he rises to his feet regardless.

I remain seated however. He can act the offended party all he likes, but we both know he's full of shit.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Mr Bigby, but-"

Very much so full of shit.

"Bollocks, mate. You and I both know that you're an information broker whose clients involve both the highest and lowest echelons of society. Now, you said yourself that you're a busy man, yeah? Well so am I, so let's stop taking the piss and talk information." He glares at me, but, after a few seconds of deliberation, quietly sits back down. "Happy days. Now, before we talk, I want to make something known."

"Which is?" I lean forward, grinning toothily at the much taller man.

"That you fucking owe me, Junior." Reaching into my pocket, I pull out a small piece of paper and slide it over the bar to the man. Junior, still holding his glare for a few more seconds, turns to look the paper over. It takes a few seconds but, soon enough, I see the details scribbled down have the intended affect I was hoping for as a look of recognition becomes evident on his face. Scrunching it into a ball and pocketing it Junior turns his attention back to me. 

Instead of a glare, there is now a look of shock. Maybe even a bit of fear as well, but I'm probably mistaken.

Even if I'm not, it's more than likely that any fear he feels towards me is because he might be thinking that I'm in some way associated with Neo, who I had mentioned in hearing distance of his men at the warehouse. 

"It was you? You're the one my men were talking about?" Ah good - they had gone home and talked about the nameless hero who had stepped in and kept the deal from descending into chaos. Thank fuck for that, or that paper would have meant absolutely fuck all to Junior and I'd have looked like a right dick. 

"Yeah. You're welcome for that - Roman's man was a right trigger-happy twat." I lean forward in my seat, giving Junior my full attention. "Incidentally, Roman's the topic of our discussion. You see Junior, I need some information from you. Info which, considering what I've already done for you, you should be more than happy to give up."

"What kind of information would that be?"

"Roman Torchwick. More specifically, a number with which to contact him. If you can't provide that - which I doubt personally but I'm a flexible guy - then a private meeting will have to suffice." The two of us stare at one another, neither of us flinching. Credit where credit is due, Junior is not exactly backing down here. That baleful expression that his men seem to be famous for is only exemplified by the one who pays them. 

As expected but still annoying to see he shakes his head.

"You want me to rat on one of my clients. One of my most powerful ones at that. Do you have any idea how damaging that will be to my reputation? To my business? A man in my position can't just give out such information to a complete stranger - even if you have helped me, willfully or not, in the past. So as thankful as I am for what you did, I can't. Now, is there anything else you want from me besides that? Maybe compensation for keeping that deal from disintegrating will be enough? Perhaps, if you want, I could put in a good word with the girls from earlier? They seemed taken with you, if you, ah, mind them holding a weapon against you."

It's as he's talking that I notice something. The music had changed. No longer was it blaring some disgustingly dubstep remix that one might have created by banging their kitchen utensils hard enough against the wall. Instead, a familiar tune was now coming from the speakers, and the tone of the dancing on the dance floor had changed to match.

"I Burn" sounded a lot catchier in real life than it did in the trailer I will admit. A moment later and there's a vibration in my pocket as a message comes through. I don't need to see it to know what it said, or what it meant. The change in music had done that job just fine. I reach over, patting Junior apologetically on the leg. 

"I still need that information, Junior, but it can wait for a minute or two. For now, please accept my deepest apologies." He frowns, not expecting the sudden shift in my tone. 

"Apologies? For what?" I don't answer. Instead, I get up from my seat and, taking my drink in hand, turn around to look over at the entrance to the club. It doesn't take too long before I spot a very familiar set of blonde hair stepping in through the double doors and standing atop the stairs. I wave up at the girl, who, seeing me, waves back.

"You'll see soon enough. See you in a few minutes, chief."

With that, I leave him and make my way to the other end of the bar. Taking a seat, I'm promptly joined by my new best friend in the whole wide world. 

"Can I offer you a refill, Mr Bigby?"

Oh my friend, you sure as shit can do just that. After all, I could do with another drink before the show stars.

And starts it most certainly does, as Yang, within thirty seconds of entering those doors, has already got Junior by the balls.

Literally.

"I have to ask, Alfie, do you get hazard pay in situations like these?" I ask, picking a chunk of ice out of my glass, fiddling with it before dropping it back into the cool liquid. "Because I reckon you deserve that, if not a raise."

"Well no, not really sir. Typically security would handle any such situations as the one that we have found ourselves in, but, apparently, none are equipped to handle an angry Huntress." He replies, wiping around one of the many used glasses on the bar with a cloth. A second later and he moves his head to the side, just in time for one of the many weapons that Junior's goons were equipped with to come sailing over the bar and bounce harmlessly off of the wall.

Yang was certainly having a fun time.

"Now that's a damn shame. I reckon you should take that up with HR."

"Unfortunately, I don't think Human Relations would be of service to me in this regard. Nor, I might add, do they exist within the confines of this establishment. Any issues I might have would be taken up directly to Mr Hei Xiong himself." Hearing his name said aloud elicits a healthy groan of pain from the man, who had yet to move from his position ever since Yang had punched him halfway across the building and landed in a pitiful heap at my feet.

For the time being I had been happy to let him recover somewhat, enjoying my drink in relative peace whilst Yang her way with his security.

"Ah, right. Well, I still think you should ask for a raise."

"There's no need for that - my currently salary is rather satisfactory."

"Said nobody eve-" I'm interrupted by when, behind me, Yang causes a rather powerful shockwave in the middle of the dance floor, taking out both a gang of goons and knocking over my glass at the exact same time. The conditions of their spines did not concern me as much as the waste of good Scotch did. "Bollocks. Any chance of another refill, chief?" The bartender nods, pulling out a bottle from under the counter and doing just that. "You're the best, Alfie."

"Quite. Now might I ask if the young lady currently manhandling my colleagues is a friend of yours? It's just that I note you don't seem too concerned with the events transpiring behind you, and the look she gave you as she led my employer to the dance floor seemed to highlight some familiarity?"

"Oh, blondie? Yeah, she's, uh, can you keep secrets? Is there, like, a bartender-patron confidentially clause or something, like how a doctor doesn't discuss his patients?" 

"Your secret is safe with me, sir, so long as it does endanger the establishment. At least, what may be remaining of the establishment by the end of the hour." We both duck as a screaming security guard comes sailing over our heads and smashes into a myriad of bottles high up on a shelf. He doesn't fall, instead staying up there with the shattered remnants of what might have made an average breakfast for Qrow.

"She's my sister." I chuckle at the bemused look I receive. "Yeah, the resemblance is uncanny I know. If it isn't obvious, I'm actually adopted."

"Ah, I see. Well, I don't suppose it would be too much trouble for me to ask that you perhaps see if she'll be willing to spare both myself and my bar from any further damages?"

"Oh don't you worry," I reply, "she won't go too overboard I'd like to think." To prove my point that she was not as destructive as one might think, Yang promptly proceeded to effectively fling one of the hapless guards into the lighting rig above us, shattering two of the lights and leaving him stranded up there, clinging for dear life on one of the broken lights. "Okay, maybe she's a bit destructive. But in her defense, she wouldn't be doing this if Junior was just a bit more talkative."

"Perhaps you might ask Mr Hei Xiong again? You may find him slightly more willing considering the circumstances." I click my tongue, wagging my finger at the man. 

"Cheers Alfie, I think I'll do just that." He nods, and goes back to rinsing his glasses. Whilst he does that I hop off of my chair and get down onto a knee, placing my hand on Junior's shoulder and, with some force, shake him back into the world of the living. It takes a few moments and, after a backhand or two, he finally becomes coherent enough to take in where he was and what was going on. 

"Wh-what hit me?"

"A woman. Also me, but that was just to wake you up. However," my grip on his shoulder tightens just enough for him to wince, "I'm more than happy to do it again if you're not feeling up for talking." He groans in frustration, making to rise only to be pushed back down before he can make it too far. Thankfully Yang had done quite a bit of damage to the man, so any trouble he gave me I could easily handle. "I think you're better off staying right where you are, mate. Trust me - she'll only punch you out of the fucking window if you square up to her again."

"What. Do you. Want." 

"You know what I want, Junior. Roman's number."

"I can't! It'll ruin me - ruin my business." Unfortunately, I could not give two shits.

"That's wild, that. Unfortunately, I didn't ask. Now look up for a moment, dimwit." He doesn't need to as I do it for him, dragging his head up to look at the path of destruction Yang was leaving behind. By now she had just started swinging with the Malachite twins, who had finally rocked up to the scene from wherever it was that Junior had sent them away to previously. "You seeing this? Are you seeing just how much she's ruining your business right now? One girl - a Huntsman-in-fucking-training at that - has nailed you in one punch, curbstomped your collective muscle and is now about to throttle your two best employees-"

"Ahem." Comes the bartender.

"-Two best security employees, and now you feel like testing my patience? Do you really want to see what this beauty on my hip is capable off?" He responds by trying once more to get back to his feet, but yet again I'm unwilling to let him as I push him back down, the man grunting in pain. "You're already on your last legs as it is as a major player in the underworld, Junior. Roman's got you in his back pocket as it is; I heard what they were saying in that warehouse deal, about how weak of a position you were and currently are still in. Your reputation at this point is already in the mud - why bother trying to maintain it? At this point, trading information comes second to your club. You lose this place, you lose any and all respect you might have still had in Vale's criminal circles. After all, what's a businessman like yourself without a business? That, and this place is obviously your main source of income. How much do you stand to lose if you lose this place, huh?

"So here's your choice, Junior, and make it fast, because both my patience and the structural integrity of your club is running out pretty fucking fast: you can either give me what I want and I will call her off and your club will stay standing for another day, or you can be a fucking idiot and stay silent to protect the other guy who has you by the balls and watch on as blondie over there demolishes this club and sinks you like the fucking Titanic. Time to make your choice, Junior. Going once..."

"Wait, but-"

"Going twice..."

"Come on, we can talk about thi-"

"And sold-"

"Okay! I'll give you what you want! Just call that mad woman off, Godsdamnit!" Patting the despairing man on the shoulder comfortingly, I offer him a thankful grin.

"Now was that so hard, mate? Number. Now." He grits his teeth, growling in anger, but once I hand him my scroll he inputs exactly what I needed from him. With a satisfied smile I pat the man on the shoulder, before turning around and leaving the grumbling man where he was on the floor. Now we could get the fuck out of here before anyone with half a brain decided to call the authorities.

Strolling over towards the absolute battlefield that was the dance floor and stepping over a few poor unconscious men on my way, I come to a stop just before the dance floor. For a small while I'm content to just watch Yang and the twins go at it, finding the whole thing rather entertaining. Eventually however I decide that enough is enough and, withdrawing Excalibur from my hip, I take aim at the center of the floor and, as soon as all three are close enough, fire.

The resulting detonation sends all three girls skidding to separate corners of the dance floor. Instantly the fighting stops as all combatants turn to stare at the newcomer. "Alright ladies, I'm sorry to break this absolutely delightful bonding experience up but I'd like to come back here one day to something not resembling a crater. Blondie, get your coat - we're just about done here."

"Oh, not yet you're not."

Ah for fuck sake, get with the program you oversized dick. Sighing in exasperation I turn around, ready to call Junior out for not knowing when to give it a rest, only to find a rocket launcher aimed directly at my face.

Huh. Fair enough. I guess I really should have expected this considering the circumstances. Also should have probably should have remembered about Junior carrying the biggest of boomsticks around here. "You think you can just walk into my club, threaten me, manhandle my security and just walk away like nothing happened?"

"Uhh, yeah?" 

"Well think again. Put those hands up, now, or there won't be enough left of you to put in a shoebox, you son of a bitch." I do just that, slowly raising my hands as the man steps closer towards me, still aiming that oversized and unwieldy weapon directly at me. Out of the corner of my eye I see Yang about to make a dash towards us, but I wave her off subtly. Unlike in the trailer, it wouldn't be Yang sending him through the window and into the street.

Oh no, that would be my job this time around. How, you might be wondering?

Well telling me to raise my hands was certainly a poor choice of words. 

He takes exactly one more step and I make my move. Before he can do anything to stop me, my right hand punches into my left arm and, for a split second, Junior is looking at me with a look of confusion. I can't quite make out whatever his next expression was but considering how fast he was flung through the air and out a nearby window by the resulting Dust explosion coming from my sleeve I can only assume it was likely a mixture of shock and terror. 

Certainly not quite like my own gleeful expression. Have I ever mentioned how much I utterly adore Dust? 

I don't care if it's expensive or not, or if I have to take Weiss hostage somewhere down the line to get what I want  - I am going to incorporate it into my arsenal from head to fucking toe.

Now then, time to go down my checklist of todays objectives both planned and improvised. Alright, lets have a gander.

Roman's number? Check.

Junior's club? Salvaged.

A source of stellar alcohol? Acquired.

The rizzing of the Twins? Semi-sorted.

Hotel? Trivago.

Progress, ladies and gentleman. We are making solid progress. Now I'm content. All I need to do now is give it a few days and I'll give Roman a call. I'll have to mask my voice of course, just in case Neo is listening in and decides to track me down and murder me in my sleep before any meeting can take place. You never know with that one, so I'll play it relatively safe.

Well, I say that, yet I'm fully prepared to go into a private room with both her and Roman at the same time whilst knowing full well that I've a good chance of not leaving that room alive if I don't take care.

No risk no reward, I guess.

Until then, I suppose I'll just have to let things happen before the show can begin. And I do mean the real show. 

In but a few days I shall be on a ship to Beacon alongside Yang and Ruby. From there I'll be seeing Blake, Weiss, Jaune, Pyrrha and every other named geriatric in the show. Chances are I'll piss half of them off by the end of the first week. Of course, that's if I manage to get into the school in the first place. I'd already done their disappointingly easy entrance examination the other week, but of course I still had their Fortnite'ish jump-pad initiation to shoot my way through yet.

Imagine how fucking upsetting it'll be if I get all of that way just to fail the initiation. Not by dying, mind you, but by failing to get myself a partner. That would be pretty embarrassing.

Though I do wonder who I'd even get paired with. Preferably nobody from the named teams, as that would likely mess up quite a few important details down the line that I could do with keeping stable.

And of course from there I then have to balance out preparing for and preventing Cinder and her gaggle of gimps ruining life as we know it whilst at the same time keeping everybody else in the dark regarding what I know and who I am. So long as I stick to the script I've been reading from for the last decade I should do quite well for myself. If I can convince Qrow and Tai that I'm nothing special, then a bunch of whiny teenagers who are more akin to demigods than they are children should really be a cakewalk.

The keyword being "should".

We shall see soon enough.

"Really, Wolfy?!" Yang shouts in shock. Turning back around I shrug, giving her a perplexed stare at her apparent upset at what I had just done. 

"What? The guy had a fucking missile launcher aimed squarely at my jaw!" I shout back. "What was I meant to do, hold his hand and sing Kumbaya?"

"Wha- no! I just wanted to be the one to send him through the window!"

Oh. Fair enough. 

Still, first come first served. 

Chapter Text

Interlude #2

When its back is against the wall and there's nowhere left to run to is when an animal is at its most dangerous. This was a well known fact and had been proven true time and time again. But it was not just animals that fought tooth and nail to survive. Men could fight like beasts given the proper motivation and, in the face of sheer desperation, even the greatest of odds could be overcome.

Roman Torchwick was no exception to this, and the last decade and a half had proven just so.

He had driven the spider back down into her nest and to this day she had yet to try to climb back up the spout. At least not openly - that was never her style. Beyond the few inevitable early day assassins he had needed to contend with after their last meeting she had been oh so pleasantly contented to remain in her little web within Mistral.

He had decimated the Hei Xiong family and their criminal enterprises the day the previous head of the family met his fiery end. Not even Junior, for all of his physical size and wide reaching information network, could hope to match him at this point and now the infamous Hei Xiong crime family were now forever playing second fiddle to him.

He had, in just a few short years after the explosive events that had transpired at the Vanile estate, brought the criminal underworld of Vale under his stylish heel. Not much was done in this city without his knowledge or approval. Nobody could stick a toe in his pond without him reaching out and breaking it. Anything and everything he wished for he had at his fingertips.

Power, money, influence. It was all right there for the taking, and he had only just been getting truly started. 

And yet despite all of these accomplishments, despite all of his power and his wealth and his connections, Roman had once again found himself being pushed up against the wall. This time, however, he was struggling to come up with an exit strategy that didn't see him and his operations quite literally burnt to a crisp.

Cinder Fall. That wicked bitch had her claws deep inside him and they were only digging deeper by the day. From the very outset of their partnership he had been forced quite quickly and unfairly into the junior role.

His men had been fired both figuratively and, in some unfortunate cases, literally at her command. A test of loyalty, she called it. In reality he knew full well that it was to ensure that he had no loyal henchman to fall back on in the event that he turned on her which, unsurprisingly, he had entirely planned on doing even before she had begun to coerce him so ruthlessly. Unfortunately any attempts at this would take far longer than he would have liked now without experienced and loyal men under him. Instead, he was now forced to rely on the far more unreliable manpower provided by Junior.

They, quite frankly, left much to be desired. He could barely trust those idiots to hold up a small convenience store, let alone take on that woman in a fight. 

Chances are he'd have an easier time genuinely convincing amusement park staff that Neo was, in fact, tall enough to ride.

To make matters worse he had heard from a few trustworthy sources that those animals in the White Fang were getting uppity recently. He wasn't sure what had happened to them this time to get them so active - chances are someone had just whistled at them like a dog and upset their poor little hearts - but an increase in activity from the worlds most prolific terrorist group would not do wonders for the stability of Vale.

At the end of the day, a stable city is a quiet city, and a quiet city is easier to fleece for all that it was worth. Rocking the boat brings water into the ship and Roman had no intentions on being forced to jump overboard. Not yet, at least.

Not until he had a plan.

And here he sat, alone in a warehouse, surrounded by stolen Dust crates as ordered by that raven haired harlot and with but an hour or so before he was due to partake in his latest Dust heist, trying to come up with such a scheme that would see him and Neo out from under Cinder's thumb and free once more to heist their way to an early retirement on an uncharted island somewhere far warmer than Vale.

At least he had his cigars to keep him company tonight. Besides Neo he could ask for no better companion these days.

Well his cigars and a scroll which had not ceased ringing for the better part of the last thirty seconds.

Staring at the glaringly vibrant "NO CALLER ID" message plastered across his screen Roman frowned in annoyance as he took yet another hefty drag of his cigar. Realistically he should just let the call die off. Only familiar numbers were answered on this particular scroll - unknown callers could be anyone and the risk was not something he needed to dance with at present time.

Still, nobody ever rang this number without knowing who they were calling. It couldn't be her, nor could it be someone like Junior. They had their own ways of contacting him these days. His scroll, then, was for business and business alone.

So who, then, had business with him today? 

In the end curiosity won over caution and, picking up the vibrating machine, he hesitated for just a few more seconds before swiping and putting the caller on loud speaker. Leaning back into his chair, he took the cigar from his lips and hung it between his finger.

"Good evening sir or madam, but whatever it is you're hoping to sell to me today I'm probably not interested in. Please feel free to hang up and never dial this number again." There's silence over the other end of the line and for a moment Roman thought that whoever was on the other end of the line had thought better of the call.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Came a heavily synthesized voice through the speakers, putting such thoughts to rest. "A man in your current position might just regret skipping out on what I'm willing to sell to you this lovely day." 

"I'm sure I would, but I think that I'd be a much bigger fool if I continued to listen to the unknown, robotic voice talking to me over the scroll without knowing either its name or how, exactly, it got my number. It's not like I go around leaving posters of it on streetlamps offering passerby's a good time you know?" 

"What you get up to in your private moments if of no concern of mine, Mr Torchwick. I am not here to judge." Huh, so Mr Robot had jokes did he? "But it's not that side of your personal life that I'm interested in. I'm sure that you can piece together where this is heading." 

"Oh don't you worry my friend. Considering the whole song and dance routine you have of sounding like a second hand radio host for anonymity's sake I can only assume then that you're contacting me for both my dazzling good looks and stupendous skillset as Vale's greatest heister extraordinaire. Perhaps we can skip then to the part where you tell me who you are and what it is exactly you want from me before I hang up and go on my way? I have a busy schedule to keep to these days, and the space in my itinerary is looking rather sparse for slots to book in social calls."

"I don't doubt that at all. Very well then, let's get to business. Good evening, Mr Wick. You may call me Lupa Capitoline, or Mr Lupa for short if you wish. A pleasure to make your acquaintance. As for how I got your number? Let's just say that we have mutual acquaintances and leave it at that. If they can trust me enough to give me your number then you can trust that whatever it is I'll be offering you is worthwhile enough for you to consider thinking about."

He'd have to have a word with these mutual acquaintances at a later date about giving out his personal details so freely to strangers. For now, however, he had far more pressing matters to deal with.

Lupa Capitoline... Lupa... Nope. Doesn't ring a bell.

He'd have to look into this name afterwards when he had finished up with his latest heists; perhaps some of his associates might have had dealings with this now named individual and could shed some light on his mysterious caller.

"Uh huh. Okay then Mr Lupa - or whatever your real name is - what is it you want from my fine self? You've already said you're interested in what it is I do, so I can only hazard a guess that you'd want to hire me for my services, right? Well I hate to break it to you but, again, I don't know you. I'm afraid I don't exactly offer my particular skills to those who I've only known for the better part of the last sixty seconds so unless you can summarise in ten words or less exactly why it is that I shouldn't just hang up this delightful call of ours and go on my way then I don't think we have much to talk about."

"I don't need ten words, just two: Cinder Fall." Roman freezes in his chair, the words dying in his throat. "Yeah, I had a feeling that that might have had the intended affect on you. It's one that she seems to have on everyone around her. Truly a model citizen if there ever was one."

"Never heard of them." Roman responds after a few seconds, glancing around the empty warehouse. He was alone here, he had made sure of that. Neo was out doing far more important things and Junior's men were out staking potential Dust stores for emptying out later on. This warehouse, when not acting as a temporary Dust depot, had been used as a safehouse in the past and any and all bugs in the building were his and his alone. 

As far as he was aware then he was not being monitored. At least not in here. Still, he'd have to be very careful with what he said - for all he knew this "Lupa" character could just be testing his loyalties on her behalf. Who knows what other peons that bitch had at her beck and call?

Perhaps he should have taken the cautious approach and disregarded the call the moment it came up on his scroll. Hindsight is truly a wondrous thing.

"Of course. That mesmerizing, dark haired woman who has your balls gripped in an ever-tightening proverbial vice must be her twin sister, yes? Please refrain from lying so openly to me Roman; I know you work for her and I know exactly what you're doing for her, so I would be very grateful if you stopped playing innocent for the next few minutes."

"Now hold on a minute there my good man. I don't work for her, I work with her. It may not be the most comfortable of partnerships I've ever had - my ex-girlfriend from back in my academy days could take all three of the top podiums all on her lonesome - but we get along just fine and it's one in which I am my own man, thank you very much." Potential spy or not he had a reputation to uphold and he'd be damned if he was just going to let it be besmirched this way.

Of course, however, the voice must have known he was lying considering how his response came through as a static filled chuckle.

"Please don't insult my intelligence Roman - you and I both know that that's a lie." The voice says, Roman's eye twitching in annoyance. "All that's missing in your relationship with that utterly despicable cunt of a woman is a collar and a leash. Now I can hear your teeth grinding together from here, so I'll stop with the insults and get to telling you what this whole call is about."

He certainly wasn't wrong. Taking a deep breath to settle himself down, the thief closed his eyes and took yet another drag from his cigar. As he does he thinks over the words of his calling companion, focusing quite intensely the specific word he had used to describe her. As vulgar as it was to a man such as himself, it was most certainly an apt description of her.

But more importantly it was really beginning to sell to him the idea that this individual was not on her side. He could describe Cinder as many things, but lax enough to allow anyone in her circle to call her that? Oh no, certainly not. They'd be a burnt out shadow on the wall faster than he could blink. Making a mental note of this he nods, though his caller could not see it.

"Yes. Please do. I'm sat here waiting with bated breath for this call to finally have some purpose beyond trying to piss me off."

"That's the spirit. Before I get to that however, I'd like to know something first."

"Oh?"

"Riddle me this, Roman: why do you think our unfair maiden has got you appropriating effectively half of the kingdoms entire supply of Dust?" There's a sudden bark of laughter from the thief.

"What, Mr Omniscient over here doesn't know everything?" The synthetic voice chuckles good naturedly at this.

"On the contrary my red-headed friend - I know why she wants it, why she needs it and what she's planning to do with it, right up to the date of when she'll use it."

"I find that quite hard to believe." Roman replies, reaching over and placing the remains of his now burnt out cigar into his ashtray. He'd need to make sure he had restocked his supply before the week was out. This batch he had on hand was the last of his preferred brand.

"That's a shame, but whether you believe me or not isn't my concern right this second. What is, however, is establishing whether or not you know what it is that your quote unquote "equal partner" is planning to do with all of that Dust you're handing over to her. Are you even aware of what her plans are, Mr Torchwick?"

The thief reached one hand into his pocket and the other over his desk to his humidor. From both he took out a lighter and his second cigar of the night respectfully, lighting it and enjoying the temporary sense of calmness it brings him.

In reality he didn't know what the grand plan was and, whilst he wouldn't openly admit it to whoever was on the other end of the scroll, it was irking him something fierce. Granted he probably knew far more than he should do, seeing as how he was responsible for financing and supplying half of the entire operation, but not knowing what the final end goal was didn't sit well with him. Cinder wanted enough Dust to level half of the city and he knew full well that it wasn't to sell it back at triple the market value like he would have done.

No, she was definitely not doing the smart thing in this scenario. Whatever she had planned wouldn't be good. Not for him, nor for the kingdom at large.

Oh sure, the average man or woman walking the street was of no concern to him, but it's bad for business both legal and illegal when a city finds itself at the mercy of a woman with a vendetta streak as long as his list of criminal conquests and enough Dust to cause such potentially catastrophic devastation that it would make Mount Glenn seem but a minor incident. At the end of the day how can he plan a bank heist if said bank was on fire?

Never let it be said that the great Roman Torchwick was not a Humanitarian at heart. 

It also certainly didn't help that she had far too much blackmail material hanging over his head for him to try and rebel at present time. If she didn't feel like eviscerating him later on she could just as easily slide a few choice documents and recordings to the wrong people and by the days end he'd have half of Vale's municipal force going door-to-door looking for him.

He certainly loved the spotlight, but not those that came equipped on police Bullheads. "I'm going to assume from your silence that you either don't trust me enough to answer that or, more likely, but just as understandable, you truly don't know the full extent of her ambitions. Either way that's fine. I'd be both surprised and disappointed if you were to start whistleblowing this early on."

"So why bother asking in the first place? Do you take pleasure in wasting people's time Mr Lupa, or did this conversation actually serve some sort of purpose that, quite frankly, has gone right over my head and far beyond the horizon?" 

"Both."

Asshole.

"Gods I love smartasses. I just couldn't ever imagine living in a world without them. People with your disposition truly are the greatest society has to offer in this wondrous day and age."

"I am the gift that keeps on giving. But whilst this conversation has been an enlightening one-"

"It has been anything but." Roman interrupts before bringing up and placing his freshly lit cigar between his lips.

"-I do believe that our time has come to an end for the evening. You do, after all, have a busy night ahead of you. There's a lovely little store in the commercial district- 'Dust till Dawn I believe it's name to be- and it won't heist itself." The thief's head whips so fast towards the scroll that the cigar is flung from his lips and to the floor.

He could excuse Mr Lupa possibly knowing about Cinder's plans. As secretive and tight-lipped as she was her plans had evidently been being prepared for months. The chances of them being leaked were, as unlikely as they were, still possible, though he doubted anyone brave enough to do so would last long enough to give too much away.

But knowing his plans for tonight? Impossible. Only he and Cinder knew about the route, the location, the methods and the escape plan for tonight's crime spree. He and Junior's men - who themselves were in the dark until he deemed otherwise - would hit the store, be picked up by Cinder in a Bullhead and then taken back to this warehouse to begin relocating the merchandise. It was solid, watertight and, more importantly, a secret.

Quite simply it was impossible for anybody but the three to know about. Literally, indubitably, undeniably impossible for anyone else to know. Sure, it might be possible that Cinder had let it slip to test his ability to improvise on the fly, but he sincerely doubted that. It made no sense for that fiery bitch to leak anything to anybody else - she risked drawing unnecessary attention to herself.

So how in the fuck were they now in the hands of this enigmatic bastard on the other end of the scroll?

"How... how did you- "

"You called me Mr Omniscient, Roman. Believe me when I tell you that calling it an apt description of my being would barely even scratch the surface of who and what I am. I know everything, Roman. You, Neo, Cinder, your operations, your schemes, everything there is to know, I know. There is little going on in this world that I don't have some knowledge over. From Vale to Atlas, from Mistral to Vacuo, I see all and I hear all. You asked me earlier what it was I wanted from you Roman, but that was the wrong question to ask. It's not what I want from you that should concern you right now but rather what it is that you want from me." 

His stress, having been building up for months and months now as he chafed under Cinder's iron grip, was beginning to boil over to the surface and through his usual charming exterior. Jumping to his feet with a snarl, his hands slammed down besides the scroll, almost cracking through the expensive mahogany desktop.

"What I want, Mr Lupa, are answers. Straight, honest answers which, quite frankly, is quite the long shot to ask for as I doubt you'll give me anything beyond some enigmatic and obscure answer. You know too much. Far, far too much about me and the goings on in this chaotic circus of ours for me to be comfortable with. I would very much like then something to work with here if you want anything from me beyond scintillating conversation.”

"Such as?"

"Oh, I don’t know, maybe- oh! I know! Perhaps we can begin with you actually telling me just who it is that you are without sounding like one of those Atlesian toy soldiers strutting around that frozen wasteland. Man, wouldn't that just be the best thing ever?"

"Come now - you know full well that such an answer won't be given on our first interaction, let alone via a scroll. Once I'm sure that you're a reliable partner to work with then we can get to know one another more intimately." Roman scoffs at this.

"Someone as well informed as you should already know that I don't work for those who I haven't met in person at least once. Trust is hard to come by in our little world - its even harder when you can't place a face to the name of the one calling the shots." 

"Are you telling me that you would rather then continue to work for Cinder, despite knowing that she can kill you at any moment on just a whim if she so desired?"

"It's certainly not ideal I'll admit, but right now one of the stark differences between her and you is that I at least have a face to match her name. That way I know who to run away from at great speed if and when the need arises. You, however, are just a synthetic voice over a scroll. A very knowledgeable voice - scarily knowledgeable at that -  but a voice nonetheless. How can I be expected to place any amount of trust in someone who would be in a far greater position right now to stab me in the back? "

"A fair point. Still, I won't tell you who I am beyond the name you have been given. I'm sorry Roman, but you need to earn my trust first for that to happen. I'm sure you can understand my own need for secrecy, even if you don't particularly find the situation appealing. If you believe you're in danger working with her, imagine the risk I am taking in opposing her like this. Should she discover me before the anointed time then... well, I'm sure you can fill in the blanks for yourself."

"Fire, flesh, a fun time for all the family to enjoy. I'm painfully aware of those risks myself, thanks."

"Then you should understand my need for a certain amount of anonymity."

"Fine then, keep your secrets."

"Thank you kindly."

"Are you willing then to at least give me a clue exactly as to what it is you even want from me? Money? Information? By the sounds of it you're not interested in the former and you apparently have an abundance of the latter. Considering your vested interest in our mutual friend, I can safely say then that you want me to act against her. Well I hate to break it to you my synthetic sounding friend, but if you want me to go up against Cinder then, quite frankly, you are insane. If you know as much as you claim then you must know what she is capable of. I can't go against that - nobody can."

"I don't need nor do I expect you to go against her as openly as you might be thinking. Unlike her - and luckily for you - I'm not as willing to so callously throw my associates into harms way without good cause and equally good intentions. All I need from you for now is to keep up your work and to wait for further instructions from either myself or any associate I put into contact with you. Then, once all is said and done, the two of us will be content in having put down perhaps one of - if not the - greatest threat that Vale has faced in centuries. Imagine the good publicity? Perhaps you could even use it to sway the council in pardoning you if you so wished."

Despite the circumstances Roman couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. He was many things and, many years ago, he might have even jumped at being what Mr Capitoline was insinuating he could be. The Roman that dreamed of being some sort of beloved hero was long dead however. The one that remained was a far more sensible being. 

"Really? That's what you want from me? To play the hero? Seriously? No thanks, I'll pass on that. I'm not sure how it could have ever escaped you considering the circumstances but I'm not exactly a do-gooder like how you seem to be making yourself out to be. I'm a thief, Mr Lupa. I lie, steal, cheat and, no matter what's thrown my way, I survive. That's how it has always been in my little corner of the world. With just a little more time, I'll be able to find my own way out of this bind you seem to believe me so tightly trapped in. I've managed this well thus far and with a bit of luck and some ingenious thinking on my part I will continue to do so. If you could kindly get with the program and find somebody else that isn't me for whatever suicide mission I'm sure you have planned out then that would be just great, my mysterious and maddeningly well-informed friend."

There was silence in the warehouse as Roman catches his breath. On the other end of the scroll there was no response, until a small sigh came through the speakers.

"You're a smart man, Mr Torchwick. You don't get as far as you have without knowing how to play this game and play it well you have done. But right now you are playing with a woman who knows exactly the hand you've been dealt and can counter you at every turn. You know full well that when the chips are down and river has been revealed you won't win. You could fold and try to leave the table or you could risk it all and go all-in, but it won't matter - the house always wins and in this scenario she is the house.  However, it's no longer a head-to-head anymore, Roman. There's a third player sitting at your table now and he wants her out of the game for good. So long as you're willing to help see that happen then the pot is yours, and you'll be able to take your winnings and leave the proverbial casino that is Vale.

"You wanted straight answers to your questions, but you're not going to get them. Not all of them, at least not yet. I will, however, tell you in a sense who I am beyond just my name. Right now, if you keep playing your cards right, I can and will be your best hope for getting out from under Cinder and seeing another day. But if I'm to do that, I need you to work with me. Do as I say, when I say, regardless of how strange the request may be and I can guarantee you that by the end of it all you will come out of this better than you ever would have without me."

Well he could admit that it was certainly not the worst sales pitch he had ever heard. Better than Cinder's "join me or I will fucking murder you" recruitment drive by a mile.

"But let me make myself clear." The voice continued. "I am not lying when I say that I know everything, Roman. I've seen where this road takes you should you continue to play your role with that woman. You will die, Roman. Painfully so, and not even your partner would be able to prevent this. I would like to see you avoid this fate if I can, but if you fuck with me Roman I'll make Cinder seem a saint in comparison to what I can become. There's a lot of horrible, terrible things that I'll have to prevent and perform in equal measure just so that her plans fall apart. The ends will justify the means and, if I have to end you, then that will be justified too.

"There is far more at stake than you understand, Roman. It's not just the people of Vale that will suffer if she gets her way. It'll go far, far beyond these borders. One way or another, I'll stop her - or ensure that somebody else does the job properly. Should you decide to go against me in anyway shape or form, or stick with her despite everything I have told you now and may tell you in the future, after I've extended to you this generous lifeline Roman, then I can promise you with the utmost certainty that when all is said and done? I. Will. Bury you."

The thief simply stares down at the scroll, his face a calm, quiet mask as he let the words of Mr Capitoline sink in. Meanwhile the line remains open as his caller was likely waiting for the thief to say something now that his own piece had been said. Eventually Roman nods, though of course the person on the other end of the scroll could not see it. At least, Roman hoped he couldn't.

Bastard said he knew everything. Might even be wise to start believing such a claim extended to his scroll's security and, by extension, his cameras. Better to be safe than sorry.

Of course he'd have likely been safer not answering the call at all by this point, yet here he was.

"Alrighty, great, so just nod along or lose my head then. That's effectively the gist of your offer in a nutshell, correct?"

"Pretty much, though there is a bit more nuance-"

"Doesn't matter. Okay, well, I've heard you and it is most certainly duly noted, taken into consideration and all of that jazz. I'll think on this... offer of a partnership that you have oh so kindly put to my door at proverbial gunpoint. Now, ah, I suppose this is the part where we part ways until you decide to grace my scroll with another ominous tirade regarding the power of friendship and possible threats to my life?" The thief responds calmly, hoping that the slight quiver in his voice wasn't too noticeable.

"More or less. Now that I've got that delightful little speech out of the way, I'll be bidding you a pleasant evening now and wishing you the best of luck with your upcoming heist. Go easy on the old man running the store - he has a history of heart problems, and I'd like to keep the bodycount as low as possible for the next year. Farewell, Mr Torchwick. I'll be in contact with you again soon enough, so keep your scroll handy, thank you kindly. For now, keep doing what you're doing. Oh, and here's to the beginning of a wonderful friendship indeed."

The call ends and the screen goes black, revealing to Roman a rather pale face staring back at him. After a moment he sighs, dropping back into his chair before promptly slamming his head into the desk and letting out a long, muffled groan of despair and frustration. 

First it was Cinder Fall forcing him into a corner. Now he had this Lupa Capitoline to contend with as well? What is it with him and having all-powerful, all-knowing and overall all-around maniacal bastards lording over him as of late? Why, the two might as well just grab one arm each and tug until one got the lions share of the gentlemanly gatherer of illicitly garnered goods. Still, at least this one hadn't held literal fire to his face and threatened to burn him to a crisp. 

Instead he had just casually revealed that he knew far, far more than anyone had and then claimed to know the literal future like some sort of mystic.

"I miss when being a criminal mastermind was a simple affair. Go to and rob a store here, have the authorities distracted over there, use the aforementioned diversion to hold up the bank in the middle of the most heavily patrolled district in the entire kingdom and walk away scot free. Kids these days don't know how easy they have it." With another long sigh he reaches over to his humidor, only to find it missing. The thief stares at where it most certainly had been but a moment ago in surprise. A quick check around the desk and on the floor reveals that it had, quite simply, disappeared. Almost like it had been stolen.

Roman frowns. Turning his head to the side he glares in annoyance at the pint sized girl now suddenly standing next to him, holding out both his humidor and a scroll in her hand.

'Has anyone ever told you that smoking is responsible for more deaths in Vale than Grimm attacks these days?'

"Well I sure hope it happens to me sooner than later - might be the less tedious way to go compared to whatever everyone else seems to have planned for me these days Neo." He replies tiredly, taking the offered box from her hands and retrieving from inside that which he needed so desperately. Placing the cigar between his lips, he finds a lighter appearing just a few inches from his face. "You're an angel." 

'Mhm. So what has you so annoyed that I come back to you ranting to yourself in the dark like a madman Rome? Well, madder than usual ;).' The red-headed thief takes a long drag of his cigar.

"Seems we have a new friend. Or enemy. To be quite honest, I actually don't know. Regardless, Mr "Lupa Capitoline" - a faker name there has never been - is someone else we now have to be very much wary of. On the same level as our darling Cinder, in fact, considering the level of information he seems to possess regarding our activities." He sees Neo's expression darken at the mention of Cinder and grins. It's always amusing to see the diminutive darling annoyed and, after the conversation he'd just had, he could do with some amusement.

'In that case am I at least allowed to go out and kill this particular individual? You've already said no every time I bring up eliminating that arrogant bitch >:(((. If not her, what about this Lupa character? Y or N?' He shakes his head.

"No, not yet. Unlike her, this one might actually be on our side. Or at the very least less inclined to see us as a disposable loose end at the finale of this little sideshow." A particular moment in the conversation suddenly springs to mind and he smiles widely. "In fact, if we play our cards right, they might just destroy each other. Whoever he is, he definitely does not sound like her biggest fan. Why, he had some very choice words to describe her in fact that you of all people might find amusing." He grins at Neo, whose head tilts in curiosity. 

'Oh?'

"Yeah. He called her a cunt." Her eyes widen almost comically so.

'He did???'

"Yep."

'...I think I might be in love <3.'

"I pity the poor bastard already."

Chapter Text

Chapter 13

There are many moments that you might have in life which, no matter what happens, you will always look back on with fondness. No matter how dark the day or how bleak the night may be you can always go back and think on happier moments to push you through life; some look to their wedding days, others to the birth of their very first child. Children to their days running around the playground and teenagers to their very first attempts at procreating.

Or something. 

The point is is that such memories will act as a lighthouse in a sea of veritable darkness to guide you over the dark clouds and to the rainbow, to happier, greener pastures beyond.

Eh, fuck it. I'm no wizened poet so feel free to include your own poetic metaphor for life in place of whatever I have just made up willy nilly. Regardless, I'm sure you can understand the moral of this little tidbit: happier memories of happier days stick with you forever and all that jazz.

Now I have quite a few of those myself from both of my lives, though it's certainly the one I'm living now that comes to mind. Almost exactly ten years to the day of my arrival and I have amassed quite a small yet memorable collection of, well, memories.

A small list is, but not limited to, the following: being adopted by the Taiyang family, crafting Excalibur, surviving the W.E.S.T examination against luck itself, convincing Tai that continuing to finance my rampant usage of Dust is, in fact, a really good idea, almost being fucking murdered in some dank warehouse by an ice cream haired dwarf and, finally, managing to drag my furry arse through Signal relatively unscathed.

All good moments well and true, yet none of which hold as special a place in my heart as watching Ruby trying to explain to her father that the police officer who had escorted her home a few weeks back night not in fact not arrested her for some form of felony and that, in addition, within the the next fortnight she would be departing both Signal and Patch to attend Beacon with Yang and I.

Honestly, you should have seen his face. He was not amused. Partly impressed, sure, but amused he most certainly was not.

I couldn't tell you if this was down to his youngest daughter having almost become a felon overnight and now transferring to a higher combat school two years too early or at me for cackling like a madman at hearing little Rubes trying to explain to her father that a holding cell was but just a room and that her being held in one temporarily meant absolutely nothing.

At the end of the day her entire argument effectively came down to the fact that there wouldn't be anything on her record and so, therefore, no harm no foul.

Yes Ruby, that is definitely how the system works. I'm sure the pissed off look on Tai's face meant that he saw things your way.

Spoiler – he did not.

Afterwards Ruby was promptly put to work cleaning out every last forge room in Signal with the express instruction that she could not use her Semblance to help her. Considering her size and the sheer amount of forge rooms there were in the school for the dozens of students that utilised them for their second years and beyond, this was quite the daunting task. It also made for some good entertainment the few times I went back to Signal to tweak with Excalibur before Beacon rolled around.

For the record, that some of the forge rooms were back up to Tai's standards earlier than expected during these visits were but coincidences and were most certainly not down to an older brother taking pity on his youngest loveable sibling.

Should you make any claims to the contrary I will be more than happy to set Ruby to kicking your shins into a fibrous powder. You have been warned.

Fortunately for the caped crusader Tai wasn't mad at her for too long. By the next morning Tai was almost as giddy as she was - the thought of his youngest making history as potentially Beacon's youngest ever Huntress did wonders for making a parent proud of their offspring. Whilst this did not lesson her punishment nor did she escape the almost three hour long lecture about her responsibilities that came with the job, her fathers approval had her over the moon, shattered at it was.

Even if he wanted to I doubt Tai would have gotten anywhere in convincing Ruby to back out of Oz's offer. At the end of the day it was Ruby out of the three of us that most wanted to be a Huntress and here she was being fast-tracked to making them a reality. The last thing he'd want to do is break her heart on this so suddenly.

Yang wanted a life of freedom and adventure that only being a Huntress could provide and I was - at least as far as I would have everybody else believe - enrolling with the more simple goal of keeping my adoptive siblings safe. But Ruby was in it for far more selfless reasons: upholding the peace, protecting the innocent and the downtrodden, keeping Humanity safe from the things that go bump in the night and doing what was right.

Truly she had far more noble goals than I and as likely a bitch that they would be to uphold when one considers how this song and dance ends up playing out, I was certainly not going to be the one to tell her to stop. That and, out of the two of us, I had no right to judge - I was mostly in it to keep myself alive at the end of the day so why rain on her parade?

Oh yeah, we both wanted to save the world, sure. Only difference here is that Ruby wanted to do it out of the goodness of her heart like the adorable little angel that she was. I, on the other hand, just didn't want to wake up one morning to find my living room on fucking fire and the Salem's menagerie of oversized Build-A-Bear's stomping Vale into looking like an even worse looking version of Stoke-On-Trent.

Actually that's a pretty harsh comparison to make. Salem can devastate the city all she likes and it'll still have a higher landscape value than Stoke.

At the end of the day I suppose people can critique my goals all they like. That they'll still be alive to critique me in the first place will only vindicate me one way or another, surely? 

But yes, Tai decided against attempting to talk her out of Ozpin's offer to be fast-tracked into his academy. It certainly helped that she wouldn't be alone of course in attending. The older man likely felt far better about her chances this time around than he likely did in canon now that it wasn't just the blonde who was going to be there with her. And, after nearly a decade of preparation, going with her we were. Tomorrow morning the three of us board a Bullhead to Vale and then a second transport to Beacon Academy itself. From there we all know what's going to follow.

Welcome to Volume 1, Harrow old boy. This is where it all starts up well and truly. Do you feel ready, mate? Do you think you've done enough for yourself to have an edge against what is coming?

Short answer: No.

Long answer: No, I most certainly fucking don't in the slightest.

This is it. The beginning. The beginning of the end, perhaps? Who knows - I certainly don't and I'm aware of the irony behind that statement, trust me.

I can't guarantee that I'm even ready to begin Beacon yet. There's still so much I could do, that I want to do even. I've prepared as best as I could both mentally and physically - alongside behind the scenes work regarding characters such as Merlot and Roman - to the point that I will have an advantage, temporary it may just be, against my contemporaries on both sides of the field.

I know their strengths, their weaknesses, I have my own little cheat code in the form of an Aura tracking gunsight, I have a shit ton of ideas involving Dust and their properties in combat and, most of all, I have an uncanny ability to somehow worm my way out of every arduous and life-threatening situation that seems to be thrown my way.

It's a start. A good start at that. Unfortunately, from here on out, it's now a race against what had been one of my greatest assets: time.

Let's do a quick recap whilst we have the chance, shall we? I have from now until the Autumn to come up with a plan that sees my cover - or at the very least my continued existence - relatively intact whilst ensuring that Cinder's plan on devastating both Beacon and Vale itself in pursuit of the comatose Fall Maiden doesn't come to fruition. Failing that, I somehow need to figure out a way of keeping the damage to both life and property to a minimum as best I can for those around me.

Pyrrha can be saved. If I play my cards right, she won't even be in the tower when Cinder comes visiting. Whether or not she succeeds in taking Amber's power will be up in the air, as I don't even know if Amber-

Actually, let's hold that thought. She's a topic for another time and it's far too early to even be discussing whatever shenanigans I might be concocting as we go along. For now, I'll act like I know how to keep Jaune's super soldier-sugar mama alive.

For Mrs Polendina I have anything solid in regard to the festival but I have something in mind involving Cinder's virus that might work out in keeping the loveable robot alive and decimating the inevitable army of Grimm in one stroke. I've nothing concrete but I shall see closer to the date how feasible it is to hijack her virus and keep Ironwood's guns and android army alive and kicking. I'm not exactly Arthur Watts but I reckon I can do some damage with it before it does some in return to Vale.

As for our favourite thief I'll happily drag him kicking and screaming to safety and away from his fate as it was in canon. Saving Roman should get me some brownie points with Neo as well and keep her from reneging on our little deal of letting me continue breathing. That and I'd like to think that having a master thief on side might just come in handy beyond fucking over Cinder at the most crucial opportunities. If not Roman then keeping Neo happy keeps me alive which I'll happily run along with.

Who else, who else… ah, what about Tukson? You know, the bookstore Faunus in Vale that gets merked by Emerald and Mercury? All I need do is just smuggle him a note between now and those two urchins knocking on his front door and then that'll be that. Any way of pissing of Adam and friends will most certainly be noted down as a win in my book and will perhaps earn me some good will from perhaps those within the Fang who knew or liked him? If nothing else it'll make Blake happier I suppose, so I'll take what I can get in that department.

And as for the myriad of poor, nameless bastards that would inevitably suffer off and onscreen? Well they now have a far bigger chance at seeing a tomorrow than they realise with me and my foresight getting involved in this circus act. Whilst I can't guarantee jackshit, I can most certainly give it my best shot at doing something good for those unfortunate fuckers down there.

Having said it before I'll continue to say it again and again until at least one of us believes it - I am not a heartless cunt. If I can save a few names here and there that might have otherwise been lost then I'll happily take such detours. I need as much good karma as I can get considering how manipulative I've been so far and am only going to continue to be in the coming weeks and months.

God forbid I somehow come back for a third time and in a form far more awkward than my current body. I was quite the fan of my original and have come to appreciate my present body, so a third is really not desirable to me right about now.

Unless you want to go the extra mile and just force me into, say, some Grimm/Godzilla hybrid. That would really make solving some particular issues in the Grimmlands far easier.

Ozpin's lucky his soul never got anchored to, say, a cockroach or something. That would likely prove to be a pretty shitty situation for the literal parasite.

But I'm only one man and, the moment I step off of that Bullhead tomorrow, I'll be losing the protection that Patch offered me in the form of sheer anonymity. Nobody would expect anything important to come from some random Faunus from some random island off of the coast, so why bother investigating?

Now, however, it would be a far different story. Starting tomorrow I'll be rubbing shoulders with and mouthing off against those most important to the story; I'd need to contend with the rest of Team RWBY, Cinder and her gaggle of minions, Roman and Neo and a whole lot more in and out of Beacon. Not only that, but I'll be doing everything that I have been and more whilst being under the direct supervision of Remnant's resident chess master.

I'm good. Hell, I'd like to believe that I'm really good, but I sincerely doubt I'm that good to continue my current efforts as I have been without arousing suspicion from either Saruman in his high tower or from those around me whose company I'll be in for the foreseeable future. The boys and girls back at Signal were easy enough to either dupe or downright ignore - so long as they left me be in turn - but now I'm dealing with actual, genuine borderline adults who, alongside Ozpin and his faculty, will be taking far more note of me than I'm comfortable with.

The aforementioned ex-terrorist herself for example. She's a smart one and she'll clock me quickly if I don't take the proper precautions, especially when it comes to anything regarding her ex-boyfriend and the rest of those funny furry fucks she ran away from. If she starts to suspect that I know more than what would be reasonable then I sincerely doubt that she'll just write it off quietly.

Have I ever mentioned how much I adore how pressure feels when it's breathing down my neck?

By my own admittance I'm effectively about to start walking a tightrope over a very, very long drop. So far, it's been easy, yet here is where the real test to my capabilities as both a Huntsman and as an actor will be on full display. At the end of the day, it's a lot of risks to take on my end with no guarantee of any definitive rewards.

And yet despite all of this I still have one little trick up my sleeve that has served me oh so well throughout these years. If I can rely on one thing that isn't the big fucking gun strapped to my hip, it's my uncanny ability to improvise and adapt to almost every turn my life has taken thus far.

I've kept myself relatively unnoticed and without raising suspicion under the radars of both Tai and Qrow. By some miracle I'd managed to wing my way through all four years of Signal and that W.E.S.T fiasco. Even more miraculously I've gotten into contact with Roman who will hopefully be amenable to my later suggestions in the coming weeks.

All of this has been achieved through a delightful mixture of my own ingenuity and sheer dumb luck. If I'm lucky enough, then I'll continue to bullshit my way through the mud and the blood and to the green fields beyond and retire to some luxury island somewhere with all the fairest of maidens and the fairest of drinks.

I'll also take generally surviving as my reward if I can't have that.

Time will soon tell anyway if there's even a finish line at the end of this. For all I know I could just be angling to set this world up to be fucked up even further through my own machinations. But I suppose that's half the fun, yes? The unknown? The absolute uncertainty that comes with messing and manipulating events to better suit my own goals?

Yeah, fun. Not really the word that can or would be applied in a situation like this. The correct word - or words - are far, far more severe and yet I won't use them just yet. Perhaps Ruby's rubbing off on me, but there are about to be a lot of children wandering around me and it wouldn't do well for me to be dragged into Professor Goodwitch's office on the first day because I had called, say, Weiss or someone else a prickly cunt.

Hmm. You know, I have this horrible, sinking feeling that this is just going to be a grandiose cockup and a half. Perhaps that's just the stress talking? For almost ten years I have been preparing in some form or another to arrive at the doors of Beacon with the sole intention of keeping Salem from ripping Vale - and by extension the rest of civilisation - a new one.

My trepidation is quite justified then, especially when knowing just how bad things turned out in canon may just still roll around in one form or another.

And I'll be stuck right in the middle of it all if it all goes tits up. Joy.

Oh well, it's far too late for me to consider backing out now. Beacon and whatever shitty, grandiose destiny that fate has had planned out for me ever since I woke up on Patch so long ago now beckons me forth with a vengeance.

I have my Bullhead ticket pocketed, I have my amenities packed up, I have Excalibur on my hip and I have the will to see something good at the end of this long, dark tunnel we're about to run headfirst into.

Ladies and gentlemen please be so kind as to take your seats, for the show is about to begin.

Literally.

Bollocks.

"-and don't forget to listen to everything that the teachers tell you. Unlike me, they won't be taking it easy on you just because you are all children. You're at Beacon now, Wolfy, so you and the girls need to be taking it seriously."

"Yep, we know."

"And also keep in mind that you might not end up on the same team together, all of you. I don't know what kind of initiation you'll have compared to mine back in the day - not even Qrow has been told - but I'm sure whatever it is will be challenging enough. Stick together, watch your backs and you'll all do just fine."

"Got it, thanks."

"And most of all, remember that, no matter what happens, I love you all and that I am so very, very proud of the three of you."

"D'aww. We tolerate you too, Tai."

"...Why are the other two not saying anything?"

"Oh they've not been here at all. It's just been me. Yang's over on the- actually let me check... ah yes, Yang's on the other side of the Bullhead trying to break Ruby's spine."

"Dare I ask why?"

"I reckon we can just sum it up to sisterly love."

"That sounds about right. Feel free to go over there and stop her before they break anything or anyone else, Wolfy. Spines and Bullhead engines are pretty essential to their respective owners I've heard."

"Yeah, yeah, will do. They'll be in working order before initiation rolls around tomorrow morning, don't you worry."

"I'll be rooting for you all, kid. Oh, and before you go?"

"Mhmm?"

"Take care of my girls, 'H. I won't be there to keep you all in line anymore, so I suppose I'll have to leave them in your somewhat capable hands. Well, paws, but I'm sure you get my point?"

"I'll miss that casual racism of yours, Tai. Don't worry - I'll be more than happy to hit them with a few Dust rounds if they get too uppity. Be seeing you, old man."

"See you soon, Wolfy. Good luck tomorrow. Give my love to the girls!" 

I nod at the smiling blond, his face fading from the scroll a moment later as the call ends. He hadn't needed anything in particular but had just wanted to imparting some sage, fatherly advice to his wayward children before they reached their final destination now that they had left his parental supervision. Of course the girls had been busy with their animated, mostly one-sided conversation so I had left them for the time being to better hear Tai.

Mostly his advice came down to telling us to not be a bunch of fucking idiots and that listening to Beacon's teachers would in fact be a grand idea. He didn't really need to tell me twice - I'd need their permission at the end of the day to steal books on advanced uses of Dust. 

I am not letting this year come to an end before I had my hands on abnormally volatile Dust grenades, thank you very much. Daddy had big plans and an even bigger Christmas list to be seeing to.

Pocketing the scroll I turn and begin making my way over to Ruby and Yang, pushing my way past some of our fellow students. So far I had only recognized one other individual on the Bullhead with us so far - a particular blonde knight by the name of Jaune. I might have been tempted to make conversation, but the poor boy looked likely to projectile vomit on the first person who came within two feet so, for now, I'll leave him be until we land.

He'd be quite important to me later on if I have my way. Not at this stage of his development however. I'll let Pyrrha work her magic first and then see how he'll fit into my endgame ideas.

"-the "bee's knees", okay? I don't want to be any kind of knees! I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees." I hear as I approach. I smile at the familiarity of the words, deciding to lean against the Bullhead and listen in for the time being. 

"What's with you? Aren't you excited?" Yang asks in amusement, seemingly not noticing me standing a few feet behind Ruby. 

"Of course I'm excited. I just..." The younger girl sighs, shaking her head. "I got moved ahead two years. I don't want people to think I'm special or anything." I roll my eyes at this and slide up behind Ruby, wrapping my arms around the younger girl and resting my chin atop of her head, eliciting a startled gasp from the scythe wielder.

"But you are special, kiddo. It's just that if you were any more special you'd be in a padded room wearing a straight jacket." Whatever outraged response she might have been about to throw at me is promptly shut down as I slap my hand over her mouth. "And you'll get talking privileges back when you learn to stop worrying about everything, you goblin child." 

"Nice of you to join us, Wolfy." Yang remarks with a smirk as the two of us ignore Ruby's squirming and muffled threats. "What did dad want?" 

"Just to spout of that we had all better be on our best behaviour and to not besmirch the family name. Something along those lines at least." I reply as Ruby continues to try and free herself from my grip. The blonde hums in acknowledgement, then looks down at the admirably still struggling red-dressed girl and smiles warmly.

"He does have a point though, Ruby. You are special - just more in the way of being a Grimm butt-kicking machine." Whatever Ruby says in reply comes out as a muffled, garbled mess as she continues to ever so valiantly attempt to escape my affectionate iron grip. Unfortunately for her, her Semblance is centered around speed and not strength, so she can certainly struggle all that she likes - nothing can break the hold an affectionately abusive older brother can have over their youngest sibling.

Nothing but teeth, that is, which she soon falls back upon.

"And I thought I was supposed to be the animal of the family." I mutter, wiping my hand across my sleeve. Ruby simply crosses her arms and sticks out her tongue in response, staring smugly my way. Karma is fast acting however and, without my protection, she is quickly glomped by Yang who was now seeking to outdo me in the affection department. The look on Ruby's face quicky devolves into one of desperation as she stares me in with hopeful eyes.

Such hope dies in the face of my impassivity. "Perish, you petulant little child."

"You traito-ugh!"

Should have stuck with the devil you knew, kiddo.

Alas she did not suffer for long as she was soon mercifully let go by the boisterous blonde when a nearby news broadcast began to play regarding Roman Torchwick's recent escapades from the week before, garnering the attention of both girls. Whilst they were watching the presentation I was content to lean back against the Bullhead, thinking back to the conversation that I had had with the thief over the scroll a small while back.

From what I had gathered by the end of the call I was all but certain that I had gotten his attention. Now it was just a matter of seeing if I had his interest in what I had to offer the savvy criminal mastermind. That I had quite clearly surprised him with my knowledge of both Cinder's existence and that of both hers and his own plans will have hopefully nailed into his head that I was serious in regards to my offers.

And my threats.

Well, actually, my threats were rather empty. I didn't exactly plan on trying to kill the guy. It might comes as a surprise but I'm not exactly in the business of murder, justified or not. At least not against Roman. The guy is a bit of a twat, sure, but I wouldn't advocate for him to be getting the chair despite his actions in the show. Throwing him behind bars is far more justified. The guy is a thief, not a terrorist, and there'll be plenty of severe sentencing in regards to Cinder, Adam and the rest of their compatriots to soothe the jury.

I wasn't lying when I told him that I was hoping to keep the bodycount to a minimum. I kinda liked the guy, so I don't particularly fancy the thought of him being eaten alive by a Griffon. 

Well, that and knowing Neo will be on the fucking warpath should any harm befall her pimp daddy is but another reason to keep him breathing a little longer than he should have been.

Now I'll probably give it sometime before I contact him again so as to let my words properly sink in. I'd like to get settled into Beacon proper before I decide to get started on the next stage of my grand plan when it came to concerning the bombastic burglar and his pint-sized partner. There were a few things I needed from him - both information and resource wise - but they could wait for the time being.

