Mistral...

Pilot: "We're only going to do a quick flyby over Anima. You sure you want to come alone with us, Ms. Selena?" The two stood in the landing docks for the Mistralian Airships as the aforementioned black-haired woman looked up at the man, with her nodding her head as she pushed a bit of her hair behind her ear.

Selena: "I am. Besides, you'll never know what you can find out there, if someone could need a doctor... or if one of the crew gets sick." She slightly chuckled and smiled at him. "It never hurts to be over prepared. Besides, I can still fight if the situation calls for it." She said, emphasizing her point by holding up her trusty Flute.

Pilot: "You do make your point. I must say though, it has been years since anyone's witnessed you in battle." He said turning towards his airship that was being prepared by the other crew as he began to board. Selena remained silent and glanced down at her flute, multiple memories quickly flashing through her mind as she lightly sighed and nodded.

Selena: "Yeah... Same here..."

Volume 4 Finale
>Chapter 40: No Safe Haven<

Anima...

After separating from Ren, Nora and Dante, the trio of Setsuna, Ruby and Jaune continued down the path towards the former village of Kuroyuri, the latter two carrying the injured Qrow on a stretcher. Setsuna remained in the lead, her grip on one of her Arondight blades firm and her senses on maximum alert, should anyone attempt to attack them. She'd periodically glanced back at the two behind her. Ruby's expression remained somber, but with the smallest glimmer of hope in her eyes for her uncle's survival while Jaune didn't look to have much hope himself. In fact, he still seemed hung up over the previous night. Setsuna sighed slightly. She wondered what Akito would do in this situation, but quickly remembered the oath she made that night. She wanted to grow more independent, so that she wouldn't have to rely on Akito as much anymore. Even though she couldn't think of anything to say to lighten their moods, she knew she could do one thing and that was her objective; making sure nothing happens to them. Finally, after a bit more walking, they finally arrived at their destination, Kuroyuri.

Setsuna: "We're here." She announced as they all came to a stop and as Ren mentioned, it was indeed completely destroyed.

The whole village in of itself had this really depressing atmosphere to it, with not a spec of life in it, not even any plants. Everything was just drained of color and dead.

Jaune: "Oh man..."

He mumbled before Ruby sighed.

Ruby: "Come on." They continued further into the village, but as they did, Setsuna couldn't shake this growing sinking feeling she's been getting ever since they started journeying to Kuroyuri. It wasn't chaotic like the Fall of Beacon... No, it was so eerie and terrifying... "Any of these places look like a pharmacy?"

Setsuna: "I... don't know. With how old these buildings are, it's hard to tell..."

Ruby: "Ren really didn't want to come here, did he?"

Jaune: "Uh... didn't seem so."

Ruby: "Do you know... why?" She glanced back at the blonde who sighed, as he had a feeling he knew exactly why.

Jaune: "I think I have a pretty good idea..."

He wasn't the only one as Setsuna immediately understood too and it seemed like Ruby as well as they all went silent, in what looked like a moment of respect for the village and its former inhabitants. After stopping in the village center, Ruby and Jaune gently set Qrow down near a tree as the three gathered around.

Ruby: "We should split up and search for anything we can use." Jaune nodded in agreement before the argent-eyed girl looked at Setsuna. "Setsuna, can I count on you to watch over Qrow?" the Arctic-Wolf Faunus smiled and nodded with a thumbs up.

Setsuna: "Guarding is what Setsuna does best."

With Ruby returning the smile, she and Jaune both set out to find anything medical related that could help stabilize Qrow's condition, while Setsuna stood guard, gripping her Arondight blade in her right hand while her left hand remained idling by the second one on her hip. But she noticed what looked like a red-eyed Raven flying overhead. Figuring it was nothing but just that, she just shrugged and continued to wait. After a while Ruby and Jaune returned.

Setsuna: "Anything?"

Jaune: "Nothing." He said, with Ruby shaking her head also.

Ruby: "How is he?"

Setsuna: "Same as always..." She said, stepping out of the way, allowing Ruby to go up to her uncle before crouching in front of him. However, there was suddenly a loud and terrified screeching noise from the far distance, startling Jaune and Setsuna as they both turned around, their weapons drawn. Setsuna especially was startled by the noise as she distinctively remembered hearing it before.

Ruby: "It's far off."

Jaune: "I know, but Ren and Nora are still out there."

Ruby: "Well, they got Uncle D with them so they'll be safe." She said before she glanced down and looked off. "... I'm sorry..." Both Jaune and Setsuna looked at her confused as to why she was apologizing out of the blue. "This is all my fault... I should have never dragged you guys into this."

Setsuna: "Ruby..."

Jaune: "You didn't drag us in. We wanted to come."

Ruby: "But you didn't know about Tyrian, about–"

Jaune: "Ruby." He cuts her off as the argent-eyed girl looks up at him. "We lost... we lost Pyrrha. You lost her, too. And Penny, and we nearly lost Akito, and your team and in a way... your sister and brother. But you're still here, despite everything you've lost, everything you could still lose, you CHOSE to come out here. Because you felt like you could make a difference. You didn't drag us along. You gave us the courage to follow you."

Setsuna: "Yeah." She looked at Setsuna, who smiled as her and clasped her hands. "Setsuna... didn't know what to do... I last saw Akito when he was barely making it by and he left to go find Blake. I had lost what made me feel strong... But, seeing your determination despite everything that happened, you still wanted to find the one at the core of it all. If it weren't for you, Setsuna would probably still be back in Patch, wallowing in her own misery. So, thank you, Ruby... Thank you for giving Setsuna the drive to push forwards."

Ruby was stunned into silence, her eyes widening as she felt her eyes burn from the built up tears of happiness. She sniffled and smiled brightly at the two before hugging them both tightly.

Ruby: "Oh you two...!" Jaune and Setsuna were slightly surprised, but they both returned the embrace, while smiling.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ren led the trek up what mountain path, with Nora just behind him and Dante watching their rear, with his Ebony in his hand. The ginger-haired girl lightly panted as she hunched over, her hands on her knees.

Ren: "We never get the easy path, do we?"

Nora: "Easy's no fun anyway."

