The End of the Circus: Of Gifts and Semblances - Pyeknu (2024)

Chapter 1: A Renaissance in Vale

Summary:

As the Vytal Festival commences and the plot to destroy Beacon Academy is unleashed, the world of Remnant gets attention from the Wise Lone Sage of the World of the Forge.

Which will unleash changes on a planet that had once been visited by the first God Who Walks Among Men...!

Chapter Text

DISCLAIMER: Concurrent with fair dealing clauses of the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada and fair use clauses in copyright legislation in other nations, this is a work that was created solely for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, it is posted freely on the Internet without expectation or requirement of remuneration.

****

In geosynchronous orbit over Earth at the meridian of New York City (directly over a point twenty kilometres east of Muriba in the Caquetá Department in Columbia), Monday 22 August 2011, mid-morning…

"That was a load of fun."

Hearing that comment from her creator, the beautiful green-eyed gynoid with the dark rust red hair standing in the main office of Station Robert could only smile as she reached over to squeeze Isaac Thomas' shoulder. "You needed it," mused Mimir Shepard — her given name had been taken from a crossover fan fiction story read by her creator some time before his Gifting — as she sat herself at the edge of the desk while giving the blond, blue-eyed native of Queens a knowing look before she crossed her arms. "Ever since your Gifting, you've forced yourself to emotionally grow up well before your time. You needed the chance to be a normal teenager. Dealing with the Wondercolts gave you that chance, Isaac." The replica of the main character of Mass Effect in female form winked. "You're even more of a hermit than Tariko can be at times. That's not a healthy thing for any person, Terran or Yizibajohei."

Hearing that, the Wise Lone Sage, Raer'buo Erba ("Doctor Renaissance"), chuckled as he crossed his arms. Despite her being chronologically a few years old, Mimir had become both surrogate mother and elder sister figure to him. Atop her supervising the work of the androids and gynoids — addressed as a group as "replicants" — who kept Station Robert and Isaac's starships in proper shape, she often liaised with him when it came to dealing with various government officials on Earth and elsewhere. "Okay! Okay! I stand chastised!" he stated as he gave her a surrendering look, waving his hands. "I'll try to be a normal person as much as I can. I'll date around! I'll…!"

BEEP!

Both blinked, then Isaac tapped controls on his laptop to bring up whatever message had just been transmitted to Station Robert. A moment later, he blinked as he sat back in his chair. "Interesting…"

"What is it?" Mimir wondered.

"A message from Henry," the New Yorker replied. As Mimir's eyebrow arched on hearing the nickname applied to the central computer of the most famous starship in the Milky Way Galaxy, he added, "I've asked him to dip into all the Rover sensor logs to find places that I could explore to see if we could expand the pool of non-native Yizibajohei beyond what's been done on Earth so far, not to mention keep a weather eye out for inhabited worlds whose natives are slowly sliding towards their own version of the Dawn of Power." As she nodded, he took a moment to scan through the general precis passed from Sagussa, then he nodded. "Oh, yes…! This looks VERY interesting to me…"

She scanned the screen. "'Remnant'?"

"Odd name, isn't it?" he wondered before he did a scan of what was written there. "Class M planet orbiting a white K-type sun close to Delta Orionis; that's about thirteen hundred light-years from here. Originally seeded by the Anquietas from Terran stock five million years ago, inactive Stargate, so no contact yet from Stargate Command. Moon…" He blinked as he leaned back on seeing what happened to this world's lone satellite. "Ah! Looks like the Ori got involved with this planet. Someone got angry at someone…" Shaking his head, he started to scroll down the list. "Currently…"

His voice faded as one glaring detail came up. Mimir was quick to see that. "I think this has potential."

"Very high potential," Isaac affirmed with a nod before a scowl turned his lips as he recalled his past-selves' encounters with members of the race of would-be "gods" who — in their own way — were no better than the Old Ones that had been banished from Earth and Yiziba twenty-five millennia ago. "Selfish, egotistical nut jobs! Always, always, always NOT bothering to clean up after themselves…" He sat back in his chair, his eyes glittering with anticipation.

For any polymath hyper-genius from the World of the Forge, THIS was one heck of a find!

"Well, this will be quite the interesting research trip," he trilled.

Mimir smirked as she lifted herself from the desk. Despite her worrying about his getting a chance to be "normal", she knew what drove the Wise Lone Sage…even in this Terran-born incarnation. "I'll get the Normandy ready."

"Please do," Isaac declared…

****

The End of the Circus: A Tale of the Yizibajohei
Of Gifts And Semblances
by Dr. Tempo and Fred Herriot

Tsukurimashō! (2002), composed and arranged by Itō Masumi, lyrics by Itō Masumi and Nishikiori Hiroshi. Daybreak (1976), composed by Barry Manilow and Adrienne Anderson. Issho no Tabeyō (2002), composed and arranged by Murayama Tatsuya, lyrics by Okazaki Ritsuko. Lady Willpower (1968), written by Jerry Fuller.

C&C by Rose Ash.

Based on The End of the Circus: A Tale of the Yizibajohei, written by Fred Herriot.

Including characters and situations from The Seventh Carrier, written by Peter Albano; Azumanga Daiō, created by Azuma Kiyohiko; My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, created by Hasbro and DHX Media; Black Lagoon, created by Hiroe Rei; Kantai Collection, created by Kadokawa Games; Sayonara Zetsubō-sensei, created by Kumeta Kōji; Star Wars, created by George Lucas; Worm, created by John C. McCrae; characters created by World Wrestling Entertainment and its predecessor organizations, founded by Jess McMahon and Toots Mondt; RWBY, created by Monty Oum; Sweet Valley High, created by Francine Pascal; Harry Potter, created by Joanna K. Rowling; Ryū ga Gotoku, created by Sega; The West Wing, created by Aaron Sorkin; Urusei Yatsura, created by Takahashi Rumiko; Suzumiya Haruhi no Yū’utsu and its sequels, written by Tanigawa Nagaru; Sister Princess, created by Tenhiro Naoto and Kimino Sakurako; Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon; and Stargate SG-1, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner.

Including references to characters and situations from Mass Effect, created by BioWare; Megaman, created by Capcom; Men In Black, created by Lowell Cunningham;Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, written by Hirasaka Yomi; Doctor Who, created by Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber and Donald Wilson; Fist of the North Star, created by Okamura Yoshiyuki and Hara Tetsuo; and Venom and other stories of the Marvel Universe, created by Randy Schueller, Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck among others.

Also including characters and situations from Urusei Yatsura: The Senior Year, written by Mike Smith and Fred Herriot.

****

INTRODUCTION

This is a side story to The End of the Circus: A Tale of the Yizibajohei, with the teaser happening fifteen months prior to the start of Boy Meets Girl Meets Metahuman and the main body of this work beginning almost eight months prior to the start of that story, just prior to Before the Dream. In the continuity of the main story, the events depicted below occur in the period prior to events depicted in the first Urusei Yatsura movie, Only You. In the continuity of RWBY, the main element of the story begins during the events in "Destiny" (third volume, ninth episode). Doctor Renaissance (Isaac Thomas) and interpretations of characters from RWBY appearing here are my creations. Interpretations of characters from Azumanga Daiō, Urusei Yatsura and other series here are Fred's as depicted in the main story.

Writer's notes are contained at the end of the text of each chapter.

****

From the Journal of Isaac Thomas (Doctor Renaissance):
Ever since I arrived on Remnant, I have researched the history of this world as well as analyzed the various things that I had seen.
From what I can tell so far, the history of this planet is — past a few centuries ago — lacking in writings as to what exactly happened where and why. This is odd, making trying to learn more about the planet and its people difficult. I have been reading various local fables and fairy tales in hopes of extracting the facts within…but so far, there's nothing conclusive for me to develop any sort of cultural developmental theory to determine why things came to be the way they are on Remnant today.
As for the "why" I'm here, it is due to the abilities the natives of this world possess. They manifest something called "Aura", which — according to what I've learned — draws on the power of the soul to forge barriers against injury. Such barriers can be broken though under the right circumstances. Further, one must activate the ability to use it, and such isn't active 24/7/365.
The other paranormal occurrence among the natives is the concept of "Semblance". In effect, it's a special metahuman power unique to each person who awakens same, though I have heard of cases where members of a family share the same Semblance type. This means that this world could potentially experience a Dawn of Power-style evolution someday, which is what brought me here.
Terran/Yizibajohei-like humanoids aren't the only sentient natives to this planet, though. In addition, there are various types of therianthropes resident here who are grouped together under the "race" name "Faunus". In effect, such beings are humans with animal traits such as tails and ears positioned at the temples. For the most part, all Faunus suffer considerable social discrimination. It has evolved to the point where a group called the "White Fang" came into being to help the Faunus acquire equal rights. Said group initially employed peaceful means to press for their cause. However, since it's original leader Ghira Belladonna stepped down, the group has begun attacking other people.
There is also a substance called "Dust" used here, which comes in several types and seems to grant elemental powers to whatever they are ultimately employed with. It also serves as the main energy source for local technology. From what I've learned, levels of Dust on Remnant will only last a few decades at the most. Thus, one of the many projects I've commenced since coming here is the creation of synthetic Dust plus adopting local technology to different types of energy sources like mesonium.
Strangely enough, the employment of Dust has become vital in fighting creatures called "Grimm". Akin to Dementors in places like Her Majesty's Prison Azkaban in the North Sea, Grimm are empathic hunters attracted to negative emotions; they use this to track potential prey among all other types of living creatures on Remnant. Though they most often act like wild beasts, I have noticed recently that some groups of Grimm seem to behave as if something or someone is controlling them.
With all this in mind, I have gotten permission from Suzumiya Haruhi to use the dimensional viewer device to see potential future timelines for this world.
Hopefully, this will give me an idea as to what is going on here…

****

Aboard the Free Planetary State of Yiziba Starship Normandy, in reliquisynchronous orbit at the meridian of the City of Vale, Gaysaw 44 Treichleam 2216, ninety minutes after lunch (Tōkyō time: Wednesday, 28 March 2012, ninety minutes after midnight; New York City time: Tuesday, 27 March 2012, a half-hour after lunch)…

"Why am I SO not surprised?"

"Would you like me to get the Doctor here so he can explain it to you, Isaac-kun?"

The Wise Lone Sage moaned, rubbing his forehead. "Ha-ha! Very funny, Haruhi-chan!" Isaac Thomas muttered as he rubbed his forehead. He HATED it when investigations into potential future timelines and alternate dimensions turned up the same potential future! "So…this is one fight scene that is totally unavoidable," he muttered, shaking his head.

"Everything seems to be leaning that way," the Mistress of Time and Space, R'buttuo (the "Weaver"), breathed out as she crossed her arms. "Problem here is that you'd have to go way back into local history to change events to prevent something like this. Too much crap has happened in too many places to hope to diverge it with one little act of mercy."

"And you wouldn't allow that too far after the scene."

Suzumiya Haruhi chuckled. "You know me so well!"

Shaking his head, Isaac then perked as the door to his private cabin opened to reveal his starship's chief gynoid with a tea service for him and his guest. "How soon can things be compiled about the full-planet sensor scan, Mimir?" he asked as Mimir Shepard placed the tray on the desk, then moved to hand cups over.

"Another day or so," the replica of the player character in Mass Effect promised as she glanced at the laptop in front of her creator. "I take it a rather large fight scene is on the horizon?" she wryly asked.

A tired sigh escaped the Wise Lone Sage. "Sadly so."

"Time frame?"

"A week," he affirmed before sipping his tea. "More than enough time to get ready to help these two…"

His finger landed on the screen, indicating the images of two young women…

****

Over the city of Vale, aboard the Amity Colosseum, Gaysaw 51 Treichleam, suppertime (Tōkyō time: Monday 2 April, just after dawn)…

"Impressive show of security, General."

Hearing that comment from the slender twenty-something fellow with the dark blond hair and the bright blue eyes behind protective goggles, the commander of the Atlas military looked over. Thanks to his experience in the field dealing with the Grimm, James Ironwood was quick to analyze this fellow's spiritual Aura potential; he didn't recognize him as an alumnus of any of the huntsmen academies he was familiar with. Still, there was an air of barely-contained violence cloaking this fellow in the voluminous hooded cape and the off-white jumpsuit with the gold belt and boots, one the experienced huntsman was quick to sense. "Where are you from, son?" the greying steel-haired warrior wondered as he broke away from his senior staff to stand close to the stranger, his hands resting on his holsters.

He found himself smirking on noting that the newcomer didn't feel cowed. Those eyes projected a mixture of youthful strength and calm calculation arising from years on the field. No matter who this fellow was, he was a fighter.

That, Ironwood could respect.

"From outside Vacuo, General. Isaac Thomas," the younger man said as he offered his gloved hand, which Ironwood took with his own cybernetic limb. Noting the stranger was willing to shake his mechanical hand showed a willingness to accept the general as a fellow warrior. "You won't recognize me from the roster of the Academy, sir. I'm self-trained and haven't triggered a Semblance. Learned the basics from my parents before they were killed in a storm."

That made Ironwood wince in sympathy. "My condolences, Mister Thomas." He had heard how bad it could be for some people in Vacuo trying to get into Shade Academy. Given the nomadic nature of many of that kingdom's inhabitants, the recruiting pool was small…and given that the younger fellow hadn't yet woken his Semblance, he wouldn't get into the school anyway. "A pity about not having a Semblance. Your Aura potential is amazingly strong." A chuckle escaped him as he patted Isaac's shoulder. "Oh, don't worry about it, son! You'll get it sooner or later…!"

Isaac blushed. "Th-thanks…"

Suddenly, the general perked. "Thomas? You wouldn't be a relation to the man who started Renaissance Industries here in Vale? The people developing technologies not powered by Dust?"

The younger man's eyes twinkled. "I know the people who are running the workshop, General. They must have mentioned my name to whoever passed on that tidbit to you…"

"He has no Semblance, General?"

Both turned as a smiling teenage girl with freckles came over to join them, hands politely crossed behind her back. And thank you, Penny! the younger man breathed out; he wasn't ready to reveal what he was ALSO doing on the planet to the public yet. "Unfortunately, Miss Polendina," he answered, making the gynoid's green eyes widen in surprise. He then nodded to a nearby video display board, which showed her portrait and name as one of the contestants. "A delight to meet you," he then said as he offered his hand, which she took. After he introduced himself, he added, "I have to confess, you're the most lifelike gynoid I've ever seen. I never knew Atlas' AI technology has progressed that far."

Penny Polendina awked as her cheeks reddened while Ironwood laughed. "You have a sharp eye, Mister Thomas!" the general asserted. "Very few people can sense the truth of someone like Penny!"

That made Penny fluster before she gazed intently at the newcomer. "You do have a very strong Aura potential, Isaac Thomas. It is a pity you have not awoken your Semblance. Were you formally trained?"

"He's from outside Vacuo, Penny," Ironwood explained.

She gave Isaac a sympathetic look. "Oh!" She thought about it for a moment before smiling. "It is such a pity, still. If you had woken your Semblance, you would be as strong as my friend Ruby; she is a student at the Beacon Academy."

"I've seen her and her team a few times since I came to town before the Festival," Isaac noted. "Miss Rose and her friends have great potential." He gazed on the general. "You were right to disqualify their team because of what Miss Xiǎo Lóng did, General. Still…" His eyes narrowed. "There's something that struck me very odd about that business."

Ironwood perked as his eyes narrowed while he recalled what Yáng Xiǎo Lóng said about what happened not an hour before. "How did you see it, Mister Thomas?" he asked. He knew that many from Vacuo often developed a special sixth sense when it came to dark situations. Such helped them survive through raids from the Grimm as much as it did when they confronted the many natural disasters that rocked the desert kingdom. "She claims she was attacked…"

"She WAS about to receive the kicking version of a sucker punch, General," Isaac calmly declared, which made Penny brighten. "The match was called in Miss Xiǎo Lóng's favour. She had her back turned to the man. There was no need to continue fighting, yet I clearly saw Mister Black was ready to press it. I even HEARD him say something like…" Here, his eyes narrowed as he looked towards the main arena. "…'There's not going to be a next time'. Or something like that." His eyebrow then arched. "By the way, I also noted that his legs are as artificial as your arm, General."

Ironwood blinked before he shook his head. "Only one witness…"

"I knew Ruby's sister would never do such a thing!" Penny instantly asserted.

"Perhaps. I'll contact people from Haven to get his story," the general mused. "Good eyes and ears, son," he then complemented Isaac, reaching over to squeeze the younger man's shoulder again. "We'll talk about this later."

With that, the experienced huntsman headed to the observation levels overlooking the area. Isaac watched him go, then glanced around to see the many Knight-200 combat androids that had been deployed with the Atlas contingent, weapons at port arms and they now in strategic positions to cover everything within visual range of the "Vacuan".

Before he could say anything else, though…

"…All right! It's now time to begin the randomization process for our next fight…!"

Hearing the voice of Professor Bartholomew Oobleck, Isaac hummed before he glanced at the adopted native of Atlas. "I think your number's about to come up, Miss Polendina," the Wise Lone Sage mused.

Echoing through the air then was the sound of a roulette spinning. "I am ready no matter what will happen, Isaac Thomas," she declared before a curious look crossed her face. "What is a 'gynoid'?"

"It's a forgotten term for a female-form artificial person…"

Oobleck's fellow instructor Professor Peter Port then called out, "It looks like our first contender is…"

"'Gynoid'?" Penny spoke aloud before she nodded. "I like that term, Isaac Thomas."

"…Penny Polendina from Atlas…!"

That made her perk. "I must go now, Isaac Thomas. Will you observe my match?"

He winked at her. "I'll be watching, Penny."

"…and her opponent will be…"

Both the Terran-turned-Yizibajohei polymath and the Remnantian gynoid tensed.

"…Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon!"

Penny blinked before nodding, then she marched into the arena. Isaac observed her head off, then he gazed at the palm of his right glove, smiling on seeing the small seed of ruby mesonium that he used to inject the gynoid's body with softly twinkling. He looked back to stare intently at the back of Penny's head as his eye triggered a scanning function in his goggles. The native of Queens then nodded on noting the soul transmitter crystal that would suck up Penny's very spiritual essence — her "aura potential" as such would be called on Remnant — was ready to do its work.

With that, Isaac headed to a nearby set of stairs to watch the bout.

All in the hands of the Doll House now…!

****

Twenty minutes later…

"Damn…!"

Isaac Thomas had fundamentally known how powerful Pyrrha Nikos could be.

But to see something like THAT…!

"No…!"

Glancing up to see the horror crossing the faces of Peter Port and Bartholomew Oobleck at the sight of Penny Polendina now in several pieces on the floor of the arena before a white-faced and horrified Pyrrha, the Wise Lone Sage then used his goggles to scan the downed gynoid's head to…

Yes!

Already, a metaphysical tunnel had formed, far beyond the ability of anyone in the stadium now to perceive, drawing in Penny's living spirit. Only Isaac could see into the endless tunnel that formed the core of a micro-dimension created by the first being nicknamed the "God Who Walks Among Men" two millennia before, the gynoid's living essence being drawn into a side cavern to be infused with a mannequin-like being, one of an ENDLESS number of such creations by the first Infinity to allow non-Gifted a new chance of life. As the chorus of horrified gasps from the crowd increased in volume — while the Vytal Festivals over the years had often resulted in considerable injuries, death was a VERY rare occurrence! — he slowly rose, keeping his head bowed low in a show of honest sympathy towards what just happened, then he headed for the stairs to get back to the main floor and a quiet place to teleport back aboard the Normandy

"Penny…!"

Hearing the voice of the effective of Team RWBY as he got to the landing close to a service tunnel, the Wise Lone Sage paused, hands clenching into fists as he fought down the urge to hug the weeping Ruby Rose and inform her that her friend was ALIVE where it counted the most…and would enjoy a whole new life ahead of her.

But he couldn't.

He just couldn't!

The immediate futures that would branch from this very event were set in stone.

For Remnant to survive, the Beacon Academy had to fall

The native of Queens was suddenly shaken out of his introspection by the sound of a door opening close to where Ruby was. A glance over revealed a smirking silver-haired fellow leaning out from a maintenance hatchway, gazing first at the fallen Penny, then at the shuddering Ruby. To her credit, she did tense on hearing Mercury Black approach…but the sheer shock of seeing a close friend now DEAD not metres ahead of her was just too much…

Isaac's blue eyes widened as Mercury then stared directly at him, his victorious grin turning into a scowl. Damn it! Did someone overhear what I told the general about this jackass?! the New Yorker wondered as he sensed the cybernetic mercenary tense, his own grey eyes narrowing as his fists clenched.

"Broadcast, what are you doing? Kill the feed!"

As silence fell while Oobleck listened to whoever was controlling the audio systems give his more than understandable report concerning losing control of said systems, the Wise Lone Sage allowed a savage grin — one he had learned to make from many a teacher in a certain Thai port city years ago — to cross his face as his left arm raise to allow him to point at Mercury. Noting the mercenary tense on seeing that accusatory stance, Isaac keyed a system in his suit that allowed his voice to be projected right into the native's ear without alerting the weeping Ruby as to this statement:

"Omae wa mō shindeiru…"

Isaac had always loved Fist of the North Star!

"What?! How is that possible?!" Oobleck bellowed in the background.

As Mercury's eyes went wide on hearing that strange language, Isaac lowered his arm and turned to walk up the stairs. He paused before moving off, sending the mercenary a parting look of contempt.

"You are already DEAD, Mister Black."

The coldness in the Terran-turned-Yizibajohei's voice nearly made Mercury soil himself before he ducked through the door he used when he followed Ruby from the maintenance area of the stadium to see the real result of his delaying attack on the leader of Team RWBY. Once he was gone, the Wise Lone Sage spared the crying huntress a sympathetic glance before moving to find another place so he could beam to the Normandy and prepare for what was coming.

"This is not a tragedy…"

Hearing the voice of the woman destined to kill the current incarnation of a great warrior that now lived as the headmaster of the Beacon Academy, Isaac tried not to smirk. Nice theatrics, Miss Fall…!

"This was not an accident…"

As the crowd around him gasped with understandable confusion and growing horror in response to the projection screens now displaying a two-tone red field embossed by a black insignia looking like a queen piece in Terran chess, the New Yorker made it to another tunnel. Ducking through a maintenance hatch, he tapped a control on his belt.

"This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety — your CHILDREN! — to men who claim to be our guardians, but are, in reality, nothing more than men"

In a sparkle of energy, the "Vacuan" had disappeared…

****

Somewhere, sometime…

Where…am I…?

She remembered being literally ripped apart, all her systems failing.

How…do I still…function…?

She remembered the horrified look on her opponent's face.

Father…did you…save me…?

Something within her ached as the image of her first true friend flashed before her central mind, she on her knees in a corridor leading away from the main stage within the Amity Colosseum. The look of pain and anguish on Ruby Rose's face on seeing her cease to function after her duel with Pyrrha Nikos making her feel as if someone physically stabbed her right in her main power core, a fatal blow to an artificial person like her.

Ruby…I am so sorry…!

Then…

Wait…

What…?

What is happening to me…?

"Tsukurimashō! Tsukurimashō!"

Who is that…?

"Sate, sate, nani ga dekirukana?"

I…can understand that…

"Hai! Dekimashita!"

But…that is no language on Remnant…

"Ah! Chiyo-chan! She's waking up!"

That caused a pair of very organic green eyes to snap wide open!

"Oh, honestly, Ōsaka-san! You're probably scaring her! Don't be so loud!"

Little Chiyo…Miss Ōsaka…singing about making things…who…eh?!

A gargled breath escaped the just-woken Atlesian gynoid as her skin turned very white, making the heads of the two women standing in one of the countless alcoves in the Doll House turn before the older one moaned, she then slapping her forehead with her hand. "Oh, no! Not again!" she grumbled before walking over.

The younger of the pair turned white as she immediately sensed what her classmate was about to do.

"AH! ŌSAKA-SAN, DON'T…!"

A shocked croak then made Mihama Chiyo wince as she saw the now-immaterial fingers of her best friend Kasuga Ayumu probing INSIDE the skull of the just-woken Penny Polendina! "Ōsaka-san…!" the brightest student to grace a high school in Japan for generations then moaned as she slumped.

"Um…salutations!"

Hearing that made Chiyo look up, the surprise on her face obvious.

"I have never encountered anyone who can phase their body through solid matter," Penny stated, making Chiyo feel relief that she wasn't going to panic stations over being "examined" in this manner by Ayumu. Like she ALWAYS did in these situations! Chiyo wryly added. "How are you not disrupting the functions of my central processors…?" Penny's voice trailed off before she asked, "Do I have central processors? This is not my body, so how am I functioning?"

An amused chuckle escaped the woman now trying to probe the adopted Atlesian's head. "It's okay, Penny-chan!" Ayumu declared. "I have to do this EVERY time an android or gynoid comes to the Doll House to become a battle doll to be Gifted. No matter which planet you come from, it ALWAYS happens! Every time someone makes an android or gynoid, they ALWAYS put in a housekeeping computer!" A moan escaped her as she shook her head. "Why…?!"

Penny blinked. "Um…it is to ensure that I can function properly…AH!"

Ayumu's brown-grey eyes brightened before she pulled her hand out of the reborn gynoid's skull. "There we go!" the native of Wakayama called out before she reached over to help Penny slowly sit up. "Now that silly programming is working right for your new body, you can get up and have something to eat."

"Not TOO fast!" Chiyo advised as she came over to join her friend. "Are you alright, Penny-san?"

Gazing at the younger of the pair of strange women, Penny blinked as she took in all the details, a touch of surprise flooding her as she realized that even if she was a battle doll — whatever THAT was — she could still analyze things with the same level of speed and proficiency that she could as a gynoid. A girl having just passed into puberty, possessing expressive brown eyes behind the same type of protective goggles that Isaac Thomas had worn. She also had a very pleasant shade of tenné brown hair styled in two ponytails like teardrops behind her ears. She wore a form-fitting soft gold jumpsuit with bared arms and shoulders, that complete with brown belt and boots with fold-down outer flaps that rose almost to her knees, the belt lined with many pouches, some open and bearing quite small electronic devices of types which Penny was unfamiliar with. On her chest above her budding breasts was a sideways "C" in silver, three white lighting bolts emanating from the opening of the letter pointing to her throat and shoulders.

And…

Penny was now blushing. "You are very cute, Miss Chiyo."

As Chiyo flustered at that complement, Ayumu nodded as she crossed her arms, a touch of pride in her voice as she declared, "Yeah, everyone says that about Chiyo-chan! Good thing I turned her into a battle doll when she got Gifted. I mean, if I didn't do that, her brain would have BURNED OUT from…!"

"Ōsaka-san! Slow down! She doesn't understand a thing!" Chiyo snapped.

Penny blinked, then she gazed on the older of the pair. A rather plain face pierced by brown-grey eyes that seemed all-seeing yet also strangely vacant, that framed by brown hair that flowed to shaggy ends around her shoulders. She wore a grey battlesuit with white belt and boots of the same model that Chiyo wore, though her belt only had two pouches poised over the iliac crest of her pelvic bones. On her chest above her more pronounced cleavage — she seemed to be the same age that Penny had been constructed to emulate — was a white symbol looking like a sideways number "8".

A sideways "8"…

"The One Above the Gods…!"

That made the two Terrans-turned-Yizibajohei both blink in confusion…

****

An hour later, on the streets of Vale (Savannah time: Sunday 1 April, a half-hour after suppertime)…

"PLEASE tell me you're kidding me…"

The Wise Lone Sage shook his head.

Damn it! He KNEW he shouldn't have opened his mouth to James Ironwood earlier!

Still…!

"So, YOU'RE the one who founded Renaissance Industries, eh?!"

Isaac Thomas blinked as he gazed upon the small group of local therianthropes known as "Faunus" now standing about four metres ahead of him, all bearing visible insignia marking them as members of the group known as the "White Fang", all armed. "If I am, Mister Haddock?" the New Yorker calmly asked in turn.

He was NOT in the mood for this sort of confrontation scene!

A gargled breath made him focus on the fellow with the buzz-cut black hair and intricate tattoos on his exposed arms, said person now shuddering in disbelief and shock on noting that he had been called out by name. "Did you honestly think I wouldn't know who you are, Gray? May I call you Gray?" Isaac then taunted as he placed his hands on his hips. "So, what's the issue? My public relations staff made it clear from the start that Renaissance Industries wouldn't discriminate when it came to hiring and I wouldn't tolerate any discrimination by human staff on Faunus co-workers…"

"SHADDUP!" Gray Haddock, one of the field lieutenants to Adam Taurus who had been involved in a kidnapping attempt against Weiss Schnee some months ago, roared as he keyed on his weapon.

"HEY, GRAY! WAIT…!" his second-in-command, Ken Tukson, yelled as the other man charged.

He and the others watched as Isaac crouched, reaching behind the back of his body to snare something. Uncertainty now rocked their hearts as they thought about what the man they were targeting had just said. They had been directly ordered by their leader — now chasing down his old lover Blake Belladonna within the halls of the Beacon Academy — to find the man who set up Renaissance Industries and capture him so he could be interrogated by Cinder Fall to learn what his plans were concerning creating technology not powered by Dust. While they had known the new company made it a key policy point to make their works as prejudice-free as possible and had even contributed funds to a multi-kingdom charity supporting the Faunus living in Menagerie, the fact that the new start-up WAS pursuing a path that would ultimately give humanity as a whole total freedom from dependency on Dust was something that for some oddball reason set Adam Taurus right off. In fact, Ken's younger sister Tara now worked as a research assistant in Renaissance; it was through her that Adam's group found out about Isaac Thomas' very lofty goals for all of Remnant.

So…if he was really on their side…?

PSSSHHEW!

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

Ken and his friends Scott Mata and Monica Khan looked over on hearing their leader screech…

…then their jaws dropped in stunned disbelief to see Gray now lying face-first on the street near their target's feet, his left arm a cauterized stump above the elbow, the severed limb having dropped off to one side. The cause of his injury: An ENERGY SWORD in Isaac's right hand, said weapon forging a blade a metre long, glowing a brilliant evergreen, the hilt about a third of the length of its business end, it silver metal with a small control pad and black rubber grips.

As the native of Menagerie howled from being literally "disarmed" like that, the Wise Lone Sage twirled his lightsabre — forged under the tutelage one of several people who ultimately benefited from Hirosaki Ryūji's visit to a galaxy far, far away in another dimension in the 1930s, Qui-Gon Jinn of Coruscant — around in a playful circle before the point of the weapon tore into the power box of Gray's chainsaw. "Oh, be quiet, you baby!" the New Yorker scolded as he stared in contempt at the fallen warrior. "Now you'll have scars to remind you that not all humans are weak and helpless…"

The sounds of mechanical limbs echoed from nearby.

"Oh, my…just in time," Isaac snidely chuckled as he gazed down an alley…

…as a platoon's worth of Knight-200s approached, weapons at the hip and aiming at the Wise Lone Sage, helmets and bodies glowing an ominous crimson. Gray looked over…before he shrieked as one bolt ripped into his forehead, killing him before Isaac's blade deflected the others! "HEY!" Scott snarled as he drew his own sword and charged.

"SCOTT, WAIT!" Monica howled as the ovine therianthrope deflected several shots before he got clipped by another android in the left knee, sending him face-first into the street. "SCOTT!" the young niece of the White Fang's current leader shrieked as she lunged over to save him, forcing both Ken and Isaac to move to shield her.

The lightsabre and the broadsword expertly welded by the mustelid therianthrope whose older brother fled the White Fang and hid in Vale a year before — only to be tracked down and killed for his "treason" by Mercury Black and his friend Emerald Sustrai some months ago — flashed to deflect bolts away as Monica dragged the grunting Scott clear of the field of fire. Several Knight-200s were decapitated by well-reflected shots, they collapsing to the ground even as their brothers pressed the attack. Just as Isaac was about to crouch down before charging at the remainder of the rogue machines, a buzzing sound echoed in his ears. "Damn it, Albert! Not now!" the Wise Lone Sage snapped.

"I take it I'm interrupting a fight scene, Isaac?!" a cackling man's voice echoed over the scene.

"Yeah, you are!" the New Yorker quipped as the remaining section of Knight-200s ceased fire to charge him. "Looks like Mister Black didn't care for my calling him out in front of General Ironwood like that!"

"He didn't!" Ken warned.

"Ah! I assume that's young Mister Tukson?!" "Doctor" Albert Wily demanded from aboard Isaac's personal spheroid-shaped shuttlecraft which was now in low orbit over Vale.

That made the broadsword warrior awk, which was the cue for Isaac to leap up to rebound off the side wall of the alley above the androids' heads with practised grace before he spiralled down, his lightsabre spinning with him to decapitate four of the androids in one sweep. As the other Knight-200s tried to bear on him, Ken grunted before he charged, his sword high in the air. Isaac back-flipped clear, allowing the other man to chop the remaining three machines down. Isaac quickly got back to his feet, lightsabre at the ready as he gazed intently upon the late Phillip Tukson's brother.

The two faced off for a moment…

…then both jolted on hearing someone scream in fright.

"Grimm…!" Isaac and Ken moaned…

****

High in the skies over Vale…

"Young Miss Rose is on the airship that Mister Torchwick and Miss Neopolitan just commandeered, Albert. She's making a good show," Thomas Light warned as he gazed over his shoulder at his fellow replicant. "The wyvern whose presence was projected to be in the area is now approaching the Academy."

"Good, good," his "rival" noted before tapping a control to reopen the link between himself and his creator. "Isaac, we're detecting a considerable host of Grimm now converging on your current position. Do you need some Robot Masters down there to assist yourself and Mister Tukson's friends?"

"Negative, Albert! We can handle this down here!" Isaac Thomas replied from the surface many kilometres below, the echoing hum of the New Yorker's lightsabre echoing in the background. "Mister Mata's ambulatory! Turns out Miss Khan has a healing Aura capability! Pass it on to Miss Tukson that I'll get her boyfriend back to her!"

Albert's grey eyes twinkled as he gazed at a blushing Tara Tukson, now seated by the communications station of the highly advanced scout craft as she watched the "elderly human" scientists continue their work. While having not learned the truth of her new employer and his senior scientists, the young and impressionable native of the backwoods of Vale was coming to realize that there was a LOT more going on with Renaissance Industries than she first suspected when she was hired on as Albert Wily's chief assistant months before. Still, she was loyal to the older "man", even going so far as to have something of a crush on him…though Albert was too much a gentleman to respond to her acts of flirting. And he didn't care concerning the issue about the accepted view within the Four Kingdoms concerning the "proper" place of people like herself. Even more so, neither Albert nor Thomas hadn't cared a whit about her own brother's membership in one of the more radical wings of the White Fang. "She overheard you, Isaac!"

"Tara?!" Scott Mata gasped through Isaac's communications link.

"I'm here, Scott!" Tara called back.

"You're not being held hostage, are you?!"

That made her snarl. "Don't be a rock head, you lump! Professor Wily's been a perfect…eh?!"

Albert and Thomas spun around as a warning beacon echoed from the board in front of Tara, then the latter got out of his chair to head over and see who was now coming into sensor range. After a moment, the eldest male replicant built by the Wise Lone Sage shook his head. "We have a problem, Isaac."

"What is it, Thomas?"

"ISAAC! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, YOU BASTARD?!"

Tara squealed on hearing that booming voice while her "elderly" co-worker moaned. "Miss Black just teleported into Vale, Isaac," Thomas warned in a deadpan voice.

Albert visibly winced. "Oh, dear…"

****

Back in Vale…

Oh, hell! It's going to be one of THOSE days, is it…?!

A bone-chilling hiss of fright escaped Monica Khan as she stared in wide-eyed horror upon the cloaked woman in black-and-gunmetal grey who just appeared a couple metres behind a large troop of Grimm — a mixture of beowolves, nevermores and ursas, Isaac Thomas noted as he readied his lightsabre; there were three dozen in all — who chanced on the scene of the surviving White Fang warriors sent to capture the Wise Lone Sage confronting the Terran-turned-Yizibajohei polymath. As the grunting Scott Mata and the tensing Ken Tukson gazed on their friend while her feline ears flattened against her skull and her fur bristled, the just-arrived human engine of destruction now living in southeast Georgia glared intently at her fellow American, the scowl on her face twisting her quite stellar looks quite noticeably.

"Margo…" Isaac moaned. "If you wouldn't mind, this is MY fight scene…!"

"Shut the hell up, you stupid egghead!" Margo Black snarled as she moved to advance on him, acting as if the ghoulish beings blocking her way were mere motes of dust.

Then again, given she was the Archangel of Mortality herself, the Grimm WERE motes of dust…

…as one snarling ursa quickly learned.

Without breaking stride, the Vermont-born adopted New Yorker known on Yiziba as Litronie Erba ("Doctor Death") snared the attacking bear-like being by the snout, her tactile necrosis going to work to render the Grimm ashes in the blink of an eye! As Monica shrieked in understandable fear and Ken and Scott boggled in shock at the fact that some human could actually TOUCH a Grimm without being affected…to say anything of DESTROYING the tough creatures with said touch! — noting the reaction from the niece of the White Fang's leader, Isaac recalled that many Faunus gained various extrasensory abilities of their animal templates when they evolved into such during puberty — the other Grimm howled in terror on realizing a far more DANGEROUS apex predator had come onto the scene.

By then, it was too late for a half-dozen of the creatures. They had stumbled into touching range for the orphaned elder daughter of a Persian Gulf War veteran, one tossed into the New York state adoption system by her father's greedy second wife because Margo was said to be supposedly "too crazy".

The results of which were…predictable.

"What the FUCK is the matter with you, Thomas?!" the assassin to two American presidents and the woman who killed the leader of al-Qā'idah months ago in Operation: Neptune Spear demanded as she side-kicked a nevermore in the leg before grasping it by a clawed wing to render it ashes. "What's this shit I heard from Suzumiya about you pulling some act of DEATH CHEATING, huh?! You'd think I'd let that happen, buster?! You got another fucking think coming!"

Isaac tried not to groan. Trying to deal with the likes of Elizabeth Wakefield's brown-haired, grey-eyed near-lookalike when she was in THIS sort of mood was like trying to stop either Molly Hecht or Takino Tomo when they were on a rampage in the Battlezone! Gee! Thanks you so very much, Margo! he snidely mused to himself. Blare everything out when Mercury Black is FILMING this shit for all on Remnant to see…!

"It's jammed, Isaac."

The New Yorker perked before he sighed. "Thank you, Thomas!" he grunted, earning him a curious look from Ken while Scott was trying to calm the quaking Monica; no doubt, the aura of pure death that the just-arrived Vermonter-turned-New Yorker projected from her body was overwhelming the felinoid therianthrope's fight-or-flight urges.

Of course, the Grimm had gone into panic mode after so many had fallen to this deathly being who seemed WORSE than the dark arch-mage who was the only true friend to the creatures destined to be the enemy of all life on this world. Naturally, several of them move to escape by taking flight…

"Hey! Margo-chan! Calm down, okay?!"

Hearing that airy voice with its Ōsaka-ben accent, Isaac felt the urge to simply break down and cry.

Did I do something wrong in a previous life to deserve THIS…?!

Wild shrieks of agony then made everyone look up…

…before they all gaped on seeing the nevermores that had tried to fly clear of Margo instantly EXPLODE into nothingness on hitting a glowing silvery shield that had been cloaked far over their heads. As the ash-like remains of such creatures began to cascade to the ground, a smiling woman in grey-and-white came up to join the third of Yiziba's top quadrumvirate of reality warpers. "Haruhi-chan TOLD you that it's got to happen THIS way, okay?!" Kasuga Ayumu said as she held up a finger, seeming looming over the other American who had come to Vale this evening. "The only way everyone on Remnant's going to be happy in the end is for Ruby-chan to discover her special Gift…!"

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

Then…

"Um…Margo-chan, are you okay?"

Isaac blinked in confusion on seeing a visibly-calmer Margo now gazing at the palm of her left hand, that now covered in the greyish-black ash-like substance that was all that remained of the body of any Grimm after it was destroyed; the remains of one of the nevermores Ayumu effectively wiped out of existence a moment before had showered directly onto the Archangel of Mortality. As the three Faunus warriors visibly relaxed on sensing the far more positive aura projected by the current incarnation of the Goddess Who Walks Among Men, Nodim ("Infinity"), the incensed look that had marred Margo's looks when she teleported to Remnant from Earth visibly melted into bewilderment, touched with a faint echo of recognition. Noting that, the Wise Lone Sage deactivated his lightsabre before walking over, keying his goggles' scanners to analyze the fragments in his fellow American's hand. "What is it, Margo?"

"I've seen this somewhere before," the Vermonter-turned-New Yorker and adopted Georgian said as Ken came over, his own curiosity at this sudden twist of events making him stow his broadsword while Scott helped Monica back to her feet, warmly hugging her in reassurance as they followed their companion over. "Back on Earth…"

"'Earth'?!" Ken automatically asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Ayumu cheerfully answered. "You see, Isaac-kun, Margo-chan and I aren't from Remnant! We're from a planet named Earth; it's about thirteen hundred light-years that way!" She pointed off to the west at around sea level.

"You're all ALIENS?!" Tara Tukson screeched from aboard Isaac's scout ship far overhead.

"Oh, relax, Tara-chan! We're not all mean monsters like these stinky Grimm and those dorky Goa'uld, you know!" Ayumu declared as Ken, Scott and Monica gaped in awe at the three Terrans-turned-Yizibajohei in their midst. "Isaac-kun's an explorer! He wanted to check out what's the reason you're putting up to these stinky Grimm in the first place, not to mention wanting to help folks like you live better lives since so many normal humans here are oh so DUMB…!"

"Okay! Okay, Ayumu-chan, they get it!" Isaac scolded, shaking his head.

"I gotta go."

Both Isaac and Ayumu gazed in shock at Margo. "Why, Margo-chan?" the latter asked.

"This is some type of Earth magic I ran into once before," the Archangel of Mortality warned. "I can't recall exactly where I encountered it. Maybe the eggheads at MARPA can give me an answer…"

"Who do you know there?" Isaac immediately asked.

She gazed at him, not surprised that the hyper-genius polymath from the Queens part of New York had friends in the Magical Advanced Projects Research Agency, whose headquarters was close to where the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was in western Massachusetts. "Pete Candlewick. Why?"

He nodded. "I was going to recommend Don Fischer," he noted before a smile crossed his face. "Good head on his shoulders; 'no-maj-born' as they'd say it back home. Tell Peter to contact me when he finds out what that stuff is. If something from back home's the root cause of the issues with the Grimm, these people need our help more than ever."

"Yeah, yeah." Margo then turned to leave before she paused. "Oh, you three…"

The Faunus warriors then tensed as the reborn master assassin-turned-ultimate dark cosmic meta glared at them with a look that promised an eternity of PAIN if they defied her. "Not a fucking word until Isaac says otherwise, okay? You idiots blab, I kill you ONE CELL at a time! Capiche?!" she coldly demanded.

Ken, Scott and Monica all rapidly nodded their heads. "Yes, ma'am…!"

Then in a flash of energy, the Archangel of Mortality was on her way back to Earth. Isaac blinked before he groaned, his shoulders slumping. "Oh, relax, Isaac-kun!" Ayumu said as she patted his shoulder. "Chiyo-chan will call you about our new friend! Don't worry about our other new friends…!"

Being reminded of what ELSE he had to do, Isaac then jolted. "Oh, shit! I forgot…!"

"Relax!" the Goddess Who Walks Among Men assured him. "I took care of it! Seriously, people like you and Chiyo-chan and Elizabeth-chan and Tánja-chan just over-complicate things all the time!"

With that, Ayumu teleported away as Ken and his friends all stared in bewilderment at Isaac…

****

…while unseen by either the New Yorker or his new local friends, a scarred yet still living Atlesian warrior was gazing on the scene from several buildings away through a pair of field binoculars. After a moment, said devices were lowered away from General James Ironwood's now very wide eyes.

"The One Above the Gods…!" the leader of Atlas' military croaked out.

He then tensed on hearing familiar shouts from nearby, then he turned to race off.

No matter what the mystery concerning Isaac Thomas was, Ironwood had friends in Vale needing help.

He'd confront that young man about the One Above the Gods when he got a chance…

To Be Continued…!

****

WRITER'S NOTES

As noted in the introduction, the main part of this story commences several months before the start of the main story. The basic plot is mine, though Fred has gone through it and added onto it to better ensure no issues with continuity.

The adventures that Isaac Thomas (Doctor Renaissance) was involved in while he was in California as noted in the teaser in prior to the start of this story will be covered in Friendship is Yizibajohei. As noted in The Deadliest Woman Alive, Isaac spent time in the pirate city of Roanapur (from Black Lagoon) immediately after he was Gifted.

Please refer to Fred's writer's notes in Boy Meets Girl Meets Metahuman to understand the basic galactic situation surrounding Earth in the universe of this story.

The Senior Year character note: Henry is the name given to the controlling computer of the Gatherer, which first appeared in "Lum's Lesson". The Rovers are autonomous probes deployed by the Sagussans to scout various locations within the Milky Way Galaxy which might interest them; they were first shown in "My Darlings United".

The term Reliquisynchronous indicates something in the equivalent of geosynchronous orbit over Remnant. That word is based on the Latin verb relinquō ("I leave behind").

Considering that it doesn't make sense to me that Remnant would follow a Terran-type form of dating system (as note what's seen about people's birthdays on the RWBY Wikia pages), I decided to make a "local" calendar for the third world of Oum. Based on both Cambodian and Vietnamese terms (in respect to Monty Oum's ancestry), I have the years count from 204 BCE on Earth; people from Vietnam will know this is the start of the Nam Vit Kingdom from whose name we get the modern term for that nation. The year would be divided into six "super-months" corresponding to the six stellar constellations as seen from Remnant introduced during the series' 18th Anniversary via a star chart-imprinted T-shirt. The months would have Cambodian-based names for animals approximating the Grimm used to name the constellations; respectively, they are (with length of month): Chiahseh ("horseman") (59 days/60 leap year days), Phichet ("centipede") (61 days), Khila ("tiger") (61 days), Neak ("dragon") (62 days), Pisa ("serpent") (61 days) and Treichleam ("shark") (61 days). Remnant’s New Years Day falls on 1 Chiahseh, naturally.

Days of the week would be borrowed from Cambodian terms as follows: Sunday (Gayatit), Monday (Gaycan); Tuesday (Gayangkie), Wednesday (Gayput), Thursday (Gayprohas), Friday (Gaysok), Saturday (Gaysaw).

With Vale City as the "central meridian" of the planet per the map of Remnant, midnight on the first day of Chiahseh would fall on the same time as midnight falls on Earth in the Atlantic Standard Time zone in North America (UTC-4:00); this is based on the Cambodian New Year (Cūl Chnā Thmī), which falls on that date. Note that since this is the 2216th year since the second rise of humanity on Remnant, I used the Terran 2216 CE calendar to determine where days fall, hence it being the equivalent of Saturday in the first post-title panel scene.

Translation of the first verses of Tsukurimashō, theme song to Mihama Chiyo in Azumanga Daiō:

Tsukurimashō! Tsukurimashō! (Let's make something! Let's make something!)
Sate, sate, nani ga dekirukana? (Now then, what can we make?)
Hai! Dekimashita! (Yes! We did it!)

RWBY minor character notes: Gray Haddock is the name of the voice actor who portrayed the White Fang lieutenant who first appeared in "Painting the Town…" (second season, fourth episode). Gray's allies that go after Isaac Thomas near the end of this chapter are Fred's creation, though all based on characters who have appeared in RWBY. Ken Tukson's brother Phillip Tukson (first name created by Fred) appeared in "Best Day Ever" (second season, first episode); his sister Tara Tukson is Fred's own creation. Scott Mata is based on the character with the same family name who appeared in "Necessary Sacrifice" (fifth season, fifth episode). Monica Khan is based on the current leader of the White Fang, Sienna Khan, who was first mentioned in "The Next Step" (fourth season, first episode) and finally appeared in "Dread in the Air" (fifth season, second episode).

Hirosaki Ryūji is mentioned in various parts of the main story. A veteran of the Wars of Liberation (Fred's title to the magical wars that rocked Earth concurrent to the Second World War), he is also maternal grandfather to Hirosaki Chikage of Sister Princess (Fred's favourite dating simulation game series). The concept of the "magical quest" that Ryūji underwent in the 1930s is first looked at in Fred's story Harry Potter and the Icemaidens.

The Magical Advanced Projects Research Agency (MARPA), the magical research/development arm of the United States Department of Magic (known to most Harry Potter fans by the term Magical Congress of the United States of America [MACUSA]), was first mentioned in Regina Magia's omake Magic In Miami: The Sunshine Troupe Assembles. The researchers mentioned by Isaac Thomas and Margo Black here, Peter Candlewick and Donald Fischer, first appeared in Part 15 of the first draft of The End of The Circus (Fanfiction story ID 12315177).

Chapter 2: Close Encounter of the Yizibajohei Kind

Summary:

In the wake of the Fall of Beacon, events pick up as a new player comes to Remnant and offers a unique opportunity to the late Roman Torchwick's chief assistant.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, the Living Spirit of Innocence and her flock of shipgirls meets up with a most unique ship spirit who served during the Summer of Love...!

Chapter Text

DISCLAIMER: Concurrent with fair dealing clauses of the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada and fair use clauses in copyright legislation in other nations, this is a work that was created solely for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, it is posted freely on the Internet without expectation or requirement of remuneration.

****

Manhattan, the Woolworth Building/Headquarters of the United States Department of Magic, Sunday 1 April, suppertime (Tōkyō time: Monday 2 April, an hour before breakfast)…

"Hai! Hina's here!"

"Oh, thank Merlin!"

Hearing that from the middle-aged now auror racing towards her, the current incarnation of the Living Spirit of Innocence, Lomroer'bem ("Suiki"), perked before she looked over, then she waved. "Ah! Wilkinson-sensei!" the seven-year-old native of Niigata with the sandy brown hair in high twintails and the eyes of pure amethyst that seemed to radiate peace and contentment to all who viewed them called out in Japanese, knowing her suit's universal translation systems would ensure the older woman now approaching her and her companion would hear that statement in English without need of translation spells. "Hina came as soon as Mama woke Hina up after you called! Is everything okay?!"

Auror Sergeant Stephanie Wilkinson could only laugh as she leaned down to hug the cute child who inherited one of the greatest cosmic powers that had first risen on the World of the Forge over two millennia before in the unimaginable holocaust known as the "Dawn of Power". "I really wish it was alright, Hinako!" the many-times granddaughter of British North America's third Minister of Magical Affairs — still seen as the third "magical president" of America by some circles in the United States despite all the history lessons taught at places like Ilvermorny to make current generations understand the TRUE relationship between the Department of Magic and normal elements of the government of the United States of America — admitted as she waved Saeru Hinako towards an elevator, the cosmic-powered broadcast empath's companion immediately falling in behind her. "But given what you did a couple weeks ago when you were touring the Solomon Islands, the sooner we got you involved in this, the better."

"There's an American shipgirl, you mean."

That made the native of Philadelphia's magical quarter jolt before she focused her mage sight on the taller, older woman in the white-and-blue jumpsuit that had teleported into the Woolworth Building with the Spirit of Innocence. Once she got a good mystical look at the being who was now known as the Blizzard of Death, Roerike ("Fubuki"), Wilkinson tried not to cringe. It was difficult, of course. Then again, to encounter a person who looked to the normal viewer like a wholesome Japanese teenager with dark brown hair in a stubby ponytail and brown eyes…while possessing the mystical echo of an over 388-foot destroyer of all things that massed over two thousand TONS…!

"You're…Miss Fukushima Fujiko, aren't you…?"

"That's Commander Fukushima," the adopted native of Maizuru — where she had been built near the start of the Shōwa Era as Tennō Heika Gunkan Fubuki — coolly interrupted, which made the auror cringe and sent shudders through the bodies of everyone currently in the Department's central hall overhearing this by the CHILL in her voice. "Of the Japanese Self-Defence Force Special Service List, Sergeant Wilkinson." A light smile crossed her face as Hinako covered her eyes with her hand, shaking her head at such stupid silliness. "As so ordained by His Majesty…"

"Whoa! Whoa! WHOA!" a new voice with a flat Yankee accent instantly cut in from Fujiko’s starboard aft. "Jeez, Little Snowfall! What's with all the negative waves, huh?! Don't you know by now that Little Sunshine can't take that bad stuff?! Don't be so freaking square, sister! You're WAY cooler than that!"

That cause Fujiko to yelp before she and Hinako both turned around…

…then they gaped on seeing who had just teleported herself up from the Auror bullpen in the basement levels of the Department's main headquarters complex. Taking in the more traditional battlesuit in reds and soft golds with pretty flowers on the top and the lower leggings, necklaces with Buddhist prayer beads and pearls slung around the neck of the nicely-curved older teen with the long brown hair held down by a bandana decked with freshly-cut daffodil flowers and green eyes under protective goggles whose expressiveness reminded Hinako of her most powerful friend, the Spirit of Innocence blinked before she focused on the official Navy ship crest poised over the transformed warship's heart.

"'USS Long Beach. Cee-Gee-En-Nine'," the native of Niigata read the gold words on the blue stadium ring before she scratched the top of her head in confusion. "Um…"

"'CGN', Hinako-chan," Fujiko supplied. "'Cruiser, guided missile launching…'" — here, she paused as she gazed on the newcomer, a gulp surging up her throat as she added — "'…nuclear powered'."

Hinako blinked several times before she moaned. Even if she had just finished the second year of elementary school, she was smart enough and knowledgeable enough to realize what was going on and what made the Department of Magical Law Enforcement here in America scream for her to visit in the middle of her enjoying spring break. "Sensei, where are the baka-bakas that did this to Fujiko-chan's and Hina's new friend?!" she then politely asked, waving at the reborn first nuclear-powered surface warship as she gazed at Wilkinson. "Hina's got to go yell at them now!"

The auror chuckled. "Right this way, Hinako…"

****

Minutes later, in the third sub-basement…

"Baka…!"

Hearing that exasperated sigh from the young no-maj girl native to Japan who had somehow been "gifted" to inherit the power of one of the most feared race in the known UNIVERSE, the half-dozen very dishevelled men in the dated clothing — seeing that, Fukushima Fujiko and her sisters put the style as common to the Roaring Twenties around the time they had been built in the wake of the Washington Naval Treaty — winced as Saeru Hinako lowered the unrolled two-foot parchment containing a list of over FIFTY confirmed violations of Article IV of the Magical Constitution of the United States of America; that was the part of the document first written in 1787 that affirmed that all natives of the then-newborn republic blessed with magic would adhere to the demands of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. Even if Hinako herself didn't really have to worry about such things — as a bona fide metahuman from Japan, she was subject to the rulings of the Tokubeppō, which gave people like her much greater freedom of action than her magic-only countrymen — she knew that something like THIS would have really ruined a LOT of people's days.

Such as her current host and her co-workers.

"Dear gods! You people DO take STUPID PILLS in the morning, don't you?!"

The imprisoned wizards — four members of the Magical Congress from more conservative districts in the old Thirteen Colonies, plus two members of the DMLE known to have strong mugalophobic sympathies — all awked on hearing that from Fujiko's most visibly different sister, Fukushima Mayako, the former THG Murakumo. Before the leader of the group, some fellow whose name the visitors from Japan hadn't got — once Hinako and Fujiko were invited to the DMLE offices at the Woolworth Building, all six of the latter's sisters who were "salvaged" by the Spirit of Innocence and the power of the Seeker's Forge over the last couple of weeks teleported in to make sure their young "admiral" was protected — could scream at the silver-haired teenager with the caramel brown eyes for "speaking above her station", a voice called out, "Hey! Square! Shut the cake hole! The cool folk here don't wanna hear your verbal diarrhea!"

The prisoners gargled as they felt a sharp wave of heat wash over them, making the Fukushima sisters gape in surprise at the transformed USS Long Beach, who had been given the lengthy name "Ellen Naomi Michelle Haight-Ashbury" by the Conservator on her Gifting Friday evening at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility. Said adopted native of Quincy in Massachusetts and her namesake city in California was seated on one side of a kotatsu that had been teleported from the Saeru home in Niigata by Fukushima Hatsue, the former THG Hatsuyuki; the shipgirls were enjoying lemon tea some smiling house elves had made for the "All-Seeing One" — as they called Naomi for some odd reason — and her new friends from the Land of the Wa. "Why in the name of the gods didn't you just kill them and get it over with, Naomi-san?" Mayako asked as she thumbed the prisoners, making them awk at such a suggestion from the adopted native of Ōsaka who seemed the most tsundere of the Fukushima sisters. "I'm sure Wilkinson-junsabuchō and her friends would have liked NOT having to deal with the paperwork this mess caused!"

As the aurors listening to this morbidly chuckled at that suggestion, Naomi's eyes twinkled. "Yeah, I could'a turned them into guacamole if I wanted to, Surfer Gal," the transformed missile cruiser noted as she gave the prisoners a gimlet eye. As Mayako flustered on hearing that weird nickname applied to her, the American shipgirl who served in the era of the Summer of Love added, "But since they were too square to realize the Great Spirit of Yiziba wasn't going to let me be made to follow the system like they wanted, it would'a been a waste of good ammunition." As the prisoners wilted on sensing that Naomi considered them too BELOW their notice — an attitude NONE of them were used to encountering from a "no-maj", metahuman or not — she sipped her tea. "'Sides, Papa J's gonna make them see reality about cool cats like us soon once Doc Quahog gives him the lowdown over what happened."

"You mean a Magical Executive Order, don'tcha?" Fukushima Miyuki, one of the two reborn Fubuki-class destroyers who didn't have to worry about getting used to a new name to call herself, grunted as she crossed her arms.

"Of course! They should be worried about LOSING their magic…!"

As the prisoners awked — even the aurors were visibly wincing from that pronouncement — eyes locked on Hatsue, who had a churlish smile on her face. "What does that mean, Hatsue-chan?" her older sister Shirayuki — who, like Miyuki, didn't have to worry about getting used to a new name when she became a shipgirl — wondered.

"Magical Executive Order 9002, I think it's called," the teenage girl with the long hime-cut raven hair and the caramel-shaded eyes answered. "Once someone is identified as a metahuman by the Chief Executive — the President, in other words — or those he delegates, any magical interference in their lives unless cleared by the Chief Executive is seen as TREASON!" She tsked before turning back to her tea while the prisoners all seemed to collapse on themselves; the Department of Magic still made use of the death penalty in some cases, especially for THAT. "Well, no great loss…"

"PEEW! WHAT'S THAT HINA'S SMELLING?!"

Eyes locked on Hinako, who was now plugging her nose as she looked around the room, her eyes wide and watering. The others blinked before the transformed Japanese destroyers began to sniff the air, they soon also scowling in disgust. "Ah! Over there!" Fukushima Urako called out, pointing towards one door.

By then, the aurors were picking up on the faint putrid odour drifting in from a special examination room the DMLE's local office often shared with members of America's equivalent to the Department of Mysteries in Britain. "What in Merlin's name…?" Stephanie Wilkinson garbled before she walked over, knocking on the door as she drew her wand to cast an air freshening charm. "Peter?! Are you there?!" she called out.

The door immediately opened, allowing a wave of that stench to explode out and nearly make everyone gag. "Whoa! That's gross, dude!" Naomi snapped as she waved her hand, sending out a pulse of power to clear the air and have it contained inside the examination room. "What type of weed are you smoking, man?!"

Hearing that question, the middle-aged man in the more modern clothing — complete with scientist's white smock — chuckled in embarrassment. "Sorry about that, Mama Cass!" Peter Candlewick apologized before drawing out his own wand to better contain the stench before he adjusted his glasses. "Damn…!"

"What on Earth are you examining now, Peter?!" Wilkinson demanded.

The arithmancer/technomancer who was one of the rising stars in the Magical Advanced Research Projects Agency's central team scratched his head. "Something magical from another PLANET Miss Black brought to us, Stephanie!" the native of one of the magical quarters of Boston answered, his excitement quite apparent to the others listening to this. "I thought I'd NEVER get the chance to look at something ALIEN unless I was seconded to Stargate Command!"

People blinked. "Margo-san?" Hinako wondered…

****

In reliquisynchronous orbit at the meridian of the city of Vale, two hours later (local time: Gaysaw 51 Treichleam, mid-evening)…

A moan escaped the man lying on the very comfortable reclining chair in the clean yet not hospital-like sterile room with the large window displaying the night side of Remnant, glows emanating from fires that swept through Vale City in the wake of the destruction of the Beacon Academy two hours before shining like hellish beacons in the background. A pair of dark brown eyes that shone with the wisdom of CENTURIES of life then slowly opened as his head tilted to and fro. As his vision cleared up and his mind began to fully awaken from being knocked out after being caught in the midst of the unleashing of the Silver Eyes, he noted the reflection of the well-formed face of Shannon Ozpin on the picture window dead ahead of him at about two yards' range, said features framed by the shaggy silver hair he was blessed with shortly after the immortal soul of the Undying Warrior Sage of Remnant fused into the young Vale native's mind when he was a teenager. Blinking as he considered that — by all rights, he should be dead and proceeding through reincarnation as he had been cursed to do over many times over the last two thousand years — he glanced over to see his glasses on the desk beside his bed. Picking them up — he was ultimately nearsighted, so everything beyond that window was a curious dark blur to him at this time — he slipped them over his eyes to look…

"Oh, ye FATES…!"

"That's correct, Professor. It's all true."

Hearing that voice, Ozpin's head snapped around…

…before he relaxed. "Mister Thomas," he breathed out before turning back to see his homeworld glowing in the evening, Remnant's shattered moon off to the right above the plane of the planet's equator and its home sun's light glowing from beyond the left of the window. "I'm in space…?" he then whispered.

"You are," the Wise Lone Sage of Yiziba answered. "I wasn't kidding when I told you and your co-workers that I'd do a lot to bring a considerable improvement to life on Remnant. Including…"

Ozpin blinked before he chuckled. "Letting us fly into space."

"Of course. On my home planet, questing into space is seen as exploring the true final frontier," Isaac Thomas then answered, his blue eyes twinkling. "And we've done it in several interesting ways. One of which — once we take care of your old lover, of course — could have you make first contact with distant cousins of Remnantians all over the known galaxy." He gave the now-former headmaster of the Beacon Academy a knowing look. "The Chappa'ai?"

A grimace crossed Ozpin's face on recognizing a term he hadn’t heard in centuries. "What of the lar'beke?" he coolly demanded, spitting that word as a flash of disgust echoed in his eyes. "The 'Goa'uld' as they call themselves?"

"They're still a nuisance, but people from the Tau'ri homeworld — 'Earth' as it's called — are working to tame them," the younger man assured him. "It's also attracted the attention of people from Yiziba." Here, he gave the older man a knowing look. "We never met in our first lives. When you were busy with Ayono Ugadese being saved from the Two Brothers who wanted to kill the descendants of people they transported to Remnant from Earth, my first-self was busy trying to save lives in my homeland on Yiziba. I'm not sure what Master Ayono told you about our 'dawn of power'…"

"It was so catastrophic, it completely destroyed every nation on your planet and led to your people being engaged in some odd 'reality show' when they weren't just trying to survive and live their own lives," Ozpin finished as a wry chuckle escaped him, feeling an inner sense of relief that Isaac hadn't turned out to be something more dangerous than that, such as a hidden Goa'uld system lord who wanted to get a foothold on Remnant; prior attempts by the "children of the gods" when it came to invading the planet saw them and their slaves become food for the Grimm. "I simply couldn't imagine what it was like for Ayono and his friends in that time on that planet. I suspect what just happened within Vale City would just be a petty microcosm of what rocked Yiziba in those days."

"It was."

Silence fell as the two beings, both young yet mystically over two millennia old each, gazed once more on Remnant. Ozpin focused on Vale City for a moment before he asked, "How bad?"

"Casualties were heavy. Estimates of total deaths are over a thousand. The Academy is a total write-off thanks to what Miss Rose did to that wyvern that made its way to the CCT tower. Right now, everything within two miles is being blocked off by whatever local forces are available to keep the Grimm from overrunning the city." Here, Isaac sighed. "Sadly, due to the nature of what happened and what the reaction might be from who we know instigated this, I couldn't help any more than what General Ironwood did before Mister Black decided to play with his troopers' programming to turn them against the huntsmen. Now that Miss Salem will be distracted by the revelation of Miss Rose's special gift — not to mention Miss Fall going forth to claim the power of the other Maidens — I can be a lot more overt."

"You're precognitive?"

"No, just your average hyper-genius polymath." Much to the headmaster's approval, the native of Queens looked sheepish as he added, "Everything you see around you was built by me using nanotechnology powered by mesonium — the 'atom of true life' as I'm sure Master Ayono called it; the Goa'uld call it 'ra-naquadah' — since my Gifting. I do have friends who are able to allow me to see future timelines. Given what the people of Vale must now be thinking, revealing I'm an alien would drive up xenophobia to a level that will literally help Miss Salem win the war."

"Especially with your stance concerning the Faunus," Ozpin finished as he relaxed on the bed. "Given what you've introduced, you have won friends over, but the fear of the radical factions in the White Fang is deeply entrenched."

"True, especially given Mister Taurus' actions earlier this evening when he decided to renew 'acquaintances' with Miss Belladonna, not to mention what he did to Miss Xiǎo Lóng." At his guest's questioning look, the Wise Lone Sage added, "They're alive, though Miss Xiǎo Lóng lost her right arm above the elbow when she charged Mister Taurus head-on. Miss Xiǎo Lóng's father is now arranging to get a prosthetic for her. Miss Rose is with her family as well."

Ozpin slowly nodded. "Were you able to save Miss Nikos?"

"She's with friends of mine in a pocket dimension that Master Ayono made sometime after he met you," Isaac assured. "One of them being Master Ayono's current-self. Miss Polendina is with them as well." At the professor's surprised look, the native of Queens smirked. "I have a thing concerning sentient AIs being given the chance to enjoy true life."

A chuckle answered him. "I see…"

****

Somewhere east of Vale, that moment…

"He should have listened to me…"

A pair of eyes — the left a rosy pink, the right earthen brown — fluttered as a surprised gasp escaped the diminutive woman in the form-fitting clothing whose colouring reminded the current incarnation of a far-right preacher from the northern polar continent of Yiziba two millennia before of a very tasty type of frozen treat he often enjoyed on previous visits to Earth. As the now-dizzy native of one of the more affluent parts of Vale shook her head to clear the cobwebs from her flight of several dozen miles from the surface of an Atlesian airship not hours before, her current companion could only chuckle. It had been the luck of the fight scene that allowed Leno Lu'umlo to telekinetically save Roman Torchwick's chief assistant from snapping her neck falling at terminal velocity from a mile up in the sky.

As a raspy moan escaped the lips of the woman born Trivia Vanille, the man known on Yiziba as the Mad Prophet of the Future, Rimmim ("Millennium"), glanced at her before he turned to gaze once more at the starry night overhead. He could pick out the bright light of Kaeyu from this world, a planet that REEKED from the stench left behind by the arrogant "evolved" death-cheaters calling themselves "Ori" as a group. While he had doubts concerning finding people who could act as a proper counter-balance to whomever Isaac Thomas would soon see Gifted in his current training drive, Leno had to admit that the girl now known as Neopolitan had a metric tonne of potential. She was athletic to a degree that would make any incarnation of the Deadliest Woman Alive or the Mighty Maid of the Mountains green with envy, skilled with her remarkable "semblance" variation of a Gift as well as using her umbrella/cane sword in battle, emotionally apathetic towards everything and everyone save those who helped this poor mute girl during her life such as her late boss, wasn't afraid to mix it up when necessary and would kill without hesitation. Then again, given the presence of those wastes of energy called "Grimm", learning how to kill was a necessity on Remnant.

Leno's eyebrow twitched as his hearing picked up the snarl of several creeps from a nearby line of trees; he had picked this place near a deserted village that had been abandoned for a century or more thanks to the Grimm as a perfect locale where he could pitch his sales talk to Neo about making her something special. While the Mad Prophet was truthfully saddened at the loss of such a practical fellow like Roman, the fool made his choice to throw his lot in with the death cheater who ruled in the so-called "Lands of Darkness", not willing to explore more interesting possibilities.

Sipping the fine local tea which he obtained from a vendor in Vale City before things went crazy, Leno then glanced over his shoulder to see three of the arm-less beasts staring balefully at him from the treeline. He then perked as a shocked intake of breath echoed in his ear, indicating Neo was up and aware they were in danger. Taking a sip of the tea, the reborn preacher breathed out. "Calm yourself, Miss Neopolitan. You've dealt with these things before," he advised as an inviting look crossed his face. "There's not a single bruise on your body and your aura and semblance are at full strength." As she glared at him, he shook his head. "If only your friend had listened to me…"

That statement had been deliberate on the Mad Prophet's part.

The effect was instantaneous!

Neo's eyes went wide with horror as her pale skin turned a sickly white. Her mind flashed back to late the previous day, when she and Roman first met this fellow in one of the seedier bars in Vale concerning the situation stemming from the feud between the Immortal Queen of Darkness and the Undying Warrior Sage. How Roman hadn't bent an iota despite all Leno did to make the man see that siding with Cinder Fall was not the ONLY option available in these trying times for Remnantians, enticing him with the potential to become SO powerful that he wouldn't have to worry about the current incarnation of Ozma OR his old lover. Despite that, Neo WAS tempted. Just touching that jewel of "mesonium" the Mad Prophet showed her made her hair stand on end on sensing the sheer POWER within…and that had come from Leno forcing an iota of his near-cosmic abilities to make the mute fighter FEEL what she could be!

Now Roman…

Roman…

No…!

No!

NO!

A raspy yet guttural scream escaped Neo as she bolted to her feet, snaring her umbrella and snapping it open before charging the approaching Grimm. Leno remained still as the snarling beasts yelped in unwelcome surprise while the strange human with the multi-colour hair lashed out at them…before those angry yips turned into screams of agony as Neo's cane sword sliced open their bodies at the neck, decapitating them in an instant. That act saw more of the dark creatures who trailed the creeps lunge out from the shadows, most moving to overcome Neo while several lunged towards the middle-aged man with the dark hair and the brown eyes behind goggles, he in his traditional red jumpsuit with the purple belt and slip-on shoes covering his feet. As two ursas were hacked apart by Neo, she quickly spotted two more of the bear-like beings charge the man who just saved her life, a silent scream of warning escaping her…

…before her heterochromic eyes went wide with disbelief as two ghostly wolf-like beings with glowing silver eyes surged from the ground to snare the ursas by the neck and chomp down hard, making the Grimm shriek in mortal pain as the touch of the Atom of True Life burned through their bodies, rendering them ashes in an instant. The other dark creatures who had been bent on killing Neo reared in outrage on sensing these strange animals in their normal hunting ground, then they charged, leaving the mute Valean behind as they moved to eradicate these deadly beings.

Leno watched as the soul wolves slashed and bit at the charging Grimm, ripping them apart in less time than it would take for the reborn preacher to finish his tea. Now safe thanks to the fact that the Mad Prophet brought in two of Yiziba's legendary spirit hunters to clean up this one small tract of Remnant, all Neo could do was just stand there, slack-jawed in amazement as the ghostly beings did their work. In a minute, it was over; as the last creepy was disembowelled by one wolf, his brother trotted over to approach Neo, its nose flaring as it took in the mute warrior's "scent". Remembering past encounters with dogs, Neo remained still as the soul wolf completed its inspection of her before it moved to nudge her towards Leno, surprising the mute Valean with the gentleness of its touch.

"He likes you," the reborn preacher explained, making Neo stare in confusion at him. "Unlike some people where I come from, your practicality and willingness to fight for your life is something they automatically respect. And you're not tainted by the death cheater, not like your 'allies' are. They approve."

Neo blinked, then she moved to sit beside him, a sullen look crossing her face for a moment as tears brimmed in her eyes and a lump surging up in her throat. "It's alright to mourn, my friend," Leno calmly stated as he drew out another canteen of tea for her. "Your late companion had quite a practical outlook on life himself. Wherever he is now, he understands now he chose poorly." He gave her a knowing look. "You don't have to make the same mistake, Neo."

She gazed at him, then sighed as she opened the canteen to sip from it. After a moment, she drew out one of those PAA-like devices used here called a "scroll", tapping on in. Seeing the picture displayed there with the text message GUESS WHO, Leno shook his head. "Why are you angry at her?" he quietly asked.

That earned him an outraged look from Neo, such not phasing him as the soul wolves laid on the ground nearby even if their ears were perked to sense trouble. "Neo, be reasonable," the Mad Prophet warned. "He knew the danger, yet after you were blown off that airship, he was more concerned about taunting Ruby than keeping an eye on the battle space. I'm sure if he understood what was happening and chose survival over trying to press his vendetta, he'd be here where you could admonish him properly." He shook his head. "Regretfully, he's not. You've seen it before, haven't you?"

Her hand tightened on her cane sword for a moment before she blinked as the ugly truth behind her saviour's words sank in hard. Oh, yes, there had been DOZENS of times when Roman allowed his arrogance and his desire to win at all costs get the better of him, many of those incidents having happened thanks to Ruby Rose and her friends in Team RWBY. While the joy of fighting against opponents had driven Neopolitan to excel as she did on the battlefield — especially if such opponents stood against the man who had done so much for her in the last decade and more — she knew that all it took was one bad slip and you were seeing daisies from the OTHER side…!

Her thumb tapped the scroll, allowing another picture to appear on the holographic screen. Leno took note, then he snorted. "Oh, yes. The gift thief!" he scornfully declared, making Neo perk in confusion. "While you and Roman were busy entertaining young Ruby on that airship, Miss Fall charged in to seize the power of one of the 'maidens' that are so revered here. She killed the Fall Maiden while she was in a life support pod, then she killed the woman who should have received that Gift if Master Ozpin had been swifter!" He glanced into space where he knew a certain starship was now orbiting, it currently hosting the Undying Sage Warrior of Remnant. Sensing Neo wince in sympathy on hearing that someone had been struck down in her SICK BED — despite her apathy to a lot of things, the Valean mercenary had some ethical standards, things that would earn her many kudos on Yiziba even from the more hard-core heels — he smirked. "Miss Fall paid for her arrogance thanks to young Ruby and her 'silver eyes' Gift. Lost an arm and an eye." His eyebrow cocked as he gazed intently at her. "Care to eliminate the rest of her, Neo? To say anything of young Yáng's mother? The one you encountered when you were about to strike her down some storylines ago?"

Neo's eyes went wide before a message flashed across her scroll; the device was specially modified to help the mercenary relay her thoughts without getting sore thumbs: THE BITCH'S MOTHER?!

"Indeed. She's the actual Spring Maiden, in fact."

That made her blink before a wry smirk crossed her face. GIFT THIEF? she then messaged. Much that she didn't fully understand the origin of that term, it was easy to figure out its true meaning.

"She murdered her because she saw the woman as 'too weak'." Here, Leno snorted. "Then again, what would you expect of someone from her group? You've heard of the Branwen Tribe, haven't you?"

BANDITS FROM ANIMA, she affirmed before a questioning look crossed her face, then she sipped her tea before a smirk turned her lips. WONDER IF THE BLONDE FOOL KNOWS.

"She doesn't know her mother leads that group, much less possessing the blood of that lass on her hands. All Yáng feels concerning that woman is nothing more than abandonment."

CAN'T BLAME HER. She sipped her tea, then gazed at the soul wolves whose presence were protecting her and her new friend from the one threat on Remnant ALL had to be wary about regardless of their chosen trade. SO WHY ME? she signed. WHY ARE YOU INTERESTED IN HELPING ME? YOU SAID YOU WERE A PREACHER OF SOME SORT. WHY WOULD A PREACHER BE INTERESTED IN A THIEF AND MERC LIKE ME?

"Balance, my dear Neo," the Mad Prophet explained. "Look up."

She blinked, then looked up towards the night sky…

…before her jaw dropped on seeing the image of the Remnant-sized planet now floating in the sky overhead; Leno created this effect using his psychokinesis to open a small warp gateway in the high atmosphere to cover the thousands of light years separating Remnant from Yiziba. "That is my home planet of Yiziba, Neo," the reborn preacher explained. "A world that is quite similar to your own Remnant in many ways…but with one clear difference. We Yizibajohei don't bow to beings who think they're our betters for whatever reason strike their fancy." He then leaned up to gaze directly into her eyes. "We KILL those who would force us to bow to them. Even beings like Salem, much less Cinder. But I know that as you are now, you won't stand a chance against them. You need help."

She blinked as her eyes picked out the many cities and villages overhead — she was looking now at the inhabited part of the northern polar continent near the once-location of the indigenous headquarters used by the three hyper-geniuses who saved Yiziba two sagas ago within the city of R’bem-eke — before she raised her scroll.

NICE PLANET. TELL ME MORE.

Leno smirked…

****

Aboard the Free Planetary State of Yiziba Starship Normandy, an hour later…

"So, you're all artificial persons?! Like Miss Polendina?!"

"We are, Mister Mata," Albert Wily declared after he rolled down his arm; he had shown the people from Remnant now aboard the Normandy the complex mechanisms that made him what he is. "Although on Earth, the terms normally used to refer to sentient artificial intelligences shaped in human forms are 'androids' for male-forms and 'gynoids' for female-forms." The replica of the chief antagonist in the MegaMan video game and anime series then cackled. "You people are rather lucky in that regard. While I know alternate gender preferences are quite common on Remnant, there are scant few transgender people — human or Faunus — now alive on the planet. It might change."

"Nowhere close to Hustaros, of course," his "rival" Thomas Light then advised before sipping his tea.

"What's that, Doctor?" Tara Tukson wondered. She, her brother and his fellow White Fang members who had intended to capture Isaac Thomas earlier this evening were now relaxing in one of Normandy's several guest lounges, the beautiful arc of their world visible beyond an airtight clear metal portal.

"It's a planet which is about five hundred light-years from Earth, Miss Tukson," Thomas explained as he tapped a control on the table separating him and his rival from the local therianthropic natives who had come aboard hours earlier. Immediately, a holographic projection of the local stellar cluster appeared, prominent planets marked out. With that, the silver-haired scientist pointed to one star quite a distance from the icon flashing SOL(EARTH/TRITON), to say anything of the icons marked OUM(REMNANT) or KAEYU(YIZIBA). "Inhabited by Faunus-like natives who share the same general physical features — a mixture of felinoid traits like what Miss Khan possesses with equine traits such as my assistant Mister Tanner — but have evolved into FIVE separate yet distinct genders."

"Whoa!" Scott Mata breathed out. "They have hermaphrodites on that planet?"

"Yes, they have," Albert answered before nodding as one of the gynoids assigned to the Normandy, Robyn "Roll" Ross, came with a tray of tea and snacks from the food replicator. "The other two genders are known as 'mems' and 'fems'. Mems are normally called 'she-males' while fems are quite pronounced tomboys." As the visitors from Remnant nodded — atop nodding to Robyn for bringing food — he added, "I doubt you'll encounter them when you finally get into space. They're a rather private race altogether, though not violently xenophobic by any stretch of the imagination."

"So, what made Isaac move to build you all?" Monica Khan wondered.

"He's an otaku," Robyn answered. "In other words, he's a passionate fan of many forms of entertainment that have appeared on Earth over the last several decades. Movies and television (live action and animated), video games, rôle playing games, novels (both written and graphic) and the like. We're all based on one particular series." She indicated herself, then her fellow MegaMan character replicas. "You can access information about that in the ship's computers."

"That's more than appreciated," Ken Tukson noted as he clasped his clawed hands in his lap. "But how in the name of Oum can we really trust you people? Sure, you all don't care if we're Faunus or not; that's something that's got people talking from Vale to Menagerie and everywhere in between. And if you're bringing your tech to Remnant that doesn't need Dust, all the better. But what the hell made Isaac come HERE in the first place? I'm glad his friend with that death touch Aura of hers connected something between Remnant and Earth." Ken and his friends all knew about Isaac hailing from the latter planet, seeing Yiziba as his adopted home world; they had been briefed on that by Thomas and Albert shortly after they had come aboard the Normandy. "But what's the game plan here?"

"It's because Isaac can get bored easily, Ken," Thomas noted, making Albert and Robyn laugh as the visitors from Remnant all boggled. "To really understand, you need to understand how Yiziba came to factor into everything. Fortunately, you have a fellow countryman who once met a Yizibajohei two thousand years ago who's alive today."

"Professor Ozpin, you mean," Scott noted. "We've learned he's actually the Undying Warrior Sage."

"I assume you received that information ultimately from Salem, Mister Mata."

Everyone looked, then they relaxed as Shannon Ozpin came in right before their host moved to join them. Seeing the headmaster of the Beacon Academy healthy — Scott and his friends got the briefing of what went down in the academy hours earlier when Cinder Fall moved to seize the power of the Fall Maiden — made them nod in appreciation. No matter their understandable questions concerning the Wise Lone Sage's quest on Remnant, they knew that Ozpin had always maintained an open arms policy concerning those who wished to come to Beacon to learn to be huntsmen; race didn't matter given the presence of several well-known people like Blake Belladonna and Velvet Scarlatina among the active local teams. And while they had been made to side against Ozpin by their leader Adam Taurus, they were open-minded enough to understand that the situation involving all the major players on Remnant was quite complex.

Having ALIENS come into the situation…!

"You actually met a Yizibajohei, Professor?" Monica asked as both Ozpin and Isaac took their own seats with Robyn heading over to offer them snacks and tea.

"I had that honour, Miss Khan. This was when I was in my 'pretend to be a god' days two millennia ago, around the time Salem and I broke up," the reborn warrior noted. As the former members of the White Fang and one's sister nodded, he added, "Around that time, the Two Brothers came back to Remnant to enforce their own control over the people then on the planet, human and Faunus alike. You wouldn't know this as Salem and I both moved to remove any references to their return from history books. During that time, Salem and I discovered the Two Brothers were NOT gods, but advanced humanoid aliens who evolved into such a state of being that they literally didn't require physical bodies. Because of their advanced evolution, neither Salem nor I could resist them even if the 'god' of Light was more sympathetic to Remnantians than his brother. While Salem was busy trying to maintain control over the Lands of Darkness, someone with power beyond anything the Two Brothers could counter came to our planet." A knowing look flashed in his brown eyes as he asked, "Do any of you know the phrase 'One Above the Gods'?"

"That's a legend among many Faunus, Professor," Monica answered. "A being said to have saved us from going extinct by forcing false gods away from destroying or enslaving us to humans." The niece of the current leader of the White Fang blushed. "My aunt told me that story once. It's always passed down by word of mouth, never recorded in words."

"He was real," Ozpin affirmed, glad that things could be accepted much easier among these people. If they could spread this news among their friends in the White Fang, it could ensure greater neutrality from the group if not a complete about-face in their stance concerning relations with normal humans. "His name was Ayono Ugadese. A native of Yiziba who developed the power to bend Reality Itself to his will during a catastrophic time in that planet's then-recent history. He became a virtual god among mortal beings, one who could do ANYTHING he wished." As the others shuddered on hearing the stern tone in the professor's voice, he added, "Because of that, he was forced to defend Yiziba from races who didn't care for natives of that world tapping into the universe's ultimate source of energy to evolve into what are known on Yiziba and Earth as 'metahumans', possessing powers akin to our own Aura abilities. Among those who tried to suppress Yizibajohei were the people the Two Brothers hailed from."

"They call themselves the 'Ori' as a group," Isaac added. "In truth, they're a splinter sect of a race known as the Alterans. They're humanoid as we are, but they developed on a world in another galaxy many millions of years ago. By the time they were interacting with the natives of this galaxy, they had evolved to the point where they didn't ultimately need physical bodies; shedding such forms to become a pure energy being in a process called 'ascension' was common among their kind." The Wise Lone Sage sighed, shaking his head. "Unlike most Alterans who believed it wasn't their business to interfere in the development of less advanced species, the Ori decided to pretend to be 'gods' to such species. The Two Brothers were Ori, though the 'God of Light' was — as the professor just indicated — quite the moderate for his kind; he wanted to help Remnantians evolve as the professor and his paramour were made to evolve and become virtually immortal. The 'God of Darkness' didn't care for that sort of thing, which made the two go to war with each other over the years. That's what brought Master Ayono into the situation two millennia ago. When he sensed the two were about to wipe out all life on Remnant, he BANISHED the Two Brothers from this universe, sending them into a universe that had evolved into nothingness…where they were left to literally wither and die."

The locals all winced as they tried to imagine the power necessary to pull something like THAT off. Considering that, Monica recalled learning from Adam Taurus that even mentioning the legend of the "one above the gods" that was seen as the true saviour of Faunus in Salem's presence was something the Queen of Darkness did NOT care for. Why?!

"I take it Ayono was forced to do that to others of their kind, Isaac," Ozpin mused.

"Yes, he did. Yiziba was something that the Ori simply couldn't deal with. Makes me wonder if their original plans for your people wasn't in answer to what was happening on Yiziba then."

