Months have passed since the fall of Vale, Leon and Nina have stuck together since then. Between them little has changed, but a lot has changed for Leon. One morning, on the cusp of waking, Leon finds himself in an unfavorable position.

Something was wrong, the smell wasn't right. The night before Leon had fallen asleep beside Nina, like they had for months, but something was wrong. Normally the smell of motor oil and pine fills his nostrils when he wakes, but this time it was sterile, completely clean.

His eyes snap open, white walls greet him. All around was white tiling, floors, walls, ceilings, everything. His eyes eyes slide across the room, finding the room filling itself with desks, medical supplies, and around his feet were raised platforms. Curious he reaches out a had, receiving a nasty shock as his fingers reach the edge of the platform, causing him to pull it back with a loud "yowch" He looks down at his sore left hand, blinking a few times as he stares at it.

Leon.

The voice came from nowhere and everywhere all at once. Echoing through Leon's mind again and again.

Leon.

His head throbs as the voice gets louder, his vision swirls, red streaks creak across the walls, pulsing softly like veins.

Leon, my child, return to me.

"Get... out... of my... HEAD!" His voice roars through the room, cracks criss crossing under the veins on the walls. Dark aura swirls across his skin, coalescing on his arms as beowolf-like claws solidify, "Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out!"

Pain radiates from Leon's cheek, his eyes snap open, his breath catches in his throat as his gaze meets a very worried Nina. "Lee... y'ok man?"

Leon sits up, looking around at the patchwork tent around them, "Yeah... I'm fine..." Nina grabs his shoulder, forcing him to meet her gaze.

"You don't look it."

"I said I'm fine."

"You said that before you ended up losing that arm." Leon looks down at his left hand, tightening the metallic fingers into a fist before looking back at Nina.

"Alright, you got me. It was that nightmare again..." He looks off to the side.

"Again? Any clue what it means?" Leon shakes his head, "Dang... anything new?"

"The voice... called me it's child..."

"Didn't ya say you were made by Atlas?"
"That's why it's tripping me up, like, if I have a mom she's probably long dead by now..."

"And any dad ya got's more monster than man."

"That's an understatement Nin." She punches his left shoulder lightly, not trying to break her knuckles in the process.

"C'mon, Axel's bound to be awake by now, we shouldn't leave him waiting too much longer, the big lug'll think we're doin' more than we'd bargain for."

Leon laughs before undoing the front of the tent, "Yeah, not up for putting that risk on the table just yet."

"Agreed."
"Mornin' Knucklehead, bolts." Axel waves from across the campsite, a goofy grin on his face.

"Don't call me bolts."

"I'mma call ya bolts."

Leon groans, "Whatever, do I need to restart the fire again?"

"O'course ya do, the big lug can't keep a fire going to save his life."

"Alright, Nin, grab me some firewood, I'll get started catching a spark."

Leon walks to the middle of their camp ground, a pile of ashes surrounded by a few stones being all that remained of the fire he'd gotten started the night before. He kneels down, grabbing the fire starter he'd fashioned after getting his arm replaced. He puts a small pile of kindling at the base of the firestarter. Taking a deep breath he slows time slightly, quickly setting to work at creating a spark, which at his speed takes nearly no time at all. As soon as the spark hits the kindling he's getting the fire ready for the wood Nina's bringing him.

They've gone through this so many times they've made sure to keep a stock of firewood on hand. So, within ten minutes of getting up Leon's successfully created a fire for what feels like the millionth time since the fall of Vale. "Gucci, now we can leave Axel to make breakfast while we go do something more useful. Right Nin?"

"Don't give the big lug too much flack."

"Why not?"

"Cuz he's my bro after all. You pick a fight with him you-"
"I make love not war, babe."

Leon stumbles back, breath knocked from his lungs, "I... " he wheezes, "deserved... that..."

"Oh yeah, you deserved that Lee, and there's more where that came from if you don't shut up!!"

Their squabbling is broken up by an uproarious laughter from Axel, "You two are too much!"

Leon chuckles, "yeah yeah, I'll get the bikes ready to go, we gotta find that Anvil guy, he'll be useful."

"Alright Lee, I'll help Axel with breakfast."

Leon walks off, just out of earshot he kneels down, setting to work on regular maintenance.

"So, Nina, what d'you see in him?"

"Haven't you asked this before?"

"Humor me."

"A'ight, whatever... He's just... got heart, ok?"

"That all? Cuz at this point I'm pretty sure that hearts got a lot of grim in it."

"Don't even start with this again, Axel. Sure he's not completely human but... That doesn't change anything, ok?"

