Lord of Gifts in the Forgotten Realm

by Djoklecjan

Summary:

After his defeat, as the last act of defiance, Sauron strikes a deal with his former Master, and finds himself in the Forsaken World, which is set for a downfall. Will Annatar change Remnant's future for the better? Or Sauron will make it even worse? Or, perhaps, Mairon will change some of his views?

Chapter 1: A choice

A gentle wind blew eastward, sending ashes of the Mountain Doom away from triumphing People of the West. The Dark Clouds, once sign of Sauron's presence, faded away from the lands of Mordor, finally allowing the blue sky and the bright sun to take back their rightful places.

Among these withering clouds, a shapeless spirit, once known by many names: Sauron, Mairon, Annatar, Gorthaur, the self-imposed "Lord of the Earth", was pushed back by the breeze and was forced to watch how his armies scatter, how the mighty forges he built and tall towers he raised, fall like houses of cards. How the empire he crafted for millennia crumble to ash and dust, and how the ungrateful, petty kingdoms of Easterlings and Haradrim he subjugated now tear down his banners from top of their castles and proclaim a new era, without the Lidless Eye ruling them.

He was forced to watch how his carefully prepared and managed order turns into chaos.

But Sauron felt nothing, the scale of defeat overwhelmed him. All he could do now is let himself get carried by the wind, to finally admit...

"No…" He tried to defy this fate, to move against the wind. "I will not cease!"

He felt how easily the breeze push him away. He was a formless shadow, he couldn't stop the inevitable, no matter how hard he struggled. The Fallen maia was like a fish caught in the fisherman's net, doomed to be taken away.

"I don't want to!" He tried to roar against the cruel world, but only a quite whisper could be heard leaving his immaterial lips. "I can't lose! I won't lose! Even if it means allying with the devil, I won't let myself perish!"

And the Devil listened.

All the sudden, he couldn't feel the breeze anymore. Surprised, he opened his "eyes" and turned around to see absolute nothingness. - There was no air, no wind, no light, only the void. Sauron took good look at his smoke hands, which now he could hold in shape.

"Finally. "The Dark Lord heard the cold voice behind his shadow form. The voice, he hoped, he will not hear ever again. "You made it."

Fearing his worst nightmares fulfilled, he turned around to see the large figure, covered by smoke and darkness, bounded by numerous chains made of shining metal. But through the shadows, he could see pair of eyes, glaring like a flame, that withers with heat, and pierces with a deadly cold.

"Melkor…" Sauron trembled, and the First Dark Lord laughed.

"It's been a while since someone called me by my true name, Mairon." Morgoth said, and heavy metal chains attached to his body, moved with him. Sauron watched how handless arm, cuffed to the shining metal, appeared briefly from the shadow surrounding the First Dark Lord. "Welcome to the Void, my "loyal" lieutenant."

Sauron feared that this day will come, that he will stand before either him or Mandos, and face the divine "judgement". And yet, when it finally happened, he felt only anger.

"Don't you dare being my judge." The Dark Lord hissed. "During my reign, I achieved more than you did in entire millennia."

"All your "achievements" are nothing more than a mere fight for a scraps I left." Morgoth stated, amused a little by the sudden argument.

"And yet it was I who cut Valinor from the rest of the creation. Forever."

"Enough." Morgoth's voice echoed across the boundless realm "I didn't spend so much time, effort and power in bringing you here just to argue, nor to deliver your punishment."

"You don't want to torture me?" Sauron asked, not believing his former master in a slightest.

"Oh, I still crave to obliterate you for your betrayal." Morgoth stated, his eyes glowed with unceasing hatred. "But it won't change the outcome of the War to End All Wars. It won't change the Dagor Dagorath. No, I have something special for you, something, which will put your skills to a gret use, and earn... how they call it? Redemption?"

"Which is?"

"Watch. And listen." Morgoth said, and at first, absolute silence fell upon them, but soon, Sauron could hear a whispers of life, of creation, just within his reach, yet so far away.

"For entire millennia of this imprisonment." Morgoth said with absolute spite. "My Brothers and Sisters forced me to listen to the whole existence taking place beyond the void. Creation, which I cannot corrupt nor destroy. To remind me that, for no matter what I shall do, no matter how much I will try, there will always be life, and the great song will forever exist. But they made a mistake." Sauron felt satisfaction in Bauglir's voice. "For the void is like a wall, separating me from the universe, and in each wall you can find a crack, too small for me to pass through, but large enough to listen, observe or exploit." Morgoth looked at his once first lieutenant. "And that's why I brought you here."

"You want me to walk into the unknown for your amusement?"

"Not quite." Melkor smirked. "I want to send you to world, which I observe for a long time. The world demanding… divine attention. The world, which will be a perfect place for my plans."

Sauron thought for a moment, now considering the opportunity Morgoth presented to him. A chance for a new start, a way to finally get away from Valar's attention. For some time at least. But, most importantly, he got a chance to avoid the fate worse than the death itself.

"What I will get from it?" Shadow asked, and Morgoth laughed.

"You still want more? Now that's Sauron I knew." Morgoth said, and his stare yet again started to pierce through the Sauron's shadow. "Although weakened, I am not as powerless as you are now. As long, as you fulfill the tasks I bestow upon you, I will fuel your essence, and you will slowly regain what you have lost."

"Tempting, but for it to work you must remember: We work together as equals, not master and a subject."

"Equals?" Morgoth almost spat venom at the fallen Maia.

"We both are in very pathetic state." Sauron pointed out, feeling the Morgoth's growing ire. "And even in this form, I won't serve you. I will work to further your goal of breaking this prison, but I have control over the situation. And I have my own goals to achieve."

Minutes have passed in absolute silence, both dark lords analyzed options laying before them. Then, Morgoth spoke again.

"As long, as you make progress in breaking my chains, you can do whatever you wish."

Sauron's shadowy lips smiled in triumph.

"I take you already thought about that, no matter where I go, I will always be a shadow?"

"Oh, don't worry about that." Shadows around Morgoth rose like a wildfire, and soon fell upon the Gorthaur. "Your form is already arranged."

Sauron felt like his essence was being sent through seemingly boundless void, towards the dim, gray light at the end, from which he felt life.

"To our next meeting, my 'equal'." Were the last words Sauron heard from the fallen Valar.

---

Suddenly, a pool of black liquid started to shake, causing gathered beowolves to turn their attention towards it. Alpha growled, sensing a danger for its pack emerging from their breeding ground, and his pack also showed teeth. Soon, bubbles of hot air started to emerge from it, and whole black liquid now violently boiled like water. Grimm backed off, not sure what is going on, or how should they react. Soon, large bubble started to form in the middle, like something big was making its way out, only for it to explode, revealing the infernal eye which set the entire pool, and few unfortunate beowolves on fire.

The Lidless Eye stared at the Grimm, further scorching many of them before they run away, making them screech in absolute terror while beasts tried to avoid this fiery death. Only Alpha stayed near the entrance of the cave, it's face half burnt, peeking inside and growling in rage.

The Eye landed at the rocky surface, and new being started to construct itself from the flames, pulling the black liquid from now half-empty pool, covering its essence inside. Then, Color started to change from coal-like black to more… human like.

"Human" with white hair opened his eyes, which were like molten metal, blinked few times, and looked at his body with a amuesment and joy.

"How long I mave missed that form." He said, examining it for any potential defects, and, to his dismay, he found one - a lack of one certain finger. Sighing in disappointment for this obvious mockery, Sauron turned back to look at the pool he emerged from, now a deep crater filled with molten stone and glass.

When his back was turned, Alpha quietly pounced at him, angered over destruction of the breeding ground, but it also felt the newcomers soul - strange and powerful, shining like a miniature Sun. Clearly a threat which must die as fast as possible, while he is unaware of the danger.

But while Alpha was mid-air, Sauron suddenly turned to it, vicious smile welcoming the attacker.

"I see you." He simply said before unleashing an inferno.

---

Sauron walked out from the cave into the large forest and looked at the blue, cloudless sky. He took a deep breath of a fresh air, finally not feeling this subtle, yet omnipotent influence of the Valar. Suprisngly, Morgoth didn't lie - this world was free from their presence. Ripe for a taking. A bright new start.

Sauron started to walk forward, first goal simple yet crucial - to find any form of civilization. He only wondered what kind of creatures beside that animals the great song spawned here. In worst case scenario, he will just work with creatures similar to orcs, but he can manage that.

He always did.

Chapter 2: The Fellowship

With each step, his curiosity only grew.

Besides the Shattered Moon, the land itself seemed to be not corrupted in any way at all, unlike Middle-Earth, where traces of Morgoth's power were still present within its water and soil. Although Sauron found this method impressive, since it made Middle-Earth dependent on Dark Lord well-being and ensured that Valar's can't do anything more than imprison him, in the end, it proved to be Morgoth's undoing, since to achieve such feat, he had to spread his power thin, over the entirety of Arda, which greatly weakened him in the long run, allowing heroes of the Elves and even Humans to directly harm him many times. Clever move, but ultimately, a mistake. And Sauron didn't make the same mistake as his former master, focusing his power instead of spreading it. And thanks to that, he nearly won. Nearly...

With his fists clenched, he walked past the bushes, slightly annoyed that this forest had seemingly no end. He walked for a long time already, and felt like he was walking in circles. What's worse, the forest reminded him too much of the Mirkwood before he settled for a time in Dol Guldur, except this time, evil already crept around him in different form.

Those white-skulled wolves he met in cave kept stalking him ever since he scorched their pack leader, and even tried to pounce at him once, but, with their black fur already painfully burnt, marked by his wrath, the beasts weren't willing to try their luck. From a brief meeting with them he felt that those wolves were not ordinary animals - these monsters for the lack of better term, were driven by near mindless hatred, seemingly aimed not particularly at him, but against humanity as a whole. Even though he was only looking like a human, it was enough for them to attack. In Sauron's mind, those white-skulled wolves were twisted versions of normal animals, made only to hunt and kill without question or hesitation.

"Morgoth would love them." He thought, and he gave the small pack mocking smile, and the wolves showed their sharp teeth in response.

Just when Sauron wondered how he could use them to further his goals, he heard terrified screams of a woman echoeing through the forest, drawing him out of this thoughts. He heard someone screaming above him, and when he looked up, there was a human teenager flying through the air, wiggling his arms and legs.

"For the Fire Imperishable..." Sauron only muttered in confusion as the boy flew away. Black wolfs looked at each other, equally confused.

On the one hand, his hopes of humanity existence were confirmed, but on the other, what a young man is doing in this forest, let alone flying? Without a second thought, he decided to follow the path of human's flight. He highly doubted that any man could survive that, but maybe, just maybe, there was a chance that the boy will live long enough for a questioning.

He traversed through the forest, looking at every tree in a search of a human. It was impressive flight for sure, but thinking how tall those trees were, there was quite a high chance that the blond boy got impaled on a thick branch or crashed against a sturdy bark.

Suddenly, he heard a rumbling behind him, rapidly getting closer and louder, and he quickly reacted by shrouding himself in darkness and hiding under the large oak's shadow, while the stalking pack of wolves finally decided to bail out and run away. And soon enough, the source of rumbling arrived.

Past him run a tall, red-hair teenage girl, wearing brown corset, some sort of eed skirt and armor made of brass, but only partially, since brass only covered her arms and legs. She wore her red hair in waist-length ponytail, and held in her right hand some kind of short spear, while in her left she had a small shield.

Sauron questioned warrior's appearance - Why she is wearing armor on the least important part of the body? Why nothing covers her head? What is a point of wearing impractical armor? So foolish. And, most importantly, ineffective.

Behind her, smashing trees and tearing the ground, run Giant Black Scorpion with White-skull head, just like those wolves from earlier, which instantly caught Sauron's attention.

"Are those beasts related? I will have to look into this." He thought himself just when the Scorpion launched its stinger forward, human dodged it and stinger instead tore down the oak under which Sauron was hiding, revealing him for a moment before he could engulf himself back in shadows. Luckily for him, girl was too focused on running for her life to notice pair of burning eyes in the shadows, while Scorpion was too focused on it's target to sense Sauron's presence. When they were far enough, Sauron left his broken hideout and looked after them.

He needed answers, and he had a feeling that following this girl will give him what he needs to know.

Soon, black Direwolf with lava-like eyes ran after them, carefully maintaining a safe distance.

A path of destruction soon led him to some kind of small glade. He hide behind the large tree and peeked into it.

In the Glade there were ruins of some ancient temple, and there stood pedestals, most empty, but on some still stood large chess pieces, both black and white. And inside the said temple were four humans: One wearing mix of black and white, with black ribbon on top of her head. Beside her, stood tall girl with long, blond hair, wearing, yet again, revealing outfit in hostile territory, not even partially armored.

He was not even disappointed anymore.

Near them stood another pair of humans, one woman with short, orange hair, wearing collared black sleeveless vest, under it some sort of white shirt, short pink skirt and pair of pink fingerless gloves, smiling playfully towards another human, a man with black hair, wearing dark green, long-sleeved tailcoat, and light-tan trousers.

"These are... Human children. In the middle of the forest. Wearing no protection whatsoever. In a hostile territory? Are they having a Death wish?"

He noticed the girl from earlier running towards the group, scorpion still chasing closely behind.

"Did she just run all the way here with a Death Stalker?" Sauron heard one of the humans speaking, and turned his attention to the pair standing in the temple.

"A Death Stalker?" Sauron noted the name human gave this beast. "Fitting."

But when the blonde girl suddenly burst into flames, Sauron's eyes widened in shock.

"Those humans possess magic!?"

"I can't take this anymore!" She yelled, her eyes blazing red. "Can we just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again?!"

Whole group stared for two seconds at her, even this "Death Stalker" stopped his chase and looked at her in confusion, much to Sauron's amusement.

"It seems this one possess the gift of speech."

"Yang?" Sauron heard the whisper from the short, black-haired girl wearing matching black, long-sleeved blouse, black short skirt with red lining and red cape. Before Sauron could delve on that matter, he followed girl's finger like the rest of the group and looked at the clear sky.

There, he saw a large, enormous even, Black Raven with claws large enough to cleave human in half. And, between the claws...

"How could you leave me!?" Girl in white dress yelled down to the group.

"I said "jump"!" Girl in black yelled back.