"That still hasn't answered our question, Mister Thomas," Tara then commented. "Why are you here?"

The native of Queens chuckled. "As Ayumu — who, by the way, is the current incarnation of Master Ayono — …" — he ignored the squawks from his guests as they realized they had been close to a being who had been revered by many Faunus for generations — "…told you earlier this evening, I'm an explorer. I want to see new places, help people I encounter live better lives, give people the chance to be the best they can be. I feel it's unfair that Yizibajohei have the corner on both high technology and metahuman power. In that, I'm following in the wake of a fellow Terran who's spent the last decade finding people on Earth to have them become metahumans, Tariko Katabarbe." He tried not to frown as he wondered what had happened to the future Trickster of the Show. The last thing he heard about her was that she found two candidates to be Gifted in her old hometown of Tomobiki outside Tōkyō back in September. Since that time, there had been nothing from her. She was alive; that much was clear. But as to what she had been up to…!

Shaking his head to get back to the here and now, he added, "If the chance comes, I'll introduce you to her. She's not fully empowered just yet, but when she does, she'll become a reality warper like Ayumu and Margo." He tried not to smirk on seeing Monica's upper ears flatten in fear on hearing the man mention the current incarnation of the Archangel of Mortality. "Even if I didn't come to understand what the Ori did to you all, I still would come here to help people."

"To which I am glad you did come, Isaac," Ozpin declared. "I wouldn't care to have my living soul forced down on someone else in case I died when Miss Rose unleashed the Silver Eyes on Miss Fall."

"That's Blake's teammate, right?" Ken wondered. "The weapons fanatic?"

"The same person, Mister Tukson," the older man affirmed. "She is blessed with a power that — now that I've met Isaac and been reminded of all I know concerning Yiziba — might be derived from Ayono's and Ayumu's so-called 'infinite wave' capability. If you didn't know, huntresses with the Silver Eyes could destroy Grimm in huge numbers." He gazed at the android scientists. "Have you shown then what happened at the Academy CCT tower, gentlemen?"

"Oh, we have, Professor," Albert answered. "That was quite a show on Miss Rose's part. Turning a wyvern into solid stone!" He then cackled. "I'd almost think Miss Rose has the power of a basilisk!"

"'Basilisk'?" Scott asked.

"A Terran magical serpent that has the power to literally kill by just LOOKING at its target, Scott," Isaac explained. "Very rare and seen as quite dark by magicals on Earth since they are THAT deadly."

Shudders ran through people's bodies. "So, what made Yizibajohei become metahumans?" Ken asked.

Isaac groaned. "Oh, the Dawn of Power…!"

Ozpin adjusted his glasses as the Wise Lone Sage began his tale…

****

That moment, somewhere…

A pair of evergreen eyes fluttered open. "What…?"

The ears of the native of Mistral perked as an up-tempo melody echoed through the air…

I'm singin' to the world,
It's time we let the spirit come in;
Let it come on in...!
I'm singin' to the world,
Everybody's caught in the spin;
Look at where we've been...!
We've been runnin' around
Year after year
Blinded with pride,
Blinded with fear…

"I truly like this song, Chiyo."

"I know, Penny-san! It's one of the best Mantilow-sensei ever sang!"

Huh…

Wait…?

What?!

"PENNY…?"

A gargled croak of air escaped Pyrrha Nikos as she sat up from the meditation bed, coughing on sensing that she now had a VERY sore throat. That made the other people in this one cavern within the Doll House spin around before the shorter of the pair gasped. "Oh, Pyrrha-san! You lay right back down! Don't exert yourself like that!"

As the four-time winner of the Mistral Region Tournament before she came to attend Beacon Academy gazed wide-eyed at a clearly alive and intact Penny Polendina, Mihama Chiyo approached the dazed woman's side and moved to lay her back down. Despite the understandable shock on seeing the Atlesian gynoid clearly alright — even if she was in a sleeveless crystalline bodysuit that hugged her teenage form provocatively in the Mistralite's eyes; much to Pyrrha's own embarrassment, she was now dressed in the very same model of uniform — she didn't resist as the current incarnation of the Bright Genius of the Young Guns, R'bemguo ("Prodigy"), helped her relax. "You just rest now, Pyrrha-san," the daughter of Itabashi's richest resident scolded. "You still have to mentally recover from having your soul shifted into your new body so suddenly! Just breathe in gently and let your mind relax! I'll bring something I made for you to drink to heal your throat, okay?" With a smile, the cute preteen headed off.

Pyrrha rolled her head to watch Chiyo walk into a tunnel leading into this cave-like place — the other end of the cave opened out into a vast mist-filled cavern — then she hesitantly turned to gaze once more on her opponent from the Vytal Festival. Gently raising her hand — given that she was about to become the new Fall Maiden before Cinder Fall had come into ruin Shannon Ozpin's plans, the Mistralite warrior was able to accept the concept of "shifting souls" mentioned just now without suffering a serious brain crash along the way — she made several gestures in the universal Remnantian sign language she had learned while attending the Sanctum Academy. «I'm sorry, Penny.»

A reassuring smile came back. "Please calm down, Pyrrha Nikos. In the end, according to the One Above the Gods and Chiyo, we were all tricked this evening when Cinder Fall and her allies attacked Vale. You must not worry, though. Everything will be repaired as easily as you and I have both been repaired. It will take time, but all will be made right."

Surprised at that statement, Pyrrha moved to speak, then winced as a rasp escaped her. She then signed, «Beacon's under attack! People are dying! Cinder's on a rampage! If I don't get back to help out…!»

"Be calm, Pyrrha Nikos," the former gynoid insisted as she held up a cautioning finger. "The attack is ended. Yes, there were casualties, but Cinder Fall and her forces have retreated. Yes, the Beacon Academy is now occupied by the Grimm, but that will be dealt with as soon as Isaac Thomas can deploy the necessary equipment to drive them off the Academy grounds to ensure the Cross Continental Transmit System unit can be repaired." She then walked over to squeeze her former opponent's shoulder. "Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie and Liè Ren are all alive and well, Pyrrha Nikos."

Hearing that made Pyrrha blink before she breathed out, her head turning to gaze at the ceiling of this strange place. «Where are we? And who was that girl who was just with you now? She's very pretty…»

The Mistralite then gargled as her cheeks flushed, the surprise she clearly felt at the idea of taking note of Mihama Chiyo's cute looks before anything else apparent. "Yes, Chiyo is very pretty. We are currently in a pocket dimension created by the One Above the Gods two thousand years ago known as the 'Doll House'. Our bodies are synthetic humanoid entities called 'battle dolls' by natives of the homeworld of the One Above the Gods. They are primed to receive the Aura of a person who would have died to allow that person to have a better chance at life. The One Above the Gods was more than happy to agree to Isaac Thomas' request to save us both from what Cinder Fall instigated."

That made Pyrrha blink. «Okay, who or what is the 'One Above the Gods'?»

"It is a legend known among Atlesians such as me as well as among select groups of Faunus, which has been passed down from the time of the battle between the Undying Warrior Sage of Remnant and the Queen of the Land of Darkness which saw the current state of affairs between ourselves and the Grimm ultimately evolve as it did," Penny explained. "According to the myths Atlesians know, the One Above the Gods was an invincible warrior from a distant star who was able to stop the Two Brothers from destroying all life on Remnant when the feud between the Undying Warrior Sage and the Queen of Darkness was determined to have become too bothersome to continue. He was the one who banished the Two Brothers from Remnant once and for all time. It is often in the name of the One Above the Gods that many Atlesian soldiers swear their oaths to serve in the defence of humanity against the Grimm."

The other woman blinked several times. «Professor Ozpin never told me about that.»

"Hai! Dekimashita!"

Both turned as Chiyo walked up, carrying a tray bearing two large Neapolitan ice cream milkshakes, complete with cream and cherries. Setting that at the table beside Pyrrha's bed, the Bright Genius served them. "Hai! This will help heal your throat, Pyrrha-san," she bade as the Mistralite warrior took the offered shake. "You should be able to talk normally in about an hour or so. It's a good thing that Remnantian and Terran measurements of time are all the same."

Pyrrha paused before she gazed at Penny. "Chiyo is speaking of her planet of birth. It is called 'Earth'; the demonym used to address natives of that world is either 'Earthling' or 'Terran'. It is the third of nine planets and minor celestial bodies in the constellation of Burnie; it's the golden star in the left hand of the constellation formation." As the Mistralite's eyes went wide on hearing that, the adopted Atlesian added, "She possesses what is called a 'Gift' from the homeworld of the One Above the Gods. That is a planet named Yiziba, third of ten planets in the constellation of Gorgo; it orbits the blue-white star in the right eye. Chiyo is best friends with the current incarnation of the One Above the Gods, who is named Kasuga Ayumu; she is also originally from Earth." She gazed in confusion at Chiyo. "Thought I cannot understand why you insist on calling her 'Miss Ōsaka', Chiyo. She was born in the city of Wakayama and matured in Kōbe and Ōsaka before she came to join your class in Tōkyō…"

"DAMN IT, ŌSAKA! JUST BE ŌSAKA!"

Chiyo sighed while Pyrrha and Penny looked around. "It's a long story, Penny-san..." the Bright Genius then confessed.

"Tomo-chan! How can I be 'just Ōsaka'?!" a voice that made Penny's eyes widen in delight echoed as a human-shaped shadow appeared in the mist beyond the cave, that turning into the living body of the being known on the World of the Forge and elsewhere as the "Goddess Who Walks Among Men". "Penny-chan's right, you know!” she called out over her shoulder. “I was born in Wakayama and raised in Kōbe and Ōsaka!"

An outraged shriek echoed from Kasuga Ayumu's classmate as Chiyo shook her head, slumping. As Penny bowed in reverence to the incarnation of the man who saved Remnant two millennia before, Pyrrha gazed upon the newcomer with her own special aura sight before her eyes went wide on seeing the supernova-like levels of power contained within this slender teenager's body. "Oi! Pyrrha-chan! Don't do that, okay?" Ayumu then cautioned as she walked up to gaze intently at the native of Mistral. "That hurts you when you do that, even if you're a battle doll now."

"What is she doing, Ōsaka-san?" Chiyo asked.

"She's using her own form of mage sight on me, Chiyo-chan. Sorta like what Penny-chan's boss did to Isaac-kun when they met in that super-cool floating coliseum of theirs late last night."

The Bright Genius gasped, then she waved her hand in front of Pyrrha, making the Mistralite gasp as she gazed on the fretting genius. "Don't do that, Pyrrha-san! Ōsaka-san's right! You're just going to hurt yourself! Just relax, okay?!"

An embarrassed smile crossed Pyrrha’s face, then she signed. "She apologizes, Chiyo," Penny then translated before a curious look crossed her face. "Was that Takino Tomo that just demanded that Mistress Ayumu 'just be Ōsaka'?"

"Hai, Penny-san!"

«Who's that?» Pyrrha then inquired.

"Takino Tomo is a most foolish person, Pyrrha Nikos."

"HEY! I HEARD THAT, YOU DUMB FEMBOT!"

Penny blinked. "'Fembot'? What is a fembot?!"

Chiyo moaned. "TOMO-CHAN NO BAKA!"

As Pyrrha's eyes spiralled in confusion, Ayumu gave her a shrug as if she wanted to say, "What can you do?" while Chiyo ran to the cave entrance and began shouting a lot of not vile things at the current incarnation of the Wild Warrior of Passion, Rimbo'o ("Warwind"). As that happened, Penny walked over to the small entertainment unit and tapped a control, allowing the wonderful tunes of a song introduced to her by the Bright Genius minutes before to play again…

But it's daybreak!
If you want to believe
It can be daybreak!
Ain't no time to grieve
Said it's daybreak
If you'll only believe
And let it shine, shine, shine
All around the world…!

As the transformed gynoid bounced to that music while Ayumu moved to get some food and Chiyo screamed away at her classmate, Pyrrha slumped as her mind whirled over what had happened to her before she came to this weird place. After a moment, her eyes misted as the images of her friends from Team JNPR flashed before her mind's eyes.

Jaune…everyone…please be alright…!

To Be Continued…

****

WRITER'S NOTES

Introducing the shipgirls "salvaged" by Saeru Hinako (Suiki) (of Sister Princess fame) appearing or mentioned here:

Fukushima Fujiko-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Fubuki [KK-156])
Fukushima Shirayuki-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Shirayuki [KK-157])
Fukushima Hatsue-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Hatsuyuki [KK-158])
Fukushima Miyuki-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Miyuki [KK-159])
Fukushima Mayako-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Murakumo [KK-160])
Fukushima Itsuko-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Isonami [KK-164])
Fukushima Urako-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Uranami [KK-165])

All seven girls mentioned above take after their Kantai Collection interpretations. In Fred's stories, all Japanese warships from before 1945 get the ship prefix THG (short for Tennō Heika Gunkan ["Warship of His Majesty The Heavenly Sovereign"]). Also in Fred's stories, Japanese warships use their own indigenous hull classification code system based on native language terms; KK means Kuchikukan ("destroyer"). When summoned as shipgirls, destroyer kami are given the automatic honorary rank of Nitō Kaisa (literally "second rank sea commander") in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force; out of respect for their prior service, the traditional rank title Chūsa (literally "mid-rank field officer") is applied. Both ranks are the equal of a Navy commander (NATO rank code OF-4) in Western maritime services. Finally, their prior service in the Imperial Japanese Navy (in Japanese, Dai-Nihon Teikoku Kaigun, abbreviated in Latin as DNTK) is acknowledged for service and gallantry awards.

As for the shipgirl summoned by the Americans:

Captain Ellen Naomi Michelle "Mama Cass" Haight-Ashbury USN (United States Ship Long Beach [CLGN-160, then CGN-160, then CGN-9])

A shipgirl version of America's first nuclear-powered surface warship was first introduced by IJNFleetadmiral in his fanfic Gaijun Teitoku, marked as one of Fred's favourites (and can also be found at Fanfiction under story ID 11930970). This version of USS Long Beach as a shipgirl is named in tribute to the female singers of the Mamas and the Papas, Michelle Phillips and the late Cass Elliot (born Ellen Naomi Cohen). As for her physical looks, Naomi takes after the original art done by Bokuman that can be seen on Danbooru at entry #1377452.

The history of the magical government of the United States of America as depicted here can be read in Fred's Magic and Canada.

The Tokubeppō ("Special Code") was first introduced in Part Eighteen of the first draft of The End of the Circus: A Tale of the Yizibajohei (Fanfiction story ID 12315177).

Translation list and source language: Junsabuchō — Police sergeant (Japanese); Lar'beke — Snake leech (Yizibajohei); Ra-naquadah — Literally "naquadah of the soul", the Goa'uld name for mesonium.

RWBY character notes: The choice of given name for Professor Ozpin is Fred's; it's based on the voice actor for the professor, Shannon McCormick. Ozpin's first-self, Ozma, was first mentioned in "The Lost Fable" (volume six, third episode). Yáng Xiǎo Lóng's birth mother Raven Branwen first appeared in "No Brakes" (volume two, eleventh episode); her proper appearance was in "Family" (volume four, fourth episode). The use of the name of the late creator of RWBY, Monty Oum, in naming things is a common trope in fanfic stories, hence Fred's choice of using the man's family name for Remnant's sun. Finally, Neopolitan’s birth name, Trivia Vanille, was confirmed in the recent novel Roman Holiday by E.C. Myers, which was released in 2021.

Millennium (Leno Lu'umlo) first appeared in Regina Magia's omake A "Quiet" Time in Delaware. The "Deadliest Woman Alive" would first appear in the side story of the same name (Fanfiction story ID 12925680). The "Mighty Maid of the Mountains" first appeared in Part 13 of Boy Meets Girl Meets Metahuman. The race that Albert Wily and Thomas Light speak of early in the fifth scene, the Hustari (home planet Hustaros), first appeared in The Senior Year story "Dakejinzō's Story". The given name to the replica of Roll from the MegaMan series appearing here is based on her English voice in the American-made anime series, Robyn Ross. The two constellations mentioned by Polly Polendina to Pyrrha Nikos in the last scene are named after RWBY producer Michael Justin "Burnie" Burns and Fred Herriot himself ("Gorgo" was his original pen name) respectively.

Chapter 3: The Ballerina Dances Anew

Summary:

As Vale recovers from Cinder Fall's attack and two of the members of Team RWBY are sent home to recover from that battle, the power of Yiziba makes an open appearance as the mute Neopolitan is Gifted to become the Ballerina of the Final Darkness.

Understandably, the leader of the White Fang didn't care for that sort of thing.

But despite the Yizibajohei drive to "do it alone", Neo has "friends" willing to help out...!

Chapter Text

DISCLAIMER: Concurrent with fair dealing clauses of the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada and fair use clauses in copyright legislation in other nations, this is a work that was created solely for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, it is posted freely on the Internet without expectation or requirement of remuneration.

****

Vale City, near the Beacon Academy, Gayatit 52 Treichleam, an hour after breakfast (Tōkyō time: Monday 2 April, mid-evening; London time: Monday 2 April, an hour after lunch)…

"It's alright. I got ya, kiddo. I got ya…"

"Are they going to be alright, Qrow?"

Hearing that question from the long-haired felinoid Faunus that was the teammate of both of his nieces, the raven-haired middle-aged man with the five o'clock shadow and the sleek raven hair looked up from the stretcher carrying the unconscious Ruby Rose to gaze into Blake Belladonna's amber eyes. "She's just exhausted, kiddo," Qrow Branwen assured the younger woman as he reached over to squeeze her shoulder. "You sure you saw what you did last night?"

Blake shakily nodded. She was still rattled from her former lover chasing her down to the Academy while working in concert with the mysterious Cinder Fall and her friends. Never mind what that encounter did to Qrow's older niece. Wincing, she gazed over to see a whimpering Yáng Xiǎo Lóng being helped into an ambulance by her father Tàiyáng and some Atlesian medics. The normally boisterous blonde hadn't said a thing when rescue parties raced in to help the huntsmen who remained to protect their school get clear of the place before the Grimm swarmed over the property.

Then again, it was quite understandable.

One glance at Yáng's severed right arm spoke volumes.

"I'm not sure what I really saw," the native of Menagerie then warned, shaking her head. "I can say that it was a bright silver light. And when it burst from the tower, the Grimm just screamed in pain being exposed to it."

With that, her voice trailed off as she turned to gaze wide-eyed towards the distant CCT tower. Qrow looked himself, grimacing on seeing the petrified wyvern frozen on the sides of the tower that served as Vale's main link to the outside world. It had been the devil's luck that some of the braver medics from Atlas — no doubt driven by shame over what happened to their android troopers the previous evening — were able to find Ruby unconscious near the tower's summit. There had been no sign whatsoever of Shannon Ozpin or Pyrrha Nikos, who had been confirmed to be in the tower before everything went nuts. Nor was there a trace of any of the potential instigators of this madness.

"Silver eyes…" the veteran of Team STRQ breathed out.

That made Blake perk. "Ruby has that power?"

"Her mother had it," Qrow said, smiling as his mind's eye called up images of the late Summer Rose. It didn't surprise him the daughter of the first leader of the White Fang knew about that. "Never saw her pull THAT off…" He nodded at the wyvern. "…but Oz always believed the potential was there. She'd be proud of what the kid did."

Blake nodded before turning to see the medics load Ruby into the same ambulance bearing her sister. Blake perked on seeing Yáng gaze her way for a moment, then she relaxed as the blonde gave her an understanding smile before she was gently embraced by her father. "Where are you taking them?" she asked.

"Back to Patch. They punched way above their limits last night no matter what, so they deserve a break," Qrow noted.

Blake nodded before both people perked on hearing the yipping noise of Yáng's and Ruby's pet corgi Zwei as he trotted over from the gaping crowd of residents towards the ambulance. As the medics smiled on seeing the dark-haired canine approach his beloved mistresses, Zwei stopped, his ears perking. He then gazed towards Blake, making the feline therianthrope tense; even now, she still found it uncomfortable to be close to the dog. Zwei gazed at her for a moment before he barked once, then he turned and hopped into the ambulance, moving to snuggle close to the unconscious Ruby as one of the medics closed the back door. With that, the machine — it was a converted Bullhead air transport — lifted off from the park, turning to head west over most of Vale city towards the open ocean beyond.

She watched it go, shuddering. Qrow was quick to notice. "What's wrong, kid?"

She took a deep breath. "You know Adam Taurus, don't you?"

"Know of him. Haven't met the asshole personally," he affirmed, a scowl crossing his face. She had told him about the man's involvement in his elder niece losing most of her right arm. And given his involvement with the radical elements of the White Fang, his public notoriety had been increasing by leaps and bounds over the last while. Since he had been spotted by several huntsmen during last night's fun, Adam was now marked as a prime suspect in the attack that effectively shut down Beacon's CCT tower as well as the whole of the Beacon Academy. "Bet he's laughing his ass off right now at how much he hurt you." He gave her a knowing look. "You going to try to talk your dad into taking charge of the White Fang and kicking Khan off her high throne?" he wondered.

"It's either that or Adam will do it," she hissed. Glad people were giving her some space, the daughter of the founding leader of the White Fang grimly added, "I've heard rumours from friends who don't care for Adam that he might depose Monica's aunt as leader of the White Fang, then launch a 'crusade'…"

"'Monica'?"

Blake perked before her cheeks reddened. "Um…she's an old friend…"

Qrow gave her a knowing look…

"Blake!"

Both people's heads jolted on hearing that shout, then they turned before a grinning woman about Blake's age jogged over, a delighted smile on her face. "Monica?!" Blake exclaimed before she was nearly crushed by Monica Khan's embrace. "What in the name of the gods are you doing here…MMPH!"

Qrow smirked as the obvious relative to the White Fang's current leader — right down to the perky cat's ears, much less the tiger stripe tattoos on her exposed chocolate-brown skin — nearly sucked the breath out of his nieces' friend with the kiss she just delivered. Before he could make a snide comment, a chuckle escaped the approaching fellow in the upscale businessman's suit with V-neck sweater, glasses protecting his blue eyes. "Friend of yours, Miss Khan?"

Monica awked before she pulled away from the slightly dazed Blake, then she turned to her new employer. "I'm sorry, Mister Thomas!" she apologized, bowing to the man Qrow immediately recognized as Isaac Thomas, founder and president of Renaissance Industries. From what he had learned from Ozpin, the native of a village in Vacuo now led a small team of scientists intent on developing technology that had no dependence on Dust whatsoever. Given the group was already selling several models of "power suits" — in effect, exoskeleton robots that could be used for both construction and other purposes — fuelled by some strange silvery crystal substance akin to Water Dust even if its effects were far different, Renaissance Industries was making quite the killing in the local scene. Even more so, given that the company was moving to wean all of Remnant from dependency on Dust…!

"Friend of yours?" Isaac asked again, his eyes twinkling in amusement.

Monica chuckled before she did introductions. Blake blushed as Isaac's eyes widened when her name was mentioned, though Qrow was quick to sense that such was forced. As a scowl crossed the veteran huntsman's face, Isaac bowed over Blake's offered hand as he gave her a courtly kiss, making the raven-haired teen fluster even more at such a classic form of greeting. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Belladonna," the "Vacuan" stated. "I'm glad you survived last night's 'fun'." He turned to gaze towards the Beacon Tower and its currently frozen resident. "I trust your friends are alright."

Blake shakily nodded her head. "Yeah. Ruby's and Yáng's father just took them back home." Here, she indicated the dot in the western sky where the medical Bullhead could still be seen. "Weiss' father is on his way here to pick her up and have her taken back to Atlas City. Given what happened last night…"

"Which was not the fault of either General Ironwood or his people," Isaac cut in, raising his voice to ensure others would hear. As the Atlesians present all perked in delight on hearing that assertion, the Wise Lone Sage added, "I saw it myself! Those android soldiers were behaving perfectly until someone decided to hack into their systems and send them against the huntsmen and others who were trying to protect people throughout Vale." As people gazed his way, the native of Queens then shrugged. "It's easy for people to get confused when they don't have all the information."

"Excuse me, Mister Thomas. Do you have an idea WHO did that to those warriors?"

Everyone turned as a stern-looking middle-aged blonde with green eyes behind reading glasses came up to join them. "Professor Goodwitch!" Blake hissed on recognizing her combat teacher.

A nod answered her from Glynda Goodwitch before the primary combat teacher at Beacon gave Qrow a strained smile. "Professor," Isaac gently scolded. "You can't expect Mister Branwen to NOT come when he heard what happened to his nieces. He has as much right to be concerned as Mister Xiǎo Lóng."

That made Glynda perk before she nodded as Qrow gave the New Yorker an odd look. "Yes, you're right, Mister Thomas," she affirmed. "Now that Miss Xiǎo Lóng and Miss Rose are heading home for some rest, what of Miss Schnee, Miss Belladonna?" she then asked as she gave Blake a curious look.

"Preparing for her father's arrival, Professor," the native of Menagerie warned, a wry smile crossing her face. "Given what's going on now between Atlas and Vale, Daddy Schnee wants to make sure his daughter stays safe." A snide look crossed her face. "Instead of becoming an embarrassment…"

"Not that he wasn't much of a person anyway," Monica sneered.

Glynda perked on noting Blake's current companion. "A friend of yours?"

That made the raven-haired Faunus blush. "We're…old friends, Professor…"

Qrow snickered. "'Old friends'…!"

"Qrow!" Glynda snapped.

"Bloody hell! This whole damn place REEKS! Did someone cut open a damned sewer pit here?!"

Isaac perked before he looked over his shoulder. "Ah, Neville! Just in time!"

The natives turned as a man about Blake's and Monica's age approached from the direction of one of the large land cruiser transports brought in from Renaissance Industry's main factory site near the edge of the Forever Fall Forest at the northern end of Vale City; said trucks had been used to help transport a platoon's worth of powered suits to man the barricades blocking the grounds of Beacon Academy. Dressed in rather plain clothes with a curious cut that made the natives blink as they wondered where he came from, he had a slender foot-long stick-like device in a holster strapped to his left arm, said rod made of reddish wood with a silvery stylized handle. He had well-groomed dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes, possessing a firm, muscled body that made many women, human and Faunus alike, stare in appreciation; both Monica and Blake were two. "Came as soon as I got your message, Isaac," the future lord of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Longbottom of Holdenhurst back on Earth stated as he shook Isaac's hand. "Bloody smart of you to call me into this mess. I can't believe the STENCH that's coming from the grounds of that school over yonder!"

He nodded towards the Beacon Academy. "You can actually smell the Grimm?" Monica wondered.

The now-OWL student at Hogwarts in Scotland — who was in the first week of the two-week Easter break between the winter and spring terms, to say anything of the Triwizard Tournament — winked at her, causing the dark-skinned Faunus to fluster. "Can't you, miss?" Neville Longbottom asked.

"My friend here is a dedicated botanist," Isaac immediately explained as he waved to his friend. "He's got such a refined nose when it comes to all forms of plant life that he can tell when anything is affected by the Grimm or not. According to him, their stench can be quite pungent if you get a whiff of it in the right way."

"Damn straight about that," the current incarnation of the Master of Plants, Ukor'be Dumdyatosi ("Vinclozolin"), affirmed as he tried not to allow his face to scrunch up too much.

Tene lomher'buo, Trivia Vanille…!

Everyone perked on hearing that echoing voice boom in their ears, such seemingly emanating from the industrial district at the west end of Vale city. "Oh, hell…!" Isaac hissed.

"Someone else is here, mate," Neville warned…

****

Around the same time, within the Central Sauna Range east of Vale city (Pensacola/Davenport time: Monday 2 April, an hour before breakfast)…

"So, what brought you boys over to this planet, huh?!"

Chuckling, the part-Samoan resident of Pensacola who had worked as part of Florida Championship Wrestling under the name "Roman Leakee" for almost two years knelt, beckoning the pair of Yizibajohei soul wolves whom he just found in a clear field within a vast forest closer to him. Immediately, the two ghostly timber wolf-like beings yelped in delight before they moved to draw in the powerful scent of the man who became their latest alpha shortly after his release from the Edmonton Eskimos in 2009. Gazing at the clear day overhead, Joseph Anoa'i could only nod in appreciation. Save for the moon that looked like someone detonated the mother of all antimatter bombs on it to turn it into a permanent crescent, this place reminded Roman of the countryside around the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The smell though…!

Roman scowled as he allowed his meta senses to reach out and scan the forest currently around him. The stench that was making his nose twist in clear disgust was all too recognizable. It was some high-density form of naquadah, invented by the so-called "Ancients" to power their Stargate network millions of years ago and later co-opted by the Goa'uld to help power their vast and diverse war machine. And while the "false mesonium" — as many people on Yiziba often nicknamed that material — wasn't truthfully harmful, it didn't take the former football player and leukemia survivor much to realize that someone was twisting and warping it into something that was potentially dangerous…

"NO!"

The raven-haired twenty-something's head snapped around as the soul wolves by his feet snarled in anticipation of a new feast just as a teenage girl came racing out of the nearby tree line at speeds way beyond human norm, a beautiful rainbow-like stream of energy marking her wake. As Roman's eyes took in the obvious cat tail with the rose-white fur sticking out from the girl's buttocks — to say anything of the funky clothing she was wearing, not to mention the roller skates she had on her feet, which seemed to have no problem moving through uneven grass-topped soil! — a chorus of howls and snarls made the Floridian then focus on a platoon's worth of onyx-black beings with silver skull-like armour plating their lupine-like heads, sharp spikes and claws projecting from their bodies.

As the soul wolves roared on seeing MORE of the soul-less creatures infecting this planet, Neon Katt twirled around to skate backwards, spinning her specially-modified fighting sticks to send waves of Ice Dust at the attacking beowolves. "Damn it!" the native of Atlas city snapped in the direction she came. "Step on it, Flynt!"

In perfect answer, a concussive wave of sheer sound projected from deep within the trees, causing the beowolves to shriek as most of them immediately spun around to face their new attacker, bellowing agony-filled challenges. Roman winced slightly as that wave of noise washed over him; it packed quite the punch, but he'd been through worse during vacation trips in the Battlezone on Yiziba over the last few years while he learned the master the power of the Spectral Hound of the Dark Gaol, Rimna (the "Grimm"). Noting several of the dark creatures were still chasing after the girl trying to super-speed herself from danger, the football player-turned-wrestler instantly dropped to a right-handed three-point stance, his dark hazel eyes glowing star-bright as he allowed his spirit-shredding powers to form a corona of energy around him. As soon as one of the attacking creatures got close, he lunged.

"HEY, MISTER! GET OUT OF…!"

An explosion of eldritch energy like a geyser into the sky caused Neon to stop, gaping in disbelief as the guy in the black sleeveless form-fitting uniform speared THROUGH a beowolf, physically ripping the dark creature in half! As the Faunus dropped to her butt in disbelief at such a sight, the couple of lupine-like Grimm howled their outrage at the fact that yet ANOTHER human had dared to kill one of their number.

"Whoa…!" the Atlesian fighter gasped in disbelief.

Of course, the soul wolves that had been brought here hours earlier didn't care to have their pack alpha be attacked when he was thrashing the undead beasts infecting this planet.

As Neon watched, the silvery beowolf-like beings lunged at their darker opponents, jaws snaring the Grimm by the neck and biting hard. As her team leader Flynt Coal came charging out of the woods, his modified trumpet at the ready, both beowolves disintegrated from the bites from the mesonium-powered Yizibajohei spirit hunters who returned from forgotten legend to scour a bleeding world clear of drifting souls during the Starvation Times.

Such acts by the visiting spirit-hunters made the other beowolves scream in outrage…

"JOE! WATCH YOUR SIX!"

…then the heads of two such creatures exploded thanks to bright white bolts of pure power smashing into them from the other twenty-something man who just appeared at the tree line off to Neon's right in a flash of energy. As the two huntsmen watched wide-eyed, Roman spun around, making a slashing move with his arm to send a burning wave of power through several more Grimm while his co-worker from Buffalo in Iowa used his own telepathic/psychokinetic "dagger shots" to behead a few more. "Oi! You guys in this fight or what's the story?!" Seth Rollins demanded.

"BEHIND YOU, MAN!"

Even as Flynt's warning shout echoed over the field, the man born Colby Daniel Lopez dropped to the ground in a somersault, getting clear just in time as a screeching imp fused with an equine Grimm leapt over the Iowan. Then, just as the creature was directly overhead, a titanic burst of energy escaped Seth, burning through the equine Grimm and sending the now-wailing imp right at Roman. The Floridan ex-football player lunged up into the air, driving his exposed right arm into the imp's throat in a perfect flying clothesline! Such a vicious blow decapitated the beast while Roman dropped to the ground before facing the few surviving beowolves, who were now faltering on realizing that these two humans with the very agonizing mineral stench emanating from their bodies were WAY more dangerous than the two petty human huntsmen they had ambushed moments before.

Sensing their intentions to press the fight from what served as their brains, Roman snarled before he flung his arms back and howled to the heavens. As Seth braced himself for what he knew was coming, the ground around his co-worker was instantly cloaked in silver mist before a PACK of silver ghost-like wolves lunged out to charge the Grimm. The natives squealed on realizing they were now outnumbered by the aliens, but they couldn't back away in time before the soul wolves were on them, biting and slashing them to ashes while the two Atlesians they had been hunting just stood there and gaped in disbelief at the savage display of the Yizibajohei spiritual version of "survival of the fittest".

In a moment, it was all over.

As the squeals of the last of the beowolves were cancelled by the snarls of the wolves ripping them into nonexistence, Seth walked over to stand close to Roman, his mind reaching out to scan the creatures. "They feel like magical golems in a way, Joe," the current incarnation of the Assassin of Dynasties, Tutouo Rier'bo ("Kingslayer"), commented.

"They shouldn't exist at all, Danny," the Spectral Hound snarled as his eyes flickered from their normal hazel to the burning silver that heralded the use of his spirit-shredding power which could wipe out all forms of non-corporeal life within immediate range of him. "Some damned Ori experiment, I think…"

Seth moaned. "Oh, of course! The goddamned Ori were here! Nice!"

"The One Above the Gods…!"

Both Americans perked before they turned…

…before they blinked on seeing the starstruck, almost reverent look on the cute teenage girl's face. Before either could ask what was going on, the dark-skinned man in the nice clothing and the fedora on his head blinked as he came over to join them. "That's just a LEGEND, Neon…!" he protested.

Neon shrugged, waving to where the soul wolves had finished off the last of the Grimm before they moved to trot over to join their pack alpha and his friend. "Then how can you explain THAT Flynt?!"

"Okay! Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Seth cut in, holding up his hands to calm the excited girl down. "Pretend we're not natives of this planet, miss! Which we aren't, by the way!" he added, making Neon gasp as Flynt's jaw dropped in disbelief. "What the heck did you mean by 'One Above the Gods'…?"

Tene lomher'buo, Trivia Vanille…!

Both Terrans-turned-Yizibajohei perked on hearing that from the west. "Conservator," Roman warned.

"Isaac wouldn't start Gifting people this soon!" Seth protested.

"Yeah," his co-worker warned before kneeling to gaze at one soul wolf, who instantly perked like a playful puppy getting attention from his mother. "Can you go find our new friend?" he asked.

The creature yipped in delight before he sniffed the air, then turned to race off to the west. Before either fighters from Team FNKI could say a thing, something seized them in silver energy…

****

Inside a warehouse in Vale City's industrial district overlooking Patch Bay, minutes later…

Nesu…YO'OR'BEMYU!

A rasping howl of breath escaped the shuddering native of the more affluent sections of Vale as the energies of the Gifting faded into nothingness, allowing the lone witness to this event to clearly see Neopolitan in the uniform of the Ballerina of the Final Darkness, Yo'or'bemyu ("Danzatrice"). Such was a form-fitting white-silver affair with matching belt and boots. The material that went into Neo's clothes seemed like the frailest of silk at first glance. Leno Lu'umlo knew the cloth that went into the just-Gifted mercenary's suit was the strongest form of tree sloth silk from the ancient forests of the western equatorial continent, which was hardened with ruby mesonium that would make such resistant to anything save a weapon forged from the densest version of the Atom of True Life.

Speaking of which, space-warps appeared to allow Neo a chance to retrieve a virtual armoury of onyx-black long dirks that the Ballerina of Death used when she engaged in fight scenes. Those weapons — no doubt lovingly cared for and sharpened by the current incarnation of the Master At Arms and Yiziba's supreme weaponsmith, Hutelem (the "Weaponeer") — had been used by all the incarnations of Danzatrice since the first one rose in the long-lost nation of Tutota R'batae Kutotuto, the first such country on that planet to launch intensive studies in metahuman enhancement over two sagas ago. Back then, the original Danzatrice — a very striking twenty-something named Weiseema Simyaame, Leno then recalled — was a simple performer at a popular opera house in the capital city of R'buoletona; today, that location was known locally as simply "Habitation Two" and was understood to be a major haunt for top-name heels on Yiziba. Weiseema was also quite the promiscuous woman as well, having many lovers among the government and business elite in R'buoletona; this would ultimately save her as the head of Kutotuto's internal security ministry at the time of the Freedom Parade saw to it she would be empowered by the Great Crystal and trained in the use of fighting daggers and swords. So armed, the ballet dancer would become a professional mercenary who was paid top money to keep people safe…before the very concept of "money" lost all meaning around the same time that the governments of Kutotuto and other nations effectively collapsed in the first seasons of the Starvation Times.

A mercenary's Gift for a professional mercenary.

There was a beautiful sense of balance in that, the current incarnation of a far-left preacher from the northern polar continent nation of Nesetimtuto knew.

WOW! ME LIKE!

Leno then jolted on seeing what looked like a hand-painted SIGN now in Neo's hand displaying that message. The Valean blinked in confusion before she stared at the sign. Surprised that she now had another way to "speak" beyond her scroll — though how she would use something like THIS when she was in the middle of a fight scene mystified her — Neo then wished the sign to shift into her personal stuff-space pocket; such was something ALL Named Yizibajohei could make use of as it was a built-in function of one's uniform. Once it was away, she took a deep breath before she gazed on the Mad Prophet of the Future. Her heterochromic eyes seemed to lose focus for a second; noting that, Leno smiled as his own telepathy sensed the influx of memories where Neo's past incarnations had encountered his own past-selves. After a moment, she nodded as the sign came out again. STILL TRYING TO MAINTAIN THE GREAT BALANCE, HUH? she thought out through her new "speaking" platform, her eyebrow arching knowingly.

"It is needed now more than ever, my dear," he stated as he walked over to sit on a chair beside a worktable; the warehouse had been chock-full of stolen and scratch-built Paladin-290 battlesuits that had been employed by the White Fang in their part of last night's events. Waving her over to join him, he added, "You won't know this as your immediate past-self had returned to the Great Crystal by then, but one of the Nameless went and adopted a child from the World of the Keystone Jewel eleven seasons ago, pre-Gifting her to become the new Tuyuki. She was able to persuade the child to hold off on being properly Gifted until she was mature enough to mentally accept the Gift."

Neo blinked before she nodded. MAKES SENSE. SO, WHAT DID THIS KID DO?

"She started a ceaseless casting drive on that planet to have many Named lines restored to keep that world protected from the umale on nearby planets who would covet it for whatever fool thing struck their fancy," the reborn preacher explained, making the mercenary scowl in disgust. "Almost all of them became faces or anti-heels. Would you believe that even Litronie Erba of all people is an anti-heel?!" As her eyes went wide on hearing that — the reputation of the Archangel of Mortality was known to ALL Yizibajohei, Named and Nameless alike! — he added, "She even works as a personal ASSASSIN to the leader of her home nation on Earth, in fact! Could you ever imagine such a thing?!"

She gave him a sympathetic look. YOU MUST HAVE GONE NUTS WITH THAT GOING ON!

"Indeed, it was maddening…"

The crashing sound of a door being smashed inward caused both to look over…

…then Neo scowled as a slender, muscular man with windswept auburn hair barely masking two bull-like black horns projecting from the temple stormed in, followed by a baker's dozen goons in the fighting uniforms of the White Fang. Behind his own Grimm-like mask, Adam Taurus' still-intact blue eye went wide on seeing the mute mercenary that worked for that prick Torchwick and some middle-aged man in a purple jumpsuit. The change of clothes from Neo's standard, pink-trimmed white tuxedo jacket and form-fitting black pants tucked into white button calf-high boots was jarring, especially when one saw the two dozen or so black dirks in their sheathes hanging from straps around her lower legs, upper arms and her waist. "Who the hell is this, girl?" the current field leader of the White Fang angrily growled as his hands immediately rested on both of his chosen weapons. "He was never here last night…"

In a proverbial flash, Neo was right in his face, causing the bovine therianthrope to falter suddenly at such rapid movement. Her hand came down to gently slap his forehead as the sign came out. DOWN, STUD! OR I'LL TURN YOU INTO A STEER AND CHOP YOU UP FOR THE GRIMM TO SNACK ON!

As Leno chortled on seeing that while his eyes glittered in anticipation at the start of a cathartic fight scene which would help deal with his friend's bout of post-Gifting shock, Blake Belladonna's former lover didn't disappoint. "You BITCH!" Adam howled as he moved to snap-draw Wilt and behead her.

KK-KKRACK!

All the White Fang members seeing this gasped in shock on seeing the crimson chokutō-like blade fly away from their leader's hand after Neo snap-drew a dirk. That movement had also sliced Adam's mask in half, causing the parts to drop to either side of him, his good eye going wide with shock on realizing how close he came to having his SKULL sliced open. Before he could react, Neo then somersaulted back to get clear of his hands, snapping up her umbrella — which had been dropped just as the Gifting got underway in earnest, so it wasn't consumed when her clothing was changed to her battlesuit — and unfolding it, twirling around to intercept several shots from one woman using a machine pistol. "I KNEW we should have put that bastard Torchwick to death!" Deery Tominey hissed…

SSH-CHLUK!

Adam's head snapped around…

…then he gaped on seeing the rose-haired cervine therianthrope blink in shocked surprise before her head rolled off her body thanks to a dirk that ripped through her neck to impale on the far wall! "YOU BITCH!" Deery's boyfriend Perry Taylor roared as he levelled his pistols at the reborn ballerina, they then sending a fusillade at Neo's face.

Fortunately, her Aura-powered umbrella — which had a nice silver field of energy forming around it — was more than capable of intercepting such. Adam's other companions roared in outrage as they levelled pistols and machine guns at the dancing Neo…not to mention the other human in the room, who was still seated calmly at one side of the space.

"PADRE! LOOK OUT!"

Leno raised a hand to telekinetically intercept several shots coming his way before dispersing the bullets into nothingness, then he gazed in amusement at a now wide-eyed Neo, who had paused to reach for her throat. As the members of the White Fang in the room also stopped while their minds registered that rough yet clear woman's voice — they knew Roman Torchwick's petite, deadly shadow had been born mute — the Valean mercenary-turned-metahuman dancer blinked as she opened and closed her mouth, using short bursts of breath to try out her vocal cords.

"Damn! I can talk now…!" she then declared with a voice that seemed quite weak.

That declaration was enough to shake the Faunus out of their daze. "DIE!" Perry roared as he levelled his rifle at her.

Neo instantly vanished into sparkles as another fusillade of shells went her way…

…only to reappear to the dark-skinned canine therianthrope's left side, one dirk in her hand as her other hand reached out. As Perry's eyes went wide on sensing the danger, the weapon that had beheaded his lover flew into Neo's hand just as her other blade plunged into the back of his throat. "She probably thought you were DEAD in bed!" Neo snarled as she used the other blade to disembowel him, tilting around to perform a spinning high-kick into a third goon's jaw!

"KILL HER!" Adam screamed as he lunged for his sword…

…before a shadow appeared over his head, causing him to look up and to the left…

…just as Roman Leakee's fist dropped on his jaw in a Superman punch! "That's no way to treat a lady!" the Spectral Hound of the Dark Gaol snarled as his co-worker from Florida Championship Wrestling walked up to join him.

The others of the White Fang then gaped on seeing a dozen soul-wolves now in the warehouse…

****

Approaching the industrial district from the direction of Beacon Academy, ten minutes later…

James Ironwood laughed as the gynoid pilot directed the open-air skiff — one of a dozen that Isaac Thomas and his people had brought to Remnant to serve as personal transports when needed while they were setting up Renaissance Industries — towards the northwest end of Vale's industrial district. "So, you're actually an alien?" the commander of Atlas' military forces wondered as the wind whipped past his grey-shot hair, he then glancing at the Wise Lone Sage.

"You don't sound so surprised, General," the native of Queens noted as he returned that look before turning back to examine his lightsabre's energy cells in preparation for what was coming.

The veteran hunter smirked as he loaded his own sidearm. "The few records that survived the coming of the One Above the Gods two millennia ago did indicate he came from a distant star. Was jarring to see 'him' be a ‘her’. Is that common on this Yiziba planet that was mentioned last night?"

"Over ninety-seven percent of Named lines resurrect cross-gender during what we call the 'casting change'," Isaac explained, much for Ironwood's benefit as well as the benefit of the young Faunus warriors who came with him, Ironwood, Glynda Goodwitch, Qrow Branwen and Neville Longbottom to scout what was happening now concerning Neopolitan. "There are some same-gender lines. Yo'or'bemyu — or 'Danzatrice' as she'd be called here — is one."

"I recognized the name that Conservator fellow called out," Monica Khan noted as her upper ears flattened in anticipation. "Neopolitan. She's Torchwood's mute flunky."

"Yáng fought her once," Blake Belladonna noted as she squeezed the other woman's hand. "She almost skewered her with that cane-sword of hers. If Yáng's mother didn't show up to save her, we'd be down a teammate."

Qrow's head snapped over. "What?!" the rough-faced veteran hunter snapped. "Raven was here?!"

"That thing with the train Torchwick used to get Grimm into the city a few months ago."

As Yáng Xiǎo Lóng's uncle took that in, Isaac peered ahead, using the scanners in his glasses to focus on the high nexus of energy that would mark the presence of the current incarnation of the Ballerina of the Final Darkness. He then scowled, instantly earning him Ironwood's attention. "What is it, son?"

The Wise Lone Sage sighed. "Leno…!"

"Oh, bloody hell!"

That was the Master of Plants. "You know this person, Mister Longbottom?" Glynda wondered.

Wincing at the mannerisms the chief combat teacher of Beacon was showing — which were no different than his own head of house back at Hogwarts — the native of Holdenhurst near Bournemouth chuckled as Isaac got the gynoid piloting their ship, Mikazuki Yozora, to land them in a small parking lot a few blocks away from where the just-Gifted Neopolitan and her current sponsor were…along with two other people the Wise Lone Sage was quick to recognize. "Leno Lu'umlo, Professor Goodwitch. His battle name is 'Millennium'; tag line is 'Mad Prophet of the Future'. Reborn socialist preacher who believes these days that there must be a spiritual 'balance' between faces and heels — the good guys and the bad guys, in other words — on Yiziba. He HATES the fact that people like I — who should be a heel — actually turned out to be faces or anti-heels in this incarnation." He shook his head. "In other words, he's trying to recruit people to ensure we'd have fight scene opponents in the Show."

The natives blinked as they took that in. "He's nuts, you mean," Qrow sneered.

"A little deranged and obsessed when it comes to maintaining the 'balance', but he's dangerous, Qrow," Isaac warned. "Near-cosmic level powers, including psychokinesis, broadcast empathy and telepathy. He's also very strong and fast, can fly and can resist most attacks fired his way; we call that a 'FISS-type', which means 'Flight, Invulnerability, Super-Strength and Super-Speed'. And he's precognitive, though his empathy and telepathy tend to overwhelm any visions of the future he may get. Don't get cocky with this guy if you run across him. He'll put you down fast."

Hearing that, the native of Anima nodded. Much that he was wary about this alien of all things taking interest in his nieces, Isaac Thomas seemed to be a pretty straight shooter so far. "Anyone else?"

"Yes. Two professional wrestlers from Earth, Roman Leakee and Seth Rollins; those are their stage names. Their real names are Joe Anoa'i and Danny Lopez. Roman's the Grimm." As the natives gaped at him, Isaac chuckled. "Sorry, forgot! He's a spirit-hunter with the ability to cleanse things like ghosts and the like from the mortal plane. Seth's Kingslayer. Telepath and psychokinetic; he can also use his mind to send 'dagger shots' into people to kill them."

"Why in Oum's Name would they be doing here?" Ironwood wondered as Yozora expertly manoeuvred the skiff to land virtually silently on the parking lot, a low hiss marking its passage.

"Knowing Leno, he had a pair of soul-wolves — spirit beings who help Roman cleanse ghosts and other such beings from Yiziba — when he confronted Miss Neopolitan and offered to get her Gifted. I'll wager that they came to LOVE snacking on the Grimm," the native of Queens reported. "The soul-wolves on Yiziba all see Roman as their pack leader, so he probably came here to check things out."

Once the boarding ramp came down to allow everyone to egress, the small troupe of Atlesian soldiers who came with their leader disembarked, moving to take positions at the entrances to two alleys passing between the warehouses. "Nice flying, Miss Mikazuki," Ironwood complemented the gynoid with the long raven hair and the amethyst eyes.

"Be careful, General," Yozora advised. "Master Leno is not a person to be crossed lightly."

The experienced hunter nodded. "We'll keep that in mind."

With that, he disembarked, followed by Glynda, Neville, Qrow, Monica and Blake, who moved to gather close to Isaac, now kneeling by the corner of a warehouse, scanning the target zone four blocks away. "Okay, we've got four dozen bandits now in the building with Leno, Roman, Seth and Miss Neopolitan," the Wise Lone Sage warned. "All the others are therianthropes; 'Faunus' as you call them here. Good bet they'll be White Fang. Monica, how many people did Mister Taurus have here last night to help Miss Fall and her friends?"

"Well over a hundred," the dark-skinned felinoid therianthrope reported. "A good bunch must have faded into the crowd once it was all over, and Cinder got what she wanted." A cruel smile crossed her face. "Can't wait to see the look on that arrogant bitch's face when she sees Pyrrha alive and well."

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

Then…

"Gods! You SAVED her?!" a wide-eyed Glynda exclaimed.

Isaac chuckled as he gave his new employee an annoyed yet amused look. "New girl, you need to understand how reveal scenes work!" he playfully scolded, making Monica blush as Blake snickered. "And yes, Professor, both Pyrrha and Penny are alive and well. Along with another old friend of yours."

Here, he winked knowingly, which made Qrow, Glynda and Ironwood gape in shock. Finally, the blonde veteran huntress snickered. "Well, James, THAT certainly proves all the legends about the One Above the Gods, doesn't it?"

"Damn...!" the Atlesian leader exhaled as he gave the New Yorker hyper-genius a wide-eyed look. "Is there anything Miss Kasuga CAN'T do?" he then wondered.

"She's pretty laid back, so we really don't know how powerful she can push herself, General," Isaac explained as he held up a warning finger. "Naturally, we don't push it with her."

"Pretty damn smart," Qrow chuckled. "How do we play this?"

"Split into small groups and approach from all around," the Wise Lone Sage advised. "Neville put muffling charms on you, so you won't be heard unless you hit something very hard. Since we're dealing with Faunus — with Mister Taurus in the lead, most likely — their higher senses could pick up noise human ears can't." As the others nodded, he held up a warning finger. "Be warned. The instant Seth senses people are out to kill him, he will go for head shots. No one on Remnant would be able to shield themselves from them if he's going full-tilt. Try to stay clear of his arcs of fire."

"I'll lead a group from the east," Glynda offered.

"I'll come from the north," Ironwood noted before he gazed on the Wise Lone Sage. "Isaac, you come in from the west. Qrow, can you scout about in case they got spotters?"

"Got it," the Mistralite ex-bandit noted.

In a flash of energy, he assumed his corvine-like form and fluttered into the air. Isaac watched him go, then tapped the frame of his goggles. "Thomas, Albert, keep a close eye on Mister Branwen, please."

"We're monitoring things, Isaac," Albert Wily called down from near-orbit.

Ironwood and Glynda nodded before they moved to get people to come with them. Monica and Blake remained behind, crouched next to Neville as Isaac scanned around. "Okay, we've got possible portal breaches in the area," he warned as he drew out his lightsabre and ignited it; he had keyed his battle suit's communication systems into the Atlesian military network so others could hear him. "Someone might have the ability to call Grimm into this situation."

"Great! This party gets worse by the minute," Blake dryly noted as she drew out Gambol Shroud in katana mode.

"Let me scout in from the south, mate," Neville advised.

Isaac nodded as the Master of Plants keyed his PAA, then teleported away. Blake watched the wizard disappear, then she shook her head. "Damn! You Terrans are a pretty lucky bunch, you know that?"

"Oh, Earth has its problems, Miss Belladonna…"

That made her blush. "Please. Blake."

Isaac smiled. "I'm Isaac. C'mon."

With that, they moved to stealthily creep down the side of the warehouse to get to the corner about fifty metres away. "So, you two know each other," Isaac quietly noted as he scanned ahead of him.

A blush darkened Monica's face as she gripped Blake's hand. "We used to be lovers," the niece of the current leader of the White Fang explained before she scowled as her upper ears flattened. "That is until Adam stuck his arrogant snout into it." As the raven-haired feline therianthrope winced, Monica chuckled as she tilted Blake's head over so they could share a kiss. "Relax, Blake! I know how much he can twist people around his claws like he did to my aunt!"

"So, what made you join Isaac?" the daughter of the White Fang's original leader wondered.

"Believe it or not, he saved my life last night," Monica answered as they reached the corner of the first warehouse, then quickly crossed over to crouch behind the corner of the second warehouse. Three more to go after this, she mused as she drew out a particle pistol that Yozora had given her; much that her Aura allowed her to be a healer, she was a fighter as well. "I was getting sick and tired of how much Adam sucks up to Auntie; it was making me want to quit the White Fang as a whole." As Blake gaped at her, the darker-skinned woman added, "Well, encountering someone who knows the One Above the Gods — her current incarnation, I mean — made one hell of a great impression."

"You weren't hurt, were you?" Blake then asked Isaac.

He chuckled as he gave her a reassuring wink. "No, Blake, I came through it alright. As did Monica, Ken Tukson and Scott Mata. Then again, I had no choice."

"'No choice'?"

"Ken's sister Tara works for me at RI. I'd like to keep my employees happy you know."

That made Blake gape before she snickered as they sneaked down the side of the second warehouse to close on the target. "Gray Haddock got nailed by one of those Atlesian war-bots that Fall's idiots hacked into…just right after Isaac hacked off his arm with that laser sword of his…" Monica noted…

…then she winced as a downcast look crossed her old lover's face. "Oh, damn! I'm sorry, Blake!"

The raven-haired woman shook her head. "I'm alright. Won't miss THAT creep whatsoever! Yet…!" Her upper ears drooped in shame. "I'm falling for her hard, Monica…and she suffered for me."

"Don't blame yourself for what happened to your friend, Blake," Isaac noted as he gazed at her. "From what I've learned of this guy, he's obsessive-compulsive about things and wants the world to burn for what happened to him. Rejecting him was something he couldn't tolerate in the long term from you."

A groan answered him. "Oh, great! A stalker! Just what I needed…"

"Relax," he advised. "Running away from him won't solve a thing. But since you are my new employee's beloved…" — that statement made Monica and Blake madly blush before they pouted as he winked at him — "…I'll show you how you can deal with this fool. You can use your shadow-clones still, right?"

"I'm ready," the raven-haired huntress vowed.

"Good. Let's get closer…"

****

To the south of the warehouse…

"Hey! You kids!"

Flynt Coal and Neon Katt perked on hearing that voice, then they looked up just as a middle-aged man with a five o'clock shadow jumped down from the roof of a nearby warehouse, drawing out his articulated broadsword. "Qrow Branwen, right?" the leader of Team FNKI from Atlas asked, keeping his voice down. "Yáng Xiǎo Lóng's uncle?"

"Same!" the bandit-turned-hunter affirmed. "You kids came with Jimmy to the Festival, right?"

"We did. How's your niece?! We heard what that bastard Taurus did to her."

"Resting up back home right now," Qrow stated before keying his scroll. "All clear on the south side."

«Coming up to your position now, mate.»

A second later, a flash of light produced a teenage man in a dark green battlesuit with brown belt and boots, a green hooded demi-cape slung around his body and a long, think stick in his hand. Neon's emerald eyes sparkled on taking in such a noble image. "You're from the world of the One Above the Gods…?" she squealed.

Neville Longbottom blinked before he noted the feline therianthrope's obvious tail, then he smirked, winking playfully at her. "Not as powerful as Lady Kasuga happens to be," he noted as his free reached into one of the pouches of his belt to draw out a few seeds, then he flung them ahead of them before aiming his wand.

One combined Aguamenti and Depulso spell later — which made all three natives gape in shock on seeing real magic employed before their eyes — the seeds were planted into the rough gravel before they started to sprout, growing knee-high bushes with white dandelion seed-like flowers in massive bushes. Another Depulso blew the flower leaves down the alley in a fog bank. "Nice!" Qrow breathed out, nodding in approval. "What the hell are those things anyway?"

"A specific invention of my tenth self," the English wizard reported as he lowered his wand. "I call it the 'mist dandelion' since it's great for causing neat fog banks."

"I'll go for that!" Flynn muttered.

"Where'd you kids come from?" Qrow asked.

"We were brought here by Master Seth and Master Roman when they heard the Spirit of the Great Crystal call out that it's time for Miss Neo to be Gifted," Neon explained, thumbing to the east. "Master Seth told us what's going on with the world where the One Above the Gods first lived." She stared wide-eyed at Neville. "Is it true? That when you die on that planet, your spirit's absorbed into the Great Crystal to be put into another person's mind in this 'Gifting' thing?!"

"That's the way it's been on Yiziba for millennia," the Master of Plants affirmed as he waved the others to come with him, sending small Depulso pulses wordlessly to force the fog bank of mist dandelion flowers to move ahead of them. He gave Qrow an amused look. "You look like you need a drink, mate."

"What did you expect?!" the Mistralite muttered. "Aliens existing?! You're from one planet but you got your Semblance from another planet where everyone there MUST get Semblances just to survive?! Gods! And I thought knowing the truth about Oz was crazy?! Damn straight I'd need a drink, kid!"

"Is Professor Ozpin alright, sir?" Flynt asked.

"Yeah, he was saved by that Kasuga girl — the current 'One Above the Gods'; her handle's 'Infinity' — when she rescued your pal Penny Polendina and Pyrrha Nikos last night."

Both Atlesians gaped. "Penny's alright?!" Neon exclaimed.

"Miss Nikos, too?!" Flynt demanded.

Qrow chuckled. "Yeah, they're…!"

A flash of light made everyone spin around…

"O-ha!" Kasuga Ayumu called out.

…then a maddening squeal made the natives tense before something surged through the wall of a nearby warehouse. As Flynt levelled his trumpet on the screeching boarbatusk now about to drop down on the Goddess Who Walks Among Men, the native of Wakayama reached out with one hand, telekinetically drawing out the rest of Neville's mist dandelion seeds into her grasp. "AYUMU!" the Master of Plants exclaimed…

…before he watched as Ayumu cupped the seeds before her lips, then she blew out, creating a blast of hurricane-like force to overwhelm them with her powers. That created a super-dense cloud of mist dandelion flowers which swamped the Grimm attacking her. The screeching creature instantly howled in mortal pain as the mesonium within those seeds ripped into its body, disintegrating it in the blink of an eye, then the Infinite One made a wave overhead to send the cloud of mist dandelions into the air, making a large fog bank that seemed to cloak Vale as a whole!

"Holy…!" Qrow exclaimed…

…then everyone perked on hearing a chorus of wails escaping from all quarters indicating that whatever Grimm were in the limits of the city were getting a very FATAL dose of the Yizibajohei version of hay fever! As a shocked look crossed Neville's face — seeing that, Qrow guessed what was now going through the wizard's head: 'Why didn't I bloody think of that?!' — another flash produced Ayumu's classmate from Azuma Senior High School in Tōkyō.

"ŌSAKA-SAN!" Mihama Chiyo exclaimed before she shook her head, slapping her face at what she had just witnessed. With that, the Bright Genius of the Young Guns approached the others, ignoring the now-gushing Neon, whose eyes were locking rapidly at the One Above the Gods, then the seriously cute girl, then back again! "I'm sorry about that, Neville-san!" the native of Itabashi said as she drew out a plastic bag full of mist dandelion seeds from one of the pouches of her golden jumpsuit. "Honestly! Ōsaka-san should KNOW better than to take things from people, even if she DOES do good with them!" she declared as she handed said bag to the Master of Plants before she stared at her best friend, who was now cackling at the fog of pretty white dandelion leaves she just spread all over Vale.

"You grew these in your greenhouse?" Neville wondered as he pulled open the bag, then drew a couple seeds so he could scan them with his chlorokinetic powers.

"Back on Yiziba by the club house," Chiyo answered.

That made the older metahuman nod. He knew the Young Guns — the team of normally pre-adolescent metahumans cursed to die because they lost control of their powers — had a "club house" on the southern polar continent near the South Ring Ocean opposite the southern tip of the central equatorial continent where the Battlezone was located. This allowed the area to get the right levels of wind and rain to keep the soil fertile despite average low temperatures; even if Yiziba had an Earth-like climate, the presence of so much mesonium in the planet's biosphere prevented permafrost soil and tundra from forming save around the glaciers at the poles. Given the pre-teen genius from Itabashi who was one of Japan's smartest student was a VERY dedicated researcher thanks to her being Gifted as Prodigy — atop her having an organic battle doll body provided by the Infinite One to save her from the fate that befell her thirty-five previous selves — it would be quite the oddity to get seeds produced by Mihama Chiyo which were NOT perfect in every which way.

"Thanks for the seeds!" he said, winking at her.

"Er, kid…how OLD are you, anyway?!"

Chiyo gazed on Qrow, who was now wide-eyed with clear apprehension on seeing someone so YOUNG looking like she was prepared for battle. "Oh, I had my eleventh birthday last month, Qrow-sensei," she answered before she reached into another pouch to draw out a small bottle. "Here! Drink this!"

The Mistralite blinked before he took the bottle in hand. Ignoring Neon gushing at the sight of a girl who "Just couldn't be THAT cute!", he popped it open, then drowned the bottle in one quick gulp…

…before a gargle of agony escaped him, making him collapse into a dazed heap on the tarmac. As Flynt and Neon gaped, Qrow's eyes began to spiral as a pained moan escaped him, his body twitching as that evil liquid coursed through his system to purge the remaining alcohol from his body, regenerate his badly-abused liver and stiffen his neural pathways to ensure he didn't suffer withdrawal. "Honestly, Qrow-san! How on Earth are you going to help your nieces if you're DRUNK all the time?!" Chiyo scolded as she walked over to pick up the bottle of her personal hangover remedy, which was based on a mixed magical/naturopathic hangover cure invented by Neville himself.

"This thing about Miss Rose's 'silver eye' power, you mean?" the Master of Plants asked.

"Hai!" the Bright Genius of the Young Guns answered.

"I thought that was a legend!" Flynt protested.

Chiyo gave the Atlesian hunter a curious look. "Um, Flynt-san, didn't you see that wyvern frozen on the side of that tower at the Beacon Academy? Ruby-san did that!"

The leader of Team FNKI blinked owlishly at that observation…

To Be Continued…!

****

WRITER'S NOTES

RWBY character notes: Qrow Branwen first appeared in "New Challengers…" (volume three, second episode). Tàiyáng Xiǎo Lóng first appeared in "Round One" (volume three, first episode). Zwei first appeared in "Field Trip" (volume two, eighth episode). Both Neon Katt and Flynt Coal first appeared in "Never Miss A Beat" (volume three, fifth episode). Adam Taurus first appeared in the "Black" trailer where Blake Belladonna was first introduced. Deery Tominey and Perry Taylor first appeared in "Painting The Town…" (volume two, fourth episode); their family names come from their voice actors.

If anyone doesn't know who Neville Longbottom is, where have you been these last few decades? As an aside, Aguamenti is the incantation for the water-making spell learned at schools such as Hogwarts during NEWT (seventh year) studies. Depulso is the incantation for the banishment charm that forces objects away from its caster; this is taught during third and fourth years at schools such as Hogwarts.

Joseph Anoa'i didn't adopt his more well-known moniker of Roman Reigns until August 2012 when World Wrestling Entertainment re-branded its developmental group, Florida Championship Wrestling, into NXT, reflecting the title of the television show that transmitted FCW matches on Syfy. Colby Daniel Lopez adopted his modern moniker of Seth Rollins in September 2010 after he joined FCW.

Note that the Master At Arms first appeared in the side story The Deadliest Woman Alive. Tutota R'batae Kutotuto is the Yizibajohei analogue of Nazi Germany; its capital city R'buoletona is naturally the analogue of Berlin. The Young Guns were first noted on altogether in the omake The Mistress of Velocity Claims Her Man.

A steer is a castrated bull.

Mikazuki Yozora is a character from the novel-turned-anime series Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai (AKA Haganai), created by Hirasaka Yomi. Replicas of other Haganai characters will also appear here.

Chapter 4: A Dose of Catnip A Day...!

Summary:

A small group of Terran-born Yizibajohei proceed to teach Adam Taurus a few lessons concerning what could happen if he pushes his "beloved" Blake Belladonna too far.

Once the Master of Plants gets involved with some catnip...!

Chapter Text

DISCLAIMER: Concurrent with fair dealing clauses of the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada and fair use clauses in copyright legislation in other nations, this is a work that was created solely for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, it is posted freely on the Internet without expectation or requirement of remuneration.

****

Vale City, near the Beacon Academy, Gayatit 52 Treichleam, ninety minutes after breakfast (Tōkyō time: Monday 2 April, 180 minutes before midnight; London time: Monday 2 April, ninety minutes after lunch)…

"Ah! Smells like Neville-san spread some mist dandelions all over town! Hina likes mist dandelions!"

As the squadron of shipgirls who had accompanied the Living Spirit of Innocence to Remnant nodded in appreciation, the elderly English magizoologist who had been invited to come on this expedition drew his wand and cast some detection charms. "Yes, you're right about the naquadah that was in that sample Miss Black passed on to MARPA, Peter," Newt Scamander grimly noted as his eyes took in the sheer level of destruction that had befallen one of the premier huntsmen academies on this world. "If that poor wyvern frozen on that tower doesn't demonstrate things…"

Peter Candlewick grimly nodded as he drew his wand to do some spells while the reborn Fubuki-class destroyers formed a defensive perimeter around the group and Naomi Haight-Ashbury took a seat on a fallen peace of masonry, eyes closing as she allowed her soul to touch what she called the "Astral Plane" — as she saw it, an all-invasive energy field the reborn nuclear cruiser first detected at the moment of her rebirth in Bremerton, the American magical scientist learned — to learn what was "hip" and what was "square" here. Given their appearance, the newcomers from Earth were quick to attract attention from the distant cordon of defenders sealing the grounds off from the remainder of Vale.

"Hey! You folks from this Earth planet we just heard about?!"

People turned as a team of four teenage men came jogging over to join them. Since the Grimm who had returned to the grounds of Beacon had just been wiped out of existence thanks to the clouds of mist dandelion leaves spread all over Vale because of Kasuga Ayumu and Neville Longbottom, teams of experienced Valean and Atlesian huntsmen were doing a survey of the Academy to determine the full extent of casualties and damage. Leading the group of local students was a handsome blond primate therianthrope in casual clothing. "Hai!" Hinako replied as she waved her hand to have the members of Team SSSN focus on her. "Hina, Scamander-sensei, Candlewick-sensei, Naomi-chan, Fujiko-chan and Fujiko-chan's sisters are from Earth! Are you all these 'huntsmen' Isaac-san told Hina about?"

Sūn Wùkōng laughed as he moved to kneel before the native of Niigata while the famous magizoologist from Devonshire and his former apprentice from New York state continued their examination. "Yeah! Team SSSN at your service!" As Hinako blinked on hearing the Vacuan and adopted Mistralite say the team name as "sun", the quarterstaff fighter offered his hand, which she took. Immediately moving to keep an eye on the newcomers from either side were the two eldest of the Fukushima sisters, Fujiko and Shirayuki. "Couldn't believe it when Blake passed on that the One Above the Gods actually exists and was here last night helping out! Not to mention confirming that Isaac Thomas of all people was an alien and not a Vacuan like me!" He thumbed himself in emphasis.

Hinako giggled as Fujiko and Shirayuki adopted parade-rest stances nearby, they then scanning around with their eyes even if their ears were tuned in to the conversation. "Isaac-san doesn't mean any harm, Sūn-san!" she gently scolded. "Especially now that Margo-san discovered that something those dork Ori did on Earth ended up hurting a lot of nice people here on Remnant! It's only right to help the nice people here get away from nasty Grimm like that!" Here, she waved to thumb the still-frozen wyvern, which had yet to be melted by the acid-like touch of the mist dandelions.

"We're really appreciative of that, miss," Scarlet David declared as Sage Ayana and Neptune Vasilias nodded in agreement. "Never really understood how much Faunus like Sūn care for those old legends surrounding Lady Kasuga's…um, first-self, you folks call it?" he then asked with a bewildered look.

Hinako sighed, immediately sensing the natives’ confusion about that aspect of Yizibajohei society. "Hai, hai, Scarlet-san! Hina knows how confusing the whole casting change idea is! At least Fujiko-chan and her sisters and Naomi-san don't have to worry about that!" Here, she indicated her escort of shipgirls, then their new "sister" from America.

The four boys took in the wholesome looks of the seven teenage girls who had come with the Spirit of Innocence to Remnant, then they noted the slightly-dazed yet meditative look on the face of the older woman sitting on the fallen hunk of masonry nearby. "Um…is she okay?" Neptune wondered, pointing.

"It's cool, Dick Tracy," the adopted native of Long Beach and Quincy said as her evergreen eyes opened behind her goggles, then she gazed sadly around her. "Man, this is has got to be the most down place I've ever been to as ship or shipgirl. What stupid square is funking around with people here, huh?"

"That bad, Mama Cass?" Candlewick wondered as he finished his last diagnostic, then came over to join them. As Neptune whispered a curious, "'Dick Tracy'?" to Hinako, Scamander was examining a trace pile of Grimm ash on the nearby sidewalk with a series of very intensive probe spells.

"Yeah, Pete. The song of this world is such a downer," the reborn missile cruiser warned…

A frightening screech echoed from due east of the CCT tower!

…then people spun around as a king taijitu, its body smoking from contact with the acid-like flower leaves that were literally burning it alive without stop, lunged out from the direction of the Emerald Forest towards the small group of humans with the similar scent, its fangs splayed and ready.

"YOU STOP RIGHT THERE, YOU MEANIE!"

As a burst of cosmic empathy exploded from Hinako to stun the Grimm, the only one of Fujiko's sisters to have NOT served in the Greater East Asia War charged, air around her cooling to sub-zero temperatures before she forced her cryokinesis into overdrive. "FREEZE, YOU BAKAMONO!" Fukushima Miyuki snapped as she sent a storm of solid ice at the king taijitu to turn it into an ugly sculpture that wouldn't win any prizes at the Sapporo Ice Festival.

While the four huntsmen students all gaped in awe at the sight of what the Cosmic Blizzard, R'bemrike ("Miyuki"), just unleashed, distant shouts alerted the visitors to the approach of other locals. "Nice work, Barbara Ann!" Naomi said with an approving nod before she scanned the oncoming pair of middle-aged men with her own special meta-sight. "Ah! Local gurus! Oi, Newt! Pete! You got some local gurus coming over so you can check this square thing out!"

Scamander was already moving to send diagnostic spells at the frozen king taijitu just as Peter Port and Bartholomew Oobleck came within normal speaking range. "Good morning, gentlemen!" the Devonshire native said as he offered his hand, which Oobleck jogged up to gladly take. "Newt Scamander, professor emeritus of magical zoology at your service. Are either of you teachers at this poor school here?"

The spiky-haired, bespectacled history teacher laughed, the relief in his voice obvious. "Indeed, we both are, Professor Scamander. Welcome to Vale…and I'm amazed to say this as well: Welcome to Remnant! I can't believe I'd ever get the chance to meet an actual alien of all things right up front like this…!"

The famous magizoologist who was one of the many heroes of the Wars of Liberation decades before nodded as he shook Port's hand, then turned back to his examination. "Yes, I read Isaac's reports about how magically deprived you people are. Thank Merlin you developed metahuman powers — your Semblances — to defend yourselves from these things." He raised his wand. "If you'll excuse me for a moment, let me get a good scan of this poor creature here…"

"Oh, of course," Oobleck said as he and Port stepped back while Candlewick came over to join them.

"Similar to dementors on Earth, aren't they?" the American researcher mused.

"Indeed. Same basic energy mixture, though naquadah-powered," his old teacher from Britain mused as ghostly parchments began to appear before him, revealing a very complex set of arithmantic equations that was making him scowl. "You were wise to warn me about this, Peter. Did you contact the people in Sankt-Peterbúrg about this?"

"The Russians?" Candlewick paused, then his eyes went wide. "You found something when you were in Siberia?! Back in the 1930s; when you got your Order of Koschéj upgraded to the second degree!"

"Yes! I've seen fragments of this very type of energy reside in areas known to be inhabited by gamájun," Scamander added, his scowl deepening. "And if Isaac was right and this planet was plagued by the Ori for so long, it would make a perverse sense. They were believed to try to influence things on Earth around the time of the Great Banishment, especially when the Undying Lord and the Praetorian Guardian got involved in driving the Old Ones off Earth."

"What does all that mean?" a wide-eyed Port wondered.

"Twenty-five very long ones ago, Prof P, these square things from other dimensions wanted to turn Earth into their private hell," Naomi spoke up, making the natives look her way. As the younger huntsmen all shuddered, she added, "Thanks to the Tear of the Stars from Party Planet, a nice rock of mesonium was sent to Earth to make a local fisherman immortal. Since the squares had murdered all his family and friends, the dude…"

"The 'Undying Lord', we call him," Candlewick cut in.

"…teamed up with the great gurus who lived on Mother Earth…"

"The oldest sentient beings on our world, averaging several MILLION years old," the American helpfully added, making the natives all gape at the idea of living beings existing for THAT amount of time.

"…to send the square packing. Along the way, some of the square folk from the Astral Plane…"

"That means the Ori," Candlewick translated.

"…tried to get in on the fun, but Grandpa V drove them off."

"An immortal being known as the 'Praetorian Guardian', who protects Earth from imminent interdimensional threats." As both Oobleck and Port faintly nodded, the American turned to gaze on the mystical parchments his old teacher's scans just produced. "Merlin's Beard! You mean these things are descent from the alconóst, Newt?!"

"Most likely…though we'll need our friends in Russia to confirm it," Scamander coolly declared.

"And these alconóst are, Professor?" Oobleck asked.

The magizoologist gazed at the history professor/expert huntsman. "They eat humans, Professor."

That made the natives all gape…

****

In orbit over Vale, aboard the Free Planetary State of Yiziba Starship Normandy, that moment…

"Coffee, Professor?"

Hearing that from the beautiful gynoid that was the effective captain of this remarkable spaceship was, the Undying Warrior Sage of Remnant smiled as he offered his hand. "Thank you, my dear," Shannon Ozpin said as he gazed on the holographic readouts displaying the incident at the warehouse — where there were now at least SIXTY members of the White Fang confronting the just-Gifted Neopolitan along with her sponsor and two visitors from Earth; people under James Ironwood's, Glynda Goodwitch's and Isaac Thomas' command were a block away from storming the place — as well as what was happening at his school. "These alconóst," he then noted. "Has anyone ever heard of them?"

"Just getting the relevant files now, Professor," Robyn Ross, who had been appointed to be Ozpin's aide while he was aboard the Normandy, answered from a side station.

With a flick of her finger, the blonde gynoid sent the data into the holographic display before the warrior-turned-elder teacher. Humming as information scrolled slowly before his eyes, he grimaced. Alconóst were creatures that had been discovered by magical research agencies on Earth centuries ago to be a hybrid invasive species drawn from another dimension in the time leading to the Great Banishment twenty-five millennia ago. While originally subservient to the demons known commonly as "Old Ones" these days on Earth, they later were discovered to have come under the influence of what was now believed to be some of the Ori; the "ascended" race of would-be gods had grown alarmed at the sheer levels of power being demonstrated by both the Old Ones and their opponents in the battles that led to the Great Banishment, then moved to suppress all sides. While the Ori had been driven off Earth by the "Praetorian Guardian" — a farmer from the Crimea named Résav'l who somehow gained the knowledge and power of the mysterious Seekers, the so-called First Race of the known Universe — beings such as the alconóst were dealt with by local powers such as their effective near-equivalents among the magical beings rising in that period, the gamájun.

A smile crossed his face after getting the chance to read about the race of therianthropes who had been afforded special protections by the Imperial Russian Ministry of Magic and its successive agencies in the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. Beings who could transform from humanoid form to avians to a mixed look, they were seen as avatars of wisdom and collectors of knowledge dating back MILLENNIA; it was via the gamájun and their counterparts elsewhere on Earth that many Terran magicals would always know of events such as the Great Banishment and the later occupation of Earth by the Goa'uld just before the rise of modern civilization in places like China and Egypt.

Despite the gamájun having earned such a degree of respect among the magicals of the various eastern Slavic peoples such as the Russians that they eventually named a school for magicals after them, these beings were often hunted by the unscrupulous for their wealth of knowledge and power. Because of this and because it was believed magical children with gamájun blood would be the equals of some of the most powerful modern warriors like Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald, various gamájun parliaments had retreated into the most inhospitable places in eastern Siberia north of China to escape the poachers. And while the Ministry of Magical Affairs in the city of Sankt-Peterbúrg threatened the worst sorts of punishments on poachers who were caught, incidents of rescuing enslaved gamájun from such hunters and their clients had been gristle for the local news media for several decades.

And…

Wait a minute…

His eyebrow arched, which made Robyn look his way. "What is it, Professor?"

"Can you bring up information concerning this 'gamájun redoubt' in Siberia, Miss Ross?"

The gynoid tapped controls on her machine to draw up information, then she transmitted it to display on his screen. "That comes from Mistress Tat'jána Chapáeva, Professor," she reported before gazing once more at him. "It's not well known, and its exact location is unsure no matter how much the Magícheskaja Milítsija have tried to secretly track it down, but it's said to be in an area that is predominated by the overall power of Túndra, the oldest of the Great Beasts."

Ozpin nodded. "Pull up a map of Russia, then display the area that Lord Túndra has influence over."

"Yes, sir."

"A theory?" Mimir Shepard wondered.

"Yes, Miss Shepard. As you just read, the gamájun elected to join the side of the Great Beasts during the End War against the Old Ones, sensing Rittmeister von Taserich's arrival on the scene was enough to tip the scales and finally win the war for humans. Since they're only known to live in northern Eurasia, it's only logical that they would seek out the most powerful spiritual patron around, that being Lord Túndra of course…ah!"

A map of the Russian Federation appeared, with areas shaded in ice blue along the Arctic coast. Icons were present, mostly in the territory of the republic of Jakútija and neighbouring areas such as the regions of Chukótka and Tajmýrskij Dolgaáno-Nénetsk in the territory of Krasnojársk. "What are these locations, Miss Ross?" Ozpin asked.

Robyn read the notes provided ultimately by the current incarnation of the Careful Planner of the Circle of Thought, Kikhodato (the "Philosopher"). "Shrines erected to Túndra by elements of the local population who know of his existence, Professor. They're seen as harmless by the Ministry of Magical Affairs even if rumours abound that gamájun elders secretly come to these locations when children go to pray to Túndra for his protection; they would normally bear gifts for the children as a way of extending Túndra's spiritual reach. The legends about his overall power have seeped through to the normal world; they're seen as local fairy tales by normal authorities." As Ozpin smirked — he was getting a good idea now about how far Earth's magicals had gone to hide themselves from normals, even in an age where non-magical metahumans were known to exist — the gynoid added, "Some of these places are staked out by poachers as well as agents of the Magícheskaja Milítsija trying to catch them. There have been nine incidents in the last decade where poachers were caught by officers of the Milítsija at these sites."

"Then it should be passed on to Professors Scamander and Candlewick that THERE is where contact should be made with the gamájun about the history behind their battles with the alconóst and how wiped those beings out. If we learn that, we can use it to finally expunge the Grimm from Remnant."

His voice trailed off as he considered the scale of the statement he just made. In all the incarnations he had lived on Remnant since the banishment of the Two Brothers, he had never once felt the sense of hope now flooding his body. To see an END to the violence that rocked humanity since the dawn of time seemed a pipe dream to him even these days, with descendants of those saved ultimately by the mercy of Ayono Ugadese forced into enclaves by the unending hordes of Grimm, no doubt driven by his former wife in her mad desire to crush all hope and bring Remnant to heel.

And to believe it was another native of the World of the Forge who had brought that hope to him.

It would have to be managed, of course. Under no circumstances could Salem or any of her current council of lackeys learn of the new powers coming in to stand against her. It was fortunate that he had much influence in Vale's central council. While rumours will fly — and the use of those mist dandelions which had been spread all over Vale City by Ayono's current incarnation would get tongues wagging — the need to keep precise information as to the nature of the people now helping Remnant be free of the Grimm from the news networks was vital. Even more so, with the CCT system now down, there was no realistic way that anyone outside Vale would be able to tap into local emergency communications or broadcast news/entertainment channels to get any sort of news over what was happening.

Fortunately, the Wise Lone Sage understood that issue quite well, as did people such as the supreme commandant of the forces of Atlas, not to mention Ozpin's own senior staff. While there were the quite annoying instances such as what Kasuga Ayumu unleashed with the unwilling help of Neville Longbottom — to say ANYTHING of the presence of a man such as Leno Lu'umlo as demonstrated when he helped young Neopolitan truly become far more than she ever could be — they could be managed. If media output could be funnelled and controlled, the chances of Salem guessing the game was finally now up and the tide was turning relentlessly against her could be minimized.

And Ruby Rose would be the key there.

Given Cinder Fall's obsession towards obtaining the power of the Four Maidens as witness what happened last night with Pyrrha Nikos — to say anything of what she had done to the proper Fall Maiden, Amber Bailey, that forced the girl to be placed on life-support, rendering her helpless when Cinder again came calling last night — Salem would be easily distracted from focusing anew on Vale. Knowing his ex-wife like he did, Ozpin was confident that the Queen of Darkness would concentrate more on tracking down and eliminating Summer Rose's daughter. Anyone who had the power of the Silver Eyes always attracted Salem's notice, being hunted down relentlessly, either by Salem's agents or others who didn't care for such people…as witness what happened to Maria Calavera years ago.

Sipping his coffee, he moved to compose a message for Newt Scamander and Peter Candlewick before turning his attention to the warehouse incident centred on Roman Torchwick's empowered aide…

****

Within a certain warehouse, that moment…

Adam Taurus screamed as ANOTHER of those vicious ebony dirks now expertly welded by the Ballerina of the Final Darkness came close to gouging a large hole in his face. "Damn you, bitch!" he snarled as he barely forced that blade away with Wilt, which now looked a little worse for wear thanks to the sheer physical density of Neopolitan's new primary weapons. "How dare you stand up against your betters?!"

Hearing that from the field leader of the White Fang, the mercenary-turned-Yizibajohei metahuman dirk-welding urban combat warrior could only snort in amusement. Out of the corner of her eye, she was quick to note several of Adam's lackeys expending a tonne of useless ammunition trying to break down a telekinetic shield protecting her new patron from harm. A glance to her left revealed that Seth Rollins — who introduced himself and his friend telepathically to Neo — and Roman Leakee were busy duelling some of the stronger Faunus working under Adam. Since the Assassin of Dynasties and the Spectral Hound of the Dark Gaol didn't seem inclined to turn up their game against the squad of squishy slights, all the White Fang in the building seemed clearly confident of eventual victory.

More fool them, she mused as she opened her umbrella-sword, it then deflecting shots from a particle rifle being used by one jerk from a considerable distance away. Without pausing, she flipped herself to dance over Adam's chest, causing him to awk in shock as she sent another dirk sailing through the air to punch through the would-be sniper's skull. As the bovine therianthrope snarled in anger while trying to pivot around and chop her legs off with Wilt, Neo bounded off the floor with her free hand, somersaulted back a couple times to impale another fool through the side of the rib cage, then she dropped down on said idiot's back to send him to the floor, snapping closed her umbrella.

"You know, Taurus, Roman was right about you," she snarled, her voice still raw even if the Gifting had pretty much healed the damage that denied her an ability to speak for her whole life. "You're nothing more than diseased animals who need to be neutered!" As the people surrounding her snarled at that threat, the mercenary smirked. "Believe me, after what my new friend just did for me, I understand things about prejudice you'd NEVER get, umale mabeku!"

"Ooh!" Seth called out after he delivered a single leg dropkick into one man's abdomen, forcing all the air out of his lungs, thus allowing the Iowan the chance to lunge over and give the idiot a vicious neckbreaker which collapsed the idiot's windpipe. "Haven't heard THAT insult in over a series!"

