10 - ||

We showed up outside Peter's classroom, which he had obviously donated to the Old Bastard for today's activities as he stood outside the door. "Over here everyone, jolly good!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands together.

I made a show of turning around, trying to spot the Old Bastard or the twins. "Uh, no offence Peter, but isn't Tob supposed to be here?" I asked scratching my head as I did so.

Peter chortled heartily. "Quite right my boy, he's waiting for you inside along with the twins." He answered me, before he reached behind his back. "But before you all go in, you need to put on these first."

With that Peter bought his hand back towards us to reveal four equally uniform lengths of black cloth, ones that bought quite the reaction from Ren.

"Where on Remnant did you get those?" He gasped, acting as if the simple pieces of cloth were instead made of diamond instead of…

I frowned and narrowed my eyes as I stared closer at the fabric.

What the heck is that made of?

Peter's eyebrows raised in shock for a moment before settling again. "Ah, yes, well, let's just say it's a legacy of a misspent youth with Tob shall we?" He chuckled lightly before his gaze seemed to focus on Ren for a second. "Although I am quite surprised that you know what these are, Mr Lie." He said quietly.

Ren flinched back, his expression flickering for a moment looking…

Remorseful?

What am I missing here?

Peter coughed lightly, drawing my attention back towards him as he gestured towards the strips of cloth. "These are called…" Peter hesitated for a moment, his gaze wavering towards Ren again before he shook his head, "Well it doesn't really matter what these are called. What matters is what they do."

Peter gestured me to come forward and I did so, and he placed the fabric over my eyes, quickly tying a knot in the back to ensure it wouldn't slip.

Whoa.

I mean I know this is supposed to act as a blindfold, stop me from seeing anything and all that, but I didn't think it would be this effective. I can't see anything. It's like every light source beyond this blindfold, from the bright lights to the radiant sunshine has simply vanished, like someone just flipped the switch off.

I heard Peter's voice speak up again, apparently having moved along to place the blindfold on the others after placing my own by the sound of his voice. "The fabric has a rather strange ability in that it is an extremely effective absorber of all forms of light. If someone places it over one's eyes for instance then it is utterly impossible for any light to reach them, thus rendering them, for the most part, utterly useless." He lectured, the sound of his shoes clacking on the floor filling my ears, before the unmistakable sound of the door creaking open reached my ears.

He wasn't kidding. I've had better vision on moonless nights in the middle of Freshwater Forest than I have right now.

"Since you're so reliant on your eyes, Tob and I threw together this little makeshift recreation of one of our own training techniques to help you to shall we say, break the habit, before it becomes any more pronounced." He continued again, walking forward to where I presumed the door remained unless it had somehow moved in the time I had the blindfold placed over my eyes.

"Your task is simple. Walk into the classroom, collect the relic that shall be waiting on one of the desks and return again, without being waylaid by anything that might be lying in wait within."

I felt a shiver run down my spine at that.

Oh God.

The Old Bastard and the Twins.

Working together.

This did not bode well for us.

"When you fail the first time, and rest assured you will fail the first time. We'll step back, review what you did wrong and take steps to address it." Peter said firmly before he paused and I swore I could feel a sunny smile came over his face. "And then we'll do it all over again until you get it right." Peter said brightly, eyes no doubt beaming away.

I fought back the urge to swallow loudly.

The last time I'd heard Peter sound this happy about my training he'd thrown me off a cliff.

An actual cliff.

I still bore the scars from that encounter.

This might not have been my brightest idea.

May as well get it over with.

I walked forward slowly, my previously quite footsteps now sounding like thunderclaps as I blindly advanced trying to construct the image of the classroom in my head.

Okay, Jaune let's review.

At the front of the room is Peter's desk as well as the bust of himself that we gave him for his birthday.

The door is to the right of that when exiting so as we're going into the room, now it's on our right. Seems easy enough.

The desks are four rows deep, staggered upwards, with a staircase in the middle splitting the two cleanly in half.

A few mock Grimm heads mounted around the room.

Chalkboards at the front, Peter's Blunderaxe in its cradle above the wall.

What else?

The steps of my other teammates reached my ears, informing me that they too were inside this impromptu maze with me.

"Any ideas where this relic might be?" I murmured quietly, trying to discern who was where.

The heavy, flat footed steps are unmistakably Nora, the very sound of it baring all the trademarks of her usual subtlety.

Namely, none at all.

The second set was quieter, but still easily audible to my ears. That in itself may not have given much away but the rhythm to the steps was perfect, unerring in the slightest even now.

Pyrrha in all likelihood.

But it was the final set that gave me pause. Mostly due to the fact I couldn't hear any.

There may have been all four of us in this room, put it was damn near impossible for me to put a location on Ren.

I'd always known that he could be quiet, I mean he was a naturally quiet guy most of the time, but I guess it didn't really sink in much because I'd still been able to see him.

But now.

It was damn near disconcerting.

Maybe Nora's claims of Ren being half-ninja weren't as far off as I first thought.

"Presumably somewhere we'd be able to instantly spot with our eyes." Ren's voice manifested behind me, my body nearly swinging around to attack him on instinct as he 'appeared' behind me.

"The desks perhaps?" Pyrrha's voice put forward, hazarding a guess.

I shrugged before quickly remembering that no one would be able to see me do it. "Sounds like a plan." I said causally under my breath, stepping forward once more.

KA-KLICK

Uh-oh.

I know that noise.

And I know what comes next.

"Down!" I yelled tackling whoever it was nearest to me to the ground as I felt my hair ruffle as the bean-bag round glanced off my ear.

Man, that stings.

Hurts even more when it hits you.

Okay so I know the Old Bastard is in the room with me.

With a few bean-bag rounds, can't forget those additions.

I know where the first shot came from but there's no guarantee that he's still there.

