Spirits were high after Yang, Weiss and Ace reunited with Ruby and Setsuna. Even though Qrow and Dante didn't come back with as big of a crowd as they were expecting, they couldn't just let all the food they prepared go to waste. So, with everyone sitting around the table, they were going to have one big reunion feast. Laughter filled the room as everyone was busy telling each other stories about their experiences while they were away.

Yang: *laughing* "How did you almost lose your map at a time like that?"

Jaune: "Believe me, I've asked myself the same thing ever since. If it wasn't for Setsuna catching it, we surely would have been even more stranded." He replied as Yang, Weiss, Ace and Ruby laughed while Setsuna just rubbed the back of her head, with a light laugh.

Nora: "Hey, but you made up for it, Mr. Muscles! You shoulda seen this guy take on a giant Grimm head on!"

Jaune: "I wouldn't have done it without Ruby wearing it down."

Ruby: "Uh, me? Have you SEEN Setsuna and Ren during that fight?? They were out of control!" While Setsuna just let out a slightly flustered laugh while scratching the back of her head, Ren tried to make an explanation for himself.

Ren: "I'm sorry, I may have lost my temper momentarily."

Ruby: "No, no. Out of control as in awesome."

Ren: "Oh. Thank you." The group shared a chuckle at that. Afterwards, Yang took a glance at Setsuna, this information about her 'losing control' causing her curiosity to get the better of her.

Yang: "Sooo, you were 'out of control' now where you?"

Setsuna: "O-Oh, um... Ruby was overexaggerating... It... was just my Semblance evolving from my desire to..." She seemed to struggle to even get those words out, with her flusterness getting stronger before all of a sudden, Ruby practically jumped on her back.

Ruby: "Protect everyone! And you should have seen how strong and wild she was!"

Setsuna: "R-Ruby, cut it out!"

Yang: "Oh? Sounds pretty badass." With a small smirk, she leaned towards the two, and began rubbing Setsuna on the head, the Arctic-Wolf Faunus yelping, but her tail would start wagging automatically. "If that's the case, I hope you don't turn me down when I ask for a spar later on, Setsu."

Ruby: "Oh! Me too!"

Setsuna: "A-Ahhh you two!"

Later on, Weiss was telling her story while she was up at Atlas, about how she ended up lashing out at a woman at the party and ended up accidentally summoning a Boarbatusk.

Ruby: *gasp* "You did not!" The Ex-Heiress had her face in her hands, hiding her embarrassment.

Weiss: "Yeah, right in the middle of the party..."

Yang: "Please tell me you let that lady have it."

Weiss: "Of course not! Even if I really wanted to... Actually, Akira was the one that stepped in before things got too ugly."

Ace: "Oh? So you were there, helping out the princess escape from her prison? How surprisingly noble of you." He said with a small smirk, looking at the raven-haired male who just looked away with an eye roll.

Akira: "More like said princess dragged me out of Atlas, even when I protested against it."

Weiss: "Hey! I didn't drag you out of Atlas! You could have told me no!" At this, Akira slowly turned to look at her with the biggest deadpan he's ever had and pointed to his left wrist.

Akira: "You literally ripped off my tracker and told me I was coming, even when I already said no."

Ace: "Heh... Sounds like a certain someone was afraid of not having some company~"

He whispered to Team RNJR, who all laughed a bit, with Setsuna having a bit of a grin. Weiss heard what he said however and blushed heavily before crossing her arms with a 'hmph'. Truthfully, she was just happy none of them knew about that time in her bedroom, where she had literally tackled Akira to cry into his chest for over an hour.

Aside from that, Nora still wasn't too convinced that Weiss managed to actually summon.

Nora: "No way, I don't believe it!" she said, crossing her arms, however Weiss immediately summoned a Boarbatusk next to Nora. It growled at her before she yelped in shock. "AHHH!"

The group shared another laugh together, while Akira just shook his head. Though, he did take notice of Yang's lingering stare on him. She probably was still untrusting of him since what happened at the Branwen Tribe.