"She's going to fall." girl wearing black and white stated.

"She'll be fine." Girl with red cloak reassured them.

"She's falling." Human in green commented.

Sauron followed the fall of the white-haired girl with great interest, wondering what magic they will use to save the girl. Or will she crash into the earth and die?

Turned out, neither happened, as the blond boy from earlier jumped into the air and caught her. Impressive, he first survived his "flight", and then somehow saved the girl and stopped her fall...

"Just... dropping in?" Sauron heard and shortly after, both fell to the ground with loud thud.

...Or not as impressive.

"My hero." Sauron clearly heard a mocking tone, not showing the boy any sign of gratitude. Acts of heroism are not welcomed in this world? Or maybe they have a history together? He sadly lacked necessary informations to assume anything.

"My back…" Human said in response, and Sauron wondered how both of them could survive that. He blinked, and this time looked at them with more careful look. And his suspicions were proven correct: Humans have some sort of glowing shield around their bodies, each with unique color. And this "barrier" on both girl in white and the boy flickered, probably as the result of the fall.

If this barrier protects them from harm, then they are excused for not wearing any armor. Now, how sturdy this "barrier" is? How much time and effort it takes to break it? Is this a permanent protection, or can it be turned off?

"It's fascinating. And frightening. Humans should not posses such power."

Scorpion smacked the red-hair with its claw, sending her flying towards the group in the temple, and she crashlanded right under their feet.

"Great, gang's is all here, now we can die together!" Human called Yang said, sarcastic even in a face of certain doom.

"Not If I can help it!" Girl in black charged at the Scorpion with immeasurable speed, screaming some sort of battle cry Sauron couldn't understand, and before anyone could react, she struck creatures head with her scythe. Sauron watched how the scythe bounced from the thick bone, dealing no damage at all. Then, now more annoyed than angry, giant scorpion knocked the assailant back.

"Bad move." Sauron remarked as he watched the young girl land on the grass few meters away from the Deathstalker, noticing that despite the power of the strike, her barrier remained intact.

"D-Do-Don't worry! Totally fine!" She said while slowly getting back up, quickly turned to the approaching monster, shot it in the skull and started to run back to the group, scorpion chasing after her, while Sauron watched with great interest.

What fascinated Him the most was her weapon - it seemed that the Red Scythe fired some sort of explosive bolts while retaining melee capabilities. Not to mention it packed itself into more portable box. Those humans are certainly far more advanced than Numenorians.

Although, less intelligent.

"Ruby!" Yang run towards the girl, the rest of the group quickly following behind. As both girls run towards each another, Black Bird started to chase after the younger one, and soon it sent wave of sharp feathers at her, missing her body, but pinning the red cape.

Two things worth to note - this flying monster can shoot its feathers, which is a remarkable hunting technique, and that the too long cape might be your downfall in this world. Although he loved seeing humans being punished for their hubris, he wished that the girl called "Ruby" somehow survive this. – Her Ea seems strong, burning with potential, it would be a waste losing her now.

"Ruby, Get out of there!" Yang run towards her, rest of the group falling behind.

"I'm trying!" Ruby replied while trying to free herself, but it was no use. She turned to face a her death in form of the Giant Arachnid, which rose it's stinger high.

"Ruby!" Yang reached to her in vain as the scorpion rose its tail. Sauron's eyes shined in anticipation, as the human closed her own, preparing for the killing blow…

---

...With closed eyes, Ruby awaited the stinger, trying to prepare for the attack that will shatter her aura, and in the worst case, split her in two.

But luckily for her, it never came.

"You are so childish." Ruby opened her eyes only to see Weiss standing before her, Death Stalker's tail and head frozen in the ice wall.

"Weiss?" Ruby opened one eye first, first looking at her savior, then at the golden stinger mere inches from her head.

"And dim-witted, and hyperactive, and don't even get me started on your fighting style." Weiss continued her rant, simultaneously removing her weapon from the ice. "And I suppose I can be a bit... difficult... but if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this together. So if you quit trying to show off, I'll be... nicer."

"I... - Ruby wanted to answer, but she felt something. This weird feeling when someone is watching you. She tilted her head to the left, and saw glimpse of a large wolf with burning eyes staring directly at her. Her Silver Eyes sparked for a moment, but when she blinked, It was gone. "Huh?"

Before Weiss could say anything or Ruby could voice her concern, Yang finally caught up to them.

"You all right sis? It didn't hurt you, did it?" Yang quickly checked for any wounds, much to Ruby's embarrassment.

"I'm fine!" she quickly answered. "It didn't even touch me, thanks to Weiss."

Yang quickly turned to the girl in white, and atmosphere became more tense in a second.

"Thanks."

"You are welcome."

"Friendship." Girl with orange hair whispered to her friend, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

"NO!" Yang and Weiss said at the same.

"Yes!" Ruby joined, and was taken aback by the different response from the other two.

"Is it seriously a good moment to talk about it?" Blake pointed out, and large crack in the ice wall supported her words.

"That's right, enough chitty-chat, let's go away before it breaks away." Yang said pointed her finger at the frozen Deathstalker, the ice already starting to crack under pressure.

"And what about that thing?" Jaune pointed at the flying Grimm. "We can't just ignore it."

"Look, there's no sense in dilly-dallying. Our objective is right in front of us." Weiss said, looking at the ruins of the temple and the rest of the group also turned to the relics.

"She is right, We just need to grab the relics and made to the cliff." Ruby stated, and nodded to Weiss. "We might be able to outrun them."

"Run and live? That's the idea I can get behind." Jaune said and the whole group run back to the temple, but Ruby suddenly stopped, looked again at the place where she saw the Wolf, but animal was not there anymore. Without giving it more thought, she shrug her arms and run to the temple.

Sauron peeked out of his cover, even deeper in his thoughts. From what he heard, someone sent those children to obtain some sort of "relics", which in reality were just painted chess pieces. When he added two to two, he realized that this must be some sort of initiation, maybe a trial for them to become soldiers of some kind. A warrior caste perhaps? With their powers, no wonder why someone wants to turn them into the weapons of war.

And the one doing this is probably near, watching them. And, what Sauron could deduce already, he or she has more people like this kids at their disposal. Maybe even a legion of gifted humans.

Mere thought of hundreds of sorcerers prepared for battle made him sick.

Clearly a threat he will need to deal with.

He watched as each picked a chess piece, some took exact copy of the same figure - white rook, white knight and so on. While they chose the pieces, Sauron's gaze followed behind the tiny brunette, one called "Ruby".

He was more than sure that when she briefly looked at him, her eyes responded to his glare, like they were about to emit their own light. She was clearly a threat too, since those eyes may prove dangerous, but he still don't know what they exactly were. Maybe he can use them? So many possibilities.

As the group run off with their objectives, he waited with chasing after them, allowing the scorpion to first break free from the ice wall and start its pursue. He would love to not put himself between the giant angry monster and bunch of kids for no reason. And when the Death Stalker continued his chase with renewed vigor, crashing the trees along the way, black wolf started to run behind it. But all the sudden, Sauron stopped and darted his gaze to the side, looking at the nearby tree for some time, tilting his head sideways out of curiosity. He stood like that for a moment, until he started to run again, and left the temple behind.

---

"They run into the Nevermore AND the Deathstalker." Glynda Goodwitch noted, looking at her scroll.

"You know we can't do anything about it." Headmaster Ozpin replied, seemingly unconcerned, staring at the vast Emerald Forest and holding his mug full of coffee.

"They are facing two elder Grimm." Glynda responded, her scroll first displaying a large Nevermore, and then the Deathstalker. "This is unusual situation, maybe we should intervene this time."

"That would cause more problems for them in the future." Ozpin took a sip from his mug. "Everyone would look down on them."

"But..."

"I understand your worry, but all of them are promising candidates to become a Huntsmen. I am sure they will be fine."

"Of course." Glynda begrudgingly replied, watching on her scroll how Jaune Arc tripped on the root, only for Nikos to catch him before he fell. "All of them are…"

She swiped the scroll to look at different camera, watched how the Deathstalker released itself from the ice and started to run after the group. She only hoped they made enough distance from it, so they can somehow deal first with the Nevermore, then with the Deathstalker, not believing they can defeat both monsters simultaneously. Just when she wanted to swap the camera back to the group, a large black wolf appeared on the screen, chasing after the Grimm.

It was as large as an Alpha Beowolf, but unlike alpha, beast was covered entirely in the black fur, no white bone anywhere, and, more importantly, it was alone. She wasn't as specialized in Grimm subtypes as Port, but she knew enough that beowolves always run in packs. It's to big to be a mere wolf but it's clearly not any grimm she have ever encountered.

Then, to her surprise, the Direwolf stopped, and looked directly at the camera.

Glynda's green eyes looked directly into the red, lava-like eyes of the beast, feeling that it somehow, somewhat knew she is staring at it. It tilted it's head sideways, never breaking the eye-contact with the camera, and she felt that the beast is curious? Amused? Suspicious? She didn't know why, but air around her become colder, darker…

"How in the world…" She muttered before the Wolf started to run again. She took a deep breath, realizing that she held it the entire time.

"Is something wrong?" Ozpin asked with concern when he finally noticed her pale face, but Glynda didn't answer, only gave him a terrified look.

---

Way of destruction the scorpion made gave him a clear path through this accursed forest, and from the sounds of battle ahead he assumed that he is near his destination. After he finally reached the end of the treelane, his objective – the cliffs – were finally in sight. They said that someone will wait for them there, so he just needs to get up there before the children, and follow their transport.

This should not be a challenge.

He looked at the circling Black Bird, which started another strafing run at the group, only for some sort of lightning to hit its head, forcing it to abort it's attack. Sauron quickly traced the source of lightnings – the orange hair from earlier, using strange weapon to fire more strang projectiles at the flying monster. Just when the Deathstalker was about to impale her, girl in black and boy in green slashed their weapons against its shell, distracting it for a moment, long enough for the woman, who now Sauron knew as "Weiss", to land beside the ginger, and using yet another form of magic, jumped away from danger.

He didn't knew lot about them, but he already liked their abilities – they had some power he didn't understood. Yet. What are those weapons firing exactly? Some sort of explosive? Maybe unknown material? From where they got their magic?

He will certainly study that, after he leave this forest.

"Go, Go!" The red head turned her weapon, fired few shots at the incoming monster, but nothing could pierce its thick white carapace. Enraged scorpion tried to swipe the fleeing humans with it's claws, missed entirely, and the whole group run as fast as they could to the stone bridge, on which Death Stalker was way too heavy to stand. And while they were getting away from the Scorpion, maybe for a moment, they thought they are safe.

Why all this happened, Sauron was making his way to the bridge, jumping from cover to cover, remaining undetected, using the blasts from the human's weaponry and the roars of the monsters to hide his movement. He stalked around the stone walls, trying to get to the bridge unnoticed while humans fought both beasts, peeking sometimes to see where is everyone.

Then, just when the humans finally managed to outrun the Deathstalker, the giant raven rammed into the bridge, shattering it into pieces and separating humans into two uneven groups.

"Damn useless thing!" He cursed, staring at the Nevermore with rage. "I wanted to use this bridge too!"

Sauron didn't know that at the time, but creatures of the Grimm are naturally drawn to humanities darkest emotions – anger, hatred, sadness, grief. They react just like the sharks to the blood in the water, and just like more blood sends sharks into even greater frenzy, more anger sends Grimms into rampage. But emotions showcased by maia's are far more than any mortal could possibly feel, which means his anger is way greater – if human rage is like campfire, the maia's one is like an entire forest in flames. And both beasts instantly felt that.

To Sauron's surprise, giant raven twitched, its eyes widened in fury, and left even more terrifying shriek, powerful enough to shake the entire structure, then circled back at the humans, bloodlust taking away whatever remained from its reasoning, leaving only desire to not merely kill, but tear their bodies to shreds, massacre them, utterly destroy everything...

Scorpion wasn't any better – first wary to get on the stone bridge, not wanting to fell into the abyss, now under duress of the sudden outburst of anger, it started to make its way to the group remaining on this side of the ruined structure, hissing and attacking with its tail and claws.

He wasn't sure why those beasts suddenly became more bloodthirsty, but thanks to that, he got a perfect distraction, for humans attention is now entirely focused on two mad monsters, while he will traverse the canyon. He thought how to get to the cliffs without a bridge, and after considering his options, he chose the most simple one. Luckily for him, Morgoth returned that form too. To some degree.

Large bat fell deep into the canyon, wanting to disappear in the clouds, reach the other side of the cliff, climb it unnoticed and wait on top when the humans are finally done for.

"We gotta get over there! They need help!" Jaune pointed with his sword at the three remaining people fighting against enraged Deathstalker.

"Let's do this!" His newfound companion prepared her weapon, but the blond boy took a look into the abyss with uncertain face.

"Yeah well... I can't make that jump." He stated, and realized too late that the girl beside him started to smile diabolically. Before he could utter a word, she pushed him back, and turned her weapon into a hammer.

"Oh, wait!" He wanted to stop her, but before he could do anything more than raise a hand, she jumped from the bridge, smashed it with her hammer and, fired him like a catapult, right above the bottomless pit.

"No, No, NO!" He yelled as he flew, while the girl fired a grenade from her hammer, and soon she flew right behind him with a gleeful smile.

Deathstalker tried to snap one of the humans in half, but the fired shot drew the beast's attention, and it rose its head to check what is going on, just in time to receive a powerful blow from the hammer, which cracked its skull upon the impact. In a great pain, monster struck a new attacker with its tail, but the girl fired another round form her hammer, directly into the Grimm's exposed hide, sending her far away from deadly stinger, but also she accidently knocked away the girl in black from the bridge.

Enraged, bloodlusted and now in even greater pain, Scorpion started to violently smash the bridge with its claws, trying to tear the entire structure down.

Meanwhile, the Blake opened her eyes, and saw the Nevermore performing another strafing run, this time trying to catch Ruby with its talons, but the girl disappeared in cloud of rose petals, and after the creature missed, it tried to fly lower, into the clouds, to avoid the incoming fire. from Yang and Weiss.

She threw her weapon on a long ribbon, it stuck right into the stone, used it to swing herself right at the passing Grimm, and before the beast could react, she slashed it's beak and head with her weapons.