He can be a stealthy son of a gun when he wants to be.

And something tells me he wants to be.

I pushed a hand against the ground to push myself up only to freeze as I felt the ground beneath it give way slightly.

Blast.

This is probably going to be unpleasant.

SPROING

And with that I was sent spinning through the air as the springboard under my hand released, sending me to collide with a thump with…something.

A feminine 'oof' following the familiar sound of someone colliding with something at speed led me to guess that either Nora or Pyrrha had been sent flying as well.

A wheezing groan sounded out that I took to be Ren's before the familiar sound of a body crumpling reached me as well.

So three of us down, that leaves the one left as either Pyrrha…

"WHEE!" I hear Nora's voice squeal happily before I heard the sound of what I guessed was a table breaking in half fill the room.

Scratch that, it's definitely not Pyrrha.

But on the bright side we're now four from four and we just got our asses kicked.

So, not really much a bright side at all really.

"Well. That was pathetic." The Old Bastard's voice growled out, seemingly musing. "I mean it wasn't unexpected, but it was still blasted cringe worthy watching you fools stumble about. Kids these days, what are they teaching you?"

"To be fair, I usually only start teaching this to my third year classes." Peter's voice echoed out in response to the Old Bastard's grumblings.

I pulled the blindfold away from my eyes, flinching away from the harsh sudden reappearance of light, blinding in its intensity before it faded again.

Looks like the Grimm Studies classroom has undergone a bit of a makeover since the last time we were here.

Makkuro and Mashiro had gone to town on this place, trip wires attached to noisemakers, buckets full of dubious contents, impromptu barricades formed of their 'Super-Silly String' placed seemingly at random around the room, one of which had Pyrrha entangled within it, who in trying to extract herself from it had succeeded in only further tangling herself within it. Makkuro and Mashiro were currently spraying her down with the solvent that caused it to easily break apart.

Ren was hanging upside down from what appeared to be a rudimentary snare trap, but the variety of different coloured bean bag rounds and the way his hands were holding his crotch gave me more than a slight idea of where the Old Bastard may have tagged him.

And Nora looked raring to go again as she brushed splinters off her dress as she pulled herself from the broken remains of what was once Peter's desk.

The Old Bastard made an effort to roll his eyes before wheeling himself back to the top of the room. "Set it up again, and try not to fail quite so pathetically will you Laddie?"

I groaned in response.

This was setting up to be a loooooong training session.

Hours later after darkness had fallen I stumbled in through the door, half of my face coloured a shocking neon green and with my right shoe stubbornly sticking to the floor with every step I took before I collapsed onto my bed with a groan. "Ow." I muffled out through my pillow.

Ren stumbled in behind me, still detangling one arm from some Super Silly String he'd been caught in on the last attempt. "I second the motion of Ow." He snarked before falling onto his own bed.

Pyrrha stepped in behind him, straining some kind of foul smelling concoction from her hair as she did so, one of her shin guards lightly smoking. "That was…an experience." She put finally, lying down on her bed with a thankful sigh.

Nora came in last, a wide grin on her face and peppered with bruises from where she'd essentially been assaulted with bean bag rounds at the end by the Old Bastard. "Are you kidding, that was awesome!" She cheered bouncing into the room.

I chuckled at that, pushing a strand of green hair out of my face. "Never change Nora." I said with a laugh before grimacing as some of the green paint came away onto my hand as well.

Great.

"The person I watched die was my father." Pyrrha's voice spoke up suddenly.

I pushed myself up from the bed, turning to face her as she leant against the headboard of her own bed.

"My father." Pyrrha breathed, her shoulders shaking once as she said it but straightening as if she was forcing herself to. "It was my father."

There was silence for a moment Pyrrha closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again

"When I was a girl I was…very much different to how I was now. I was stronger and faster than any of the other children my age, and I knew it." She started, sounding ashamed of it for some reason.

"My mother was my hero, a huntress, a warrior that went off to fight the monsters like a knight in shining armour. But being a huntress is a very demanding job, you can be assigned almost anywhere, be gone for long stretches of time." She continued on focusing on a seemingly empty spot on the wall as she did so

"So while my mother was certainly my hero, it was my father who raised me. My father wasn't a huntsman. No I don't think he'd ever thrown a punch in his life. He was an inventor, the son of the smith who made the armour and weapons of my family. He kept trying to push the boundaries, to not just reverse engineer lost tech, but to make something entirely of his own, something new. Through that job he met my mother and they fell in love. Father was a good man, kind, noble, gentle and above all a loving father."

I smiled lightly at that. Sounds like we've just learned the reason Pyrrha's always been such a nice girl.

"But I didn't care."

Or maybe not.

"In my young deluded eyes, my father was an idiot, a coward, someone who refused to go out there and be a hero, to be like my mother. He was weak and worse, a pacifist. As a result of my misconception I was rather…cruel regarding my interactions with my father. With anyone that wasn't my mother." Pyrrha confessed pausing a moment. "Heartless even."

"I was arrogant, self-entitled and above all else an ungrateful little brat of child, who had no idea as to the true value of what I was so casually wasting. But despite all that, despite all the utterly horrid things I subjected my father to, he'd simply smile, pat me on the head, and tell me that he loved me."

Sounds like a good man.

"Until one day when I decided that since I was my mother's daughter I should be out fighting Grimm too, so I snuck out of school and went looking for trouble. And I found it."

Oh no.

"It was an Alpha Beowolf, without a pack thankfully, but still it seemed positively terrifying to me. I froze in sheer fear. I was helpless before it, just another snack to be eaten."

I could just imagine it, a frightened child before the monster, terrified.

