17 - ||

"And everyone else?" I asked, forcing myself to think on something else before I found myself consumed by those terrible thoughts once more.

"As far as I know they're fine, bumps, bruises, a few broken bones, but thanks to our aura we're well on our way back to normal." Ren affirmed with a nod. "Sun and his team are already back in Vale helping with the recovery efforts."

I felt myself let out a sigh of relief at that, feeling almost as if a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

Well that's something at least.

"What about the rest of team RWBY?" I rasped, the absence of the two huntresses in training apparent even in my bedraggled state. "Where is Weiss and Blake? Helping Sun?"

Ren grimaced. "Weiss is gone, her father came with an airship and took her back to Atlas." He started, tensing slightly as he went to continue. "And Blake ran away."

What?

"What do you mean ran away?" I pressed, desperate to figure out just what the hell had happened when I had blacked out.

"When the dust ships were flying over the city, Blake jumped out of the ship. If it wasn't for Sun we wouldn't even know that." Ren said quietly, his eyes still flicking over me as if he expected me to drop at any moment. "We're not really sure as to why and Yang…well she's not feeling very talkative at the moment."

I went to talk again, to ask Ren just where the hell we were when my stomach let out a loud gurgle that could have drowned out the howl of a beowolf and a rather large stabbing pain made itself readily apparent.

Ah yes, hunger.

I haven't eaten in…

My brain made a vague attempt at what could have been mathematics if you squinted at it before I promptly abandoned that idea.

I was not up to math right now.

Several days.

"You said something about a kitchen?" I asked wryly, smiling lightly as I did so. "Any chance of some food?"

Ren smirked in response, "Oh I'm sure I can find something for our fearless leader." He placed one of my arms over his shoulders without saying so much as a word and began gently leading me towards the door where light was spilling out, supporting me as he did so.

As we stepped through the doorway I found myself in a corridor that had two other door similar to the one I had just stepped out of in front of me, other bedrooms most likely.

There were pictures on the walls, more of those impressively lifelike paintings of a vast array of landscapes but there were also framed photos among them.

Among them was a copy of a photo I'd seen before, albeit in a far better condition than the battered version I'd seen.

Team STRQ.

Something told me this wasn't Qrow's house.

Summer was dead.

And Unless Yang's mother chose an absolutely spectacular time to come back into the picture that leaves one option left.

Yang's father.

Who I could not recall the name of.

"This is Ruby's Dad's place?" I asked catching sight of a photo of what was unmistakeably a much younger version of Yang and Ruby in a photo with an older version of the blond man in the team STRQ photo smiling widely behind them.

"Taiyang's. A house on the island of Patch." Ren confirmed, still leading me on as he did so. "I'm sure you'll meet him later but he's been by Ruby's bedside for the past few days waiting for her to wake up."

Understandable.

We rounded the corner at the end of the corridor and was immediately struck by a cacophony of noise and chaos that was a clear sign that the kids were in the middle of a meal.

They sat around the benchtop of the kitchen with a series of miss matching chairs, Nora on the other side dishing out what looked to be some kind of soup with a ladle, holding one of the pups in a headlock as she did so.

All in all, a pretty standard scene when it comes to feeding the kids.

I saw most of the kids catch sight of me as we drew closer and they went to stand up, only for Nora to clear her throat loudly and tap the ladle in a gentle motion against the table that should have been reproachful but when taken into account with the closed eyes and smile she was wearing somehow rapidly transcended into terrifying the kids quickly turned around and started to dig into the food.

I'll give Nora this much.

When it comes to making the kids eat their food she could out menace Goodwitch any day of the week.

Which has led me to wonder just who exactly taught her how to do that in the first place.

My stomach gurgled loudly again, accentuating its point with another painful twist of my guts.

Alright enough wandering.

Time for food.

With Ren's help I gingerly took a seat on one of the remaining stools, taking care to ensure I didn't take out one of the kids with my wings as I sat down, trying to keep them folded against my back.

Ren smoothly slid into the seat next to me after getting a bowl and spoon each for us, placing mine in front of me.

"Good to see you up and about Fearless Leader!" Nora said with a sparkle in her eyes, still ladling out whatever was in the pot had before her, casually shifting her headlock on who I could now identify as Gatsu to place him on the same seat as one of his brothers, the kids already tearing into the food before them with about as much table manners as I came to expect from the quadruplets on any given day.

That being, little to none at all.

I laughed lightly at that, relishing in the simple joys of watching the kids antics once more, when Nora was suddenly before me, ladling out the pots contents to pour them within my bowl.

"Dig in!" Nora said with a wide smile, filling Ren's bowl with the ladle as she did so. "It's an old family recipe!"

I looked down at the food in front of me, having no idea exactly what it was that was in front of me. My mind was struggling with the lack of energy, my mind telling me that what was before me was soup but my eyes telling me that soup was not supposed to look like that. "What exactly is in this Nora?" I asked hesitantly, some bone deep instinct leaving me hesitant of knowing the answer.

Nora went to reply before Ren reached over the counter and clapped his hand over her mouth with a very foreboding look on his face. "Some things are better off not known Jaune." Ren said in a grave voice. "For the good of everyone in involved." He nodded again before letting out a sound of disgust and pulling his hand back from a beaming Nora, her extended tongue making it clear of just how Nora had gotten Ren to remove his hand.

As Ren wiped his saliva covered hand on his pant leg I hesitantly picked up my spoon, scooped up a bit of the food in front of me and quickly swallowed it down before I could regret my decision.

I blinked.

This was…

I took another spoonful from the bowl in front of me just to be sure and felt my eyes widen even further.

Really good.

I mean…wow.

I scarfed down the soup as quickly as I could, taking care not to eat too quickly and risk upsetting my stomach.

My spoon clattered down into an empty bowl, the other bowls along the table either already empty or well on their way to that stage.

I could feel my stomach relax and I'm certain if it could have, it would have given a little sigh of satisfaction at finally being fed once more.

I could feel myself getting stronger by the moment as well, the room no longer swaying quite as much as it had been previously to my eyes.

"Thank you Nora," I said honestly, wiping my mouth with my shirt sleeve as I did so. "That was wonderful."

I paused for a moment, and nearly sighed. I really hope I hadn't just ruined my shi…

Oh, right.

Not wearing a shirt.

Then what did I just wipe my mouth with?

A thought struck me and I had one of my wings bend forward slightly and, sure enough, there was a little bit of the soup on the tip of the wing.

I hastily wiped it off onto the pants I was wearing, even as the kids gave off light and not so light giggles at my antics.

I soon found myself in the lounge room, which had been repurposed to serve as a combined bedroom for the kids, their tiny forms all curled up asleep under their various covers, clearly tuckered out from whatever they had been doing before.

I heard a door creak open quietly and I turned my head to see Ren on the other side of it, gesturing for me to follow.

I stepped out the door and found myself outside, the night air breeze cold against my skin.

Was yet to find a shirt at this point, but then again it's not as if they had a great need for shirts with holes in the back of them did they?

I shut the door behind me as quietly as I could, trying not to rouse the kids from their slumber and turned back to face Ren and Nora.

I saw that Taiyang's house was in a fairly remote area, surrounded by trees with no other houses within line of sight, and if I had to be honest?

It reminded me more than a little of being back home.

Of being back in Freshwater in the orphanage once more.

Standing here under the night sky, away from the city and surrounded by trees I felt at ease.

Like I had put on my favourite jumper, it was reassuringly comforting.

But enough of that.

Time for me to finish filling in the blanks.

"So what happened after I fell unconscious?" I asked the two of them, trying to piece together a timeline of how I had gotten from collapsed on a rooftop in the middle of a Grimm invasion all the way to a house in Patch a few days later.

"Renny was still unconscious when Professor Port showed up holding you in his arms," Nora started her expression darkening a touch as she thought back. "But even with the Dragon taken care of…"

I interrupted Nora at that. "Wait what do you mean the Dragon was 'taken care of' Nora?" I said disbelievingly, the image of the colossal flying Grimm coming to the forefront of my mind once more, trying to think of anything that could have possibly taken out something that massive.

Maybe some kind of ridiculously overpowered semblance?

Both Nora and Ren seemed to pause at my words, examining me oddly. "…didn't you use your magic angel powers to stop it?" My bubbly teammate asked me, making flapping gestures behind her back as a rather obvious reference towards my wings.

And more than a little silly looking.

"No Nora." I said, doing my best to hide a grin at just how out of place she looked at this point. "I did not in fact use my 'magic angel powers' that I'm pretty sure I don't have by the way, to stop the dragon."

I was rather more focused on fleeing for my life with Pyrrha in tow than anything else at that point.

Trying to dodge gouts of flame so strong they could melt through solid brick without so much as hesitating proved to be quite attention keeping.

I shook my head in an attempt to clear my scattered thoughts.

Not important Jaune, focus on the conversation.

Ren, having seen that I was paying attention once more turned me to the side and raised a hand to indicate something in the distance.

But still.

Why would they think that I had anything to do with…

I felt my jaw drop open as I caught sight of what Ren was pointing me towards.

"Well I'll be." I murmured, taking in the sight before me.

There, perched atop the remains of Beacon Tower was the gargantuan dragon that had exploded out of the mountains during the invasion before laying siege upon the city.