For now, I'd be better off seeing where I stood in regards to the academy. It wouldn't do well for me to be planning so far ahead only to fuck up my initiation and be sent packing home long before reaching any sort of finish line.

That would be bloody embarrassing.

"You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy." I'm brought back to reality by the voice of the Headmistress, whose figure had replaced that of the news broadcast which had been just about to regale us with yet another story of how a Faunus rights protest went sideways. You don't need to be a genius to know who was responsible for that turn of events.

Flip a coin fellas. If it lands on Heads, it's the White Fang. If it lands on Tails, flip again. "Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." With that the hologram of Professor Goodwitch fades away and the mutterings amongst the prospective students begin to rise.

Just as she does in the show Ruby is quick to rush over to the window from where Ozpin's deputy had just been speaking from, staring out of the glass in wonder at our lovely view of the city from the air. The rest of the occupants in the Bullhead follow suit and gasps of amazement ring out through the interior. 

I'll admit - it sure is a nice view. The city looks far more alive from above than it does when you're wandering the streets. If I play my cards right I'll keep this view a beautiful one.

"Oh wow!" Ruby exclaims, looking back at Yang and I and pointing into the distance. "Look, you can see Signal from up here!" She turns back to the window, almost pressing her face against the glass. The two of us glance at one another and grin at her enthusiasm before stepping up and joining her at the window. She certainly wasn't kidding either - if you squinted hard enough you could actually just about make out Patch in the distance, and the large combat academy nestled upon it. "I guess home isn't too far after all."

Perhaps the first instance in history where one can exclaim "I can see my house from here!" and truly mean it. What a glorious new age we live in. Stepping up to join her, Yang drapes her arm around her baby sister, staring out into the distance alongside her. 

"Beacon is our home now." 

"Sure hope they don't charge us rent." I add, joining them at the portside window. "First thing I need to do when we land is figure out if any form of stipends exist around here. That or see what part-time jobs might be going around the city during our off-days. It's gonna be a bitch and a half getting all of the Dust I need now that I haven't got Tai feeding my chronic addiction." A small fist connects against my arm and I sigh.

"We haven't even landed and you're already setting a bad example." Ruby says with a pout. "New school, new Wolfy. Maybe just try to be normal for one day like the rest of us?" I scoff in disbelief.  looking at Ruby with a raised eyebrow, reaching over and ruffling her hair.

"There is no way that you of all people just told someone else to act normal. That's far more than the pot calling the kettle black, Ruby. You are, like, the antithesis of normal."

"...I don't even know what that means." She replies, pushing my hand away in annoyance.

"Perhaps you should start reading books that aren't ninety percent pictures then. You might learn a few things."

"Hmm, no. I don't think I will."

Then continue to suffer for your ignorance you foolish, adorable little girl you.

For a time the three of us are content to simply stare out over the breathtaking view of Vale from the air in silence. Of course such a moment is inevitably broken up by the sound of retching from off to the side as the three of us glance towards a particularly green looking blond knight in not-so-shining armour. Looks like Jaune was not having a splendid time like the rest of us were.

"Well," Yang says, staring at the boy in equal amounts of pity and disgust, "I guess the view isn't for everyone." We all cautiously step to the side as the blond stumbles past us towards the back of the Bullhead. I watch him go, shaking my head as he goes off retching towards the corner. 

Again, I really need Pyrrha to whip that boy into shape and fast. He has something that'll prove invaluable in a few months time and I would very much prefer that he was capable enough to not trip over his own two feet and bash his skull against a rock before the festival came knocking. Unless you knew of anybody else whose Semblance involved overcharging Aura, Jaune was quite the valuable individual indeed. 

Even if he currently was as useful to me in a fight as Stevie Wonder would be in a game of 'I Spy'.

"Oh Yang! Gross!" Ruby suddenly exclaims as she quickly moves to put some distance between the blonde and I. "You have puke on your shoe!" Yang frowns, glancing down at her feet before her eyes widen in horror.

Ah yes, I almost forgot about that early day nickname of his. Delightful stuff. Sucks to suck, blondie.

"Gross, gross, gross-" 

"Have you considered just getting a tissue?"

"-gross, gross, gross-"

"Ask nicely and I'm sure Ruby will be willing-" The girl in question promptly uses her Semblance to dash behind me. "... What are you doing?"

"Erm, using you as a human shield to keep vomit shoes away from me?" I look away from Ruby and back to Yang, who was staring at the two of us with a rather disturbingly devious look in her eyes. She takes a step forward and Ruby's grip tightens. "Get away from us, Yang!"

"Oh no - if I have to suffer then so do the two of you."

"I'd like to say I'm an innocent bystander in all of this so if you even consider touching me with those grim shoes of yours Yang then I will fucking-" a rather foolish individual kicks me in the back of my leg. Hard.

She just never learns. "Right, okay, she's all yours, blondie." Behind me comes a gasp of horror.

"No, wait, I'm sorry-" I ignore her as I proceed to spin around and, before she can make any movement to escape, pick her up by the collar of her dress. "Hey, hold on a second! We can talk about this Wolfy!"

"The time for talk has passed, kiddo. I'm afraid to say it but you asked for this, Ruby."

"Nononono!" Watching the scene unfurl before her, Yang grins devilishly at the two of us. It only widens as Ruby promptly intensifies her valiant albeit futile struggles.

"Pass her here and you may just be spared my righteous vomity vengeance, Wolfy." 

I'm about to do just that but, at the last second, I hesitate. A look of hope blooms across Ruby's features as she stares up at me with those silver puppy dog eyes of hers. It's almost enough to thaw my cold, frozen heart.

Almost, however, does not cut it, and I shrug uncaringly.

"Yeah, done. Take her and be merry."

"You will regret this you furry eared turncoat!"

"Hmm, no. I don't think I will." 

Affection through abuse. Never fails.

The very moment the Bullhead had touched down I had quickly made myself scarce and got as far away from the disembarking students as I could. A small part of me felt bad about ditching Ruby, especially as I knew that Yang would quickly follow suit in leaving our younger sister to her own devices, but for the time being I felt that not being around her would be for the best. She needed to make friends, and clinging to me would get her nowhere in that regard.

Better to leave her to it and let canon play out. She'd end up befriending Jaune anyway within the first five minutes so I wasn't really needed. Chances are that she would have just used me as a buffer between social interactions anyway.

Furthermore, knowing me I would have only made the whole Weiss debacle even worse by the simple fact that I would not have been able to keep my mouth shut the second she started mouthing off. I know myself well enough to know that had I been there it likely would have ended about as well as you could expect from a guy with as charming a personality as mine.

What I'm trying to say is that it would have ended with me being bruised from either a slap to the face or another hard kick to the shins depending on who took more offense at the words I would have used in that particular conversation.

So the day went on and I purposefully kept my distance from Yang and Ruby; I kept to the back of the crowd during Ozpin's welcoming speech and, after it had ended, had all but fled to the library the very moment he was done speaking. This was not to avoid my adoptive siblings or any potential interactions with the rest of the main cast, however. Oh no, this was for a far, far more important reason.

I was not waiting any longer to acquire those books detailing advanced uses for Dust that both Qrow and Tai had denied me during my tenure at Signal. Lucky for me it didn't take too long before I found what I was looking for and within minutes I had packed up everything that I needed into one of the bags I had brought along for my stay and scampered off before anybody knew what I had absconded with.

They'll get their books back later. Maybe. We shall see.

My next destination after that of course was towards the nearest available weapons workshop. Surprisingly they were open for us new arrivals - last minute maintenance and tweaks to our weapons were understandable and expected from us and so the forges had been opened up for the new arrivals. I didn't need to do much tweaking to my weapon, however. No, it was my ammunition that needed refining and I had quite a few ideas in mind for tomorrows joyful joyride.

Mainly the creation of something very volatile and very, very fun. 

Like most decisions I've been making recently it more or less comes down to a coin toss.

Now then it's time to get nerdy. You may recall where I spoke about being restricted to the  four most common types of Dust that I could wield alongside Excalibur: Fire, Ice, Gravity and Electricity. This wasn't because I was feeling like challenging myself as much as it was because Signal's staff did not trust prospective students - mostly me of course - around rarer and far more dangerous types of Dust.

Just imagine the chaotic scenes if I had access to half of the things I was wanting on day one. Trust me - two thirds of the academy would have been naught but ash by the end of my second year I'm all but certain.

Thankfully Beacon did not have such restrictions in place. Chances are they assumed that if you had lived long enough to reach this point then you must either have common sense or sheer dumb luck on your side, so what was the worst that could happen by easing up on such limits? 

Well buckle up boys and girls, because come tomorrow we're going to find out just how bad of an idea it is for me of all people to have access to such weaponizable substances in a world where, when faced against the Grimm, I am well within my rights to treat The Geneva Conventions as checklists.

The first thing I did upon locking the door to the workshop was to take stock of my surroundings. All types of Dust were stocked neatly in alphabetical rows for convenience. You had your basics such as Fire and Ice and then more interesting types such as Earth and Plant Dust. They were not as interesting to me as much as the bright orange vials were. I'm a man of simple tastes - I see the label across a box saying 'Explosive Dust' and you have my full attention.

Please do not make the mistake also of believing that Explosive Dust and Combustion Dust are the same thing. The latter is used as fuel for operating machinery, such as vehicles. The former is for removing problems of a corporeal nature from the face of the earth.

I'm sure you can figure out which type of Dust I'd be more partial towards.

I knew such a Dust type existed - having learnt of it during my time at Signal - but of course had never had the luxury of using it. Considering how disastrously my first foray into adapting Dust into Excalibur went in the forge rooms of Signal, it was probably for the best. However, I am far older and far wiser than I once was and so you can most certainly trust me around this particular type of Dust. 

I swear I am a responsible adult. Please pay no attention to the big shit-eating grin on my face.

Having learnt the process of filling in bullets with Dust during my second year it didn't take me too long to incorporate the Dust into some empty shells lying around the forge room and adding them to my magazines. Now I had a fifth type of ammo to fire off at will. De-fucking-lightful. To say that I was happy with the results would be quite the understatement. All things considered I felt far more confident going into tomorrow now than I had done waking up this morning. Fire Dust shells were already explosive enough. Compared to actual Explosive Dust, however?

I'm expecting big things indeed.

On a completely unrelated note I also had quite the inspired idea that I was tempted to test out whilst I was there, involving some Fire Dust, Styrofoam, a little bit of low-grade alcohol that I had smuggled in my luggage and a real sense of adventure that only I had.

Thankfully - or unfortunately - I quickly remembered that the events taking place tomorrow were set in a heavily wooded area. Fire has a tendency to spread rapidly when lit within a densely wooded area. Ergo, it was certainly not a good idea then to introduce Napalm rounds into the world in such an environment.

Perhaps in a month or so however we shall revisit this and see where I stand. Again, there are no rules to warfare in this world and I was never planning on playing fair anyway.

It was that aforementioned point that led me to effectively saying "fuck it" and bagging a few whole vials of Explosive Dust as an emergency last resort, school regulations be damned. Dust rounds are very powerful and will most certainly carry me through initiation hopefully just fine. However, the amount of Dust actually used within them is but only a fraction of the amount stored in these vials. One vial can effectively provide half of a magazine for Excalibur after all.

An Explosive Dust round to the skull will eliminate all but the sturdiest of Grimm. Imagine the damage I could deal if I flung an entire vial or two at one?

Or perhaps even ten?

Just something to look forward to.

Once I had finished up in the forge I had decided to take some time to peruse the school grounds. The only areas we weren't allowed to wander around were the higher year classroom blocks and, understandably, the big scary forest outside the school grounds. The forest of course was reserved for tomorrow's festivities and were completely off-limits for all students whilst last minute preparations were undertaken by the staff.

Not that such rules stopped me. Sadly I didn't make it too far before a rather familiar professor with a fancy burgundy suit and an even fancier moustache had turned me away and back towards the main school grounds.

Whilst he had approved and even encouraged such reconnaissance from a prospective first year - praising my initiative and attempting to regale me with a similar albeit deathly boring story from his youth -  Professor Port had nevertheless insisted that I wait with the rest of the students and that, together with everybody else, I would be able to find out what test awaited us the following day.

Ah well, the jokes on you, Moustachio, for I already knew that we'd be dropping headfirst into a woodland warzone come tomorrow morn'.

Once evening fell we were all shepherded into Beacon's ballroom for the night. It certainly wasn't the coziest nor the roomiest of spaces for us all to be bunking in for the night but I suppose it wasn't as if they could just stick us all into our dorms. There were far too many first years in here to start rolling us into dorms, especially when we weren't even in teams yet. At least for now there were too many of us - morbid as it is I doubted that everyone in this room would still be here by the end of the tomorrow.

I should probably clarify that I don't think they'll die per se, but that they'll just fail and be sent home.  Whether they crack under the pressure of initiation and call it a day or, more likely, they just won't get to the artifacts in time they won't be joining us for the rest of the year. I don't think the show ever touched on what happened to those students who failed to reach the temple and acquire their own miniature chess piece before the allotted time ran out and so I can only assume that they were simply packed off back home and told to try their luck again next year.

Or maybe they actually did just straight up fucking die in the forest and the powers that be simply chose to sweep their unfortunate bodies under the rug and move on to showcasing the joys of teenage angst for the rest of the Volume instead.

Again, toss a coin.

Upon entering the ballroom I quickly saw Ruby and Yang on the far end unpacking their respective sleeping gear, having already changed into their evening wear. I'd already gotten changed in a empty classroom just nearby. I may have been their age biologically but, lest we forget, I was still an adult mentally. Some standards must be maintained after all, ladies and gentlemen. Stepping over the prone forms of those students already asleep or on their way I carefully made my way over towards the girls, bringing my own sleeping bag with me.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here Rubes." I hear Yang say disdainfully as I approach. "Could that be our very own Wolfy, back from the wars and finally deciding to make an appearance after abandoning us all day?" I ignore the blonde as I join them on the floor, dropping my sleeping bag besides me. "And here I thought you were too good for us. What's brought you crawling back, huh? Abandonment issues already? The guilt gnawing at your cold, furry heart, Wolfy?"

"Firstly, I can all but guarantee that you also ran off at the first opportunity to find your friends from Signal, so you can just go ahead and shush." The way Ruby smirks at Yang confirms what I already knew as the blonde purses her lips. "Secondly, I had quite the good reason to run off, thank you very much." I turn to Ruby, pulling my scroll out from my pocket and opening it up, flicking to my camera roll. "Remember that discussion we had back in Signal about me wanting to get my hands on more advanced types of Dust soon after I - well, now we - got into Beacon?" She nods as I hold the scroll out towards her, grinning like a cat. "Have a gander at this gorgeous little thing, Rubio."

Taking my scroll into her hands, Ruby's eyes narrow as she looks over the photos before her. They slowly widen as she flicks through the assortment of images I had taken in the workshop earlier and soon enough there's a contagious smile on her face. "So am I forgiven?" 

"Only if I get to try them out afterwards." I grin at the expected response, taking my scroll back from the girl and pocketing it once more.

"If I don't blow both my arm and half of the forest up before the end of the day then sure. However, I am not taking responsibility if you end up missing and nailing the Headmaster's office by accident, understand?" She nods ecstatically, positively brimming with excitement. "Grand. Now, what did I miss today anyway?" 

"Oh, not much." Ruby answers initially, before then frowning. "Well actually, you did miss a little bit."

"You feel like expanding on that?"

"She blew someone up." Yang clarifies from the side. Her delivery of what should be a rather disturbing sentence is made all the more comedic when Ruby quickly tries to clarify that she had only almost blown someone up. "Yeah, almost. Right. Basically, some rich girl with a lot of Dust and a whole lot more attitude apparently got all uppity when Ruby made the mistake of..." she pauses, turning to Ruby. "What was it you did again?"

"I sneezed." 

A shame I missed that, but I had bigger and far more explosive-orientated things to deal with than witnessing Weiss's prissy little introduction. I'll end up seeing a lot of her by the weeks end anyway and, considering it will have played out exactly as it had in the show, it wasn't like I was missing too much.

"...How big was the sneeze that you somehow almost killed a girl not even twenty seconds after landing? I mean that must be a record, right?" 

"I should probably add on that she kept waving vials of Dust around me and it was the fumes that made me sneeze. The result was, uh, explosive. You know what Dust is like, Wolfy." 

"Oh I see. Well, if she's alive then, no harm, no foul, right?"

"Exactly!" Ruby exclaims. "That's what I thought, but she didn't feel the same way." She sighs, falling backwards onto her sleeping bag. "Now she hates me. So much for coming to a new school and making new friends."

"That's not exactly true, Rubes." Yang says, smiling at Ruby playfully. "What about Jaune? He's, ah, a bit weird, but he counts as a friend, right?"

"I suppose?"

"Well there you go! Plus one friend! That's a hundred percent increase!"

"Pretty sure Weiss counts as a negative friend. Back to zero..."

"I think the word you're looking for there is "enemy", Rubes. I don't think 'negative friends' is a thing." She glares at me for a moment before using her Semblance to pelt me with her pillow at harmful speeds.

Well I suppose I had that coming for taking Yang's lines. Still, worth it. "But seriously Ruby, Yang isn't wrong." I continue on, flinging her pillow back at her for her to catch. "Just because you've annoyed one stuck up bitch doesn't mean you give up on everybody else. I doubt you're planning on trying to detonate every other individual walking around, are you?"

"I didn't really plan on that. Also, language." Having expected her next attempt to nail me square in the face I catch the pillow in the air and promptly return to sender with a vengeance, sadistically enjoying the resulting yelp. Payback is a wondrous thing. "Whilst we're on the subject, who is this 'Jaune' fellow?" With Ruby temporarily down it's Yang who I turn to for an answer.

"Remember vomit boy who threw up on the Bullhead? He's Jaune." Yang clarifies, garnering a hum of acknowledgement from me as I turn back to Ruby, who was now back up off of the floor and staring rather crossly in my direction. I shrug uncaringly, grinning at the girl.

"Well if you can somehow speak to this guy like a normal person and go more than six or seven words without him awkwardly wandering off then I suppose we can call that a success in the friends department after all."

"Hey!" She whines, rubbing her cheek. "I can talk to people just fine, thank you very much." I raise an eyebrow at this outlandish claim.

"A Huntsman is heavily injured, requiring immediate medical attention and carrying a powerful, devastating weapon in his hands. What is the first thing you do?" 

"I'll ask him what kind of weapon he has. Is it a sword of some kind? Or a gun? Is it as good as Crescent Rose? As Dust hungry as Excalibur?" 

What a shocking and most definitely unexpected answer that turned out to be.

"I rest my case."

"Moving on, he did raise a good point before, Rubes. " Yang suddenly says, prompting Ruby to hold off on throwing the pillow in her hands back at me for a third time. "It's only been one day. What about tomorrow? There are far more people here than just Weiss and Jaune. Trust me; you’ve got friends all around you - you just haven’t met them yet." I nod in agreement with the blonde's words.

"Or scared them off with your nerdy, goblinistic ways. Still plenty of time for that." 

"Harrow?"

"Uh oh, she's using the first name - I must be in trouble."

"Please shut up."

"Bite me."

"Ruby?" 

"Already on it, sis."

"Oh do just fuck off ple-" The third pillow throw was as inevitable as it was unavoidable and I scowl at the smirking pair as it bounces harmlessly off of me. 

My ears twitch at the sudden sound of a match being struck from nearer the back of the room. I turn to the noise just in time to see a candelabra being lit by a familiar figure dressed in a black robe, staring down at an open book. Out of the corner of my eye I can see Ruby sitting up straighter and Yang, seeing both our gazes turning elsewhere, follows our attentions over towards the bow-wearing beauty in the back.

It would appear that Blake Belladonna has now made her way to the stage. 

"That girl..." Ruby whispers to herself. Yang, sitting right next to her, picks it up as easily as I do with my enhanced hearing as she turns to her baby sister.

"You know her?" The blonde asks, to which Ruby shrugs.

"Not really. She saw what happened this morning-"

"When you almost disintegrated a girl via a sneeze?" 

"Yes, Wolfy. That. Thank you for the reminder, big bro." I can only smile innocently in response. "But she left before I could say anything." Ruby adds, still staring over at the girl in the back. Yang, seeing her sister staring, looks over to me and smiles, tilting her head in the direction of Blake. I give her a thumbs up, grabbing my sleeping bag and pushing myself up off of the floor just in time to see Yang grab Ruby by the arm and drag her to her feet, ignoring her complaints.

It might be smarter to just stay here and let them do their thing, but out of everyone here Blake is the one most interesting to me. Sure would be nice to have a conversation with an actual Faunus that wasn't looking back at me in the mirror whenever I had to shave. Hell, it would be nice to have a conversation with a Faunus full stop.

Might as well join the two and go ahead and introduce myself, right? 

Ruby's continued struggles alerts the Faunus to our presence who lowers the book somewhat to glare up at us from behind the pages. Yang, ever the social butterfly, either missed or just straight up ignored the irritated gaze of the girl as she continued to drag Ruby over and towards her. 

"~Hellooooo!~. I believe you two may know each other?" Yang asks once we are close enough, nodding her head towards Ruby who, childishly, had decided to pretend as if she were not the subject in question and had turned her back on the conversation entirely. Blake simply stares at the three of us emotionlessly, her eyes flicking between us. I do note that they appear to linger on me for the longest - more specifically to the top of my head.

Another day, another scrap of credence given to Yang's theory on the fairer sex only wanting me for my ears.

Perhaps realising that she was staring for far too long Blake moves from looking up at my ears and to Ruby. More specifically, to the back of Ruby's head. Rolling my eyes I promptly pick the smaller girl up and turn her around to face the rest of the group.

"Harrow, not you too?" She whines.

"Nuh uh, kiddo. You are making friends, whether you like it or not."

Canon says that this must happen and, as I am but its humble servant apparently, I must see it so. 

"Aren't you that girl that exploded?" Blake asks finally, lowering the book an inch so as to appear at least somewhat civil despite clearly not wanting to talk presently. Now that she was the topic of conversation Ruby stood up a little straighter and nodded, smiling awkwardly.

"Uh, yeah! My name's Ruby!" She holds her hand out in greetings. Blake simply stares at the outstretched hand, then up to Ruby and, finally, back to her book, leaving Ruby hanging and looking twice as nervous as before. "But you can just call me Crater Face." One could almost hear the crickets chirping outside. Realising what she just said she seems to shrink in on herself slightly. "Actually, you can just call me Ruby." 

"Right." Comes the very conversationally invested bookworm, who doesn't bother to look away from the pages of her book. 

Fuck me I really have forgotten just how awkward these early day scenes are. Even knowing how socially inept Ruby can be with strangers this still hurts to watch. It also seems hurtful for Yang to watch who is looking at the scene unfolding before her with a slight grimace. The two of us share a look - hers of panic and mine of bemusement - before Yang leans closer to Ruby, a forced smile plastered across her face.

"What are you doing!?" I hear her whisper. Judging by the flick of her bow Blake does as well.

"I don't know - help me!" Ruby hisses back, before mimicking her sister and putting on a fake smile. After a moments hesitation Yang steps up to the conversational plate, bat in hand.

"So... What's your name?" 

"Blake." Is all she gets from that question.

Strike one.

"Well, Blake, I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister. The guy with the furry ears standing around gormlessly is Harrow, our brother. Everyone usually just calls him Wolfy, though." This seems to get an actual reaction from the girl who looks at me and nods.

"Charmed."

"Pleasures all mine." Dare I say there's even the hint of a smile on her face.

Ball one.

"I like your bow!" Yang tries her luck once again. Any emotion Blake might have been showing retreats behind her mask of rising annoyance at the blonde's continued attempts at conversation.

"Thanks." And just like that, my hard work is erased.

Strike two.

"It goes great with your... pajamas!"

Fucking strike three-through-five right there. I have to bite back a smile as I can all but hear Blake holding back a sigh of pent up frustration. You can hardly blame the poor girl. Were I in her position I too would have told Yang to fuck off by now. Unlike Blake, I might have actually said it.

I admire her restraint, truly I do. "Nice night, don't-"

"Alright, enough of ruining this lovely ladies' liaison with literature." I interrupt, getting the attention of the trio. "Yang, as funny as it is to watch you digging this conversation into the grave I feel the need to just stop you digging out of pity alone." I nod at the bow-wearing Faunus. "Blake here clearly wants you to shut it and for us to go far, far away so that she can get back to reading a book which, quite frankly, is likely far more interesting than the three of us combined. "

It really isn't. Not by a country mile. The Faunus in question seems surprised by my rather apt description of her feelings to present company and lowers her book to her knees.

"I... probably wouldn't have said it like that, personally, but-"

"What's it about?" Ruby asks softly, seemingly having gotten the hint I was trying to convey. This stops the disguised Faunus in her tracks as she looks at the girl in confusion. "Your book," Ruby clarifies, "does it have a name?" She stares at Ruby for a few seconds before she answers.

"Well... I-it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body." I hear her answer as I move to stand besides Yang, happy to watch Ruby take the lead now. My hard work is done and all is well with the world.

"Oh yeah, real lov-" Yang's remark is silenced by an elbow to the side from yours truly. "What was that for?" 

"Shhshshhh." Is my informative response as I clamp my hand over her mouth. "Look at that, blondie - our baby girl is finally managing to hold a conversation all on her own. I could just cry." She rolls her eyes at my theatrics as I withdraw my hand back to my side though she remains thankfully silent as we watch on.

"I love books," I hear Ruby say as she moves closer to Blake, "Yang and Harrow used to read to me every night before bed when I was younger. Stories of heroes and monsters? They're one of the reasons I want to be a Huntress." Hearing this Blake chuckles softly at the young girl standing in front of her, offering her a small, slightly sardonic smile for her efforts.

"And why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?" 

"Well, I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books. Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves."

"That's... very ambitious for a child." The smile falls from her face. "Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale." 

"Yeah, the real world has taxes, the Grimm, age restrictions for alcohol, taxes and-" a hand slaps itself across my mouth.

"If I can't spoil things then neither can you, Wolfy."

"Go'fhk'urs'lf."

"Well, that's why we're here! To make it better." Ruby replies, ignoring the two of us. She can't ignore us for too long however as, without warning, Yang is already bearing down upon Ruby, wrapping her up and holding her aloft.

"Oh, I am so proud of my baby sister!"

"Cut it out!"

And queue the scrapping siblings, though without the comical dust cloud. I shake my head in amusement at the scene unfolding before turning to Blake, who was also staring on in bemusement. 

"Are they... always like this?" Blake says suddenly as she looks up at me. I nod, shrugging.

"Yeah. You get used to it after a while, though. The joys of growing up in the same house and whatnot." I reply as I sit down besides her, leaning back against the wall and staring at the squabbling sisters. "Sorry about all of that, by the way; even a blind man could see you weren't exactly invested in their attempts at socializing so thank you for at least putting up with Ruby. Any confidence boost she can get is always appreciated."

"Hmm." Is all I get from her. Looks like her social battery was spent on indulging Ruby. Shame. I would have liked to get further than simple grunts and one word answers before the night was done but I suppose I have the next few weeks and months to get past this proverbial brick wall. "I won't bother you anymore than you have been then." I make to move to my feet. "Enjoy your-"

"No, wait." Surprised, I sit back down, staring at Blake who for whatever reason seemed to be wanting me to stay. "Sorry, it's just that I'm a bit... well, I suppose curious would be the right word."

"About?"

"If you don't mind me asking, I noticed that the blonde said that you were her and Ruby's brother, yet out of the three of you only one of you is a Faunus."

"And only one of the three is good looking - definitely a correlation there I'm sure." 

"Uh huh. Well, it's just rare - very rare at that - to hear of or even see a Faunus growing up in a Human household. I mean I assume that you're the only Faunus in their family? Neither Ruby nor Yang seem to have any observable Faunus traits. Is it fair to say that you were adopted?"

"More or less."

"More or less?"

"Would you believe me if I told you that after surviving being shipwrecked on an island and almost being eviscerated by a Beowolf in quick succession that I was found, rescued and then quite literally thrown to those two wolves over there? I wasn't so much adopted as I was actually just handed off." She frowns at this and for a second I'm confused as to what it was I had said that had her upset. Then I realise that I'd effectively just made it out as if I had been, well, sold.

And take a guess as to how that sounds to a fellow Faunus - especially one like Blake with her past affiliations.

In short: I'm a right knob. 

"What do you mean by "handed off" exactly?"

"A poor choice of words on my part, that. Let me clarify that I don't mean that I was auctioned off or sold or anything - I quite literally mean that the guy who saved me handed me to their father to take care off temporarily and yet I've somehow managed to weasel my way into their hearts through sheer force of character alone. Honestly, It's a weird, twisting series of events that somehow got me here." This seems to calm her down somewhat as her frown lessens into a look of understanding.

"I see. That certainly sounds like quite the story." I can't help but snort at her comment. Believe me kitty cat, you really don't know even the fucking half of it. 

"Oh it really is, and sometimes I actually love the part I get to play. I could tell you more about it if you'd like? It might not be as riveting as a man with two souls but a story about a man with two furry ears could be a little interesting?" She stares at me for a few moments, glancing between me and the ruckus taking place a few feet away from us. Then, much to my surprise, she closes her book and places it to the side and, even more surprisingly, smiles.

Well it's more of a half smile but compared to before I will most certainly chalk this up as a win. I suppose it also helps that being a Faunus might have gotten me some brownie points with the aloof, furtive feline. 

I just well and truly keep on winning.

"I'd like that."

"Grand. Well it all began when this drunk arseho-"

"What in the world is going on over here?!" And just like that the moment was ruined. "Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?" The pair of us turn to the banshee who had finally deigned to make herself known in my merry little world and who was now actively trying to burn a whole through Ruby and Yang through her icy glare alone.

And just like that we now have a full house. Hello, Team RWBY. Nice to make your acquaintance. Can we try harder this time around to keep everything from getting curb stomped into Hell, perchance?

Kind regards, 'me'.

"Oh, not you again!" Both Weiss and Yang whine simultaneously, with Ruby stuck in the middle trying, and failing, to play the role of peacemaker. To my side I hear Blake sigh.

"So much for hoping for some peaceful reading time tonight." I scoff at this, gesturing over to Ruby and Yang.

"Peace? Quiet? With dumb and dumber over there, not a chance of getting anything of the sort. Things are never quiet when those two are around." I then nod over to Weiss. "I take it that that's the girl Ruby almost nasally detonated?"

"Mhmm."

"She always does love to aim high that one. At least she has class to go for, well, class." 

"-what's your problem with my sister!?" Yang exclaims as Blake and I tune back into the argument playing out in front of us. "She's only trying to be nice!" 

"She's a hazard to my health!" Weiss retorts, gesturing wildly at Ruby, who, every time she tried to speak, was promptly interrupted by either the blonde or the white haired girl. All she could really do then was stand there and try and to find her happy place.

It probably involved a shooting range of sorts, now with the added addition of Weiss's face plastered onto the targets. 

"As I said - peace and quiet are just foreign concepts these days." She laughs quietly at that as she reaches over and grabs the candelabra besides her. "Hey, you don't mind if I sleep around here do you? I plan on waking up early tomorrow to prep and I'd rather not step on and give anyone a skull fracture on my way out." She glances over at me and to my sleeping bag. After a second or two she just shrugs.

"Be my guest - I'm an early riser as well. Maybe we can can pick back up where we left off in the morning?" 

"Where we left off?"

"With your "not so riveting" story as you put it."

"Ah, right. Sure thing. So long as I survive initiation to tell it, that is."

"I'm sure you'll do fine. If anything, getting through tomorrow just makes your story that little bit more interesting, right?" She says with a small smirk. I nod, laughing quietly.

Interesting, huh? Yeah, that's certainly one word with which you could describe my existence thus far. Maybe in a few years time or so I'll even make it the title of my biography - I'm sure it'll be a bestseller within the first week.

Not really sure what I'd title it though. I'd need something eye-catching if I wanted any hopes of making enough profit to buy my own little island somewhere sunny, quiet and, above all, utterly devoid of things wanting to snack on my major organs.

Oh I know - what about 'Grimm Sarcasm'?

...

Perhaps writing a book isn't for me. Or maybe it is. I'm still figuring my later-life options as I go along anyway, so I'll just come back to this another time instead. First, I need to focus on surviving the next twenty four hours before I can consider such lofty goals.

I'd probably make a piss poor writer anyway. Best to focus on being a better survivalist instead.

"That's the spirit. All else fails I'll just snark at them until they keel over and die." I climb on into my sleeping bag as the three hollering girls finally separate and meander off back to their own areas. Yang, seeing me having decided to sleep closer to Blake than with them, smiles teasingly, giving me a thumps up. I respond in kind with an entirely different finger.

"Good night, Harrow." Blake says from a small distance away, lifting up the candelabra. 

"And to you, Blake." I respond in kind.

And with that she blows out the candles and darkness envelops our little corner of the room, leaving me lying there with naught but my thoughts.

I have a new type of Dust to work with, I've met and spoken at some length with Blake Belladonna, I've tweaked Excalibur where needed and, as far as I can tell, there's nothing else for me to do now but wait for the morning to roll around and get this shit over and done with.

I will admit that the whole waiting is far worse than the Grimm I'll be expected to contend with. It's like being a child the night before Christmas, being as equally excited that you can't sleep yet wanting to so as to bring about the morning that much faster.

Except in my case my Christmas presents don't consist of a bike or some form of gaming console. Instead I get to unwrap boxes of high-grade explosives whilst fending off car-sized beasts trying to climb down my chimney seeking to eat both myself and the cookies I left out for Santa. And unfortunately for me we're all out of cookies.

One more night boys and girls. One more night and then it really gets interesting for us all.

As a wise man once said: "This is where the fun begins."

Here's hoping for yet another happy landing, then.

Chapter Text

Chapter 14

Despite all of my self-assurances and my usual leisurely outlook on things that should really be giving me existential crisis, the thought of the upcoming initiation did honestly have me quite on edge throughout the moonlit hours and by the time everybody else had drifted off I had given up on sleep. Instead I ended up dipping from the ballroom and out onto the school grounds, wandering around aimlessly and enjoying the tranquility of the silent, sleeping school.

You know, I don't think I've actually mentioned just how nice the facilities that are available to us around Beacon really are. Seriously, this place is fucking grand compared to what we had back home - both homes, that is.

The sports hall was equipped with the most modern of fitness equipment, the library was almost three times the size as what Signal boasted, the forge rooms were beautiful to behold and filled to the brim with all that I adored in life and, to top it all off, the school grounds even boasted their own mini fucking supermarket, loaded with all the goodies a dorm room of rambunctious teenagers would enjoy.

Minus alcohol of course. If you wanted to change that, you'd need to ask the person in charge of keeping the school stocked. Spoiler alert: it's not the Headmaster. Oh no, it's someone far more authoritative.

Good luck trying to pitch the idea of giving out alcohol to a bunch of rowdy, teenage demi-gods to Professor Goodwitch. Not that I won't give it a fair shot of course, but I'm almost certain I'll make it two words - three if I'm very lucky - before she shuts that shit down with a vengeance.

I suppose it was only fair. Lord only knows the world did not need another Qrow popping up.

It was when the first rays of the sun began to hit my face that I had returned to the ballroom to rejoin the rest of my fellow students, gathering the rest of my things and then promptly heading off to the cafeteria. Unsurprisingly I was the first one there and you know damn well that I took full advantage of being the only one to rock up at that godawful time of day to take first pick of the myriad of breakfast foods.

And you know what? If universities offered food nearly half as good as what was on offer in this simple canteen then my life might have gone down quite a different direction. Shit was 'bussin' as the youth were prone to saying back in the day.

Do they still say shit like that I wonder? What else might have changed back home since I woke up in Remnant?

Is France still on fire?

Ah what am I kidding - France is always on fucking fire for one reason or another.

Even better was the fact that they served actual, decent tea. Sure it was no Earl Grey, much to my chagrin, but it certainly hit a spot that had been so despairingly empty for many years. The Brit in me wasn't so much over the moon as much as he was shooting off into the stars to colonise two-thirds of the Milky Way in tea-fueled joy.

Fuck, do you even know how hard a decent blend is to acquire on Patch? The island isn't exactly known for its supply of the stuff, you know. All it has going for it is a combat academy and some trees. That's it. Not even tourists tend to bother with that place. 

Still, if you ever want peace and quiet then Patch is the place to go. Me personally, I'd give it a solid 8/10 review on TripAdvisor.

True to her word it wasn't too long until I was joined in the cafeteria by Blake who, upon seeing me, had gotten her own tray of assorted goods and joined me at my table. We ate in silence for a small while until she finally broke it, bringing up the previous night and asking to carry on where we had left off before Weiss had barged her way into existence. As I had promised I told her the story of how it was that a stray such as myself managed to get himself picked up and placed into the home of Ruby and Yang.

She found it funny when I described how Qrow had decided to just pick up some lost child and, instead of handing him off to the proper authorities, instead elected for the more reasonable and appropriate act of dumping him on his old teammate's front door. 

She found it less so when I described the circumstances that led to me being picked up in the first place and the amused look on her face turned to one of sympathy as I spoke about the events that led me to flee Atlas.

Another day, another lie and another individual I'm stringing along on my merry way to Hell and back. Maybe I should start charging tickets for this cruise of mine? I reckon doing so could finance my Dust costs twice over and still have another for a nice dinner by the end of it.

Considering the aforementioned quality of the food here I probably won't have a choice in the matter but to do so.

I did try my luck at asking Blake about her own history but, as expected, the answer she gave me was as fabricated as my own. I had expected as much from the girl anyway so I wasn't too fussed. If it had taken an entire Volume - and an accidental outburst at that - for her to trust her team enough to reveal her Faunus heritage then what chance did a guy who had only known her personally for a few hours have?

Unfortunately I've not levelled my speech stat high enough to pass that speech check just yet. We can try again in another month or two.

Or if and when Weiss ends up setting her off with that loveable, simmering prejudice she has against the Fang and, by extension, Faunus in general. What better way to bond with my fellow Faunus than through the joys of experiencing racial hatred by those around us? 

From there we more or less just made small talk about our reasons for coming and whatnot and, eventually, we ended up simply lapsing back into a comfortable silence as the two of us sat there at the table, one with a book from her bag and the other with a scroll from his pocket. It was nice, actually. A far cry to what I was used to with blondie and little red I will say.

I will say that, personally, I think I like Blake the most out of the team. Now before you all come bearing down on me with torches and pitchforks, heckling me with accusations of heresy and the likes, allow me to explain. Ruby and Yang I love dearly, but as with all siblings they can and do get a little too jarring for my tastes some days. It comes with the territory of being a sibling I know, but my point stands.

As for Weiss? Well, God only knows how I'll get on with her when I knew full well that her general bitchiness throughout the first few weeks will inevitably garner the appropriate reaction from yours truly that'll see our relationship rocky as fuck from the get-go, and that's without mentioning how I'll have to actively repress any instinctual negativity towards her from her early mistreatment of Ruby. It'll be interesting to say the least.

But Blake? Dare I say she's the one I could relate to the most out of the four. We're both keeping sizeable secrets from those closest to us, we're both Faunus, we both have ties to criminal organisations and, most importantly, we're both quite dry-witted. Truly a match made in Heaven. What really sells her to me though is that she's quiet. Very quiet. Quiet enough that if I want I could probably forget that she was even there in the first place.

And some peace and quiet in my life is fucking needed and very much appreciated.

That she's also a tea enjoyer only puts her up higher on the list of people I can get along with. She can battle it out with Yang for fourth place. Third goes to Zwei and second is permanently reserved for Ruby.

I'll let you figure out which blazer wearing rogue is storming into first place.

This silence persisted until the rest of the students began to groggily shuffle into the cafeteria in search of the nearest source of caffeine. Not wanting to be introduced too early to the remainder of the main cast of Beacon I decided that I'd spend the rest of my morning in one of Beacon's weapon workshops to make final preparations. I'm all but certain it was just my tiredness playing tricks on me but Blake almost seemed momentarily saddened to see me go.

Don't push your luck, Wolfy. You're charming, but you're not exactly Prince Charming.

After leaving both Blake and the cafeteria behind I had set off to my designated locker and retrieved both Excalibur and the many Dust magazines I had stored away for the days festivities, bringing them with me then to the nearest available workshop. In truth I hadn't exactly gone there to go over my weapon; I'd done enough checks over my weapon the night before and everything was more or less ready to go. My whole reason for being there at that point was to be alone so as to brainstorm my general plan for the day.

Firstly, I'd need to get through the whole launchpad situation. My solution to this was quite simple: a Gravity Dust round to slow my momentum and smoothen out my landing. Everyone else can keep their stylish methods of touching down - I'm a simple man with simple solutions that work out just fine for me.

Secondly, wherever I landed I would then have to go from there to the temple at the north the forest alongside everybody else in attendance. Again, simple enough. Just keep an eye on where the temple is whilst I'm in the air and then walk in that general direction. Failing that, follow the sound of bullets and screaming and ill just tag along with my partner and whoever else we find.

Which brings me then to my third and final issue - a partner. Preferably I'll find somebody that isn't a main character. Ruby herself had cornered me this morning shortly before the initiation began. She gave me the whole sales pitch about how cool and amazing it would be if she, Yang and I all ended up on the same team. She wasn't wrong - it would certainly be rather amazing.

Amazingly shit for me, that is.

Of course Ruby didn't know this, but in reality anyone from Teams RWBY or JNPR were not on the table for potential partners to me. As much fun as it would be to squeeze myself onto Team RWBY I neither need the headache of derailing canon nor do I feel like shoving myself onto center stage and painting an even bigger target on myself. I'm much more comfortable being an irrelevant side character in that regard, cheers.

I told her that I would certainly keep an eye out for the little scythe wielder and promised that I'd try my best. My reward was a big smile and an even bigger hug before she evaporated into a whirlwind of petals in search of Yang, hellbent on extracting a similar promise from the blonde.

As I said - not happening. Not on my end, anyway.

My options are rather limited then. Not only do I need to avoid eight select individuals who will be gallivanting around the forest, I need to find someone that I'd be able to stand working with for the next months, if not few years. I'm playing to win after all so investing in a decent partner wouldn't be that bad of an idea. I'd fucking love to get Pyrrha simply so I could throw her at half of my issues but Jaune needs his redheaded sugar mama to whip him into shape and I'll do a far better job at ensuring her long term survival from afar than I would standing next to her.

Cardin? Not a chance. Actually, bump those eight individuals to nine. Fuck him. Perhaps one of his teammates? They didn't seem too important in regards to the show so I might be able to get away with snagging one of them away from their cunt'ish leader and seeing if they're more malleable to a Faunus than they were under Cardin's leadership.

Also on the topic of partners, what about teams? Personally I'm not too fussed about who I'm on a team with so long as they aren't the aforementioned nine individuals and are equally not too fussed about me having furry ears. That would be a dream, that. I get enough flak already from nameless store owners who think me wanting to buy a sandwich is akin to holding everything they hold dear to themselves hostage.

So let's summarize everything one final time, shall we? 

Step 1: Survive the landing.

Step 2: Survive the walk to the temple.

Step 3: Survive long enough to get a decent partner before reaching said temple.

Step 4: Survive long enough to get one of those chess pieces from said temple.

Step 5: Survive long enough to pass 'Go' and collect the £200 I'm owed.

In conclusion my plans were easy enough to follow and follow them I shall, but not before leaving you with one final, obligatory question: "Where we dropping, boys?"

The answer to which we will all discover together. When, you may wonder? Well, probably in about three...

Two...

One...

Now!

In quick succession I fire off two Gravity Dust rounds, feeling my momentum slowing down rapidly as soon as they have embed themselves into the floor down below. Unfortunately it's not enough to slow me down as much so as to simply land on my feet and so I brace myself. A moment later and I hit the ground, rolling forward with what was left of my momentum and coming to a stop in a kneeling position.

One day I'll stick the landing perfectly, I swear it.

My ears twitch, alerting me to something off to the right. Immediately I turn, Excalibur already aimed at the disturbance. A good thing, too, as no sooner have I taken aim that a Beowolf promptly rushes out of the bushes towards me, snarling viciously. I wait for but a moment to see if anything else was going to charge out from behind it and fortunately nothing else does. With a savage grin I once more pull the trigger, watching with glee as a newly chambered Fire Dust round does its job wonderfully in handling the beast.

"You can fuck right off, you four legged geriatric." I murmur vindictively, rising to my feet just as the Grimm collapses to the ground. "You lot aren't as scary as you were a decade ago, prick." The disintegrating corpse can't hear me but it makes me feel good all the same and so that's what matters.

Content that I'd be facing no more issues presently I take the chance to look around, surveying my surroundings. Imagine my surprise when, all around me, I see nothing but thick forest in all directions. Shocking, I know, but here we are. As it is, it's quiet and it's calm, especially now that my immediate threat had been dealt with. For now I was alone and free to take stock of what I was working with.

Again, I had enough ammo to likely last me from here to the temple and back to the cliffs. Provided I don't run into groups of Grimm bigger than, say, more than a couple dozen I should be fine. Furthermore I'd need to withhold on using my Explosive Dust rounds. As much fun as they would be to use in a fight, I didn't want to waste them on those Grimm that I could just as easily take down with my other, less expensive and far less volatile rounds.

Last thing I needed was to expend my most powerful ammunition on the basic fuckers and then be faced with something far bigger than them later on with nothing but a few measly Ice Rounds to see me home.

Now as for my destination? Well, in regards to the temple I knew its general location in regards to where I was currently standing and, for the time being, that would have to do. It would be a good trek and a half but I already knew that it would be so I can't exactly complain. All I needed to do for the time being is to just walk in a straight line north whilst and keeping my head on a swivel for anything else that felt like gnawing at my femur.

Hell, if I get lost in any way I suppose I can just follow the sounds of screaming.

"Birdie, no!"

And speaking of screaming there goes Ruby, turning the local avian population into red mist. You go, girl. Who else can I spy up there? Ah, that must be Yang I can see blasting over the treeline. Those blonde locks are noticeable for at least a few kilometres in all directions. Anybody else?

No?

Alrighty then, now to-ooh hold that thought, there's another girl screaming up there. Where are the- ah, nevermind, it's just the witless seventh wonder of the world flailing like a knob as he plummets to his untimely death.

Sure would be fucking funny if I were to just shoot the javelin out of the air when it comes flying towards him.

Nah, only kidding. I'd need that man alive and breathing for later on. His Semblance was quite important, after all. Speaking of javelins, that weapon of Pyrrha's should come sailing through the air any second n- and there he goes, propelled in a completely different direction and not at all fated to suffer from whiplash by the sudden shift in course. 

"Thank you!" His voice calls out somewhere to the east a few seconds later.

"I'm sorry!" Replies the owner of the weapon, only slightly further away from Jaune and rapidly approaching.

Go get your boytoy, Pyrrha. 

I, on the other hand, will go on my merry way northward to collect my funny little chess piece and carry on with my life.

In ten minutes, that is. I need the rest of the cast to start moving before I do. This way there's far less of a chance of me running into anybody important and fucking up the team compositions. Again, really not what I want happening. Especially when I know full well that at this moment in time there's a particularly speedy girl probably dashing around trying to find me before anyone else.

You're adorable, Ruby, but not adorable enough for me to be on your team just this second.

For now, I'll just wait around back here and whistle a catchy tune whilst I wait.

Oh, and also shoot anything that comes near me on four legs with extreme prejudice.

Happy hunting, boys and girls. See you all on the flip-side.

Wherever that ends up being.

"All the students have now landed, with only a select few having faced difficulties in doing so." Glynda says, staring down at the camera feeds coming through her scroll. A few feet away, the Headmaster lets out an amused hum as he too watches the same footage as his deputy head, standing at the cliff edge overlooking the forest.

"Mr Arc, I presume?" She nods, switching to the camera showcasing the poor blond in question.

"Amongst others, yes. For such complimentary transcripts, I'm not... well, I don't feel the need to question your decision regarding his acceptance as there is yet plenty of time for me to be proven wrong, but so far I'm finding it difficult to see the same person that had been described in those notes." 

"Give it time, Glynda," he replies, "you might be surprised. Allow him a chance to get his bearings before you pass judgement on him." She continues to watch the live footage of Mr Arc helplessly struggling against the weapon pinning him to the tree. She almost felt pitiful at the sight. After a few moments she nods, flipping the feed over to a different student. "Has anybody else faced difficulties thus far?" The Headmaster enquires, looking over to her. She nods, moving to join him at the cliff edge.

"Mr Winchester encountered a pair of Ursa Minors but had no issues in dispatching them, though his newly found partner, Mr Thrush, suffered damage to his Aura. Elsewhere, Mr Burgundy had some issues with his landing strategy. Though his size compliments his fighting style simply barreling through the foliage and swinging a greatsword is, whilst effective at cutting a path through the forest, likely to attract more Grimm than he might be comfortable with." 

"Boys will be boys, as the saying goes." 

"Indeed. As it stands then all students currently participating are on track to make it to the relics within the next two hours." She says, flicking through the cameras. She stops on one particular broadcast however, and her eyes narrow in annoyance. "All except one, it would seem." 

"Oh?" Ozpin says, turning towards her with a look of mild amusement. "Is Mr Arc truly finding extracting the javelin pinning him to the tree that arduous?"

"I'm not referring to Mr Arc in this particular instance." She holds up her scroll, showing off the current footage to the Headmaster. The amusement on Ozpin's face only grew at what he was viewing. "Evidently we did not make it clear enough to Mr Grey about the dangers present within the forest."

On screen was the young man in question, leisurely lazing against a tree, twirling his weapon in his hand as if it were some toy prop. The Deputy Headmistress frowned at the sight - was it confidence or arrogance on display here? She couldn't say. What she could say, however, was that if he wanted to find a partner and make good time towards reaching the temple before a pack of Grimm caught him unawares then he would be better off staying mobile.

She had reviewed the footage sent over by Qrow in regards to his performance in Signal's W.E.S.T examination with the Headmaster. On the one hand his performance had been, in her own professional opinion at Ozpin's request, rather sloppy. Twice in that scenario he had been caught flatfooted - the first being when he had been pinned under one of the Beowolves and the second during his showing off with his weapons secondary functions. Were someone to perform similarly in her own classes then she would have had half a mind to fail them there and then.

A Huntsman is a warrior, not a circus performer.

On the other hand however she had to admit that as true as her points were, considering the circumstances of his examination they could be somewhat forgiven. No other student had been forced to face off against a pack the size as the one he had faced that year. His peers faced no more than two - he faced no less than six. Whilst surviving such a scenario in itself would have been enough to earn him a passing grade, that he dispatched the entirety of the pack with little more than a few scratches may have earnt him a distinction.

Moreover, even she had to admit that his particular usage of Gravity Dust in combination with the hard-light shield he had been surrounded by was a rather ingenious move. She may not give out points for style but she certainly could for creative thinking.

From what she had read regarding his consistent usage of Dust, the overall design of his weapon and recalling a particular meeting involving Qrow and his potential familial relations to the boy - in which his colourful personality was discussed -  he was certainly looking to be a creative individual indeed. 

A boisterous brawling blonde, a silver-eyed, scythe wielding speedster and a willful, gunslinging wolf. Mr Xiao Long's brood were certainly shaping up to be something special. Hopefully all three would come out of the initiation intact and in success.

She did not want to have to write to him that he had lost yet another loved one.

"Hmm. Most curious." She's brought out of her musings by Ozpin's intrigued tone.

"Headmaster?" The man gestures down at the screen.

"He appears to be singing a tune of sorts. Would you be so kind as to turn up the audio?" She nods. A second later and the young Faunus's voice begins to come through the speakers.

"~-but of all the world's great heroes, there's none that can compare, with a tow-row-row-row-row..." The young man's arm snaps up suddenly, aiming his weapon at something just off-screen. Even from their position up on the cliff they didnt need the audio to hear the shot that rings out throughout the forest. A moment later and a Beowolf skids into and then out of frame as its momentum carries it across the forest floor and back into the shrubbery.

The young man seems to watch the body slide past with indifference for a moment. Then he shrugs nonchalantly and returns back to leaning against the tree, once more leisurely twirling his weapon around in his hand. "~...To the British Grenadiers!~"

Again, points are not given out for style and his passing of the examination is dependent on his acquisition of both a partner and a relic, not on his kill count and admittedly impressive vocal range.

"Catchy. Should he prove unable to pass the tests, perhaps a future in the music industry would better suit his talents?"

"If you say so, sir."

After a small while and couple of confirmed kills later I decided I'd wasted enough time waiting around for everyone else to fuck off and began to move. For the most part I decided to stay off of the tracks throughout the forest in favour of pushing my way through the dense foliage, relying on my enhanced Faunus hearing to pick up on any Grimm movement within the shadows of the trees.

So far little of note had happened for the past half hour or so. Beyond hearing the distant cracks of gunfire and the rustling of birds in the trees there had been nothing else of interest going on around me. 

In regards to my search for a partner then? Well if you want to be generous I suppose you could say that I'd successfully managed to make a partnership between the words 'jack' and 'shit' and then applied the resulting vocabularic breakthrough to the results of my search. 

And honestly, that was both good and bad. It was good in that it meant that my plan had worked in getting the members of Teams RWBY and JNPR as far away from me as possible for the time being. On the flipside of course it was bad in that it now meant then that everybody else who might have been an option for partnering up with on that cliff had also put a fair bit of distance between them and myself. 

Bummer.

Nothing else to do for it but to continue onwards in my journey north. There were no clear landmarks to identify how close I may have been to the temple but I'm about eighty percent positive that I was still going in the right direction. Or so I hoped I was anyway. 

Again, the temple is to the north. If I keep heading north then eventually I'll find something of value, whether it be the temple itself or a fellow student.

If I'm lucky, I'll find both at the same time. That would be positively delightful, that.

Slashing my way through a particularly thick bit of foliage I find myself coming out into a rather sizeable clearing. With some caution I step out into the open, scanning the area and, for the time being, finding no sign of any lurking Grimm. Further ahead there's a small path leading further north into the forest, whilst to my left there's a second which leads westward. Other than that there's nothing else around but greenery.

"Alright then Harrow old boy, what's your plan?" I muse aloud, casually drawing lines into the ground with the tip of Excalibur's blade. "No partner, no relic and currently no hope of passing this showshow with flying colours. The temple can't be too further north now, can it?"

Probably not. Even taking into account my relatively slow pace through the forest I shouldn't be too far from the temple. A mile or so, give or take? It's not as if we were allowed to bring a map into the forest so at this point rough estimations are all I have. "Not only that, but where on Remnant is everybody else? There some sort of forest party I never got the memo about? What's a guy got to do around here to meet some friendly faces not intent on biting off mine?"

"Maybe if he paid less attention on stabbing shapes into the ground and more on his surroundings he might just find whoever he's looking for?" In a flash I've already turned around, Excalibur having already transitioned back into its gun form and pointing forwards.

My breath catches in my throat when my eyes land on the owner of the voice and it takes considerable effort on my part not to start screaming incandescently as two pairs of eyes - one set a dark brown and the other a striking amber - meet across the clearing.

Oh, son of a bitch. "Especially when time is running out for finding a partner, Harrow."

No.

No, no, no.

Not happening. This cannot be fucking happening.

I cannot be taking Blake as a partner. 

This is a joke, right? This- where in the holy fuck is Yang right now!? 

"Can you maybe not point a gun at my new best friend for the next four years, 'H?" It takes even more effort to hold back what would have been an almost orgasmic sounding sigh of relief at the sudden appearance and words of one Yang Xiao Long, who pushes her way through the bushes just a few feet away from Blake and joins the pair of us in the clearing. Seeing the scene before her she smiles teasingly, waggling her eyebrows. "And to think the pair of you seemed to be hitting it off so well last night as well. You've lost your touch, Wolfy."

"Suck a lemon, blondie." I murmur, lowering Excalibur back to my side. The girl grins widely.

"Ooh, testy aren't we?" She turns to Blake, who was watching on with a brief hint of annoyance. "Bad breakup?" She rolls her eyes and refuses to rise to Yang's childish behaviour. "Okay, okay, I'll stop intruding on your lovers spat. So what's going on in your neck of the woods, Wolfy? Still no partner?" My response consists of a deadpan stare and to gesture at the wide open space of nothingness between us. "Ah. Well, uh... keep looking?"

Well golly gosh, why didn't I think of that, huh?

"Aren't you just a veritable font of helpful advice."

"Hey now, it's not my fault everybody else wants to go tango with the Grimm instead of getting a taste of your winning charm, little bro." 

"More likely you've driven off everyone in for miles around on account of how inherently annoying you are."

"Oh yeah?" She throws an arm over a now uncomfortable looking Blake. "My new friend Blakey here says otherwise." 

"Please don't involve me." The bow-wearing Faunus says, sliding out from under Yang's arm. "I'm a neutral party in all of this and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Hey Blake," I say, "if you stab her and we hide the body under the bushes there then you'll be free to partner up with me instead."

"Pfft. As if she'd ever-"

"Her Aura is too strong for me to simply pierce my way through at the moment, so I don't think it would be as easy as that, Harrow." Blake replies nonchalantly, twiddling with Gambol Shroud. Slowly, Yang turns to look over at Blake.

"...That doesn't sound like a very neutral statement to me." The Faunus shrugs.

"I'm just pointing it out, that's all."

Alrighty then, sociopathic tendencies aside I'm very much glad to see that Blake had indeed partnered with Yang and that I was not in fact about to accidentally derail everything into the ground by ending up as her partner for the next four years. Would have been great, sure, but Team RWBY needs to be, well, Team RWBY.

Not sure I can feasibly pronounce it without the 'B' in its name.

Team RWY... RUWY... RUWUEY

Please put the phone down, ma'am. I am not having a stroke nor do I need an ambulance.

Okay, well thankfully that is certainly one one crisis averted. Now I just needed to go about promptly resolving the other crisis brewing regarding my lack of a partner and I should - theoretically that is - be in the clear. Now where the fuck do I find one in this day and age that hasn’t already been paired up? 

Surely they haven’t all buddied up by this point, right? I know full well that there were more than just a few teams worth up on that cliff before I got launched into this damnable woodland.

"Harrow?" Blake says suddenly, getting my attention, "I can't guarantee that they will still be in the area, but on the way we did hear some of the other students coming from that direction." She points Gambol Shroud to the west, specifically to the path I had observed earlier. "If you're lucky they might still be around, and hopefully one of them will need a partner as much as you do." I follow her attention to the path, staring at it in thought.

Hmm. It's not like I have a choice in regards to partners at this point. All things considered by this point most of the people in this forest should have buddied up by now and whatever options I have are dwindling with each passing minute.

Time is very much now of the essence seeing as how my whole plan of waiting around has backfired on me. I nod in agreement with Blake as I turn back towards the duo.

"I don't really have much of a choice by this point so sure, I'll bite. Down there you say?" I nod my head over towards the western path and she nods affirmatively. "Cool. Well I shall have to go see what everybody else is up to on this fine day and see what the locals are saying in regards to securing me a placement and whatnot." I shift Excalibur into its sword form for the inevitable hacking through bushes that will be coming up next. "Any last words of encouragement for me, ladies?"

"Give them your winning smile, Wolfy." Yang remarks. "When have you ever met anyone able to resist those fluffy ears of yours?" I scoff at this, holding up my hand and raising a digit for each of the following:

"Two-thirds of Signal, two-thirds of Vale's population, your ex-boyfriend, the average shop keeper, the-"

"Alright, alright," the blonde interrupts, "so you can't win over everyone in Remnant through fluff alone. But look at the bright side - you don't need to charm them so much as you just need to pin them down and make eye contact. Improvise, Wolfy. You'll figure something out by the end of the day, I'm sure of it." Pinning down the first person I meet, huh?