"And then my father saved me. Scooping me up off the ground and flying into the air, placing me out of the monster's reach. He was wearing some sort of jetpack that I'd never seen working before, something he'd always been tinkering away with but never got to work. He looked down at the Alpha Beowolf, then back at me before he hugged me tightly and placed me atop one of the branches in the tree. 'Pyrrha. You be good for me while I'm gone okay? I love you.'"

I closed my eyes.

I can guess what came next.

"And with that he left me there atop the tree and charged the Grimm below, zooming in like a human rocket and when he did…he…"

Pyrrha stopped here for a moment, apparently finding it too hard to say what fate had befallen her father. I went to approach her to try and comfort her before she held out a hand, drawing in a deep shaky breath. "The jetpack exploded, all the dust within it unleashing the full force of its potential in that instant. When the light had faded away the only thing left was a smoking crater, no monster, no father. Nothing."

Nora gasped, tears in her eyes while Ren had a sadden look upon his face as well.

Blast it.

That was a situation I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy.

"Mother found me shortly afterwards and the next few days were…emotional for all of us. I didn't leave my room for days. Until I received a package in the mail. From my Father. He'd sent it earlier in the week, trying to surprise me. Inside of it were Milo, Akoúo and this." Pyrrha said, indicating her bronze circlet headpiece. "From that day on I strived to become someone worthy of my father's love, and well the rest is history."

There was silence for a moment as we all thought over what had been said, what had been told to us by Pyrrha, how very vulnerable she looked right now.

Nora and Ren looked at me, obviously expecting me to say something to Pyrrha.

Which would be fine if I knew what the hell I'm supposed to say in a situation like that.

'Sorry your dad died for you?' didn't really seem to cut it.

I coughed lightly clearing my throat as I cantered my thoughts. "Pyrrha." I started, drawing her attention towards me. "I don't know much about who you were back then, or what you might have done. But I'll tell you what I do know. I know that you, Pyrrha Nikos, are without a doubt one of the kindest, loyalist, bravest and all around best people I've ever had the fortune of meeting." I said finally, Pyrrha blinking in shock at my admission. "I may have never met your father but I can guarantee you, he must be the proudest father there is looking down on you."

"Here here." Ren said quietly, a small smile on his face as he nodded.

"Ya-huh" Nora agreed, nodding her head rapidly. "You're good people Pyrrha. And you always will be."

Pyrrha blinked again at that, before a wide grin appeared on her face even as tears slid down it. "Thank you." She whispered quietly, closing her eyes as she did so.

I just leant my head back against my pillow and smiled softly.

Oh that's right I never got around to talking to the others about what I saw last night.

"After I collapsed at the dance last night I remembered something." I said speaking up, my mouth suddenly dry for some reason. "I saw my mother." I said softly, still in disbelief at that fact even now.

Silence.

And then…

"Wait, WHAT!?" Nora squawked falling out of her bed as she spun to face me.

I saw Ren sit up suddenly too, a look of concern on his face.

And Pyrrha?

Pyrrha lifted me from the bed and levelled a death glare at me, causing me to swallow nervously.

Maybe I should have mentioned this earlier.

"Talk." Pyrrha enunciated slowly, her laser like gaze not moving in the slightest.

And so I told them.

Told them about the shining white figure that had been my mother.

Told her how she had been fighting to protect me from another figure who I could only describe as dark, either as small as Ruby or as big as a house, and the one mark that remained constant the whole time.

Of my mother's final words to me.

And then of falling.

"So yeah, that's all I remember." I finished, one hand going up to move the particularly stubborn green strand of hair that insisted in going over my eyes.

Ren's eyes were unfocused, his mind clearly going over what I'd said.

Nora looked as if she'd finally understood what had been bothering her all day, but didn't look particularly happy now that she had that knowledge.

Pyrrha had released the hold she'd had on my head at some point and had sat down next to me on the bed as I'd talked. "Jaune…I-"

"It's late." I said, interrupting her, turning over to face the other way. "And we've got a mission tomorrow.

I knew what I was doing wasn't exactly mature, but honestly?

I didn't care at this point.

I felt exhausted, like I'd run for days.

I needed the rest.

And before I even knew it I found myself drifting off to sleep.

"X-RAYYYYYYYYYYY AND VAAAAAAAAAAAAAAV-"

I blindly picked up my scroll from my bedside table, my bleary eyes taking in who was calling me at…three A.M!?

Ruby Rose?

She's still on her mission right?

I answered the phone with a yawn, forcing myself to stay awake. "Ruby?" I asked sleepily, one hand going up to rub one of my eyes.

I pulled the phone away from my ear as an ear splitting shriek rang out of it followed by some garbled static before the call abruptly ended.

What the?

I hit the redial button only to promptly be informed that Ruby's scroll was currently unavailable to reach.

I frowned at that, placing the scroll back on the table and laying my head back down on my pillow.

Granted not being able to connect to Ruby's scroll was not exactly unexpected. Last I checked they were headed out to Quadrant 5, and the harsh ruins of Mountain Glenn weren't exactly filled with stable connections.

But still…

"Why did you call me Ruby?" I murmured, staring up at the ceiling.

Something felt…off.

The next morning freshly showered and fed, team JNPR began making its way to the landing pads where the bullhead waiting to take us to our mission awaited.

"I'm sure their fine." Pyrrha said reassuringly as we walked towards our transport towards the village, the four of us still talking about why Ruby may have called last night.

"I don't know." I hemmed, the disconcerting feeling that had been floating in my stomach not having faded an ounce since last night.

Nora shrugged. "Probably a bad dial." Nora suggested, sounding unconcerned but her eyes did drift towards the unusually tense Ren.

"Team RWBY has always performed admirably in the field." Ren said tersely, his gaze not hesitating in the slightest. "We should be focusing on our own mission."

Whoa.

Focus is one way of putting it.

Nora jumped forward in front of Ren spontaneously trying in her own way to get her old friend to untense from whatever it was this mission seemed to bring up in him.