Only it wasn't doing that at this point.

Heck, it wasn't even moving.

I couldn't make out much from this far away but it seemed to me that the flying monster was frozen in place, almost like a picture that had been superimposed over the background before me.

Yeah.

That right there is not natural at all.

I can see why they went towards the whole "act of angel" approach as to how that had happened.

But seeing as that I was locked in mortal combat with Cinder at that time, I hadn't really had long to spare to take in the minutia of the various surroundings throughout the battle.

"What happened?" I heard myself ask aloud, trying to think of just what could have frozen the titanic form in place like that without leaving any clear sign of how it had been accomplished.

Nora shrugged in response, the instinctive motion drawing a small wince from the bubbly berserker, a clear sign that her own injuries weren't quite healed yet. "I don't know. One moment there was nothing and then the top of the tower was consumed in an enormous ball of light, like a Morningstar round only a hundred times stronger." Nora recounted describing the events as best as she could. "When the light faded the Dragon was still there only it was…" She stopped, clearly struggling to find the words to describe just what had happened.

"Like that." Ren said dryly, summing up what Nora was trying to say with those two words.

Okay.

Glowing white light took care of the Dragon.

They thought I was the one who made the white light.

Only I wasn't.

Which begs the question.

"Then who stopped the dragon?" I mused aloud, still staring out towards Vale.

I went to ask Ren some more about what else had happened when I staggered slightly, my wings throwing me off balance once more.

I swore lightly and directed my aura towards my wings once more, returning them to their weightless state.

"Jaune!" Nora called out in concern, standing at my side in an instant. "Are you alright? Are you still feeling faint?"

"I'm fine." I waved her off, standing steadily once more and gestured towards my new limbs. "It's my wings. If I stop feeding my aura into them then they stop being weightless and it throws me off balance."

Ren let out a sound of understanding. "The wings alter your center of gravity." He noted, dark eyes darting to my back before back to me. "And you haven't adjusted to it."

I nodded at that.

That's something I'm going to have to work on.

Something tells me that I'm not always going to be able to have aura running through them.

That and the whole fact it caused them to glow bright white does kind of eliminate any possibility of stealth or subtlety.

I turned towards Ren who saw the look on my face and after a moment's hesitation rolled his eyes at me before nodding his head at Nora.

She let out a whoop of excitement, shouting out "Called it!" at the top of her lungs before moving back a few steps, leaving some distance between her and I, Ren still remaining where he stood.

Ren flexed his fingers, cracking them loudly as he eyed me. "Don't think I'm going to be holding back just cause you've grown a few feathers fearless leader." He said dryly, smoothly sliding into an easy stance, legs slightly bent, one arm behind his back while the other was raised towards me in a guarding gesture.

I narrowed my eyes at that, hands coming up in a classic boxer's stance even as I moved my wings to fold them against my back. "You know I was thinking about taking it easy, going for a small workout and all that jazz, but this works fine too," I said before I felt a smirk tug at my lips in preparation for my next words. "Noble steed."

I saw one of Ren's eyes twitch violently and I relished in the minor victory, basking in the soothing sensation of my teammate's hate when I rolled to the side with a hasty dodge as Ren's palm strike snapped through he air at what would have in all likelihood been the bridge of my nose.

I stumbled to my feet just in time for another of Ren's attacks to crash into my guard, his snap kick sending me sliding backwards across the ground.

I shifted my footing and halted my slide, stepping forward towards the approaching Ren as I swung my fist in a scything hook that would have done considerable damage had it landed.

But halfway through the swing I felt the weight of my wings strike me again and the sudden increase sent me off balance, turning my hook into a wild haymaker that soared over his head.

Leaving me wide open for Ren's counter.

Buggar.

Ren's uppercut sent me soaring over off the ground, my teeth rattling from the force of the blow before I slammed into the ground with a thump and a dull twinge of pain that I felt through my wings.

It wasn't a great amount of pain honestly, I thought it would have hurt far more than it did at the moment.

It was noticeable sure, but only in the way a paper cut was.

Nothing compared to the ball of pain that was my jaw right now.

I quickly directed my aura toward my jaw, once again thankful for the mystical bullshit that was aura.

"You all right there Jaune?" Ren called out, clearly sounding apologetic from where he was standing, looking slightly sheepish as he did so.

I sighed, closed my eyes and focused on the cool feel of my aura easing the pain in my jaw. "Peachy, Ren." I replied, massaging the bridge of my nose to stop myself from grabbing my jaw, "I'm feeling just peachy."

This clearly isn't going to work.

I don't have enough balance for this to be feasible at this point.

Time to go back to the absolute basics it seems.

And I know just the guy to ask.

"Ren," I spoke, drawing my hand away from the bridge of my nose as I sat myself up slowly, "know any techniques that will help me readjust my centre of gravity?"

Ren paused for a moment taken aback by my question before a small smile came across his face. "Oh I can think of a few." He admitted, extending a hand to help pull me up from the ground.

Well then.

"Let's get started."

I focused, my hands pressed firmly together palm against palm, and raised my left leg off the ground as I attempted to complete the exercise.

Again.

"Left foot against your right knee Jaune, don't half ass it." Ren's voice spoke up calmly beside me, not allowing me to slack off for even an instant.

I swallowed several rather pointed words, grumbled quietly and moved my left foot so that it rested against my right knee, my left knee now pointing out to my left and away from me.

And once again, I felt the wobbles strike me, my balance shifting back and forth all over the place in my vain attempt to remain upright before with a painful thud I fell to the ground once again.

This keeps up the lump on my head is going to be permanent.

"God dang it." I groused, pushing myself up off the ground as I spat out a mouthful of grass. "Do I really need to keep my eyes closed doing this Ren?"

Ren remained unmoved by my sudden collapse, still holding the same picture perfect pose with his eyes closed that he'd taken up more than an hour ago.

The bastard.

"The sense of vision is one of the major components of how your body establishes balance." My training partner replied calmly, his arms moving through a slow yet complex manoeuvre that I doubt I could have attempted with both feet on the ground without falling over at this point, a clear sign of his mastery of his own centre of gravity. "We both know your vision works fine, so we're removing it to focus on the parts that don't."

I grumbled half-heartedly in protest, before acquiescing, pushing myself up off the ground once more.

Ren's training was indeed incredibly basic.

It was just me standing on one leg while placing my non-balancing foot on my knee while not having any aura actively focused into my wings ensuring that my centre of balance was thoroughly shot.

Oh and I had to have my eyes closed.

Because of course I did.

The balancing on one leg I can understand.

The closed eyes I can understand.

They all seem perfectly reasonable.

The other part however?

"Placing all bets people, placing all bets! How long do you think he's going to stay up this time?" Nora's voice boomed out from where I think the house was last I recalled. Spinning around with your eyes closed doesn't do much to help you reorientate you with your surroundings.

I felt an eyebrow twitch violently as the kids all started shouting out a myriad of times, the grand majority of them numbers that should have been insultingly low if not for the fact I'd been falling flat on my ass all day at this point.

"Is it really necessary?" I hissed out through gritted teeth.

Even though I couldn't see it, I could hear Ren's smirk through his words. "Just think of it as motivation to stay balanced." He suggested slightly, not quite supressing the laughter behind his words.

I briefly contemplated the thought of abandoning this exercise, directing my aura back into my wings and the flying Ren towards the nearest lake so I could drop him into it before abandoning it.

Patience Jaune.

Vengeance will be yours.

And at that though I promptly lost balance and slammed into the ground again.

"And the winner is Mashiro with a time of forty-two seconds!" Nora announced excitedly, the young fox faunus making excited little noises of her own at her good fortune, her twin quickly being dragged into the festivities.

Despite the annoyance I felt digging into me I still felt a smile tugging at my lips as I pushed myself up from the ground.

It was nice, to see the kids smiling and laughing again after all the horrors they'd had to endure over the past few days.

And despite my grumbling and groaning I was getting better.

And it served it's purpose of stopping my mind from wandering towards subjects that were best left untouched.

At least until I could be at least something resembling useful combat wise.

"Ahoy the cabin!" A familiar boisterous voice boomed out through the trees and the familiar form of Peter Port walked out of the woods surrounding Taiyang's home, his Blunderaxe hefted causally over his shoulder as he strolled towards us.

The kids all turned and shouted out their greetings, swarming towards him like a school of piranha sensing fresh blood in the water.

Peter shook them off with a chortle, wading through the pack of children with practiced ease before coming to a stop before me. "Jaune, good to see you up and about again, my boy." He said with a wide grin, clapping me on the shoulders with considerably less bruising force than before.

Guess he could tell I wasn't quite back up to a hundred percent yet.

"How are you dealing with your, uh…" Peter seemed to struggle for a moment to grasp the right word. "…new additions?" He asked finally, indicating none too subtly towards my wings.

I shrugged my shoulders, taking care to ensure my wings didn't move too much while I made the motion. "It's a work in process." I admitted with a small smile, "How are you faring? And Vale?"

"Oh I'm right as rain Jaune, my boy." Peter boomed, twirling his moustache as he did so. "And the city of Vale is well on its way back to recovery. Could you take me to see Taiyang, Jaune?" Peter asked, gesturing towards the house.