"What about family? You think he-"

"I said don't! Look, Leon's the one that stuck by my side, that sparred with me, he's the only reason I kept pace with the rest of the class in one on ones. He cares, no matter what he is he still cares."

"Ok, ok, put away the claws little kitty."

"Don't call me that. Only dad can call me that."

"Dad hasn't called you much of anything, so why can't I keep up the tradition?"

She clenches her fist, "Just don't, or those bruised ribs'll become broken ones, you got that?" Her eyes are deathly serious as she glares at her older brother.

"Understood sis... sheesh..."

"Hey, lee!"

"Yeah Nin?"

"Breakfast's ready!"

"Sweet! I'm starved!"

"When aren't you?"

Leon walks back over, cleaning his hands with a recently un-grimmed grease rag, "Uh... right after I eat?"

"That lasts what, two seconds?"

Axel watches as the two continue to bicker, a soft smirk on his face. He didn't completely like Leon, but he trusted his sister. The man before him seemed normal enough, laid back, charming, definitely normal on the outside, but when you saw him get angry, things changed, quickly. Seeing red was an understatement for Leon, when he got really, really angry his eyes go completely red, and dark goo seems to start flowing around him. When he's extremely angry that goo stops flowing and starts solidifying, be it wings, claws, a tail, you name it, Leon's done it. He's starting to get control over it, however, but anger still plays a major part in the coalescing of grim aura.

"Hey, bro? You gonna eat? We gotta find that Anvil guy this morning, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah!" He scarfs down his food

"Alright boys. Let's find this guy and get another member on this team, I think we deserve this after getting all the way here."

Leon nods, pulling out the wanted poster they'd found, this Anvil guy seemed to have strong connections to the black market and illegal weapon trades, made him the perfect armorer for the gang.

Nina and Axel quickly straddle the two hogs, "Hop on Lee, we gotta get going." Soon the tiny gang is hitting the road, and it doesn't take long for Nina's radio to crackle to life with a news report, one they would have gotten so much sooner had Beacon's tower not fallen.

"-and Vale will be restored in time. In unrelated news, a vigilante by the name "the Summer Storm" is making a name for himself near Mistral. What he hopes to gain and his motives have yet to be found but when we do know you'll be the first to know. In other news former huntsman and Beacon student Isaac Foglance is being hunted for many different crimes including attempted murder on Atlesian military official James Ironwood. Isaac allegedly stole a digital stockpile of weapons and secrets, but the general assures the public that everything is well protected. Next up, big news in the Schnee heir-" Nina turns off the radio.

"What does Isaac think he's doing? He's going to get himself killed! Lee, what should we do?!"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?! But he's our teammate! We gotta-"

"We don't have to do anything, Nin, Isaac turned his back on us, he lost his freaking mind! He's not our teammate anymore, NIna. Isaac's his own team, and we're making our own, we don't have to help him anymore."

"Leon... this isn't like you..."

He sighs, "Look Nin, if he comes to his senses I've got his back, until then... He's just a liability..."

"I guess that makes-" She's cut off by a chunk of metal hitting the road in front of them. Leon blinks, time slowing to a fraction of a second as he calmly climbs off the bike, assessing the situation around him. The metal came from the right, a break in the tree line giving it a solid starting point. He takes a few steps into the trees, finding the large man standing there, piles of scrap metal all around him. Leon simply shakes his head before turning back to the bikes and setting himself up to throw Nina.

Leon grabs the chain hooked to Nina's belt before returning time to it's regular flow for a few moments, slowing it back down to increase the power of his throw and the momentum with which Nina will fly. Once he's sure she's on the right path he climbs back onto the bike, grabs the handlebars, and returns time to its regular flow, skidding the bike to a stop.

Nina flies through the air, whipping herself around to land a solid kick to the chest of the man who'd thrown the lump of metal at them. She pushes back against his chest, flinging herself off in a graceful back flip before landing in a "super hero landing" pose, hand on the holster to her pistol.

The man she'd kicked landed about thirty feet off, trees and stones ruined in his wake, "Dang Leon... How hard'd ya throw me?"

Leon blinks into existence beside Nina, "Didn't think I threw you that hard, dang... you think we killed the guy?"

"I hope he's more durable than that...He's supposed to mold metal with his bare hands..." No sooner than the words slipped from her lips the man pulled himself to his feet, spitting blood to one side before snarling out a response.

"You lot get gone, 'fore I throw me some scrap."

"Hey, you anvil?" Leon's voice came out disgustingly calm, like nothing could phase him, and other than those dreams, nothing really could.