Dante: "That's my philosophy." He said, while looking out into the distance, the massive forest beneath them as quiet as ever. "Taking the easy road's no fun after all."

Nora: "I know, right!?" Ren however didn't say anything. "You okay?" She asked in concern. The black-haired male nodded and looked back at her.

Ren: "Mm. And you?"

Nora: "I've got you here, don't I?"

Dante: "What a sweet moment." The two looked back at him. "But I hate to be that guy. We should hurry up. I'd rather not leave those three and Qrow alone like this for long." Ren and Nora exchanged glances and nodded, with the latter soon hopping head across a few rocks. Dante took this time to take her previous place, standing next to Ren now before the female called out to them.

Nora: "Hey! There's wind blowing out of this cave!" The two males glanced at each other, the white-haired man shrugging before they both quickly joined her. The cave she stood in front of, indeed had some wind blowing out of it.

Dante: "Huh. Good find. There's a chance it leads to the peak."

Nora: "You sure?"

Ren: "I suppose there's only one way to find–ah!" He suddenly yelped as a piece of cloth flew right into his face, causing Nora to start giggling to herself while Dante raised an eyebrow but snickered. "Yes, yes. Very funny." He slightly shook his head as he managed to get it off his face, but the moment he looked down at it, his expression became... confused.

Nora: "Hey, what's wrong?"

Ren: "This is the symbol for Shion Village." Nora slightly gasped while Dante leaned over and inspected the banner, which he did confirm with a nod.

Dante: "Yeah, that's Shion's logo alright. But all the way out here? It's already weeks away and you kids passed through it, right?"

Nora: "Yeah, we did. So how did–" She was cut off by Ren suddenly dropping the banner and rushing into the cave. "Ren!? Wait!"

Dante: "C'mon. Seems like the kid's figured something out." He said as he rushed in after the black-haired boy, with Nora quickly following behind. The jog through the dark cave continued on for quite a bit before Ren came to a gradual halt in a more open space, his eyes widening at what was before him, Nora and Dante soon joined him, the former covering her mouth in shock while the latter narrowed his eyes.

Nora: "Oh my gosh..." What laid before them was multiple Grimm Pools, with multiple old Huntsmen weapons scattered around. It looked like some kind of gravesite, only without all of the tombstones. One of the weapons that Ren particularly noticed was an Arrow that he walked over to and slowly picked up. As he inspected it, his expression noticeably changed from a serious one, to one of somber and pain. Nora came to his side, but then Dante's voice caught their attention.

Dante: "Oh... shit..."

Nora: "W-What is it??" The white-haired man said nothing and glanced at the two before slowly pointing in front of him. The two walked over to him and looked at what he was pointing at, only for their eyes to widen as it was a giant hoof-shaped footprint, covered in the black Grimm Pool, followed by another and another, all leading out the other side of the Cave. "Y-You... Don't think..."

Dante: "Looks so girlie..." he took a brief glance at Ren, who clenched the Arrow tightly. "Never thought we'd run into one... A Nuckelavee..." Just on cue, its terrifying screech was heard in the distance. "And it looks like it's heading towards Kuroyuri."

Nora: "What!? Then that means.... Ruby, Jaune, Setsuna and Qrow are–!" Ren began to rush towards the exit of the cave instantly. "Ren!"

Dante: "Go!" The ginger-haired girl looked at him. "You two run as fast as you can and get to Kuroyuri before that monster can!"

Nora: "What about you??" She questioned as the white-haired man unholstered his twin M1911-styled handguns, Ebony and Ivory from his hips and turned around, narrowing his eyes as he had his index fingers on their triggers.

(Ebony and Ivory)

Dante: "Something isn't right here. But I can handle myself. Now quit standing there and go after your boyfriend!"

Nora blushed at the term before she quickly shook it away and nodded before rushing after her teammate. Dante glanced back at the two teens that were leaving before he sighed and stared back at a rock in the cave with a dark shadow on it. Soon however, what sounded dark and sinister laughter was heard as the shadow moved, a tall figure coming out from behind the rock. What stood before him was a large humanoid Grimm that looked about a head taller than him. It looked like a goat standing on its hind legs, with human-like hands and a grin on its face but clear goat horns on its head.

(Hellion Grimm)

Dante: "A new kind of Grimm huh... Heh..." he slowly grinned as he got into a stance: "Sounds fun!"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Setsuna felt chills go up her spine as that same shrill shriek was heard again, causing her, Jaune and Ruby to become defensive as it had sounded much louder than before, as if it was right in the village with them. But another thing they didn't expect was to hear footsteps rapidly approaching them. Setsuna originally thought that Tyrian was trying to come back for more or something, but was surprised to see Ren and Nora. The two stopped and began to catch their breath.

Ruby: "What are you guys doing here?"

Jaune: "Did you hear that noise? What was that!?"

Setsuna: "Why isn't papa with you??" Nora was about to respond, only for Ren's eyes to suddenly widen in horror as he fell to his knees, catching everyone off guard.

Ren: "Don't tell me..."

Ruby: "Ren! What is it!?" The group fell quiet however as multiple sounds of cold hooved-steps were heard, getting closer and closer.

Jaune: "Wait, you guys hear that?"

Setsuna: "N-No way... It can't be a..." She gasped, feeling her hands tremble as she squeezed the handles of her Arondight Blades. Ren slowly lowered his head, too afraid to even look up at the approaching beast.

Nora: "Ren...?" The black-haired male slowly looked up as the entire group became frozen in horror.

Before them was a massive Grimm Horse, with hooved back legs and regular bestial frontal legs. However, on its back was a slender humanoid figure, with multiple arrows stuck in its back. that straightened up suddenly, its movements unsettlingly jittery and twitchy as its long arms dragged across the ground. On its head were two horns, its glowing red soulless eyes and its mouth, which looked stitched together by black strands, seemed etched into a creepy, unsettling smile. This was...