"She's a Raer'batoguo girl, Danny!" Roman noted as he bounced off one wall, flipping himself to deliver a two-foot drive by kick into another person's face. As said fellow stumbled onto his back, the Pensacola native spun on another terrorist, dropping her via a snap throat thrust that crushed her larynx. "You have to expect it from them…HEY!"

He snared a dirk being flung at his face. "I HEARD that, Anoa'i!" Neo snarled before twirling herself away from Adam, who was now hissing like a literal bull as he slashed away with Wilt to kill her.

Roman laughed in amusement at the new girl's spunk before he ducked and spun from the man he had kicked down, sending the dirk into his throat to literally hack off his head…

…before one cargo door leading into the space exploded inward, a wave of sound ripping through the space to stun everyone thanks to Flynt Coal's enhanced trumpet. As the Faunus yelped from that ultrasonic blast, the two members of Team FNKI came charging in, accompanied by Qrow Branwen, Mihama Chiyo and Neville Longbottom.

"Oi! Roman! Seth! Public or private?!" the Master of Plants barked out.

"What do you think, kid?!" Seth retorted.

"Fair enough to me!"

Drawing another handful of seeds from one of his pouches, the Devonshire wizard-turned-chlorokinetic blew them into the air before dispersing them with a Depulso spell from his wand. Immediately, they sprouted, forming a large fog bank of green toothed leaves mixed with pinkish-white flowers. Flynt smirked as he levelled his trumpet and sent a blast of sound at the mituhatoda cloud, allowing the leaves and flower pedals to virtually coat the room.

The effects were instantaneous.

Much to the delight of the Master of Plants at such a show of arrogant stupidity, half of Adam's forces were various feline therianthropes like Neon Katt, Blake Belladonna and Monica Khan; the OWL-year student at Hogwarts knew through Isaac Thomas about Adam's obsession with his former lover after she decided enough was enough and had put the White Fang behind her. The instant those peoples' noses picked up on the heavy presence of mesonium-enhanced nepetalactone in the air, all — save Neon, who was wearing a special shielding belt provided for her by Chiyo — began to moan as more primal instincts took over, sending them to their knees as they dropped their weapons.

Quickly identifying the cute blond stud in the green battlesuit for what he was, Neo then smirked as she held out her hand, flashing Roman a look. The native of Pensacola tossed the dirk over to the Valean mercenary before he dropped and knocked one fool off his feet with a leg sweep. As Adam howled in outrage on seeing that some sort of chemical weapon had just been unleashed on his people, another cargo door leading into the warehouse exploded inward, revealing a bunch of scowling Atlesian troopers led by James Ironwood. "There he is!" the cyborg commandant of the polar kingdom's armed forces snapped, pointing at the snarling bovine therianthrope, who recoiled at the sight of people he loathed the most thanks to his history with the Schnee Dust Company. "Take him down, men!"

"DEATH TO HUMANS!" Adam screamed as he charged at the roaring troopers.

The standing members of the White Fang screamed as they quickly converged on the new threat…

…just as two more cargo doors exploded, revealing a group of local huntsmen under Glynda Goodwitch's command from one direction…and the Wise Lone Sage of Yiziba leading Adam's former lover and her first lover from another! Seeing all the players now getting involved, Seth then barked, "BATTLE ROYALE! FREE FOR ALL!"

Everyone charged as amused laughter from the Mad Prophet of the Future echoed over the scene…

****

Approaching the warehouse from the east, that moment…

Cursing herself for not staying close to her teammate during this time, Weiss Schnee kept Myrtenaster aimed ahead as the sound of battle — shouts, weapons discharging, screams and all the less noble noises that emerged from something of that nature — echoed from the large hole Glynda Goodwitch and a fair group of huntsmen opened in the building that no doubt served as the White Fang's base for last night's wonderful "fun". While she had got some sleep — after fighting all those Grimm last night, she had been dead tired at the end — she was still weary, not to mention worried about her teammates. Bad enough that her publicity-conscious father wanted her back in Atlas as soon as possible…

"Miss Weiss! There you are!"

Weiss yelped, immediately moving to summon her Semblance to form shields in case the maniacs her friends and the wonderful visitors from WAY afar — she had got Glynda's message about NOT mentioning the true origins of Isaac Thomas and that seriously handsome Neville Longbottom willy-nilly to any passer-by — burst out to try to attack her one friend from her childhood. "Klein?! What are you doing here?!"

A balding, middle-aged man with greying brown hair chuckled as he came up to stand behind her; since he was not gifted with a Semblance, Klein Sieben wisely positioned himself close to his employer's middle child to ensure his own safety in case the event metres in front of them sent trouble their way. "We just arrived on the green beyond the Academy, Miss Weiss. Your father is quite worried about you and wants you to come…GOOD HEAVENS!"

The sounds of ripping metal thanks to a human body being flung THROUGH said metal at near terminal speed made both Atlesians' heads snap over…

…then they blinked owlishly as a badly-bleeding Faunus in the white-and-black uniform of the protest movement-turned-terrorist organization whose actions helped scar the life of the young heiress of the Schnee business empire since she was a child smashed into the ground ahead of them. Before Weiss could summon her powers to defend herself, a man in a black sleeveless jumpsuit that showed off oodles of muscles came lunging out of the hole he made with the thug he had been fighting. Dropping to a three-point stance as several soul-wolves moved to gather around their pack alpha, Roman Leakee smirked as the wounded therianthrope tried to get back to his feet, summoning his power to drape him in mesonium-fuelled eldritch fire. Just as the man got back up again, then found himself immediately focusing on the living symbol of many of his people's misery, the Spectral Hound lunged.

The spear that followed sent the terrorist face-first into the side of another warehouse, snapping his neck as the ex-football player rolled to his feet. Sensing the life leak out of the arrogant bastard — Roman telepathically scanned that he was one who had taken some "liberties" with humans from Atlas before coming to Vale for last night's party — the spirit hunter snorted. "I'm sure the authorities in Atlas would love to see these idiots' bodies paraded down Main Street, Miss Schnee," he stated as he gave her a wink, making her blush madly at the kind face he now presented her.

"YOU BASTARD ALIEN! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Weiss summoned a glyph to defend herself and her family butler when a snarling feline therianthrope that immediately reminded her of a mixture of Blake Belladonna and the current leader of the White Fang lunged at Roman, claws extended to rip open his throat. Before she could use Myrtenaster to shoot at the hissing creature, a bolt of pure white light lashed out to punch through the back of her head, pulping most of her skull. As the twitching corpse dropped to the ground some distance from the wrestler, he nodded thanks to a smirking Seth Rollins before gazing at the dead terrorist. "Lady, get the damned script line right: It's 'You alien bastard'! You sure wouldn't star in NXT!"

"Oh, my…!"

Both Terrans-turned-Yizibajohei professional athletes turned to see the pretty ballerina-like woman with the lovely silver hair gazing in wide-eyed awe at them. As the obvious gentleman's gentleman behind her nodded his thanks at Roman's and Seth's helping keep his charge safe, Weiss dispersed her glyph before walking over. "Yiziba…?" she hissed before a blush crossed her pale cheeks. "Um, did I say that right?"

Roman chuckled as all the training he effectively undergone dealing with fans came back when dealing with this rich kid who clearly had a heart of gold and wanted to do best for herself and those she loved. "Yeah, we are…" he began.

"WEISS!"

Hearing that voice, Weiss turned pale while wincing as Klein moaned, making Roman's and Seth's heads snap over…

"WHAT IN OUM'S NAME ARE YOU DOING?!" Jacques Schnee snarled as he stormed past Klein to snare his daughter by the arm, his free hand snapping up to deliver a slap right across her cheek…

KK-KKRACK!

"What the hell are YOU doing, asshole?!" the Assassin of Dynasties snarled after sending an energy bolt to explode close to Jacques' ear, deafening the man and causing him to stagger away from his child. As Weiss instinctively shifted herself closer to Roman and Klein smartly got out of the way, the Iowan stepped through the hole he made through the wall and marched over to get his hands on the greedy bastard who gladly ruined far too many lives just for his self-aggrandizement. Seth had used his telepathy to scan all the locals to learn the situation concerning the therianthropes called "Faunus" here and what was their massive beef against normal folk. Learning that this puke had been a literal "fight scene seed" — as Yizibajohei called the people whose actions instigated battles — which had become far too distracting on Remnant in recent years, the memories of the man who had been the one responsible for the deaths of DOZENS of heads-of-state in the Dawn of Power roared back into his conscious mind, screaming into the soul of the man born Colby Daniel Lopez to deliver a serious beat down on this prick…!

"Whoa! Not only a freaking square, but a so-called 'guru' who runs the damned SYSTEM on this rock!"

Heads snapped up…

…then people winced as a blur in red, brown and gold came down to land right behind the owner of the Schnee Dust Company, a hand instantly snapping out to snare him by the neck and send him flying HARD into a nearby wall! As the sounds of several bones breaking — though he wasn't fatally wounded by that snap toss — echoed through the alley, a certain adopted native of Long Beach and Quincy in America could only shake her head as she then calmly focused wise, all-seeing evergreen eyes on the second member of team RWBY. Weiss instantly blushed as she sensed a soul that seemed as old as Time Itself behind those orbs, then she gave the newcomer a polite curtsy.

That made Naomi Haight-Ashbury smile in contentment. "Oi! Oi, Barbara Ann, chill out with the square stuff, huh!" the reborn nuclear missile cruiser — whose ship name and hull classification symbol code and number were now quite clear to both Seth and Roman, both of whom were stunned at the idea of meeting America's first warship spirit reborn as a first-generation battle doll — gently scolded as she reached over to rub the Atlesian's silver hair, causing Weiss to squawk. "C'mon, time to cross the squares' 'T' and put an end to this dumb scene! Your friend's gonna have a real downer day if Isaac don't pull a Bugs Bunny on Toro there and make the gullabull nincowpoop lose his horns!"

As both wrestlers laughed at those references to the famous 1953 Looney Tunes short Bully for Bugs, Weiss' cheeks turned as nuclear as Naomi's twin C1W reactors could get at times. Before she could immediately latch herself to the cruiser's arm like a limpet, flashes of energy caused people to look behind Naomi just as a huffing child's voice called out, "Naomi-san! What are you doing?! You know Isaac-san doesn't want anyone to butt into his fight scene!"

As a wave of peace and contentment washed over the locals to make them relax — even the wounded and dazed Jacques Schnee had stopped moaning, slipping into a comforting sleep — Roman crossed his arms. "Um, Hinako, when were you going to tell us all that we just got an American shipgirl?!"

Saeru Hinako huffed as she walked over. The Spirit of Innocence was currently accompanied by two of the Fukushima sisters, Miyuki and Urako; the latter was the reborn THG Uranami. "Hina just found out about Naomi-san when she was asked to visit Wilkinson-sensei and her friends in New York City. Those dorks in MACUSA learned about Hina finding Fujiko-chan and her sisters, then tried to enslave poor Naomi-san to make her hurt Fujiko-chan and her sisters."

"Let me guess: A ton of stalebloods thought that dork move up, right?"

That was Seth, who crossed his arms. In the background, the noise of the fighting was starting to die down, even if Adam Taurus was screaming a tonne of invective to make his subordinates press on. "Hai, Seth-san! Then next thing Hina learns is Margo-san discovered something creepy about those nasty Grimm, which made Candlewick-sensei call Scamander-sensei to come to Vale to look things over! Ozpin-kōchōsensei just discovered the Grimm were made by those dope Ori from the gross stuff the creeps the gamájun once fought for Túndra-san all those years ago came…!"

"BLAKE, WHAT ARE YOU…AAARRRGH!"

Hinako perked, then she ran forward, dodging around people to head into the warehouse, with her two escorts running in behind her. As Seth sighed before he lunged in after the native of Niigata, a wide-eyed Klein stared in dumbfounded shock at Roman. "Sir, how young is that little girl?!" he asked, indicating where Hinako went.

"She's only seven," the native of Pensacola reported, nearly keeling the butler over in a heart attack on hearing that. "Don't worry. The heel doesn't live that can hurt Hinako. C'mon, Weiss. You too, ma'am," he bade Naomi. "You better get Mister Schnee to the medics," Roman the advised.

The older man awked, then drew his scroll to summon assistance while the Spectral Hound and the woman now seen as the Cosmic All-Seer, Kyotam ("Long Beach"), raced into the warehouse…

****

Inside the warehouse…

"Some tea, James?"

"Oh, thank you, Glynda. Miss Neo?"

A sign came up. NOT THIRSTY YET, GENERAL.

Chuckles escaped the Atlesian forces standing in a rough circle in the middle of the warehouse, they watching in amusement as Ghira Belladonna's only child — now driven to the point of apocalyptic rage thanks to breathing in a good lungful of Neville Longbottom's variation of catnip — lashed out at her former lover with Gambol Shroud in katana form, easily matching Adam Taurus' blocks with Wilt strength-for-strength, a development the current field leader of the White Fang was certainly NOT ready for. As James Ironwood's subordinates moved to tend to their wounded or helped the Master of Plants secure prisoners — of the sixty-six members of the White Fang save Adam present today, twenty-seven were dead with the others either intoxicated, wounded or simply subdued — an equally hissing Monica Khan was circling around behind the arrogant bull who dared try to STEAL her beloved mate, thus keeping the clearly winded Adam's head moving to and fro to make sure he wasn't going to be blindsided by either his old partner or the niece of his present leader. As local huntsmen watched in awe as the Faunus member of Team RWBY went to town on the arrogant bastard who seemed to want to see the whole world burn to ashes for all it supposedly had done to him, another Faunus student of Beacon was using Anesidora to film this moment for transmission over public media. Directing the smirking Velvet Scarlatina was a grinning Mihama Chiyo, who earned herself Yatsuhashi Daichi as a bodyguard while the Bright Genius of the Young Guns directed the leporid therianthrope into properly recording this public humiliation of the infamous leader of the White Fang.

"Blake!" Adam squealed almost like a little baby who just had his favourite toy snatched away from him for no discernible reason. "Settle down! You can't let what the humans did…!"

"MAKING — TOO — MUCH — NOISE — STEER!"

An onyx-black katana tip ripped into the bovine therianthrope's upper thigh, causing him to scream as he wondered what the hell was going on with his own power-absorbing Semblance. Even if Blake's blade wouldn't normally unleash a lot of power when she used it along with her own Semblance — as he himself had taught her to do so in far better times — for some reason, his powers weren't pulling in any of the kinetic energy being thrown out by Blake or her damned ex-girlfriend with her pistol, much less her own sharp finger claws. Still, he had absorbed enough energy that he could escape this place and find somewhere to retreat and heal before gathering new forces. If he lived…

"Hey, Toro! Quit playing with the kitty! We ain't got all day, y'know!"

Heads snapped over…

…then Adam's good eye turned from its normal blue to a burning crimson on seeing a RED CAPE held out by some older teen in a red-and-gold flower-decked sleeved jumpsuit with goggles over her eyes. As the area around him grew dark, an inhuman scream escaped the bovine therianthrope as he combined Wilt and Blush, then summoned up all the power of Moonslice from within himself and his weapons to send a concentrated blast at the offensive crimson sheet.

Heads snapped around to see the bolt slam into the cape…

…then jaws hit the deck as the just-arrived transformed nuclear missile cruiser seemed to swirl, the cape glowing nearly star bright after literally sucking up all that power, such instantly supercharged with the magnified mixed mesonium-and-uranium energy now contained within the former battle doll body that had been created from the Great Forge five millennia before to deal with Goa'uld starships. Naomi Haight-Ashbury then spun around — earning her a dumbfounded nod from Neopolitan even if the just-Gifted mercenary was wide-eyed thanks to her psionic senses picking up what the mellow-looking woman in the traditional battlesuit really was — then sent a blast a HUNDRED times what Adam hurled her way back to sender. Such made the field leader of the White Fang gape before he was punched THROUGH the warehouse wall…not to mention five more walls in his flight path!

Roaring, Blake lunged out after him, followed by Monica as the transformed light cruiser allowed the cape which she had forged with her own powers to lie on her shoulder…

…before she blushed as the two of the Fukushima sisters who had accompanied Saeru Hinako onto the scene began to applaud, with Miyuki using her powers to create ice rose sculptures and toss them towards Naomi. The adopted native of Long Beach and Quincy smiled as she snared one to "smell" it.

"Ah…me public," the Cosmic All-Seer quietly lamented.

Save for a still-stunned Neo, the Yizibajohei present — even a dumbfounded Leno Lu'umlo — gaped at her before Chiyo began to snicker in amusement. Laughter then escaped everyone who had come to Remnant from Earth or Yiziba as the natives blinked, wondering what in Oum's Name was so funny…

****

Minutes later, a half-kilometre away…

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, COWARD?!"

Shuddering as his whole body shivered from the pain assaulting his nerves, the field leader of the White Fang opened his good eye while he shook his head to get the cobwebs out so he could figure out what to do next. Stunned at the actions of his former lover in the other warehouse, Adam Taurus hissed as he quietly committed the face of that blond bastard in the green uniform to memory so he could hunt the monster down and kill him for drugging poor Blake Belladonna like that, not to mention many of his friends who had dove in to finally fight the humans down last night…

"You seem the worse for wear, Adam," a strange man’s voice then called out, causing Adam's breath to catch in his throat as jarred memory focused on those cultured words and the speaker's flat accent. "Must be heartbreaking to learn the TRUTH about how Miss Belladonna REALLY thinks about you."

Snarling, the bovine therianthrope pushed himself back to his feet, spinning around…

…only to gape in dumbfounded shock at the sight of a blond man his age in an off-white jumpsuit with hooded cape on a THRONE of all things five metres away, gently sipping on a goblet of wine.

"I was honestly expecting you to have left after last night's fun," the Wise Lone Sage of Yiziba noted before sipping his drink. "Then again, your obsession with your former paramour seems to be nicely clouding your better judgment." A knowing smirk crossed Isaac Thomas' face. "Or do you HAVE better judgment at all in the end, Adam?"

"TAURUS! GET OUT HERE SO I CAN DISEMBOWEL YOU, YOU WORTHLESS COW!"

Shuddering as Monica Khan’s voice echoed through the cave-in hole leading into this warehouse which he found himself in, Adam took a deep breath as he crouched, his hands holding his two-part weapon. "How nice of you to present yourself, Thomas!" he then snarled, his good eye starting to glow. "Now it's time for you to DIE!"

"Why?"

That simple question made the native Remnantian come up short. "What do you think, human?! You're a FOOL to stand in our way to see the Faunus rise to their proper place as masters of this world…!"

A rocking of the head responded from the native of Queens. "Oh, my, my! Typical gloating clichés! Heels like you NEVER seem to get tired of them! How unoriginal!" Ignoring Adam's squawk on hearing such a caustic critique, Isaac placed the goblet down on one of his throne's arms. "The very idea that both humanoid and Faunus Remnantians could actually be emotional EQUALS in society must seem like poison to such a simple-minded man like you. I guess if I happen to accept someone like Blake or Monica or yourself as my equal, that would be quite offensive…"

"HUMANS LIKE YOU WILL NEVER BE MY EQUAL!"

"TAURUS…!"

Adam's good eye widened slightly on hearing Monica's shriek from nearby, it immediately echoing through open windows near the ceiling. "I'd be vewy, vewy quiet if I was you, Adam," Isaac then teased, allowing his voice to shift to do a very passable Elmer Fudd imitation. "Miss Monica is hunting steews!"

As the native gargled while that statement sank into his mind — he could feel his Semblance working overtime to recover his strength from whatever that strange woman did to him — the Wise Lone sage sighed as he stood, shifting his cape clear to reveal a small tubular shaft of steel with controls and some sort of emitter cup hanging from his belt. "I've learned quite a bit about you and those who march to your theme music since I came to this planet last fall," Isaac noted, making Adam gape on hearing that unspoken admission from the Terran-turned-Yizibajohei polymath. "All you want to do in the end is force humans and Faunus to literally SWITCH PLACES in society, with people like yourself leading and people like your friends from last night being made to slave in the Dust mines up north." He indicated his left eye to emphasize the tattoo applied by Schnee security forces which had destroyed Adam's eye years ago. "How unoriginal! How same! You were a decent man once…and now, all because the woman you loved woke up to certain truths and walked away from it, you're becoming no different than JACQUES SCHNEE and his ilk!"

The man before him recoiled as if he had been splashed in acid. "Lies…!"

"Really?" the native of Queens coyly asked. "You really think people like those who were with you when Miss Neo tripped you up believe that? You really think people in Menagerie believe that? You really think Blake still thinks that?!" As Adam recoiled from the venom in the other man's voice, Isaac shook his head. "You ARE no different than Weiss' father! People, human and Faunus, are THINGS to you, to be USED and DISCARDED like mere TOYS…!"

The sounds of blaster fire, echoed with the shrieking noise of metal being torn, caused Adam to tense, his good eye snapping to and fro. "Why should I care for what humans want?!" the bovine therianthrope then snarled. "Humans will die! Once they're gone, the Faunus will rule this world…!"

"You think Salem cares for that?"

The native recoiled as Isaac reached up to undo his cape, draping it on the throne behind him. Noting Adam's reaction, the Terran-turned-Yizibajohei smirked. "So, you DO know of her?! The Queen of Darkness?" he wondered. "Do you think after she literally became mostly Grimm herself that she'd care for ANYONE else on this planet, human OR Faunus?" His eyes narrowed. "You're a TOOL to her, Adam. Just like Miss Fall and her friends. All TOOLS to use in her unending chess game against Professor Ozpin. You know who and what he really is now, I believe." As a grunting snort answered him. Isaac slipped his lightsabre from his belt, shifting himself to prepare his body for what was about to start. "You just want to rule this planet? Don't you know that's been that death cheater's dream for MILLENNIA?! You really think you can try to take this planet away from HER of all people?!"

"It doesn't matter!" Adam hissed as his Semblance flaring to full strength darkened his surroundings. "Cinder will destroy that monster, then I'll destroy her to free the power of the Maidens for more WORTHY inheritors! Without that monster driving them, the Grimm will be exterminated along with the humans, leaving this world to US!" He levelled his combined weapons at the interfering alien human. "All Faunus will wake up to the truth soon! You think your friend will be able to get away with DRUGGING Blake, much less Monica?! If you don't get out of the way…!"

"You'll slice me down?" Here, the other man shook his head. "Is that all humans are to you in the end, Adam? Miserable beings full of secrets, driven by hatred and lies for those who aren't like them?"

The native smirked. "Look at my face, Isaac! What does it tell you?"

Silence.

"Have you REALLY seen your face in the mirror?"

"What does THAT mean?!"

"ADAM! COME OUT HERE NOW, YOU MURDEROUS BASTARD!"

As Adam seemed to tense on hearing his former lover's angry shout echo from outside, Isaac chuckled. "I feel like I'm talking to Jacques Schnee when I talk to you!" he noted. "All prim and proper…"

"I'M NOT LIKE THAT HUMAN!"

"TAURUS!"

A smile crossed the face of the Wise Lone Sage. "...but, just like YOU, he's full of secrets, hatred and lies!" He raised his finger to point directly at the leader of the White Fang. "JUST — LIKE — YOU!"

The other man gnashed his teeth. "What about YOU, then?!" he spat.

"Me? Oh, the fact that I'm from a different planet?" Isaac calmly noted. "There's a difference between you and me. I'm not blinded by one's physical looks or skin colour or sexual orientation or any special gifts whatsoever. I look at Blake and I see a PERSON, no different than Monica or Yáng or anyone else!" Here, he grinned as the other man jolted on hearing the names of the two people who were moving to claim his old lover's heart these days. "And because of that, I treat them all as equals! I've done it already with those under my employ here in Vale. And something simple like that is going to spread faster and farther than what your little hissy-fit terror raids and crimes could do!"

He approached Adam, finger touching the activation pad of his lightsabre. "All that's done in the long term is made you JEALOUS!" the native of Queens coldly declared. "Believe it or not, Jacques Schnee is JUST as jealous of me! Why? Because I'm undermining his economic grip on the whole PLANET by weaning Remnant from dependency on Dust! Without any influence, neither he nor you will have any power over anyone!" He fixed Adam with a knowing look.

"Especially the one you 'love'."

As Adam snap-drew Wilt, the Wise Lone Sage chuckled. "All about jealousy…"

KK-KRASH!

Adam's head snapped over…

…then he awked as the sharp edges of a certain black variant ballistic chain scythe spun through the air at his face, making him bat away Gambol Shroud with his own blade…

PSSSHHEW!

…then he spun around to see a metre-long evergreen energy blade emitting from the device in Isaac's hand as the Wise Lone Sage assumed a single-handed Form II Makashi stance learned from Qui-Gon Jinn when the Terran-turned-Yizibajohei visited a galaxy far, far away some time ago. Seeing that blade, the still-intoxicated Blake Belladonna tensed as she drew back her own weapon while Isaac made a beckoning movement with his free hand's middle finger.

"Now enough talk. HAVE AT YOU!"

At that shout, Adam roared back as he charged…

****

At that moment, at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington DC, that moment (local time: Monday, an hour after breakfast; Sweet Valley time: Two hours before breakfast)…

"You can actually convert the arithmancy into your own equations to replicate this process, Elizabeth?"

The blonde Californian teenager with the blue-green eyes — fortunately, not dressed in the dark blue jumpsuit of the Wise Genius of the Circle of Thought, Daturie (the "Academician") — slightly smiled as she placed her personal PAA on the table separating her from the Secretary of Magic. "Magic is a science by itself, Professor," Elizabeth Wakefield answered as she leaned back on the couch, ignoring the amused looks from the three normal men in the room. "But I will admit that I'll be aided by the volumes of mesonium that were injected into the atmosphere thanks to the actions of the Canadian, Australian and New Zealander magical battleships during the Wars of Liberation." As Samuel Quahog nodded at that observation, the lawyer's daughter who had become one of the most feared of all the Children of the Forge added, "Given how easy it was for Hinako to subconsciously lock in on the living kami of the members of the Fubuki-class destroyers she's found to date, it does lead to an interesting theory Tánja, Isaac and I have come up with."

"What theory is that, Elizabeth?" Josiah Bartlet asked from the head of the circle in the Oval Office.

"The chances are excellent that the Healer of Destruction himself has returned."

"But what on Earth — or Yiziba for that matter! — would make the good doctor do that sort of thing, Elizabeth?" Lord John Marbury wondered from beside Quahog. The often-inebriated ambassador of the Court of Saint James to the United States was here on behalf of the Watchers Council who managed the operations of the Slayers, yet another group of people who had been affected by that planet in the Kaeyu system many light-years away. "I mean, given the sheer level of powers the Fukushima siblings — much less Captain Haight-Ashbury — possess…"

"Could this new Doctor Destructo be from Earth?" Leo McGarry wondered.

"That's likely," Elizabeth noted as Bartlet gave his chief of staff a scornful look; the former governor of New Hampshire didn't care for that term — first coined by Elizabeth's twin sister Jessica — to be used for Yiziba's first and most mysterious metahuman. "I know through the memories of my past-selves that whenever he or she has arisen from the Great Crystal of Power since the Dawn of Power, that person has always been a behind-the-scenes player. What that person could desire now is a complete mystery but given who the Healer has chosen as effective 'point person' to allow the first-generation battle dolls the chance to truly live as people does say a lot in the long term."

"If the Healer is the one responsible for this," the president noted.

"Yes, Mister President, IF the Healer is the one responsible," the first of Yiziba's triumvirate of hyper-genius polymaths whose first-selves unleashed a miracle to end the Starvation Times noted. "Any reasonably-powered reality warper could have been the one to break open THAT part of the Doll House to give Fujiko and her sisters the lives their dead crews were denied. Naomi proved that ships who haven't been sunk in battle could also come back as these 'shipgirls'."

The others nodded. Too many theories, scant few facts. "Well, with the Magical Executive Order released now, there'll be no interference from those I'm the 'president' for," Quahog noted with a wry grin. As the non-magicals chuckled, the "magical president" in charge of the Department of Magic and the Magical Congress of the United States of America added, "Have either you or Miss Chapáeva begun work on summoning shipgirls on your own, Miss Wakefield?"

"Tánja's being secretive, but I know she wants to do something," the lawyer's daughter who led the Sweet Valley Boosters answered. "As to which former warship of the Soviet Union — or Imperial Russia — would 'return to duty', I can't say. The choices are many. I doubt Avróra docked in Sankt-Peterbúrg will be one." As the others gazed at her, Elizabeth chuckled. "Too public. We want to keep things quiet when it comes to our presence here, remember."

Tired groans answered her from Bartlet, Marbury and McGarry as Quahog gave the no-maj leaders a sympathetic look. While the issue concerning the "invasion" by the Union of Uru on Earth the previous October was effectively resolved and was now being contained by authorities in Japan, details had been kept VERY top secret from interested parties from other nations. As to what was happening now within the part of the city of Nishitōkyō known as Tomobiki, that was ALSO being kept top secret. While the move to keep things in that town a total mystery to the rest of the world was quite smart in the long term — if the threat of what the natives of the fourth world of Oniboshi could have unleashed on the third world of Sol got out, the worldwide panic would have been a NIGHTMARE for local authorities to deal with! — leaders such as Josiah Bartlet would like to know SOME things to ensure their home nations were prepared just in case the limits of the "exclusion zone" the aliens agreed to adhere to was breached.

To believe the very name of the Terran tag race champion — for example — who defeated Redet Lum in a tag race had been kept secret from the public, to say anything of those leaders like Bartlet…!

"Any new information concerning who forced this blackout on that town, Josiah?" Marbury asked. "MI-6 is having the devil's own time trying to pry that information from the Japanese."

"No, not at all, John," the former governor of New Hampshire affirmed. "I'm almost tempted to ask Margo to go look at things herself. Much that I understand the need to keep people calm, not knowing who I authorized the awarding of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to because of the Tag Race…!"

"I could ask Professor Konoe Konoemon — in his capacity as the effective leader of the Eight Imperial Commanderies as you'll know — to look into it, Josiah," Quahog offered. Much to the surprise of the former transfiguration master of Ilvermorny, information concerning the Tag Race and events in Tomobiki had been blocked in the magical realms worldwide as much as it had been among no-majs worldwide, which had offended everyone from Albus Dumbledore on down in the International Confederation of Wizards in Geneva as well as all member governments of that group.

"Please do so, Professor," Bartlet bade as he sat back in his chair. "I'm wondering if Tariko's sudden disappearance in September may have something to do with this." Shaking his head as the others nodded — given Tariko Katabarbe's involvement in the Giftings of nearly a THOUSAND people since she started her "casting drive" a decade before, concern for the boy-turned-girl from Japan were mounting worldwide — the former governor of the Granite State turned back to his metahuman guest. "In the meantime, Elizabeth, whom do you have in mind to bring back yourself?"

A delighted smile answered. "None other than the one warship who seemed to have held the line against Japan in the early years of the Pacific War all by herself, Mister President. As Fujiko and her sisters know her as, the Handmaiden of Hachiman-no-Kami!" Here, she tapped her PAA to project the image of a park located close to the Big Apple.

On seeing what was being displayed, the others nodded. "Please proceed," Bartlet then bade…

To Be Continued…!

****

WRITER'S NOTES

As Harry Potter fans know, Newt Scamander is a magizoologist who wrote the basic text on magical creatures used at Hogwarts and elsewhere, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them; such became the title of the movie released in 2016. His trip to Siberia is noted on in Magic and Canada. As an aside, the Order of Koschéj is Fred's interpretation of Russia's (and the Soviet Union's from 1917-91) version of the Order of Merlin. Unlike the British award, the three ranks of the Russian order are addressed as "degrees"; they also grant special honorific titles to winners, such as "Grand Warrior Sorcerer/Sorceress" for the 1st degree, "Warrior Sorcerer/Sorceress" for the 2nd degree and "Sorcerer/Sorceress" for the 3rd. Professor Samuel Quahog was first mentioned in Pottermore; as noted before, read Magic and Canada to see how the relationship between America's magical and normal population developed in the universe of these stories.

RWBY character notes: Sūn Wùkōng first appeared in "The Stray" (volume one, fifteenth episode). Scarlet David and Sage Ayana cameoed in "Extracurricular" (volume two, fifth episode) and fully first appeared in "New Challengers…" (volume three, second episode). Neptune Vasilias first appeared in "Best Day Ever" (volume two, first episode); as an aside, the "Dick Tracy" nickname Naomi Haight-Ashbury gives him here is a nod to how Neptune is portrayed in the RWBY Chibi series. Amber Bailey first appeared in "Fall" (volume three, sixth episode); her family name is based on her voice actress, Laura Bailey. Maria Calavera first appeared in "Argus Limited" (volume six, first episode). Klein Sieben first appeared in "The Next Step" (volume four, first episode). His boss Jacques Schnee was mentioned in "The Stray" and makes his first appearance in "End of the Beginning" (volume three, twelfth episode). Velvet Scarlatina first appeared in "Jaunedice" (volume one, eleventh episode). Yatsuhashi Daichi appeared briefly in "Field Trip" (volume two, eighth episode) before making a proper appearance in "Breach" (volume two, twelfth episode).

Translation list and source language: Magícheskaja Milítsija — Magical Militia, the Russian version of Britain's Corps of Law Aurors; Umale mabeku — Literally "non-human same", but effectively meaning "sub-human animal"; Raer'batoguo — Western equatorial continent, the analogue of Europe; Mituhatoda — Catnip (all three Yizibajohei).

Lord John Marbury's affiliation with the Watcher's Council (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) is inspired by how he is portrayed in The Morning After by Methos2523 (which is no longer on Fanfiction); the British ambassador to the United States first appeared in The West Wing episode named after him (first season, eleventh episode).

Chapter 5: A Trip to Humiliation City

Summary:

Adam Taurus is a man who thinks he's on top of the world.

Isaac Thomas is more than willing to show him how SMALL he really is...!

Chapter Text

DISCLAIMER: Concurrent with fair dealing clauses of the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada and fair use clauses in copyright legislation in other nations, this is a work that was created solely for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, it is posted freely on the Internet without expectation or requirement of remuneration.

****

Vale City, near the Beacon Academy, Gayatit 52 Treichleam, two hours after breakfast (Tōkyō time: Monday 2 April, two hours before midnight; London time: Monday 2 April, two hours after lunch; New York time: Monday 2 April, an hour after breakfast)…

KK-KRASH!

Adam Taurus' head snapped over…

…then he awked as the sharp edges of a certain black variant ballistic chain scythe spun through the air at his face, making him bat away Gambol Shroud with his own blade…

PSSSHHEW!

…then he spun around to see a metre-long energy blade emitting from the device in Isaac Thomas' hand as the Wise Lone Sage assumed a single-handed Makashi duelling stance learned from Qui-Gon Jinn when the Terran-turned-Yizibajohei visited a galaxy far, far away some time ago. Seeing that blade, the still-intoxicated Blake Belladonna tensed as she drew back her own weapon while Isaac made a beckoning movement with his free hand's middle finger.

"Now enough talk. HAVE AT YOU! "

At that shout, Adam roared back as he charged…

"Ah! Hina was right!"

Watching the confrontation between the Wise Lone Sage of Yiziba and the field leader of the White Fang of Remnant almost a kilometre away was a certain seven-year-old from the city of Niigata, who had a slight frown on her face. "Right about what, Hinako?" Roman Leakee mused as he sat down beside the Spirit of Innocence while everyone in the warehouse once rented by Roman Torchwick not busy securing prisoners observed the live-time filming of the fight between Isaac Thomas and Adam Taurus courtesy of an automated camera that the New Yorker had set up earlier to force those who had allied with the bovine therianthrope from Atlas to see him being humiliated.

"Isaac-san is a HAM, Roman-san!"

"Oh?!" the Spectral Hound of the Dark Gaol prompted while his fellow American a kilometre away spun back to snare his empty wine goblet and fling it right at his opponent's face. "Why do you say that?"

"Because Hina SAYS so, Roman-san!"

That earned her raucous laughter from Roman and his fellow Florida Championship Wrestling co-worker — not to mention the Master of Plants and the Bright Genius of the Young Guns, both now helping making sure the still-living White Fang members were kept secure until Valean and Atlesian forces came to secure them — while the natives all looked confused, sensing there was a joke there. "You hang around Steve too much, Hinako!" Seth Rollins commented as he picked up one of Neopolitan's onyx-black dirks to bring over to the just-Gifted Ballerina of the Final Darkness.

"Steve-san's a smart man, Seth-san!"

More laughter from the Terrans in the room. Watching them was Weiss Schnee, who had been joined by two members of Team FNKI and the four of Team CFVY; they were relaxing enjoying some ice-tea. "To believe we just met real, honest-to-goodness ALIENS!" Coco Adel mused. "They seem so much like us! Even their names are like ours!"

"That is pretty weird," Fox Alistair commented.

"According to Miss Chiyo, we're supposedly descended from early Terrans," Neon Katt noted, making the others gape in surprise and disbelief at her. "Our ancestors were moved here to Remnant from Earth millions of years ago by the Alterans, where these Ori that the Two Brothers actually were part of came from. They're the ones Team SSSN found out about from those researchers looking over the Academy now." Updates about events at the Beacon Academy had been sent over secure encrypted communications via people's scrolls by Bartholomew Oobleck…along with a reminder of Glynda Goodwitch's admonishment to keep this "close encounter of the third kind" — borrowing the popular Terran term for first contact between species from different planets — secret from the locals.

"Yizibajohei are descent from Terrans, too; their ancestors were transplanted there a hundred thousand years ago," Yatsuhashi Daichi added. "And these Alterans ended up seeding Terrans all over the galaxy, it seems."

"Hopefully you'll be able to meet them soon, Yatsuhashi-san."

Everyone turned as Mihama Chiyo came over. As Neon and Velvet Scarlatina gushed once again on being close to the super-cute, bright pre-teen genius from Itabashi, the traditional leader of the Young Guns and the field leader of the Azuma Gang sat beside Flynt Coal. "What do you mean, Chiyo?" Coco asked as she crossed her arms.

"Your planet has a Stargate, Coco-san," Chiyo noted…

…before she winced as the shrieking noise of Wilt clashing hard with Isaac's evergreen lightsabre blade made people turn to watch the projection of the duel a kilometre away. After slicing the wine goblet in half with his blade, Adam pressed himself close to the native of Queens, though Isaac was experienced enough to keep the bovine therianthrope away from causing him harm. "No Semblance!" Flynt declared, shaking his head in awe. "Is he using his tech?!"

"Oh, no, Flynt-san!" Chiyo answered. "That's just old-fashioned experience and proper training under a good teacher."

"Who was his teacher, Miss Mihama? I'd like to shake that person's hand."

People turned as James Ironwood came up, accompanied by Glynda Goodwitch and Qrow Branwen. "You'll have to travel to a galaxy far, far away a long, long time ago to meet Qui-Gon Jinn-sensei, Ironwood-taishō," the Bright Genius said with a twinkle in her eye, earning her laughs from the other Terrans in the room as they gaped at her. The native of Itabashi then winked. "He lives in another dimension. Isaac-san followed a friend of ours, Hirosaki Chikage-san — she's a housemate of Neville-san's at Hogwarts — to that dimension to learn proper swordsmanship from the Jedi."

Jaws dropped. "You can go into ALTERNATE DIMENSIONS?!" Coco demanded.

"Hai, Coco-san!" the younger woman answered with an eager nod. "It's not really advisable to do so willy-nilly, but if you take the right precautions, it can go alright! Unfortunately, thanks to all the mesonium in this universe, you can only stay the equivalent of one solar year — depending on how long a solar year is for your native planet — in another dimension before being forced back. Only way around that if you want to stay longer — as Isaac-san and Chikage-san did — was to phase temporarily back to your home dimension before returning to where you were visiting."

"Sounds like a waste of time in the end," Weiss noted.

"It'd be pretty cool," Coco observed, nodding.

"What about this Stargate thing you mentioned?" Velvet wondered.

"Oh, that's a device that creates what we call on Earth an Einstein-Rosen bridge — a wormhole, I mean — between planets. The system was made by the Alterans to help with intergalactic travel when they were exploring this galaxy millions of years ago. After they ascended to non-corporeal form, they left the network behind for other people to discover. The Stargate on Earth is being used by the military of our most powerful nation for exploration purposes."

People's jaws dropped, then jolted on hearing running feet, making them look over as the four members of Team SSSN came in, accompanied by the Fukushima sisters save Mayako. "Miss Hinako?! Are you here?!" Sūn Wùkōng called.

Hinako looked over her shoulder, then she waved. "Hai, Sūn-san!"

Fukushima Fujiko and her sisters moved to gather close to the woman who effectively "salvaged them" the previous month while the team of huntsmen students from Mistral joined their friends. "Hinako-chan, Mayako-chan escorted Scamander-sensei and Candlewick-sensei back to Earth," the reborn first of her class reported. "Scamander-sensei wanted to get the sample he took from that kaijū that Miyuki-chan froze over to the Russians as soon as…"

"Whoa! Look at THAT, Nē-sama!"

Hearing the gasp of her sister Shirayuki, the adopted native of Maizuru looked up…

…then she boggled on seeing blurs of light in colliding arcs as two men tried to hack and slash away at each other. Awestruck at such a display of swordsmanship by the Wise Lone Sage, Fujiko sighed.

"Isaac-san is so COOL!" the Blizzard of Death then gushed.

Her sisters all gaped at her, then they snickered…

****

In a warehouse nearly a kilometre away…

Feeling a snarl rumbling in her throat even as the strange mental high she found herself submerged in moments before began to subside, Blake Belladonna took in several deep breaths while she watched the swift-moving sword fight between her former lover and her new teacher — even if Isaac Thomas hadn't made an offer to take the feline-form therianthrope under his wing, the fact that Blake's first lover took that plunge immediately convinced the daughter of the White Fang's first leader to do the same — that was shifting all over the floor of the warehouse. While the impossibility of someone who had NO Semblance whatsoever being able to keep up with the likes of Adam Taurus would have seemed like a mad dream to Blake, seeing the Terran-turned-Yizibajohei move just as quickly as the native Remnantian with his sword strikes and a couple well-aimed kicks to the gut was making the shadow-clone manipulator realize just how BIG and VARIED the wider universe around her homeworld really was.

While part of her was frightened at the idea of confronting such a universe, another part of her — the one that loved books, including a selection of science fiction and fantasy that had been popular in recent decades — was looking forward to getting out there and enjoying many "close encounters of the third kind" will species of other planets.

"How — can — you — DO — THIS?!"

Blake focused on Adam as he found himself back-to-back with his opponent, then stumbled as Isaac forced a little weight on the other man, making him lose his footing. The native of Queens was on him in an instant, snaring him by the neck with one hand as he pushed down with his lightsabre on Wilt towards the native man's eyes. "Oh, just a lot of thorough, intensive training by people who would have found you an annoyance at the most," the Wise Lone Sage calmly explained, clearly not winded by his exertions. "You're lucky I don't have a Jedi's ability to manipulate the Force. If I did, I could easily have imitated Master Anakin's move when it comes to dealing with idiots like you…"

"You — are — only — HUMAN!"

With a burst of power from his Semblance, the field leader of the White Fang back-flipped, sending his opponent tumbling back, the impact on his wrist enough to knock his lightsabre clear. Adam moved to hack the impudent human in half with Wilt, barely missing as Isaac somersaulted over to his side, getting back on his feet. Having moved AWAY from his weapon, however, made the native cackle in delight as he put himself between that blade and its welder.

"No more laser sword, you fool…UUMMPH!"

That was thanks to a punch to the jaw which jarred Adam's molars before his whole body then seemed to lift into the air due to a series of follow-up rapid gut punches, though the impact of each wasn't enough to make him drop Wilt or Blush. "Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora!" Isaac chanted as he landed each blow in the soft flesh below his opponent's rib cage. "You honestly think I was never trained to fight hand-to-hand?!"

Several cheek blows made Adam stagger as his good eye glazing over because of how badly those hits were jarring his brain. "You really believe I just rely on my gadgets?!" the Wise Lone Sage then wondered. "Come on, Adam! Any fool would know that! Depending on only ONE Gift on Yiziba is a fast way of experiencing your death scene!"

"THEN EXPERIENCE YOURS, THOMAS!"

A storm of energy burst forth towards the native of Queens, who dropped to the floor, pivoted and spun around with his legs, tripping up the other man and making him expend all that energy into the ceiling.

The results were…predictable.

Isaac vaulted up, then somersaulted clear as a good section of roof came down atop his opponent. As Adam screamed in anger, the Wise Lone Sage flashed Blake a knowing look, getting a nod in return…

****

Back at Roman Torchwick's old warehouse…

"Oh, this is going to get GOOD!" Seth Rollins noted, a knowing grin on his face.

As Saeru Hinako snickered in amusement, Neopolitan came over to sit beside the Iowan and his co-worker from Florida Championship Wrestling. "Ti'ibie?" the Valean mercenary whispered, keeping her voice down as she really didn't want any of the natives to learn that she could talk again.

"Only the best," Roman Leakee advised…

****

Meanwhile…

"That is so AMAZING!"

Isaac Thomas also had quite the audience in the Doll House as well.

"Yeah! For a guy who isn't a FISS-type, he's one hell of a scrapper!"

Penny Polendina and Pyrrha Nikos gazed upon Takino Tomo, who was slurping one of Mihama Chiyo's homemade shakes; since the Bright Genius often worked in the pocket dimension created by the first incarnation of Yiziba's most powerful reality warper, she kept some ready supplies in one of the shallow "caves" where synthezoids were created and moulded to take in a living soul for Gifting. "How did he learn to fight like that, Tomo?" the Mistralite warrior who would have been the Fall Maiden hadn't Cinder Fall interfered like she did the previous evening asked.

"Well, we don't have those stupid Grimm on Earth, but Yiziba's got its own bunch of creepy-crawlies that are a handful to deal with," the Wild Warrior of Passion noted as she watched Isaac continue to duck Adam Taurus' more wild swings with his blade, using Muhammad Ali's patented in-ring manoeuvres which made the native of Louisville the truly greatest boxer of all time. No doubt, the Wild Lone Sage was using some of his tech in a stealth manner to make sure that the dumb bull couldn't use that "semblance" gift of his to draw in the necessary kinetic power to unleash some choice energy blasts. "And you got all sorts of fighters on the planet that'll want to duke it out with you for whatever reason, so you gotta be prepared to deliver a curb stop right back if you want to survive."

Hearing such a comment from the native of Itabashi who was the wild one even before being Gifted, Pyrrha shuddered as the implications of becoming one of the Children of the Forge sank in. While it was expected that she would remain on Remnant to help put down the Grimm and finally end the terror campaign the Queen of Darkness had unleashed on the planet over the last two millennia, visits to Yiziba would also be in the cards. To confront a society that revelled in living in a state of total anarchy, with NO proper civil authority to guide various communities…!

Well, it certainly explained why some many sentient races living on planets near the World of the Forge preferred to NOT want to think of that place or those who lived there.

As the four-time winner of the Mistral Regional Tournament for huntsmen turned back to see Isaac shift to close-range grappling moves to disarm Adam — who was visibly more dazed thanks to several repeated punches to the skull — the once-gynoid native of Atlas was busy looking at a projected computer screen emanating from the remarkable "personal administrative assistant" device that had been given to her by Mihama Chiyo before the young girl travelled to Vale to help out with the White Fang. On the screen there was the image of a human male in his late forties, with long greying brown hair tied in a simple ponytail, his face covered by a well-trimmed beard and moustache. He was dressed in a simple khaki and brown robe ensemble. Reading his biography, Penny then blinked before her eyes went wide. "Master Jinn was killed…and then REBORN?!" she demanded.

Pyrrha and Tomo gazed on her, then the latter flipped around to lean over the once-gynoid's shoulder to gaze at the screen. "Oh, yeah! Wasn't intentional," the Wild Warrior of Passion advised.

"But Yizibajohei frown on death cheating, Tomo," Penny observed.

A hand bopped her on the head, making the adopted Atlesian wince. "Oi! New girl! Pay attention! I said it wasn't intentional!" Tomo snarled. "Yeah, Chikage-chan's old man was being dumb spreading ebony mesonium around when he visited the Galactic Republic when that asshole Sidious started making his moves to take over the galaxy! He didn't realize what that stuff would ultimately do to Jinn-sensei or Maul-sensei when they and Kenobi-sensei had it out on Naboo in The Phantom Menace! Don't worry about it, alright?! After Chikage-chan got there on her Magical Quest last summer, she fixed it around! He'll live as long as Yoda-sensei will, but that's not death cheating, okay!"

"That'd probably fall under the category of 'luck of the fight scene', Penny," Pyrrha noted.

Considering that for a moment, Penny then nodded. "I would like to create a lightsabre," she then declared. Practically in answer to such a wish, her mind linked to the PAA to draw up a screen showing the specifications of such a device powered by the Atom of True Life, first designed by Hirosaki Chikage, the current incarnation of the Dark Heart of Pure Chaos, Nosyo'or'bem ("Dragonheart"); such being necessitated because kyber crystals from planets such as Ilum couldn't be permanently brought across the dimensional barriers. "It seems a most interesting weapon to possess."

"'Not as clumsy or random as a blaster'," a new voice called out, making Tomo and the Remnantians turn as two people arrived, one of whom made Penny's eyes nearly shoot out of her head. "'An elegant weapon for a more civilized age.'"

A chuckle escaped the native of Coruscant who accompanied Tomo's best friend into the Doll House. "I doubt Obi-Wan would appreciate being quoted like that. Especially since he never had to say that to young Luke," Qui-Gon Jinn noted as he sat where the Wild Warrior of Passion had been, focusing on the screen projecting the battle between his former duelling student and the quasi-humanoid man with the dark hair that seemed to radiate all types of hate.

The current incarnation of the Mistress of the Mind-Dive, Tum Kamtimta ("Soul Searcher"), rolled her eyes. "Well, maybe the idiot will learn not to fall back on the old theme music many Jedi followed which allowed that shrived old monkey Palpatine to do what he did to Anakin-kun sometime after you 'died' when he decided to close out the Clone Wars," Mizuhara Koyomi then advised as she shifted a chair over to sit down beside Penny.

"So, what are you doing here, Sensei?" Tomo wondered.

"Chikage warned me Isaac was getting into an interesting situation with this Remnant planet that attracted his interest sometime ago," Qui-Gon explained as he nodded in understanding. Even if he was well-trained in lightsabre combat, the Coruscanti master of the Force had understood for a long time there were many other forms of combat to employ which didn't require the use of such a killing blade. "I assume this incident he's involved in now is part of that."

"Unfortunately, Master Jinn," Pyrrha stated, bowing her head to him.

"Explain it to me, please."

The Mistralite smiled before she began…

****

Back in Vale at Roman Torchwick's old warehouse…

"That's quite the mix of fighting styles Mister Thomas is using."

Hearing that criticism from Glynda Goodwitch, the native of Buffalo in Iowa smirked as he crossed his arms. "On Yiziba, it's always wise to have a few tricks up your sleeve, especially if you're going to be living in the big cities," Seth Rollins affirmed as he indicated Isaac Thomas' image on the holographic screen. As the native of Queens flipped the dazed Adam Taurus up into a jackknife powerbomb to send the native of Atlas head-first into the hard floor of the warehouse they were fighting in — such being enough to make the field leader of the White Fang let go of both his weapons, giving the Terran-turned-Yizibajohei hyper-genius polymath the chance to flip himself in the direction of his fallen lightsabre — the current Florida Heavyweight Champion added, "You'd never expect something like THIS from a brainiac like Isaac back in the old days. It'd all be a duel of tech gadgets after tech gadgets…"

"What ultimately changed, Mister Rollins?" James Ironwood asked as he walked over to stand beside his friend.

"Tariko," Roman Leakee affirmed with a smirk.

Hearing the name of the woman who had launched Earth's second metahuman age, the Fukushima sisters gazed at the native of Pensacola. "Um, does anyone have any idea where Tariko-san is?" Fukushima Miyuki asked. "I mean, she's been missing since September. That's seven months! Yeah, people say she's often vanished for a bit, but not that…"

Saeru Hinako hummed. "Maybe Naomi-san could find Tariko-san."

"What's wrong, Little Sunshine?"

The native of Niigata shuddered on hearing that cute nickname applied to her by a certain adopted native of southern California and Massachusetts. "Well, Tariko-san's been missing for a while now, Naomi-san," Hinako explained as Naomi Haight-Ashbury came over to sit on the same empty cargo box that Neopolitan was using. As the just-Gifted Valean mercenary's eyes went wide while her psionic capabilities almost got overwhelmed by the transformed missile cruiser's cosmic-level aura, the younger girl added, "People are starting to get worried about her. Could you find her?"

Naomi hummed as her head rocked to and fro while she considered that request. "Well, I gotta get back to Chocolate City to talk to Papa J about what's been going down here. He's got to warn the cool cats at the SGC to not dial into this place until the Borg Queen's deleted, if you know what I mean." Here, she gave Glynda and Ironwood a knowing look, getting understanding nods from the locals. "I'll keep in touch with you on the flip side, Little Sunshine."

And with a flash of energy, she vanished. Jaws dropped on seeing her go like that, then Fukushima Fujiko gazed at the girl who helped "salvage" her. "Um, Hinako-chan, she didn't use a PAA…"

WHAT IN OUM'S NAME WAS SHE, ANYWAY?! Neo effectively questioned via a handy sign.

Hinako sighed. "That's a very, very, VERY long story, Neo-san…"

"There!"

Hearing Seth's warning, heads snapped back towards the holographic screen, which now showed Adam getting back to his feet, snapping up Wilt as he moved to charge towards Isaac. As the snorting bovine therianthrope seemed ready to slice his current opponent down, the Wise Lone Sage smirked…

PSSSHHEW!

"Now we're evenly matched again," Isaac calmly teased after his lightsabre blade easily blocked off Wilt's downward sweep; the native of Queens had kept his weapon behind his back as his opponent charged him. "Shall we finish this?"

Adam shuddered before yet another bellow of outrage escaped him…

****

Within the other warehouse…

The masked Blake Belladonna could only shake her head in disbelief on seeing what she now understood was a normal guy despite this "Gift" which made him a hyper-genius among his people standing toe-to-toe against her former lover. Even after what had to be some intensive minutes of fighting, Isaac Thomas didn't appear to be sweating whatsoever while Adam Taurus was now sucking in a lot of air in ragged breaths, his body quaking as the adrenaline rush which he had felt on getting a chance to permanently deal with the pesky alien was obviously draining from his muscles. As she felt Monica Khan's hands grip her shoulders — the niece of the current leader of the White Fang was masked by her old lover's cloaking Semblance as they observed their new teacher's work — Blake felt her breath catch in her throat as Isaac spread his legs, his free hand thrust forward while his lightsabre was held back as if to parry something…

Roaring, Adam leapt into the air, sending Blush spiralling like a propeller at his target while sweeping Wilt up to unleash a devastating down cut with the blade to hack Isaac in half. Grinning, the Terran-turned-Yizibajohei brought his lightsabre around in a cross-cut, bashing the combined rifle/scabbard into a nearby wall with enough force to blow open a large hole. That evergreen blade of mesonium-fuelled plasma then caught Wilt effortlessly as Isaac spun and twirled, sending the Remnantian flying out the hole he just made with the native's weapon. As Adam crashed down on the street beyond, Isaac calmly followed him outside, which prompted Blake to become visible, then she beckoned Monica to follow her out the original hole their fellow Faunus had made at the start of this confrontation.

Once clear of the portal Adam just made, Isaac's blade twirled to catch several bolts of energy from Wilt, sending those beams of energy careening off harmlessly into the air. Seeing that, Adam howled as his whole body seemed to darken, then he triggered his Semblance and charged at a near blur on his target, leaping once more into the air to cut Isaac down. Instantly, an explosion of smoke masked the blond man in a dense cloud of grey, though Adam instinctively knew that there was just no way that the annoying human could dodge or parry something like this…

KK-KRUNCH!

A howling scream escaped the field leader of the White Fang as a boot slammed into his groin!

****

Back in Roman Torchwick's old warehouse…

All the men there — regardless of if they were Remnantian, Terran or Yizibajohei — instantly winced, their legs coming together instinctively on seeing such a nasty strike by the Wise Lone Sage.

THE SQUIRREL MANOEUVRE! Neopolitan signed, grinning. ALWAYS GO FOR THE NUTS!

Seeing that, the older girls roared with laughter as Saeru Hinako and Mihama Chiyo rolled their eyes…

****

Back once more outside a certain warehouse…

Adam Taurus snarled as he tried to dismiss the near-blinding pain shooting up from between his legs. As he slowly tried to get back up, the voice of his current opponent then teased, "And your next line is…"

"YOU'RE READING MY MOVES! HOW?!"

The field leader of the White Fang jolted as he fully recovered, staring in dumbfounded shock at the Wise Lone Sage; both men had shouted those words. "It was quite easy to predict," Isaac Thomas calmly stated as he returned to the quite dramatic and disciplined Soresu opening stance he started this latest bout with. "Learn some new moves for a change, Adam! It was child's play to figure out your fighting style; I just finished analyzing it now! After I'm done with you, I'll make VERY sure that both Blake AND Yáng know how to put you down like the rabid BULL you are!"

Snarling, Adam quickly bounded up to the roof of the neighbouring warehouse, using his free hand to beckon his opponent up. "High ground, Isaac! It's over! Surrender and I'll make your death quick!"

"Don't underestimate my powers, Adam!"

With that, the Wise Lone Sage leapt into the air, bounding high enough to do unto Adam what the latter had tried to do on the former a moment before. Cackling, the bovine therianthrope leapt up, Wilt becoming a blinding crimson blur to decapitate and dismember the human, causing body parts to drop both on the warehouse roof and the street below. As the native of Atlas dropped to the roof with a scream of triumph, a FAMILIAR voice teased, "You will now say…"

"Good riddance to you, fool!"

That caused Adam to jolt…as the body parts of his "fallen" opponent vanished, replaced by a tiny spheroid machine that was floating in mid-air at his eye level even if a fair-sized cut in the metallic hull allowed severed circuits to spark. Blinking on realizing that yet AGAIN, Isaac predicted EXACTLY what he was going to say, Adam slowly turned…

…as the air two metres behind him fizzled into the intact body of the native of Queens, his lightsabre held down by his side. "You just wrecked a perfectly good hologram projector, Adam," Isaac said. "While I was keeping you busy, Blake — who watched it all from the shadows — was so nice to set it up for me just in case this would happen."

As the darkened areas of the Remnantian's body began to fizzle indicating that Adam was starting to lose conscious control over his Semblance, the native of Atlas sputtered out, "H-how…? Th-that's not p-p-POSSIBLE…!" He then pointed in accusation at Isaac. "You're only HUMAN…! YOU'RE ONLY HUMAN!"

"Oh, spare me that!" the Terran-turned-Yizibajohei sneered. "'Umale mabeku', Neopolitan called you! In my adopted language, it means 'sub-human trash'. Befitting for someone like you, Mister Taurus!" As that statement sank home, making Adam's teeth gnash as his Semblance darkened, Isaac's finger tapped a control to turn his evergreen blade into a dark ruby shade with a core of pure black. "And no, I don't mean your physical looks! I've been a dozen moves ahead of you all this time! Predicting you is BORING! And that's NOT a state you'd want someone like me in!"

With a scream, Adam leapt up and back to attempt a retreat…

…only to have his tunic sliced opened by Isaac's lightsabre, the sudden injection of ebony-pattern mesonium being enough to send the equivalent of THOUSANDS of volts of electricity through the Remnantian's body. As a howling scream escaped the field leader of the White Fang — instantly cut off when he crashed down on the roof of the warehouse where he had first confronted the Wise Lone Sage — the native of Queens dropped down to a perfect three-point stance nearly, he then deactivating the blade before securing it on his belt, then he calmly rose to his feet.

"Checkmate."

****

Back where everyone else was…

A roaring scream of delight escaped the locals who saw this save for the members of the White Fang, all of whom looked devastated at the sight of their leader being brought down so easily by a mere HUMAN of all things. As Seth Rollins and Roman Leakee high-fived each other and the Fukushima sisters all screamed banzai cheers at such a show of swordsmanship, Leno Lu'umlo nodded in delight before teleporting himself off Remnant for home.

Only Neopolitan noted his departure…

****

And once again with Isaac and Adam…

"Do it…finish me off…!"

Hearing that groaned hiss from Adam Taurus, Isaac Thomas shook his head. "No," the Wise Lone Sage answered. "Killing you is too EASY for someone like me. You might say it's not SPORTING!" An amused smirk crossed his face as his peripheral vision picked up Blake Belladonna and Monica Khan leaping onto the roof, keeping their distance from the man who once claimed the former's heart from the latter. "I just beat you in front of someone you still care for," he then added, pointing towards the raven-haired feline therianthrope huntsman nearby, making Adam's good eye widen in shock. "Besides, it's a point of propriety among natives of Yiziba, even adopted ones like me."

The smile then turned ghoulish. "You're Blake's fight scene. Not mine."

As Adam jolted before he sent a pleading look towards his old lover — getting only a head turned away in answer — the native of Queens added, "You'll live. You'll live knowing you LOST to me today. I know you won't tell Salem or any of that death cheater's friends like Miss Fall. You're too PRIDEFUL for that." With that, he turned to head over to where Blake and Monica stood. "Know this, Adam Taurus: It will not be ME that will stop your dreams of genocide. It'll be Miss Belladonna here…along with the one whose arm you took last night within the confines of Beacon!"

After taking a step, he looked back. "I'll ensure that."

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

Then…

A weak yet deep chuckle answered. "Them…?" Adam demanded as he rose. "Don't bet on it, Isaac! Do you really think you can help a COWARD and a woman whose WILL was shattered by my blade last night to defeat ME?!"

He smirked on seeing Blake instinctively cringe from that sneered comment…before his good eye widened in outrage as the niece of his current leader moved to comfort her, she sending a warning look his way. "Think of what just happened to Neopolitan, Adam," Isaac then commented. "Master Leno — you'll remember him as the man your people couldn't come close to touching — isn't the only one on Yiziba who can access the greatest power in the known UNIVERSE! By the time I'm finished with Blake and Yáng — and Weiss and Ruby as well — they'll be so insanely strong, there's no hope at all that Madame Salem will ever sink this planet into misery as she's done over the last two millennia! You better pray that when that fight scene comes, friend, they'll be as merciful as I was today!"

He then turned fully away. "Otherwise…you are already dead."

Adam gargled…

…before the nearby roof suddenly transformed into a slender teenage woman with clearly reptilian skin features. As Isaac smirked knowingly, Blake and Monica gasped in stunned recognition. "ILIA?!"

Instantly, the newcomer snared the staggering Adam, then dropped several spheroid devices on the roof between herself and the Wise Lone Sage. All of them suddenly exploded in balls of blinding light, causing Blake and Monica to shriek as they spun away; Isaac's only response was to raise his cape as his own goggles automatically shaded over to protect his eyes. After a moment, the effects of the flash grenades faded, allowing the native of Queens to do a cursory scan of his immediate environs. Noting that Ilia Amitola — he had learned of the chameleonic therianthrope from Menagerie in earlier examinations of local data banks — had been able to get her wounded leader to a nearby Bullhead to escape Vale altogether, he sighed. "Well, now that that's over with, let's make sure about the others."

Hearing that, Monica perked. "You're just letting him go?!"

"Relax, Monica," Isaac stated as he beckoned both her and Blake to follow so they could rejoin the others. "His pride has been hurt way worse than any physical wounds I delivered to him just now. His worldview's been badly shaken up. He's always seen himself as being on top of the world, even above someone like Salem. Now I've blown holes in that large enough to sail a starship through." He then gave Blake a knowing look. "And I hope the chance comes that you and Yáng DO show mercy at the end, Blake. There's nothing worse than punishing a fanatic like him by making him watch as the society he wants to turn on its head moves on to the point where your father's dream of equality between humans and Faunus comes true. That will hurt someone like Adam most of all."

"It'll be a long fight," Blake warned.

"Yes. And an INTERESTING one, too!" he affirmed with a wink.

Both natives stopped as they stared askance at him, then Monica shook her head, putting her fists to her hips as her tail whipped around in annoyance. "You want to know something, Isaac?! You Yizibajohei are just plain STRANGE!"

"Of COURSE we are, Miss Khan! Being normal is…!"

Here, he made a face as if he had smelled something vile. Blake and Monica stared at him before both snorted, trying to fight back the laughter that surged up in answer to THAT comment.

Finally, it was just too much for them.

As delighted and relieved laughter echoed over the industrial sectors of Vale City, the three new friends leapt to the lane below, then headed off to join their friends…

****

In reliquisynchronous orbit at the meridian of Vale city, aboard the Free Planetary State of Yiziba Starship Normandy, lunchtime…

"SAL-U-TA-TIONS!"

Hearing that cheerful and quite ear-jarring greeting, the small group of huntsmen who had been relaxing in one of the main lounges on the Normandy gaped, then they spun around…

"PENNY!"

Penny Polendina gasped in understandable surprise as both Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna nearly speared her with their joyous hugs, their colliding with her sending them and the once-gynoid from Atlas flat onto the deck as the members of Team RWBY present nearly squeezed the air out of her lungs in delight. As the two natural-born huntsmen from Atlas whooped on seeing their adopted countrywoman quite alive and well, the others in the lounge applauded…then all the alumni of the Beacon Academy, even Weiss and Blake, gasped in disbelief on seeing the OTHER "victim" of last night's battle walk into the room, cheeks red in embarrassment as she tried to discretely cover herself given how form-fitting her new jumpsuit was. "PYRRHA!" Coco Adel screamed out.

Pyrrha Nikos awked as her tall peer nearly sent the Mistralite into a bulkhead with her own hug. Before the would-be Fall Maiden could say anything, they were immediately joined by a laughing Velvet Scarlatina, then Blake and Weiss. As the still-normal huntsmen fired concerned questions at the would-be Fall Maiden, Penny smiled before she rolled on her back before somersaulting back to her feet; unlike her fellow "dead" Vytal Festival participant, the Atlesian wasn't the least bit embarrassed by her new mode of dress. "Hey, Penny! Are you still combat ready?!" Flynt Coal wondered.

Green eyes brightened for a second. "Of course, Flynt…!"

People then blinked as Penny's voice trailed off for a second while a confused look crossed her face. "Are you okay, Penny?" Blake wondered as she came over to squeeze the shoulders of her team leader's beloved friend.

The Atlesian blinked several times before she sighed. "No, I am not combat ready, Blake Belladonna," she declared in a forlorn voice. "I may be a battle doll as Lady Ayumu so arranged when she came to Remnant from Earth last night to assist Isaac Thomas in rescuing both Pyrrha Nikos and I, but I am not properly Gifted, so I am clearly not ready in the Yizibajohei sense to engage in battle. Therefore, I cannot say I am combat ready as I was when I was simply a gynoid."

"'Gynoid'?" Neon Katt wondered.

"From the Terran language known as Greek, Neon; that is one of the classic languages on Earth." As the people who attended Beacon nodded on noting that the once-gynoid had addressed her fellow countrywoman without family name as she normally did, Penny added, "It is based on a combination of the words guné (meaning 'woman') and eidés (meaning 'likeness'). It is a term that Isaac Thomas introduced to me last night before my bout with Pyrrha Nikos. I find that a far more satisfying term to use to describe what I once was than 'artificial person' or 'synthetic person'."

"Even though technically, both Penny and I are now synthezoids."

Eyes locked on Pyrrha. "Did it hurt?!" Velvet wondered.

The Mistralite huntress shook her head as she reached over to scratch her schoolmate's head between her upper set of ears, making the leporid therianthrope shudder in delight at such an act of friendship. "It really doesn't feel much different than what I felt like when I was in my old body. I still feel my aura and semblance in me…even if something else is also starting to probe inside my body. Yomi told me that's the sentience of the Great Crystal of Power starting to analyze my aura, which will allow various Gift seeds to seek me out to permit a perfect match before I'm Gifted."

Confused looks answered her…

"Pyrrha-san, you need to explain some things first!"

Hearing that scolding voice from the Bright Genius, Penny beamed. "Hello, Chiyo. I have yet to sense a Gift that would merge well with my own aura," the Atlesian then sadly reported as the nominal leader of the Azuma Gang came into the room, making the native Faunus all shudder as they once again felt themselves emotionally overwhelmed at the presence of such a cute girl while the human ones just smiled in greeting. "How long does this process last?"

The native of Itabashi hummed as she walked over to a nearby replicator unit. "Well, it depends on what your inner soul desires, Penny-san. And yes, you DO have a soul, so don't worry about people here who might turn around and say you're like one of the Grimm." As the Remnantians winced, Chiyo smiled as a good-sized pile of danishes appeared. "Ah! Dekimashita!" she called out before placing the plate on the table before going over to make another while people took their seats. "It can happen almost instantly. It can take time. One person I know of, Cordelia Chase-san, was pre-Gifted some years ago and she still hasn't found the right sort of Gift for her to take. Good thing she's protected by her friends in Sunnydale; that place is even WORSE than some places here on Remnant!"

"I thought you Terrans didn't have Grimm," Sūn Wùkōng noted before biting on a danish.

"No, we don't have Grimm, Sūn-san. What we do have in many places all over the planet are interdimensional invaders from pocket dimensions that are closely connected to our own who are normally addressed as 'devils' or 'demons' by most people on Earth," she noted. "Sunnydale is a place in America where there's an interdimensional nexus that allows these invaders to come into our dimension proper, often to cause trouble. Fortunately, there are a whole group of Gifted people there and in nearby Sweet Valley that can handle them. Cordelia-san is affiliated to the group in Sunnydale; they call themselves the 'Scooby Gang' after an old American anime series that's very popular."

"How many nations are on your planet?" Neptune Vasilias asked.

She smiled. "Oh, there are lots!" she noted as she brought over the second plate of danishes. She then tapped a control on the table between everyone to allow a hologram of Earth to appear. "This is Earth," she announced before pointing at one archipelago off the eastern coast of the largest continental mass. "This is Nihon; 'Japan' in English. I come from here, as does Hinako-chan, Ōsaka-…" She caught herself. "I mean Ayumu-san, Yomi-san and Tomo-chan…"

"DAMN IT, ŌSAKA! JUST BE ŌSAKA!"

Everyone jolted, then Pyrrha sighed. "What a maniac…!"

"Who the hell was that?!" Flynt wondered.

Penny leaned over to whisper, "A very silly person, Flynt."

"Is that the name of the One Above the Gods?" Neon wondered.

"Hai, Neon-san. Her proper name is Kasuga Ayumu; in Japan, the family name comes first. Everyone nicknames her 'Ōsaka' because she lived in the city of the same name before she moved to Tōkyō last spring and joined us in our school." Here, the Bright Genius pointed out the two largest cities in Japan.

"That's quite the writing script you people use," Sage Ayana noted; both city names had been displayed in both the Latin-like script used on Remnant as well as the proper kanji.

"It's one of three forms of writing we constantly use in Japan, Sage-san," Chiyo noted. "Anyhow, here's the United States of America; most people call it 'America', the 'US' or the 'States'. This is where Isaac-san, Margo-san, Roman-san and Seth-san come from," she explained as the globe twirled around to display the most powerful nation of Earth. "Isaac-san comes from New York City here. Margo-san currently lives in Savannah down here. Roman-san is from Pensacola here. And Seth-san hails from Buffalo here." She indicated the locations in question.

"How many people live on Earth now?" Coco wondered.

"Oh, it's over seven billion people now, Coco-san."

Jaws dropped as that number sank into people's minds. "How in Oum's Name do you feed them all?!" Blake demanded, her eyes nearly popping out of her head in disbelief. "The landmass of Earth is almost the same as Remnant, but we've only got a fraction of those numbers in all the known kingdoms…"

A tired sigh escaped Chiyo. "With much difficulty depending on which country you're living in, Blake-san. Earth isn't a fully equal place technologically or socially. Hopefully, our presence there will change things over the next few decades, but you don't want to force such changes too fast. If you did that, wars result."

"And given how alien races close to us have taken considerable interest in Earth, that's not a smart thing to do," a strange voice hailed, making people look up as the master of the Normandy came in, accompanied by the current leader of Atlas' military forces plus the headmaster of Beacon and two of his teachers. "I trust everyone's recovered?"

"What happened to Neopolitan, Isaac?" Monica Khan wondered. Once they had boarded the ship, the young huntsmen came to the same lounge she and her friends had been occupying. That had made for a couple tense moments before her former lover had cleared the air with her peers, then everyone got to talk about what had happened over the last day.

Isaac Thomas took his seat. "She's gone now to gather some of her personal possessions and clear out of Vale City for the time being. She didn't tell me where she was going to now," the Wise Lone Sage announced as Shannon Ozpin and James Ironwood sat to his left while Glynda Goodwitch and Qrow Branwen sat to his right. "As to what she will do, that's ultimately up to her. Fortunately for him, Leno won't force Neo to join up with him or follow a specific path from now on; despite his insistence on ensuring a balance remains between faces and heels, he doesn't try to enslave people."

"I believe that needs to be explained first, Isaac," the headmaster of Beacon warned.

"True, Professor. True," the native of Queens noted, holding up a warning finger. "Okay, ladies and gentlemen, this is the first class of 'Yiziba 101'. That number is often used in higher schools on Earth to denote an introductory course of study." As his audience tensed, he reached for the table to tap a control to draw up a new hologram. "Let's start with Professor Ozpin's suggestion and explain face/heel/neutral social divisions…"

****

That moment in downtown Manhattan (local time: An hour before lunch; Moskvá time: Monday, an hour after supper)…

A tired sigh escaped the middle-aged red-haired woman now standing in the middle of the main examination space used by the American magical research group at the headquarters of the Department of Magic, she trying to keep a firm handle on the wild levels of magic that she had trained herself for over a CENTURY to master. "N'júton Artemísovich, if this is meant to be a joke, my comrades and I do NOT find it the least bit amusing," the woman known throughout the world as the "Bloody Siberian She-Bear" nearly growled out as she glared at Newt Scamander.

A tired sigh answered the famous farmer's daughter from near Múrom east of Moskvá from the magical zoologist from Devonshire. "Do I look like I would joke about something as awful as THIS, Svetlána Il'ínichna?" he answered as his eyes misted over before he wiped his face down, then he glared at the crystal of mesonium that was holding the remnants of a Remnantian king taijitu. "In all my years of tracking down and researching magical creatures, I NEVER thought I would run into ANY sort of living remnant of the Great Expulsion that survived to this day…" A wry smile crossed his face as he gazed on his current host. "Until I got the chance to travel to another PLANET, of course!"

"Bózhe moj, man! Are you saying that a whole PLANET is being overwhelmed by…?!" Here, Professor Vladisláv Konstantínovich Kuznetsóv paused as his own skin turned especially grey before he focused on the cursed thing that had been brought by both Scamander and his American colleague to Earth from Remnant for the Russians to examine. "What type of mad bljad' is playing around with the descendants of…of…of THEM?!"

A hand grasped that of her former subordinate; back during the Wars of Liberation, then-Lieutenant Colonel V.K. Kuznetsóv commanded the battalion of curse-breakers and warders that helped the Moskvá Mágicheskie Front fight their war of near-annihilation against Gellert Grindelwald's Magische Reichsarmee for the future of magicals and normals in an age where a third group of humans were rising to make their own long-lasting impact on mankind. "Calm down, Sláva! You know N'júsha wouldn't bring something like THIS to our attention just as a mere prank!"

The experienced curse-breaker and ward master stared at his old front commander and now minister emeritus of Russia's magical government, then he sighed. "Yes, my Marshal, you're right," he affirmed as he gently patted the hand of Svetlána Il'ínichna Múrometsa before he gave Scamander an apologetic look. "My deepest apologies, N'júton Artemísovich. It's just that…" Here, he scowled as he fought down the urge to draw his wand and blast that crystal with its dark contents into nothingness. "To confront remnants of the beings that the Wise Ones nearly killed themselves to forever remove from the Svjaschénnoe Tsárstvo Imperátora Túndry during that hideous time before Vladímir Rússalovich Taychéshko and his friend removed those mezhzvjózdnye mónstry from our planet…!"

"I feel the same way, Vladisláv Konstantínovich," Scamander declared.

As the party who had come from the Ministry of Magical Affairs in Sankt-Peterbúrg nodded in approval — those who were old enough like Múrometsa and Kuznetsóv to remember Scamander's visit to the Soviet Union in the early 1930s all knew that the quirky Englishman had done far MUCH more than just catalogue magical creatures in the Ródina — Peter Candlewick took a deep breath. "Still, this doesn't answer the big question we now face. A whole PLANET is being plagued by these Grimm and whoever is controlling them. If what Professor Kuznetsóv just confirmed is true, these things ARE the literal descendants of the alconóst." The whole room seemed to chill a dozen degrees on his saying that one word. "If Isaac's plan to help the people of that planet — who ARE our distant cousins thanks to the Ancients! — is to succeed, we need to give him a sure-fire way to eliminate these things wholesale."

"Tat'jána Andrévna Chapáeva speaks very highly of Isaák Fomích Tómas," Múrometsa declared as her companions gazed expectantly at her. As her countrymen looked expectantly at her, the woman who had been the TRUE threat to Grindelwald during the Wars of Liberation took a deep breath. "We will need to consult with our wise comrades. They may bring news of this to Comrade Túndra, most likely. As to what HIS reaction will be…!"

Shudders ran through everyone there. Magicals had long known of the oldest of the Great Old Ones whose spiritual domain literally covered the Arctic region of Earth. Encounters between Túndra and magical researchers and explorers who ventured into those frozen wastes from Eurasia and North America had been well documented over the centuries. Through them, it had been learned that the three-million-year-old nature spirit tended to respect more those who were touched by the Atom of True Life such as the Undying Lord of Rügen and the Praetorian Guardian of Old Rjazán', which could be found in considerable quantities in both Canada and Russia. During the dark years leading to the Great Banishment twenty-five millennia before, the ancestors of the modern gamájun in the cold steppes of Siberia had taken advantage of that, winning Túndra's everlasting protecting and helping them overcome and annihilate the alconóst…

Or so people had believed until now.

Considering what the reaction from Earth's oldest sentient being could be like once it learned of the descendants of the accursed alconóst living many ages after Túndra had demanded their complete extermination, even a hardened warrior like Svetlána Múrometsa found herself shuddering in fear. Much that the Bloody Siberian She-Bear who had been the lethal bane of old imperial Russian purebloods during the early years of Iósif Vissariónovich Stálin's rule over the Soviet Union had gladly faced down even metahumans during her campaign to help liberate Europe from Gellert Grindelwald's and Adolf Hitler's dark grasps, she cared NOT to face the likes of the Ancient Emperor of Ice…!

"You won't need to bug the Major about that, General."

Hearing that from the reborn living spirit of America's first nuclear surface warship, Múrometsa gazed over. "What does that mean, Naómi Evgén'evna?" the veteran of the magical side of the Russian Revolution and the Second World War asked, referring to Naomi Haight-Ashbury with her chosen name and the patronymic based on the given name of the first captain of USS Long Beach, retired Vice-Admiral Eugene Parks Wilkinson from Naomi's namesake city.

"Now that I'm able to tune into the songs of Mother Gaia and Father Vólos…" — her mentioning the name of the old Slavic god of the earth earned the cruiser a smile of approval from Múrometsa and several of her friends — "…there's something way up in the steppes the beautiful wise ones…" — that was Naomi's nickname for the gamájun, everyone automatically knew — "…often use when they want to avoid the pigs that want to turn them into bed warmers!"

"You mean the supposed 'gamájun redoubt' that's said to be there, Mama Cass?" Candlewick asked.

"Yeah, Pete!" Here, the adopted native of Long Beach and Quincy then blinked. "S'funny…!"

"What is it, Naósha?" Múrometsa asked.

A curious look crossed Naomi's face. "It reminds me of Little Snowfall and her sisters…"

People blinked at that observation…

To Be Continued…!

****

WRITER'S NOTES

What happened to Steve Austin is first noted on in Extreme Shipgirls.

The multi-dimensional "Magical Quest" Hirosaki Chikage (Dragonheart) engaged in over the past few years was first noted on in various places; this is a recurring theme in several of Fred's stories using her. Her maternal grandfather Hirosaki Ryūji (first introduced in Fred's Illusions series) engaged in a similar quest in the 1930s before the Second World War/Wars of Liberation. An example of what happened can be seen in Fred's Icemaidens series. It was noted in The Icemaidens and the Philosopher's Stone that Ryūji made use of ebony-pattern mesonium to aid in his dimensional jumps. It was because of that, as noted above, that both Qui-Gon Jinn and Maul of Dathomir (AKA Darth Maul) were able to survive their deaths as shown in The Phantom Menace; this, of course, negates what was shown to have happened to Maul in the more recent The Clone Wars or Rebels televisions series.

Translation list and source language (all Russian unless noted): Ti'ibie — Yizibajohei version of kayfabe; Chocolate City — Nickname for Washington D.C. or other cities with large African-American populations (English); Bózhe moj — God help us; Bljad' — Whore; Moskvá Mágicheskie Front — Moscow Magical Front (a front is the equal of an army group in the West); Magische Reichsarmee — Imperial Magical Army (German); Svjaschénnoe Tsárstvo Imperátora Túndry — Sacred Realm of Emperor Túndra; Mezhzvjózdnye mónstry — Interstellar monsters.

Ilia Amitola first appeared in the RWBY episode "A Much-Needed Talk" (fourth volume, eighth episode).

The name of Newt Scamander's father is not known; the use of one of his middle names "Artemis" for his father is Fred's choice. Also, Svetlána Múrometsa first appeared in the third Wizards and Avalonians side stories to Fred's Phoenix From the Ashes; her back story is better described in Magic and Canada. Vladímir Taychéshko (Lord Rjazán') first appeared in Fred's Wanderers; his own back story is also better explained in Magic and Canada. Tat'jána Chapáeva (the Philosopher) has been mentioned in other stories of this series.

Chapter 6: The Seventh Carrier's New Destiny

Summary:

For ages, the gamájun of northeast Siberia had been justified in their pride when it came to their part of the War of the Great Banishment twenty-five millennia ago, when they allied with Earth's oldest sentient being to rid their lands of darkness.

Learning that the descendants of the gamájun's blood enemies still LIVED on another world didn't sit well with them.

And it didn't sit well at ALL with the living kami of Imperial Japan's greatest warship.

As plans are made over Remnant to prepare many young huntsmen for Gifting, the Seventh Carrier of Operation Z, trapped for seventy-one years within the mesonium-lined confines of Sano Bay, is given the chance to truly live.

May the Heavens have mercy on those the transformed Itō Yoiko marks as her enemies...!

Chapter Text

DISCLAIMER: Concurrent with fair dealing clauses of the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada and fair use clauses in copyright legislation in other nations, this is a work that was created solely for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, it is posted freely on the Internet without expectation or requirement of remuneration.

****

In reliquisynchronous orbit at the meridian of Vale City, aboard the Free Planetary State of Yiziba Starship Normandy, Gayatit 52 Treichleam, two hours after lunch (Tōkyō time: Tuesday 3 April, two hours after midnight; Sweet Valley time: Monday 2 April, two hours before lunch; Pensacola/Davenport time: Monday 2 April, two hours after lunch; London time: Monday 2 April, suppertime: Moskvá time: Monday 2 April, mid-evening)…

"Man! Didn't realize how hungry I was! This is great!"

"Did you cook all this, Miss Chiyo?!"

Hearing that question from the only Faunus member of Team CFVY, the Bright Genius of the Young Guns blushed. She was seated with the Living Spirit of Innocence, the Spectral Hound of the Dark Gaol and the Assassin of Dynasties — not to mention living warship spirits representing six of Japan's Fubuki-class destroyers from Earth's interwar years — at one set of tables in the cafeteria, with Velvet Scarlatina and the others occupying a nearby table. "Most of the food was created by the replicators, Velvet-san," Mihama Chiyo answered after drinking a special stimulant she had created to allow people her age to remain up so late in her own timeline; she had also prepared same for her fellow pre-teen metahuman from Niigata so she could remain awake. "I did make the pastries and the cakes. It's not as good as what someone like Osamu Shirayuki-san or Aria des Beauchamps-san can do, but my friends like it."

"They're not the only ones who do!" Flynt Coal noted from nearby; he and his partner from Team FNKI were seated with their two countrymen at another table, along with the Master of Plants and Weiss Schnee. Both the current commander of Atlas' military and the young heiress of the Schnee family fortune had been busy speaking to Neville Longbottom about the types of plants which could be imported from Yiziba that could survive in Solitas's near-Arctic climate. Especially of interest to the Atlesians were those species which could do what the British wizard's mist dandelions had effectively done to Vale City, denying the Grimm native to Remnant's northern continent a VAST area of habitat and allow people from Atlas to settle new villages in the once-inhospitable countryside.

"Who are Shirayuki and Aria?" Blake Belladonna wondered from a table being shared between her, her first lover and her friends who once served in the White Fang.

"Shirayuki-chan is Küchenchefin, Blake-san," Saeru Hinako answered as she held up a finger in emphasis. "She can create food from anything else. So can Aria-chan; she's Douceâtre!"