I blinked at him, a bit taken aback by the sudden shift in conversation but nodded and started walking back to the house, the seasoned Huntsman keeping pace with me by my side. "Nora, Ren, you two right to take care of the kids for a bit?"

Nora leapt to her feet and snapped off a crisp salute. "You betcha fearless leader!" Nora replied with a grin, before turning towards Ren with a look that left me feeling more than a bit of pity for the poor boy. "Noble steed! Assume the position for the Norrennosaurs Rex!"

The kids let out a loud cheer behind me, even as I heard Ren's loud groan in response I knew without even looking that he'd do it.

I opened the door and was going to lead Peter towards either Ruby or Yang's room when I found the subject of our search standing in the kitchen instead, pouring himself a cup of coffee fresh from the pot.

I'd only seen Taiyang briefly over the past day or so, the father of two either standing vigil by Ruby's bedside or Yang's with only brief stops outside to fetch a bite to eat or go to the bathroom.

As far as I could tell, he even slept in there waiting by Ruby's bedside for her to wake up.

Taiyang was built like brick wall, making Sage and Yatsuhashi look like rank amateurs when it came to muscle mass.

I was fairly certain Sage could bench a car if he tried.

Taiyang looked like he could bench two cars with one hand tied behind his back.

I could see that Yang greatly took after her father when it came to her looks, both in general style of clothing as well as general color palate as well.

He looked pretty similar to what he had in his team photo all those years ago, albiet older for obvious reasons and with a slight goatee. His shirt and vest were the same style as they had been before, and he was still wearing the same pauldron over his right shoulder, the glove on his right hand, even the hankerchief that was tied around his left arm seemed to be the same. He was wearing shorts now instead of full length pants but they seemed to be precisely the same colour as pants he'd worn previously. If not for how neatly the hemline of the pants were, I would have sworn he had simply cut the pants off at the knees and turned them into shorts.

He also had a tattoo on his right arm that hadn't been present when the team STRQ photo had been taken, what I was assuming was his personal emblem emblazoned on his upper arm.

What did seem to be added on were scars, faded with the passage of time but still clearly visible on his body, a large one partly visible in the gap between his shirt and his pauldron, a few small ones over his arms, and a few more littered across his legs.

This was a man who bore all the markings of a seasoned huntsman.

Taiyang was about to take a sip of his coffee when he saw the two of us walk in, lowering the cup and looking at Peter in surprise. "Port what are you doing here?"

"Good day Taiyang, good to see you again." Peter greeted cheerfully before his eyes caught sight of the fresh pot of coffee next to the blonde huntsman. "Mind pouring me a cup?"

The man looked at Port, clearly having second thoughts, his eyes drifting back towards the rooms in which his daughters rested, a tray already filled with snacks and a glass of water for Yang.

Peter shoved me towards the rooms, leaving me staggering, arms flailing for a moment as I fought to maintain my balance with my wings splaying out instinctively. "Jaune, go check on the girls for a moment will you? Tai and I need to share a few words." Even though the phrase should have been a suggestion, the tone underlining it made it very clear that it wasn't one.

And so I did what any sane person would do in such a situation.

I skedaddled on out of there and went towards Ruby and Yang's room, tray in hand.

Don't ask me how the tray appeared in my hands, I'm still trying to work out that part myself.

By the time I managed to get my feet to stop their hasty retreat from whatever the heck Peter was saying to Taiyang, I was in front of the two doors that led to either Ruby or Yang's room.

I'd already stepped in to see both of them earlier on, but Ruby was still asleep and Yang was…

I grimaced.

Yang was still a work in progress.

I forced the grimace off my face and pushed open the door to Yang's room, tray balanced on one hand as I knocked on the door. "Yang? It's Jaune, can I come in?"

Silence.

Granted that was pretty standard with Yang these days.

But how to get around that…

"Say nothing if you don't want me to come in." I said loudly, before pushing open the door without waiting for her reply, walking into the room.

Yang was in bed, again no surprises there. She was lying down, facing away from me, the covers pulled up high.

She was asleep.

That or faking sleep really well.

I walked over to her bedside table and place the tray of food down gently before turning my attention back to the 'sleeping' Yang.

Her hair while by no means a blood soaked, gore ridden mess was still in far worse condition than I had ever seen it before, unkempt and knotted in places at random.

No need to guess why it's suddenly harder for Yang to take care of her hair now.

I thought about talking to her, trying to cheer her up but thought better of it, walking back outside to the hallway and softly closing the door behind me.

Rest would do more good for Yang then anything I could say at this point.

I'll talk to her later.

I crossed the hallway to enter the opposing room and saw Ruby lying fast asleep in a bed, little snores sounding out with each new breath.

Physically she seemed the least injured out of all of us, only a clean cut in part of her hair a sign of a particularly close shave during the combat of the invasion.

There was an empty chair by her bed, no doubt the one Taiyang had been using while he held his vigil by her bedside and I quietly took a seat in it myself, taking care to ensure my wings went over the back of the chair and didn't crush them between it and me.

Doing that once was more than enough.

I stretched out my wings as I did so, a feeling as satisfying as cracking my neck flooding though me momentarily.

As a thought I had one of my wings shift forward so I could examine it more easily, my eyes examining my new appendage to find out whatever I could.

Now that's something.

Although my wings were still giving off light, if only faintly, the ambient glow in comparison to last night and the invasion itself was far less than it had been back then.

Okay Jaune, what would explain why that would be?

Perhaps I'm wrong and it only seemed to be giving off more light back then because of how dark it was?

Even as the possibility came to mind I dismissed it almost immediately, no I had definitely been brighter back then.

During the invasion I was pretty much a flying spotlight I was glowing so much.

Then if it's not to do with how dark it is, then what is it?

And then, a thought occurred to me.

The moon.

What if the moon had something to do with my wings?

The moon was pretty much full during the invasion itself, as full as it can be ignoring the fractured parts anyway, and that's not even beginning to add in the fact that my trigger, the image I associate with tapping into the power of my soul is that of the moon as well.

But what does that entail?

Does it mean that I'm stronger at night, or perhaps that I can only make use of my wings to that extent if the moon is visible in the sky?

I don't know.

But it's something I want to find out.

I felt a hand come down on my shoulder and I looked up to see Peter standing by my side, having come in unnoticed while I was preoccupied with my thoughts.

He gestured towards the door silently and I followed him out, quietly closing the door behind me.

"Jaune, I'm going to say that you're wondering why I'm here?" Peter asked softly, walking back down the hallway towards the front door.

I blinked. "Maybe to check in on me and the others?" I guessed aloud racking my brain for why else my old mentor would have come here.

Peter chuckled. "Well maybe a little." He remarked before shaking his head. "But we've been keeping a close eye on you all, even if it doesn't look like it."

I felt my eyes widen at that.

I mean sure it made sense, what with Cinder going out of her way to obliterate me during the invasion she might be inclined to come finish the job but someone had been here the whole time?

Unless he was talking about Taiyang, and something in my gut told me he wasn't then whoever it was hadn't been seen by any of us even once.

I mean sure I was still pretty out of it but Ren as well?

You had to get up pretty early in the morning if you wanted to pull one over Ren.

Peter coughed, drawing my attention back towards him again. "The reason I'm here Jaune, is because I need to take you to see something. Something very important to you."

Pyrrha.

The thought leapt to my mind instantly I went to interrupt, to ask where we were going when Peter put a finger to his lips and shook his head slightly.

I got the hint.

No talking about that.

Not sure as to the reason, but if Peter has a reason for it then its guaranteed to be a good one.

"Will be Ren and Nora be coming with us?" I asked instead, trying to keep the conversation flowing, even as Taiyang passed us in the hallway, giving a brief nod as he re-entered Ruby's room.

"I'm afraid not." Peter answered, nearly level with the door now. "After the tournament you and your teammates have become more than a little popular. All three of you together is just asking for trouble. So, just you and me." Peter opened the door and stepped outside, waiting for me to follow him.

I didn't.

"I don't exactly blend in now Peter." I said dryly, making my wings extend slightly as I did so to illustrate my point.

Peter grinned at that. "Oh we've already thought of that one Jaune my boy." Peter said with a smile reaching behind his back to pull forth something covered in simple wrapping paper.

I felt myself arching a brow at that.

What do you have in mind Peter?

I started ripping open the package as Peter continued on, curious as to just what it was that he had bought me.

"Took a little bit of clever needle work to be sure," Peter said a nostalgic grin on his face. "But it'll work just fine."

I looked down at the weathered but remarkably well cared for piece of leather in my hands, letting it unfold to its full length before I turned it over to take in the modifications that Peter had spoken of.

This…

This could work.

I slipped the new piece of clothing on, taking care to make use of the add ons for my wings, before I slid both arms into the sleeves.

"How's it feel?" Peter asked, still smiling softly as he looked at me. "Doesn't pinch too much?"

I shrugged my shoulders, my wings now held securely within the hidden section that had been seamlessly within the full length leather coat.

The leather looked familiar somehow, in a way I couldn't quite place because I know I hadn't seen this coat before.

That being said, this was some ridiculously comfortable leather.

I'd swear it was made of velvet if it wasn't so tough.

I'll say this much, Peter's one hell of a tailor.