As time flew by, everyone started to pester Ace about what happened to him after the Fall of Beacon, to which he finally decided to tell everyone.

Ruby: "Huh!? You were in Vale with Neo!?"

Jaune: "Uh, who is that?"

Yang: "Roman's top lackey. I didn't know she survived the Fall."

Akira: "You saved her, despite the fact she was trying to kill you? I don't know whether to be shocked at the fact you lived, or at how stupid you are."

Ace: "Cut me some slack, would you? I know she was the enemy, but I didn't feel right leaving her to get mauled by Grimm."

Weiss: "Or you just found her cute." She mumbled while slightly shaking her head. The young Sparda just raised his hands up.

Ace: "Hey, nothing wrong with saving a cute girl. Even if she was just trying to kill you mere minutes earlier." The Ex-Heiress just rolled her eyes.

Ruby: "So, what happened with Neo?" Ace pondered for a moment, wondering if he truly should let them know of how Neopolitan was like after learning of Roman's death. But ultimately, he decided that was too sensitive of information to willingly share around.

Ace: "Well we kinda had to rely on each other to survive for a bit. But after things in that part of Vale cleared out, we immediately moved as soon as we could. I did offer her to come with me, but she declined. Even though she didn't say it, she probably wouldn't know how to act around you guys, especially since well... you know... you tried to kill each other. She's out there somewhere for sure. I just hope when we meet again, it'll end on a high note."

Setsuna: "Don't jinx it..."

Ren: "Well, despite how we all might think about that, I think it was still very Huntsman of you to save her. I think that's one thing we can all agree on."

The majority of the group nodded in agreement to Ren's statement, as the blue-haired male just laughed lightly but he glanced upwards. He did wonder what the dual-haired girl was up to. But he knew she was tough and extremely skilled. There was no doubt they would meet again. The way they meet however, well he just hoped it would be a nice reunion and not one shadowed by the crossing of their blades.

Later, Yang decided to show off her new mechanical arm to everyone.

Yang: "It's not a replacement for the real thing, but I'll make sure to make good use of it."

Jaune: "That's amazing..."

Ren: "Incredible." Setsuna just stared in complete awe of it as Ruby immediately sped over to her and touched it.

Ruby: "And it's just as strong?"

Yang: "Sure it. Ace can vouch for me." The two looked towards the male in question, who gave a thumbs up.

Ace: "I swore I heard some bone cracks when you punched people with it." He said as the blonde just laughed lightly before there was a sudden thud. Nora had placed her elbow on the table, with her hand open, with this being an obvious invitation to arm wrestle.

Nora: "Wanna bet?"

Weiss: "Nora, please, now's not the-" Completely ignoring Weiss, Yang and Nora began to arm wrestle while Jaune and Ren cheered for Nora and Ruby, Ace and Setsuna cheered for Yang. As for Akira, he just stood next to Weiss, with an equally uninterested expression on his face.

Akira: "Your friends, by the way."

Weiss: "Don't remind me..."

Ren: "Come on! You can do it!"

Jaune: "Don't let her beat you! You can do this!"

Ren: "Show 'em what Team JNPR's made of!"

Ace: "Kick her ass, Yang!"

Setsuna: "Don't go easy on her!"

Ruby: "Come on sis! Aw, you can't lose to a girl in a skirt!"

Weiss: "You wear a skirt Ruby."

Akira: "Did you not call it a 'combat skirt'?" he raised an eyebrow, to which the Ex-Heiress looked off with a pout.

Weiss: "Hmph!"

Akira: "And that's your respon—"

Ruby: "Weiss, Akira, you're not cheering loud enough!!!"She suddenly butted in, her arms around the two as she shook them excitedly.

Nora: "It definitely feels like the original, I'll give you that!"

Yang: "Yep. But, it does have some new features!"

Nora: "Heh, oh yeah?" Just as she said that, a sound came from Yang's arm before suddenly, Nora was flung back into the wall while holding Yang's now detached arm. Nora groaned in pain as everyone looked at her in concern, except for Yang and Ace who were both grinning smugly.