"Who's askin'?"
"A few bikers trying to rebuild a gang. You want in?"

"Was in it fer me?"

"Food, fire, pay, and a bike. You'll have to build the bike." The pause following Leon's response was heavy. Nina and Leon share a look, seeming to ask one another what Anvil was waiting for.

"Down payment?"

"I got twenty lien and a half eaten candy bar."

"Deal!"

Nina looks at Leon, "That was... a lot easier than I thought."
"I mean, not really, honestly if you look around dude's been outta food for like... a week at least, that candy bar is a god send and twenty lien gets him a nice meal at a burger joint. I'd say I'm a pretty good negotiator though." Nina reaches up and pecks his cheek, "You know it, Lee."

"So uh... Can ah get that candy now? Ya said it yerself, I ain't got nothin' to eat here."

"Oh yeah, here you go man."

"So, bolts, you gots a way with words, huh?"

"Don't call me bolts,"

"I'm gonna call you bolts."

"I supposed I do Axel." Leon rolls his eyes, "Why don't you go get Anvil up to speed on how things work?"

"Why sho-"

"Jus do it bro!"

"Fine, fine, sheesh, for a tiny thing you can sure be-" he stops, words caught in his throat. The look Nina gave him definitely wasn't something anyone could talk through without hesitation, "I'll go talk to Anvil."

"What's with him? Why's he so adamant on calling me Bolts?"

"He just... kinda does that... if someone has a normal name that he doesn't like he comes up with some stupid nickname that he makes stick."

"What was your's?"

"Don't have one, story goes he named me when mah... Anyway, mah was supposed to name me after I was born but she couldn't, so he named me instead cuz pop couldn't do it."

"Why couldn't your dad?"

"All he can think of when naming things are car parts. My bro's Axel, we've had three dogs named Muffler. He's just not good at naming. Mah knew that..."

"Man, what's with us and crappy home lives, huh?"

Nina leans into his side, "I dunno, Lee, I dunno... "

Noon had come and gone by the time Leon and Nina finally stopped at the entrance to Mistral. They'd planned to use the decent sized bounty on Anvil to buy a bike for the bulky man. A sneaky picture caught by Leon on his scroll was perfect for faking the death of Anvil which quickly secured them the bounty, now the two were walking the streets of Mistral, standing slightly too close together to be mistaken for "just friends."

"That honestly went better than I expected, nice job with that kick Nin."

"Wouldn't have done a thing if not for you throwin' me, Lee. Give yourself some credit."

"You're right, I'm the best."

Nina chuckles, glancing over her right shoulder, up at Leon, a smile on her face as she catches those eyes. Her smile fades quickly as her gaze slides down his side, across the shiny, metal replacement for his left arm. After he'd collapsed during the Vital festival he'd found himself completely unable to use the arm, less he was pouring his aura into some grim limb or another. Nina couldn't help but feel it was her fault, if she'd made him take time off, if she'd taken the one on one, maybe he'd still be whole.

"Nin it's still not your fault."

"I know Lee... I know..."

Leon slips his hand around Nina's, sure he may not have the same level of feeling in the limb that most do, but that didn't stop him from loving the feeling of having her hand in his. However, whenever he thinks about his arm the image of those red lines, red lines tracing the veins in his arm. Not only had he lost use of his arm after his collapse, he'd gained that nightmare.

"What's on your mind, Lee? You look distant..."

"Just getting lost in your eyes," his voice floats past Nina, bringing a tinge of pink to her cheeks and granting Leon a moment to lay on the compliments, ranging from hair, to smile, to laugh, he didn't stop until a sharp jab to his chest knocked the breath from his lungs. "Ok... ok... I submit... " Nina's face was bright red before she'd landed the hit on her boyfriend, and now it wears a heavy shade of pink, "What's with you? I thought we agreed to flusterin' in public!"

"Too easy..." he wheezed, "and you... look cute... when you're flustered." This earned him another jab as Nina, grumbles, before she pulls him close, placing a kiss on his cheek, "don't do it again."

"No promis-" once again, Nina's patent pending "look" strikes, leaving Leon speechless.

"I told you, no flusterin' me in public, you do it again you're sleeping in a tree. Ya got that?" Leon nods, a smirk on his lips, "No, I will not be sleeping in the tree with you."

"You did it before..."

"Yeah, after you let an ursa ruin our tent!"

"Semantics..."

"Let's just grab the bike for Anvil... I don't like being in this City."

"Why? It's safer than the forest."

"The forest doesn't haven't the White Fang..."

"Really? You're scared of the White Fang?"

"No. I just don't wanna be around the next time they bring a kingdom to its knees."