Setsuna: "A... N-N-Nuckelavee..."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dante kept his sights trained on the Hellion Grimm, with him rapidly firing shot after shot from Ebony and Ivory at the humanoid goat Grimm. However, unlike most other terrestrial Grimm, this one was much more agile, leaping from wall to wall to avoid the bullets, all the while keeping that 'grin' on its face. It made Dante narrow his eyes as this was his first time encountering such a Grimm, no less one that seemed to have... intelligence. Bullet after bullet missed the bipedal Grimm, before it suddenly lunged towards the man, horns first, forcing him into close ranged combat. Equipping his Balrog, Dante quickly stopped the Hellion by grabbing the Grimm by its horns, stopping it in place. However, its physical strength would be proven to be quite formidable as it suddenly applied more pressure, forcing Dante to take a knee before lifting him by its horns and tossing it away.

Dante: "Woah!" He grunted as he landed, coming to a sliding stop as he looked at the Grimm now, which was rushing him intensely. "This one's stronger than the rest...!"

With a grunt, he crossed his arms in front of him, blocking a flying kick the Hellion sent at him, causing him to skid back further. The Grimm seemed to be taunting him, 'laughing' as it pointed at him before raising its fists up, taking a boxing stance. With him grunting, Dante swapped weapons to his Rebellion Sword as the Hellion charged forwards. However, in an instant, Dante performed his 'Million Spike' move, rapidly thrusting the sword forwards towards the Grimm, to the point it looked like there were a million attacks. Much to the white-haired man's surprise however, the Hellion began to bob and weave between each stab before it suddenly interrupted his attack with a punch, with its right fist to his abdomen, causing Dante to gasp in surprise for air before suddenly, its left fist became coated in some kind of energy before decking the man right in the face, sending him staggering back and onto one knee.

Dante's thoughts: "Was that... Magic...?"

The Hellion taunted him again, its demonic tone 'laughing' out loud as the man's failed attempts to hit it. However, its laughter soon disappeared as the entire cave began to rumble and shake gradually. Looking at Dante, the Hellion was surprised to see a fiery aura form around the man as his voice slowly gained a demonic tone.

Dante: "Heh... Not bad. Too bad, this is as far as you'll get!"

With a sudden demonic yell, Dante exploded in energy, shaking the entire cave. As the smoke cleared from around him, the white-haired man's appearance had changed, taking up a more demonic appearance with demonic scales all over his body, demonic feet, claws and what not.

(Dante–Devil Trigger)

Dante (DT): "What's wrong? You look like someone that just pissed their pants!"

He taunted the Grimm as it was frozen in place from the man's transformation before it snarled at him. With a roar, it began to suddenly launch balls of magic at him from its palms, causing the man to unfold the demonic wings that had collapsed around his waist and take flight. Barrel rolling and moving all around the cave, Dante dodged every one of the Hellion's ranged attacks, Rebellion in his hand as its blade was coated in a magma energy. Before the Hellion knew it, the demonic man swooped down to it in an instant, a small shockwave occurring around them as Rebellion's blade was inches from its neck. Dante merely smirked at it.

Dante (DT): "Jackpot."

*SLICE*

The Hellion's head fell off of its shoulders as its body slumped over, before slowly disintegrating. Dante let out a slight 'phew', while resting Rebellion on his shoulders. Despite coming out victorious over the Hellion, he was still surprised to encounter a Grimm as powerful as it and one that could use magic as well. To him, this met only one thing; that Salem was experimenting with the Grimm again and possibly preparing for something big. But for now, he could worry about that later. He had to get to Kuroyuri in time.

As the demonic man began to make his way out of the cave, he felt a pair of eyes on him, which instantly caused him to look around. At first, he saw no one, until he spotted a figure behind a rock, with a large black puffy wolf tail swaying from back and forth.

Dante (DT): "Setsuna...?" The man closed his eyes and shook his head before looking again, only to see that the figure was gone, leaving him to stand there, pondering his own thoughts.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

With a yell, Setsuna leaped at the Nuckelavee, both of her Arondight Blades raised above her head as she was ready to strike down on the massive Grimm, however, it stretched its left arm out and swiped the Arctic Wolf Faunus away from it, the girl grunting in pain as she rolled across the ground. Ruby and Jaune would soon join her, both sliding across the ground, followed by Nora who took a tumble and Ren, who managed to land on his feet. From the puff of smoke in front of them, the Nuckelavee slowly approached, its glowing red eyes from the Horse's head being the only thing really visible aside from its silhouette. Ren continued to glare at the Grimm, his teeth clenched as his anger seemed to be building up gradually. Truthfully, he had every reason to hate this Grimm with a passion. After all, it was the one that destroyed his home town, Kuroyuri and took both his mother and father's lives. The arrows sticking out of its back were all that remained of his father.

Stepping out of the smoke, the Nuckelavee turned its attention to the group of Teenagers, before the humanoid half of it suddenly twitched before shooting up straight, throwing its head back and letting out its loud and shrill scream. It slowly looked at the Team, its head twitching from side to side before it gradually turned its attention to the defenseless and mostly unconscious Qrow. Jaune instantly noticed, and sheathed his sword before rushing over to Qrow, causing the Nuckelavee to stretch one arm towards him to try and grab the blonde. However, Jaune managed to roll out of the way and dash towards Qrow. As he began to help the downed drunkard up, by slinging one arm over his shoulder, the Nuckelavee began to charge towards him. Nora looked at Ren, who nodded before he looked over towards Jaune and Qrow, closed his eyes, placed a hand on the ground and began to concentrate. All of a sudden, Jaune and Qrow's physical colors vanished as the massive Grimm suddenly came to a halt, looking around cluelessly, almost as if the two were invisible to it.

This was Ren's Semblance, known as Tranquillity, which allows him to mask the emotions of himself and others, making them completely invisible to the Grimm. Jaune gasped and looked at Ren.

Ren: "Just get him to safety!" Without waiting a second longer, Jaune began to log Qrow away, just as Nora fired her grenades launcher at the Nuckelavee, striking it and causing the horse head to neigh in agitation before it began galloping towards them and away from Jaune and Qrow.