That will assuredly put me on a good standing with whoever it is I meet in the next twenty minutes or so and not instead charged with battery.

"Again, font of knowledge, blondie. Right, I best go see who I can find that-a-way then. See you later, ladies." With that I turn and make my way over towards the western most path leading back into the forest. So they had heard students in this direction, did they? Let's see what I can find then.

"Harrow?" I turn back around at Blake calling my name. "Good luck." 

"Thank you kindly, Blake." I reply, nodding in appreciation. She returns my nod with a small smile. With that I turn back around to the path and with a bit more determination in my steps I saunter off back into the forest, leaving the duo to continue on their own mission towards the temple.

So people are this way, huh? Alright, might have a chance then. Here's hoping then that there is at least one person in this direction as desperate as I am right now, hey?

You know, they did say up on the cliff that it would be the first person you make eye contact with that you partner up with, right? Okay, how about I just look into a mirror and pretend that I've got, like, a split personality or something?

Boom, I now have a partner: Myself.

Loopholes, baby.

As had become the overall theme of my day so far, my luck remained extraordinarily poor. Despite Blake's helpful pointer and the clear signs of human activity in the forest in this westward direction I had still yet to come across another soul - other than the odd Beowolf or two, but they don't have souls so I can't exactly count them as people.

A good thing too, considering what I did to them for their interrupting of my search efforts. PETA would have shuffled me to the top of their hit list for my terrible crimes against the local animal population I'm sure.

Yet despite the lack of results I marched onwards, still hopeful that I could find someone before I had to give up and just double back north towards the temple.

Logically speaking I should have just disregarded everything and beelined straight for the relics. Considering everyone was going to end up there one way or another it made perfect sense to get there, grab my chess piece and then wait around for everyone else to rock on up.

Anyone without a partner would have eventually turned up with the same plan in mind as I, right?

Then why haven't I by this point you might ask? A good question that, and one that I'm still trying to answer for myself, especially when I consider just how fruitless this direction has proven in bringing about results in the duo department. 

Alright Harrow, let's do a quick consideration whilst we walk in a straight line, shall we?

Okay dokay, so first off - no partner. A real big fucking issue that is going to end up shafting me by the end of this if I don't rectify that issue post haste. I sincerely doubt they'll let me stick around in Beacon without a partner, let alone even a team to work with. Thus far the only people I've met on my merry way were Yang and Blake, and by the end of this they'll end up joining Ruby and Weiss.

Secondly, the relic pieces. Guess whose lacking one of those fine chess accessories? This guy, that's who. By now I likely would have reached the ruined temple and been pocketing one of the myriad of relics left there for us wandering initiates. Instead, here I was meandering through the forest like a lost child trying to find a friend.

All in all, my success rate for todays tasks can be measured in the negative range. Alright, fuck it, looks like Plan A for getting through initiation has certainly crashed and burnt. In that case, it looks like we're falling back onto Plan B: I shall book it north with speed, find the temple, grab a relic piece and pray for some biblical miracle to deliver unto me a hot single in my area to team up with.

I've certainly prayed for worse things.

With one last growl of annoyance I turn on toes, pushing my way through the foliage and heading off in a different direction. 

In all seriousness Harrow, what is the plan of action right now? All things considered we are looking at an increasing likelihood of failing initiation and, therefore, expulsion from Beacon. Realistically how is that going to affect our grand plans?

For starters it's going to fucking take a wrench to my kneecaps for a start. Most of my more outlandish ideas heavily revolved around the fact that I would be here to undertake them in the first place. The Amber situation under the school? Cinder and the CCTS system? The Breach and the Vytal Festival? My best methods of handling them were to be with the same people directly involved in opposing them. 

What's more believable to the powers that be? A Huntsman-in-training following clues left behind with his teammates, or some random civvie with a big gun just happening to be in the area when shit goes down?

I can't exactly get involved in all of those future situations if I have no reasonable reason to be there in the first place. Being a fellow student and getting "dragged" into such situations by Team RWBY as they go on their merry campaign of good-natured destruction throughout Vale is a far more believable reason for my involvement than simply popping up unannounced before, during and after such events as I would end up doing otherwise.

Secondly, my reliance on individuals like Roman will end up being upped to levels I wouldn't be too comfortable with. Without the joys of being close enough to the action to influence it I'd need to utilise the hook I have over Roman to increasing degrees. I'd run the risk of either burning him out or him beginning to believe that I needed him far more than he did me. Furthermore, being in Beacon with the rest of the girls will allow me to correlate his activities with that of what we see in the show and act on the timing appropriately.

I can't exactly know when the raid on the docks will occur or when he ends up going on his Paladin joyride without seeing the preluding events beforehand and moving accordingly without being with the girls in the first place.

Thirdly and, perhaps most importantly, I suppose Ruby will be pretty gutted that her big brother didn't get in. If there's anything that'll motivate me to getting shit done it's the thought of a tearful Ruby.

I spoil her, I truly do.

To make a long story short then, I need to get into Beacon one way or another if I wanted to keep the plans I had brewing feasible later on. Maybe I could do it outside of Beacon. Maybe I could just keep sending out little hints to Ironwood and the rest of Ozpin's gang here and there. He bit the bait for getting Merlot out of the picture and so I could keep using that little inkling of trust he has to keep feeding them small hints as to the future.

But I can't trust what I can't see and I can't exactly verify that they'll do what needs to be done without seeing it up close and personal. Where closer can I be to the action than at Beacon?

I slash forward once again, coming out of a particularly dense bit of shrubbery and finding myself at a gap in the road. I come to a stop, grunting in annoyance at the sight before me. It was a rather sizeable gap in the road at that. Very sizeable, in fact.

Perhaps I should clarify that said gap is a strikingly large ravine, stretching for quite a fair distance both in length and width. Not exactly one that you traverse without a pole the size of Yang's ego.

"A bridge, a bridge! My kingdom for a bridge!" I shake my head, chuckling to myself at the unfairness of it all. Just as I've some semblance of a plan in mind I'm faced with yet another bulwark intent on kicking me in the balls. I kneel down at the edge of the ravine, looking down into the gaping abyss to see if there was anything of note down there.

My ears twitch at the sound of a familiar growl emanating from behind and I sigh. Three, two, one... and roll. Half a second later and my fifth Beowolf of the day goes sailing past right where I had been and over the edge, roaring out as it plummeted to its certain demise. Moving back to where I had just been I give the Beowolf a jaunty little wave as it falls from sight and into the darkness.

Well then, other than a lethal drop that not even my Aura would be able to tank I doubt that there is much down there of use to me. I turn then to the area around, seeing if the gap shrunk enough somewhat for me to perhaps use my still unused Explosive Dust as a makeshift launchpad. Such an idea is promptly scrapped as I realise that I neither wanted to risk my Aura nor did I want to use the valuable ammunition on such an endeavor. 

Back to the drawing board, then.

Taking a look further down the line of the ravine, I spy something that catches my attention. An opening in the ravine wall further along was present, leading into what appeared to be a cave of sorts. It wouldn't be too difficult to reach - I still had a number of Gravity Dust rounds to use to see me down safely. If I'm lucky, it might just lead out somewhere that wasn't here and therefore closer to my destination.

Or it could just lead to a dead end.

Or a nest of Grimm.

Who knows?

What I do know however is that time is of the essence. I have no partner, no relic and no time to wait around hoping for whatever deity was up there to take pity on me and hand me a boon of my own. If I wanted to salvage the day I'd need to take some big risks, and a dark, foreboding cave in the middle of the ravine?

Well, what did I have to lose exactly?

My life, as it turns out.

"Oh yeah, let's waltz on into the dark cave in the middle of a ravine itself in the middle of this shithole of a fore-"

I duck at the last second, avoiding the sudden appearance and swipe of a Grimm's claw and using the momentum to slide across the cave floor, before rushing back to my feet and continuing to sprint down the pitch black tunnel, blindly firing Excalibur behind me as I go. "Okay, not one of my best ideas, I got it! Give me a break and fuck off, would you?! I'm doing my best here, gentlemen!"

The cacophony of roars that follows such a request tells me that they aren't inclined to meet it. Just my luck, honestly.

The darkness of the cave recedes under the brightness of the Fire Dust round I fire off just ahead and into the ceiling, using the resulting flare of light as a temporary beacon to guide my way further underground. Whilst I might have enhanced night vision due to my Faunus heritage I was still struggling to make out the many passageways of the cave without getting closer to them. This applied also to the bastards seemingly climbing out of the walls to skewer me to them

I am not a fan of what the light reveals just ahead of me, but I'm nothing if not a problem solver.

The second Fire Dust round I fire goes further down into the cave itself as it burns a hole right between a pair of baleful, red eyes. A few seconds later and I vault over the now dead Beowolf, taking a moment to look back over my shoulder and at my determined pursuer.

Scratch that - pursuers. The plural is very prevalent here, believe me.

Shockingly enough one of my original guesses as to the contents of the cave had been rather unceremoniously proven to be correct when only a few minutes into the cave I had ended up wandering headfirst into a rather wide, open chamber of the cave system. All had been well up to that point and I had initially believed that, unlike the cave that Jaune and Pyrrha ended up perusing, mine was empty and that I but needed only to find an exit and I could continue to plan the rest of my day.

That lasted all about five minutes until I entered that chamber. Wondering what all of the weird, dark outlines that I could make out in the darkness were and feeling pressured for time I had decided to take the reasonable and appropriate course of action: firing a Fire Dust round into the ceiling of the chamber and illuminating the cave.

Sometimes my genius can be frightening. My sheer ineptitude even more so.

Those aforementioned black shapes I saw? Sleeping Grimm of all different sizes. 

The chamber I had entered? Their main nest.

The dickhead standing right in the middle of both and looking very, very tasty for the rapidly awakening and growling inhabitants of the cave system?

Why, the most handsome and moronic Faunus to ever grace the world with his sardonic wit.

Were I living in some fanciful cartoon I might have been allowed to simply tiptoe my way out of there with the promise of never coming back - or perhaps offering them something edible as a peace offering for my intrusion. Unfortunately for me, this shit ain't a cartoon, life is not fair, and the only thing edible in sight to bribe the Grimm with was currently being chased throughout a labyrinth of underground caves, screaming bloody murder and gambling on finding a big, glowing "EXIT" sign in the next few minutes.

Should I survive this I will allow those who may one day hear of this story one free kick to my head each. It should serve as a hopeful reminder to myself that I do, in fact, have a brain in there and that, in the future, using such a thing will avoid me being in a similar situation such as this again.

No promises, though. 

Seeing the veritable horde of Grimm rapidly coming my way from whence I had came I quickly turn back around and continue running. As it is I had no map and no clear cut idea of where in the fuck I was supposed to run to in this scenario, especially when I knew full well that the entrance from which I had come in from was likely a good half mile back. I couldn't get to it now - my way back was currently a no-go zone.

To make matters worse I did not have enough ammo for all of those fuckers behind me. Over what felt like a good dozen or so minutes I had expended quite a lot of my magazines trying to lessen the horde pursuing me. By this point I was down to only a few Fire Dust rounds, a pair of Ice Dust rounds and, surprisingly, all of the Explosive Dust rounds - and vials in my blazer - that I had still refused to use in such an enclosed space.

It would be quite funny, yes, but also just as likely to bring the cave down on top of me just as much as it would them.

Running in abject terror into the dark had been my go-to course of action for some time now. Story of my life, that.

I turn a corner, continuing to run whilst firing off a few hopeful shots behind me as I do so. Accurate shots are no longer required when faced with the number of Grimm on my tail - it'll hit something and that will have to do. Ahead of me I can just about make out what appears to be a fork in the tunnel, one of many I had already encountered and with yet another two separate ways for me to run.

Left or right, fellas? Which way lies freedom and which way the grave?

Hmm. How about a coin toss- no, fuck it, we keep going right. It's like a multiple choice question - if you keep picking 'B' then eventually you'll get it right.

I do just that, but not before almost tripping over my own momentum as I deviate in course at the last second. I steady myself just in time to bounce off of the wall to then use it as a springboard to propel myself back into motion, but not before almost being flattened against the cave wall by a particularly agile Grimm that had decided to pounce. Unluckily for the beast it met nothing but hard, cold stone - and then one of my last Fire Dust rounds - for its troubles.

"Get a fucking grip and piss off would you?! I ain't got enough rounds to see to all of you, you impertinent arseholes!" My defiant shouts are met by another series of vicious and unwelcoming roars from behind as the horde refuse to desist in their pursuit. If anything they seem to be getting into more of a frenzy than they already were.

Bollocks.

I turn yet another corner, then sprint down another tunnel in a process that I have repeated dozens of times already. I find another fork in the caves and, again, my instincts tell me to go right, to which I sprint down and find myself at yet another pair of tunnels going in different directions. Continuing to choose the same answer in the hopes of my prayers being met I once again sprint down the right side tunnel in search of salvation.

A few turns later and I slide to a sudden stop, almost tripping over yet again as the reward for all of my efforts thus far reveals itself to me, in all of it's dead-ended glory.

Providence, it seems, is not with me. "Oh fuck me running." I have about ten seconds and counting until the horde is upon me and, in frustration, I run my hands wildly through my hair, looking up at the ceiling of the cave- my eyes widen. 

There's a hole. A man sized hole. A man sized hole hole in which lays another cave and, maybe, just fucking maybe, my way out?

And thanks to that most wondrous thing known as Aura, it was but a jump and a grab away. "Oh you fucking beauty." I almost hit myself with Excalibur as I bring it up to my face, biting back a growl as I confirm that I was out of Gravity Dust rounds. 

They had all been spent early into the chase in an effort to pin the horde to the walls in an attempt to buy myself time to escape. It had worked for the most part, up until I ran out and had been forced to fallback onto more conventional methods of handling the issue.

Namely the time tested tactic of 'spray-and-pray'.

I've no time for anymore celebrations of deliverance or condemnations of my magazine misfortunes as the familiar telltale sense of something being right behind me flares up with a vengeance and I'm forced to spin around to face the first of likely dozens of Grimm. My cat-like grin falls when I see what had decided to join me in this particular section of the cave.

It was a Beowolf. But huge. Like, very fucking huge.

Evidently someone did not skip leg day. Or any day, for that matter.

"Ah... you're, uh, pretty big. Pretty big indeed. I think I'll name you 'Tesco'. You a fan?" The Alpha Beowolf growls menacingly and steps towards me, to which I in turn take a step back. "Tough crowd. I don't suppose you wanna just let bygones be bygones?" Another guttural growl and another step forward. "Fair enough, I guess." I reply, taking yet another step backwards. I risk a glance upwards and see that, thankfully, I had maneuvered myself right beneath the hole.

I just needed to time the jump right. Aura or not, if I don't make it through in one go then I'm not getting a second chance.

My attention turns back to the newly named Tesco and, slowly, I begin raising my hands above my head whilst simultaneously bending my knees in preparation for the jump to come. If I fuck up here, I am not going to enjoy the consequences.

The growl emanating from the Grimm suddenly turns into an ear shattering roar as, now out of patience - or perhaps realising what I was about to do somehow - Tesco charges forward. I need no further convincing and with a curse laden shout I jump into the air, using my Aura to propel me just that few extra feet. I almost miss my target by the skin of my teeth but I just about grab ahold of piece of outcropping in the cave wall and, with the momentum on my side, try to pull myself upwards.

The key word here is "try", as whilst I'm endeavoring to pull myself up something else was trying equally as hard to pull me right back down.

And out of the two of us, I was losing.

"Fuck OFF, you horrid cunt!" I roar out in pain as Tesco's claw tightens its grip over my leg, trying to pull me back down. A small part of me is astounded that the limb had not simply been pulled cleanly from the rest of me, until I realise that my Aura was tanking it.

Speaking of said Aura, it was beginning to flicker dangerously in the area around the Grimm's claw and I did not need to know what would be made of both my leg and the rest of me if it shattered under the vice-like grasp of the Alpha Beowolf.

With a painced grimace I look back down into the face of Tesco, who in turn was glaring up at me with impassive hatred. I had an idea, but it was going to hurt. "I'm not that tasty, mate," the hand holding onto Excalibur comes off of the rock and I point the weapon downwards, a particularly vibrant orange colour signifying the current round chambered within, "but this? This is going to taste even fucking worse."

I'm almost certain that I see a flash of fear in its eyes before my finger flexes around the trigger and the Explosive Dust round shoots out from the barrel, embedding itself at the feet of the Grimm. For a split second it's almost silent as time seems to slow to a crawl. 

The silence and stillness is promptly shattered by the resulting wave of noise and heat as the round detonates in the floor.

The shockwave of the explosion sends me flying upwards into the roof of the tunnel I had been hoping to climb into and, with a grunt of agony, I slam into the ceiling hard, before then unceremoniously dropping with almost as equal force into the floor. I remain there for a few seconds, waiting for the ringing in my ears to subside and the pain in my everything to lesson to a manageable degree.

My Aura had remained intact, yes, but it couldn't absorb everything at such a close range without me feeling it - fuck me was I certainly feeling it. 

On another note relating to Aura, thank fuck it existed, right? Were it not for it holding up just before then my next initiation would have probably been at the Paralympics for the one-legged long jump. 

Despite recent events I'm finding that I like my current career path, thanks.

With a groan I roll onto my back, lifting my head up and staring at the hole I had just blown myself up through and aiming Excalibur towards it, not fully trusting that the explosion had either killed off the Alpha Beowolf or that the rest of the horde who I could hear scrambling around below weren't going to at least try and fit their bulky frames through the gap in the floor.

When nothing tries to clamber through after a few moments I lower the gun, before rolling back onto my front and pushing myself - with significant effort at that - back to my feet. I almost fall to a knee as I try to shake off what was certainly feeling like the mother of all concussions and keep myself stable.

Now that was have at most a minute of peace before they find another way up here, let's go over what we have learnt today, hey Wolfy? Are we going to casually stroll on into anymore caves in the future without backup? Are we going to fire off Fire Dust and Explosive Dust rounds in unknown and enclosed environments?

"Ruby... is not touching this shit." 

At least I had learnt that. With one final exhale I start moving again, using the wall of the cave as a temporary support. Thankfully it seemed that I had earnt a small respite as the howls and yelps of the Grimm down below go silent; the monsters in the cave beneath me had hopefully given up the pursuit for the time being now that they had lost their prey. 

That worked for me. I was more than happy to catch my breath, gather my bearings and continue to search for an exit - now mercifully unimpeded by Grimm.

For a few minutes I'm cautiously following the cave as it inclines upwards somewhat. Quite a few of the caves had been seemingly leading me upwards, though at the same time an a similar number had had me almost sliding down further into the earth. These cave systems, just like my day, went upwards and downwards in random yet equal measure. 

Alright Grey, think happy thoughts. They already know you're down here, sure, but thinking negative is just going to act as a neon sign for those fuckers. Come on, think of the sun, mate. You find a way out of this Grimm infested shithole and you'll be able to enjoy it again.

All you need to do is find a fucking exit in the next few minutes before Tesco and friends decide to pay another viciously violent visit.

It's as I turn what feels like the hundredth corner in these godforsaken caves that I feel something strange brushing against my face. It doesn't take a genius to clock on as to what it was - a draft. I let out a sigh of relief as I pick up the pace, hurrying along in the direction of the draft. Soon enough I come to the end of this particular section of cave, finding myself at one final corner and then a rather long stretch of cave.

At the end of this cave, however, I can see a small, almost imperceptible gap in the wall. The only reason I can even make it out is that, unlike everything else down here, this small gap was bright. I had finally found my exit and I can't help but cackle almost hysterically in relief as I begin to move towards it.

Finally - fucking finally - I was getting somewhere.

I've barely taken but a few steps when I suddenly stop in my tracks. Out of the corner of my eye I was just able to make something out in the darkness, sticking just about out from under a small, fallen part of the cave wall. Even with my inherently enhanced night vision I can't quite figure out what it was from over here.

Curiosity can kill the cat, but the wolf isn't beholden to that.

Stepping over towards it I lean down and push away the fallen rock before grapping the small item and bringing it up closer to my narrowed eyes. Whatever I had been expecting it to be, I certainly wasn't expecting what I got.

"Who the fuck was trying to play cards down here, then?" I wonder aloud, turning the out of place pack of cards over in my hand. My immediate observation was that the deck of cards was not as weighty as it should have been for its size. "Pretty light for card deck, huh?" With obviously nothing better to do right now I open the pack up, still intriqued as to why it of all belongings would be stuck this far down - or up - in these horrible caves.

As I had expected due to its weightlessness I quickly see that out of what should have been fifty-two cards, there was but only the one inside. A quick glance downwards reveals that there were no other cards scattered around the cave floor that I could see.

Returning to the all but empty card pack I let the singular playing card fall out from the deck and into my hand, before dropping the now empty card pack back onto the floor, holding up the card into what passed for lighting from the gap in the wall further on.

"A Joker, huh? Where’s the rest of your friends, Mr Wildcard? Can’t exactly pull off a royal flush with just you in the river, mate.”

Whatever other thoughts or remarks I might have had are quickly put on the back burner as the cave almost seems to begin to shake under sudden onset of noise reverberating throughout the tunnel. I close my eyes, my free hand instinctively bringing up Excalibur to bear as I send out a curse laden prayer to whatever deity might be listening in and cursing me with this horrendous run of misfortune.

Pocketing the card for now within my blazer, I ready myself for what was to come bearing down on me in the next few seconds.

It would seem that whilst I may have found my exit, the Grimm had, in turn, found me. "There's just no fucking end to my suffering, is there?" I say aloud, turning back to where I had come from. As if to prove my point and a Beowolf comes flying through the darkness, only for both to be lit up by my final Fire Dust round. A quick check confirms that I was down to one last magazine - most of which were Explosive Dust rounds.

God forbid I start hip firing these bad boys at close range, hey?

Right, I needed an exit. I look over my shoulder towards the exit and frown. Between there and here I was likely not going to make it before the horde got to me. I needed something to hold them off for a moment. A smile worms its way onto my face as I realise I had just the tool in mind.

Flicking through the ammo currently chambered in Excalibur I'm met by a pair of delightful blue lights. Raising the weapon towards where I knew the horde were about to appear from, I fire twice - one round at the ceiling and the other to the floor.

The result of this combination is a wall of ice erupting from where my final Ice Dust rounds had embedded themselves. Almost immediately I can hear something battering against the wall as very small yet very obvious cracks begin to form in the icy barricade.

"Okay, that should buy me, say, thirty seconds. Forty five, tops." I nod at this, turning back to the exit further down the cave. There was but one wall standing between me and freedom. "Just enough time for me to do this, then." I raise Excalibur once more and fire, before then turning around and covering my head. I almost stumble as the resulting detonation at the far end of the cave shakes the entirety of the tunnel around me and thankfully I'm just about lucky enough again that there is no sudden cave-in. 

Even better was the fact that this entire section of underground was now lit up by the outside world. The sun beckons, and I was more than happy to say hello.

With renewed purpose I'm already dashing down the cave, fully aware that I didn't have long before the barrier between me and the horde collapsed beneath their frenzied assault. With every stride I take my smile widens and, soon enough, I'm but a few feet from the newly made hole in the cave. Reaching it, I more or less fling myself through the hole to safety.

Only to then scream out in terror as I twist in mid-air, my hands reaching out and just about grabbing onto the ledge I had just all but jumped from. "You have got to be fucking ki- oh you son of a fucking cunt!"

Whilst I had certainly found an exit to the caves, I had not found an exit that guaranteed my safety. Considering how high up I appeared to be here, it looks as if the pursuit through the caves had led me up and through the earth and into one of the mountains that surrounded the area. How in the fuck I ended so high up when I had begun so far down is a fucking geological mystery well and truly.

The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh in equal measure and right now he was fucking me over something fierce. With a grunt I pull myself back up and into the cave once more, kneeling just at the edge as I gaze over the landscape below.

If nothing else I was looking to die with quite a good view of the land arrayed before me- "Oh mother fucker I can see the temple from here!" Indeed, just further down the valley from my current viewpoint I could see the ruined structure in which the cast would end up falling back to during their fight with the Nevermore and the Death Stalker. 

Speaking of which, I'm almost certain I can just about make out said Nevermore diving between the ruins right now. If I'm right it must be fighting with Ruby and friends this literal second.

How lucky for them. They only have the two Grimm to contend with between the eight of them.

Meanwhile  here I am, trapped inside a cave sticking out of a small mountain overlooking an almost certain fatal drop with every last fucking Beowolf under the sun - and underground - looking to do more than just ask for five minutes of my time to talk about their Lord and Saviour.

Speaking of said Grimm, how much longer is that barricade going to hold, I wonder? Maybe another twenty five seconds or so? Probably less than that? Joy. 

Alright, so what now? As far as I can see I have two options.

Option one is to simply lay down and die and let everything I have done thus far in life be for naught as I scream out a most unholy litany of curses at the unfairness of life in general. Option two is to figure out a way down from here up here that didn't involve falling from such a height that not even my Aura would be able to tank the impact.

Personally I much prefer the second option. Unfortunately however I can't see any way of getting down from here that doesn't involve me flinging myself from the ledge and hoping that my skeleton was up to the task of firming the un-firmable. 

Okay, what do I have on hand, then? Let's see... okay, we have a long tunnel that's about to be swarming with Grimm, we have a ledge that I cannot jump nor climb down from, I have a gun loaded with only a dozen Explosive Rounds to my name which will at this range either blow me to pieces or simply launch me out from the cave screaming towards the valley floor and, last but not least, I have some Explosive Dust vials clinking around in my inner pocket for shits and giggles.

Yeah, I'm fucked. I really wish I had some Gravity Dust rounds right about now. I could have used their momentum stopping capabilities to slow... my... huh.

Momentum, hey?

...

...

...

Fuck it, what exactly do I have to lose at this point? Might as well go out with a bang, right?

Scrambling to my feet I turn right back around and sprint into the cave, gunning for the ice wall. It doesn't take too long for me to reach it and, by now, the small cracks that I had last seen in the icy barricade had no expanded into large, far more worryingly noticeable gashes across the ice. As if to highlight how far the structural integrity of the barricade had degraded a claw shoots through the ice, scattering shards across the cave floor as it tries and fails to grasp at me.

Behind the ice I can just about make out the familiar feral owner of the claw.

"I gotta hand it to you Tesco - you're fucking determined I'll give you that." There's no time for any further remarks towards the Alpha Beowolf battering itself against the ice as I turn around to put my plan into action.

Reaching into my blazer I extract all of the Explosive Dust vials I had pilfered from Beacon's workshop the previous night and open each one, emptying the spectacularly volatile powder across the cave floor. I go as far as two-thirds towards the exit before I double back and repeat the process on the opposite side of the cave, keeping a very watchful eye on the barricade at the entrance whilst trying my best to create an equal spread of Dust powder across both sides of the cave.

It's as I empty the last vial across the floor that my attention is forced back towards the ice wall by the sound of something giving way. Tesco's claw had now been joined by a second and by the looks of it I had but only a few seconds left until it gave way. Already a particularly energetic Beowolf was trying to clamber through the gaps created - its head pushing through the ice.

"Alright Grey, it's now or never, you utterly mad bastard."

With all of the vials now emptied around the floor of the cave I turn and sprint back towards the ledge, coming to a stop just at the very edge. I take a deep breath, not at all confident in what I was about to do. Running a hand through my hair, I laugh at the sheer audaciousness of what my plan entailed.

As it stands the temple is, from up here, a solid mile or two away. All I needed to get there was some sort of launchpad, like the ones atop Beacon's cliffs. Unfortunately for me I'm all out of launchpads and I sincerely doubt my scroll signal will be strong enough to make the request to the Headmaster were I to try.

So what's a guy to do in this situation then?

He improvises, of course. And what better way of launching me into the sky and towards my destination than with half a dozen vials worth of the most volatile substance I've ever gotten my hands on?

Never let it be said that I take half-measures in my attempts at a spectacular suicide.

Behind me I finally hear the icy barricade give way, followed promptly by the triumphant and malicious roars that follow. With one last look towards the temple I turn around to face the oncoming horde as they begin to slowly stalk towards me.

And surprise surprise, leading them was none other than my new best friend. With a resigned sigh I raise Excalibur towards him, the glowing orange light on the weapon telling me the Explosive Round was chambered and ready to go. I take a few steps forward, giving myself some room to get a running start before the inevitable.

"Okay Tesco old friend, I'm offering you this one final chance mate! You, and the rest of those gaggle fucks following behind, can either kindly fuck off back into the dark and leave me alone, or you can keep trying my rapidly dwindling fucking patience you oversized prick. Your call!" The Grimm snarls at the sound of my voice, revealing a rather sharp row of teeth. "Because trust me when I tell you this: whatever happens next is probably going to hurt me just as much as it will you." Tesco rises to its hind legs and, with one last mighty roar, the rest of the horde behind him charge past the howling Grimm and straight towards me. 

I frown, now fully committing to this latest bout of madness. "Pain, suffering and sixth-degree burns for the collective masses it is then. Grand."

Even by my standards this entire plan is nothing short of insanity. There's no guarantee that my Aura holds up against what is about to happen and, even if it does, there's just as much chance for me to either not reach my destination or to not be caught by the guys and gals dashing around the temple at this moment in time.

As I said, it's insane. But when have my insane plans ever failed me before? 

With one final prayer in my head to whomever was listening I let Excalibur drift off to the side, the gun barrel now aiming away from the Alpha Beowolf and towards some of the orange powder that I had pooled into the corner instead. 

This? This was going to hurt. A lot.

For me, and for them. But mostly for me, because I couldn't give two shits about these angry fuckers about to tear me to ribbons.

Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

Ah, bollocks to it all - time for the mother of all coin tosses.

"See you all in super Hell, you sorry bunch of furry cu-"

"A remarkable display by the students, wouldn't you agree, Glynda?" Ozpin asks from the cliffs edge, staring down at the live footage plastered across his scroll. Stepping up besides him, Glynda nods in agreement.

"Indeed. Though I was unsure about their pairing Mr Ren and Miss Valkyrie have proven themselves rather capable of working in tandem with each other. Of course I am still unsure as to Mr Arc, but, as you say, I shall continue to give him time. His leadership was certainly on display I will admit, but his combat skills are, again, noticeably lacking when compared to what had been written in his application forms. Hopefully Miss Nikos will be able to whip the boy into something resembling what was written in his transcripts."

"Giving him time is all I ask. The next term or so will show us just what Mr Arc is capable of, I'm sure." The Headmaster says, sipping at his delightfully still warm hot cocoa as he returns to reviewing the replay of the battle that had just taken place. The eight students he and his deputy had been observing throughout the day had just come out relatively unscathed after right now were currently engaged with a Nevermore and Death Stalker, with two halves of the group engaging their respective Grimm.

Already he had decided that the two groups would be formed into their own official teams. Just as he had with the team members he had also already decided on the leaders of the aforementioned teams.

Whilst he knew full well that the young man had forged his transcripts to enter the school - a fact he delighted in withholding from Glynda for the time being - he saw in young Jaune far more potential than the boy himself could ever fathom on his own. He just needed a push in the right direction to truly come out into his own. Perhaps Miss Nikos will indeed help in the more martial side of things as Glynda hoped?

Perhaps. He will simply do as he has for many years and wait and see. The results of this particular gamble will be made obvious in the next few months he was certain - Mr Arc would flourish or he would flounder.

For now, he will observe his progress and that of his comrades and, in particular, on young Ruby.

She too would be the leader of her own team. The young girl was certainly looking and proving to be a most interesting addition to his academy. She had no idea of the latent power within her - just as her mother had not when she was but a student. She would need a watchful eye keeping on her at all times.

He was only a year into his tenure as Headmaster back then - the youngest in history - when she walked through those Bullhead doors. He had taken her and the rest of her team under his wing, but like so many unruly children do not all were content to stay in the nest.

It was truly a shame the way Raven acted. Not only did she leave such an unfillable hole within the team, but she had left her own daughter for Mr Xiao Long to raise alone. At least until Mrs Rose came into the picture, of course.

Whatever disappointment he felt about Mrs Branwen was quickly replaced by the sadness of Mrs Rose's passing. Like so many others before her he had failed in the end when it mattered most, and he could not protect her when the time came. Perhaps one day he might find a way to avenge her loss in some meaningful way that would see some of his sins forgiven.

Until then, he could only try to do right by her memory and ensure that her daughter was properly trained and prepared for the future that awaited her.

If Ruby Rose wished to be a Huntsman he was more than happy to oblige her. Her silver-eyes had her destined for that and so much more.

And on the topic of young Ruby, where on Remnant had her brother prowled off too? "Glynda," he says, the woman in question looking up from her scroll and towards him, "has there still been no sign as to the whereabouts of Mr Grey?" He asks, flicking through the cameras for the young Faunus through the dozens of cameras scattered throughout the forest. The two had lost track of him during their witnessing of the final partnerships being made between the students down below. 

Unfortunately for Mr Grey he was not apart of any such partnerships and, as result, will end up failing this initiation. A pity but, with there being an odd number of students this year, there would inevitability have to be at least one unlucky student not passing today. As it is, Harrow Grey had drawn the short straw in that regard.

At least he would have been leaving the forest alive. He may not know it yet, but there were plenty of opportunities for an up-and-coming Huntsman like Mr Grey in this world. Who knows? He might just surprise the Headmaster.

He certainly struck him as a bit of a wildcard when compared to his adoptive sisters.

But for some time now he had disappeared, and the man once known to the world as Ozma was beginning to grow a touch concerned for his continued wellbeing. 

"Currently he is still missing, sir, but I believe I may have found a sighting of him whilst scouring through footage from the last hour." His dutiful deputy replies. 

"Oh?"

"Near the Onyx Ravine I believe. Our last sighting confirms that he had reached the ravine and seems to have attempted some manner of crossing but, from where, I'm unsure. The cameras do not pick up anything further as far as I can see." Glynda explains, holding out her scroll for him to take. He does so, glancing over the still-frames of Mr Grey leaning over and looking down into the ravine. 

Concerning. Very concerning indeed. "Is there a problem, sir?" Glynda asks, having evidently noted the frown on his face. 

"Peter mentioned this ravine specifically as having become the home to a particularly sizeable pack of Beowolves over the last few weeks. As far as he is aware, they have yet to either be moved out or flushed out. If Mr Grey has entered the ravine..." The naturally pale woman seems to pale even further at the realisation at what their young Faunus student had apparently wandered unknowingly into.

"I see. I know that we told the students that no assistance would be given, but as it is due to come to an end soon, would it not be acceptable to send-"

Whatever offer of help Glynda might have been about to propose in regards to extracting Mr Grey goes unsaid as, without warning, both their scrolls begin to blare out a number of alerts. "What on Remnant is going on?" His deputy exclaims, flicking through the alerts and trying to make sense of the myriad of popups that had suddenly flared up across the screen. Ozpin's attention is not on the scroll, however.

"Most curious. Professor Goodwitch?"

"Headmaster?" She replies tersely, still reading through the alerts that had popped up on her screen.

"I believe it safe to assume that Mr Grey may have eliminated the aforementioned pack of Grimm." This gets her attention and she quickly looks up from the scroll and towards him. He raises his mug towards the forest and he hears her gasp at the sight of a rather large and spectacular mushroom cloud in the distance. "And at the same time brought down the estimated land value of the surrounding area."

He liked his views, and now one of his favoured landscapes was forever tarnished with a rather large chunk missing from, well, the landscape. He hears a rather tense exhale through his deputies nostrils, and he's unsure if she's more annoyed at his sardonic remark or at the possibility of the young Faunus being caught in the blast.

"Quite. Have the cameras picked up anything new regarding him? He may potentailly have caused the blast but not necessarily been within it. If he is as smart as he showed himself to be in the footage of his W.E.S.T I would think it wise to assume that he must have had a backup plan beyond sending differing halves of his body to the far ends of the continent." He's inclined to agree with her hypothesis and looks down at his scroll, flicking through the feeds until he found the specific camera he was looking for.

For a while it remained empty of anything of note and for a few moments he begins to wonder if the young Faunus had indeed perished from the blast. Such worries did not last long however as soon enough, through one particular camera, he spots something of notable size flying through the air and away from the epicenter of the explosion. Humming quietly in confusion he zooms in as far as the camera would allow him to into the sky.

His eyes widen somewhat at the sight of a Beowolf - an Alpha Beowolf at that - plummeting through the air and towards the general direction of the ruined temple, having apparently survived the explosion and, instead, being sent flying at considerable speeds through the sky.

Curious.

Then his eyes widen even further at what he sees clinging to its back, likely screaming for dear life. 

Most curious indeed.

"Have you found anything, Headmaster?" He nods, holding back an amused chuckle at the insane picture before him.

"Camera seventeen in sector-four has apparently picked up on our lone wolf." He answers, saving the image and filing it away for later.

Qrow would likely find the images amusing in their next meeting.

He watches out of the corner of his eye as his deputy daintily begins flicking away through the camera feeds until she finds the one he had specified. It takes a second but she quickly sees the same thing he does. "It would appear that in favour of seeking out both a relic and a partner, Mr Grey has instead elected to make an attempt at breaking both the sound barrier and Beacon's record for the largest man-made explosion during the first-year initiation period - I believe he may just have certainly passed the latter by a rather wide margin."

If nothing else he is sure that she would at least be willing to give the boy some passing points for his style.

Beside him he could hear Professor Goodwitch mumbling what almost sounded like a curse of sorts about the frivolities of the situation under her breath before her fingers daintily skip around the screen of the scroll. A moment later and he hears it ringing, followed by the call being picked up on the other end.

"Professor Port?" 

"Good morning, Professor Goodwitch." He hears Peter say over the scroll. "How are you this fine day? Are the students faring well in their initiation?"

"I am well, thank you for asking, and the initiation is going just as well. Are you perhaps currently near the forge rooms?"

"I am indeed! I was just on my way to the staff rooms and decided that I'd give old Blowhard a quick polish before the resumption of classes. Do you need something of me?"

"I do, yes. Could you please be so kind as to check through the logs of visitors for the forge rooms? Specifically, could you see if a 'Harrow Grey' has been logged as having used the forges within the last twenty four hours?"

"Of course. Just bare with me for a moment - this console seems to be rather slow. Let's see... H... Grey... and... yes! This particular young man was recorded as having used the facilities twice within the last day. His first instance was yesterday evening, shortly before all of the hopeful new students were brought to the ballroom. The second instance was quite early this morning."

"Thank you. Do you know if he used the same forge room in both instances?"

"He did indeed, Professor."

"Excellent. Would you be so kind as to head to that forge room and check on the stocks of Explosive Dust?"

"I can certainly do so. Dare I ask what is going on?"

"Mr Grey has decided, it seems, to use our stores of Explosive Dust in an admittedly bold attempt to clear out the Grimm horde you mentioned to have been residing in the Onyx Ravine." Ozpin answers for her, coming to stand beside Glynda. "On a completely unrelated note, you may notice later on today that some parts of the mountain ranges surrounding the northern part of the forest are now missing." The bark of laughter coming through the scroll only seems to further irk his deputy beside him.

"Ah, the youth of today. I applaud his enthusiasm. Professor Goodwitch, are you of the mind that the students can be graded on their style or-"

"Professor Port, could you please just be so kind as to check on the forge and let us know if he has, in fact, made off with far more Explosive Dust than our policy permits for first years?"

"Of course Professor. Please just give me a moment to find the room. This corridor gets longer every time I walk it, I swear... Sixteen-A... Sixteen-B... Aha! Sixteen-C. Let me just have a look around." The telltale signs of someone shuffling through empty boxes and the clanging of weapons being mistakenly dropped to the floor blares through the speakers. "I can confirm for you both that this specific forge room has been left rather bereft of almost all Explosive Dust. As far as I can see, only a small handful of vials remain."

"Thank you, Peter. Please enjoy your lunch hour."

"Thank you Headmaster, Professor. Do enjoy the rest of the initiation. Oh, and I do hope that the young Mr Grey has not scattered himself to the four corners of Remnant, eh?" With that the ever jovial Professor Port disconnects from the call. Next to him Glynda sighs in annoyance, pushing her glasses back up her nose.

"If he hasn't he will soon wish he had." Ozpin's amusement only grows at the tone of his deputy.

"Glynda, please. He is but a boy at the end of the day."

"A boy who has not only taken far more Dust than he assuredly knew he was permitted to - especially considering present shortages thanks to that thief, Roman Torchwick - but has also now used said Dust to blow a hole the size of James's ego into the side of a mountain."

"I suppose it could have been worse."

"Worse? How exactly could it have been worse?" The Headmaster shrugs, taking a long sip of his hot cocoa.

"Evidently he had taken enough Explosive Dust with him to level a small city. Imagine how unfortunate it would have been for us all if, during the launch into the forest, said vials fell and landed beside us instead?" Glynda opens her mouth to retort, then, slowly, closes it, her lips pursing together. Slowly she looks towards the mountain, a dark look on her face as he sees her grip tighten around the scroll. "Ah. Have I just made it worse for the young Faunus?"

"Categorically."

A small part of Ozpin found the entire situation rather humorous all things considered. So long as the boy survived he could likely forgive the transgression of taking enough Dust to dent his budget in their replacement. He was not the only one to do so this year he reckoned and, quite frankly, he was impressed by his boldness.

He had half a mind to break a few of his own rules and keep the boy on if he survived at Beacon, regardless of his having already failed the initiation by his lack of finding a partner.

And yet another part of Ozpin felt that perhaps it would have been better if Mr Grey had in fact perished in the flames of that explosion. Whatever momentary instance of pain he might have felt before the end would likely be seen as a blessing compared to whatever suffering now awaited him at the hands of an irate Glynda Goodwitch.

Hell hath no fury like a disciplinarian whose rules and regulations have been oh so spectacularly violated.

"Hey you guys!" Her blonde partner all but shouts as they cross over the Schnee's glyph bridge and towards the other group. "is everyone okay over there?"

"You betcha!" The ginger girl with the hammer - Nora if she recalled correctly - replies back with equal volume. "We were just wondering if you were going to need help with the big birdie until we saw you had it all under control."

"Under control would certainly be one way of describing it." She hears the Schnee girl mutter under her breath. Glancing over to the Heiress, she quickly realises that Schnee had not been as quiet as she thought as beside her her own partner, the little girl with the idealistic dreams, turns to Weiss with a look of clear indignation.

"Hey, that's unfair! My plan worked, didn't it?"

"You left me alone back there on the Nevermore. Alone."

"I told you to jump, didn't I?"

"I shouldn't have been in the position of needing to jump in the first place, you-"

"Alright, alright, less of that you two." Yang intercedes, appearing between the two in a flash and slinging her arms across their shoulders. "Let's focus more on the fact that we just kicked Grimm butt all across the forest and back and return to Beacon as heroes, girls. Sound like a plan Ruby? Snow Angel?"

"My name is not 'Snow Angel', it's W-"

"Buhbuhbuh, less talking and more walking. The rest of the gang is waiting for us." She has to hold back a smile at seeing her partner flat out ignoring the glare that Schnee was sending her way. Crossing over the final glyph she and the three other girls rejoin their companions, both Weiss and Ruby having by now slipped out from Yang's hold and refusing to meet each others eyes.

Truly, she was surrounded by children. Quite literally in Ruby's case.

"Hey girls," she turns to the witless blond who was approaching them, the three other students with him following close behind "you all okay?"

"We're fine, Jaune." Ruby replies, a little more energetic now that she wasn't talking to the Heiress. She couldn't blame her. "Just a few scratches but nothing a little bit of Aura couldn't handle. What about all of you?" She then asks, looking between Jaune and the three other students with him. "I only saw the tail end of your fight with the Death Stalker before the Nevermore came flying back."

"Heh, 'tail end'. Good one, Ruby."

"Yang," Ruby pouts, "I wasn't trying to make a pun, and you said that you wouldn't make any for at least a day." The blonde smirks uncaringly, her arms going behind her head in a leisurely manner.

"What? A day is a long time, Rubes. Do you know 'Xiao Long' I've been waiting to start up the band?" 

Seven pairs of eyes turn to stare at the smiling blonde as the forest falls deathly silent. They shouldn't be out by this time of the day and yet she was almost certain she could hear crickets chirping around them. Yang frowns at the reception her pun receives. "Oh come on, that was pretty good."

Perhaps she should have taken up Yang's brother on his offer after all.

"I, ah, don't get it?" Jaune says, eliciting an eye roll from the blonde.

"Xiao Long is my last name, lady killer."

"Aah, right, now I get it." What follows is a forced laugh that quite quickly fades off into a grimace. "Aha, yeah, no. That's, uh, pretty bad." Yang seems to visibly deflate hearing this and her sister comically appears beside her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Geez, tough crowd today, huh? If he were here, I think Wolfy would have liked it."

"I don't think he would ha- wait, Yang?"

"Yeah Rubes?"

"Where is he?"

"Who, Wolfy? Oh, me and Blake saw him earlier. He was... oh, that's a good question actually." The blonde turns to look at her. "Where did we see him, Blake?" She thinks back to their encounter with the Wolf Faunus from earlier. Last she remembers he was half a mile back, still searching for a partner before she and Yang advised him to head west towards some students she had heard shouting in that general direction.

She hopes that he had found someone to partner up with. Had she not met Yang she would have liked to have been that person herself. As a fellow Faunus it would have made things a little more bearable whilst she tried to figure out just what she wanted to do with herself now that she had left the Fang behind. 

That and he wasn't anywhere near as loud as his siblings, which easily made him her preferred pick of the trio. After a second or two of thinking back to their talk she points back near to where they had originally come out of the forest from. 

"If I had to guess, I'd say around a mile - maybe a bit further - that way. He was still looking for a partner when we saw him."

"Wait, he still hasn't got a partner?" She turns back to Ruby, who was now sporting a rather worried look on her face. "Everyone should have had a partner by now."

"Oh don't you worry about a thing, Rubes," her sister says comfortingly, wrapping an arm around her sister, "I'm sure he's found somebody willing to put up with him by now. Knowing him, he'll be just fi-" 

Her partner is cut off when, suddenly, there's an earth shattering boom and, instinctively, all but one of the students promptly dives to the floor, lying on their front as a sudden shockwave of noise and energy wash over them. She says all but one as one particularly witless individual is too slow to react to what was about to hit them and he is sent flying a few feet away, landing with a hard thud.

The ground continues to shake for a few moments until, finally, it ceases and the group begin to collect their bearings and she sees the redheaded Mistralian dash over towards their fallen companion.

"Jaune, are you alright?" 

"Yea, yea I'm alright, Pyrrha. Thanks." He takes her hand as Pyrrha pulls him back up to his feet, looking him over for any lasting damage which she found rather strange. He does have his Aura, right? Sheer dumb luck would not have kept him alive this long with his obvious ineptitude. "But, uh, what on Remnant was that!?"

"I believe I might know the answer to that." Turning as one the group see Lie Ren staring up with a surprising amount of emotion at something behind them. Collectively they all move to stand beside him, following his gaze and looking for what it was that had just caused such a furious wave of noise and kinetic energy.

In hindsight it really wasn't that hard to miss.

High above them a literal mushroom-like cloud had appeared high up amongst the cliffs overlooking the temple. Smoke and fire billowed out from what had once been a smooth and pristine wall of stone. In its place -or lack thereof - a rather sizeable chunk of the cliff had all but vanished, replaced by a crater that was still aflame whilst chunks of stone continued crumbling hundreds of feet to the bottom of the valley below.

Around her her fellow students could only gape at the sight in awed silence.

"Wow." Until it was promptly broken up by Jaune, of course. "That is, uh, certainly an explosion." The blond states for those amongst them who might have spontaneously become blind somehow within the last few seconds.

"Quite." The Heiress replies quietly, surprisingly without any hint of sarcasm, and the rest of the group nods along in muted agreement. "What could have caused such a blast?" 

There’s a sharp intake of air further down the line of students and, as one, everybody turns towards Ruby, whose face had begun to pale.

"I think I know what caused that." She all but squeaks out. Blake’s eyes widen as she begins to realise what had the young scythe wielder so worked up.

She had a bad feeling she wouldn’t like the answer to Weiss’s question.

"You do?" Pyrrha asks, though she receives no response from the girl who is too busy looking up at her older sister. 

"Yang, do you remember last night, in the ballroom? When Wolfy was showing me those pictures on his scroll?"

"The ones of the Expl-" Her concern only grows more justified as she sees how Yang's mouth suddenly slams shut and her eyes widen at whatever realisation she had just come to. "Oh." She says, looking at Ruby. Then she turns to the fiery cloud up above. "Oh." Then, finally, she turns back to Ruby, sucking in air through gritted teeth. "Oh now that is definitely an issue."

"I think the rest of us may just be a little bit lost. What exactly caused that, do you know?" For the first and quite possibly the last time, Blake Belladonna finds herself agreeing with Weiss Schnee. She wasn't a fool and whatever had happened up there evidently concerned their brother if their expressions were anything to go from. Her talk with him this morning has included some tidbits about their weapons and, from what he told her, it didn't include anything capable of causing whatever had happened up there.

"Well," Yang begins, nervously rubbing the back of her neck, "Wolfy may or may not have stole- I mean borrowed a couple vials of Explosive Dust from the school."

"And when you say a couple of vials..." The look on Pyrrha's face tells Blake that she already knew the answer to her own question. Yang can only smile sheepishly, rubbing at the back of her neck.

"I actually mean he took enough Explosive Dust to level half of downtown Vale."

"Or perhaps half of a mountain?" 

"Yup."

That is certainly an issue indeed. "But!" Yang suddenly exclaims, her hold on a rather fearful looking Ruby only tightening. "If I know him, he will be a-okay! Our Wolfy is far too stubborn to be beaten by some measly old explosion."

"I'm not sure you can call what we're looking at up there "measly", Yang." Ren interjects calmly, though with a hint of concern at what they were looking at up above. She simply waves him off, soothingly patting the top of her little sister's head.

Her ears suddenly begin to twitch beneath her bow as, very faintly, she begins to hear the sound of... well, it almost sounded like someone was screaming. She looks around, trying to piece where the noise was coming from. There was nobody else here but them and, from the sounds of it, nobody was coming towards them through the forest.

Again her Faunus enhanced hearing picks up on the noise and she frowns even further in confusion. It wasn't coming from the forest but in fact from higher up.

Much higher up at that.

Tilting her head towards the sky, she tries to spy the source of the noise. It doesn't take too long before her amber gaze lands on some sort of black shape sailing through the air. She takes a small step forwards, brows furrowing as she attempts to piece together what exactly it was.

Debris of some sort? A piece of what had once been a part of the cliff? Her ears twitch once again and what she hears dispels those initial theories.

Rocks don't tend to scream. Or roar for that matter. 

Wait, roar? Blake frowns at the strange, out of place sound.

Since when did stone have the capability of roaring like a Gr-

Ah. Now that is most definitely an issue.

Her eyes widen as the object now becomes close enough to both properly hear and observe. 

That's not a rock at all. That's a Beowolf. A rather sizeable Beowolf at that. 

Her eyes widen even further when she spots something else seemingly clinging to the Beowolf's back. 

... 

Okay, maybe Yang might have been the better partner in the end. 

Her brother, quite clearly, was a madman.

"Sorry if I keep asking questions, but who exactly is this Wolfy guy you're talk-"

"Ruby? Yang?" She calls out, interrupting Jaune in the process whilst taking a step back and turning towards the rest of her fellow students. Hearing her worried tone thankfully gets not just the attention of the two sisters but of the rest of the group as well. "I think I might just know where he is." Everybody follows the direction she points towards as they unanimously look up into the sky once more. Their reactions when they see what was about to slam into the ground is almost comical to behold.

Were it not for the fact that they needed to move right this second she might have found it funny.

"Well, every man for himself!" 

"I'm with tall, blonde and scraggly on this one!"

"But Yang, what about-"

"Come on you dolt, move!"

"Renny, look! A flying Beowo-"

"Not the time, Nora!"

"Is there somebody riding on the back of-"

"-uuuuuuuuuuUUUUUUUUUUUUNT!"

By the time of the inevitable impact she and the rest of the first years had already just about managed to vacate the impact zone with but seconds to spare. Had she not noticed it then it was quite likely that at least half of the people here would have been flattened by a Beowolf that fashioned itself a Nevermore.

Returning nimbly to her feet she and the rest of the students quickly band together once again, watching and waiting for the dust cloud that had violently formed to fade away before any of them even attempted to investigate the crash site. They get their wish a few seconds later as the air clears up.

Just in time, too, as they get their first glimpse at what exactly had plummeted to the earth. Standing before them, balancing precariously on its hind legs and with only one front leg still attached stood a heavily injured, heavily enraged Alpha Beowolf. 

Thankfully she doubted it would prove to be as threatening as it could have been earlier in the day. At least two thirds of its bone-plate had been shattered and were either jutting out of its body or downright missing. Furthermore, as she had just observed a moment ago, it was conspicuously missing one of its front legs, leaving the beast with only one working claw and, considering the wounds on that particular leg she wasn't sure if that could be counted as working either.

She wasn't sure what had caused more damage to the Grimm - the blast or the landing.

"Hey, uh, I know it's a bit of a longshot, but considering what I'm looking at, is it wrong for me to ask if that's supposed to be Wolfy?"

"No, Jaune." Yang and Ruby both drawl.

"Well I thought it made some sense. Beowolf? Wolfy? You can't tell me it's that bad of a guess. Also I can't help but notice that he, uh, certainly doesn't seem very happy to see us, does he."

"He doesn't look too healthy for that matter either," Yang replies, stepping forward and flexing her arms, "which works just fine for me. Anyone else want a piece of him or-" Blake's eyes widen when, all of a sudden, there's a loud bang. The Grimm suddenly staggers towards them, seemingly in shock and with a thick cloud of smoke emanating off its back, before it promptly collapses forwards to the floor motionlessly.

Now not only was it missing an arm, but now it was missing a head. 

"Try to get up from that you tenacious, cunting, fucking arsehole."

Come again?

Ignoring the rather crude remark she relaxes somewhat as, marching through the smoke and stopping atop of the now deceased Alpha Beowolf, stood a very much alive Harrow Grey, albeit with his blazer covered from top to bottom in burn marks, the smoke from both the explosion and the landing still wafting off of him.

In all honestly she's surprised that he's even standing, all things considered.

Having survived a blast of that magnitude and the resulting fall it was nothing if not miraculous.

For all of his injuries however - external or otherwise - it doesn't stop one Ruby Rose from slamming into his torso with the help of her Semblance. It's quite obvious that it is only by Yang appearing just as fast at his side and keeping him steady that he doesn't end up toppling backwards and back into the small crater behind them from the sudden impact against his chest.

"What did I say, Rubes? I told you our Wolfy was a tough old dog." 

"Less racism, more affection, please and thank you."

"Well I suppose you've earnt it for being such a good boy and all."

"Jump into that ravine and don't climb back out, blondie."

Perhaps this was what she missed by being an only child? She wasn't too sure if she found that a blessing or a curse.

Slowly the two girls help him to climb down from atop the Beowolf and, slowly, he lowers himself to the floor and uses the now dead Beowolf as a headrest of sorts, letting out a tired, pain filled groan. Then he looks back up and, judging by the widening of his eyes, it's only now that he seems to notice both her and everybody else standing around him with expressions of bemusement, astonishment and overall stupefaction.

After a few seconds of silent staring he seems to shrug nonchalantly, offering everyone a small wave.

"Good morning, one and all. Sorry for, you know, dropping in unannounced-" 

"Oh Gods, he's a male Yang." Blake has to hold back a smile at the despairing tone of the Schnee girl.

"-but I don't suppose any of you are looking for a partner at all, are you? I, ah," he lets out a nervous bout of laughter, "well I kind of need one right now. Like, now now if I want any chance of sitting the next couple of mo- years here." Ruby gasps, pulling her head away from his chest. 

"You don't have a partner yet!?" She all but screams into his face, eliciting a wince from Harrow as he pushes her head away from his.

"Please don't scream at me - I'm still waiting for all the ringing in my ear to subside and fighting fire with fire is just going to hurt me even further." He then looks away from his little sister and back to the rest of us, his eyes lingering on a few select individuals.

Pyrrha and Weiss, for example.

He must have recognised the champion fighter from her many tournaments in Mistal, and the Heiress from the previous night. "Sorry if I don't know anyone here but these two goblins and Blake over there." She realises then that he was staring at her. "I don't suppose you've changed your mind about Yang and burials, hey Blake?" She shrugs, offering him a teasing smile.

"Sorry Harrow, but looking at you right now I think I might be better off sticking with your sister." He chuckles mirthlessly at this, before wincing and grasping at his side. 

"Oh please don't make me laugh - my ribs feel like they've been turned into a fibrous powder."

At least he was still capable of wisecracks. Not even an explosion of immense magnitudes and a fall from what would have been a fatal height if not for the cushioning of the Alpha Beowolf he had clung to the back off had dented his oh so charming personality.

It was quite impressive, really.

Still, she can't help but wonder what exactly was going to happen to the Faunus now? Without a partner he was assured to fail, right? Even if they returned to the relics on their way back to the cliffs they had started from to get him one of the myriad of chess pieces left there for them it would still not be enough.

She frowns at the realisation.

"Pardon me, but did you say 'sister'?" Weiss says suddenly, bringing her back to the conversation at hand. Both her and Harrow look over at the Heiress who was currently staring in confusion at the sitting Wolf Faunus. "You're related to Yang and Ruby?" He shrugs before being poked hard in the shoulder by Ruby, forcing him to nod affirmatively instead. "I see. You have my sympathies." 

"That's cold, Ice Queen." Yang mutters disapprovingly, before swatting at Harrow as he lets out a bark of laughter at Weiss's remark.

"Ah, it's not that bad." He raises his hand, ruffling with Ruby's hair and eliciting a whine of annoyance from the smaller girl. "They do have their moments. But could I ask a small favour?" He moves to stand up, but promptly falls back down, being helped to steady himself by his two concerned sisters. "Maybe we can do the whole introduction scene later on? I'm a bit, you know, fucked up fourteen shades to Sunday right now and-"

"Hey!" 

"Oh God I've set her off again."

"Now you listen here, mister!" The group can only watch on in growing amusement as the much smaller Ruby gets to her feet, trying - and failing in Blake's personal opinion - to look intimidating as she stands over the still, unmoving and uncaring form of her big brother. "I can forgive you this one time because you survived the equivalent of fifty- no, one-hundred Yang's having a bad hair day, but if you use anymore bad language in front of all of our new friends again then so help me, I will drag you all the way back up to what remains of that cliff face and I will make you do to it what dad had me do to Signal's forge rooms! And you won't get to use adhesive or anything sticky, either. It'll all be done by hand. And that won't be fun and you know it." She crosses her arms for good measure. "Do you understand?"

He looks up at her, then to Yang, then over to her and the rest of the group, before returning to looking at Ruby. He raises an eyebrow at the girl, tilting his head in a mixture of amusement and defiance.

"You do realise I did half of the cleaning for you-"

"Nope!"

"But I-"

"Nope!"

"Don't you nope me-"

"Nope!

"It's treason, then-"

"Nope! No more talking, no more trying to wiggle out of it. You have no choice but to adhere to my demands, big brother."

"I don't gotta adhere to jackshi-"

"Harrow Grey!" 

"Uh oh," he says, turning to look at Blake and her fellow students, "she's using my full name. Quick, someone come put me out of my misery before my suffering truly begins." Nobody is feeling brave enough to tempt the wrath of the cape wearing girl currently bearing down on him and so all they can do is watch on as Ruby begins to prod at his chest with her finger, rocking the Faunus where he sat.

"Do-"

Poke.

"-you-"

Poke.

"-under-"

Poke.

"-stand-"

Poke.

"-me?"