Bird screeched and started to climb into the air to shake her off, but the girl in black landed on bird's back and started to mercilessly slash it, but after few strikes she noticed that her weapons had little to no effect.

She jumped from the beast and landed right beside Yang, while the Giant Raven flew higher and higher.

"It's tougher than it looks." She commented, and reloaded her pistol.

"Then let's hit it with everything we got!" Yang replied while relaoding her gauntlets, Ruby aimed her Scythe and air around Weiss started to shine with multiple colors as she swinged with her rapier.

Nevermore briefly disappeared in the clouds above, and from there, pair of red, bloodthirsty eyes looked at the ruins.

Did they hurt it much? No. Did they cause it pain? A lot. And monster wanted nothing more than to tear them to shreds.

With another shriek, it folded its wings and started to fall right at the structure, rapidly gaining speed like a falling bomb, and from the ruined temple four girls fired a barrage of projectiles, but nothing seemingly pierce through the creature's feathers.

When the bird was fifty meters from the structure a perfectly aimed explosive shot landed right under its right wing, spreading it a little, just enough to send the giant raven into uncontrollable spin.

Elder Grimm ultimately hit the structure, but not the place when it initially wanted to, crashing just below the four girls instead. As it fell with debris, they jumped from one falling stone to another, either gracefully and jumping from rock to rock like Weiss and Blake, brute-forcing her way up like Yang or using combination of speed and firing her gun from time to time like Ruby.

Sauron flew under the structure, between the stone columns of buildings which once upon a time probably served as human quarters. As he flew forward, he heard the commotion above him, looked there, just in time to see falling debris.

He started to maneuver, desperatly avoiding falling rocks. Right, left, up down, and then one mad dash to avoid the falling giant bird.

When he finally got away from the danger, he stuck himself to the wall and took few deep breaths.

"That was inconvenient." he muttered, then heard the beast shrieking and flying back into fray. He followed the bloodthirsty monster with his gaze, greatly displeased – They are just children. They might have magic and strange weapons, but they are still young, this should be easy for this Black Raven to kill them.

Either this bird is a walking embarrassment of its kind, or those children are powerful. And slowly Sauron started to lean towards the latter.

He sticked to the wall, again enshrouded himself in shadow, and started to climb the rocky surface with the incredible speed.

---

"None of this is working." said Weiss, watching with irritation how the Nevermore is again circling around them, trying to align for another attack run on Yang, who fired at it with her gauntlets.

Ruby fired few shots at the monster, but then gave it a more distinctive look. Her uncle said numerous times how to face Grimms – If they have bone armor, she won't be able to pierce it with her scythe, and she needs to crack it at range. But if they lack it, her Scythe should have no problem with slicing its skin. Or feathers in that matter.

If only she could pin the Nevermore in place just for a moment…

She watched how Blake whipped from one stone pillar to another with her weapon, then at Yang who stood on another pillar and continued her relentless barrage at the Nevermore, keeping it distracted. Ruby then turned to the cliff and this gave her an idea.

"I have a plan! Cover me!" She said to Weiss and then run to Blake.

In the different part of the ruins Deathstalker continued to smash against the stony structure, slowly destroying what was left of it, and Jaune quickly noticed how the remains of the bridge starts to violently shake with each hit. Knowing that if they stay on it any longer, they will soon fall to their death.

"We gotta move!" He took an initiative, pointed his blade at the Death stalker and rushed at it, the rest quickly following suit. The immediately responded with its claws, first attack was deflected by Pyrrha, and the second strike was thwarted by Jaune, who blocked it with his shield. Both then dodged the incoming stinger, but before Scorpion could retract it, Ren got on it, and discharged both of his twin pistols directly at the base of it, throwing the monster into a violent tantrum.

It started to swing its tail in the attempt to shake him away, while also covered its head from the incoming grenades.

Seeing the small gap in the Deatstalker defense, Pyrrha threw her javelin directly into one of the monsters eyes, making it screech in enormous pain, but with the last swing of it's tail, the Deathstalker was able to shake off the human, throwing him right at the wall.

"Ren!" Girl with the hammer yelled with worry after seeing her friend collapse on the ground, then attacked the Deathstalker with renewed vigor, relentlessly firing grenade after grenade at the Deathstalker's fractured carapace, shattering it further.

The beast rose one of it's claws to protect it's skull, while the other claw tried to grab and pull out the javelin from its eye, giving both Jaune and Pyrrha time to think. After a second he noticed how the stinger is now limply hanging from its tail, and wasted no time.

"Pyrrha!"

"Done." Pyrrha hurled her shield at the stinger, sliced it off and making it fall directly at the Deathstalker head, and the stinger stuck deep in its skull, sending it into frenzy, but it was not enough to kill it.

"Nora, nail it!" Jaune said after Pyrrha caught back her shield.

"Heads up!" Pyrrha made a platform for Nora with her shield, then Nora fired her weapon to send herself even higher. When she reached top of her flight, she started to fall at the Deathstalker, firing her weapon few more times to gain even more momentum. With joyful smile she slammed into the stinger with force strong enough to completely shatter the monsters bones, head, entire body and bridge under it, sending Pyrrha and Jaune flying above the monster. Mid-air Pyrrha managed to catch her javelin after the Deathstalker's corpse started to turn to black ash.

She landed on her two feet, Nora on her bottom and Jaune on his back. Seconds after their landing, Nora started to giggle like an overexcited child.

"I want one more time! One more!" She exclaimed with a gleeful smile.

"That's… enough for today Nora." Ren stumbled to the group, still feeling dizzy after slamming into the wall. "Maybe… Another time." He collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted.

"Ren! Don't die on me!" Nora run to check on him, and maybe shake him a little bit, while Jaune kept laying on his back, adrenaline now pouring away.

He is, somehow, still alive. He faced two giant Grimm in one day and survived. In comparison to that, school seemed like a piece of cake.

Suddenly, he noticed a hand reaching for him.

"Are you okay?" Pyrrha asked, and after a moment of hesitation, he took it so she could help him rise back on his feet.

"Yeah, few bruises few and there but nothing to worry about." He replied while shaking of some dirt from his trousers.

"I guess we make a good team." She said with a smile while Jaune looked at Nora and Ren.

"Enough sleeping prince, get up!" Nora tried to pull him up, but Ren remained on the ground.

"Just one minute." He replied, and Nora groaned with annoyance.

"Too long!" She started to poke him under his shoulder, and Ren left few annoyed grunts, while Pyrrha left a chuckle and Jaune smiled.

"Yeah, I guess so." Jaune said after moment, and then, an angry shriek draw their attention back at the flying Nevermore.

The beast flew around the second group under constant fire from Yang, its focus entirely on that pesky human. After one lucky shot exploded on its head, it finally snapped and flew directly at the annoying Blonde girl, its beak wide open to swallow her whole.

And she actually jumped into the open maw.

Suddenly the bird found itself unable to close its beak, the woman forcing it to keep it wide open as she started to fire directly into ithe beast's innards. Explosive shots tore the beast from the inside, and after the beast realized what is happening, it tried to either close the beak or throw away the unawanted meal.

"I! Hope! You! Are! Hungry!" Yang taunted as she continued to fire into the beast's maw, then looked back, quickly measured the distance between the Nevermore and the cliffs, fired few more shots into the gaping maw and then jumped from it, landing safely on the bridge while the dazed Nevermore couldn't control it's flight anymore, remaining on the collision course with the cliff.

Meanwhile Sauron climbed up the cliff, his excitement grew with each meter passed, for after this cliff, he will reach the civilization, and there, he will…

Suddenly, he felt the incoming danger and turned around to find the source of it, just in time to see the quickly incoming monster.

"You got to be…" He said before the Nevermore smashed into the wall, crushing him with its body. Then, it fell on the ruined structure underneath, and shortly after, large black bat fell right behind it.

"You pathetic…" Sauron looked at the monster with hatred, but falling stones silenced his curses and covered him in thick layer of stone.

Nevermore rose back on its two legs, screeched from both anger and the grievous pain. It tried to fly into the air again, but all the sudden, it's tail was frozen in place by Weiss, who then backflipped and swiftly run back to the group. While the Nevermore tried to free itself, trashing it's body around, Yang and Blake finished a makeshift sling, and Ruby quickly jumped on the center of it, bending the flexible material right into Weiss's Black Glyph.

"Of course you would come up with this idea." Weiss remarked.

"Think you can make a shot?" Ruby asked in turn, fully focused.

"Can I!" She smirked in response.

After a hearing that, shadow of doubt appeared in Ruby's mind.

"Can't?"

"Of course I can!" Weiss answered, annoyed that this kid didn't get an obvious irony.

Sauron rose from the pile of rubble, his bat body now set on fire.

"First, I will burn you to ash." He proclaimed. "Then... " He stopped after seeing four girls preparing some kind of attack against the pinned monster.

"Wait..." He muttered, not believing his eyes for the first time in eons. Are they truly going for the killing blow? Their attacks proved ineffective before, what makes them think this will…

The Black glyph holding Ruby in place turned red, and shot the Scythe-wielder with the earth-shattering force, directly at the trapped beast. Sauron watched in silent amusement as she slammed into the monster, pinned it to the wall, her scythe placed on creatures neck. Then, path of white glyphs appeared, probably thanks to "Weiss", and, yet again, girl surprised him even more when she pulled the Raven higher and higher, screaming on top of her lungs and firing her weapon to give herself more speed. And when she reached the top…

She severed the creatures head.

Sauron blinked few times, still processing what he just saw. They won. He looked at the three girls still in ruins, all cheering at this victory.

They won. Despite all odds.

He focused himself and looked for the rest of the humans and yes, they won too.

They fought two large abominations, and won.

It was surreal. It was like an band of goblins killed and old and wise eagle. Without loses.

And they are still children.

He looked up the cliff, and noticed "Ruby", standing on top in a slightly heroic pose, waving to people down in the ruins.

If now they are able to perform such feats, what they will become in the future? Mighty warriors? Leaders? Rulers?

Heroes?

Sauron chuckled. Now, it was more clear than ever.

He already found this world's fellowship.

---

"…And you actually made that jump!" Nora said after helping Jaune climb up.

"I could have died! You should have warn me before you did that!" Jaune retorted.

"And where is fun in that?" Nora replied with a cheeky smile.

"Forgive Nora, she is always like this." Ren said to him, and Nora, after letting go of Jaune's hand, leaned to Pyrrha's ear.

"And he LOVES it." She said to her, and while Pyrrha blushed, Ren just left a sigh.

"You are unbelievable and you know it." He simply said, and Nora brightened even more.

"You didn't deny!" She said with a grin.

"It was so AWESOME!" Ruby shouted, still reliving defeat of the Nevermore "We were like 'oh no!' We need to run!' but then we were like 'whoosh!' and I was like..."Aaa! and with proud smile, Yang rubbed her sister's hair.

"We know Rubes, we were there!"

"It was... thrilling." Blake admitted.

"All thanks to my leadership." Weiss announced, and Yang rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, you lead us well after vomit-boy had to save your butt." Weiss's face turned red in an instant.

"How dare..."

"Ekhem."

All eyes turned to Professor Goodwitch, who looked at them with a mixture of relief and respect.

"I'm glad you all survived the initiation." She said calmly voice when she approached them. "And taking unusual circumstances into the account, the extraordinary time it took you to get the relics is acceptable."

"We are the last?" Ren asked in disbelief.

"But certainly the best!" Nora cheered him up, while Professor fixed her glasses and pointed at the Bullhead.

"There is a ceremony awaiting you in the Academy, so get to the ship. You may get some rest once we get there.

"Professor Goodwitch, about the team formation..." Weiss run to Professor, who looked at the Schnee with indifferent look. "Could It be possible that I and Pyrrha will be in the same team?"

"That's for the Headmaster to decide." She pointed at the open transport. "Patience, Miss Schnee."

"Don't worry Weiss, we will make a great team!" Ruby said with a cheerful smile, but Weiss rose her nose, turned away from her partner and walked towards the airship. Before Ruby could ask what's wrong, Yang wrapped her around her shoulder.

"Don't worry about the Ice Queen, we just need to break some ice first." She said, patted her sister's shoulder, then walked past her sister and towards the airship, Blake walked slightly behind, and when she past Ruby, looked at her and gave her a nod.

"Umm, guys?" Jaune asked Ren and Nora. "If you want, there are still free places in my team. Maybe you would like too..."

"I think..." Ren thought about out loud, only for Nora to decide in an instant.

"Of course!" Nora hugged Jaune tightly, and he yelped when he felt all of his bones are being crushed. "We gonna have so much fun together!"

"Nora please, don't crush another spine." Ren left a heavy sigh of defeat while Juane desperately struggled for air.

"Maybe just a little..."

"Nora No!" Ren said when Jaune's face turned purple, and she finally released him. Before Blond Boy fell half-conscious, Pyrrha took a hold of him and helped him get to the airship, where he sat on the nearest seat and finally passed out, and couldn't notice that Pyrrha sat right beside him. Weiss tried to sit next Pyrrha, but Nora was way faster and took seat for both her and Ren. Weiss clenched her fists, then looked back at Yang, who patted the seat on her right, while Blake sat on her left.

"Your "throne", Ice Queen." She teased with a wide grin.

"Don't call me that." Weiss said, yet sat on it with a defeated expression.

Ruby stood alone at the edge of the cliff, her red cape floated thanks to the wind, sun illuminated her face, and despite aching muscles, she never felt more alive. Although the black clouds slightly spoiled the image, nothing could ruin this moment for her.

For today, first part of her Dream was fulfilled. Now, to the next one.

But, to her dismay, her eyes sparked once again as she watched the clouds, forcing her to rapidly blink.

"Ruby!" Yang called from the airship, snapping her back from this trance.

"Coming!" She run to the airship, and after she got there ramp closed behind her, the airship lifted itself into the air and flew back, towards the Academy. As the ship became smaller and smaller dot on the horizon, dark cloud opened its Eye and followed it from afar.

This humans are so fascinating, they somehow invented flying without wings, portable weaponry, use strange, unknown source of magic...

What else do you have in this world stored for me Melkor? Sauron wondered out loud, flying through the air like an omen of the storm.