Nora continued to fire off Grenades from her Magnhild at the Nuckelavee as it continued to gallop towards her, only for Setsuna to suddenly dash in, slashing it across its horse's head, causing it to shake and shriek in what seemed like pain. However, it seemed to have become more agitated as it launched one of its arms out at her, grabbing the Arctic wolf before tossing it over its head. With a yell, Setsuna was about to hit the ground, only for a burst of rose petals to catch her, with Ruby stopping her fall.

Setsuna: "Thanks."

Ruby: "No probs! That thing's tough though..." She said, to which the white-haired girl nodded as the two watched as the Nuckelavee pinned Nora down with one arm, but soon turned its attention to Ren, who was firing upon its back while running around it. Launching both arms out, it grabbed Ren by his Stormflower as the two came to a bit of a standoff.

Jaune: "Guys!" Everyone turned their attention to the blonde, who was rushing towards them. "Keep moving, go in a circle!"

Setsuna and Ruby looked at each other before nodding as they began to run circles around the Grimm, with Ruby converting Crescent Rose into its Sniper mode, while Setsuna had her arm-mounted vulcan activated. Ren tried to pry his weapons from the Nuckelavee, but thankfully, Nora helped him out by firing a few of her grenades at the Grimm, causing it to lose its grip and look at her, allowing Ren to start moving as well.

With the strategy set in motion, the 5 Teens ran circles around the Nuckelavee while avoiding its arms, all the while bombarding it with grenades and bullets from their weapons. The massive Grimm tried to keep up, but ultimately was too slow to keep up.

Jaune: "Setsuna!"

Setsuna: "Got it!"

Gripping both of her blades, Setsuna rushed in suddenly towards the hind of the Nuckelavee, with Jaune doing the same before they both slashed at its hind leafs, causing it to screech in pain and kick them both away, as Ruby slid next to them. Jaune gritted his teeth in annoyance before suddenly sheathing his weapon.

Ruby: "What are you doing!?"

However, all of a sudden, he pulled Crocea Mors along with its sheath, which all transformed into a greatsword before he charged back into battle. Ruby and Setsuna both shared surprise expressions before the former grinned and converted Crescent Rose into Scythe mode and began to fire shot after shot at the Nuckelavee while Setsuna charged in with a yell. The bullets drew the Grimm's attention, causing it to look at the argent eyed girl and allowing Jaune to sneak up on it from behind, before he slashed along its behind, causing the horse head to roar out in pain. But the attacks weren't over as Setsuna yelled, her eyes glowing Blue as she activated her Semblance, Primal Fury. She leaped up onto the horse's back before stabbing both of her Arondight blades into the Nuckelavee's chest, causing it to shriek in pain before it grabbed her and forcefully threw her off, but she landed on her feet, with one blade stabbed into the ground. The Nuckelavee looked at the two that injured it, almost looking irritated before it began to retaliate by winding up. All of a sudden, its humanoid half began to rotate rapidly, while extending its arms to its maximum length, moving like a helicopter's blades and knocking all five teens down. Both Ruby and Setsuna began to get up, while glaring daggers at the demonic Grimm.

After that display, the Nuckelavee's humanoid half hunched forwards while groaning before suddenly, the spikes in its back suddenly grew out, causing it to let out a gasp of what sounded like pain. It twitched the thrashed around before raising its head, the black strands connecting its lips snapping apart, allowing it to open its mouth at maximum length and let out a loud shriek, forcing Jaune, Setsuna and Ruby to cover their ears while Nora and Ren just glared at it.

Ren turned around and made a break towards a tree before leaping up into it. He then began to fire off shots from Stormflower at the Nuckelavee, causing it to look at him and suddenly launch out its left arm, faster than he anticipated, pinning him to the wall of a building. It seemed like its little evolution significantly increased its response time. It began to curl its fingers in its right hand as it got ready to end Ren, which Nora instantly saw and looked towards Setsuna.

Nora: "Setsuna!"

Understanding, the Arctic Wolf Faunus nodded as she reactivated her Semblance. Nora rushed towards her, reaching out with her left hand as Setsuna grabbed her arm and began to rapidly spin her around before launching her towards Ren. Just as the Nuckelavee launched its right arm towards the black-haired teen, Nora flew right in, redirecting the attack, causing her to hang from her hammer, which was pinned to the wall a bit higher up by the Grimm's right arm. Ren looked up at Nora, who looked back down at him and smiled before she blushed and swept her skirt up from underneath, pinning it to the back of her legs.

Nora: "Stop looking!"

Ren: "Guh!" He looked away quickly.

The Nuckelavee however, seemed to have been unamused as it suddenly lifted Nora by her hammer and began to wave her around before slamming her in the ground once, then once again, damaging her Aura and causing it to shatter as she rolled across the ground. Seeing this, Ren suddenly felt a burst of rage in him as he stabbed the Nuckelavee's left hand rapidly before firing his SMGs. Jaune managed to get in close, slashing one of the frontal legs of the massive Grimm, causing it to roar in pain and let Ren fall. The black-haired teen began to charge at the large Grimm as it launched its right arm at him. He hacked and slashed his way towards it, while managing to dodge most of the attacks, all the while gritting his teeth and holding an expression of pure rage before it smacked him in the face, sending him tumbling back, but he got back up instantly and began to make another b-line towards the Nuckelavee.

Jaune: "Ren! Knock it off!"

He didn't listen however as he continued his rage-filled charge towards the Nuckelavee. However, its left arm, which had remained where it was after letting go of the male suddenly twitched before the Nuckelavee retracted it, grabbing Ren by the ankle along the way and lifting him into the air before slamming him into the ground next to Nora, causing his Aura to also break. Nora had begun to get up, her wide eyes on her downed partner as he struggled to get back up, continuously glaring at the Nuckelavee. The horse began to paw the ground with its left foot, like an angry bull ready to charge. Ren got up, ready to fight, but was soon tackled under the house next to him by Nora as the Nuckelavee began charging. Before it could collide with the house however, Setsuna got in the way, her eyes glowing brightly as she held its front feet back, preventing it from moving. Thanks to her Semblance, she was able to hold her own, but was soon beginning to get overwhelmed by the sheer weight and strength the Nuckelavee possessed. It suddenly shrieked in annoyance as Ruby bounced from rooftop to rooftop with her Petal Burst, while firing off bullets at the Grimm, while Jaune charged it and slashed its hind again, causing the horse to roar loudly and kick him away.