"It's not the most natural feeling in the world, but I'll be just fine." I promised, clapping Peter on the shoulder and started walking out the door, determined to find my teammates to inform them why I was leaving as subtly as possible.

It didn't take long for me to find the two, now combined into the mighty Norrennosaurs Rex once more and even less for them to get the hint on where I was headed.

To say they were displeased to have to stay behind was an understatement but they understood.

Or at least Ren understood and Nora made growly noises that made me vacate the area in a none too hasty fashion.

I went to find Peter only to find him still standing by the door, a silent statue as his eyes stared out at something that wasn't there.

I stepped forward cautiously, more than a little paranoid about the consequences of startling a trained huntsman like Peter.

There's risking chance and then there's putting your head in Beowolf's mouth.

"Peter?" I called out clearly, making sure that I was a step or two out of reach as I talked to him. "You doing okay there?"

Peter's eyes refocused in an instance and I felt the weight of his gaze on me like it was a physical thing before it lessened once more. "Just remembering something Jaune, nothing to worry about my boy." He said reassuringly before striding forward with a spritely step. "Come along then, daylights burning."

I stared after Peter for a second before sighing and jogging after him, shaking my head as I did so.

Sometimes I swear I'll never going on inside that old man's mind.

"Hold your horses Peter I'm coming."

We went on foot the whole time, cutting through the forest off the beaten track, no Grimm in sight at all.

Which was somewhat reassuring considering the fact I didn't have any weapons on me.

Granted Peter's here and it's not like I'm exactly helpless without my weapons but still. It's somewhat unnerving walking unarmed through a forest like this.

It's like a thought in the back of your head that just won't leave you alone.

But after a while we stepped out of the forest and came to a stop by a solid stone wall, a heavy wooden door the only visible sign of an entrance to this place.

Peter pulled a small bronze key from within one of his pockets and opened the door, ushering me inside before locking the door shut once again.

After so long in Beacon the sight of a key was almost surprising.

I mean everyone used their scrolls as keys in Beacon as well as Vale, so the sight of Peter actually using a physical key was somewhat jarring.

Peter walked forward down the hallway, his shoes making sharp impacts against the wooden floorboards with every new step, the brick walls all seamlessly coloured a light cream as was the ceiling. On each side of the hall there were wooden doors, each one as utterly blank and featureless ass the one that came before it.

I followed after Peter, taking in my surroundings as I did so, trying to make sense of just where we were.

But then just as we were about to enter another hallway, I caught sight of an emblem that I'd once seen stitched onto the side of one of Ruby's books.

"Is this Signal Academy?" I asked Peter, confused as to why exactly he'd taken me here as opposed to the hospital where Pyrrha was staying at.

"Indeed it is my boy." Peter answered, pulling out yet another key to unlock a door that was seemingly identical to the dozen others that we'd passed by at this point, pulling me in after him and firmly closing the door behind him.

I went to ask my old mentor why he'd taken me here when I took notice of just how different the room we'd entered was compared to all the others ones.

Compared to the warm bricks and polished floorboards I'd been used to this room was cold, cleanly polished metal and steel, a number of empty beds surrounded by medical equipment and a few more with the curtains drawn around them.

"Over the years we've seen the need to have some facilities…off the beaten track as it were." Peter said quietly as he turned back towards me. "Through here."

He directed me towards one of the beds hidden behind the curtains, walking through the gap in the cloth.

And as I saw the bed with my own two eyes I felt something catch in my throat, my breath refusing to come.

There she was.

Pyrrha lay in the bed in a simple medical gown that you could have found at any of dozens of different hospitals or medbays around Remnant.

Her eyes were closed, her chest rising and falling minutely with each new breath of air. I could see the evidence of some close calls with Cinder's flames, some of Pyrrha's lustrous long hair burnt away in places.

And she was pale.

Oh so very pale.

I stepped forward almost staggering if not for the helping hand of Peter as I came to a stop by Pyrrha's bedside.

"Pyrrha." I whispered softly, one of my hands reaching out to grasp her hand in mine.

She felt so cold.

Peter coughed awkwardly behind me before speaking up again. "Jaune," Peter started, before gesturing to the person who was occupying the seat next to Pyrrha's bedside, who I hadn't even noticed such was my concentration on my partner. But now that I looked at him I felt something niggling at the back of my thoughts, something telling me that I'd seen this person before. "This is an old friend of mine from back in my more adventurous days. His name is…"

"Dr Swineheart." I interrupted, the man in front of me the spitting image of his picture in his book, albeit with a bit more grey in his hair then before. "Your book said you were dead."

"Needless to say, rumours of my demise have been greatly exaggerated." The doctor chuckled at the taken aback look on Peter's face. "Please, any friend of Peter's can call me Silber." He said disarmingly, extending a hand for me to shake in greeting.

I returned the handshake reflexively, still slightly in awe at the man in front of me before I remembered why I was here and turned back to face Pyrrha. "How is she?"

Silber let out a heavy breath. "When I managed to get here she already had one foot in death's door." He started, not disguising the extent of Pyrrha's condition in the slightest. "We worked all through the night, and well into the next morning and even with all that it was still touch and go for the next few days, having to rush her back to surgery when new complications saw fit to arise."

Each beat of my heart was a painful thing as I heard what Pyrrha had gone through, another knife sliding through my defences with each passing moment.

"Finally we managed to stabilise her yesterday evening, and she hasn't shown any signs of regressing to the previous problems once again." Silber continued, before he paused, seemingly choosing his next words carefully. "Her body will in all likelihood make a full recovery."

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. "I'm sensing a 'but' regarding Pyrrha's condition." I said quietly, not wanting my suspicion to be true but at the same time forcing myself to voice my feelings.

Silber nodded slowly. "Physically she's mostly fine, few bumps and bruises, severed tendon in her ankle, and the big gut wound that I spent most of the first night stitching together again. Her aura should help her heal all those wounds."

"But?"

"But her aura's not helping her." Silber said bluntly, shaking his head as he did so. "If anything it's almost as if it's actively rejecting her. Her aura's at an incredibly low level right now but once it starts gathering up again it's going to start doing some major damage to her organs. Perhaps even permanently."

"How do we fix it?"

"I have no idea." The doctor answered me with all the grace of a descending anvil. "Son, I've worked in the medical profession for more than half a century. I am regularly referred to as 'old as dirt' by most people behind my back. And I have never heard of anything like this happening in my entire life. It's a blatant violation of the accepted understanding of aura, one's aura should not be able to do one's own body harm, period, end of discussion."

I turned away from Pyrrha's still form, the sight feeling as if it would cause me physical pain if I kept standing here like a shag on a rock. "What are you saying?"

"Bottom line? I can try and do what I can with the facilities here, keep her from getting any worse. But unless we find a way to fix her aura? She's not going to get any better."

I stood there for a moment, reeling at the thought that I would be helpless, useless as I watched Pyrrha's body slowly tear itself apart as time went on.

"Is there someone who'd know more? An expert or something?" I asked, trying desperately for some kind of solution to the dilemma before me.

"Like I said Jaune this is ground-breaking stuff here." Silber said, shaking his head in the negative. "The 'experts' in the field that I know about say that this physically couldn't happen and yet it has. You're going to look outside the usual channels if you're looking for advice regarding your partner.

And then it hit me.

Shang.

Ren knew more about aura and its use then damn near anyone I knew but he was apparently nothing more than a novice compared to his uncle Shang.

It was a long shot.

Hell maybe I was grasping at straws.

But it was all I had at this point.

I felt Peter's hand on my shoulder and I stopped and turned to face him, wanting to know why we had stopped me.

Peter stood there with a solemn expression on his face, his face nowhere near the jovial image it typically was. "Jaune, Pyrrha's not the only person I bought you here today." He said quietly, his eyes twitching minutely to one of the other doors that we'd passed on the way in.

I blinked. "Who else is there to s…" I began before I froze in place as a thought struck me.

No.

It can't be.

I walked towards the door on unsteady legs and reached out for the handle, pulling the door open.

The room was fit to bursting with high tech equipment, gadgets and doo-dads of every description, most of which I couldn't name if you paid me to. They beeped, and whirred and clicked and displayed a myriad of mystifying streams of data, all of which seemed to be gibberish to me.

But the thing that grasped my attention firmly with both hands was the centre piece of the room.

There was some kind of device in the centre of the room, formed from cold metal with a window of glass in the middle looking like a high tech…

Container.

A high tech container.

And there, lying inside that sealed metal box was the Old Bastard.

I don't know how long I stood there, staring down at Tob, my mind trying to grasp while at the same time refusing to believe the implications of what I was seeing in front of me.

I had to be hallucinating.

The Old Bastard couldn't be here.

He was supposed to be out there, kicking ass and taking names.

He wasn't supposed to look like…

Like he was hurt.

Like he was sick.

"What happened to him?" I asked finally, almost not even realising what I had asked.

Peter sighed, one hand brushing through his moustache as he stared down at the still form of his oldest friend. "You may not have realised this Jaune, but Tob." Peter stopped and "Alan, has been very sick for quite some time now. According to every doctor that's seen him, he should have died years ago from his injuries after Mountain Glenn. But he didn't die.