He would never admit it, but he was relieved. Sure, those humans may prove troublesome bunch, perhaps even unpredictable from time to time. However, he has all the time in the world to bring them to his side, manipulate them to do his bidding, or simply crush them if necessary. But one thing was certain - he should not underestimate them. He will take each and every single member of this "Fellowship" seriously.

After all, You can't fool maia with the same trick twice.

Chapter 3: The Lord of Gifts

The Lord of Gifts

It was early morning in the city of Vale, and although it was still slightly dark outside, Capital was slowly coming back to life, as people got up from their beds, ate early breakfast and went to their jobs, schools and other activities. Vale was like a giant, awakening from its long slumber.

Only when streets were flooded with humans, the One Who Observes in the Shadow emerged from the back alley.

After the entire night of preparations, he walked out from his hiding spot in his fair form, but, instead of wearing white robes like he used to in the Middle Earth, he wore a suit which those mortals would call "old-fashioned, yet classic". Since the city was already full with all kinds of questionable design choices, nobody should care about someone like him. Even his white hair shouldn't surprise people that much, since it probably isn't that unique in this world.

The only thing differing him from a common citizen were his eyes, at first glance golden, but those finding themselves staring directly into them could later swear that they are more like molten magma from the depth of the earth, behind which lies diabolical intellect and a cunning mind. And now, these watchful eyes were scanning the awoken metropolis.

As Sauron walked down the busy street of the capital city, surrounded by the smells and sounds he never experienced in the Middle-earth, like the roars of the iron machines driving on the road or the flying ships passing above. He walked past various shops, whose owners basically sold magic in form of powder or crystals for coins and some green paper.

Yet, despite their advancements, he felt disgusted by all of the inefficiency around him – metal carriages wasted way too much energy, streets were uneven and too narrow to navigate, which in turn caused a traffic jam after traffic jam, slowing or even downright stopping the swift flow of supplies.

But selling magic for coins? That's helpful.

"The raising threat of the criminal underworld with infamous Roman Torchwick, as well as the terrorist organizations such as the White Fang, became the greatest challenges our Kingdom face since the end of the Great War." Sauron listened to the woman talking from some kind of palantir - a wall made of metal boxes behind the large window, her image playing on every glass screen – and watched the displays of the man called "Roman Torchwick", as well as the banner of this so called "White Fang". "The Council reassures that they have everything under control and keeps the suspicious elements in check, but some critics have expressed their concerns over inadequate police force." He resumed his walk, shaking his head in disappointment.

As always, Human ruling class is inept to lead. – Faces of these wretches are well known, yet they are still alive and commit atrocities. I can basically feel the rotting foundation of this "kingdom". And nobody is doing anything meaningful to stop it's decay.

He has so much to reorganize.

On the side note, humans around him were different, in fact, some weren't even human in the first place, possessing animal features - ears, tails, scales, every variety of the animal were noticeable, but, to his relief, there were no Elves.

Despite all the contempt he felt towards this city, deep down, his curiosity and fascination blossomed. Although it had its apparent flaws, "Vale" is way more fascinating than Numenor, - Numenorians remained stagnant, never changing in any major way, while here, humans push forward, bend nature to their will, and introduce new technologies which most in the Middle-Earth would consider a sorcery.

But first things first, to be able to take control of all of this, he needs to establish himself, and to make his presence permanent, he needs more knowledge. And in every city, there is a place in which you can gain much needed information.

He walked towards the giant building with roof made of glass, from which countless humans walked in with money, and out with items or clothes. A marketplace, where people both sell and buy not only little things, but also information. He paused before the glass door without a handle, only for them to open right before him, like they were welcoming him to get into the structure, the invitation he accepted.

Inside, Sauron's every sense was, once again, assaulted by the myriad of sounds and scents.

Everywhere he looked, there were giant, bright palantirs, showing images of various things, like extravagant clothes, "soda" (which he assumed was just another kind of tea), so called "kitchen robots", and while a woman voice briefly explained everything about those items, a loud yet catchy music was played from some unseeen musicians.

Under those large palantirs humans were entering shops stationed side by side, each looking for something they wanted or desired.

As Sauron walked, he admired how clever creators of these palantirs were: By bombarding humans with endless sound and picture, they put small seed of interest into their minds, influencing them to do, in this case to buy, something they never wanted to obtain in the first place. In Middle Earth, lack of such technology prevented him from utilizing this tactic on a mass scale, resulting in him using ineffective messengers and preachers. But now? So much opportunities presented themselves right before him.

He chuckled to himself while walking around, seemingly looking at everything in the stores, but in reality he listened carefully to what people were saying between each other, deeming most conversations useless, while listening to those he found more important.

"They said in the news that nobody died during this year's initiation!" One woman said to her friend.

"They were just lucky this time." Her friend replied, and Sauron clearly heard a glimpse of bitterness in her voice. "It's still disgusting, sending those kids there..."

"You know it's necessary, we need good Huntsmen to keep us all safe." And second female left a heavy sigh.

"I guess..."

"So those warriors are called "Huntsmen" Sauron thought, leaving the pair after they changed the topic. "Worth to remember."

So this society is willing to sacrifice their young to preserve their kingdom. But what is this threat that made them do such a choice? Those white-skulled monsters maybe? So many questions he must get an answer for.

"I swear to the Brother Gods, if I see you two here ever again, I will call the police!" Restaurant owner with bear ears and tall posture, violently kicked out two humans outside of his resturant. Both men raised on their feet and turned to the angry half-human.

"Go back to the forest you animal trash! Like the rest of your kind!" One of them showed the owner his middle finger while the other simply spat under the Faunus shoes. When the bear-human didn't even flinch, both left with disgust on their faces. When they were finally far enough, owner sighed and walked back into his restaurant, while Sauron, who observed the whole encounter, at first wanted to walk away, only to stop after seeing something useful inside the said restaurant - A Palantir displaying something else than expensive clothes called "news".

Perfect.

He walked into the establishment, and took a sit near the active Palantir.

" ... Repeated attacks of the Faunus terrorists against small enterprises cause more distress among the population, and the threat only grows with each passing day." Said the same woman he saw on the street palantirs.

"They ruined my life!" Human in Palantir cried to those holding it "Why!? I didn't do anything! I was never against the Faunus!"

"No wonder why they act like this." Sauron heard behind and turned to lookat the bear-human, who stared at him with his tired eyes. "Being treated like unwanted trash doesn't help with easing the tensions."

"Humans mistreat you because you are different? How... typical." Sauron said his thoughts out loud.

"Sadly. Some people and companies more than others." Faunus rose his notebook and grabbed the pen. "What for you, friend? You should check out the menu."

Sauron looked at the sheet of paper on the table, picked it up and read it just to fool the owner for little longer, while his full focus was on something else entirely.

"Authorities are already on the case ma'am." Probably commander of the guard spoke in the Palantir, standing near the scene of the crime. "We will find those responsible for the attacks against people of Vale, and bring them to justice."

"Just like you brought justice to Junior huh?" Faunus commented with disdain, and Sauron looked at him with curiosity.

"Who is this "Junior" you speak of?" He asked, sensing that this one possess valuable intel.

"Another scumbag." Faunus said with disgust. "He pose as a simple investor, but in reality, he is just another bandit."

"And they are not doing anything about it?"

"Nothing at all." Faunus said with anger, much to fallen maia's delight. "They are too focused on their own pockets. And Junior certainly has some influence in Police Department."

How convenient. It's easier to take control from those corrupted by wealth.

Faunus then smiled with satisafaction. "But from what I heard, some time ago someone beat his ass and ruined his club."

"Oh really?" Sauron asked with greta curiosity, and Faunus giggled.

"Yeah, he now hides inside and is even afraid to stick out his nose, fearing the "bad press"' Faunus snickered. "Did you decide what you want?"

"Indeed." Sauron rose from his chair, much to Faunus confusion. "You served me well." He added before walking towards the entrance.

"But, you didn't eat anything?" Faunus replied, which made Sauron stop in the entrance.

"How many people visit you daily?" Former Dark Lord questioned instead.

"Well, not that much." Faunus admitted, shrugging his arms. "Enough to pay the bills though."

"Many more will come to you, so better be ready." With that said, just before Faunus could ask how he can be so sure about that, Sauron whispered into the air his command, and pleasant smell coursed through the building, drawing nearby people with the promise of ecstatic meal and the filled stomachs.

Faunus blinked seeing so many people stopping and looking at his small restaurant with fascination, some already making their way towards it.

"Enjoy your gift while it lasts." Sauron said with a smirk while faunus's jaw dropped. "Maybe you will be able to pay for more than your "bills"."

"What... How… Who are you?" Faunus asked, Sauron put a genuine smile and answered without hesitation:

"My name is Annatar."

---

Sun shined over the Beacon Academy, welcoming the students walking to their classes. For some, Sun gave them a happy welcome, for others a sweat goodbye, but most of the new students were still uncertain, maybe even fearful of what the future holds, but they couldn't wait.

However, this attitude wasn't shared by all.

"I understand your concern Glynda, but overreacting won't help." Headmaster Ozpin said while observing the first year students going to their classes.

"It is not an "overreaction" Headmaster, it's a concern." Goodwitch replied while walking beside him. "Not only Peter is an expert with Grimm here, and I am sure that this Wolf was something else."

Ozpin sighed. He didn't want to show it, but he was worried too. He watched the recording multiple times already, and each time it gave him more and more unnerving, yet familiar, feeling of dread. But he can't just jump to conclusions, he needs to maintain a stoic attitude.

"I already made moves considering this recording and I shall wait for the results before taking any action. If I learn something regarding this matter, You will be the first person to know everything. But now, we shouldn't panic." After a moment, Glynda nodded in agreement.

"You are right Headmaster." She begrudgingly agreed.

"Right now, we have other matters to attend to." Ozpin said. "How many teams made it to their classes?"

Glynda opened her scroll and quickly checked it, thoughts of the Direwolf pushed away, just like Ozpin hoped.

"Only two teams are still in their rooms." She looked at Ozpin, her normal strict attitude returned. "Team RWBY and JNPR."

"Do they?" Ozpin pointed his cane at two teams in question running at full speed to their class. Glynda looked at her watch, then gave the runners a look full of contempt while Headmaster took another sip from his mug.

Few Hours later

"Another!" Junior ordered and a glass full of alcohol landed right in his hand. He drank it in one go, threw it away, at the large pile of glass in the corner.

"Another!" he ordered again, and sighed heavily when another glass appeared in his hand. He looked at his own reflection in the brown liquid, then crushed the glass between his fingers, not caring about the sharp shards wounding his hand.

After that Blondie crushed his club and, most importantly, his balls, both his pride and prestige in the town took a truly devastating blow, as his old partners suddenly disappeared, and the usual contractors told him to piss off. He was perceived as a weakling, who can't even deal with a Huntress on his home turf. And she was just a student! The Spider is probably laughing their asses off.

He briefly gazed at his men with anger while they were still removing piles of trash or paving the floor. If only they were more competent, no one would ever dare to question his strength or authority.

"Another!" He yelled.

"Though day?" Someone inquired and Junior nodded his head.

"More like a shitty week." he said, and gratefully took a glass from the stranger. "Thanks." He drank it's contents and put it back, little confused. "It's without a taste."

"Water rarely has a 'taste', friend." Newcomer replied, and this time, gears in Junior's head finally turned. He looked at the smirking stranger, stared blankly into his golden eyes and finally realized.

"Who the hell are you?"

Newcomer chuckled in response.

"My name is Annatar, the Master of Gifts."

"Never heard about you." Junior discreetly gestured for his henchmen to come closer, but didn't turn away from Annatar.

"No wonder, I came from far away, just to speak with you." Annatar replied, not concerned about armed bodyguards slowly making their way towards him. He have plenty of time.

"If you look for some information or deal, then speak up, otherwise get the hell out." Junior snarled, trying to intimidate the starnger, but something inside in his gut screamed to run as far as possible. He gave a quick look to the Malachite twins sitting nearby, both women were already observing the situation, ready to jump into action if needed.

Annatar nodded hearing the Junior's offer, lifted one of the glasses and looked at his reflection in the liquid.

"On the contrary." He spoke up, still looking at the glass. "I came here with an offer of my own."

"An offer?" Junior scoffed. "What can you sell me?"

"What I want to give you is something that can't be bought or sold to the highest bidder. What I crave to share is what you need as much as the air and the water. What I offer is..."

Annatar looked at Junior again, and the "Information Broker" felt might behind Annatar's words, and finally noticed that the golden eyes are, in fact, more akin to a erupting volcano. He felt like the man sitting beside him and staring right into his grey orbs is the one holding all of the aces. Even surrounded by Junior's entire gang, basically in Lion's den, Junior felt that Annatar is truly in control of the meeting.

"...Power."

Junior raised his hand, and his army of henchmen stopped, awaiting further orders.

"I already have an influence." Xiong pointed out, but stranger's laugh set him on the edge of an angry outburst.

"Truly? You call this..." Annatar gestured at the entirety of the building interiors, still in bad shape, as well at the tired goons fixing everything. "...Power? From what I have heard, humans think otherwise."

Junior frowned hearing this, and through clenched teeth, he hissed.

"What did they say?"

Annatar smiled at him, but didn't say anything, his mocking smile worth more than thousand words.

"Bastards..." Junior whispered, and hit the table with his fist. "They dare laugh at me!?"

"They seem to not show you a proper respect, Junior Xiong."

"Yeah, no shit. I got unlucky once or twice, but it all fell apart after that Blondie crushed everything. I mean, how could I know she was a Huntress?! And now Roman took the spotlight, that Mistrealian snake."

"Do you wish to regain your rightful place? Your lost authority?" Annatar insisted, but Junior scoffed at this.

"Right, coming right back to your "offer". What is it exactly?"

"I posses skills and abilities far surpassing your even wildest dreams. I can shape metal as easily as clay, make it do my bidding."

"So, you can make weapons or what?" Junior asked and Annatar sighed, disappointed at the human's lack of imagination.

"I can make EVERYTHING." He declared after a moment, without even a hint hesitation in his voice. "Each item far surpassing what even Kingdom of Atlas can do with their technology."

Junior wheezed hard upon hearing this, and Annatar gave Xiong a questioning gaze.

"Bold claim, I give you that. Look, I admire confidence, but..."