Setsuna's thoughts: "I-I... I...!" She clenched her eyes shut as she felt her feet starting to slowly slip, her arms beginning to hurt from holding up the Nuckelavee. She was pushing her Semblance to the extreme limits with this one but suddenly, a light blue lightning began to spark around her body as a deep blue aura formed around her. Her fangs grinded against her teeth as lightning sparked within her eyes. *out loud* "I WON'T LET YOU NEAR THEM!!!"

With a sudden roar, her voice alone shaking the entire area, Setsuna began to push back against the Nuckelavee, all the while lightning surged through her body and into the body of the Grimm, causing it to shriek in pain. However, it suddenly began to lose its footing, as its feet began to lift off the ground. Ruby and Jaune noticed this, their eyes widening in complete surprise as Setsuna actually began to lift the entire Nuckelavee off its feet, before she yelled out and tossed it away from the house, causing the massive Grimm to land on its side. They both looked at the Arctic Wolf Faunus, who was panting but remained in her enhanced state, lightning bouncing around her blue aura as the azul lightning coated her Arondight Blades.

Ruby: "W-Woah..."

Jaune: "W-What happened to Setsuna?" he wondered before suddenly, the white-haired female blitzed forwards towards the Nuckelavee, which had gotten up, leaving behind a trail of blue lightning as she was moving a lot faster than she's ever had. She began performing multiple hit and runs, dashing in and slashing at the Nuckelavee before retreating before it could hit her.

Ruby: "I don't know, but c'mon! Let's help her!"

Jaune: "Right!" The two nodded before they began to charge in as well.

Underneath the house, Ren was about to go back into battle, when Nora grabbed his arm, stopping him.

Ren: "Nora, let go!" he continued to try and pry his arm from her grip, but she wouldn't budge. "Nora, they're going to get hurt if we don't–"

*SLAP*

The black haired male froze upon his normally cheerful and bubbly partner slapping him in the face. He slowly looked back at her, watching as her eyes were hidden behind her hair before she slowly shook her head.

Nora: "No. I won't let you kill yourself like this." Ren stared at her silently as she continued. "After everything we've been through, I won't let it end." She slowly looked up at him, causing Ren's eyes to widen as he pictured that scared, crying little girl before him, the same one he swore he'd protect all those years ago. Seeing the teenage Nora before him, with tears in her eyes, causing his heart to be filled with guilt. "Not like this."

Ren silently looked down, feeling shame for his earlier reckless actions before he steeled himself and looked back at her in the eyes, giving her a subtle but assuring nod. He then reached to his right shin, where strapped to it, was a dagger he held up, one that belonged to his father. He stared at it somberly before Nora slowly touched his hand with hers, causing him to look at her, seeing her tears gone now, her expression replaced with one of resolve.

Nora: "We can do this."

Ren remained silent, his eyes slightly widened in surprise before he regained an expression of resolve as well and nodded in agreement. The two then crawled out from underneath the house together, with Jaune and Ruby falling back to their side. Setsuna, with a roar, leaped off of the Nuckelavee's back and landed in front of her friends, her stance low as her tail was sticking up, while she breathed heavily, her enhanced state still activated.

Ruby: "Ren." He looked towards the argent eyed girl. "Jaune and I can take care of its arms."

Nora: "And Setsuna and I'll take care of the horse." The arctic wolf Faunus nodded in agreement.

Ren: "And I'll take care of the rest."

With the plan set in motion, Nora rushed back to a high building, before leaping up onto the roof like Thor. Setsuna roared and blasted herself forwards, while firing off shots from her gauntlet, drawing the Nuckelavee's attention as it was about to launch its arms at her, only for bullets to strike it from its left. Ruby blitzed around from roof to roof, firing off Crescent Rose at it and causing it to launch out its right arm at her. Ruby leaped into the air, dodging the first strike before dodging another as she propelled herself into the air with Crescent Rose's recoil, firing a few shots at the Grimm before landing. It attempted to slam her with its right hand, but Ruby once again launched herself into the air, using her weapon's recoil to propel herself higher before she pointed her scythe behind her, launching herself down immediately. Crescent Rose's blade suddenly straightened out, turning into a war scythe as just before the Nuckelavee could retract its arm, Ruby pinned its arm down by stabbing its hand with Crescent Rose, causing it to shriek in pain and thrash around.

Before the Nuckelavee could retaliate however, Setsuna launched both of her Arondight Blades towards it, striking the horse's left side, causing the horse to roar in pain and stomp its feet. It looked towards Jaune, who held his sword in both hands, without the shield. The Nuckelavee launched its unrestricted left arm out to the blonde, but before it could hit, Ren tackled the arm to the ground with the shield of Crocea Mors.

Ren: "Now!" Rushing over, Jaune stood over the arm before pinning it to the ground by stabbing Crocea Mors' sword into it, causing the Nuckelavee to again, shriek in complete pain and thrash around some more, with the horse's body doing everything it could to get free. "Nora! Setsuna!"

The Nuckelavee turned its humanoid body 180 degrees, watching as Setsuna was charging it from behind while yelling at the top of her lungs, a small sonic boom being heard. It shrieked angrily at her but couldn't do anything as the arctic wolf Faunus suddenly kicked the Nuckelavee's horse's behind, causing it to stumble forwards and collapse on its front legs. She leaped up, holding the dagger of Ren's father before stabbing the Nuckelavee in its left eye, causing it to yell and shriek in pain. Just in that moment, Nora, who was on top of the building, smirked as she fell off backwards before slamming Magnhild down on the horse's head, completely pinning it down. The massive Grimm shrieked and thrashed around, desperately trying to free itself but it was at this point, completely futile.

Now that the Nuckelavee was completely pinned down and immobile, Ren began to walk over to it, passing Setsuna as she tossed him the dagger, to which he caught in a reverse grip. He stood directly in front of the Nuckelavee's humanoid body, with the demonic creature shrieking in his face, trying to scare him but it didn't work. All it did was steel him further to finally end this.

"For my mother."