"On Earth, that power is called 'trofikinesis'," Seth Rollins added as the natives gaped at the idea of people having THAT capability. "Believe me, people like Shirayuki and Aria were lifesavers during the Starvation Times as the past-selves of folks like Isaac here worked overtime to repair the damage from the Dawn of Power."

Eyes locked on the Wise Lone Sage, who was sharing a table with the senior staff of the Beacon Academy save for Glynda Goodwitch; the senior teacher had gone down to the grounds to check up with co-workers concerning the final damage assessment from the previous night's activities. "I cannot for an instant imagine what your first-selves went through back then," Neptune Vasilias noted with a shake of his head. The members of Team SSSN and the lone member of Team JNPR who "died" during the "fall of Beacon" were sharing a table close to where Isaac Thomas and his main guests were seated. "I mean, a worldwide population dropping from two billion to six hundred million in the space of TWENTY YEARS?! I don't think any war on Remnant could come CLOSE to something like that!"

"Professor?" Blake wondered as she gazed on her headmaster.

Eyes locked on Shannon Ozpin, who moved to adjust his glasses. "No," the effectively immortal senior huntsman breathed out. "No, Miss Belladonna, we here on Remnant have NEVER endured the level of destruction Yiziba endured back then. When I asked Ayono about what made the people of his world do what they did, he was quite…quiet about it. Not surprising given what Isaac just told us."

Grim nods echoed from all around. "So, what's the plan now?" Qrow Branwen then wondered as he crossed his arms. After the "Yiziba 101" lesson, the former bandit had to admit to himself that the Terran-turned-Yizibajohei polymath was on the level; given the instincts he developed over the years as a huntsman and a teacher coupled to a rather rough childhood, he didn't need some fancy Aura ability to read minds to understand that Isaac was on the level.

And it was really about time…!

The native of Queens sat back in his chair, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Right now, the best thing to do is to relax and help Vale recover from last night. I'm sure we can get Beacon going again within a couple months, but that depends on what Professor Goodwitch and the others find out. I'm sure that in a short while, that wyvern on the CCT tower will be melted away thanks to what Neville brought here and Ayumu so nicely spread around town like she did."

"Thank Oum for that!" Weiss moaned. "That has to be the GAUDIEST thing I've ever seen."

Jaws dropped as people gazed on the normally stoic Atlesian huntress student, then laughter filled the cafeteria from all the natives. "Oh, ye Fates, she actually has a sense of humour?!" Blake sarcastically wondered as Monica Khan's tail whipped around to and fro in a visible sign of amusement.

More laughter responded as Weiss sent her an annoyed look. "How soon will Miss Rose be up, Qrow?" Ozpin asked.

"Before we came up here, Tàiyáng told me she's sleeping. The scanners we have in the first aid kit that we keep at the house show there's no internal injuries," the former member of Team STRQ responded as he moved to sip his tea, a part of him wondering why he wasn't feeling any urge to get some good booze into his body and drink this madness away. "Yáng's keeping an eye on her." He then shook his head. "I still don't like this idea of keeping Ruby in the dark about things, especially about Penny and Pyrrha surviving last night. Much that I'm glad she's got the Silver Eyes…"

"Isaac's staff showed me some of the possible futures that could have stemmed from this event as shown to him by Miss Suzumiya," Ozpin noted, shaking his head in sad acceptance. "Like it or not, even with the CCT system currently down, there is a chance that Salem will be keeping a weather eye on Vale while she directs Miss Fall and the others to track your niece down and eliminate her. While I'm sure that both you and the members of Miss Nikos' team who will go with her to the Haven Academy will do your best to keep her safe — and we do have the option of what Isaac can bring to bear — we NEED Miss Rose as a sort of distraction while things for her team progress as planned."

Forlorn looks crossed the faces of Ruby Rose's and Yáng Xiǎo Lóng's teammates. "Well, the sooner Yáng can get her arm back, the better," Blake noted. "Is there some way to disguise a regrown arm before the time's right, Isaac?"

"Child's play," the Wise Lone Sage noted.

"You're going along with this?!" Weiss demanded.

"I don't like this at all, but there obviously isn't much choice anymore, Weiss," the former member of the White Fang warned while her old lover gripped her hand. As her old co-workers grimly nodded, the daughter of that movement's founder added, "Ruby's power is a sword that can be punched right into the heart of the Queen of Darkness. She needs the right impetus to learn how to fully master that ability. Being Gifted will help, but for the sake of EVERYONE on Remnant, we can't afford to reveal the game THIS early in the match." She then gave her Atlesian friend a knowing look. "And you have to admit, Weiss, Ruby does have something of a naïve way of looking at things."

The young industrial empire heiress reluctantly nodded. "Yes, that's true, isn't it? I mean, she means well, but she doesn't have our experiences. Things are too black and white for her." She then gazed on the former gynoid that had befriended their team leader. "Like it or not, Penny, you didn't help her even if you did become her friend."

That made the adopted Atlesian's eyes widen. "I didn't mean…"

"It's not that!" Weiss noted, holding up a hand to wave off the other woman’s protest. "Much that I'm grateful that you did become her friend, and you were honest to her from the start about what you are, you didn't seem to contradict her when it came to certain things, especially with the way things can really turn south for people. You're from Atlas, same as I am. I know your creator, too! Didn't he show you how nasty things could get?"

"He did," Penny automatically answered before she sighed. "Still, Ruby was my first true friend outside Atlas. I did not wish to hurt her by revealing how dangerous things can be in our society. As I'm sure both you and Blake Belladonna are well aware, her determination to do her best is quite overwhelming at times."

They considered that before nodding in understanding. "How can we make things easier for Miss Rose and her friends in the long term, Isaac?" James Ironwood wondered as he gazed on their host. "Much that they have advantages…"

"They have their disadvantages as well," Isaac finished for him, which made everyone grin as they remembered how easily the native of Queens had guessed what Adam Taurus was about to say during their vigorous bout in Vale's industrial district a few hours before. He gazed on Qrow. "I can think of some things that could counter your bad luck semblance, Qrow. When I viewed the potential future events thanks to Haruhi, I noted that there were issues on that trip to Haven…to say anything of what could happen once Headmaster Lionheart gets involved."

Scowls crossed people's faces on remembering what the Wise Lone Sage warned about how Leonardo Lionheart had sold himself out to the Queen of Darkness. "Hopefully, Ruby will be Gifted by then," Blake mused.

"We'll all be Gifted by then," Weiss vowed.

"What of your father?" Neon Katt asked.

"What about him?!" the young heiress sneered. "Thanks to what Seth did to him when he tried to slap me, he'll be spending time recuperating from nearly having his head blown off."

"Still, I'd rather you head back to Atlas, Weiss."

Eyes locked on Isaac as Ironwood nodded. "Why?!" Weiss demanded.

"Much that I don't like your father on general principle, it would make things easier if I can make him agree for you to become my apprentice," the native of Queens noted. "I don't want to antagonize him. Given how well-connected his businesses are, it could cause a massive monkey wrench to be tossed into the works if I have SDC stand against Renaissance Industries." He then smirked as he sipped his tea. "Especially with ONE project I have in mind."

"What's that?" Ken Tukson wondered.

"Didn't your sister tell you, Ken? I have people researching ways to create synthetic Dust."

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

Then…

"Are you SERIOUS?!" Ironwood demanded.

Fighting the automatic urge to state that such was the name of the godfather to Neville's fellow magical-turned-metahuman Rose Potter — which was a private joke only his fellow Terran-borns would truly understand — Isaac smirked. "You have to admit, it's a wise idea in the long term. The technology I'm bringing in that doesn't work on Dust is something that will take a LONG time for natives to adjust to. It's simply better in the end to work with local technology than to just supplant it altogether, especially in case those forces — like Weiss' father — who won't like what I'm bringing to the table try to throw up roadblocks just to preserve their own grasp on power." He then shrugged. "Atop that, we have people such as Coco here who have semblances that require Dust to be properly used." Here, he toasted the leader of Team CFVY with his cup, earning him a thankful blush in return.

"Yes, that is true," Ozpin mused.

"What of your work in manufacturing synthetic Dust, Isaac-san?" Chiyo asked.

A wry grin responded. "Unfortunately, Chiyo-chan, all I've been able to create at the moment are a metric tonne of EXPLOSIONS!" the master of the Normandy wryly answered, which made all the natives wince in sympathy. "Still, a breath-through is near; I can FEEL it! Of course, if you want to join in…"

He gave the genius from Itabashi a knowing look. "Of course I can help," Chiyo asserted. "Schoolwork isn't that much an issue, especially with the Doll House being available as a safe place to do research."

"Will Lady Ayumu allow that, Chiyo?" Penny asked.

"Of course she will!" the Bright Genius of the Young Guns asserted, earning her admiring stares from the Fukushima sisters. "Besides, whatever Dust is, it has to have a naquadah base to it if the Ori of all the races in the Universe were involved with Remnant in the past! It's better to analyze that stuff in the Doll House than in my laboratory on Earth!"

"Couldn't Elizabeth-san and Tánja-san help, Isaac-san?" Fukushima Fujiko asked.

The Wise Lone Sage blinked, then he did a check on the holographic screen before him. "Since it's Easter Monday on Earth, I might as well ask," he mused as he tapped a control to open a signal.

A moment later, the image of a stunning teenager with blue-green eyes and the most perfect honey blonde hair any native of Remnant had EVER seen appeared; seeing her earned the lawyer's daughter from an old fish canning town near Los Angeles admiring looks from the women while the men — even Qrow Branwen and James Ironwood, who could be her FATHER! — found themselves thanking Oum they were indeed men! "Hey!" Elizabeth Wakefield called out from her basement laboratory in Sweet Valley. "Heard you had quite the bit of fun on Remnant recently."

"Hey, yourself, Liz!" Isaac called back before sipping his drink. "How much have you been keeping track of what I've been doing with Renaissance Industries here on Remnant?"

As the natives blinked in surprise at how easily the native of Queens trusted his counterpart from Sweet Valley in this manner, the current incarnation of the Wise Genius of the Circle of Thought smirked as she crossed her arms, relaxing in her chair. "Well, there are things I can propose for replacement systems for this CCTS network they've got on that planet to get around the Grimm. I'll send you what I've devised soon enough. Tánja's working on some weapons upgrades for your Robot Masters and other equipment you can use against those Grimm. Joe, if you're there…"

"Yo!" Roman Leakee called out from beside Seth.

"Good! Come by the Valley when you can so I can get your opinion about these things to devise ways to permanently remove them from Remnant's biosphere!" Here, Elizabeth gave Isaac a knowing look. "Much that I hate to say this to you, you've caused quite the shitstorm on Earth with what you had Naomi bring back from Remnant."

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

Then…

"Liz, you never swear!" the native of Queens exclaimed as he tried to pull up his jaw from his knees while Chiyo got up to move to stand beside him, allowing her to come into Elizabeth's camera range. "Much that I know the things here are the descendants of the alconóst that the gamájun once fought…!"

"Elizavéta Èduárdovna, Isaák Fomích doesn't really understand how much of an impact such a discovery has made," a strange voice cut in before the image split in two, revealing a woman with stormy grey eyes and wavy brown hair framing a very pretty face on the same scale as that of her counterpart from America. "Stop berating the poor man."

Isaac shook his head. "Hello, Tánja! Do I need to avoid Sankt-Peterbúrg for the next year or so?"

A roaring laugh answered him from the native of Výborg who the Passionate Historian of the Circle of Thought. "Oh, if it was only THAT easy, továrisch!" Tat'jána Andrévna Chapáeva warned as she gave him a knowing look from her laboratory in the basement levels of her family home in the former Finnish city near the old Russian imperial capital. "That sample Akadémik Skamánder brought from where you're at so people at the MMD could look at it caused quite the firestorm in Russia, my friend. Some of Dvojúrodnaja Bábushka's comrades from the time of the kuláki purges during the early years of Iósif Vissariónovich's reign are screaming to friends in the Volshébnaja Dúma to have the Moskvá Front mobilized and launch a PURGE on Rémnant to remove these alconóst from the planet!"

"I take it such is a bad idea, Miss Chapáeva," Ozpin mused.

"Da, Akadémik Ózpin. On the same scale as what unleashing your friend's army on your home city is. On your planet…but especially here on Earth as well." As both the Undying Warrior Sage and his friend who commanded Atlas' army winced, Tánja added, "I'm not sure how much Isaák Fomích told you about our magical enclaves and how they relate to each other, but since Névill Fránklinovich is there, ask him. He understands the issue much better."

Eyes locked on the Master of Plants, who nodded in understanding. "How soon could the gamájun reply on what was discovered?" Isaac asked. "Yes, they have the right to be involved — as would Túndra himself, of course — but I don't want to upset too many apple carts. These people have been fighting the Grimm for CENTURIES! They've got the right to deal with them without outsiders — especially someone of Túndra's power — butting into the fight scene."

Eyes the grey of storms rolled in understanding response. "That, továrisch, I can't tell you," Tánja answered, shrugging. "As soon as that sample got to the MMD, the representative from the Dúma Gamájuna took it and teleported right out of the building. As to what they might decide…" A shrug rolled her shoulders.

Isaac moaned. "Oh, that's just wonderful…!"

****

Back on Earth, on the Chúkchi Sea shoreline of Siberia 150 kilometres northwest of Cape Dezhnjóva, that moment (local time: Tuesday 3 April, a half-hour before dawn)…

Civil twilight had descended over the hidden deep-water bay located between the hamlets of Neshkán and Ènurmino as Pjésnja Bélogo apparated onto a landing that had been marked years before by the bay's once-normal occupiers as the safe place to teleport to before passing through tunnels drilled in the collapsed glaciers to enter Sano Bay and proceed to the caves where what magicals called the "Dúma Gamájuna" normally gathered to debate matters concerning their vast parliament. Thankful that the warriors of the Land of the Wa had been more than understanding concerning the needs of the metamorphic avians who had long considered this ice-lined bay in eastern Siberia their ultimate place of refuge from poachers who came from near and afar to seize helpless chicks for whatever dark purposes drove them, the herald of the Dúma Gamájuna to the Ministérstvo Mágicheskikh Del Rossíjskaja Federátsii walked down the well-beaten path towards where a group of human guards stood watch, they in the ubiquitous green jumpsuits that was standard dress of the day for the crew of the greatest and last of Imperial Japan's warships, they gazing intently out to sea as they waited for the morning fishing expedition to return from the fertile grounds near the Bering Strait.

One blinked before he turned to gaze in her direction, then he straightened himself before bowing deeply to the approaching silver-haired humanoid; the herald normally displayed her long flowing wings — fully mated to the sides of her arms — and very long tail whenever she went to meet the magicals at their headquarters in distant Sankt-Peterbúrg. "Ah! You just came back, Pjésnja-sama," Seaman Third Class Fujisaki Tomohisa declared as he gazed respectfully at the winged metamorph. "I trust the people in Sankt-Peterbúrg weren't being their normal arrogant…"

His nose then flared — as did those of his companions — before look of disgusts crossed their faces. "What in the Sacred Name of Amaterasu is that SMELL?!" Tomohisa demanded as his eyes watered.

An apologetic look crossed her face. "A sign that a sacred mission demanded by Lord Túndra of us was NOT carried out as He so desired of us, Tomohisa," Pjésnja advised. "I must go meet with the Dúma."

Chills ran down the bodies of the sailors manning this checkpoint at that solemn declaration. The universal reverence the natives of Sano-wan had for Earth's oldest sentient being was as passionate as many of the sailors' reverence for the Kami as a whole. Knowing it was the one who had given the gamájun his protection during the Great Banishment twenty-five millennia before, one now known among Russia's magicals as Túndra — naturally, applying a name to such a being seemed WEAK at times — confronting anything that offended him was seen as the lowest of heresies, requiring instant death. Given how much the avians had gone out of their way to help Tomohisa's shipmates as they endured their seven decades of total and complete exile from the events of the Greater East Asia War and its aftermath, giri and ninjō demanded that everything that could be done to aide them in their devotions was done…as long as such didn't interfere in the mission demanded of them in the name of the late Heavenly Sovereign of Shōwa.

"I pray it will not come back to hurt you all, Pjésnja-sama," Tomohisa stated before bowing deeply.

Nodding her thanks, Pjésnja proceeded into the tunnel, allowing the remarkable spiritual warmth of the layers upon layers of diamond mesonium sheathing within the glaciers that had masked Sano-wan — the gamájun called the bay Svjetjjílische, their term for "sanctuary" — from the outside world to comfort her. As she walked on, she then sensed another wave of welcoming warmth touch her from directly ahead, indicative of the one object — could she or anyone simply call the great vessel, many times the size of Noah's mythical Ark, that had been trapped within the bay for seven decades a mere "object" given the fighting spirit that had long begun to awaken within it? — that had served as the one surefire protection for the winged avians against the poachers for the time she had been here.

Emerging from the tunnel, the herald blinked before she smiled on seeing the diminutive man — well past the middle years of life for normal humans even if his aging process, like that of his subordinates, had been severely retarded since their entrapment within Sano-wan — standing at a levelled-off edge of the inner glacier slope, doing a normal inspection of the hull to ensure that if the glaciers DID give way finally, his flagship would be ready to go in all aspects. While having often frowned at the sheer levels of determination — even borderline fanaticism in some cases! — the warriors of Wa showed for their aborted mission to strike at the isles of Sawaiki for many slights delivered unto their countrymen by those who now dominated those volcanic islands, the devotion those self-same warriors had shown to their great nest seemed akin to how a whole parliament of nesting mothers would dote over one special chick.

Given what some of the prophets had started to sense about what would soon happen to that "chick"…!

"Ah, Pjésnja-san. I trust Marshal Múrometsa is well these days?"

A smile crossed the herald's face as she stood beside the would-have-been commander of Operation Z. "Grandmother Svetlána wished NOT to have brought the news I must now bring to the Dúma, Grandfather Hiroshi," she explained to her godfather; the veteran of Tsushima from Nagoya who became the TRUE father of Japanese naval aviation during the Taishō years had been there when she had been hatched over forty years ago, attended by his senior medical orderly, a man as devout to the teachings of Lord Buddha as his flag officer was to the Kami of the Wa. Drawing out the crystal with the beast inside — earning her a disapproving look from Fujita Hiroshi as his nose picked up the hideous stench of rot and naquadah contained within — she added, "Lord Túndra's wishes were not properly fulfilled by our ancestors."

The aged, balding man with the almost-black eyes, the moustache and the tapered goatee blinked as he remembered those stories of courage and sacrifice in the face of hideous odds — tales that rivalled the actions of the Forty-Seven Rōnin during the fifteenth year of Genroku! — echoed in his mind. His eyes then flared as it hit him. "The alconóst?!"

She nodded. "On another world many stars away, their descendants live."

His eyes sharpened. "This 'Stargate' system the Americans discovered four years ago, you mean?"

"That sad world can be reached through it. But it was one of the adopted Children of the Forge of the Tears of the Stars who had been recruited by Fate who delivered the news to the Friend of All."

Newton Scamander-sensei, the would-be commander of Operation Z knew. "Tell the Dúma. Any help we can render within reason is yours for the asking." He gazed at the fallen glacier which had caged them for seven decades. "Much that our mission is still of primary concern, even the most fanatic ones who flew with the Tokubetsu Kōgekitai would agree that angering the likes of the eldest of the Undying Lord's allies from back then is the height of insanity."

Pjésnja bowed, then headed around the cove to the caves where the Dúma gathered. As she went, her eyes fell on the three gold characters displayed in traditional right-to-left writing style on the ship's hull…

よなが

****

Far to the north of Sano-wan, high in the Arctic sky…

"Well, ain't that radical…?"

A certain transformed missile cruiser's lips curled into a smile.

"Catch you on the flip side, Big Y!"

With that, Naomi Haight-Ashbury teleported away…

****

In orbit above Remnant aboard the Normandy, two hours before supper…

"I still don't like this."

Hearing Weiss Schnee's flat statement, the other huntsmen students who had been welcomed aboard Isaac Thomas' starship could only grimly nod in understanding. "Much that I agree with you on that point, Weiss, I can understand where Isaac's coming from as well," Coco Adel noted before sipping her tea. "Remember what he taught us about the first generation of Yizibajohei metahumans. After what was left of their home kingdoms collapsed into total chaos, it was practically everyone for themselves. It's a miracle so many DID survive the Starvation Times in the end." She then shrugged. "I'm grateful for him wanting to help us finally put an end to the Grimm and this Salem creep. And I'm glad that he's letting us lead the charge here. Letting this Túndra thing loose on Remnant…!"

The others winced. Isaac had been detailed when he explained what had happened in the War of the Great Banishment twenty-five millennia ago and who had been the big players. "A creature who became sentient thanks to the mesonium in the biosphere, eventually mastering a large swath of the northern reaches of Earth itself," Blake Belladonna breathed out in mind-boggled awe as she gazed on the sketchy biography composed by Tánja Chapáeva concerning Earth's oldest sentient being. "Even if he himself can't come to Remnant, anyone he empowers to come in his stead…"

"Yeah, Salem won't like that, I'll bet," Qrow Branwen muttered as he sipped his own cup of coffee. He was keeping watch over the young ones as they decided what they would do at this point.

"You don't seem surprised in the end about all this, Qrow," Blake noted.

The veteran huntsman snorted. "Well, I only recently learned the truth about Oz and Salem a month ago. Went on quite the bender after that sank in. I never knew Oz's connection to that Kasuga kid's first-self, though." He shook his head. "Still, it shouldn't be so surprising. The whole thing about aliens and all that. The Two Brothers being one, they both being part of a group that shifted our ancestors from Earth here so they could be worshipped as gods…!"

"Not to mention their wanting to find ways to counter people like Lady Ayumu and those of her power set," Neon Katt added as her tail whipped warily around. "Especially this one called 'Doctor Destructo' on Yiziba. He — or she — sounds like something right out of the nightmares of the Queen of Darkness herself!"

"Oh, Hina doesn't think that about Destructo-sensei, Neon-san."

All the Faunus shuddered as Saeru Hinako came in, escorted by Fukushima Mayako. "Hey, kid! You got back here quick," Qrow noted on recognizing the shipgirl from a message Glynda Goodwitch sent him. "Was it really that bad when that Scamander guy brought that king taijitu to Earth to let the folks from Russia look it over?"

The reborn fifth of the Fubuki-class destroyers snorted as she made a cup of tea from a nearby kettle. "It looked like a bunch of Imperial Army officers running around with their heads cut off," the adopted native of Ōsaka noted, her lips twisted in a sneer. Noting people's confused looks, she added, "Relations between the armed services of my home em-…" She caught herself, realizing that the term "empire" wouldn't make sense to the Remnantians. "My home kingdom was never the best. The ground forces wanted to steal territories from neighbouring kingdoms to make us bigger and safer…and they got us in a war we couldn't win in the end when we ended up banging heads against the Americans, Isaac-san's people. The supreme chief of my crew's service, a man named Yamamoto Isoroku — he was the same rank as General Ironwood — warned that we couldn't last very long in a war against America. He was right."

Sympathetic looks came her way. "How many did you lose?" Flynt Coal asked.

"I had a crew of 219 officers and sailors. When I was torpedoed…" She hummed on seeing confusion again cross people's faces. "A missile designed to hit a ship underwater." As the huntsmen all nodded in understanding, Mayako shrugged. "I was lucky. Shirayuki was there. I only lost twenty-two of my crew." Her chestnut eyes then misted over. "Shirayuki was bombed by an aircraft sometime later. She lost thirty-two. We were some of the lucky ones. The most powerful of us all, the Yamato and Musashi — if they become kantai musume as I am, they'd be Itō Yasuko and Itō Mutsuko — had nearly three thousand crew each. When they sank, only a few hundred made it out in the end." She shook her head before making her tea. "Save for whoever the Ryūseizen might have saved in the end."

"'Dragon-killing ships'?" Neptune Vasilias wondered, having got the meaning of that term thanks to the omniversal translation fields that were projected in every part of the Normandy.

Mayako pulled out her PAA. A tap of the crystal produced the image of a vessel with ムラクモ in white on the side. "This is me as a ship," she explained, then allowed the device to project a much bigger image. "This is Yamato." As the natives whistled at the sheer difference in size, a third image then appeared of a vessel a little big longer and appearing even more massive. "The one of the Ryūseizen I sensed was close by when I was torpedoed and sank."

"So, what were they out there for?" Sūn Wùkōng asked.

"You know about the magicals on our planet, right? How they've kept themselves hidden from normal people over the centuries?" Mayako asked. After the natives nodded, the adopted native of Ōsaka sipped her tea. "During our war with America, great dark creatures — similar to your Grimm — rose from the sea to consume the souls of seamen, normally during the middle of a battle. The Ryūseizen were out there to destroy the creatures and save those sailors believed to have 'died' by normal authorities before their souls were consumed. As to what happened to them…" She shrugged. "Of my sisters, Fujiko, Hatsue and Urako are the only ones who had 'close encounters' with the Ryūseizen and had crew saved by them. No doubt, the magicals running them were able to create new identities for the 'dead' and resettle them somewhere safe. We know that the Ryūseizen mostly came from Canada; that's America's northern neighbour and the home of our planet's Jewel Warrior, Lieutenant General Dean Raeburn. We don't know their names…"

"Wouldn't it be awesome if they became shipgirls?!"

Everyone turned as the eldest of the Fukushima sisters came in to join them. "That would be something," Mayako mused as Fukushima Fujiko moved to make her own tea.

"Could we build something like that?" Flynt wondered.

Eyes lit up. "Yeah! We've got big Grimm that live in the oceans," Sūn warned. "Might be something to ask Isaac about." He then gazed on the reborn warship spirits. "Doubt we could ask the Canadians to borrow their ships."

Laughter filled the room, then Fujiko looked over to see forlorn looks on both Blake's and Weiss' faces. "Are you worried about your friends?" the adopted native of Maizuru then asked as she poured her tea.

Sensing the concern from the Blizzard of Death, both women nodded. "Isn't it obvious?" Blake asked. "We want Yáng and Ruby Gifted as soon as possible. The idea of using Ruby as BAIT for Salem…!"

"Are you saying I can't protect my own niece?!" Qrow wondered. "Much less Jaune, Nora or Ren?"

"Of course you can, Qrow!" the daughter of the founder of the White Fang asserted. "But we have to keep things secret about Pyrrha and Penny, remember?! Jaune, Nora and Ren are going to be hurting, especially Jaune!" As Pyrrha Nikos stiffened, the feline therianthrope moaned, slapping her forehead. "Oh, I'm sorry, Pyrrha…!"

"Jaune does have quite the crush on you," Weiss warned.

"How far is the journey from Vale to Mistral?" Fujiko asked.

"A month by boat direct from Vale," Pyrrha answered. "That's just to get to the nearest ocean port to Mistral. Once landed, it's an overland trip of at least another two weeks to get to the kingdom itself."

"Knowing the kid, she might want to do overland here to where Acadia used to stand at the east end of Sanus, jump across the passage to Anima in the Silvershield League, then head overland straight to Mistral," Qrow warned, earning him surprised looks from the younger huntsmen. "I remember the old tales of the kingdoms that existed before the Grimm forced us all into the big cities," the veteran of Team STRQ explained, earning him understanding nods.

"Pity there aren't more of us," Mayako noted. "We could form a destroyer division and scout ahead to make sure things don't go too crazy while Ruby-san does her thing and people elsewhere get ready."

"What are your Gifts like?" Coco asked as the team leaders all perked. After hearing the members of Team SSSN crow on and on about what Fukushima Miyuki had done to that one king taijitu…!

Fujiko sipped her tea. "We have force-blast powers that can take out ships the size of Normandy if they're not shielded. We have the strength to lift the cube of our masses of warships. Over eight-and-a-half BILLION tonnes…"

As the natives boggled on hearing that, Mayako wryly added, pointing up to the deckhead in emphasis, "If such a mass can stay together being boosted up by something that's human-sized, by the way."

"Hai! True, true," her sister trilled. "Outside that, plus the matching level of invulnerability, our ability to fly in all sorts of environments like space and undersea and all that, we have special powers."

"There's MORE?!" a stunned Qrow demanded.

"Hai, Sensei! Shirayuki-chan, Miyuki-chan, Hatsue-chan and I are cryokinetics; that means we can manipulate air moisture and water to make ice. A LOT of ice as Miyuki-chan did to that big thing she caught for Scamander-sensei." The adopted native of Maizuru then waved to her sister. "Mayako-chan here is a meteorkinetic; that means she can manipulate the weather as a whole. Storms, tornadoes, rain, hail, snow; you name it, she can do it. And Itsuko-chan and Urako-chan are both hydrokinetics; they can manipulate water without being able to freeze it like I could."

The natives hummed. "All roughly similar capabilities," Penny Polendina noted after a moment's contemplation. "Are your additional capabilities actually based on the literal meanings of your names as actual warships of the Kingdom of Japan, Fukushima Fujiko? That was something that Chiyo mused about when I asked her about you and your sisters."

That question made both destroyers blink before they exchanged looks. "You're really smart, Penny-san!" Hinako then declared. "Hina wouldn't have been able to think of that!"

"That does make sense," Mayako noted as Penny blushed on sensing the wave of delight the native of Niigata projected towards her when she gave that compliment. "Fujiko's moniker on Yiziba is 'Blizzard of Death'. Her ship name literally means 'blizzard'. My ship name means 'massed clouds'…" Her jaw then dropped. "Which made me…"

"A 'meteorkinetic' as you just called yourself," Neptune finished, winking.

Laughter filled the room. Fujiko mentally ran through the names of the others of her overall class of twenty-four to pick out the right ones to be "salvaged" to help. "We’ve had loads of problems trying to get Shiroko-chan, Suzuki-chan and Shinobu-chan up over the last couple of weeks…"

"Shinonome, Usugumo and Shirakumo," Mayako called out the ship names of the Fukushima sisters' missing siblings. "'Daybreak', 'Thin Clouds' and 'White Cloud' are the meanings of their names, Fujiko."

"The last two — Suzuki and Shinobu? — would be like you, Miss Mayako," Neptune noted.

"That first one's a possibility," Qrow noted. "Light manipulation, maybe?"

"A photokinetic, you mean," Mayako affirmed with a nod…

…then her eyes widened. "I think I know someone better!"

Eyes locked on her. "Who, Mayako-chan?!" Hinako asked.

The silver-haired girl smirked as she leaned down to gaze into the eyes of the woman who had salvaged her. "Ashikaga Akemi," she affirmed before she gazed knowingly at her sister. "Akebono!"

The natives all blinked as the Spirit of Innocence hummed…

****

In Isaac Thomas' cabin…!

"Is that a good thing, Isaac?"

The Wise Lone Sage chuckled. "It depends on what sort of mood our version of Akebono — Akemi — turns out to be once she's Gifted, General," Isaac Thomas noted as he poured tea for the leader of Atlas' military and the headmaster of Beacon. They had been monitoring the younger huntsmen through Normandy's security systems. "I've seen many other dimensions where shipgirls exist. The Akebono was often seen by her service as a 'ship of misfortune'; this is because she survived battles where her sisters didn't. This reflected in her soul — her kami as the Japanese call it — when such was embodied and made human." He shook his head as he handed the tea to James Ironwood and Shannon Ozpin. "Hinako better be prepared for a lot of swearing and cursing from Akemi when she comes. Calling her leaders 'shitty admirals' and the like." As the older men winced, the native of Queens sat. "Still, I think that's a good guess on Fujiko's and Mayako's part. She'll be a photokinetic for sure. And no matter what her attitudes towards superiors, Akemi will always fight the good fight. None the less, how do Grimm react to high-intensity sunlight, Professor?"

"Used as a beam weapon? Not very well," Ozpin stated as Ironwood chuckled, both remembering huntsmen who had that power. "I'm sure Miss Ashikaga will have quite the target-rich environment when she comes." He sighed. "I'm torn. Part of me is beyond grateful that your people are looking our way once more, Isaac. But at the same time…"

"As we'd always say it on Yiziba, this is ultimately YOUR fight scene in the end," Isaac finished, making both natives smirk as they nodded in appreciation. "Believe me, almost everyone on Yiziba would gladly agree to that, Professor. This has always been your fight even if you didn't really understand the nature of what provoked this whole madness in the first place. As an animated series from my homeland always taught kids, 'knowing is half the battle'. Now that you understand what provoked this mess, you can then psychologically prepare yourselves to properly deal with it in a permanent manner. I'll help as will people like Chiyo, Elizabeth and Tánja, much less girls like Hinako and her 'fleet', to say anything of folks like Neville, Seth and Roman. But YOU people are leading the charge."

Ironwood smiled as he hoisted his cup. "To the end of the Grimm."

"And the survival of humanity," Ozpin added as he matched that toast.

"Let the fight scene go your way," Isaac finished.

The cups clinked. "So, with Miss Mihama, Miss Wakefield and Miss Chapáeva helping out, how soon can synthetic Dust be made?" Ironwood asked as he sat back. "Much that I can understand the idea of bringing technology in that isn't powered by Dust, it would be the smarter thing to do in the end given the needs of people like Miss Adel."

"It is one of my primary projects. It also must be kept top secret," Isaac advised, he then raising a finger. "Primarily because of Weiss' father." Here, he gave the veteran huntsman a knowing look. "I'm sure he'll be PLEASED…" — the others could hear the sneer in the New Yorker's voice on saying that — "…to have that type of competition around. And I'm sure many in Atlas will be just as pleased that SDC won't be the only game in town in the long term, General."

"Agreed. Much that Jacques can be of help in many ways, his arrogance blinds him to far too many things. Seeing him knocked off his high horse will do the whole planet a lot of favours," Ironwood admitted as Ozpin snorted. "In a way, I can understand where people like Mister Taurus come from. SDC was a lot more ethical before Jacques took charge of things. Already, he's making noise about forcing Atlas to refuse to import anything that your company makes."

"Because of people like Ken's sister?" Isaac wondered.

"In a way, yes. Jacques is apathetic when it comes to the Faunus, but he realized right away RI is becoming a beacon that is giving Faunus in Vale a lot of power. Once you help the professor get Beacon back into operation and restore the CCT tower — or replace it with something if Miss Wakefield's contribution turns out to be better — that will make Faunus take notice and support RI's expansion into the other kingdoms. That denies Jacques workers in the end."

"I hope you have someone in mind to properly take over the company when we're all done here and you head back to Earth, Isaac," Ozpin noted as he gazed knowingly at his host.

"We haven't hit THAT stage of the storyline yet, Professor," Isaac warned, winking at the older man.

All three laughed. "What about the gamájun, Isaac?" Ironwood asked. "Can they be convinced to not swamp the planet just because the Grimm are descendants of those their god ordered destroyed?"

"That, we'll have to see," the younger man warned. "I don't know where this 'redoubt' is. Most likely, it's heavily shielded by mesonium in both diamond and ruby patterns. That's the one downside of using mesonium, General. If you have a scanner powered by mesonium, someone can effectively shield themselves using mesonium in like patterns. The gamájun are frequently hunted by poachers because of their beauty, their metamorphic capabilities, their magic, their overall intelligence and their precognitive powers. This has happened in Russia since way before Tsar Pjotr Velíkij saw his kingdom expanded into eastern Siberia three centuries ago. So, this redoubt logically MUST be quite heavily shielded from ANY potential intrusion. As to how they'll fully react to the existence of the Grimm…?"

A shrug rolled his shoulders as the others nodded in understanding…

****

Back on Earth, within Sano Bay in Siberia (local time: Tuesday, an hour before breakfast)…

"To believe these things still EXIST…!"

"And they've EVOLVED as well…!"

"This planet must be BURNED to remove such a taint…!"

Hearing the hissed words from the various gamájun elders who were now standing in the central meeting hall of their high parliament — which was located in a magically expanded cave drilled into the side of the escarpment that formed the southern border of the bay itself — Lieutenant Moroboshi Kyōsuke of the Imperial Japanese Navy could only shake his head in sympathetic sorrow as he imagined how all of the beautiful metamorphic avians would take to the horrible news that had been brought back to Earth thanks to Newt Scamander. While the native of Sendai himself had never met the famous magizoologist, his overall clan — given their sacred place as the core family of the Tenchiaiki Jūkazoku, the hereditary special servants of the Imperial throne for over a millennium — were always read into the realms of magic. Knowing that a man like Scamander wouldn't JOKE about something like THIS…!

"This isn't good, Kyōsuke-san," a voice warned from beside him.

The junior navigation officer to the commander of the First Air Fleet/Sixth Carrier Division — and thus of Tennō Heika Gunkan Yonaga herself — perked on hearing that warning voice from Admiral Fujita Hiroshi's chief scribe, then he nodded. "No, Kenji-san, this isn't good at all," Kyōsuke mused as he gave Lieutenant Hironaka Kenji a knowing look. "As they view their proper place in Existence, our friends are more philosophers than warriors. Still, their martial skills have been as sacred to them as all the troves of history they hoarded over the centuries. They see honing those skills as a way of honouring their ancestors who fought those things. To learn that somehow, such beings survived…!"

Kenji scowled as that message sank in. Despite the differences of their outlook on life — Kenji himself was descent of a samurai clan from Saitama prefecture while Kyōsuke was a top-rank ninjutsu-ka from Miyagi prefecture who was also trained as a Shintō shrine priest — both had the share experience of nearly seventy-one years being entrapped in Sano-wan thanks to an earthquake that struck the region in the early fall of 1941. That dark day in the eyes of all of the crew of what was once Warship No. 797 — fifth of the Yamato-class battleships before conversion to an aircraft carrier which could be more than a match to anything the Allies could have thrown her way — had been still three months shy of Operation Z, where Yonaga would have swept in from Siberia to deliver the brutal coup de grace on the American Pacific Fleet base at Pearl Harbour. Given the remainder of the First Air Fleet had botched the job if what the only American friend to Yonaga's crew of over twenty-six hundred told them was true…!

Footfalls made both tense before Kyōsuke smiled as a tall, broad-shouldered, blond, blue-eyed Californian sat beside them. "What's the verdict?" Brent Ross asked as he focused on that stained block of mesonium crystal now suspended between the seats where the elders of the Dúma Gamájuna relaxed themselves when they gathered for debate.

"Still up in the air, Brent-san," Kyōsuke mused as Kenji scribbled notes in his pad for review by their admiral once this meeting was over. "You should realize how much of a shock this is to them."

That made the retired intelligence officer nod. "As much of a shock finding you being tucked away here all these years," Brent calmly mused, earning him muffled snickers from Fujita Hiroshi's chief scribe.

Kyōsuke smirked as he patted his friend's knee while recalling that day in 2007, when a fishing crew from Yonaga encountered a sloop navigating the waters of the Chúkchi Sea, piloted by an American sailor in his forties. After the ship — the Memory of Sparta — was captured and the sailor interrogated by American-born Lieutenant Commander Matsuhara Yoshi, it came as a surprise to learn the recently-retired LCDR Brent Ross was the SON of the captain of the steamer Sparta, who sacrificed his life saving others of Yonaga's crew from a winter gale twenty-four years before.

Once Brent was brought aboard the last warship of the Imperial Navy and interrogated by Fujita…!

All three then tensed as something akin to a chilly breeze warped through their bodies. "No…!" Kyōsuke hissed as he focused his mage-sight towards the cave entrance and the mighty warship beyond. "This is NOT your fight, Yonaga-sama!" he added with a touch of ki in his voice as Brent and Kenji placed comforting hands on their shipmate's shoulder. "Hai, these are our friends and adopted family, but the creature that offends them is of another planet…"

"The Seventh One must rise, young seer…"

The officers spun around to see an aged woman draped in silvery feathers gazing with unseeing eyes upon them. "Grandmother, please," Brent calmly stated, bowing his head to the eldest of the Nest of Seers, a woman who had lived for centuries and whose prophecies were seen as holy writ by her own people as well as the majority of Yonaga's crew, including their new shipmate from America. "Much that we're shocked at what Professor Scamander warned you…"

A cackle escaped the blind woman as she focused her mage-sight on the star quarterback of Annapolis' winning team in 1982. "Your head tells you that…but your heart has always wished otherwise, Child of the Land of Angels," the elderly seer — whose name had always escaped Brent — proclaimed as a clawed fingertip tapped his nose playfully. "The continued existence of the alconóst is an affront to ALL the Great Old Ones, not just Master Túndra! That it was the Spirit Ones who saved them from Master Túndra's judgment matters not! While we cannot leave Svjetjjílische even if we trust your brothers of the Wa in protecting our sacred nests, the Seventh One CAN and WILL do so…!"

"Obā-sama, with all respect, there IS a problem," Kyōsuke humorously warned.

"The Great Nest of the Tears of the Stars can resolve that, young sage," the aged seer cackled…

…just as the whole of Sano-wan began to violently quake.

"Oh, SHIT…!" Brent croaked as everyone in the hall tensed…

…right before the crystal that currently held the attention of the Dúma Gamájuna exploded!

Screams filled the room as magical shields that had been used to trap the frozen king taijitu within suddenly and spectacularly failed, allowing the dank two-headed serpentine creature to rear out, hissing with outrage at being trapped within that hideous, burning crystal for so long. As the metamorphic avians who had been examining the Grimm screeched while many transformed to make use of their more devastating attacks, the sucking sounds of people apparating into the vast all made the three normal humans in the cave gasp in stunned disbelief.

NOW LET'S SEE YOU CREATURES RUN!»" one middle-aged man screamed in Russian.

"KONTŌ!"

A blazing energy katana emerged from Kyōsuke's hand as the junior navigation officer leapt over, cutting through the head of an elderly witch who had been moving to entrap the blind elder they had been speaking to moments before. Said woman screeched as the burning power of the soulsword ripped her living spirit of her body, sending the lifeless corpse to the hard floor with a thud. As Brent and Kenji drew their Type 14 Nambu 8-millimetre pistols to shoot at the platoon-strength group of magicals who obviously used the alien creature to breach the wards protecting Sano-wan from the outside world, another wizard levelled his wand on Kyōsuke, screaming, "AVÁDA KEDÁVRA!"

The soulsword effortlessly swept about to deflect that green beam of magic into a nearby wall as Kenji levelled his pistol and fired, the bullet catching the wizard in the throat. As he collapsed to the ground, the obvious leader of this invading group of poachers snarled, "«FILTHY MÁGLY! HOW DARE YOU…?!»"

Half his head exploded from a well-aimed shot from Brent's pistol. While the attacking wizards moved to both put down the interfering normals and capture the elders of the Dúma Gamájuna, screams echoed from the entrance as a considerable parliament of gamájun warriors and a division's worth of Yonaga's crew stormed in, spears, katana and Type 99 Arisaka rifles at the ready. Bullets and spells began flying as a general mêlée began, with the magicals being forced away from each other so they couldn't use massed shielding spells to protect them from the storm of 7.7-millimetre bullets being sent their way by the Japanese sailors, who had over seven decades to improve their marksmanship to the point where they could easily outmatch Great War British soldiers using Lee Enfield rifles in "mad minute" competitions. Even more, much to the horror of the poachers, the gleaming swords welded by officers were too strong for even the supposedly-unstoppable Killing Curse from either damaging or destroying them…never mind what Moroboshi Kyōsuke's energy version would do to someone once he got in striking range.

Distant booms then echoed from outside, making Brent hiss. "Oh, fuck! They're flying over the ship!" the intelligence officer snapped on recognizing the deep echo of Yonaga's battery of twinned 12.7 centimetre/40 calibre Type 89 dual purpose guns that served as the carrier's primary defensive armament.

With that, he sprinted out of the cave, with Kenji right behind them. Once clear of the tunnel, the American stopped before he hissed on seeing a virtual AIR FORCE WING of broom and magic carpet flyers currently swarming over the long flight deck of Japan's largest warship. As Yonaga's twenty Type 89s and two hundred-and-ten 25-millimetre Type 96 Model 2Y anti-aircraft cannons turned the roughly cubic kilometre over the 320 x 55 metre flight deck into a zone of pure death for the invading poachers, Brent's eyes searched thoroughly through the sky he could see to get some numbers. "Jesus Christ!" he snapped. "There must be a thousand of those damned stalebloods here now…!"

"WHAT DID YOU CALL US, YANKEE?! KRÚTSIO!"

Brent's body lit up as if he was dumped in acid, waves of pain driving him to his knees as his mind was overwhelmed by such an attack. As Kenji spun around to shoot the attacking wizard, the latter's companion snapped off a stunning spell to knock the scribe down, then he levelled his wand while the one torturing Brent ended the curse. "What in Koschéj's Name is an AMERICAN doing among a ship full of JAPANESE mágly?!" he demanded. "Let's…!"

A finger tapped his shoulder. "Hey, dude! There's a multi-legged creature crawling on your shoulder!"

That made the wizard perk before turning. "Oh, spasíbo za…!"

KK-KRACK!

Said wizard's companion screamed as the newcomer's left hand whipped around in a backwards slap, the metaphorical power of 17,781 tonnes of nuclear guided missile cruiser striking with such force that the man who had tortured Brent Ross was sent flying at near-sonic speeds into a nearby cliff, the body splattering quite decoratively from the impact. That made the wizard who knocked Hironaka Kenji out of the way level his own wand at her. "AVÁDA KEDÁVRA!"

The bolt of light slammed into the strange woman's side…

…and did nothing.

"Ouch," Naomi Haight-Ashbury mock-crooned as the hapless poacher gaped at her…

…which was enough for Fujita Hiroshi's chief scribe. "TENNŌ HEIKA BANZAI!"

The wizard's head exploded thanks to a shot from Kenji's pistol. "Righteous!" Naomi whooped before she gazed on the carrier. "YO! BIG Y! YOU WANNA PARTY?! NOW'S THE TIME, BIG DUDETTE!"

As a groan escaped Brent while Kenji moved to help him, the very SKY overhead suddenly opened up…

Tene lomher'buo, Itō Yoiko…!

"NO!" the screaming voice of Moroboshi Kyōsuke echoed from the cave as the navigation officer sprinted out to try to wave off what was happening. "YONAGA-SAMA, WAIT…!"

Then the whole of the basin was lit up in blinding light!

Nesu…GAEYUO!

People seeing this all screamed…

…just as the ground near Brent heaved when the metaphorical weight of an 86,010 tonne armoured aircraft carrier made human crashed down, such now in the form of a VERY tall Japanese woman of about thirty, with well-defined muscles, the eyes of a raging typhoon and long black hair in a low ponytail peppered by streaks of silver. She walked out of the light to approach the transformed missile cruiser, her gait proud and determined. As Kyōsuke, Kenji and the recovering Brent stared in shock on seeing such a being now appear before them — draped somewhat traditionally in a green martial arts gi-like uniform with grey belt and boots under the bell bottom trousers, a Wheel of Dharmachakra printed in gold under her V-neck collar in the cleavage of her well-shaped breasts, that ultimate symbol of Buddhism embossed with the classically-scripted kanji 代永 in black vertical formation framing the wheel's hub — the woman's eyes then focused directly on the green orbs of Naomi Haight-Ashbury for a moment.

Seeing that instantly reminded the three officers of the way their admiral always stared at someone when the veteran of Tsushima wanted to know the whole story about something.

Then…

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

And then…

"When were you struck?"

The sailors jolted on hearing that steely, moaning voice escape the being that just appeared in their midst…while in the background, ALL of Yonaga's over twenty-six hundred officers and men found themselves standing on the shores of the bay that had trapped their great ship for nearly seventy-one years, all looking around in understandable confusion at their change of circumstances. In the sky overhead, the attacking magicals were literally frozen in place, unable to move, use spells or escape, trapped there by the sheer power of two incredible warships made not only human…

…but METAHUMAN!

"Monday, the first of May in 1995. The Seventh Year of Heisei."

Hearing that, the Ice Warrior of Eternity just named by the living sentience of the Great Crystal of Power on a planet 228 light years from Earth allowed an eyebrow to arch, which made the Cosmic All-Seer snicker. "Oi! Lock those phasers on the squares trying to steal your sky, Big Y!" Naomi said as she pointed up behind Itō Yoiko.

The newly-transformed and Gifted seventh carrier of Operation Z blinked, then she gazed on her current captives. Said people also being held in place by the transformed nuclear cruiser now at her side, she quickly sensed. "I trust you have a strong stomach, Long Beach-dono." Hearing that, Brent gaped on recognizing the name of the ship he sailed on during the Gulf War as an analyst from the Office of Naval Intelligence detached to local fleet commanders, that making him turn to gaze wide-eyed on Naomi. As he was quick to notice the standard stadium ring-shaped badge of a warship of the United States Navy over her heart, the just-transformed fifth of the Yamato-class added, "I care not for STALEBLOODS attacking my crew or their families. My sincerest thanks for holding them fast for interrogation."

The cruiser snorted. "They used the crystal carrying that king taijitu here as a tracking beacon. Wipe out the Dúma, kill all the adults and kidnap all the chicks to be their personal sex dolls."

Suddenly, those grey eyes light up like twin suns. "EXCUSE ME?!"

"Master Túndra desires this, Seventh One!"

Both shipgirls turned to see the elderly seer that Kyōsuke, Brent and Kenji had been speaking to earlier now come out of the cave, she supported by two of Yoiko's seamen guards. As the groups of Japanese sailors closest to where their transformed ship now stood approached her, the cackling sage then held up a glistening curved sword dotted with ruby mesonium crystals, it in a sheath of pure ironwood with diamond mesonium bracing to keep it from being harmed.

"A sháshka?" Yoiko mused as the seer floated the sword over, she partially unsheathing it. "Forged in one of my own metalworking shops by your granddaughter as I recall, Obā-sama." Gracefully bowing to her, she then leapt into the air and charged right at the largest cluster of broom riders, with Naomi right behind her.

Naturally, the normal people at the head of the bay could only gape in understandable awe…before Kenji found his voice. "What happens to the mission now?" he weakly asked.

"That's for the admiral to decide, Kenji-san," Kyōsuke wearily warned, shaking his head…

To Be Continued…!

****

WRITER'S NOTES

Translation list and source language (all Russian unless noted): Továrisch — Comrade/Adventuring companion; Akadémik — Academician, a member of a scientific academy; Dvojúrodnaja Bábushka — Great-Grandmother; Kuláki — Literally "tightfisted", the term is used here to indicate magical purebloods in Russia; Volshébnaja Dúma — Magical Dúma, the equivalent of Britain's Wizengamot; Ministérstvo Mágicheskikh Del Rossíjskaja Federátsii — Ministry of Magical Affairs of the Russian Federation (short-formed MMD); Giri — Duty/Obligation/Burden of Obligation; Ninjō — Human Emotion/Compassion; Tokubetsu Kōgekitai — Special Attack Unit, the official term for the Kamikaze that flew in defence of Japan in the last years of World War Two (all three Japanese); Pjotr Velíkij — Peter the Great, the title normally applied to one of the greatest of Russia's emperors, Pjotr Alekséevich Románov, who reigned from 1682-1725; Mágly — Plural of magl ("muggle"); Krútsio — Russian pronunciation of Crucio (the incantation for the Cruciatus Curse); Spasíbo za…! — Thanks for…!; Tennō Heika Banzai — Literally "Long Live His Majesty the Heavenly Sovereign", the battle cry often used by Imperial Japanese soldiers and sailors.

The term isles of Sawaiki used here refer to the Hawai'ian Islands; the term "Sawaiki" is derived from the proto-Polynesian term meaning "homeland".

The term fifteenth year of Genroku refers to the year 1702, when the Forty-Seven Rōnin avenged the death of their late lord Asano Naganori on the man who provoked that death, Kira Yoshinaka. The tale of the Forty-Seven was popularized in Japanese culture over the following centuries as emblematic of the loyalty, sacrifice, persistence and honour that people should preserve in their daily lives. Naturally, this tale was one of the main influences on…

The tale of Tennō Heika Gunkan Yonaga (hull number KB-11; the hull classification code KB means Kōkū Bokan [aircraft carrier]) — who, in human form, gains the name Itō Yoiko — and her astonishingly long-lived crew are based on the novel The Seventh Carrier by the late Peter Albano, plus the series of sequel stories that were written from 1983-1996. This series of dime store action-adventure novels may have not been well-written and had plot holes within it that one could sail Yonaga herself through, but they inspired Fred in the early years of his own fan fiction writing, leading up to the first appearance of a shipgirl version of THG Yonaga in various other stories and snippets he wrote for other KanColle fanfic series, culminating in The Seventh Shipgirl.

The tales of what Japanese shipgirls call the Ryūseizen are covered in Fred's Magic and Canada.

The old kingdoms of Remnant referred by Qrow Branwen can be found on a fan map of the planet done by FiredArt and modified by RedRumSprinkes. Such can be found via a search in Google using "kingdoms of Remnant".

The reason that three of the Fubuki-class destroyers who have not appeared in this or the main story — THG Shinonome (Fukushima Shiroko), THG Usugumo (Fukushima Suzuki) and THG Shirakumo (Fukushima Shinobu) — is because, at the time of the first draft of this story being written, they had yet to be made playable characters in Kantai Collection. Suzuki first appears in Part 30 of Boy Meets Girl Meets Metahuman. As Shinobu has only been recently introduced into KanColle (during the Summer 2023 upgrades), she will eventually make an appearance in the stories following BMGMM. As to when Shiroko will appear, that is unknown.

Seventh Carrier character notes: Admiral Fujita Hiroshi appeared in the first story, as did Lieutenant Hironaka Kenji and then-Ensign Brent Ross. Lieutenant Commander Matsuhara Yoshi first appeared in the first sequel story, The Second Voyage of the Seventh Carrier. Lieutenant Moroboshi Kyōsuke and Seaman Fujisaki Tomohisa first appeared in Fred's fanfic story The Angels of the Era of Eternity.

The concept of the Tenchiaiki Jūkazoku ("Ten Harmonious Clans of Heaven and Earth") was first introduced in Fred's story Lonely Souls.

The term Sháshka literally means "long knife". This is the Russian translation of a western Circassian term applied to a model of sharp, single-edged, curved and guard-less backswords used by horsemen of the various Cossack tribes that once ruled the areas of modern-day southern Russia and Ukraine.

Chapter 7: Assassins, Giftings, Meetings, Oh My!

Summary:

The Mad Prophet of the Future takes the just-Gifted Neopolitan to the chief of the greatest assassin clan on Earth while both a former gynoid from Atlas and a "dead" four-time regional champion from Mistral become truly more than they could have ever dreamed.

As the command staff of the now-human Seventh Carrier meets America's first shipgirl to learn of all those other shipgirls the Spirit of Innocence "salvaged", the issues of relations between human and Faunus on Remnant rear their ugly heads once more...!

Chapter Text

DISCLAIMER: Concurrent with fair dealing clauses of the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada and fair use clauses in copyright legislation in other nations, this is a work that was created solely for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, it is posted freely on the Internet without expectation or requirement of remuneration.

****

Somewhere in Hokkaidō, Tuesday 3 April, two hours before breakfast (Vale time: Gayatit 52 Treichleam, suppertime; Anádyr' time: Tuesday, an hour after breakfast)…

A flash of energy appeared out of nowhere in front of a well-hidden stone torii-like gate somewhere on Japan's northern island, revealing two people having just teleported the many light-years from Remnant to the third world of Sol. If anyone from Yiziba saw them at this time, s/he would be totally shocked to see the likes of Leno Lu'umlo of all people dressed in a black Terran business suit; the underlying dress shirt, though, was in his preferred deep purple. Of course, Neopolitan — who was now starting to consider going back to her birth name of Trivia Vanille given all the changes in her life — was dressed once more in her preferred multi-colour style, though it was altered to match Terran fashion than Remnantian, which was in many places a few decades behind that of the mother world of humanity.

"What's with the trip here, Padre?" the Ballerina of the Final Darkness asked as she followed the Mad Prophet of the Future through the gate into a somewhat darkened compound well shielded from outside view except high in the sky.

"You require training, my dear," Leno noted as he walked towards the largest of the well-lived in buildings in the compound. "If I know the good doctor, he'll be training his new recruits as well. He is very good at that."

An anticipatory grin crossed the Valean mercenary's face. She had to admit, Isaac Thomas totally surprised her. In the experiences of her past-selves, hyper-genius polymaths like the Wise Lone Sage were more content in making use of their gadgets to survive a fight scene. Seeing Isaac willingly mix it up with the likes of Adam Taurus — and WIN! — was quite the eye-opener to Neo. "Pretty understandable," she then admitted. "So, who'd you get to help out?"

He gave her a knowing smile. "Only the best."

He then knocked on the door…

…before his smile grew wider as someone literally stepped out of nearby shadows to approach them. Said fellow was dressed in black from neck to toe in the same fashion as the Mad Prophet donned for this meeting…though he had a long black trench coat draped over his shoulders in lieu of a proper business jacket. A dark grey fedora was perched on his head, that framed with slicked-back raven hair. His brown eyes were protected by tinted aviator sunglasses. Gazing at him, Neo immediately shivered on sensing the level of emotional control this man had, to say ANYTHING of his remarkable fighting skill. Even more so, her well-honed ability to sense a person's Aura potential revealed that despite him NOT being a metahuman, he had long mastered his body's abilities through LOTS of training and experience.

"Leno-san," the newcomer greeted. "So, you came through with your promise."

"A promise is a promise, Master Jō," Leno stated as he reached out to grasp their host's hand. "That is as sacred to faces and heels alike on Yiziba as much as it is in many places here on Earth. And on Remnant as well," he added as he gazed on his first Remnantian recruit. "May I present Mistress Trivia Vanille — also known as Neopolitan — of the city of Vale on the planet Remnant, who is now the Ballerina of the Final Darkness; you'd call her 'Danzatrice' here." As Neo curtseyed to their host, Leno waved to him, a warm smile crossing his face. "And this is Master Amon Jō, the current leader of the Amon Clan, the finest group of assassins that exist on this planet."

"Save, of course, for those whose training is descent from the Immortal Master like the Earth Angel and the Protector of All Life themselves, of course," Jō calmly noted as he returned Neo's curtsey with a bow, inwardly smiling on seeing the pained look on Leno's face. Even if they were acquaintances, the leader of the world's most proficient clan of assassins felt the reborn preacher was still too blinded by his own prejudices. "Welcome to Earth, Neo-san."

"Dōmo," she replied in Japanese before some snark entered her voice. "What's with the Matrix look?" At the surprised stares from Leno and Jō, she added, "My immediate past-self visited Earth twelve years ago. She saw the movie."

Both men laughed. "My dear, the Amon-ichizoku make this look be feared long before that movie came out…though I confess, Reeves-san did an excellent job performing in that film!" Jō stated with a smile. "As Leno-san just stated, I am the leader of the Amon-ichizoku. Amon Jō at your service." He gazed on the Mad Prophet. "So, you brought your first recruit from this Remnant planet as your promised. I assumed you would desire her to be trained?"

"Given what Isaac's been doing, do you blame me?" Leno wondered.

A hum answered him. "Yes, given his interests, he would have been quite the student himself."

The reborn prophet nodded. "So, why should a professional mercenary who has thrived on Remnant of all planets be NOT trained by the greatest assassins below Mistress Negako herself on this planet?"

Jō tried not to blush at that praise…

…before he tensed, spinning around. "Who…?"

"Calm yourself, Jō."

Neo almost felt her bowels let go at that voice, which reminded her of the one time she heard the Queen of Darkness speak to Cinder Fall before the attack on Beacon. The shadows nearby melted into a woman looking to be about her age, dressed like her host in black from neck to toe, though she wore a more traditional kimono-and-pleated hakama combination with a black belt wrapped around her waist, that topped with the golden kanji at the ends of the belt. On seeing her, Leno looked pale as Neo nearly fell to her knees as the sheer level of emotional control this being had over herself nearly overwhelmed her empathic powers with its seemingly magnetic pull. Jō wasn't bothered by her appearance. "Shihan-sama," he greeted the personal assassin of the Heavenly Sovereign with a respectful bow.

Moroboshi Negako returned that with a polite nod. "Jō. Leno." She then focused on Neo before she reached over to tap several places on the right side of her neck, making the just-Gifted mercenary tensed before sheer steel flooded her heart to clamp down on her new metahuman abilities. As the young mercenary blinked in confusion, the grandmaster of Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū nodded. "Recently Gifted. And still grieving for a lost close friend. From Remnant, Leno?"

"Um…y-yes, Mistress Negako," the Mad Prophet stuttered. Which was for good reason. Despite his many abilities, he wasn't going to test himself on a being who once duelled Earth's very own Jewel Warrior of all people, fighting her to a STANDSTILL in the recent world war. "The man who rescued and trained her in her native gifts was killed last night in an attack orchestrated by that death cheater Salem on her former paramour. Has Master Isaac informed you?"

"I maintain contact," Negako coolly stated. "Roman Torchwick?"

Hearing that name, Neo felt her eyes mist over before she silently nodded. Seeing that, Negako nodded in turn. "He trained you very well, Trivia," she declared, making the younger woman gasp as she gazed in wide-eyed shock at this strange creature in the form of a very beautiful brown-haired woman with nearly black eyes. "Live and thrive, then avenge yourself of those who orchestrated Roman's death. That is how you will properly heal from his loss, Trivia."

Hearing that made Neo's face brighten as she sensed that this highly-trained being was quite honest in the words she just spoke. "Well said, Shihan-sama," Jō affirmed with a nod. "Any recommendations?"

"A trial bout."

"Would you care to call the dance?"

"If you desire. Leno, we must talk afterwards."

Hearing that, the reborn socialist preacher shakily nodded…

****

Vale City on Remnant, that moment…

"General Ironwood."

James Ironwood perked on hearing that prim voice, then he turned to see one of his prominent subordinates approach him as he was about to walk through the main entrance gate to Renaissance Industries; the expert huntsman had been beamed down from the Normandy close to the ground command site of his expeditionary force so he could get updates on what was happening with the withdrawal to Atlas before seeing RI for himself. "Captain Schnee. I thought you were supposed to be in Mistral," the leader of Atlas' military stated as the elder daughter of Remnant's richest resident came up to stand at attention before him, she escorted by a small troupe of Knight-200 combat androids.

Winter Schnee took a breath. "Forgive me, General, but I was en route to Mistral when my father's butler alerted me to last night's and this morning's…" She scowled as she gazed around her. "Activities!" she coolly added. "Once word got to the Council about Father being attacked by some rogue while you and the local forces were attempting to capture that monster Taurus, they overrode your decision and had me come here to ensure Father and my sister return to Atlas."

Ironwood nodded. "Return to Captain Schnee's ship, men," he ordered the androids before he waved the silver-haired special operations officer with him towards the nearby expertly-rebuilt old warehouse. As the androids obediently about-turned and marched off, the two Atlesians walked through the main entrance gate leading into Renaissance Industries' main complex. Such a structure was in the southern part of Vale's commercial district overlooking the shores of the Beacon River, an inlet that extended from its namesake academy westwards towards the open ocean well beyond the industrial zones and the dockyard that was the scene of the final engagement between the forces of the White Fang and local huntsmen augmented by human soldiers from Atlas. "What did you learn?"

"That we lost Penny," Winter declared with sadness. "Which was a shame. Her potential was amazing." She nodded to the security guard — a scowling crocodilian therianthrope who towered over both huntsmen, standing well over two metres high — as Ironwood presented his scroll. After Winter did same, the guard tapped a control and waved them inside. "Quite intimidating security," she quietly added as they found themselves in the main reception all.

Fortunately, a guide was waiting for them. "Good to see you again, General," Mikazuki Yozora stated as she politely bowed to them. "And you must be Weiss' sister," she added as she gazed upon Winter, earning her a surprised look from the special forces officer. "I'm sure your family must be proud of your service with your kingdom." At that comment, Winter blushed, which earned her a smirk from her superior officer. "If you're here to see your sister safely returned back to Atlas City, she's in one of the employee lounges right now. Please follow me, General, Captain."

She waved them down a hallway. Gazing upon the raven-haired teenage girl now escorting them through a place that Winter's father would gladly wish burned down for the many threats such presented to his own business holdings, the young special forces officer blinked as her own ability to read someone's Aura potential clicked in. On noting what she could see of Yozora, her sky-blue eyes went wide with realization, then she moved to snap-draw her duelling sabre.

"CAPTAIN!" Ironwood snapped, causing the younger huntsman to yelp in shock.

A pair of twinkling amethyst eyes then focused on the two Atlesians. "I take it the captain just sensed the truth about me?" Yozora playfully asked before she waved them towards a nearby elevator.

As Winter gaped at such joviality from the artificial person in front of her, Ironwood chuckled. "Yes, she just did. I did train her in being able to detect people's Aura potential when she opted for special forces training. Allowing you to mask the truth of your existence is something that Isaac needs to work on with people like yourself, Miss Mikazuki."

Weiss Schnee's elder sister blinked in confusion as she gazed on her superior, then the obviously advanced artificial person who was their escort through Renaissance Industries, then back again. "I'm sure Isaac can do something about that, General," Yozora stated as she tapped a random code into the security lock governing the elevator's movements. "Although I was never built to be a full combat unit such as your people created Penny as, I can defend myself well."

Winter blinked several more times as the subtle hum of an elevator car approaching echoed through the space. "Mister Thomas created you, Miss Mikazuki?" she then finally asked.

"Yes, he did, as he did many others, Captain. Including the senior scientists," Yozora affirmed. "General, are you sure the captain is ready to accept ALL the truths about what we're doing here?"

"She's more than ready, Miss Mikazuki," Ironwood declared, making Winter immediately stiffen as she realized she was about to be let in on a rather BIG secret concerning their hosts.

The car then arrived, the doors swooshing open…

…before Winter exclaimed in disbelief and shock on seeing who was there.

"Oh, sorry about that, Yozora-chan!" the living goddess standing inside the car then apologized. "I didn't know you were escorting Oji-chan and Winter-chan around the building…"

KK-KLONK!

Ironwood winced as he heard Winter hit the floor in a dead faint!

"Huh?" Kasuga Ayumu breathed out. "Gee! Was it something I said?"

*****

Minutes later…

A moan escaped Winter Schnee as her eyes fluttered open.

"Winter!"

Blinking on hearing the voice of her sister, the special forces officer found herself gazing at a well-lit ceiling before she looked to her left to see Weiss Schnee kneeling beside her; they were in a large cafeteria. "Weiss…" the eldest child of Jacques Schnee breathed out before she looked once more at the ceiling. "I just had the most incredible dream…!"

"What of?" the younger huntress asked.

"That I just encountered the One Above the Gods…!"

Weiss' own eyes twinkled. "No dream."

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

Then…

"What…?!" Winter eeped.

Weiss pointed to her left, making her sister sit up and look…

…before her jaw dropped to the floor in disbelief on seeing a brown-haired woman in a modified version of the famous grey uniform once worn by the being who had banished the Two Brothers forever from Remnant standing beside her own superior officer and her old rival from Anima, chatting away excitedly about something. Before Winter could sputter out anything, footfalls heralded the approach of a much younger woman in the same model of clothes, though hers were gold with tenné brown belt and boots, protective goggles on her face protecting the most expressive brown eyes the special forces officer had ever seen on anyone! In her hand was a tray with a very large sundae on it, topped with a very sweet red cherry. "Ah! Winter-san! Are you okay?! Ōsaka-san didn't scare you that much, did she?"

Winter blinked before she gazed at Kasuga Ayumu, then back at Mihama Chiyo. "Er…are you from…?"

"Adopted of that planet, as are Ōsaka-san and the others dressed like I am," the young pre-teen genius declared with an understanding nod before she handed Winter the sundae. "Here you go. You have something to eat, Winter-san. You're going to be shocked about a lot of things over the next few minutes, so this will help you settle your stomach." She then winked. "Reveal scenes like this are ALWAYS upsetting to the stomach."

Weiss giggled as the Bright Genius of the Young Guns headed to rejoin Blake Belladonna and several other Faunus, including one Winter recognized as Monica Khan, niece of the current leader of the White Fang. As the younger heiress of the Schnee business empire helped her sister up, the special forces officer looked around. The cafeteria —about half the size of the dining hall at the Beacon Academy — was filled with excited people, mostly Faunus with a smattering of normal humans. Several more were dressed in the form-fitting uniforms the girl who presented her with a sundae and the One Above the Gods — Shouldn't that be a MAN?! Winter wondered as she gazed towards Ayumu, who still had both Qrow Branwen's and James Ironwood's attention — who were dispersed among the locals.

"Are you okay?" Weiss teasingly asked.

The elder heiress of the Schnee fortune blinked again before she sighed. "When was this discovered?" she wondered as she absently reached for her spoon, then took up a hunk of very tasty ice cream.

"Oh, Isaac…" — here, Weiss pointed to Isaac Thomas, who was currently standing by the serving area, discussing things with Glynda Goodwitch, Bartholomew Oobleck and Peter Port — "…had to reveal himself last night when all the fun began. Taurus' people were out to target him because he was introducing his native technology which doesn't need Dust. He got Blake's old lover and her friends to switch sides, saw Gray Haddock killed, then summoned some of his friends from his adopted homeworld…" — here, she indicated Chiyo, then Neville Longbottom — "…to help us with the Grimm. Did you see how clear the Academy grounds were when you came in?"

As she recalled what she saw when she had flown into Vale, Winter nodded. "How did that happen?"

Weiss indicated the Master of Plants again. "Partially Master Neville's doing. He has the ability to manipulate plants, including a type of dandelion that creates a mist which kills Grimm on contact." As Winter's jaw dropped — such plants would be devastating against the Grimm who had crowded the citizens of Atlas into their enclaves, denying them the majority of Solitas for settlement — her sister added, "Once Master Neville brought in the mist dandelions, Lady Ayumu used her power to spread them all over Vale." Here, she indicated the Goddess Who Walks Among Men.

The older woman gazed in awe at the living goddess nearby, then she allowed her well-honed sight abilities to click in. She instantly squeezed her eyes closed as she spun away, nearly blinded by the intensive corona of power contained within the body of the native of Wakayama. As Weiss winced, Ayumu automatically gazed over. "Oi! Winter-chan!” she gently scolded. “Don't do that, okay?! You're gonna hurt yourself!"

Winter blinked as she felt her vision come back while Qrow came over. "Hey, are you okay?"

Gazed upon him, the special forces officer blinked before her jaw dropped. "YOU'RE SOBER!"

That made the veteran of Team SRTQ blink before he chuckled. "Yeah, I am. Weird feeling."

"Are you alright, Winter?!"

Winter perked before she looked over…

…then she nearly collapsed to the floor in another dead faint on seeing a wide-eyed and clearly ALIVE Penny Polendina come over to her. "P-P-PENNY?!" she exclaimed as her eyes teared in disbelief, the images of the poor gynoid being sliced apart by the power of Pyrrha Nikos replaying again in her mind.

Weiss grabbed her sister's sundae to prevent her from dropping it while Qrow chuckled in amusement and Penny moved to kneel before her first combat trainer. "Oh, I'm so happy you're…URRRK!"

The gynoid-turned-synthezoid stopped as her evergreen eyes suddenly glowed a brilliant silver…

Tene lomher'buo, Persephone Polendina…!

"'Persephone'?" Isaac wondered from nearby as Penny straightened herself, her silver jumpsuit beginning to glow — as was her body — as something started to flow deeply into her.

"It was the name her creator gave her," Ironwood noted as his special sight sensed the ghostly echo of SOMETHING appear behind Penny before moving to merge with her body. "That is just AMAZING…!"

Sensing the huntsmen in the room were seeing the Gift crystal that had chosen the adopted Atlesian as her new host, the Wise Lone Sage then barked out, "EVERYONE! TURN YOUR EYES AWAY!"

People jolted before spinning away as Penny's whole body became as bright as Oum itself…!

Nesu…IMRAMR'BE!

A joyful cry escaped the transformed gynoid as the sheer influx of mesonium being pushed into her body by the Great Crystal of Power transformed the silicon of her current synthezoid form to carbon-type strands of proteins, forming perfect codes of naturally organic DNA and RNA while her pre-Gifting suit changed to a jumpsuit of the same evergreen shade as she once wore with her normal clothes, silver pouch-lined belt and boots completing the ensemble. Silver trimming in Yizibajohei numbers lined like computer code appeared along the outer flanks of her legs and abdomen, plus trimmed the sides of her top; on the chest above her cleavage was a silver computer power icon insignia.

As people spun back to gaze upon the just-Gifted woman, Penny's glowing eyes returned to their normal evergreen shade before she shook her head…then she blinked as Ayumu came over to stand before her. Gazing deeply into the eyes of the Mind-Moulder of Armour, Imramr'be ("Operator"), the Goddess Who Walks Among Men then reached up to once again probe her fingers into the transformed gynoid's head, making Winter screech in disbelief…

KK-KLONK!

…before she dropped once more into a dead faint on the floor!

"Ōsaka-san…!" a moaning Chiyo breathed out from nearby, her head drooping.

Ayumu hummed as she pulled her fingers out before she raised her hand in greeting. "O-ha!"

Penny blinked before she echoed that move. "Salutations!"

Silence fell…

…then a wild cheer exploded from everyone in the room!

****

In a nearby office…

"Eh?! Penny-san was just Gifted?!"

Hearing Saeru Hinako's exclamation, Pyrrha Nikos looked over at the native of Niigata, who had been busy with six of her fleet of shipgirls scanning PAAs to link with Earth's Internet system to get information to help prepare for what they now called Hinako's Spring Break Shipgirl Hunt, Part II; the youngest of the Fukushima sisters, Fukushima Urako — on Yiziba, the Speedy Tsunami, Boba ("Uranami") — was flying about, using cloud cover to keep aerial watch over the property. "Um…I didn't hear anything, Hinako," the native of Mistral stated. She had been placed in this office so Weiss Schnee's elder sister wouldn't be shocked by too much information crashing down on her all at once.

The Spirit of Innocence smiled. "Hina felt it when Penny-san was Gifted, Pyrrha-san," she affirmed as her caramel eyes then twinkled as a surge of reassurance flowed out of her body.

Pyrrha shuddered before she felt herself relaxing from that flood of empathic energy from the young elementary school student. While still a little bothered that someone like Hinako — who was only SEVEN! — had such a great Gift, she did feel reassured by the mix of cute innocence and wise knowledge the Terran girl projected to others. The Mistralite was fearful of what the reaction would be if Hinako confronted the darker sides of what happened on Remnant. Even if her empathy was something the Grimm couldn't tolerate if what she learned from Team SSSN concerning that king taijitu was true, there were other things on Remnant that would make even the most hardened huntsman sick.

A beeping sound then echoed. "Uranami to Flag!"

Fukushima Fujiko tapped her PAA. "Flag, go."

"Gomen nasai, but I just heard screams emanating from a warehouse two blocks west from the main gate," Urako called out, the hint of a growl in her voice. "They sound like young women to me, Onē-san…and they all sound in terrible distress! There are some male voices shouting as well, I think!"

Hinako focused to her left, then she hissed. "Oooh! You MEANIES!"

"WHAT?!" Pyrrha demanded.

"Urako-chan, go see what's going on! We're coming to you!" Fujiko barked.

"Hai, Onē-san!" Urako called back.

"What is it?!" the Mistralite demanded again.

Hinako grabbed her PAA. "Some creep is going to do nasty things to nice girls, Pyrrha-san!"

She grabbed Pyrrha, then teleported out of the room, with the other Fukushima sisters following…

****

A half-kilometre to the west…

Cardin Winchester sneered as he gazed balefully at the gathering of several dozen Faunus — mostly women and young children — he and the members of his team had been able to gather during the broad sweep of the town they had made after last night's tragedy. "Stop whining, you freaks!" the leader of Team CRDL snarled. "We want answers! Our school's gone and that fucking steer Taurus was seen cutting down one of our classmates! Another one killed one of our classmates in the Beacon Tower and Headmaster Ozpin is missing, too! You all had to support the White Fang…!"

A finger tapped his shoulder. "Excuse Hina please, Baka-Baka-san!"

The caramel-haired huntsman yelped before he spun around…

…then he screamed in horror on seeing the living ghost now standing beside the very cute pre-teen girl who had just appeared behind him. As his own teammates Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing and Sky Lark exclaimed in disbelief on seeing the "dead" member of Team JNPR standing there quite ALIVE even if her clothes had radically changed to something that left next to NOTHING to the imagination and her crimson tresses now hung loose around her shoulders and down past her hips, the Mistralite shook her head. "Just give you idiots an excuse to go pick on poor people like you always do! How in Oum's Name did you all get ACCEPTED in the first place?!" she then demanded as her own evergreen eyes began to glow ominously, making Saeru Hinako gasp as she gazed wide-eyed at the older woman.

"The One Above the Gods…!"

That was one of Team CRDL's prisoners, a vulpine therianthrope Hinako's age who sported quite the shiner that had closed her left eye. Her mother was holding her; she also had bruises. Seeing that, Pyrrha's glowing eyes went wide, then she focused on Cardin, a snarl entering her voice as it began to echo with otherworldly power. "WHAT IN OUM'S NAME IS THIS, WINCHESTER?! YOU DON'T GO ABUSING INNOCENT PEOPLE LIKE THAT!"

Tene lomher'buo, Pyrrha Nikos…!

Hinako looked up. "Ah! It's Pyrrha-san's time!"

"WHAT IS THIS SHIT?!" Cardin snapped back as he shakily pointed towards Pyrrha, he faltering back. "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD, YOU STUPID ANIMAL-LOVER…!"

A hand clamped down on his shoulder, spinning him around…

"Don't swear in front of the Admiral!"

KK-KRACK!

Hinako winced as Fukushima Urako's backhand slap sent Cardin right into the wall of the warehouse! As the prisoners gasped on seeing yet ANOTHER being dressed like the cute girl who interrupted Team CDRL's attempts at extorting information NONE of them had about the White Fang — despite Adam Taurus' recruiting efforts, many Valean Faunus wanted to live their lives in peace and do good for themselves and their families — who swatted away the arrogant rich kid like an annoying insect! Roaring on seeing his team leader abused like that, Russel shrieked, "YOU BITCH!"

His twinned fighting daggers levelled on target, sending out a volley of Dust-propelled bullets right at the chest of the Speedy Tsunami. Urako smirked as said rounds splashed harmlessly against the dark blue tidal wave insignia above her cleavage, that embossed by 浦波 in white-framed black vertical reading formation. As both Sky and Dove drew their own swords and charged towards her, Urako then calmly gestured…

…which caused part of the wall where Cardin crashed into to implode, allowing a titanic jet of water to surge in like a horizontal waterspout. As the brightly glowing Pyrrha gasped in awe on seeing such abilities by the reborn warship, said waterspout punched into Russel, sending the punk-like man flying into both Sky and Dove, all three being sent careening into another far wall! As they collapsed to the floor and the "prisoners" whooped in disbelief on seeing that these strange humans — all dressed like the ultimate god-like being who saved their ancestors two millennia ago — were on their side, a certain Mistralite found herself metaphorically falling off the Beacon Tower into her new life…!

Nesu…DUTOR'BUO!

"TAEIM LETAM!" Pyrrha screamed out as her uniform morphed into a shiny gunmetal grey affair with black belt and boots, plus a black globe-like insignia on her chest, that encasing a tube with lines of energy projecting from both ends to form concentric circles above and below their origin. As the energy faded from the newly-Gifted Warper of Metal, Dutor'buo ("Polarity"), anything that was metallic within immediate range of her — including her schoolmates' weapons and armour — all started to shake, twist and bend, almost as if a legion of invisible mythological warriors had grabbed them to test their strength. As the "prisoners" shuddered in fearful awe at such a display of metahuman strength by the just-Gifted Mistralite, a flash of near-blinding light then blinded everyone for a moment…

"Ah, man! Pyrrha-chan, you gotta calm down!"

That made the Mistralite gasp as shocked cries of disbelief escaped some of Team CDRL's prisoners…

…before another flash of energy saw them teleported a half-kilometre away…

****

The headquarters of Renaissance Industries…

…where they appeared right in the main cafeteria!

"Healers, please!" Kasuga Ayumu called out as shocked cries echoed from everyone there.

Instantly, several of RI's local staff moved to swarm over the just-freed prisoners. James Ironwood, Glenda Goodwitch and Qrow Branwen also approached, they then taking in the much-WILDER looking Pyrrha Nikos in her new uniform, her face twisted in a scowl as she glared at the members of Team CDRL by her feet, their battle armour twisted around, weapons snapped, and clothes torn from the first exertion of the Mistralite's new electromagnetic manipulation powers. "What happened here, Miss Nikos?" the commander of Atlas' military demanded as he stared wide-eyed at the injured child that connected Saeru Hinako and Fukushima Urako with the most sacred legends of all the Faunus.

"PYRRHA NIKOS?!"

That was a totally-white, wide-eyed Winter Schnee, who had bolted up — having just recovered from what happened to Penny Polendina — to stare in disbelief at the "dead" would-be Fall Maiden…

KK-KLONK!

…before she dropped to the floor yet AGAIN in a dead faint!

"Gee, Winter-chan! You really should stop doing that!"

Everyone stared at Ayumu as she gazed at the dazed special forces officer, then Qrow laughed…

****

Two hours later, back in a certain ice-lined cove in northeast Siberia (local time: Tuesday, noon)…

A tired sigh escaped the Fukuoka-jin who had been entrusted with direct command of Imperial Japan's largest warship seven decades prior. "There is much good news, Admiral," Captain Ogawa Gorō stated as he sat beside his formation commander in one of the many caves granted to the crew of THG Yonaga by their hosts to serve as emergency places of evacuation in case their ship was sunk while trapped here. Said cave now looked like the transformed carrier's Flag Plot, where senior staff of the fifth of the Yamato-class warships and the Sixth Naval Air Flotilla would meet to hash out plans for the future; the cave was now complete with tables, chairs, mounted navigation charts on magically-created blackboards, the floor covered with polar bear skin carpets covering cables connecting this particular cave with others via Yonaga's relocated internal telephone network. "All divisions and departments have checked in. All crew are safe and well, personal effects accounted for. Even better, the Shrine was relocated to Meeting Hall One." Here, the veteran pilot who had flown off THG Akagi as Fujita's senior squadron boss a decade before they were brought together on Yonaga shrugged. "All that's realistically missing is the ship itself, all fuel and ammunition and all her airplanes."

Hearing that, the native of Nagoya and adopted native of Hiroshima nodded. "I long heard from my grandfather how merciless the Great Old Ones were all those years ago," the veteran of Tsushima who was two generations removed from magical blood said. "The same tales being confirmed by our wonderful hosts since we were trapped here in Shōwa-jūrokunen. I foolishly hoped Túndra-sama would one day grant his mercy to us and allow us to leave Sano-wan to do our mission, either to return home or join our fleet mates in Yasukuni." He shook his head. "I pray Sljépjj-sensei is right and we will be released…" His dark eyes then brimmed with tears. "To learn the truth that we've long denied."

"We lost the war," Ogawa breathed out. "As you and Yamamoto-taishō always predicted."

"Hai, as Isoroku-san and I always knew," Fujita affirmed.

"Now you can embrace your TRUE future, Hiroshi."

Both men turned, then rose as an ancient, blind gamájun seer came into the cave. "Sensei," Fujita affirmed as he and Ogawa bowed to Sljépjj Z'rjéti, elder mother of the Nest of Seers, as she took her seat across from Ogawa, moving with incredible skill thanks to her mage-sight abilities that compensated for lost eyesight, deprived from her by an arrogant poacher who had been beheaded by Ogawa himself shortly after Yonaga's entrapment within Sano-wan in late 1941.

"Do not be saddened by this, Hiroshi," the aged seer declared as she seemed to focus directly on the would-be commander of Operation Z, she then tapping the table with a clawed finger. "The kami of your nest has become your chick, filled with the passion and fervour that attracted us to you and your mates all those seasons ago, then empowered by the Great Forge of the Tears of the Stars, one of whom gifted to the Protector of All Life herself…"

"Raeburn-shihan," Ogawa stated.

"Da," Sljépjj answered in Russian before continuing in her accented Japanese; languages were a very easy thing for the metamorphic avians to master. "Not to mention the other gifts of the Great Forge which blessed the Protector's adopted father and his adopted father, who fought with Master Tundra and the others to expel the Spirit Ones and the Hungry Evils from this world ages before our ancestors were hatched." As both men nodded in understanding, she grinned, flashing slightly sharpened teeth marking the influence of the earliest avians who had evolved from dinosaurs millions of years before. "Now, your own chick is Gifted as much as the All-Seeing One was Gifted not days ago…"

"Naomi Haight-Ashbury," Fujita affirmed, shaking his head as the unreality of the moment sank in. "The living kami of USS Long Beach. America's first nuclear-powered surface ship." He blinked as he considered that before he gave the seer a curious look. "'All-Seeing One', Sensei?" he then asked.

"Young Brent told you of the 'summer of love' when he himself was but a newborn chick after the passing of his mother, did he not?" Sljépjj wondered as she "gazed" in amusement at him.