Jaune: "Did she... win?"

Immediately as Nora came to, she looked at the hand that was holding Yang's arm, before she yelled, terrified, while throwing it away. Yang and Ace both burst out in laughter, the former catching her arm before they two gave each other a high five.

Yang: "You could say, I gave her a major hand!" Everyone just groaned. "Get it guys? Give her a hand?"

Ace: "Your jokes still fucking suck."

Yang: "Meanie...." She mumbled and pouted.

After all the food was finally finished, Jaune picked up the dirty bowls, with Akira helping out. As to why, well he had a slight knack for helping out in the kitchen (the rest of Team MYLC would know too).

Jaune: "Gyah... We ate it all... I think I'm going to be sick..."

Yang: "Easy there Vomit Boy, I believe in you."

Jaune: "Oh, we're doing nickname throwbacks now. Wonderful..." He said with a small playful eye roll as both he and Akira made their ways into the kitchen while Weiss was giggling to herself.

Nora: "I mean, the Ice Queen seems to like it." Weiss immediately looked at her appalled as Ruby and Setsuna both burst out in laughter. The Ex-Heiress just smiled and rolled her eyes.

Weiss: "I so did not miss you people."

Nora: "Oh my gosh, she really DOES like it! What went and warmed your heart while you were gone?"

Ace: "What? You mean who warmed her heart~" He said with a small smirk, glancing towards Akira in the kitchen. Weiss immediately blushed and shook her head.

Weiss: "S-Shut up! And you make it sound like I used to be terrible!"

Yang: "Nah, just a lot to deal with at once."

Weiss: "Hmph." She pouted, while the blonde just stuck her tongue out playfully.

Ren: "It's been a long time. We've all grown in our own ways."

Ruby: "You really think so?"

Ren: "Well, think back to when we were all at Beacon, would you say you ever did anything foolish or embarrassing? Or do you think you were perfect?" As thoughts went around, it began to dawn on everyone on how they used to be during their time at Beacon and even before that.

Weiss: "Oh gosh..." She hid her face in her palms.

Yang: "I... may have been a little too gung-ho from time to time."

Ace: "A little?" He raised an eyebrow as the blonde blushed and crossed her arms while lookin off.

Yang: "A-A lot, okay!"

Ruby: "Heh, you? I tried to 1v1 a Nevermore on the second day of school."

Jaune: "Yeah, well... don't even get me started." He said as he walked into the room, scratching the back of his head while Akira remained silent and just looked off to the side.

Setsuna: "Um... S-Sorry about trying to kill you multiple times, Weiss..." She mumbled while looking off, while rubbing the back of her head.

Weiss: "A-Ahh, it's fine, really. I was... way out of line too."

Setsuna: "So... you're not going to be mad at the fact that I tried to put laxatives in your coffee before Akito stopped me...?"

Weiss: "YOU WHAT!?"

Setsuna: "E-Eep! Setsuna's sorry!"

Ren: "That aside, that embarrassment, that desire to go back and tell yourself not to be so stupid, that just proves you're not the same person you used to be. You're smarter, or kinder, stronger, and you're not done growing yet. None of us are." There was a brief silence as everyone reflected a bit for a moment.

Ruby: "Yeah, turns out Ren gets real deep when he feels like talking." Everyone shared a chuckle until Nora piped up.

Nora: "Well hold on! I thought I was pretty great in school!"

Yang: "Even at the dance? When you spilled punch all over yourself in front of-"

Nora: "YES, ESPECIALLY THE DANCE! THANK YOU YANG!" she yelled as she zipped over to Yang, her scroll playing the song 'Shine'.

Qrow: "How can nine kids possibly make so much noise eating dinner!?"

Everyone turned to look, only to see that Qrow, Dante, Selena and Oscar had entered the room. Nora quietly switched off the music, as a small laugh left Oscar.

Selena: "Oh, Qrow, let them be kids for once."