The sight of this death-defying, gravity disregarding, explosively-inclined and generally intriguing Wolf Faunus being brought to heel by a girl whose head could just about barely come to rest beneath his chin elicits a genuine, joyful giggle from her. She stifles it hastily however and luckily nobody else seemed to have heard it anyway, distracted as they all were.

"Yes ma'am, sorry ma'am, won't blow up Mount Everest for funsies again, ma'am." He dutifully replies, throwing off a tired looking salute with an equally tired looking smile. His reward is a nod of appreciation from Ruby, who then returns to her earlier course of action and buries herself against his chest once more.

Yang, meanwhile, is holding up a scroll and seemingly videoing the two. With their little war of wills now ended Blake watches as her blonde partner promptly places the device back into her pocket with a warm smile, before then kneeling down and wrapping her arms around her two siblings.

The sight of the trio life this was rather endearing she had to admit.

"Psst, hey Ren," she hears Nora whispering - at room volume of course - towards her partner, "if we're really sneaky, maybe we can join in?"

"I doubt it."

"D'aww. I bet his ears are really fluffy, though. If I ask nicely, do you think he'll let me scratch them?"

"Nora, no."

"Nora, yes."

Maybe coming to Beacon wasn't such a bad idea after all?

"...Okay, so that must be Wolfy then."

Or maybe not. Points could certainly be made to support both arguments.

"Yes, Jaune." The rest of the group drawls.

"Alright, sheesh. You're all acting like it was obvious or something."

Chapter Text

Interlude #3

With the final ceremony now wrapped up and the newly assigned teams having by now begun to settle into their assigned dorms for the evening, the Headmaster had been free to return to his office to see to the final remaining issues of the day. As much as he might have enjoyed to remain longer with his students and share in their joy of having passed the first of what will be many challenges a Headmaster's work is never done and, in his case, there were still a few final matters to see to before he could settle in for the night.

Peter's requests for more Grimm specimens in his lessons, meetings to schedule and reschedule with Vale's Council, orders for supplies - which he will inevitably delegate to Glynda of course - to be drafted up, approving particular hotspots throughout the kingdom in which to assign missions for his second year students and above, discussions with his fellow Headmasters in regards to Vale's hosting of The Vytal Festival in the Fall next year and, perhaps most important of all, a renewal of his soon-to-expire monthly shipments of 'Caedburies' hot cocoa.

There was much to do indeed.

And yet tonight these matters would have to wait for the performance of one 'student' in particular needed addressing.  

After the rather climactic end to his initiation the Faunus had promptly been collected alongside the rest of the students and taken directly to the infirmary to see to his all but spent Aura. Thankfully - and miraculously at that - his Aura, drained as it had been, had proven rather durable in absorbing what parts of the blast it had and, for the most part, Mr Grey was expected to be back up to full strength relatively soon. 

Provided he could resist the urge to blow up anymore of the surrounding area of course.

Whilst he waits for his deputy to collect the young man he decides to have a quick read over some of the notes attached to his file, curious to see how he had been described by those closest to him. Taking up his scroll he pulls up the relevant information, official and otherwise. As had been expected from the two men closest to him both Taiyang and Qrow had seen fit to leave a plethora of anecdotes, observations and a myriad of other comments all relating to certain aspects of his character.

And by what a small skim of the information revealed it was rather obvious to him that Mr Grey was certainly an interesting character indeed.

Digging deeper into the notes he decides to read through some of Tai's input first, wanting to see how the man who all but raised him over the last decade has described him.

===============

"Headmaster Ozpin,

I'll send over some more detailed anecdotes about Harrow later on either today or at some point this week. For now, I'll just give you a very brief description of how life has been with Wolfy - Yang's little nickname for him that has stuck over time - over the last ten years.

Despite his best efforts to prove me wrong Harrow has long since proven that he may just be the best son I never actually asked for. Admittedly I wouldn't ever dream of returning him to sender, of course, but I'm sure he'd say something of a similar nature were he in my position. His personality is almost a mirror of Qrow's back in our old academy days, but with a lot less leering at girls either equal or twice his age and a lot more biting remarks.

It's actually quite entertaining to see first hand, especially when not directed your way. He could drive the rest of Signal's staff up the walls with barely any effort on his part almost as well as he could his sisters.

On that particular note then I'll give you a small word of warning - keep him away from Professor Goodwitch if you value either her sanity or his life.

I fear that not even her infamous demeanor will deter him if he feels like he can get away with pushing his luck and still be breathing by the days end. 

Since day one he has proven himself an absolute welcome addition to the family and a brother in all but name and blood to my two girls. Both Ruby and Yang took to him almost immediately when Qrow brought him home and since then the three have become all but inseparable. Where Ruby and Yang go Harrow will be following close behind, firing off Dust rounds and caustic remarks towards anything with a pulse in a five mile radius.

Summer would have utterly adored him and tried to harness his cheek into a weapon of mass destruction.

Raven would have tried to murder him in his sleep.

Again, I'll send over something more informative about him by the weeks end. Just let me get through the first week of dealing with this wave of new students that I'm going to be inundated with and I'll get back to you. For now I hope this will suffice for the time being.

Good luck, Headmaster. Keep an eye on my children for me, will you? They can take care of themselves, of course, but it's more their uncanny ability to attract trouble that concerns me.

Let me know if you need anything else.

Kind Regards,

P. Taiyang Xiao Long, Signal Academy.

P.S: If he manages to accidentally burn down your school within the first month please do not send any of the expenses for repairs my way. I am still footing the bill for his last damn round of Dust shipments - I am not going to pay for a replacement workshop as well."

===============

He knew that Tai had still been grieving deeply for Summer around the time that the child had appeared. He had been concerned of course for Mr Xiao Long and his daughters during this difficult period; the loss of not one but two significant others - Mrs Branwen and Mrs Rose both - in such a relatively short period of time would surely have had a profound effect on Mr Xiao Long's wellbeing, both physically and mentally.

That he had remained stable enough to remain both a loving father and a dutiful professor at Signal was, quite frankly, remarkable unto itself. It was a testament to the fortitude and resilience of his old student, though as he finishes reading Tai's words he can't help but feel that Mr Grey's sudden appearance in his life might have had a positive influence in keeping in the man anchored and, for that, he was thankful for Mr Grey's sudden but welcome appearance on the island.

And, of course, to Qrow for so casually disregarding the existence of the proper authorities and instead dropping the child on Tai's doorstep.

Speaking of the rugged old crow he withdraws from Tai's message and brings up Branwen's own contributions to Mr Grey's file.

===============

"Oz,

"He's a furry little shit.

-Q."

===============

He shakes his head at the rather succinct message from his old friend. Qrow had never been one for detailed messages - this was but the norm.

Attached to the bottom of this rather concise message however is another file for him to open, which garners his interest. Opening it he is surprised to find an unusual amount of writing from the man. 

Much better, Qrow.

===============

"Okay, fine. I'll say a little bit more because I know Goodbwitch will be wanting to have me bent over her knee if I don't and I'm not really sure I could ever drink enough to get me in the mood for that kinda fun.

So, Wolfy huh? Well, being the one who first came across that scruffy little kid trying to get himself killed almost a decade ago I've been keeping an eye on him where and when I could, especially since he’s been sleeping under the same roof as my nieces for some time now. Seeing as how neither Tai or I have ever had to throttle him around the house or Signal - and having known him personally for some time anyway - I can say from the outset that he's alright.

I won't lie, I hadn't thought much of him at first. I fully expected Tai to just ship him off the week after I dropped him off at his door and that would be that. He didn't, of course, and Tai let the kid stick around for a while longer. Around about two years later of course the kid almost dies - again - rushing off trying to rescue Yang and Ruby from one of blondie's dumb attempts to find my sister. Raven was nowhere to be seen of course, just a bunch of Grimm that would have ended up shredding all three of the kids were it not for Tai and I getting there.

Then again I did mention to all of you before that he somehow managed to get lucky enough to embed an axe into the skull of a Beowolf and actually kill the damn thing, so I'll hand it to him: he had far more spunk at the age of nine than half of these idiots walking around do in their prime. Suppose that's another point from me to him.

Of course he then almost died immediately after when he was sent careening into a tree by another Grimm. I got there just in time with Tai to finish them off and unlock his Aura to stop his internal organs from shutting down. Always playing the hero these days aren't I.

Gotta say as well - his Aura is pretty strong. Not the strongest I've seen of course but compared to the rest of the kids in his class he was certainly sturdier than you might expect. He might not exactly be on Yang's level but he can at least take a punch without flinching too hard. Or a bullet for that matter.

Feel free to not ask questions as to how I know that. I don't need any internal investigations going on before I hand in my notice in the next couple of weeks.

Anyway I can probably assume with good reason that if you're asking me for details on Wolfy then you'll have asked Tai as well. He can fill you in on the rest of his growing up period and all of that boring stuff so I'll just cut to the chase - I like him, Oz.

He's got potential to be quite the stellar Huntsman, provided he keeps that furry head of his screwed on right, learns to use that sword of his better and, most of all, figures out a way to turn that biting wit of his into some sort of lethal weapon. Not sure where he gets it from to be honest. It's almost like he was born with that rosy outlook on life of his.

He should make a decent fit in your school as well. Out of the three of Tai's kids he's the one most likely to get shit done. Almost every situation I've seen him in thus far in and out of class he's somehow managed to either charm or improvise his way out of without too much hassle. Well, most times anyway. Consider how much of a clusterfuck his W.E.S.T exam turned into for example - his handling of it was, whilst almost a disaster at a few points, impressive enough to get a pass in my books.

I sent you the footage a while back so you should have already seen it. If not, give it a look. He's got style you have to admit. And he learnt it all from the best of course. With any luck his run through whatever test you have prepped this year should go just as nicely.

Then again considering my track record perhaps my wishing him luck will just as likely end with him doing something stupid with all the Dust he burns through.

The kid is as wild about Dust as Ruby is about weapons so it's not exactly an impossibility. Should probably keep an eye on what he does within the first week or so in regards to those workshops of yours. Might want to set Glynda on giving him a more advanced course of teaching in regards to Dust usage.

Trust me - either he'll blow himself up or he'll somehow manage to invent an entirely new type of Dust.

Flip a coin, Oz.

Anyway, I've sacrificed the one period of the day I get to myself trying to think of enough words to get a pass from Glynda without getting an earful from her the next time we all talk in our little shadowy soiree. Should be enough here to satisfy you both. If you're that desperate I'll fill you in a bit more later. For now I've got more important stuff to do - stuff rolling around in my second draw that's just begging to be sampled for example.

Suppose if you really wanted more details about the kid then you could just ask him yourself? Wolfy has a mouth and he loves to use it - give him five minutes and you'll probably learn far more about him than you'd like. That or you might even throw him from the top of that fancy office of yours.

Do me a favour and record it if you do.

See you soon, Oz.

-Q."

===============

He has to admit he's actually rather impressed at the amount of effort Qrow had put into this. That he had written more than just a few lines was in itself a surprise - it wouldn't have been out of the ordinary for the first message to have been the entirety of his contribution. Surprising or not what he had sent over was certainly useful information. 

Evidently Mr Grey left quite the impression on those around him.

It would be interesting to see what kind of impression the Faunus leaves on him of all people.

There's a sudden 'ding' from the scroll as a notification appears at the top of the screen. A message from Glynda, he notes. Opening it, he nods to himself as he reads through her words. She and Mr Grey were on their way now, and would likely be with him within the next few minutes. Shutting the scroll down he places it to one side on the desk before rising from his chair and moving to the clocktower window of his office, staring out over the dimly lit campus in thought.

Harrow Grey was sounding more and more interesting by the second. Where had he come from again? Atlas if he recalls correctly. He remembers Qrow mentioning this in his first bringing up of the boy many years ago. From the forms Mr Grey himself had signed off on - and the makeshift citizenship form Tai had hastily sent over a few days afterwards - the Faunus had made little to no references to his place of birth and had opted instead to simply declare himself a citizen of Vale.

Considering the circumstances that drove him from Atlas he could understand his reasoning. Despite his best efforts James had never quite been able to shut down the vile business practices conducted by Mr Schnee and his company.

A shame, though he knew James would keep endeavouring to bring about some positive changes.

Many may not know it but he was privy to the knowledge that a portion of James's income was constantly being funnelled into a number of charities and organisations dedicated to the bettering of Faunus rights within and throughout Atlas and beyond. Considering the view towards Faunus in general from Atlesian society it was a minor miracle that such organisations had appeared in the first place.

But he knew that James would not back down on this. The down man was far too stubborn and it was not in his nature to compromise, especially not to a man as distasteful as Jacques Schnee and his equally vile business partners.

Iron does not bend, and neither would the general.

On the topic of the general he wonders as to how Mr Grey might have fared had he tried his hand at applying elsewhere. By the sounds of things he would never have made it far in James's academy. His supposed wit alone would have likely had him in the office of Atlas's Headmaster for disciplinary action perhaps within the first few hours of setting foot in their illustrious and technologically advanced Huntsman academy.

But he might just make it in his.

Provided, of course, that Mr Grey accepted the offer that he had in mind.

He may not have found a partner nor even found a relic in the end but, like Qrow said, he had potential. Vast amounts of it from what he had gathered from both he and Mr Xiao Long. From what he had seen of the boy thus far he couldn't agree more. He just needed the right push to turn him from what he was now into a protector the world so desperately needed.

Like his sisters, Mr Grey's particular talents may soon be called upon to help keep the coming darkness at bay.

That he was a Faunus too was certainly helpful as well. The world needed to come together to face what was coming and divisions by such petty outlooks did not help in uniting Remnant against their common foe. By having individuals like Mr Grey, Miss Scarlatina and Miss Belladonna - though she may not be as open about her heritage as he would prefer her to be - he can play his own part in bridging the gap between Human and Faunus and lessening the social divide. 

It was expected from the outset of course but Glynda had argued rather fiercely against his inclusion into the school. Not only had Mr Grey broken the rules she argued, but in allowing his entry despite his shortcomings in the initiation they would be setting a precedent for the future. All valid arguments of course, but in the end he managed to bring her over.

After all, they had made an exception for Miss Rose to enrol two years earlier than most. Already they had disregarded their own rules for her sake, so why not do so again for Mr Grey's too?

The young Faunus certainly had style he argued, much to her exasperation.

And such style would be wasted if not properly nurtured.

Sometimes you notice things up close that you don't really see from afar. You just need to take a step forward to see the finer things in life more clearly.

Take Glynda Goodwitch, for example. In the show, she was quite the attractive middle-aged woman which, considering the quality of the earlier seasons, was quite the achievement. Other than her job as Ozpin's deputy, a rather busted Semblance and being an overall underused character post-Volume 3, that's all there is to her.

In person, however, she's downright hot.

And I don't just mean that because she had spent the last fifteen or so minutes from the infirmary to the CCTS elevator trying to burn a hole through the side of my head.

I wonder what she's more pissed off about exactly? My fleecing of their Dust or my blowing up a mountain? Considering half the things that are bound to happen before the year is even out I don't really think being upset with me is worth the energy. Oh sure, it's still early days, but come on now - what good was the mountain going to be?

Did it have the potential to pistol-whip Salem with reasonable force if the chance ever arose?

"So, uh, Professor?"

"Mr Grey?" Even her tone, terse as it was, was pleasing to the ears.

Down boy.

"On a scale of one-to-ten, how much trouble am I in?" I ask innocently whilst simultaneously trying my best to bite back the shit-eating grin threatening to break out across my face. Judging by how her scowl deepens just a tad it would appear that I was doing a rather poor job of it.

"That will depend on the Headmaster. He has the final decision in regards to your punishment for both your blatant contempt towards school policy and the utter disregarding of the very concept of common sense when it comes to the usage of such volatile Dust."

"Fair enough I suppose." Here's hoping that good ol' Ozpin isn't as devastated by the loss of some rocks as his deputy appears to be. "Okay, let me try that again: how much trouble am I in legally would you say?" 

"Please refer to my previous answer."

Fuck me, aren't you a right barrel of laughs.

"Aright, well, good talk. Same time next week, Professor?" Her head twists sharply towards me and the already striking glare she had been sporting thus far only intensified. Luckily for me however she chooses to remain silent as she turns back to staring straight ahead at the doors. I'm almost tempted to push my luck even further with the stern woman, though I willingly choose not to do so.

Considering her current mood it might just end with these doors opening just in time for Ozpin to see me being tossed around the elevator by Glynda in the one way I wouldn't find enjoyable.

One must always pick their battles wisely and in this instance I shall be wisdom incarnate.

The silence goes on for a small while as we continue to ascend but it doesn't take too long before we come to a sudden stop as we arrive at our destination. Before the doors open however Glynda turns sharply towards me, glaring down at me with riding crop in hand.

"Here is both the Headmaster's office and where I will be leaving you. Once Headmaster Ozpin has finished with you, you will be expected to return to the infirmary for the night. A dorm will be assigned to you come morning."

A dorm? But I thought... whatever, not important right now.

"Got it, thanks. Do I need to know anything else before you throw me to the electric chair?" She raises an eyebrow at this.

"That you are lucky the Headmaster is a far more lenient person than I. Were it up to me you would have already been removed from the school grounds and been on the first Bullhead back to Patch, if not to the nearest police station."

"Yeah, I really don't doubt that for a second. Guess I'll have to go in and thank him myself then. Still, thank you kindly for the lift, Ms Goodwitch."

"Professor."

Heh, if she hated that one she'll fucking despise Yang in record time. "Please do not waste anymore of our time - the Headmaster is waiting for you just inside. Show him the proper respect that you have refused to show the school and there will be no further repercussions beyond those that are already in waiting." Her hand moves to the panel of the elevator and presses sharply against one of the buttons. "Please enjoy the rest of your evening." 

The doors open a moment later, revealing a rather familiar setting and, more importantly, a much more familiar spectacled, cane wielding individual sitting behind his desk on the far side of the room.

Alright big boy, fun's over. Get your game face on. 

"Ah, thank you for escorting Mr Grey to me, Professor. Have a pleasant evening and I shall see you in the morning."

Because now it's time to talk to the king of the chess board.

"Of course, Headmaster. A good evening to you as well." With that out of the way I hear the elevator doors shut behind me and there's a strange sense of safety that befalls me. I can only assume that the threat of being launched from the office by an irate Glynda now no longer being an issue was the reason for my sudden boost of confidence in my own well-being.

Sitting behind his desk, smiling kindly towards us, was the literal chess master of Remnant in all his enigmatic and status-quo loving glory. "How are you feeling, young man? I trust your time in the infirmary was well spent?"

Nodding respectfully at the older man I take a moment to look around his office. It had been quite a while since I last saw it in the show; pristine, elegant, a good view of the surrounding area and likely filled to the literal brim of security devices for both recording audio and live footage. Considering who exactly the office belonged to I wouldn't be surprised if they only made up a tenth of the security measures he all but certainly had installed in this room.

All in all it looked exactly as it did in the earlier volumes - before Cinder and friends took up interior decorating that is.

But what I wouldn't give to get my hands on that scroll I see on the desk... bah, another time. Maybe when I'm not being scrutinized by an immortal wizard and five minutes away from being kicked from the school grounds perhaps.

"The bed was surprisingly comfy, I've only got to take a minor course of Aura-boosters throughout the next two days and the bedside manner of the nurse was surprisingly high quality. All in all I have no real complaints, sir." I answer as I approach the desk, suppressing the unease I can't help but feel around perhaps the most omnipotent threat to my current existence at this present time.

He smiles, gesturing for me to take the seat opposite him. I do so, sitting down and thanking him for the gesture.

"Yes, I tend to hear nothing but compliments in regards to Professor Aceso and her running of our infirmary." He replies as the two of us now sit opposite one another. His hand reaches down into his desk somewhere and, a moment later, he brings up two mugs. "Would you care for some refreshment whilst we talk? I doubt what you were given in the infirmary will be as tasteful as what I can offer."

"What's your poison?"

"Mistralian's own Caedburies' Hot Cocoa."

Ah yes, Remnant's knock-off of Cadbury's.

"Well I'd be a fool to say no. Keep this up and you and I could be best friends by the end of the night, Headmaster." Ozpin chuckles at this as he procures a flask from another compartment of his desk. Twisting open the cap he begins to pour the steaming, sweet smelling liquid into the two mugs.

"A fan I take it?" The man asks as he gently pushes the mug over towards me. With a gracious nod I raise the warm mug to my lips and carefully sip at the delectable liquid, savoring the taste before I reply. 

"Here and there, but only when I'm actually able to get my hands on the stuff. Usually by the time Yang or I realise that Tai has re-stocked Ruby has already taken the lions share before we can blink. Don't let her know you have a stash of the stuff hidden up here, otherwise you're going to find the place ransacked from top to bottom before the week is up." He chuckles softly at this, returning the flask into his drawer and closing it shut.

"Having been a lifelong fan of the brand I cannot blame Miss Rose for her enthusiasm. Still, I shall keep a watchful eye on my stores. If you would like anymore you need only ask - we may be here for some time after all." I raise my mug in a grateful salute to the older man and take yet another nice, long sip, enjoying what could perhaps be my proverbial last meal before my summary expulsion from the school grounds whilst at the same time trying my best to remain as calm as can be under the watchful gaze of a man who was as likely to see through my bullshit far better than anybody else thus far.

Lest we have forgotten, this motherfucker right here is the literal magical kingpin of Remnant, beaten out only by his ex-wife who, quite frankly, is just as much an individual I'd like to avoid a confrontation with.

Seeing as how I was planning on staying under his nose for as long as possible the fact that I'm sitting across from his desk with the two of us sipping hot chocolate together like an old married couple was not a situation I felt too comfortable being in.

Especially when one considers how his last marriage ended up. I may not be able to take vengeance in the form of a literal army of Grimm but I would certainly fight tooth and nail to get custody over his assets - especially when his office has such a nice view and his school has a literal magical fucking vault full of all sorts of goodies just sitting under our feet.

I guess I could always try and seduce hi- 

No.

Well old boy, I suppose it's time to see how you measure up to a man who is also running around with a closet full of world-changing secrets. If you can get through this entire conversation without arousing a modicum of suspicion towards what we know then we can call the day a resounding success, expulsion or not.

"So," I say, breaking the silence, "what's the verdict, sir?" He raises an eyebrow at this before placing his steaming mug onto the desk, leaning back into his chair.

"We shall get to that in good time, young man. The evening is yet young and there are a few things that I would like to discuss with you before coming to that particular issue." He replies as his hand glides across the desk towards his scroll. "First, I would like to ask how you personally feel in regards to your performance during initiation." It's my turn to raise a curious eyebrow at the Headmaster's words as he continues to mess around with his scroll.

"Huh. Okay, would you like my professional opinion or the downright honest version?"

"I would prefer to hear your honest, unadulterated thoughts."

"Cool. Well in that case I, quite frankly, think I did a rather piss-poor job of it all." For a moment he simply stares at me from across the desk without betraying much in the way of emotion. Whether he was amused or annoyed at words I couldn't tell.

Unsurprisingly and just as I expected from a man of his caliber he's quite hard to read.

"...I see. And what makes you think that?"

"You and Professor Goodwitch outright stated before launching us into that forest that we had two goals: finding a Relic and finding a partner. Considering I ended up with nothing but a scorched blazer, an almost shattered Aura and no partner of my own to speak off, I'd say that I more or less failed in those goals spectacularly." He nods, scroll still in hand. I can't see exactly what it is he is viewing but I can make out some of the audio as quiet as it was. From the sounds of it he's re-watching footage from the initiation.

Mine, perhaps?

"Were you at least able to return to the temple with your peers and acquire a relic?" I grunt in annoyance, shaking my head.

"We did go back but by that point everyone else must have gotten to them first. All that was left for me to find by that point were a bunch of empty pedestals and not much else in the way of positivity. All in all, sir, I can't really summarise my performance much better than by outright calling it a failure." He hums half heartedly but doesn't say much else as he continues to watch the footage playing from his scroll, leaving me sitting there waiting for a more informative response.

Then he pauses the video and turns back to me.

"Tell me, Harrow," he places the scroll in the center of the desk, flipping it around to face me, "if the person in this footage looks like a failure to you." Leaning forward I pick up the scroll and find that, indeed, he had in fact been re-watching my performance. Particular clips of footage had been compiled and with but a tap of the screen were now being played back, highlighting moments throughout my trek of the forest wherein I had encountered Grimm.

From the Beowolf I had encountered upon landing to those that I met further in the forest the video before me replays moment after moment of my successes throughout the forest and I'm happy to watch with some very much deserved satisfaction at how easily I'm dispatching the beasts in the replay. "Because from what I have seen of you thus far you have showcased nothing but success."

Success? Yeah, alright. Has he been watching a different initiation to the one I had partaken in?

Placing the scroll back down on the desk I give him a smile as thankful as it was confused.

"I'm not so sure you can call it a success Headmaster. Considering I failed in both my set tasks I'd be hard pressed to call it anything short of a disaster."

"You and I see things a little differently, for where you are focusing on the overall end result of your performance I, however, have been paying far more attention to the moments in between. It is not the end result that defines the journey, young man, but the other way around." He raises his mug to his lips, taking a deep sip and staring at me over the rim behind his spectacles. "And to me, you passed my expectations, regardless of your inability to find a partner or to acquire a relic piece." Placing the mug down onto the desk he rises from his chair and moves to the window, staring out over the grounds whilst I remain seated where I am, staring at the back of his head and not being quite sure as to where he was going with this.

"Do you know how many students have come before you in the hopes of finding a place in this school?"

"Countless, I imagine?"

"Indeed. Do you also know what happens to those who failed?"

"I can hazard a pretty good guess, but if you give me a shovel I'll start digging around the forest in search of confirmation." He turns slightly towards me and from here I can see the corner of his mouth curving upwards.

"Your adoptive father was certainly not wrong in comparing your personality to that of your old combat teacher." I scoff at this and give the Headmaster a knowing look of mock indignation.

"Fifty Lien says that Tai told you he thinks that I'm Qrow's secret bastard love child?" He nods. "Ah, that old chestnut. Gods forbid that ever turned out to be true - even if it did explain my horrendous streak of bad luck recently."

"Reality shudders at the thought of Mr Branwen with children." He turns back to looking out through the window. "But you are correct in that the forest is littered with the bones of those who have tried and failed in their attempts to earn a place here long before you ever took your own. Many of them would have found partners of their own and many may have even acquired a relic of their own. Yet despite their best efforts they failed in that they could not overcome what lay in the forest. You are unique here in that whilst you have admittedly fallen short of acquiring both a relic and a partner you are, at the end of the day, still breathing. To me - and to the vast majority of your future professors - your efforts are worthy of being deemed a success through that simple fact alone."

"My futu- what?"

"Yes, I imagine that was not what you expected to hear." Ozpin says, chuckling at the window. He turns back to me, mug in hand. "You passed, young man. As shocking as it is to hear - and believe me when I tell you that Professor Goodwitch had some rather choice words to describe my decision - I have decided to intercede on your behalf and, for the second time this year no less, make an exception to our standard process of student acceptance." He raises his steaming mug into the air, saluting me from behind his desk. "Congratulations, Mr Grey."

...

What?

"Headmaster, pardon my Vacuoan, but what in the fuck?" A frown makes its way onto his face as he returns to the desk and back into his seat, a slight hint of disdain evident in his eyes. "I can understand your confusion, young man, but would you be so kind as to refrain from cursing in my office? It is unbecoming of someone your age." 

Oh my bad, maybe if you'd be so kind as to not throw a literal fucking curveball at my head without warning I'd be more inclined to remain calm and collected. 

"Yeah, sorry about that," I say, raising my hands in a somewhat apologetic manner, "but you can understand why I'm shocked by this turn of events, right? You're straight up telling me that despite crashing and literally burning my way out of passing you're just... going to let me in? Seriously? Just like that, yeah?"

"More or less." I shake my head in astonishment at how casual he is being about it.

"I don't mean to sound like a broken record but do I need to point out yet again that I'm currently empty in both the partner and relic department right now? Considering how everybody else had to bust their balls just to get their hands on one or the other it doesn't seem fair for you to just snap your fingers and wave me on through the ticket barriers like this."

Seriously, what the fuck? After all of that bullshit I and everybody else went through this morning you're just going to sit there and fast-track me into the school despite the fact that I'd fucked up? You've an angle here old man. You might say or think that you're doing this out of, like, the goodness of your heart or some stupid sentimental bollocks, but I don't believe it.

This is far too good a turn of events for you to not have some sort of ulterior motive behind it.

What are you planning, Ozmodeus?

"There's a saying I heard once that seems rather fitting in regards to your situation. You see, "the game was rigged from the start", or so I believe it goes."

The image of Ozpin wearing a black and white chequered suit pops into my head and I find it rather ironic. The man was more akin to Mr House than he was to Benny.

"You may not be aware but in this years initiation there were an unequal amount of participants." He ignores the stupefied stare being sent his way and continues on. "It is quite rare for this to occur as we tend to deny applications once a certain number have been accepted. However, it would appear that this year there were one too many applications accepted. With any luck this administrative error should not manifest a second time."

...Bollocks to that, mate. You're just taking the piss and covering up an ulterior motive, I'm sure of it.

"Headmaster Ozpin, are you really trying to tell me that the entire reason I couldn't find a partner was because somebody was far too tired on the job to notice the big, glaring uneven number staring back at them?" He opens his mouth as if to deny it but then promptly closes it shut, all but confirming my accusations. "You have to be taking the piss."

I blew up that mountain and almost died in the process because somebody can't do basic fucking maths!?

Fuck my life.

"Again, do please mind your language, Mr Grey."

Jump off a cliff, you're not Ruby nor do I need you to start copying the adorable little shit in calling me out every five seconds.

"Oh come on, you have to agree that this sounds unbelievably forced, right? I spent years training for this exact day, sir, and now you want to sit there and tell me that I almost died for nothing on account of a literal rounding error? Really? I'm all happy for you to take pity and whatnot in throwing me a spot at your school but this should never have happened in the first place." 

"I understand your anger and you have the right to be so. It is also because I agree with you that I am offering you the chance to remain with us despite your lack of a partner and acquisition of a relic. At the end of the day it is just as much my fault for not catching the error in time as much as it is yours for not being fast enough to find a fellow student in time. I'm unsure as to why you spent so long wasting time during the initial phase of the initiation but had you been hastier in your search you would have more than likely found another student to pair up with and I would likely be having this conversation with a different student."

"Be that as it may everybody else got in the correct way. How do you think they're going to respond when they find out that you can fail yet still be allowed to enroll at the same time? It'll lessen their own performances and I could do with not dealing with the drama that comes with a bunch of super powered teenagers thinking that I haven't earnt my spot or whatever. I get enough flak as it is with these things on my head without adding that into the mix."

"What your peers say or feel in regards to this is quite irrelevant, Mr Grey. I make the rules - not them." Then he smirks. "In fact, I feel that, if anything, they will be more than happy that you would be joining them for the time being. Having passed by many students today I can tell you now that most seem to hold a rather receptive opinion in regards to the first-year whose performance had been visible for many miles around. You will more than likely find a general sense of acceptance to your continued presence amongst them."

Sorry old man but I just don't believe the sincerity here. This is far too much to take in in just five minutes, you know? 

I'd spent hours in that infirmary bed trying to figure out what to do from here. Believing that I had utterly cocked up my chances of getting into Beacon had taken a very big sledgehammer to my future aspirations and had left me reeling - the notion that I tripped at the starting line had effectively derailed a lot of my long term ambitions in one hefty blow.

Now all of a sudden the one man in Remnant who I had been hoping would pay little attention to my existence for the time being was now offering me hot chocolate, a smile and a literal golden ticket into his school, no questions asked?

"This... well, it's quite a lot to process in a very short amount of time, Headmaster. When your deputy all but dragged me from the infirmary and to the elevator I had assumed that you were more or less going to tell me to back up my bags and be out of here come morning. Instead I'm being told that despite everything that had happened I had still succeeded? That I can stay?"

"More or less." He says in a manner far more leisurely than one would think acceptable in regards to the topic. "You are, of course, free to refuse if you so-"

"No!" I exclaim, eliciting a raised eyebrow from the Headmaster at my sudden outburst. "Certainly not! I am more than happy to take you up on this literal lifeline that you're throwing my way, very happy at that." The man smiles at this and raises his mug once again to his lips. "But considering the absolute ball ache that everybody else went through today, I need to ask again before we get to whatever the offer is exactly - why are you making an exception for me?" He pauses, the mug hovering just inches away from his face. Slowly, he lowers it back down onto the desk before leaning forward towards me, his eyes narrowing slightly behind his spectacles.

"Even before meeting you today I have heard quite a few stories from both Qrow and Taiyang regarding your character. How at the tender age of nine you raced into the forest, axe in hand, to rescue your adoptive sisters from the Grimm. How despite having no Aura, no combat training whatsoever and absolutely no feasible way of prevailing against such odds you still managed to slay a Beowolf. You had only known the family for little over two years by this point and yet you were willing to risk it all to keep those girls safe. That, Mr Grey, takes a great deal of courage."

"I'd call it being "reckless" if anything-"

"Then I hear from Qrow how you handled the circumstances of your W.E.S.T Examination at Signal. How you had been faced with not the one or two Grimm you had been expecting but by an entire packs worth. I watched the footage young man and, believe me, even I was impressed. Taken by surprise even a veteran Huntsman might have struggled against such odds. Yet you, a mere student, stood your ground. You did not flee. Instead you took the situation as it had become and adapted accordingly and, despite the odds being stacked against you, passed the examination in a remarkable fashion. That, Mr Grey, takes quick thinking on your behalf."

"Well I would have ran had there not been a massive damn hard-light shield-"

"Finally your performance today, coupled by past events, showed to me perhaps your greatest quality. By the time of your encounter with Miss Belladonna and your sister the last pairing of the day had been minutes away. By that point you must have known yourself that your chances had dwindled astronomically, yet you carried on regardless. Your refusal to accept defeat carried you through the forest, through the caves and, finally, up towards that mountain. Surrounded as you were on all sides you still refused to submit - the results of which can be seen quite clearly through my window. That willingness to struggle, to persevere, to take risks and to remain firm in the face of adversity, Mr Grey, takes an inordinate amount of willpower."

He leans back into his chair, resting his hands beneath his chin, staring through the steam emanating from his mug intensely towards me. "And it is these qualities and more that I aspire to see in each and every one of my students, young man. You have such potential, Mr Grey, and it would be nothing short of a tragedy to let such potential be squandered by a mere technicality." 

Hmph. Okay then. That's... certainly a better answer than I would have ever thought to give myself. Fair enough, you old bastard - you certainly know how to spin a compliment.

Courage. Quick thinking. Willpower.

~"Sugar! Spice! And everything nice!

These were the ingredients chosen to create the perfect little Huntresses!"~

Ruby would make the perfect Power-Puff girl now that I think about it.

Right, back to reality. Now in all honesty he has no idea just how wrong he is in his little pep-talk about my "innate qualities" and whatnot.

It wasn't just courage that drove me to save Yang and Ruby. It was also the fact that if they died then I - and by extension the world - would be downright fucked in short order. A general sense of self-preservation took precedent over being some sort of child-sized hero.

Well, self-preservation and a genuine desire to keep the two girls safe, of course, but that's not so much courage as it just basic human decency. You'd need to be a special kind of bastard to knowingly let those two little gremlins head off towards certain death without intervening.

Furthermore it wasn't just my quick thinking that had kept me alive through my W.E.S.T. Oh no, I think that falls more on a combination of dumb luck and my choice of weaponry. That the Gravity Dust and the Hard-Light wall had worked so well together was as much a surprise as it was entirely well-planned. Some decent aim had also gone a long way in keeping me alive that day, so my aptitude with Excalibur couldn't be discounted.

And it wasn't just my innate willpower that drove me through the initiation but more of me stumbling around in the dark like a headless chicken praying that I could find what I was searching for. Knowing what I do now I would have just sprinted into the forest and grabbed the first person I saw instead of waiting around for the main cast to wander off far enough away from me that I didn't accidentally split one of the main teams in half.

Fuck it, I'll take Blake. Let me turn back time and I'll happily take the cute cat girl over this sudden one-eighty turnabout.

Hell, knowing what happened now I especially wouldn't have gone into those caves either. What an absolute clusterfuck of enormous proportions that little labyrinth turned out to be, right? As downright fucking awesome as it was being almost blown to bits was not an experience I felt like replicating anytime soon. Or at all for that matter.

At the end of the day I'm not this model student that he seems to be trying to hammer into my head. That's just not who I am, not really.

I'm just some complete and utter knob who woke up one day in a fictional world and has up until this point been trying his damn best to prepare for the inevitable in a way that sees both myself and those closest to me through to the other side in one piece.

Or as relatively intact as humanly possible.

I'm not a hero, Ozma - I'm just a guy who'd really like to reach the minimum retirement age.

And who is more than willing to manipulate everyone and everything around him to get there.

If anything I suppose I'm a younger, furrier, far more handsome version of yourself, albeit without any soul-leeching properties and the rather demented love life. Unless you count Neo of course, but I'd say she's more of a potentially psychopath stalker than a loving significant other.

She doesn't even write or call, you know? Breaks my heart, well and truly.

"I'll take your word for it, Headmaster." I finally say after some time. The two of us had simply sat there in silence whilst I pondered his words and he waited expectantly for a response. "I'm not sure I completely agree with your analysis of what I've done in life but if it helps you sleep at night then I won't argue with you."

"That would be for the best - my evening rest is one of the few things I have left that I can fully enjoy these days."

"What exactly is on the table for me then? Considering the circumstances I assume my experience here is going to be vastly different when compared to everybody else's routine?"

"You are correct in that assumption. Now firstly I must make it clear to you that this offer will only last you until the end of the school year. At such a time you will then have two choices open to you: either you re-enroll and retake initiation in the hopes of accomplishing what you failed to do so today, or you can move on to one of the other Huntsman Academies of your choosing and go from there. That is, of course, if you still wish to continue on the path of becoming a Huntsman. Of course if you were to take the latter option you would of course have assistance from myself in the form of a reference and whatever else you may need to help facilitate your acceptance into your chosen Academy."

"So I get one year to learn, train and whatnot before you cut the rope? Alright, that actually seems pretty fair all things considered."

"Indeed. I'm afraid I cannot offer you any longer than a year due to the intensification of your day-to-day learning that will occur from your second year onwards. If you wish to remain in my school then you will need to belong to a team of your own. Until then, you will have but one year to learn and to hone your skills before we make any further decisions regarding your future as a Huntsman. One year, Harrow, and we shall see if the potential I see in you is worth this investment."

Buddy, you might not even be here in one year if ol' Cindy has her way. Hell, half the school might not be here in that event.

"One year, understood. Now what about teams? Seeing as how I'm coming up empty in that department what do you propose in regards to that?"

"It was a controversial decision in the end but due to teams having already been assigned Professor Goodwitch and I feel it best that you remain without a team of your own so as to not cause undue confusion amongst your fellow first-years by a sudden reshuffling a mere day after their initial formations. Of course you will be expected to follow the same rules and regulations as your peers; you will attend the same classes and combat exhibitions as your fellow students and you will be assigned and be expected to complete the same assignments set by my staff. In essence you will be treated exactly the same as every other student in Beacon, just that you will not have a team to call your own.

"However, I cannot simply allow you to remain - and please pardon my saying - a lone wolf for the entirety of your tenure here. To this end you will be assigned in the near future to a first-year team of our choosing to shadow and support for an unknown period of time. These activities will range from the usual sparring and studying and up to assisting them in a mission beyond the school and somewhere within the kingdom. Either myself or Professor Goodwitch will be responsible for selecting the team. I would advise that you ingratiate yourself with your peers - the selection will be randomised and not at all related to any relations you may already have."

"You're going to break Ruby's heart at this rate."

"That is a risk I shall have to live with."

"It's your funeral. So bunk with, spar with and generally annoy an existing team with my endearing personality for as long as it takes until you pick me up and fling me over towards the next unlucky group of four to repeat the same process. Got it. Anything else I need to know?"

"There is one more aspect to your enrollment and, unfortunately, it is not a positive one."

"Eh, I didn't think that this would all be sunshine and roses. What's the catch?"

"Due to the peculiar nature of your enrollment I will unfortunately have to deny you a number of benefits that, considering your position, would neither be acceptable nor appropriate. You will not be permitted to the choosing of your own missions later in the year - they will be determined by whichever team you are shadowing at the time. In addition, you will not be permitted to visit our fellow academies as part of on-going student exchanges as I highly doubt my fellow Headmasters would be so willing to exchange yourself for one of their own. And no, this is in no way due to your being a Faunus."

"Hey, I didn't even say anything." 

"I saw the look in your eyes, young man, and I would rather we skip the part where you make any insinuations as to my feelings towards your people-"

"My 'people'?"

"Stop it."

That people will never be able to fully understand just how funny it is to play the race card on Ozpin of all people is actually rather depressing.

"Don't worry - Tai gets it worse than you ever will."

"He has my deepest condolences." The man drawls. "Finally, I'm afraid to say that as you are without your own team you will therefore not be permitted to compete in the Vytal Festival that is due to take place in Vale later on in the school year. You may attend as an observer of course alongside most of those in attendance but, unless the team you are allocated to decides to put you forth as a representative later on in the round brackets you will not be eligible to compete in any form." 

Alrighty then, that was certainly an offer and a half. Certainly a far better offer than I might have even imagined considering my circumstances. Hmm... alright, let's go over all of that one more time then before we set this in stone, shall we?

Firstly, I get one year to get my shit together and put in place some overly complex and downright suicidal plan that sees both Beacon and Vale not set alight by Cinder and the White Fang. Should I survive to the end by some miracle then I'll be promptly kicked out through the front doors and told to try again the week after. 

Knowing a year is all it will take to decide the fate of half of Remnant, I suppose I can work with what he's giving me in terms of a timeframe. 

Secondly, I am effectively a one man team at Beacon who gets to enjoy being shuffled throughout the entirety of the first year student body like some sort of unwanted furry foster child praying that somebody adopts me into their ranks.

Can't say I'm too happy about this but I don't really have much of a leg to stand on in terms of arguing. Then again, perhaps it might even be for the better for me? I mean if I'm being forced to spend time with a good chunk of the first year teams then I can keep a far better eye on the development of a few particular individuals.

If needs be I'll then be in a somewhat better position of giving them that little push forwards that they may need.

He might not like it but I am more than happy to take a hammer to the back of Jaune's skull if it helps his durability or ability to dodge. I may not earn much love from Pyrrha for manhandling her boy-toy but considering his role in my future plans I would very much like the blond to be at least somewhat more capable than he was in canon around the time of the Festival.

And then finally and perhaps least importantly I am not at all allowed to partake in the Vytal Festival as a hopeful champion nor can I take part in any foreign jaunts to any of the other academies. It's really not that big an issue to be honest.

Hell, I'm basically that one kid whose parents could never sign the papers consenting to me going out on the school trip and therefore forcing me to stay on-site whilst everybody else fucks off to the chocolate factory.

Overall thoughts on my situation: not great, not terrible.

It's certainly not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, especially seeing as how I had desired to simply blend in with the crowd. With the alternative option being going back to the drawing board and bashing my head against it until I either formed a completely new plan on the fly or I simply cracked my skull open and solved all of my issues that way however, this then was looking like my only real option if I wanted to keep things as they were.

The groundwork for my original plans had already begun to set finally and it'll be a fucking ball ache and a half if I have to start uprooting everything I had seeded into the ground thus far.

Fine. Fuck it. I can work with this. It's not like I expected everything in my life to go swimmingly anyway. May as well get used to these sudden and strange fluctuations here and there.

"Of course, should a student be incapacitated indefinitely or otherwise unable to continue their Huntsman pursuits, you may be allocated to the team in which they had been a part of. In this case, your enrollment will become permanent and you will be allowed to enjoy the same benefits as the rest of your peers. Should this happen within the school year we will have another conversation in regards to what the next stage of your education would entail."

Ah yes, I forgot there was the ever present risk that people might still just straight up die throughout the year. Alright, so should one of the nameless students get twatted by a Grimm during their second week of learning algebra and fighting truck-sized monsters then I'll just get shuffled into taking their spot to keep their numbers pristine then, huh?

Good God, Ofsted would have had a fucking field day.

"With all that I have said in mind, are you still willing to accept my offer, Mr Grey?" Ozpin asks, staring at me from across the desk with a strange look of what I would deem amusement. I'm not sure what he found so funny, honestly. It was either I accept this downgraded enrollment or I fuck off back to Patch to come with some alternative idea to keep Salem and friends from fucking everything up.

Or maybe he just found the whole situation funny. You know, the whole 'student cocks up royally but still gets a passing grade' situation that we had found ourselves in.

It doesn't look like I have much choice in the matter either. Considering I had fully expected to be leaving this office having been told to more or less pack up my shit and bugger off I can't really argue with the bone I was being thrown. There's no further point in weighing my options anymore and so I give the Headmaster a firm nod of agreement.

"I'll take it, sir." He smiles kindly, reaching over the desk to shake my hand. "I'll see what records I can break over the next year then, shall I?" 

"Considering your performance this morning I would expect no less from you, young man." The man replies with a grin as we settle back down into our chairs. "I have high hopes that you will continue to surprise and impress over this year. Please see to it that you meet my expectations, Mr Grey." I nod. Believing that the conversation had begun to reach its end I make to rise from my chair, only to be met by Ozpin raising his hand. "Before you go, however, there is one more matter we need to discuss before you return to the infirmary for the night." Slowly I sit back down, eyeing him curiously.

"Which is?" The smile he had been wearing fades somewhat as his face seems to harden ever so slightly.

"You mentioned earlier about me having to "pass a verdict", yes?" 

And there it is - the real catch. I knew I wouldn't be leaving here without some repercussions for my hilarious little stunt this morning.

"Was beginning to hope you might have forgotten about all of that. I take it my whole stealing Dust and blowing up a natural landmark isn't going to net me a simple slap on the wrist now, is it?" He shakes his head, seemingly trying to bite back a smile. "Yeah, didn't think so. What's the sentence then, Your Honour?"

"To appease my deputy some concessions had to be made in regards to the handling of your actions. One such concession being that for the first month of your staying with us you will be spending at least two evenings a week by her side-"

Now that's a reward, not a punishment.

"-whilst she rigorously ensures that you understand why we have such rules in place for the usage of particular varieties of Dust. This will more than likely include a great deal of reading and note takings in preparation for an examination of her design - failing will likely result in your expulsion."

Oh fuck me, It's Qrow's essay shitshow all over again. Only this time it was actually for real. Bollocks.

"Give me five minutes and I'll have my bags packed." 

"Please do not look so forlorn, Mr Grey. Had she been the one to decide your overall punishment I fear you may have preferred to perish in your own explosion. At least the pain would have been momentary."

"Not really filling me with confidence in my chances of getting through the first month."

"I have no doubts that you will endure somehow. Another concession is that you will be expected to meet with both the Professor and I periodically to evaluate your performance throughout the school year, both academically and martially. Whilst you may not have a team to call your own you will still be expected to keep up with the same work load as everybody else, in addition to anything extra that we may feel fit to assign to you personally. Without a team I expect that your schedule will be far more empty than I would prefer - we shall see to it that it is filled appropriately."

"Basically I've been sentenced to drown under a literal boatload of essays and other assorted academic tortures to make up for my sins." He ponders my rather apt description for a few seconds before shrugging rather uncaringly.

"That would be one way of putting it, yes." 

"Grand." I mutter half-heartedly. There's not much I can do to argue with this so I may as well just accept it and move on. "I suppose as far as punishments go for robbing you all blind and playing at landscaping I guess this isn't too bad. I could have pictured a few harsher outcomes personally, but I won't complain."

Considering her earlier unhappiness I wouldn't have put it past Glynda to have been pushing for me to face something far more harsher than just twatting me with a metric fuckton of revision and essays. "Honestly I would have thought she'd have been gunning for me to be facing some sort of, like, legal repercussion or something similar."

"Oh she did try to suggest a visit to Vale's Central Headquarters but I talked her out of that." 

"Ah."

"Indeed. You may have spent your recovery handcuffed to the bed in Vale General before being transferred into a temporary holding cell if she had her way. Harsh, but not unexpected nor undeserved given your actions."

"Well, thanks, I guess?"

"You're most welcome." The two of us lapse into silence for a few seconds before a sudden thought comes to mind in regards to all of this.

"What exactly would have happened to me if I'd have said no to your offer?"

"She would have been free to have her way with you in in the manner she had originally desired-"

Mhmm...

"-and simply sent the bill for the replacement of the Explosive Dust you stole to Mr Xiao Long."

Mhmm!? 

"I take it from your rather sudden change of expression that whatever punishment Professor Goodwitch might have had in mind pales when compared to whatever Mr Xiao Long could bring about?" I nod, swallowing harshly.

"Considering he's already been paying for all of the Dust I've been burning through for the last couple of years? If he ends up getting yet another bill - especially one as expensive as this is likely to turn out - I may as well just save him half of the trouble and dig my own grave in preparation." I shudder at the thought whilst Ozpin simply chuckles. "Sending Tai the bill... no thank you - I like living."

I'd have never made it out of his next hand-to-hand sparring session alive, I'm sure of it.

I raise my still steaming mug to my lips, taking a deep drink and sighing contentedly before returning my attention back to the Headmaster. "Well if that's all then I suppose I'll be heading back... to... Headmaster? You, uh, you good over there sir?" 

Sitting across from me Ozpin was staring at me rather oddly, looking as if he had seen a ghost. I glance around the room uncomfortably as the man continues to stare right through me. "You having a stroke or something, sir? Do I need to start screaming for help at all or-" Suddenly he breaks out of whatever stupor he was in, shaking his head as he pushes his spectacles back into place.

"It's nothing," I raise an eyebrow at this obviously false statement, "just a decrepit old man having a brief moment of senility. It comes with age, as you may one day find out for yourself." Ozpin assures me, waving his hand dismissively as he glances down at his scroll, seemingly in thought for a few moments before, again, he shakes his head and adopts that same serene expression he had mostly been holding throughout the conversation. "Well, provided you can avoid being at the epicenter of any future large-scale detonations, that is." 

Uh huh. Sure. Alright, whatever you say, chief. I suppose I'll just ignore whatever the fuck just happened to you then, shall I? 

That might be for the best, actually. God knows what's going through his head half the time and, quite frankly, I'd probably be better off not knowing,

"I swear you're like, what, in your mid-fifties? Sixties at most?" The man closes his eyes and sighs, though it's easy to tell that he's more amused than he is annoyed with my cheek. Unlike his deputy I doubt Ozpin would be inclined to throttling me across the office for my continued cheek.

"Before you continue to dig yourself into a hole perhaps it might be best that you retire for the night? With all that has happened in just one day some rest will do you well, especially as, despite everything, you do in fact have classes tomorrow." 

"Hmph. I suppose I do, don't I?" I rise from the chair and raise the mug to my lips, draining the remainder of the liquid before placing it back down onto the desk. "Thank you, Headmaster. For the drink and for the sudden reversing of my fortunes. But mostly for the drink." He rolls his eyes. "No, seriously, I mean it. Ruby is more of a wolf than I am when it comes to anything containing more than a percentage of sugar-"

"To bed with you, Harrow." He interrupts, shaking his head and smiling warmly at me. "I shall talk to you again after you have settled into something resembling a routine. If you have any further questions or require any assistance in regards to your current placement then please do not hesitate to ask myself or any of the staff. Have a pleasant remainder of your evening, Mr Grey."

"You too, sir." I reply, smiling gratefully to the man for everything he had given to me in such a short span of time. I turn from the desk and begin striding over towards the elevator, wanting simply to return to my bed in the infirmary to get some decent rest before tomorrow rolled around. 

With my place at Beacon now suddenly and strangely secured I could rest somewhat easy. I didn't need to revamp my plans as direly as I had assumed and, whilst my circumstances were certainly not ideal nor were they what I wanted, for the most part I could carry on as normal. 

Albeit now I just had to contend with the fact that I was very much not sticking under the radar as I had hoped to do. So much for anonymity you fucking dick. You wanted to be a background character, huh? Stay out of the spotlight and just pull levers from behind the scenes?

Well tough fucking luck because you've just been thrust straight into Ozpin's direct line of sight, holding a big neon sign all but screaming "I'm a fucking important person and you should keep a watchful eye on every last movement I make" to the world.

Typical.

"Mr Grey?" Ozpin's voice brings me to a stop just as I reach the elevator doors. Turning back around I see him standing in the center of his office, bending down towards the floor. "I believe you dropped something." Standing up straight his hand opens up around the small object he had picked up from the floor, revealing a rather familiar little item that I had all but forgotten about since coming across it in the caves.

Instinctively my hand shoots into my pocket and, lo and behold, there's a particular lack of the playing card I had found in those caves in my pocket. "A memento of yours?" The man asks curiously, slowly turning the card over in his hand, almost studying it to try and find some sort of hidden wording.

It's just a card, mate. No need to start thinking it's some sort of secret fifth Relic or some stupid bullshit.

"Sort of? I mean, I only found it this morning whilst I was running for my life in those caves." 

"And you just happened to stumble across this at the time?"

"Yeah, more or less. There was this brief minute before I took the nuclear option where, during my stumbling around in the dark, I found this odd deck of cards just... sitting there in the cave. No idea where it came from or whose it was originally but I'd assume whoever it belonged to is now either long dead or has since long forgotten about it. Regardless," I gesture to the Joker held aloft in his hands, "that one card was all that was inside." The man frowns at this as he returns to looking the card over.

"Just this one card?" He echoes in a tone dripping with curiosity.

"Yeah. Weird, right?" He hums affirmatively as he continues to check the card over. I wasn't too sure what it was that had him so curious about the thing - it was just a card, right? Weird placement in the cave aside there wasn't much else to it. A sudden thought comes to mind and I grin at the older man. "Hey, I don't suppose you'll take that as my relic contribution? It might not be a chess piece but it's certainly better than nothing, right?" His gaze flickers between myself and the card before, to my surprise, he nods.

"As you wish, Mr Grey. In place of what you had been tasked to collect I will instead accept this as a valid substitute." The man says with a small smile, pocketing the card. "I doubt it will appease Professor Goodwitch, but at the very least it will act as something resembling an object of importance. I will have to check the records but I suppose there may exist the possibility of this and similar such cards being used as stand-in Relic pieces in a previous initiation by one of my predecessors." 

"That would be a stretch, wouldn't it?" He turns to me with a questioning gaze. "Well, seeing as how your predecessor would have needed to have been born before the Great War-"

"I believe that that will be all for now, Mr Grey." The man says tiredly, grumbling something beneath his breath that not even I can pick up on. "Please do not continue in your attempts to make me regret my choice before your first official day has even begun." I offer the man a look that was entirely apologetic and not at all sarcastic in the slightest.

Me? Sporting shit-eating grins and making fun of in the face of a man whose cane was a literal nuclear weapon? 

Oh who am I kidding - of course it's my style, kids. 

"Not to worry Headmaster - give me a week and I'll ensure you have absolutely zero regrets to speak of."

"If I give you a week I may end up with only half a school."

"Which of course will be in no way related to any of my imminent Dust experiments." His deadpan stare is quite telling as to his thoughts on the matter.

"Such experiments will henceforth be supervised by a member of staff from here on out."

"Was that another concession to Miss Goodwitch?" He nods. "Good lord, she really did not take kindly to me robbing your Dust stores and taking out a mountain."

"No, Mr Grey, she most certainly did not."

"A shame. She should try it sometime. It's actually quite cathartic, especially when you end up taking out a good number of Grimm at the same time. Two birds, one high-yield detonation, or so the saying goes."

"I do not doubt that for a second and I'm sure that over the next few evenings you will have plenty of opportunities to put forth such an idea to her if you so wish."

"Yeah, maybe. Though maybe I'd be better off giving it a week or so until I'm satisfied she won't try to fling me from the cliffs before I start the sales pitch, right?"

"That would probably be for the best. Now, I believe I have taken enough of your time for one night." He turns away from me and back to his desk, circling around and returning to his seat once more. "We shall have another one of these meetings in the near future to discuss how you are performing. Until then, Mr Grey, and good luck."

Throwing the Headmaster a two fingered salute I turn on the spot, making my way to the elevator with no further interruptions. Stepping inside and pressing my finger against the appropriate button, I look over across the room and to the Headmaster, who met my gaze from across the room.

For all of his knowledge and experience I don't think he suspected me of anything beyond being a general health hazard to everybody nearby when it came to Dust. I mean it's not as if I openly dropped anything of importance in our conversation that would tip him off, right?

No mentions of Salem, of Ozma, of the Relics or the Maidens. Yeah, I think I did all right for a first meeting with Ozpin all things considered. If I just keep passing myself of as the cocksure twat that I am then I should breeze right under his radar, even with all of this one-year enrolment shite thrown my way.

No more serious fuckups like initiation Harrow and you'll come out the other end of this grandiose adventure of yours absolutely golden.

Heh, that is certainly the dream isn't it?

Still, I do wonder what the hell was going on with Ozpin a minute ago. He just sorta, like, froze up or something. I don't think it was anything I said at the time, or at least I don't think it was.

Weird old reincarnating wizards and their geriatric moments, huh?

"...It's not like you to call so late in the evening, Oz. Is everything alright?"

"Yes James, thank you. I'm sorry to call you at this hour but I needed to speak to you about something."

"Of course old friend. My scroll is always open to you. What's on your mind?"

"Do you remember the message you received concerning Doctor Victor Merlot two years ago? I was just wondering if you had received any further messages of a similar nature from your... "concerned friend" as you described them."

"The one that looked as if it had been written by Qrow? I remember it. To answer your question I did indeed - three months after the arrest of Doctor Merlot was broadcast to the world we received another message from our anonymous source."

"Oh? What did they say?"

"Admittedly not as much as I would have liked. I will send you a copy in the next few minutes but it was mostly just a congratulatory message on my success in apprehending Doctor Merlot. Apparently they hadn't much faith in their letter actually reaching my desk in the first place but, having seen the results of their message on the news, they promised to be in touch again relatively soon. Beyond that I have had no further word from them."

"Have you or your specialists had any luck in identifying the individual behind the messages?"

"I'm afraid not - any attempts at tracing the messages back to their source have so far come up empty. It's likely that they used a burner device of sorts to send the message before destroying it so as to protect their anonymity. Either that or we are dealing with an individual with a level of expertise far beyond my own cyber specialists. All we know at this current point in time is that the messages did not originate from within Atlas itself."

"I see…"

"I won't lie, Oz, I'm not sure what to make of them. Despite their help in nailing that despicable bastard I'm not in the position of placing my faith in those who only conduct their business through a scroll. Don't get me wrong, I'm pleased that there is somebody else out there who is willing to make the world a better place, but I've never been one for placing my trust in wildcards - that was always more your area of expertise."

"Wildcards... he certainly may just be one..."

"Oz? Are you okay, old friend?"

"...Apologies, it's nothing - just the ramblings of a madman."

"...If you say so." There's a moment of silence between the two men before the General clears his throat. "Whilst we're on the topic, I can't help but notice that you seem far more curious now about our mystery friend than you were when we first spoke of him. What's brought about the sudden interest in our apparently mutual friend?"

"Curiosity, mostly. It isn't everyday that you receive information regarding the whereabouts of a supposed dead man, and I was wondering if they had reared their head once more as of late."

"I see. Well, nothing further has been heard from them since their previous message. Should I receive any further contact I'll let you know, of course. Now, if that is all-"

"Wait a moment James, there is one more thing I'd like to ask. A small favour, if you will."

"Oh? Name it and I'll see what I can do."

"I'd like you to do some investigating for me."

"Investigating?"

"Yes. Family history, upbringing, just about anything and everything you find will be useful."

"Would this not be more suited to Qrow's particular skillset? As much as I despise his mannerisms I must admit that his skills would be more suited to this sort of work than I, Oz."