"It was not a mere claim." Sauron interrupted, and Junior stopped laughing, now looking at his guest with renewed curiosity. "It was a statement. And if you provide me with everything I need, we both shall gain from our partnership."

"I will decide about that." Junior said, and waved to one of his goons. "Mistrealian dream" at once." And goon quickly run to the storage while Junior turned his full attention back at Annatar.

It was clear that this 'Annatar' is not joking, and although he looked rather strange, it only made Junior suspect that Annatar might be either a disgraced Atlasian engineer, or one of those Merlot freaks. If so, then having him would be beneficial. And if he fails, then making an example of him will clearly show to everyone around town that nobody can make a fool of Junior Xiong and live to tell the tale.

Unless it's that Blondie.

'"Everything" you say." Junior repeated, deep in his thoughts. "You are confident, I give you that."

Annatar didn't reply to that, and goon with "Mistrealian dream" in hand quickly put the large bottle in the middle of table. Junior picked it up and filled two glasses with crimson liquid.

"You had my attention, but now, you have my interest." he pushed one of the glasses to his guest, and when Annatar took it, Junior lifted his drink. "I give you one month to prove your worth, Ann. Impress me, and you can consider our deal sealed. If you don't..."

"You will take my head as punishment?" Annatar lifted his own glass with confident smirk. "Don't worry. Failure is not an option."

"Then, let's make toast for that." Junior said, raising his drink. "Partner."

"Gladly... Partner." Glasses clanged, signifying an agreement, which, known only for one of them, will shake the entire Kingdom, and maybe even a world.

Beacon Academy

"Bravo, Bravo!" Professor Port said, watching how Boarbatusk's corpse disappeared after the fight with Weiss Schnee. "It appears that we are, indeed, in a presence of the true Huntress in training."

While Weiss gasped for air after the exhausting duel, Professor looked at the clock on top of the class, little sad that the lesson is over.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we had for today, be sure to cover the assigned readings and stay vigilant. Class dismissed."

He noticed that Weiss Schnee left first, visibly angry at something, not even waiting for her team, and the rest of the students looked at each other with confusion.

"Sheesh, what's with her?" Port heard from student Arc, and although he would put it in different words, he fully agreed – She did great for the first day of studying, why is she so upset? The answer hit him when Leader of the Team RWBY run after her, leaving rest of the team to pack their belongings.

"Of course." He thought. "Problems within the Team."

His specialty were always the creature of the Grimm, their various subtypes and the tactics to efficently deal with them, but sadly, he lacked expertise in terms of 'team-building'. He had dramas when he was young, clashed with his own team leader on numerous occasions, but he didn't have any idea how to resolve those kinds of conflicts. He just hoped that Team RWBY will resolve this peacefully on its own and do it while they are studying, not when they are fully-fledged huntresses. Lack of trust between the teammates can be as dangerous as the monsters they fight against.

When the last student left the class, he started to pack his own things and go outside to enjoy the sunset, but when he wanted to pack up his scroll, he looked at it and remembered.

"Headmaster's recording!" He realized that he completely forgot about it, too excited for the new year's coming today, focusing on making the good first impression. "He said that this one require my expertise, so let's not waste time." He unlocked his scroll, sat on his chair and started the video.

The video started when eight the students – Team RWBY and JNPR – picked up their relics and started to run away, while Giant Nevermore circled above their heads, and Deathstalker tried to free itself from the ice.

"Both old Grimm." He noted out loud. "Nevermore can probably shoot it's feathers, while the Deathstalker's carapace is as hard as steel."

When they run into the forest, Nevermore fly right above them, leaving only the Deathstalker…

Few hours later

"Here we are." Driver of the truck turned to his passengers "You can take your stuff."

Xiong henchmen jumped out of the truck and walked to its back, while Annatar left the vehicle last, still reliving the experience of "riding in a truck"

It was faster than a horse, more comfortable than the carriage and certainly better armored than both. Sauron always knew such machines were possible, and at some point he even wanted to design and give them to younger races as a gift, but he put those ideas on a hold until the Middle-Earth was finally under his unified rule.

It felt good knowing that he was, as always, right.

He looked at the building Junior "graciously" allowed him to use for one months, with an implication that if Annatar perform well, ownership will be granted to him permanently. Although not impressive, below standard even, he already planned some radical changes.

"Careful with this!" He heard and watched how two stronger henchmen carry a steel anvil towards the building, while another carried box full of tools. Then, he walked to the door, drew the key he got from Xiong and unlocked his new forge.

The interior, as expected after not being used for too long, was full of spider webs, old wood boxes and piles of bricks in the corners.

"At least floor is not full of holes." Annatar remarked, then turned to the group of henchmen designated to help him. "Clear out all the trash at once."

As they carried out his order, he walked around the building, envisioning the interior of his new forge: Anvil in the middle, furnace at that wall, desks and chairs for humans to observe his work...

"After you are done with this filth, prepare to clear out the remains."

"What remains? " One of the goons asked, and after Annatar's wide gesture, he blinked few times.

"You can't be serious..."

---

Limestone was a quiet district of the capital, nothing remarkable happened here, aside of companies dropping trash once or twice, and at first, people living here paid little attention to new arrivals. "Someone is making his/her new business here, cool I guess." they thought and carried on with their usual tasks, like going to get some food or meeting their friends. That was, until those strange people with red glasses started to tear out the door from its frame.

Small crowd started to gather outside, and one of the newcomers, one with a green tie rushed out to stop them from coming closer.

"Stay where you are!" He warned while waving his hands for everyone to see.

"What are you guys doing?" One person from the crowd asked.

"Tearing part of the wall down."

"What!? Why?!"

"To make a more "welcoming space" apparently." He said uncertain, and soon all heard the hissing sound. "He already started."

To people's shock, right in the middle of the wall, a trail of magma burnt its way through, making a long, straight line across it, then, after nearly eaching the end of the wall, magma switched direction and with perfect 90°, it hit the ground.

After that, brick wall collapsed inward, but by some miracle it did not shatter upon the impact. Group of Xiong henchmen already started to cut it into small pieces for easier clean up while Annatar slowly lowered his hands, fire disappearing as fast as it manifested. He then gave the crowd a king's bow.

"I hoped you liked my little show of abilities." He said it normally, not too loud, and yet, everyone heard him clearly.

"Why did you tear down your wall man?" Someone voiced the question of the entire gathering.

"For you to observe my work of course!" Man with white hair and golden eyes walked towards the crowd with a wide, friendly smile on his face, like a benovelant prince approaching his newfound subjects. "Since I have nothing to hide, why should I separate myself from you?"

"Are you the owner of this shop?"

"Indeed I am. And before you ask - My name is Annatar, but you may call me "the Master of Gifts"."

"What do you want to sell?"

"Another dust shop would be nice, hard to get it nowadays."

"Maybe weapons shop?"

"Oh, that would be cool too! Something cheaper than "Guns and Butter" perhaps?"

Annatar chuckled hearing this discussion, but it was time for him to cut the speculations at once.

"Why should I limit myself that much?" He said, and the crowd looked at him with confusion. "I will do something more here." He looked at the crowd, and, for a single second, his eyes fired up. "I will make Dreams come true."

He raised his hands to the air like a preacher. "Each of you have a desire you wish to fulfill, a craving you desperatly want to satisfy. Or maybe your dream lacks something or worse, it was broken by the time or accident? Rejoice, for I can smith anything from every material known to men, not only metal or gems. If needed, I may not only repair, but also uplift something once broken to new heights." He smiled seeing their stunned reactions. "And all of that for a reasonable price."

People looked at each other with disbelief. It was a very nice marketing slogan sure, but fulfilling dreams? No way. Even after sounding that confident, no one bought it. At least, not without a proof.

"You are a Smith? I thought you guys are only in some remote villages." Tall man from the crowd said.

"Because those in power think think we are obsolete, since technology is able to do everything better, correct?" Annatar chuckled after saying this. "That's why I, the Master of Gifts, arrived here - to prove everyone that nothing can surpass a Masterful Craftsman."

Although curious, crowd slowly started to disperse. Annatar light up their curiosity, but they took it as a clever marketing strategy, nothing more. Having a Smith in town was something new, but many suspected that he will quickly bankrupt, so why bother?

When Annatar wanted to return and carry on with his task of preparing the forge, he felt someone pulling his long sleeve.

"You really can repair anything?" A little girl, maybe less than nine, with, surprisingly, mouse ears asked, giving him a pleading eyes, while Annatar smiled back at her.

"And uplift, yes."

She let go of him and ran back somewhere, Annatar followed her with his gaze for a moment, only to nod knowingly and turned to his subordinates.

"Continue your tasks, I want to test the tools."

As they returned to clearing out the remains of the smashed wall, Sauron walked past them, towards the anvil they put in the middle, just like he ordered them to. He touched the surface of the anvil, satisfied that it was truly made from steel, not any other weaker yet cheaper material, like Junior suggested. He scoffed at the mere memory of this fool - Although his "partner" keeps all the cards for now, his greed and lack of foresight will ensure his downfall, or perhaps, the shift in their dynamic? All Sauron needs is time. And the time he will get.

He checked the tools - hand hammers, sledgehammers, pliers, small blades and so on. - All made in so called "factory". He carefully checked every single tool for any sign of defect, and only after he was sure that his tools are fine, he turned to materials - mostly common iron and coal. Although Junior advised to use cheaper gas to fire the forge, after brief consideration, Sauron picked both coal and gas. For some tasks, flammable gas can be used, for example to quickly smelt something, but the true smith works both with the fire and the metal, and the fire produced by coal is more... alive.

He took a small bar of iron, picked up a handhammer, made few swings with it. For a start, tools given by Xiong will suffice, but he must forge his own, for he already knew that hammers made in factory will quickly wear down, while those made by his own hands will last for centuries.

Just when he started to wonder when the girl with mouse ears will return, he heard a commotion right outside.

"It's not open yet kid, come later." One of the goons grumbled while picking up another brick.

"But..." The little girl wanted to argue, but goon hushed her with a hand gesture. Sauron noticed that she holds something in her hands, and he raised his voice slightly.

"Let her in." He ordered, and henchman at first looked at him with surprise, then stepped aside, allowing the girl with mouse ears into the forge. Without another word, she approached the anvil with a small bundle. She put it on the anvil and looked at Annatar hopefully.

"This is Dumbo." She said while slowly opening her package. "He is my best friend. He was always there to play with me, or when I had a bad day."

She opened her bundle and hundreds of porcelain pieces fell on the anvil.

"But he fell from the wardrobe, and... and..."

"You don't need to explain more." Annatar said with calm voice. "I understand."

"Father tells me to let him go, but I can't just throw him away!"

"I know." Annatar started to organize this pile of fragile porcelain, finding matching pieces. "You don't want to lose a friend."

"Yes!" She exclaimed. "Can you help him?"

Sauron looked at the small crowd gathering outside, and smiled back to her.

"Of course." He reassured and picked a plie "And, if you wish, nothing will break him ever again."

Her eyes shined for a moment, and she gleefully nodded. Just when Annatar started his work, girl realized something.

"And how much..."

"You will pay?" Annatar interrupted, only to chuckle quietly. "Who would I be to take money from a child saving her trusted companion?"

He looked at the small crowd, speaking to one another quietly, and Sauron already knew what they are talking about. His mask is already paying off.

"How long it will take?" Girl asked.

"Not too long, so please, take a sit and patiently wait." He looked at one of the goons in the corner. "Bring her something to drink and eat, at once."

Just when the goon run to the storage, Annatar looked at the porcelain pieces, their shape indicatin that it was once a small, porcelain elephant, with personality made up by the child's imagination. If he simply put the elephant back together, he will get a small applause, but that's all. No, if he wants to proceed with his plans, He needs to first show these humans how three eras of smithing looks like.

Let's get started.

Half an hour later

Junior drove through the city in his black car, sitting on the backseat and smoking a cigar, while Malachite twins, his personal bodyguards, were sitting beside him.

Although he promised to not interfere with the "Lord of Gifts" or "Master "or whatever his title was, 'smithing business' too much, from the start it all sounded way too sketchy for his tastes. His men were there if something happens, but he knew he could not count on their competence recently, especially when his reputation is... not in very good shape. So he decided to go there by himself and make sure everything is fine.

"What do you think about him Melanie?" He suddenly asked, and the woman rolled her eyes.

"He is confident, that's for sure." She replied. "Reminds me of certain someone."

"He sounds gentle." Militiades inquired, but Junior was not satisfied with the answers.

"I meant: 'Do you think he will try to pull something off.'"

"I don't think so." Melanie said. "He didn't look that dumb, he knows the consequences."

"He gave you his word." Militia added. "People usually don't break their promises."

"For some, breaking agreements is as easy as breath... what the hell is going on there?" He looked through the window at the gathered crowd, standing right before a wide hole in the wall of the building Junior rented to Annatar

"Did he just took down entire section of the wall?" Melanie asked, but Junior was already seething in rage.

"Who gave him permission to do that!?"

"You said that he is allowed to use the building." Militia pointed out.

"I thought about moving some furniture or clearing trash, not demolishing it!" Trio got out from the the car, and Junior put on his sunglasses. "Let's hear his explanation."

They made their way through the crowd, coming closer and closer to the opening, noticing that all people gathered outside were simply staring into the building in silence.

It gave him creeps.

When they walked past what should be doors, Junior saw Annatar standing near the anvil, putting a final piece of the... Small porcelain elephant?

Junior rose his eyebrow in surprise, only to flinch back when the stream of fire swept over the porcelain, molding the cracks, leaving only the polished surface. Then, Annatar took the elephant in both of his hands and approached the girl sitting in the corner.

"Your friend is fine again." He announced to her and everyone gathered outside. "And I think he wants to thank you for bringing him to me." With that said, he blew a gentle breath on the little elephant.

And just like after the touch of the magic wand, elephant started to move - it raised its porcelain head and trumpet at the girl with happiness, much to everyone's shock and the girl's disbelief.

Little girl extended her hand, and the elephant walked on it from Annatar's hands.

"I'm sorry I dropped you, I'm so sorry." She said, and the elephant trumpted cheerfully again, then started to roll on her hand, making her smile.

Everyone were left dumbfounded. Almost all of them saw how he reconstructed the porcelain figure from scratch, barely putting anything inside, and yet the way this small elephant move... It feelt so alive. So unimaginable. Junior could hear whispers in the crowd, some still doubting while most started to believe what he said earlier:

I will make dreams come true.