Something thumped into the back of my ankle, reminding me of the other people seeing us off to the Bullhead. "Quit worrying over things you can't change laddie, and focus on what you can." The Old Bastard said bluntly, spitting a wad of something into a bush as we passed it. "Keep your heads on straight out there you hear? This is no time to be playing games."

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. "I know, I know." I acknowledged, running a hand through my hair. "I just…I've got a bad feeling." I admitted, feeling immature even as I said it aloud.

"Jaune-" Pyrrha admonished but whatever she was going to say as a sound came from the direction of the city and we all turned to face it, all conversation dying.

Smoke.

There was a massive plume of smoke rising from the city.

Fire?

Then came the sound, the sirens blaring loud and constantly, seemingly burring into your ears and into your brain such was the intensity of it.

I felt the blood in my veins turn to ice.

I knew that siren.

I'd heard it once before.

In Freshwater.

Grimm.

I spun turning to face the Old Bastard. "Tob-"

"Get going laddie." He roared pointing towards the bullhead, as his wheelchair spun on a dime and zoomed back towards the academy.

"New mission." I said bluntly, leaving no room for discussion for the matter as I sprinted towards the ship, my teammates keeping pace with me. As Ren went to step aboard I stopped him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Ren, we'll have to make it out to the village another time." I said, half stating, half apologizing for the delay.

Ren grimaced but nodded, fully aware of what those sirens meant.

I thumped my fist twice on the pilot door, signalling we were all aboard. "Take us into the city! Now!"

The bullhead roared off the tarmac, the pilot pushing the machine to its limits as we soared towards the city while the rest of us readied our weapons.

I breathed in deeply before exhaling, my hand tightening around the grip to my sword.

Again.

Even here, in mighty Vale, the Grimm can pierce through the cities defences apparently.

I just hope we get there in time.

Grimm kill fast.

"There!" Pyrrha called out, spotting the head of a King Taijitu raising out above the buildings.

I spotted a group drawing the Grimm's attention on a raised platform, buying the citizens time to make it to the shelters.

Wait a second is that…

"I think I found out what Ruby was calling about." I called out over the rushing wind, seeing colourful flashes of dust and gunfire explode around the clearing.

Ren's eyes scanned the battlefield before focusing on the giant snake Grimm currently dominating the landscape. "Nora! Can you take care of that?" He called out, pointing out to the massive beast as he did so.

Nora grinned. "I got it!" Nora called, Magnhild extending into Warhammer form with a twirl, Nora quickly standing on the hammer's head.

Pyrrha and I ducked down and extended our shields into a shield wall against Nora's hammer, Ren standing behind us and affixing himself to the floor of the Bullhead with an application of Aura.

"Good hunting." I called out, Nora simply grinning before she pulled the trigger launching herself like a bullet towards the giant Grimm.

As Nora soared the bullhead banked around a murder of giant Nevermores before coming up on a relatively clear space on the battle ground, perfect for a drop off point.

I banged twice on the door. "Thanks for the lift!" I called out before leaping from the ship and hitting the ground with a roll, to bleed off the acceleration.

I turned to face the others, Nora casually somersaulting back to land next to us after flattening the King Taijitu's head. "We need to keep them focused here! If we let the spread out the wave of fear from the citizens will send them into a frenzy!" I shouted out, remembering those first fatal moments at the breach of Freshwater's wall.

The others nodded, weapons raising up as the Grimm finally began to acknowledge our presence on the battlefield.

"Let's move!" Pyrrha cried out, and like that we were away, diving into the seething mass of monsters that was the outpouring of Grimm before us.

A fast moving Creep zoomed towards me, talons outstretched before I backhanded it away with my shield towards Ren who promptly kicked its squealing form into the rest of the pack that had been attempting to ambush us.

That was easy.

A heavy thump sounded behind me and I spun to see an Ursa Major towering over me, before it bent down and roared in my face.

The last time I fought one of these one on one I ended up in the med bay.

Candidus Mors erupted from the top of the Grimm's head like a shiny white horn before I yanked it out from where I'd impaled it through its chin, leaving the Grimm to collapse bonelessly behind me as I moved on to the next target.

That being said, last time one shoulder was dislocated, I didn't have a sword and had to stay in a straight line.

Now who's next?

I leapt off a crumpled wreck of what was once a car to slam both my feet into a Beowolf's spine, sending it crashing to the ground with a whine, before my sword spun in a murderous arc, disembowelling the startled pack around me before slamming it into the skull of the twitching monster beneath me before surging forward once more.

Well I say one thing we certainly weren't hard pressed to find new enemies after the old ones were dead as they poured out of the ragged hole in the ground, charging in every direction in search of fresh kills.

I heard a screech as I looked up to see a Creep descending from the skies, somehow having leapt up to attack from the roof before suddenly Ren appeared next to it in mid-air in a blur of motion and crashed his foot into it.

At which point the being went being a single object, into a bloody mist with a drizzle of bloody chunks.

I swallowed at that.

Honestly why does Ren even use Stormflower?

I heard a shriek and turned to see someone trapped in front of a storefront, obviously trying to have made a break for it and fallen short.

It was a dark skinned boy, a civilian by the look of him holding up a metal baseball bat with both hands as an improvised weapon, his legs shaking but keeping the much smaller form of his younger brother kept firmly behind him, and not one but two Ursa Majors roaring at him.

I blurred forward, hurdling an errant swipe from a Beowolf as I approached them from the side, raising up my shield and crash tackling the massive bear Grimm from the side, slamming it into its companion and sending them to the ground with a crash.

I pushed myself from up off the ground where the push had left me, turning to face the now frozen civilians before me. The door to the storefront unlocked and the door was flung open, a much larger version of the two boys in front of me pulling the two inside before locking it again.