Maybe it's because the old Bastard was just too stubborn to die. Hell, it wouldn't surprise me at this point. Maybe it had something to do with the boy that he fished out of the river outside Freshwater all those years ago. But for whatever reason, Tob didn't die. His injuries didn't go away, his legs are still shot to heck and back, and his endurance was nothing to write home about either. But he was alive.

During the "events" of the invasion of Beacon, what with the giant robot in the coliseum, the Grimm invasion, your mother," Peter sighed again, rubbing at his eyes tiredly. "Tob fought longer than he has in a very long time. Drew deeper on his aura and his semblance than he should have. And now his body's paying the consequences."

We're still figuring out how to try and fix it. The infection in his legs has spread, pretty much claimed the entirety of both limbs at this point. It spreads any further it'll run the risk of damaging his organs and we can't have that. We'll probably have to amputate at this point.

The problem is that once we go down that road, there's turning back. And with the CCT down like this it's not like we can get the materials together to fashion some artificial replacements for him any time soon for him either, which'll further complicate issues in trying to get his body to accept the new limbs. And that's not even beginning to address the mandatory rehab he'd have to go through if he wants them to be more than fancy looking paper weights.

"So what do we do then?"

"We're already doing it." Geppeto replied, indicating towards the high tech capsule through the screen. "This device essentially places Tob's body in a kind of stasis, freezes his body in time until we can actually do something to help him."

"Why can't we use something like this for Pyrrha?"

Geppeto shook his head. "We had the same idea. But with her aura the way it is right now, the risks are too great. The stasis process relies heavily upon getting an exact read of the subject's aural pattern and compensating accordingly. It'd be more likely to kill her then anything else.

I cursed internally. Well that was just flipping typical. The one thing that might be able to buy us more time for Pyrrha and it's more likely to kill her than anything else.

"There's more." Geppeto spoke up again, the words almost sounding as if they were a warning than anything else. "About your mother. About you. Alan left us a letter that will explain most of it and we're more than happy to explain any of your questions later. But before we get to that, there's one thing you're going to have to promise us Jaune, and this one is non-negotiable."

I felt a brow raise at that, my interest already piqued about this information that had regarding my mother as well as myself. "And that would be?" I asked politely, curious to know just what they would ask of me.

"You have no idea just how dangerous of a situation you're now in boy." Peter warned me, his hand stroking his moustache as he did so. "About what it means to be an angel."

"So I am an angel then." I said, the statement almost a question the way I had said it.

"First one in ten thousand years by my count." Geppeto confirmed, running a hand through his frizzy hair as he did so. "A bonafide Grimm killer in the figurative flesh."

"But then why?" I asked loudly, interrupting Geppeto before he could go on any further. "Didn't you see how my aura tore through the Grimm out there, some of them even started melting when I got close enough, why on Remnant would you want me not to use that?"

"Oh it's not the Grimm we're worried about Jaune, my boy." Peter said quietly, his eyes far darker than I had ever seen them, one of his fists clenching and unclenching as he did so. "But rather the ones who killed off the angels in the first place."

I blinked at that. "The Grimm didn't kill off the angels?" I asked, honestly confused. "Then who did?"

Peter shook his head. "We did." He said bluntly, spreading his arms wide as he did so. "Humanity and the faunus turned on their protectors en masse and slaughtered them all."

I stood there in shock at this unbelievable revelation.

Humanity?

"But why?" I asked disbelievingly, unable to think of a reason for why people would want to kill off a race that were seemingly the Grimm's mortal foe.

"For the same reason as any other stupid decision really." Geppeto answered, a look of disgust on his face as he thought about it. "Power."

"Jaune, the myths about angel are myriad with a great many different variations popping up on each continent, but each one does have one trait that remains if not identical then at least similar throughout each area." Peter began, gesturing slightly as he did so. "The legend goes that the heart of an angel has some kind of mystical properties that make it very sought after by all different sorts of people."

At this Geppeto cut in. "Now what the heart does this exactly is a matter of some debate but there's two things that the heart can supposedly do. One is grant an individual something that has been described as either divine or immense power. And the other is the capability to bring one person back from the dead, perfect resurrection."

I felt my eyes bulge slightly in shock at that.

Bringing someone back from the dead?

That was…

I paused, thinking about what the existence of the promise of something like that could do and realised something.

That was something that a great many people would be willing to kill for.

There's no force more dangerous in this world than love.

"They hunted them all down, all desiring the power the heart of an angel could grant them, until finally there weren't any left at all." Geppeto recounted, shaking his head sadly before turning away from the screen displaying the ancient symbols and back to facing me. "I don't know if this whole heart of an angel myth is true or just nonsense but I can guarantee that they'll always be some fools who will believe in it."

"And it's for that reason that as soon as you're back into fighting shape again, you're going to have to leave." Peter said gently, placing a hand on my shoulder reassuringly. "To make it as hard for them to find you as possible."

I just stood there for a moment, shocked to my core at all the bombshells that seemed to be dropping around me, shaking my perceptions with every latest blow.

"I…" I stammered, leaning against the high tech stasis pod, feeling like my legs might turn to jelly beneath me at any moment, the other hand holding the letter growing tight around the envelope. "I'd like a few minutes alone now, if that's okay."

I heard Geppeto inhale as if to say something more before he paused, something cutting him off before he could say any more.

I felt Peter's hand squeeze my shoulder reassuringly and the screen with Geppeto on it vanished. "Take all the time you need Jaune." Peter said simply, walking back towards the door. "I'll be just outside when you're ready."

I waited until Peter was out the door and it had slid shut behind him to collapse to my knees, my legs shaking as I fought to keep myself from hyperventilating, the world spinning around as I placed my head between my knees

Calm down Jaune.

Just, just focus on breathing.

In.

Out.

In.

And Out.

After what seemed like a ridiculously long amount of time I managed to feel the sense of vertigo that had been sweeping through me fade away, leaving me sitting against Tob's bed.

I wanted to talk to him so bad.

I wanted him to come sweeping in and save the day, to tell me just what to do.

But he couldn't do that right now.

"I have no idea what I'm supposed to do right now." I spoke aloud, not sure if I was talking to myself or to the comatose form of Tob at this point. "I mean I'm an angel apparently, and you all knew that I was an angel the whole time? And nobody told me anything?"

I'd started off quiet but with each word I said I found that I was getting louder, sounding angrier as I vented my frustrations with every syllable. "And my mother's is some kind of sociopathic monster whose idea of a good time involves Grimm invasions and trying to murder me! Which I'm guessing you also knew something about if my lucks about right?"

"You knew the whole goddamn time and you didn't say anything! Not one bloody word! WHY?"I was standing now, looking down at the still form of the Old Bastard, all but screaming at him now. "Well! Talk damn you! ANSWER ME!" I slammed a fist into the viewing panel of the device, to no avail except a great deal of pain centring on the fist I had just used.

I can't really remember what I was saying at that point, my words all but incoherent as I felt the rage and frustration that had been mounting within me explode out at the unhearing form before me. After a while I sagged as I felt that explosive energy that had soured through me with that anger fade away and I sunk to the floor once more, leaning my head against Tob's bed, my eyes closed as I felt tears form in my eyes.

"I don't know what to do." I whispered quietly, feeling my body sag as if I had just run a marathon. "What am I supposed to do?"

I heard nothing but the rhythmic beeping of the machines working away around me in reply, Tob obviously unable to answer me in his stasis locked state.

I looked down at the unmarked envelope held tightly in one of my hands, and for a moment I considered opening it right then, reading just what it was that Tob had to say to me.

But I restrained the urge.

This was not the place nor the time, and something told me I would want to have Ren and Nora with me when I started reading this thing.

It'd save me having to repeat myself if nothing else.

I pushed myself up with the help of the capsule and wiped my hand over my eyes, trying to clear them as best as I could before I stepped out of the room again.

I was vainly hoping that he hadn't heard my incoherent ramblings from where he was standing on the other side of that door and if I looked as much as a mess as I felt like at the moment then that would be an exercise in futility.

I opened my eyes again and looked down at the sleeping form of Tob, the old man's form pristine, free from the grime of crimson blood and black gore that had stained it the last time I'd seen him.

I placed my hand on the capsule, wanting to do more but aware that there was no other way to get closer. "Take care of yourself old man." I said softly before I turned and walked back to the door, beginning to pull it open, intent on leaving and heading back to Taiyang's cabin to inform the rest of my team what had happened.

"You just do what you always do laddie." A grizzled old voice growled out behind me, the tone almost surly to anyone who didn't know him. "You do what feels right."

I spun on my heels, turning back to face Tob once more only to see the Old Bastard still encased within the capsule, not having moved an inch.

But…

I could have sworn…

"Jaune?" Peter called out, a hand reaching out reassuringly to land on my shoulder. "You alright my boy?"

I stood there a moment longer staring at Tob before I sighed and turned, walking out the door to the hallway once more. "I'm fine Peter." I said quietly, feeling rather drained after everything that had gone on today. I felt like I was an inch away from falling asleep on my feet if things kept up like this. "Now I'd you don't mind, I'd like to head back now please."

Peter nodded warmly. "Of course Jaune my boy. Let's get you home."

It was quiet on the journey back, Peter's attempts at striking up a conversation falling rather flat when confronted with my conflicted mind.