Annatar turned his gaze towards Junior, who in turn simply stared at him, not knowing what to say or how to react to all this. Before Junior could either scold him for "wasting" time, or praise him for the good work, Sauron seized the initiative.

"Ah, my noble patron! I am more than glad you decided to show up in person." Annatar eagerly shook Junior's hand, and turned to the crowd. "Thanks to this man, I am here, citizens of Vale! Rest assured, for I will repay his generosity tenfold, and you shall receive it fully!"

As expected, crowd clapped their hands, used their handheld palantirs and pointed them both on Annatar and Junior, and Sauron quickly noticed the prideful look from his 'partner' full of greed, and allowed himself a satisfied smile. He knew how to influence others, and nothing feeds pride more than thunderous applause and visible admiration.

Junior tilted his head slightly to Annatar, still smiling to the crowd, while Melanie and Militia stepped aside, not wanting to find themselves in the center of attention.

"How many of these can you make?" Junior whispered to Sauron.

"As long as our agreement stands, as many as you please." He whispered back, and then approached the crowd and eagerly clapped his hands. "So, who wants their Dreams fulfilled?"

Notes:

Sauron came to Vale, made his presence known for it's people, and he came back to his old tricks, like those in Eregion or Numenor.
Who knows what kind of change will "the Dream Smith" bring? A positive one, a REALLY bad one?
What is certain that there is gonna be more of Annatar persona.
I think you won't be disappointed Gryf, or at least I hope you won't
Thanks for reading, have a wonderful day!
DJ and Konsilio

Chapter 4: Sauron Encounters 1

Summary:

First of many chapters during which Sauron slowly grows accustomed to the world of Remnant, as well as some of the Ozpin's worries.

Sauron encounters: Electricity

Being a maia has vast amount of benefits, like immortality, mind far surpassing the elves, not to mention humans, ability to shape the world with words, and far more. And, to his dismay, people quickly found it disturbing that he worked for two entire days and yet, he doesn't seem tired.

This forced him to make this 4-hours "pauses" each day, just to maintain image of a human. Inconvenient for sure, but not the end of the world. And he survived two already.

During this "pauses" people think he is sleeping. Such a waste. Do they even realize what you can do in four hours?

In Sauron's case, if he really wanted to, he do would armors and weapons to arm a whole platoon. Perhaps one or two powerful items. But, considering matters at hand, he spilt some dust powder he acquired upon the table, then put a crystal on the metal plate right beside it.

"So, Dust in crystal from is no different to dust in powder form." He noted to himself out loud, while holding his flaming left hand high to light up the room. He see in the dark, but during these kinds of experiments, darkness is an obstacle. "Powder is just multitude of smaller crystals. I can throw their assumptions out of the window."

He separated three small crystals from the rest of the powder, and using small amount of flame, he detonate each and measured amount of energy produced by each reaction.

"Fascinating." He said with surprise. "It seems that explosion didn't vaporize the material, it just spread it into smaller pieces."

Too small to humans or their machines to catch, but he could see it.

He grabbed the large crystal, and observed it reacting to his touch, and felt the insane amount of dormant energy awakening inside.

In this world, human use Dust for everything – to power their engines, upgrade their weapons - he could count numerous ways they use it, and yet he still could imagine more ways to utilize this miraculous resource. But what fascinated him the most was the fact that, even though he could see it's use, he couldn't understand it.

Usually when he looks at any kind of material, he knows exactly what it is made off, and while humans need Periodic table to identify its parts, Sauron needs just one glance. Dust however, is something else. It is not any compound, nor non-metal. He slowly came to conclusion that in this world there are metals, non-metals, and Dust.

Fascinating.

"Chief, I brought…" One of the Goons opened the door and walked in, holding a sheet of paper, but froze in place. "…Eemmm, What are you doing, Chief?"

Sauron switched off his hand before human got into, so he wasn't worried.

"Just little test before going to sleep." He said.

"In complete darkness?"

This took him by surprise, and at first wanted to ask what he mean by "In complete darkness" until he realized that he of course had a night vision, but usually humans don't possess such ability.

"I wanted to test something… " Sauron looked around, trying to find the explanation, until his sight fell on. "…But the light from the ceiling don't work."

Goon frowned.

"Don't… work, Chief?"

"Indeed, I tried everything to activate it, yet nothing seems too…"

Goon slowly reached for the switch, and with one click, entire room lightened up.

"Chief, I think you experienced some sort of power shortcut but now everything seems fine." He commented, trying to not giggle. "You know, it happens sometimes in big cities, my Grandad had one just recently due to lack of Dust, and…"

He stopped talking after he looked at Annatar, who stared at the switch. Smith then rose up from his chair and slowly approached it.

"Umm Chief?" Suaron didn't even heard that, too focused on something entirely else. For a moment goon thought that Smith's eyes shined.

Annatar clicked the switch few times, turning the light off and on, on and off, turning his head from the switch to the light bulb on the ceiling.

"How did you managed to connect this simple switch with light?" Sauron asked no one in particular, then, much to goon's shock, he ripped of the switch from the wall.

"Umm…"

"Hush." Sauron inspected the switch, and clicked it few times. "It's a simple mechanism, yet it somehow affects the light…" He looked at the hole wall, wires previously connected to the switch. He reached for the cables.

"Chief, this is not…" Goon warned, but Annatar already grabbed the cables, and pulled them from the wall.

"Ohhh I see." Annatar said, examining the cables. "This whole "electricity" is exactly the same phenomena as lightning strike, there are two copper fibbers connected to source."

"Whaaat?" Goon was more shocked that Smith held two electric cables in hands and nothing is hapening to him.

"Light bulb makes resistance for power flowing in the circuit, transforming it…" Sauron walked to the lights in the middle of the room. "...Into warmth that heats up metal inside of the glass bulb. But why isn't the metal decomposing?"

To goon's concern, Sauron then proceed to take out lightbulb from the ceiling, and then crushed it in his fist.

"What are you doing!?"

Dark Lord, yet again, didn't even care about his "companion", focused entirely on his discovery.

"I understand! Inside the glass there was gas that helped the tungsten rod to stay in solid state." He again looked on the fibbers sticking from the wall. "The switch is just a simple hole in the circuit, when it is closed light can be emitted. If it is open only one of the fibbers is inside of the source. But how they caused the difference of potential between two fibbers ends? It needs more testing."

He looked at his hand, remains of the light bulb didn't even hurt his skin, and put it on the table. He then looked at the man, who was too shocked and confused to utter a word.

"I think we need a new lightbulb." Annatar commented. "And don't worry about the wall. I will repair it."

"Yeahhh…" Goon still looked unconvinced.

"Don't talk about what you saw." Sauron commanded. "It would work badly for the team's morale. " Still seeing confused face, Annatar asked with his most pleasurable tone. "What is your name?"

"Nathan, chief."

"Just Nathan?"

"Yowwick, Boss."

"Listen, Nathan Yowwick..." Sauron continued. "...If team's morale remains high, and they don't think about such silly ideas or strange rumors, I will make something. A gift, just for you. What do you think?"

Nathan thought only for a second. He knew what Annatar is capable off, and this gift will be marvelous for sure. Just like his old grandma said:

When they give, take, when they hit, run.

"Sure, nothing weird happened here."

"Excellent." Sauron pat his arm. "Come back with a lightbulb whenever you want. Or no, bring two, for further study."

"Okie-dokie..." Man paid a room one more glance. "Huh, a little strange of you Chief."

"I thought you didn't see anything weird."

"It's not that." Nathan shook his head. "I get that you are workaholic and don't need to sleep much, but sleeping on a chair? It's unhealthy for your back Chief."

"Sleeping on the cha…" He looked around the room and, indeed, none of his furniture's could be classified as "bed". It seems that when he gave Junior the list, nobody reminded him that bed is a necessity, and knowing this worm, he was more than happy to cut costs. "… I see. Then, our first major purchase will be bed."

Ozpin worries and old partnerships

Beacon Academy, Headmaster's office

Ozpin scrolled through students reports, specifically first years, some praising the young generation, while others were not so enthusiastic in their observations, which made him sigh in disappointment.

Yes, they struggle with many subjects, but he never expected, nor wanted them to learn all Huntsman regulations on their first day. Or excel in combat classes after two weeks of training. They are just teenagers after all.

He scrolled to another report, and familiar Team appeared on the screen.

Progress of Team RWBY

Although they excel in combat classes, showing a lot of enthusiasm and talent, Team RWBY struggles in other subjects:

- History of Remnant: Only students Schnee and Belladonna pays any attention.

- Huntsman regulation: Surprisingly, Student Long possess vast knowledge about the subject, but does little to showcase that, instead arguing with Prof. Lovas about unimportant matters, such as difference between drinking age in Vale and on Patch.

- Grimm studies: At first shy, student Rose quickly started to engage into conversations with Prof. Port about subtypes of Grimm. But besides that, only student Schnee makes notes.

- Practical usage of Dust: Student Rose caused damage to laboratory during the first lesson, forcing Prof. Tylwing to move to more secure location with his studies. Student Schnee, on the other hand, shows great knowledge and respect regarding the Dust.

*Teachers note: HOW could you sneeze in presence of the Dust powder AGAIN!? My eyebrows just grew back after the last time…

Team clearly posses potential, however they lack unifying factor – Each member acts or fights individually, they do not share their advantages and tend to argue with each other, even I midst of battle (see footage from Student combat class nr. 3 and footage from Grimm Studies nr.1)

Ozpin sighed, thought for a moment, and started to write on his scroll:

Make a preparation for scenario STRQ/4 and initiate it next week...

This case wasn't unusual, standard procedures should be enough to set things right for Team RWBY, and if not, he will just use another plan. He had a lot of them prepared just in case, to ensure that every student leaving the Academy will become a great Hunter or Huntress.

"Headmaster!" Professor Port walked into his office, much to his surprise. "May I come in?"

"Of course Peter, please, take a seat." Professor sat on a chair before the Headmaster desk, and shivered with… excitement? "What brings you today friend?"

"Well, I watched the footage you sent me." Peter brought out his scroll. "And I must say I am speechless."

He showed Ozpin the recording and played it.

"At first I thought the case was about two old Grimm, the Deathstalker and Nevermore, which, to be entirely honest, surprised me that the students encountered during the initiation. But…"

He stopped the recording on the moment when students left the temple, yo slow the video down. And then, after the Deathstalker broke the ice and restarted its pursuit, just like Ozpin remembered, large black wolf run into the view, and in this moment Port stopped the recording once again.

"This creature concerns you Headmaster?"

"Did you found anything strange?" Ozpin asked, and Port laughed

"Sir, with all due respect, saying that this specimen is "strange" is an understatement." Professor pointed at the beast. "Do you see the pattern of the fur?"

"The fur?"

"Yes! You see, it is very long around the nape, and gradually shortens all the way to its pawns. Right now, wolves, and beowolves by extent, have it more evenly spread…"

"To the point Peter, to the point." Ozpin said, knowing too well what will happen if he let Port get carried away with his explanations, and the Professor first cleared his throat before nodding his head in agreement.

"Right, pardon me. In short, I saw this pattern only on Beowolves that predates the discovery of dust and formation of the Kingdoms. This means that this creature might be older than our entire civilization. And no creature beside Grimm is able to reach this age. Or at least, should be."

Ozpin scratched his chin, thinking about what Port said, while Professor continued:

"Because, strangely enough, this beast is not a Grimm."

"Not a Grimm?" Ozpin asked, trying to hide his worry. "Are you sure?"

"Yes Headmaster, because, for one, it lacks any kind of characteristic bone armor, and Grimm of its presumed age should be covered entirely by it at this point. And for the second…" He let the footage play, and stopped when Black wolf looked at the camera. "It possess a soul."

Ozpin blinked few times, probably surprised by that sudden revelation.

"How could you tell that from the footage?" Ozpin said.

"During my time, I met countless Grimm, and by now, I can easily recognize gaze without a soul, and this…" He put the gaze of the wolf into a loop, and Ozpin found itself drawn by it. "...This one has it. It is gaze of a self-aware creature, capable of recognizing that someone is watching it. Perhaps it is even capable of generating aura."

Ozpin stared into the volcanic eyes, somehow feeling an intense heat.

"There is one more interesting thing, on the materials from the initiations, I found another beast.

"What!? Where!?"

"During the battle with Nevermore, which, in my opinion, was a glorious display of prowess, but if you I look closer, right after the Nevermore was slain..." He pointed at one place, right under the cliff.
Then, Professor zoomed in, and there was something staring at the girls…

"Giant bat." Ozpin said with disbelief, and Port nodded.

"I have never encountered such subtype of Grimm, and, yet again, it is not a Grimm. Look at the shape of the ears. I only saw something like this on reconstructed specimen in Royal Nature's museum. And it was dated to be, if their calculations were correct…"

"Five thousand years old." Ozpin finished for him. "So, In Emerald forest there are two ancient beasts?"

"Not really." Peter disagreed. "You see Headmaster, Both those creatures share the same, lava like eyes."

"It can be a coincidence."

"True, but I found another connection." Peter switched to previous footage. "Look at the right pawn please." Ozpin looked there and found out that this wolf lacks one claw.

"It's missing one."

"Exactly!" Now go back to the bat… "Port switched to second footage. "And what do you see Headmaster?"

He saw it immediately. It was clearly visible now.

On the right wing, there were only four bones, while on the left, there were five.

"No."

"Yes."

"I can't be possible."

"Yet it is true." Professor's eyes shined. "This creature is a shapeshifter."

Ozpin sat in place, dumbfounded. He couldn't utter the word, too shocked to even listen to what Port was saying. This animal is a shapeshifter? He looked again at the eyes of the bat, and it's eyes stared back.

"I checked through the records of our esteemed Academy, and there is no mention of such creature. It's probably last of its kind!"

The longer he stared, similar feeling of dread he felt only once started to fester, and he started to hear something, akin to a whisper.

"And from the patterns I found on it's body it's safe to assume that this creature is from Prehistoric age, older than Kingdoms themselves! Perhaps even older than those ruins..."

"Whime care- tye tiril- minna i mornie?*" Ozpin heard and blinked few times.