The two elder Grimm had picked themselves off the ground now and threw themselves at me and I didn't have any more time to worry about the people in the shop as I fended off a flurry of slashes from claws and weaved out of the way of the jagged bone shards extending out of their backs as they charged by me.

I managed to block the first Ursa's charge as it rounded on me again with my shield, but was forced to block the oncoming slash of the second with my sword, the two pressing against me but so far unable to reach me, the two of them locked in place just as much as I was.

I cursed as I saw an elder Beowolf round the corner as I struggled with the two Ursa Majors in front of me. The Grimm's eyes glowed as it spotted me, unable to respond to it without opening myself up to attack from its bear brethren and crouched down in preparation to leap at my immobile form.

Damn this could get a bit dicey.

The Beowolf's front legs had just left the ground when its skull exploded without warning, a ragged bloody mess left where its head used to be.

Who was that? I glanced quickly across the battlefield to see everyone else engrossed in their own conflicts.

A second later a familiar cracking sound split the air as the sound of the bullet firing finally caught up with the bullet itself.

Took your time, you Old Bastard.

I grinned and threw myself back into the conflict, letting the arm holding Candidus Mors fall limp before disembowelling the Ursa in front of me as it suddenly found itself stumbling forward while I deflected the swipe of its other bear-like friend before it sat back with a howl as the arm it used to strike me was blown away at the shoulder. The beast's cries were silenced as I cleaved its head from its shoulders, landing with a thump behind it.

I turned to leap towards another group of enemies when I spotted a Nevermore that had been flying overhead suddenly plummet to the ground and smash into its unsuspecting comrades with all the grace of a collapsing building, a bloody void where it's eye used to be.

The cracking sound finally catching up to the bullet that slew the monstrosity filled the air moments later.

I smirked at that.

Show off.

"Nobody move, Junior Detectives!" I heard a voice cry out, and I turned incredulously to face whoever would be stupid enough to say something lik…and it's Sun and Neptune.

Of course it's Sun and Neptune.

"We have badges so you know it's official." Neptune added, casually bumping fists with Sun as they had their bro moment.

Oho I am going to murder them when this is all over.

Suddenly the air seemed to shake from the force of the loudest engines I'd ever heard. I looked up and had to fight from keeping my jaw from dropping as the flagship of the Atlas airships appeared in the sky, majestic in its sheer immensity, only further complemented by the flotilla of smaller passenger and gunships flying around it.

Lines of tracer fire began descending from on high, cutting into the ranks of the Grimm and unleashing a cacophony of roars and shrieks.

I nearly jumped out of my skin as a Beowolf I was going to attack was suddenly crushed by a descending form, which stood up and was revealed to be an Elysium Knight, the latest unmanned fighter in Atlas' mechanical army.

Reinforcements may be here, but we're not out of the woods yet. The Grimm are still coming.

I ducked under a snarling Beowolf as it leapt at me, spinning around a rolling Boarbatusk only to stab its venerable belly as it bounced off a wall. I stopped for a moment gasping, observing the battlefield. I watched as Pyrrha fashioned an oversized nail out of a light pole with her semblance which Nora promptly used to over-penetrate a screeching Deathstalker's armour, its pincers flailing as it perished.

I saw Neptune of all people here, snapping out with a kick at an Ursa with such force that its head was launched clean from its body, while Emerald went to town on a rush of Grimm with a pair of revolvers.

I heard something creep up behind me, and spun weapons raised to defend myself only to sigh in relief as I found it was only another Elysium Knight, relaxing my hold on my weapons.

Jeez, those things can be quiet when they want to be.

Good thing they're on our side.

The android stopped in front of me for a moment, scanning me for a moment, probably standard procedure or something like that.

I frowned for a moment as I realised that this android differed from the rest in that it didn't appear to be carrying a rifle like the rest of them had been, in fact it was seemingly empty handed.

The robot looked up at me and for a moment I swore I saw a flicker of…something…in the otherwise blank face of the machine.

Then its right arm launched at me, quick as a flash.

I went to bring up my shield but I was shocked, caught off guard and it was a poor block sending me spinning through the air to slam into one of the parked cars on the street, my shield clattering out of my hands.

My vision was blurry as I went to stand up, my head ringing from the impact only to swear and roll out of the way as the Elysium Knight slammed its fist where my head used to be, going through the car's engine block like it was tinfoil.

I landed on my feet, eyes narrowed. I don't know what the heck is going on with this blasted thing, but I'm going to go with the time honoured strategy of kill it before it kills me.

I lashed out with Candidus Mors, aiming to cut its head clean off its shoulders at what looked like a weaker point in its armour on its neck.

Problem solved.

The android's hand whipped up catching my blade between the tips of its artificial fingers and thumb as if it were made of foam, halting my blow in its entirety,

My eyes widened in shock.

Oh you have got to be kidding me.

The Elysium Knight's free hand moved, clenching around my throat as it lifted me off the ground, my feet scrabbling for a purchase that I couldn't find as it wrenched Candidus Mors out of my hand.

I gasped for air, one hand going up to try to loosen the force around my throat while the other clenched into a fist and slammed into its faceplate with all the strength I had, doing little more than causing that blasted thing's head to tilt back slightly and the dark spots at the edge of my vision to extend further.

I pulled uselessly at the death grip around my throat, desperate for air as my feet dangled uselessly, my sword and shield beyond my reach.

If this went on any longer, I wasn't going to lose.

I was going to die.

It was at that point the Elysium Knight's chest exploded, a hand erupting from its chest with a glowing core held tightly within it before crumpling it with horrific force.

The at that point unstoppable android collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut to reveal Peter Port standing behind it after he'd apparently ripped it's figurative heart from its chest to kill it, his Blunderaxe held casually in his other hand.