He nodded. "Yes. One of the many results of that foolish war in Vietnam. The rise of the 'counterculture' movement where the children born after the Greater East Asia War strove to rise in social rebellion against previous generations, mostly out of a simple desire to wipe away all the barriers that had divided humanity for ages." He chuckled. "Too vast a dream, never to see reality…but one must indeed admire their passion and determination."

"The All-Seeing One was touched directly by the Eternal Power of the Summer of Love when those foolish stalebloods who dominate the magicals of your would-be enemies tried to enslave her…"

"WHAT?!" both men roared as they bolted to their feet.

"Whoa! Whoa! WHOA, cool dudes! Turn off the afterburners, huh?!" a strange voice called out in clear English from the cave entrance, causing both Fujita and Ogawa to look over. "Don't worry about the freaking magical squares! The magical SPs are already sizing them up for cement overshoes!"

Yonaga's operations officer then stepped into the cave. "Sumimasen, Admiral," Lieutenant Commander Kawamoto Masao of Ōchi in Shimane said, bowing. "Naomi-chan wishes to speak to you."

Fujita shuddered. "Precognitive, I would assume. Send her in, Masao-san."

"Hai, Admiral."

He stepped outside, then returned, escorting a certain adopted native of Quincy in Massachusetts and her namesake city in California. "Peace, Grandma!" Naomi Haight-Ashbury said as she flashed the peace sign to Sljépjj before she gazed upon the would-be commander of Operation Z, her green eyes boring into Fujita's dark orbs for a moment. She then walked over, leaned down and kissed the admiral's balding head, causing him to gasp in shock. "Arigatō, Oji-chan."

As Ogawa and Kawamoto tried desperately NOT to laugh at the sight of their admiral being treated like a favoured grandfather, the elder seer chuckled as she shifted one spot to allow Naomi to sit in the place normally occupied by Fujita's scribe Lieutenant Hironaka Kenji or his chief administration officer Lieutenant Commander Katsube Hakuseki. Fujita sputtered for a second before iron-hard control came back, then he gave Naomi a curious look. "Why…?"

"Oh, for protecting one of my crew since he came here," the cruiser affirmed with a casual shrug.

"Brent-san sailed on you?" Ogawa demanded.

"Yeah, just before I got struck in '95. You know about that dumb war over Kuwait, don't you?"

"The First Gulf War," Fujita affirmed.

"Yeah! Brent came aboard from the ONI squares in Chocolate City…"

All three men laughed. "'Chocolate City'?!" Kawamoto, standing at the end of the table, exclaimed.

"Washington DC."

"Ah!" Fujita breathed out while trying not to laugh even more as he wondered how on Earth did the capital city of the United States got THAT nickname. "Pray continue, Naomi-san."

"Well, as I was saying, Brent got sent to me to help figure out what Saddam's squares were doing so we can keep the black gold pumping without people paying monthly wages for gas and the like." Here, her eyes twinkled. "That kinda makes him part of my 'family' as much as he became part of Yoiko's 'family' when he came here looking for his dad. So, thanks for taking care of one of my crew, Uncle H." She patted the now-flustered Fujita's shoulder in emphasis.

All three men gazed on her, then Ogawa's eyes widened with understanding. "Brent-san's karma influenced your karma!" the native of Fukuoka exclaimed, making Fujita look his way. "Like ours ended up influencing Yoiko-chan's, Admiral! Given how much she knows of our inner dreams and desires…!"

"Exactly," Naomi affirmed, winking.

"So, you understand our current predicament?" Fujita noted.

"Yeah, I do. And it's a downer!" Here, the cruiser took a breath. "You people have seventy years and more to catch up on. It'd be easy to ask Papa A to put out a Rescript to let you folks go home without feeling you gotta go hit the area around where Mama Ka'ahupahau crashes out tending to the sharks, putting up to Ari's oil messing things up…"

All three men blinked. "Of whom do you speak of?" the admiral demanded.

"She speaks of the Lady of Sharks in the eyes of the natives of the Isles of Sawaiki, Hiroshi," Sljépjj calmly affirmed. "Her domain is centred in the very harbour that was your target seasons ago."

Fujita, Ogawa and Kawamoto considered that before nodding in understanding. "Pearl Harbour," the former affirmed, a grim look crossing his face. "Ka'ahupahau-sama is obviously the Hawai'ian counterpart to our own Ōwatatsumi-sama. My thanks for your warning me of this, Sensei." He then perked. "'Ari'?"

"USS Arizona, I believe, Admiral," Kawamoto warned. "Brent-san told us that all it took was one well-aimed bomb to sink her during the attack. It killed over two-thirds of her crew!"

"And became the symbol of American resolve to avenge the 'day of infamy'," the admiral completed. "One of so many things Chūichi-san did wrong!" he spat out. "Then again, should we be so surprised?"

"He was more a battlewagon boss, wasn't he?" Naomi wondered.

"Hai, he was! Made my deputy all because of seniority! I begged Shigetarō-san to NOT stick me with that baka! I would have LOVED to see Tamon-san promoted to vice admiral and make him my deputy commander; at least HE understood carrier tactics! All because of Kami-be-damned seniority…!" He made a wave of his hand before shaking his head as memories of signals bounced down from Earth's atmosphere received by Yonaga during Midway replayed in his head. "Useless in kendō and believed too much in that stupid Kantai Kessen nonsense that drove development of our fleet before the war!" Here, Fujita shook his head. "So many died…on both sides…!" he quietly declared.

"Your crew need to hear that, Uncle H."

He turned to see the compassionate look coming his way from the transformed missile cruiser before he patted her hand. "You speak of Tennō Himself when you speak of 'Papa A', don't you?"

To the officers' surprise, Naomi seemed to change, becoming a very proper Navy officer before their eyes. "It is indeed of His Most Gracious Imperial Majesty, the Heavenly Sovereign, that I speak of with that term, Admiral Fujita," she declared in a voice that had no hint of the casual tones of speech she had used since she came here; such instantly made all three men stiffen. "Which pleased him very much. It was to His Imperial Majesty that His Excellency the President first called when I reported to him at the White House after I dealt with those who sought to enslave me."

That made Fujita, Ogawa and Kawamoto gape with surprise. "Why would President Bartlet do something like that?" the latter immediately demanded, clearly not speaking denials about that sort of situation given the ancient orders still hanging like Damocles' sword over the heads of the crew of THG Yonaga.

She gestured with her hand, allowing her PAA to appear. As Kawamoto came over to stand behind his captain to see what the transformed missile cruiser was showing, the image of a wholesome Japanese teenage girl of about sixteen appeared over the focusing control crystal of that miniature computer-like device. She was in a blue-trimmed, form-fitting white bodysuit with bared arms and shoulders; seeing that sort of uniform reminded all three would-be World War Two veterans of the many "mystery men" that had appeared across the world — starting in North America, in fact — in the decade leading to that conflict. With blue belt and blue buccaneer boots, she had a blue iceberg insignia over her cleavage; that topped with a white-framed pair of black kanji in vertical format: 吹雪.

"'Fubuki'?!" all three men exclaimed…

****

Back on Remnant, within the headquarters of Renaissance Industries (local time: Mid-evening)…

"…stupid baka-bakas hurting little helpless kids…!"

"AH-CHOO!"

Saeru Hinako yelped before she looked over. "Are you okay, Fujiko-chan?!"

A moan escaped the Blizzard of Death as she rubbed her nose, then she nodded as her sister Shirayuki automatically handed her a tissue. "Sorry about that, Hinako-chan," the adopted native of Maizuru said before she blew her nose to clear the mucus from her nostrils. "Someone was talking about me!"

"You can sense that?!"

That was Velvet Scarlatina, now seated with Coco Adel, Blake Belladonna, Monica Khan, Flynt Coal, Neon Katt and Pyrrha Nikos off to one side of the office where the members of Team CRDL were dragged to by the reborn Fubuki-class destroyers after they were healed from what happened two hours ago. Also present were Glynda Goodwitch, James Ironwood and Isaac Thomas; all of them wanted a crack at Cardin Winchester and his mates after they had seen how the freshmen bullies had gone full-tilt after a whole group of Faunus civilians, believing them to be White Fang.

The Spirit of Innocence and her "fleet" of shipgirls got there first.

Much to Glynda's and Ironwood's amusement, the native of Niigata proved to be even MORE harsh than Beacon Academy's senior teacher or the commander of the military forces of Atlas could EVER be!

"AH-CHOO!"

As Fujiko handed her younger sister the tissue which she herself had been given by Shirayuki, Isaac answered, "It's a common belief among Japanese people that if you suddenly sneeze, it means someone somewhere is speaking about you. No different than if your upper set of ears suddenly twitch, Velvet."

As the second Fubuki-class blew her nose, the Faunus member of Team CFVY nodded. "Do you think it was Miss Naomi who was speaking about you, Miss Fujiko?" she asked. "Say to her king? This…'president' you told us of…?"

"Feels like Naomi-san," Shirayuki answered as a sneeze echoed from outside, one she and her sister recognized as coming from their sister Hatsue. "Wow! What's she telling Bartlet-daitōryō about?!"

"We'll probably find out soon, Shirayuki-chan," Fujiko noted. "Go look in on the others, okay?"

"Hai, Nē-sama!"

As the shipgirl with her caramel hair styled in low twintails walked out, Glynda sighed. "Thank you, Miss Saeru, for those wise words," the senior huntress said as she patted the younger girl's shoulder before she glared at Cardin and his mates, all of whom tensed at that VERY disapproving look. "Indeed, I must agree with our nice guest from far away about your actions this day, gentlemen…and I use that term very reluctantly when it comes to you four!" she snapped as she put her fists to her hips, the Disciplinarian firmly grasped by her right hand. "If this hideous act had been done when you were in classes, you would have faced EXPULSION from the Academy! Much that I DO understand the anger many humans feel concerning the White Fang, that did NOT grant you the Oum-sent right to TORTURE helpless civilians, even if it was to track down Mister Taurus' supporters who faded from the scene when the Grimm attacked!"

"Professor! With all due respect…!"

"DO BE QUIET, MISTER BRONZEWING!" Glynda snapped as Hinako scowled at Dove Bronzewing, making the caramel-haired freshman wilt from the teacher's glare and the wave of empathic power from the Spirit of Innocence. "Your mission last night was to protect the city from the Grimm! THAT WAS IT! Once it was confirmed the Grimm had retreated, you were to IMMEDIATELY aide in rescuing survivors! I have it on GOOD authority you weren't anywhere CLOSE to the Academy grounds past noon today!" She slapped her crop in her hand. "What in Oum's Name made you go after those people that Miss Nikos, Miss Saeru and Miss Fukushima found you with?!"

"We had no choice, Professor!" Sky Lark answered, trying to look as unobtrusive as possible. "We heard what happened to Nikos, Xiǎo Lóng and the Headmaster! Taurus himself was seen in the school; he's the one who chopped off Xiǎo Lóng's arm! Everyone knows how much Khan's aunt and Belladonna are buddy-buddy with that cow!" He glared at Blake, making the latter's upper ears flatten in outrage as her former lover grasped her hand. "There were over a hundred of the damned beasts on the grounds! YOU'RE the one who confirmed those numbers, Professor! Only SIXTY or so were in that warehouse when Thomas here kicked that animal's butt! Where are the rest?!"

As Glynda's green eyes lit with outrage on sensing these four would gladly throw in their lot with various anti-Faunus groups that had been rising in response to the White Fang's recent actions, a hand landed on her shoulder. "Relax, Professor," Ironwood said as the young huntsmen brightened; they had long heard Atlesians maintained a harsh stance to the therianthropes whose presence of Remnant had rubbed too many humans the wrong way over the years.

They were about to be disappointed, though.

"Miss Saeru," the leader of Atlas' military said, his voice as bone-freezing as a northern wind. "I know your empathy doesn't have the power to affect people's memories. Are there people on Yiziba who have that sort of ability?"

As Cardin and his friends gasped in horror at what was now being proposed, the Spirit of Innocence hummed, her caramel eyes sparkling with an inhuman flame. "Hina knows Ayumu-chan's friend Yomi-san, Ojii-san. She's Yiziba's top telepath! She could turn these baka-bakas into BABIES if she wanted to!"

"I say let's let Yomi-san do just that," Fujiko snarled as she crossed her arms; if the look she was sending Cardin and his friends could kill, they would all be very dead. "Racist fools like this will wreck the campaign from the inside! We DON'T need no pathetic FIFTH COLUMN stabbing us in the back!"

As the boys croaked in outrage at being accused of something like THAT, Isaac cleared his throat. "Professor, General, let me take these people off your hands," the Wise Lone Sage proposed, making Glynda and Ironwood gaze upon him. "I've had to deal with such narrow-minded fools in ALL my lifetimes since the Dawn of Power, when Ayumu's first-self BANISHED the Two Brothers out of this very DIMENSION when they moved to destroy all living creatures on this planet." As the four young men gargled in horror, the native of Queens tapped a control. "I'll have Yozora prepare quarters for these four. They'll be staying here incommunicado until they can be properly trusted again."

Glynda nodded in acceptance. "Thank you, Mister Thomas," she stated before giving the four men of Team CRDL a very disapproving stare. "When Beacon reopens, I will ensure you can NEVER be invited back unless you show some HONEST contrition for today's actions, gentlemen," she then warned.

"And I'll make sure you'll NEVER be accepted at Atlas in case Beacon cannot rise," Ironwood added.

With that, the senior huntsmen walked out. As Fujiko guarded the door, Isaac turned to stare at them before he shook his head. "You stupid, blind FOOLS!" the hyper-genius polymath snapped, making all four men jolt. "Much that I understand — No! I APPLAUD! — your desire to avenge the deaths of your fellow students, turning around and blaming the Faunus for what happened last night is NOT the way to go about bringing justice for all those who were made to suffer by the monster who's ULTIMATELY responsible for this! Do you honestly believe I would willingly recruit from that community WITHOUT making sure that Adam and his friends wouldn't try to mess things up?!"

"How can we trust YOU, Thomas?" Cardin demanded. "You're an ALIEN…!"

"He's more human than YOU are, Cardin!"

He jolted as Pyrrha bolted up. As Coco and Blake tried to force her down, the newly-Gifted huntress raised a shield to keep them back. "What in Oum's Name were you THINKING?! Attacking innocent CHILDREN, you arrogant dolt?!" the Mistralite demanded. "Don't you see that pulling stunts like that on HELPLESS PEOPLE, you FEED more recruits into Taurus' 'crusade'?! You're luckier than HELL that the ONE being in the whole of the MULTIVERSE whom ALL Faunus know of intervened like she did before someone DIED! EVERYONE in this city suffered from what Cinder Fall and her friends pulled, you fools! WHAT IN THE NAME OF OUM WERE YOU THINKING OF?!"

"WE WERE TRYING TO AVENGE YOU, PYRRHA!"

That was Russel Thrush, who had bolted up. Pyrrha blinked as his brown eyes teared. "Russ…?"

"Look! We don't really like you, Pyrrha…but damn it all, you're one of US!" the man with the quasi-Mohawk style of grey-green hair snarled, he pointing to himself. "We saw how much the headmaster doted on you in those private lessons you had!" As Pyrrha gasped, he shrugged. "It didn't take a lot for people to figure out that you were being prepared for something damned special, something that could help a lot of people when the time came! And we ALL know that Shannon Ozpin NEVER abuses any of his students!" He then waved at her as his friends also stood up to stand beside their teammate. "So, what the hell happened last night, Pyrrha?! We just lost our SCHOOL! Yes, it's great that Isaac and that Mihama kid and that Kasuga girl saved you and that 'bot Ruby was crushing on, but that doesn't tell us SPIT! What the hell was Belladonna's old BOYFRIEND doing there last night, huh?! And who's this Cinder Fall chick you just mentioned?! You can't leave us all in this damned VACUUM, you know!"

The others in the room blinked, then Isaac nodded. "Hinako?"

"Hai, Isaac-san?" the native of Niigata said as she gazed at him.

"Call Shirayuki in Nagano," the native of Queens ordered. "Since it's spring vacation for you until the end of this week, we'll need help feeding people in this town until the markets are back up again."

The Spirit of Innocence nodded before she headed out, followed by her first shipgirl friend. Isaac watched them go, then he gazed once more on the four young men he now suspected had much more potential than he initially believed two hours ago when Fukushima Urako's report got to him. "As I said before, gentlemen, I applaud your desire to avenge your classmates," he said as he waved Cardin and his friends to sit down; they had been made to stand still as they got dressed down. "However, keep in mind that it's racist attitudes like yours that made the White Fang come to exist in the first place! ALWAYS keep in mind that as long as people like you — whom ALL civilians, human and Faunus alike, look up to so they can stay safe! — have such attitudes, people will ALWAYS suffer!"

He waved to the Faunus in the room. "Faunus like the good ladies here are people, too! Blake RAN AWAY from Adam Taurus when she realized how much of a MURDERER that he was becoming…and she's the DAUGHTER of the founder of the White Fang! Monica here is the NIECE of the current leader of the White Fang…and she walked away from it as well, disgusted by what Adam is doing to the group as a whole! Velvet here has never ONCE wanted to hurt anyone, human OR Faunus! Neon has been through things I can't begin to describe to you…but she maintains one hell of a good attitude despite that! I can't for a MOMENT understand why you people get fixated on nonsense like that! Don't you dolts realize by NOW that anger and hate are two things Grimm FEED ON?!"

Silence answered him as Cardin, Russel, Sky and Dove looked anywhere but at the New Yorker. Taking a moment to gaze intently at the four boys, Isaac then sighed. "You people need to make money and get new places to live while we're waiting for the Academy to be rebuilt," he proclaimed. "To that end, you will be hired by Renaissance Industries to help with work. Put simply, we need people with field experience to develop weapons that can deal with the Grimm at an INDUSTRIAL scale for what I hope will be the FINAL war against the monster that STARTED this mess in the first place!" As the boys gaped in disbelief at him and the others stared askance at the man for moving to HIRE the four bigoted jerks as part of his staff, Isaac smirked. "Do well and I'll personally recommended your reinstatement at the Academy when it reopens to both Headmaster Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch! Agreed?"

The four members of Team CRDL exchanged looks, then Cardin sighed. "We don't have much choice."

"Good," the Terran-turned-Yizibajohei hyper-genius polymath nodded. "Learn from this experience. I will NOT tolerate any prejudice towards future co-workers while you're working underneath me, either the Faunus I've hired since I came here to Remnant OR the androids and gynoids I brought with me from Earth and Yiziba." As Cardin and his friends gaped, the Wise Lone Sage's eyes narrowed. "Screw up about ANYTHING — and that DEFINITELY includes revealing about the survival of Pyrrha, Penny or the Headmaster to ANYONE before I say it's time! — and I WILL have the good lady Hinako mentioned to the general come here and turn your BRAINS into SILLY-PUTTY!"

"She can do it, by the way!" Pyrrha coolly noted.

All four rapidly nodded. "Good," Isaac declared. "Now, when the time comes, those who were behind last night's fun — ALL of them — will be pounded into the dirt and ELIMINATED! Do well under me and you're in on the final kill! You'll be training as much as working until that day, so think of this as study time for extra credits!" As the boys gaped, he raised a finger. "Remember this: The Faunus suffer from what the Grimm do as much as humans like you.

"Focus on fighting THEM, not your fellow sentient beings!"

With that, the Wise Lone Sage and the Warper of Metal walked out of the office, leaving a quartet of gaping boys behind, they joined by a similar group of very wide-eyed peers…

To Be Continued…!

****

WRITER'S NOTES

The Amon Clan (Amon-ichizoku) are the secret bosses in the various Yakuza video games (known in Japan by the title Ryū ga Gotoku ["Like A Dragon"]). Amon Jō himself appeared in the first Yakuza game and has been an antagonist of the lead character Kiryū Kazuma until Yakuza 6.

Moroboshi Negako has been a prominent character in Fred's writing since the days of The Senior Year. She first appeared there as a body-less sentience simply calling itself the Saikō Jinseijutsu ("Way of the Supreme Life") in the story "Spirit-War Tomobiki"…and she would become human in that series in the story "Children of Eternity".

Translation list and source language (all Japanese unless indicated): Shihan — Martial arts school grandmaster; Taeim letam — Let the Show begin (Yizibajohei); (name)-jin — Demonym used to indicate where someone comes from; Shōwa-jūrokunen — Sixteenth Year of Shōwa (the year 1941 CE); Taishō — Navy admiral/Army general/Air Force air chief marshal; SP — Shore Patrol, the Navy version of Army military police; ONI — Office of Naval Intelligence (the last two English short-forms).

RWBY character notes: Winter Schnee first appeared in "It's Brawl in the Family" (volume three, episode three); her actual rank in the military of Atlas was not revealed. Cardin Winchester and Russel Thrush first appeared in the first part of "The First Step" (volume one, episode three). Dove Bronzewing and Sky Lark first appeared in "Players and Pieces" (volume one, episode eight).

Penny Polendina's "proper" name of "Persephone" was inspired by a fan art of hers done by dishwasher1910, which can be seen on Danbooru at post #3240047.

The Seventh Carrier character notes: By the time of the first story, Yonaga's captain Ogawa Gorō had passed away; naturally, thanks to the advantages of the place where the ship had been trapped for so long, he would survive. Kawamoto Masao first appeared in the original story.

Chapter 8: A Time for Gifts

Summary:

As the transformed Seventh Carrier of Operation Z adjusts to being human now, the assistant to the late Roman Torchwick is welcomed by the greatest group of assassins to live on Earth to seek new training.

And while the Infinite One makes a horrifying discovery concerning her oldest friend, the Great Chef of the West goes to Remnant to ensure Penny and Pyrrha won't be the ONLY Gifted huntsmen resident on Remnant...

Chapter Text

DISCLAIMER: Concurrent with fair dealing clauses of the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada and fair use clauses in copyright legislation in other nations, this is a work that was created solely for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, it is posted freely on the Internet without expectation or requirement of remuneration.

****

Vale, the headquarters of Renaissance Industries, Gaycan 53 Treichleam, dawn (Tōkyō time: Tuesday 3 April, suppertime; Anádyr’ time: Tuesday, mid-evening)…

It was the rather sweet music echoing from the nearby kitchen that work Blake Belladonna up.

Blinking as her gold-brown eyes adjusted to the low light, the native of Menagerie grunted as she moved to sit up in the bed she shared with Monica Khan overnight. The bedroom in question was in the top floor of the completed renovated warehouse, with a nice picture window opening to the south and the forest beyond the Beacon River. Smiling as her old lover mewed contently while still asleep — after the last two days' fun, the two had just collapsed in bed sometime after nightfall — the daughter of the founder of the White Fang smirked as she moved to dress, grateful that there was enough outside light allowed her to see without the need of using her excellent night vision to get dressed.

Her upper ears then perked as a soft voice echoed with the music…

Kyō ha oshaberi ne kitto nanika
Ikoto ga atta desho kikasete.
Isogashikute mo jikan awasete tabeyō…!

Futari kakomu table ha ichinichi no owari no happy.
Tumaranakatta koto baka na hanashi mo futari de share shiyō…!

Walking out of the bedroom, she found herself in a lounge. The top floor of Renaissance Industries had been set aside for quarters to shelter those people who didn't have homes or had been driven out of them. Right now, most of the hunters who had been attending Beacon were recovering from the previous two days' excitement here. Naturally, Vale's leadership were grateful to Isaac Thomas, who had ordered a battalion's worth of Robot Masters — humanoid combat machines armed with the latest weapons designed by the Wise Lone Sage and his replicant scientists — deployed two nights before to deal with the nearly-endless swarm of attacking Grimm unleashed by Cinder Fall; doing that turned a potential holocaust into something that was run-of-the-mill for Remnant these days. Considering that, Blake tensed as her stomach growled out the need for immediate nourishment, then she headed over to the small kitchenette.

Working there was a mauve-haired woman in her early teens, dressed in normal clothes with a kitchen apron draped over her. Understandably mistaking the cat ear-like black protrusions at the top of her head as actual ears marking this girl as Faunus, Blake's nose then flared to pick up the slight mineral tincture in the other girl's scent marking her a native of the world whose other residents had come over the past few months to bring MIRACLES to a long-suffering planet. Realizing that the "cat ears" on the young chef were simply a bandana just tied that way, she tensed as her stomach croaked again on her smelling the LARGE amount of food laying on nearby tables. Blake walked up to one, hand reaching out for what looked like enough tuna salad sandwiches to feed a THOUSAND Faunus like her…

"Dame desu no!"

The native of Menagerie yelped as a pair of amethyst eyes focused on her. "Those are for those poor people those silly boys hurt, Blake-san," the native of Nagoya who had come to Remnant at the invite of the Wise Lone Sage via the Spirit of Innocence declared as she wagged a gloved finger at the former terrorist. "Hime's making your breakfast right now. You sit there and have some juice." She pointed to an empty table. "The juice has all the vitamins you need because you didn't have a nice snack last night before you and Monica-san had your pillow scene." As Blake awked at what this younger girl said — she knew now what THAT phrase meant — the chef turned back to her cooking.

"'Morning…"

Blake turned as an older woman stepped into the kitchen. "Velvet," she said with a polite nod as the Faunus member of Team CFVY came into the room, her own stomach grumbling for nourishment.

"Hi, Blake…"

Suddenly, Velvet Scarlatina's nose twitched wildly as a wonderful symphony of scents assaulted her senses, then she literally seemed to teleport over to stand behind the chef…

SMACK!

"Velvet-san! You sit with Blake-san and have some juice!" the chef scolded after smacking the older girl's hand with her spoon. "Hime will have your carrot cake done as soon as the other cakes are ready! Now, be a good girl and SIT!"

Yelping, Velvet teleported over to her chair at the table the chef pointed at. Blake stared at her, then she shrugged as she moved to take her own seat. "Why are you cooking cake for Velvet?" the native of Menagerie then asked.

"It's not any cake, Blake-san," the chef stated. "It's her pre-Gifting snack combined with a nutritious breakfast for growing girls like you! Hime heard from Isaac-san that you like tuna, so Hime brought some fresh South Ring Ocean nadosu for you to eat!” Despite her wearing civilian clothes, the omniversal translator systems built into Yizibajohei fighting uniforms was always active, allowing the native Remnantians to understand what those strange food words meant. “It's full of protein to let you regain your strength from what that silly boy Adam did to you after he was so mean to poor Yáng-san! Just as the nice polar memr'bem I got for Velvet-san will help her recover as well! Using her gifts to make all those weapons would drain even someone from Yiziba, so Hime wants to make sure she gets the right Gift so she can support Coco-san, Fox-san and Yatsuhashi-san when they go beat up those silly Grimm!"

Both native women blinked away as they took that in…

****

In the main office, minutes later…

"She's HERE?!"

"Yes, Isaac," Mikazuki Yozora declared as she bowed to her creator. "Shirayuki teleported in from Earth two hours ago with bags full of food, then started to cook for everyone. There's enough food to feed all the people who were hurt by Cardin and his friends; she's making pre-Gifting snacks now in combination with breakfast for the huntsmen."

Moaning as the potential implications of the Nagoya-jin’s activities sank in, the Wise Lone Sage rolled to his feet. Not bothering with his cape, the native of Queens headed out of his main work office, then headed to the nearest stairwell; said office was on the third of four above-ground floors in the old warehouse. Yozora locked his office after he left, then followed him to the top floor. "I don't think Shirayuki is moving to pre-Gift everyone in Vale, Isaac…"

"Doing something like that would be a 'slow Tuesday' to her, Yozora," he answered the pretty raven-haired gynoid as he marched into the hallway leading to the lounges for people who had taken residence on the top floor, moving right away to where his goggles' scanners were now detecting the Great Chef of the West, Syuosekuo ("Küchenchefin"), was currently busy. Noting the presence of a good number of people he wanted to see Gifted, he picked up his pace.

Already seated at the table being shared with Blake Belladonna and Velvet Scarlatina, Coco Adel was shuddering in near-orgasmic joy as her nose — which wasn't as hypersensitive as her two Faunus schoolmates — picked up the sheer GORGEOUS scent of freshly-baked chocolate and fruit coming from one of the two ovens there. Also anxiously awaiting the chance to try out Osamu Shirayuki's wonderful cooking were the other members of Team CFVY, though Fox Alistair and Yatsuhashi Daichi weren't reacting to the heavenly smells emanating from where the young chef was working. As they waited, several normal workers in Renaissance Industries were taking the trays of sandwiches to where the refugees that had been forced to stay here over the last two days were quartered in lower floors…

"DAME DESU NO!"

Shirayuki shrieked on hearing that snapped bark, then she turned to glare intently at Isaac. "ISAAC-SAN!" she exclaimed, putting her fists to her hips. "ARE YOU STEALING HIME'S SCRIPT LINES?!"

As the natives gaped in shock, Isaac sighed. "Shirayuki-chan, much that I am BEYOND grateful that you're taking time from your spring break to help out here, but you can't pre-Gift ALL OF VALE!"

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

Then…

The Great Chef of the West blinked, then she nearly doubled over in laughter as footfalls heralded the arrival of another young metahuman. "Isaac-san! There you go! You're being silly again!" Saeru Hinako snapped as she stared at him from nearby, making the New Yorker blush at that sharp statement from the Spirit of Innocence. "Shirayuki-chan won't do something silly like that! Everyone KNOWS what could happen if too many people get Gifted at once, you know!"

Escorting her was the fourth of the Fukushima sisters. "Er…what does happen, Hinako-chan?" Fukushima Miyuki asked as she gazed warily at the woman who helped "salvage" her.

"Destructo-sensei might come, Miyuki-chan!"

That made the reborn destroyer who considered herself an adopted native of Yokosuka wince. She had known from the start that her present body was first moulded five millennia before in the "Second Great Expulsion", when the second version of the Healer of Destruction, Batae Erba ("Doctor Destructo"), emerged from the Great Crystal of Power to drive the Goa'uld off the planet in answer to their attempts at what would later come to be called "Gift thievery". During that time, the new incarnation of Yiziba's first true metahuman — a woman that time — created a nearly endless ARMY of synthetic battle dolls like what the first version of Infinity would create three millennia later, though they would be powerful and durable enough to go into space to deal with the Goa'uld fleet head-on. Thanks to the first-generation battle dolls being infused by massive doses of power from the Great Crystal, they were able to unleash a level of devastation on the enemy that would weaken the "children of the gods" to the point where they had to spend CENTURIES trying to rebuild themselves to the level which they had achieved prior.

"Desu no!" Shirayuki asserted before turning back to monitor the cakes she had cooking. As Monica Khan came in to sit beside Blake while wondering what was going on, the native of Nagoya hummed, her eyes sparkling. "Still, Hime liked it when Isaac-san asked Hime to come here! Hime is going to get the chance to feed a whole KINGDOM!"

Isaac paled. "Shirayuki…!"

"Hime's going to make very, very, very sure that everyone will be as fit as the Nameless on Yiziba…"

"YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"

"You HUSH, Isaac-san!" she snapped…before a disappointed look crossed her face as she checked the rice she was cooking. "Hime couldn't pre-Gift everyone here anyway!" she lamented with a sigh.

That made him come up short. "Huh…?"

"It's true, mate."

He turned as the Master of Plants came in. "Why?" Isaac asked of Neville Longbottom.

The native of Holdenhurst in Devonshire headed over to make some tea. "The soil has been poisoned too much by the Grimm over the years, Isaac," Neville warned as Shirayuki handed him a cup to use. "You ever wonder how easy it is for those things to operate even in 'cleared' areas like that? That death-cheater the headmaster used to date left bits of contaminated soil all over the place — even here in town itself where it's supposed to be 'safe' — to allow her to teleport those bloody dementor knock-offs in wherever she wanted to." As all the natives cried out in horror on hearing that, Neville raised his hand. "There is a tonne of GOOD news in this, though!" he clearly called out.

Isaac blinked. "What's that?"

"Hinako-chan isn't the ONLY one who likes to smell mist dandelions, Isaac-san!"

That was Shirayuki, who was gazing knowing at the older man. Considering that as the others in the room still blinked in confusion, Isaac then slumped. "Ayumu…!" he then breathed out.

"Oh, what did Ōsaka-san do NOW, Isaac-san?"

He turned as Mihama Chiyo came in, moving to adjust her tenné brown hair in their normal teardrop-shaped ponytails. "Ayumu once again proves that under that narcoleptic exterior of hers, there lies one SHARP cookie, Chiyo-chan!"

That made the Bright Genius of the Young Guns blink in confusion…

****

That moment, somewhere in Hokkaidō…

"AH-CHOO!"

Everyone — save one certain ninjutsu grandmaster — yelped on hearing that sneeze escape the Goddess Who Walks Among Men. "Someone is speaking of you right this moment, Ayumu," Moroboshi Negako calmly stated as she enjoyed the wonderful local tea that a smiling Amon Noa had prepared for her.

Kasuga Ayumu moaned as Noa's cousin Amon Shin handed her a handkerchief. "Ah! Thanks, Shin-kun!" the native of Wakayama breathed out. She gazed towards the ceiling of the meeting hall. "Oh, it was Isaac-kun."

"Concerning?" Negako pressed.

"Neville-kun told him why I had to spread those mist dandelions all over Vale."

That made the bruised Neopolitan blink. She had insisted on allowing her body's healing abilities to rid her of the bruises gained in bouts all morning and afternoon with Amon Jō left her; doing that earned her a tonne of respect from her hosts. "What's wrong?" the once-mute mercenary from Remnant asked. "I know that Neville's Vinclozolin…"

"Remnant's soil is too badly poisoned because of that Salem creep, Neo-chan," Ayumu explained. "You ever wonder how is it those dorky Grimm always pop up whenever people are walking around, even in 'safe' places? The soil's got too much naquadah which got spread around when Ayono-ojichan had to get rid of those two Ori who pretended to be Remnant's gods two sagas ago. That lets the Grimm literally teleport themselves in to cause trouble!"

As a pale Neo gaped as the true scale of what her people had been made to face over the centuries sank in, the leader of the Amon shook his head. "I hope Isaac-kun has a plan to deal with such a yōma!" Jō snapped, his fists clenching.

"It's still in first draft stage, Oji-chan! Don't worry, though. Folks like Chiyo-chan, Shirayuki-chan, Hinako-chan and Neville-kun are there to make sure Isaac-kun doesn't over-complicate things." Here, Ayumu moaned. "Man! No wonder Margo-chan got upset when Isaac-kun came up with such a dorky idea to save Ozpin-kōchōsensei and Pyrrha-chan! Going and FREEZING TIME for a moment to yank out Pyrrha-chan before that Cinder Fall creep moved to disintegrate her and put up a synthetic target instead?!" She shook her head. "Way, WAY too complicated!"

"Nikos is alive?" Neo asked.

"Hai! So is Penny-chan!"

That made the mercenary perk. "That titemyu that Rose was crushing on?"

"Hai!" Here, Ayumu sighed. "Poor Ruby-chan…"

"What is the issue, Ayumu-san?" Jō asked.

"It seems that young Ruby has inherited a Gift — almost on OUR scale — that allows her to destroy those Grimm wholesale, Master Jō," Leno Lu'umlo answered for Yiziba's most powerful metahuman. As Negako gazed intently at him, the Mad Prophet of the Future smirked. "During the battle in and around the Beacon Academy, she unleashed her Gift at the moment Mistress Pyrrha 'died', which was enough to literally FREEZE a local wyvern moving to destroy a teleportation unit housed at the school." As Neo gaped, he smirked. "It was as large as any Terran dragon species you might be aware of, my friend." Here, a churlish smile crossed the face of the reborn socialist preacher.

"Son of a bitch…!" Neo exhaled before she whistled. "Does she…?" Here, the once-mute mercenary blinked. "Oh, damn! She has Silver Eyes! No wonder she could clobber something that big!"

"Isaac is moving to wait until she is ready for a Gifting," Leno added.

"Are you going to interfere?" Jō asked.

"Please don't."

That was Ayumu, who was gazing knowingly at the native Yizibajohei. Leno blinked before he sighed. "No, I won't interfere with Miss Ruby. I'm sure there are others who could benefit from my offers."

Smiles crossed the faces of the others in the room at Leno's reply, even Negako's. No doubt, the Mad Prophet turned away from such a course out of a desire to NOT face the Infinite One for "butting into another person's fight scene", which was seen as a major faux pas among Yizibajohei as a whole. At that point, Jō finished his tea. "So, young Neo-kun. How do you feel now?" he wondered as he gazed intently at the late Roman Torchwick's chief assistant.

A smile answered him. "It's no wonder the Padre called you the greatest assassin on this planet, Master Jō. Even with the knowledge I inherited from my past-selves, I never stood a chance."

A delighted cackle answered her as Negako nodded in agreement. "To be fair to you, Neo-kun, you did FAR better than I initially expected. And it's good that your own native 'semblance' and 'aura' abilities weren't taken from you when you were Gifted. Your ability to fade and move invisibly to a new position to attack must have served you well in your battle against this Taurus fellow." As Neo scowled on hearing the name of the current field leader of the White Fang, Jō nodded. "As of this point, Trinia Vanille-kun, you are the newest member of the Amon-ichizoku," he then proclaimed, which made all the others in the room brighten, with Noa whooping in delight. "Your training will make what most people would consider immensely harsh to be a cakewalk in comparison."

Here, his dark eyes sparkled. "I have seen, fought and trained mighty warriors over the years, young lady. When I am finished with you, you will be able to count yourself among them!"

She gazed back at him, her mismatched eyes sparkling as images of her sinking dirks into the bodies of Cinder Fall and her friends, then Salem herself, flashed before her mind's eyes. "Sounds like fun."

****

Minutes later…

"So, you have not seen Tariko all this time?"

"Not for quite a number of storylines, Mistress Negako," the Mad Prophet of the Future said with a sigh as he walked with the Earth Angel and the Infinite One towards the main gate of the Amon Clan compound. "I know she is alive; her PAA is still in her bedroom at her cabin outside Kabe-koli. The last entry in her Book is dated from mid-September last year as you would tell time here on Earth. As to where she could have gone, I simply cannot say."

That made Moroboshi Negako hum. As she was a physical clone of the long-missing Tariko Katabarbe (née Moroboshi Ataru), she had reasons to be concerned as to the younger woman's current whereabouts. Yes, there had been many times when the would-be Trickster of the Show who had innocently launched Earth's second Age of Metahumans with such a bang over a decade ago would disappear for a while before re-emerging and returning to her country cabin on Yiziba's northern polar continent; that was where she had been raised by her spiritual TRUE mother (until Ayone Katabarbe's death by heartbreak) after fleeing a loveless home in Tomobiki outside Tōkyō proper…

Wait…

Tomobiki…?

"Ayumu, have you been able to sense into Tomobiki recently?"

That made Kasuga Ayumu perk. "No! Haven't really thought of looking towards there. Schoolwork and other things get in my way." She then blinked. "Hey, wait a minute! The last two girls that Tariko-chan wrote about in the Book were from Tomobiki! Inu Chigaiko-chan and Tsuruya Rumiko-chan! I don't know if they were Gifted, but…"

"Actually, Shihan-sama, we could look into this."

Negako gazed upon Amon Shin, who had been escorting them off the property. "Yes, that would be a good thing," the current Steward of the Moroboshi Clan of Mutsu — responsible for administering the family's assets in the name of Tariko's late grandmother Moroboshi Nagaiwakai until the new matriarch came of age — mused. "Shin, be VERY cautious," she then bade as she gazed on the raven-haired assassin, making him instantly stiffen at that warning from Earth's first true artificial intelligence. "It would have taken much in the way of power to entrap Tariko in Tomobiki — IF she is there, of course — without triggering her Gifting ahead of time. If someone in Japan or anywhere on Earth is responsible, they clearly must be acting in a way to keep her presence there completely hidden."

He considered that before his eyes widened. "The alien invasion from October?!"

"What alien invasion?!" Leno demanded.

"The Urusians," Negako answered.

That made the Mad Prophet of the Future blink before a look of disgusted outrage crossed his face as his own fists clenched. "THEM?!" he exclaimed, spinning on Negako. "You actually are moving to abase yourselves before the likes of THEM?! Mistress Negako, they've been wrecked once…!"

"Redet Lum is the second entry in The Book of Pretty Girls, Leno."

That caused the reborn socialist preacher to screech to a halt. "Tariko actually saved an UMALE?!"

"Calm down, Leno-kun!" Ayumu said, waving the older man down. "After I got Gifted, some dork caught Lum-chan in the Terrible Swamps near her home outside Onishuto and put a POWER-DAMPENING COLLAR on her!" As Leno gasped in horrified disbelief — even if he saw the natives of the fourth world of Oniboshi over forty light-years from Earth as nothing more than "umale" who deserved to eventually go extinct, he would NEVER care to hear of ANY metahuman being forced to LOSE his/her abilities — the native of Wakayama added, "It was a good thing I heard her all the way from Yiziba! Tariko-chan and I went there to see what was going on, I zapped Lum-chan with an Infinite Wave, then it was all taken care of!" She then gave him a stern look. "Sure, the Urusian leaders are all dorks! But Tariko-chan would NEVER go for something like what we did to them twenty-seven miniseries ago!"

A disgusted snort answered her. "Do not be sure of THAT, young lady!"

In a flash of energy, he vanished. "Ai-cha…!" Shin hissed.

"Do not concern yourself, Shin," Negako stated. "Have Tomobiki investigated when you can do so. Be CAUTIOUS in doing it for the reasons I just explained. Do not bother Trivia; she needs to concentrate on more important things."

He nodded. "Hai, Shihan-sama! We'll contact you via the usual routes if we learn something."

"You have my thanks."

With that, Ayumu gently squeezed her friend's arm, then they teleported away…

****

An hour later, back in Vale (local time: Gaycan, an hour before breakfast)…

"Good morning, everyone."

Hearing that calm voice, people looked over, then Coco Adel whooped. "Professor!"

Shannon Ozpin chuckled as he adjusted his glasses, though he didn't resist as several of the female huntsmen who had gathered to await some good food embraced him; seeing the current incarnation of the Undying Warrior Sage of Remnant back on planet was enough to brighten the days of many people there. "There, there, people," he said after Blake Belladonna hugged him. "I have to say from what I saw of the Academy grounds before coming here, you all performed splendidly two nights ago. Despite certain issues…" — a scowl crossed his face as he gazed at the smaller pile of sandwiches Osamu Shirayuki made for normal people — "…you should all be proud of your performance."

Delighted blushes crossed people's faces…even if some knew it would have been MUCH worse hadn't their current host intervened like he did. "How long before the Academy is reopened, Professor?" Yatsuhashi Daichi asked.

Ozpin sat before he blinked as a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows was placed before him by Shirayuki. "Thank you, Miss Osamu," he said with a nod of thanks. "It will be a while, Mister Daichi. We must gain intelligence on what Salem plans to do now. Atop that, with Miss Rose having just woken this morning, the 'diversion' she'll perform with Mister Arc, Miss Valkyrie and Mister Len can start. I assume Miss Schnee has returned to Atlas, Miss Belladonna?"

"She flew out after midnight with her sister," Blake responded as Monica Khan squeezed her hand. "Once I'm ready to go, I'll head over to Patch to help Yáng get back on her feet. I'll hold off on making the 'sales pitch' until Ruby and the others are on their way to Mistral," she added with a raised hand as the headmaster gazed at her. "Once that's all done, we can go down to Menagerie to meet with my parents and Monica's aunt, then keep Adam nice and tamed."

"If that's even possible," Monica snidely added.

Rueful chuckles filled the room…before a buzzing noise echoed from an alarm located by one of the ovens. Shirayuki perked, then she headed over to gaze inside the lit-up space, her amethyst eyes narrow as she used her powers to scan the cakes she just made. "Desu no!" she declared as she turned off the oven, then moved to get protective gloves on to draw out the food. "All nice and warm for people to enjoy! Hinako-chan, could you get more juice, please?"

"Hai, Shirayuki-chan!"

As Saeru Hinako headed to a large walk-in refrigerator to pull out jugs of juice to have them passed around with the help of the Fukushima sisters to everyone waiting for meals, Shirayuki moved to extract the cakes she just made. The incredible mixture of smells — chocolate, vanilla, many types of fruit and vegetables, fish and other sea foods, chicken and other forms of fowl — made the young huntsmen shudder in delight as they waited for the Great Chef of the West to present her current round of culinary masterpieces to them. Off to one side, the already-Gifted huntsmen from Mistral and Atlas could only smile in anticipation. Much that the non-Gifted natives couldn't really sense it now, but Penny Polendina and Pyrrha Nikos could tell that all the various types of food used here had been brought straight from Yiziba, which would help compensate for the gross LACK of mesonium in Remnant's biosphere needed to ensure the Giftings would happen without much in the way of what Isaac Thomas called "post-Gifting shock".

Once all the cakes had been inspected, service began. "First, to Blake-san!" Shirayuki announced as she brought one over. "A nice mixture of nadosu, tuor'besam and mixed vegetables, all for a growing girl. This should make your hair nice and shiny for when Hime can make your wedding cake after you marry Monica-san and Yáng-san!"

Blake exclaimed in shock from the young chef's words while Monica found herself humming and the others laughed as they toasted the Faunus member of Team RWBY. Next came the niece of the current leader of the White Fang. "Hime heard Monica-san likes salmon and pork, so Hime made a nice mixture of North Ring Ocean rati with western equatorial continent yoku to go with some fresh ekedu since you like strawberries as well! Wait your chance!"

The dark-skinned feline therianthrope was practically drooling. "Salmon, warthog AND strawberries?!"

More laughter from the others as Shirayuki headed back. "Velvet-san gets a nice cake full of chopped memr'bem with mulched padu and tamsam, all mixed in a perfect flour made of ripe dutonae from the southern polar continent!" she announced as she brought over the cake for the Faunus member of Team CFVY. "Sharp eyesight is always important."

Velvet Scarlatina squealed, her body swaying to and fro as she grasped her fork and knife. "Wait, Velvet-san!" Shirayuki scolded before heading back to the table. "For Coco-san, we have Hime's perfect rendition of Tariko-san's own special black forest cake! It's made of fresh southern polar continent tyuotutosete with layers of yuoguo fruit and sauce, perfectly whipped cream taken from northern polar continent rimyuo milk, all in a lean batter of r'buonyato mixed with tuor'besam and a nice touch of western equatorial continent hoguor'bo to give it that sweet taste!"

Coco was virtually glistening with anticipation. "Cake…!"

"And it WON'T add inches to your waist!" the young chef added.

An ear-splitting squeal escaped the leader of Team CFVY, which made Fox Alistair wince. "Dame desu no!" Shirayuki scolded. "Don't shout like that! You hurt Fox-san's ears when you do that, Coco-san!"

The native of Vale winced as her freshman initiation partner patted her shoulder in reassurance. Now the female member of Team FNKI was up. "Hime made a slightly different version of Blake-san's cake for Neon-san!" Shirayuki announced as she brought over a beautiful tuna-vanilla-and-vegetable cake, which had a top layer of dark cherries baked in. "Neon-san likes cherries, so she gets a big serving of northern polar continent yuoguo for today!"

"Thank you!" Neon Katt crooned. "Are you single?!"

"Neon!" Flynt Coal cried out. "She's just a KID!"

"Hai, Flynt-san's right!" Shirayuki lamented with a slight rocking of her head. "Hime's too young for pillow scenes!"

Seated nearby, Hinako's nose scrunched. "Hina doesn't WANT to think of mushy stuff!"

The locals all gaped, then Flynt moaned, his head drooping. "Aliens…!"

Everyone gazed on the Atlesian dust trader's son, then laughter filled the room…

****

That moment, back on Earth in a certain hidden Siberian ocean cove (local time: Tuesday, an hour before midnight)…

"Oh, Amaterasu-ōmikamisama, you were so beautiful this day…"

Well into the first watch that covered the four hours before midnight — it was astronomical twilight over Sano-wan, the Sun having set sometime ago — the seventh carrier of Operation Z stood outside the ice barrier that had trapped her since the day that earthquake imprisoned her crew for an exile that would last over SEVENTY-ONE years.

Rising after prostrating herself in the direction of the Sun in respects to the Queen of the Kami and the ancestress of Japan's ruling dynasty, Itō Yoiko knelt again, facing the North Pole and the being that arranged for her transformation fifteen hours before. "Mighty Túndra, Oldest of All, this unworthy one thanks Thee for Your Benevolence and Your Patronage with the Great Spirit of the Universe that granted my warrior spirit a proper shell to fight the threats looming over the domains of You and Your Brother Great Old Ones, all who protected the ancestors of humanity from the dire threats of the demons who wished to see Mother Earth burn," she intoned as she prostrated towards the Emperor of the Arctic. "This unworthy one hopes You would reach out to Your Brother Great Old Ones to allow the warrior spirits of my fleet mates and my peers worldwide to rise from the deep and help shield our shared Mother as one."

Closing her eyes as she mentally prayed to the Kami to entreat of all the Great Old Ones to do just that, the adopted native of Maizuru then relaxed in seiza, interlacing her fingers in her lap as she allowed her mind to meditate. Being born from the dreams and hopes of THOUSANDS beyond her beloved crew who shaped her as she was built in Special Dock No. 1 — which was filled in once it was flooded and her hull towed to the fitting out jetty after her christening on 15 August 1940, exactly one week after her "eldest" sister THG Yamato was launched at the Kure yards near Hiroshima — her very soul had been moulded and shaped by those dreams and hopes to make her as she was today.

First, there was the nationalist, militarist-driven fervour that saw her planned initially as an extended version of the Yamato-class with an extra turret mounting three more Type 94 naval guns in "X" position. The decision to rebuild her as the ultimate aircraft carrier, carrying a whole AIR FLOTILLA of a hundred and forty combat planes in her hull, both armoured to make her a virtual fortress at sea and powered to match the speed of the fleet carriers then in commission despite her displacing over TWICE the size of ships like THG Akagi or THG Kaga! Building her in top secrecy at Maizuru, whose small bay forced her to be simply floated out of dry dock on her christening in 1940. The speed by which she was constructed in comparison to her sisters, helped at the order of the greatest of Japan's magical warriors, the Dark Lady of the Orient herself, to make her an addition to the plans to rip down the useless Statute of Secrecy and force humanity to live as one society; such had been provoked by the dawn of the Metahuman Age coinciding with the Great Depression. The decision to name her Yonaga, poetically meaning "Eternal Era", to throw off Western spies and leave them floundering as to what type of ship she was. The decision to make Yonaga's crew DISAPPEAR into the abyss of Unit 731 of the Imperial Army, a stunning measure given the deep and bloody rivalry between the Empire's main combat arms…but unbelievably successful none the less. Then the voyage north to Sano-wan, discovered by personnel of Yonaga's host unit — who, admittedly, wanted to seek places to launch plague-filled balloon bombs on America if deemed necessary — and named in tribute to Unit 731's chief liaison, Colonel Sano Akira, who made the discovery. Said discovery being enhanced due to the sheer WINDFALL of diamond and ruby mesonium deposits in the soil and the surrounding glaciers, never mind the wonderful geothermal port at the inner end of the cove which could be tapped into for auxiliary power as the crew worked up and prepared themselves to climb Mount Niitaka.

Then came the twenty-eighth day of September in 1941…

An earthquake struck northeast Siberia, one powerful enough to jar loose the glaciers at the mouth of the cove, sending them crashing to block the entrance of Sano-wan opening to the Arctic Ocean. Such had killed Colonel Sano and his crew, who used a midget submarine to locate the bay; they had been preparing to head back to Japan and relay orders from Fujita Hiroshi to his subordinate Nagumo Chūichi aboard Akagi concerning the final tweaks on Operation Z. The horror and panic that flooded Yonaga's crew at that moment; because of the layers of secrecy covering the fifth of the Yamato-class ships and her location in Soviet territory, there was no way to send an SOS to Japan to get a ship north to blast her clear so she could carry out the mission without launching a two-front war against ALL the Allies along the way. But the crew's training — which was extraordinary since the veteran of Tsushima put in charge of Operation Z to lead the attack on Pearl Harbour hand-picked most of his flagship's officers and senior petty officers to give Yonaga that extra fighting chance to compensate for lack of experience — kicked in. Survival became the name of the game. Measures were taken to preserve all fuel and perishables while a couple holes were blasted through the glaciers to see the carrier's whaleboats sent out for fishing duties. By the time the actual call to commit the attack was transmitted from Imperial Navy headquarters in December — along with a "Z" code that was the official sign to commission THG Yonaga as a ship of the Imperial Navy — a steady stream of fish, local cloudberry fruit and sea plants were flowing from the Chúkchi Sea and the area of the Bering Strait to keep everyone in perfect shape; such was augmented by daily calisthenics drills for all crew on the flight deck, topped by constant battle stations training covering everything from launching and recovering airplanes to fighting the ship itself in times of total darkness and power failure.

While the transmissions received over shortwave concerning the "day of infamy" brightened everyone's hopes that the war would be swift, future transmissions — especially after the debacle of Midway — sickened everyone to the point that Fujita came to realize the war was now one of annihilation. And given America's resources and the sheer volcano of rage that resulted from the attack on Pearl Harbour, it would take the Kami themselves to save their homeland.

Then came the fifteenth day of August in 1945…

Yoiko clearly recalled the levels of outrage when HIS voice echoed over shortwave in what came to be called the Daitōa-sensō Shūketsu no Shōsho, the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the Greater East Asia War. Recognized by her junior navigation officer — whose overall clan had served the Imperial Family for a millennium and more as the Heavenly Sovereign's hidden eyes and ears on society as a whole — the news was met with a tsunami of denials and disbelief. In the way of thinking that ran through the hearts of the warriors of Japan in that time, there was simply NO WAY that the Heavenly Sovereign of all people would call for SURRENDER of all things! Clearly, that "Rescript" was some sort of foul TRICK by the Americans — or worse, the Soviets! — to make loyal soldiers of the Empire lay down their arms, thus leave their homeland vulnerable to vengeful attacks by the Allies.

Then over time…sober realization sank in.

As years became decades and the hopes of freeing Yonaga from her prison ended up becoming hinged on prayers for another Kami-sent earthquake — or the benevolent intercession of Earth's oldest sentient being, whose presence in the region had been properly confirmed by many new friends the carrier's crew had made in those long decades — people began to think about what they had overheard during those three-and-a-half years of violent conflict called the "Greater East Asia War". Shortwave was still a viable form of communication to all the nations, with messages heard in the clear thanks to Yonaga's receivers; their part of the Arctic region wouldn't be struck by what recently was called "climate change" until a decade ago. The horrors of more war — none of which had involved Japan, quite ironically! — though it hadn't progressed to the outbreak of the long-feared "World War Three", fuelled by the dreaded nuclear weapons that supposedly made their appearance days before the "Jewel Voice Broadcast". Radical, revolutionary, social change in nations, Japan included, in the 1960s, mostly as a response of the rise of "baby boomers" born after the end of the Greater East Asia War moving to take their place in society. The leaps of scientific advancement that saw men walk on the Moon for the first time in 1969, led by a Navy pilot from Ohio; much to the delight of the carrier's living kami, all the pilots of her on-board air group raised cups of sake in toast to Neil Armstrong's call from thousands of kilometres away: "That's one small step for man. One giant leap for mankind."

And then came the twentieth of November in 1983…

Another earthquake struck the region, this one appearing to have the power necessary to dislodge the glaciers trapping Yonaga within and allowing her to head out on a VERY long-delayed mission to Hawai'i. But the Fates once again judged against the crew of the Seventh Carrier; the ice didn't clear away enough and aftershocks would see MORE glaciers slam into the mouth of the bay, making extraction from Sano-wan all but impossible. The crew's hopes were crushed that night, resulting in the breaking out of the carrier's stores of hard liquor for the first time as people got drunk and thoughts of suicide sank hard on many. Fortunately, Lieutenant Moroboshi Kyōsuke was there to whip everyone back into shape, advising people that Fate clearly meant something SPECIAL for the crew of the Yonaga which forced them to remain in Sano-wan. Given the intermittent times magical poachers found the place called "Svjetjjílische" by the cove's original residents to get sex-slaves, the crew believed they had to repay the many things the gamájun did for them over the decades before giri and ninjō was seen as properly satisfied; only THEN would the metamorphic avians' ancient patron see the ice swept clear to let them sail the high seas once more.

Yoiko knew how much of a lie that had been. Unlike most of her crew, Kyōsuke was a passionate Taoist who didn't care for the warped type of Bushidō that had been prevalent among soldiers and sailors of the Imperial armed forces when the march to the Second World War began. Being a properly-trained shinshoku despite his true faith, the native of Sendai became Yonaga's effective chaplain, gladly administering to people's spiritual needs over the decades they lived and thrived in Sano-wan. Unlike many of the carrier's command staff, Kyōsuke had BELIEVED in the call to surrender in 1945. He KNEW the voice of his very own godfather over the radio! He KNEW deep in his heart that it would have taken a VERY extraordinary set of events to force the Heavenly Sovereign's hand in that matter. And he had SENSED the unleashing of the Moroboshi Clan's most sacred treasure — the sentient storehouse of a millennium's worth of ninjutsu knowledge addressed by all as simply the Saikō Jinseijutsu; such a being was allowed to reside within the subconscious mind of Kyōsuke's own father Moroboshi Ryūbi — during the evening of the fourteenth of August in 1945 in an aside to the Kyūjō Incident; doing such would see the being informally named "Moroboshi Negako" virtually SLAUGHTER the remaining metahuman warriors of the Black Dragon Society, thus preventing a potential CIVIL WAR to break out within a devastated nation once it had been occupied by the Americans.

Then the Kami — or perhaps the Christian God, maybe? — shone a light on things.

That was thanks to a man named Theodore Ross…

****

In the skies over Nerima in Tōkyō, that moment (local time: Tuesday, two hours after supper)…

"Oh, man! How did THIS happen?!"

Those people who knew her would immediately tell everyone that Kasuga Ayumu — known almost exclusively as "Ōsaka" these days thanks to one Takino Tomo — was nothing more than a narcoleptic bonkura who was slow and spacey. Of course, Ayumu didn't really do anything to challenge that.

Even if she was Gifted with the power to remould UNIVERSES over eleven years ago…

Being the twenty-eighth incarnation of the Goddess Who Walks Among Men, Ayumu knew how frightening her reality-warping abilities could be to the average person. How she could turn day into night and back again by mentally shifting a planet around, unleash a hurricane of poison as she had done in Vale on Remnant, reverse disasters with just a thought, unleash cleansing echoes of her power — the Infinite Wave — to clear out whole solar systems if need be…

Not to mention save a poor child from the planet Uru from being seen as a cripple among her people.

As Ayumu had done to one Redet Lum of Onishuto mere days after the former's Gifting.

That had been done at the behest of the first true friend of the native of Wakayama…

…who was now proverbially STUCK in the town she had fled from years before.

To say anything of being forced back to being a BOY after spending eleven years maturing as a GIRL!

Not to mention having all memories of her/his true home wiped from her/his mind.

Scowling as her meta-sight locked in on Tariko Katabarbe — known to everyone in Tomobiki by her/his birth name "Moroboshi Ataru" — struggling as he was being choked by a transformed Oni-Urusian pilot, Ayumu resisted the urge to teleport in there, scare the heck of the natives of the fourth world of Oniboshi, then use her power to transform Tariko to the way she should be…which would see her Gifted. "Darn it, Tariko-chan! I warned you this could happen!" the native of Wakayama hissed as she raised her hand, thumb and middle fingers poised.

"…ate one of MY cakes?! Those are the special cakes I made just for Rei-sama 'cause it'll expand one hundred…!"

"URRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAGH…!"

"…times once eaten! How DARE you interrupt my date with such a moronic excuse?!"

"Oops! Sorry! I didn't know the cake was for you!"

Ayumu slumped. "Oh, man…!"

SNAP!

A loud rumbling inside the Moroboshi home made the people in there pause…

KK-KRUNCH!

KK-KRACK!

"Mooooooo…!"

"Ran-chan's hurting, Okā-chan…!"

As the clearly amnesiac Tariko panted in relief after CINDER BLOCKS from out of nowhere had been dropped on the skull of the ushitora which was her/his "wife's" ex-fiancé Seq Rei — not to mention the frontier pilot's would-be wife Aruka Ran — the warlord's daughter from Onishuto blinked after prostrating herself in front of her childhood friend. Noting the very nice lumps on the heads of two people she was now starting to see more as annoyances than real friends, she then perked as her "darling" moved to shove the dazed Rei over the edge of the veranda, dropping him head-first onto the lawn a floor below! Once that was done, Lum herself nodded, then snared Ran by the collar of her dress, tossing her out of "Ataru's" bedroom to drop down right on her would-be husband. As Tariko winced on seeing someone s/he was attracted to hurt like that — it seemed THAT part of the soul of Ayumu's first true friend hadn't changed at all — the Oni teenager picked up the very heavy blocks of moulded concrete, then dropped each of them on the heads of her dazed countrymen below. After the last one was smashed hard on Ran's skull, Lum then snapped, "RAN-CHAN NO BAKA! NEXT TIME, KEEP YOUR DAMNED FOOD TO YOURSELF!"

She sent a massive torrent of bio-electricity down to make both Ran and Rei do the equivalent of a funky chicken dance before they regained some semblance of conscious thought, then fled the Moroboshi property. As Lum snarled after them before moving to tend to her "husband", Ayumu breathed out in relief. "Man, this is going to be a real bummer to fix," the Infinite One muttered as she allowed her meta-sight to take in all in Tomobiki and leading to and from it.

Put simply, it was a MESS!

Someone planted HUNDREDS of ebony mesonium crystals in the soil at the borders of the various neighbourhoods in Nishitōkyō that made up the former town of Tomobiki, creating a shield that kept people inside effectively isolated from the outside world. It wouldn't stop anyone from physically entering or leaving, but the shield incorporated elements of magical charms such as the Fidelius to serve as a perfect information block via ALL means — from word of mouth to newspapers to radio and television and even the Internet! — from flowing in and out of Tomobiki. Even more, said shield effectively JAMMED all TWENTY ley lines that intersected in the southern part of Tomobiki itself, right under a hill where a very old — and very SICK, Ayumu was quick to note — cherry tree called the Tarōzakura now stood. Because of that, all sorts of akuma and yōma and other such beings were effectively TRAPPED in Tomobiki, their presence influencing the people living there in negative ways. Even more so, at that nexus of those ley lines, a being somewhat like what Moroboshi Negako had been before the Infinite One herself gave her a battle doll body shortly after the encounter with Lum on Uru was now starting to develop, metaphysically reaching out to influence the minds of everyone within the town to think, remember and believe in certain things.

The GOOD news was that said shield currently extended up like a funnel right to edge of outer space and merged with various metaphysical shields, allowing this information roadblock enforced on those living inside Tomobiki — and perhaps those who frequently visited there — to be extended to any potential alien visitors coming to Earth from afar.

It didn't take Ayumu long to realize what all this was for.

Someone had gone to a HUGE amount of trouble to make Tariko seem like a NORMAL Earth person.

And given that Lum clearly saw "Ataru" now as her HUSBAND…!

Sadly nodding, the native of Wakayama teleported herself back to her bedroom in Itabashi.

She had to think hard as to what to do about this…

****

Back on Remnant at Renaissance Industries, an hour later (local time: Gaycan, an hour after breakfast)…

"Um…Master Neville…?"

A certain magical native of Holdenhurst in Dorsetshire blinked, then he looked over. "What is it?" Neville Longbottom asked as he handed a newly-sprouted northern polar continent masa plant in a pot to a grateful woman while young hunters from Beacon moved to distribute lunch and supper rations prepared by Osamu Shirayuki, then he gazed on the vulpine therianthrope child that had attracted Pyrrha Nikos' attention the previous evening in a nearby warehouse.

The young girl blushed as her bushy tail swished; she was old enough to be able to subconsciously control that appendage to better display her mood. "Um, Master Neville, Mistress Chiyo told Mom that you were some sort of villain back on Yiziba," she said before looking down. "Um…if that's so…?"

A laugh escaped the Master of Plants before he looked to one of the local staff from Renaissance Industries. "We got enough here for the time being, mate. Make sure every family gets one."

"Of course, Master Neville," the local man affirmed with a nod before he smiled at the young Faunus.

Neville waved the girl to follow her to a nearby couch so they could sit; her mother had already collected her family's new plant to put down in one of the open-air parks near their home. Doing such would serve as a massive new source of mesonium to inject directly into the very soil, thus rendering the naquadah and whatever else had been in the underlying terrain for centuries inert and effectively sanitizing the area from the death cheater who had been moving to destroy humanity on this world for the past two millennia. "In my battle line, that's been normally true," he explained. "But it's with good reason, though." he added as he held up a finger to emphasize his point, winking at her.

"Why's that?"

"Well, on Yiziba, there are many types of metahumans. You can break them down into several broad categories. I'm a psychic-type since I can manipulate plants with the power of my mind. My magic also marks me as a psychic-type."

"What other types are there, Master Neville?"

"Well, you have Chiyo and Isaac. Both are ultra-intelligent; thus, they can invent a lot of things, developing science in a way that pushed our planet's technological levels to make us the high-water mark of the whole GALAXY!" As she gasped on hearing that — the androids and gynoids working at RI had started given their co-workers and relatives some basic lessons on what lay beyond the Oum system — he added, "In fact, three of them — two being part of the current generation — helped save all of Yiziba from the mess the Dawn of Power left behind. But…" He shrugged. "They really didn't go far enough in the eyes of MY first-self. He wanted Yiziba to return fully to Nature's overall control."

She considered that before humming. "No more cities, you mean."

He nodded, a wistful smile crossing his face. "Yeah. And it could have been done, believe it or not. The Circle of Thought — that's the three people I just mentioned now — could easily build great space stations for our first-selves to live in while Yiziba healed. They didn't. What was worse, many who were part of another type of metahuman started wrecking things the Circle's inventions fixed up. They're what we call 'FISS-types'."

"'FISS-types'?"

That was Fox Alistair, who with the members of Team CFVY had been helping with plant distribution. As they came over to listen to the wizard's tale, Neville nodded. "The term is an acronym, Mister Alistair. 'F-I-S-S'," he spelled out. "It means 'Flight, Invulnerability, Super-Strength and Super-Speed'. Chiyo's friend Takino Tomo is a FISS-type."

"The 'silly person' who gave Lady Ayumu that horrible nickname, you mean," Velvet Scarlatina noted.

"Same bloody idiot," he said with a snort as he relaxed in the sofa. "People similar to the Fukushima sisters, actually." As the young girl boggled — the locals had been given a demonstration of the reborn destroyers' powers late last night when stories began being passed about the homeworld of the One Above the Gods — he added, "Almost one-fourth of Yizibajohei are believed to be FISS-types. Now, if they can control themselves, it's no issue. But you get wildcats like Takino — who's one of the top FISS-types on the planet, Merlin save us! — who are too comfortable tearing many SQUARE KILOMETRES of countryside apart just to beat down an opponent. And my first-self said, 'No'!"

"He vowed to fight it, you mean," Coco Adel mused.

Neville nodded as his sharp eye picked up a faint silvery-reddish glow emanating from her exposed skin. Inwardly smiling — it was seen among most Terran-born Yizibajohei as "spoiling the reveal scene" when they saw the obvious first signs of a Gifting going down — he nodded. "Right. Since most FISS-types are bloody 'save everyone's arses possible' Gryffindor-types, my first-self got labelled as a 'heel', which is the rough equivalent of a villain here."

"But your first-self had reasons to do that!" the young girl protested with a raised finger, which made the older teens look her way. "You're like Blake's father or Monica's aunt…!"

"True. But you got to remember that people — even people from the same society or cultural group — often have MANY ways of looking at things," Neville advised. "Look at Miss Adel's classmates. We have a Faunus in Miss Scarlatina as part of her team. But then look at Mister Winchester and his friends. They don't like Faunus at all. All of you are from this very city." He then sighed. "In a way, you're pretty lucky. It's way worse where I come from."

"What does that mean, Neville?" Fox asked.

"There are humanoid and near-humanoid magical species living on Earth," he reported, making people gape. "The effective leaders of MANY magical societies back home don't care for them, think them as 'animals'," the Terran-turned-Yizibajohei chlorokinetic affirmed, his voice dripping with scorn. "Like…"

Tene lomher'buo, Coco Adel…!

A shocked cry escaped the tall, fashionable woman as she bolted to her feet. At Isaac Thomas' suggestion, all those who had been pre-Gifted by the Great Chef of the West earlier in the morning were made to change into the silver crystalline jumpsuits that traditionally marked those on Yiziba as being ready to "dance with the Great Crystal of Life"; to not offend the local's sensibilities, the more traditional sleeved patterns of jumpsuit had been issued to those who requested it, including even a fashion-hound like Coco. As her whole body began to glow as bright as Oum at high noon, people cried out as they shielded their eyes, wanting to see this happen before things became too harsh to…!

Nesu…BUOLEM!

"YES!" the now-Gifted Valean howled as her uniform turned into a more modern form-fitting jumpsuit in the umber-brown shade that was the main colour of her normal huntsman's clothing. With chocolate-brown pouch-lined belt and matching buccaneer boots along with straps of brown leather-like material on her upper and lower arms and upper legs her uniform came complete with a hollow square insignia filled with sixteen four-point stars in perfect formation.

Recognizing the insignia of the Human Legion, Buolem ("Phalanx"), Neville could only nod before he gazed at his young questioner. "If you want to know, Miss, Miss Adel just became a FISS-type."

"Well, ain't I lucky then, Neville-kun…!"

The wizard-turned-chlorokinetic gasped. "Tomo…?!"

A silver gloved hand landed on Coco's shoulder…

…then in a flash of light, she disappeared! "COCO!" Velvet screamed in horror…

To Be Continued…!

****

WRITER'S NOTES

Translation of Issho no Tabeyō, which was Osamu Shirayuki's theme song for the second Sister Princess anime series, Sister Princes Re Pure; the song was performed in the omake of the eleventh episode, "The Box of Memories":

Kyō ha oshaberi ne kitto nanika
Ikoto ga atta desho kikasete.
Isogashikute mo jikan awasete tabeyō…!

(Today, you are talkative. Maybe
There was something good. Tell me about it.
Even if we're busy, let's eat meals together…!)

Futari kakomu table ha ichinichi no owari no happy.
Tumaranakatta koto baka na hanashi mo futari de share shiyō…!

(At the end of the day, we're happy sitting around the table.
Let's share some talk and gossip…!)

For those who don't know, Shirayuki always speaks of herself in third-person as Hime ("Princess"). This stems from the translation of her name ("snow white") as well as serves as one of many in-jokes that dotted Sister Princess.

Translation list and source language (all Yizibajohei unless noted): Dame desu no — Don't/Stop (Shirayuki-speak Japanese); Nadosu — Tuna; Memr'bem — Carrot; First draft — Yizibajohei euphemism for an initial plan; Titemyu — Literally "machine woman", this is the Yizibajohei term for a gynoid; Storyline — Yizibajohei term for a month, lasting 36/37 Earth days on average; Miniseries — Yizibajohei term for a decade; Tuor'besam — Vanilla; Rati — Salmon; Yoku — Warthog; Ekedu — Strawberry; Padu — Lettuce; Tamsam — Cabbage; Dutonae — Corn; Tyuotutosete — Chocolate; Yuoguo — Cherry; Rimyuo — Goat; R'buonyato — Wheat; Hoguor'bo — Wine; Shinshoku — Literally "employee of the Kami", one of the official titles of a Shintō shrine priest (Japanese); Masa — Oak; Battle line — Yizibajohei term for the people who share the same Gift over the generations.

Yakuza character notes: Amon Noa first appeared in Yakuza 5. Her kinsman Amon Shin first appeared in the spin-off game Judge Eyes: Shinigami no Yuigon.

The Dark Lady of the Orient first appeared in Fred's second Wizards and Avalonians side stories to Phoenix From the Ashes.

The scene with Tariko Katabarbe (AKA Moroboshi Ataru), Redet Lum, Aruka Ran and Seq Rei is a carry-on from the Urusei Yatsura manga story "My Darling's Peril" (manga chapter #162).

Chapter 9: Wild Passions

Summary:

Coco Adel has now been Gifted as the Human Legion.

That's good...but there's a 'test' the leader of Team CFVY now has to face.

That's the wildcat of the Azuma Gang herself, the Wild Warrior of Passion, Warwind AKA Takino Tomo!

Will she survive...?

Chapter Text

DISCLAIMER: Concurrent with fair dealing clauses of the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada and fair use clauses in copyright legislation in other nations, this is a work that was created solely for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, it is posted freely on the Internet without expectation or requirement of remuneration.

****

Yokohama, near Kumeta High School, Tuesday 3 April, mid-evening ( Brockton Bay time: Tuesday, breakfast; Pensacola/Davenport time: Tuesday, an hour before breakfast; London time: Tuesday, an hour after lunch; Vale time: Gaycan 53 Treichleam, An hour after breakfast)…

“…thank you for saving her, ma’am. I can’t believe that she got hurt so bad…”

“Hmph! Even with all she did, to be brought down LOW like that…!”

“HEY!”

“Arthur, is that necessary?”

Silence then echoed through the mind of the Watchful One, Lemyo (“Oracle”), born Ōra Kanako as the miasmic vision her cosmic clairvoyance played out while she moved to dress in her normal outsized clothes.

“I do apologize, ma’am. I’m not particularly fond of failure .”

“‘Failure’?” challenged the white-skinned regal woman with the red blood streaks indicative that her physical form clearly wasn’t fully up to snuff when it came to mastering whatever powers she possessed. “I do not see failure here,” she said as she waved to the nicely burned idiot Kanako recognized as Cinder Fall of Mistral on the planet Remnant, a world that recently got the interest of Isaac Thomas and a whole host of Yizibajohei for a tonne of reasons. Realizing then that the white-skinned woman was the death-cheater known as “Salem” — the being believed responsible for unleashing the plague of the Grimm on that planet which attracted the Wise Lone Sage’s attention the previous fall — the Watchful One then reached for her PAA.

"There is no need for cruelty towards young Cinder. Despite her wounds — which are to be expected considering what she ultimately faced some nights ago in Beacon — she allowed herself to become the Fall Maiden, destroyed Beacon Tower and, most importantly of all, killed dear Ozpin. So, I’m curious: To what failures are you referring to?”

And in a flash of teleportation energy, the clairvoyant/precognitive of the Kumeta Group was off…

****

Somewhere in the Land of Darkness, within Evernight Castle, that moment…

Arthur Watts of Atlas flustered. “Well, there is the girl with the Silver Eyes…”

“We’ve dealt with people possessing that power before, Professor,” Hazel Rainart of Vale calmly concluded, the tall and muscular warrior gazing with a touch of admiration at the wounded Mistralite now being cared for by the Queen of Darkness. Indeed, given what had been accomplished in the attack on Beacon, there was much cause to celebrate. Still, given that he himself had bested several huntresses possessing that power, the fact that Cinder had come out of it missing an eye and an arm…

“And there’s Thomas, too!” Mercury Black then spat out.

People perked at what he said, then Salem looked over. “Isaac Thomas? The man who founded Renaissance Industries?”

“Same guy!” the dark-haired man forced to wear above-knee battle prosthetics due to training injuries endured at the hands of his late father Marcus growled. “It’s like he…!” Here, he hissed out before shaking his head. “I don’t know. Like he knows WAY too much! It’s bad enough that he’s moving to introduce tech that doesn’t need Dust, but thanks to those robot soldiers of his…!”

“What happened?!” Arthur demanded.

“The casualties in Vale weren’t as much as what could have been.”

Eyes then focused on Emerald Sustrai, who was scowling as she looked out a window at the surrounding pools spawning new Grimm within the long shadows of the castle. “I noticed a considerable number of Grimm were slain that evening, but that’s to be expected with such a major attack,” Salem noted as she focused on the green-haired Mistralite which had been recruited by Cinder after being found in a poor village near-starving. “How could Thomas have created machines to destroy them?”

A sigh escaped her as she drew out her scroll. “It isn’t much, but this is what we got from the feed we hacked from the Atlas warbots we used to distract the hunters and huntresses when Cinder made her run for Beacon,” she declared, handing it over.

Salem took it, then gestured to create a holographic screen for the others of her inner circle to see…

"Oh, my…just in time," Isaac Thomas snidely chuckled as he gazed down an alley somewhere in Vale.

A man whom both Mercury and Emerald recognized as Gray Haddock — visibly missing his left arm from above the elbow, now doubt thanks to the glowing green energy sword in the hands of the founder of Renaissance Industries — then was shot in the forehead by one of the companion Knight-200 battle droids which had been hacked into that evening. " HEY! " Gray’s fellow White Fang street fighter Scott Mata — easily spotted thanks to the broadsword he normally used when he sought to beat up on anyone who enraged him — then snarled as he drew his weapon and charged towards the attacking droids.

" SCOTT, WAIT! " Monica Khan — who had been sent to Vale by Adam Taurus to help monitor things as well as stand by to deal with casualties if required — then howled as the ovine therianthrope deflected several shots before he got clipped by another android in the left knee, sending him face-first into the street. " SCOTT! " the young niece of the White Fang's current leader shrieked as she lunged over to save him, forcing both Ken Tukson and the man they had been sent to hunt to shield her.

As the hacked battle droids moved to mow down the rest of their targets, Isaac’s energy sword and Ken’s broadsword quickly cut through the air to send those killer shots well away from Sienna Khan’s niece as she moved to heal Scott, many of those bolts being bounced back to knock down a considerable number of droids, though the one recording this managed to escape harm. As Isaac crouched in anticipation of lunging at the remaining threat, a buzzing sound echoed over the scene.

"Damn it, Albert! Not now!" the founder of Renaissance Industries called out.

" I take it I'm interrupting a fight scene, Isaac?! " a cackling man's voice echoed from…somewhere.

"Yeah, you are!" Isaac calmly quipped as the remaining section of Knight-200s ceased fire to charge him. "Looks like Mister Black didn't care for my calling him out in front of General Ironwood like that!"

"He didn't!" Ken warned.

" Ah! I assume that's young Mister Tukson?!

The broadsword warrior awked on being called out like that, which seemed to be the cue for Isaac to leap up, rebounding off the side wall of the alley above the battle droids’ heads with practised grace before he spiralled down, his weapon spinning with him to decapitate four in one sweep. As the other Knight-200s — including the one filming this — tried to bear on him, Ken then charged, sword high in the air. Isaac back-flipped clear, allowing the other man to chop the remaining three machines down.

Just as the feed faded to darkness, Isaac got back to his feet, energy sword at the ready…

“No semblance…!” Hazel then hissed.

“No Aura that I could perceive, either!” Emerald snapped before she reached over to squeeze Mercury’s shoulder; the latter had been shuddering in outrage on seeing how skilled Isaac Thomas really had been…even if he had been fighting basic battle droids and not experienced hunters. “When we came back here with Cinder to have Miss Salem heal her, both Mercury and I poured over what data we got from the battle droids. We also tried to contact Adam’s friends to learn what happened after the people from Atlas finally got their machines under control. No one — and I mean NO ONE! — is answering our calls!”

Salem hummed as she returned the scroll. “Where is Adam now?”

“We don’t know,” Mercury stated.

The Queen of Darkness nodded. “Find him. I need answers.”

Everyone in the healing chamber nodded…

****

Vale City, Renaissance Industries headquarters, Gaycan 53 Treichleam, two hours before lunch…

“There has to be some way for you to intervene, Isaac…!”

“We can’t let Coco face that monster alone!”

ENOUGH!

Isaac Thomas breathed out in relief before looking over. “Thank you, Professor.”

Shannon Ozpin smirked as he adjusted his glasses. “My pleasure, Isaac,” the immortal headmaster of Beacon Academy said before he gazed sympathetically at the other members of Team CFVY. “Velvet, Fox, Yatsuhashi, I can understand your concern when it comes to Coco. But given she’s just been Gifted as a high-level FISS-type, she stands a much better chance of surviving a battle against the likes of young Chiyo’s and Ayumu’s friend than any of you.” Before the three — much less the one member of Team RWBY, all four members of Team SSSN, much less the four members of Team CRDL — could say anything more, the Undying Warrior Sage gazed upon their host. “These fights are normally done in this ‘Battlezone’ place, correct?”

“Indeed, it does, Professor,” the New Yorker asserted before he looked over. “Is this fight being broadcast on the Great Show nets, Chiyo-chan? Are any of the usual announcers like Brain or Typhoon officiating this?”

The Bright Genius of the Young Guns was gazing at a holographic screen projecting from her large PAA, such showing a tactical map of the central area of the continent-sized wasteland on Yiziba’s central equatorial landmass which had become the primary dueling "theatre" for Named and Nameless metahumans wanting to strut their stuff since the beginning of the Great Show of Life two millennium before. Two target icons marked TAKINO TOMO/WARWIND and COCO ADEL/PHALANX in local Remnantian script as well as Japanese kanji/kana were intersecting, breaking away and trying to manoeuvre around at speeds beyond anything even Ruby Rose could achieve using Petal Burst. Around the pre-teen genius from Itabashi were a chorus of wide-eyed children, all of whom where hushed silent as they watched the Wild Warrior of Passion and the Human Legion — even if there was no live-stream camera directly following the two as they clashed — go at each other. “No, Isaac-san, neither Hahe'e-sensei nor Dusesa-sensei have commented on this.” A snide smile crossed her face. “Then again, given how often Tomo-chan does this sort of thing with every FISS-type she learns about, these bouts are pretty much rated as ‘sleepy scenes’.”

People gazed on her. “‘Sleepy scene’?” Dove Bronzewing asked.

Roman Leakee chuckled from the table he currently shared with Seth Rollins. “It’s boring, kid.” As people then focused on the Samoan-descent Floridian, he drank his coffee before adding, “People on Yiziba like to watch unique and different things. Watching constant replays of ‘Warwind fighting her latest punching bag’ gets stale after a bit.”

“Is there ANY control on this kid whatsoever?!” Qrow Branwen demanded.

Chiyo hummed before she sighed, her ponytails drooping. “It’s hard, Qrow-san.”

People gazed her way once more…

…before a flash of teleportation energy made everyone turn as two people appeared, both in flowing traditional sleeved Yizibajohei jumpsuits. One, looking to be of the same general ethnic origins as Chiyo and her peers, was in solid white from neck to toe, possessing extra-long sleeves to cover her hands, with brown trim and boots, that topped by an Eye of Providence-type image over her heart. The other was like Isaac, dressed in a green uniform with grey trim and boots, the uniform dotted with various animals gaily dancing around; she had an intricate badge over her heart which made the Remnantians immediately think of some sort of school symbol. Seeing who just came in, Isaac blinked with surprise. “Kanako-san?! What are you doing here?!” he demanded of the Watchful One. “And what’s with bringing Amy here? Does Taylor know about this?”

Ōra Kanako snorted as Amelia Lavere shook her head. “All the news about the latest victim of Tomo-chan’s ‘I’ve got to prove I’m the strongest of them all’ obsession got out almost within minutes of Coco-san being Gifted.” Here, the native of Yokohama gazed on the other members of Team CFVY. “That’s why I brought one of our star healers with me.”

“Don’t you have school right now, Amy-san?” Osamu Shirayuki demanded as she moved immediately to make coffee.

The Flesh-Twister, Rietier'ba (“Shaper”), smirked as she moved to take a seat; she knew the Great Chef of the West all too well when it came to being fed by her. “Joys of being on call with JSWC…” — here, Amelia pronounced the shortform of the United States Joint Specialized Warfare Command by the standard /ˈd͡ʒeɪswɪk/ phonemicization — “…all the time, Shirayuki. Once Kanako briefed me in on Takino’s latest punching bag, I called in absent for the day from Arcadia and came here.”

Blake Belladona blinked before she looked at Kasuga Ayumu. “Who are they, Lady Ayumu?”

Immediately, introductions were made. On hearing that Amelia was a powerful biokinetic touch-healer with experiences that spanned the ages, the natives were quick to take extra interest in the Bay Stater; given that anyone born with a healing semblance like Monica Khan was seen as VERY valuable in the eyes of kingdom leaders, a show of profound deference to such a person was expected. As she was introduced to all the major personages present at this time, Amelia was quick to sense how much the levels of naquadah had infiltrated into the biosphere of the third world of Oum over the previous two thousand years and more. Naturally — in a reflection of what she had done when she had just been “Panacea of New Wave” back before she was Gifted the previous winter — she was quick to heal up whatever wounds people possessed. Of course, for those Faunus who had fallen victim to the wrath of Team CRDL the previous day, those boys got VERY ugly looks from Amelia as a result.

By the time the Flesh-Twister got through with the last of the necessary healing, Kanako had taken Isaac aside, handing him a mesonium crystal she forged from her own blood with the Bay Stater’s help before they teleported to Remnant. On seeing that, the Wise Lone Sage was quick to motion both Ozpin and Qrow over to join them; by this time, Glynda Goodwitch had gone back to the grounds of the Beacon Academy to survey how much Neville Longbottom’s wind daisies had cleared up the plague of Grimm that had been unleashed by Cinder Fall and her friends some nights before, while James Ironwood was busy preparing to have his forces return to Atlas now that the situation in Vale was stabilizing. “You’re a seer?” Ozpin asked.