Dante: "Sadly for you kids, we were about to call you in for a little meeting. Mainly to clear up any... misunderstandings." He said. He particularly looked at the newcomers, Yang, Weiss, Ace and Akira. While Akira just said nothing and looked away, Yang seemed more frustrated than anything as she crossed her arms while Ace sighed slightly and Weiss just lowered her head, but she took a small look at Akira for a moment.

>Chapter 46: Rest and Resolutions<

After all of the catch up, the gang all met up in the upstairs lounge, where Ozpin had proceeded to tell Yang, Weiss, Ace and Akira everything he knew, along with confirming the majority of what Raven and Vergil said was indeed correct. On top of that, they also learned of Akira's past, including Yomihime and his former alliance with Salem and Cinder. One one couch, Ruby, Setsuna, Nora and Jaune sat together, while on the other, Weiss, Selena and Yang, the latter with her arms crossed, sat together, with Ace leaning against the back of the couch. Akira was also standing by this couch on Weiss' side, but was facing away from everyone. In the chair between the two couches, Ozpin sat, while Ren sat on the other single chair to the right of the couch that his teammates sat on. Qrow and Dante were just standing, the former with his arms crossed. 

There was silence for a moment before Weiss decided to break the silence.

Weiss: "So, the Maidens, Magic, Salem. It's all true?"

Dante: "Yup."

Ozpin: "Ms. Xiao Long, Mr. Sparda, is this more or less what your mother told you?" the blonde didn't respond as Ace placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Ace: "Sounds about right. And this whole thing about you being the actual father of Akito and those four sisters that he apparently had living in his head? And on top of that, those girls are actually the magical reincarnations of the original four Maidens? That's true too?" A small sigh came from the Headmaster.

Ozpin: "Yes, I am their father."

Akira: "I thought something was particular about those girls... To think that this was the truth..."

Yang: "You forgot something. You forgot to tell everyone what you did to Dante, Vergil, Qrow and my mother." Ruby gasped as Setsuna just tilted her head in confusion.

Jaune: "What is she talking about?"

Qrow: "Oh, great..."

Ozpin: "Hmm, that's not a secret I thought they would give up so easily... Your parents must trust you a great deal." Yang just scowled at him.

Ace: "Just spill it, old man. Enough beating around the bush." Ozpin sighed.

Ozpin: "My ability to reincarnate, though a curse, isn't without a few key benefits. Much like the Maidens and Akito, I too possess a certain... magical power." Weiss had a quiet gasp, realizing what Akira told her on the cargo ship about Ozpin having magic, was true. The headmaster stood up and began to pace around slowly. "Using this power, I was able to gift the Branwen twins the ability to see more, to move more freely and be unburdened by their natural bodies. I... well... gave them the ability to turn into birds. Rather ridiculous sounding out loud, isn't it?"

Oscar telepathically: "Wait... what?"

Ruby: "Uncle?"

Ren: "You turned them... into birds?"

Setsuna: "Then... What did you do to papa and Vergil?" She questioned.

Ozpin: "Similarly to the Branwens, I gave the Sparda brothers the ability to not only enhance their senses, but also the ability to become beings that could rival the Maidens themselves in terms of strength."

Dante: "Aka, we can turn into 'Devils' in a way."

Setsuna and Ruby: "What!?"

Nora: "Alright, now you're just messing with us."

Jaune: "What else is new?" he said in a passive-aggressive tone.

Weiss: "He's telling the truth." Everyone looked back at her. "We saw it. Yang's mom and Ace's dad... change, right in front of us."

Yang: "Why would you do something like that? I mean, what's wrong with you?" she asked, feeling slightly agitated now.

Qrow: "Yang, that's enough. We made a choice. We wanted this." The blonde's expression seemed to turn from anger to surprise as Ace turned around to face them and raised an eyebrow, keeping his hands on his sister's shoulders.

Ozpin: *to Qrow* "May I?" Qrow nodded at him, causing Ozpin to turn to both Yang and Ace. "Granting this power to them was no trivial task and I can assure you it was not done frivolously. I required assistance in gathering information on Salem's plans, as well as searching for Maidens when their hosts became unclear."