The hand holding the android's core dropped it and caught me before I collapsed to the floor as I coughed and spluttered, taking in great gulps of air. "Easy there Jaune, my boy, deep breaths." Peter said calmly, holding the entire weight of my body with one hand easily, his eyes locked on mine.

My vision steadied, the frenzied breaths I'd been taking falling back into line with my regular rate as I slowly calmed down, the adrenaline that had been surging through my veins slowly dying down, my wheezes subsiding.

Peter nodded apparently happy with my progress. "Right then, we're just about done here and the last few Grimm are being mopped up as we speak. How about you and I go re-join our comrades in the centre of the park?" He asked, moustache bouncing wildly.

It was at that point the android from before leapt up, gaping hole in its chest revealing whirring gears and pistons, throwing itself towards the back of Peter.

Only for the barrel of Peter's Blunderaxe to meet it mid-leap the resulting explosion from the gun going off reducing the machine's head to a gaping void. The machine stayed down this time.

Peter pulled back his Blunderaxe from where he'd fired it blindly over his shoulder, his gaze not wavering from mine even once the entire encounter.

I blinked. "That…sounds like a great idea?" I ventured still trying to process the offhanded obliteration of the Elysium Knight by Peter who by all means didn't seem to even notice the thing had tried to attack him again.

Peter smiled broadly. "Smashing!" He cheered, even as explosion of flames rang out behind him, a sparking and battle-scarred Paladin crumpling to the floor, with a harsh squealing of metal.

And with that, once I'd collected my sword and shield we made our way towards where the others were gathered near where last I checked there had been a gaping void in the ground spewing forth Grimm now there only being pristine street once more.

Looks like I missed that part.

I fell into place next to Pyrrha who looked at me with a smile, when she realised I was there. I grinned in response before turning to face team RWBY a wry grin on my face. "How is it you four always manage to be in the centre of these things?" I asked jokingly, flicking a nod over towards where Sun and Neptune were standing as they waved hello.

Ruby chuckled nervously. "Uh, we're just lucky?" She put forward, Weiss shaking her head as she did so.

"If that's what you call luck Ruby Rose, then I want no part of it." Weiss said in response, seemingly turning away from her partner but the slight twitch of her lips giving away her mirth.

Conversations broke out at that, people laughing and chuckling as we recounted our own little skirmishes with the Grimm during the fight.

I found my attention drawn away from Yang's retelling of how she'd pancaked a few Grimm with a launched car when I spotted Mercury and Emerald escorting Roman Torchwick of all people into the custody of Atlas androids.

What did he have to do with all of this?

"Oh I can't believe that you caught me, you've really taught me the error of my ways." The master criminal said sardonically before pulling himself away from the grip of one of the Elysium Knights waiting to receive him. "Hey, Hey, watch the hat." He growled as the two high tech androids escorted him aboard.

Emerald and Mercury stepped into place next to Ruby, who smiled brightly at the young thief.

Huh.

Guess they can't be all that bad.

I felt something tugging at my pant leg and looked down to see a tiny dog trying to grab my attention, its little tongue sticking out of its mouth as it panted happily at me.

"Uh, hi?" I ventured looking down at the little canine as it craned its neck to look up at me.

The dog continued to look up, lifting its paw as if to ask me to shake it.

I blinked.

Okay then.

I bent down on one knee and took the little dog's paw, shaking it as I did so.

The corgi let out a happy 'arf' at that before pattering its way over to Yang's side taking a seat as it looked up at her.

I turned my curious gaze to Yang. "So since when has team RWBY had five members?" I asked jokingly, the dog turning its head curiously as I gestured at it.

"Oh, that's right you haven't met Zwei yet." Yang gasped before turning to face the dog. "Zwei, this is Jaune." She began, introducing me to the corgi. "Jaune meet Zwei, our dog from back on Patch."

Zwei barked in greeting once more.

Huh.

So that's a thing.

"How'd he manage to get all the way from Patch?" I asked, looking down at the little guy who had at some point decided that chasing his tail was the best idea ever.

Yang shrugged. "Dad mailed him to me." She said off-handily.

I nodded at that.

Paused.

Went over it again in my head.

"Wait what?"

Ozpin sighed as the call from Vale's Government Council finally disconnected, leaving him to silence once more.

"Well that went just about as well as I thought it would." Tob's voice called out, rolling out from where he'd been hiding out of sight of the Council, a glass of scotch already in hand, a second glass extended towards the Beacon headmaster.

"Not without reason." Ozpin answered wearily, locking his fingers together as his mind went over the events of the day. "But I'm more concerned about how the White Fang were able to amass such resources. They've never been lacking in terms of raw recruits but the level of weaponry they possessed? They had Paladins for God's sake, nearly half a dozen of them which Polendina swears were never made by him, or Atlas for that matter. And knowledge of the tunnel to Mountain Glenn?"

"Aye." The Old Bastard agreed, his aged eyes darkening as they went over the facts. "It doesn't paint a pretty picture. But even with all that occurred today, I don't think we've reached the climax of this endeavour yet, only the opening move." He suggested pessimistically, taking a draw from his glass as he did so.

Ozpin took a light sip himself from his own glass, nodding. "Agreed. Whatever they aimed to achieve through this I can't comprehend it, not yet at least."

There was a buzz at the desk and before Ozpin could even go to see who was at the door, it swung open Professor Polendina storming in, hurriedly stashing the lock pick he'd used to open the door in his pocket, shutting the door behind him. "I've been examining our 'defective' Knight that Peter managed to appropriate for us, what's left of it anyway, Peter may have done too good a job here, but what I've found isn't good."

Ozpin leaned forward. "Go on."

"There wasn't much I could grasp from its internal memory thanks to Peter all but obliterating the damned thing, but whatever it was, it went through my firewalls like they weren't even bloody there." Polendina started his report levelling the rather startling news at Ozpin and Tob.