"What're the chances they'd do it again? It should be obvious by now that they're just making Faunus life worse. No one trusts the Faunus because of what the White Fang are doing..."

"I guess you're not wrong..."

The pair walk in silence for a few moments before Nina pipes up, "Hey, Lee?"

"Yeah Nin?"

"Ok, so, y'know how livin' outside the cities are da-"

"Nin, could ya not beat around the bush? It's kinda annoying."

Nina sighs, giggling softly, "ok, ok. In my family we have a tradition, it's more of our gang's thing back before the fall. When ever two people wanted to... y'know... show they were together, all the time, they'd do a little thing. The man, you ya big lug, would buy the woman somethin' with a lock, my mah had an arm band, my grandma had a bracelet, yadda yadda... and the woman designs a tattoo for the man, make it permanent y'know? Axel's been buggin' me 'bout it for weeks... says if I'm serious boutcha I should make it official y'know?"

Leon pauses a moment, glances down at the skittish Nina, this wasn't something he saw often, Nina dropping her guard was a once in a blue moon occurrence. A small smile etched itself across his lips, "Sounds like a plan. Nin, after all, living alongside the grim's dangerous, shouldn't take things too slow."

Nina smiles, pulling Leon into a kiss, "Thanks Lee, it means a lot to me."

"Not a problem, NIn. Since we have a bit of pocket change, you wanna go ahead and pick up your lock?"

"You know it, ya big lug."

"After that though we gotta get Anvil his bike, we can worry about tagging me later."

"Tagging?"

"I mean, that's what it is ain't it? A nametag to tell everyone I'm taken."
"Makes sense, Lee. I'll have to figure out what I want it to look like anyway."

"Now, where can we go to get you a lock..." He stops, spinning in a quick circle before shrugging and dropping time to almost a standstill.

He didn't always use his semblance for such simplistic ventures, but he knew they didn't have that much time to burn to he decided to pick up the pace. He wandered around for what could have been an hour, but for the rest of the world only a few seconds had gone by. Eventually he finds a single store, out of all the stores he'd tried, that had something that locked. A choker, simple and sweet with a dust powered locking mechanism. Lucky for Leon they offered inscriptions, so he could could personalize the choker for Nina.

Leon stops, breath catching in his throat as an echoing voice fills his ears, no, his mind.

Leon

That voice, it's back, echoing in his waking mind, eating at his sanity with each reverberation. He had to get it out, he had to stop it, he had to breath. He shakes his head, "leave me alone... you're nothing, just my sick mind playing tricks on me. So go away."

Oh, Leon, you poor, poor boy. I'm not your mind. I am Salem. I am your true mother.

He takes a deep breath, turning on his heels and rushing back to Nina, if she wouldn't stop yammering in his ear he'd just ignore her. It doesn

't take him long to get back to Nina, though the voice has yet to cease and desist.

"So, where'd ya go?"

"Had to look around for a store, did you know that almost no one in Mistral sells jewelry with locks?"

"So you found somewhere that does?"

"Yeah, they also offer inscriptions, drawback, it's a choker." Leon wasn't exactly sure how Nina would react, she was never one for jewelry, and choker's can often lead to some... Suffice to say odd looks from the casual passerby.

"That's as good as any."

"Uh, wait, really?"

"Yeah, so long as it's from you."
He smiles, "Alright, let's go get your lock."

"So, why is my baby sister wearing a collar?"

"It's not a collar."

"It's a collar."

Leon groans, "It's not a collar, it's my lock. Only thing in this damnable city I could find."

Axel turns to Nina, who since their fight with Anvil that morning, hadn't spoken a word, "You got him to lock ya? Guess you are serious 'bout this after all... I don't like it bein' a collar, kinda throws out the wrong idea, but I s'pose it gets to point across... How much'd it cost'ya, bolts?"

"Sworn to secrecy. Part of the deal an' all that."

"So when're you gonna get the tattoo?"

"Soon as Nina figures out what she wants."

"Never knew ya to be indecisive, sis."

"It's a big deal..."

"C'mon, Axel, lay off, we both know your sister isn't the best at emoting.'

"Yer not wrong... Eh, I'mma drop in, less eat eh?"

"Now yer talkin'!" Anvil's voice rolls across the small campsite, seems the large man was hungry, which, considering his size, wasn't surprising in the slightest.

As the ragtag crew settles down around the fire, Leon sets to work preparing their meal for the night. Nina poses a question after a few minutes of silence, "So, Anvil, is that your real name or..."

The large man laughs, "nah, s'not my name. Real name's Clinton, but that ain't strong soundin' so I go by Anvil, makes meh sound sturdy and tough."