"He would have been my first choice, but he has tasks of his own to see to in the coming weeks in regards to the Queen's plans that leave him unavailable at this current point in time."

"I understand."

"Furthermore, the information I'm looking for can only be found in one particular kingdom in Remnant. Seeing as how your influence throughout this kingdom is so widespread, you would be, understandably, the perfect person to ask for in regards to carrying this out."

"You could just say it was Atlas instead of... hmph. Very well old friend, I'll see what my operatives can dig up. Specialist Schnee has been awaiting a new assignment for some time now - this should do the trick in keeping her appeased."

"Thank you James. You know I wouldn't ask if it were not important."

"No, I suppose not. Give me a few weeks and I should have something for you in regards to what you're looking for. Now then - who exactly are my specialists digging into?"

"A Faunus, supposedly having originated from Atlas before washing up on the shores of Patch quite some time ago. You might even be familiar with him, as I do believe it has been brought up in passing by Qrow himself."

"Is this the very same Faunus that Branwen found on the island and handed off to Mr Xiao Long?"

"Indeed. If it should exist, I would like for any and all background information - as much as you can find - to be collected regarding one Harrow Grey."

Wildcard or not, Mr Grey had left an impression on him.

And he wasn't sure if he was too fond of it, yet.

Chapter Text

Chapter 15

After failing the initiation and being effectively strapped down in the infirmary of the rest of the day to recover from my diabolically insane use of Explosive Dust, I had admittedly zero faith that I would end up seeing any more of Beacon beyond what I'd see from the Bullhead as it returned my sorry arse back to Patch in defeat.

No partner? No Relic? Absolutely no chance of getting in with neither? It certainly looked like a done deal at that point. You'd be forgiven for thinking such of course and perhaps in a more logical world this would have been the inevitable outcome of my disappointing performance.

Of course in a more logical world I'd have never made it past my first year of life in Remnant so I suppose I should take the handouts whenever and wherever they come in. Of course in this particular instance it came straight from the hand that ran the place: Headmaster Ozpin himself.

He'd sent his overly attractive fun-sponge to collect me from the infirmary that evening and had me brought to his office, wherein he decided that in light of the show I had put on he'd bend his own rules and allow me into his school, no team and all. I'm quite surprised that nobody ever brought up the fact that he had now bent the rules in favour of two members of the same family. 

Favouritism is a wonderful thing when you're on the receiving end of it I must say.

You know, he's quite the interesting fellow, and I don't just mean that because he leeches off of the souls of those unfortunate enough to draw the winning numbers to the universe's unluckiest lottery; Ozpin sees this complete and utter knob booking it through his private reserve, watches him fail to achieve every goal he had been set beforehand and then watches as he goes on to carve a pretty noticeable crater into the side of a mountain range with enough Explosive Dust to arm a small paramilitary group.

And what does he go ahead and do after seeing such a fucking spectacle? He doesn't report them to the authorities, he doesn't kick them out the moment they get back to the grounds, he doesn't even seek compensation for the expensive Dust that had been straight up stolen right out from under their noses. 

I should be counting my lucky stars for that last part too - two generations of little wolfish children later and they'd still be paying off my debts.

So, Ozpin does none of the above and, instead, he brings them to his office, shakes their hand and offers them a spot in a highly prestigious Academy for prospective Huntsman that a great many people would probably kill for.

And have died for, for that matter. Wild, right?

Need I bother making the joke about Ofsted again?

As had been expected both Ruby and Yang were positively ecstatic at the sudden turn of events, perhaps even more so than I had been. When the two had come to see me in the infirmary shortly after Team RWBY had officially been formed the three of us had discussed what would happen. When I told them that I'd probably end up returning to Patch the next day they had understandably been pretty upset.

Yang had suggested that we all try and meet with Ozpin before then to try and convince him otherwise. Fat chance, I told her. Having already taken a pretty big liberty with allowing Ruby in I had sincerely doubted they would make a second exception. Then Ruby, bless her sweet little heart, suggested that she could resign her position as both the leader and as a member of her team to give me the position, whilst she returned to Signal for the last two years before coming back again.

That suggestion was swiftly shut right the fuck down before it could gain even an ounce of traction. 

Though both were pretty upset with the situation I told them that there was simply nothing to be done about the situation, and that I would just have to see what the Headmaster said in regards to my circumstances. "Have hope," I said at the time to the two, "maybe he's got a thing for charity cases? He let Ruby and Jaune in, right?"

Neither found much humour in that unsurprisingly. As far as they knew this was going to be the last time they saw me for some time - there wouldn't be much chances for visiting home in-between their studies at Beacon for quite some time.

Of course at the time I had no reason to believe that my fortune would take any positive turns either and had been preparing to deal with the pretty shitty hand I had just been dealt, yet we all know how that turned out.

Imagine their surprise then when, just as they were about to settle in for the night, ya' boy knocks on the door and delivers the good news to the pair plus Blake and Weiss. It wasn't really a surprise but Blake seemed far more pleased about the sudden turn of events than Weiss did.

In her defence however I only got to see their reactions for all about two seconds before being steamrolled by a very joyful pair of siblings, whose excitement ended up drawing out Team JNPR from a little further down the hall who, upon being told I was here to stay, offered their own congratulations. Apparently my very brief interactions with them the day before had made an impression.

See kids? Making friends is easy. All you need is a few kilograms of explosives and an ironic grasp on the concept of self-preservation and voila - you are the most popular kid in class.

Even if there is a very likely and shadowy ulterior motive behind the Headmaster's decision that I was currently unaware of I had to admit that his decision was earning him a healthy degree of appreciation from my end, especially when in doing so he was unknowingly keeping my ambitions of saving the world afloat. I don't need to reiterate that being at Beacon was an essential part of my plans, right?

Good, then I won't. Instead I'll just focus on the next big part of my thousand-step program to salvation: To wait.

To wait and do absolutely fucking nothing whilst things fell into their respective places.

It's not by choice mind you, but rather out of necessity. Considering the impact I have made in just under a day it stands to reason that I'm going to be under a microscope for a small while. Having earnt my position under very peculiar circumstances I was going to be a pretty big source of discussion amongst the year group and perhaps even higher and, until the heat dies down and people start moving on, I did not want to draw any further attention to myself than I already had.

Ozpin himself was now quite aware of my existence. That in itself was a far bigger risk than anything I have had happen to me for years - discounting a certain interaction with a certain midget some time ago - and I needed to play things far closer to my chest.

The last thing I wanted to do in this situation was for him to pay more attention to the gnat that was buzzing around him.

For the time being I'll just continue to play the same role that I had become attuned to playing with gusto: the snarky, witty and absolute twat of a Faunus who I promise has absolutely no knowledge of future events and is most certainly not taking steps to manipulate and influence anything and everyone around him into a position that benefits him.

No sir, that's not me. I'm just an innocent little Wolf Faunus who merely wishes to help save the world by becoming a Huntsman like all of the other little boys and girls. Feel free to just pat my head and ignore the loaded gun that's being pointed your way underneath my blazer - everyone else has missed it thus far and it would be in all our best interests if you did so too.

It's actually not as bad as you might think it is to be fair. Time might be of the essence, sure, but what can I do at this stage but wait for the clock to strike twelve? I can't very well start rushing things lest I play my hand too early nor can I just go in the way that I am and be woefully underpowered against individuals like Adam or Cinder.

As powerful as it might be Excalibur would not cut it as it was right now. What my weapon sorely needed were upgrades and continued improvements to ensure I could match against anyone and everyone who might end up wanting my head in some shape or form down the line.

It'd also certainly help with enshrining myself as a competent competitor in Beacon itself. At least in my own year that is. I doubt I'd fare very well against anyone in my second year and above considering the experience gap between us but it's not them that I'm trying to prove myself to. No, it's these gormless idiots wandering around in my current year that would probably need convincing. Again, I really didn't need to start dealing with the whole "you got in by chance" or "you don't belong here" song-and-dance routine that'll likely rear its head in the coming days as the rumor mill gets to work.

And nothing dispels rumours of my unworthiness like a few Dust rounds to offending mouths during combat class. Having set quite the impressive record for myself back at Signal thanks to Excalibur's impressive qualities and on my own creativity I'm hopeful that I can at least hold my own against most - if not all - of my peers.

Granted I doubt I'll last very long against somebody like Pyrrha, but I can probably at least get a hit in before she proceeds to curb stomp my head into the floor.

Furthermore my one year stay here is going to be far more important than the entirety of my third and fourth years at Signal combined. By the end of the month I expect to have learnt from both my new teachers and the books I picked up on day one a whole load of new and exciting uses for Dust and their innate properties. Imagine how much more capable I'll prove in a combat scenario if I can both learn to stop blowing myself up every five seconds and on how to alter the effects of the myriad of Dust types I was both wielding now and planning on incorporating in the near future.

I cannot tell you just how much I find the idea of using Gravity Dust in grenades as a form of mini-black hole appealing. Or on going back to a previously mentioned idea and inventing some form of Dust fuelled napalm for shits and giggles.

Give me just one week and enough Lien to finance my ideas and I'll make Oppeneheimer's creations look like fireworks in comparison.

And do you know what? It might actually end up being quite the delightful experience to live though this stage of my life once again. If my time at Beacon proved to be anything like my days back in Secondary and up into Sixth Form then boy oh boy was I looking forward to what was coming up in the near future. 

Let me tell you right now that if anyone ever says that they don't miss their school days they're either lying through their teeth or they just got straight up bullied from start to finish. My heart goes out to the latter, but to the former I'll just tell you to get a grip and see it for what it truly was - a time of lesser responsibilities and camaraderie amongst friends in a period of life you thought would never end.

And then all of a sudden it does end one day and you end up either climbing further up the drain of education or you head straight out into the wider working world, where you promptly find out that life post-school absolutely fucking sucks.

Gone are the days where you ran around the playground with little thought to the responsibilities waiting around the corner. In their place are the days in which you now have to start paying taxes and trying to wrap your head around why the fuck the education system prioritised teaching you Pythagoras's Theorem over explaining to you what a mortgage was.

And in this world I get to enjoy the relatively same experience, with admittedly a few minor differences.

Learning how to protect the average citizen from man-eating beasts, my friends consisting of a bunch of overpowered goblins high on soul-powered forcefields that enhance their physical capabilities to a level far beyond even the most built of Olympian athletes and, best of all, my own personal end of year examination equating to me somehow having to avert an individual who, compared to me, was effectively a fiery Goddess was willing to scorch half of the planet just to get her hands on some mystical energy from a half-dead woman hidden away in the basement of an immortal wizard.

Perhaps 'relative' was not the correct word.

"Okay, let me just run it by you one more time so that I know I have it all correct."

"Shoot, Blondie."

"So the Headmaster brings you to his office, tells you that you did a good job and then says that, for a year, you can stay on as a student with the rest of us?"

"Basically, aye."

"Even though he knew you hadn't found a partner?"

"Yup."

"And even though you couldn't get your paws on a Relic?"

"Mhmm."

"And even after they realised that you had taken a lot more Dust than had been allowed, before using said Dust to blow a hole into the cliffs?"

"I'm beginning to notice a trend here where people seem more concerned over the mountain than they are of me almost going up alongside it and I'm not sure if I'm a fan of that."

"Hey, I said at the time that it would take more than that to put you down - you’re a stubborn old dog." I smirk proudly at the comment. "Though personally I still think you're a bit of an idiot to have put yourself in that position in the first place, of course. Not very smart to go spelunking into a bunch of caves in the middle of a Grimm infested forest now is it, Wolfy?" The mature response would be to take it on the chin. I am not mature.

"Put that finger back down before I tell Rubes you're already breaking yesterday's promises. Besides, of course we all care you big hairy idiot. Ruby already spent most of this morning rushing around about how happy she was that the pack wouldn't separate whilst we were decorating. Weiss is- well, Weiss is Weiss but I don't exactly see any reason as to why she'd be unhappy. As far as I know you haven't said anything to offend her, or breathed too loudly in her presence. And as for your girlfriend-"

"I'm sitting right here, Yang." Blake mutters off to the right, sitting on the other side of Yang and staring off at the wall in the distance and likely wishing she were anywhere but here, forced to listen on as our loveable Professor Port was oh so kindly gracing us with this fine morn'. 

From what we had seen of him in the show I had liked the guy - he reminded me of an old teacher I had back on Earth -  but the sole reason I hadn't joined Ruby over to my far left in passing out on the desk was because Yang had decided to start pestering me for more information than what I had given them last night.

Apparently when asked for a more detailed explanation after being bull rushed by a pair of very happy adoptive siblings, saying that I had "passed the Headmaster's vibe check" would not suffice.

Strange times we live in.

"It's not my fault if you're going to instantly associate yourself when I say the word, Blakey." Yang retorts, waggling her eyebrows before leaning in close to the girl. "If you still want my approval though, you'll need to prove yourself worthy of his affecti-oof!" The rest of her sentence is cut off as I embed my elbow into her side, garnering a small look of gratitude from the girl unlucky enough to have been saddled with my eldest sibling.

"To answer your question however, yes - I'm happy that Harrow is staying." Blake adds after a moment, apparently realising she hadn't actually given the now playfully glaring Yang an answer. Hearing this earns me an "I told you so" look from the blonde.

"What did I say, Wolfy? Everyone loves you. Maybe not as much as Blake does of course, but still."

"Let me rephrase that: I'm happy Harrow is staying because it means his offer is still on the table, Yang." She adds monotonously, before turning back to stare emotionlessly at the far wall behind Port's greyed head. Yang and I stare at her silently for a few moments before glancing back at one another, one of us pouting and the other grinning ear to ear.

Have I mentioned I like Blake? 

"Okay, well, not so subtle death threats aside, what did the Headmaster say exactly to you anyway?" The blonde asks, turning her full attention back to me. "No offense Wolfy, but it's not like you passed initiation like the rest of us."

No, really? I must have missed that turn of events. How silly of me.

"I know, right? That's exactly what I told him as well, but he was having none of it. According to the Headmaster my courage, tenacity and whatnot was that impressive that he decided to just pull another 'Ruby' stunt and bend the rules to get me in. Of course he then went on to condemn me to death at the hands of Professor Goodwitch for the next few dozen evenings as recompense, but I suppose it's a small price to pay." She scoffs at this, shaking her head disbelievingly.

"What is it with you and somehow getting into these situations again and again? First the 'W.E.S.T', now this? You're like a furry magnet for trouble or something."

"In my defence the 'W.E.S.T' was just not my fault now was it, Yang. I don't recall exactly asking for every single cage to just come dropping on top of me like they did now did I?"

"And I didn't ask to be robbed of what could have been a week of free time because somebody had to cause the rest of the examinations to be delayed."

"Christ, you're still hung up on that?"

"Well, yeah?"

"Get over it?"

"No."

"Then seethe in silence. As for this particular instance however, this is all on the Headmaster. He's the one that decided to bend the rules to get me in, not me. All I know is that I apparently passed the vibe check and earnt myself a year long stay at Hotel Beacon." I don't really know what else to say, really. As far as I know that was literally all there was to it - he didn't want my talents to go to waste and whatnot.

"Maybe he just took pity on you for almost blowing yourself up on your first day?" Is Yang's helpful and perhaps correct assertion.

"Maybe, maybe." I reply half-heartedly. "I suppose it's either that or there's a rule I missed stating that setting off explosions large enough to give an Atlesian general a raging hard-on earns an automatic pass."

The sudden appalled gasp to my left tells me that Weiss had just overheard and was likely not a fan of my crudeness. Her reaction promptly disturbs a napping Ruby next to her, who jolts awake in her chair, almost slamming her head into our elongated desk. To my right Yang is sniggering like a school girl whilst besides her I see Blake inconspicuously moving to hide her face with her hand.

From behind us too came a mixture of reactions as the rest of the class, apparently listening in to what had proven to be a not-so-private conversation. The loudest of course being a rather audible cackling by a hammer wielding ginger on the far end of the classroom.

All the while I'm just trying my hardest to keep a straight face as I enjoy the experience of being that guy in school for a minute or so. Thank you, thank you, I'm here all year. Bookings for birthday appearances must be made in advance, thank you very much.

Ah, to be a teenager in a school setting once again. It's an absolute blessing compared to having to pretend to be a literal child through Signal's early years. 

"Is there something you would like to share with the class, Mr Grey?" The sudden question and appearance of Professor Port standing directly in front of me threatens to open the floodgates as he stares down at me with that ridiculous yet fashionable moustache, but by the skin of my teeth I manage to keep it in and shake my head firmly, not trusting myself to open my mouth without breaking down. "I see. Well, if you would be so kind as to return your attention to what I am saying rather than on whatever it is you and those around you have found so amusing I would be most thankful. Now then, where was I..."

God I cannot wait to see how far I can push things in Glynda's classes before she fucking launches me over the horizon and out of her hair. Two-to-one says that I last an hour before she takes punitive measures.

"Must you be so crude?" Weiss whispers in annoyance to my right, frowning rather fiercely in my direction. "You are acting in a manner unbefitting of the honour - undeserved as it is - that the Headmaster has given you." I turn to the Heiress and offer her a bemused look, wiping away a stray tear.

"What? Considering you're from Atlas I would have thought that you of all people would have enjoyed that little analogy, Weiss?" Her deadpan stare is rather telling in regards to her thoughts on the matter.

"Shockingly enough I do not, especially  when I am trying to listen to our Professor, Harrow."

"Ah yes, because you're going to learn so much from..." I hold a hand up in Weiss's direction, ignoring the indignant huff and listening back in on whatever Port was droning on about at this very moment.

"...Despite smelling of cabbages, my grandfather was a wise man. 'Peter', he told me..." 

"...Old men that smelt like vegetables. " I remark sardonically, cocking my head towards the elderly and unaware Professor.

"His story will have a point." She retorts, crossing her arms. I glance over at the elderly man and then back to Weiss, who I know full well doesn't believe her own words. She seems to realise this too if her deepening frown is of any indication. "Eventually." She shakes her head, turning back to me. "Maybe if you deigned to listen to what he has to say instead of making childish and immature jokes you might just both hear it and learn something at the same time." 

Oh I'm learning a few things alright, don't you worry your pretty little head about that sweetheart.

"Sure thing Weiss, I'll get right on that. Do me a favour then and wake me up when he gets to the moral of this enlightening story of his, will you?" I reply, turning away from the increasingly irate girl and sinking into my chair, resting my head against my hand and waiting for the Professor to wrap up this utterly exhilarating one-sided conversation of his. The girl huffs at my display but stays quiet, instead fixing her attention straight forwards and doing her best to ignore everything else around her as she focuses on the lesson at hand.

If you could call it that anyway. Again I like Port, but good lord does he drone on and on. If Oobleck is the guy that talks too fast, Port is the guy that talks too much.

Weiss's efforts of course only last for as long as it takes for Ruby to begin with her childishly amusing antics, drawing her focus away from the Professor and to the younger girl sitting next to her. Even were I not blessed with these furry adornments on my head I'd still easily be able to hear Weiss's teeth grinding themselves into a fine powder.

Of course innocent little Ruby is completely ignorant of this and marches ever onwards, whipping up some immature scribbles from a page ripped from her book, garnering some amused laughter from the rest of us when she holds it up for our viewing pleasure.

Never change you little goblin, you.

It's not exactly a good time but perhaps when I have some free time that isn't being dominated by settling into a rhythm or Professor Goodwitch's punishments - God help me when they start up tonight - I should see about taking Ruby to one of the weapon workshops within the school and having her assist in tweaking Excalibur and the likes. 

Lord knows she would be more than happy to spend any amount of time playing around with weapons both her own and otherwise.

I suppose I do owe her after all, seeing as how I did say the night before the initiation that I would allow her some fun with the Explosive Dust. Considering both the Dust I had taken had gone up in literal flames and the staff were now temporarily withholding hand outs of said Dust type to students without explicit permission from either Big G' or Ozpin himself, Ruby was shit out of luck for trying her hand at attempting anything similar to what I had done.

She wouldn't do so on purpose of course, but lets face it - it's Ruby, of course she'll do something silly that I'll inevitably get blamed for one way or another. Taking her along and allowing her a little bit of free reign with Excalibur to help with modifications will most certainly put a smile on her face then, and that's absolutely fine with me.

Nothing says that I'm a good big brother more than by allowing my little sister to handle a weapon that violates almost all firearm regulations back on Earth.

And it's not just Excalibur that needs working on either. With the clock now ticking down towards a particular series of unfortunate events there are quite a few things that need seeing to so as to ensure a happier ending for my fine self and those around me. 

Roman needed another phone call for example. There were some more details we needed to discuss before I could start fully placing my bets behind him in regards to fucking with Cinder. Maybe a face-to-face meeting would be in order? Junior's Club would suffice as neutral grounds - keeps me from being jumped in an environment of his choosing whilst he'd at least be in friendly if not familiar territory if shit went sideways.

He said himself he's not exactly trusting towards those he hasn't met before, and I do very much need him on board... Hmph, him and Neo both even. I'm not too fond of the idea of putting myself in the firing line, though... a disguise, perhaps?

Probably not, actually. Unlike Blake I don't think I'd suit a bow too well, nor do I think it would even do a good job of hiding these bad boys atop of my head. 

And this is all without saying that Neo, who already knows who I am, is as likely to gut me as she is let Roman listen to anything I have to say. I'm still surprised that after that day she's still yet to do, well, anything in regards to me. Not many criminals would allow a loose end to just walk around the streets after witnessing their criminal dealings in person. Neo even less so, considering her track record.

Back to the drawing board then-

"I do, sir!" I all but jump upright in my seat at Weiss's sudden and rather loud exclamation. Glancing in her direction with a just a twinge of annoyance I see the girl staring with fierce determination towards Port, who promptly nods in the girls direction.

"Well, then, let's find out!" He replies, his head turning to the large iron cage that had been sitting rather ominously in the corner of the class. I won't lie, I'd almost forgotten that this class actually had a point to it. I already knew what was inside the cage of course and as those familiar red eyes begin to shine through the darkness of the cage, garnering a flurry of hushed whispers from those sitting around us, the Professor simply smiles widely and challengingly towards Weiss, holding his hand out invitingly towards the bars. "Step forward, and face your opponent!"

"Yes Professor!"

As she rises to her feet and storms off towards the locker rooms without a word to any of us I decide that, for the time being, brainstorming ways to ensure some semblance of loyalty from Vale's criminal mastermind can wait for the time being.

Watching Weiss being bounced off of the walls by a Boarbatusk for the next few minutes is now my immediate focus.

"Now then mister," or maybe not as Ruby suddenly sweeps in to take the chair previously occupied by Weiss, "whilst we have a minute we need to have a little talk about why you shouldn't do silly and stupid things that make the rest of us worry so much." The girl says, giving me as stern a look as possible. Considering it was Ruby Rose trying to act firm it didn't exactly inspire fear in me, only bemusement at the attempt.

You can glare all you like you little angel - nobody is matching Glynda for baleful glares this week.

"Ah Christ, we're back on this again? What are you, my mother?" I'm met with a hard prod to the chest.

"You almost blew yourself up you big, silly wolf!" 

"I'm very well aware, thanks. Allow me to point out however that 'almost' and 'did' are two entirely different things and until we get to a point in time in which I do actually blow myself up, I think we can all live just fine with 'almost' scenarios. I'm certainly doing just fine, see?" She crosses her arms and continues to stare disapprovingly at me.

"That's not the point here and you know it. If you keep endangering yourself then... then one day there might not be an 'almost' scenario. You need to be careful, Wolfy. We're not at Signal anymore. Things won't be as simple as they were back then, right?" D'aww, look at you being all concerned for this absolute knob of a man right here. Reaching over and pulling her into a one-armed hug - which she quickly melts into - I smile reassuringly at the small scythe wielder.

"Yeah, because something like the W.E.S.T is 'simple'. Right. Come on Ruby, have a little more faith in your big bad wolf of a brother over here. It's not like I'm planning on making what happened yesterday a regularly occurring event. Granted I'll admit right now that I got into a pretty bad situation because I am, quite frankly, a bloody idiot, but, as usual, I figured my way out of it and improvised. I have a knack for that, apparently."

"Well I just don't like how your definition of "improvisation" involves using enough Explosive Dust to mimic sis when she's having a bad hair day."

"Is that because you were actually concerned I might have hurt myself or because you were in fact really hoping that there'd be enough Dust left around for you to play with afterwards?" I feel her stiffen ever so slightly under my arm and I let out a saddened whimper. "Wow. Would you look at that - my own baby sister cares more about the Dust that almost killed me than she is of me almost being killed." I sigh dejectedly. "Where did I go so wrong with you?"

"Wh- hey! I was really worried about you - we all were! Yang," she pulls away, twisting her head to look past me and over towards her sister, who I could easily tell had been listening in on the two of us the entire time, "tell Wolfy how worried I was about him when we saw the explosion." The blonde merely raises an eyebrow, grinning at her little sister.

"If I remember correctly, you were more interested in how cool you looked taking down that Nevermore than you were on how Wolfy was doing. Are you sure you were actually that concerned?"

"Don't listen to her Wolfy, she's a lying meanie! Blake!" The girl in question glances over towards Ruby at the call of her name. "You'll tell him I was worried, right?"

"She was." Blake says, earning a triumphant and vindicated ‘harrumph’ from her team leader. She glances at me for a second before looking back at Ruby, the corners of her lips twitching. "I remember her saying how worried she was in fact about how you could have potentially caused the Headmaster to institute a temporary ban on Dust usage, and that if the blast didn't kill you that she then would have had to finish the job." 

"Traitors! Mutineers!” Ruby exclaims indignantly. "My own team is betraying me!"

"My heart is being torn asunder," there are fake tears forming in the corners of my eyes as I adopt a mock look of despair, looking down at the girl as regret rapidly fills her eyes, "D-don't you love m-me anymore?" She lets out a horrified gasp at this. Off to the side I can hear Yang cackling at the drama unfolding. Were I to look over I'd probably also see Blake grinning, but I was far too invested in watching Ruby's attempts at being stern crumble into the dust.

Should anyone wish to nominate me for an Oscar then feel free to do so.

"Stopitstopitstopit!" The girl whines, trying her best to squeeze the life out of me. "You are not allowed to say that, even as a joke! Bad Wolfy, bad!" The look of despair on my face quickly transitions to one of amusement as I pry the girl off of me, the two girls to the other side of me sniggering openly as Ruby who, realising she had been so deviously deceived by my act, scowls at me once more. "You are the absolute worst, Wolfy. You never take me seriously."

On the contrary, actually. I just love to tease you into the ground and back.

"That's because even when you're trying to be serious you're still just the most adorable little thing the world has ever seen. It also doesn't help that Mrs Goodwitch spent the better part of last night trying incinerate me via glares alone, so yours aren't exactly as hard hitting I'm afraid." She doesn't respond, instead crossing her arms and turning away, muttering something under her breath that manages to escape even my hearing. "Oh don't be like that - the silent treatment doesn't suit you." More silence. "Fine, very well, I see what must be done. Ruby Rose, I, Harrow 'Wolfy' Grey, do hereby solemnly swear that I shall now henceforth never willingly place myself in a position in which I might suddenly and unceremoniously be rendered unto the nearest wall in a great many, furry pieces. Happy now?" 

The sniggering to my right only intensifies. The scowl on Ruby's face however lessens just a touch as she glances at me from the corner of her eyes, her head turning ever so slightly towards me.

"Do you promise?" I nod.

"I promise." She shuffles a little in her seat as she extends her arm towards me, holding out her pinky finger.

"Pinky promise?" I sigh, rolling my eyes but nodding all the same as I wrap my own finger around hers.

"Pinky promise, Rubes. And if I break this promise in the near future then you have full permission to hit me over the head with the biggest stick you can find."

"...Does Crescent Rose count as a stick?"

"If you use the butt end of it and you keep the scythe retracted, then I don't see why not." Unsurprisingly this seals the deal as the unhappy look on her face quickly fades away, replaced by one of satisfaction. "Should I be concerned that all it took was my consent to being beaten to make you happy?"

"Nope. Not at all."

"I'm sure."

"In fact, your lucky I don't hit you over the head right now for making me feel bad. That's almost as mean as Yang saying I wasn't worried about you in the first place."

"Hey," the girl in question whines, "why has this now suddenly come all the way back to me? He started this, not me."

"But you encouraged him, sis. And don't think I've forgotten about you too, Blake. My retribution will be swift and it will be just."

"Oh no, what ever am I to do? I am positively shaking in my seat."

The sound of a pair of doors being slammed open brings our collective attention over to the far side of the room. Striding out from the locker rooms, in her combat attire and with Myrtenaster at her hip, marches Weiss, staring straight ahead at the Professor and his Grimm containing cage with fierce determination.

Oh goody, the entertainment has arrived. Now if only I had popcorn.

"Hey Rubes," I say, nodding over towards Weiss, "don't forget to cheer extra loud for Weiss when she's fighting, alright?"

"You betcha! She's going to be representing Team RWBY and it's important that we show her plenty of encouragement. She'll fight harder if she knows we have her back."

Atta' girl, Rubes.

Settling back into my chair as Ruby now focuses on her teammate and partner preparing to do battle before the rest of the class, I find an arm suddenly flung over my shoulders.

"So Wolfy, am I allowed to hit you over the head if you step your furry butt out of line again as well?" Yang kindly asks, looking at me with an expression that was half sadistic and half hopeful. I give her an unamused stare, knowing full well that regardless of my answer - and regardless of my consent - it would not stop her from doing so anyway. 

All's fair in love and war between siblings, I suppose.

"If I say yes, are you going to stop at just the one hit?" 

"Are you going to stop being an idiot for the foreseeable future?"

"Now you of all people should know that I can't promise anything on that front."

"Then neither can I, Wolfy. Seeing as how you haven't got a team of your own and therefore nobody to stop you from doing anything else as insane as the stunt you pulled yesterday then, as your big sister, it will be my 'solemn duty' to beat some sense into you. One of us has to make sure that Rubes still has somebody whose ears she can play with in a years time, after all." 

"Well then it certainly sucks to be you, because I am reserving the rights for slapping me down the halls to dear ol' Ruby over here."

It should probably be of some concern to me that this has Ruby beaming like a child at Christmas time but I suppose by this point there are far weirder things to be concerned about when it comes to both Ruby and Yang. It really does go without saying but my siblings are weird.

Fuck, the whole world is weird. Hell, give it a few more months and people not threatening me with violence will probably not be normal behaviour.

"Aww, you're not going soft are you? Is this what happens when you find the right girl to settle down with? Have you already been whipped and collared, Wolfy?" 

.An... interesting analogy, but do feel free to play chicken on the 'M25' please and thank you.

"Blake, would you please be a dear and hit her with something heavy?"

The sound of something hefty connecting swiftly to the back of Yang's head is oh so pleasing to my ears. "Thank you kindly."

"Anytime." The girl replies, placing her book back down on the desk. 

"Jeez," Yang murmurs, rubbing the back of her head where her Aura had only been marginally tested, "should one of us swap seats or what? That way you can start making out or something without me being in the way of this flirting routine the two of you have going on."

"Ew, gross!" 

Give it a few years Rubes and you won't be finding it so disgusting. Of course I will need to vet whoever you show even a touch of interest in as is my responsibility as the older brother - God only knows how Yang would react - but that is neither here nor there.

For now, however?

"Blake, honey?"

"I'm doing it, but do not encourage her."

"Doing wha-"

Hearing the crack that came from book-on-blonde violence is as delightful to hear as it was the first time around, though made even sweeter this time by Yang's curse-laden mutterings in regards to her traitorous partner. She's lucky that Ruby doesn't have the same enhanced hearing as I do, otherwise I'm sure she'd be on the receiving end of the usual lectures that I'm beholden to these days.

Especially as I hear the words "furry twat" interlaced in there somewhere. Oh Yang, look at you adopting my everyday vocabulary.

You're going to make me tear up for real at this rate.

Wandering through one of the Beacon's few gardens hours after the lesson had ended, Weiss had kept replaying the same conversation she had had earlier with Professor Port with his words continuing to echo her head. Was it wrong for her to question the Headmaster's decision? No, she thought. Ruby was many things, but a leader she was most certainly not. She was far too immature, far too childish and wholly inexperienced for such a demanding role. She, on the other hand, had all of the necessary skills that Miss Rose lacked.

So why had she been overlooked?

'I think I should have been the leader of Team RWBY!'

'That's preposterous!'

As much as she hates to admit it the Professor had a point. Maybe she was far too used to her every whim being met. Perhaps she was acting like a spoilt child who had only now heard the word "no" for the first time in her life. 

But could she be blamed? She had fought tooth and nail to get here and away from Atlas. She had put everything she had into proving that she belonged here, to show to the world that she was more than just an Heiress - the very proof of this was running vertically down the left side of her face after all.

She had put blood, sweat and unseen tears into proving to everybody in Atlas that she could make it as a Huntress. And what happens to her? In her crowning moment of glory? When her opportunity to prove to the world that she, Weiss Schnee, was more than who they believed her to be? 

They disregarded her and gave the role she deserved to Ruby Rose.

The role she deserved had been given to a child. 

'Ozpin made a mistake.'

What did Ruby Rose have that she didn't? She was the Heiress to one of the most powerful companies in the world. Ruby was a simple child from some unimportant little island off of the coast. She had learnt from the finest tutors and teachers from within and beyond Atlas itself and had spent years under their tutelage becoming the very best that Atlas had to offer. Ruby had apparently received only two years of training at an academy before somehow being allowed to enter this prestigious institution far earlier than she should have.

She was a born leader. Ruby was anything but.

'Not a team led by you. I've studied, and trained, and quite frankly, I deserve better.'

So why had the Headmaster chosen Ruby Rose over Weiss Schnee? What did Ruby Rose have that she did not?

'Uh, Snow White? You might want to watch where you're walking befo- oh bollocks to it.'

Wait, that's not at all what the Professor said? 

So lost in thought was she that she had completely forgotten where she was and, by extension, what she was talking towards.

Or, better yet, now stumbling towards. 

Beacon had a number of small gardens scattered throughout the grounds, with a number of them containing small sized ponds for fish and other aquatic life. It was one of these ponds, of course, that she was about to promptly fall face first into. Realising that she had no way of avoiding it mid-stride as she was all she can do is prepare for the unfortunate inevitability of falling into the water.

Or so she would have had somebody not suddenly wrapped an arm around her abdomen and pulled her firmly back from what would have been a rather embarrassing spectacle. As thankful she may be to not have been drenched a good part of her felt rather indignant at being manhandled so.

"You do know that there's a perfectly good swimming pool in the gymnasium a couple minutes away, right Weiss?"

Even more so as she recognises the voice and who it belongs to. Straightening her ruffled dress she turns on her heels, staring up at the wolf in student's clothing who the Headmaster had, for reasons unknown to her, allowed to stay on as a student even despite his admittedly impressive yet subpar performance the day prior. Even despite his miraculous survival it did not change the fact that he had still failed, yet here he still was.

Yet another decision of the Headmaster that both irked and confused her.

"I am well aware of that, Harrow. I was just... lost in thought, that's all." He glances over her shoulder and to the small pool of water that she had almost fallen into, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards.

"Must have been some captivating thoughts if you couldn't see the big two-foot pool of water directly in front of you." She bites back a sigh, instead giving the Faunus a terse, clipped smile.

"Indeed I was." There's a brief, awkward silence between the two.

"Dare I ask?" Discounting Ruby herself he was perhaps the last person she wanted to disclose her thoughts to at the moment. Considering how close the two seemed to be she doubted that she'd be met with positivity if she spoke of her disdain for his sister's position both in the team and in the school itself.

"Thank you, but it's nothing that you need concern yourself with." He stares at her for a few moments before humming in acceptance.

"Alright, suit yourself then. I won't pry." 

"Thank you." She replies,  her next smile being a touch more genuine at his courtesy. Perhaps there were some manners to the crude young man after all? That would certainly be a marked improvement to his earlier behaviour.

"By the way," he then says, "you're aware that everyone's heading off to their dorms for the evening, right?"

They were?

Looking around see quickly realises that the Faunus was right - other than the two of them there was nobody else around. Furthermore she quickly found that the sun had already set and the light beginning fade, replaced by the luminescence of the schools Dust powered lamps scattered throughout the grounds. "You must have been out here for some time if you've only just noticed that it's going dark."

"I have." She replies, turning back to him. "Thank you for letting me know. Oh, and for..." 

"Saving you from the two-foot pond?" He answers for her, earning a muted nod. "Anytime, Snow White."

Less of that, please and thank you.

"I'd prefer "Weiss"." The Faunus grins toothily at this.

"I'm sure you would." Suddenly his eyes widen and his hand shoots into his inside pocket, fishing out his Scroll. When he looks down at the screen his face falls before he hastily returns the device back into his pocket. "Right then, I need to get off. Places to be, people to see, you know?"

"At this time of day? Classes have long since ended for the day and, as you said, everybody else is returning to their dorms." She replies, curious as to what had caused the flippant Faunus some small panic. He stares at her in confusion for a moment, before clicking his tongue as he comes to some sort of realisation.

"Oh yeah, you weren't there at lunch today when I explained it to everybody else. Remember the really funny thing I did yesterday involving stolen Dust and a complete disregard to self-preservation?" She nods. How could she forget that insane display? "Some people took mild offense to that and the jury sentenced me to having to spend a few evenings each week for the next month or so with Professor Goodwitch."

Considering how no-nonsense the Professor seemed in comparison to her colleagues it did not sound like a pleasant way of spending ones evenings, especially when one has the vulgar and frivolous personality that Harrow seemed to have. 

She almost feels sympathy for the Faunus. Almost.

"I see. Well, I hope you can forgive me if I say that it isn't as if you aren't deserving of the punishment." He rolls his eyes at this, though doesn't seem to take offense at her admittedly factual statement. He had, after all, broken the rules with what he did. A punishment of any sort was certainly in order, regardless of harshness.

"Oh believe me, I've been made bloody well aware of that all day. Both Ruby and Yang have been taking it in turns to drill that little fact into my head, but I think-"

'Not a team led by you.'

"-came out alright in the end. Anyway, I'd offer to walk you to the dorms but I really don't feel like pissing off Glynda any further than I already have so I'll just leave you to it. Have a good evening, Weiss-"

"Wait!" He stops, spinning almost theatrically mid-turn as he turns back around, his eyes darting between her and to somewhere behind her with evident urgency. "Before you go, can I ask you a question? And please be as honest as you can." He nods hastily.

"Shoot."

Professor Port did not see fit to answer her, the Headmaster would likely do the same and Gods forbid she risked questioning Ozpin's judgement to his deputy. 

Harrow, she supposes, would have to do for giving her something to work with before she returns to confront her complete dolt of a leader.

"Why do you think the Headmaster chose Ruby - with all of her childish immaturity and complete and utter lack of any meaningful experience - to be the leader of the team, when I was clearly the superior pick?" 

She's prepared for him to show offense, or anger, or at the very least to simply dismiss her and walk away. Considering how close the two of them seem to be it would only be natural for him to immediately jump to her defence. Though they may not have spoken much or interacted well with one another before she departed Atlas for Beacon, were anyone to talk ill of Winter she would naturally jump to the defence of her sister.

She is rather surprised then when, instead of reacting negatively, he simply stares at her as if she were... well, a moron might be the right word. She immediately dismisses such a thought - he would not be so bold or as foolish to consider her of all people a dimwit, surely.

"Weiss, no offense, but are you simply blind or are you an idiot?"

Ah. Well, perhaps she was thinking far too highly for someone related to Ruby Rose of all people. 

"I beg your pardon?" Her reply is icy, her eyes narrowing firmly at the sheer audacity of such  a reply. He doesn't wither or back down under her glare however, and instead he almost seems to rise to it.

"Ironically enough that was actually more of an honest question than it was an insult, Weiss. Seriously - are you blind or are you an idiot? Either one would be a valid answer for this." 

"What!?"

"Please don't make me repeat myself for a third time, I'm already running late to my hot date as it is."

The nerve of this man- no, this... this absolute dimwit! How dare he speak to her in such a manner? She, Weiss Schnee, Heiress to the most powerful and influential company in Atlas - perhaps even the world - was not an idiot! 

Nor was she blind, if that needed answering too!

Which it didn't, of course!

"I asked for your honest opinion to my question, not for your childish insults. If you don't want to answer it then that is fine, but please do not waste my time with your petty, childish, and complete immature behaviour-"

"Right, fine, I'll spell it out for you then. Weiss, look around you. Where are we right now?" Ignoring the fact that she had been so rudely interrupted for the time being, she wordlessly answers by gesturing to the gardens. He sniggers, shaking his head. "Yeah, thanks, but not the exact answer I was looking for. Try again and with a bit more detail for me." Biting back a growl at his mocking tone, she gestures even more wildly to their surroundings.

"Beacon Academy." She all but growls. "Happy now?" His mocking smile only fuels her ire, and she has to will herself not to draw Myrtenaster on the infuriating Faunus.

"Much better. Now, what exactly is the purpose of an academy such as Beacon do you think, Weiss?"

"To the training of Huntsman and Huntresses, warriors whose task it is to defend civilisation from the Grimm roaming throughout the world."

"Exactly! The training, the development and the general nurturing of us menial bunch of teenagers from a bunch of troublemakers and into the Gods' greatest little glowing angels. Were I giving out prizes I'd pat you on the head and tell you how proud I am of you, but judging by the look on your face I reckon I'll lose that hand very quickly so I'll hold back on that one."

"So you do have a modicum of intelligence after all, then."

"Sometimes it makes an appearance, aye. Today I have just enough of it to tell you why exactly you got passed over in favour of little Rubio. Can we walk whilst we talk, though? I still have somewhere I need to be at the end of this." 

"Please, do tell. I'm waiting with bated breath." She drawls, moving into step alongside him, hoping that at the end of this there would be an actual and reasonable answer to her question that wasn't going to be hidden behind another wall of sardonicism and baseless insults to her own intelligence.

That would be as much a miracle as his miraculous survival the day prior.

"Feel free to stop me if I get any of this wrong, but you're the Heiress to perhaps the most powerful company on the face of the planet. From the moment you could walk you'll have had the most expensive and experienced tutors, teachers, mentors and whatever else want to call them rearing you for a great many years in a great many fields. You were taught how to fight and how to defend yourself, taught how to act and carry yourself around others and to utilise your talents and those around you to the best of your abilities. In short you were taught the basics of how to lead others.

"Ruby on the other hand was taught relatively fuck all in comparison to all of that. It might surprise you but we didn't exactly have the finest Atlesian combat experts that money could buy in our back pocket. Instead we had the greatest dad in the whole wide world who was more than happy to elbow drop his kids into the dirt if it meant they learnt something useful and a drunk old prick who would spend almost two-thirds of every lesson recovering from a perpetual hangover and the last third trying to beat the shit out of you with a scythe as large as your ego."

"H-hey!"

"Compared to you, Ruby is a literal child, both figuratively and physically. She has no experience leading a team, she has a decent grasp of strategy and a surprising affinity with a weapon almost twice her size. That's it. You, on the other hand, have had years of preparation to do just that. Even I have to admit that you would have been my first pick were I Ozpin. And yes I do mean that without a hint of deception, I promise."

She can't help the rather stupefied expression that blooms across her face at his sudden endorsement. She already knew she was, of course, but to hear it from him too? That was... unexpected.

"You... you do?" He nods, grinning as if it were so obvious. Of course it was obvious, but that's besides the point.

"Of course I do. As I said, you were taught to be so. You've got the skill, the knowledge and, whilst you may not have the experience, you're overall a far safer pick for the role than Ruby."

"Then, returning to my question, why was she chosen?" He doesn't answer immediately, leaving her waiting expectantly as the two step out of the gardens and onto the main pathway, heading towards the main faculty building. Just as she's beginning to think that she wasn't going to receive an answer before they arrived he suddenly comes to a stop, turning away from her for a moment.

She stays silent for a moment, staring at the back of his head, still waiting patiently albeit apprehensively for whatever answer he had in mind. When he finally does turn back around she notes that he almost has the look of a person far older than they were. Perhaps it was the lighting?

"There are two main reasons I can think of that would explain his decision. Firstly, Weiss, your team would have straight up despised you were you the one leading them." She frowns, shaking her head in disbelief.

"And why is that, exactly?"

"Well, to put it in layman's terms: you're a right and proper haughty bitch at the best of times."

It is yet another testament to her impressive skills that she has Myrtenaster pressed against his chest before either of them can blink. Looking down at the blade elicits a raised eyebrow from the verbally blundering Faunus. "Okay, I'll be the first to admit that, in hindsight, I probably could have worded that a little bit differently."

Yes. Yes you could have. Unfortunately, you have worded it just so already.

"You have about five seconds to come up with something resembling an apology or I will see you to the infirmary in a far worse state than you had been yesterday." To his credit he doesn't appear intimidated in the least. In fact he almost seems amused at the situation.

Considering she was currently a breathe away from exacting fair retribution for his conduct towards her, she can't help but wonder if he had a death wish of sorts. It would certainly explain his behaviour, both presently and the day before.

Was his entire family this insane?

"Oh please do - you'll be sparing me the misery of suffering under Goodwitch for one more night. However, can I take the third option and at least explain why I think that before you turn me into a furry kebab?" She's oh so tempted to follow through on her threat, but after a few seconds she relents and, reluctantly, withdraws her weapon and returns it to her hip. Crossing her arms, she glares intensely at the Faunus.

"Be my guest, Mr Grey."

"Right, here's what I've seen and heard of you thus far. From the very moment I first saw you in the forest all I have seen is a young lady who has strutted around like some preening peacock, believing that she and she alone is the only one deserving of being here. At every turn you have treated those around you with only the barest hints of respect, you've belittled almost anyone that even glances your way - even if half of them do deserve it - and, to top it all off, the one time you've probably not gotten what you wanted, guess what you do? You immediately start questioning the decision of a man who is quite literally lifetimes older than you and making moves to undermine both his decision and the position of your own team leader."

He puts on an expression of thought, before raising his finger in the air as if coming to a sudden realisation. " that doesn't scream pampered little rich girl then I really don't know what does, Weiss. "

'I see a girl before me who has spent her entire life getting exactly what she wanted.'

"That's not even remotely true!" For a moment it's almost as if she is standing before Professor Port again as she repeats the same refutation that she had given to his own accusations. Just like then, however, she has to admit that there is, as harshly as it is being put forth to her, some degree of truth to Harrow's words. "Well, at least not entirely-"

"Had you been chosen as the leader of your team," he continues, disregarding her weak attempt at a defence, "it would probably be fair to say straight up that you would have been treating all three of those girls not as your teammates but as your own personal little servants. You wouldn't have tried to earn their loyalty to you as a leader - you'd have demanded it straight up without earning it. You wouldn't have accepted or tolerated any questioning of your leadership - you'd have expected complete and utter obedience. You wouldn't have been a leader - you would have been nothing more than prissy little dictator."

She would love nothing more right now than to teach him a lesson. It would be oh so easy.

Who was he to talk to her like this? This... Faunus, who knew absolutely nothing about her? Who knew absolutely nothing about the person that she was? Who was he to lecture on behaviour when he himself had proven to be nothing more than a reckless, discourteous, boorish fool of a Faunus, who believed himself to be oh so special because the Headmaster had taken pity on his failings?

She was above this. 

She was above all of them!

And she was especially above him!

"Who do you think you are talking to, you... you pitiful, witless plebeian of a Faunus! I am Weiss Schnee, the Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company! I have shown nothing but my innate superiority every step of the way here and if you or anybody else are offended by that then that is just simply down to your own inferiority! I cannot be blamed simply for showcasing my talents to the wider world! If you feel threatened or intimidated then that is but a sign that perhaps you don't belong here either. You are nothing to me, Mr Grey! I shall not stand here and be insulted in such a manner by the likes of you, for I am above you and everybody else! I am... I..."

'With all due respect, your exceptional skill on the battlefield is matched only by your poor attitude.'

"...I am proving you right." She finishes, her voice now suddenly far more tamer than it had been a moment ago as she realises she had been playing exactly to his tune. She turns away from the boy, her arms crossing against her chest as she stares off into the darkness, deep in thought and pondering what had just happened.

In one outburst she had just vindicated almost every last accusation he had made in regards to her character.

She had come here to prove that she was more than just what her name represented. She did not come here to alienate the student body with an attitude that admittedly left a lot to be desired. Had she even realised she was doing it? Treating those around her as if they were nothing more than stepping stones or servants to see to her needs? 

"As I said Weiss," his voice is as quiet as hers is now, with a tone far less mocking and a touch more serious, "this is a school. We come here to learn and grow, both as students as people. If you're able to see at least some of the points that I'm trying to get across and realise that you have been a little bit of a complete diva, then you're doing pretty good for yourself in both those departments. Any amount of progress, fast or slow, is progress, and you're making some right now."

A good leader is only as good as their team, and if she wasn't able to work effectively with her teammates when she was not even the leader, how well could she have worked with them were hers and Ruby's roles reversed? With how she has especially behaved towards Ruby and partially towards both Yang and Blake, she has to admit that her less than stellar behaviour would have most likely driven a far deeper wedge between herself and the three, perhaps irrevocably damaging the cohesiveness of the team.

A house divided against itself cannot stand, and a team whose members are at each others throats cannot be trusted to work with each other in battle. If they could not respect her then how could she expect their loyalty? It runs both ways, of course - if she can't show them the proper respect then she can't be trusted to lead them.

She loathes that this Faunu- that this Harrow character was the one lecturing her like this, but she cannot deny that everything he has said was wholly untrue. Beneath all of the vulgarity and the crassness of his words there is, perhaps, just a minute amount of wisdom and truth to be found.

And that, she thinks, is a far bigger surprise than realising he could showcase something resembling wisdom in the first place.

"I cannot say that I agree with everything you have said, but as much as I hate to admit it, there is some weight behind some of your points. You're right in that I would not have respected my teammates as they deserved. Were I in charge I would not have tolerated some of their more 'unique' mannerisms, it is true. I cannot say that I appreciate your bluntness, but I... appreciate your assistance."

She would love nothing more than to wipe that smug grin off of his face. "But," She raises her head, her defiant attitude returning with force as she stares up at the taller Faunus, "you're wrong on at least one count."

"Oh yeah?"

"Whilst you may raise some valid issues on my readiness and worthiness as a leader I have never been, nor will I ever be, a dictator of any sort."

She was not her father, and she never will be. She came here not only to prove that to everybody else but to herself, too.

"And I'm quite inclined to agree with you. Still, I'm sure you'll l have plenty of opportunities in the near future to put both our faith to the test. Now then, would you like to hear my second and far more kinder point as to why you're not running the show?" Her glare remains but she nods regardless. Whilst she was already regretting ever opening her mouth and asking this audacious Faunus the question in the first place, by this point she may as well see it through to the end.

Whatever else he had to say could not be anywhere as near as offensive as calling her a "bitch" could be, surely? Not even he could be so crass to insult a lady of her standing a second time in quick succession.

Actually, perhaps it would be best to ensure this.

"You may, but if you insult me again the way you just did then I can promise you right now that I will make whatever punishment Professor Goodwitch has in store for you seem mild in comparison to what I will do to you." He's quick to nod with an expression both apologetic and amused.

"Alrighty, warning noted and filed. Well then, for my second point Weiss, it's actually quite simple. You see, as much as those fancy tutors of yours taught you how to lead, I doubt they ever really saw fit to teach you how to follow. That, Weiss, is why Ozpin didn't pick you - you've already been taught to lead. Remember when I asked you where we were? This is a school, sweetheart. The whole purpose of this place is to teach us rowdy bunch of idiots some particular skills - what could this place teach you if you were made a leader that your tutors haven't ingrained into that pretty little head of yours already? Ruby has never known anything of the sort, and so has been given the chance to learn to do so. It'll take time, sure, but eventually she will and, with some much needed assistance from those around her - not naming any names - grow, mature and develop into the role she has been given."

"You're supposed to be a leader, and all you've been so far is a nuisance!"

"Back in the forest, you acted like a child, and you've only continued to do so!"

He nods at her, his eyes boring into her own. "And with the same amount of time and assistance from those around you, so too can you mature into your own role as her teammate. As her second." His grin, smug and ever so condescending as it had been for the length of their talk, becomes a little bit warmer and kind. "And if you're willing to put in the work, as her friend."

"Be not the best leader..."

Oh. 

"...But the best person you can be."

Oh!

"You know, sometimes I wonder if maybe I should just sack off half of this shite and just become some sort of bootleg counsellor instead. Somehow all of this drivel I keep spouting is making sense to people somehow, and I really don't understand why. Hell, everything I'm saying here is just stuff that I'm making up on the spot anyway." She ignores him, far too busy focusing on this latest and surprisingly informative and logical perspective of things. 

Ozpin's decision had irked her ever since it had been made in the first place. She just could not understand why he had passed her over for the position in favour of a girl who had absolutely zero experience or readiness for role. Now however she understood just perfectly why he had done so.

She may not be blind but maybe, just maybe, she was being an idiot. How truly frightening a thought that is.

As the Headmaster of this institution it was his responsibility to see to the development of each and every student under his wing. Of course he had chosen Ruby Rose over her of all people - what could she learn that her tutors had not already taught her? It was just as Harrow said; Ruby Rose had never been taught to lead - now she had been given exactly the chance she needed for that to change.

And she, who had never learnt to follow, could now try her hand at doing just that.

Instead of leading a team, she could instead lead by example in supporting the girl who had now become responsible for the rest of them. Ruby was to be the face of Team RWBY - the namesake of it at that - and if she could not live up to her responsibilities then it would be just as much her failure as a leader as much as it would be Weiss's as a teammate for not helping to mould the girl into what she could be.

And Weiss Schnee is no failure. 

Very well, if she cannot prove herself to be the greatest leader that has ever passed through the halls of this prestigious institution then she will prove herself to be the best teammate that Ruby Rose will ever have. What she lacks in familial relations she can more than make up for with her inherent finesse and grace, teaching Ruby what it means to organise a group, how to delegate her responsibilities, how to properly present herself before her peers and an assortment of other such essential responsibilities beholden to a leader.

And if she applies herself then maybe, just maybe, Ruby Rose would be worth the effort of teaching. It would certainly be a long and arduous process of that there is no doubt. But Weiss Schnee was never one to back down from a challenge. One way or another, she will ensure that Ruby Rose has the chance to prove herself the greatest leader that Beacon has ever seen under her direct tutelage.

Even if she has to beat it into the dolt's childish little head in the process.

Why, it might even make the whole process worthwhile.

"So, uh, if you're done internally monologuing or whatever it is you're doing over there, can I go now? I really need to get a move on before Mrs Goodwitch decides to swap careers and become a taxidermist." 

Oh yes, he was still here, wasn't he? 

Turning back around, she strides right up to the Faunus, her face devoid of any expression. There is silence as she stares up at him flatly. He merely raises an eyebrow. "So am I free to go now or-"

The relative silence of the dimly lit school grounds is broken by the resounding impact of her palm meeting his stubbled cheek.

In her defence he had deserved some form of punishment for the way he had spoken to her, brutally honest it may have been. Calling her such vulgar words, however, could not be let go so easily. This then was merely recompense. Well deserved recompense at that. 

And it was nothing short of satisfying.

"You are now, yes."

"... I suppose I did sort of deserve that one." He murmurs, his hand rubbing against the side of his face. "Man, God bless Aura, huh?"

God? Should it not be plural? No matter.

"Indeed. Now if you will excuse me, I must return to my dorms. There is something I must see to whilst there is still time to do so. Please do not take this the wrong way - or do, I do not particularly care - but I hope your evening with Professor Goodwitch is as pleasant as she likely plans for it to be." His hand still rubbing at his sore cheek, he nods, an almost knowing look in his eyes as she strides past him.

"I've no doubt she's going to make my night an absolute joy. Whilst you're doing your thing, do say hello to Ruby though for me, will you?" She doesn't grace him with a reply, choosing to continue marching down the path and towards the first year dormitory in the distance. "Oh, and before you go Weiss?" She stops in her tracks, turning on her heel and looking back at the Faunus. "I didn't mean what I said, by the way."

"Which part would that be, exactly?" She queries, her eyes narrowing in curiosiity.

"The part where I called you a bitch. You aren't actually as bad as that. I just really wanted to see how you'd react to me calling you it, is all."

Her eyes twitches.

"Have I mentioned that I am very quickly coming to despise your very existence?"

"Considering our personalities I think that might actually be one of the kinder things you'll end up saying to me before the year is out."

"I really do not doubt that. Good evening, Harrow." The Wolf Faunus offers her a grateful smile before he turns on the spot, walking away and waving his hand in something resembling a farewell.

"See you tomorrow, Snow Whi-"

It twitches again. More intensely, this time.

"I have told you once already - my name is Weiss!"

"If you say so, Snowy." He replies, already having put some distance between the two.

"For the last ti- you get back here right this instance!" 

"Nope!"

"I am warning you!" 

"~I don't give a shit~"

Perhaps she should be thankful to Ruby Rose after all. Had she not been the one to find her in the forest, perhaps he may have instead. That, she thinks, would have been a far worse alternative than both Ruby and that tall, blonde imbecile who refused to leave her alone combined.

Speaking of Ruby, it was time they had a talk about their respective responsibilities to one another. If she was going to prove herself to be the best teammate she could be then Ruby too needed to prove herself capable of listening to what she had to say in regards to bettering herself as a leader. 

And perhaps an apology on her end to the girl was necessary as well. But how to start it off? 

Hmph. How does the girl take her coffee, she wonders?

When they were younger, if she were upset then Winter would bring the two of them some coffee and read stories together in the library at night. The few fond memories of home brings a small smile to her face, and her pace towards the dorms quickens as a result.

Perhaps Ruby would appreciate a similar gesture? If nothing else it would prove she was not all that her brother had accused her of being.

And that, if nothing else, was worth striving for.

Chapter Text

Omake #3

The door opens suddenly, the new arrival all but stumbling into the office as he straightens out his uniform, clearly having been in a hurry. From across the room comes an irritable sigh as the scribbling of pen on paper continues unabated, with Professor Goodwitch busying herself with her evening work.

She doesn't look up at the new arrival, already knowing who had all but burst into her office unannounced and shattered her peaceful, enjoyable silence.

"You are aware, Mr Grey, that I gave you a set time to be at my door. Instead, you are a near full three minutes late and your punctuality - or lack thereof - is not giving me faith for the future." 

"In my defence this isn't exactly my fault, Professor. I was asked a question on the way here that took a little longer to answer. The response to it was rather... mixed." 

The scribbling stops momentarily as the stern disciplinarian behind the desk looks up from the myriad of papers neatly stacked around her, curious as to what his excuse would be.

"I do not quite... I see."

"Is it noticeable?"

"Very."

A chair scrapes against the floor as the newly arrived student sits opposite the disciplinarian, a small groan of annoyance escaping him as he rubs at his still sore, still reddening cheek.

"Joy. How does Aura manage to tank everything under the sun but not an angry seventeen year old girl?"

She raises an eyebrow at this but wisely chooses not to comment. She was far too busy to get involved with petty teenage dramas after all.

"A question for another day. Now, seeing as how you were clearly waylaid, I suppose I can forgive your tardiness just this once. You will see to it however that this does not become a repeating occurrence. Am I understood?" A nod. "Good. Has the Headmaster explained to you the purpose of these sessions?"

"Beyond it being detention for the next few fortnights?"

"Beyond that, yes." He shrugs.

"More or less, but maybe refresh my memory? You know, just in case it was slapped out of my head in the last five minutes?” 

Her eye twitches almost instinctively at his casual manner but she again refrains from commenting.

"As you will be aware of by now, the Headmaster and I came to an agreement when it came to your continued enrolment with the academy. In exchange for overseeing your punishment for your reckless and flagrant disregard to school policy, I would stop lobbying for your immediate expulsion from the grounds. Count yourself lucky that the Headmaster is nothing but persistent - you would have been on the first Bullhead out of Beacon the morning after otherwise."