Polendina's computer security wasn't just good, it was the standard for computerized security, hell he helped develop it from before it was even called computerized security.

That someone had been able to bypass with such ease…

"There's more." He reached into his pocket and bought something out from within, the hand of an Elysium Knight.

"There isn't much left of it but look here." Polendina lifted up the robot's left hand, gesturing at the artificial limb. "Somehow the materials making up this robots hand…transmuted…for lack of a better work into a far denser substance, almost as if at an atomic level all the building blocks decided to lock into one single unbreakable form."

"And how did it do that?" Tob asked bluntly, gesturing for Geppeto to get to the heart of the matter.

Polendina looked at them helplessly, shrugging his shoulders. "That's the thing. I can't think of any way it could have done it. I didn't think anything could do it until you bought it too me.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean somehow this robot freely changed its own mass and density while still retaining the same overall form." He said trying to come up with a comparison for what he was describing. "It's like iron spontaneously turning into some kind of mega-steel with no discernible catalyst. I'd be amazed if it wasn't so perplexing. I did some research on it myself, years ago but abandoned it as impossible, could never get the thing to work.

"You're saying you can't alter it?" Tob said alarmed, knowing that Geppeto was one of the people who helped create the Elysium Knight project, for it to be so drastically altered…

"I'm saying if anyone but Peter attacked it, I doubt they could have even scratched the bloody thing."

"Lost technology." Ozpin murmured, Geppeto nodding at the headmaster's conclusion. "One powerful enough to make an individual one of the most powerful forces in Remnant. And it was used to try to assassinate a single boy."

There was silence at that, the three men ruminating on the implications of that realization, of the extent and length of the resources whoever was behind this was willing to expend to achieve their goal.

Geppeto sighed suddenly, rubbing a hand into his tired eyes. "It's late, and I need to finish the rest of Penny's maintenance before I go to sleep. We'll reconvene later, when were all rested and better prepared to examine this."

Tob rolled forward, patting Geppeto on the arm. "Aye, go to your daughter. We're all too bloody tired anyway."

Geppeto smiled softly at this, nodding in thanks to the both of them before stopping at the door, turning to face them again. "As always it was incredible watching you work old friend," He said kindly, nodding at Tob. "Just as good as the old days."

Tob barked out a laugh at that. "Hardly." He remarked, lifting up a pair of reading glasses he had tucked into his front pocket. "Couldn't see a damn thing without them."

Interlude 1: Cinder

Cinder looked down upon the pristine park that had only hours ago been the sight of the bloody Grimm emergence from atop the roof of one of the many buildings surrounding it and turned to face her subordinates. "All in all, I call today a success." Cinder remarked, waiting for the others to give their own opinions on the matter.

Emerald looked less convinced "Those stupid kids really made a mess of things." The thief said with a shake of her head. The plan being forced ahead of schedule by their early discovery was going to have consequences.

Mercury agreed "Yeah. A lot of Faunus didn't make it out the tunnels." He added, still sounding utterly uncaring as he spoke of those who had been crushed or left to die in the tunnel below. "You still think the White Fang's gonna listen to us?" He asked Cinder honestly, rather doubting the likelihood of that happening.

"No," a new voice interjected, a red headed figure in a black suit stepping forward, eyes hidden behind the mask of a Grimm, the mask of a White Fang member. "But they'll listen to me." The man declared, completely confident in what he was saying a deep scowl on his face.

For good reason. With his lineage within the White Fang, Adam Taurus was the next best thing to royalty to them.

"What kept you?" Emerald said indignantly only to be flatly ignored by Adam. "Hey!" she exclaimed upset, "don't walk away from me you-"

Her words were cut short, almost literally, as Adam's blade was pressed against her neck, having moved so fast it seemed to have materialised into existence. Emerald's mouth clicked shut and she backed off, the Faunus' sliding his sword back into its sheath as she did so.

Adam Taurus was not someone to be taken lightly. Especially when he was in a mood like this.

Cinder's eyes lit up in realization. "That's right. He's at Beacon right now isn't he?" Cinder said with a smoky voice, smiling darkly as a picture appearing in her hands. "I wonder what he'd think about you being here. Perhaps I should pay him a visi-"

Cinder's next words were cut short by the clearly audible sound of Wilt leaving its sheath slightly, Adam's fist clenched tightly around it. "Do not speak of him." Adam growled venomously.

"The only one who will kill him is me." Adam intoned, his grip tightening around Wilt's hilt. "I will kill the man who murdered my mother with my own blade."

In a flash Wilt left its sheath, piercing the picture held between Cinder's fingertips and slamming it into the pavement, the blade piercing the figure within.

In the impaled picture, a scowling old man in a wheelchair glared up at them.

Interlude 2: Neo

Neo pouted, her tongue sticking out of her mouth cutely as she looked upon her latest piece of art, half a frown beginning to form on her face.

It was pretty much done, in her opinion anyway but it was still missing something.

That final little touch to make it perfect.

She'd have finished it earlier on in the day, the blonde haired girl she fought on the train would have made a fine addition to it, but she was sadly interrupted before she could collect her materials.

And after that womanof all people stepped into save blondie…

Neo shuddered.

She didn't like that woman.

She looked upon her art once more and found herself calmed, taking in the clear shape formed upon the reflective surface.

But it wasn't enough.

It didn't show how she really felt about it.

About him.

Then the thought struck her, her eyes lighting up in joy.

She knew she was missing something.

She moved to the side and casually picked up the last of her ink wells with one hand, ignoring the sounds that came from it as she moved it and hoisted it on the top of her masterpiece, the ink slowly dripping down as she did so.

Almost there.

Then without warning, her free hand plunged forward, stabbing a blade so clear and thin it was essentially impossible to see with one's own eyes to pin the ink well in place, a splash of red spurting out and covering her face and clothes as she did so.