Ruby: "Okay, so, have you done this with others? Like General Ironwood? Professor Goodwitch? Ms. Selena?" The woman in question raised an eyebrow curiously at the argent-eyed girl but lightly smiled and shook her head, denying her claim.

Selena: "As useful as that sounds, no, I'm just a regular person as far as I'm concerned."

Ozpin: "Mm. And as helpful as that might be, unfortunately, it is not that simple. My power is finite, and if I'm being honest, dwindling. The amount that I gifted to Qrow, Raven, Dante and Vergil was, all things considered, rather miniscule. You see, centuries ago, I sacrificed a great deal of magic to four young women, who I hoped would use my gift for good."

Akira: "They were the first Maidens." Everyone looked at him as he had turned to face the professor, his arms crossed. "Correct?"

Ozpin: "That's right, Mr. Yasusada." There was a brief silence before the man possessing the farmhand's body turned his attention solely to Yang and Ace. "Ms. Xiao Long and Mr. Sparda, it was never my intention to lie to either of you. To any of you. There are just some matters that I prefer to... play close to the chest. I believe that's how you phrased it?"

Qrow: "Heh, yeah."

Ozpin: "Everyone has a choice. The Branwens and Spardas chose to accept their powers and the responsibilities that came with them. And later, two of them chose to abandon their duties in favor of their own self interest. Now, all of you have a choice. If anyone wishes to leave, now is the time. There's no shame or disgrace in abstaining, only in retreat." Everyone went silent as they looked at each other, with no one taking the initiative. "Very well, then." However, Yang would suddenly stand up, taking the teens by surprise.

Ruby: "Yang?"

Yang: "If Ruby, Ace and Setsuna stick around, then I will too. If there's one thing I know about them, it's that they somehow always know the right thing to do." She smiled at the ones in question. While Ruby and Ace returned it, Setsuna was a bit surprised to hear the blonde mention her, but feeling a bit flattered, couldn't help but smile a bit. "But, if we're going to help, if we're going to keep risking our lives, no more lies, no more half truths."

Ace: "I can get behind that. After all, it's better to know what we're up against when we know all we can." Ozpin pondered for a brief moment before he smiled and nodded.

Ozpin: "Understood." Yang nodded before sitting back down.The professor then turned his attention to a certain icy-blue eyed male in the room. "Now with that out of the way, Mr. Yasusada, I can tell you have a lot on your mind." Everyone turned to look at the male in question. He had looked away from them, with him trying to gather his thought and words properly, but then he felt a familiar sensation. A soft and delicate hand holding his own. He looked at the culprit, that being Weiss Schnee.

Weiss: "I... I know how it seems, but I don't believe Akira would ever betray us. I don't believe he ever wants to betray us."

Akira: "Weiss..." The Ex-Heiress looked at him and smiled.

Weiss: "Your teammates trust you, Maya trusts you... And from what I saw, Penny trusted you a lot and you really care for them. And not to mention, you helped me out so much in Atlas. You... even gave me the encouragement to take a stand against my father. Coming from someone who's grown up in a household run by a... tyrant, I would have been able to tell if you had any devious alternative motive. And that's why, even now, I still trust you, Akira."

Akira was a bit speechless for a moment, not expecting this sudden little speech from Weiss. The way she spoke he could tell that nothing she said was forced or fake. It was all genuine, as if it all came from her soul and it seemed like the others noticed too, with Selena, Ace, Ruby and even Ozpin in particular smiling.

Akira: "I..." He took in a deep breath and faced them all. "I do admit, I blame myself for a lot that's happened, mostly for all the lives lost during the Fall of Beacon and all of the... severe injuries..." He looked at Yang in particular when saying this. "I wish I could have done more to stop it all from happening, which is why I'm here today. I promise to you all, that everything I say from now on will be nothing but the truth. No lies. I did not know of Salem's plan to attack Beacon. I only knew something was up when I spotted Emerald, Cinder and Mercury during the Breach in Vale. I was acquainted with Cinder and worked along side Emerald, Mercury and Jet for a while. I did meet with Salem in person—Harvester was a 'gift' from her to me. My family has always worshiped her, calling her their 'Dark Queen', but I and not even Yomihime knew of the true reason as to why they do. However, all I do know is that Salem and Cinder must be stopped. And I will do everything in my power to help everyone with that. That's of course... if you guys would have me. If I am not wanted, I will do the right thing and leave and you'll never have to see me again."