"You know, some would say that my actions had a certain stylish flair to them-"

"I would strongly advise that if the next words out of you involve asking me to give you "points for style" that you think again. I do not reward reckless behaviour in my classes, Mr Grey, nor do I condone such. What you did was both foolish and utterly irresponsible. And not to mention expensive at that." Papers are shuffled around. "The cost of replacing the Dust has burnt a hole into the school budget almost the same size as the one you left in the mountainside.”

"One day people are going to have to let that go."

"One day people might refer to school regulations regarding the proper amount of Dust they are allowed to take from our stores."

"A fair point, but surely there must be some sort of emergency reserve in case stuff like this happens? I mean, this is a school full of bullish and cocky teenagers like myself anxious to impress everyone in a fifty square mile radius with their God given talents. I doubt that I'm the first person to make off with and burn through a good chunk of the schools' Dust supply, right? You must have some sort of rainy day fund squirreled away?" She nods, almost hesitating as she does so.

"There is an emergency fund for situations such as these."

"So just use that then?"

"... It has already been used up."

A disbelieving eyebrow is raised towards her.

"Used up?" A nod. "Wh- how? It's only the first week of school?"

"I am perfectly aware of this, Mr Grey."

"I don't doubt that at all, but how can it have all been used up-"

"Mistralian Cocoa Beans."

"..."

"The Headmaster's monthly subscription has not been renewed in time and thus he... spent the emergency school funding reserves on financing both their purchase and on premium delivery services."

"..."

"Yes, I had a similar expression when I first saw the digital receipt appearing under our outgoing expenses. I did try to talk him down from spending the extortionate cost of next-week delivery guarantees but as is his want he would not take no for an answer on this."

"... How much was the emergency reserve exactly?" There's the brief shuffling of papers before one particular document is pulled out from the small, neatly stacked tower and passed over the desk. There is silence in the office once more as he reads the document, before his attention returns to the older woman with an empty look in his eyes. "How much does this even get him?"

"Enough to cover at least four months."

"And he gets through it in just the one?" 

She nods almost embarrassedly. "... How is he not dead?" A tired sigh follows as she readjusts her spectacles.

"Believe me - I ask myself the same question almost every day." The stern expression returns in full force a moment later. "However, you are here to be educated properly on the ramifications of your actions and on why you will not be repeating them in the future. You are not here to discuss the Headmaster's frivolous expenses nor his constitution, impressive though it may be."

"Someone really should be talking about it-"

"Before we begin you should know that I lobbied quite determinedly with the Headmaster for your immediate exclusion from the school grounds for your actions once you had recovered sufficiently. He was equally as determined that you should stay. You can repay his faith in you by ensuring that you commit yourself fully to both your education and these sessions."

"What a top lad Ozpin is, huh?"

"It is Headmaster or Professor to you, Mr Grey."

"What a top lad Headmaster Professor Ozpin is, huh?" She sighs irritably.

"Please do not continue to test my patience - your being late to the very first of our evenings together is already lowering my hopes for you." An almost hopeful look appears in his eyes.

"Not to worry Professor; I have full faith that our next few evenings with one another will be far more... pleasurable to endure."

Her hand inches ever so slowly towards the riding crop placed neatly upon the side of the desk.

"Be very careful young man, or I will see you thrown from the very same cliff you defaced with neither your Aura nor any Grimm to cushion your fall."

"Cant blame a guy for trying, ma'am." Her eyes only narrow only further at the flirtatious tone. "Alrighty, I'll give it a rest. So what is on the agenda for tonight then? Five thousand word essays? Pages full of lines saying "thou shalt not steal" again and again?" 

She gestures to the far side of the office towards a separate desk with a neat pile of differing books stacked atop of it, his gaze following her arm.

"You will find in the corner there your home for the next three hours and for all future detentions with myself. You shall also find the appropriate books with which you will read from cover to cover until it is ingrained into your memory for an examination, the date of which will take place when I feel you have had enough time to memorise their key points. Furthermore, I expect you to be taking detailed notes regarding the concepts within each book so as to allow me to properly compare your understanding of them each session. Whilst you are doing this however, I will be continuing on with my own work, and will be wanting your complete silence for the duration of this evenings detention. Am I understood?"

He nods and rises from his chair, strolling over towards the other desk. 

"Let's see what we're dealing with... "Dust Safety '101'", "Beacon Academy Rules and Regulations, Faculty Edition" and - oh now this sounds like an absolute cult classic - "How Not To Kill Yourself: Tips And Tricks From A Budding Huntsman!" A few seconds pass as he flips through the pages, before his face pales slightly. "And all three amount to a hefty four figure amount of pages for me to suffer through." She has to supress a rather cruel smile as he realises just how much there was to study over the next dozen or so evenings. "Lucky me."

Through her time as a teacher she has learnt that there is no better way of dispelling future foolish behaviour from her students than through such activities.

"Indeed." Her eyes glance over to the clock on the wall. "You have three hours to begin redeeming yourself outside of just through your performance in my own classes - use them wisely, Mr Grey." Her attention promptly to her work as she hears him taking his seat, muttering something incomprehensible though likely derogatory towards the workload he had been set.

It did not matter to her though whether he found it unfair or not, for she had more pressing matters to attend to beyond what he deemed justified or not. 

"Professor?"

Her eyes snap back up to the young man who had already elected to disregard her instructions.

"Did I not ask for silence, Mr Grey?"

"You did, but-"

"Then please follow my clear instructions."

"But Prof-"

"I do not believe we are speaking a different language, young man, so I am unsure as to why it is you seem unable to understand what it is I've asked of you."

"...Okay dokey, message received loud and clear. Shutting up now."

Blissful, peaceful silence returns to her office at last.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap. Tap. 

Tap.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

..

Tap-

"Mr Grey!" 

She watches as the boy almost jolts right out of his chair at her sudden exclamation before recovering just as quickly, trying his hardest to appear innocent in the face of her withering glare.

"Good evening, Professor?"

"Is it possible that in only one hour and fifty eight minutes you have managed to finish all three books, detailed them page by page with an extensive array of notes and anecdotes and gained an almost complete understanding of the words detailed within their pages?"

"Not by any miracle, no."

"Then please cease that infernal tapping and get on with what I have set you. In silence. Do you understand what "in silence" entails, Mr Grey?"

"I believe it would entail the complete and utter absence of sound, Professor."

"Surprisingly enough you are correct, so I see no reason as to why you cannot apply what you obviously know and follow my instructions."

He runs a hand through his hair and, whilst she may not be an expert on the  the way his ears were twitching may constitute frustration. In her defence it is a regrettable rarity that she has Faunus students in her classes. Beyond Miss Scarlatina the last Faunus she had the pleasure of teaching had graduated almost two years ago.

A shame then that her latest Faunus student was turning out to be such a pain, intentional or otherwise.

"I am, but I still need-"

"What was that about the complete and utter absence of sound?"

"Ohforfucksakewoman."

She doesn't quite make out what he had mumbled under his breath, but a part of her is rather strangely curious to know. "Would you please repeat that, Mr Grey? I didn't quite hear what you said."

He doesn't answer, and instead mimes a zipper running across his lips as he all but theatrically turns back to facing the desk. 

Satisfied, she returns to her work, her pen returning elegantly to the papers neatly framed around her desk, once more enjoying the comfortable silence of her office now that her "guest" had quietened down once more.

Preferably for the remainder of the evening.

There is a small ping on her scroll, alerting her to the passing of an alarm she had set three hours prior. Signing off on one final document she neatly places it atop the many others she had signed on throughout the evening, before looking over towards her guest.

"Your free hours have now come and gone, Mr Grey, and you are free to leave. Please bring your notes to my desk before you leave, as I would like to have them on hand to review and compare to those you take in the next session." The Faunus who had remained blissfully quiet ever since their last interaction throws his arms into the air, stretching with a loud yawn as his joints pop.

Her eye twitches at the display, but she says nothing.

"Time sure flies when you're having fun, hey Professor?" She doesn't indulge the Faunus with a response as he all but jumps from the chair and to his feet, sweeping up a trio of small sheets from the desk and striding over towards her. "Here you are, ma'am. Apologies if they're not as detailed as you'd quite like them to be, but I promise that I did try my best with what I had on hand."

"I'm sure that they'll be informative... enough..." She stares blankly at the the three sheets of paper before her, analysing their distinct lack of anything of note for anything of value. Coming up unsuprrisngly short she looks back up at the Faunus who, to his credit, refused to budge under the rapidly intensifying glare being sent his way. "Is this some sort of joke, Mr Grey? Or are you genuinely hoping for me to carry out my earlier threat?"

"Neither, Professor."

"Then why exactly am I staring at three sheets of paper completely devoid of anything relating to the task I set for you?"

"Because I had no way of doing what you set me."

"No way of- what exactly do you mean? Are you illiterate?"

"Quite the opposite, actually. I used to read Ruby bedtime stories sometimes when we were younger and Yang was too busy."

An adorable refute, but also damning in its own right as it surely left him with no viable excuse in her mind.

"Then why exactly were you unable to write down anything relating to the three books?"

"I had no pen."

"You-" she inhales sharply, a hand reaching up to pinch at the bridge of her nose. "You had... no pen."

"Yep."

"And why do you not have a pen?"

"I didn't realise that I would have needed one and, if I did, one might have been provided?"

"One would have been if you had any common sense to ask, Mr Grey!"

"I tried! Twice!"

"I do not recall you doing so?"

"Yeah, because you all but told me to shut my mouth each and every time!"

She had to admit he had a fair point, but fair or not it did not excuse him.

"And so you sat there, knowing full well that at the end of the session you would have had to present me with nothing of worth?"

As if to further test her already disintegrating patience he shrugs almost uncaringly at this.

"If it makes you feel better I did try real hard to mentally will some ink to manifest on the pages, but I don't think my Semblance is psionic in nature unfortunately. I'll do some more tests next time if I forget my pen again."

"Are you brave or are you just an imbecile, Mr Grey?"

"Honestly, I'd say they're both one and the same at this point. If I do something relating to the one then I'll end up being called the other somewhere down the line."

"After watching your performance in the initiation I do not doubt that in the slightest. In this instance, however, I would call this particular instance of insanity downright foolish. You are aware that I have the right to continue pushing for your exclusion, yes? Considering the utter and absolute farce of a session this has been and with your obvious inability to take any of this seriously I may have no choice but to do so-"

""When handling a substance as volatile as Dust, it is imperative that one ensures that regardless of its current form that the Dust treated with the utmost respect and care, lest you find yourself at the centre of an undesirable reaction caused by improper handling of Dust. Such a chain of events can and will result in injuries of varying degrees and perhaps even death. Take heed of the words within this manual and you will have a clear grasp of the proper procedures regarding the handling of various types of Dust"." 

"So you can follow some of my instructions it would seem. Dare I call that progress?"

"I may not have been able to write, Professor, but I can certainly read. So," he leans against the chair opposite her, resting his head in his hands with a playful smile dancing across his lips, "same time next week?"

She could see why there were rumours amongst Ozpin's circle regarding his and Qrow's supposed familial relations. His handling of the initiation, what she had seen from him in her own classes this week and what was on display now? His personality certainly matched. She could certainly be forgiven for entertaining the thought that perhaps Qrow was indeed more of a father than Mr Xiao Long.

Why, there's almost a hint of a smile on her face at the sheer audacity of her student. 

Almost.

"Tomorrow evening, Mr Grey." She sternly replies, her expression unwavering. "You will arrive on time and not a second later and with a pen in hand. If you are unable to follow either of these simple tasks then I promise you now that I will drag you to the landing pads myself regardless of what Headmaster Ozpin says. Do I make myself clear, Mr Grey?"

Her response comes in the form of a two fingered salute and a lopsided smile.

"Yes ma'am, Professor ma'am."

An irritable growl escapes her throat and the young man takes a cautious step back, raising his hands placatingly. "I suppose I'll just see myself out then? If you, uh, need nothing else from me tonight?"

"No. That'll be all from you tonight. Have a pleasant remainder of your evening, Mr Grey."

"You too, Professor. Can't wait to see you again tomorrow night. I really think we clicked, you know?"

"The door is right behind you. Please use it."

"Has anybody ever told you how beautiful your eyes look when they glitter in the evenings-"

Her riding crop cracks against the surface of her desk.

Hard.

"Please get out of my office, Mr Grey."

"... Still worth a shot. Goodnight, Professor."

The door closes behind him, leaving a now thankful and alone Glynda Goodwitch to all but drop her head into her hands, sighing tiredly and regretfully and very much wishing that she had not entertained the Headmaster in allowing Mr Grey to remain enrolled.

She was not quite sure that she would be able to get through the next two months worth of sessions without throttling the impetuous Faunus.

Chapter Text

Omake #4

Today at 21:33

GrimmReaprr created a room.

GrimmReaprr added user 'Goldilocks' to 'Room'.

GrimmReaprr added user 'RealWSchnee' to 'Room'.

GrimmReaprr added user 'BlakeB' to 'Room'.

GrimmReaprr renamed 'Room' to 'WOLFY V WEISS: THE TRIAL!'.

GrimmReaprr  Added User 'H_Grey323' to 'WOLFY V WEISS: THE TRIAL!'

GrimmReaprr: "the court orders Wolfy to the stand!!!"

Goldilocks: "GUILTY!"

GrimmReaprr : "Yaaang I havent even read out the crime yet!"

H_Grey323: "Oh now this already sounds hilarious."

RealWSchnee: "For the record, I still believe this to be a wholly childish and pointless endeavour."

BlakeB: "Why do I need to be here?"

H_Grey323: "Go on then, what are the charges Your 4ft Honour?"

GrimmReaprr: "meanie >:(."

GrimmReaprr: "THE ACCUSED, ONE HARROW "WOLFY" GREY, IS ACCUSED OF..."

GrimmReaprr: "WEiss what does defamatory mean?"

RealWSchnee: "Are you serious?"

GrimmReaprr: "im sorry i dont know what defamatory means WEISS."

H_Grey323: "Bruh, have you actually got like a script in front of you? Good lord, get a job or something."

RealWSchnee: "Check your personal messages, Ruby."

H_Grey323: "I swear you're all in the same room rn, why are you dming each other?"

GrimmReaprr: "oooh now i understand! thank u Weiss!

GrimmReaprr: "okay so where were we?? 

GrimmReaprr: "nvm i found the line!

GrimmReaprr: "OKAY SO WOLFY!! YOU, ARE ACCUSED OF DEFLAMATORY STATEMENTS TO ONE WEISS SCHNEE, HEIRESS OF THE SCHNEE DUST COMPANY!!! HOW DO YOU PLEAD TO THE CHARGES?"

H_Grey323: "I am very much confused right now."

BlakeB: "The majority of us are, too."

Goldilocks: "Basically Weiss cream over here just told us like 5 mins ago that u called her some pretty mean words like two nights ago? Sis being sis of course is not too happy with that and so here we are."

RealWSchnee: "Oh, she's unhappy with that?"

Goldilocks: "Okay, both Ruby AND Weiss Cream are unhappy with that."

RealWSchnee: "My name is Weiss, Yang. Please stop adding such pointless additions after it - it is degrading."

Goldilocks: "I'm beginning to see why he said what he said, tbf."

RealWSchnee: "Excuse me!?"

Goldilocks: "Hey now, don't shoot the messenger girl."

GrimmReaprr: "gIRLS!!! Stop fighting each other and focus on the true furry enemy!!"

BlakeB: "Can I leave? I had almost finished my newest chapter and would like to do so uninterrupted."

GrimmReaprr: "nnope."

Goldilocks: "Nah."

RealWSchnee: "As a member of Team RWBY, an insult to one of us is an insult to all of us. You are duty bound to support me in this, Blake."

BlakeB: "Am I though?"

RealWSchnee: "Yes!"

BlakeB: "...But why though?"

H_Grey323: "This is some right stellar entertainment this."

Goldilocks: "Weiss, u do know that Blakey will be supporting her boyfriend yes?"

BlakeB: "I will strangle you in your sleep, Yang."

Goldilocks: "Maybe im into that ;)."

GrimmReaprr: "wdym into that? Why would u wanna be strangled??"

H_Grey323: "Yeah Yang, please do explain to Ruby what you meant by that..."

Goldilocks: "Shut that furry mouth of yous rn, Wolfy."

GrimmReaprr: "??? I am confusion."

BlakeB: "Can somebody remind me why this is even a thing? Anybody?"

RealWSchnee: "This has taken a sharply inappropriate turn and I would very much like to return us to where we once were."

H_Grey323: "That being?"

RealWSchnee: "Extracting an apology from you for your crass remarks that evening."

H_Grey323: "You're gonna have to be more specific. What remarks were they exactly? Memory is fuzzy."

RealWSchnee: "You know full well what you said. I am not and will not repeat them for your... entertainment."

H_Grey323: "But how can I apologise for something I don't even remember saying huh? Sounds like false allegations to me, sweetheart."

Goldilocks: "Tbf Wolfy, we don't even know what u said to her to get her this upset tn. Come on, it can't be that bad?"

H_Grey323: "Honestly? I wouldn't even say they were that bad. I called Carmine far worse things when we were back in Signal."

Goldilocks: "So u DID call her something mean then. Alrighty Wolfy, go on, what did u say to her."

H_Grey323: "I plead the Fifth."

Goldilocks: "The what?"

H_Grey323: "Yeah I don't know either. Ignore me, cheers."

BlakeB: "Again, can I leave now? I was just about to finish my chapter before all of this suddenly kicked off."

GrimmReaprr: "nope."

Goldilocks: "Again, nah."

RealWSchnee: "Nobody is leaving until I get what is rightfully mine - an apology."

H_Grey323: "Okay, let me get right on to finding that for you, W."

User 'H_Grey323' has left 'WOLFY V WEISS: THE TRIAL!'

BlakeB: "Why is he allowed to leave but I can't?"

GrimmReaprr: "oh that furry little... GGRRRR >:((( !!"

Goldilocks: "Rubes, why are u growling in text? We can literally hear ur teeth grinding together across the room lol."

GrimmReaprr: "shush."

GrimmReaprr added user 'H_Grey323' to 'WOLFY V WEISS: THE TRIAL!'

GrimmReaprr: "U were not excused! The judge has not yet passed judgeement!"

H_Grey323: "Oh ffs. What do you want from me exactly?"

RealWSchnee: "An apology!"

H_Grey323: "What, for calling you a haughty bitch?"

RealWSchnee: "Do you see what I mean!? Arrogant and uncivilised!"

Goldilocks: "Oh ffs xD! Look at you go Casanova! Real way with words with the ladies huh Wolfy!"

H_Grey323: "But was I wrong, Weiss?"

RealWSchnee: "YES!"

RealWSchnee: "MOSTLY!"

H_Grey323: "Whatever helps you sleep at night darling."

Goldilocks: "Oi Blake, stop giggling under the covers at what Wolfy said."

BlakeB: "I am not giggling."

Goldilocks: "I can literally hear u down there xx."

BlakeB: "No you cannot."

H_Grey323: "Why is Rubes oddly silent rn?"

BlakeB: "She just left the room, I think."

Goldilocks: "2:1 odds says she's storming up to ur dorm in t-minus 0.5 seconds."

H_Grey323: "Yeah, she's just started banging on the door rn shouting about how I need to immediately come to your dorm and apologise to Elsa."

RealWSchnee: "My name is WEISS. W-E-I-S-S."

H_Grey323: "Little angel doesn't understand how to lockpick doors yet, so sucks to be her."

RealWSchnee: "Do not ignore me you ill-mannered peasant!"

H_Grey323: "Weiss, sweetheart, I beg you fuck off."

RealWSchnee: "YOU DARE!?"

Goldilocks: "Oh yea, like that'll hold our baby sis for long, H."

H_Grey323: "It'll last long enough for me to get a good nights sleep I reckon."

H_Grey323: "On the plus side the banging and has stopped so I guess the little angel is coming back up to yours."

Goldilocks: "U sure? Hasn't come back to the room yet."

H_Grey323: "I suppose that's kinda worrying. Right well this was fun and all but I am going to bed sojuKJJHFJUHjjhfgJHFU."

User 'H_Grey323' has left 'WOLFY V WEISS: THE TRIAL!'.

BlakeB: "...Is he having a seizure?"

Goldilocks: "Idk?? Probably worth checking in on him tbf."

RealWSchnee: "You can if you wish - I will not. Furthermore, why are we still texting over scroll when the three of us are quite literally in the same room?"

Goldilocks: "Beats me. Brb, I'm gonna go make sure my furry idiot of a brother isn't like dead or something."

BlakeB: "You do that."

RealWSchnee: "...So Blake, what exactly is it that you see in that ruffian?"

BlakeB: "?"

RealWSchnee: "That uncouth boar of a Faunus. The two of you are an item, are you not?"

BlakeB: "No."

RealWSchnee: "But Yang keeps on saying otherwise? I'm afraid I do not understand this... courtship of yours."

RealWSchnee: "Blake?"

RealWSchnee: "Are you still awake?"

Goldilocks: "Good news and bad news! Good news first - I found out what happened to Wolfy!"

BlakeB: "Congratulations."

RealWSchnee: "I suppose the bad news is that he is still breathing?"

Goldilocks: "That's my brother ur talking about, so less of that attitude please."

RealWSchnee: "Hmph."

BlakeB: "The bad news, Yang?"

Goldilocks: "Oh yeah. Bad news is that Ruby got to him before I did."

BlakeB: "I thought the door was locked?"

Goldilocks: "It was. The window was not, though."

RealWSchnee: "The window? We are currently two stories up. How has she possibly gotten to the window."

Goldilocks: "I believe Rubes used her Semblance to propel herself up and straight through his open window and from what I can make out from their little spontaneous sparring session I think she ended up like clotheslining him in the process. Kinda funny actually."

Goldilocks: "Oh and JNPR are with me here now too. They say hello."

RealWSchnee: "Please pass on my regards to Miss Nikos."

Goldilocks: "Sure. Jaune says hi, btw ;)."

WSchnee: "And please see that Jaune is thrown from the very same window Ruby came in through."

BlakeB: "This has truly been an experience, but I am going to bed now. Goodnight all."

User 'BlakeB' has left 'WOLFY V WEISS: THE TRIAL!'.

RealWSchnee: "I suppose I shall also be turning in as well for the evening. Overall, this has been a complete and utter failure and a collective waste of our valuable time. Still, whilst you are with them both please pass on my gratitude to Ruby for taking appropriate action in regards to your brother's utterly disgusting behaviour. Goodnight, Yang."

Goldilocks: "Alrighty, will probably not do any of that but will think about it. Coming back now anyway so am gonna leave too. Goodnight Weissy!xx."

RealWSchnee: "W-E-I-S-S."

User 'RealWSchnee' has left 'WOLFY V WEISS: THE TRIAL!'.

Goldilocks: "Wolfy is fully right tbf - what a haughty bitch lmao."

User 'Goldilocks' has left 'WOLFY V WEISS: THE TRIAL!'.

GrimmReaprr: "YANG XIAO LONG!!!"

GrimmReaprr: "apologise t o Weiss RIGHT NOW!!!"

GrimmReaprr: "YANG!"

GrimmReaprr: "oh she left already."

GrimmReaprr: "did everybody leave already?"

GrimmReaprr: "boooo :( ."

User 'GrimmReaprr' has left 'WOLFY V WEISS: THE TRIAL!.

Chapter Text

Interlude #4

'Bribery is all well and good Rome, but if you keep paying them what they are charging we won't have any Lien left by the end of the year to fall back on. If we change the routes we can avoid the worst offenders, surely? Come onnnn, these new rates are downright CRIMINAL! Those bastards are bigger thieves than we could ever be and that in itself is just beyond insulting ;(.'

"Because as much as I would love to, changing the routes at this point in time is just going to start tipping of the rest of the department under our thumb that things aren't as stable as I would like them to believe and I'd rather not start having to up my already charitable donations to Vale's finest because I had our trucks turning different street corners and rocking the status quo." He replies, staring up at the large map of Vale upon the wall as an ever present cigar dangles between his fingers, burning away ever so slowly.

'In that case, let me have a stab at convincing them to return to said status quo ;) - you know I can be ~really~ persuasive when I need to be :D .'

Of that he had no doubt, but unfortunately it was not something he was willing to indulge, even if the bastards deserved a visit in the night.

"Yes, because having a collective third of the kingdom's entire law enforcement turn up either missing or dead sounds like something that will work out just swimmingly for us in the near future. As much as I love when you decide to take the initiative in these things, let's not do that, shall we?"

Though his efforts in getting his hands on Dust were going swimmingly it was more his attempts at securing it at locations around the city that were proving more and more arduous as of late. 

Vale PD were full of many enterprising men and women that for as long as they kept a blind eye to his dealings he was more than happy to fund. Whether it was through letting his trucks through checkpoints or by "accidentally" skipping containers during searches, so long as he paid them a hefty contribution they were fine to contribute to his day-to-day operations.

Recently however, some of these blind men and women had miraculously recovered their sight. Even more miraculous than that is the fact that they had the audacity to demand even more Lien from out of his pockets to ensure their silence. 

Well, he could buy their silence with far more than currency. Maybe it would be worth having Neo sing a few lullabies to a few particularly light sleepers?

Then again, maybe not. He knew full well what the price of eliminating a few officers of the law would demand. The issues he was facing now would be trivial compared to bringing down the entirety of Vale upon him.

But it wasn't just the wrath of Vale's finest that had him worried. The ever loveable Cinder had decided oh so graciously that he would now have to work hand-in-paw with those animals in that troublesome terrorist group to further her own enigmatic goals.

Now unlike a fair few within the kingdom he had no qualms with the Faunus in general - some of his best workers were Faunus after all - but his entire livelihood revolved around professional, relatively quiet and above all clean jobs.

There is a stark difference between a thief and an assassin after all, and nothing attracts undue attention from the authorities to his operations like bodies piling up in the streets.

Blowing up dust depots, hijacking trains and assassinating Schnee Dust Company officials is not exactly something then that he wants his name attached to.

Yet it wasn't as if he could just say no to Cinder. Considering her personality, any refusals to carrying out her orders regarding those demented animals in The Fang will be seen as discriminatory at best and treasonous at worst.

And whilst he may not share the views of those pompous bastards in the wealthier echelons of society he was most certainly planning treason. Better to continue following her orders for the time being than tipping her off.

'Then what do you suggest we do? Buckle down and continue to let those leeches in uniform drain our Lien? Fuck them >:( - we can find other targets to bribe.'

"I've no doubt we could, but we are on a very tight schedule these days and time spent trying to shuffle the people in our pockets is less time to please the fiery bitch threatening us with an equally fiery demise. For now, we can afford meet the more extortionate demands of those we already have in place. When all is said and done though, they'll be all yours to pay a visit in good time. Happy?"

It's rather obvious that she isn't happy at all. An insult to Roman is, by extension, an insult to her. She was a loyal little thing and perhaps the best thing that had ever happened to him, and perhaps vice versa. For the time being she'll lay low at his command whilst they bide their time for the opportune moment.

As he said - they would get their due in time. The overly corrupt officers? Cinder and her two annoying pets? Little Red in her fancy cape?

They would all soon regret crossing Roman Torchwick.

'Fine.' She writes, frowning deeply. 'But that time better come soon :( .' A murderous look suddenly flashes across her face as her lips twitch upwards. 'What about that bitch Cinder? When is her time due?' 

"Now that is a question I'm hoping to have an answer for soon enough." He replies as he raises the cigar in his hand towards his lips. Then his hand, alongside both he and Neo, freeze in place.

Vibrating on the table and blazing with life all of a sudden sat his scroll. Frowning at the interruption he leans over, intent on answering the call and berating whomsoever was on the other end for disturbing his late night planning. 

Manners are a virtue, after all.

Yet as he leans over the scroll he freezes once more as he registers the glaring 'NO CALLER ID' message on the screen. The last time he had answered one of these calls he had had a rather interesting conversation with an equally interesting individual. It had been a few months since their initial talk and he had heard very little since from "Mr Lupa Capitoline" from then on, but he had been assured that the man would be in touch in the near future.

Perhaps the near future had become the immediate present?

The frown on his face slowly transitions into a smile, both excited and wary in equal measure. "Well I suppose if one speaks off the devil he is bound to come-a-calling sooner or later. I know it's a rather pointless thing to ask but let daddy do the talking, kiddo. I have a pretty good feeling that I know who is on the other end of this scroll and I'd rather you didn't try scaring them back into their hole."

The glare that had been on her face only moments ago has vanished, replaced entirely by a look of intrigued exuberance. 

'Is this the guy who called Cinder a cunt <333 ???' He nods, eliciting a clap of excitement from the much smaller girl, before reaching over and hastily grabbing the vibrating scroll before it has a chance to expire.

Taking one last drag of his cigar he extinguishes it and, with a tap against the screen, accepts the call. For a few seconds there's silence in the warehouse as both Neo and Roman await to hear whomever was on the other end of the scroll speak up. 

It doesn't take too long until a familiar synthetic sounding voice vibrate through the speakers.

"Good evening, Mr Wick." 

'Ooh, even with a voice scrambler he sounds handsome ;).'

This is going to be a bitch of a conversation to take seriously if he has to deal with Neo running commentary off to the side he realises. Pushing her scroll from his face he grins cheekily, though he knows the man on the other end cannot see him.

He thinks so, at least. It wouldn't surprise him if he could, though he certainly wouldn't be impressed with being actively spied on if this were the case.

A man deserves some privacy when making off with almost an entire kingdoms worth of Dust, after all.

"Well would you look at that, boys and girls! If it isn't my favourite mystery man in the whole of Remnant! How are you doing this evening, Mr... 'Capitoline', was it?" He asks, leaning back into his chair. "It's been a little while since our last chat. How've you been over the last two months or so?"

"I have been quite well, thank you for asking. Yourself?"

"Oh, you know, so-so. On the one hand business is booming, but I suppose you already knew that. On the other..."

"... Ms Fall is still holding your leash firmly in one hand and a gun in the other." 

"Always a delight, that woman. Why, just the other day I watched her threatening to burn a man alive for trying to strike a conversation with one of the little urchins she keeps as pets. The poor guy was lucky to get away with only a minor second-degree burn at the end of that."

Yeah, as if having half of your forearm singed is a "minor" burn. Yet another walking reminder as to why getting on her bad side is not good for ones health. Not that this wouldn't stop him if push inevitably comes to shove, but it served its purpose crudely yet efficiently regardless.

"I take it you're referring to Miss Sustrai?" Instinctively he makes to question how he knew her name before, grumbling internally, he shuts his mouth. Thinking back to how their last conversation had gone it really should not be that surprising that a man was seemingly overly knowledgable about Cinder and her plans as Mr Lupa seemed to be should have known the identities of her little street rat and the mouthy mercenary. "I suppose a girl with such vibrant hair would attract certain degrees of attention. She may not be my type of lady, but I can certainly understand the appeal."

There's a tapping against his arm after he hears this and he turns to Neo, finding her scroll almost pressing up against his face.

'Ask him what his type is!!!'

...Fuck it, why not?

"And what exactly is your type, Mr Capitoline?" He glances for a moment to his side, smirking playfully. "Smaller girls, perhaps? Maybe with vibrant eyes, murderous tendencies and with an impressive aptitude for tap-dancing?" Out of the corner of his eye he sees his partner bowing rather theatrically at his description. "And not to mention a killer personality?" 

"...I don't suppose you're describing your partner by any chance, Roman?" 

'Oooohhh he's talking about me <333.'

"She might be a little too interested in the guy who was offering us a way out from under Cinder's thumb. Mostly for one or two reasons.."

"Them being...?"

"You called Cinder some rather... choice words, shall we say. She seems to find that a rather attractive trait in a man."

"What can I say? Calling Ms Fall a cunt is a personal hobby of mine that I do oh so enjoy."

Had she working vocal cords Roman is almost positive that she would have been squealing in delight by now. Or moaning.

It could honestly go either way with that girl.

"Yeah, she's over what remains of the moon with that one. Should I be worried about you trying to steal my partner out from under me with such honeyed words?"

"Perhaps. She has a very particular skillset that I would most certainly like to have at my disposal." He doesn't need to look her way to know she was definitely sporting the smuggest of grins. "Of course, she only comes if I have you on side as well. To that end then, now that some time has passed since our initial conversation please do tell me Roman: what are your thoughts on a partnership of sorts between the two of us?"

He leans back into his chair, strumming his fingers against the armrest as he stares at the map on the wall, his eyes idly glancing over the marked warehouses he had been storing Dust within. 

In truth he had been giving it quite some thought indeed ever since they had spoken. As much as he hated Cinder and wanted very desperately a way out from under her that didn't involve being burnt to a crisp, she at least had an identity to her and that, if nothing else, was a form of leverage. All else fails he could at least expose her identity and those she works with to the world at large as a final parting gift in the event that she decided to be rid of him.

But Mr Lupa? All he had to go off of was a clearly fabricated name and a voice he really had no chance of unscrambling without specialist equipment - equipment he currently had no way of getting without forking out a literal fortune of Lien and potentially tipping off Cinder. At least he could trust Cinder to try and betray him when the time came.

He wasn't sure if he could trust Mr Lupa to the same degree. 

"What's that old saying? Better the devil you know? Mr Capitoline, or Mr Lupa, or whatever your real name is, I, quite frankly, do not know you. I do not know what you are capable of, and I simply have no reason to put any faith in what you're offering. You might have quite a knack for knowing things you shouldn't, but I doubt you also have the ability to quite literally burn a man alive on a whim."

He leans forward, placing his hands under his chin. "With that in mind, I can't exactly back you and risk such a fate befalling my fine self without knowing who you are, what exactly it is you even want from me and what you can give me that guarantees my safety and that of my partner from that temperamental bitch. 'Quid pro quo', my friend - if you want my services then I need information. I'm sure a man like you can understand my needs, right?"

The line goes deathly quiet for a time. Roman, patient as ever, is content to let the man dwell on his words. If he's lucky, maybe he'll actually get something useful this time around beyond ominous speeches and unsubtle death threats.

After all, he was being asked to work directly and indirectly against the woman capable of burning him to a fried crisp at a whim. Some little concessions should surely be in order-

There's a click from the scroll as the call disconnects. 

"Oh. Okay, that's, uh, not what I expected him to do." His attention is quickly dragged over to Neo as she angrily stamps her foot down, her arms crossed against her chest.

'Did you just cost me a date, Rome? >:( . ' 

"Cost you a- really? That's what you're going to focus on here?"

'What can I say? Anyone brave enough to call that harpy such beautiful words is exactly what I look for in a man. Or woman ;).'

"You are insane, Neo." She smiles brightly.

'Guilty as charged.' The smile then quickly falters. 'However, on a more serious note - what the fuck just happened? I thought you were supposed to be ingratiating yourself with the only other person we know with the balls to defy her? That does not look like the charming criminal act you're known for, idiot :/ .' 

"Yeah, I know, I know. Look, I didn't expect him to just damn well hang up like that without at least putting up a-"

The scroll buzzes to life once more and the two turn to the table. There was another call coming in. This time, however, there was an actual number on display. Had the secretive Mr Lupa decided to reveal himself to him? Taking the scroll into his hands and tapping the screen, his surprise at the sudden turn of events only grows as he is met with an actual, live feed.

Now instead of a blank screen with the bold, oversized 'NO CALLER ID' message, he was met with an actual room, though one that was almost utterly devoid of light. There was very little that could be made out, beyond what the light of the other scroll was illuminating. However, it was not the room itself that had his attention but on the individual sitting directly in the centre of the screen.

An individual in a strange looking white mask, dressed all in black and sitting behind something akin to a school desk, but an individual nonetheless.

Compared to simply talking to what sounded like an Atlesian tinman seeing an actual person was, at the very least, progress.

"Mr Lupa Capitoline, I presume?" The man behind the mask nods, waving his hand almost theatrically in the air.

"In the virtual flesh, Mr Torchwick. Considering your caution, I suppose you deserve to at least know that your benefactor is not just a voice through a speaker. Here, then, is something to tide you over." The man says, his voice still annoyingly robotic in tone. "I do not plan on showing my face, however, if that is what you were hoping fo-"

Quite suddenly the scroll is ripped from his grasp by Neo who, sporting a rather sizeable grin, holds up her own scroll towards the screen. There were quite a lot of hearts, he noticed.

"Apologies in advance, Mr Lupa." 

"Oh bloody fu- good evening, Miss Neopolitan. How can I... Yes, I do quite wholeheartedly believe that Cinder is an absolute cunt of a woman who is most deserving of a humbling backhand or five. It's for that very reason I am trying to sway your ginger friend over and away from her services and into... my own... no, I am not currently "on the market"... No, I'm not particularly interested in becoming friends-with-benefits with you- well, perhaps that might be a conversation for another time, but that is neither nor there."

Come again?

"Neo, what are you trying to do?" He gets no answer from the girl, of course. "Typical - she finds someone as insane as her and I'm left out in the cold..."

"Could you please hand the scroll back to Mr Torchwick?... Please do not pout like that, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future for us to get to know one another better I'm sure, so long as your partner agrees to what I have to offer." 

Roman can only stare in disbelief at the scene unfolding before him and he's only able to gather his wits once Neo - very reluctantly he notices - returns the scroll to him with what he hopes are fake tears in her eyes. 

'You better hear him out properly this time ;( he's such a charmer, and I would most certainly hate to lose such a gentleman of his calibre this early on ;) .' Ignoring her for the time being as best he can he returns his attention back to the scroll and to the anonymous individual on the screen.

"I'm sorry, this little soiree of ours seems to have taken a very strange and sudden turn. I don't suppose we can, you know, get back to discussing my future now? I'd like to carry on living well into the next decade and the two of you openly talking about... that is not exactly useful to me continuing to breathe." Mr Lupa's response is an amused, synthesised chuckle.

"I suppose not. Very well, to business. You wanted to know who I am? Without revealing anything further, I am, without any dishonesty, simply an individual wishing to keep Cinder Fall from achieving her goals. That should very much suffice as to who I am and I will not give you anything further on that front without you first earning some of my trust. That I'm speaking to you with a number you yourself can now contact - and attempt to trace if you feel so bold and suicidal - should you desire should tell you something."

"What, am I not allowed to keep tabs on the people hanging a sword over my head?"

"You can, but that sword will drop very quickly if you decide to push your luck. I have not gotten into this position through undue risks - I will know if you or anybody else affiliated with you attempts to track this number."

"I don't doubt that, really. Alright, you have my word that I won't try to track you down and have Neo over here slit your throat in the middle of night."

'No promises, handsome sounding robot man ;) <3.'

"Consider me at ease, then. You also asked what it was that I wanted from you? A great many things, of course, but I will list them only when they become relevant and after we have come to an agreement. Unlike Cinder, however, I can prove to be quite flexible in what I ask of you, Roman. I won't ask for the impossible, nor will I expect everything I ask for to go smoothly. I only punish failure if it is brought about by sheer ineptitude. What I will ask of you will be, of course, risky, but considering what's at stake on both our ends a little risk is to be expected."

"Oh, yeah, just a small amount of risk, huh? How much risk are you facing in whatever corner of Vale you're standing in compared to me right now, Mr Capitoline? You're not the one being asked to go behind the woman effectively holding you hostage and actively undermine her in some way shape or form. Considering you're the one sat in a dark, damp... classroom?" The darkened figure of Mr Lupa merely shrugs.

"What she might do to you will be a mercy compared to what she'll do to me, Roman. Do not think that I'm simply some sort of puppet master, pulling the strings and the levers from behind the scenes. I will be actively opposing her elsewhere, in other areas. You, however, won't be in as much danger as you seem to think you will be. At least not yet. Again, I will tell you what you need to know once you have agreed to work with me."

He stifles an annoyed growl at what proves to be yet another uninformative answer, but nods regardless. It was becoming quickly apparent that the only way he was going to learn what it was exactly that Mr Lupa wanted from him would be to agree to become his partner.

Or, more accurately, his pawn. To his credit, he supposes that at least Mr Lupa would be more charming about calling him that than Cinder would ever be. There's a slight nudge against his arm and he turns to Neo, who is holding her scroll towards him and at an angle that cannot be seen from the scroll in Roman's hands.

'In all seriousness I am rather receptive to the idea. Considering the inherent danger that bitch represents to our operations, maybe aligning with this 'Mr Capitoline' wouldn't be such a bad idea? At the very least he seems less likely to burn us alive ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . That has to count for something, right?'

He supposes so, but he's still unsure. With a nod of acknowledgement to her opinion he turns back to the scroll, gesturing for the man to continue where he had left off.

"Finally, you wanted some form of guarantee from myself in regards to your continued survival, yes?" 

"It would certainly go a long way to convincing me of the benefits to working with you, yes. Living is quite a preference of ours, you know?"

"Unsurprisingly it is also a preference of mine, too. As for your own survival, Roman, I can guarantee you absolutely nothing of the sort." 

Had the words not annoyed him somewhat he might have found the rather blunt tone they had been delivered in rather amusing. Evidently Mr Lupa would never have made it as a salesman, and so instead took to becoming an enigmatic purveyor of criminal knowledge and shady scroll calls instead.

"Well that just does not makes me feel all warm and content inside. Are you sure this is the right way to go about convincing me that sticking my neck out on your behalf is a better option than keeping it down and away from sharp objects as I already have been under our mutual friend?"

"Considering our "mutual friend" will come to slit it herself sooner or later I'm not sure if you have many other options available but to take a risk on a third party - yours truly. At the very least, I can guarantee that you won't come to serious harm until The Vytal Festival takes place. That is when Cinder plans on enacting her grand plans and it is from that point onwards that your usefulness to her will come to a sudden and abrupt end." He places his hands together, staring straight into the camera and at Roman. "And I really doubt I need to spell it out to you what being a loose end to Cinder entails."

Roman smiles morbidly as he kicks his feet onto the desk, stroking at his non-existent stubble and pretending to ponder on an answer he already knew in advance.

"Well as much as I'd love to say that I'm optimistic about things, I suppose it is pretty unlikely that she'll decide to actually pay up on our "agreed" fees and will instead think that I'd be better off being fed to those delightful animals roaming the forests. I'd do the same in her position, I suppose. A loose end is always a risk until you tie it up nice and tight - preferably until it stops breathing." The enigmatic Mr Lupa nods in agreement with his statement, seemingly amused if his body language was anything to go off of. 

It's quite hard to pin down, considering both the quality of the feed and the general darkness of the room Mr Lupa was sitting in.

"You have all but hit the nail exactly on the head, Mr Torchwick. Cinder will undoubtedly turn on you at the end of it all - I know it just as well as you do. So why give her the chance? You want to come out of this alive and perhaps in a wealthier position, and I wish to ensure that her plans for Vale and Remnant at large don't come to pass. We can both get what we want if we pool our resources together. What's the old saying? The enemy of my enemy is my friend?"

"A man as well learned as you seem to be should know full well that that can cut both ways, Mr Capitoline."

"A necessary risk if it means handling her. But enough about me - what about you? Are you going to take a similar risk here? To gamble on a man you don't know against a woman that you do? You said it yourself about the devil you know, Roman, but the devil you don't know could be far more appealing than the one you already know and fear. Now, f eel free to discuss your options with Miss Neopolitan but I expect your final decision within the next few minutes. Call this number when you have reached it and not before, if you would be so kind."

He has no time to respond to this before the call flatlines for a second time and, once again, he is left staring at his own reflection upon the glass of a now blank scroll. Wordlessly he reaches over the table, grasping his humidor and taking out another of his favoured cigars and, equally as wordlessly albeit not by choice, Neo passes over a lit match. He takes it with a gracious nod.

Leaning back once more into his chair he stares up at the ceiling, pondering the offer put forth onto the table before him. 

Either he can throw his weight behind an individual he knows relatively nothing about, possessing an unknown amount resources and an apparently wide-reaching and highly skilled network of informants, who has come to him seeking his services in undermining and potentially eliminating the woman who has had his neck in a proverbial vice ever since they first met and who, despite his honeyed words, could just turn out to be another Cinder and, when it suits him, throw him under the wheel at his leisure.

Or he can refuse said offer and carry on as he has, stealing Dust for the woman who was holding his life in-between her dainty, fiery fingers and continuing to figure out some way of getting out from under her and ensuring both he and Neo weren't incinerated in the process, whilst also trying to ensure that the two had enough Lien to either continue financing their own operations in Vale or to chart a flight to somewhere that didn't have such individuals like Cinder, Mr Lupa or anybody else that wanted his attention so badly.

He groans loudly, almost slamming his head against the chair in frustration.

"Be a criminal, you said. You'll be rich, respected and feared in equal measure, you said. Well I'm sorry younger me, but I really think we should have taken the road that mother dearest wanted for us and gone into the priory."

'To be fair, you would have made quite the cute altar boy ;).'

"I much prefer roguishly handsome and dashing, thank you very much." He replies, reaching over and patting her on the head as one would a child. He is swiftly met with a sharp jab to the side for his troubles, though she does little else to stop him. "So, what do you make of your prospective boyfriend and his offer of employment?" He then asks, nodding towards the scroll on the table.

The diminutive girl moves out from under his hand, stepping over to the table and picking up his scroll. Then he watches as she takes her own scroll, snaps a photo of his own before handing it back towards him. "What was that?"

'Just saving his number for personal use, of course :).'

Now that, he thinks, is not something that can or ever would end well. For Mr Capitoline, that is. 

Anyone his partner takes this much interest in either ends up a very lucky man or woman or, more likely, missing. There is usually no in-between.

”Now is really not the time for that now, Neo. The last thing I need is for you to start flooding the omniscient robot-sounding man with flirtatious text messages and potential death threats in the middle of the night. The likeliest outcome of that venture is that he just blocks you and then threatens to disembowel me for giving away what might be his private number, and if we do take him up on this then I'd rather your horniness not be what ends that partnership, thank you very much.”

Her response is to shrug uncaringly, waving her hand dismissively in his direction as she smirks down at her scroll. "I'm serious, kiddo. It's ironic coming from me, but business will and must come before pleasure. To that end, I'd quite appreciate some actual input here to help me devise an answer to our masked man in black, Neo."

Her focus remains affixed on the scroll in her hands for a few more moments before she turns, skipping over to and jumping atop of the table. Her fingers continue to fly across the screen of her scroll before eventually turning it over towards him.

'I think the choice is rather obvious, Rome. Between the thieves in the police sucking us dry and the harlot pressing down on our windpipes our options for handling both and coming out on top are looking rather slimmer each day. Considering his vested interest in seeing the bigger and more pressing of our two issues crash and burn I don't see any reason as to why we shouldn't help him see to it, no? Getting rid of that bitch in any way is a win in my book and lets us re-focus on what we do best :) .'

"A fair point, but for all all that we know we could just be replacing one slave driver for another and, considering past experiences, I'm struggling to see the appeal in playing swapsies between the two." A snarl escapes him. "Especially when we know what the one pressing down on my neck is capable of."

And he much preferred his clothes - and his facial features - unsinged.

'If he's so determined to face off against her then he will know far more than we do what she can do, right? He must have a plan and if he's coming to us then it means that he needs OUR services. We can work with that - he can give us far more information and resources to take her down than we have right now. Besides, seeing as how he seems to at least be giving us the illusion of choice rather than simply threatening to murder you as SHE did on your first meeting then he seems... idk, lenient?? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ we can work with that.'

"I wouldn't exactly call that a crowning achievement, Neo. Most people would seem saintly in comparison to her. That, and the tail end of our first talk involved a pretty subtle death threat or two."

'And your first talk with that harlot involved some pretty un-fucking-subtle death threats of her own, as I'm sure you remember quite well.' She types back, giving him a poignant stare. 'Seeing as how only one of the two has left actual marks on you, who do you think is the more stable and beneficial partner to our long-term survival exactly? Trust me - it's not that hard of an answer...'

She raises yet another very fair point. As mysterious and likely to stab him in the back as he is to stab him, at least Mr Lupa has yet to resort to actual physical violence to secure his services like Cinder had.

Now that was not a fun first impression. No class, no decorum, no civility whatsoever and, most damning for all involved, it had cost him a very fine and expensive coat to boot.

Compared to her, talking with Mr Lupa was a much needed breath of fresh air. Though of course it still didn't make him too inclined to taking him at his word, despite Mr Lupa's assurances that Cinder was all he was interested in.

"My gut instinct is admittedly leaning towards our new friend, sure, but I really don't know, kiddo. This already complex situation is just getting more and more layered by the day it seems, and rocking the boat may not work out too well for us if she sees the ripples in the water." His fingers strum against the armrest of the chair, the man sighing deeply. "How typical that the one time I decide to forgo my usual caution to these types of people ends up being the one time I really should have just run the hells away at first sight."

Another rueful sigh escapes him. "Honestly, this is just not worth the hassle, you know? I really should have just taken you, a case full of Lien and booked the pair of us a one way trip to Atlas the very moment Cinder stepped onto the scene. Or to sunny Vacuo of all places. At least there we could build up something of a heat resistance in the event that she decided to come hunting us down." 

'Bold of you to assume we would have made it out of Vale before she realised what we were up to. Also, still not a fan of Mistral I see ;)?' He laughs at this, wagging his finger at the girl.

"Not when I know full well our old web-spinning friend will be wanting our heads delivered to her the literal second we stepped off of the Bullhead. Regardless, you're not wrong. Even from only two conversations over a scroll he sounds far more appealing to work with than Cinder. Granted, that isn't much of an achievement but..." his fingers cease strumming as he leans up in his chair, idly fidgeting with the scroll in his hand, "...but perhaps you're right in that we aren't exactly overflowing with ideas. So, you think he's our best bet?"

'For now :). We planned on betraying Cinder when the right time came yes?'

"If the opportunity presented itself like it seemingly has now? Damn right we were."

'Then, if we play our cards right, we can do the same to our new best friend if needs be :). Better yet, we simply work alongside Mr Capitoline and hope that the two shred each other to pieces, all the whilst we can get what we can from both, settle scores with those taxing bastards in the PD and, at the end of it all, we come out in a far better position than we ever began :D.'

He's almost disturbed at how quickly Neo has gone from singing the man's praises a moment ago to now advocating their betraying of him the second an opportune moment arose. Then again, this was Neo he was talking about. He really shouldn't be surprised by such a sudden U-turn, inevitable as it was.

If one thought this was surprising, they should have seen the rollercoaster that was her last actual relationship.

Now that was disturbing.

"And there you were, saying all of those nice things about him. Why, you almost had me convinced there could have been an actual spark between the two of you! So much for love at first sight, huh? Or text, I suppose." She almost appears offended at this, before giggling silently as her hand falls to her chest.

'If he lives up to the hype then he will forever hold a place in my heart, Rome :) . If not, then I suppose I can just take his as a trophy <3.'

And they say romance is dead. 'Still, whichever way you decide to play this, I will be with you. We've gotten this far, we can go the distance no matter what >:D.' But loyalty has never been more alive. With a grateful nod he reaches over and pats her on the shoulder, offering the girl one of his trademark, cocksure grins, though one admittedly warmer than he was used to giving.

"That we have, my dear." His attention falls from her and back towards the scroll in his free hand, his fingers tapping against the reflective glass. He stares at the screen for a few moments, still weighing his options and their respective ramifications. It doesn't take long before he reaches his final, fateful decision and, a few seconds later, lets out a long, drawn out sigh before putting out his cigar and smiling tersely. "Alright Mr Capitoline, the enemy of your enemy will - for now at least - be your friend. Let's see how long this takes to blow up in my damn face, shall we?"

'That's the spirit :D.'

A few moments later and the scroll is vibrating in his hand as it attempts to reach the number he had been left. It does not take too long until the vibrations cease.

"Have you come to a decision, Roman?" Mr Lupa enquires, still sitting in the same darkly lit room where he had been before the call has disconnected. 

"Why we have indeed, my masked man in black." He answers.

"...And?"

"For the most part, I suppose we're in business." It's fuzzy and hard to spot due to both video quality and the lightning in the room, but he does not miss the way that Mr Lupa seems to almost sag somewhat at his response. It's more than likely just satisfaction, yet a small part of him feels as if it were more akin to... relief. Interesting. "You have yourself the services of the greatest dynamic-crime-duo to ever grace this city."

"I am very much pleased to hear this, Roman." Mr L With your assistance, we will ensure that our mutual enemy burns for her wickedness and-

"Now let's not get too ahead of ourselves now," he interrupts, bringing what was likely going to be some sort of recited speech to an end, "because I believe I did say "for the most part". There are still a few things that I would quite like explained before my partner and I start sticking our noses further into the business of that fiery harpy."

"I see." Mr Lupa looks off to the side for a moment, seemingly pondering something. It doesn't take too long until he returns his masked focus to the camera. "I cannot say that I will answer every question you might have, but I will tell you what I believe you deserve to know. Earn my trust, and I'll be a damn sight more forthcoming with you."

His jaw clenches ever so slightly. He had just agreed to turn on Cinder of all people, yet he was still being told he was to remain in the dark? Oh no, not this time.

"Earn your trust? My delightfully enigmatic and overly-paranoid friend, I have just agreed to turn on perhaps the most powerful and dangerous individual who, not only does she know my face and my name, has also shown a remarkable propensity to burning people alive who piss her off. That, I think, is deserving of at least a modicum of trust, yeah? So how about you do me a favour and you give me something useful to work with beyond this whole "he who is worthy shall knoweth that which needeth be known" song-and-dance routine. It's, just, beyond helpful right now."

At first there is no response from Mr Capitoline, but soon enough a synthetic chuckle emanates from the speakers.

"You and I both know the rules to a game like ours, Roman. Information is one of my most powerful commodities - I would be a piss-poor business partner and businessman if I gave away my merchandise for free.” He pauses briefly before nodding curtly, waving a hand dismissively before the camera. “Still, if it means keeping you happy then I will give you this one for free. You can ask me one question right now and I will give you my complete and whole honesty in answering it. No lies, no convoluted riddles or anything of the sort. You, my stylish, cane-twirling friend, can have from me this one time what nobody else ever has - the truth."

This was something he could not pass up without grasping with both hands. Information is a powerful tool - one which Mr Lupa seems to be wielding with both hands - and he would quite like some of that knowledge himself.

Provided, of course, that his benefactor proved to be a man of his word. So far, all he had was, well, his word and, in his own line of work that tended to mean little to nothing in the long run. A man's word can be broken as easily as it is given.

Still, caution could only get him so far. Mr Lupa could answer a great many questions in regards to recent developments and to help piece together just what exactly it was that both he and Cinder had in store for the most stylish grand larcenist in Vale.

Yet he had a great many question he wanted to ask, but apparently he was only privy to the one? Well, what would it be then?

What exactly was it that he wanted from him and Neo?

What exactly were his issues with Cinder Fall that had him so determined to see her fail?

What numbers would be picked out for this years Lien Lottery?

And why was he sitting in what looked like a damp, tenebrous classroom? Did he not have somewhere more luxurious to take his evening calls?

He himself might be using the back end of an abandoned warehouse for his temporary headquarters, but at least he had his amenities to spice up the place. From the looks of things, all Mr Lupa would have on hand would be a pencil case and some textbooks. How very... spartan of him.

Alas, so many questions yet so little hope of them all being answered. But he didn't get this far in life without having a modicum of intelligence and some riddles he could solve himself - so long as he had the appropriate clues and leads to work with. 

"Just one question, huh? That's rather magnanimous of you. Still, I don't suppose if I say pretty please you'll bump it to two, perhaps?" 

"Not likely."

"Eh, worth a shot. So, little old me gets one question to ask the man who seemingly knows everything. Truly a golden opportunity. What would the million Lien question be in this scenario, then..."

"Go on, ask me what my favourite flavour of ice cream is."

Almost immediately the scroll is ripped from his hands once more. "Oh of course that got your attention." Roman reaches right back over and steals his scroll back from the grasping hands of his partner, ignoring the look of betrayal and indignation on her face. "The answer to that one, funnily enough, is in fact Neapolitan ice cream. Fell in love with it during an incident a few years ago, but that is a story for another time."

'I knew he was the one for me <3!!!!'

"Now without any further interruptions - what is it that you would like to know, Roman?"

In hindsight the question wasn't even that hard to think of in the end, especially when he had been pondering it from the very moment Cinder had set him to absconding with almost two-thirds of the Dust. That and Mr Lupa himself had brought it up himself the first time they spoke and, as it had never really been answered at the time, now seemed perhaps the best time to return to it once again.

Especially if he was going to now actively be working against Cinder Fall on Mr Lupa's behalf.

That and, most of all, for his own survival of course. Little else really truly mattered in the grand scheme of things compared to that little titbit.

"Alright then, I'll redeem this voucher you've so kindly thrown my way with this burning question of mine: What exactly does our astoundingly temperamental friend have planned with all of the Dust that I've been procuring for her these last few months exactly?"

The way his hands fold under his chin and how his body language almost seems to radiate a degree of dare he say excitement gives Roman the impression that, had Mr Lupa not been wearing a mask at this current moment, he would have been met with a rather wolfish looking smile. 

He wasn't too sure if he should be returning it or running for the nearest Bullhead out of Vale, Cinder's spies be damned.

Chapter Text

Chapter 16

Now that I've settled into something resembling a routine after these last couple of weeks I believe its about damn time that I got a few things off of my chest, so kick your feet up, grab a friend or two and enjoy my well-deserved rant, because God knows I need to vent just a little bit before I start actually going insane.

Shit's been a long time in the making and I may as well get a piece of it out now to at least make me feel better. Congratulations - you're all now being press-ganged into unwilling and unhelpful therapists.

Do not expect a fair wage nor a pension. Only a conga line of trauma and my dutifully charming outlook on life's many mysteries and ups and downs await you.

You're very welcome.

Now, you know all of these preparations that I'm doing or are trying to do before things get really out of hand and we all end up being fucked over in one form or another? The little scroll messages to Ironwood and Roman, the training and application to both Signal and Beacon, the prospective ideas regarding weaponry and other hilarious little gadgets and then everything else in between? All of that and everything else going on behind the scenes that I've yet to discuss?

What happens if they amount to fuck all, and I end up cocking everything up? If everything I'm aiming to achieve within the next year ends up going tits up and I find that all I have done over the last decade is to set things up to just go up into flames, with myself at the very top of the pyre?

Like, I can't lie, that would just fucking suck something fierce and I am actively doing everything in my power to keep that from happening.

But the fact that it remains a feasible possibility is rather detrimental to my usual state of zen, you understand.

I mean I've said from the start that I have no guarantees of anything I have planned not going tits up by the end of it all. Hell, I'm impressed I've gotten this far without something major cocking up. I've only really had two instances thus far where I've been utterly blindsided and left at the mercy of a third party - my encounter with Neo and then Oz's initiation that I managed to fail successfully.

But now I've reached Beacon, and we're five minutes to midnight ladies and gentlemen.

As much as I can try to plan around and influence the events that I know are bound to happen or have already happened I can't exactly plan or prepare for every last little thing that Cinder and friends are up to. She's an arrogant, narcissistic, egomaniacal bitch of a woman and I can at least plan around that to an extent, but the last thing I'd risk calling her - despite the existence of everything past Volume 3 - is stupid.

It's only after she gets cunted back to Salem with a vengeance after the Festival that she starts becoming more and more reckless and single-minded, right? Before then she was actually doing pretty fucking well for herself all things considered; she coerced both the most infamous thief in Vale and the head of a terrorist cell into working for her, effectively took out an entire Atlesian fleet, more or less brought Vale - the city and the Kingdom both really - to its knees, fucking killed Ozpin and, finally, took the rest of Amber's powers for good measure.

It's just such a shame that after she got fucking blasted point blank by giga-Ruby that she loses that calm, calculated personality she had at the start of the show and descends into a more reckless, vindictive and idiotic individual.