"Sturdy, yes, tough... yeah, I guess and anvil would be pretty hard to damage..."

"See, workin' already."

"Now that we know the big lug loves sounding like a hunk of metal, I wanna know when dinner's gonna be ready, Lee. I'm starved! We haven't eaten since breakfast."

"Don't remind me, it's almost done though, don't want the meat undercooked, alright, soup's on."

"I thought ya made stir fry..."

"Anvil it's... an Atlas thing, don't worry about it."

"Ah, sounds 'bout right. Lemme eat already!"

The rest of their night, though filled with jokes and laughs, was mostly uneventful. Leon and Nina find themselves settling in for sleep earlier than normal, stomachs full of good food for the first time in weeks.

"Hey, lee?"

"Yeah Nin?"

"You think we could... uh..."

Leon chuckles softly, "sleep a bit closer tonight?"

"Yeah..."

"C'mere knucklehead. It's gonna be chilly tonight anyway." Strong arms wrap around the thin form of the hard headed biker, "Sleep well Nin..."

"Sleep well Lee..."

His eyes slip closed, darkness embracing him until moments later his eyes snap open, darkness swirling at his feet as a room comes into view. A long room, pillars accenting large windows, the center filled with a large table, one like you'd see in a meeting room. The shattering moon shines through the window at the far end of the room, accenting the silhouette of a women, standing tall against the glass.

Welcome home, Leon. I trust your travels weren't too difficult.

"Who are you?! What do you want with me?" The women turns, pale skin, red veins, white hair, her image sent chills down Leon's spine.

Who am I? Well Leon, I'm your mother of course!

Her voice flows melodically through the room, burning into Leon's mind. "I have no mother; I have no father. I am an orphan through and through. Whoever you are... You're not my family... you're just..." his fists clench, dark aura swirling across his shoulder, "you're just a monster... toying with me... playing with your food like any monster would!" His voice raises to a roar, echoing through the room, causing the woman before him to recoil, a single step back, before a smirk etches across her face.

Her strides are smooth, clean, perfect in almost every way, as she makes her way towards him.

Now, now, of course I'm your mother, I'm the mother of all grim. Even you, Leon.

"I'm not a grim..."

Oh, but you are my son... that dark aura you abuse is mine, in essence... as... are... you!

Leon snaps awake, sitting up with a jolt. Sweat pours down his forehead, his breathing ragged and burning. He glances to his side, Nina still snoring away. He looks to his hands, human, for the most part at least. He takes a deep breath, before making his way out of the tent, and then out of the camp, just walking, calm as can be from the outside.

"Hey, bolts, what're you doin' up? You gotta hit the tree?"

Leon just waves the words off, mumbling something about needing a walk before slipping into the forest.

His mind swirls with thought, 'The voice, the woman, early she'd called herself Salem... Who's Salem... Ugh... I should know this... The name's so familiar... Wait, didn't... yeah one of the doctors said something about a Salem... what was it he said...'

His thoughts continue, his feet blindly leading him back to Mistral, until a familiar voice speaks up.

"You know, Leon, I've never seen an Aura quite as dark as your's... It's scary really... It's almost invisible against the black I see everywhere else."

"Who wh- oh..."

Before Leon stands Nemera, her blindfold gone, replaced with a pair of blacked out sunglasses. A white cane in her right hand, a band holding it to her wrist.

"So... you're actually blind, huh?"

"Blind to everything but someone's aura, yes."

"How'd you manage to get into a hunter academy then?"

"Well, Grim have an aura too, and it leaves a trail, unlike human aura, so I'm primarily a tracker... Which reminds me, your aura leaves a faint trail, should I be worried standing so close to you?"

Leon's voice catches in his throat, "So... you know my-'

"Yes, I know a lot about people by seeing their aura... I believe we should speak in private, I don't think this is a conversation you'd like to have in public, even if it is only three in the morning."

A/N: Hey guys! Weapon here again! Glad I get to write more for all of you! Hope you enjoyed my chapter and I'm excited to keep writing this story for all of you! To give Gray a hand I'm going to be writing Nina and Leon's chapters for the time being, until I can't keep up or something happens probably. Anyway, This chapter is mostly character building as well as a little explanation on Leon's psyche, which is really important for the future of the story. Also, the locking/tagging isn't really a marriage thing, I realized after I implemented it that it could be taken as that, it's more like a really expensive or painful promise ring. Well, that's about all I have to say! I'll talk to you all after the next chapter! Hope I don't get too busy and have to rush out the ending like I did with this one! Buh-bye!