There was silence for a brief moment before a voice spoke up.

Ruby: "I trust you." Everyone looked at her. "I mean, you've helped us a ton already, and Weiss trusts you a lot. She has a good sense for being able to tell good people from bad."

Setsuna: "Setsuna never trusted humans before without Akito's input... but, this time, I'm choosing to trust you." Everyone seemed to come to a common agreement until Yang spoke up.

Yang: "You kept things from us." Everyone went silent as Akira slowly looked at the blonde. "And even though I was, and still am angry at you for that, I can tell you're being sincere. And you're the first person Weiss has ever vouched so heavily for."

Weiss: "Hey!" The blonde slightly smiled but it vanished again as she looked at him, showing him that she was serious about this.

Yang: "So, I just have one condition for you, Akira."

Akira: "Whatever it is, I'll fulfill it." He said as he walked towards her with an unwavering expression. However, he'd become surprise when she leaned towards his ear and whispered.

Yang: "You better not make Weiss cry ever again."

Akira: "...E-Eh...?" He was confused but as the blonde pulled away and sat down, with a smile on her face, he blinked in surprise and looked off for a brief moment, feeling his cheeks slightly heat up. "A-Alright."

Yang: "Then welcome to the team." She grinned.

Weiss: "What did you tell him, Yang??"

Yang: "Oh nothing~!"

Akira: "It was nothing really..." He mumbled. The Ex-Heiress just stared at the two and shrugged.

Ozpin: "And that settles that matter." He smiled.

Jaune: "So... what now? I mean, what can we do?"

Ozpin: "Mm, that is a difficult question; one that I believe is best answered tomorrow."

Jaune: "What do you mean?"

Ozpin: "The road ahead is undoubtedly filled with hardships and peril." He said, putting a hand on Yang's shoulder. "However, it's been far too long since you have all been together. Please, take tonight, enjoy the moment." The moment he said that, he handed off the controls back to Oscar, who realized he was still touching Yang and immediately recoiled.

Oscar: "Geh!" Weiss, Yang and Ace all shared a light laugh before there was a sudden...

Nora: "OOOOHHHH." Everyone looked at her. "Raven? Qrow? They're birds! Cracked it!" Ren just sighed as Setsuna facepalmed.

Setsuna: "Dummy..."

Branwen Tribe...

The same guy that Yang and Ace had a run in with was standing outside of the gate, pacing back and forth in annoyance with two more Bandits with guns standing on either side of the gate before a sudden voice called out to him.

Mercury: "Hey, ugly." He immediately pointed his gun towards the two approaching figures, who turned out to be Mercury and Emerald.

Emerald: "Is Raven Branwen and Vergil Sparda home?" Not only hearing the question, but seeing the two just caused him to sigh.

Guy: "Ya know, I've had a real bad week, so I think I'm gonna take it out on you—" Before he could fully finish his sentence however, there was a series of metallic, heavy footsteps getting closer, along with other footsteps.

Behind Mercury and Emerald, a figure towered over them, being at least 7ft tall. Drawing the dark red armor of the Gundam Epyon, Jet Noroi took his steps forwards, the shadow of his Gundam completely covering the male as he looked in complete surprise. Cinder, Arthur Watts and Kuroka all emerged from behind him, the two adults dawning smirks.

Mercury: "Doesn't look like he wants to cooperate, boss."

Cinder: "Then make him." She then looked towards the Epyon. "Jet, if you would please."

Without a word, the Meister of the Epyon began to walk forwards, smacking the Epyon Whip against the ground as it began to glow red, becoming superheated. The three Bandits all backed up against the gate as Jet approached closer and closer before some screams of pain were heard.

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Next Chapter: Alone Together