Neo shrugged inwardly at that.

She'd long since gotten use to the messier parts of her art, and if it allowed her to create such beautiful pieces of art like this, then she didn't care.

Besides…

She bought up one hand, stained crimson by the ink and placed it before her mouth, her tongue darting out like a cat cleaning itself, a shudder running through her as the taste struck her.

It tasted so damn good.

Better than anything.

Especially fresh.

She took a few steps back to observe the state of her creation.

Neo's canvas of choice was always a mirror, something that was oddly fitting considering her other proclivities. But what was once a mirror was now something much more than that.

It was a bust of someone, a male. He had a mess of hair that stopped before it reached his shoulders, dark eyes and a bright smile on his face.

A chest plate was clearly visible on his front but cut off abruptly as the picture ended, with similarly coloured shoulder armour just visible from this front on view of the subject, with a darker coloured hoodie beneath it.

The portrait was incredibly detailed, depicting even the smallest of details from the slightest of scars, to the strands of his hair.

It was intricate.

A masterpiece.

And monstrous.

The body impaled atop the mirror let out a slow but constant stream of blood, trickling down the mirror only to curve away before it combined with the portrait, following the faint groove that Neo had carved into either side of the mirror.

And even if the exact colour of the individual couldn't be discerned, due to the portrait of the individual being done entirely in varying shades of red, it was fairly easy to ascertain who it was that the portrait depicted.

You only had to turn ones gaze to the mass of photos surrounding it, stuck to the mirror as if it was a pin board, all displaying a variety of locations and situations but every single photo featuring the same individual, the one that was the focus of the portrait of the artwork.

Neo's hand reached out to touch the cheek of her painted man, a small dark smile spreading on her face as she did so.

'You were everything he said you'd be and more.' Neo mused, her tongue darting out again to remove a drop of blood that had shifted out of place on the portrait, removing it with a deft lick that sent another shudder racing down her spine, her eyes shifting colours with every blink. 'Soon you'll be mine.'

She stepped away, taking care not to step on the corpses that had been essential to creating her masterpiece, watching the trickling blood curving around her portrait, forming a macabre love heart around it, slowly staining the floor crimson with blood.

'Jaune Arc.'

Interlude 3: Raven

Raven stepped out of her portal into the cold lifeless stone of this nameless place and let out a sigh of relief as she noticed that she was still in complete darkness.

For a moment Raven had thought that she had gotten away with her transgression unnoticed, that she had not been noticed during her absence.

That moment passed the instant Raven heard the unmistakable clack of metal on marble, and suddenly the room was filled with light as archaic metal braziers were lit without any visible cause. A figure in a voluminous leather cloak stepping forth, his face obscured with a mask like her own but unlike hers only one eye was visible, the other long since lost in battle. And just beneath the cloak itself, in the gap between it and the floor were his feet, however one leg was not that of flesh and blood but rather of inhuman metal.

"Did you think I wouldn't notice where you'd gone Raven?" A masculine voice called out from behind the mask, a single blue eye burning with such an inner fire near Raven felt scalded from the sheer intensity of his gaze. "Did you think me a fool?" He asked seemingly calm, but a vast ocean of broiling emotion waiting to erupt beneath the surface.

"Yang was in danger, fighting someone far beyond her level." Raven explained trying to reason with the man in front of her, to make him understand her actions. "Then I tried to explain to her to keep her saf…"

"Raven!" The man snapped, his raised voice cutting short any further explanations. "When you chose to take up that mask you swore to make this duty your first and only priority, to the detriment of any and all others, including family. Regardless of their connections to you they are but one life. We adhere to the needs of the many, Raven."

"But she…" Raven said, trailing off slightly. "She's my child."

"Everyone is someone's child Raven." The man said coldly, stalking forward through the dark corridors, the metal braziers becoming ablaze with flame with his very passing, the dull clank of his metal leg striking the floor echoing out with every step." It does not change the fact that like anyone who enters this life there comes a time when they will leave it."

Raven seemed taken aback at that before her red eyes glowed ominously, much akin to her daughter Yang when filled with rage. "I did what any loving parent would." She spat out, putting none too subtle emphasis on the adjective.

The man spun, a spear formed of glowing dust forming in his hands, the tip halting inches away from Raven's shocked face. "Never," The incensed man pronounced, "speak to me of loving one's children. Speak to me when you hold their broken forms in your arms, when the light fades from their eyes and the last gasp leaves their chests. Speak to me then, Raven, but until such a time comes, remain silent." The man finished, spitting out Raven's name as if it were some great curse before the spear vanished from his hands, the dust breaking apart and being absorbed back into individual containers spread throughout the man's leathery cloak.

Raven flinched, looking away out of shame of her words. "I…I'm sorry."

The man continued to walk on further, the only sound being the constant clack of his metal leg, seemingly ignoring his companion. "The World Tree has picked up some high activity in Vacuo, I'm sending you the details now." He said finally, dropping the previous topic entirely as he moved onto the task at hand. "Go over there find whatever is responsible and then kill it. Understood?"

Raven nodded, knowing this transition of topics was the man's own way of accepting her apology. And if the activity was great enough that the World Tree picked it up then it was time for her to be gone.

"Yes…Odin."

Interlude 4: ?

Within a maze of dead trees and a constant rain of ash, two red eyes flicker into existence once more, staring up into the night sky.

CONNECTION LOST

OBJECTIVE: JAUNE ARC LOCATED

LOCATION: CITY OF VALE

PROJECTIONS SUGGEST THAT TARGET IS LIKELY ATTENDING BEACON ACADEMY

DESTINATION SET.

CONSESUS ACHIEVED.

THIS UNIT WILL TERMINATE OBJECTIVE JAUNE ARC ONCE REPAIRS HAVE COMPLETED

REPAIRS AT 64%