"I want to track down this creature." Port declared with determination palable in his voice, and it drew Ozpin out of this trance.

"Absolutely not." He said, and Port looked at him with disbelief.

"With all due respect Headmaster, I am more than capable of finding this creature." Port argued. "I hunted thousands of creatures during my time of more active service, and if this one hides somewhere in the Emerald forest…"

"And that's because I can't let you go." Ozpin interrupted. "Your experience and knowledge about creature of the Grimm is irreplaceable. And our students still need this expertise."

"Headmaster, I know when to press on and when to retreat, no Grimm ever lured me into a trap." After seeing Ozpin's questioning stare, Professor fixed his mustache, trying to hide his embarssemnt. "Well, When I was younger it happened once or twice, but…"

"Just like you said." Ozpin pointed his finger at the Black Bat. "It is not only not a Grimm, but a creature with intelligence, older than our whole civilization. If it managed to stay alive that long, undetected and unnoticed, it means it is way more than dangerous than most of the creatures on Remnant. I can't risk sending you against the unknown." Port slammed his hand against the desk in frustration.

"But if I let this beast run around, it might pose threat to villages, perhaps even lone Huntsmen out there! I can't leave it roaming the wild!"

"I never said I will leave it alone Peter." Ozpin assured, and realization struck Port like a thunder.

"I see." He said, defeat and disappointment ringing like a bell from a church tower. "I hope the one you chose will be more capable than me."

"It's not like that." Ozpin tried to reassure him. "You are more than capable, and I just can't risk losing you."

But Ozpin's words didn't help, for Professor rose from his chair and with defeated expression, and without saying goodbye he went straight to the elevator. When the door opened, Glynda Goodwitch walked in with sheets of paper.

"Peter." She greeted him.

"Professor Goodwitch." Port dryly replied and walked past her. When the elevator closed behind, Glynda sighed.

"I guess you refused." She looked at Ozpin, who was still sitting behind his desk.

"Honestly, I thought he will take it way worse."

"He knows where priorities lie and knows that you are right." She said, approaching the desk. "But his more flamboyant side cannot resist this opportunity."

"Indeed." Ozpin said, still thinking about the eyes, his mind trying to figure out where he saw similar gaze before. When he experienced such dread. He shook his head to push these thoughts and opened his scroll

"We are really calling him for the task?" Glynda said, already disliking the idea. "We have other options."

"He will solve this in no time." Ozpin remarked, writing a message.

"Unless he drunks himself to death."

On Ozpin's scroll, he wrote short "Meeting point as usual. Urgent request." And sent it to QB.

He knew that he relies on him too much, but what if this is another of her schemes? Or something way worse? He was more than certain that of all people, he would accomplish this task swiftly and without much issue, and, most importantly, nobody will notice his involvement. That's was the problem with Peter – His absence would raise uncomfortable questions.

After few seconds, Ozpin's scroll beeped, and short message from QB appeared.

One Month. Still some tiding to be done.

I need you sooner.

Queen?

Not sure.

Great Oz unsure? That's must be a real deal.

Short pause, then scroll beeped again.

One week is enough?

Yes. 5 PM. Don't be late.

I'm never late Oz. Glynda scoffed reading this.

"As usual." She remarked, and the scroll beeped again.

If the Professor Lighthead reads that, tell her that if she wants, she can come instead. She is more appraochable aftera drink or two. And Glynda, as usual, started to make remarks about Unruly, Irresponsible, Drunken…

But Ozpin wasn't listening to her, in his mind there were only burning, lavalike eyes, staring into his very soul. He wondered to himself where this monster is hiding now...

---

Sauron growled in anger while trying to comfortably sit on the wooden chair. Just like Yowwick said, it was very uncomfortable.

"I need new a furniture." He said out loud.

Notes:

When Sauron is going to make Rings? Probably soon enough.
After all, it wouldn't be a Lord of the RIngs fanfic without a Ring, right? However, I intened to make the Rings a significant plot devices.
The Question is: Who will be the first to receive a Ring?
Thanks for your comment Ri2! Have a nice week!

Chapter 5: Helping Hands - part 1

Helping Hands - part one

Sound of clashing steel echoed through the room, and with powerful blow to his shield, Jaune Arc was pushed back few meters, breathing heavily.

"That's all you got?" Cardin gave him an unamused look. "I never thought it would be THAT disappointing."

Jaune again tried to stab his opponent, but with little effort, Cardin jumped away from this clumsy attack, and in a single move smashed Jaune's shield with his hammer, sending it flying away, and before Arc could recover it, Cardin was already upon him, and soon, their weapons were locked in stalemate.

"And this is the part where you lose." Winchester said with a mocking grin, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Over my dead... " Jaune tried to boldly reply, but knee to the gut took away both his breath and bravado, sending him right on the arena's floor. And before Arc could get back up, Cardin stepped on his stomach.

"That can be arranged." Cardin whispered to him with a cruel smile, then raised the Executioner...

But before he could finish the act, the buzzer rings went out, lights returned, and Professor Goodwitch stepped in.

"Cardin, that's enough." And Cardin left an annoyed grunt, but he stepped away from the loser.

"Your lucky day, Jauney boy." Cardin whispered to him and walked away.

"Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's Aura has now dropped into the red." Professor said while tapping her scroll, showing all gathered students Jaune's nearly empty bar of aura while Cardin's didn't even move. "In a tournament-styled duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle, and that the official may call the match."

Still laying on the floor, Jaune looked at his scroll, and sighed heavily seeing his nearly empty bar of aura. Yet again, another defeat. As he watched at the displays of his teammates, he could feel embarrassment caused by their team leader's, yet another, failure.

"Mr Arc." Jaune suddenly heard from Professor "It's been weeks now. Please try to refer to your scroll during combat. Gauging your Aura will help you decide when it's appropriate to attack, or when it is better to move to a more... defensive strategy. We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf now, would we?"

He could hear the mocking laughter from Cardin's team, and turned to look at his own group.

Ren seemingly looked not interested at all, but Jaune could notice a glimmer of pity. Nora, with eyes burning out of anger, nearly jumped from her seat and started a brawl with three of Cardin teammates but Ren's arm hold her in place. And Pyrrha...

He looked into her green eyes, full of sadness and genuine care, and for some reason, he started to feel even worse.

He hated making anyone sad, and yet, he never failed in that regard.

"...It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing!" Jaune heard only that part of Glynda speech, because whirlwind of thoughts deafend him for everything else. "Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale!"

After she said that, the bell rang, and students started to leave the combat class, and Cardin walked past him.

"Wolfmeat." He whispered, and then laughed out loud, his team joining it as they were leaving. Jaune tried to ignore it, but he couldn't.

He hanged his head in shame while the class slowly started to empty itself.

He is an Arc, a descendent of a heroes. Why is he so weak?

"Mr. Arc" Glynda said after a few seconds. "Your class has ended, you may leave the stage."

"Ah yes, sorry!" The sudden comment drew him out from his thoughts. He stood up and run away after his team, but before he left the classroom, he looked back at the Professor Goodwitch, and from her cold stare he got a hidden message.

"What are you even doing here?"

---

A finishing touch on the crystal, a final piece in place…

Annatar rose the tiny spoon with rock crystal at the end, examined it thoroughly and with satisfied smile he put it into the box.

He lifted the box and approached the woman sitting on the armchair in the middle of the forge. He put the box before her.

"Milady, you asked for a set of cutlery for your entire family." He showed the contents of the box. There were forks, knives, spoons of all sizes, each reflecting the sunlight. - A cutlery that would both please the eye and fulfill its purpose.

Woman took a spoon and looked closely at the it.

"Is this Silver?"

"I assure you, it's just stainless steel." Annatar said.

"But it shines like silver."

"And will continue for the rest of time."

"Mira... Klein... Alexander... You named each after us?" She looked at her family, eating cake and drinking coffee, and in case of children tea.

"Only made sure that during dinner, nobody will mistake your favorite fork or spoon, and each member of your family have a spoon, fork and knife. But that's not all." He grabbed the bucket full of water, then took one of the spoons. "During dinner or supper, things tend to fall from the spoon directly on the table." In one swift move, he filled the spoon with water as much as he could, to the point that some of it should fell from it. Yet, it didn't.

"My spoons will not drop anything." He said while swinging the spoon back and forth, to the sides or up and down, each time faster and faster. "Unless the user wish them to do so." He turned the spoon and all its contents fell back into the bucket.

"This could be the trick, you know?" Woman said with suspicion, but Annatar only chuckled and put the spoon back into the box.

"Each possess the same ability, so please, pick one of your liking and test it." He turned to one of his subordinates. "Grisha, bring me coffee, oil and this brown, sweet substance."

"Hot Chocolate, Sir?"

"Indeed. Bring it swiftly." Grisha run to the back of the forge, while Sauron allowed himself to get a good look at the gathered crowd eating cakes, ice creams or just drinking coffee and even this so called "soda"*

He made necessary improvements, such as adding tables, chairs and benches for humans to sit comfortably and watch his work, which he thought will give his little "business" much needed attention. But he never thought about simultaneously opening a "Cafe", not realizing what kind of profits it will bring. But one day, one of Junior's bodyguards, the one called "Militiades", came and observed his work for few hours to report it to her Master. At least, that's what he thought, because after the work day, she approached him and pointed several ways of improvement, including starting a "cafe".

"There are many cafe's in Vale, but there is no Forge with a Cafe in town." She argued, and after some time of consideration, He took this advice, revalued it and gave it a try.

At first he had to pay for additional expenses, considering he had to bring all ingredients and make necessary space, but he never cared about expenses if they meant progress in his plans. However, Militiades proved yet again to be more than useful - because of her, he found in Junior's gang people with talent and that were passionate about bakery and coffee making, yet couldn't spread their wings due to Junior's total disinterest.

He cursed this fool and his ignorance many times already, yet it was never enough. And the success of this Cafe was a proof.

"Order to table Seven!" His goon shouted from behind the counter, and handed two plates with some cakes to a "waiter", who carried the order to the said table.

It was baffling that this "cafe" actually worked out. He just needs to supervise if his men are maintaining the quality, but other than that, he didn't even need to lift a finger. Who would have thought that people will pay for some water with beans boiled on his Smelter? Of course when he use it, none will dare to boil anything without his permission.

Forge is top priority, not the other way around.

His attention returned back to a woman, who tested each spoon with different liquids, yet not a single drop fell to the ground, no matter how hard she swung it.

"It's..."

"Do not praise it yet." Annatar said. "There are still forks and knives. And speaking of which... " He picked up the knife and put its blade against his hand. "It is able to cut through any food, from the boar's meat to soft fruits, however against human skin..."

He sliced it, making his customer gasp in shock, but with a proud smile, he showed that his hand is unharmed.

"... It won't even leave a scratch." He gave her the knife, and she reluctantly took it and put her finger on the sharp edge

"It's like a touching feather, yet colder... " Woman said after touching the edge with curiosity. "How are you doing this?"

"It's just masterfully done." He reached to the box. "And about the forks..."

"What is that?" She took a smaller spoon with crystal at the end from the box.

"That one is my favorite." Annatar touched his creation with pride. "Unlike others, it's special in other way."

"Which is?"

"Look at the crystal." And when she did, something seemed to shine inside. A short text:

"The Family is at its warmest at the dinner table."

"Wow... - She said, staring at the crystal and its message. "And you did that all in one hour?"

"Of course not." He disagreed. "I made at least four in that time."

She blinked, dumbfounded at that statement, and her family also was left speechless.

"Are you satisfied?" Annatar waved for one of the goons to come over.

"I am. I really am."

"Gunther, lead the lady to the counter, she will pay the amount we agreed upon." Sauron followed her with his stare, satisfied about this creation. Even now he felt that some of the gathered humans will order him the same thing, and, just like he said, he prepared more than one set.

He tried to justify it with "using human jealousy", but, truth to be told, during his work he often let himself get… carried away. Working on his anvil, melting the metal, shaping the stone – He does that with passion, and give himself to joy of creation, for he didn't felt it for thousands of years.

Because during his service to Morgoth and then attempts of unifying Middle-Earth, he, regretfully, never had time for his calling. He spent centuries scheming, commanding armies and attempting to bring down the West under his heel.

In fact, he had time for one thing he was both most proud and ashamed off. His Magnum Opus.

He turned to the crowd, all awaiting their turn.

He knows what he has to do here at some point, but he will indulge in this moment for as long as possible.

"NEXT!"

---

"So! There we were, in the middle of the night..." Nora started to passionately tell the story.

"It was day." Ren quickly corrected, much to gathered group amusement. Well, most of it.

Jaune wasn't listening to the story, too focused on his own thoughts to hear it. As he mashed the potato into puiree, he thought about his first three weeks of studies at Beacon - three weeks of being the worst in most of the subjects.

Combat classes? No win. History of Remnant? He could barely name single Atlesian general from the Great War. Huntsman regulation? It actually went better, but being mediocre isn't an achievement. He actually felt like a deadweight, carried by the rest.

And he thought that school will be a piece of cake.

"Dozens of them!" Nora jumped on the table, her story reaching some interesting climax, but Ren slightly shook his head and grabbed the cup of coffee.

"Two of 'em."

"They can take on two Ursai, while I barely survived the landing. Great." Jaune thought in sour mood without realizing that Ruby's and Pyrrha's attention turned to him.

"Jaune? Are you okay?" Pyrrha asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, yeah? Why?"

"It's just that you seem a little..." Ruby thought for a moment, thinking how to say in polite way. "...Not okay."

"Guys I'm fine!" He said after attention around the table shifted entirely on him. He never wanted to trouble them in the first place, so he tried to continue this facade. "Seriously! Look!" He rose his thumb up and laughed nervously, but from their faces he read that his bluff didn't work. However, before he could continue, he heard a commotion near the table of the Cardin's team, and looked over.

There, he saw how Cardin and his teammates abuse another student, a Faunus girl with rabbit ears. His blood boiled seeing how they mock her, how they call her a freak, and although his body told him yes, his mind held him in place. Because what could he do? If he tries to do something, Cardin will simply shift his focus to him, and he has no chance against the bully, not to mention his gang. The best he would do is spit on Cardin's shoe.

Yet again, a coward.

"Jaune, Cardin's been picking up on you since the first week of school." Pyrrha said, clenching her fists at the mere memory of that.