“Pretty much so, Kōchō-sensei,” the Yokohama-jin affirmed with a friendly smile. “I was about to sit down for a late supper when I got a vision of your ex-wife and her little posse having a meeting about what happened when they attacked this place.” Here, she gave a regretful look to the Wise Lone Sage. “You’re known to the enemy, Isaac-kun.”

The New Yorker nodded. “Well, that’s to be expected.” He gazed towards the Goddess Who Walks Among Men — naturally, given whom Ayumu’s first-self had been and what he had done to Remnant all those years ago, there was quite the crowd of Faunus children close to her — before he bit his lip. “Did Salem sense it when Ayumu-chan or Margo came to Vale?”

Kanako considered that for a moment before she hummed. “Not that I could sense. But the death-cheater demanded that her people find Blake-san’s old pillow scene partner, so it might not be long before someone local spills the miso soup.”

Ozpin hummed. “Especially given that Miss Fall and her two companions managed to escape from Vale that night.”

“We need to really sanitize the whole area of Grimm, Oz,” Qrow warned before he looked over. “Hey, Fujiko!”

The Blizzard of Death perked on hearing the former bandit call out, then she came over. “What is it, Qrow-san?”

“If Hinako’s going out soon to find your kid sis Akemi and her sisters, do any of you guys need to go along with them?”

The adopted native of Maizuru hummed as she considered that before she shrugged. “Well, one of us should go to make sure that Akemi-chan and her sisters understand this isn’t some mean American trick to make them betray their crews’ oaths to Tennō,” she noted before gazing fondly on the girl who had helped salvage her weeks before. “Even if Hinako-chan is powerful…”

“Some of those girls went down in pretty violent battles,” Isaac completed as he drew out his PAA to scan things. “Of the girls in question, Ayako — Ayanami — lost 26 of her crew when she was scuttled. Shikuko — Shikinami — lost half her crew when she was torpedoed; one of the Ryūseizen was there to rescue most of the rest.” Smiling as Fujiko quivered with delight on hearing of the magical battleships who were the hidden true lifesavers in the Greater East Asia War, the Wise Lone Sage added, “Saki — Asagiri — lost half her crew when she sunk in Ironbottom Sound; again, one of our lovely dragon slayers (this one being from Australia) was there for her crew. Yūko — Yūgiri — was shelled to pieces at Cape Saint George, but Watanabe Masako's and Taoka Seiko's crews were there, so there was no need for any support from the Canadians, Australians or New Zealanders…”

Fujiko frowned. “Who?”

Ina’ana and Inbai respectively,” the New Yorker provided. “I-177’s and I-181’s hull numbers said in goroawase.”

“Oh, right!” the reborn destroyer said as she crossed her arms. “Hard to believe that an alternate version of Tariko-san actually thought up human names for every shipgirl that existed in that other dimension…”

“True. Anyhow, back to the roll call: Ami — Amagiri — went down slow in the Makassar Strait; few casualties. Sayako — Sagiri — lost half her crew when the Dutch got her off Sarawak; our New Zealander friends were there for her. Otsune — Oboro — lost most of her crew off the Aleutians; one of the Canadian ships was there. Akemi — Akebono, naturally — lost a little under a quarter of her crew when she was sunk, but since Kumasaka Akina — Akishimo — was there, one of the Ryūseizen was present. Namiko — Sazanami — lost most of her crew when she was torpedoed; Akemi was there for the rest, as was one of the new Australian battleships. And Shiori — Ushio — survived the war, being scrapped in 1948 at Yokosuka.”

Fujiko considered that for a moment. “Well, I could go for Namiko-chan before Akemi-chan…”

A flash of energy then made people yelp before looking over…

…then people cried out as a moaning and heavily bruised native of Vale dropped to the floor close to where the members of her team were seated. “COCO!” Velvet Scarlatina shrieked as she and Yatsuhashi Daichi lunged over to help their groaning leader back into a sitting position while the Flesh-Twister moved to start healing the just-Gifted fashionista.

Footfalls then made many people pause…

“Good fight.”

That simple, strangely calm statement from the Wild Warrior of Passion made everyone gaze her way. As Kasuga Ayumu used her own Sight to examine Coco’s wounds before glancing at Mihama Chiyo’s PAA to note that the bout between Takino Tomo and the leader of Team CFVY had lasted well over a Yizibajohei ACT — which was 53 minutes and 20 seconds equivalent in either Earth or Remnant time keeping — the Bright Genius of the Young Guns whistled under her breath. “Well, that should have helped Coco-san get over her post-Gifting shock like NOTHING would…!” she quietly intoned.

Amelia grunted as the bruises on Coco’s face vanished, making both Velvet and Yatsuhashi breathe out in relief. “How long?!”

“An act and six scenes, Sensei,” Chiyo answered. “Sixty-three minutes and twenty seconds here or on Earth.”

People took that in, then Tomo smirked as she moved to depart. She stopped as her eyes focused on Ozpin before a curt nod twitched her chin. “You teach your kids good, Kōchō-sensei,” she complimented before gazing at Saeru Hinako. “You going to go out and track down more girls like Fujiko-chan and her sisters here, Hinako-chan?” the wildcat of the Azuma Group asked.

The Spirit of Innocence hummed. Of those in the room, she was first to understand what had driven the likes of Warwind to seek out battle against the just-Gifted Coco Adel. Beyond the understandable urge to prove herself the most powerful of all FISS-types on the World of the Forge, Takino Tomo also understood — thanks to her many past-selves’ battles against certain Goa’uld system lords like Apophis — that fight scenes would sometimes get drawn out, forcing even the likes of the Wild Warrior of Passion to exert her/himself well beyond what was normally needed to put someone down. No doubt, just like her other friends from the Azuma Group had done, Tomo realized that resolving this situation on Remnant was going to be a long slog before the Queen of Darkness was destroyed and the Grimm rendered extinct. Helping in her own way to ensure the faces would win that war — and respecting, of course, that this was the Remnantians’ battle first and foremost — was just doing the right thing.

Insane nutcase she could be at times, Takino Tomo was clearly a face in this incarnation.

“Hai, Tomo-chan! Hina was going to go home and go to bed soon. Why?” the Niigata-jin asked.

“Keep an eye way to the north,” Tomo advised. “Something BIG happened up there in the last couple of days.” She then pointed at Fujiko, then several of the other Fukushima sisters. “Their kind of big.”

With that, the Wild Warrior teleported away. Watching her go, Isaac’s eyes narrowed…

****

Sweet Valley in California (forty kilometres west-northwest of Santa Barbara), that moment (local time: Two hours before breakfast)…

“Didn’t you get any sleep at all last night, Liz?”

Hearing that moaned complaint from her father Ned, Elizabeth Wakefield chuckled before sipping her tea as she monitored things at her main ground work station, located in a repurposed bomb shelter in the back yard of the family home in one of the old fish canning town’s more affluent neighbourhoods” Given the close proximity of Vandenburg Air Force Base, that the Wise Genius of the Circle of Thought had been able to turn this place into a well-outfitted laboratory shortly after her Gifting sometime after “Sweet Valley Summer” in 2007 was par for the course. “The nightlife over in Sunnydale was being extra-ornery tonight, Dad,” the picture-perfect blonde high school senior with the sea blue-green eyes answered as she relaxed in her chair.

“Oh?” the lawyer who had found himself becoming the father of one of the first true American metahumans in recent years snorted as he walked over to prepare a cup of coffee; he had got up early this morning, then noticed that his elder daughter hadn’t slept in her bed that evening. “What was it this time? Some new ‘big bad’ or just a big pack of normal vampires?”

“Bit of both,” Elizabeth answered as she tapped a couple of controls. “The Whirlwind hasn’t been seen since Margo came to town back in March to destroy the Judge, so who knows what this lot is on about.” She then grimaced as she tapped another control to bring up a private screen on her main monitor. “Atop that as well…”

Ned came over, then his jaw dropped in surprise. “My God! You’ve rebuilt her THAT far?!”

A beaming smile answered. “Pays to be the current incarnation of one of three people who designed the automated repair networks for a whole PLANET two millennium ago, Dad,” the leader of the Sweet Valley Boosters, America’s first team of proper metahuman “mystery men” since the Second World War, declared as she herself scanned the quite incomplete hull now floating in a pocket dimension away from real space as it was rebuilt from parts scattered across a whole nation and beyond. “Given that almost everything in the hull was recycled when she was scrapped…” — here, a frown crossed her face; despite her not seeing herself as warlike despite her Gifting when she was still in elementary school, Elizabeth was proud of her nation’s incredible accomplishments during the World Wars, especially shouldering such a massive burden forced on humanity as a whole in the second go-around with the Germans — “…it would take a long time to locate those parts, repurpose them back to the way they were when she was built, then reassemble the whole mess. Fortunately, the repair systems on Yiziba…”

He chuckled; while having not worn the uniform himself since he had grown up in the post-Vietnam era without the national draft hanging over his head, Ned was just as proud of America’s military accomplishments as almost anyone else in the Union. “Do we need to ask Winston to come over to see if her living kami has actually started to come back?”

“He came by just before midnight to confirm things.”

“And?”

Elizabeth grinned as she tapped a control to create a spiritual metaphysical image of what was now being rebuilt in her pocket dimensional “drydock”. Sure enough, now lying asleep over the mostly-rebuilt stern, was a vision of beauty.

Ned nodded. “Enterprise…!”

****

Over Sano Bay in northeastern Siberia, that moment (local time: Wednesday 4 April, an hour after midnight)…

The reborn, now-human seventh carrier of Operation Z blinked before she moved to lay down on her futon — a special one that had been prepared by the gamájun to let her be as comfortable as she would have been as a ship on a calm sea — then she gazed with her own Sight far to the southeast, allowing her mind’s eye to reach out towards the area around southern California as she felt the growing presence of a VERY powerful ship spirit being drawn back from the Realm of the Kami. Noting its roughly exact location allow Itō Yoiko’s eyebrow to arch in confusion. “Sweet Valley? Why there…?!”

“Are you alright, Yoiko-chan?”

The adopted native of Maizuru perked before she looked over to see the officer of the watch, a Los Angeles-born dōhō named Matsuhara Yoshi, giving her a concerned look from the entrance of the private cave set aside for the Ice Warrior of Eternity. “I’m just sensing another ship spirit being reborn, Yoshi-san,” she affirmed. “In America. Sweet Valley to be exact.”

The amateur poet who had returned to his ancestral homeland during the Second Sino-Japanese War to fight for the Heavenly Sovereign blinked before he walked it to sit beside her on the fur rug laid out to prevent people from walking on cold stone. “Fish-canning town not far from Santa Barbara as I recall,” he admitted. “Why there, though?”

Humming, she reached over to pick up the large personal administrative assistant device — which she had been telepathically taught how to use by a certain missile cruiser sometime after her Gifting — to place it beside her on the futon before tapping the control mechanism. Instantly, a holographic screen appeared to reveal a lot of information; naturally, Yoiko had mentally commanded her machine to display everything in Japanese even if she was fluent in many other languages, including her adopted homeworld’s tongue. “The city has fallen on somewhat hard times; it’s now seen as more as a distant bedroom community to Santa Barbara and Los Angeles beyond,” she stated. “However, the American Air Force has a large space-launching complex located just to the northwest of the city near Honda Point; named in honour of the second Chief of Staff of that service, Hoyt Vandenburg-taishō. No doubt, civilian relatives of personnel assigned to this complex reside in Sweet Valley.”

“A potential target,” he admitted.

Yoiko didn’t comment on that. While she herself knew the mission to attack Pearl Harbour was effectively over, her crew were still bound to the orders given to Fujita Hiroshi by Yamamoto Isoroku decades ago. Even if common sense dictated it was the best thing to simply go back home and reunite with whatever families had survived the Greater East Asia War, a lot had to happen ahead of time. As Naomi Height-Ashbury herself explained to the would-be commander of Operation Z the afternoon just past, it wouldn’t be hard to approach the Heavenly Sovereign to release the necessary Imperial Rescript to have the mission aborted and let the over 2,600 souls that Yoiko was now personally and spiritually responsible for to return to the Home Islands.

Given they had been gone for over SEVEN DECADES, though…!

“True. However, the bigger issue given what happened to me is this: That city was a large recruiting target for Tariko Katabarbe-san during her casting drive. In the summer of 2007 and again two years later, she made her way to Sweet Valley from Kabi-koli to recruit many people her age into being Gifted as metahumans. They now form a large team of ‘mystery men’ using the parlance from our day, calling themselves the ‘Sweet Valley Boosters’ as a group.” Gazing at the names listed there — along with a standard threat-level marker that had been used by participants in the Great Show of Life for centuries to indicate who were the truly dangerous ones — she tapped on one name. “Elizabeth Wakefield. The Academician. Team leader.”

Yoshi got closer to take in the information there. “Quite young…”

“You were younger when you went for basic pilot training,” she playfully scolded, making the Californian nisei fluster in embarrassment at that tone. With that, she scanned the basic biography. “Part of the first generation of Boosters, father’s a lawyer, mother works as an interior decorator, has an older brother and a younger twin sister; the latter is Gifted as Rampage, a high-level physical fighter with flight capabilities, invulnerability and enhanced speed.” Looking down the list, she then blinked, her grey eyes widening. “She actually went as far as to build a real starship for her personal summer project in 2008?!”

“What?!” Yoshi hissed. “Show me!”

She mentally commanded the PAA to do just that. “Ten-to-one scale version of United States Starcraft Discovery One from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey; Brent-san told you about that one, didn’t he?” As the amateur poet nodded, she added, “Nominally a private, secure research ship, is well equipped for battle as well. Defensive fields, point-defence weapons…” Here, she chuckled. “I see she’s a fan of Star Wars as well.” As Yoshi looked at her — yes, Brent Ross had told him and others about that series of science fiction/fantasy movies — Yoiko smirked. “The main communications array amidships was totally redesigned to be a hypermatter cannon emitter. Same potential power as the Death Star battlestation’s main weapon.”

The dōhō was ashen-faced. “Kami-sama, why…?!”

“No doubt, the lar’beke threat being dealt with at this time by Stargate Command,” she affirmed, a hungry smile touching her lips for a moment as she recalled her synthezoid-self’s many attacks on Goa’uld starships in the Second War of Banishment over five millennium ago; she had yet to properly adjust to using Yizibajohei temporal measurement terms such as “saga”. “And with some inspiration from Return of the Jedi, the third of Lucas-sensei’s original films. That black rōnin Palpatine used the operational hypermatter cannon of the second Death Star battlestation to destroy Alliance ships in the Battle of Endor individually. While I’m sure that such potential use drove Elizabeth-sensei into making her Discovery a viable strategic weapon for Earth as a whole, I know that my adopted people are loath to consider anything close to genocide of all things.”

He considered that. “Were there times that people on Yiziba went that far?”

“Three times, once being last spring in fact,” she affirmed. “The Children of the Forge even have a term for it: R'bemomadae.” Fortunately, her green battlesuit came with an omniversal translator system which allowed her guest to understand what such a term meant. “In that incident, a woman forcefully transplanted into our universe by Lord Rjazán’ himself was forced to return to the dimension of her birth to deal with a mass gathering of the so-called ‘kimfombeke’; those are the creatures who help some metahumans be empowered through ‘trigger events’ as many worldwide have experienced since the late 1980s.” As Yoshi grimaced — much that he was glad to be a normal person even if long-lived at that thanks to Sano-wan’s mesonium deposits, he and others of Yonaga’s crew had overheard many radio signals describing the horrors of such occurrences to a worldwide audience — Yoiko added, “Her name is Taylor Hebert; she goes by Skitter these days and leads her own team, the Brockton Bay Undersiders from the city of the same name in Massachusetts not far from Boston. In that incident, Taylor-san asked the Quadrumvirate of Yiziba — Infinity, the Weaver, Oblivion and Doctor Death — to come help her and her team destroy several dozen such creatures who were moving to overwhelm her home dimension; the resulting destruction was quite widespread.”

“Would you have to face such things?” Yoshi asked.

She took a deep breath. “I don’t know.” Turning back to the holographic screen over the PAA, she hummed. “Ah! According to this, Elizabeth-san’s performing a special project for Bartlett-daitōryō, bringing back a special ship spirit to be embodied and help ensure that Naomi-chan will no longer be a ‘fleet of one’ anymore. Doesn’t name who it is, though…”

“But you were able to sense her, right? She has a strong karma, then!”

“VERY strong karma.” Here, Yoiko then hummed. “But very weary as well. She fought quite the long fight, no doubt against our own fleet mates.” She then rubbed her chin. “Wouldn’t be Saratoga, I believe. Sempai was sunk in one of those atomic bomb tests post-war.” Ignoring Yoshi’s loathsome look on hearing of THOSE ghastly weapons that had been used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the summer of 1945 before THAT broadcast went over the air, she sighed. “It can only be one ship.”

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

Then…

He breathed in. “Enterprise…?!”

A light smile answered him. “Who else could it be, Yoshi-san?”

A grimace answered her. “You’ll have to brief the admiral about this after breakfast then, Yoiko-chan. Many of us…”

She nodded in understanding…

****

Vale, the headquarters of Renaissance Industries, lunchtime…

“Damn…someone get the number…of that megoilath…that hit me…?”

A warm chuckle of understanding amusement made Coco Adel blink before she looked over to see a sympathetically-smiling Isaac Thomas gazing at her from a chair beside the bed the leader of Team CFVY had been placed on. Sensing she had been treated by an experienced healer — Isn’t Blake’s old girlfriend a healer? she then wondered — the Humal Legion grunted as she stretched herself. “It wasn’t a megoilath or any of the other heavy Grimm types, Coco,” the Wise Lone Sage advised. “You’re the latest contestant to participate in ‘Warwind’s Hit Parade’ that the current incarnation’s run since she was Gifted last year.”

Blinking as flashes of memory of that intensive near-eternity of hitting, being hit, dodging, repositioning and hiding from the Wild Warrior of Passion replayed before her mind, she hissed. “If I had my weapon…” Coco muttered before blinking as her past-selves’ experience with the likes of Warwind — there had been a few — came up from her deep subconscious. “On second thought, never mind!” she concluded with a dismissive wave of her hand. “She’d probably smash Gianduja with one hand, then give me an extra-nasty beatdown with the other. That happened to a past-self of mine.” At Isaac’s surprised look, a smirk crossed her face even if part of her was surprised that she was able to accept that she had the memories of over two dozen people who had received the Gift of the Human Legion over the last two sagas. “My past-self ambushed her in Habitation Two on the northern continent for some stupid reason. He had an ebony mesonium cannon made by the Weaponeer who wanted it tested. Well, Warwind…” A chuckle escaped her. “He didn’t care for that. Crushed the damned thing’s barrel with one hand while holding my past-self by the neck, then jackalope-punched him with ONE HAND after tossing the thing away!”

“And she’s seen as a HERO?!”

That was a wide-eyed Velvet Scarlatina, making Coco spin around to see the other members of her team — and a strange brown-haired girl she immediate recognized as the current incarnation of the Flesh-Twister, a high-end biokinetic healer; given the shape of her face, she was probably from the same area of Earth where Isaac hailed — relaxing nearby. “Tomo’s more a chaotic neutral than a fully-fledged face, Velvet,” the New Yorker explained. “Sure, she’s more than happy to do the right thing if the chance presents itself, but she has issues in trying to master the full extent of her power. Never mind her initial lack of discipline before Tariko helped her get Gifted.” As Coco winced on hearing that, he gazed her way. “Don’t worry about that, Coco. You’ve earned Tomo’s respect, which is just as precious in places.” At her surprised look, he added, “She said ‘Good fight’ when she brought you back from the Battlezone. And delivered you straight to Amy here…” — here, he indicated Amelia Lavere, who raised a hand in greeting — “…to see you healed. Never mind her complimenting Professor Ozpin in training you.”

That saw Coco’s jaw almost hit the floor. “She…?! Wait! We’re talking about WARWIND, right?! You sure…?!”

“Yeah, Coco-chan, Tomo-chan really likes you!”

Coco yelped before turning around to see the Goddess Who Walks Among Men now standing beside her bed, an amused smile on the Wakayama-jin’s face. “Wait! You’re part of the same BATTLE TEAM as her?!”

“Hai!” Kasuga Ayumu affirmed with a nod. “Yeah, she can be silly at times — and don’t get me started on the fact that she couldn’t NAME anything with any sort of imagination — but she’ll back you up…”

BEEP!

DAMN IT, ŌSAKA! JUST BE ŌSAKA!

“She overhead you, Ayumu,” Amelia warned.

Ayumu’s dark eyes sparkled with amusement. “Tomo-chan, just like I told you when we saved Penny-chan and Pyrrha-chan in the Doll House!” she called out in a teasing tone into the open air, not bothering to draw out her PAA from her belt pouch. “How can I ‘just be Ōsaka’?! I was born in Wakayama and raised in Kōbe after I met Tariko-chan! Geez…!”

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHHHHHH…!

The members of Team CFVY blinked in confusion, then Yatsuhashi Daichi gazed in confusion at the only Faunus member of their team. “Um, Velvet, do all the legends of the One Above the Gods speak about a sense of HUMOUR?”

The leporine therianthrope weapons maker shrugged…

****

In the nearby cafeteria…

“I’m hearing that Takino woman screaming again…!”

Given that warning from Blake Belladonna, Monica Khan tensed, her upper ears flattening. “Is that monster coming back?!”

“Oh, relax, Monica Khan,” a voice called out from nearby as Remnant’s first two Gifted metahumans came over to join the group of former and current White Fang members. “Takino Tomo simply can’t help but be a silly person,” Penny Polendina added, she indicating the nearby Mihama Chiyo in emphasis. As the resident young genius of the Azuma Group looked over and nodded in confirmation, the Mind-Moulder of Armour exchanged knowing looks with the Warper of Metal. “Sadly, most if not all incarnations of the Wild Warrior of Passion often have acted as uncontrollable monsters throughout their lifetimes…”

“Wow! That is NOT reassuring, Penny!” Sūn Wùkōng noted from the table he was sharing with the rest of his team nearby.

Pyrrha Nikos rolled her eyes. “No, it’s not, but it’s predictable in its own way, Sūn. Which IS reassuring.”

People gazed at her. “So, what did you get when you got Gifted, Pyrrha?” Ken Tukson wondered as he crossed his arms.

The Mistralite huntsman prodigy shook his head. “It’s not any sort of possession, Ken. It’s like having a whole album of memories stored for generations opened for you all at once, then placed deep in your mind along with the powers you receive.” As the other who had been Gifted now listening to this — among them being Saeru Hinako and Osamu Shirayuki, both of whom were now preparing to head back to Earth and get some needed sleep after such a busy day — nodded in confirmation, a chuckle then escaped her. “I can tell you some insane stories dating back years — or ‘seasons’ as they’re called on Yiziba — but to get all the details to make you understand it would force me to meditate for a bit to dredge those memories up.” She then breathed out. “I can understand why this Tariko Katabarbe woman wanted to get outworlders involved in the Great Show…”

Neptune Vasilias hummed. “Because she was adopted of one of the ‘nameless’. People who develop semblances — be Gifted, I mean — but don’t allow their memories to get saved in the Great Crystal when they die, right?”

“Exactly, Neptune Vasilias,” Penny affirmed. “Nameless such as Tariko Katabarbe’s late mother Ayone Katabarbe have long pressed for better controls concerning bestowing the Named Gifts to future generations. Not force the issue on people who are too young, for example. I’m aware of occasions where children as young as FIVE SEASONS OLD were Gifted! Fortunately, before he passed on, the third incarnation of the Healer of Destruction — who helped provoke the Dawn of Power in the first place two sagas ago — saw to it that the memories of those Named buried in the Great Crystal of Power wouldn’t overwhelm future generations.” A disquieted look crossed her face. “While I wouldn’t really understand it since I came into existence as a gynoid, would you approve of someone as young as Hinako or Chiyo being forced in intimate relations at their age?”

Disgusted looks crossed other people’s faces. “No way, no how, nuh-huh!” Sage Ayana hissed, rapidly shaking his head.

Pyrrha breathed out, “But once puberty comes…”

“When it comes, it comes, Pyrrha-san,” the Bright Genius of the Young Guns cut in as she secured her field PAA in a large carrying case she could sling over her shoulder. “I don’t waste time thinking about it now. Neither do Hinako-chan nor Shirayuki-chan,” she added, waving to the Spirit of Innocence and the Great Chef of the West. “When it does come, we’ll see.”

“Mushy, silly stuff!” Hinako grunted as she moved to stand, stretching herself. “Fujiko-chan, are you coming?!”

“Just a minute, Shirei-kan!” the Blizzard of Death called back from one side of the room, where she had gathered with her sisters — currently, the third of their class, Fukushima Hatsue, was mounting a standing patrol over Vale City — to brief them on things. “Just wanted to make sure everyone was clear in their orders before we deployed back to base.”

Flynt Coal looked over. “Are you going out after breakfast your time to find new shipgirls, kid?”

“Hai, Flynt-san, but Hina needs to get some sleep first…huh?!”

The Niigata-jin then focused on the Faunus member of Team RWBY, which made people look over…

…then Monica gasped on seeing her old lover’s hands GLOWING! “Blake!” she screamed out, moving to hug her.

The Gifted people in the room gasped. “No, miss!” Neville Longbottom barked. “If you do that…!”

Tene lomher’buo, Blake Belladonna…!

Tene lomher’buo, Monica Khan…!

As the two feline therianthropes cried out while their bodies began to glow brightly, the Master of Plants sighed. “You’ll force your own Gifting too soon,” the teen wizard from Devonshire dryly completed before shaking his head.

Before people could make comment, however…

Nesu…R’BEMYAKOR’BIM!

Nesu…MITU ERBA!

The two natives of Menagerie both howled as their pre-Gifting silver jumpsuits instantly melted and transformed, allowing them to emerge from the transformative light in more intricate jumpsuits. The daughter of the founder of the White Fang was in a modern sleeveless suit coloured similarly in the off-grey shades and blacks she preferred as a huntress, the latter colour forming the base hue for her jumpsuit, with the former shade appearing on belt and boots. And while she could be spotted in the shadows if light was shone on her the right way, the Night Moulder, R'bemyakor'bim (“Midnight Heart”), had the ability to manipulate all forms of shadow. When augmented by her clone-creating semblance, this could — as Blake was now realizing while her mind was briefly overwhelmed by the initial input of so many memories into her very soul — cause massive levels of panic against all forms of opponents, especially during night battles. On the other side of the equation, the Healing Tigress, Mitu Erba (“Doctor Aílurous”), found herself draped in the more traditional sleeved uniform, coloured overall green as Amelia Lavere wore as the Flesh-Twister, though trimmed with dark crimson belt and boots, pale green animal striping on the sleeves and leggings generally matching the soft fur covering her own body, with the symbol of the long-defunct Putayana Varsity, the oldest school of animal husbandry existing on the World of the Forge before the Dawn of Power. As she was now learning thanks to her own empowerment, her first-self Healer-Husbandress Nameta Taam of the old nation of Meketuto gained the reputation of a savour of many animal species during the Starvation Times, subsequently helping the Circle of Thought in repopulating many of those self-same species in more hard-hit areas of the World of the Forge to allow a natural balance to return to the planet.

Noting that, Chiyo then giggled before leaning over to whisper to Shirayuki, “Sakaki-san will be happy to meet her.”

“Desu no…!” the Nagoya-jin affirmed with a nod…

****

An hour later ( Tōkyō time: Wednesday, an hour after midnight)…

“I stand relieved, Miyuki.”

“I relieve you, Hatsue-chan.”

As the Cosmic Blizzard exchanged salutes with her sister before she walked out of the cafeteria to head off on her own aerial watch over Vale City, James Ironwood nodded in approval. “You girls really know how to run a tight operation,” he then complimented Miyuki’s younger sister Mayako, who was now in charge of the shipgirl force on Remnant.

The Raging Storm, Lo'om (“Murakumo”), nodded in appreciation. Much that she had an instinctual dislike of any sort of army person, she did admire those leaders who had their shit together and could directly things right from the front. The native of Atlas had those sorts of capabilities in spades; from what she had learned from Isaac Thomas’ people when the attack on the Beacon Academy was carried out, Ironwood had been in the heat of the fight from start to finish, which said a lot about the man. “It’s a simple exercise in the end, General,” she explained. “We’re treating this as keeping watch over a fleet at anchorage. The ‘fleet’ in this case is all of Vale City itself. Neville-san’s laid out ‘mines’ — the mist dandelions and those trees he gave everyone once Shirayuki-san came to help feed everyone — to add to the defences, which allows us to be rested and ready in case a new threat comes up. You have quite large types of Grimm both on land and in the sea, right?” As he grimaced, she shrugged. “We need to be fresh and ready in case this death-cheating onryō decides she doesn’t care for normal people ‘defying’ her like that…”

“We should have shipgirls reborn from cruisers or capital ships here…”

That was Fukushima Itsuko, the reborn ninth of the Fubuki-class now known as the Shy Tsunami, Tiba (“Isonami”). Humming, Ironwood then gazed on the adopted native of Yokosuka. “What other types of warships did your kingdom have?”

Pulling out her PAA, the somewhat timid girl with her long hair in a pair of side-to-side French braids tapped the control to produce an image of her as a warship, complete with the イソナミ katakana on the side of the hull written in then-standard right-to-left style. “I’m a destroyer, an escort ship for larger vessels as well as civilian — unarmed, in other words — ships.” The image then changed to that of a four-funnel vessel somewhat larger than her ship-self. “Light cruiser Sendai, the flagship — where our formation commander would be based on — of the formation I was in, the Third Destroyer Squadron. She’s armed a little more than I was as a ship; light cruisers were always formation flagships for escorts.” The image changed again. “Heavy cruiser Aoba; she was part of the First Fleet, the higher formation the Third Squadron worked in. Heavy cruisers served as long-distant scouts for the fleet when there was no need for larger ships.” Another image then flashed. “Battleship Kongō; she was also in the First Fleet. Battleships are considered ‘capital ships’; these are the ones who do the heavy in-close fighting with enemy formations when required. However, we also had…” One last change of image. “Aircraft carrier Hōshō, who was also in the First Fleet. These ships launched, land and control waves of small strike aircraft that could hit from long distances.”

“Aircraft carriers effectively took the place of battleships as the true ‘capital ships’ of any navy in the war we were involved in,” Itsuko’s younger sister Urako said as she came over to join them. “They’re that way to this day.”

Ironwood hummed. “Well, we’re more dependent on forces fighting on the ground since trade between the kingdoms via ships is quite peaceful these days. Save for attacks from ocean-based Grimm, of course.” As the destroyers chuckled in amusement, he added, “Still, given how powerful you girls are if what Miyuki did to that king taijitu on the grounds of the Academy when young Hinako first came here showed anything, would introducing more powerful shipgirls do more harm than good?”

Mayako, Itsuko and Urako exchanged looks, as did their older sister Fukushima Shirayuki; the reborn-second of her class was busy cleaning up the kitchen now that Osamu Shirayuki had gone back to Nagoya for a good night’s rest. The just-relieved Fukushima Hatsue — who, as her sisters had all concluded, certainly earned her own “tag line” sobriquet of the Silent Blizzard, Rurike (“Hatsuyuki”), thanks to her developing some serious hikikomori attitudes when it came to any sort of mass exertion — was lying on a nearby couch, her PAA in hand and in video gaming mode to allow her to practice on some of the interesting modes of entertainment modern-day Japanese children her spiritual “age” engaged in. “Hai, Taishō-san, that is a strong possibility,” the reborn second of her class breathed out before moving to make some tea for the Atlesian warrior. “That’s why we need to get more shipgirls to scout around and get the lay of the land before we can help you on your campaigns.”

Footfalls then heralded the arrival of the five just-Gifted Remnantians to date, plus the teammate of one of them, from a nearby meeting room. “Oh, General!” Coco Adel called out with a wave of her hand.

Seeing the Human Legion clearly recovered from her harsh introduction to the Wild Warrior of Passion, Ironwood smiled. “I see Healer Lavene got you back on your feet right properly, Miss Adel,” he said with a nod before gazing in confusion at Velvet Scarlatina. “Has anything happened to you just yet, Miss Scarlatina? If you’re with Penny and the others…”

Polendina smiled. “Velvet Scarlatina is sensing something reaching into her from the Great Forge, General. To help prompt same without harm — not to mention help Blake Belladonna, Coco Adel and Pyrrha Nikos replace the weapons they lost on their Giftings — we were going to proceed to Shigaten Kamen’s workshop on Yiziba to obtain new equipment.”

That made people perk. “Who is she, Penny?” Scott Mata — who had been giving an extra round of healing from Amelia Lavere before the Bay Stater had gone back to Earth; he was now working on some lessons concerning how things were run in this place by his girlfriend Tara Tukson — then wondered as he looked up from his modified scroll.

“She’s the Weaponeer, Scott,” Blake Belladonna answered. “The planet’s supreme weapons designer and quite the philosopher on life in general in a post-Dawn of Power Yiziba. I didn’t shed Gambol Shroud in time before I was Gifted…”

“As I didn’t with Gianduja,” Coco Adel wryly added, earning her a supporting pat on the shoulder from Velvet Scarlatina.

“And I lost Miló and Akoúo when Cinder came and crashed the fight scene,” Pyrrha Nikos finished with a helpless shrug.

Ironwood hummed. “Could this woman replicate those weapons easily? Given they’re powered by your semblances…”

“Which they still have, sir; a Gifting doesn’t take any native metahuman power away unless the Giftee wants that to happen,” Mayako cut in. “I’ve heard of the Weaponeer myself. If it’s ever existed, she can make an exact replica of same…”

“Or as close of an approximation as can be done using Yizibajohei-based technology,” Penny finished. “My immediate past-self arranged with the-then Weaponeer to store his various armoured suits and base creative materials in a secure location before his soul was returned to the Great Crystal. If I’m to start adapting myself to my new situation, I must recover those various artifacts, General.” She then paused before blushing. “How soon will Father be informed of what happened to me?”

“I send a message to him to be hand-carried by Winter back to Mantle to expect a full briefing from me as soon as I’m back home, Penny,” Ironwood assured her. He then winked. “We want to keep your survival secret, after all.”

An understanding nod answered him from the once-gynoid. “Please tell Father I’ll come see him as soon as it would be safe to do so, General. I’ve SO MUCH to tell him about my experiences here in Vale!” A light blush then crossed her face.

The shipgirls were quick to see that, as did Blake. “Hey! We’ll get you and Ruby back together again as soon as the basic script bible says its clear to do that, Penny,” the daughter of the founder of the White Fang assured the other woman.

Hearing that made the freckled strawberry blonde huntress-turned-technokinetic armour designer blink before she reached up to squeeze the dark-haired Faunus’ hand in thanks. “I pray it comes soon, Blake Belladonna.”

Mayako hummed. “Itsuko, you won’t be on watch for quite a bit, so go with them and make sure they stay safe.”

“Hai, Mayako-chan!” the Shy Tsunami affirmed with a bow of her head.

That made the native Remnantians blink. “Oi, oi!” Blake called out with a raised hand. “We’re going to one of the safest places on Yiziba, Mayako! There’s no need for an escort, not to Kamen’s workshop.”

The Raging Storm gave the Night Moulder an annoyed look before she pointed to Blake’s former lover. “Healer.” Said finger then shifted to indicate Coco’s teammate. “Currently a civilian. Hinako-chan warned us that even Kamen-sensei’s shop could be raided if some dork heel decides he or she wants to be particularly stupid. Don’t argue with me, alright?!”

The other shipgirls snickered as Ironwood shook his head…

To Be Continued…

****

WRITER'S NOTES

Part of the first couple of scenes are derived from the initial scene depicted in "The Next Step" (volume four, episode one).

Ōra Kanako (Oracle) is a minor character from Sayonara Zetsubō-sensei, created by Kumeta Kōji; she first appeared in the story "The Cat Who'd Heard It a Million Times" (manga chapter 54). In this series, she made a brief appearance in the alternate-time short A New History. Likewise, Amelia Lavere (Shaper, née Panacea) is one of the more popular characters from the popular web serial Worm by John C. "Wildbow" McCrae; she first appeared in the second interlude for "Insinuation" (arc two of Worm). Of course, the "Taylor" that Isaac Thomas (Doctor Renaissance) here refers to is the star character of Worm, Taylor Hebert (Skitter). Both of their stories in the universe of this series are covered in the story From Shards to Gifts.

Hahe'e Be'emam (Brain) and Dusesa Numro'om (Typhoon) are Yizibajohei analogues to two famous WWE (then WWF) wrestlers (later announcers) from the golden age of that company in the 1980s, Raymond "Bobby" Heenan (1944-2017) and Robert Marella AKA Gorilla Monsoon (1937-99) respectively.

The list of the Ayanami-class (AKA the second flight of the Fubuki-class) destroyers soon to appear here:

Ashikaga Ayako-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Ayanami [KK-166])
Ashikaga Shikuko-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Shikinami [KK-167])
Ashikaga Saki-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Asagiri [KK-168])
Ashikaga Yūko-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Yūgiri [KK-169])
Ashikaga Ami-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Amagiri [KK-170])
Ashikaga Sayako-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Sagiri [KK-171])
Ashikaga Otsune-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Oboro [KK-172])
Ashikaga Akemi-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Akebono [KK-173])
Ashikaga Namiko-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Sazanami [KK-174])
Ashikaga Shiori-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Ushio [KK-175])

Save for Saki and Yūko, all the girls above take after their Kantai Collection interpretations. As neither Asagiri nor Yūgiri have been implemented in KanColle, I won't bring these girls into this fanfic series just yet.

The other shipgirls mentioned by Isaac Thomas in his review over the fates of the Ashikaga sisters:

Kumasaka Akina-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Akishimo [KK-242])
Watanabe Masako-shōsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan I-177, now Nihon-koku Gunkan Ina'ana [SK-177])
Taoka Seiko-shōsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan I-181, now Nihon-koku Gunkan Inbai [SK-181])

Akina will take after her Kantai Collection self. Masako and Seiko have yet to be implemented in KanColle, so they won't appear yet in this series. Note that in this universe, Japanese submarines (hull classification code SK for Sensuikan) are originally referred to by their wartime pennant numbers, then would receive a new name based on goroawase ("phonetic matching"); this is where homophonous words are associated with a given series of numbers, letters or symbols to associate new meaning with such a series, usually for humorous effect. There is a Japanese language goroawase generator I use in cases like this, which can be found with a simple search of "語呂合わせジェネレータ"; look for the one from SEOI-dot-NET to see what I mean. Note also that the post-war ship prefix for Japanese warships here is NKG, short for Nihon-koku Gunkan ("Warship of the State of Japan"). Once they become subgirls, Japanese submarines are given the automatic honorary rank of Shōsa ("lower-rank field officer"), which is equal to a Royal Canadian Navy/United States Navy lieutenant commander.

The one American ship mentioned by Itō Yoiko (THG Yonaga):

Captain Olive Dionysia Doolittle USN (United States Ship Saratoga [CV-3, formerly CC-3])

Dionne (as Dionysia is nicknamed) will not appear until Part 25 of Boy Meets Girl Meets Metahuman. Naturally, the one spoken of by Yoiko as well as Elizabeth Wakefield (the Academician) and her father Ned Wakefield will be introduced soon.

Finally, the ships mentioned by Fukushima Itsuko (THG Isonami) to James Ironwood in the final scene:

Asano Hoshie-taisa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Hōshō [KB-1])
Chihaya Anne-taisa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Kongō [JS-5])
Fujimoto Ayako-taisa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Aoba [JJ-67])
Hashimoto Sei-taisa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Sendai [KJ-58])

Chronologically, Ayako and Sei will first appear in this series in Before the Dream, while Anne appears in Extreme Shipgirls and Hoshie has yet to appear in this series as of the time of this writing (September 2024). The hull codes introduced here are JSJunyō Senkan (Battlecruiser/Fast Battleship), JJJūjun'yōkan (Heavy Cruiser) and KJKeijun'yōkan (Light Cruiser).

A quick note on Yizibajohei time measurements, plus describing the lineal differences with Earth/Remnant time…

First, the basic terms: Saga (Radale) — Millennium; Series (Sidyale) — Century; Mini-series (Homsidyale) — Decade; Season (Terikeli) — Year; Storyline (Lelu'uli) — Month; Episode (Pali) — Day; Act (Natoli) — Hour; Scene (Tyu'ur'beti) — Minute; Frame (Du'uli) — Second; Shot (Tieloli) — 1/100th of a second.

A storyline on Yiziba is equal to 36-37 Terran days. Because of this, storylines are divided unevenly; odd numbered storylines get thirty-seven days/episodes and even numbered ones get thirty-six. The equivalent of Terran leap year days come every fourth season and are added to the end of the last storyline, just before R'byuim-pali or "Premier Day". On Earth, R'byuim-pali normally falls around the first day of April in the Gregorian calendar.

And measuring time within a solar day/episode (pali): There are 100 seconds/frames (tieloli) in a minute equivalent/scene (tyu'ur'beti). This would leave 864 scenes/episode (average time on Earth [and Remnant as well] is 86,400 seconds/day). Running on the 1:100 scale, the number of hour equivalents/acts (natoli) would be 8.64, which wouldn't divide evenly as the Terran 24-hour system does. However, a factor of 1:32 can divide an episode into 27 acts of 32 scenes each. The first thirteen acts measured from midnight (yakyo'o) are seen as "before noon (meal)" (dulim), the fourteenth act is "noon meal" (duram), and the last thirteen acts are "after noon (meal)" (dudo). Note there is no daylight savings time practiced on Yiziba.

Lieutenant Commander Matsuhara Yoshi first appeared in the second of Mr. Albano's novel series, The Second Voyage of the Seventh Carrier (1986). He would remain one of the primary characters of the series for the rest of the run.

Finally, some quick translations (all Japanese unless indicated): Dōhō — Compatriot; Taishō — Navy admiral/Army general/Air Force air chief marshal; Rōnin — Masterless samurai/rogue; R'bemomadae — Death of all (Yizibajohei); Daitōryō — President (of a nation-state); Shirei-kan — Commander; Putayana — Literally “hilly mountains”, the name of the analogue city of Okayama in Japan (Yizibajohei); Meketuto — Literally “dawning sun”, the name of the analogue kingdom of Japan itself (Yizibajohei). As an aside, a "varsity" (in Yizibajohei, ohomuseali) is their term for a place of higher education like a university or college. Along with that, a husbander/husbandress (nasu; such terms are gender neutral in Yizibajohei) is one who specializes in handling animals; add "healer-" (baso-) to that title indicates the equal of a veterinarian.

Chapter 10: Confronting the Seventh Carrier

Summary:

As the just-Gifted metahumans of Remnant learn of ONE great benefit of being part of the Great Show of Life, people react to a strange yet OMINOUS outburst of ki and mana energy exploding from somewhere in far eastern Siberia early one morning...

We (the writer and readers) know what was and is there.

What happens when some of the most powerful metahumans of the Forge confront the seventh carrier of Operation Z...?

Chapter Text

DISCLAIMER: Concurrent with fair dealing clauses of the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada and fair use clauses in copyright legislation in other nations, this is a work that was created solely for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, it is posted freely on the Internet without expectation or requirement of remuneration.

****

Somewhere hidden on Yiziba, sometime on Ram-pali, Eke-lelu, Merimdulo'oto-teri (Niigata time: Wednesday 4 April, two hours after midnight; Anádyr’ time: Wednesday, an hour before dawn; Vale time: Gaycan 53 Treichleam, two hours after lunch)…

“Wow…”

For Velvet Scarlatina, it was like having fallen into the biggest and richest Dust-filled vegetable patch to ever exist.

“Wow…”

A place that made Amity Colosseum seem SMALL in comparison…

“Wow…”

Filled chock to the RAFTERS with weapons of all shapes, sizes and concepts…

“Wow…”

If she had just died, she knew she had found Heaven…

“Wow…”

“Hey, Penny.”

“Yes, Kamen?”

“What’s with Fluffy Ears over there?”

Penny Polendina blinked before she looked over her shoulder to see the Faunus member of Team CFVY standing nearby, her jaw hanging from her head as she slowly took in the sheer magnitude of the Kanatoro-tosa, one of the most hard-to-reach locations on the World of the Forge. Noting that her other companions from Vale — save for Fukushima Itsuko — were also staring with wide-eyed disbelief on seeing HOW MUCH the incarnations of the Master At Arms created over many lifetimes since the sheer holocaust of the Dawn of Power, the Mind-Molder of Armour shrugged…before she briefly blinked in surprise on noting that she had just made a human show of expression so easily. Seeing that, Shigaten Kamen smirked. “Still adjusting from being just a titemyu, huh?” the woman with the red-black hair and grey eyes, possessing elongated lower ear lobes for a humanoid species marking her genetic ancestral homeworld of Fukunokami near Uru, wondered before turning back to her main computer.

The adopted Atlesian blinked before chuckling. “Yes, I am. I’m glad I have my past-selves’ memories — especially when they lived as women — to help me improve my own social behavioral programming.” She gazed once more at Velvet before looking at Coco Adel, then Monica Khan and Blake Belladonna, then Pyrrha Nikos. “Sensory overload, I believe.”

Kamen blinked before she chuckled, then tapped a control to bring up the biography of the Valean weapons replicator. Scanning what was there — all thanks to Isaac Thomas, of course — the woman who had been created as a memory-copy and near-perfect DNA clone of the adopted daughter of one of the Fukunokami Union’s senior leaders hummed. “Yeah, I can understand that. She lucked out pretty good when she developed her semblance power. Must have made things nice for her teammates when she started training under Thoughtmaster-prime Ozpin at Beacon, then started working with her team as a group.”

That form of address for Shannon Ozpin made Penny blink before she lowered her voice. “I’ve been told of people such as yourself by Isaac Thomas, Kamen,” she quietly observed. “Aren’t you concerned about your countrywomen still under bondage with the Niphentaxians, both in their home solar system and also on Earth acting as assistant observers?”

That made the Fukunokami-form Avalonian — such made her genetically a very long-lived version of her template/twin sister Shigaten Benten, blessed on her very creation six seasons before with touch-telepathic and wide-ranging empathic powers, plus a form of subconscious metaphysical cosmic clairvoyance which allowed her to perceive an energy field permeating all things known to her genetic ancestors on a planet beyond the galaxy as Te’a — sit back. “Yeah, I am, but I’m just one person even with all of what I’ve got. Given that I’m now part of the Great Show of Life, if I decided to do an end-run around the rimrae umale on Phentax Two, how many of my sisters and their hybrid children would be lost?” As the other woman nodded with grim understanding, Kamen gazed on her viewscreen. “It’s definitely got to be a massive team effort, worthy of a Mother of All Fight Scenes if we decide to go all-out on them.” As Penny nodded in understanding, Kamen shrugged. “As to the ‘when’…”

A light smile crossed the other woman’s face. “Depending on how the overall plot scripts flow, you mean.”

“Yep. All depending on that…”

“Um, excuse me, Sensei…?”

Both turned as the Shy Tsunami came up to join them. “What’s up, Itsu-cha?” Kamen asked, using the Vosian version of the Japanese “-chan” honorific with the shortened version of the reborn destroyer’s given name.

That made the adopted native of Yokohama blush even as she waved over to where the two other Faunus who came to Yiziba were now standing, with Monica helping Blake examine some very wicked-looking taiken-shaped swords hanging from a handy rack. “Given that healers — and veterinary healers as well — are strongly protected both on Yiziba and on Remnant, are there any sort of high-power shielding systems that Monica-sensei can wear to see herself protected?”

“Oh, I can make those easily. But Isaac’s a better expert in those realms,” the adopted native of Bensaikyō, the capital city of her other-self’s home planet, answered. “He might not have anticipated the Healer being Gifted, but he’ll know what to do.”

“Ah…!”

“Hey, Velvet! Look here!”

The three women turned to look…

…then they winced on hearing Velvet scream out in awed shock on seeing what — in Terran eyes — would be a man-portable version of an Alliant Techsystems M242 Bushmaster chain gun now in the hands of the Human Legion. As the leporine therianthrope literally TELEPORTED over to closely examine such a beast — seeing that, Kamen immediately recalled that such had been a heavy assault infantry support arm from the early days of the Dawn of Power her first-self had created for the government of Kuorim on the eastern equatorial continent — a wry smile crossed the Master At Arms’ face…

****

Remnant, on the Island of Patch near Vale City, mid-afternoon…

“I’m just saying that there’s more of JNPR than RWBY. It makes more sense to go with that one.”

“But ‘junior’ isn’t a colour, Nora.”

Nora Valkyrie snorted as she gave her childhood friend an annoyed look. “How can I be MORE…huh?!”

Both she and Liè Ren perked on hearing a strange whining noise echo through the air over the Rose/Xiǎo Lóng farmstead where they and their surviving teammate Jaune Arc had relocated themselves to after being released to carry out a “special” mission assigned by Glynda Goodwitch the previous day. Said task — as explained by the acting headmistress of the temporarily-defunct Beacon Academy — was to locate an ancient relic said to have been created by the God of Light, thus ensure it didn’t fall into the hands of Cinder Fall or whoever her leader was. Fortunately, said relic now being protected by the headmaster of the Haven Academy in Mistral, Professor Leonardo Lionheart. Unfortunately, given the breakdown of communications between Vale City and the other kingdom capitals — never mind the need to divert resources to clean up the mess from the mass Grimm attack provoked by Cinder and her allies — the trip was going to have to happen the HARD way, both overland and by sea.

The two natives of Kuroyuri some distance from Mistral on the continent of Anima watched as an aircraft resembling a quasi-tubular cigar mounting shoulder-level wings (with swivel pulse-jet motors at the end) and possessing a multi-rudder tail assembly moved to hover some distance from the childhood home of their new teammate before coming to settle on the even soil with a gentle hissing noise. Once the engines had died down, the back hatch opened, revealing a tall and broad-shouldered man with lean muscles, he draped in an off-white jumpsuit with a Y-shaped looping arc insignia on his chest; he also wore a protective hooded cape around his shoulders, such hanging down to his knees. His face was partially covered by a protective set of goggles shielding blue eyes from potential outside harm. Ren’s sharp chestnut eyes were quick to detect that there were micro-HUD screens in those goggles, implying this fellow — whom he was quick to recognize as Isaac Thomas, the Vacuan who founded Renaissance Industries sometime ago to help develop technology not dependant on Dust — was far better equipped than many non-huntsmen to deal with potential threats. If what Goodwitch had told them about this man was even HALF true…!

“Mister Ren! Miss Valkyrie!”

Both Animanians perked on hearing that voice, then they approached the older — though not so much up close, Nora was quick to perceive — man. “Mister Thomas,” Ren said as he shook the offered hand. “We weren’t told you were coming to visit.”

“Professor Goodwitch should have called ahead and warned Mister Xiǎo Lóng I was coming,” Isaac stated as he was joined by another man who looked to be the age of the hunters, with dirty blonde hair, hazel eyes and carrying a beautiful flowering plant of a type neither Nora nor Ren could recognize. “Ah, this is my friend Neville Longbottom. He’s from Gossan; you probably heard it was recently destroyed in a Grimm attack. He’s a specialist in dealing with developing Dust-free plants.”

“Delighted to meet you both,” Neville said as he tucked the plant pot to one side before shaking Ren’s hand, then formally bowing over Nora’s hand to give her a courtly kiss. “I’m sorry to hear about what happened to your friend.”

The veterans of Team JNPR grimaced. “We’ll recover,” Ren assured. “What’s with that, though?”

Nora moaned. “Oh, c’mon, Ren!” she snapped. “Bright flowers are always good to help people get over bad things!” As the dark-haired hunter gave her a bland look, the over-cheerful huntress with the dirty blonde hair and turquoise eyes gave Neville a delighted smile. “Thing I’m curious about is what’s in there,” she then asked, pointing to the large carrying case Isaac had.

Isaac chuckled. “Good sense of caution, Miss Valkyrie,” he said while flipping up the case to open it.

A second later, a wild squeal echoed over the island…

****

Inside the farm, minutes later…

“It certainly has a lovely scent, Neville,” Tàiyáng Xiǎo Lóng stated as he handed a cup of tea over.

“It’s one of my earlier developments,” the Master of Plants stated while nodding his thanks for the offered cup, then looked over to see both Nora Valkyrie and a recovered Ruby Rose fawning over the beautiful flowers which the native of Holdenhurst had brought to this farm. Such a plant was a modified version of a Yizibajohei nunuta, a central equatorial continent perennial which could adopt itself to any sort of climatic conditions save for the cold polar zones of any Class M planet; yes, Neville Longbottom — British pureblood scion he was even if he would gladly wipe out the Death Eaters in cartload lots if given the chance — was as much a Trekker as he was a Whovian. Fortunately for the sake of the locals, the nunuta had been genetically bred to NOT mutate into some animal-eating creature as the chlorokinetic’s many past-selves had seen over the past two sagas. Never mind the need to keep things secret from the death cheater who had been ruining lives wholesale on this planet since the time of the Dawn of Power, Neville doubted Ruby would appreciate some monster plant eating her precious little dog Zwei.

“Yeah, it does have a nice scent to it,” Jaune Arc noted as he came over to join them. “Do you have any more of them, Neville?”

“For your parents?” the Devonshire wizard asked on seeing the pensive look on the other man’s face.

“Yeah! Need a peace offering!” the blond native of Radian in the northern part of Sanus quite some distance from Vale City said with an embarrassed look. “They found out about the attack on Beacon and freaked right out. Freaked out even more when I told them I wasn’t coming home but going on a special mission with my friends.” Here, he indicated the other teen huntsmen in the living room; Liè Ren was seated to one side of the room looking over some information stored on his scroll while Nora and Ruby continued to fawn over the pretty nunuta flower. Isaac Thomas was busy with Yáng Xiǎo Lóng in her bedroom helping her adjust to the new prosthetic arm the New Yorker had readily made for the heavy hitter of Team RWBY. “Never cared for the idea of me becoming a huntsman in the first place, never mind that our family’s legacy goes back many years…!”

Neville nodded as he reached over to squeeze the other man’s shoulder in a show of peer solidarity. “Know how you feel, mate,” he affirmed. “Always hard to live up to the older generations’ expectations.”

Before anyone could say anything more, the door to Yáng’s bedroom then opened…

…then with an ear-splitting shriek of delight, Ruby disappeared into a shower of rose pedals as she lunged over to nearly knock down her half-sister with a hug that could crush an iceberg. “YOU’RE OKAY!” the leader of Team RWBY squealed.

Yáng yelped as she nearly staggered right back into the Wise Lone Sage himself, who seemed quite amused by the younger huntress’ actions. “Easy, Ruby!” Isaac gently scolded. “You’re still walking wounded and your sister’s definitely walking wounded!” At the pout from the blonde huntress, he winked at her. “Yáng, just because I got you that prosthetic doesn’t mean you’re ready to go track Adam Taurus down and beat the crap out of the fool right now. You need to know how to use it, both in normal circumstances and with your semblance as well. It’ll take a bit, but you’ll be back in battery soon enough.”

“Isaac’s right, Miss Xiǎo Lóng,” Neville added. “Much that I’m sure you want to help your sister and your friends on this thing Professor Goodwitch has them doing, you need to still recover from losing that arm. You don’t want to do something to rip open where they knitted the skin and flesh back together again, would you?” He tried not to visibly wince on saying that; given that he was both a magical and a metahuman, he knew of ways of regrowing lost limbs with considerable ease.

People winced. “Yeah, Yáng, you don’t want to make things worse before you get better,” Nora affirmed, which made Ruby blink before she nodded in understanding. “Don’t worry; we’ve got Qrow watching our backs and if what I heard Isaac and his people did in Vale after we chased out Fall and her idiots, we can get everyone back together again and bring the hurt down on any of those jerks if they decide to press for a fight.” Here, she pulled out Magnhild out from behind her to twirl it.

“Nora, please!” Tàiyáng then called out. “Not in the house!”

The hammer fighter/electrical energy manipulator cutely eeped at that admonishment from the veteran of Team STRQ. “Yeah, Yáng! We’ll stay in touch as long as we can!” Ruby assured her sister. “There are loads of relay towers for the CCT system to still work and stay connected! Even if the Beacon Tower’s down, we’ve always been able to pick up CCT signals from Radian and some of the outlying islands near here! By the time we’re out of range, I’m sure you’ll be ready to go again!”

That made Yáng blink before she sighed. “Well, I’ll do my best. I am worried about Blake and Weiss, though…”

“Blake’s fine, Yáng,” Isaac said, saying that for the second time for the benefit of the others. “She was hurt just as bad as you were with what Adam did that night. Fortunately, there are people breaking away from the White Fang even now that most of them have decided that violence is the only answer to their issues. One of those leaving, ironically, is her former girlfriend.”

That made Yáng and Ruby perk. “What?! Monica’s around?!” the former demanded.

“Oh, I always wanted to meet her! She sounds so nice!” the latter stated.

Jaune, Ren and Nora blinked before the former gaped. “Wait! Monica KHAN?! Sienna Khan’s niece?! THAT Monica?!”

“Yep, that’s her!” Ruby declared as she pulled out her scroll, going into pictures to display an image she got from her teammate’s own device, then she came over to show the other huntsmen. “Isn’t she so pretty?!”

Jaune and Ren both whistled before the latter winced as his childhood friend growled jealously at him…

****

Somewhere in Hokkaidō , the Amon Clan family training compound, an hour before dawn (Vale time: An hour before supper)…

Neopolitan’s heterochromic eyes fluttered open. “What the…?” she called out.

Blinking on finding herself on a futon — which wasn’t too uncomfortable in her mind, remembering the times she and her late guardian had slept on the streets whenever they had to hide from the law — the Ballerina of the Final Darkness slowly reached for one of her dirks, laid out within arm’s reach just in case any of her new teachers decided to do an early morning ambush…

“Excellent reflexes, Trivia.”

Her skin paled as her empathic powers instantly zeroed in on that virtual black hole where the personal assassin of Japan’s head of state had placed herself in the shadows farthest from the windows. “Miss Negako…” she breathed out.

The darkness melted into Moroboshi Negako, whose general history was now known to the Valean mercenary. Earth’s first true artificial intelligence created effectively by accident thanks to the unplanned combination of two mental “libraries” of combat knowledge accumulated by allied clans of the Tensei-ryū — the esoteric school of martial arts formed by an ebony mesonium-powered immortal named Hozan Hirosuke, a fellow who had served the Throne of Yamato for over a millennium until he was assassinated by metahuman militarist fanatics in 1937; these days, that school was effectively managed by Earth’s very own Jewel Warrior, a woman named Dean Raeburn from Canada across the Pacific — in what came to be known as the “Incident of Bunka-gonen”. Once the being — then simply called the Saikō Jinseijutsu in honour of the martial arts school practiced by those allied clans, the Moroboshi of Mutsu and the Hana of Peshi — had managed to stabilize itself within its new host, it then entreated of its ultimate creator for the chance to live as its own being. Sadly, this was long before Niphentaxian cultural observers brought Terran-form Avalonian slave “assistant observers” to Earth — Oh, yes! Did Neo know about THAT! — who could be approached to help. However, luck finally came thanks to Kasuga Ayumu of all people, who sensed what was going on back in the spring of 2001, then used her access to the Doll House to forge a new body for such a being. This allowed the Earth Angel — known on Yiziba as Ledo Kimr'be, which made her one of the “Named” on the World of the Forge even if Negako didn’t care at all to engage in any aspect of the Great Show of Life — a chance to live her own life under her own control.

“So, what are you doing here?” Neo wondered as Negako moved to sit seiza beside the futon, then reached over to the small tea service, such supplanted by a portable heater to keep the water warm.

“A warning given that both Jō and I would desire you to concentrate more on your training while you are a guest here with the Amon Clan,” the other woman said as she finished preparing the tea, then handed it over. “As your powers adjust to how various energy flows surge through Earth’s biosphere, you might sense things which will distract you from your present goals. While I would naturally hesitate to ask for your assistance unless the specific issue demands such, given the general move of those non-Yizibajohei who are welcomed as Named into the Great Show of Life itself, even those recruited by Leno…”

Neo chuckled before sipping the tea. “Yeah, even the worst heel on Yiziba sees him or herself as a face at times,” she noted as she shifted herself into a crossed-leg position. “Still, it’d be rude as heck for me to stand back and allow my hosts to be harmed in case some dork attacks them. If that happens, I’m in on the fight scene, Miss Negako. No stopping me there.”

“I suspected as much.”

The experienced mercenary blinked before giving the other woman a curious look. “What’s wrong?”

A tired sigh escaped Negako, something that — to those who knew her — would be seen as something of a prodigy. Given her iron-hard control over her emotions thanks to the knowledge she gained from all those whose memories helped effectively CREATE her two centuries ago, such outbursts were virtually unknown from the likes of the grandmaster of Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū. “At two o’clock yesterday morning Japan time, a massive outburst of ki and mana energy exploded from the far-eastern area of the Chukótka Peninsula in Siberia. As to what caused such an event, I cannot perceive…which is quite peculiar as I can tap into every ley line that exists on this planet whenever I desire. However, this event was unique enough to alert a whole host of precognitives, clairvoyants, seers, high-order empaths — to which, Trivia, you are one — and martial arts masters possessing MY level of esoteric senses.” As Neo blushed at the compliment the ninjutsu grandmaster just gave her, Negako added, “Even more so, concerning your Gifted peers on Earth, both Faith Lehane and Margareta Hecht in America and Takino Tomo here in Japan — respectively, Wildflower, the Dominatrix and Warwind — were able to sense this. Whoever or whatever this is, it could be a potentially grave threat. It could be not. With the interest of the Galactic Federation of Planet-states on Earth thanks to the Urusians’ actions last fall — and the overall quest of those who followed Tariko’s quest to see people empowered without causing massive alarm throughout the local stellar cluster — the presence of such a being will need to be investigated.”

Neo nodded. “And you’d want me to stay out of it.”

“Unless either yourself or your hosts are threatened…” Here, Negako looked over. “Jō.”

The Valean smiled as the head of the Amon Clan came out of the shadows to sit down next to the Heavenly Sovereign’s personal assassin. “Praise the Kami that I wasn’t the ONLY one to sense that whatever-that-was in Siberia, Shihan-sama,” he said with a relieved smile as Negako moved to prepare another cup of tea. “What could such a being be like?”

“I cannot say, Jō. That is what concerns me,” the other martial arts grandmaster coolly declared, earning her an understanding nod from their host. “Despite my skills, I do not have the ability to sense anything shielded by heavy forms of mesonium. The far northeast of Siberia is one such location. Even more so, thanks to the ‘tag race’ last fall in Tomobiki with the Urusians, I have had to meditate frequently to prevent my own ki senses from being permanently affected by that influence.”

He blinked in confusion. “Why shield Tomobiki even now? I don’t understand. Despite the news blackout, the tag race was dealt with, there was no invasion and the Urusians returned to their homeworld afterwards.”

She shook her head. “I cannot say. I too am affected by this suppression of information from that part of Nishitōkyō. According to some who frequent the area, the Urusians and their allies have continued to maintain contact with residents in that district, even actually taking residence there themselves. As to who exactly and WHY they are there, I cannot ascertain.”

Jō gaped. “What?! YOU CAN’T LEARN THAT?! You’re Tennō’s right-hand assistant in situations like this, Negako-sama! If anyone has the right to know about anything that happens anywhere in Japan, it is YOU of all people!”

“Unless someone wants to PERSONALLY keep Miss Negako blind to all this.”

Eyes locked on Neo. Blinking as she considered that, the spiritual descendant of the intrigues of Tutota R’batae Kutotuto in the early years of the Dawn of Power took a deep breath before sipping her tea. “Think about it. Miss Negako has the capability — as she just said now — to sense out a hell of a lot of things that happen here on Earth. Yet she can’t sense what’s going on in Tomobiki, which is not so far from where she lives at the Imperial Palace in Tōkyō, right?!” As the older people nodded, the Valean then pointed to the northeast. “Now we got this other thing going on in Siberia that’s perked the interest of the three most-powerful FISS-types active now. Has Mustang come back yet?” At Negako’s shake of the head, Neo bit her lip. “Wait! This Tomobiki place; it’s Tariko’s old town before her mom took her to Yiziba a miniseries ago, right?” As the older people nodded, Neo grimaced. “The two last people listed in the Book were from Tomobiki! What if Tariko’s trapped there?!”

Jō and Negako blinked before they exchanged looks…

****

Back on Remnant, the Rose/ Xi ǎ o L ó ng farm on Patch Island outside Vale City, two hours later (local time: Gaycan, an hour after supper; Sunnydale time: Tuesday 3 April, mid-afternoon)…

“Well, at least they got some food into them before they left,” Tàiyáng Xiǎo Lóng mused as he and his guests watched the four people riding all-terrain motorcycles down the main road towards the ferry docks that would allow the newly-formed Team RJNR (or Team “Ranger”) to access a ship for Vale City; once ashore in one of the more safe areas, they could then take one of the several more well-used travelling routes to get to the east coast of the continent and cross over to Anima. “Thanks for telling Ruby about the possibility of Penny being rebuilt by her father, Neville. That cheered her up quite a bit.”

Neville Longbottom chuckled as he and Isaac Thomas turned to follow their host up the trail back to the nearby farmhouse. “My pleasure, sir,” the Devonshire wizard affirmed with a nod as he exchanged a look with his New Yorker friend. “Even if we can’t spill all the pumpkin juice about what has to happen now, giving your daughter some sense of hope will do wonders.”

Tàiyáng nodded as he glanced at his two guests out of the corner of his eyes. Even now with what Qrow Branwen briefed him on shortly before the former bandit left the house as a hidden “advanced scout” for Ruby’s new group as they quested for Mistral, it was still hard to believe that not the Wise Lone Sage and the Master of Planets were honest-to-Oum ALIENS of all things! Even more so, both were empowered by different forms of semblance and aura abilities — these “Gifts” that natives of the homeworld of the One Above the Gods held so dear; even if he was Valean, Tàiyáng knew THOSE legends — which allowed the hyper-genius polymath who had founded Renaissance Industries to fight Adam Taurus of all people to a victory. Never mind the fact that the chlorokinetic had also been born with bona-fie MAGIC of all things! “So, how are the others?”

Isaac held up his left wrist, where he had mounted a mini-PAA that allowed him quick access to the networks that helped support the Great Show of Life back on Yiziba. Willing the holographic screen to display what was there in Remnantian characters — which wasn’t so different from Terran Latin script; the way some of those letters were shaped reminded him a lot of Galactic Basic back in a certain universe far, far away a long time ago he once visited — the native of Queens hummed. “Well, Blake, Monica, Penny, Pyrrha, Coco and Velvet are still visiting Kamen in the Arsenal trying to get replacement weapons built…or in Penny’s case, get her past-selves’ various armour prototypes taken out of there and shifted to the laboratory I set aside for her on the Normandy.” As Tàiyáng’s eyes sparkled at the idea of going aboard a real spaceship of all things, Isaac clicked his tongue. “Still no Giftings for either Yatsuhashi or Fox, but I’m not worried about them. Velvet’s probably still too overwhelmed by what Kamen has stashed in the Arsenal; nothing’s happened to her just yet. Most of General Ironwood’s forces are pulling out now from Vale to return to Atlas and the Colosseum is clearing Valean airspace as the on-board staff fix things up.”

A glance to the northeastern sky revealed a small fleet of cargo craft heading off over the horizon towards the distant shores of Solitas. Turning towards the west, the three men were quick to see the fading lights of the great floating atmospheric satellite which hosted the yearly Vytal Festivals. While going that way was heading away from Atlas City itself, Amity would eventually swing north once over open ocean to make dock at a special receiving yard outside the industrial town of Arrowfell at the edge of the Snowbound Forest that covered most of the polar landmass. “You think this might make the death-cheater believe she actually won this one, Isaac?” Neville wondered as he crossed his arms, gently grasping his wand under his tunic sleeve.

“Maybe. Maybe not. Depends on how much Salem can sense things through the Grimm,” Isaac breathed out. “She must know that she lost a lot of resources in the attack on Gaysaw evening. Atop that, Cinder survived Ruby nearly turning her into ashes once her silver eye power finally woke up; once she recovers, she’ll fill Salem in on everything.” He trilled. “Thanks to Kanako, we know Salem’s moving to have Adam Taurus tracked down to get more information on what happened. We have a window of opportunity, but it’s shrinking fast. If she learns the majority of Vale survived the attack, she might strike again…”

“She won’t like the result THIS time, mate,” the Master of Plants then advised before gazing on their host. “I’ll have some masa trees sent over here so you can plant them on the island and shield it from any surprise attack.”

“Appreciated,” Tàiyáng affirmed, quickly interpreting what the Yizibajohei term meant in his native tongue. “Oak trees are seen here on Remnant as symbols of long-lasting settlement. Back before we switched to mortar and brick — this was what Ozpin told us when he finally let us learn the truth about himself and his relationship with the Queen of Darkness and how that came to influence so much history here — all our urban places were made of various oak plants.” He then looked at the wizard-turned-chlorokinetic. “Did you know that when you started passing those young trees around?”

“Honestly, I didn’t,” Neville confessed as the three turned back to walking towards the house. “Still, it’s amazing to me that our societies are so similar in so many ways.” As Tàiyáng nodded, he continued, “In wand-magical lore where I come from, oak is often seen as the ‘king of trees’. Wands made from it tend to enhance a person’s magic quite well, depending on what sort of core you’re using to channel the magic. That’s why I was attracted right away to masa trees after I got Gifted in the summer after my first year at Hogwarts. On Yiziba, even young masa shrubs can hold a VERY high content of mesonium, which is what we need to plant all over the planet to deny the environment to those alconóst/dementor rejects that death-cheater controls.”

Tàiyáng hummed. “Qrow told me that the ancestors of the Grimm were driven off Earth with the help of one of those really old nature spirits that rose up on the planet over the last couple million of years.” As Neville and Isaac both nodded in confirmation, the veteran of Team STRQ breathed out. “And the actual magical beings who directly fought the alconóst are still alive and well. Do you think they might want to send warriors over here to help us fight the Grimm once things go public?”

The Wise Lone Sage gritted his teeth. “Still have no answer to that, Tàiyáng. It all depends on what the Dúma Gamájuna decides to do. I’ve never interacted with gamájun, so I can’t judge a damned thing about them…”

A beeping noise echoed from Isaac’s wrist, which made him tap the control there, allowing the holographic image to change to that of a very sultry-looking brunette with amber-brown eyes, she dressed in a medium-green modern jumpsuit with all sorts of flowers dotting over it. “Hey, Faith!” the New Yorker greeted the transplanted Bostonian now living in one of the most magically dangerous pieces of real estate on Earth. “What’s the what?! Where the hell are you calling from anyway?”

Tàiyáng and Neville were quick to hear the whistling of air around the body of the Belle of the Wilderness, Yati (“Windflower”), the second-strongest “normal” FISS-type to exist on Yiziba despite what one Takino Tomo might loudly claim to the contrary. “Way in the skies over the Arctic close to Alaska, I-man! Yo, Nev!” Faith Lehane — a person whom, thanks to her being one of TWO living Heiresses of Sineya who were ready to deal with all sorts of dark creatures beyond the capacity of national magical ministries to handle, always earned a tonne of respect from many like Neville Longbottom — called back, keeping her own PAA close to her as she scanned around. “Dunno if you got any updates from Earth yet, but someone or something somewhere up here unleashed some MAJOR mojo somewhere around these parts yesterday when the gang and I were having lunch!”

Isaac blinked, instantly being reminded what the Wild Warrior of Passion had warned the Living Spirit of Innocence of earlier that day before she returned to Japan. “What did it feel like to you, Faith? I know Tomo picked up on it…”

“Couldn’t really put words to it, dude,” Faith answered. “It felt almost as strong as General Raeburn does to me in a lot of ways! It’s been bugging me all day. Whatever it was, it really got the nightlife in the ‘Dale really agitated last night.”

“How busy were you guys?” Neville wondered.

“We managed to bag a few vamps to get them turned back like the Boy-Toy wants all the time, but there were some demons running around as well, screaming that some big dude somewhere up here’s really pissed about something! I…what?”

The “dark slayer” from Massachusetts was quick to sense the hyper-genius from New York visibly wincing. “Oh, God, no…!”

“What is it, Isaac?” the Master of Plants asked.

A tired sigh escaped the Wise Lone Sage. “Faith, I’ll send Willow a full brief on what’s going on here on Remnant to her as soon as I’m able to get back aboard the Normandy. Give me a couple of hours. Have Willow analyze it and brief Rupert right away.”

Faith blinked. “What is it, I-man? Our type of big bad?”

He breathed out. “Tell Rupert that Túndra is now VERY agitated. Once Willow briefs him, he’ll understand…”

By then, all three men had got close enough to the farmhouse — whose main door was left open — to hear faint sobbing echo from the living room. “Oh, hell! Yáng!” Tàiyáng screamed out as he raced into the building.

Isaac cursed. “I’ll call you back, Faith! Rierite mode for us now!”

The Belle of the Wilderness nodded in understanding, she jauntily saluting him. “Go get your new student, I-man!”

A chuckle escaped the New Yorker as he closed the link with Earth, then he and Neville jogged up to the doorway, looking in to see a moaning Yáng Xiǎo Lóng now sobbing into the crook of his father’s neck. Seeing how much the heavy hitter of Team RWBY was now unstrung over what happened to her in the last few days and more, Isaac sighed before he gazed at his friend from England. “Go talk to Professor Oobleck and Professor Port,” he whispered. “They need to come visit here tomorrow.”

The Master of Plants nodded in understanding…

****

In the skies over the Chukótskoe Sea west of Point Hope, Alaska, an hour later (local time: Tuesday, mid-afternoon; Niigata time: Wednesday, breakfast; Anádyr’ time: Wednesday, an hour before lunch; Sunnydale/Sweet Valley time: Tuesday, two hours before supper)…

“Nothing, nothing and STILL NOTHING! Shit! Where the fuck IS this thing?!”

“Chill, Molly!” Faith Lehane said as she waved down the most powerful FISS-type to currently live in Sweet Valley safely to the west of the current active Hellmouth. “We all know how powerful this Túndra dude’s said to be…”

Molly Hecht grimaced as she looked to and fro. While not one of the Sweet Valley Boosters, she was allied to them in a way. She had been Gifted as the Mistress of Pain and Pleasure, Kanae Matotukhebae (the “Dominatrix”), the summer after the first contact between residents of the former fish canning town and Tariko Katabarbe. Empowered to be one of the top-level FISS-types — coming with a nervous system-augmented adrenal boost capability that flooded her with even more power every time she experienced any physical pain — she would join with several others Gifted in the summer of 2008 from the “wrong side of the tracks” in the Valley to form their own group, the “Secret Society” as they called themselves. Said group would work hard to help those more disadvantaged in even a place like Sweet Valley to better advance their lives, escape the trap of drug addiction and bad homes to go forth and live free. While the Secret Society and the Boosters seldom worked together, they were forced to ally themselves just prior to the previous Hallowe’en when the daughter of the third-richest family in the city, Regina Morrow, was FORCEABLY Gifted by a then-VERY drunk Molly into becoming the Queen of Traps, Kiluo (“Manacle”). And while Molly was still guilt-ridden over her actions that evening — Regina had just broken up with the scion of the Valley’s richest family, Bruce Patman, then subsequently fell in with one of Molly’s normal friends, Justin Belson, to understand how “normal” people lived — that the heavy hitter of the Secret Society wound up getting a girlfriend over the whole thing…!

Personally, comparing mental images of the vivacious brunette Regina with the silvery-blonde Molly, the Dark Slayer of South Boston had to admit that they did make one very hot couple indeed…!

“Hey, guys!”

Both the Belle of the Wilderness and the Mistress of Pain and Pleasure perked on hearing that familiar voice, then turned south towards the Diomede Islands as the Wild Warrior of Passion flew up to join them; by the looks of things, Takino Tomo had just found out about what Faith and Molly were doing, then moved to invite herself to join the search. Of course, neither American minded the presence of their Japanese friend. Despite her being a wildcat loon on occasion, the current incarnation of Warwind also often displayed a Zen-like understanding of battle that made her friends in the Azuma Group freak out whenever that side of her came out. “Joining the party, huh?” Faith said she grasped the younger girl’s hand in a firm grip. Yes, like others who were FISS-types since Tomo’s Gifting the previous spring, the Dark Slayer had gone all out with the other girl; one of their bouts in the Battlezone had lasted for nearly a whole DAY, it was that intense between them! And while Molly could easily equal Tomo in the boosted strength department, Faith knew that the two had become close friends. The Wild Warrior had weighed in on the whole thing with what happened to Regina Morrow as soon as news of the incident got across the Pacific. She gladly let an ashamed Molly vent out her own self-loathing whenever she needed it and couldn’t do it on the bitch that had “stolen” Patman from Regina in the first place, Elizabeth Wakefield’s former best friend Amy Sutton AKA the Shot-Put Siren of the South, Bisete Buorite (“Trebuchet”). Of course, Tomo was more than happy to pound down on Amy whenever she got the chance.

“Nothing, nothing and STILL nothing!” Molly snarled again as she patted Tomo’s shoulder, she then glancing towards the west and the northern Siberian coast beyond. It was a relatively clear April morning, with the Sun way off to the south; all three girls hovered now at about three thousand metres above the choppy surface of the Chukótskoe Sea emptying into the Bering Strait separating the Last Frontier State from the Land Rich in Reindeer. “Whatever it is, it’s here somewhere. But where…?”

Faith sniffed the air. “Lots of meson in the air.” She stuck out her tongue to taste a snowflake that drifted down from higher altitude. “Yeah, we got some big deposits around these parts. Whoever or whatever it is, it’s got masking mojo…!”

A PAA buzzed. “Faith?!”

The South Bostonian picked the device out of her belt pocket, once again reminding herself to seek out an egghead like the leader of the Boosters to get some wrist-mounted mini-PAAs to use with her costume. “Hey! What’s the what, Red?”

“Well, I think I have an idea of what’s going on where you, Molly and Tomo are at now,” Willow Rosenberg called back from the library at Sunnydale High School; the image projecting from Faith’s PAA showed her seated alongside Rupert Giles. “It definitely HAS to have something to do with that Remnant planet that Isaac’s so interested in now.”

“Yeah, I-man mentioned this Túndra dude…”

“Who — undoubtedly thanks to the gamájun — now knows about the alconóst descendants that Isaac is seeking to eliminate from that planet, Faith,” the assigned Watcher to the leader of the Scooby Gang cut in for the Arch-Mage of True Passion, R'bemdo R'bem (“Crimson Heart”). “Given what legends have been passed down from that time by the gamájun — confirmed with statements about same given by Rittmeister von Taserich when he was interviewed about the End War by various European magical ministries as well as the Watchers — that specific side of that conflict was bloody and widespread. That the gamájun were able to pull off a victory against the alconóst speaks well of their overall magical power even back then.”

“Don’t forget the Ori aspect of things, Giles,” Willow reminded the older man. “Even if Stargate Command has yet to run into either the Ori or the other Anquietas while using that Gate in Cheyenne Mountain, they’re out there…”

“And probably still sore as shit at all of Ōsaka’s past-selves for kicking the shit out of them like they did over the years,” Tomo snarked as she crossed her arms, exchanging a knowing look with Molly.

Molly laughed. “Hey, Tomo, is it true that on Remnant, they call Grandpa Ayone the ‘One Above the Gods’?!”

All three women snickered…

“Yeah, they do, Molly-chan! It’s so BLEAH!” a strange voice then cut in, making Faith, Molly and Tomo perk.

“Hey, Chiyosuke! You build that ride?!” the Belle of the Wilderness whistled in admiration on seeing the youngest of the Azuma Gang now riding on a sleek tenne brown hoverbike bearing her old symbol as Muoleguo (“Cerebral Child”) — it had been the Goddess Who Walks Among Men who had prompted Mihama Chiyo to change her battle name after Kasuga Ayumu helped the would-be leader of the Young Guns get a synthezoid body from the Doll House; such had been done to save the young genius from Itabashi from dying from cerebral burn-out overusing her abilities — as it now hovered close to where Faith and the others were floating. Naturally, Ayumu herself had come along with Chiyo on this trip north from Tōkyō to find out what had happened here in the last day that had a tonne of people worldwide — especially those of a metaphysical bent — VERY agitated.

“Hai, Faith-san, got it done a few days after spring vacation started,” Chiyo cheerily answered. “Might take it over to Remnant to see if Isaac-san could replicate it for people there. Sure, they use motorcycles there, but the transportation networks beyond the big cities aren’t the greatest, at least by our standards, both Earth and Yiziba. Ah, Willow-san! Giles-sensei! Konnichi wa!”

“Good morning to yourself, Miss Mihama, Miss Kasuga,” Giles called back. “I assume the mesonium particle count where you’re at is high enough that it would even block Miss Kasuga’s senses from picking up on things?”

Humming, Chiyo tapped a control to scan around them. “Hai, Sensei, it’s very dense up here!” she said before her eyes narrowed as a holographic map then appeared. “Really heavily concentrated here east of the Nèskènpíl'gyn Lagoon, just short of where this river flows into the sea west of Ènurmino here. Lots of ice still covering the area even if spring is coming…”

“Wait, Chiyo!” Willow cut in. “Remember, if this is where the Dúma Gamájuna base themselves, it’s protected territory.”

“Gee! Tell that to the goddamned poachers, Wills…!” Molly snarked…

****

Sano Bay, that moment…

“What is so interesting, Little One?”

Hearing that question from the transformed great nest she had been hatched on six years ago, young Nebesyákh' Bélogo — she was the niece of Pjésnja Bélogo through a fully-human brother, one of the few allowed to live in Svjetjjílische with the various nests that supported the Dúma Gamájuna — blinked as she gazed up at the curious face of the being now calling herself “Itō Yoiko” for a moment, then she pointed to the east-northeast. “Flying people. No wings,” she quietly declared.

Blinking, the seventh carrier of Operation Z took that in before her head snapped over…

…then her breath caught in her throat on seeing the tiny dots in the eastern sky at a considerable altitude at quite the distance from the place where the young gamájun chick had put herself to gaze beyond the icy walls of Sano-wan to the outside world, fortunately shielded by the ancient barriers of mesonium that had also cloaked the Yonaga and her crew. Closing her eyes for a moment, the adopted native of Maizuru (where she was built) allowed those orbs structure to focus on far distance sight, as if one of her crew were using the powerful optical systems mounted on her superstructure to help direct her considerable air defence suite of guns in case of attack. Opening those grey orbs once more, a sort of tunnel vision then came into play, allowing those dots to become a small group of women, two obviously American and three more Oriental. “Metahumans…!” she hissed.

“What was that, Yoiko-chan?!”

That was the current petty officer-of-the-watch for the forenoon period, one of her air wing’s junior pilots, Naval Pilot 1st Class Kojima Hitoshi. A native of Yokosuka, he was a member of the Dai-282 Kaigun Kōkū-tai under the command of Yonaga’s chief fighter pilot Commander Shimizu Masao; he served as a wingman to Matsuhara Yoshi, both having come up through the service from basic pilot training at the Tsuchiura School in 1937 even if the Californian’s degree from UCLA earned him an officer’s commission while the Yokosuka-jin came up through the ranks. A self-professed lover of many things Western, he had been one of many of Yonaga’s ship’s company to befriend Brent Ross over the years since the blond Californian retired intelligence officer had joined the trapped sailors and airmen just before the events of 11 September 2001; in actuality, Hitoshi had been part of the fishing crew whose whaler had been overturned in a storm that had been rescued by a dying Ted Ross nearly two decades earlier. And while he was bound by Bushidō to obey the orders to strike at Pearl Harbour as had been passed down to Fujita Hiroshi all those years ago, Hitoshi was one of the growing number of people who had come to accept that the mission was long since over with and it was time to go home and reconnect with family…though naturally, he wouldn’t speak of such thoughts unless bade to by the would-be commander of Operation Z, preferably when they were alone or with Yonaga’s captain Ogawa Gorō.

“We have mystery women visiting the area, Hitoshi-san,” Yoiko declared as she patted the shoulder of the young gamájun chick who first sensed them. “Three from Japan, two from America from what I can tell.” She then pointed.

Pulling out his field binoculars, Hitoshi looked himself before gaping. “Gods! How young is that one on the flying machine?!”

As voices echoed from nearby while more of Yoiko’s crew began to realize that something important was happening, the seventh carrier declared, “That is Mihama Chiyo, also known as Prodigy, from Itabashi in Tōkyō proper. She’s twelve years old, in fact.” Ignoring the shocked gasps from people as others drew out their binoculars to see, Yoiko added, “A hyper-genius polymath; she was so intelligent even BEFORE Gifting that she advanced from the sixth year of elementary school to the first year of high school in one go last spring, in fact.” As jaws dropped in awe, she added, “A member of the Azuma Group, a small band of adventurers based out of the high school of the same name. Our other two countrywomen are of the same team.”