With one swift upwards slash, the Nuckelavee's left arm was sliced off, causing it to thrash and shriek in agonizing pain, but Ren grabbed it by one of its horns and forced it to look at him.

"For my father."

He turned around and dealt a backwards slash, slashing off its right arm as it responded as expected. Now armless, it lurched forwards and again, yelled right in his face but he did not budge.

"For all those you've slain."

He made an upwards slash along its body, causing it to arch its back and scream, groan and shriek in agony, the pain of the torture it was being put through truly settling in now. It lowered its shaking head, but once again, Red did not care. He slowly closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

"For myself!"

Just as the Nuckelavee was about to let out one more yell, it was silenced with a single slash to its neck, decapitating it and ending its miserable life. The massive Grimm's corpse slowly began to evaporate into pitch black smoke, which began to rise up into the dark skies.

It was finally over.

Ren was catching his breath, many different emotions going through his mind and heart, but he wouldn't have time to fully process it all as Nora tackled him into a victory hug. While he was surprised at first, he then began to hug her back.

Dante: "Well I'll be damned..." Setsuna slowly looked behind her, seeing Dante approaching with his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face. "Seems like you always had it in you, Wolf pup." he said, giving her a thumbs up. Setsuna was panting heavily before she slightly laughed before falling backwards, her Semblance deactivating as her Aura disappeared and eyes stopped glowing. Seeing this, Dante's eyes widened before he rushed forwards and caught her before she could hit the ground. "Hey, take it easy kid. You'll be fine."

Setsuna: "P-Papa... Setsuna... We won." He hummed and looked at her before she slowly closed her eyes, finally letting the exhaustion take her over as she fell unconscious.

Dante: "Yeah. You sure did. And papa's proud, Wolf pup." As he held the arctic wolf Faunus closely, Jaune watched before he noticed Ruby rushing over to where Qrow was. Once she got there, her worry turned into relief as she saw that he was still there, breathing.

Qrow: "It's quiet... Good job, kiddo." He slowly looked at her with a weakened smile. Ruby returned the smile, a wave of gratefulness washing over her before suddenly, Jaune's voice was heard.

Jaune: "Guys! I think I hear something!"

Everyone looked up, only to see two Mistralian Airships flying towards them, with Dante smiling as he stood up, with Setsuna in his arms.

Dante: "Mistral Airships... Heh." The two airships came to a gentle rest along the ground, as the crew looked out at them. However, Dante's eyes widened as he spotted someone particularly amongst them. A woman with long black hair with blue accents, wearing a white dress as a flute was holstered on her hip. "Selena...??"

(Selena Yaeger)

The woman hopped down from the ship before she looked around at the teenagers, then at Dante, her eyes widening in surprise.

Selena: "Dante...?" The white-haired male remained in stunned silence for a while before he snapped out of it.

Dante: "We'll catch up later! Right now, Qrow needs medical attention, ASAP! He's over there. And while you're at it, check up on Setsuna for me." he turned his head to the direction Qrow and Ruby were, while slightly holding up Setsuna, with Nora also assisting by pointing in their direction. Upon hearing Qrow's name caused the female to gasp in surprise before she looked towards the rest of the crew.

Selena: "Bring two stretchers! We have injured people!"

Crew: "Yes ma'am!"

The ravenette rushed over to where Qrow was, sliding to around the corner as Ruby was with him. Selena crouched next to Qrow and was inspecting him, touching his face with her hand, feeling how high his fever had gotten as she spotted the bandaged area on his abdomen from Tyrian's attack.

Selena: "Oh Qrow..." She mumbled in worry before she reached into her medical bag for a clean syringe. The argent eyed girl looked at her, her eyes widening in surprise as she recognized her face from the photo Qrow showed her, Yang, Spring and Summer back in Beacon.

Ruby: "You're...!" She mumbled as Selena injected Qrow with what looked like some anti-toxin. She glanced back at her.

Selena: "You're Qrow's niece, correct?" Ruby yelped but nodded. "Well, it's nice to meet you. Sorry it couldn't be under a brighter atmosphere. But don't worry, I promise you that your uncle will be fine."

Ruby: "Thank you... Um, Dr. Yaeger, right?" She questioned as she bowed politely but the ravenette just smiled at her.

Selena: "Yep, that's right. But feel free to just call me, Selena if you'd like. And no problem, dear."

After a while, four members of the crew came out with two stretchers, one for Setsuna and the other for Qrow. Everyone began to board the airships now, with Dante, Qrow, Setsuna, Ruby, Jaune and Selena boarding one while Ren and Nora boarded another. Both ships began to take off as Selena began to inspect Setsuna now, as the Anti-Toxin she gave Qrow would at least slow down the poison's effects for now, until she could fully take care of it back at the Kingdom.

Jaune: "How did you find us out here?"

Crew: "We were on patrol and saw the smoke. Nobody's been out here for years, thought something might be wrong." Ruby continued looking down at her unconscious uncle in worry, while holding onto his hand.

Ruby: :What if we don't make it in time?"

Jaune: "Ruby." His voice caused her to look up, only for her eyes to widen in surprise as just over the mountain range, was none other than their destination; Mistral.

Dante chuckled and smiled at the view.

Dante: "That's a view I miss. Welcome to Mistral." Ruby smiled in pure gratefulness as she looked back down at her uncle, with happy tears in her eyes.

Ruby: "We made it, Uncle Qrow." She gently squeezed his hand, which resulted in the male slowly squeezing her hand in return.

On the other airship, Ren and Nora sat together, both looking out at the view of the massively vertical Kingdom before the ginger-haired girl suddenly gasped in surprise with a blush coating her cheeks. She then looked down at their hands, to see that Ren had placed his hand on hers. She looked at him, only to see a soft smile on his face, to which she wholeheartedly returned as she gently squeezed his hand back in return. She then slowly leaned her head on his shoulder as they continued to gaze at the beautiful view.