Pyrrha.

The Old Bastard.

The letter currently burning a figurative hole in my pocket.

But as Taiyang's cabin came into sight once more Peter held out an arm and stopped me, looking me squarely in the eye as he did so.

"You haven't told them yet, have you Jaune?" Peter asked quietly, the words sounding far louder than they had any right to be in the silence of the night as he asked his question.

He didn't clarify what he was referring to.

He didn't need to.

I grimaced at Peter's inquiry, the question bringing something back up that I had been rather desperately been trying not to consider at this point considering just how utterly conflicted it made me feel on top of everything else.

"Haven't really had the time with all the kids around." I responded back, equally quiet as I pulled away from Peter's embrace, walking up to the door and knocking lightly on it, not wanting to stir the kids if they'd managed to nod off early.

The door swung open to reveal Ren, his attire looking slightly dishevelled from a full day of acting as the legs of the Norrennosaurs Rex.

Seen behind him was Nora giving a brief wave in greeting as she continued her vigil of watching over those last few restless souls who had yet to succumb to the

Peter slapped me heartily on the shoulder, chortling as he always seemed to be doing as he did so. "I'll handle them for the moment." He assured me, his eyes darting back to the sleeping kids before softening slightly. "Now go inform your teammates of the truth of the matter."

And with that Peter turned and charged towards the kids with a boisterous laugh, sweeping up any who got to close into his arms to causally juggle into the air, the kids all letting out shrieks as they scattered away from him.

Nora went to follow after them only to stop as she saw the look in my eyes and instead made her way towards our room, Ren following along silently behind her.

We made our way past the living room/kitchen, headed for the room that had been serving as our accommodation and quietly shut the door behind us.

"Jaune," Ren began drawing my attention towards him as he leant up against the back of the door, "care to elaborate on what Port was talking about?"

I inhaled deeply before letting it go, taking the time to centre myself.

"You guys should get comfortable." I said finally, gesturing to the beds before me. "There's a lot of stuff I need to go through before I can get to what went on today, and once I get started I don't think I'm going to be stop.'

I sat down on the bed, desperately wanting to pace back and forth as a way of gathering my thoughts but well aware that distracted as I was, I may indeed lose balance again.

"So," I began, dragging the word out as I did so, my eyes moving back and forth between the waiting Ren and Nora. "Before we got distracted with the whole balance training thing last night, there was something else I should have told you. About what happened to me and to Pyrrha after we got separated from you both."

My two teammates remained silent, letting me continue on without any interruptions.

Okay Jaune, come on.

Keep it simple now, summarize.

"I managed to track Pyrrha's scroll to Beacon tower and found her, unconscious, inside one of the lifts. I tried to get her out through the front door but there were to many Grimm, so I got her back in the lift and had it go up to the top floor. I called Sun and got him to come and pick us up."

"Ozpin's office?" Ren asked quickly, trying to clarify just where I had been heading with Pyrrha.

"Ozpin's office." I agreed with a nod before I hesitated, unsure of how exactly to broach the bombshell that I was about to drop. "Only problem was that before Sun showed up we got attacked. By someone that wanted Pyrrha."

Nora looked like she was barely containing herself from saying something but instead nodded, waiting for me to continue as Ren watched silently next to her.

Okay then.

Let's think.

"Well do you guys remember Cindy? Black hair, yellow eyes, leader of Mercury and Emerald's team?" I clarified, making sure they knew just who I was referring to.

"I remember us doing a combat analysis of her, yes." Ren said in a deadpan, a twitch of his lips the only sign of the humour he intended.

But as much as I wanted to, I couldn't find it in me to laugh right now.

Not about this.

"Yeah well, she's the one that tried to take Pyrrha and turns out she's probably the one behind the whole invasion of Beacon thing. That and she's a pyrokinetic, one more powerful than anything I would have thought possible if I hadn't seen it happen with my own eyes." I blurted out, my eyes darting down slightly before I finished what I set out to say. "There's more but I'll get to that later."

"Alright." Ren said with a nod and it was then I noticed that he was in fact taking notes on a piece of paper with a pencil in that messy shorthand that only he could read. "What happened next?"

"Basically? Cinder showed up and she beat the crap out of me." I said my body letting out a twinge as I rubbed at the bruise that was finally beginning to fade on the center of my chest when Cinder had smacked my across the room when the Dragon rammed the building. "I used the P3 grenade to distract her and then jumped out of the building with Pyrrha onto the airship that Sun and the rest of his team commandeered to come get us."

Nora spoke up at that, stopping me before I could say anything further. "Scarlet said something about her flying. Was it some kind of jetpack? Maybe a semblance?"

"Maybe something to do with her semblance but I don't think so." I said, something deep in my gut telling me that wasn't due to Cinder's semblance. "She had these anklets on with fire aligned dust crystals attached to them. She just stepped off the edge and started flying towards us on plumes of flame."

"That's…impossible." Ren murmured, disbelief flooding his features. "The quality of the crystals, the amount of minute adjustments of power you'd have to make mid-flight to take into account, it just can't be done."

"Well apparently she can." I said dryly. "She took out one of the engines on the dust plane before she stole Pyrrha away from me and flew back up to the tower. I managed to get back up there with the help of the others but didn't have my weapon with me."

I paused inhaling briefly as the scene painted itself into existence again before my eyes, each word playing the scene out a little bit further at a time.

"I spoke with Cinder to try and buy time to think of a way to get Pyrrha back from her, or for someone else to get there, when she told me something. Something terrible."

I swallowed briefly before I bit the bullet and finally said it.

"She told me she was my mother, and I believed her."

Ren froze in place, the revelation I had just made clearly something that he was trying to comprehend but was failing to understand.

"But…" Nora asked, looking utterly horrified by what I had just told her. "I thought you said your mother was dead."

I smiled grimly at that. "Oh trust me, it was quite the shock for me as well." I said thinly, flashing back to the torrent of scalding flames that had followed after her introduction. "But it was her."

There was silence for a moment as we all sat there, both Ren and Nora trying to swallow the bomb I'd just dropped in their laps.

But I didn't have time to wait any longer.

This wasn't all I had to say.

This wasn't all that happened.

"She said something about 'fulfilling some desire' something she's apparently been searching for her whole life. Apparently Pyrrha had something to do with it all, having a fraction of 'something' inside of her." I said, making air quotes with my fingers when appropriate.

"Then she dropped Pyrrha off the edge of the tower.

I dived after her. There wasn't much in way of a plan. It was more along the lines of catch up with Pyrrha and then figure it out from there. As a last resort I forced all the aura I could muster into my back, directly where the last of the brand was. Then I was floating.

I didn't know how to fly, well not at first anyway. But the longer I did it, the more easily it came to me, like I was going down an old route that I'd forgotten about that was slowly becoming familiar again.

I flew Pyrrha to the airship with the rest of team SSSN, retrieved my sword and then went back to fight Cinder before she could start trying to go after Pyrrha again. We fought for a bit and she took everything that I threw at her without so much as breaking a sweat. The only damage that I did do to her, healed before my eyes within seconds. So on top of everything else, she apparently has a regen factor as well. Because she wasn't overpowered enough before."

Ren continued to write down his notes, underling something that he'd written before continuing on. Nora was looking at me with a conflicted expression on her face, her hands worriedly scrunching up the sheets by her side.

Part of me was glad it was only the sheets and not the bed itself, Nora could reduce that thing to splinters with barely any effort at all on her part.

C'mon Jaune, almost through, keep going.

"And then she just…stopped, literally mid-charge and just stared down at me. And she said that she'd 'run out of time' whatever that meant, before she decided to blow a hole through the Atlesian Super carrier. She tried to keep fighting me but Tob intervened, firing on her from a distance and giving me time to get to the ship and try and find a way to keep it airborne."

Nora nodded at that. "I saw you, though I couldn't really make out that it was you at the time. A streak of white light that blazed through the air towards the falling airship." She recalled, moving her finger as if she was tracing my path through the sky.

"I tried to get to the bridge, use the controls to try and make it level out but Cinder's attack had reduced what little remained of it to slag. Then I tried to lift it myself, an idea which seems utterly ludicrous now in hindsight but at the time seemed to be a viable option."

"And that's when you connected with Pyrrha." Ren stated, no question present in his words.

I paused for a moment, unsure as to how they could have known that.

Sun or maybe one of the other's in the smuggler's airship.

They could have told Ren or Nora easily.

"At the time I was trying to make my aura mimic Pyrrha's so I could try and use her semblance to stop the airship, just like when I used Yang's semblance to tank that punch from the P-01s." I admitted, running a hand through my hair as I did so. "But it didn't work out like that."

"Instead of you using Pyrrha's semblance, Pyrrha used you as a battery." Nora realised, Ren letting out a gasp of understanding.

"She nearly took all of my aura, I barely had enough to crash land onto one of the nearby roofs and even then I was still blacking out every now and then from the strain." I recalled a shudder going through me involuntarily as I remembered just how acutely painful it was to feel all of your aura draining out of your body, bit by bit. "The last thing I can recall is Peter picking me up and then next thing I knew I was waking up here."

I looked at my teammates, wanting to know just how well they were taking what I'd told them so far.