Squaring up to a much more experienced Raven? Jumping Winter Schnee, Penny and the Winter Maiden at one time? A real step down from how she had been handling herself prior.

Apparently getting Care Bear Stared dumbs you down astronomically if you survive it.

And on the topic of Cinder I can't call her blind, either - Ruby's yet to twat out her eye on that front.

The more of the little things around her that I change or influence the more she'll start to take notice of what is going on around her. It would be quite a shock to her system if Vale's police department suddenly started raiding the few dozen warehouses she's been having Roman storing Dust within, or if all of a sudden either Mercury or Emerald got picked up off of the street and thrown into the back of an unmarked van.

As it stands, the biggest risk I've taken in pissing her thus far is in trying to sway the aforementioned thief away from her and over to my much dandier side and even that comes with quite a lot of risks both obvious and discreet. Whether she notices anything different will be up to Roman, but I have faith that he can keep up appearances and keep her out of the loop.

Not like he has a choice, seeing as how it's him who'll be in immediate danger if she suspects anything.

Should she even begin to suspect that there's somebody else in play beyond her and the funny man in his high tower then that is where things start getting pretty fucking dicey: she might go underground, she might advance her pre-existing plans, she might just straight up murder Roman and Neo to plug those potential leaks and then straight up say "fuck it, we ball" and march her admittedly attractive yet batshit insane self straight up to Beacon's front door in search of what was left of Amber, in which I strongly doubt she'll be asking nicely for a guided tour.

The point I'm trying to make then is that the more I meddle in the grand scheme of things the risker it gets, and I've only just begun to play my hand.

It also should really go without saying but I'd much prefer she didn't deviate from the chartered course, especially when so far I've been following a choreographed set piece with only a few improvised scenes here and there on my own behalf. Considering that the foundations of almost every last plan of mine regarding the immediate future and how to prevent or manipulate it is built upon my knowledge of the show, any deviations to that course is going to be crippling.

She starts going off-script? Not fun. Not fun at all.

And to add even more worries to my already rapidly filling plate o'mine is that in a few months time it won't just be her that'll need dealing with.

Adam and his radicalised furry boyband are bound to make their appearance in the near future before, during and especially post-Breach. Whilst Adam himself doesn't actually come into the picture until after that literal train wreck, his merry men certainly do and they'll be causing their own little brand of chaos and mayhem before the bullish arsehole deigns to make his appearance. 

As it currently stands I don't exactly have a plan on dealing with him right now beyond just waiting for him to come storming onto the scene and riddling him with Dust rounds until one of us drops.

Hell, that's more or less going to end up being my go-to approach for any scenario in which I haven't thought of some complex and over-the-top Machiavellian'ish scheme for.

You know, that gives me an idea. How about I just yoink one of the many dozens of Bullheads that either Ironwood or Roman could procure for me, fill those chin-mounted guns of theirs full to the brim with Explosive Dust rounds and the like and just unload on Adam and friends the moment they appear? It's not like he wouldn't deserve it or anything, even if a few people may take exception to such a ludicrous display of violence.

Oh sure, call it overkill if you want. Last I checked however, this world has no equivalent to The Hague so until then my response will simply be to smile and wave whilst continuing to hold down the trigger until I run out of rounds.

And then of course there's Roman to keep a wary eye on too. Where Cinder wants unlimited power and Adam wants to be a general cunt to society, Roman is just looking to survive and continue his illicit way of life without the threat of incineration hanging over his ginger head. I've already made some hopeful inroads into bringing him away from her little circus but fuck knows if he'll actually be swayed in the long run.

As much as he hates Cinder he knows what she is capable of and if he thinks for even a second that I can't live up to my own hype then he'll just stick it out with the fiery bitch - a real big no-no to my endgame plans. Ironically enough it's not even Roman himself who I need on side but Neo and her bullshit Semblance, yet God knows she won't do jackshit without that cheeky ginger bastard on hand and God knows he won't do jackshit himself without assurances of his own survival. 

Or without having some miraculous scheme that manages to screw over both Cinder and "Mr Lupa" whilst he and his little merry midget dash off over the horizon and towards the sweet, sweet sound of freedom.

And though I'll certainly try my damndest if he follows through on my instructions to keep him alive and very much rewarded in some way for his efforts, I can't exactly give the bastard any ironclad assurances that he'll meet a better fate than he did in the show; I might be able to keep him away from any Griffons atop Atlesian airships, but beyond that it'll be up to him and avoiding both the gun barrels of Atlas' finest, the claws of any meandering Grimm and especially the fiery gaze of one likely pissed off Cinderella.

A tall order even for a slippery bastard like Roman.

I can't exactly snap my fingers and whisk the cheek fucker away to a little desert island surrounded by stacks upon stacks of Lien now can I? If I had that wondrous ability I would've done that for myself years ago and fucked all of this shit right off from the get-go and saved myself a whole lot of trouble worrying about whether or not I'm living on borrowed time, or some other morbid thought process.

But wait, there's more! Of course there's more! Why wouldn't there be more for me to deal with, huh? My life is just built upon preparing for things that can most certainly go wrong in the near-future, apparently.

Let's just pretend for a moment that I actually manage to pull this off. That by some major miracle I pull through not only the Breach, not only do I live past the Vytal Festival and not only do I somehow manage to keep everybody who might have or should have died alive whilst simultaneously right-hooking the living shit out of Cinder, Adam and everybody else acting out of the acceptable norms around here, but that, by some major bastard miracle, that I live long enough afterwards to see what happens.

Pyrrha lives, Penny sorta lives, Ozpin- well, one way or another he'll live so I don't much care whether he outlasts Cinder or not and everybody else who would have come out of this year it in a worse state than they entered instead comes out far better than they were fated to do so, all thanks to yours truly.

The carousel doesn't end with them though, does it? No. No it does not, Harrow old boy. It just gets more and more fucking hectic from thereon out because Cinder, whether she gets away from it all or not, is just the beginning.

If I were to treat this like a game then Cinder, despite all of her power, is, in a way, the final boss of the first act. Lest we forget it's her pasty white sugar mama' over across the ocean, who has spent the last few dozen centuries on that shithole continent reminiscent of Milton Keynes, that is really the final boss of this whole shitshow. Even if I manage to take out her most useful pawn, she's still an ever-present threat to everything and everybody else.

And that's even without mentioning the rest of her little gagglefuck emporium that she keeps around.

There's still Tyrian, Hazel and Watts to think about in the grand scheme of things. Cinder or no, Salem still has her catspaws and they are very, very sharp and deadly.

One of them wants to poison you and/or eat your liver in the name of his goddess, one wants to punch you into red mist with his heroin-like Dust addiction and the last guy is just gagging for you to open up his virus laced emails about being a 'Vacuoan Prince' and needing your help to move £1,000,000 in digital Lien into a co-owned bank account.

I reckon he's done that as well to fund half of the shit he gets up to under Salem. Maybe that's why Atlas can't afford to invest in some decent fucking anti-air systems?

And in the next carriage down from them there sits the mother-of-the-year Raven Branwen and the rest of the Maidens who I still need to account for in some way before Salem makes her moves on them. As far as I'm aware as to their whereabouts, Amber is still in a coma, Raven is curb stomping villages for fun, Freya is doing crossword puzzles in an Atlesian retirement home and in dire need of a hip replacement and God knows who the fuck the Summer Maiden even is or what she's even up to these days.

And then I suppose there is the rest of the Fang beyond Adam to think about as well, especially where it concerns Sienna Khan and whether or not she needs dealing with in some form. Considering she did not seem to enjoy Adam and his little stunts in Vale after they happened she might be convinced to kick his horned arse to the curb before he does her in beforehand, which does tie into an idea I'll mention later on.

But the most important thing to remember here is that anything involving all of these right bunch of bastards become a real big bag of moot points if I don't even make it past the Festival. Or the Breach. Or even the events before and in-between them. Again, these are all mighty big fucking 'ifs' right here that are only relevant if I actually live long enough for them to start making my life an even bigger hell.

God only knows if I'll actually manage to pull through with things, even with all of my foresight and my astounding aptitude at somehow living through what should really be lethal scenarios.

Hell, I only survived my first day here through the sheer dumb fucking coincidence of Qrow Just happening to be out and about for a midnight stroll through the forest. Some might call it luck. I would call it a pretty big coincidence. That or I would make some intelligent little remark about it being fate or some bollocks.

What is it that Pyrrha said again? "Do you believe in destiny”, or something along those lines? A real good question that, and not one I feel confident I can answer wholeheartedly.

On the one hand, I know full well how things are going to go in this world and, because of it, I have the dubious privilege of being in some position of averting a good chunk of all the bullshit that befalls Remnant in quick succession. That sounds rather like a pretty fun destiny to me and, seeing as how I'm apparently on track to attempting it, maybe I can believe it's the one for me?

On the other hand though, I honestly have no fucking clue as to what I'm even supposed to be doing here in the first place. I woke up here with no warning, no guidance, no-fucking-nothing beyond my own wits and with the knowledge that things were going to go to hell in the near future and ruin everybody's day - especially my own.

Realistically all of my grand designs have as much chance of paying off as they do burning to ash in my palms. What happens then, huh?

Everyone dies?

I die?

Again?

Have I mentioned how much I just love living here? Because fuck me ladies and gentlemen do I ever!

I tell you what, if that actually ends up being the case then this right here is some real shitty fucking destiny. Oh, but if only somebody was willing to tell me just what the hell I was even supposed to be doing when I got... I don't know, resurrected? Reincarnated? Dragged into the sky like one of those Mii characters and flung across the multiverse? God only knows.

Or potentially and maybe more accurately, Gods only know?

Was it those twinkly little fuckers that cocked everything up in the first place and then fucked off into outer space that brought me here? Did they decide to just snap their sparkly fingers and summon me into this shithole after my supposed "death" back on Earth? Fuck if I know, but at least it's something to consider. If so, how damn rude of them. The least they could have done is give me a fucking manual on what they want me to do beyond flailing around like a dick trying to keep this sinking ship afloat.

A right pair of arseholes is what they are, and even if they aren't at fault for me being here that observation is not changing whatsoever.

Lets not forget that one of those fuckers decided he couldn't just close the door gently behind him as he left. Oh no, he just had to go out in style and, as one does, promptly thundercunted the moon. NASA would be throwing an absolute bitchfit that all of the money they had spent planting that star-spangled flag on that big white light in the sky ended up being for nothing when said celestial body got fucking vaporized out of spite.

Again, right pair of cunts they are. 

Right, that, I think, is my ranting done for the most part. At least for now, anyway. I'm sure within the next few weeks I'll have a lot more to get off of my furry chest in regards to everything going on in my fun little life.

Tell you what though, this venting shit actually kinda helps in a way. I certainly feel a little better about myself, so there's that I suppose.

Besides, I think I can be forgiven for just a modicum of bitching, yes?

I have just under a year to somehow singlehandedly prevent catastrophe whilst not being unmasked as the absolute fraud I am is doing wonders for my psyche. Ten years of keeping a secret is easy enough until you start having to actively act on said secret. Especially when they directly involve those closest to you. Shit is not fun let me tell you.

Maybe this is just a taste of how Ozone in his tower feels? Well, unlike Ozmodeus, I can at least do something more than just sitting in an office having an existential crisis and inhaling enough liquid cocoa to give myself an aneurysm.

Though I may only have just under a year of time to ready myself for what I wholly believe to have been the most pivotal moment in the timeline, it isn't exactly going to take place tomorrow now is it? Or the day after, or even the week or month. I do thankfully still have some time before the end of the world comes rolling around.

Months of time to accumulate the right resources, months of time get my hands on the right contacts and, most of all, months of time until I need to start actually start shitting myself; the clock might be ticking down but it hasn't hit midnight just yet now has it? 

So instead of bitching and crying about the future and focusing on what might be or could be or will be, I can instead do what I have been doing since day one: Getting shit done. There is, after all, still plenty for me to do, plenty of people for me to see and plenty of ways for me to really start ruining and/or fix in equal measures before the end times cometh.

Perhaps when said time comes, I might just get myself the chance to meet whoever or whatever threw me here without any warning and, for their complete and callous disregard to basic manners, let them know just how despicable their behaviour has been. Perhaps before they promptly throttle me out of existence I'll also pepper them with a few rounds from Excalibur for good measure.

And calling some divine being - or beings - cuntish in how they've handled my being here is a destiny that I am more than happy to strive towards.

As per normal I had been one of the first students to arrive at the cafeteria this morning. I and the relatively few other individuals with an IQ numbered in the triple digits knew that the sooner you got to the cafeteria the better pick of breakfast items you would have to choose from. Trust me when I tell you that as soon as the room begins to fill it becomes something akin to a warzone as all the latecomers begin fighting one another for the scraps.

It's actually quite an entertaining scene to behold when you're not one of those idiots trying to force your way to the front, catching an "accidental" elbow to the jaw whilst you're reaching for those last two morning hash browns. The closest thing I could probably compare it all too would probably be to seeing a swarm of piranhas booking it upstream towards a hunk of meat that had been dropped into the water.

Just replace the ravenous fish with humans and a Faunus or two, all suffering from a shared helping of sleep inertia as they push, shove and moan their way towards the hot food and even hotter caffeinated liquids.

I, meanwhile, get to enjoy such a display from the comforts of my own table, far from everybody else whilst also being wholly and happily responsible for the fact that two-thirds of those groggy fuckers aren't getting their hands on the good stuff this particular morning.

Do I feel even an ounce of guilt for this?

No. No I certainly do not.

It's just after I've finished eating and I'm resting my head atop my arms on the table that my ears perk up to the sound of soft, almost silent footsteps approaching me from the side, somehow having gotten quite close to me without me hearing them. I needn't bother looking up to see who it was, having quickly deduced their identity through logic alone.

Ruby and Yang are never up at this time and never will be without good reason and I certainly doubt Weiss was still feeling up for being sociable around me this early in the morning, even despite me having already apologised - twice at that - after that whole group chat bollocks happened. Slow to thaw, that one.

Meanwhile, Team JNPR tend to arrive to the cafeteria these mornings as a whole unit and, with me only hearing the single pair of footsteps that effectively ruled them out in their entirety. It also helps that I would have long since heard Nora even before they entered the cafeteria.

That, therefore, left the individuals identity rather obvious. Especially so when this exact scenario had happened a dozen or so times already since I arrived.

"G'mornin' Blake." I mumble tiredly into my arms, raising a hand to wave lazily in her general direction. There's a momentary pause in their walking before it picks up again, followed by what I think is a sigh of disappointment. Perhaps she had hoped to perhaps take me by surprise?

Take me by surprise again, that is. She'd gotten quite good on getting the drop on me sometimes, but I was still doing well to keep track of her.

"Good morning, Wolfy. Sleep well?" She enquires as I lift my head up slightly, watching her set down both her tray of food and whatever book it was that had garnered her interest today before dropping my head back down onto my arms. She'd long finished that one she first spoke about during initiation, and had by now moved to a fifth.  

"Like a log. Or, as Yang says, like a dog." She frowns ever so slightly, though whether it is because of how shit the pun was or because of its Faunus origins I can't rightly say. Likely both, to be quite fair. "Yeah, you and me both, Blake."

"Has anybody ever told her that her puns are just abnormally bad?"

"Yeah. Me. For, like, ten years running, in fact. I'll give you another week before you start actively trying to match me for how many times I've told her to give it a rest."

"Or until I decide to actually take you up on the partnership swap?" 

"Careful Blake," I say, rising up off of the table fully, "or I might actually start feeling worried about whether or not you actually plan on following through with that threat." She shrugs, the look on her face as teasing as it is serious. "Besides, they're not all bad. Sometimes she actually manages to strike gold with them - rare as that is. If me and Rubes can suffer them as long as we have, then so can you for only half the time." 

A despairing groan follows that particular comment as she returns her attention back to both her breakfast and her book. I do the same, albeit without a book and having already finished with my breakfast shortly before she had arrived. Instead I'm content to stare at the table and think on what needed to get done today heading into the weekend.

Now as luck would have it my day today was looking rather empty of academic responsibilities. Most of my morning was free, with only Oobleck's energetic ramblings to contend with before the afternoon rolled around. From there, there were a couple of other periods to attend, with the most prominent being Goodwitch's Combat Class, but beyond that I was effectively free to do as I wish around campus. 

Well don't I just feel as free as a bird?

For the time being I'll just wait for the rest of the gang to make an appearance, say hello to everyone and then fuck off over to the forges to spend the rest of my morning working on some much needed modifications to Excalibur. Though it had performed absolutely admirably in the initiation, there were always some upgrades and other assorted improvements that could be made and, having survived through said initiation by the skin of my teeth, I had some ideas on what needed doing sooner rather than later.

With but a push of a button I can wreath Excalibur in flames for both style and practicality - there is no better torch in the world than the one strapped to my hip. Unfortunately I've never really used the feature that much ever since the W.E.S.T examination and that is a crying shame, as it was something I had been hyping up for quite some time before, during and after I had it worked into the blade.

I would very much like to change that. Now, it will be a little bit of a bitch to figure out, but if I play my cards right and hammer the right things into place I should be able to make it so that, like Dust rounds, I can swap out the Dust beneath the runes for different effects. I'll probably need to contact Mr Silva back on Patch for some pointers, but having been there when he had worked it into Excalibur and having been pouring over the blueprints he had been so generous to let me keep afterwards, I feel that I have a fair grasp on what needs doing.

And what does need doing is something that, quite frankly, will be a lot of fun to see in the very near future.

Ice Dust, for example. If I were to swap out the Fire Dust and instead replace it with Ice Dust then theoretically I could wield an 'ice blade' of sorts. It may not sound nor look as grand as swinging around a blade wreathed in holy fire but it wasn't so much the thought of cosplaying as Prince Arthas that I was focusing on but more so on what I would be capable of doing with the weapon.

I could stab the blade into the ground and send out a wave of permafrost, sending my opponents skating around uncontrollably for my amusement. Or perhaps finally I'll be able to do what I'd been wanting to do for fucking years now yet had lacked the expertise to make work and figure out how to send out a wave of fire with but a swing of Excalibur. Maybe even test out the possibilities of how Gravity Dust can work in these particular scenarios were I to infuse that into the blade also?

Perhaps whilst I'm at it, for a further edge against perhaps robotic foes I can see about going for the foursome and testing around the feasibility of Lightning Dust as well. I don't plan on making an enemy of him, but it never hurts to be prepared in case things with Atlas's top dog don't exactly pan out the way I would like. 

There is no such fucking thing as overkill in my line of work. So long as I take the necessary safety measures and I don't fuck around during the whole process and blow both myself, the forge rooms and one-third of campus into a smoking crater then I might just create something bloody well spectacular. If I want to keep on living then I need to ensure that the tools I have on hand are fully capable of keeping that so.

Ergo, big funny sword with even bigger, funnier capabilities is the name of the game and I am playing to fucking win, baby.

Admittedly I really should have had some of these things figured out years ago when I first got my hands on Excalibur, but unfortunately I had been pretty much stonewalled when it came to getting my hands on the knowledge required for getting it done. It's only now that I'm at Beacon that I can get my hands on the resources and individuals required for more advanced shenanigans.

...Though now that I think about it, maybe, just maybe, I could test out the possibility of incorporating Explosive Dust into the blade and praying that both it and I can firm the resulting detonation better than whomever I was swinging it at at the time. An insane, ludicrously dangerous idea, but perhaps something that may just come in handy if I'm being pressed into a corner and I'm feeling a little bit desperate for an out.

Yeah, this is going to be a grand morning. Perhaps when she gets here I'll see if Ruby's schedule this morning is as empty as my own. She'd absolutely hate to miss out on this and I could use her love for weapons to brainstorm some other ideas whilst we're there.

Hell, I'd bring Weiss just to help confirm some of my Dust theories and ideas if I thought she'd actually be willing to spend any amount of time with me without trying to glare a hole through my head after our last interaction. Not even a second attempt at an apology and an award winning smile got me anywhere. 

Weiss truly was an exception to Yang's theory on everybody loving me for my ears. I'm sure blondie will be absolutely gutted to hear this.

Ah well, just Ruby then.

Alongside general modifications to Excalibur's blade form I also want to play around with getting my hands on some empty grenade casings and tweaking around with those bad boys. Considering my only weapon in a fight is Excalibur, having something else to throw around at the Grimm - or whoever ends up pointing a gun at me in the near future - with ludicrously violent capabilities will cheer me right up.

Oh, what's that? You want my wallet, Mr Thief? You want me to hand it over nice and slow or you'll put a bullet in my head? Well seeing as how you asked so nicely, let me just pull it out of this particular blazer pocket right here and- oh, what's that? You don't think the small orb in my hand with the purple, ominous light emanating off of it is my wallet? Why, how utterly and inconceivably incorrect you are!

Trust me, the amount of Lien in this bad boy is over seven figures I promise. All you have to do to get it is to allow me to press this little button atop of it, throw it over into your waiting hands, count to five and then watch as you promptly get blasted thirty feet into the air by a Gravity Dust grenade whilst I giggle like a schoolboy, before then wondering if you had Aura or not.

If the answer is "Yes", then congratulations on passing my field testing of my new equipment with only relatively minor injuries and a soon-to-come boot to the face for your pitiful attempt at a robbery.

If the answer is "No", then you get to enjoy the last few seconds you have left with a working spine listening to me lecturing you on natural selection.

My Christmas list only ever continues to grow and God only knows I've been a good little boy this year. Oh and speaking of lists, today seems as good a time as any to check off a visit to a particular establishment in Vale.

And I have just the person in mind to come tagalong for a visit. 

"Say Blake," she looks up from her book, "I don't suppose you have anything planned for this afternoon?" She tilts her head in curiosity, her bow flicking minutely in the opposite direction.

It's honestly insulting how nobody ever did clock on to the fact that a fashion adornment like that isn't supposed to move around the way it does. Idiots they all may be, they're not supposed to be blind as well.

"Beyond reading in the dorm or the library and hoping for some relative peace and quiet?" She shrugs. "No, not really. Why?"

"I'm gonna be heading into Vale today as I've got most of the afternoon free of lessons. I don't suppose you feel like tagging along?" She raises an eyebrow at this, her eyes flashing with what I believe to be perhaps surprise.

"Why?"

"Well, why not?" 

"Sorry, I meant to say "why me", exactly?" Blake clarifies. "Wouldn't you rather go with your sisters?"

"I had asked yesterday but they've already got plans of their own  - Yang's booked some sessions with Nora in the Training Hall and Ruby is doing... well, whatever the little goblin has planned. Likely being hounded by Weiss or something equally unappealing. Regardless, they're busy and I'm looking for good company. You interested?"

"I see. Well, I don't know if I'd make for good company, Wolfy. You would probably have a better time with Weiss of all people." I can't help but snort at such a violently untrue statement. Considering I was only now just beginning to be allowed out of the doghouse - Yang can still get fucked for coming up with that one before I did - I wouldn't dare risk another verbal altercation with her this early on.

It's bound to happen again, I'm sure.

"And Yang said you were humourless. That right there is a better joke than any of her puns have ever been."

"Considering the few I've heard already, that isn't exactly an achievement." 

"True. Anyway, it'll only be for a few hours at most. I'm just looking to get my hands on a few things: some new weapon parts for Excalibur, a new blazer perhaps, maybe get a decent haircut, probably smuggle some alcohol in from Junior's, finding something good to read on my off days, cyanide for if my grandiose plans don't work-"

"You read?" I have to bite back a grin at how her interest was only peaked by a reference to reading. I nod, smiling cheekily at her stupendously astute observation.

"Last I checked I'm not illiterate."

"Funny." She drawls. Gently closing the book she had been reading at the time, she fixes me with her full attention. "What kind of books are you interested in, exactly?"

"Well, anything really. Fiction? Non-Fiction? History - preferably Faunus at that - and whatever else strikes my fancy at the time. Has to be said though that whilst the library here has everything I need in regards to weapon maintenance and Dust handling - Professor Goodwitch is seeing to the latter personally - it's a bit lacking when it comes to books one might read for pleasure, you know?" I pause for a moment, before shrugging. "Unless your name is Ruby, in which case weapon manuals are the greatest thing since the discovery of Dust."

"Did you know that she's already taken out almost two dozen different volumes of books from the library regarding weapons and their development processes? She's been pouring through them almost relentlessly in the dorm whenever Schnee isn't hounding her about coursework and the proper etiquette around being a leader."

Well at least Weiss was actually doing her job as a teammate then. Funnily enough the girl has yet to actually speak to me properly ever since our little "talk" two weeks ago. Completely understandable on her end, to be quite fair. Calling Weiss what I did was bound to get me the cold shoulder for a time, deserved or not.

Alas, sacrifices must be made in the attempt of getting it through her thick skull that the world does not gravitate around her wealthy arse.

"What, the ones on the top shelves?" She nods. "Huh. I'm surprised it only took her two weeks."

"To take out the books?" She asks, raising the cup to her lips. I wait a heartbeat before answering.

"To reach them." To her credit she doesn't end up spitting out milk as I had hoped for and instead manages to keep her bodily functions under control despite my best attempt, though not without some effort. My disappointment must be obvious judging by the heavy frown being sent my way.

Another day, another attempt at making this girl laugh. 

"You are the worst, Wolfy."

No, I am in fact just very, very determined to turn that perpetual frown upside down, my dear.

"Oh believe me, nobody knows that better than I do. Now, as I was saying, I'm looking to get my hands on a few things in Vale before next week and, as you're a lover of all things literature, I thought that you'd be an expert in helping me find the best bookstores in town. Or should I just wander around aimlessly until somebody other than you takes pity on the poor, lost Faunus?"

"I would certainly hate to be blamed by your sisters if you were to end up missing in the city," she replies, shaking her head, "despite the fact that we all have fully functioning maps of the city on our scrolls which are, as you might have guessed, designed to prevent that."

"But how is a map going to tell me which bookstore is the best, Blake?" 

"Then I'll just give you the location and you can find it-"

"If I wanted directions I could just bring up that aforementioned map and pull up all, like, six dozen establishments strewn throughout the city. What I'm looking for here is a friend to keep me company whilst I do a little bit of shopping and sight-seeing." She raises a curious eyebrow at this, tilting her head ever so slightly. 

"So we're friends, are we?"

Considering I'm A) the only other Faunus you know beyond Velvet, B) the only one you seem willing to talk to beyond Ruby and Yang in a one-on-one conversation and C) the fact that you've yet to tell me to fuck off whenever I try starting a conversation?

I've made friends with far less to work with in my lifetime. Or lifetimes, even.

"I'd like to think so? I mean, if we weren't friends then why are you always beelining to my table in the mornings?" 

"Maybe I just enjoy the relative peace and quiet that comes from this particular spot?" She retorts, to which I respond by gesturing lazily over towards the other tables in the cafeteria. The empty, even quieter tables. She shrugs in response to this, almost smirking. "I did say relative, Wolfy. Some background noise can be appreciated, too." 

"Background noise?" I repeat, shaking my head mournfully. "Is that all I am to you?"  

"The truth tends to hurt sometimes."

"Really breaking my heart here, Blake. Imagine what Yang will say when she hears of how you're treating your boyf-"

"Please do not encourage this - you hate it almost as much as I do."

"Only slightly. But in all seriousness, I'd be pretty comfortable in saying that we're friends at this point? Or at least somewhat close enough to pass us off as being that. You talk to me a lot more than you do... well, everybody I suppose, and that has to count for something." 

"That's mostly down to the fact that you're more both semi-interesting to talk to and that you're far more tolerable than half of the student body to be around." Oh now you're just trying to make me blush. "Which, considering your competition includes Jaune, Schnee and the racist bigots in Team 'CRDL', I wouldn't exactly call it that ground-breaking of an achievement."

And yet by God I will still take that as a win any day of the week, sweetheart.

"Be that as it may, calling me "tolerable" sounds like a compliment to me. You know who you tend to give compliments to? Friends. Ergo, we must be friends and, as friends, we should always be willing to spend time with said friends, aye?"

I’m met with another blank stare. "Oh come on, what do I have to do to get a yes from you, Blake? Do I need to say pretty please?" Nothing. "Offer to get you a new book whilst we're out?" A slight twitch but little else. Still, a sign is a sign. "What about… I don’t know, we can get food or something? You know, make a day of it?"

"You're really adamant about this, aren't you?" It's hard to notice behind the tired tone she says this with, but I'm almost sure I can detect a hint of something else behind her words. Maybe amusement? Fuck knows with this one - she's a hard nut to crack. I suppose a few years as a borderline guerrilla fighter tends to give one the ability to put up a bloody good mask.

"Blake, my first day here I blew myself up in an attempt to salvage my farce of a performance. If I'm willing to do that, imagine how far I'll go for a chance to break that cold, emotionless exterior of yours." Her eyes narrow ever so slightly at the remark, but as I've still yet to hear a no that alone is instilling me with a degree of hope that she'll say yes.

Take pity on the only other Faunus in your year, would you? Not only would I very much value your company, but this'll serve as a pretty good way of getting Tukson out of Vale before Mercury and Emerald come knocking.

That and, if anybody in Adam's little menagerie were to get suspicious of who tipped him off and were to investigate, their suspicions will immediately shoot straight to you rather than to the feet of the guy who had been with you at the time.

That uninteresting, irrelevant and utterly unimportant albeit handsome bloke in school uniform. Disregard him, please and thank you.

Alas, she doesn’t seem to budge and I can't help but feel a twinge of disappointment at her steadfast stubbornness. I let out a long, drawn out sigh. "Alright, fair enough. I won't force you or anything. I'll probably just see if I can't sneak into the central library without the dick at the register kicking me out for being a Faunu-"

"There's a Bullhead going into Vale shortly after three." Blake says sharply and suddenly, cutting me off before I can finish. "Be there before it leaves and I'll take you to a place I know which sells every book under the sun." An almost fond look appears on her face. "Though, that is just a catchphrase." 

Hook. Line. Sinker. Harrow old boy, you've done it again. 

"You're the best, Blake." I say cheerfully, smiling widely at the girl who merely rolls her eyes in response, albeit good naturedly. 

"I'm sure Ruby would take exception to that, but thank you for your astute observation."

"What she doesn't hear wont hurt it. And if it does, a cookie or two dozen will put me back in her good graces in no time."

"I don't doubt it." Then a sudden, almost devious look flashes across her face. "And whilst we're in Vale, I suppose I'll have no choice but to take you up on your earlier offers."

"Earlier offers?"

"I believe you mentioned buying me both a book and food for my being your friend? A real friend would never go back on their word, yes?" Yeah, that's definitely a smile. A more irksome, teasing smile than I would have preferred, but a smile nonetheless.

You just keep chipping away, Harrow old boy. She'll break eventually, either by my befuddling charm or by being outed as an ex-terrorist. Either way works for me.

"Well, I suppose buying your friendship also works."

"I'd say it enhances it, really."

Yet it certainly ain't enhancing my bank account, that'll be for damn sure. Oh well, she can pay me right back by leading me straight to Tukson's front door.

Adam will be wanting him dead very soon and so getting him out of town around about now will both soothe my soul and hopefully serve as yet another wedge between The Fang and Cinder when both realise that Tukson has already fled the nest before they could catch him with his bags still being packed. If nothing else it'll annoy the fuck out of them both and I'm more than happy to contribute to any future migraines of theirs.

Anonymously, of course.

Or, better yet, it might just serve as another wedge between Cinder and Roman, seeing as how she would have passed the hit over to him to carry out before her two little tagalongs hijacked the whole operation. With the way our last conversation ended I'm quite hopeful that, if nothing else, Roman is committed to helping me drive Cinder out of Vale and far, far away if for no other reason than to save his own skin.

Yeah, as if he has a choice in the matter now. Either Cinder has her way and he's soon after killed off by the Maiden, or he helps me with dealing with her and I "allow" him to stroll on out of Vale with whatever Lien nest egg he's got stored away. Whether he wants to or not he's got little choice but to start putting his faith in his new best friend.

Still, I'll be keeping close tabs on him where I can. Considering I can't exactly track his every last move beyond those I know that he's bound to make on Cinder's behalf, I'll just have to be careful with what I say and what I offer him. As happy as I am that he's so willing to betray Cinder to save his own skin, I also know full well that I can expect the same treatment if he thinks it necessary. 

At the end of the day Roman Torchwick is Roman Torchwick. If he thinks he can get out from under both Cinder and I and come out on top of everybody then I'll bet any amount of Lien that he'll take it with barely a second thought to the consequences.

On a more amusing note, his colourful reaction to my explaining of Cinder's plans would have given Ruby a straight up aneurysm at how violently expletive it was. Seriously - he was not happy with what Cinder wanted him to help bring about. Fuck, even I was impressed, and I'm the twat of a man who’s been monopolising cursing like a deranged idiot these last ten years. 

For all of his flaws, at least Roman was a man of culture. That made him an absolute damn sight easier - and entertaining - to work with.

It's the fucking attractive little psychopath with the parasol that I'd need to watch out for.

"-there I was, bandaged up from head-to-toe, and what do I do? I ask him if I could have a taste of whatever it was that he had in his flask. Nine year old Wolfy must have thought it would have been the Gods' own brand of apple juice or something. Suffice to say it was anything but." Blake shakes her head at this, a small, amused smile tugging at her lips upwards.

"Is this the part where it turns out that every insanely stupid idea you've apparently had since day one boils down to the fact that you unwittingly drank alcohol at the tender age of nine?" Blake says, the two of us continuing on down the pavement. "Because it really wouldn't be that hard to believe."

"See, I would also back that theory but, as it turned out, there actually wasn't a drop of alcohol in the flask at the time." 

A scenario that will likely never come up for a second time, knowing that ever inebriated old bastard.

"Oh. Then what was in it?" 

"Battery acid." Perhaps it was the sheer absurdity of what I had said or even the nonchalance in which I had said it, but the fact that I could hear Blake's neck cracking even without enhanced hearing as she immediately turns to me tells me that this was not what she had expected to hear. "What, that's what shocks you the most? Not me running into a forest with only an axe and a death wish?"

Then again, I suppose she didn't exactly know Qrow now did she? Lucky her. 

Admittedly a small part of me had actually expected her to have found an excuse of sorts to not show up at the landing pads this afternoon. I wouldn't have put it past her, considering her rather antisocial personality in these relatively early days. That part of me was thankfully proven wrong when I turned up just in time before take-off to find Blake already having been waiting for some time.

Soon after landing she had marched the two of us from the drop-off area and began leading me through a myriad of side roads, back alleys and other assorted shortcuts strewn across Vale's Commercial District. For a very brief time I was confused as to how she knew where these areas were, before promptly remembering who it was that I was perusing the streets with.

Knowing her, she'd have spent a great deal of time studying the layout of the districts in the event that she needed to start running from either the police, her ex-besties in that furry terrorist group or, as she had and likely will do sooner or later, from her team after her prior allegiances and Faunus heritage gets outed.

"...I really don't know why I'm that surprised. Normality doesn't exactly seem to be something you're familiar with, Wolfy." 

"Tell me about it."

Oh if only you knew the bloody half of it, Blake.

The two of us turn the next corner, entering an area of the district all but akin to a 'high street' back home; restaurants, fashion boutiques, electronic stores and a wide array of other assorted commercial buildings were scattered all over the street. Were I not already on a mission of my own, I might have been tempted to start perusing some of these other venues myself. 

Well, prior business and the fact that I already knew a good half of these establishments would likely be turning their nose down to a scruffy Faunus sauntering through their front doors. I'd learnt my lesson the last time I had gone shopping in Vale for a burner scroll in that, whilst the majority of Valeans don't seem to have much issue with Faunus in general, my luck in finding such accommodating individuals is pretty abysmal.

But hey, at least this time around there's no lethal little midget around to drag my sorry arse into the back of a shady warehouse. That is something I'm very much happy to not have repeating.

"Not too far now." Blake says suddenly, bringing my attention away from the bustling city street and back to her. "In fact, it's just at the very end of the road before the junction. The best bookstore in all of Vale." Her tone is, again, laced with fondness regarding Tukson's and having picked up on it earlier it's far harder for me to miss it a second time. 

"Sounds like you're quite a fan of the place." I note, wondering if there was more to this place that I should know about. Blake nods at this, the smile on her face widening just a touch.

"It's been my go-to establishment for whenever I've needed an update to my library for quite some time now and, despite the fact that his catchphrase is quite literally just an advertising scheme and wholly untrue, the owner has always stocked high quality reading material for both avid and casual readers to enjoy. Do you remember the book I was reading when you, Ruby and Yang first spoke to me in Beacon?"

It takes a second to recall the book about a man with two souls or whatever it was at the time. I think she actually finished that the morning after during our first real talk, if I recall correctly.

With that in mind I nod affirmatively, and the girl is happy to continue. "I got that from here just before I boarded the Bullhead to Beacon. In fact, almost everything that I have that hasn't been taken out of the library has been taken from here instead. Most of the time that I'll come into the city proper from now on will either be with my team or simply to pick up something new from here."

I see, I see. Basically the only way this girl plans on touching grass these days is wholly dependent on either her team forcing her out and about the city for the day or if she needs to pick up a brand new copy of whatever new B-Tier smut novel just dropped in stores.

Now I know she has her reasons for being anything but a social butterfly, but dare I say that this girl might just stand to live a little beyond holding herself up in the library and glaring daggers through anyone that interrupts story time without good reason. There's so much to do and see in this big wide world of ours, you know?

Hit up a club, wander the city, try not to be eviscerated at the hands of a wayward Grimm whilst you stroll the countryside and all that summertime jazz.

Then again I suppose there is a certain sense of appeal in siting alone in a dark room with only a book for company. Why, I've been doing the same thing myself over the last few days in my makeshift dorm room.

The main difference here being that I'm not reading and instead I'm just sitting in the dark, staring at a wall and wondering if I'd be better off just taking all of my efforts out of manipulating every character I meet and railroading them into a few select paths and instead putting it all into building the biggest fuck-off bomb that I can feasibly make, right under Ozpin's nose for shits and giggles, and then lobbing it at Cinder the moment she sticks her pretty little head out from the shadows.

A man needs to have a hobby or two, you know? Envisioning Cinder at the epicentre of a big fucking bang just happens to be one of my favourites.

"If you've been coming here for so long then you must know the owner quite well then, right? I don't suppose you could be my wing girl and secure me a discount, perhaps?" She turns to me and is met with a charming, hopeful smile. She holds my gaze for a few moments, before facing forwards once again.

"No, Wolfy." My smile goes from hopeful to dejected in record speed.

"Aww, come on Blake, not even if I said please?"

"No."

"I've already agreed to buying you both a book and food before we head back to Beacon on top of my own expenses. Are you truly so callous as to bankrupt your new best Faunus friend?" 

"You were going to pay full price with or without me anyway, alongside the other things you said you needed to buy as well. A couple of Lien off of a book from my Uncle's store isn't exactly going to leave you destitute." A fair point - I did have a fair amount left over from what Tai had given me and the girls before we left. "Also, if I remember correctly it was you who offered in the first place."

Another equally fair point. Evidently I am a sucker for making offers to pretty girls, apparently.

"You could still change your mind if you're feeling generous." She laughs sharply at this.

"And say no to free food? No, Wolfy." 

You know, considering I've been the driving force behind every last scrap of conversation between the two of us today I'm impressed that she's finally managed to start talking more about herself rather than just simply reacting to whatever it was that I was saying. Considering the most I ever get out of her revolves around the topic of my being a Faunus and growing up in a non-Faunus household, I suppose I shouldn't really be surprised that the next best topic of conversation revolves around books, sourced from her uncle or otherwi-

Hold on, did she say Uncle?

As in, Uncle motherfucking Tukson?

Hello? Did I miss something in the show? The fuc-"

I'm so preoccupied by this sudden and completely unexpected revelation that I fail to notice what it was that I was about to come into contact with. That is until, as things tend to do in my life, I walk directly into that which causes me the most harm. In this particular situation this takes the form of what should have been a very avoidable street lamp. The suddenness of the impact and the almost immediate flare of pain brings me right back down to reality.

Even more unexpected than what I had just heard from Blake was a rather uncharacteristic chortle from the girl herself at my unfortunate situation.

At least one of us can have fun here, apparently.

Mumbling a few choice words under my breath at my general situation I turn around to find that the noise had stopped, with a rather stoic Blake standing there and who was most certainly not biting down hard to suppress the laughter that had her almost shaking on the spot.

Then she sees the look on my face and-

"So you won't laugh at my jokes but you're more than happy to laugh at my pain, I see." I dryly remark, pressing a firm hand against the side of my face. It eases the pain just enough to counter the pain of Blake giggling like a child at my misery. Of course it was quite funny, sure, but as it was my pride that had been twatted I wasn't exactly planning on laughing along with her. "Still, at least I've learnt you can laugh. You really can learn something new every day."

"Such as the dangers presented by static, inanimate street lamps?" The girl replies through her giggles. I give the raven haired girl as stern a glare as I can muster, but considering what had just happened I guess I wasn't really that intimidating judging by how my heavily lidded stare only seems to amuse her further.

"The only danger I can see is this callous disregard to the well-being of this poor, injured Faunus. Shame on you, Blake."

"Please, you have Aura - five minutes and you’ll be just fine. Besides, we have more pressing concerns to deal with."

"Them being?"

"Alerting the authorities to the fact that there's a rabid, Faunus hating street lamp prowling the streets of Vale that needs dealing with before anybody else happens to blindly walk into it."

And Yang said you were completely devoid of humour. I exhale sharply through my nose, shaking my head ruefully.

"Whatever happened to that reserved and distant side of you? At least that version of Blake that I've gotten used to might have pretended to... well, I was going to say care but not even I believe that." 

"I'm sure even she'd find this rather amusing, Wolfy. Besides, if you're hoping to be coddled then you have the wrong girl. Unfortunately for you I'm neither overly blonde nor just about waist height." For almost this whole situation Blake has, by my own experience with the girl, been rather out of character. That last little remark only reinforces this, though that doesn't stop me from happily chuckling alongside the girl.

All it took was a few hours and boom - you're taking the piss out of Ruby being a literal gnome. Some would call that astounding progress. The smartest amongst them - me included - would instead put it down to me being a bad influence. 

Still, now that we've had a good laugh at my misery it's time we returned to focusing on more important matters. You know, like the fact that Tukson is apparently Blake's fucking uncle, for example? 

Correct me if I'm wrong - and I'm fucking not - but Tukson had, like, one fucking scene, yes? In it, he gets murdered by Cinder's merry sidekicks and is then promptly never brought up or discussed or even referenced beyond Roman and Cinder arguing over the hit some time later. I doubt I'm even wrong to say that his entire character merely existed to show off Mercury and Emerald at the start of the second Volume.

Hell, the only reason I'm actually bothering with this is because he's admittedly piss easy to get out of harms way and to annoy the people wanting him dead. I'll let you decide which is the more important of the two.

But this? Well, she could just mean it as an honorary title or something, right? As far as I recall I don't think Ghira had a brother, did he? Or Kali for that matter. Since when was Tukson more than just a disposable side character?

Then again I suppose there was or may have been a metric shit ton of background info that never got shown or developed. That or my memory of the show isn't as good as I would like to believe which is probably a likely option, albeit one I find rather worrying considering my future is dependant on it.

Still, all things considered I suppose this isn't the worst curveball to have thrown at me. There are certainly worse things that'll likely come up to punch me in the fucking jaw sooner or later, so at least this one is rather tame.

As the two of us start moving again, I pull out my Scroll and begin to idly play around with the device whilst keeping Blake directly in my peripheral vision. 

"So," I say, getting her attention again as she cocks her head towards me, "now that I'm not at any further risk of being lamped by a lamp, I don't think you ever mentioned the owner being your uncle?" I almost miss it with how quick she is to set herself right but the way that Blake freezes in place for all of half a second out of the corner of my eye confirms my earlier suspicions that she had, indeed, cocked up in letting that slip.

Evidently she had not intended to reveal that particular relation to the Faunus, and I have to bite back an almost predatory smile at her mistake. "I thought that you said your family was based in one of the outlying settlements?" 

"They are," she replies, her tone betraying nothing, "but that's my actual family. Tukson's just a close friend of my father and, ever since I was young, I've called him Uncle Tukson out of respect. It's more or less stuck ever since, really. In fact, before I arrived at Beacon he had been kind enough to let me stay with him for a short time after I had left the Fa- farm to become a Huntress." It's a credit to how accustomed I've begun to not reacting openly to information that I don't show off any sign of having noticed her near verbal blunder.

She doesn't know it of course, but even without her near admission I already knew that this "farm" of hers was just a stand-in for the Fang. She's lucky that if I'm good at anything, it's acting fucking dumb and, for the time being, I'm happy to act it. "It might also interest you to know that Tukson himself is a Faunus." Acting at least somewhat surprised I glance up from the scroll and to Blake, who nods affirmatively. "He's living proof that not all of us hate your kind, Wolfy." 

I think you mean our kind, my furtive feline friend. If it weren't for that bow of yours and this absolute farce of a performance you're putting up for everybody around you - me included - we'd be having a much funnier conversation.

"I see, I see." There's a brief moment of silence before I shrug nonchalantly, returning my faux focus to my scroll. "Well, he sounds grand, Blake. Having grown up on Patch as effectively the only Faunus on the island and having only been out and about in Vale only a few times, seeing another Faunus will be pretty cool." I remark, my tone dripping with sincerity and with not even an ounce of irony I wholeheartedly promise. "Even at Beacon I've only actually seen a couple of us getting about, like that rabbit Faunus in the year above. Beyond her and myself, I only know that there's like, what, maybe one or two others? Probably not even that? A shame, that - I'd have loved to meet someone like me in my own year, you know?"

I return my focus to my scroll, idly reading through some of the messages that Ruby had sent over regarding our time earlier in the workshop and acting as if I wasn't fully aware of the almost forlorn expression on Blake's face.

"Yeah." I hear her mutter, perhaps to herself more than to me. There's a twinge of guilt in her voice that I'm quite certain she hadn't meant to let slip, but I make no reaction to it whatsoever.

Having been a human all of my past life, the thought of being anything different than that never crossed my mind in any meaningful capacity. Who the fuck wakes up one morning and says, "hey, wouldn't it be absolutely cool if I were to just become a wolf/human hybrid out of bloody nowhere? That'd be pretty sound, that."

Nobody, that's who, and I certainly never did before or after all of this happened.

But lo and behold, it did, and for the last ten years I've been living the much stranger albeit more interesting life of being- well, I can't say half-Human now can I, seeing as how, technically, I'm not human anymore. At least not physically anyway - mentally I'm still me.

I think. It's a weird topic for another day.

Whilst Faunus and Humans are almost biologically indistinguishable, there are, unsurprisingly, very obvious differences in anatomy that do have an affect on ones basic biology. There' quite a bit of science and theory that goes into it all that I really cannot be fucked trying to explain in great detail, so I'll simply do the smart thing and not bother. I'll leave that to those far smarter than I am - relatively rare as they are.

Anyway, having now been a Faunus for almost a decade it does become rather unfortunate then that my people - still fucking weird to think about even ten years down the line - feel the need to disguise themselves simply to be treated as something more than just a stain on ones shoe. I can see why so many Faunus turn to the White Fang, even when it should be obvious that their current methods are only proving the racist rhetoric about us being nothing more than animals correct - nobody can display such hate towards what they don't understand better than Humanity can.

Just look at how we treat each other. For every little bit of good we can do, there's always that one proper horrid prick just giggling in the corner about to do something real cunty to remind everyone that we can always do better. Or something.

Again, I'm not exactly the right person to have explaining human nature, so I'll simply ask that you pretend that I said something wise and leave me a grandiose tip for good measure.

Blake wearing a bow to hide the fact that she too was a Faunus was always a shame. Seeing it both in person and with my current situation? Well, it becomes a right crying shame. I understand her reasoning and I wholly understand why she's doing it, but, even so, I would have loved if she had forgone her trademark caution and outed her heritage to the only other first year Faunus at Beacon. 

Imagine the scene: Blake unties the bow, letting it fall to the ground and revealing the existence that she, too, is a Faunus. She likely expects me to be surprised. Or perhaps disappointed that she would hide such a fact. Maybe even anger at being deceived at a person I called a friend?

What she won't expect is for me to simply laugh in her face and reveal that I had known the entire time. How, she might ask? Why, because I'm not fucking blind to the fact that fashion adornments aren't supposed to twitch every five fucking minutes, you adorable little ex-terrorist.

But that's for another time, and I'll leave it for Blake herself to reveal once Weiss goes on her hilarious little tangent of racially profiling every Faunus in a five county mile and angering Blake into publicly outing herself and running off into the night and bunking up elsewhere for a day or so.

Until such a time rolls around then I'm going to be focusing on other, more important matters.

Congratulations Tuk'Tuk, because you've just become a little more important in the grand scheme of things. Important enough in fact that I'm straight up altering my plans for you on the fly to instead serve as potentially someone far more useful in the long run.

Blake said that he's a close friend of her "actual family", yes? Alright, cool. That little slipup from Blake just gave me a sudden and potentially ingenious idea for hurting Adam Taurus of all people.

You see kids, there's this delightful little continent far to the South East that, in all but name and formal recognition, makes up the unofficial fifth kingdom of Remnant. It has its own government, its own laws, its own everything basically and, despite being around about two-thirds uninhabitable desert, the residents are still able to thrive in the sporadic settlements dotted around the more hospitable areas of the continent, such as in the effective capital of Kuo Kuana.

But beyond some basic trade agreements and the likes, good-fucking-luck in getting any of the other kingdoms to recognise its status as an equal sovereign nation.

Considering the ethnic population is more or less purely Faunus and with a certain furry boyband raising helthel wherever they appear and giving us a bad name,  a kingdom like Atlas - especially with Jacques throwing his economic weight around - would likely only give Menagerie the satisfaction of being formally recognised around about five minutes after the heat death of the universe. 

Now here's the big kicker and an even bigger spoiler for those of you unaware at the back of the audience. Guess who the rulers of this lovely little continent full of every type of Faunus under the sun are?

Why, none other than Blake's parents: Ghira and Kali "Best MILF" Belladonna. Even more important than that is the fact that Ghira was the fucking founder of the White Fang, and was running the group before it turned to more violent methods for getting their point of universal equality across to the masses at gunpoint. Considering his inherent influence as both the founder and the current chieftain of Menagerie, Ghira most certainly must have some support behind the scenes, yes?

That's what I'm banking on here in regards to Tukson, who is now going to jump from being a momentary side character in the show and into a more important piece on my mental chessboard. 

You see, I never really put much thought into the man until the actual flight here, and it's only today that I've now realised perhaps just why Adam wanted the Faunus dead. The official reason for his murder comes down to his defection from the Fang, yes? Well, I think there's a lot more to it than just abandoning the cause. I think the real reason for his murder was not because of Adam, but more likely because of Cinder.

He probably knew of her existence and, by extension, her partnership with Adam and the Fang. Him then defecting from the Fang and running far, far from Vale makes him a loose end in Cinder's eyes and, just as I've been preaching to Roman, that is not good for ones health. Tukson's murder then was most likely not down to his defection, but because of what he knew and the risk he posed as a result.

The last thing Cinder will be wanting as her schemes progress is for someone like Tukson to start wagging his tongue to everybody else about what was about to happen.

And it is because of what he knows that instead of warning him to skip town to wherever it was that he had originally planned, I'm instead going to strongly suggest that he fly to Menagerie and take up with the Belladonna family. They're already apparently close enough according to Blake that she calls him uncle so I doubt they'll turn him away - especially considering his circumstances.

Not only does he get to keep on breathing, but he should start leaking to Ghira about how much of a fucking madman Adam is becoming. Maybe that will get Mr Belladonna to start actually doing something beyond just watching as his brainchild continues set Human-Faunus relations to before that delightful little war about our collective rights to exist beyond Menagerie. Perhaps what he tells Ghira might even get leaked back to Sienna herself, the current leader of the Fang in its entirety, though whether she ends up doing anything about that is probably a fifty-fifty guess.

Regardless, his whistleblowing of Adam and Cinder's partnership should do nicely in denting the support that Adam has throughout the Fang. A Faunus who is so adamant on his people being above those vile, murderous humans actively working together? Regardless of whatever reasonings he can pass off, it's still going to make him appear rather hypocritical and that will hurt his standing in the group.

At the end of the day, the less support that fucker has the better. If I'm lucky it may even lead to a few more Tukson's springing up around Vale? Hey, the less terrorists for me to worry about the happier I am.

It might be full of hateful, borderline genocidal arseholes, but I strongly doubt everyone wearing those masks is a cunt underneath and so the realisation that Adam is going against his own convictions and was willing to have a man murdered for simply wanting out of their merry little crusade will certainly ruffle a lot of feathers in the group.

A lot of literal feathers at that, considering some of the fuckers are probably sporting them somewhere on them.

And perhaps less important than everything I've said up to this point but still partially relevant to me personally is the fact that Tukson not being straight up murdered in his own bookstore will keep Blake happy. If they're close enough for her to be calling him uncle then, whilst not shown in the show at any point, his death likely came as quite the blow and so if I can keep that from happening then happy days.

Us Faunus have to stick together, you know? 

It had been a rather quiet day today in terms of business, and he was more than happy for the peace and quiet that it brought. With things becoming more and more dangerous by the day, a few blissful moments of calm were very much appreciated, especially when it gave him time to continue planning his indefinite vacation to the Kingdom of Vacuo and far, far away from the gathering storm clouds that will soon befall this city.

He smiles mirthlessly, shaking his head as he ponders his current circumstances. Who would that thought that one of the most inhospitable places on Remnant was looking to be a far safer place for him to be than in Vale?

Adam had always been an embittered and vengeful Faunus ever since he had first met him many years ago, when he had first abandoned Menagerie and his life there to take up arms with his brothers and sisters. At first everything had been all that he had hoped for; the White Fang had finally moved away from the noble yet ineffective policies of the past and moved to the more direct and decisive methods of today.

He loved Ghira as a brother, he really did. They'd known each other for years, and he had been there when Ghira first pitched the idea of forming what would become the White Fang. It had been one of the greatest days of his life when Ghira and Kali had asked him to be the Denfather - or 'Godfather' as the humans call it - of Blake soon after she was born. But as much as he loved his fellow feline, Ghira lacked the the stomach for what was needed to prove to the world and Humanity that Faunuskind are not simply beasts of burden.

He had told him such before he had left. Suffice to say they had not spoken much since that day. They had both used some rather choice words that-

The dejected Faunus shakes his head, sighing regretfully over what had happened that day but pushing it out of his mind for the time being. Dwelling on the past was not going to help with his future.

All he knows for certain is that before Ghira relinquished control over the Fang to Sienna, the Kingdoms had always refused to take their words and demands seriously, and had dismissed them as being no more than rabble rousers and pests. Years later and there's not a human alive today that doesn't recognise their symbol or know the name of their organisation. Some call them terrorists, others call them murderers.

How does that old saying go? You have to break a few eggs to make a Valean omelette? 

If a few dozen humans had to die to ensure that their species would see the Faunus as more than just second-hand citizens then so be it. He wouldn't mourn the demise of a few corrupt and incessantly discriminatory Schnee Dust Company officials and neither, he thinks, would the rest of the world. Necessary actions remain necessary actions, regardless of the cost.

The ends, as they say, justify the means. 

But recent events had left him wondering if the means to achieving that end would truly be justified in the long run.

Nobody knew who the raven haired human was that had seemingly managed to convince Adam Taurus of all people to commit to some form of alliance and, quite frankly, nobody in their right mind wanted too. The last person who had tried to find answers had been caught sniffing around where he shouldn't and, after being dragged before Adam behind locked doors, was not seen for some time. The state he was in when he returned was not a pleasant one.

It was always rare for a member of the Fang to not have some form of scar - physical or mental. Rarer still for them to come from those you fought beside.

Tukson had long believed in what he was was fighting for, and had steeled his heart to commit even the most reprehensible of acts in the pursuit of the White Fangs' goals. But years of atrocities committed in the name of equality with so little to show for it beyond continued scorn and disdain towards the Faunus had left his faith in the cause wavering. Nevertheless, he continued to believe that what they were doing was for the betterment of all Faunus.

He had to believe that if he wanted to sleep at night.

The sudden and very much unwelcome appearance of the raven haired human and Adam's apparent willingness to ally with her, despite her funding and supplying with both weapons and Dust had, in his eyes, constituted a betrayal of both Adam's own convictions as a leader and the tenets of the White Fang itself, serving to further weaken his overall belief in the cause. Yet still he pressed on, refusing to allow their actions to shatter his faith in the cause. 

He had sacrificed far too much in the pursuit of furthering the goals of the White Fang to lose heart now.

But finally, after years and years of steadily growing frustration from both a lack of decisive results and from the lingering guilt of what he had done to achieve something, his faith had finally and resolutely been shattered into a thousand pieces when he and a select few members of Adam's inner circle were brought before him and the raven haired woman, where the two had informed them all of the entire reason behind their makeshift alliance.

The woman - Cinder - wanted to equip the Fang with half of Vale's entire Dust supply where, from their hidden hideout beneath what had once been Mountain Glenn, they would be smuggled into the city via an old railway tunnel. From there, they would blast a hole into the city proper and, with their newfound arms, wreak havoc through the streets, slaughtering every last man and woman that stood in their way.

Adam, unsurprisingly, had steadfastly agreed with the idea, calling it a "righteous punishment for Vale's countless transgressions against our kind."

That bullish maniac could call it whatever he wanted. Tukson knew it for what it really was - genocide.

And despite everything he had done and had been prepared to do, that was going too far.

He had joined the White Fang to help secure his people an equal footing besides Humanity. He had been willing to put a few bullets into a few heads, or a knife into a few hearts. The ends would justify the means, as they say.

He did not join the White Fang to help massacre an entire city at the behest of a fucking human and to appease Adam's fucking bloodlust. 

His part in the White Fang was over, he knew that. He could not stay and be a part of this for another second. Yet he knew full well that a Faunus with his knowledge of their operations and the organisational structure - especially with what he now knew was coming - would not be allowed to leave so easily as Blake had. Even if he were to find out that Blake had taken up in Beacon Academy Adam, despite his almost rabid rantings, was smart enough to not openly challenge the collective might of hundreds of prospective Huntsman and Huntresses, alongside the staff present there.

He, on the other hand, did not have the luxury of such protection and Adam would have no reason to think twice about removing his head from his shoulders.

That's why he had to go and go soon, before Adam or anyone caught wind of his intentions to run. He was sure that his lack of... enthusiasm as of late in their endeavours was bound to be noticed sooner or later. He'd flee the city now if he could, but with tensions continuing to rise throughout the city after the latest string of Dust thefts by that damnable thief Roman combined with the Fang's constant attempts to cause chaos, finding a buyer interested in a Faunus run establishment was a rather slow process.

One could not buy their way out of the city and eke out a life elsewhere with only the bare minimum in Lien, after all. Buying a whole new identity is an expensive endeavour, after all.

For now, he simply needed to hunker down for a few more months, finalise the sale of this place and be on a boat or Bullhead to Vacuo before Adam found out what he was doing. So long as he continued to pay lip service and carry out the old job or two, he would be fine-

The sound of a bell reverberates through the store, dragging him out of his thoughts. Within seconds he's already straightened himself out, the worried look on his face replaced with one he had rehearsed quite well throughout the years. Turning, he pushes open his office door, stepping out into the front of the store.

"Hello, and welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home to-"

"-every book under the sun." His eyes widen as Blake Belladonna, one of the last people he had expected to hear from for quite some time, leans against the side of the counter, sporting a wide and joyful smile on her face. "One of these days somebody is going to catch you out for false advertising, Uncle Tukson." His shock is brief and soon enough he's smiling back at his Dendaughter.