>>Time Skip<<

https://youtu.be/POoeN5v2U6Y

(Play Song)

A few days had gone by since Team RNJR's arrival to Mistral. Selena had taken everyone back to her house, allowing the teens to settle in while she went on to treat Qrow and Setsuna. Qrow's was quick and simple as after she gave him the medication he needed and the antidote to the poison, all he'd need was rest and he'd be back to normal. As for Setsuna, it was revealed that due to her overexerting her 'evolved' Semblance so much in that fight, it resulted in her temporarily losing all feeling in her legs. However, thankfully, Selena confirmed that it was only a temporary side effect and the effects would wear off after a few days of rest.

Ruby entered the room Qrow and Setsuna were recovering in, only to see them both sleeping peacefully in two of the beds and a notepad and pen on the table. She closed the door and walked over to a corner where Qrow's Harbinger, Ozpin's Long Memory cane and Setsuna's Arondight Blades were before leaning her Crescent Rose against them. She then walked over to Qrow, putting her hand on his head, before looking at Setsuna and walking over to her. She smiled and gently caressed her cheek, which earned her a small cute grumble from the arctic wolf Faunus, her wolf ears twitching and wolf tail wagging around happily. She giggled lightly before she turned around and walked over towards the table before sitting down and began to write on the notepad.

"Hey sis. I hope my letters have been reaching you and Dad. Hand-written stuff's never been super reliable, but I guess it's all we've got these days. Anyway, in case you haven't been getting them, I want to say I'm sorry for leaving the way I did. I know you told me it was a reckless idea, and after everything I've been through, I can definitely say you were right. It's been hard on all of us, and I'm not just talking about the monsters we fought out here."

In Atlas, an Atlesian pilot was seen counting lien, while leaning against the side of an Atlesian cargo ship.

Pilot: "Okay, you two can hide out back in the cargo hold. I'll take you as far as I can but if we get caught, you're on your own. Understand?"

Weiss nodded towards him with a smile, while Akira merely looked off, still conflicted about going on this journey with the heiress. However, he felt a hand gently grasp his. Looking forwards, he spotted Weiss, looking him in the eyes with a gentle smile as she lightly squeezed his hand.

Weiss: "We'll be alright." She reassured him. With a deep breath, the black-haired male nodded while subconsciously squeezing her hand back. The two then began to walk forwards to board the cargo ship.

"Every step we made took us further and further from the things we knew. And every morning we woke up wondering, if just over the next hill would be something good or something terrible."

The airship's engines roared as it took off. In Menagerie, Blake, in her father's office, placed a small container on the desk before opening it. She lifted up a black flag, which had the current White Fang's emblem.

"It's scary not knowing what's going to happen next. And the things we do know now-just how bad it can get, it almost makes it all worse."

Yang was seen on a boat in a brand new outfit with her motorcycle, Bumblebee next to her. She was looking at two pictures, one being a copy of Taiyang and Qrow's picture of Teams STRQ and CDSY and the other of the ship that she's currently on before looking up.

"You told me once that bad things just happen. You were angry when you said it, and I didn't want to listen. But you were right, bad things do happen, all the time, every day. Which is why I'm out here, to do whatever I can, wherever I can, and hopefully do some good."

Back in Patch, Zwei barked at Taiyang, who was looking at the same picture of Teams STRQ and CDSY. He smiled at the small corgi before looking across the room at a framed picture of both Teams RWBY and WOLF, with 'New Friends!!!' written out in red with a heart drawn near it.

"We've all lost something and I've seen what loss can do to people."

Jaune was spotted, sitting in his room on the floor, with a somber and frustrated expression on his face as he stared at his Crocea Mors, more specifically, Pyrrha's headband on the front of his shield.

"But if we gave up every time we lost, then we'd never be able to move forward."

However, Ren and Nora opened the door. Jaune looked up at his teammates before giving a small, somber smile to them. The two soon joined him, with Ren setting his father's dagger next to the shield. Nora sat next to Jaune and leaned against him as Ren sat on the bed, facing away with a hand on Nora's shoulder as the remainder of Team JNPR proceeded to mourn the loss of their beloved teammate, Pyrrha Nikos, the legendary invincible girl.

"We'd never have a chance to see what beautiful things the future might have waiting for us. We'd never have the strength to change; whether it's ourselves, or the world around us."

Weiss sat on top of her weapon case, gazing out into the sunset as her ship took her further and further away from Atlas. She then looked over to the one traveling with her, Akira, who was seated on another of the cargo boxes, staring out at the window silently before he looked down at his left wrist, where the armband used to be. Now that it was destroyed, he was sure that Ironwood was going to panic now that he wasn't able to track his location. Honestly, it made him slightly concerned, but all of that concern washed away as Weiss suddenly hopped up next to him and sat down before leaning against him, her head resting against his shoulder. He looked down at her, only to see her smile sweetly up at him. Akira felt his face slightly heat up as he glanced away, hiding a faint blush as the ex-heiress lightly giggled and closed her eyes.

In Menagerie, Blake began to put away the current White Fang flag before picking up a blue cloth which had the original emblem, which was a blue flag with a less intimidating white Beowolf head as its logo.. She lowered it and smiled at Sun who was sitting in a chair. She then looked to her left, seeing Akito walk up to her and nod, to which she nodded back while holding her smile.

Racing across the open oceans towards Menagerie was none other than Maya Arc, in the Wing Gundam Zero as it flew in its Neo Bird Form, kicking up waves as it sped towards the island of Menagerie. Maya lightly sighed but glanced down at a holographic display she had on Wing Zero's hud, which displayed the new Gundam in all of its glory.

"And we'd never be there for other people who might one day be lost without us. This is what we were training for, to become Huntresses, to be the ones that stand up and do something about all the bad in the world."

The Captain and a crewmate of the ship smiled and waved goodbye as Yang drove off on her Bumblebee onto the continent of Anima. Close by however was a familiar blue-haired male, with it being none other than Ace Sparda, who leaned sat on the porch of one of the coastal houses on the beach, his motorcycle parked to the side as he had his head lowered and hood up, his mind being rapidly filled with memory after memory, all of which containing the criminal girl, Neopolitan. He sighed deeply but soon heard a rumble of a motorcycle and looked up, just in time to see Yang on top of Bumblebee race past him. It seemed like she didn't notice him as she kept going.