They looked rattled, understandable after everything that I'd just dropped on them but they were still conscious.

Take wins where you can Jaune.

And then I told them about what had happened today.

About Pyrrha.

About Tob.

And that if we didn't do something, than we were going to lose our teammate.

"…and that's why," I concluded turning to face Ren, "we're going to need to find Shang."

Ren started.

Nora cocked her head to the side. "Who's Shang?"

"Uh." Ren stammered, looking more panicked than I had ever seen before in my life, his eyes screaming at me for help. "he's, um, sort of…"

"…an associate of Ren." I interrupted smoothly, drawing Nora's attention back towards me. "He helped teach Ren a few things when he was younger about aura, and he's our best bet about healing Pyrrha."

Nora looked at me strangely for a moment before she shrugged her shoulders. "Okey-doke, where do we find this guy?" She asked turning her attention back towards Ren.

I went to reply myself with the answer when a terrible realisation hit me.

I knew where the door to the Den had been.

Keyword had.

And that being said, Dragon's Passing had apparently been overrun with the Grimm, so it's not as if we could go around searching for another door to pop up.

Blast.

Ren frowned. "When I wanted to go see him, I'd send him a message via the CCT and he'd let me know where he was." Ren said grimly, looking between Nora and me. "Problem is, the CCT tower in Vale is gone, meaning there's no way for me to contact him."

I swore.

Damn it.

There had to be some way for us to get into contact with Shang.

Something he must have given us.

Wait a minute.

There was something.

I rushed over to my bedside table and pulled open the drawer, and retrieved the vial pouch that had been placed within it.

I open it up and upturned it onto the table, letting out a wince as a great deal of broken glass fell out.

Going to need to replace those.

But alongside all the jagged glass was something else entirely.

I reached out and pulled the Pai Sho tile from the trash showing it to my teammates.

"Where did you get that?" Ren said in a low voice, his eyes locked onto the small game piece.

"Shang gave it to me." I said simply, running the tile across my fingers lightly as if it were a coin before having it run back the other way. "Said it'd help. Any idea as to how?"

Rem stood up and pulled and dashed over to the map of Remnant that was hanging on the wall and ripped it from its perch before flattening it out in the centre of the room. "The tile's typically given to people who seek to join the group Shang's part of." Ren explained distractedly, pinning down the corners of the map with books and even a miniature figurine of a Beowolf.

"So it'll lead us to where he is?" Nora said excitedly, quickly helping Ren push the sides of the map down.

"Not really." Ren said, gesturing form me to give him the coin. "It's kind of a test, to see if you're 'worthy' of joining the group. This is the first test, which in turn will lead us to the first trial."

A flash of pink aura flashed through Ren's fingers, before being directed into the Pai Sho tile and Ren dropped it.

The piece landed on its edge, something seemingly impossible and immediately began rolling around the map, seemingly at random, moving from continent to continent at first at high speed before finally beginning to slow, the coin beginning to wobble as its velocity began to fade.

When the coin finally stopped, rolling to a halt as it collapsed onto its side it had stopped directly on top of a place marked out on the map.

A place in an entirely different continent.

"Mistral." I murmured, picking up the Pai Sho tile as I stared down at the tiny picture that symbolised the capital of one of the four great kingdoms.

That was a long way away.

But it was something.

"Okay then fearless leader, what's our plan?" Nora said brightly, bouncing slightly on her bed as she did so.

"Well after we've all recovered and I can walk around without losing my balance every five minutes, we're going to have to get a new weapon for Nora first. Do you think your father would be back home?" I asked lightly, thinking back to the great bear if a man who'd introduced himself outside of our dorm room.

Nora grinned at that. "Oh daddy'll be waiting by the forge. With what happened with Vale he knows the first stop for Ren or me will be back there, if only to let him know we're okay." She explained, even as her hands twitched as they often did when Nora was thinking about building something.

"Then we've got to make our way to Mistral. It's a long shot, that's to be sure of but it's the only clue we have to where our expert could be." I continued on standing up from the bed when a crinkle sounded out from my pocket.

The letter.

"There's one more thing." I said, pulling the envelope from my pocket. "A letter from the old man. He left it in case…well in case he couldn't explain things."

Nora sat down with a surprised look on her face, staring at the letter.

"Read it." Ren said, pulling out his note pad once more, a serious expression on his face. "Whatever it is that Quatermain has to say, I've got a feeling that we won't want to miss it."

Ren had a point.

Tob had promised to explain everything when the festival was over. That was why he had written this letter. So that even if he couldn't tell me himself, he could still fulfil his promise.

Okay old man.

I opened the envelope and unfolded the letter.

Let's see what you have to say.

Dear Laddie,

If all goes according to plan, you'll never have to read this letter and I'll get to tell you all the sordid details myself just like I promised. But if there's one thing that I've learnt during this crazy adventure called life is that our plans have a nasty habit of going awry on us.

If the rate you've been progressing is any indicator, you'll probably have your wings back at this point. And that's a whole kettle of fish by itself so I'll go over a few of the major points.

It's time Jaune. Time for you to learn the truth.

I knew your mother. We weren't particularly close by any means, but she and Lilith were as close as one can be without blood between them. Your mother was an extremely special individual, for reasons that I can't right down on paper, but she was of a very rare breed, one gifted with an incredible power.

My wife had a power that while not the same, was similar to her own, and she took her under her wing to help her better make use of her power. Peter's in the know, as is Geppeto and Ozpin, they helped train your mother alongside me, kept her safe while she developed her power.

After her training I lost contact with her for a while, she went off and did her thing and I did mine, until one day, years later she showed up at our doorstep, heavily pregnant.

Three guesses who the baby was laddie.

She never told us who your father was, only that he had died in a Grimm attack not long after you were conceived. Not all of us believed her regarding that fact but we kept our peace. But none of us were expecting that you would be born with wings. That you would be an angel.

Your mother swore us all to secrecy and then the moment she was able to, vanished into the night with you in tow. We searched for your mother and you for months on end, years even to no avail. Every trail lead only to further dead ends and eventually we decided to stop searching.

If your mother need our help, then she where to find us.

Cut forward a few years and Mountain Glenn was in the final stages of its completion, the infrastructure was made, the population had moved in, they even had a member of the Vale council there to officiate the city's 'Grand Opening' such as it was.

My wife, her team and two others was there to act as a way to ensure that noting went awry during the event.

Needless to say something did.

We lost all signs of communication to the city, the last broadcasts before they were cut off reporting of Grimm attacking the city and the hunter teams being annihilated by a single fighter.

The Council blew the tunnels, sealed the train line connecting the two cities both saving Vale as well as dooming any survivors within Mountain Glenn.

The council didn't want to let me go in, they didn't want to let anyone go in.

But with Oz's help, as well as the promise to try and save the councillor as well as the special ambassador from Atlas who was also attending the ceremony, they granted me permission to enter the city.

I won't say too much about what I saw there.

It was bad.

Words will never do justice to what that place was.

But when I made my way to the park where the ceremony was taking place, standing among the scattered corpses of the hunter teams as well as the snarling Grimm, there was someone standing there.

Someone that had torn through those seasoned huntsman and huntresses as if they weren't even there.

My wife.

My Lilith.

Only at the same time, it wasn't her.

Her eyes were no longer her own, now a cruel and callous yellow, the pupils slitted far further than they had ever been.

And we fought.

We fought for hours.

I tried to reach out to her, tried to call her back to me, tried to get her to remember herself, remember me, remember our child.

Until for a brief moment, she was with me again.

And she asked me to do the most difficult task I have ever had to do in my life.

She asked me to kill her.

Kill her before 'she' took control.

She made me promise.

And to my eternal shame, I remain a man of my word.

And as I held my wife's dying form I caught sight of something that I had never seen on her before.

A mark, like a tattoo hidden on the centre of her back.

Two mirrored black shapes that left a heart between them.

It was a shape I'd seen before, though I'd thought nothing of it at the time.

The same mark was on the body of the Witch of Slaughter, the driving force behind the attempt to exterminate the faunus.

I'd lost my wife.

I'd lost my legs.

But I'd found our first clue.

With my newfound disability I wasn't in any condition to be tracking down information in the field, so I passed my information onto Peter, Geppeto and Oz, and moved back to the orphanage in Freshwater, with the newly orphaned children of my wife's teammates in tow.

I didn't know the first thing about raising children.

Hell, I still don't.

But I was all they had.

…

I'm rambling.

Cut to a year or so later and I'm out by the river running past the orphanage when I see something washed up on the shore.

You.

Sans wings.

When I took you into the house you were feverish and rambling, and it lasted for days, but in one of your more semi-lucid states you used the food I'd set aside for you to make a symbol.

The empty heart.

When you finally regained consciousness, you were damn near amnesiac not remembering anything other than your name, Jaune Arc and the fact your mother loved you.

Although I didn't realise it until that point, it must have been the reason your mother was running. Because she was hot in pursuit of you.

With the help of Ozpin and a few other likeminded individuals, we've been tracking down all the information we can about your stalker, which frustratingly doesn't amount to much. She seems to periodically go out of her way to destroy all records on herself whenever it suits her, making tracking her down all the more difficult.

But the symbol itself is old.

Over a thousand years old.