“What’s with those two in the black-and-silver suits?! Don’t they have any shame?!” officer of the watch — and Yoshi’s other wingman from the 282nd Group — Lieutenant Takamura Tetsu from Nakajima near Fukushima demanded. “Even if the others’ uniforms are form-fitting — even young Chiyo-chan’s — those two are practically naked in those clothes!”

Mutters of agreement came from the other people. “In Buddha’s name, please don’t tell me that people back home wear those sorts of clothes, Brent-san!” Shimizu Masao himself declared from off to Yoiko’s right, he now standing with Brent Ross and some of the other senior officers on a nearby ledged as each took turns with another set of binoculars.

Brent wryly chuckled. “Not in public as far as I know, Masao-san…!”

“Is there a potential danger they are reacting to, Yoiko-chan?”

People paused before gazing on Fujita Hiroshi himself, who had walked up to join his senior staff alongside his flag captain. Considering that question, the seventh carrier turned to gaze skyward once more; her distance vision was good in getting details, but she’d need to be closer to read lips. “It depends, Teitoku. The one with the flower-decked uniform is one of TWO living heiresses of the First Slayer, Senaya-sama herself.” As the gamájun listening to this all gasped in shock, Yoiko smirked. “She’s Faith Lehane from South Boston, also known as Wildflower. As powerful as Superman himself from North American manga without the extra-sensory vision powers. She was rumoured to have defeated and destroyed a VERY powerful ancient vampire by literally KICKING him between the legs with enough force to send him flying off Earth into the Sun’s very light!”

As the Japanese listening to this — and Brent Ross himself, of course — all roared with laughter, a wise cackle then escaped a certain elder seer. “Do not be afraid of our visitors from the Hellmouth and the Sweet Valley nearby, friends of the Wa,” Sljépjj Z’rjéti then intoned as she held up a clawed finger. “As many of you well know even if honour demands otherwise, the war between you and the rest of the world ended long ago! Such is proven by the actions of the Trickster of the Great Show of Life when she journeyed many times to the Land of the Angels — aye, to both the Hellmouth and the Sweet Valley among other places — to see others to be Gifted by the Great Forge of the First Ones!” She then focused her sightless eyes on the adopted native of Maizuru before they narrowed. “Ah! ‘Tis YOUR awakening yesterday morning that alerted them, Jójsha…!”

Yoiko paled before a curse escaped her. Watching the giant shipgirl shudder, Nebesyákh' blinked before she looked to the east…

…then vanished in a ball of burning fire!

NEBESYÁKH’!” her mother Shávis' Bélogo shrieked in fright…

****

Over the Chukótskoe Sea…

“…need some other…!”

A flash of bright, burning energy made all five Gifted women in the skies over the Chukótskoe Sea exclaim in shock…

NET!

…before Mihama Chiyo blinked, looking over her shoulder to see a girl much younger than she — she almost reminded the Bright Genius of the Young Guns of Saeru Hinako in a way — with what seemed to be silvery feathers for hair framing a face now screwed up with youthful determination, that visage pierced by a pair of bird-slitted golden-brown eyes. Said plumage flowed from the newcomer’s head to disappear into a beige canvas cloak-like dress like a Japanese hakama with pleated trousers…even if such dress didn’t fully cover arms that were half-merged into graceful wings which, if she was standing up, would reach to the ground. Blinking as she — not to mention her companions — took in the presence of the newcomer, Chiyo slowly shifted in her seat before reaching into a nearby compartment to pull out a thermos. Opening it, the native of Itabashi then poured a small cup of her personalized fruit juice before holding it out to the newcomer. Said newcomer — whom a wide-eyed Willow Rosenberg (still watching through her PAA from Sunnydale High School with Rupert Giles thanks to Faith Lehane’s own device) just confirmed was a VERY young gamájun chick — sniffed the liquid before she picked up the cup, then drank. A weird look then crossed her face as the wonderfully rich taste tickled her tongue before she handed the cup back.

“Do you want some more?” Chiyo asked.

A shake of the head responded before she looked at Takino Tomo. “No!” the newcomer said as she held up a warning finger at the Wild Warrior of Passion. “No hurt nest-sister Jójsha! Leave nest-sister alone! No!”

As Chiyo took the thermos cap back to secure her juice, Tomo blinked. “Well…”

“Ah, spasíbo za, dámy…!”

As an invisible screen off behind Tomo and her friend from Sweet Valley began to fizzle out, that making Chiyo and Nebesyákh' Bélogo exclaim with horror on realizing that some magical — most likely a poacher of some sort given how having a gamájun “Dutch wife” was in the eyes of fanatical Russian purebloods — a grey-and-green blur then zipped up from the west…

SSS-SCHULLK!

Said poacher — whose looks Chiyo didn’t get as he fully appeared — soon found himself literally cut in half at waist level, the parts of his body stumbling of his room to fall far to the unforgiving sea over three kilometres below!

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

Then…

“Hey, Molly!”

“Yeah, Tomo?”

“That thing we’ve been looking for, right?”

“Uh-huh?”

“It’s right behind us now, right?”

“Ah, yeah…!”

Faith herself looked, an admiring whistle escaping her. “Actually, you’d have to say, ‘She’s standing right behind us’, Tomo!”

Tomo and Molly blinked before slowly turning around as Kasuga Ayumu looked herself…

“Oh, wow!” the native of Wakayama then exclaimed. “I never knew we built ships THAT big!”

Heads snapped around to make people gaze on the Goddess Who Walks Among Men. “She’s a SHIPGIRL?!” Willow exclaimed as she and Rupert stared wide-eyed at the woman who had just sliced the poacher apart with a VERY wicked sword.

“Hai, Willow-chan, she is!” the ujiko’s daughter asserted before she looked on the Wheel of Dharmachakra insignia on her chest with the beautiful kanji 代永 embossed on same. “‘Yonaga’?!” she read. “Wow! That’s a PERFECT name to choose!” Ignoring Itō Yoiko’s blush at that compliment, Ayumu then hummed before gesturing with her hand, allowing an image of a VERY large aircraft carrier of the late-war style built by Japan — such coming with the ubiquitous outward-angled smokestack sticking up from the island superstructure — to appear for the others to inspect, including a wide-eyed Chiyo. “See?!”

As Yoiko winced, the Bright Genius gaped. “A Yamato conversion?!” she demanded, recognizing the sloping forward weather deck line ahead of the ship which indicated the just-Gifted carrier’s battleship pedigree even if — unlike the case of the third of that class when Shinano was rebuilt as a support carrier after Midway — the seventh carrier of Operation Z had been modified from the start to be a proper attack carrier possessing the capability of fielding a whole NAVAL AIR DIVISION of well over 140 aircraft into the fight. “You must be Warship #797 then! What are you doing up here, Taisa-san?!”

Finding herself blushing at that form of address from the VERY cute girl who effectively befriended Nebesyákh' with an offering of a drink of some sort of juice when she charged up from Sano-wan to stop the collected group of metahumans from causing issues, Yoiko then mentally kicked herself. Shortly after her admiral had met Naomi Haight-Ashbury in the wake of yesterday morning’s attempted attack on the Dúma Gamájuna, Fujita Hiroshi awarded her with the honorary rank of captain in the Imperial Navy — and correspondingly, colonel in the Imperial Army given the brief association THG Yonaga and the Sixth Air Division had with the Kempeitai under the overall auspices of the then-Mahō-Shogun of Japan, Marshal Yomigawa Tsukiko — which saw her uniform slightly altered with the four golden stripes-and-executive curl on the lower sleeves by the wrists. “My crew and I are currently tasked to perform a special mission — yes, dating from the Sixteenth Year of Shōwa, of course; you should be able to conclude what mission that was, Mihama-san — that cannot be overridden by anyone save Tennō himself.”

“Pearl Harbour,” Rupert Giles then spoke up. “You were part of the Kidō Butai, weren’t you?”

“Quite correct,” Yoiko responded; on hearing that, everyone was then surprised to hear her speak clear English with a touch of a southern Californian accent. “Seeing as Mistress Lehane here is a Slayer, I assume you must be her Watcher, sir.”

That made the Oxford native gape. “You’re aware of that?!”

“My admiral is two generations removed from magical blood and my crew are effective guests of the Dúma Gamájuna as the presence of young Nebesyákh' now on Mihama-san’s hovercycle now indicates.”

Eyes focused on the young gamájun chick for a moment, then Chiyo hummed. “If I recall the whole Pearl Harbour mission correctly, given you were based up here, you would have had to leave home waters sometime quite early given the extra distance you’d have to travel to meet with the other carriers at the launch point,” she surmised, that making Yoiko gape at such a display of understanding. “If I also recall things correctly, there was a massive earthquake around these parts in late September of 1941.” She gazed to the west and the hidden Sano-wan. “I assume there’s a cove cloaked by magic down there that your people lucked upon to hide you in; this part of the then-Soviet Union was too remote for even the NKMD under Múrometsa-gensui to detect.” Pausing to look at Nebesyákh', which made the young chick fluster, the Bright Genius then sighed. “Ah! It was Túndra-san who forced that earthquake on your crew, Taisa-san! What better protection for his favourites than an AIRCRAFT CARRIER!”

Ayumu moaned. “Does that mean I gotta go yell at Túndra-kun for doing that, Chiyo-chan?!”

“No, Ōsaka-san! Besides, would you like it if people like her get hunted by poachers?!” Here, she waved to Nebesyákh'.

“Not only ‘No’, but ‘Hell, no!’” Molly Hecht growled as she cracked her knuckles. “Speaking of which, are there any more of these pukes around hiding themselves, Ayumu?! I’m in the mood to seriously bust some skulls!”

Ayumu hummed as she scanned around with her Sight, a disapproving frown crossing her face. “Yeah, few of them, Molly-chan! Did you get some of those dorks raiding here yesterday, Yoiko-chan?” she then asked the adopted native of Maizuru.

Blinking in surprise on realizing this effective living goddess now knew her human name — was this woman in some spiritual conversation with the living sentience of the Great Forge itself? — the seventh carrier of Operation Z sighed. “Yes! Over three hundred poachers made use of one of those alconóst descendants discovered by your peer Isaac Thomas on this Remnant planet to breach the wards! Fortunately, Naomi-chan was in the area and she prompted my Gifting, then we dealt with them.”

“‘Naomi’…?!” both Faith and Molly questioned in confusion.

“Well, there’s gonna be a lot LESS of them now,” Tomo wryly smirked.

“They’re ‘crunchy sames’, Tomo-chan!” Chiyo teased.

“And they’re gonna be ‘crunchy DEAD sames’, Chiyosuke!” the Wild Warrior of Passion declared, pointing at Nebesyákh'. “‘Sides, would you want a cute kid like THAT to be hurt by one of those staleblood pukes?!”

People stared at her before evil smiles crossed the other metahumans’ faces, even Chiyo’s…

To Be Continued…

****

WRITER’S NOTES

The start of the second scene here was also derived from “The Next Step”.

list and source language (all Yizibajohei unless noted): Ram-pali — Third day; Eke-lelu — Shortened from "Eke-lelu'uli" ("first storyline"), the first month-equivalent in a Yizibajohei year; Merimdulo'oto-teri — Shortened from "Merimdulo'oto-terikeli" ("2059th season"), indicating the number of years from the start of the Dawn of Power; Kanatoro-tosa — Ammunition magazine; Te'a — That Which Is Above mortal understanding (Sagussan); Rimrae umale — Copycat same; Kuorim — Morning Calm, the analogue of Korea on Earth; Nunuta — Peach flower; Bunka-gonen — Literally “fifth year of culture”, the Japanese calendar designation for the year 1808 CE; Rierite — Literally “silence”, though meaning “I can’t reveal myself” in the instance Isaac Thomas (Doctor Renaissance) uses it with Faith Lehane (Wildflower); Dai-282 Kaigun Kōkū-tai — 282nd Naval Air Group (Japanese); Dámy — Ladies (Russian); Mahō-Shogun — Supreme General of Magic (Japanese); Kidō Butai — Mobile Force, operational name of the main strike formation of the Imperial Combined Fleet (Japanese); NKMD — Short for Naródnyj Komissariát Magícheskij Del (“People’s Commissariat of Magical Affairs”), the name of the Soviet Union’s magical ministry as revealed in Part 8 of Fred’s Magic and Canada (Fanfiction ID 12245154) (Russian); Gensui — Navy fleet admiral/Army field marshal/Air Force marshal of service (Japanese). Note that the phrase “Land Rich in Reindeer” comes from the native Chúkchi term that, through Russian, went into the name of the Chukótka Autonomous Ókrug. Also, the phrase “Sixteenth Year of Shōwa” indicates the year 1941 CE in the traditional Japanese calendar.

The Avalonians and the Niphentaxians both first appeared in The Senior Year story "What Price For Love?"; it is in that story that Shigaten Kamen (the Weaponeer) was first introduced. Note that the term Thoughtmaster-prime (or Thoughtmistress-prime for women) is the standard Avalonian/Sagussan title given to a senior teacher, professor or headmaster/mistress.

Details concerning Jaune Arc’s family and hometown are based on snippets written on him by the ever-prolific Andrew J. Talon; such can be seen at SpaceBattles at chat thread #1144561, titled "RWBY Snippets and Plot Bunnies". They’re used in this story with Andrew’s kind permission…though the more extravagant crossover elements of same will not happen here, though.

Yomigawa Tsukiko (AKA the Dark Lady Tsukuyomi) was first mentioned in Fred’s Icemaidens series and first properly appeared in the second Wizards and Avalonians side-stories to Phoenix From the Ashes (Fanfiction ID 9547225).

Chapter 11: Arise, the Orchid Nova

Summary:

As the news of the Seventh Carrier spreads out across two worlds, the shipgirls now on Remnant decide to go out and tear down some Grimm to work out their frustrations.

Such happens right before a wide-eyed Yáng Xiǎo Lóng, watching as the Forever Fall Forest is burned to the bedrock all the way from Patch Island.

Of course, the Living Spirit of Innocence has been quite busy as well...

Chapter Text

DISCLAIMER: Concurrent with fair dealing clauses of the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada and fair use clauses in copyright legislation in other nations, this is a work that was created solely for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, it is posted freely on the Internet without expectation or requirement of remuneration.

****

NOTE: This chapter is written in tribute to the late John Amos (1939-2024), who portrayed Admiral Percy “Fitz” Fitzwallace in The West Wing. Fair winds and following seas, sailor!

****

Quarters Six at Fort Meyer in Arlington County, Virginia (four kilometres west-southwest of the White House), Tuesday 3 April, mid-evening (Anadyr’ time: Wednesday 4 April, an hour after lunch; Tōkyō time: Wednesday, two hours after breakfast; Sunnydale/Sweet Valley time: Tuesday, suppertime; Vale time: Gaycan 53 Treichleam, two hours before midnight)…

“Hey, Naomi!” Percy Fitzwallace said with a grin as he waved the just-arrived Cosmic All-Seer into his personal quarters. As she normally did, the reborn first nuclear surface ship dressed in business civilians whenever she visited official installations. “Odd for you to come visit me before heading over to the White House to brief the President on anything. Coffee? Tea?”

“I’m alright, sir,” Naomi Haight-Ashbury said with a pleasant wave of her hand before grinning as her host’s wive Laura Fitzwallace came over to hug her. “Hey, Aunt Laura!” she then greeted with her normal valley girl-like tones before blinking as the older woman handed her a cup of tea. “I said I was all cool to your husband, Auntie!”

“Hush, you!” the veteran schoolteacher — she currently administered Joint Base Fort Meyer-Henderson Hall’s child development centre, having retired from full-time teaching when her husband was promoted to his current rank and assigned to Washington as Deputy Chief of Naval Staff a half-decade before — playfully scolded before she gave the adopted Californian a knowing look.

Her husband had picked up on it as well. “What’s wrong, Captain?” he gently inquired, keeping his tone moderate to NOT upset one of the most powerful beings on the planet…never mind what his wife would do to him; as soon as the reborn USS Long Beach had reported to Josiah Bartlet at the end of March, Laura Fitzwallace had practically adopted her as family.

Naomi sighed as she gathered her thoughts. Being what she was, she was officially seen by those not in the know about reborn ship spirits as part of the Naval Operations Support Centre Los Angeles — the local Naval Reserve unit for America’s second-largest city — while on full-time callout to the White House Military Office as personal aide-de-camp to the President of the United States. “Well,” she said as she took a seat close to the television, with her hosts seated across the coffee table from her. “You’re aware of the concept of zanryū nipponhei, aren’t you, sir?” she asked as she gave Fitzwallace a knowing look.

The veteran of Vietnam and the first Gulf War nodded. “Imperial Japanese soldiers and sailors who refused to obey the orders of the Heavenly Sovereign…” — it had taken him a bit, but Fitzwallace had taught himself to use the proper translation of “Tennō” when speaking of Japan’s head of state in lieu of the more commonly accepted “Emperor” — “…when the Second World War came to an end in 1945. I knew a senior intelligence officer who debriefed Lieutenant Onoda Hiro’o sometime after he finally returned home; this was just after the big bad scene in the ‘Nam ended.” Here, he grinned, seeing Naomi’s lips twist on hearing him speak in the way she normally did. “You found someone who’d fit that bill? That person still alive?”

They are still alive, yes,” the reborn missile cruiser stated. “It’s way more than one person, Uncle Fitz.”

“How many?! How are they?!” Laura then asked. “Given it’s been so long since the war ended…”

“They were trapped in a mesonium miner’s dream location, Aunt Laura,” Naomi affirmed, making her hosts nod in understanding; in concentrated quantities, mesonium was known for its life-enhancement effects, including slowing a person’s aging process down to a mere crawl. “Uncle Hiroshi, who’s the oldest of them all, was born back in 1884 in Nagoya…”

Fitzwallace’s eyes went wide. “‘Hiroshi’?! You mean Fujita Hiroshi?!”

“Who is that, dear?” Laura asked.

The experienced surface warfare officer from Newark across the Hudson from the Big Apple grimaced. “He’s the true father of Japanese naval aviation, Laura. Eta-jima, Class of 1904; Yamamoto Isoroku was his classmate. He was on Mikasa when Tsu-shima happened.” Sitting back in his chair as he imagined what it would be like to meet such a man, Fitzwallace grimaced. “He practically disappeared some months prior to Pearl Harbour; no matter how hard our people looked post-war, there was no trace of the man or his family.” He shook his head. “Always thought he was killed by the Kempeitai for some stupid thing or another. I assume he was made to ‘disappear’ for some special reason. No doubt related to the whole Pearl Harbour operation.”

“He would have commanded that whole op from his ship, the Yonaga, hadn’t they got caught in an earthquake and the ship got trapped in a nice ice cove at the far east end of Siberia, Uncle Fitz,” Naomi explained. “The whole place is magically shielded, so the Russians wouldn’t have known about it even if they looked,” she added, seeing the wary look cross her host’s face on hearing where the Nagoya-jin and his subordinates had been all this time. “We’re talking over 2,600 people, Uncle Fitz.”

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

Then…

“Aircraft carrier, you mean?” Fitzwallace said, his eyes widened.

“Ordered in secret as Warship #797,” Naomi finished. “You know which class that would be, Uncle Fitz.”

His jaw dropped. “A Yamato-class?!”

“Originally intended to be an extended version of Yamato with four main battery gunhouses,” the reborn missile cruiser said. “Converted right from the start to be an attack aircraft carrier, capable of taking a whole AIR DIVISION of Zekes, Vals and Kates on her with loads of spares.” As Fitzwallace whistled in awe at the idea of seeing such a ship, Naomi smirked. “She was built in Maizuru, floated out of the dock to prevent what happened in Nagasaki when Musashi got launched. Built with magical help at the orders of Aunt Tsukiko to get her finished even before Yamato was commissioned. She was made to ‘disappear’ as part of Unit 731…” — here, she held up a hand as her host scowled on hearing of THAT particular Imperial Army unit — “…which, these days after all they’ve been through since the Old Man Up North trapped them there, doesn’t really impress them at all.”

Fitzwallace nodded. “Lord Napaaqtuqarunnanngittuq trapped them there in ’41?”

“To protect the leadership group of the gamájun as a whole; they’re based in the same cove Yonaga was hidden in.”

The older man nodded. As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he was read into a whole host of esoteric knowledge, even from the people on the “other side of the Hudson” as the leadership of the United States Department of Magic was often referred to by those in the know. “Does this all have something to do with Isaac Thomas’ current project on this Remnant planet he found out about last year? George Hammond told me about Isaac’s warning to not use the Stargate to go to that planet.”

“It’s got everything to do with it, Uncle Fitz. Turns out that the creepy-crawlies that the gamájun smoked in the First Big Bad Scene with the Rittmeister and Lord Rjazán’ all those sagas ago didn’t get wiped out. They got transplanted to Remnant by one of the Ori idiots everyone’s been warning guys at the SGC about,” Naomi advised. “They’re the ‘creatures of Grimm’ as they’re known on that planet.” Here, the Cosmic All-Seer then shuddered. “Man, the songs on that planet are all so DOWN…”

“That bad?” Larua asked; as the wife of the CJCS, she got to learn a lot of things in turn even if she kept them secret from those who did NOT need to know about magicals or aliens.

“If those things got loose on Earth, Aunt Laura, it’d be ‘End War: Take Two’ here.”

That made Fitzwallace wince; he knew about the Slayers as well. “Damn!”

A lanky smile then crossed Naomi’s face. “At least Doc Renaissance has got a good handle on things on Remnant, Uncle Fitz. I doubt he’d need help, though with Doc Liz moving to bring the Big E back…”

The older man nodded. “We’ll have to brief the President,” he said as he reached for a nearby phone…

****

Within Sano Bay, minutes later…

“Aren’t you pissed, Yoiko?!”

Hearing that question from the Belle of the Wilderness, the Ice Warrior of Eternity blinked. “About what, Faith-san?”

Faith Lehane sighed. The metahumans who had gathered over the Chukótskoe Sea two hours before to seek out the source of a massive ki/mana explosion of energy early the previous morning local time — atop the Dark Slayer of South Boston, there was Molly Hecht from Sweet Valley, plus three of the Azuma Gang from Itabashi in Tōkyō proper: Mihama Chiyo, Kasuga Ayumu and Takino Tomo — were now gathered in one of the minor meeting halls set up in one of the caves that lined the ice-covered and mesonium-shielded cove where THG Yonaga had been trapped for over seven decades. “I think Faith-san is concerned about the fact that Naomi-san just reported your existence and the ultimate survival of your whole crew to the senior officer of the United States armed forces,” the Bright Genius of the Young Guns explained. “And that within the hour…!”

“Bartlet-daitōryō will then be briefed,” the adopted native of Maizuru calmly finished.

“Yeah!” the Mistress of Pain and Pleasure exclaimed as she shared a shocked look with the Wild Warrior of Passion. “You’re still under orders to make a hit on Pearl Harbour, Yoiko! Hell, as you are now, you could do it and practically no one would be able to slow you down! Hawai’i doesn’t have much in the way of metahumans or parahumans living on it…!”

An amused chuckle cut off the elder child of a divorced couple from the “wrong side of the tracks” in the former fish canning town west of Sunnydale. “Calm yourself, Molly-san. Much that the current state of my crew does present potential honour issues but given what we all spent the last two hours doing, Teitoku and his staff are willing to let things go given our relations to our wise avian friends whose true home this cove truthfully is.” Here, Yoiko waived to young Nebesyákh’ Bélogo, who had remained at the side of the young hyper-genius polymath from Itabashi. “If you are concerned about honour issues, Faith-san — being one of the two Heiresses of Sineya…and I WOULD want to know how the Slayer line got split like that! — is seen as an honoured guest of the Dúma Gamájuna. You, Molly-san, being Faith-san’s friend and sometimes fighting companion from what the Great Show networks have told me of the situation in Sunnydale and its environs, also have guest rights here. My crews’ three countrywomen here are more than welcome to visit, though I MUST demand that you three keep the location of Sano-wan a secret for the preservation of those living here.” As nods answered her from the three Japanese metahumans present, Yoiko contently smiled. “They are metahumans accepted by Tennō per His Rescript on the issue of such people after your collective friend Tariko Katabarbe-san — who is the grandnephew-turned-grandniece of my junior navigation officer, Moroboshi Kyōsuke-taii — began her ‘casting drive’ over a decade ago starting with Ayumu-san here. We are all warriors in our own ways and chosen paths. You have acted in the defence of those I am spiritually dedicated to defending. That makes you friends.”

Faith and Molly exchanged looks, then the former sighed. “Look, I’m nowhere close to being book-smart like Chiyosuke here is, but I can guess how much you people must feel being stuck up here throughout that whole damned stupid war. You had radios when you were still a ship, right?” At Yoiko’s nod, the Bay Stater added, “So you and your crew had to have HEARD what happened to all their friends, all your fleet mates, in that damned fight! Yeah, you guys fought like tigers and SURE AS HELL had every damned right to hate that ‘white men are superior’ bullshit that still drives policy in D.C. despite all that Professor Barlet’s tried to do to put a stop to shit like that, but your crew lost friends! Hell, probably families, too!”

“Hai, Faith-san, you’re right,” Yoiko affirmed. “Thanks to communications my hosts have maintained with the Eight Imperial Commanderies of Japan, I’m more than sure that Teitoku’s family was immolated by the attack of the Enola Gay upon Hiroshima on the sixth of August in 1945; Teitoku is two generations removed from magical stock, so encountering the gamájun within Sano-wan — to them, the Cove of Svjetjjílische — wasn’t so much of a shock to my crew. Many of my pilots had families living in Tōkyō and its environs. Look at the Operation: Meetinghouse attacks earlier that year; I’m sure many of them were incinerated by the bombers under LeMay-taishō given how much the desire for revenge was infused into the hearts of all your countrymen because of what happened at Pearl Harbour in 1941.” She shrugged. “My crew — and by extension, myself — have had SEVEN DECADES to reflect on all that’s happened since that war ended. Aye, many of my crew find it hard, even now, to accept that the war ended in surrender like it did — which makes them consciously choose to continue to adhere to the orders given to Teitoku by Yamamoto-gensui concerning my part in that operation as it was planned — but they are willing, and some have already chosen to accept, that peace now exists between the Home Islands and America. Would Tariko-san have been able to see you two Gifted as you are if war still was in effect?” She indicated Faith, then Molly, in emphasis. “I strongly doubt it.”

The five teenage women seated with her all blinked in confusion, then Ayumu hummed. “Wow! What did Naomi-chan do to you, Yoiko-chan?” As the others gazed on the Goddess Who Walks Among Men, the first person to be Gifted with the help of Tariko Katabarbe over a decade before added, “Yeah, I can see how much Túndra-kun’s influencing you deep in your mind and your heart — or would that be your operations room and engine room, maybe? — but that’s as laid-back as Naomi-chan is!”

As the other human-born metahumans blinked, Yoiko’s jaw dropped before a roaring laugh escaped her. “Oh, I LIKE you, Kasuga-dono! Indeed, the Great Spirit of the Forge chose well when she selected YOU to be the reborn First of the Forge!” Tensing on sensing running feet from nearby, she turned as a wide-eyed group of sailors enter. “I’m fine, minna! I’m fine!”

The group stood there looking at that scene, then Ensign Doihara Shōji — he was the current junior officer of the watch; the native of the shrine town of Okayama near Hiroshima was one of Yonaga’s airmen, assigned to the Dai-284 Kaigun Kōkū-tai as one of the two wingmen of the Sixth Air Group’s senior fighter pilot, Commander Shimizu Masao — moved his hand away from his holstered Type 14 Nambu pistol; he knew that three of his transformed base ship’s guests were invulnerable to bullets, never mind what the other two could possibly do if they were shamelessly attacked. “Apologies, ladies, Yoiko-chan.” An amused smile then crossed his face. “We’ve never heard Yoiko-chan LAUGH like that since she was transformed with Naomi-chan’s help yesterday morning. It startled us.” With that, he and his companions bowed apologetically to the visitors.

“They’re concerned that Naomi-chan might have brainwashed me, Shōji-san,” Yoiko explained with a wry grin.

Shōji’s wingman and current petty officer of the watch Naval Pilot 1st Class Kitao Kenji from the Nihonbashi neighbourhood of Chūō Ward in Tōkyō proper then wryly smiled. “Did she brainwash you, Yoiko-chan?”

All the would-be veterans of the Greater East Asia War then laughed, as did the young gamájun chick seated with his new friends and Yoiko herself. Chiyo then hummed. “We’re sorry about that, minna-san, but you have to admit, in this day and age — and given what our past-selves had been through over all the years since the Dawn of Power; you know about that, right…?” She then relaxed as the group of sailors grimly nodded. “Well, none of us knew that American magicals had gone and tried to awaken a ship spirit in a first-generation battle doll body until Yoiko-san here mentioned Naomi-san.” She then gave Ayumu an annoyed look. “You should have warned us about that once it happened, Ōsaka-san! It’s not a rierite situation, you know!”

“Chiyo-chan, don’t you read up on things on the Great Show networks?” the Infinite One wondered in turn, making the Bright Genius fluster in embarrassment at that admonishment. “I knew about Naomi-chan the instant she led those dorks out of Kitsap on that multi-state hop while they tried to slam Imperius curses on her!” As Yoiko’s crew present all shouted in anger on hearing that about America’s first shipgirl, the native of Wakayama gave them a “what can you do” shrug.

“Okay! Okay! We get it! It’s all Zen, right?!” Faith said, holding up her hands in surrender.

Amused looks crossed the sailors’ faces. “Few of us have progressed in those studies, Faith-san,” Kenji confessed before he smiled in amusement at his transformed ship. “Yoiko-chan here rather lucked out on that regard.”

Yoiko nodded. “As did, in her own way, Naomi-chan…”

A buzzing noise echoed from somewhere, making people perk before the Dark Slayer sighed. “Someone calls,” she muttered as she pulled out her PAA, placing it on the table between her and her host. Tapping the control crystal, she then smirked. “Hey, I-man!” she called out as the image of the Wise Lone Sage appeared in a holographic screen, that making Yoiko’s crew fall silent in awe at such a magical-like display. “Back aboard the Normandy, now. Everything all cool with Yáng?”

Isaac Thomas breathed out. “She finally fell asleep an hour ago. Neville and me finally got away from Tàiyáng’s home and returned to Vale before I got aboard here to compile all the information concerning Remnant for Willow’s attention. So, you can understand my shock and surprise on finding out what exactly caused that ki/mana explosion in Siberia yesterday.”

“Yeah, we’re with new friends now in the cove — we can’t say where exactly, naturally — where the gamájun leaders all gather to jaw-jaw about all the dork poachers that want to kidnap their kids,” the Bay Stater answered as Tomo snorted in amusement. “Thanks to Ōsaka, we managed to cull down another fifty of the bastards, then our new shipgirl friend had their heads delivered to the magical cop shop down Magadán way before we got invited in to meet everyone.” She snorted herself. “Much that I hope Tánja Chapáeva don’t get crap from old lady Múrometsa because of all the dead staleblood slimes her militiamen are going to have to ship back to relatives, this one kid from the cove came charging up to hop on Chiyosuke’s new ride, bold as brass, telling us to not hurt her friend!” She then winked at Nebesyákh’, whose head feathers bristled in embarrassment from the mighty Slayer’s attention. “Then one of the poachers dropped an invisibility screen and Yoiko here chopped him up for the sharks.” She then held up a finger. “Hopefully, the sharks won’t get indigestion from such worthless flesh!”

Tomo and Molly roared with laughter as Chiyo snickered and Ayumu shook her head while Yoiko and her crew all smiled with amusement at that comment. “How many of Captain Itō’s crew survived, Faith? Do they need healers? I’m sure Shirayuki-chan will be concerned about nutritional health once she’s clued into all of this, never mind how much they need to catch up on.”

As Shōji and his companions gaped on sensing how much this man was concerned about THEM, Yoiko drew out her own personal PAA — a different unit from the television screen-sized field PAA she was given by Naomi Haight-Ashbury for research purposes — to place on the table. Gazing at Chiyo, who nodded in encouragement, she tapped the control there, allowing her face to then appear in a split-screen before the native of Queens. “I am more than grateful for your concern, Isaac-san.”

Isaac blinked before he whistled in awe. “Oh, my…!”

The grey eyes of the adopted native of Maizuru then narrowed. “What disturbs you, young man?”

He blinked before shaking his head. “I’ve seen a version of you in the very universe where your human name was devised by that dimension’s counterpart to my friend Tariko Katabarbe-san; there, ‘she’ lived in her birth-form as Moroboshi Ataru-san.” As Yoiko’s eyebrow arched, Isaac chuckled. “Ironically, that version of you was also blessed by Lord Napaaqtuqarunnanngittuq. In that universe, your fleet mates and you — not to mention your peers worldwide — were forced to assume human form as magical bioroids to keep Japan and other nations alive from warped, dark beings called ‘Abyssals’ as a group. In that universe, the other you earned the nickname ‘the Angry One’ as much as Naomi Haight-Ashbury’s other-self was called ‘the Crazy One’.”

She lightly smiled in amusement. “Much that I can understand why this other version of Tariko-san would seek to give warship kami such as I human names — and I am flattered to be effectively adopted spiritually into Itō Seiichi-taishō’s family given that my sister was commanded by him on her final mission to Okinawa in 1945 — that is THAT universe, and this is OUR universe. I’d rather concentrate on matters here, especially given that I was forced to assume this form because of what your investigations about this Remnant planet unintentionally instigated once Newt Scamander-sensei was drawn into this matter.”

His blue eyes turned to steel. “What happened?” the Wise Lone Sage coldly demanded…

****

Aboard the Free Planetary State of Yiziba Starship Normandy in reliquisynchronous orbit at the meridian of Vale City, an hour later (local time: Gaycan, an hour before midnight)…

“Are you alright, Isaac?”

Perking on hearing that question from the Undying Warrior Sage of Remnant, the Wise Lone Sage blinked before he smiled in thanks as Shannon Ozpin put down a plate of homemade cookies — from the batch Mihama Chiyo had prepared for people — on his work desk in his cabin. “Oh, just some disturbing news from Earth concerning that king taijitu that Miyuki helped capture which Professor Scamander took back to New York City to report same to the Russians.” He then explained.

At the end, a sad look crossed the silver-haired headmaster’s face. “No one was killed save for these poachers, correct?”

“Fortunately, yes,” Isaac Thomas affirmed as he reached over for a cup of tea. “Soon as Naomi was able to sense what was hidden in the Cove of Svjetjjílische, she kept a mental ‘eye’ out for things there. Once the poachers used tracing spells that they put on the containment block to teleport themselves into the cove, the crew of the Yonaga reacted immediately. Naomi dived into the middle of it, sensed that Yonaga’s very own spirit wanted to get directly involved into it, then used her own abilities — which I’m beginning to think practically rival that of Kasuga Ayumu’s in many ways — to link that spirit to the Forge. Once the Conservator moved in…” — here, the New Yorker shrugged — “…the Seventh Carrier becomes a shipgirl. Itō Yoiko.”

An understanding nod acknowledged that. “Lord Túndra’s response to the revelation about the Grimm.”

“Who, unlike the other shipgirls that Hinako was able to salvage over the last half-month or so since she ran into Fujiko near Guadalcanal, comes complete with her ‘plank owner’ crew of sailors, officers and airmen, all of whom once lived in a very militarized society that was determined to carve out an empire — a super-kingdom in your terms — for itself that could match that of any potential enemy power.” Isaac then shrugged. “With that comes a very ugly issue. The idea of surrendering to an enemy was quite anathema to a warrior from Japan in that time. There were MANY cases were people refused to lay down arms when the call to formally surrender to the Allies came in 1945; some of those people stayed out in the field, living off the land, until well over THREE DECADES later in some places.” He then tapped a control on his desk, projecting an image of THG Yonaga as had been relayed by Naomi Haight-Ashbury over the Great Show networks, which he himself hadn’t taken notice of given how busy he was with issues here on Remnant. “If that was as powerful as she looked to Naomi of all people, I shudder to THINK of what might happen if something REALLY sets her off until the Heavenly Sovereign — who is the ONLY person alive today who could order Yoiko, Admiral Fujita and the crew to stand down and come home — puts some restraints on her.”

Ozpin sighed. Of course, given how he had been born and reborn many times over the past two millennia and more, he had seen situations quite like this throughout Remnant. “Don’t blame yourself for what happened in that cove, Isaac. You couldn’t have anticipated Ms. Black sensing a connection between the Grimm and their ancestors on Earth; you had to find that out what the connection was and how the Two Brothers and their peers among the Ori played havoc with people’s lives all over.” He sipped his tea. “I looked at your analysis of the other-dimensional version of Ms. Itō from where her human name was made by the counterpart to your friend Ms. Katabarbe. I think there won’t be issues in this case given that the crew of Yonaga is ALIVE and well here.” As Isaac blinked, Ozpin grimaced. “In that universe, when they realized that their efforts in putting down the Abyssals in the polar regions of Earth wasn’t having serious effect, they all chose SUICIDE to allow their blood to spiritually empower their ship — with the help of the living spirit of the Canadian battleship Chennalton — to make her a shipgirl, this ‘Angry One’ that the Abyssals came to dread above all others in that conflict. We don’t have such a dire situation here.”

The New Yorker considered that before he shook his head. “Save for the fact that our Yoiko has effectively TWO masters now. One is Admiral Fujita and ultimately the Heavenly Sovereign. The other is a three-million-year-old sentient being — one who could AND DID destroy entities powerful enough to even give the Two Brothers and other Ori pause! — who can’t even come CLOSE to being described as ‘human’. Ayumu sensed it out as soon as she met Yoiko.” He breathed out before taking up a cookie, nodding his thanks at Ozpin’s thoughtfulness. “Hopefully, she’ll be reasonable once Túndra starts pressing her to come here to help clear out the Grimm. Destroyer shipgirls are one thing. An aircraft carrier hits from long range…!”

Running footfalls echoing from the deck outside made both men turn, then the door to Isaac’s quarters swooshed open to reveal a worried Blake Belladonna. “Ms. Belladonna, what’s wrong?” Ozpin demanded.

The Night Moulder took a deep breath to calm herself. “It’s the shipgirls down in Vale, Professor, Isaac. They just found out about this other one of their kind that Lady Ayumu and her friends just encountered…!”

“Oh, hell!” Isaac groaned as he got up from his chair…

****

Vale City, Renaissance Industries Headquarters, minutes later…

The few on the night shift in this place who had come to the cafeteria to enjoy a snack before going back to work all warily stared at the six effective demi-goddesses in human teenage form now standing and sitting around staring nowhere in particular. Given the almost visible sense of disbelief, horror, delight and other emotions rampaging across the faces of the Fukushima sisters, those who worked for Renaissance Industries who had been able to develop both their semblances and aura abilities — Isaac Thomas did support the running of private tutorials on those subjects provided that students did not use them for things like supporting the militant side of the White Fang, of course — were almost sure that if any Grimm that had survived the culling unleashed on them over the last few days sensed what was going through these girls’ heads at this time…!

“How could Túndra-sama DO that to Sempai…?”

That was Fukushima Shirayuki, who was trying not to let her cryokinesis freeze her tea. A snort then answered her from the most visibly different of the reborn Fubuki-class destroyers. “What did you expect, Shirayuki?” Fukushima Mayako demanded. “A major kami like Túndra just doesn’t understand what NORMAL people go through, especially when the ‘learned leaders’ decide to start a damned WORLD WAR of all things!” Here, the Raging Storm of the Seas gulped down her tea in one go, then placed the cup down on the windowsill before looking out at the starry night and the shattered moon that hovered over the city. “Still, it’s a good thing, isn’t it? Sempai’s whole crew are alive and well. Tennō could easily override Yamamoto-gensui’s orders to Teitoku so they could go home.” A wry smirk then crossed the silver-haired woman’s face. “The culture shock, though…!”

“Never mind if they lost relatives thanks to the B-sans,” Fukushima Urako added. As people stared at her, the Speedy Tsunami grimaced. She was the last of their specific class of ship to be sunk in the Greater East Asia War thanks to an air attack off Panay Island in the Philippines around the time of Leyte Gulf in the autumn of 1944. By then, the United States Army Air Forces were basing massive groups of Boeing B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers in the Mariana Islands off to the east, all who now could be able to launch mass attacks on the Home Islands with near impunity. Having read over the history of what befell their homeland once the Imperial Navy had been rendered effectively impudent post-Leyte, the adopted native of Sasebo had been sickened to read about the sheer level of DEVASTATION that had been visited upon Japan in the last year of that conflict. Forget what happened to Hiroshima and Nagasaki thanks to the Enola Gay and Bockscar; the Operation: Meetinghouse raids on Tōkyō and its environs earlier that year burned civilians alive in numbers that would make even a hardened killer weep. “If Teitoku and his subordinates have really infused themselves with the tenets of that bastardized Bushidō so many believed in…”

“They’d want vengeance for their dead relatives,” Fukushima Itsuko breathed out. “Never mind how much MacArthur-gensui drove to wipe out Kokka-Shintō once the Americans moved to occupy the country. So many believed in it…”

“Were MADE to believe in it,” her older sister Hatsue cut in from her place lying down on a couch playing her games.

Eyes locked on the Silent Blizzard. “You think Chiyo-chan and her friends got through to Sempai, Hatsue?” Mayako asked.

“By the looks of what was recorded down, they didn’t have to do a thing. The gamájun handled it all,” the adopted native of Maizuru — she now knew that Yonaga had been secretly built in a special drydock in Ōbashimo Ward on the east side of Maizuru Bay, that northeast of where the main base was in Amarubeshimo Ward — calmly replied. “You saw how Sempai reacted when Faith-san and Molly-san pressed her about the whole Operation Z thing. She knows there’s peace now. By the sounds of it, some of her crew know it as well. All they need is time to catch up on how much technology has changed things, not to mention the whole kawaii revolution and how that affects people these days. Right, Miyuki?” she asked, looking over.

A laugh answered her from Fukushima Miyuki, who was also looking out into the night beyond their current base of operations here on Remnant. “Yeah! I doubt Sempai’s crew would understand something like that!” She then sighed before stretching herself, cracking her knuckles. “You know what we ought to do?! Let’s go out and find some Grimm to bash down!”

As the locals all perked at the Cosmic Blizzard’s suggestion, the Raging Storm hummed. “Might be a good idea. At least we can blow off some steam in case those alconóst rejects try to lock in on our emotions to make crap happen while people are cleaning up here.” She perked before looking over her shoulder just as footfalls heralded the arrival of the man who was their operational manager, not to mention the living arahitogami who had been fighting to put down the Grimm for two millennia and more. “Any nice places we can go to and blow off some steam, Kōchō-sensei?” Mayako wondered with an amused smile.

Both Shannon Ozpin and Isaac Thomas blinked before exchanging knowing looks…

****

Patch Island, the Rose/Xiǎo Lóng farm, Gayangkie 54 Treichleam, sometime after midnight…

“Couldn’t sleep?”

Hearing her father call out from behind her, the blonde heavy-hitter — or was she such anymore? — of Team RWBY blinked before she held up the beautiful prosthetic arm that had been given to her some hours before by Isaac Thomas. “Hard to sleep.”

“Yeah,” Tàiyáng Xiǎo Lóng said as he sat on the large rock at one corner of the property where his daughter Yáng had placed herself, no doubt to try to come to grips with the many conflicting feelings she had now that she had lost a limb. He had seen it many times before with huntsmen and huntswomen who were forced through amputations in the past. Thanks to psychological dependence people on Remnant developed concerning semblances and how such factored into forging one’s Aura, the loss of limbs often set them back YEARS in effective training time, forcing them to retrain themselves to reacquire their former edge…or succumb to inevitable depression that hit people which made them quit the trade and seek a more peaceful life.

The veteran of Team SRTQ didn’t want that for his older daughter, not at her age.

Fortunately, though…

“Professor Oobleck and Professor Port will be here later this afternoon to teach you how to refocus your semblance through the prosthetic,” he reported while gently moving to take up the device, then shifting the stump of Yáng’s arm into the socket. As the valves located where the base of her stump would fall then quickly opened to allow the air out and give her a perfect fit, she shuddered as electronic links inside that hardened shell came on-line, probing into her nervous system to let her mind command the device’s motor functions. Fortunately for the kinetic manipulator, the Atlesian medics who tended to her as soon as she had been found were VERY good at battlefield medicine. No doubt, they expected her parents or others would prepare her to take up a replacement arm; they readily fitted cybernetic links into the stump which would help her make use of any sort of prosthetic right away. And while the idea of having an intact and functional arm was a damned good thing in Yáng’s eyes…!

“What’s wrong?” Tàiyáng gently probed.

Yáng blinked. “This is TOO perfect, Dad.”

As the older man tensed, she stood up from the rock, walking a couple paces away as she put her hands to her hips. “See?” she said, turning to wave to her new arm. “I know what happens when huntsmen lose limbs, Dad. This shouldn’t be happening to me right away, yet a total STRANGER came out of NOWHERE to prepare something for me in the blink of the eye. Sure, I’m way more than grateful to the man, but things aren’t adding up!” As he visibly winced, she blinked again. “What?”

A tired sigh escaped him. “I don’t know HOW to explain Isaac, Yáng. It’s SO incredible, you’d think I’m a liar or insane.”

She crossed her arms. “He’s no Vacuan as he claims, Dad. His accent’s way off from what Sūn Wùkōng sounds like. And…” Here, she threw up her hands before exclaiming as she realized that her new prosthetic was responding perfectly to her well-ingrained physical motive habits. “What?!” she demanded. “Are you saying he’s from the world of the One Above the Gods?!” At his shocked look, Yáng stopped before shaking her head. “No! No way! Blake told me about those legends! There’s no way in HELL that someone like THAT could have lived for ALL THIS TIME after drop-kicking the Two Brothers off Remnant…!”

Tàiyáng held up his hands. “Yáng, calm down! In a way, you’re right about that! Isaac’s not the One Above the Gods, but he’s like that person in many ways!” As her jaw understandably dropped in disbelief at that, the older hunter added, “I was just as shocked when Qrow filled me in on all this while you and Ruby were still recovering from what happened on Gaysaw! But there’s no other way to explain not just Isaac but Neville and the others who’ve come from that planet…!”

‘PLANET’?!” she exclaimed. “They’re actually ALIENS?!”

“Yes and no!”

“Dad! You can’t have an answer like that…!”

He held up his hand again to make her listen. “Yáng, please…!”

KK-KKOOM!

Both exclaimed on hearing that explosion from off to the northeast, then spun around…

…then they gaped in shock on seeing an ominous glow now rising from the mountainous reddish terrain north of Vale City’s urban area, a part of the local scenery which normally was pitch-dark at this time of evening given how much the Grimm came out of wherever they hid themselves to hunt for potential targets within the Forever Fall Forest. “Oh, Oum…!” Yáng breathed out, wondering what the HELL had the sheer power to unleash something like THAT over such a wide area of territory.

Grimacing, Tàiyáng sprinted back into their home, coming back out with two sets of field binoculars. As Yáng nodded her thanks — there was no way in HELL she wasn’t going to just stand by and wait for her dad to report what was going on — the older hunter put his own set to his eyes to scan the sky over the Forever Fall…just as a blaze of pure lightning seemed to stab down from one point to rip through one of the secluded valleys within that particular ancient location north of the modern city. With skills that hadn’t totally rusted away, he was quick to manipulate the magnification controls to focus on the potential point wherever that brilliant explosion of electricity — which, undoubtedly, just fried Grimm in airship lots — came from.

So did Yáng.

“Um…Dad?”

“Yeah?”

“I know there are some people who have semblances which let them hover in the air.”

“I’ve met a few in my time.”

“That girl’s not wearing ANYTHING that could push her through the air THAT fast!”

“Yeah…”

Yáng lowered her binoculars. “Is she…?”

“From Yiziba?” Tàiyáng wondered, making her stare wide-eyed at him. “That’s the home planet of the One Above the Gods.”

She blinked. “Uncle Qrow was told about that?”

“Yep. So were all the staff at Beacon, not to mention a whole slew of…DAMN!”

Her head snapped back towards the Forever Fall Forest…

…just as a titanic beam of pure STARLIGHT seemed to inundate a whole MOUNTAIN!

Putting her binoculars back over her eyes, she looked…

…then watched as a very pretty girl her age, with long lavender hair tied off in a flowing ponytail over the right ear, went and visibly demonstrated the adage If looks could KILL…! “Oh, ye gods above and below!” she breathed out in awe.

“That’s not one of the Fukushima sisters.”

She looked at her father again. “You’ve met them?!”

“No, Qrow showed me their pictures. Ever hear sailors speak about ships having a spirit within them?”

“Yeah! The fishermen talk about that all the time!”

Tàiyáng chuckled. “Well, on Yiziba, they found a way of making those ship spirits live as human beings. That girl with the energy eyes is one of them. The silver-haired one with the lightning is Fukushima Mayako; the last name’s the given name.” Turning back to look through his binoculars, he smirked in delight. “Well, Isaac promised help in dealing with the Grimm finally. By the looks of it, he’s letting friends from Yiziba jump in to help put those monsters down.”

Yáng’s jaw dropped in disbelief as his words sank in before she turned back to morbidly watch…

****

Over the Forever Fall Forest, that moment…

WHO THE HELL DID THAT?!

As the Raging Storm of the Seas stared wide-eyed at the sight of a MOUNTAIN nearly as large as Mount Fuji itself BURN, her older sister Miyuki dropped down from higher altitude to hover beside her. “Wasn’t me, Mayako…!”

“Gee,” a stranger’s voice called out from behind the two reborn destroyers with a clear Kansai-ben accent. “Isn’t that what this mission’s about?! Burn this forest to cinders to kill off all the shitty akuma that’re running around on this rock?!”

Miyuki and Mayako blinked before turning around to look…

Akebono…?!” the Cosmic Blizzard gasped.

“Akemi…?!” her next-youngest sister breathed out in disbelief.

A chuckle escaped the young woman their physical age now floating behind her. Like the Fukushima sisters, the adopted native of the Taishō Ward in Ōsaka (where she was built at the Fujinagata Shipyards) was dressed in a modern fighting jumpsuit in white with blue belt and boots. Her chest symbol showed a sun rising from the waves, the kanji of her ship’s name well displayed over that scene. She had beautiful, rich lavender hair pulled into a ponytail that went to her knees, such tied off with a bell-like hair ornament bedecked with a miyakowasure flower; seeing that made Mayako mentally groan at the idea of THAT bloom being worn by a reborn destroyer often seen as a “ship of misfortune”. Peeking out of a very beautiful face framed by collar-length bangs of her hair were eyes shaded the same type of lavender, though these orbs glowed with the undoubtedly strong photokinetic powers predicted of the woman now called the Orchid Nova, Atihusu (“Akebono”).

“Not just Akechi!” a new voice chimed out.

As the two older destroyers gaped, three girls who were standing perfectly right behind Ashigara Akemi leaned out to either side of her and past above her head. “All of the Dai-Nana Kuchiku-tai are on the battlefield!” the last of the Ayanami-class destroyers built, Ashigara Shiori — now the Twister of the Oceans, Or'beu (“Ushio”) — chirruped as she wrapped her arms around her sister Akemi’s neck, resting her chin on the latter’s forehead. “With extra, of course!” she added, nodding to starboard.

Ashikaga Otsune — now the Childish Sunrise, Uhusu (“Oboro”) — scowled as she gave Shiori a pout. “Shiori-chan’s a meanie! Otsune’s ALWAYS been part of the Dai-Nana-tai! Bleh!” she then trilled as she stuck out her tongue.

“Oh, stop that, Otsuchi!” Ashikaga Namiko — now the Tsunami Wind, Ralamane (“Sazanami”) — scolded from Akemi’s left. “We’re here to help and we’ve got LOADS of akuma and yūrei and yōkai to beat up for Goshujin-sama!”

KK-KLONK!

“Namiko-chan! Stop calling Hina ‘Goshujin-sama’! Hina hates that!”

The Cosmic Blizzard and the Raging Storm allowed themselves to glide over to the latter’s starboard to see the Living Spirit of Innocence floating on a glowing energy circle; the native of Niigata had used a closed Kasa-tama to bop the head of the adopted native of Maizuru. “I thought you were just going to get Namiko salvaged, Hinako-chan!” Mayako stated.

Saeru Hinako sighed. “Oh, Elizabeth-san found out Hina was going to start a new shipgirl hunt, then sent lots and lots and lots of repair droids from Yiziba out to find all of the hull parts that went into Shiori-chan here…”

“Not to mention help salvage both Otsune and me,” Akemi cut in with a wink.

“…so, when Hina went and woke Namiko-chan up, the hulls of Akemi-chan, Otsune-chan and Shiori-chan were teleported over to where Namiko-chan was sunk and they all got Gifted together!” Here, Hinako sighed. “Hina was sure surprised at that!”

“Damn!” Miyuki breathed out. “If you do things like that more often, Hinako-chan, you’ll have the whole Kaigun back before long!” At that, the Cosmic Blizzard then cracked her knuckles. “If those aliens in Tomobiki start being stupid…!”

“They’re caged in there with ebony mesonium shielding, Miyuki! We’ll be fine until we’re READY to send them home!” Mayako cut in before she churlishly smiled. “Especially now with Sempai back and as a shipgirl thanks to Naomi-san!”

The just-arrived shipgirls all beamed. “Yeah! Nice to know that Fujita-teitoku’s still alive and well,” Akemi said…

…before her eyebrow twitched as a roaring scream from off to port make her look over.

As the others looked, the eyes of the adopted native of Ōsaka lit up like twin suns, then blazing beams of energy burst forth to literally cleave a griffon in half, both parts — not to mention the partially digested body of someone — then tumbling below…

****

Nearby…

Seeing what just happened and immediately realizing whose corpse had just been effectively freed by the Orchid Nova’s eye beams, the Wise Lone Sage pulled out a device from his belt and aimed it in that direction; the New Yorker was currently on a hovercraft which was somewhat crowded with people as they watched the girls of DESDIV Seven exercise their new abilities for the effective first time. Standing beside Isaac Thomas was a grim Shannon Ozpin. “Mr. Torchwick?” the latter asked.

“For Neo,” the former grimly declared.

Hearing that from the man who had come to effectively help save their planet from the Grimm and the Queen of Darkness, four just-Gifted huntresses stared wide-eyed at the blond hyper-genius polymath before exchanging looks…

****

On Patch, that moment…

“Penny…?! Pyrrha…?!”

A disbelieving Yáng Xiǎo Lóng lowered the binoculars away from now-tearing eyes, her whole body starting to shake as the sheer unreality of this moment — she had SEEN Penny Polendina be ripped apart by Pyrrha Nikos’ magnetic powers days before in the Amity Colosseum…atop her seeing the mutilated corpse of the famous young huntress from Mistral being taken out of the wreckage of the Beacon Academy by Atlesian troops while her wounds were being tended to — drove her to her knees…

****

Over the Forever Fall Forest…

A certain cosmic empath blinked as her senses picked up a wild storm of emotions bursting forth from somewhere off to the west. That made Saeru Hinako look over as she focused her abilities on who it might be before her eyes went wide. “Yáng-san…!”

In a flash of PAA teleportation energy, the Niigata-jin was off to Patch Island, that making the gathered destroyer shipgirls all scream in shock. “Shit! What’s got into that kid now?!” Ashikaga Akemi demanded.

“She called out Yáng Xiǎo Lóng’s name!” Fukushima Miyuki warned, she pointing to the west. “That island there!”

Akemi looked before she raced off in that direction. “Ah! Akechi!” her sister Namiko screamed after her…

****

Patch Island…

As Tàiyáng Xiǎo Lóng knelt to pull his sobbing daughter into his arms and let her weep, a flash of energy made him gasp before looking over…then he blinked as an aura of pure calm and peace overcame him, he immediately recognizing the VERY young girl who undoubtedly sensed what was now happening with his elder daughter, then came to offer her own help. Having heard from his former brother-in-law Qrow Branwen what this girl had done to a king taijitu of all things with her empathy, he nodded greetings to the Spirit of Innocence as she came over to kneel beside the shaking Yáng Xiǎo Lóng. “It’s okay, Yáng-san!” Saeru Hinako gently called out as she reached for the quaking huntress’ shoulder to squeeze it in reassurance. “Hai, Penny-san and Pyrrha-san are alive and well! Isaac-san saved them and saved Kōchō-sensei, too! It’s gonna be okay…!”

As Yáng shakily looked at the newcomer, the whistle of wind going past a human body at VERY high speed then made her and her father look up before she gaped as the Orchid Nova came to a perfect three-point landing nearby, then straightened herself. “Everything okay here, Hinako-chan?” she asked in a voice that hinted at potential violence were the young girl harmed.

Hinako smiled at the newcomer as she waved her down. “It’s okay, Akemi-chan! Yáng-san here was shocked that Penny-san and Pyrrha-san are still alive and okay when she saw them with Isaac-san, Blake-san, Monica-sensei and Kōchō-sensei!”

“Wh-wh-what does th-that mean…?”

That was Yáng, who was slowly pulling herself away from her father to look at the VERY cute kid who had immediately come to her side for some reason to offer soothing words…and holy DAMN, she had one hell of a semblance/Aura combo if the raging emotions in her own body were subsiding enough to let her think things through. “It’s okay to be confused, Yáng-san,” the younger girl said. As Yáng heard “Miss Yáng” even if the newcomer spoke in a clearly different language — was this part of the newcomer’s semblance or was it something technological? — the younger girl winked. “Hina’s speaking in her native language, but Hina’s combat suit allows people who don’t speak that language to understand what Hina’s saying.” Here, she reached up to pull at the collar of her suit. Noting the older woman nodding in understanding, she then pointed to the east. “Hina called Monica-sensei ‘sensei’ because back where Hina lives, healers are called ‘sensei’. And Kōchō-sensei…”

Yáng nodded in understanding. “Professor Ozpin. He’s the headmaster of Beacon. Or what’s left of Beacon…”

“Daijōbu! Daijōbu, Yáng-san! Isaac-san and all Isaac-san’s friends will clear away those silly Grimm and make the school good as new soon enough!” the younger girl assured her. “There’s no way those silly Grimm will hurt people in Vale ever again!”

That statement made the blonde heavy-hitter of Team RWBY blink as she felt the sheer HONESTY of those words before she sniffed as fresh tears welled in her eyes. “S-so you’re from where the One Above the Gods comes from, right?!”

An uneasy look answered. “No, not exactly, Yáng-san! Hina’s from Earth! Up THAT way!” Here, she turned and pointed up and off to the southeast towards a large cluster of stars. “Hina got her Gift — it’s like Yáng-san’s semblance and Aura as one thing — from the planet where Ayone-ojichan lived on over there!” Her hand shifted to the south and down a bit. “That’s where Yiziba is! It’s where people like Hina and Akemi-chan and all Akemi-chan’s sisters and friends become metahumans…”

Yáng gaped. “Wait! You’re SUPERHEROES?!”

That made Hinako scowl as she considered that. “Well, we don’t use ‘superhero’ and ‘supervillain’ on Yiziba. We say ‘face’ and ‘heel’ instead! Hina’s really, really, really a face ‘cause Hina’s power makes her be a face!” She then smiled before perking as the distant sound of some sort of turbine engine from the east made her and Akemi look over.

As outbursts of lightning and other energy effects echoed from the Forever Fall Forest, a beautiful skiff-like hovercraft came down, such escorted by three girls dressed like the lady with the energy eyes that burned down a mountain; THEY flew as if they were birds. “Akechi! Mayachi wants to know if you’ll be keeping watch on Sensei here!” the cute girl with the beautiful pink-blonde hair in twintails with a sort of rolling wave insignia on her chest — Yáng had utterly NO idea what that black glyph-like symbol embossed over the rolling waves was — then said as she moved to land close to what was obviously her sister.

“Yeah, the kid here looks ready to drop dead from exhaustion, Namiko!” the lavender-haired girl said. “How many more of those akuma…” — here, Yáng heard “evil demon” when the woman said that word — “…over in that forest still need to be culled?”

“Far, far too many of them, Commander Ashikaga,” Shannon Ozpin said as he stepped off the skiff before walking over to kneel beside the wide-eyed Yáng, kindly smiling. “Fortunately, Miss Xiǎo Lóng, the reports of my demise on Gaysaw evening were grossly exaggerated…for reasons you need now to understand. Though I agree with the commander here that you desperately need to sleep this evening off before you get those revelations.” As Yáng tried to protest, the headmaster of Beacon held up a hand. “Believe me, the explanation is FAR too detailed and MUCH too complex to try to force it on you currently. Yes, you were going to be told these things; be assured of that!” Noting she then sensing the Spirit of Innocence give her a reassuring look, he looked over his shoulder. “I trust, Miss Belladonna, Miss Khan, you can help Miss Xiǎo Lóng through this?”

Smiles answered him from the Night Moulder and the Healing Tigress as they moved to disembark. “Be assured of this, Master Shannon,” Monica Khan solemnly declared as she gave the Undying Warrior Sage a reassuring smile before gazing on a now wide-eyed Yáng. “Both Blake and I are MORE than willing to help Yáng recover from what Adam did to her.”

As the blonde huntress sensed a gulp rise in her throat from the sultry look BOTH the niece of the current leader of the White Fang and the daughter of that group’s founder were sending their way, Hinako scowled. “Sensei!”

Monica yelped as she felt the cosmic empath’s attention focus on her. “Y-y-yes…?!”

“No pillow scenes!”

And with that, the native of Niigata vanished in a flash of PAA teleportation. Silence fell over the scene for a moment before a confused Yáng stared at Akemi. “Um…what the heck does ‘pillow scene’ mean?” she asked.

Both Ozpin and Tàiyáng burst out in a torrent of coughs as Blake and Monica blushed…

****

Some minutes later…

“Finally in bed, Akemi-chan?”

“Yeah! Even Yáng’s old man put himself into his rack for the night,” the Orchid Nova reported as she came to stand beside the skiff that would soon transport the Wise Lone Sage back to Vale City. “Can I ask you something, Isaac?”

“What is it?” Isaac Thomas wondered as he gave Ashikaga Akemi a curious look.

“Any of these idiots we’re dealing with here gonna be a bunch of shitty admirals like I had to deal with in the war?”

The New Yorker considered that before he winked. “If they show up, Commander, I’m sure you’ll straighten them around.” He then took a deep breath. “Anyhow, I’m sure you’ll be relieved by the others once they exhaust themselves burning the Forever Fall down to the bedrock.” Here, both turned to gaze to the east, where an aura of destructive energy cloaked that mountainous area north of the capital of the local kingdom as ten other shipgirls — they having been joined by the Blizzard of Death, naturally — unleashed all their abilities on anything black, stinking and scaly that had the ill-luck to appear before them.

The adopted Ōsaka-jin looked before nodding, then she gave him a look. “What about that corpse you got from that griffin?”

He grimaced. “Something for a friend to help her recover from what our ultimate foe unleashed on someone she loved.”

Akemi blinked before nodding in understanding…

To Be Continued…

****

WRITER'S NOTES

Translation list and source language (all Japanese unless noted): Zanryū nipponhei — Remaining Japanese soldiers; Kempeitai — Military Police Corps, the Imperial Japanese Army's infamous security, secret police and intelligence division; Napaaqtuqarunnanngittuq — Tundra (Inuktitut); Taii — Navy lieutenant/Army captain/Air Force flight lieutenant; B-san — Nickname for the Boeing B-29 Superfortress; Kokka-Shintō — State Shintō, a radical version of the standard faith that emphasized the Heavenly Sovereign as divine to effect social control; Arahitogami — Human-form divine spirit; Akuma — Devil; Miyakowasure — A variation of the wild spring chrysanthemum (Aster savatieri), which means "sadness of parting" in local flower language; Dai-Nana Kuchiku-tai — Seventh Destroyer Division; Yūrei — Ghost; Yōkai — Literally "strange apparition", a catch-all phrase for various supernatural entities and spirits; Goshujin-sama — Master.

Onoda Hiro’o (1922-2014) was one of many Japanese soldiers who refused to heed the call of surrender when the Greater East Asia War ended in 1945. A native of modern-day Kainan in Wakayama Prefecture, he joined the Imperial Army in 1942 and was assigned as an intelligence officer to carry out guerrilla operations on the island of Lubang in the western Philippines. He would continue to do so, living off the land with a small troupe of fellow holdouts. Over the years, Onoda's subordinates either died or surrendered to local authorities, leaving him isolated by 1972. Around that time, explorer and adventurer Suzuki Norio (1949-86) from Chiba encountered Onoda and began to cultivate a friendship with him, learning that the older man wouldn't stand down unless ordered by a superior officer. This came two years later, with Onoda surrendering to Philippine authorities after being ordered to stand down finally from his immediate superior officer, who also survived the war. After being pardoned for his crimes on Lubang, Onoda returned to Japan briefly before migrating to Brazil in 1975, lamenting on the loss of traditional Japanese values. At the time of this story, he would spend three months on his farm in Terenos (in Mato Grosso do Sul state), while living the rest of the year in Tōkyō running a young people's educational camp.

Of course, the knowledge Isaac Thomas (Doctor Renaissance) has concerning Itō Yoiko (THG Yonaga) and Naomi Haight-Ashbury (USS Long Beach) comes from their appearance in Fred's story The Seventh Shipgirl (Fanfiction ID 12549222).

Chapter 12: The Start of Operation: Fortitude

Summary:

As the newly-established Team RJNR heads off on their trip to Mistral to retrieve the Relic of Knowledge and keep it clear of Cinder Fall, Isaac's allies move to shield them from a distance...even if one reborn destroyer has some issues with it.

And as Neopolitan returns home to bury her beloved friend Roman Torchwick, the most successful submarine of the Imperial Japanese Navy is reborn as the Sexy Sniper...

Chapter Text

DISCLAIMER: Concurrent with fair dealing clauses of the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada and fair use clauses in copyright legislation in other nations, this is a work that was created solely for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, it is posted freely on the Internet without expectation or requirement of remuneration.

****

Patch Island, the Rose/Xiǎo Lóng farm, Gayangkie 54 Treichleam, two hours after breakfast (Tōkyō time: Wednesday 4 April, two hours before midnight)…

Yáng Xiǎo Lóng shuddered lightly as she felt a warm body press against her from the left, the mixed breathing/purring of the woman she had been falling deeply in love with since they had come together as part of Team RWBY tickling her ear to the point where a delighted smile crossed the blonde fighter’s face. What was even better, there was ANOTHER source of mixed breathing/purring coming at her from her right, a body just as warm and snuggly as Blake Belladonna’s often felt to her whenever the pair had spent some time exploring their growing sexuality — away from the somewhat-still innocent Ruby Rose and the often VERY uptight Weiss Schnee, of course! — made Yáng growl in delight as she used her right arm to pull…

Eh?

Hey, wait a minute…!

She had her arm cut off from above the elbow by that arrogant prick Adam Taurus…!

Er…!

Ah…!

Uh…!

A throaty purr escaped from Yáng’s right as she opened her eyes to see a dusky-skinned woman leaning into her field of vision, said face pierced by golden-brown eyes possessing feline slits for irises, such topped and framed by perky cat ears on the temples peeking out from reddish-tinged, grey-black shaggy hair. “Good morning, Yáng,” Monica Khan meowed before leaning in.

The kiss Yáng got from the niece of the White Fang’s current leader was full of passion and desire, shearing past the blonde’s automatic reluctance when it came to cheating on her girlfriend — especially when said girlfriend was lying in THE SAME BED with her and this lovely vision of feline Faunus now kissing her! — to make her stick out her tongue into the other woman’s mouth and allow them to explore each other’s teeth. Yáng then got a tongue probing into her left ear, making her squeal as she felt a welcome heat grow in various naughty places all over her body, many of which Blake damned hell knew how to…

“Dame desu no! No pillow scenes! Yáng-san is still wounded!”

All three girls screamed on hearing that voice, they then bolting up to reveal all were naked under the covers…

…before Yáng then focused on a girl whom she’d initially swear was a feline Faunus herself — quite younger than she or either of her current companions — before said newcomer moved to place a tea-and-cake service on the nightstand beside Blake.

“Honestly!” the mauve-haired newcomer with the very cute brown eyes — she had a black bowtie in her hair, such fastened to resemble cat ears — tsked as she gave the three older girls a knowing look. “Hai, Hime understand that Blake-san and Yáng-san are pillow scene partners and Monica-sensei wants to be pillow scene partners with both of you! But Yáng-san is still wounded and needs to find her spiritual centre again after what that awful Adam-san did! You have some tea and cakes that Little Hime made for you while Hime prepares a nice brunch for all of you! Oobleck-hakase and Port-hakase will be here this afternoon to give Yáng-san lessons in having her semblance and Aura work with the prosthetic Isaac-san made for her, so you need energy!”

With that, the Great Chef of the West walked out of the bedroom. Yáng blinked as she took that in, then stared questioningly at her partner; she had been quick to notice the younger woman’s sleeved deep purple uniform with the picnic basket-like insignia over her heart. “Okay, is that a superhero or a supervillain on this Yiziba planet?” she wondered.

The daughter of the founder of the White Fang groaned. “She’s seen as neutral, Yáng. Shirayuki’s a trofikinetic; she can go and transform any form of matter into food.” As a look of surprise crossed her host’s face — being a fan of local comic books, Yáng had never heard of a character with THAT power — Blake added, “Believe me, her first-self was a hell of a saviour in the Dawn of Power and the Starvation Times.” She then shook her head. “Shit! You gotta learn ALL of this to really understand…!”

Monica chuckled as she slipped out from under the covers, making Yáng’s head visibly snap over as her eyes drank in such a gorgeous vision. Perfect dark-furred skin with sensual striping in ALL the right places…! Meow! the blonde kinetic manipulator breathed out before slowly turning to stare into her girlfriend’s amber eyes. “You chose ME after leaving THIS?!”

That made Blake sigh as her ears drooped. “You suffered for me…!”

“Oi! Oi! OI!” Yáng cut in, throwing up both her hands…then she stopped on noticing that’s she had slept with her prosthetic arm and hand attached to her body. “Damn…!” she breathed out as she squeezed that mechanism’s fingers into a fist.

Monica smiled as she picked up the belt buckle of her fighting suit — such had been made to disappear when the two Gifted girls got into bed with the wounded huntress — then placed it on her navel while tapping it with her index finger. In a flow of what seemed to be a type of cold plasma, her suit formed around her body, complete with a hooded cape that she secured the previous evening from Isaac Thomas as a way of protecting her; such a cloak had close-range shielding protectors which would deflect most forms of energy and low physical attacks out to two metres from her person. Seeing that, Yáng whistled before she blinked as she noted the insignia over the darker-skinned woman’s heart. “What does THAT supposed to mean?” she asked, pointing.

Monica looked down. “The emblem of my first-self’s school when she empowered herself during the Dawn of Power,” she explained. “In our language, it would be called ‘Putayana University’. Mistress Nameta Taam — that was her birth-name — was both a healer and a husbandress; the latter means she knew how to deal with animals on places like a farm.”

“Monica’s a touch-biokinetic healer now,” Blake added as she also slipped out from under the covers, reaching for her own fighting suit’s belt buckle to get dressed. “Did you try to see if you could regrow Yáng’s arm?”

As Yáng gaped, Monica shook her head. “Too little mesonium in the atmosphere, too much of that naquadah garbage around for me to manipulate in lieu of drawing on Yáng’s fatty tissue,” she lamented. “It’d be the same for Amy if she tried, Blake.”

The other woman nodded as her body was cloaked by the black-and-dark grey jumpsuit she received on her Gifting the previous afternoon. Looking at that, Yáng whistled. “Damn! You’re as much a stealth warrior as what’re in those books you love!”

“Oh, yes…and more!” the native of Menagerie meowed playfully as she reached over to the tea service to hand a cup over. “Anyhow, let’s get some food into us. Believe me, Shirayuki’s cooking is really first rate!”

“That it is,” her countrywoman purred…

****

An hour later…

“Are you SURE you don’t need us back at the house, Dad?”

Tàiyáng Xiǎo Lóng took a deep breath before he smiled in reassurance at his youngest daughter’s image on his scroll. Ruby Rose and the members of her new team were now on the main travel route leading east from Vale City to the Central Highway that connected both the northeastern and southwestern ends of Sanus. That road would allow Team RNJR to make their way to Jaune Arc’s hometown of Radian, which was about halfway between Vale and Lutetia in the territory of the lost kingdom of Gallia, one of many such polities that had fallen in the wake of the Great War over eight decades before. As had been planned quickly by Ruby, Jaune, Nora Valkyrie and Liè Ren, they would take a ship from Lutetia and make their way over to Anima to continue their journey to Mistral City. Sadly, given how seaborne Grimm haunted the waters of Remnant, voyages by sea had to be short-range trips for safety reasons, so the new team couldn’t sail directly to Mistral City itself on the eastern shores of Anima, thus demanding an overland crossing from a port on the west coast closest of Sanus like the village of Silvershield, the last remnant of an alliance of coastal trade cities which helped contribute heavily to maritime trade before the Great War.

Of course, given that the East Vale Road passed near the Forever Fall Forest…

“No, things are fine, Ruby. Relax,” the veteran of Team STRQ declared, waving the younger woman down. While he was more than sure that Ruby and her friends had taken shelter at one of the frequent automated help centres on the East Road the previous evening — such places were unmanned but kept fully stocked by volunteers from Vale to ensure that travellers could be at peace in case of roving Grimm packs — the sheer level of destruction ten VERY powerful metahumans unleashed on the whole of the Forever Fall had been quite LOUD and very VISIBLE from all over west-central Sanus. Fortunately for his sense of concern about his daughter, Tàiyáng knew there was no direct path that led into the Forever Fall from the East Road, so Ruby and her friends wouldn’t have got quite the eyeful of what people born of a certain planet some distance away — never mind the whole thing about these girls being human-form divine spirits born from WARSHIPS of all things! — could unleash. “You remember Isaac, don’t you?” At the chorus of nods and grins from Ruby and her companions, he said, “One of the things he told me his people have been doing is developing area-effect weapons to deny Grimm any sort of forest cover to make destroying them easier. Given that so many of his workers were hired from refugees from nearby cities abandoned to the Grimm…!”

“They basically overdid it,” Nora finished for the older man.

“That they did, Nora. Personally, I think the only people who might complain are those researchers who want to understand the properties of Red Sap. Fortunately, Isaac has samples of the stuff, so that’ll tide them over until Nature runs its course.”

Ruby nodded. “Yeah! It’s good that Isaac’s done so much for Vale since he and his people came from Vacuo. It’s too bad that he hasn’t developed his own semblance. He’d be one awesome huntsman once he got trained!”

Tàiyáng laughed. “Well, some people are meant for different things, Ruby. Anyhow, you guys have a long journey ahead of you, so don’t let me stop you. Call back when you camp out for the night.”

“We should make the Centre Highway turnoff before the end of day, sir,” Ren reassured him. “Jaune’s already got several calls from his mother demanding that he get himself over to Radian as soon as possible.”

“We’re not sure that it’s because Aunt Isabel wants to ground him to Eternity or get him married to Ruby here!” Nora added.

HEY!” both Ruby and Jaune yelped.

Tàiyáng laughed before footfalls echoed from nearby. “‘Morning, girls!” he called out to his left.

Sure enough, his older daughter and her two sleeping companions walked over to step into the scroll’s camera range. Both Blake Belladonna and Monica Khan were now in normal civilian clothing; they had replacement clothes beamed over via the Normandy from Renaissance Industries just in case the former’s team leader called in and got curious. “Hey, Rubes! Vomit Boy! Renny! Nora! See the light show last night?!” Yáng Xiǎo Lóng called out as she stood behind her father, placing both her intact arm and her prosthetic on Tàiyáng’s shoulders. “Crazy what Isaac and his brainiacs can make up, huh?!”

The members of Team RJNR all seemed to visibly relax. “So, how’s the new arm, Yáng?” Jaune gently asked.

An amused chuckle answered him as the energy manipulator raised the prosthetic and did some complicated arm movements with it, earning awed whistles from Ruby and her new team. “Lucky for me that General Ironwood’s medics guessed I’d be getting something like this. When they did first aid on me, they fitted the cybernetic links to let me use this thing right away. Feels almost like my original arm!” She then gazed upon Monica. “Monica tried using her healing semblance on me…”

“But amputations are quite beyond my capabilities, unfortunately,” the niece of the White Fang’s current leader admitted.

Ruby beamed. “Well, I wish we could have met in person before we headed off, Monica!” Here, she shrugged. “But Professor Ozpin wanted this relic that Professor Lionheart is looking after kept safe from Cinder and her creeps, so we had to get going.”

“We’ll try to catch up to you as soon as we can, Ruby,” Blake assured her. “You stay safe, alright.”

A determined smile answered the native of Menagerie. “We’re combat capable as Penny always said it!” Ruby assured her friend before the smile turned wistful. “I just hope that Penny’s father can put her back together again. That was so awful…”

“I’ve heard of the family name, Ruby,” Monica declared. “Professor Pietro Polendina is one of Atlas’ top cybernetics experts.” She then indicated Yáng. “The implants Yáng received after Adam attacked her were designed by him.”

That made Ruby beam. “Oh, that’s good! Maybe when Weiss comes back from Atlas, Penny will be back on her feet again.”

Tàiyáng held up a hand. “We’ll try to contact them, but with the CCT tower still down…”

“We’ll give it a try once we’re in Lutetia since it’s much closer to Atlas, sir,” Jaune declared before a wry grin crossed his face. “If we can all make it there as one group, of course…” he added with a tired mutter.

Wry chuckles escaped the others listening in on this…

****

Minutes later…

“So, what the fuck’s this bullshit about keeping your kid blind about Yiziba?”

Tàiyáng Xiǎo Lóng perked on hearing that question before turning as a certain lavender-haired reborn warship spirit walked up to join him on the upper floor veranda to gaze out over the eastern expanse of Patch Island and the small stretch of water separating that island from Vale City proper. “It’s Ruby’s special power, Akemi. She has Silver Eyes.”

The Orchid Nova blinked on sensing the emphasis on those words. Thanks to shipgirls being what parahuman fans often called “noctis capes”, they didn’t really have the need to sleep the same amount as normal humans did. This allowed Ashikaga Akemi to make use of her new “secure communications suite” — a very specific form of telepathic communication — to get caught up on the two weeks and more of speed learning which her older half-sisters had to undergo concerning the situation they found themselves in. With that came detailed briefings on all forms of metahuman abilities. “Sort of like my photokinetic abilities?”

“Specially gifted to deal with Grimm in large numbers. Her late mother Summer had the same power,” he affirmed before pointing towards the distant escarpment where Beacon Academy stood. “See that thing latched onto the tall transmission tower there? That’s a wyvern, one of the most powerful Grimm to exist. Ruby burned it with her eyes when her powers awoke the night Cinder Fall’s forces attacked. According to Glynda, the thing was hurt so badly that when Lady Ayumu spread the mist dandelions Neville Longbottom brought here to help shield the city from the Grimm, it began to melt immediately.”

Akemi hummed. “Hell, I can burn away the rest of that in just a minute.” Here, the adopted Ōsaka-jin turned around to lean against the protective rail, looking inside to see Osamu Shirayuki — now aided by Fukushima Shirayuki — move to feed Tàiyáng’s elder daughter and her intimate friends. “Still don’t get why you’re leaving your kid out in the open like that.”

He grimaced. “She’s being used as bait.”

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

Then…

Akemi’s eyes slightly glowed with outrage. “And you’re OKAY with that…?!”

“No!” he snapped. “I’ll NEVER be okay with that!” Gazing at her, he then took a deep breath. “But like it or not, Ruby now has a BIG target on her head, Akemi. When I fully learned about Salem from Ozpin, I realized why I lost my second wife like I did.” At her curious look, Tàiyáng added, “Salem makes it a particular point to seek out huntresses with Silver Eyes. I’ve heard some real horror stories over what happened to people with that power when someone took them down. Having one’s eyes cut out ALONE…!” he spat out, making Akemi grimace with understanding. “So, NO! I’d never want to see Ruby suffer like that! But…” Here, he took a deep breath. “Isaac and Shirayuki’s sister Fujiko agreed that with people like you now, ‘divisions’ of ship spirits would scout ahead unseen by Ruby and her friends. If someone shows up to attack them…”

Akemi blinked before she nodded. “Oh, I get it. We’d be a silent escort for them as they get this thing from this guy over in Mistral town. They’d act normal so the old witch doesn’t wise up while things in Vale get fixed up…”

“Which, hopefully, will force Salem to chose which way she wishes to go. Keep after Ruby or try on Vale again.” Here, Tàiyáng held up a finger. “Especially if and when she finds out her old husband is still ALIVE!”

The reborn seventh of her class of fleet destroyers scowled as she considered that…

****

Vale, Renaissance Industries Headquarters, an hour later (Anádyr time: Thursday, after midnight)…

“So, Isaac found a way to learn potential futures with the help of this Haruhi girl from near Kōbe, then passed it on to you?”

“Indeed, he did, Commander Ashikaga,” Shannon Ozpin declared as he placed a plate of cookies before Ashikaga Akemi, both relaxing in the cafeteria which had been the scene of Penny Polendina’s and Coco Abel’s Giftings over the last couple of days. Sipping his tea, the Undying Warrior Sage breathed out. “I don’t like forcing Miss Rose out into the open like that with my former wife aware of her abilities but given what you girls showed you can do last night in the Forever Fall, I doubt we’d need a destroyer division — that’s four shipgirls, isn’t it? — to keep watch on Team RNJR for their trip to Mistral.” On seeing the adopted Ōsaka-jin nod, he sighed. “Hopefully, it won’t take long. Sadly, even with my experiences dealing with Salem…”

“Bitch is still keeping a lot of things close to her chest, huh?”

“Exactly.”

The Orchid Nova considered that before breathing out, crossing her arms. “Well, from what I saw last night after my division caught up with Mayako and the others, these things surge out of pools full of that naquadah shit that the lar’beke used to fuel their ships and weapons when they attacked Yiziba, forcing the-then Doc Destructo to build these new hulls for me and the others.” She waved to herself in emphasis before a keen look crossed her face. “Glad that I got the memories of the synthezoid mind put into this hull when it was built to wreck their ships and eat the damned things!” As Ozpin winced — he experienced several encounters with the “children of the gods” over his long lifetime, so he could understand how the second incarnation of Yiziba’s first metahuman would direct her creations to be so near-cannibalistic when it came to the Goa’uld — Akemi shrugged. “I heard from the others that the Yanks have a Stargate of their own to use to explore planets that the Anquietas hooked up to their local network; one of the teams their air force send through the thing actually took out the head snake four years ago.”

“Ra’s gone?!” he demanded. “Oh, praise the Fates!” A scowl then crossed his face. “So, who would be…?”

“It’s a tossup between Apophis and a few others, Professor. Good afternoon, Akemi.”

“Yo!” the photokinetic waved as the Wise Lone Sage walked up to join them from the direction of his office.

He wasn’t alone. “Welcome back to Remnant, Miss Vanille,” Ozpin greeted the forlorn Neopolitan, making her blink with surprise on being addressed by her birth name, an identity she had effectively cast aside five years ago after she began to partner with Roman Torchwick full-time and cut all ties to the one place in Vale City where she had learned most of her tricks as a mercenary. Before she could say or do anything, his hands felt gently on her shoulders. “You have my deepest condolences at your loss, Neo. Much that I wouldn’t really approve of what you and Roman did since you joined forces, your group did bring a sort of — stability, shall I say? — to the underworld here in Vale City. I trust your training with the Amon Clan is going well,” he then said before moving over to the nearby kitchenette to prepare some tea for both her and Isaac Thomas.

The two moved to sit at the table Akemi was at, with Neo taking up a cookie to nibble on. “Well…” she muttered, making Ozpin stare in shock at her. “My semblance is getting worked overtime healing me from all the training I’ve done.”

The older man blinked before he chuckled. “You have your voice back!” he declared, making her blush as he finished preparing the tea. “Yes, I knew of some things concerning what your late parents were up to while you were growing up. Much that I don’t care for what the Spider Group was doing as they extended their operations here from Mistral, what your father could have done would have made things worse, not better. Beatrix Browning’s training was superior as you yourself have certainly demonstrated many times; still, I think that Roman’s influence on you did you better.” Carrying the teacups over, he placed them before Neo and Isaac before picking up his own up in a toast. “To Roman Torchwick. A rogue, but a gentleman rogue at that.”

Akemi joined in the toast. “Sort of like Al Capone over in America, Isaac?”

The New Yorker nodded as Ozpin sat down. “Pretty much so. Though I think Neo here should take credit for that.” At Neo’s blush, he sipped his tea again. “Hinako-chan promised me she’d go look for your other sisters as soon as she gets up later this morning in Japan, Akemi. I don’t know if we can keep doing this with the destroyers before someone notices…”

“Go for the subs,” the Ōsaka-jin immediately proposed.

“‘Subs’?” Neo asked before she perked. “Oh, the submarines, you mean! Undersea boats!”