Ace: "Well shit, seems like I've found the sunny dragon." he smirked before standing up and walking over to his motorcycle.

Upon mounting it and starting the engine, he revved it before he raced after Yang, but made sure to keep his distance purposely.

Elsewhere, a young boy around 14-15, wearing farm clothes was on a train with a poster that advertised Haven Academy, saying 'HAVEN ACADEMY: BE A HERO'.

Train conductor: "Approaching, City of Mistral."

In the Mistralian house, Dante was seen in the living room, sitting down on the couch while glancing down, the figure he saw in the cave still in his mind. However, he was brought out of his mind by Selena standing in front of him, holding up a box of pizza.

Selena: "Pizza?"

Dante: "How did you know it was my favorite?" She laughed at him and rolled her eyes.

Selena: "Dummy. Just take a slice." She said, while opening up the box, to which the white-haired man gladly obliged.

"Because there are plenty of people out there who are still lost and even more who will try to gain everything they can from their sorrow."

In Menagerie, Ilia landed on a roof tow where Corsac and Fennec waited for her. She got on one knee and bowed in front of them.

Somewhere within the White Fang's headquarters, Mio was standing in a hall, her arms crossed under her chest as she slowly looked up at her Eclipse Gundam, which was stationed across from her, deactivated but acting like a century. She suddenly heard footsteps and turned to look down her left before she gasped in surprise as Adam was approaching, but only just him... He had a man behind him, a tall, intimidating mountain of a man; Hazel Rainart.

"Believe me when I say, I know it can feel impossible, like every single day is a struggle against some unstoppable monster we can never hope to beat."

In the Land of Darkness, Cinder snapped her fingers, having defeated two Beowolves for her training. Mercury and Jet leaned against the wall as Emerald put two fingers to her head and concentrated to conjure an illusion of Ruby, begging for mercy. Cinder, without hesitation, fired off a stream of flame upon the illusion with her eyes glowing while Salem, nearby, smiled in satisfaction.

"But we have to try, if not for us, then for the people we've already-"

Ruby began to tear up as she stopped writing. She wiped her tears away and looked down at the letter, only to see her tears starting to stain the paper. She then quickly crossed out that line.

"Then for the people we haven't lost yet."

She paused for a brief moment as she stared down at the letter before wiping away her tears again as she then began to write once more.

"I miss you so much... I miss Weiss, Blake, Akito and Ace too... But I think you'd all be proud to know that I made it to Mistral. All of us did, and we even ran into Uncle Qrow and Dante along the way and we just met Dr. Selena Yaeger, one of Dante and Uncle V's former teammates!"

Qrow and Setsuna's groans, triggered Ruby to run over to him. She looked at him as he smiled.

Qrow: "Aren't I the one saving you?" He said, while holding a slightly weak smile. Ruby just smiled at him before she looked at Setsuna, who was looking at her before giving a weak thumbs up and a smile. However, smelling the aroma of pizza in the air, a loud growl from her stomach was heard which caused her to slightly yelp and blush in embarrassment, while both Ruby and Qrow chuckled at that.

Selena: "Sounds like someone's awake and hungry." They all looked towards the door, as Selena stood there with the pizza box open, with around 4 more slices left in the box after she had given some to Team JN_R, with her holding one in her other hand. "Here, help yourselves!" She said as she rested the box on the table.

Ruby: "Thank you, Selena!" The woman just winked before she left the room.

Qrow: "Heh... as resourceful as always. That's our Selena alright..."he chuckled as Ruby skipped towards the pizza box.

"They're going to take us to see Professor Lionheart, the headmaster of Haven Academy. And, he told us some things that you're gonna wanna hear, things I can't trust will make it to you in this letter. But maybe, if you joined us, he could tell you himself. With Beacon gone, they'll need Dad at Signal more than ever, and I know you need to focus on yourself before I can expect you to come out with me. But it sure would be great to get Teams RWBY and WOLF back together again."

Yang rode down a path with Bumblebee before coming to a halt with a fork in the road... A sign, pointing to their left, saying 'Mistral' while the one pointing to their right, saying 'Kuroyuri' but it had 'BANDITS' spray painted across it in red. Yang smiled.

Yang: "You are in so much trouble when I find you."

"Until next time, your loving sister, Ruby Rose."

With a rev of Bumblebee, Yang then turned down the path with the sign for the Bandits and began to ride down it as a few minutes later, Ace did the same thing.

"Oh! Uh, P.S. I'll be sure to give you the address of where we're staying in Mistral! Thank you Selena for the place to stay! I'd love to hear back from you, Dad and hopefully Ace, and I can't wait to fill you in on whatever's going to happen next! Now that we've made it across Anima, I really think things are gonna start going our way."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In the Land of Darkness, Salem sat on her throne in the meeting room, her eyes closed as she could hear the doors open and close.

Salem: "Have you found them, my dear?" She questioned as footsteps approached the woman.

???: "I have. They were last spotted boarding an airship to Mistral. Chances are, they'll be there." The albino woman didn't reply for a moment. "What... now, mistress?"

Salem: "Simple. We wait and let all the pieces fall in place. Soon enough, Haven will fall and the Relic of Knowledge will be in my possession." She said before she opened her eyes and finally looked at the one in front of her. "You've done well, Kuroka. Your father would be very proud of you."

It was a female figure, with dark brown, almost black skin that resembled volcanic skin but also the Grimm. She had long black hair with a pair of black wolf ears on her head, along with a wolf tail right on her lower waist. Her eyes were like Salem's, black with piercing red irises. As for her clothing, well she barely wore any as the black fur along her body acted like her clothing, covering the important bits as she also had large black wolf paws on both her hands and feet. And finally, around her neck was some kind of ornament with a bronze skull on it. The wolf female grinned before she lightly kneeled and bowed before Salem, who merely smiled and began to pet on her head, causing her to nuzzle into her hand and wag her tail around happily.

(Kuroka)

End of Volume

https://youtu.be/iTZJdHr2z_o

___________________________________________

Next Volume: Volume 5

(A/N: "Volume 4 is finally over! Man this last chat chapter's LONG, like almost racing 10k words. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed it! And see ya'll in Volume 5!)