And she might be as well.

She targets young girls primarily, those in need of salvation and protection and she descends as a veritable guardian angel promising to save them in return for something of equal value to be collected at a later time.

Compounded by this is the fact that anyone that she makes a 'deal' with becomes unable to speak of her to anyone else, with other forms of communication drying up just as fast when they're attempted.

We suspect this is somehow related to the mark all 'deal makers' have in the aftermath of the event, the one that you've been dreaming of for the past few months.

The 'Empty Heart'.

Most historical records regarding her have been fragmented or otherwise rendered near useless via either natural decay or active maliciousness on her part. However, there remains at least one source that remains regarding your foe's true nature.

Did you ever wonder just why it was that I got you to start reading all the old books in the orphanage laddie?

All those old fables, all those old myths, I wasn't having you read them just because I thought they'd make a good story for the kids.

Sometimes, not always but sometimes, hidden away within those fables and myths you can find something, hidden beneath the surface.

A truth waiting to be found if one's willing to look for it.

Now just because it's there doesn't always mean that it's going to be accurate or exact, some of these stories and tomes have been translated and retranslated through history and sooner or later a few things are going to get lost in translation.

Alongside this letter is a copy of that fable.

And while it may seem fantastical, I warn you to treat it not as a scary story but rather as a warning.

If anything, the tale is an abridged version of the true scale of her power.

But before that, we have to talk about you.

About what it means now that your wings are back.

The old tales say a lot of things about angels.

But none of them say anything about them being subtle.

A great many people are going to want you laddie.

In the old tales, an angel was a force multiplier on the field, turning the tides of battle against either the Grimm or other more mortal figures.

Others are going to want you dead, either because of the risk that you represent, or the power you could grant them.

You're going to need people that you can trust Jaune.

People like your friends and your teammates.

You're going to need them now more than ever.

I can't tell you much more in a letter Jaune.

There's too many people out there with powers that could easily get such a thing.

So all I'll say, is this.

You stay safe, Jaune.

Do what you feel is right, and damn the rest.

TOB

I sat there for a moment, staring down at the Old Bastard's words until I felt my eyes starting to blur over.

I lifted my hand to wipe at my eyes, when something else fell out of the envelope.

Inside the envelope was some torn pages, bound together with the thick string I'd often seen decorating Tob's desk.

Pages I recognised with a dull jolt of shock running down my spine as I realised what I was holding in my hands.

Some pages that I'd been looking for as a child but long since gave up on finding, Tob informing me that it had always been missing.

Pages 108-116 from the old "Legends and Myths" book I used to read to the kids.

And something told me I had discovered why those pages had been removed in the first place.

On the title page for the Legend there was a very familiar sight.

The Empty Heart.

The symbol that had been on the P-01s.

That had been on my mother.

And apparently, in a book that I'd read a thousand times before, albeit without my knowledge.

Below the symbol were two words, but they weren't any that I knew, the words looking like they were in another language, almost an archaic form of old Mantle, long before Atlas had ever come about but I tried to sound it out anyway. "Der…" I began, underlining the words with my finger as I spoke, "Kinderstod."

Interlude 1:

Adam sat on the only chair remaining in his tent, breathing heavily, and sweat pouring down his face.

His tent, once a picture of Spartan efficiency was now in shambles, maps and reports rendered into confetti by his rage filled strikes, his sword clenched tightly in his one remaining hand.

Alan was the Asura.

His father was the Asura.

His most hated enemy was also his greatest hero.

He'd never felt more betrayed.

He'd never felt more enraged.

The door to his tent drew open, and Adam's eyes centred on the man entering the room, a growl growing in his throat. "I said I was not to be disturbed." He snarled, his teeth gritted as he stared at the lieutenant.

Adam's right hand man, an imposing figure over seven feet tall, wielding a weaponised industrial chainsaw with vicious skill. "I know sir. But you're going to want to see this." He walked forward with a scroll in his hands, passing it to his one armed superior. "One of the grunts managed to snap this during the invasion."

Adam's eyes flicked down to the scroll and locked on the image and froze.

"You're certain?" Adam asked, not moving his eyes from the screen.

The masked lieutenant nodded, and Adam knew that he wouldn't have bought this knowledge before him if it was in question.

"Send out word. I want a bounty on him. A hundred thousand lien to whoever brings him back to me alive." Adam pronounced, his words not leaving any room for refusal.

"Of course sir." Adam's 2IC nodded, leaving the scroll as he exited out of the tent, the sound of his shouted orders sounding out before the tents door swung shut once again, muffling the outside world.

Adam stood up from the chair and held his sword between his teeth, picking up the scroll and placing it upon the seat propping it up so that he could clearly see it.

Adam spun on his heels and sat on the ground cross legged in a classic meditation position, focusing on the image before him.

An angel flying over the skies of Vale.

An angel with blonde hair.

The boy his father had been talking to.

Jaune.

He knew it was him.

Even without seeing his face, he knew it was him.

But he couldn't go after him.

He hadn't tapped into this part of himself.

Not since he knew it had to come from him.

But he wasn't strong enough as he was right now.

And if it was for her then he'd do anything

Adam closed his eyes and focused, a scarlet aura engulfing his form and extending away from what remained of his arms.

The room was engulfed in a flash of light the colour of spilt blood and for a moment, just for a moment, there was something else there.

An armoured arm forged from Adam's own aura, the same scarlet of his own aura.

One that bore a remarkable resemblance to one of the Asura's.

Interlude 2:

(Elsewhere)

The four stood ready outside the door, not a sound made between them, even their breaths impossible to hear. Their weapons were unsheathed, ready for what was to come next.

The task was simple.

Enter the room.

Kill anyone inside.

Return the jewel back to its rightful place.

The leader of the four lifted a hand, signalling to enter.

There was no movements of acknowledgement between the others, but then there didn't need to be. They'd been training together since they were toddlers, for seemingly every day of their lives.

This was their duty.

This was their birthright.

The four burst through the door, weapons raised high to inflict quick and vicious blows only for them all to stop mid-step as soon as they had entered.

Beneath their feet wasn't the wooden floorboards of the building they'd been surveilling for the past day.

Instead there were tatami mats, worn with use but still in excellent condition and a dozen or so small tables scattered about the room, with floor cushions serving as seats on each side of the table.

This wasn't where they had entered.

This was somewhere else entirely.

Somewhere dangerous.

The leader felt a cold chill dance down his spine as he realised just where it was they'd entered.

The den of a cruel and venomous animal.

The leader made a hand signal to retreat, the four turning on their heels to dart back out the door they had entered.

Only the door wasn't there anymore.

Where there was once a door remained a wall of seamless stone, utterly immobile and seemingly carved from one single block.

The sound of liquid being poured into something met their ears and the four turned to see someone casually sitting on a cushion in the centre of the room, resting his head on a hand propped up by his shoulder, lifting the steaming hot cup of tea he'd just poured and gesturing towards them.

"Well then," Li Shang said dryly, taking a sip of his tea as she did so. "Who do we have here?"

The leader of the four felt his heart drop out of his chest at the sight of the man in front of him.

How?

How had he known?

They'd been so careful.

"One, two, three, four." Shang counted out, pointing to each member of the group as he did so. "Four little mice away from their nest. Why are you here little mice?"

The tone of Shang's voice was sweet, almost honeyed to hear.

But each word was another dagger of ice in the leader's back, another nail in the coffin that was being hammered in around him.

Mustering up his courage the leader responded.

"You know why we're here, traitor." He spat at Shang, the words poisonous in his mouth. "Return the jewel you stole and you may still leave with your life."

Shang looked at him for a moment bemused. "Oh?" He questioned softly, his eyes still squinted almost shut. "And why would I do that? I don't see any of the Twelve among you do I?"

If not for the leader's training he would have snarled ferally at the turncoat before him but he regained his cool at the last moment. "As good as you are, snake, we have you outnumbered four to one."

Shang let out a loud laugh that echoed throughout the empty Pia Sho den, sounding as if a hundred people were laughing instead of just one. "Oh I wouldn't be too sure about that little mouse." Shang said knowingly, still causally reclining on the floor cushion.

Then he vanished.

One moment he was sitting there.

The next he was gone, nothing but an empty cup of tea proving he had even been there.

Before the leader of the group could so much as begin to make a move towards his comrades he felt a pain beyond anything he had ever known rocket through his chest and he collapsed to his knees, trying and failing to gasp for breath.

Wha-

What had he…

"After all," Shang's voice sounded out as the assassin saw the terrifying man take his place before them, lightly bouncing something up and down in his now bloodied hand, a wet splat sounding out with each bounce. "There's only three of you."

And just before the leader of the four took his final step off the mortal coil, as his vision faded to black, he realised just what it was that the clever snake was bouncing up and down in his hand, and just why it was his chest hurt so much.

It was his heart.

The doomed man toppled with a silent gasp, crumpling to the floor as Li Shang looked impassively at the remaining three assassin's within the Den, before he carelessly dropped the bloody organ to the ground, the heart sounding as if it was slapping the ground as it stuck it.

The three remaining killers took a step back involuntarily.

Li Shang's too wide smile extended even further, something terrible lurking behind his slitted eyes as he approached the others.

"Now then, who's next?"