"Only if they're ever able to actually find a book that I don't have in stock. Seeing as how you've always come up short over the years in trying to catch me out I think I'll be safe in taking my chances, Little Belle." She beams brightly at her old childhood nickname and is quick to make her way around the counter towards him, almost tackling him as her arms wrap tightly around his

He wouldn't miss the White Fang anywhere near as much as he would miss her.

"So she can laugh and show affection?" A voice off to the side says suddenly. "Christ, the surprises just keep on coming today." Both he and Blake turn to the owner of the voice with varying reactions. One is of subtle suspicion and the other is a simple deadpan stare. Separating from Blake he appraises the newcomer, whose attention was currently focused on picking through his shelves and picking between the many hundreds of books he had in store.

Beyond the ears sticking out from underneath his brown hair - Wolf ears he notes - he had the appearance of an ordinary teenager, albeit one whose slight stubble could see him passing for being older than he seemed to be. Judging by the black and gold-lined blazer he was sporting beneath his grey overcoat he realises that this Faunus must be, alongside Blake, a student at Beacon. 

This was surprising to see considering the relative rarity of Faunus Huntsman in the world. Though he knew that Beacon accepted both Human and Faunus he couldn't recall the last time that he had seen a Faunus in their uniform.

Perhaps there was hope for the future after all?

Still, this Faunus did not seem that remarkable truth be told. Nor did he seem like much of a threat, even armed as he was. 

Perhaps he was being paranoid, but with things being as they are these days a little dosage of paranoia was probably quite healthy for a Faunus in his situation.

"A friend of yours, I take it?" He asks, glancing up at her bow and wordlessly asking whether her friend knew about what lay underneath. The look he receives from her confirms that she had not revealed her heritage to him, and he just about manages to suppress the frown of disappointment that threatened to show at this.

Having secretly been sheltering her for months after her sudden departure from the Fang, keeping her hidden from Adam's relentless search for her and helping to fabricate her transcripts for Beacon, he had agreed that her idea to pass herself off as a human was, whilst a betrayal of almost everything they had been fighting for, a sound one. Adam's spies would be searching for a feline Faunus with a noticeable pair of corresponding ears.

They wouldn't look twice at a human wearing a bow. At least that was their shared hope, anyway. Considering Adam was still actively searching for her and without much luck, their plan seemed to still be working out just fine.

But for her to hide her heritage from her fellow Faunus, student or otherwise, still did not sit right with him. For now though he would continue to act in the manner they had agreed upon when in public for these situations. As much as he found it distateful, her staying incognito was for the best and, no matter his personal feelings to the matter, he would not risk her exposure to Adam and his spies.

No amount of loyalty he ever might have had to the Fang would have ever convinced him to risk her well-being in such a manner.

"Regrettably." Blake mutters, glaring half-heartedly over towards the young wolf Faunus who was now staring over at her with an almost delighted expression.

"See, now that is just a straight up admission of friendship, Blake. I knew you'd cave eventually." Her response comes in the form of a quiet, exasperated sigh. "Now go find whatever book it is you're forcing me to buy for you before I change my mind." It is promptly followed by a happier sounding hum.

"Keep it up and I'll grab two just to spite you." She replies teasingly, already moving towards a myriad of bookshelves off to the side of the store. "Then you can really start worrying about your bank account, Wolfy."

Oh come on, really? A wolf Faunus going by... Wolfy. Seriously?

A human must have come up with that, surely. A human with an entirely uncreative sense of humour, he bets.

"You do that and I'll be counting it as payment in advance towards bringing you along for a second outing." 'Wolfy' replies, crossing his arms in a triumphant manner. "And God only knows Yang will be getting friction burn from how gleefully she'll be rubbing her hands together at the news. " 

What on Remnant is happening here, exactly?

"Not if I bludgeon you to death with it first."

"~Promises, promises~."

Is this what the youth of today call flirting? Standards really have fallen in this day and age.

"I didn't realise the two of you were so close, Blake." He says teasingly, leaning against the counter. "I can only imagine how pleased Kali would be if-"

"One more word and you'll be the next Faunus I plan on burying today." His mouth shuts closed, the message very much received loud and clear. Luckily for him the glare being sent his way finds a new and likely very much familiar target in the now openly laughing young Faunus a few feet away. Unfortunately for Blake it only seems to amuse her friend further if the continued chortling was of any indication. "It's impressive how between you and Yang, you're able to make Ruby out to be the most mature out of the three of you."

"Sometimes miracles can happen, Blake." Wolfy replies, before gesturing around the store. "Go on then, take your time - just don't get anything that'll bankrupt me for the next month." She raises an eyebrow at the Faunus, a half-smirk on her face.

"I'll think about it." Is all she says in reply, before turning back around to him once again. "Has-"

"It all arrived yesterday and the boxes are still in storage." He interrupts, already knowing full well what it was that she was going to ask him from experience and nodding his head towards the back. She had always been predictable when it came to literature. She nods gratefully, having already moved around the counter and past him, heading for the back. "I've not unpacked any of it yet though," he continues, "so please try not to make too much mess whilst you're ransacking the back, Little Belle."

"I'll try my best, Uncle Tukson." Her tone of voice was admittedly not instilling him with much hope. He remembered a particular instance when she was younger where he had purposefully stashed the latest issue of a long line of novels that she had been wanting to get her hands on for quite some time. Suffice to say he had been picking up scraps of cardboard from his storeroom floor for quite some time afterwards, grumbling about never letting her in the back of the store ever again. That threat was never carried out, of course.

Kali had been quite stern in the resulting lecture about manners, etiquette and on why patience is a virtue in life.

Ghira had simply found it hilarious that his eleven year old girl had so thoroughly trashed his best friends business with such speed and ease.

He clears his head of his memories of better days, focusing back on what was happening now. Reaching for the door Blake turns, staring past him and over towards her friend who had taken the chance to peruse his stock and having already picked up a few choice items. "I'll only be a few minutes, Wolfy. Do you think you'll be alright on your own?" Blake says, leaning against the doorframe. Wolfy looks over to her with an almost offended expression.

"What am I, five?"

"Hey, I'm just worried that you might be set upon by another inanimate object without me there to save you."

"D'aww, so you do care!" She scoffs at this, rolling her eyes with an amused shake of her head before promptly disappearing into the back without another word, the door soon clicking closed behind her and leaving him and her friend alone in the front of the store. "And away she goes for however long it takes her to find the lengthiest, priciest book in this place." Her friend remarks, before stepping up to the counter, leaning against it and placing down the assortment of books and comics he had collected over the last minute or so. "If you had to hazard a guess, how long do you think she'll be back there?"

"Well, considering I had only really just gotten started on unpacking the latest deliveries I would say... well, if she knows what she's looking for I would say around about... five minutes?" He replies, brows furrowing in thought. After a few moments he nods more affirmatively. "Yes, five minutes sounds around about right." The wolf Faunus nods in thanks, before offering his hand out over the counter towards him.

"Where are my manners? The name's Harrow Grey. I'm a friend of Blake's, despite any claims she might make to the contrary." He chuckles at this, grasping his hand firmly and shaking it in greetings.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Mr Grey. As you might have already guessed, I'm Tukson - proud owner of 'Tukson's Book Trade'." He replies as he lets go of the younger Faunus's hand, leaning forward against the counter and picking up the books that Harrow had brought from their respective shelves. He raises a curious eyebrow at the various books he was hoping to purchase; historical biographies of Remnant's most important individuals, a pair of adventure novels, a tome detailing the many fantastical fairy tales of Remnant and even a few comics that, personally, he himself enjoyed reading in his off-time.

Why, he even seemed to be looking to buy his the only copy of 'The Third Crusade' that he had left in stock. He would need to see about getting that restocked in the near future.

Blake would never let him hear the end of it if the integrity of the stores' catchphrase came into question. You have quite the varied interest, my friend." He notes, taking them up and scanning their prices into a total price figure. A moment later and the appropriate sum of Lien is handed over, though he notes that Harrow's attention seems to remain focused over towards where Blake had gone.

How close were they, exactly?

Still, he carries on trying to make conversation with the distracted wolf Faunus. "I've always been of the opinion that the youth of today would be better of showing a greater interest in our history, especially those of our own kind. I'm not sure what type of books they have up their in your academy regarding such topics, but if you're interested I have a number of separate volumes in the back detailing-"

"I hear Menagerie is looking pretty nice this time of year." Harrow interrupts, cutting him off and turning his full attention towards him now. Blinking away his surprise, he frowns somewhat, suspicious at the oddness of his town and of the question itself.

"I... suppose it is?" He replies, pushing Harrow's purchases towards him. "I'm sorry, I don't exactly keep tabs on Menagerie these days I'm afraid." This wasn't exactly true, of course. He still had an old friend or two in Kuo Kuana who he kept in contact with, keeping him in the loop in regards to the goings-on in the town which, up until recently, he would feed back to Adam and his lieutenants. 

Of course, it wasn't as if young Harrow here knew anything about that. How could he? 

"I see, I see. I don't suppose there's any specific reason for that, by any chance?" His frown only deepens as that earlier bout of paranoia flares up rather intensely. His arms return to his side and, behind the counter and out of sight, his claws begin to extend. A precautionary measure for if this conversation was going the way he was worried it was. Had Blake set him up?

No. Of course not. Blake would never do such a thing. 

"No." He replies simply, staring unflinchingly at Mr Grey, whose expression betrayed nothing of what he might have been thinking. "Now, if there's nothing else-"

"You're planning on or already have by now abandoned the White Fang for reasons I can probably make a good guess towards and are in the process of figuring out a way of smuggling yourself out of Vale and to Vacuo as soon as reasonably possible."

...

Oh.

Well, so much for his flight from the White Fang going unnoticed and undetected until he was ready.

Evidently his attempts at hiding his shaken loyalties had been a rather abject failure. A shame.

"I see." He replies dryly, his eyes glancing warily towards the weapon at the young wolf's hip. His claws were by now fully extended and, if needs be, he was fully prepared to vault over the counter and throttle Harrow who, quite clearly, had been sent here by Adam or his cronies to take him out before he could leave the city. How he had managed to get past Blake he did not know, nor was he sure as to how Adam could have possibly figured him out so soon.

These questions were irrelevant for the time being - the most pressing matter was the one currently smirking at him from across the counter. "And you know all of this how, exactly?"

"Would you believe me if I told you my Semblance gave me visions of the future?"

"No."

The likelier and actually believable explanation here is that this must be an assassin hired by Adam - or perhaps his human associate - to take him out before he could make off with the information that he knew. Compared to an incomprehensibly powerful Semblance that is both unheard of and utterly wasted on an assassin, the latter line of thought was much easier to work with.

"Yeah, that's fair. I wouldn't believe me either." He has to bite back a growl at how flippant Mr Grey's tone of voice was and how he so leisurely continues to lean against the counter as if this conversation were still a casual one. "You know, usually I do these things with a hell of a lot more... well, subtlety? Hell, I even had a plan where I would just slip you a note or something similar to warn you about what was going to happen and avoid the whole risk to my anonymity like I have been for so fucking long but, if I'm being honest?"

The smirk on Harrow's face widens, giving him an almost feral and very much unnerving expression. "Being this direct is fucking refreshing." As quickly as it had appeared the expression fades and Harrow is once more smirking lazily at him. "Now I know what you're thinking here - I'm obviously an assassin sent by Adam or somebody else of importance in your old country club for disenfranchised extremists, yes?"

"The thought did cross my mind." He replies coolly, keeping a watchful eye for any sudden moves from the wolf.

"And that is a perfectly fair assumption. Hell, in your shoes I'd think the same. Fortunately, we'd both be wrong in that assumption, because whilst I'm not here to kill you, Tukson, I am here to save you." He scoffs at this, looking over him and towards the front door. He can't see anybody waiting outside, nor has anybody entered during the time he's been in the front of the store. He then spares a quick glance behind him, still seeing no sign of Blake, before turning back to the wolf Faunus in front of him who, having followed his eyes, was eyeing him with shades of amusement and annoyance. "It's a pretty shitty assassin who walks through his targets front door and starts waffling about things that are certain to put him on edge now, isn't it?"

A fair point he has to admit. Regardless, trust was a funny thing, and right now he had none in this Faunus in front of him. "Seriously, I am not here to fucking murder you old man." Harrow's eyes move past him and over his shoulder for a moment, and he nods to the door behind him. "I mean shit, I'd imagine Blake would be pretty pissed if I-"

"You leave her out of this!" He snarls, claws slamming down on the countertop. To his credit Harrow barely even reacts to the suddenness of the act, merely flicking his gaze down to his claws and then back up again. "Adam can have me, but I won't let you take her back to that rabid animal!" His reaction to this is far more comical however, as he raises his arms in an exasperated manner.

"Well that's just grand that, because I am - wait for it - not a part of the Fang, nor am I on Adam's payroll here. I am, yet again, trying to save your fucking life."

"And why should I believe anything you say?" The wolf raises an eyebrow as if the answer were obvious.

"Because you're still breathing, for a start?" It certainly was something resembling a start, yes. "Again, if I wanted you dead I wouldn't have just haphazardly thrown away the element of surprise and straight up admitted to what I know now, would I? So, again, whilst we still have a modicum of time before Blake- okay, quick question: are you her actual Godfather, or is that just some part of her cover as a human?"

"I am her Denfather, yes." He replies, supressing the surge of worry that arose from Harrow's casual admittance of knowing Blake's real heritage. It was unsurprising given the circumstances, but still.

"I'm sorry, her what?" The worry he felt is replaced by confusion at the odd expression on Harrow's face.

"Her... Denfather?" Harrow frowns, his brows furrowing.

"Is that, like... a Godfather?" He nods, confused as to how a fellow Faunus of all people would not know such a thing. "I see. 'Denfather'. Like an animals den. Fuckinhatethisplacesometimes."

"What are you-"

"Anyway, as I was saying, before Blake comes back can you please pretend for just a minute or two that I'm not here to kill you and that I am, as I have said too many times already by now, here to help you? I promise you right now that it'll make your life so much easier if you just listen to me for one minute. Shit, you listen to me and it'll make your life longer, too."

It's not like he has much choice in the matter. He doesn't fully trust this man, yet he had to admit that the possibility of him being one of Adam's agents was becoming more and more unlikely by the second. At the very least listening to whatever it was he had to say would buy him some more time until Blake returned. If Harrow did plan on making an attempt on his life, he would certainly be hard-pressed against both him and his Dendaughter.

At least he hopes so anyway. He had admittedly never been that great of a fighter compared to his brothers and sisters. Whilst he could do just fine against your standard Atlesian robot or the odd SDC security guard or two, taking on Beacon students with full-fledged Aura's and years worth of training with actual weapons are a step out of his comfort zone.

That was more Blake's specialty. Adam's too, though he doubted he would ever be able to count on his particular brand of support these days. With nothing else to do he grunts, nodding at the Faunus.

"Fine. You have until Blake steps through those doors. Then I want you to leave and not return. Do you understand?" Harrow nods, grinning ear to ear as he pushes himself off of the counter, looking over his shoulder again at the door. With no sign of Blake coming back anytime soon, Harrow's attention turns back to him.

"Now whilst I know you're leaving the Fang, I don't exactly know why that is. I don't suppose you're willing to shed some light on that? It'll help me to help you if we're on the same page about why you're suddenly turning over a new leaf." Memories of everything he had done up to this point for the Fang and what they were planning to do in the coming months sprung to the forefront of his mind. Harrow raises a curious eyebrow at him, having seen the flash of emotion on his face. "Judging from that expression I'm going to take a guess and say guilt, perhaps? What, bomb a few too many orphanages in your time?"

His fist clenches at his side, knuckles cracking from the exertion.

"Shut up."

"Touched a nerve, did I?" Harrow says, lips twitching upwards. "The guy whose likely responsible for a dozen or so more deaths around Vale is offended? Suck it up, Tukson - just because I'm trying to save your life doesn't mean I don't get to enjoy poking fun at a literal terrorist. Not many can say they got away with that, and I'm always happy to tick a few things off of my bucket list."

If he's not careful he might just find himself ticking off being responsible for his own funeral.

"Get to the point, please."

"Tough crowd. Right, as you're probably well aware Adam isn't exactly the most forgiving of people and you ditching his particular sect of the White Fang is going to have you placed pretty high up on his totem pole of people he very much wants to see hung, drawn and quartered before the weeks end. That is, of course, if he isn't already aware which, unluckily for you, I can all but guarantee he is." He closes his eyes, all hope for fleeing Vale beginning to fade. Adam was not known for his patience and if what Harrow says is true then his days are very much numbered in single digits.

If Harrow had not been ordered to kill him then those who have been won't be too far behind. 

"Seeing as how you know so much, how long do you think I have until they find me?" He asks, only to be met by a burst of amused cackling from Harrow.

"Mate, you own a store called 'Tukson's Book Trade'. You have until one of them gets the bright idea of typing your name into their scroll map."

Hmph. That is quite funny, actually. He had been so proud when he had first opened this store. Now it was probably going to be the death of him. What a strange turn of events. "That is, of course, unless you start packing your bags right-fucking-now and you skidaddle out of Vale. Preferably today, actually." 

"Sure, I'll just pack up my bags within the hour and be on a Bullhead to Vacuo within two."

"Oh. What, really?"

"No, of course not!" He exclaims in exasperation, gesturing around wildly. "If Adam knows that I'm planning on making a run for it then he'll have people watching me the moment I step foot outside of this building. I'll be dead before I even make it within a hundred metres of the nearest Bullhead to Vacuo."

"Then don't take a Bullhead and don't go to Vacuo - take a ship to Menagerie instead." He stares at him as if he were insane. Considering current circumstances, going to Menagerie seemed like the absolute worst place to go - second only to their base of operations out in Vale's wilderness and directly to Adam himself. If Ghira didn't bury him six feet under for everything that had been said, Kali certainly would for leaving Blake alone to face Adam.

And she was far more terrifying than Taurus could ever be. 

"I... I don't think I'm welcome in Menagerie anymore these days. There's... personal issues to contend with back home that I'd rather not face right now." Harrow raises an eyebrow at him as he trails off, not sure how much exactly he wants the wolf Faunus to know.

"I won't lie mate, I couldn't really give two shits about whatever drama it is you've left to fester over there - though I'm sure it's poignant in some form - so I'll just tell you to get a grip and bite the bullet. You'll be far safer there than you would be in Vacuo."

"I doubt it."

"Really? You think Blake's parents can be of more help in Vacuo than, say, on the island that they're more or less running? How've you coming to that conclusion, exactly?"

"They are my personal issues." Harrow frowns somewhat, nodding for him to elaborate. He supposes he might as well, if only to explain why Menagerie was off the table. "Blake's father, as you're likely well aware, was the founder and previous High Leader of the Fang. When the time came for new leadership, I was one of the main advocates for Sienna's rise to power. Suffice to say, Ghira did not take what he viewed as a betrayal of everything the group had stood for lightly." Harrow lets out an understanding 'ooh' in response, nodding slowly.

"I see, I see. So, basically, you helped to relegate your best friend in favour of the woman who was advocating for the groups transition from peaceful protesting and non-violent marches to throwing pipe bombs through mailboxes and setting fire to administrative buildings in town centres, thereby proving everything Humanity has ever said about us being nothing more than being animals to have quite the degree of merit. Well gee, aren't you just a model activist and best friend?" His eye twitches at such a casual disregarding of their aims and motivations.

Just as he's about to argue against such a one-sided view Harrow clicks his tongue, his fingers idly strumming against the wooden countertop. "Well, tough bloody luck - you're going to Menagerie whether you like it or not." He simply states in an uncaring manner, an almost smug look in his eyes.

He would very much like to wipe it clean with a slash of his claws.

"And why should I, exactly?"

"There's a few reasons, the main one being that you fucking owe me, Tukson." He scoffs, crossing his arms defiantly. Harrow simply raises an eyebrow at him, almost amusingly. "I don't know why you seem to think otherwise on that front. If it weren't for me quite literally telling you otherwise then you'd still be thinking that you were getting away with this undetected. Be happy it's me whose coming knocking on your door first and not somebody else."

"Just because you've given me advanced warning about my impending death doesn't mean I'm going to suddenly drop everything on your command, nor does it mean that I'll just move to the heart of White Fang operations to seek forgiveness and shelter with the people I've wronged on your whim. I appreciate it - I really do - but I'm quite capable of looking after myself." Now it's Harrow's turn to scoff disdainfully, shaking his head with clear disappointment.

"Alright, don't do any of that. You just stay here and continue to juggle everything going on around you whilst things begin to steadily unravel at every corner. Personally, I think you'd be a hell of a lot more useful undermining Adam's authority back on Menagerie than you would having your skull kicked in by some snarky little mercenary, but that's just my opinion, you know?" Yet again Harrow looks over his shoulder and towards the backroom.

The cocksure expression he had been sporting for the majority of the conversation shifts suddenly, becoming almost accusatory. "Though I must say I am quite shocked that you'd be so willingly to risk Adam taking you alive and using you as bait to lure Blake out of hiding. Rather selfish of you, don't you think?" 

"I'm warning you boy - do not try and use her as a negotiating tool against me again." He growls, leaning forward with a dangerous look in his eye. That familiarly smug expression returns in force as he shrugs nonchalantly.

"Hey, I'm just saying that the last thing you want is for her to come into this place in the next few weeks to find her favourite store ransacked and her Godfather's blood staining these lovely carpets-" 

"ENOUGH!" This time around there's no hesitation as he lunges forward, gripping the boy by his collar with one hand and pressing the other into his neck, claws digging threateningly yet harmlessly into his Aura. He growls, snarling into the boys face, teeth baring down on him. Unfazed, Harrow merely gestures with his head for him to look down, an almost innocent smile plastered across his face.

He does so, glancing momentarily downwards before growling in frustration - and with no small hint of worry - as he takes in the sight of a hefty looking gun barrel all but pressing into his stomach, a small set of blueish lights emanating from atop of the weapon.

The boy was quick on the draw it seemed, and he knew full well that he wouldn't win this fight. Not against someone with full Aura reserves holding a loaded gun to his chest. At this range it would only take at least two to three shots to rip straight through his own Aura.

Hmph. Fuck.

"Now here's what happens next Tukson," Harrow's tone, having throughout the entire conversation ranged from smug to amused, had now become far more dry and menacing, "and not one bit of it is up for negotiation. First, you're going to let me go. Then, you're going to settle your affairs in Vale and book a ticket - either by sea or air - to Menagerie. From there, you're going to make whatever amends you have to with big daddy G' and his family. Finally and with their protection, you're going to start whistleblowing on everything that Adam, that bitch Cinder and his Sesame Street soldiers have been up to and are going to do within the next few months to every fucking furred up fucker in hearing distance and, as best you can, dash Adam's credibility into the fucking ground."

The blazing anger he had felt towards the wolf Faunus disappears almost instantaneously as Harrow's final words sink in. Letting go of the Faunus he stumbles backwards, a shocked, almost horrified look on his face. How could he have possibly known what Adam and the raven-haired Human were planning without being there? Every last one of those Faunus with one particular exception were downright loyal to Adam.

Seeing the change in his attitude Harrow's darkened expression changes instantaneously, being replaced by one of almost morbid satisfaction as he holsters his weapon. "Well would you look at that? You do know what he's planning with that bitch of a woman. It's not guilt that has you running scared but self-preservation? Maybe even horror at the sheer scale of their shithousery? I guess I was right - nothing new there, then."

"How... how do you-"

"See my previous answer about my relative omniscience, mate. So, considering what we both know is coming it looks to me then like you've even more of a reason to get out of the city before shit hits the fan, so stop being a twat and get with the program, please. Furthermore, just to kick you into gear and because I have a feeling you need more than just verbal motivation," he tenses reflexively as Harrow reaches into his coat, expecting the boy to draw another weapon on him, "this should help cover whatever the fuck you need to get out of Vale within the week and to have a little bit left over for whatever floats your boat." 

If he hadn't been surprised by everything that had happened these last few minutes, the almost extravagant sum of Lien that was then unceremoniously lined across the countertop before him almost has his jaw touching the floor. Harrow, ignoring his stupefied expression, merely nods for him to take it. He does so after a few more seconds of hesitation, in disbelief at how he had just been handed so casually at least two- three years worth of profit like it were nothing special.

"This is... a lot of Lien." He states observantly, ignoring the mocking gasp from across the counter. "Where did you get all of this?"

"If you didn't believe me about my Semblance then you likely won't believe me if I told you that I'm actively skimming Lien from Vale's most prolific thief on the side."

He's right, he doesn't believe that at all. And yet...

A sudden wave of exhaustion rolls over him, and he sighs tiredly, leaving against the counter and dropping his head into his hands. "Damned if you, damned if you don't. It fucking sucks, doesn't it." 

He ignores the wolf Faunus, far too busy trying to figure out just how in the hells he is supposed to not only smuggle himself out of Vale and past however many of Adam's men he'll have stationed around the city watching his every move, but on what he would even say to Ghira and Kali on his return to Menagerie. That is, of course, if they even gave him the chance to speak before disembowelling him for leaving their daughter alone in Vale.

And that's all provided he even makes it to Menagerie in the first place, or even elects to go there at all.

But, as Harrow said, what else can he do? Adam may not have that long of a reach, but that woman - Cinder - may. They'll find him one way or another, no matter where he goes. At least he'll have some form of protection in Kuo Kuana if he can only make amends with his old friends. It won't be a pretty reunion, that's for sure.

Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't indeed.

"Well, this would certainly cover everything I need. But... well, what about the store itself?" Harrow shrugs, looking around in an uninterested manner. 

"That's for you to figure out. Sell it if you can? Leave it to rot for the next few months? Booby-trap it for when Adam's goons come-a-calling? Do as you will, I don't much care. But whatever it is you do, do it quickly, would you? I might be a few weeks earlier than planned, but every second you're still in Vale is a second closer towards your window of opportunity being slammed shut. Get your affairs in order, pack your bags, and for fucks sake do not deviate from this. They will find you in Vacuo, in Mistral, even in fucking Atlas if you're that ballsy to head up north, Tukson. Trust me - biting the bullet and making amends with Ghira is your one and only ticket to being allowed to keep breathing."

He swallows hard, pocketing the money with a brief nod of thanks towards the boy. He grunts in acknowledgement, his eyes darting yet again over his shoulder. "Oh, and one more thing? Not one word to Blake about any of this, please and thank you. She's already got enough to worry about in regards to Adam and the Fang potentially catching up to her, along with her continued hiding of her Faunus heritage from her team every day. I think we can both agree then that adding the potential murder of her uncle to her list of worries won't do her much good." 

"Then what exactly should I tell her? She'll likely be rather suspicious if I were to suddenly close up the store just before the end-of-year holiday season and disappear off to Menagerie for a few weeks or longer." Harrow opens his mouth to reply but, all of a sudden, he clamps it shut, nodding over his shoulder. A moment later and the reasoning for this becomes apparent as a door opens up behind him.

Turning around both he and Harrow watch as Blake, now back from her adventures in storage, steps out into the front of the store carrying a rather sizeable book in her hands, sporting a rather pleased smile at her find. Behind him he hears a heavy sigh, one laced with amusement and annoyance in equal measure.

"Of course she picked out the biggest book she could possibly find. Why am I not surprised?" Harrow remarks aloud, Blake shrugging in response.

"Hey, you said I could pick out whatever book I wanted. This, Wolfy, is said book."

"I never would have guessed." He drawls. She ignores this, instead turning to him with an apologetic expression, glancing between both him and Harrow on the other side of the counter.

"He wasn't too annoying, was he? I've only known him for three weeks but already he's managed to make an enemy out of Heiresses and lamp posts alike." He smiles at his Dendaughter, praying that she doesn't notice how fake it was. Harrow had left him feeling a number of emotions, but annoyance was, surprisingly, not that far up the list.

Infuriated, terrified, bewildered and perhaps even indebted were his more prevalent feelings towards her friend.  She always did have a strange taste in men, he idly notes. First Adam, now Harrow? 

Perhaps if he mentions his name to them then Blake's parents will focus their attentions towards Harrow instead. That would buy him some time to keep breathing a little while longer at least.

"Of course not, Little Belle. Mr Grey here has been nothing but pleasant whilst you were off skulking through my storage room." He replies, taking the book from her and repeating the same process he had earlier with Harrow's own purchases, stepping away from her and moving off to the side.

He takes the few seconds he has whilst he's facing away from her to let out a quick, shaky breath, trying to calm his nerves before she notices anything wrong. When he's finished he turns back around, the happy, almost childlike smile on Blake's face doing very well to put him at ease. It was a stark contrast to the expectant, almost threatening look being sent his way from her friend now standing behind her, who was staring over her shoulder at him pointedly.

"... In fact, we were just discussing potential holiday destinations for when I leave Vale within the next few days." 

'Holiday': an extended period of leisure and recreation, especially one spent away from home or in travelling.

With Adam's agents likely to make an attempt on his life between here and the docks when he made his move and with a now inevitable confrontation with both Ghira and Kali Belladonna in the near future coming up, this would prove to be anything but a holiday.

And whilst he continues trying to piece together just what the fuck had actually happened over the last few minutes, a small part of him is at least content in the knowledge that he wasn't the one paying for it all.

Financially, that is. 

Mentally? Now that is most certainly going to be a different story.

Chapter Text

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...VERBAL RECOGNITION REQUIRED. PLEASE PROVIDE THE APPROPRIATE VERBAL RESPONSE TO THE FOLLOWING: "SUCCESS IS NOT FINAL, FAILURE IS NOT FATAL…"

"...It is the courage to continue that counts."

STAND BY...

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...RESPONSE ACCEPTED. WELCOME BACK, YOU HANDSOME BASTARD.

"Thank you dear, and..."

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PROTOCOL 11 HAS BEEN MANUALLY OVERRIDEN BY ADMINISTRATOR. SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE DISABLED. 

"Happy days."

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ACCESSING NOTES... ACCESSING FOLDER - "The Quintessential Quartet".

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ACCESS GRANTED. 

SHOWING FILE - 'Little Red Riding Hood'.

Status: Still being the cutest thing to ever exist.

Designation: Best girl.

General Information: 

Ruby Rose. What can I say that will do her justice? She's a Silver-eyed warrior of legend, is quite possibly the singular most adorable thing to ever grace the face of this earth, wields a weapon so large in comparison to her body that the recoil alone should be sending her across county borders and, most appropriately, is also one of the kindest, sweetest and most caring individuals that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

Also one of the most annoying as well, but that's just my obligatory big brother comment.

To summarise Ruby Rose: she da' best.

Born to Taiyang Xiao Long - please see file 'The Elder Dragon' - and Summer Rose - please see file 'A Wilted Rose' - and the younger sibling of her half-sister Yang Xiao Long - please see file 'Goldilocks'. Ruby is the youngest member of the Xiao Long household. A fact which both Yang and I exploit to the best of our abilities in regards to teasing and spoiling the delightful little rascal.

Not only is she the youngest of the family but she is also the youngest member - and leader - of Team RWBY. As the namesake of the team she also represents quite possibly the greatest hope for this world in terms of handling the Grimm menace. Not only is she destined to become quite the powerful Huntress within the next couple of years, she is also perhaps the greatest - perhaps even only - weapon that we have for dealing with whole Salem issue - please see file 'The White Witch' - and so no matter how well or badly I end up fixing or fucking things over in the long run, there is one constant that I must keep in mind.

Ruby Rose is the ace up our collective sleeve in regards to solving the biggest matrimonial mishap this world has ever seen. It wouldn't be that far from the truth for me to say that she's crucial to my continued existence both morally and physically, and that is more than just my big brother instincts talking. Her skills as a burgeoning Huntress and those pretty little eyes of hers will be pretty essential to staving off the end of civilisation.

So no pressure, kiddo.

Post-Beacon Ruby was separated from the rest of her team and, joining up with the remnants of Team JNPR - please see file 'Juniper' - and makes her way to Mistral and to Haven Academy. On the way she makes a few friends, meets a few familiar faces and continues to be an all around loveable little idiot in her pursuit of saving the world from Salem and her circus of stooges. From Mistral things just continue to escalate from bad to worse and, one thing leading to another, eventually brings her and the rest of her team to Atlas wherein she finally meets Salem, watches Atlas's top general go fucking mental and, by the end of it all, is sent falling into the Void alongside the rest of Team RWBY whilst Atlas smashes down into Mantle like an angry God.

Rocks fall, everyone dies. The end. 

Or at least that's how it was looking from where I last checked.

Again, I really do regret not having time to see what the fuck was going on in Volume 9. Chances are I missed something groundbreakingly important to the story or something of that nature which, lets face it, could probably end up fucking me over in some way. A real shame, that.

Regardless of what I don't know I'm pretty hopeful that with what I do, combined with the behind-the-scenes work that I'm carrying out, I can help ensure that the little angel has a far better chance at saving the world without watching everybody she loves crumble or fall from the wayside along the way. It's not as if I have a choice in the matter anyway - I doubt she'll let me stay behind considering how close the two of us are regardless.

That and I now have quite the personal fucking stake in ensuring that she and everybody else get the ball rolling towards keeping things afloat, don't I?

And on a more personal note: When she's not trying to save the world, begging for cookies or wanting to scratch my ears for funsies she makes for pretty good entertainment whenever I get bored. All I need to do is stick Crescent Rose on top of the fridge and watch her trying to get it back down, all the while avoiding her those ankle-ending shin punts of hers.

Affection through abuse, kiddo. You love it really.

Weapon: Crescent Rose.

Crescent Rose is Ruby Rose's signature weapon. It is a High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe - a real bloody mouthful - and is, as one might assume, a hybrid between a scythe, a bolt-action sniper rifle, and a war scythe. She is definitely not compensating for her limited size and strength and, should you say otherwise, then it is on your head.

As in what form of the weapon she might choose to bonk you over the head with, that is. 

As a ranged weapon it is capable of demolishing opponents from afar, especially if they're somehow unaware of the fuck-off huge weapon pointed their way. It's powerful enough that it can punch through a Grimm's natural bone-plate armour if she places her shots well enough. God forbid she ever deigns to try it against an unarmoured, un-Aura'd opponent however. The results would be sticky indeed and I pity whichever poor soul ends up having the job of cleaning that mess.

Likely me, as I could really do with her not being put behind bars for astoundingly excessive force - accidental or otherwise.

She is as equally deadly at close range when using the scythe form. Utilising the natural recoil of the weapon when fired alongside her speed orientated Semblance, Ruby effectively becomes the deadliest Beyblade to ever grace the field as she dances around her opponents with 50% elegance, 50% clumsiness and 100% lethality. Another use for the scythe is to stick food to the tip of the blade and use it to coax Zwei into jumping up for his treats.

I am currently undecided as to which usage of the weapon I prefer.

Overall it's a rather unorthodox weapon considering her short size but as we have all seen in the show - and I in person - it certainly works fucking wonders.

If she can ever reach the thing on her own whenever I place it atop of the fridge or something as equally taller than her, that is. 

Strengths:

*Speed:

"DA RED WUNZ GO FASTA!" - The murderous jungle spore football hooligans of the 40K Universe. 

As is to be expected with a Semblance orientated around breaking the sound barrier Ruby is capable of reaching speeds far beyond that achievable by a Huntsman, let alone an ordinary human. Combined with her small stature this makes her an absolute bitch to to track and take down - even my tracker sight struggles to lock her and, even when it does, the bullets still have to obey some laws of physics and are thus incapable of pinning her when they need to make constant 180 degree turns. This extreme mobility keeps her out of harms way whilst surprising and disorientating most opponents she faces off against.

She also makes a pretty mean opponent to play against in a game of Tag.

(Side note: Should she ever decide against being a Huntsman she could probably make a small fortune as Remnant's most effective postal worker. Give this girl an energy drink and some snacks and she will circumnavigate the world before the day is up. End of side note.)

*Marksmanship:

From the very moment she got her small hands on Crescent Rose Ruby had been almost living in the shooting ranges on Patch. Whether it be at Signal or Mr Silva's shooting range she was perfecting her aim with her weapon from day one with not just her big ol' scythe but with whatever she could get her little hands on. I won't try and claim any of the credit for her impressive marksmanship but all I'm saying is that I may or may not have inspired her to train for weeks and weeks on end so as to utterly decimate the almost seven year-long unbeaten record for how many bullseyes one can land in a short time at Signal's shooting range.

Suffice to say she had that shit locked down with veritable ease, ladies and gents. I still remember how happy she was that day, too. She was smiling brightly for pretty much the rest of the week. Good times.

*Leadership:

During her time at Beacon and beyond it Ruby developed skills as a decisive leader, able to formulate rather impressive tactical plans on dealing with a number of threats to both her and the rest of her team, such as the Nevermore during the initiation and Roman in his theft of Atlas's Paladin. Perhaps Ruby's greatest strength and the whole reason Ozpin gave her the job comes down to her ability to inspire hope in those around her; she always sees the best in people and, despite her social awkwardness, somehow manages to find the right words in the right situation. She may be the smallest amongst us but, when the time calls, she certainly stands the tallest.

(Side note: Even knowing how well she turns out in the show in regards to her position as leader of her team it's still a surprise for me when you've known and grown up with her for the last decade. Stick her in a room full of people she doesn't know and she'll either run straight for me and/or Yang or simply hide in the corner and pretend she doesn't exist. Stick her in a weapons factory and you'll probably need to call the police to have dragged back out before she ends up naming and trying to pocket every last piece she can get her hands on. End of side note.)

*Silver-Eyed Warrior:

Surprise, surprise, the entire lynchpin of our collective salvation is Ruby's most powerful weapon. Behold the greatest punch to the jaw against Salem that the world possesses. Metaphorically, of course.

I'm hopefully in the runnings to be responsible for the physical act of doing so.

Inherited from her mother, Ruby, like those who came before her, will prove instrumental in the safeguarding of Remnant against those big fuckers prowling the world and their malicious master. As a silver-eyed warrior Ruby has the capabilities to utterly devastate hordes of Grimm through the innate power running through her blood and, as seen atop Ozpin's wizarding tower with that flying lizard, can petrify and freeze Grimm into stone. Thankfully it also affects and injures those individuals who might be partially... well, Grimmified I suppose the word would be: Cinder had her shit kicked in despite her relatively partial omnipotence at the time by Ruby's first ever - though accidental - usage of her powers. 

And anything that ruins Cinder's day - and by extension Salem's - is something that we would all be better off keeping in side at all costs.

(Side note: Please see additional comments at the end of this particular file for some more musings on the whole silver-eyed business. I have some ideas that I don't want to write down just here to keep the whole thing relatively organised. End of side note.)

*Aura:

As with the rest of her team and as expected as a Huntress-in-training, Ruby has access to a fully unlocked Aura and the myriad of physical benefits that come with it both in and out of combat. Befittingly it is red in colour as per her adoration of, well, red things. That is all.

(Side note: I don't really need to bother with explaining again the joys and perks that come with having an Aura so I'll save my self the hassle of writing it all down again and sum it up to the following: big funny forcefield that can shrug off blows strong enough to liquify the organs of your average human. When it comes to this particular strength I'll probably just shrug it off with a one off sentence or something, seeing as how almost everyone I'll end up filing down will likely have Aura in some form. End of side note.)

Weaknesses: 

*Over-reliance on Crescent Rose:

My dear little sister with her weapon is like a fucking demon on the field, running around and slashing everything with a pulse that. The little darling without her weapon, however? Not so much. Remember the Mount Glenn arc, when she loses her weapon and is promptly captured by some nameless White Fang goons because of it? Not exactly a stellar showing.

Though my win-loss ratio against her in spars is quite one-sided in her favour, almost every last win that I have managed to scrape together has come through disarming her in some form. In fact, that's how pretty much every fight she ever lost in Signal ended. Both Yang and I have told her many, many times that she can't just rely on just her weapon to see her through in a fight, yet the little angel is as stubborn as we are.

I mean come on, Ruby. You have fucking Aura. A hit even from somebody as small as you with Aura is capable of breaking a rib or four. Punch the fuckers and watch them drop to their knees - it's the only way you'll ever be eye level with anybody, kiddo.

*Over-reliance on Semblance:

Similarly to her weapon Ruby's fighting style is dependent on being able to utilise her speed orientated Semblance simultaneously. The sheer mobility it provides gives her a distinct advantage against Grimm and those who are unable to match or counter her speed, yet this advantage vanishes very bloody quickly the moment she stops moving. Furthermore, as fast as she is it is possible to predict where she'll move in a fight and a proper counter can be made by her opponents, leaving her surprised enough for further attacks to be sent her way. If I see rose petals on my left, I know where her scythe is going to be swung from.

Her mobility is the lynchpin of her staying in the fight - removing that will take her down in short order.

*Inexperienced Silver-Eyed Warrior:

As her powers were only used for the first time by the very end of the third Volume, our winning hand is as of this moment currently nothing more than an unsuited 2-7 hand and, right now, we're about to start sailing the river with fuck all in terms of hope. Unless something changes between now and the Vytal Festival to kickstart her ability to wield her powers - unconsciously or not - this absolute gem of a weapon is useless to us. I will have to see what can be done to rectify this in the near future if possible considering this power of hers will more than likely be essential to dealing with Salem in one way or another, if not at least to help with packing up whole hordes of Grimm on a whim and making life around Remnant that little bit easier.

Hey, the less headaches I have to deal with on a daily basis the better. 

(Side note: Again, see 'additional comments'. End of side note.)

*Close-Quarters Combat:

Unlike her sister who is more or less built for getting up close and personal Ruby, like myself, much prefers to fight at a distance. There's a comfortable safety in not having to flail and dodge an opponents swings, you know? Failing that, she'll go in just close enough to swing at you whilst being far enough that you can't swing back. The joys of having a fuck-off huge scythe almost twice the size of your body. Unfortunately for Ruby, should this strategy fail and she's forced into close quarters then the little darling will be on the backfoot almost immediately.

She isn't as well versed in hand-to-hand combat like Yang and I and, whilst she is improving, she still has a lot to learn.

(Side note: I'll consider her capable when she's able to stop me putting her through an affectionately abusive headlock and my knuckles having their way with her scalp. Until then, I'll just keep telling her she needs to get her tiny arse in gear during sparring. Perhaps broach to her and Yang that she should undergo even more intense sessions of training? Even with Aura I doubt she'd manage half of Tai's personal sessions that he put Yang and I through, but even a lite version of those sessions would do wonders in making Ruby a far more capable in hand-to-hand. End of side note.)

*Endurance:

It should really come as no surprise considering her general squishiness but Ruby isn't exactly built like a brick shithouse like her sister. Similarly to both Weiss and Blake, Ruby is not exactly built for taking hits like Yang is and so any shots that do manage to land square despite her running around like a headless, scythe-wielding chicken is going to hurt. Her Aura reserves aren't exactly as high as mine and her sister's and, whilst she can certainly take a solid hit or two to her Aura, she won't last long against most competent opponents if it comes down to attrition.

*Type 2 Diabetes:

If Salem or Cinder don't get her first, the sugar intake from raiding every bakery from here to Mistral will probably do the trick.

Semblance: Petal Burst.

Long explanation: Ruby's Semblance allows her to dash with an inhuman speed in whatever direction she chooses, often leaving trails of rose petals in her wake. She can gather enough momentum to even cause miniature whirlwinds to occur, which can carry and throw individuals around an area like a pack of marbles being flung threw the air. If I recall correctly Penny even explains that Ruby is capable of disassembling herself at a molecular level to then reassemble herself in whichever space she re-appears in. Very scientific and very bullshit, but we move. Furthermore, she's also seemingly able negate fucking gravity itself while using her Semblance as seen during her final encounter with Neo in the vault before being sent into the Void. 

Short explanation: Roadrunner but on hyper-steroids. 

Overall Strategy:

Secure. Contain. Provide with milk and cookies on a daily basis.

Additional Comments:

As mentioned previously I do wonder if it would be possible in the near future to help bring about Ruby's discovery of her dormant powers far earlier than in canon. I am aware now after some memory searching that Ozpin didn't exactly have much of a plan to go off of in canon beyond keeping Ruby on side and maintaining some sort of status quo by keeping the Relics as far out of Salem's reach as he could but, considering the sheer importance he placed on Ruby and her silver-eyes, I would have thought that he'd have taken her aside within the first fucking week and become her own little stand-in Gandalf or Dumbledore and begun mentoring her in how to properly wield her powers.

Seeing as how fucking busted the power is against Grimm and therefore Salem, why in the hell was he not cultivating that particular strength from day one? 

Now how exactly would I go about giving her the necessary prompt? Considering it was Pyrrha's untimely demise that, combined with everything else she had seen that day, overwhelmed the poor girl and led her powers to instinctively awaken uncontrollably a similar sort of circumstance would do the trick. However I'd rather not start throwing people under the bus this early. I'll just have to find another way.

Last I checked the power is tied into emotions and whatnot, right? Seeing Penny turned into quarters, watching half of the city going up in smoke and then finally walking in on Cindy merking Pyrrha all in short order overwhelmed the little darling and is what sets her off into becoming a mobile anti-Grimm nuke.

Again, I'm not well-versed in my magical bullshittery as much as Ozpin might be, and I don't exactly plan on walking into his office and asking for a crash course. 

So instead of waiting for everything to go to hell before she unlocks her superpowers, I'll need to figure out a way to potentially kickstart her off a little earlier than in canon. It's going to be quite literally our biggest advantage against Salem and those four legged cunts outside. Considering what it took for her to unlock them, however, I'm not sure exactly what I could do to match it without putting the people she loves in harms way.

God forbid I cock up and actually get someone killed. That would fucking suck.

Fuck it, what if I just cut out the middle man and I shoot myself? Either the shock sets her off and we're in business, or I bleed out and all of my issues are rendered moot. That'd be a win-win, right? I'm still very much undecided on this. I shall sleep on it and come back to this another time.

(Side note: Slept on it. Still thinking. End of side note.)

SHOWING FILE - 'Goldilocks'.

Status: Brawling and Balling every other day.

Designation: Still not the eldest child. Fuck off, blondie.

General Information: 

Yang Xiao Long is many things in life and most of them are good. Or, at the very least, tolerable.

She's a dutiful big sister to Ruby and an absolute teasing elder sibling to myself. Kind, adventurous, confident, cheerful to a fault and, despite a hell of a lot of evidence to the contrary that I've seen over the years, can manage to be strikingly mature for her age. At the end of the day she's the boisterous rock of the family and I do so love her dearly, even despite all of my flippant remarks regarding the blonde that are said behind and in front of her

It's all in good fun, blondie. I love you really, of course. Just wish you'd fucking come up with some new material beyond the same wolf jokes you've been making since you were, like, seven years old, you bloody blonde gremlin.

Born to Taiyang Xiao Long - please see file 'The Elder Dragon' - and her estranged mother Raven Branwen - please see file 'Nevermore' -  Yang is the eldest child of the Xiao Long household and the elder sibling of the ever adorable Ruby Rose - please see file 'Little Red Riding Hood'.

Even before I had stepped onto the scene to witness it first hand Yang had, in many ways, been the mother figure that Ruby never really had growing up. With Summer having died years earlier and with Tai being "frozen" as she described in the show, she had effectively stepped into both a maternal and sibling role. That she can so easily swap between the roles is honestly rather impressive when seen in person; I've witnessed first hand how Yang can so easily transition from the boisterous brawling hot-head that we adore so much into a soft speaking and serene motherly figure whenever Ruby was in distress and, honestly, it's astounding.

It's oddly humorous to think back to those days many years ago where a much younger Yang and I basically had to play mummy and daddy to Ruby when Tai was indisposed. The fact that Yang was proving as a child to be a far better mother than an adult Raven could ever hope to be for her is something I find both strangely hilarious and depressing in equal measure.

Of course it was not all sunshine and rainbows for Yang as, during the Festival, she ends up losing her arm, her usual flippancy and ends up going through the motions of everything that had transpired whilst recovering on Patch. Fortunately for her this doesn't last too long as she gets her hands on a prosthetic arm from Tai and Ironman himself. With some moral boosting beatdowns from Tai, Yang is back to kicking arse and, eventually, reunites with the rest of her team in Haven, picking up the most annoying of her teammates along the way.

And, of course, she finally meets her bitch of a mother for the first real time. A real tense scene and one that, unfortunately, I seriously am having troubles remembering how exactly it plays out beyond Mama Xiao Long letting her daughter alongside her proverbial meal ticket fuck off through a portal she makes.

Beyond that however things go just as they did during the show, going from one fuckup to another until everything coalesces into the complete collapse of Atlas itself and everyone getting split between the void and being stranded in Vacuo.

Should I get my way, half of this shite should be avoided and I can give her a very helpful hand in keeping her hand. I just need to beat it into her blonde head that patience is a fucking virtue, to think with her head more than with her fists and that she needs to stop rushing into situations that would otherwise be solved far more effectively through other means.

Like talking, for example. Or just not immediately resorting to brute force.

You know, the things that people do when simply beating the shit out of them is not the only card to play? I mean it worked wonders at Junior's that one time, but I wouldn't have made it my first call. Anyway, if I have to drag her kicking and screaming by the hair to get my point across then, risks to my fuzzy jaw aside, I'll do it with a big smile on my face.

Lord knows she'd do the same to me, I'd like to think.

She's a big ol' softie, is Yang.

Weapon: Ember Celica.

The signature weapons of Yang Xiao Long. They are a pair of Dual Ranged Shot Gauntlets which she can use up close and from a short distance. Ember Celica appear to be a pair of bracelets at first, but when activated, they cover Yang's hands and forearms in gauntlets, acting as arm guards.

As befitting her personality they are brutally effective when Yang gets up close and personal with her opponents. As seen during her fights the force emitted from the weapon is powerful enough to damage the landscape - Junior's dance floor for example was effectively ripped outwards by the force of the weapon's impact. I shudder to think as to how a punch from Yang with this weapon would look against an opponent not protected by Aura.

I assume such an opponent would find themselves short of around about two thirds of their total body mass. Not that I'd be sticking around long enough to confirm that delightful little theory anyway - I am in no mood to play janitor nor to lose my breakfast, thanks.

When not used as blunt objects the weapon is also capable of firing a number of shells - 24 in total when both gauntlets are fully loaded - at an opponent. Similarly to most weapons it can fire Dust rounds but Yang being Yang chooses mostly to stick to her preferred Fire Dust shells. Personally I think she'd fucking love Explosive Dust yet oddly enough she is adamant on sticking to what she has already, though whether this is because it compliments her Semblance and personality or because she's just too prideful to beg Tai for a loan I'm not too sure.

Overall the weapon effectively constitutes a pair of gauntlets that act as both wrist-mounted shotguns and as literal boxing gloves. I'm not sure what else needs to be said beyond them suiting her perfectly - both physically and personality wise.

She likes punching. Ergo, what the fuck else would she ever want in life for a weapon than this?

Honestly, my second best guess would be a flamethrower.

(Side note: I'm hopeful I'll not need to but, should the worst come to pass, I'll update Ember's info if something should happen to Yang's arm that limits the capabilities of the weapon and detail the joys of that prosthetic she'd end up receiving. Hopefully I never need to of course, but I may as well have it prepped and ready. End of side note.)

Strengths:

*Strength:

As if this even needed to be put in. One of her biggest strengths is, un-fucking-surprisingly, her natural strength. Go figure. Even before we had unlocked our collective Aura Yang was doing just fine in proving herself both mine and Ruby's physical superior around the house, blessed by the Gods with both raw strength and an unnatural constitution. But pre-Aura Yang is nothing compared to post-Aura Yang and her already sizeable strength has only increased as the years have gone on; Blondie can lift literal tonnes if she so desires and she has most certainly out lifted every other student who has tried to match her in the gymnasium thus far, Signal and Beacon both.

Whether it's sparring, fighting Grimm or just straight up deciding to slug me in the shoulder for no other reason than because “funny”, Yang is and most certainly will remain one of the most physically capable individuals I know in terms of raw, physical strength.

Lucky for some, I suppose.

*Aura:

As with the rest of her team and as expected as a Huntress-in-training, Yang has access to a fully unlocked Aura and the myriad of physical benefits that come with it both in and out of combat. Furthermore, Yang has the strongest and highest Aura reserves on her team. Yellow in colour.

*Close-Quarters Combat:

Unlike her sister Yang is far more accustomed to taking the fight right up close and personal where her talents, weapon and Semblance can be used to full effect. Having been training under her martial artist of a father for many years and with a Semblance to match her strengths Yang is a beast in close quarters, delivering absolutely devastating hooks left, right and centre with a myriad of chokes, uppercuts and everything else under the sun involving her two favoured limbs. This girl is quite literally able to fucking suplex Beowolves if she so desires.

This isn't a joke, by the way. I have seen it in person. Shit is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

(Side note: Her fighting style would be very much enhanced if she were to figure out how to use her damn legs more in a fight, but I have made some progress since Signal began to the point that she has recently begun to start throwing roundhouses and front kicks every so often during spars rather than simply throwing hands and trying to break my jaw. Should hopefully have her putting up better offense and defence against those more martially competent than the average goon - Neo and Mercury specifically. End of side note.)

*Kinetic Energy Absorbtion:

Perfectly complimenting her balls-to-the-walls offense Yang has the ability to absorb energy from the damage she has taken in a fight to redirect it back twice as hard towards her opponent(s), effectively making her stronger with each blow she absorbs. If she wishes, said energy can also be stored up to be used later on for an even more devastating attack, though said energy does slowly whittle away over an extended period of time.

This ability to soak up tonnes of damage before throwing it right back out at twice the output is a simply ludicrously powerful strength of hers and it has quite literally carried her to victory in a fair few of her fights. And by a few I do mean almost every notable fight she's ever been in where some effort is required on her end.

You punch her and she will just take it on the chin whilst being about two seconds away from shattering yours.

Weaknesses: 

*Over-reliance on Semblance:

Ooh, look at me, my name's Yang and my Semblance effectively acts as an instant-win in almost any and every fight I get into on account of how fucking broken it is in a fight. I also overuse it to fuck and my only strategy in a fight is to absorb every hit that I can in a fight and returning to sender with swift, lethal blows that, whilst certainly effective, make me very, very susceptible to not using any other tactic beyond relying far too much on my cheat of a Semblance and punching my way to victory.

Boy oh boy, I sure do hope I don't encounter anyone capable of dodging every punch I throw and countering every move I make with ease, or anyone with an equally busted Semblance capable of cutting through my own like a hot knife through butter. That would be a real shame, I think.

*Predictability:

As mentioned before, dear ol' Yang is very predictable when it comes to what she's going to do. Her entire strategy revolves around looking at her opponent and promptly calculating how many times she has to punch them in the mouth before they keel over. An effective strategy I will admit, and one that I'm kind of fond of myself, albeit replacing normal punches with Dust rounds. Cathartic or not her dogmatic approach to a fight however - alongside her tendency to become frustrated when she can't land said punches - leaves her very much open for being countered in some obvious form or another; whittling her down from afar like I do being one example, whilst simply dancing around her and countering with swift, decisive blows like Neo being another.

*Long-Range Combat:

Now I'm a pragmatic man at heart and, in my experience, I wholeheartedly believe that one should always see about dispatching their foes from afar to reduce the risk of them getting close enough to stick a knife between your ribs. This is why I do believe that, despite having those admittedly kickarse gauntlets with the ability to fire shotgun shells at close-to-medium distances, Yang not having something to deal with more ranged opponents - like myself or Ruby - is a pretty big weakness.

Hell, it's literally one of the only reasons why I'm now able to beat her in a fair few of our spars. Not having a counter to long ranged opponents beyond trying to close the distance as fast as she can to pummel them into the ground leaves her Aura open to be fucking peppered into the red.

*Temperament:

It wouldn't be a complete list of drawbacks for Ying-Yang over here without mentioning the fact that, despite her usual flippant, laidback personality, she's also quite quick to anger sometimes and this becomes very apparent during a fight. Her anger, usually quite a good source of strength, can end up fucking her over in how it takes out her coordination and leaves her throwing wild strikes with little in the way of precision or finesse. This is best seen on the train when she went toe-to-toe with Neo and got her pretty blonde arse kicked around the carriage, only being saved from the merry little midget by the sudden appearance of mother dearest.

Anger is a good fuel source to burn until it ends up overheating, and with Yang she's quite prone to burning the fuck up. Sure hope I can get that through her thick skull before she does something rather silly, like throwing unprepared hands against Remnant's equivalent to Jetstream Sam.

Semblance: Burn.

Where Ruby's Semblances focuses on speed, Yang's is the opposite, focusing entirely on strength. With her Semblance she has the ability to absorb energy from attacks she has sustained before redirecting it towards her opponent, essentially making her even stronger with every blow she can endure. This energy she absorbs can be stored up for an even more devastating attack later on, allowing her to surprise a future opponent early on in an engagement, though it does seem to expire after a while of inactivity.

Interestingly enough she seems to draw some - if not all - of her Semblance's power from her hair of all places, which goes a long way to explaining why she keeps it long, unruly and untouched by those she doesn't trust, with the only exceptions to this being her immediate family.

So remember kids - you punch her, she punches you back twice as hard. Rinse and repeat until either she caves in your skull or she takes a blow she can't absorb.

Nine out of ten times it's the former.

(Side note: What exactly would happen regarding her Semblance if I shaved her in her sleep? She all but refuses to have it cut and the only times she's ever been reluctant to do so it's either been by herself or by Tai. Is it the actual power source, or a conduit? Fuck knows, but I reckon it would be hilarious to test. End of side note.)

Overall Strategy:

Book blondie a spot on a comedy course or something. My eldest adoptive sibling needs to learn more than just the same animal puns she's been using since she was a girl. They were funny the first five times she used them - the comedic value drops after they hit the triple digits.

Additional Comments:

To be honest, compared to Ruby I don't really have much else to say for my favourite blonde in the whole wide world. Unlike the little red goblin Yang doesn't have any ground-breaking powers locked away that we are all supposedly unaware of and so is somehow the more normal of my siblings, despite the fact that she can set her hair on fire and is capable of punching a literal hole straight through the side of a tank like it were a boot through plywood.

She'll be fine as she is, though of course this is dependent on how the next year goes in regards to what happens during the Vytal Festival.

I'm all for character development, but I'm not too sure I can positively stomach it stemming from Adam maiming her the way he does. Astoundingly cool robot arm or not, I love Yang dearly, and I'll be damned if I let that horned cunt hurt her the way he did. She can find another way to getting her hands - or hand depending - on a cool, Atlesian robot arm.

So long as she doesn't expect me to be paying for it, of course. Tai does exist for a reason beyond being best dad, after all.I shit you not, the guy is like a veritable bank with how much he's able to finance his three kids in their absurdly expensive-explosive ventures over here.

I love him dearly for it, but me and Yang should really get, like, a day job or something so as to at least try and dent his expenditures on our behalf. 

(Side note: You know, I like to joke about it, but how exactly does Tai manage to scrape enough Lien together to finance his daughters and I? The wage for a teaching job is not that grand here to be propping me up individually, let alone the three of us combined. I can only guess then that either Qrow, Ozpin or both are financially supporting him in some manner. My money - or Tai's money to be exact - is on Oz' and, if I had to theorise why, I would put it up to perhaps guilt. Considering her burgeoning priorities in motherhood and the likes, I refuse to believe Summer went out on the mission that left Tai a single father of two girls and an eventual borderline son with Raven without Ozzo having some form of hand in why she fucked off into the wilds and died.

Some Lien for child maintenance is I suppose the least he could do? Or maybe I am just chatting shit. A theory is - at least until it ends up cunting me in the face - just a theory, I suppose. Maybe one day I'll see about finding an answer to at least one of the mysteries plaguing me these days. End of side note.)

SAVING CHANGES TO FOLDER - "The Main Players".

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ADMINISTRATOR HAS REBOOTED PROTOCOL 11. PROTOCOL 11 WILL INITIATE ON NEXT SYSTEM STARTUP. 

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ADMINISTRATOR LOGGING OFF. SYSTEMS SHUTTING DOWN. GOODBYE, WOLFY.