Ozpin shook his head. “Vessels that travel underwater?” At Isaac’s nod, he hummed. “We’ve never developed that sort of thing given how many types of maritime Grimm exist. How would a — subgirl, shall we say? — become Gifted?”

Isaac and Akemi considered that for a moment before the latter chuckled. “They’d be able to cloak themselves.”

The former nodded. “Good point…”

“Cloaking ability?” Neo asked before nodded. “Yeah, that would be a good power to have. They’d have the powers that the Healer gave their new bodies when she created them to chow down on the lar’beke, too.”

“Any prominent ones we should send young Hinako after first?” Ozpin asked.

I-19.”

Eyes locked on the Orchid Nova. “Iku, you mean?” Isaac wondered before pulling up his field PAA. At Akemi’s questioning look, he winked at her. “The number ‘19’ in goroawase, Akemi-chan. In the universe where your human name comes from, all the Japanese subgirls who answered the call to go after the Abyssals — even one of the Type IX U-boats who came over to Japan, plus a Marconi-class girl from Italy — all got nicknames based on goroawase readings of their pennant numbers.” At the adopted Ōsaka-jin’s nod, he hummed as information flashed up on a holographic screen, including a map. “Okay, Shōko-san — that’s the name Tariko’s counterpart gave her, Narahara Shōko — was sunk by USS Radford not far from Makin Atoll in modern-day Kiribati. That’s in Lord Samiloluto’s general domain; I wonder if sending Hinako-chan out that way may cause a reaction?”

“And Samiloluto is…?” Ozpin wondered.

“The ‘Lord of the Deep’ as he’s known throughout the southwest Pacific Ocean, Professor,” the younger man responded, making Akemi blanch. “Yes, THAT Lord of the Deep, Akemi. He’s Lord Napaaqtuqarunnanngittuq’s peer from the time of the End War against the Old Ones.” As the Orchid Nova nodded in understanding — after being briefed on the Seventh Carrier of Operation Z by a stunned Fukushima Fujiko after she had been rebuilt and Gifted, she understood who THAT was — he trilled. “Wouldn’t surprise me that all the Great Old Ones are now aware of what’s going on. I’ve no idea how they’re able to communicate with each other; nothing the magicals anywhere on Earth have ever tried to detect any sort of communications between them was able to work.” He then sighed. “Of course, given they’re all beings born of the Power Jewel’s influence on Earth’s biosphere…”

“Only ones who’d be able to ‘hear’ them would be Rjazán’-sama, von Taserich-taishō and Raeburn-shihan,” Akemi finished.

“Most likely.”

Neo blinked. “Was there ever one of the Power Jewels put here on Remnant?”

Isaac blinked in turn before gazing on Ozpin. “I’ve never heard of such a device,” the latter admitted.

The New Yorker hummed…

****

Junior’s Cabaret in the industrial sector of Vale, that moment…

“You’re one of those girls who burned down the Forever Fall Forest last night.”

Hearing that comment from her current host, Fukushima Miyuki — who had shifted her battlesuit to the traditional sleeved format, sensing that this bar/dance hall effectively demanded more formal clothing — blinked before she sipped her strawberry sunrise; she heard through Blake Belladonna that such was Yáng Xiǎo Lóng’s favourite nightclub drink, which could help as a sort of icebreaker when meeting with the head of the Xióng Family. “Yeah, had to work out the muscles ‘cause of something bad my sisters and I found out last night,” the adopted Maizuru-jin breathed out. “Real target-rich environment we found.”

Gazing at this brunette tomboy whom he’d swear was a Mistralite like himself, Hēi Xióng — or “Junior” as he was commonly referred by to differentiate him from his late father — then smirked knowingly. “Lots of people working for Isaac Thomas started telling some crazy stories after that whole insanity on Gaysaw evening when that Fall bitch and her pals from the White Fang decided to flood the city with Grimm. Especially with little flowers drifting around town and melting the damned things the instant they touched them.” His smile then widened. “Heard of how even Thomas was able to BEAT the shit out of Adam Taurus of all things WITHOUT a semblance or an aura power at that,” he wryly added. “Believe me, all the Faunus in Vale save for the real fanatics are more than grateful for what the man did. Taurus is a fucking pig even if he is a cow in looks.”

The Cosmic Blizzard chuckled before sipping her drink. “You’re an intelligence officer.”

That made Xióng gape before he chuckled. “So, the other rumour’s true as well.”

“Depends on the rumour.”

“That among the people from this Yiziba planet that Thomas got his semblance/aura thing that makes him so smart — the same planet where the One Above the Gods hailed from — are living ship spirits made into beautiful girls like you,” he said as he gave her a knowing look. As Miyuki nodded in confirmation, he took a deep breath. “How’s Yáng?” he quietly asked.

She was quick to sense the honest concern in his voice. “She’s recovering on her farm out Patch way. Blake-san’s with her, not to mention Monica Khan-sensei.” As Xióng nodded — he could sense the meaning behind the “sensei” term applied to the niece of the White Fang’s current leader — she added, “Isaac-san got her a prosthetic to tide her over before he’d move to offer to get her Gifted. Blake-san, Monica-sensei and Coco-san are Gifted now.” Noting his curious look, she added, “You keep your semblance and aura abilities, but get an extra power — plus the memories of many people who used the same power set over the generations — when you’re Gifted, so there’s no need to go to a school for metahumans; there’re a few of those on Earth.”

He nodded, fighting down the sense of unreality at the idea that this nice kid with the deadly cryokinetic powers was an honest-to-Oum alien of all things; as he noted beforehand, she’d fit perfectly with his ancestors’ relatives back in Mistral! “Heard from some fence-sitters among the Faunus that they’ve gotten calls from Cinder Fall’s flunkies about what happened when they hit Beacon,” he warned. “None of them have spilled the beans yet. You should be warned that one of Fall’s flunkies is Marcus Black’s kid; he was a hell of an assassin back in his day and from what I saw in the Vytal Festival, Mercury Black is a chip off the old man’s block. If they keep getting stonewalled, Mercury’s going to make someone squeal blood sooner or later.”

“We’ll try to get more shipgirls here as soon as we can,” she assured him…

…before her PAA buzzed. “Hai, Miyuki here!” she called out after pulling the device from her belt pocket.

“It’s me, Miyuki-dono,” a grave woman’s voice answered.

Instantly, she stiffened. “Sempai…?!”

“Calm yourself,” the seventh carrier of Operation Z called back from her personal cave in Sano-wan; while none of the destroyer shipgirls had gone to that location in northeast Siberia to meet their spiritual flagship — doing such being quite ridiculously easy for any of them thanks to one’s PAA and its near-galactic range, hyperwarp teleportation ability — they had a good idea about what had happened to the woman now called Itō Yoiko and her crew. “To alert the local ninkyō dantai before there might be issues with this Spider group who are also active in Vale, Neopolitan-dono has briefly returned from training with the Amon-ichizoku to retrieve Torchwick-dono's remains and have them buried there.” As Miyuki quickly noted that Xióng was blushing at hearing his group addressed as “chivalrous” thanks to the translation functions of her jumpsuit, the Ice Warrior of Eternity added, “Given Neo-san’s break long ago from the Spider organization, is there a threat to her she should be wary of?”

The adopted native of Maizuru looked at her host. He grimaced as he considered that before humming. “That’s a hard one to make a call on, ma’am,” he then admitted, inwardly wondering who and what he was talking to. “Sure, Old Lady Malachite is keeping an eye on things here in Vale — and who knows where her daughters might be with all the cleanup happening here; they’re her main enforcers here, but haven’t been seen since Gaycan — but they’ll want to get their licks on Neo hard…”

“Boss!” one of his junior bartenders called out.

Xióng’s head snapped up towards the entrance before a curse escaped him, making Miyuki look over. “That them?”

“Melanie and Miltia,” he breathed out…

****

“So, how do we break this sort of info to Mommy Dearest, sis?” Miltia Malachite wondered as she and her sister Melanie made their way over to their normally reserved booth set off to one side of the main dance area of Junior’s.

The two sat down, then perked as a waitress came over to get their order. Once they were alone, Melanie sat back in her chair. “Honestly, how DOES one break that sort of news, Mil?” the twenty-something with the straight black hair who made use of blade-augmented high-heel boots — she called then “Dancing Spikes” — breathed out. “Finding out that the Faunus’ big belief about someone who took down the Two Brothers of all the gods ever to live is REAL? That there are aliens now interested in our little planet?! And that they want to help exterminate the Grimm?!” She shrugged before perking as the waitress came back with their drinks; one thing one could always say about Hēi Xióng’s establishment was that the service was truly first-rate.

Miltia nodded as she sipped her own drink, making sure her glove-mounted battle claws — to her, “Heart Piercers” — didn’t scrape the table or the glass holding her booze. “Still, we got to tell Mommy Dearest something, Mel,” she warned. “What those girls did to the Forever Fall was just too damned LOUD! I thought this Thomas guy wanted to keep things on the down-low.”

Melanie chuckled. “Hard to do that after he mopped the floor with Adam Taurus of all people!” she wryly stated. Seeing the scroll video of THAT little encounter on Gayatit morning had been quite the eyeopener to the two well-trained mercenaries. Yes, they had worked hard to develop their shared twin semblance — which they called “Snow Blood” — while they attended the Lady Browning’s Preparatory School for Girls near the Vale city dockyards years before, refining it further while in the field. Such training helped them hold their own against the likes of Yáng Xiǎo Lóng of all people when she visited Junior’s looking for a missing girl; yeah, the heavy hitter of Team RWBY had defeated them, but given who Yáng’s rumoured mother was…!

In comparison to that, the man who had founded Renaissance Industries which had become Vale City’s largest Faunus-majority employer had NO semblance NOR Aura; all he had used in his fight with Adam Taurus was a beautiful energy sword, well-honed close quarters combat skills and a touch of his advanced tech to humiliate the field leader of the White Fang…and did it in front of his old girlfriend to boot! Given the fact that the militant side of the White Fang had allied with people who gladly allowed Grimm to flood the city of Vale in AIRSHIP FLEET loads, neither of the Malachite sisters — to say anything of the vast majority of Valean citizens, human and Faunus alike — were feeling in any way charitable towards Taurus and his fanatics.

That a supposedly NORMAL man had taken him down, alien or not…!

Melanie hummed. “Think he’s hiring?”

Miltia blinked. “Who? Thomas?”

“Yeah,” the older sister affirmed with a nod. “According to some of our old classmates working for RI now…” — all of whom probably knew the sisters’ affiliation to the Spider Group, though were willing to let some things get into the open — “…Thomas got some honest-to-Oum WIZARD to come here and spread those dandelion things all over town which killed Grimm wholesale. Never mind he having friends clean out whatever Marcus Black’s brat and his friends pumped into the city’s defences to drop every protection the town has against those damned things.” She shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong, Mil. I’m supporting Mom no matter what. But there are things that go above working for family, you know.” At Miltia’s nod, Melanie sipped her drink. “I want to be on the winning side, especially against people who want to burn everything down to the bedrock.”

That made the woman with the curlier black hair laugh. “Yeah, burn it to the bedrock!” she hissed out. “Like those girls did to the Forever Fall last night. Did you see that one with those sun eyes?! A whole MOUNTAIN smoked with ONE LOOK…!”

Both girls giggled as Melanie did a scan around the room; even at this time of day, Junior’s was a busy establishment since it catered to shift workers as much as provided a place for young people to gather in the evenings to have a good time dancing after school or other studies. As she focused on the area of the main bar, she then stopped. “Oh, Oum! I can’t believe it…!”

“What?” Miltia wondered before looking herself, then her jaw dropped. “Holy shit, no way…!”

“That’s one of the ice-users from last night!”

“Wasn’t she the one who took out that king taijitu at Beacon on Gayatit just before Thomas beat down on Taurus?”

The younger sister blinked, then she nodded. “Yeah! Old Man Oobleck and Old Man Port met up with her, not to mention two guys, her sisters, some other girl and this little kid who did something to the taijitu before she made it a glacier!”

“Fuck…!” Melanie breathed out…

****

Minutes later…

“So, this is sort of like the local yakuza dive, huh?”

Isaac Thomas chuckled as the hovercraft he normally used to travel around Vale came to a landing on the parking lot beside Junior’s. “The local equivalent, so to speak,” the Wise Lone Sage said as Mikazuki Yozora again expertly manipulated the machine’s controls so that her creator and his two companions could disembark with ease. “We’ll call you when we’re done here, Yozora-chan,” he then bade the gynoid replica of the deuteragonist of a very popular light novel series in Japan.

“Then to Patch Island to see Yáng, Isaac?” the raven-haired woman wondered.

“Exactly.”

“Hai, hai!”

As soon as Neopolitan and Ashikaga Akemi were off the hovercraft, the adopted Gifu-jin (home prefecture of the author of the Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai novel series, Hirasaka Yomi) keyed the controls to have the machine ascend into the air; with the amount of wind dandelions now in the atmosphere over and around Vale — never mind Yozora being a gynoid of all things, her mind effectively shielded from any Grimm’s senses thanks to the mesonium powering her central processor — she would certainly be safe if something like the wyvern that attacked Beacon Academy showed up. Musing on that, the New Yorker waved the Valean mercenary and the adopted Ōsaka-jin to the nearby entrance. Sure enough, two footmen of the Xióng Clan in their ubiquitous black business suits — seeing that made Isaac immediately remember his homeworld’s most well-known (to the surrounding local cluster) group of alien first-contact specialists, the infamous “Men In Black” of the United Nations’ Special Committee on Alien Activities — guarding the door. Both were quick to perk on seeing the native of Queens approach before they relaxed on seeing who was currently accompanying the man who drove off Adam Taurus. “Miss Neo,” one greeted.

The Ballerina of the Final Darkness nodded politely in turn as the other mook opened the door to allow she and her companions inside. Once inside the main dance hall, the Orchid Nova nodded in appreciation; she had at Isaac’s suggestion changed her battlesuit to the more traditional sleeved mode, such bearing her honorary rank of Imperial Navy commander in service uniform dark grey on her sleeves to better stand out against the white background. “Nice place your friend runs here, Neo.”

The local mercenary winked at her, then made her way directly towards the main bar where Fukushima Miyuki was currently relaxing alongside everyone’s ultimate host. As they made their way, people in the crowd and nearby tables all perked on seeing who had come in, then whooped in delight as they toasted both Neo and Isaac. That got Hēi Xióng’s attention right away, he then coming out from behind the bar to greet his late boss’ primary partner. “Neo, thank Oum…er…?!”

He then stopped on seeing how she was currently dressed. Before she could say anything, Isaac chuckled. “Fortunately, Master Xióng, an adopted countryman of mine was able to rescue Neo here from being eaten by Grimm after Cinder Fall’s raid on the town, then arranged for her to embrace a much better life than her late parents’ actions nearly denied her.”

Xióng gazed at him, he also trying not to blush at being called “master”. “She’s like you now, Mister Thomas?”

“Indeed, she is, sir. Here on Remnant, her ‘battle name’ — equal to a superhero’s or supervillain’s chosen costume alias in local comics I’ve been told of and seen — is ‘Danzatrice’. Atop keeping her semblance and Aura, she gained considerable empathic powers as well, not to mention the collective memories of…how many was it again, Neo?”

A smirk responded. “Twenty-seven lifetimes,” she declared in a clear voice.

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

Then…

“Oum! You can TALK now?!” Xióng exclaimed as he gaped wide-eyed at his former boss’ chief assistant.

“Yeah, Junior, I can talk now,” Neo teased as she reached over to squeeze his shoulder in reassurance. “Pity that Daddy Dearest and Mommy Dearest got killed because of his stupidity when dealing with faulty Dust. I’d love to see how’d they react to me telling them to their lying faces how I REALLY felt about how they raised me! Can I have my usual?”

He cackled. “C’mon over! What’s your poison, Mister Thomas? What’s your friend want?”

“I’ll have a crystal tonic, Master Xióng,” Isaac answered as he and Akemi followed Neo over to sit at the bar beside Miyuki. As the Cosmic Blizzard moved to order another strawberry sunrise for the Orchid Nova, he unclasped his cape and moved to fold it up into a pile to put it on the chair next to him; fortunately, there wasn’t enough people in the establishment that someone might object. “Apologies for coming by, but thanks to Akemi and her friends, we were able to recover Roman’s body, so Neo had to come back to town to arrange for his burial.” As Xióng gaped in shock, the New Yorker grimaced. “Turns out that larger Grimm take time to consume people they eat. When Akemi sliced that griffin in half last night, I was able to identify him right away.”

That made the head of the Xióng Family visibly wince before he reached over to squeeze Neo’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

The diminutive would-be heiress of one of Vale’s wealthier families shrugged. “I warned the idiot to watch himself when everything went crazy!” she said before nodding as one of Xióng’s bartenders came over with a shot glass of triflower brandy, a lovely and smooth hard liquor that she had fallen in love with years before since it went down her wounded throat without any sort of burning feeling. “Hell, you were here on Gaysok when we met up with Padre Leno, right?”

He hummed. “That older guy who wore purple, right? The one who tried to persuade you and Roman to protect yourselves from what that bitch Fall and her friends were going to do at the Festival? He’s like you now?”

“Same,” Neo affirmed. “He’s from Yiziba; there, he’s called ‘Millennium’.” At his surprised look, she smirked. “He does his own recruiting when it comes to non-Yizibajohei like Isaac and me to get Gifted.”

An acknowledging nod came from their host. “Pity Roman didn’t listen.”

“Yeah…!” she breathed out before drowning her shot of brandy in one gulp.

“Go easy on the sake, Neo-chan,” Akemi teased from her left.

That made Xióng gape. “Wait! ‘Sake’?! You guys have sake?!”

That made the adopted Ōsaka-jin blink. “Oi, Isaac! I thought you said that there’s been no contact between Earth and Remnant since the Ori were fucking around with people two thousand years ago!”

“Surprises me as well, Akemi-chan,” the New Yorker noted before nodding thanks as his own drink was served.

“Hey, Trivia.”

Neo’s eyebrow arched before she looked over at the Malachite sisters, now standing nearby…

****

In the North Pacific Ocean at 03°10' North, 171°55' East (ninety-three kilometres west of Butaritari [Makin] Atoll in Kiribati), that moment (local time, Thursday, an hour after midnight)…

It is an overcast night near the place where the Equator and the International Date Line intersected on maps of this area, the seas rather calm for a warm evening at this time of year. The winds were south-southeasterly at about ten knots, allowing the waters of Earth’s largest sea in this part to produce wavelets of not even a metre in height, the crests of same appearing glassy and not breaking. If anyone was out in this part of the Pacific on a boat, they’d feel the wind on their faces were they facing in the general direction of Tarawa Atoll south of southeast from here, but boats weren’t out this evening.

Which, for those on Earth who had been Gifted by the World of the Forge, would be a good thing…

Ah-ah-ah-…AH-CHOO!

Deep beneath the relatively calm surface at a depth of nearly four kilometres, the broken wreck of a Junsen Otsu-gata — known in Western literature as the Type B1 cruiser — aircraft-carrying submarine had laid there since a day in late 1943 when one of the most successful attack boats to serve the Heavenly Sovereign of Shōwa was ruthlessly hunted down and depth charged by the second of the most numerous class of destroyers ever built by any power. By this time, so many decades after the end of the Greater East Asia War, the mortal remains of the 105 officers and men who served on THG I-19 had been consumed by multiple types of organisms; unlike the largest of North America’s world-famous Great Lakes, the salty cold temperatures at these depths were not enough to prevent decomposition of human flesh and anything else that could be easily consumed by local wildlife.

Wh-who…who’s talking…about me…?

Unseen by anything mortal — though easily sensed by one of the most powerful ancient nature spirits to rise on Earth in a time noted by the last ages of the Australopithecines who were the last step in general evolution before the rise of what could be seen as "modern" man; said evolved and sentient Otodus megalodon known to the mystical and magical of this part of the world by the phrase “lord of the deep” itself being many kilometres away from this scene — something shaped like a fully-intact and operational THG I-19 formed around the wreckage before it started to collapse on itself, becoming something different.

Something human

Wh-what…what’s happening…to me…?

Deep within the awakening spirit of this being, the collective memories of all those who had helped build her at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shipyards at Kōbe in the years leading up to the start of the Greater East Asia War, not to mention the men who gladly served on her for the hectic two years and more she had been operational as part of the Second Submarine Division, began to coalesce and merge together, then fusing with the spiritual kami of I-19 itself — now HERSELF — as the glowing, morphing image forming around the wrecked hull took on the shape of a teenage girl of about sixteen years of age.

A girl with memories unlike anything any NORMAL person would possess…

Supporting the attack on Pearl Harbour, nearly catching one of America’s few fleet carriers…

Seeking out defenceless merchant ships along the American west coast…

Being in dock at Yokosuka when two American carriers proved that the Home Islands weren’t invulnerable to air attack…

Helping in the diversionary attack on the Aleutians when the Kidō Butai was gutted at Midway…

Then to the Solomons later in 1942, where her crew would make the most unbelievable war shot by a submarine to date during her fourth patrol, sinking an aircraft carrier and a destroyer and damaging a battleship from many kilometres away…

Helping ship supplies to the Imperial Army garrison on Guadalcanal, being ground down by vengeful American Marines supported by allies, eventually forming part of the evacuation force in Operation: KE…

Hunting and sinking freighters from the forward base at Truk Atoll…

Then the call to help stop the attack on Tarawa Atoll in Operation: Galvanic…

…where the luck of the “sniper of the Pacific” ran out thanks to a radar-equipped destroyer one November evening…

…or did it?

Wh-who’s doing this…?

Was it one of the Ryūseizen, the hunters of monsters unlike anything not even Japan’s hidden magical society could imagine…?

Was it that bright spirit who passed over the area on a couple of occasions, radiating peace and happiness…?

Or was it…?

What…?

No…!

No way…!

How could that be…?!

Fubuki…Shirayuki…Hatsuyuki…Miyuki…Murakumo…Isonami…Uranami…

Oboro…Akebono…Sazanami…Ushio…

And even…HER!

Yonaga?!

The missing seventh carrier of the Kidō Butai, whose support could have REALLY brought the hurt on the damned Yankees…!

Or…?

«Hey, Iku-Iku! Quit moping about it and c’mon and join the party!»

Huh?!

That was an American ship spirit…!

Eh?!

Er…!

An American ship spirit that understood Zen of all things…!

«Calm yourself, Iku-dono! We may have lost the war against the Americans, but there was a cultural victory of sorts.»

Hearing a voice possessing DECADES of knowledge, the spiritual strength of THOUSANDS — augmented by a power that made the effective adopted native of Kōbe think of the ancient sea spirit whose oceans she now lay in — made the awakening kami of Tennō Heika Gunkan I-19 look up and towards the far north, to a place in far eastern Siberia…

Oh, of COURSE!

A damned EARTHQUAKE of all things happened there before Operation Z was to happen…!

But what of…?

«My whole crew are alive and well, Iku-dono. Let what is happening finish and live the life your crew was denied!»

“Iku”…oh! Her hull number in goroawase! Right…!

So…

But how…?

Oh…!

OH!

Tene lomher’buo, Narahara Shōko…!

As a new torrent of memories flooded the awakened soul of the third of her class of cruiser/scout submarine — memories of a whole different PLANET beyond imagination, of a people who had been forced to become honest-to-Kami MYSTERY MEN and MYSTERY WOMEN to survive an environment that was both benign and living hell at the same time, not to mention an apocalyptic battle against a race of SERPENTS who possessed helpless people…and had the audacity to pretend to be GODS of all things! — one thought crossed the soon-to-be reborn subgirl’s mind as her old hull was crushed and collapsed, pulled out from the bottom of the ocean and brought into open air for the first time in sixty-nine years, then merged with a synthetic humanoid body built from the Atom of True Life itself, that all merging and morphing into a living, breathing human being.

I’m being named after my first CAPTAIN…?!

Then…

Nesu…E-LO’OTO!

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

Then…

“Ah…hah…okay…I’m a GIRL now…!”

“Yeah, Iku-Iku, you aren’t whistling Dixie saying that!”

«Naomi-chan…!»

Yelping, Shōko spun around…

…before her eyes went wide while something deep within her brain — her control centre? — noted something.

“You’re a cruiser?!” she demanded.

The Cosmic All-Seer nodded. “That’s right.”

A tilt of a head now framed in not twin but triple-tails, the hair a lovely aquamarine shade and extending to mid-back as a strange inner sight picked up the image of USS Long Beach shrouded over Naomi Haight-Ashbury. “Uh…where are your guns?!”

“I used rockets, not guns,” the adopted Californian calmly replied. “I hit from VERY far away when I have to smoke someone.”

«Naomi, for Kami-sama’s sake, talk NORMALLY! I know you can do it!»

Naomi sighed as Shōko looked around in confusion for the source of her fleet mate’s voice. “Geez, Big Y, take a chill pill, will ya?! ‘Sides, Little Sunshine’s not here to help out with Iku-Iku getting out of the Big Shark’s home domain…!”

A flash of energy made both spin to Shōko’s left…

“Hai, hai! Hina’s AWAKE now!” the Living Spirit of Innocence — in pyjamas of all things, she also holding up Kasa-tama — called out before she gazed intently at the reborn submarine for a moment, then she sighed, shaking her head. “Gonna have to talk to Sakuya-chan to use Welcome House if more and more and more shipgirls come back like this!”

Shōko blinked before gazing hopefully at Naomi, who shrugged in return…

To Be Continued…

****

WRITER'S NOTES

The story of how Trivia Vanille/Neopolitan (Danzatrice) came together with Roman Torchwick is better explained in the 2021 novel Roman Holiday, written by E.C. Myers and published by Scholastic. This story is where groups like Spider and the Xióng Family, not to mention Melanie and Miltia Malachite, first appeared chronologically in the RWBY storyline; note that Hēi Xióng AKA Junior and the Malachite sisters first appeared in the "Yellow" Trailer to the whole series first released in 2013.

Samiloluto AKA the Lord of the Deep is based on Polynesian legends concerning a massive shark — most likely a still-living megalodon (Otodus megalodon); the species went extinct three million years ago in the Pliocene Epoch — that often roamed the southern Pacific Ocean. In this series, he will chronologically appear in Extreme Shipgirls; Fred was inspired by the appearance of such in Harry Leferts' Harry Potter and the Shipgirls snippets which can be read at both SpaceBattles and Sufficient Velocity.

The concept of Power Jewels and how they affect people like Fred's first original character Deanette "Dean" Raeburn was first introduced in Wanderers (Fanfiction ID 404885). The whole concept of how the End War (which explains the disappearance of the Old Ones as were first introduced in Buffy the Vampire Slayer) came to be is expanded on in Magic and Canada.

Translations and source language (two Japanese, one Yizibajohei): Ninkyō dantai — Chivalrous organization, what yakuza often refer to themselves as; Junsen Otsu-gata — Literally "Otsu-class cruiser", the "Otsu" part (in kanji, ) indicating the second (or "B" model) of a series (see below); E-Lo'oto — Literally "I-Nineteen".

Before World War Two, the Japanese classified the model designation of weapons using the concept of the Ten Heavenly Stems (Jukkan) from Chinese cosmology. The ranks can be interpreted using ordinal numbers or letters in other languages. The Ten Stems are (, meaning "first" or "A"), Otsu (, "second"/"B"), Hei (, "third"/"C"), Tei (, "fourth"/"D"), Bo (, "fifth"/"E"), Ki (, "sixth"/"F"), (, "seventh"/"G"), Shin (, "eighth"/"H"), Jin (, "ninth"/"I") and Ki (, "tenth"/"J"). Since military projects seldomly went past the tenth modification level, this system wasn't expanded.

Finally, to introduce the sexy sniper subgirl appearing at the end here:

Narahara Shōko-shōsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan I-19, now Nihon-koku Gunkan Iku [SK-19])

Of course, Shōko takes after her Kantai Collection interpretation. As to how FAR that interpretation will go…!

Chapter 13: The Return of the Torchwick Gang

Summary:

As Yiziba's two brightest hyper-geniuses prepare to bring forth the primal shipgirls for the United States and the Russian Federation, the reborn Seventh Carrier of Operation Z moves to send Japan's first returned subgirl out on a salvage-and-Gifting mission of her own.

While this goes on, the Ballerina of the Final Darkness returns to Vale City to bury her beloved friend...as well as move to reform a proper criminal gang that wouldn't sell all of humanity out to the Grimm...!

Chapter Text

DISCLAIMER: Concurrent with fair dealing clauses of the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada and fair use clauses in copyright legislation in other nations, this is a work that was created solely for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, it is posted freely on the Internet without expectation or requirement of remuneration.

****

Patch Island, the Rose/Xi ǎ o Lóng farm, Gayangkie 54 Treichleam, mid-afternoon (Tōkyō time: Thursday 5 April, three hours after midnight)…

“There! Was that so difficult, Miss Xiǎo Lóng?”

Gaping as she took in the sheer level of destruction that her semblance had been able to unleash on a suitable target through her new prosthetic, Yáng Xiǎo Lóng stared at the new extremity she just received from Isaac Thomas for a moment, then shook her head. “Are you sure about that, Professors?” she then asked Bartholemew Oobleck and Peter Port. “I mean…!”

Both experienced huntsmen exchanged looks, then the taller of the pair walked over to squeeze the blonde huntress’ shoulder. “We’re more than sure, Yáng,” Oobleck declared. “Isaac understands that it’ll take time to adopt people to technology — yes, even medical technology — that isn’t powered by Dust. He had an idea that something like this was going to happen on Gaysaw evening, so he consulted with people like Penny’s creator to have prosthetics prepared when necessary.”

“Indeed so,” his co-worker affirmed with a nod. “You’re not the only one who lost limbs that night, Yáng. Fortunately, Isaac feels it only right to make use those who suffered could get back on their feet as soon as possible. Since our planet’s biosphere precludes healers such as Monica there, much less Healer Laverne from Earth, from helping people, well…”

Yáng took that in before gazing on her girlfriend and the other woman who had joined them in bed last night. Both Blake Belladonna and Monica Khan were in their new fighting suits, which really did fit their bodies well. While neither of them had joined in on the remedial lessons that Oobleck and Port had started just after a wonderful brunch made by Osamu Shirayuki (before she went back to Earth to get some sleep due to differences in time sectors between that planet and this part of Remnant) — to say anything of her own father Tàiyáng — she could tell that both seemed ready to jump into a fight in an instant; there was a barely visible aura of alert readiness in both girls that Yáng hadn’t seen even in experienced Aura-trained huntsmen before.

Noting her staring their way, both the Night Moulder and the Healing Tigress got up from the rock where they had been sitting on to warmly embrace Yáng, that making her blush as the three older hunters smiled knowingly. Footfalls then echoed from the direction of the main farmhouse, making all of them turn as Fukushima Shirayuki came towards them with a service of tea and cake. “If you’re taking a break from workups, Yáng-san, I made some of Nē-sama’s special tea cake for you.”

With that, Tàiyáng moved to spread a blanket over the grass for people to relax on, then everyone gathered. “Okay, I don’t get it!” Yáng stated as she took her seat, then nodded thanks as Blake handed her a cup of tea. “Shirayuki — I mean Küchenchefin — is a normal girl; she’s just turned twelve a month ago our time back on Earth. Yet you call her ‘elder sister’?”

The now-declared Pure Blizzard of the Kitchen, Hyatorike (“Shirayuki”), smiled impishly. “Well, I only served in Tennō’s navy for nearly fifteen years from commissioning until I was sunk, so in that way, I’m ‘older’ than she is. But given that my social, cultural and technological knowledge of things back on Earth is seven DECADES out of date, I feel it’s only right to defer to her. Besides, I fell in love with cooking as soon as I was salvaged and brought to Hinako-chan’s home in Niigata some weeks ago; her mother Michiko was more than happy to teach me things my own cooking staff wouldn’t have any IDEA of making!” She sipped her own tea. “Ever since we volunteered to help Isaac-san out here on Remnant, I’ve read about my other-self, the one who’s a magical bioroid fighting humanoid versions of your Grimm called ‘Abyssals’ on the high seas.” As the locals all winced on hearing that, the adopted native of Yokohama shrugged. “Well, something went rather strange when they were summoned from the Realm of the Kami to fight for their version of Tennō and the people of Japan. Even if they’re human, they must consume HUGE levels of food to help replenish their internal stores, so they’d be in good shape to fight those yōma.”

“You really should concentrate more on things in THIS multiverse, Shirayuki,” Blake warned, making Yáng gaze her way. “I mean, yes, you’re human; even if your new ‘hull’ was a synthezoid made by the second Healer of Destruction to fight off the lar’beke when they tried to seize the Great Crystal, it’s fully organic now.” She pointed to her nose in emphasis. “Yes, you smell a lot of the mesonium that went into that body’s construction, but other than that, you’re as human as any of us.”

“Hence, no doubt, the reason this other version of Lady Tariko making a human name for your other self,” Monica added.

“And thus, of you,” Blake finished.

“Wow…!”

Both feline Faunus perked before gazing apologetically at their shared intimate friend. “Oh, Yáng, I’m sorry!” Blake then apologized as her ears drooped with shame. “I didn’t mean to scare you like that…!”

The blonde waved her off. “N-n-no! No, it’s okay, Blake! It’s okay!” she sputtered out. “I mean, I get the whole ‘absorb gobs and gobs of memories from the past’ thing about this whole Gifting you went through yesterday, but damn! It sure is changing you like no one’s business! I just got to get used to it!” She then sighed. “Isaac wants me to do this, right?”

“The offer is always open for anyone of an open mind to accept becoming one of the Forge,” Monica declared. “Still, as I’m sure you gentlemen will agree, training with the prosthetic is a good thing.”

“Indeed so,” Oobleck affirmed with a nod before nibbling the cake he received. “We’re learning about a vastly different culture — No, excuse me, TWO vastly different cultures! — by interacting with people like young Shirayuki here as well as those who are more directly touched by the world of the One Above the Gods like both you and Blake, Monica. It is quite the lesson.”

Tàiyáng hummed. “Still, it is quite a change.” He then sipped his own tea. “Is it true, by the way?” he asked Blake.

“What’s true?”

“That the other Shirayuki actually thought it’d be good to change everyone alive in Vale to metahumans?!”

The Night Molder considered that before she laughed. “What?! What’s so funny?!” Yáng asked.

“Well, if I remember correctly, Shirayuki said that she couldn’t do it — and Master Neville confirmed this, by the way — because of all the interference from the naquadah that’s in Remnant’s biosphere left behind by the Two Brothers that helped see the Grimm created and that death-cheater made what she is now,” the daughter of the founder of the White Fang declared. “She would think of if as a challenge to her, but Isaac later told me that such a thing would be a ‘slow Tuesday’ to Shirayuki.”

“‘Slow Tuesday’?” Yáng wondered before nodding in understanding. “Ah! You mean a dreary Gayput, right?”

Monica and Blake exchanged looks, then nodded. “Seems close enough,” the latter noted.

“Gayput is tomorrow here, right?” Shirayuki asked. At the locals’ nods, she then hummed. “Why the equal of Wednesday on Earth? Tuesday’s the day before it…!” Here, the adopted Yokohama-jin nibbled her lower lip. “Odd…!”

Laughter then echoed over the scene…

****

Vale City, the site of the Vanille mansion, that moment (Brockton Bay time: Wednesday 4 April, two hours after lunch)…

“You did this?!”

“I did.”

“Why?!”

Shannon Ozpin smiled as he gazed upon Neopolitan. “I couldn’t save you until it was far too late, Trivia. The least I could do is ensure you had something to go back to in case you had a change of heart.”

Blinking, the Ballerina of the Final Darkness turned to gaze upon her rebuilt family home, a place she hadn’t considered visiting in the half-decade since the death of James and Carmel Vanille and her becoming Roman Torchwick’s primary partner in crime. While most of the rooms inside the building were empty — of course, the detonation of tonnes of unstable Dust wasn’t good for the preservation of any sort of heirloom…not that the woman born Trivia Vanille wanted to be forcefully reminded of the dark years where she was isolated in hopes of making her talk after her voice was lost — she could tell that the structure had been rebuilt to the same general plans her family had put into place well before the Great War. Currently, the Wise Lone Sage was inside the mansion inspecting things; Neo had asked Isaac Thomas to prepare defences for the property in case there was another general failure of the city’s shields against the Grimm, thus allowing the mansion to serve as a place of refuge for helpless civilians. While she had plans for what she would do after she was done training with the Amon Clan back on Earth, she hadn’t progressed them to the point where she could start establishing a new base of operations here on Remnant. But now…!

“So, we’re reforming the gang?”

Perking, Neo looked over her shoulder at a smirking Hēi Xióng, who had come with a considerable representation of his family to this place after the Undying Warrior Sage had visited Junior’s Cabaret with the news about the restoration of this place. Flashing a curious look at Ozpin — and getting a knowing smile in return from the headmaster of Beacon — she shook her head. “Yeah, we’re gonna do that, Junior. We need to do it,” she declared, making the son of her late honorary uncle blink with surprise. “Do you really think all those on our side of the face-heel divide will trust any of Taurus’ idiots now?”

A snort answered her. “Not only ‘No’, but ‘Hell, no’, Boss Lady!” Xióng said with an amused cackle before gazing on Ozpin. “Thing that’s bugging me about this setup is WHY you’re going along with it, Professor.”

An amused chuckle answered him. “Something I’ve learned since I realized the truth behind Isaac, Hēi. Right now, regardless of how one feels about the legalities of the situation, we NEED to come together as one force to deal with Salem and her allies.” As the current head of the Xióng Family grimly nodded — he and his subordinates had been filled in by Isaac Thomas over the last couple of hours concerning the ugly truths behind the attack on Beacon Academy days before — he then smirked. “In that research, I learned of a ‘Haywire victim’ as they call them on Earth. A person who was forced to permanently relocate from another multiverse to our own over a year ago named Taylor Hebert.” At Neo’s curious look, he added, “She hails from a version of Earth which fell under the influence of the ‘kimfombeke’ as you’d call them, Neo. Quite heavy influence at that.”

Disgust crossed her face. “THOSE things?! What was going on there?!”

“What the hell is a ‘worm leech’, Boss?” Xióng asked.

Neo shuddered. “A death-cheating creature that can place itself in multiple dimensions all at once who allow parts of itself to be expelled and merge with potential host species — including humans like us — to turn them into metahumans.” As he gaped, she held up a finger. “Oh, that’s not all these things do, Junior! With those ‘shards’ those things eject, they force the hosts into conflict over a set amount of time, then ‘cultivate’ the shards — killing not just the hosts, but their whole species along the way in one mass death scene — all for them to reproduce in hopes of defying the heat death of the whole of Existence!”

He gaped. “Holy shit! And this Hebert kid survived something like that?!”

“Young Miss Hebert actually aided in the death of one such being while she was a mere host of a major shard from that self-same being,” Ozpin explained, making Neo gape in shock at him. “Then, once she was brought to our dimension’s Earth by that world’s first interdimensional guardian and allowed to be Gifted with Padre Leno’s help, she went back to her home multiverse to arrange for the deaths of several pairs of those creatures. The R’bemomadae, I believe it’s called on Yiziba, Neo?”

An awed whistle escaped the young mercenary as she considered something like that. “There was an actual R’bemomadae that happened in just the last SEASON?! Damn!” she then lamented sadly. “And I MISSED it?!”

Both Ozpin and Xióng staggered at that declaration…

…before Neo tensed as her empathy picked up on the presence of an approaching telepath, her hands snapping for two dirks…

«Relax, Miss Vanille. I come in peace.»

As people perked on hearing that woman’s voice echo in each of their minds — many of the people now standing close to Neo instantly tensing as they reached for weapons, much to her delight — the orphaned daughter of one of Vale City’s richest families spun around, flinging one dirk in the general direction of the main gate, that making heads then snap over…

…just as a hand snared the weapon by the handle not a metre away from striking its intended target!

“Goddamn! Nice reflexes, Ice Cream Girl!”

“Vicky…!”

Neo then awked on realizing that among the small crowd of newcomers was a woman in the uniform of the Flesh-Twister, a well-known healer on the World of the Forge. “Geez! Relax, Danzy!” the very cute blue-eyed blonde in the light grey-and-gold star-dotted uniform of the Fighting Belle of Victory, Yuotuo Bolem (“Glory Girl”), declared with a smirk that reminded the Ballerina of the Final Darkness of a VERY cocky Yáng Xiǎo Lóng. Before she could say anything in return, the woman who caught the dirk then gazed on her obvious leader, a slender woman with literal legs for days possessing curly brown-black hair and green eyes behind protective goggles, she in the black-and-dark grey insect-embossed uniform of the Mistress of the Mindless Legions, Lekero (“Skitter”). “You think once she’s done with the Amon Family over in Japan, she might want to come by the Bay and meet up with the Oyabun and his friends? She’d have a hell of a target-rich environment with the Empire in town.”

Amelia Lavere moaned as she took the dirk from her adopted sister’s hand, then walked over to hand said weapon back to Neo, the latter trying not to fluster; she KNEW what could happen to anyone on Yiziba who had the sheer balls to attack a HEALER of all types of metahumans on that planet. “Peace, Neo! Peace!” the daughter of the Marquis of Brockton Bay said as Neo slipped the dirks back into their holsters. “We didn’t meet when Oracle brought me here yesterday to look in on some of your would-be opponents after one of them was selected to be Warwind’s latest punching bag after her Gifting. Amelia Lavere!”

She held out her hand. Neo smirked, then allowed her hand to be grasped by the Bay Stater, she then relaxing as she sensed the healer’s biokinetic powers do an automatic scan of her body. “Damn! Master Amon and his people really are working you over! At least that childhood injury on your larynx is fully healed!” Amelia breathed out in disbelief before waving her companions up to join them. “Lady Danzatrice, I have the pleasure of introducing my beloved adopted sister, Lady Glory — she goes by ‘Glory Girl’ in mark of her unfortunate time under the direct influence of the kimfombeke — and my dearest pillow scene partner and my battle group leader Lady Skitter.” She then indicated each girl as she added, “Victoria Dallon. Taylor Hebert.”

All three members of the Brockton Bay Undersiders bowed their heads respectfully to their host. After a minute, Neo then laughed. “Healer Shaper, Glory Girl, Lady Skitter, welcome to my reclaimed home and hearth,” she ritually returned with a wave of her hand. “And may I compliment the good healer on her exceptional good taste in pillow scene partners,” she then added with a wink as she gave Taylor an appraising look. “While I’m still grieving over the loss of my beloved partner several episodes ago, it doesn’t mean I cannot join in the rejoicing at the sight of such an exceptionally beautiful couple!”

As Taylor and Amelia both blushed at such a compliment, Victoria laughed. “Damn! Pity that the Padre couldn’t get to your boyfriend before it was too late! He really cleaned you up there, girl!”

“Actually, Miss Dallon, you have it the wrong way,” Ozpin then declared as he adjusted his glasses. “It was Neo who helped clean Roman up when they partnered together as the Malachite sisters can clearly attest.”

“She did that, Professor,” Melanie Malachite said as her sister Miltia laughed. “So, I can guess what Healer Amelia can do, but what about you two guys?!” she then wondered as she pointed at Victoria, then Taylor.

“Vicky’s like Coco Adel is now,” Amelia responded as Victoria levitated herself off the ground to assume a crossed-legged sitting stance about a metre off the ground. As some of the younger people who had followed the members of the Xióng Family and their allies to the Vanille mansion all gaped in awe on seeing something so “superhero-like” demonstrated, the famous healer asked, “Does everyone know about what happened to Coco and her friends?” Seeing most people nod, she then smirked as she gazed fondly on the woman’s whose arrival in this multiverse had effectively saved the “saintly Panacea” from an emotionally cold home. “As for my dearest Tay-Tay here…” she purred as a rumbling sound echoed from all around people.

As they looked around, the rumbling turned loud…

…as massive swarms of local insects representing multiple species surged out from the ground, nearby trees and bushes to form swarming groups all over people’s heads. “Tay-Tay brings ALL THE BEES!” Victoria said with a wink.

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

Then…

Neo roared with laughter. “Damn! You MUST have been a heel before you turned face, Skitter!” she declared as she waved everyone towards the main doors. “C’mon in and let’s get things set up! Junior, get the kitchen going! We got guests here!”

“Damn straight about that, Boss Lady!” Xióng whooped as people turned to head inside…

****

Sano-wan, that moment (Local time: Thursday 5 April, two hours before breakfast)…

“The Brightest One still sleeps, Jójsha.”

Hearing that statement from the young gamájun chick who had effectively helped allow her to make peaceful first contact with other metahumans from the World of the Forge the previous afternoon, the Ice Warrior of Eternity nodded, she then reaching over to squeeze Nebesyákh’ Bélogo’s shoulder. “That is good, Little One. For all her power and her willingness to spread peace and happiness wherever she travels, young Hinako is still a child; your age, in fact.” As the niece of the representative of the Dúma Gamájuna to the Ministry of Magical Affairs in Sankt-Peterbúrg nodded in understanding, Itō Yoiko turned to gaze towards the north. Civil twilight had faded from this part of Siberia over an hour before and already, members of Yoiko’s crew were busy doing their daily calisthenics on various flat parts of ground around the wide cove where she had been trapped as Yonaga for so long. Allowing her ki senses — inherited primarily from her junior navigation officer and his knowledge of Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū; Moroboshi Kyōsuke was ranked a jōnin in that esoteric fighting form even if he didn’t qualify to bear his clan’s most sacred treasure, the sentient being born from twin merged mental databases of fighting knowledge spanning for a millennium each which awoke in 1808 to eventually earn the name “Moroboshi Negako” — to reach out and scan all those whose dreams and beliefs helped make her what she was now, the adopted Maizuru-jin nodded before tensing as footfalls heralded the approach of a fleet mate from Kōbe. “Iku-dono,” she greeted the third of the Junsen Otsu-gata cruiser submarines without turning.

“Sempai,” Narahara Shōko greeted in return before smiling as she reached over to playfully rub Nebesyákh’s head feathers, that making the young chick squawk in embarrassment. “Your own sempai-tachi would be shocked at what you became.”

Yoiko snorted. “If any of them endured what I did, they’d be allowed to comment on it, Shōko-san. Until the time comes that they seek to become what we’ve become, I shall not ponder it. I’ve other things to worry me.”

Shōko nodded as she gazed around Sano-wan. Being a cruiser submarine — meant to be a far-forward scout for fleet forces — she had been quick to observe how much Fujita Hiroshi, much less his subordinates, had changed since they last were in the Home Islands seven decades before. Yes, they still adhered to Bushidō…and to the TRUE Bushidō at that, not the bastardized version which had run rampant through the armed forces in the wake of the Great War and the advance of the militarists who wanted as big of an empire under Tōkyō’s control as possible. This place so far from normal civilization of any sort had purified the over twenty-six hundred souls who had been trapped here by the will of a creature so beyond human, it defied even her considerable imagination…and she had the memories of her synthezoid-self and what that being had done five millennium before to the lar’beke who wanted to claim the Great Crystal of Power for itself! Even more so, the constant interaction with the gamájun living here had chased away whatever racism lurked in the hearts of Yonaga’s crew, they having realized over the decades in Sano-wan that such ‘superior’ beliefs in the Japanese race were no less different than what the idiot Nazis tried to make the natives of Germany believe in the same damned period of time that she had been built as I-19.

Reading of the Holocaust…!

“Wonder how’d they feel,” she then mused.

“Who?” Yoiko asked.

“The U-boats and the others from the Kriegsmarine,” Shōko noted. “We got…what? Two of the Type IX-Cs directly…?”

“Yū Steinhoff-san and Emi Prüß-san, formerly U-511 and U-1224 respectively. Several more joined the Kaigun after the surrender of Germany in May of 1945, but those two would be definite potential targets for your own ‘subgirl hunt’,”

Shōko pulled out her PAA — glad that such an incredible device was so simple to operate — then tapped the control as she felt her mind probed to understand the question she wanted answered; the device would then tap through hyperspace links into Earth’s information network to give her some needed answers. “Okay, Emi-chan got sunk by a Yank escort destroyer near Cape Verde on her post-commissioning voyage from Kiel in 1944. Yū-chan got scuttled post-war in Wakasa-wan.”

“Go for Emi-san first; most likely, she’ll be eager,” Yoiko advised. “Cape Verde time is 1712 hours on Wednesday.” Here, she drew out her own PAA to scan the position of the Sun. “Sunset would be closer to 1900 hours, so wait a while before moving to convince her to rejoin our service. As for Yū-san…” She waited for the device to draw up new information. “Ah, she wasn’t alone when the Allies scuttled her. Both I-121 and Ro-62 — Kobayashi Mitsuko-sempai and Horie Yoshimi-sempai respectively — were scuttled the same day at the same location in Wakasa-wan. Again, if you approach them, do it after dark.”

A snicker answered her, making the adopted Maizuru-jin stare at the just-reborn submarine. “What?!”

Shōko had an irrelevant look on her face. “‘Hitojii’ for Mitsuko-sempai?”

Nebesyákh’ blinked. “‘Grandfather’, Shósha? You’ll all be girls!”

Both shipgirls gazed on the young gamájun, then Yoiko and Shōko roared with laughter…

****

In geosynchronous orbit over Earth at the meridian of Výborg in Leningrádskaja Óblast’, Russia (directly over a point west-southwest from Butembo, Nord-Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo), that moment (local time: Wednesday, a hundred minutes before midnight)…

Standing on the bridge deck of the Free Planetary State of Yiziba Starship Kosmonávt Alekséj Arkhípovich Leónov made the Bloody Siberian She-Bear — as one Svetlána Il'ínichna Múrometsa had been referred to for years despite her being born in the European side of the world’s largest country — often feel quite small when she took in the vast scale of the Universe.

To believe that SO many of her magical comrades from the Ródina found it so difficult to understand how small they were in the face of what lurked beyond the shielding biosphere of the third world of Sol…!

And while she had no fear concerning losing the link to the magic she had come to wield with terrible efficiency over the decades despite her being bednjakí by birthright with no known kuláki ancestors — no thanks to the shoddy records keeping in the rural parts of the Motherland where she had spent the first decade of her life before getting the incredible invitation to the Akadémija Volshebsvá “Gamájuna” on her eleventh birthday in the spring of 1908 — thanks to the fact that the technology that had built this ten-to-one scale version of a sturdy Soviet-built spacecraft from a rather acceptable American science fiction movie made in 1984 was mesonium-powered, she still felt a sense of great humility whenever she walked on Leónov’s decks to visit its creator.

Had it been the same way for her dear friend Pjésnja Bélogo when the young gamájun herald was introduced to the Emperor of the Arctic to receive his blessings to become the Dúma Gamájuna’s spokeswoman to the MMD in Sankt-Peterbúrg…?

“Továrisch Márshal?”

Svetlána turned as one of this ship’s gynoid crew — the same type of beings that her host’s American counterpart had constructed correspondingly with the creation of her version of the USSC Discovery One years before — came up. “Da?”

Nána Kolésnikova — as an artificial intelligence, it seemed ridiculous to give her a patronymic in the standard Slavic way, though she did use the matronymic “Tat'jánovna” when she was called down to Earth for some reason — waved her towards the doors leading into the central hull of this vast spacecraft. “Tánja is waiting for you in the large starboard workspace now.”

Múrometsa nodded. “Spasíbo, Nánasha.”

The two walked off the bridge, heading down a well-lit corridor that ran through the middle of the 840-metre-long craft towards where — in the movies and the original novel by Arthur C. Clarke — the large living modules were attached to the main hull; since Tánja Chapáeva’s starship had artificially-produced gravity, there was no need for the 432-metre-wide mass to rotate on the ship’s central axis. Thus, the native of Výborg had the spaces converted to research laboratories which could be programmed to exhibit multiple environments, including zero-gravity and micro-dimensional vortexes. Given the task that the President of the Russian Federation had given the Passionate Historian of the Circle of Thought when the news of the effective rebirth of THG Fubuki into the person of Fukushima Fujiko thanks to one Saeru Hinako came to Moskvá the previous month, the veteran of the magical side of the Great Patriotic War had no doubt that whatever ship spirit the half-Karelian model’s daughter was about to make human would be reborn in as safe and sterile an environment as could be made with the power of the Seeker’s Forge.

Given the special ingredient to make such reality…!

After a few minutes walk — while she wasn’t as old chronologically as several of her contemporaries from the Liberation Wars like Albus Dumbledore, Gellert Grindelwald or William Harlan, the mesonium in her blood gained from the steppes where she had been born had kept the farmer’s daughter from Chaadávo near Múrom some distance east of Moskvá quite young physically to this day, so she wasn’t winded — they arrived at a sealed airlock leading to the ship’s starboard side. Nána tapped controls to unlock the door, then waved the older woman through, said portal closing behind Múrometsa.

She then looked at what clearly was a micro-dimensional bubble in the middle of the vast space.

And what was now floating serenely in the middle of same.

“Bózhe moj…!” she breathed out.

Her host looked over her shoulder from her floating work chair before the main control station. “Bábushka…!”

Walking up to stand beside Tánja to gaze upon the near-completely-rebuilt first-generation dreadnought floating serenely in null-gravity, the former minister of magical affairs and leader of the Soviet Union’s magical troops in the Great Patriotic War could only shake her head in awe. “Why such a large ship, Tánja?! Are we trying to scare our young Japónskie továrischi?!”

A snort answered her. “Unlike our American comrades, we never maintained a high naval tradition through the transition from empire to union to federation, Bábushka. Fortunately, given this one’s service — her crew received the Órden Krásnovo Známeni in 1944 — I’m sure that when it comes time to bring other ship spirits back to serve the Ródina and our former sister republics from the old Union, they’ll gladly flock to her call to arms.” She then winked. “Besides, it turns out that Fudzíko Sidzúovna Fukusíma is fully fluent in Russian; she even gladly taught her sisters Sirajúki Rokoróvna, Hatsué Josiróvna and Mijúki Shódzikiovna how to speak it as if they were natives of Vladivostók!” As Múrometsa gaped in shock at that revelation, her host turned to tap some holographic controls as she supervised the fitting of the mainmast. “Something tells me you’re here to talk to me about a whole host of dead poachers whose severed heads were delivered to your comrades in Magadán.”

That made the old warrior witch grimace. “Some of your comrades from Jidzíba were involved?”

“Two from America, three from Japan. Including Ájumu Dzjódziovna Kásuga and Fejt Filíppovna Lekhéjn!”

Múrometsa blinked, surprised that THE most powerful of the Children of the Forge — to say anything of one of the two living vampire Slayers alive today, she now ALSO being the most physically powerful of the Children of the Forge — had taken interest in the whole poaching issue targeting the gamájun. “Wait! That mana burst from far east Chukótka…?!”

“Imperátor Túndra's reaction to the existence of the alconóst descendants on Rémnant.”

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

Then…

Gazing at the nearly-rebuilt warship before her, the veteran of the world’s first magical world war gaped as the words of a certain reborn nuclear rocket cruiser spoken days before echoed in her mind. “A dóchka flóta?!”

“Exactly as Naómi Evgén’evna warned, Bábushka. She was even there and helped it happen.”

Múrometsa blinked before she sighed, remembering what Naomi Haight-Ashbury also said. “Japanese, no doubt.”

“Da. The person who discovered the Cove of Svjetjjílische had the devil’s own luck to run across it. Somehow, I think the Imperátor allowed it; poaching of gamájun chicks was quite common back in those days, da?” At the older woman’s grimaced nod — being a graduate of the Gamájun Academy, the farmer’s daughter from Chaadávo had always been ashamed of her fellow magicals for treating the metamorphic aliens so shoddily, especially since they had guaranteed rights of protection from the Tsars themselves, such having been passed down through the leaders of the Union to the present day! — the Passionate Historian added, “With such a vast ship — it was an avianósets converted from a linéjnyj koráblʹ típa ‘Jámato’; her name is Jonága — secured in the Cove, there was no way that any of those disgusting monsters would get away with such a crime…”

«Then this Jonága and her crew are all Velikorossíjskij in my eyes, Tát’jana Andrévna…!»

Both women gasped as a faint glow formed around the great ship before them. “Galína Nikoláevna…!” Tánja hissed.

«Sah! Get my hull fully rebuilt so I can be like the others being brought back from the realm of Bátjushka Vólos! Then I’ll go see this Jonága personally and THANK her and hers for doing the duty YOUR fool subordinates should have done all along, Továrisch Márshal Múrometsa! I’m sure this one will welcome a chance to unleash a PURGE…!»

As a low, cold chuckle echoed through the chamber, Tánja and Múrometsa exchanged wary looks…

****

Sweet Valley in California, that moment (local time: Wednesday, thirty minutes before lunch)…

An amused chuckle escaped the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as he, his wife Laura and America’s first shipgirl stepped into the underground bunker created by the Wise Genius of the Circle of Thought for work she could do on Earth in lieu of going into orbit and doing same on the Discovery. “Need an absentee note from school, Liz?” Percy Fitzwallace wondered.

Elizabeth Wakefield looked over her shoulder before smiling as she tapped controls while monitoring the finishing work on the island superstructure of the mostly-rebuilt ship now floating in a pocket dimension that was visible through a special looking glass. “I have my gynoid replica attending classes at Sweet Valley High now in my place, Admiral,” the smartest person bar none on the World of the Forge declared. “She’ll be ready by Friday morning if the President’s asking.”

“He knows already; Naomi’s keeping him up to date,” Fitzwallace declared as he gave Naomi Haight-Ashbury a smile. “You ready to work with a girl who comes from ‘squaresville’ there, Mama Cass?” he then teased.

The Cosmic All-Seer shrugged. “Big E here almost made it to the Summer of Love, Uncle Fitz,” the adopted native of Long Beach and Quincy in Massachusetts explained as she waved to the great warship now safely tucked away as the legion of repair robots brought in directly from Yiziba itself continued to finish fitting her out for the big day in less than thirty-six hours. “Kinda pity that Granduncle Bull’s attempts to have her preserved as a memorial failed. Yeah, showing off her fantail is one thing…”

«Only thing that kept me tied to Earth…»

Hearing that voice with its mixture of Virginia Tidewater and Metropolitan New York accents made people gaze on the nearby warship; with a flick of a finger, Elizabeth turned on the metaphysical projection functions to display the ghostly figure now reclining on a lounge chair overlooking the fantail. As Laura covered her mouth in disbelief and awe at the fact that she was looking at something a devoutly religious person would immediately claim was an angel of some sort, her husband sighed. “Are you sure you’re okay with this, Captain?” he gently asked. “Given how tired you must have been at war’s end…”

«I’ll be fine, Admiral. Besides, given what that nice girl accidentally did last month, it’s a guarantee that things like this will start happening all over the planet sooner or later, especially if this Healer of Destruction’s come back and decided to let his army of snake murderblenders go to live their own lives effectively merged with ship spirits like Naomi and myself…»

“Relax, Yvonne, relax,” Elizabeth gently urged. “Let the knowledge come to you. I don’t want to bring you back into the physical world and leave you totally lost like Steve Rogers was when he was pulled out of the ice.”

The image of the soon-to-be-reborn Virginian/New Jerseyan blinked. «Your friend from Queens found that out, right? He went to the very universe that the Captain and the other Invaders came from that the War Hawks had to deal with, Commander?»

“That he did, that he did.”

«And Major Raeburn’s a GENERAL now?!»

“That she is, Captain. That she is,” Fitzwallace declared. “You’ll like her and the troopers under her command a lot. She helps run a school for metahumans — mystery men and mystery women to you — up in British Columbia at a farm the kobaloi helped her buy after she got the Power Jewel to keep the cave where it was found well away from other people’s hands. Soon as you’re ready for duty, you’ll head up to Clayhurst to get your phoenix wings as a specialized warfare operator.”

«Will we have to deal with supporting state metahuman militias, Admiral?»

“If necessary and at the President’s say-so, Captain. Posse Comitatus and all that…”

A snort echoed through the chamber. «We’re NAVY, not Army, Admiral! Posse Comitatus doesn’t affect us!»

Laughter escaped the others at that statement…

****

Vale, the Vanille mansion, a half-hour later (local time: Gayangkie, two hours before supper)…

“Uh…hey, Neo.”

“Yáng.”

Hearing that voice escape the Ballerina of the Final Darkness, the blonde heavy-hitter of Team RWBY — and yes, she was now starting to feel like she could keep that title despite the amputation of an arm days before — blinked before she hummed. “Heard that you lost your voice because your dad was being a serious dick with bad Dust, then refused to take responsibility for it.”

Neopolitan’s eyebrow arched before an amused chuckle escaped her, she then reaching over to grasp Yáng Xiǎo Lóng’s good hand to pull her into the massive reception room of her rebuilt family home, such now somewhat filled with a tonne of people, including some welcome and recognizable faces like Isaac Thomas, Hēi Xióng, the Malachite sisters…and much to her personal delight and joy, Shannon Ozpin as well! Sensing the blonde energy manipulator visibly relax even more on seeing the Undying Warrior Sage who had done much to prepare Yáng and her friends to be huntresses, the woman born Trivia Vanille gazed on her. “Yeah, that’s what happened to me. You’re lucky, Yáng. So are your sister and the others as well, even Blake there.”

Following her girlfriend into a place she personally never thought she’d walk into willingly without being ready to fight, Blake Belladonna smiled at that compliment from her host while grasping Monica Khan’s hand. As Tàiyáng Xiǎo Lóng exchanged knowing looks with Bartolomew Oobleck and Peter Port while Fukushima Shirayuki politely covered her mouth in amusement, the new arrivals were quick to draw the attention of the headmaster of Beacon and the Wise Lone Sage. “Yáng, Blake, Monica, boys!” Ozpin greeted as he and Isaac came over. “Nice to see you’re adopting to the prosthetic, Yáng. How do you feel?”

Yáng blinked as she considered that before tears welled up in her eyes. “I don’t like leaving Ruby out in the open like that, Professor,” she confessed as Blake came up to hug her from behind. “Yeah, she’s got the Silver Eyes and all that…”

“We’re watching over her right now, Yáng-san,” Shirayuki immediately assured her, making everyone gaze on the adopted Yokosuka-jin. With that, the Pure Blizzard of the Kitchen pulled out her PAA. “Shirayuki to Murakumo!”

“Murakumo here, Shirayuki,” a voice called back as a holographic image appeared over the device.

“Status of Team RJNR?”

Fukushima Mayako’s image was replaced by a topographic map of the region east of Vale City proper, a target icon showing that Ruby Rose and her new teammates had made considerable progress from the place of their last encampment on the East Vale Road close to the nearest edge of the Forever Fall Forest which was now nothing more than cinders. “Lucky thing those motorcycles Isaac provided these four have cold fusion batteries powering them,” the Raging Storm of the Seas noted. “They’re making pretty good time and should hit the crossroads for the Central Highway by the start of the first watch tonight.”

“Sazanami here, Shirayuki,” the voice of the just-arrived Ashikaga Namiko cut in from the headquarters site of Renaissance Industries on the other side of the city. “Otsuchi and I’ll go out to relieve Mayachi and Hatchi at the start of the first dog watch.”

“Make sure you have an early supper before you go, Namiko-chan,” Shirayuki advised.

“Hai, hai! We’ll be alright, Shirachi…!”

“Are there any signs of Grimm in the area where the team is at, Mayako?” Ozpin then inquired.

The adopted Ōsaka-jin — like her fellow “tsundere” destroyer Ashikaga Akemi, the silver-haired FISS/meteorkinetic was built at the Fujinagata Shipyards — hummed as her image appeared over her sister’s PAA. “Nothing I can smell, Kōchō-sensei. Maybe if there are packs of those akuma running around, they’re lying low after we burned the Forever Fall down last night.”

“Hatsuyuki here,” a new voice cut in, allowing people to see the image of the Silent Blizzard now in the middle of a forest, no doubt close to the East Vale Road. “I’m doing low cover while Mayako stays airborne, Kōchō-sensei.” She stuck out her tongue to taste the air. “Yeah, they were crawling through this area; can’t tell how long since they last passed my position.”

“Probably ran like hell away from the Forever Fall last night,” Mayako proposed.

“Concentrating at the crossroads, maybe?” Shirayuki asked.

“Possibly,” her younger sister trilled out. “Hatsue, can you stay on the deck and scout ahead?”

“Need to do a big wheel away from Ruby-chan and her friends if I do that to stay unseen, Mayako.”

“Do it. I’ll lower down to treetop level south of the road and pace them.”

“Yokai!”

The links over the PAA were cut. “There you go, Yáng-san!” Shirayuki assured as she walked over to squeeze the taller girl’s shoulder. “Your sister and your friends are safe and sound! If there’s anything that they can’t handle, we’ll deal with it.”

Yáng blinked before she reached over to embrace the cute cryokinetic/FISS and cooking student. “Thanks, Little Hime!” she said as she kissed Shirayuki’s forehead before she stepped back. “By the way, why does the other Shirayuki…?”

“Call herself ‘Princess’ all the time?” Isaac cut in, making her look his way. “Look at the kanji of their name.”

The locals focused on the snow angel insignia on the reborn destroyer’s chest, that marked with the kanji 白雪 in up-down reading format. “The first character, which is read ‘shira’ in this case, means ‘white’. Like here on Remnant, the colour white also implies ‘purity’. The second character, read ‘yuki’ in this case, means ‘snow’. So, their names literally mean either ‘white snow’ or ‘pure snow’. It also harkens to a tale written on a part of Earth called Germany over two centuries ago, about a princess who was banished from her home and left to die in the wilderness by a wicked stepmother after her own mother died. When her mother wished for a child, she wished for one ‘who had skin as white as snow, with lips as red as blood, and with hair as black as ebony’.” Here, he pulled up his own PAA to project an image. “This is an animated version of Snow White as she came to be called.” As the locals nodded, he added, “In the tale, Snow White was rescued by dweorg — dwarves in your language — and allowed to recover, eventually moving to reclaim her heritage. The stepmother tried to stop her, but a handsome prince saved her while the stepmother died, thus she was acknowledged as a princess once more. The tale is known worldwide…”

“Including where Shirayuki and Little Hime come from, right?”

“Exactly.”

Oobleck hummed. “Weren’t there tales like that in our history, Oz?”

“Quite a few,” the older man affirmed with a nod. “Fortunately, most of the Academy vaults survived Cinder’s unwelcome visit on Gaycan, so once the wyvern and other Grimm are wiped away and we can rebuild, people will be able to access them.”

“If you need help disseminating those stories and other historical information, Professor, I can arrange for some things,” Isaac offered. “One of the damned things that Salem’s done to hurt everyone on this planet is to try to deny your own history, make your lives as hollow as possible to make destroying you all easier.” As the locals grimly nodded, the New Yorker added, “Much that I’m sure she’s noticed by now that a large amount of local real estate has been sterilized to the point where none of her Grimm could try to infiltrate Vale City anew to help her gather intelligence since Cinder’s still recovering, she clearly doesn’t want to stop until it’s done. It’s a pity that she doesn’t realize that it’ll be all for nothing in return with the Two Brothers gone.”

Yáng snarled. “To believe I found myself LIKING that Fall bitch! I’d love to make her SWALLOW those flames of hers!”

“Whoa, Love!” Blake cut in. “First person who deserves the revenge scene on Cinder is Pyrrha! We’ve got Adam to think of.”

That made the taller girl blink before she gazed on Isaac. “How the hell did you save her, Isaac? I saw the troopers from Atlas pull out what little was left of P-money’s and the Professor’s bodies from the Beacon Tower after Blake and me were found.”

An embarrassed chuckle escaped the Wise Lone Sage. “Well…!”

Shirayuki smirked. “From what we heard, Yáng-san, Isaac-san here came up with this superbly complex plan to sidestep TIME to save Pyrrha-san — and Kōchō-sensei as well as both were Cinder-san’s targets that night — by substituting lifelike clones for the real people for Cinder-san to kill; she’d already killed poor Amber-san, so she had the full Fall Maiden powers.”

“Actually, Shirayuki-chan, I was going to stop time itself to do that swap,” Isaac advised.

“You can do that?” a wide-eyed Neo demanded.

“With the Weaver’s help, of course.”

The mercenary nodded. “Ah, right!”

Shirayuki then pointed up. “Of course, the instant she heard this, Ayumu-chan said ‘bleh’ to the whole silly plan, then used her Infinite Wave power to link Pyrrha-san’s soul to a synthezoid ‘battle doll’ body in the Doll House. She then made it look like Cinder-san killed Kōchō-sensei after almost destroying Pyrrha-san’s body to gain poor Amber-san’s power before she wound up facing Ruby-san. While all that was going on, Ayumu-chan teleported Kōchō-sensei to safety aboard the Normandy, leaving behind an easily-mistaken face synthetic body she damaged enough to make people think he died.”

Neo held up her hand. “Okay, Yáng needs some reveal scenes here…”

“Yeah, I damn hell do! I’m sure I saw P-money’s corpse that night! What’s this ‘Doll House’ anyway?” Yáng declared.

“A creation of my old friend Ayone Ugadese, the man people on Remnant call the ‘One Above the Gods’,” Ozpin affirmed. As people focused on him, the man born Ozma ages ago slipped off his glasses to wipe them down. “As he told the story to me after the Two Brothers were forever banished from this multiverse, Ayone created a pocket dimension linked to the Great Crystal of Power immediately after his daughter was critically wounded by a rogue heel; this was near the end of the Starvation Times now that I’ve been able to compare Remnantian and Yizibajohei time scales.” He slipped his spectacles back on. “She hadn’t been empowered to become a metahuman and there was no healer like Monica or Amelia standing over by the windows to help.” As Yáng and the others from Patch Island briefly turned to look at the Flesh-Twister — she now talking with some of Hēi Xióng’s subordinates — he continued, “In this pocket dimension, he brought in the last survivors of a race of mesonium artisans who had lost their homeworld to some disaster or another — I doubt young Ayumu will remember where exactly they came from — then they moved to fashion synthetic humanoids called ‘battle dolls’, named in tribute to the Healer of Destruction’s creations now being used by the shipgirls like the Commanders Fukushima and the Commanders Ashigara.” As people glanced towards Shirayuki, Ozpin smiled. “Once one was ready, Ayone allowed his daughter — I never learned her name — to ‘swap bodies’ and gain a new life, not to mention a direct link to empower herself through the Great Crystal of Power.”

“And since that time, any child on Yiziba who is mortally wounded before being Gifted is given a replacement body to get the chance to be directly Gifted,” Monica finished, making the other locals gape at such a concept. “That’s how Penny was saved,” she then added, gazing at Yáng. “Given it would have been quite a while before her father could rebuild her…”

“Does he know this happened?” the blonde energy manipulator demanded. “Given how much Ruby’s crushing on her…”

Ozpin chuckled. “Do relax, Yáng. James promised me that Penny’s father will be informed as soon as possible about her fate. Given that there are chances that Salem has spies in all the kingdom governments…”

“I recognized one man from Atlas in that vision Kanako had yesterday, Professor,” Isaac warned as he looked at the older man. “Professor Arthur Watts. Isn’t he one of the people who worked with Penny’s father on Atlas’ defences?”

“Yes, I recognized him as well,” the Undying Warrior Sage breathed out. “He faked his death in an incident two years ago; this was after he fell from favour with the government in Atlas due to some issue. He was friends with several people, chief of them being Jacques Schnee.” As some of the locals — especially Yáng, Blake and Monica — scowled on hearing that name, Ozpin raised a hand. “Yes, I’m aware of how much people on Remnant loathe that fellow, chief of which being both his daughters. I do hope, Isaac, that you find a way to properly humble the man when you move to bring Weiss into your training circle.”

“Oh, fucking joy!” a strange voice called out. “Are you guys saying that this jerk’s a shitty zaibatsu oyabun, Isaac?!”

Isaac hummed as people gazed on Ashikaga Akemi, she having walked over to join them. “That would be about right, Akemi.”

“‘Finance-clique foster father’, Akemi?” Yáng asked.

The Wise Lone Sage and the Orchid Nova both snickered. “Zaibatsu were large business alliances active in Japan before and during the war where Akemi, Shirayuki and the others were sunk, Yáng,” the former explained. “Many credit them for heavily supporting the leaders of the country to start that war as a way of gathering more money for their own coffers.”

“Yeah!” the latter groused. “Fuckers had so much influence, it’s no wonder that damned shitty war with the Yanks blasted off like it did.” She then gazed on Yáng. “You got godfathers here, don’t you? Junior’s one; so’s Neo here.”

The blonde hummed before she nodded as Xióng and Neo blushed. While she could get quite wild when opportunity presented itself — and yes, her sense of humour could be downright groan-inducing; hey, at least she WAS trying to be funny! — Yáng was no idiot. One who had to grow up without either birth mother or adopted mother, plus be forced to raise a younger half-sister nearly alone, had to learn things at the double-quick to survive, even in a relatively peaceful place like Patch Island, where there was little in the way of threats from the Grimm. And with the trees and flowers that Neville Longbottom was now introducing to Remnant’s biosphere in play, the chances of any grave threat to the Rose/Xiǎo Lóng family — much less any of their neighbours — were going to decrease hard. With Vale City’s defences being cleared of viruses and being brought back to full strength from what Mercury Black did — and there was ANOTHER asshole who was going to face a big beatdown when Yáng caught up with the backstabbing bastard! — the chances of a repeat of Gaycan’s ugly events were decreasing by the proverbial minute.

She then perked as she gazed on her host. “Gonna start a gang, huh?”

Neo smirked before sipping her tea. “I’d expect you to disapprove, Blondie, but it’s all I’ve really known my whole life. Still, given what’s really coming down on all our collective heads, I don’t think we’ve got time to restart what we did on the bullet train, huh?” She then raised a finger in warning. “And if that deadbeat bitch you call a mother gets in the way again…!”

A snort answered her. “Do whatever you want, Ice Cream Girl. Ruby’s mom was more a mother to me that Raven ever was.”

Ozpin chuckled. “Well, now that we’ve aired all that out, time for a lesson, girls.”

People perked. “Is that why Taylor-san is here, Kōchō-sensei?” Shirayuki asked. “I know she comes from another multiverse and had to deal with large threats that needed heroes and villains to work together to stop, but would that apply here?”

“Best thing to do, ‘Yuki, is to ASK the girl! C’mon!” Akemi said as she nodded the others over. “Hey, Spider-Girl!”

Isaac blinked before gazing at the Pure Blizzard. “Did you introduce her to manga yet?” he hissed.

“Not yet,” Shirayuki answered.

As others walked over, the Mistress of the Mindless Legions and the Fighting Belle of Victory were describing some of their battles in Brockton Bay to a group of wide-eyed listeners, among them being employees of Renaissance Industries, frequent day customers of Junior’s Cabaret and members of the various gangs who came together under Roman Torchwick’s leadership over the past half-decade before Cinder Fall and her allies swept in to muck so many things up. Hearing the Orchid Nova call out, Taylor Hebert smirked as she sat back in her chair. “I don’t think they heard you over on Yiziba, Akemi.”

“Yeah, yeah!” the adopted Ōsaka-jin declared as she waved the master telepath/insect manipulator down. “Seeing as how everyone’s facing a total war situation here with the queen akuma and her pals, the locals need some…”

“Oh, my dear GOD…!”

An annoyed groan escaped Amelia Lavere as she came over to join them, accompanied by some of the people who she had been talking with, including Melanie and Miltia Malachite. “Vicky!” the biokinetic healer snapped. “I don’t think Miss Belladonna or Miss Khan need you staring at them like they were those cartoon nekomusume you like so much!”

Monica blinked. “Are there Faunus on Earth, Isaac?”

Isaac hummed. “Similar beings in some ways, Monica. While I’m not aware of any direct ‘species’ of feline therianthropes like yourself or Blake, there are magical species who live with animal traits like you Faunus develop. The gamájun — the beings who fought the ancestors of the Grimm while they were still on Earth before the Two Brothers most likely transplanted them here to Remnant — are a group of metamorphic avians, with abilities like how Qrow’s transmorphing powers work.”

“There are other such species, including counterparts of dwarves and other legendary species that have appeared in myths, both the ones which have survived to this day and those that even I’ve lost track of,” Ozpin admitted.

“That’s such a pity,” Taylor then breathed out before sipping her tea. As people focused on her, the permanently dimensionally-displaced slayer of Scion added, “My mother — both my late birth-mother in my home dimension and my adopted mother in this dimension — is a literature teacher in university. She’d be appalled at the loss of historical and cultural knowledge you people have suffered because of Salem and her stupid quest to wipe out humanity.” Here, she shook her head. “Do you have any idea WHY your ex-wife wants to do something as drastic as that, Professor? Is it some experiment she’s running or what?”

Ozpin shook his head. “Sadly, Taylor, her quest will lead to total nothingness in the end. I don’t know if she’s aware that the Two Brothers are gone after Ayono’s intervention two millennium ago, but even if she is…”

“She’s probably doing it just to get the jollies,” Victoria Dallon proposed, making people look her way. “Like Jack Slash.”

That made people aware of the late leader of the infamous Slaughterhouse Nine scowl. “She’s way smarter than that idiot ever could be, Vicky,” Isaac declared, making people gaze his way. “Don’t worry about him, people. He’s long since gone, both in this dimension and Taylor’s birth dimension. However, given what happened on Gaycan, the ‘chivalrous organizations’ who were tricked into supporting Salem’s people when they came here to kill the Fall Maiden in her SICKBED of all things…” — he saying that made everyone not in the know concerning Amber Bailey gaped in horror on hearing that — “…are in the process of reorganizing themselves both to prepare to defend themselves and their own from the threat of the Grimm, plus potentially aid in the defence of all sentient beings on Remnant from Salem. And while I’m sure some of them — including Adam Taurus’ wing of the White Fang — will stay allied to Salem, others will see the truth of the situation and are ready to stand ready to fight for what they have and will join with our host’s forces in due course. I believe a certain procedure practiced on Earth Bet has a place here, Madame Skitter. One you’d be VERY familiar with dealing with the counterparts of the gangs in Brockton Bay.”

Taylor smirked. “The Endbringer Truce, you mean?”

“Exactly.”

The leader of the Brockton Bay Undersiders nodded. “I can do that.”

“What are ‘Endbringers’?” Blake then asked.

A wry smile answered the daughter of the founder of the White Fang. “You think these Grimm are bad, Blake?” Taylor asked. “You haven’t SEEN bad until you’ve seen something like THIS…”

And with that, she displayed three VERY ominous images from her PAA. “Holy shit…!” Akemi breathed for them all…

To Be Continued…

****

WRITER’S NOTES

Translation list and source language (all Russian unless noted): Jōnin — Senior-rank ninjutsu-ka; -tachi — Equivalent word to the English plural “s” (both Japanese); Ródina — Motherland; Bednjakí — Paupers, used to identify normal-born magicals; Akadémija Volshebsvá “Gamájuna” — Magical Academy “Gamájun”; Japónskie továrischi — Japanese comrades; Órden Krásnovo Známeni — Order of the Red Banner; Dóchka flóta — Daughter of the fleet/shipgirl; Avianósets — Aircraft carrier; Linéjnyj korábl típa Jámato — Ship-of-the-Line/Battleship of the type "Yamato"; Velikorossíjskij — Great Russian; Bátjushka Vólos — Father Vólos, god of the earth and underworld; Nekomusume — Cat maiden (Japanese).

And the wonderful patronymics:

Alekséj Arkhípovich — Alekséj, son of Arkhípp
Svetlána Il'ínichna — Svetlána, daughter of Il'já
Nána Tat'jánovna — Nána, daughter of Tat'jána (a matronymic as noted above)
Fudzíko Sidzúovna — Fujiko, daughter of Shizuo
Sirajúki Rokoróvna — Shirayuki, daughter of Rokorō
Hatsué Josiróvna — Hatsue, daughter of Yoshiro
Mijúki Shódzikiovna — Miyuki, daughter of Shōjiki
Ájumu Dzjódziovna — Ayumu, daughter of Jōji
Fejt Filíppovna — Faith, daughter of Phillip
Tát’jana Andrévna — Tát’jana, daughter of Andréj
Galína Nikoláevna — Galína, daughter of Nikoláj

Note that the patronymics for Kasuga Ayumu (Infinity) and Faith Lehane (Wildflower) are Fred’s creation; the latter comes from the name of Eliza Dushku's father. The shipgirls' patronymics come from their final captains when they sank…or the first captain were they ultimately scrapped as in the case of Russia’s first shipgirl soon to be introduced.

As an aside, the modified Scientific Romanized Russian “J” (written in Cyrillic as Й alone) that is used here indicates the palatial approximant /j/ sound like the first vowel in yesterday. It also appears as part of the digraphs “JA” (Я) and “JU” (Ю), plus is voiced but not written on occasion with the vowel “E” (Е) at the start of a syllable. The Romanized Russian “Y” (Ы) indicates the close central unrounded vowel /ɨ/ after non-palatalised/hard consonants like the Southern American English lip.

Introducing the subgirls soon to appear here:

Yū Freida Steinhoff-shōsa DNTK (formerly Korvettenkapitän, KMDR) (Tennō Heika Gunkan Ro-500, later Nihon-koku Gunkan [SK-500], formerly Kriegsmarineschiff U-511 [pennant U1111])
Gerrianne Emi Prüß-shōsa DNTK (formerly Korvettenkapitän, KMDR) (Tennō Heika Gunkan Ro-501, later Nihon-koku Gunkan Gozei [SK-501], formerly Kriegsmarineschiff U-1224 [pennant U1824])
Kobayashi Mitsuko-shōsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan I-121, later Nihon-koku Gunkan Hitojii [SK-121])
Horie Yoshimi-shōsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Ro-62, later Nihon-koku Gunkan Shiroji [SK-662])

Yū will take after her Kantai Collection self. Emi will resemble the Azur Lane version of Annerose Schlitt [KMS U-1206, later DMS Laboe]. As I somewhat doubt that she’ll be introduced in any game soon, Mitsuko will take after Kongō Mitsuko from A Certain Magical Index AKA Toaru Majutsu no Kinsho Mokuroku. Yoshimi herself will take after Sunahara Yoshimi from K-ON! Note that with German U-boats (pennant superior U for Unterseeboot [“undersea boat”] naturally) from World War Two, their pennant numbers are increased by 600 to allow the Great War U-boats and any interwar German-designed craft for other nations to be fitted into the overall list. In the universe of this story, all World War Two U-boats received the same ship prefix as their surface fleet counterparts, Kriegsmarineschiff ("War Navy Ship", short-formed KMS); in post-war service, such would switch to Deutsches Marineschiff ("German Navy Ship", short-formed DMS). The honorary ranks German subgirls would get is Korvettenkapitän (KKpt), equal to a Royal Canadian Navy/United States Navy lieutenant commander. Their home service is the Kriegsmarine des Deutsches Reich ("War Navy of the German Realm"), short-formed KMDR. Finally, all German subgirls remaining in the service of their homeland would receive ship names like their Japanese counterparts, mostly taken from either a nearby gemeinde ("municipality", local equivalent to a Canadian/American township) or a city's bezirk ("borough") or orsteil ("district", equal to neighbourhoods) where one's first captain (if scrapped)/final captain (if sunk) was born.

To explain the goroawase applied to each of the above:

— Phonetic way of saying the letter "U" in U-boat as she was the first Kriegsmarine U-boat adopted by Japan; the kanji of her given name () means “a person with lithe movements”
Gozei — Could be read as "small extravagance" (小贅); as she barely served in the Imperial Navy, she would be more like a German U-boat maiden than a Japanese subgirl
Hitojii — Combining "hito" () from "1" with "jii" () from "21", meaning "grandfather person"; the second part could also be read 自慰, which means "consolation"…or, given the "lewdmarine" concept for Japanese subgirls in KanColle, "masturbation"
Shiroji — Combining "shiro" () from "46" with "ji" () from "2", with the number "4" prefixing to mark that THG Ro-62 was an L4-class submarine; the combined term means "white cloth" or "pure cloth"

Admiral (and later Minister) Francis William Harlan, RCN(M), the man who led the drive to create the “Ryūseizen” (in Japanese eyes), is first introduced in Magic and Canada.

And yes, the FPSYS Kosmonávt Alekséj Arkhípovich Leónov is a ten-to-one replica of the same-named ship from the movie 2010: The Year We Made Contact, first released in 1984.

And finally, the shipboard watch system referred to by the shipgirls in the last part:

First watch — 2000-0000 hours (8:00 PM-12:00 midnight)
Middle watch — 0000-0400 hours (12:00 midnight-4:00 AM)
Morning watch — 0400-0800 hours (4:00 AM-8:00 AM)
Forenoon watch — 0800-1200 hours (8:00 AM-12:00 noon)
Afternoon watch — 1200-1600 hours (12:00 noon-4:00 PM)
First dog watch — 1600-1800 hours (4:00 PM-6:00 PM)
Second dog watch — 1800-2000 hours (6:00 PM-8:00 PM)

The dog watch period is split in two to allow an odd number of watch periods per day, promoting greater crew efficiency by allowing people to enjoy meals and sleep off-watch at different times of the day.

The End of the Circus:  Of Gifts and Semblances - Pyeknu (2024)
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