"He picks up on everyone." Blake said, glaring at Cardin with hate.

"Who? Cardin? Nah... " Juane raised his hands in a defensive gesture. "He just likes to mess around! You know, practical jokes!"

"And yet nobody is laughing." Ren pointed out, staring at the student in question, thinking about finally allowing Nora to go wild.

"He is a bully." Ruby said with contempt, not only angered about his behavior, but also because, in her eyes, Cardin acts like a villain, yet aims to become a hero.

"Oh please!" Jaune scoffed. "Name one time he's "bullied" me."

"He stole your books and threw them into a fountain." Blake immediately said, still furious about such loss.

"It was an accident!"

"He then shoved you into the said fountain." Yang added.

"I needed to clean my uniform anyway."

"He put a slimy frog in your hood." Ruby said, clenching her fists, remembering how he pulled this exact same prank twice: first on Jaune, then on her. "Nobody touches the hood."

"It wasn't really that bad!"

"He pushed you into the locker and sent you flying away from the Academy." Pyrrha said to finally prove the point, but Jaune just tried to laugh of the matter.

"I didn't land far from the school!"

"Jaune, you know if you ever need help, you can just ask." Pyrrha said, giving him a reassuring smile, while Nora rose up from her seat and cracked her knuckles.

"We'll break his legs!"

"Count me in." Yang nodded in agreement.

"Guys, really, it's fine!"

"Can you stop?" Weiss finally had enough, and when everyone looked at her, she rolled her eyes. "You are embarrassing Pyrrha, us, and the entire Academy with your incompetence. From the first day you showed nothing noteworthy."

Jaune looked at his dinner, trying to hide how these words affect him, but Schnee didn't stop there.

"She graciously offers you help, and you push it away? It's sad, and quite pathetic."

"Sheesh, such icy thing to say, Ice Queen. Give him a break." Yang interjected, trying to shut her up.

"Stop calling me that!"

Faunus girl run away from Cardin with tears in her eyes, making the Winchester laugh even louder.

"Despicable." Pyrrha said in disgust. "I just can't stand him."

"You are not the only one." Blake added while Cardin looked in their direction and gave them a wink.

"Oh please, don't tell me you buy this act." Weiss commented seemingly uninterested about everything except her launch.

"And what do you mean by "act"?" Blake asked with such cold that even Yang looked at her with surprise. However, Weiss didn't pick up the hidden threat and pressed on the matter.

"Simple, she acts all defenseless to cause pity, that we will all come to cheer her up and "help" her."

"I don't think she acted..." Ruby wanted to say, but Weiss only scoffed after hearing this."

"She enrolled to the Academy, right? Passed the initiation? This means she has some skills and could defend herself."

"Maybe she just chose not to? Not everyone like to throw hands." Pyrrha argued, but Weiss shook her head in disagreement.

"Or maybe she just plays victim because it's beneficial?" Weiss countered. "White Fang use this tactic all the time to get what they want, to show how "bad" we are and how they are "oppressed". Only to later put their Grimm masks and terrorize, set on fire or even kill in your sleep."

"Not every Faunus is "acting"." Blake said with seemingly calm voice. "There are many who truly suffer mistreatment because of their differences and can't defend themselves."

"And how to differ them from the Fangs?" Weiss asked in turn. "You never know who is behind the mask. Or who use their real face as one."

Blake clenched her fists under the table, and Yang rraised her eyebrow seeing that, while Weiss, not hearing a response, smiled in victory.

"So it's better to not give them benefit of the doubt. You never know what they will do with it."

Blake slammed her plate against the table and stormed off the cafeteria.

"Blake wait!" Ruby rose from her seat, but Yang put her hand on her shoulder.

"I will talk with her, you keep our Ice Queen in check." She said, raising from her seat to catch up with her partner, while attention of the table turned to Weiss.

"What?"

"What you said..." Pyrrha said. "Was wrong on so many levels."

""Wrong" is an understatement." said Ren, while Nora shook her head in disapproval.

"If you had my experience, you would agree with me." Weiss said, continuing her meal like nothing happened.

Pyrrha wanted to argue more, but then she realized that in a meantime Jaune quietly left the table and was already near the door.

"Jaune?" She rose from her seat and wanted to run after him, but she felt Ren's hand on her shoulder.

"Give him time." He said. "Maybe He just wants to be alone for now. He will rethink and come back."

"And we will be here for him!" Nora confirmed, while also sending grinning Cardin a death glare.

Pyrrha however, wasn't convinced. Jaune clearly has a problem and she don't want to leave him alone with this, but how can she help him if he doesn't want it?

She brushed off Ren's hand and wanted run after Jaune, much to Cardin's delight.

"Running after her knight in the shining armor!? Really!?" He said out loud, and Pyrrha stopped, mood in the cafeteria shifted. "Why does she even care about such loser!?" Carding turned to his teammates looking for their approval, and although at first unconvinced, they started to laugh as well after he slammed his fist against table. "Big Baby needs a Babysitter, that's wh…"

With loud thud, a metal plate stuck itself deep in the bench, right between the Cardin's legs. He blinked a few times, staring at still shaking metal mere inches from his groin.

"What was that for!?" Weiss said, dumbfounded after Pyrrha unceremoniously grabbed her dinner and threw it at Cardin, but Pyrrha's stare was entirely focused on the bully, who at first was ready to fight, but he quickly recognized that he is outmatched.

Pyrrha stared at him with unspoken challenge for a minute, and when Cardin decided to not pick the metaphorical glove, she turned and walked away, Cardin's angry gaze following her every step. hatred raising inside of him like fire.

"Chicken. Kwa kwa." Nora said to Ren and mimicked the bird wings with her arms, and Cardin could hear the silent laughter not only from Ren, but from the rest of students in the cafeteria. He turned to give them all a hateful glare, and they quickly went silent and returned back to their dinners. All of them saw what she did, without a doubt. This humiliation. How she challenged his reputation, and he couldn't do anything about it.

He took this deep into his heart, promising that he will bring the "Invincible girl" low for this. With the idea in mind, he started to formulate the plan.

And he has a perfect candidate for the task.

---

"Blake!" She heard Yang from behind, but didn't slow down. Only when Yang grabbed her arm she stopped.

"Never thought that you care that much about Ice Queen's opinion."

"I really don't."

"Then, what's the matter?"

"What's the matter? I tell what's "the matter." Blake finally turned to her partner. "There are many people like her, keep saying the same thing. When Faunus are not standing for themselves, they are called cowards or are accused of "acting for benefits", and when they finally decide to fight back, they are called terrorists and criminals!" She left a deep sigh. "I'm just sick and tired of that."

Yang remained silent, wanting to give Blake way to speak freely.

"I thought here, at Beacon, things will be different." Blake admitted after calming down a little. "But after seeing Cardin being... well, himself, and when Weiss..." She shook her head in disappointment.

"It must be hard being a Faunus." Yang said her thoughts out loud, and Blake looked at her feet. But then, Yang pat her shoulder "But you worry too much about wrong people's opinion." She said, much to Blake's surprise, and after seeing her expression, Blonde girl smiled.

"I don't know how much about Faunus is true, but when I go to party in town, I rarely meet people who are like Cardin or Weiss. Believe me, most genuinely don't give a damn about who you are, or where you are from, as long as you are fun."

"I don't think that's..." Blake wanted to argue, but much taller girl took her under her arm, much to her shock.

"Any plans for tonight?" Yang suddenly changed the topic while Blake tried her best to not use her semblance and jump away.

"Studying for tomorrow." Blake stated the obvious, and Yang groaned hearing this.

"Really? That's it? Nothing exciting?"

Blake looked sideways, not wanting to tell that, in reality, the book she read reached its climax.

"Because I'm going to the party tonight." She declared, and brought Blake closer. "And you are going with me!"

"What?"

"You heard me right! We are gonna have some fun together!"

"But..." Yang brought her even closer.

"Listen, we are partners and barely know each other, all our topics are basically "study" and "more study". It's frustrating!"

"I'm… not really into parties." Blake responded, hoping that it will cut the discussion.

"It will be fun I promise!" Yang started to lead her partner to the landing pad. "Besides, it will be better than spending time with Weiss, right?"

"I mean..." Seeing her still unsure, Yang thought for a moment and decided to reveal her trump card.

"How about this - You give it a shot, and I will get you a book from the series you read."

"Which one?"

"About some Ninja if I recall..." Blake's face turned pale, but Yang didn't stop there. "Friend send me the cover, gimme a sec..." She reached for her scroll, but before she could pull it out from her pocket, she noticed that Blake is already gone.

"We don't want be late, we gotta go and prepare!" Blake run towards their dorm, and at first Yang was dumbfounded, but then smiled.

"A great sucess." She said and run after her.

---

Annatar was sitting on the armchair, listening carefully to the history that an old man was telling him.

"My grandkids visit me less often than before, they have school and all, but when they do, I fear they…" Old man lowered his head. "I fear they don't like spending time with me anymore."

"They stopped loving you?"

"No! It's not that. They just… grew up and there are just many more interesting things than their old grandpa. We played soccer, catch, tag, all kinds of stuff when I was younger. But I slowed down, time wasn't generous for me, and I can't keep up with them."

"I see." Annatar scratched his chin "So your wish is something which will spark interest of your family yet again, and give you a company at the time of their absence?"

"Yes! Could you do something like this?"

"Of course." Annatar rose from the armchair. "Just sit and wait here friend, it will be done soon."

He approached his set off tools near the wall, all categorized by its sizes, uses and frequency of use. Annatar took one of the small hammers, a one for the jewelry.

I could make a pedant that would make him stronger." Annatar thought, but after few seconds of consideration, Sauron put away that thought. "He is old and frail, he won't live for long, making something that powerful for him would be a waste." He put the hammer back, and looked at the old man.

"Your Grandchildren are men or women?" He asked.

"Three boys." Old man smiled at the memory. "Oh, how quickly they grew up. Do you want to see the picture?"

"No need, but tell me, did you play chess with them?"

"We played a lot, but they said it is too repetitive. Why do you ask?" Hearing that Annatar chuckled.

"I will make sure it won't be anymore." With new idea in mind, Annatar walked to the section of his forge where he store wood.

"Three men, who most likely imagine themselves as heroes fighting against the evil." Annatar thought after picking up hammer, nails, oak wood and a saw. He started to envision something simple, yet with a twist. A way for their imagination to let loose.

"First, I have to made a chess board, why one though? I will make three at the same time! This oak plank will be perfect for it." Thinking that Annatar put it to dry, and thenhe accelerated the process using his abilities. "After ten minutes I will carve checkerboard, but now for the pieces. Standard design is so boring, I will make it a little more exciting, maybe the white pawns will be Gondor soldiers? Black pawns should be uruks, I had two towers in Middle Earth, so Barad-dûr for one and Minas Morgul for second…"

Annatar, piece by piece created the figures, and when the time came for the board, he made not only enough for commissioned work, but also for three more sets. Then from the oak plank he then carved the board, careful to make all the angles perfect. Only after he was satisfied with that, he varnished the wood.

For next three minutes his hand was a blur, chess squares were being colored according to rules, while old man just blankly stared at the whole process, trying to comprehend what is going on. Not later than half of an hour later he stopped working, whole chess set was ready. With satisfied smile, he looked at his creation, then took it and approached his "client".

"I think this will satisfy your needs." He presented the chess board with all pieces on it, and before his client could respond, all pieces bowed to him.

"What the bloody hell?" He said seeing the chess piece moving, not to mention saluting him.

"Don't worry, they merely mimic being alive." Annatar reassured. "But as long as they are on the board, they will act accordingly."

"Are they tiny robots?"

"Of course not! They are just masterfully made*". Just take one and look.

Curios, old man picked up the Black Queen, in this case a black crowned figure with a sword and mace, lifted it and carefully, it was just a very detailed wooden figure, however, when he put it back on the board, it rose it's mace cried a challenge.

"They are… unusual, to say the least." He said, wondering why Black figures instead of knights on horses got war elephants, or why the White queen is a Wizard on the Horse.

"This chess board will ensure that each play is immersive, and engaging." Annatar took two pawns and put them right next to each other, and both started to exchange blows, not strong enough to shatter themselves, but powerful enough to make clash of their sword believable and realistic. "But if you don't like it, you can switch it off with a single push of the button here." Annatar pressed first of the three buttons, and figures became motionless.

"What the other two do?" Human asked, his eyes sparking with curiosity.

"I am glad you asked." Annatar pointed at the button in the middle." This is record button, and for it to work properly, you need a pen." Sauron took one of the pens he made. "And a sheet of paper." He snapped his fingers, and Gunther quickly arrived with some paper. He put the paper beside the board, then put the pen on it and press the button on the side. "And from now on, each game will be transformed into self-contained story."

"Wait, what?"

"Observe." Annatar pushed the button, then took the white riders from G1 and moved it to F3, and when he did so, pen twitched, started to float and write on paper:

At command of the king of the West, Riders of the Riddermark started rode past the line of their allies, wanting to test the resolve of their foe…

These "pens" were one of his first creations, able to write what you say, or like in this case, could be linked to other items like this chess board. Although you still need to fill with ink from time to time, and those cost more than normal for obvious reasons, it's worth for a masterfully made tool, which never make spelling mistakes and is far more convenient than normal one**. As for Annatar – those pens were easy and cheap to make, so he made thousands of them due to the growing demand.

The real downside is that it can't replicate your handwriting, and although he could make them do it, he decided against it – Dealing with perfect copies of someone's handwriting on official documents would be more problematic than useful. It didn't stop people from buying them en masse though.

Who would have thought that his most successful creation in this world will be a PEN.

"And the last one is for those lonely days." Annatar pressed the third button. "When you press it, You can play with the board itself."

Human blinked a few times.

"It must be a robot."

"It made purely from fine oak wood, without additional mechanisms."

"It's hard to believe that…"

"You saw the whole process, unless you don't believe your own sight."

"Your hands moved too fast!"

"That's what a lifetime of practice makes you." Annatar looked at Gunther. "Play a practice game with our guest, to make sure he is satisfied."

"Of course boss." His helper picked the board and walked with Annatar's "guest" to the empty table, Annatar turned his attention back to additional figures he made.

Modelling those figures after his past brought back some memories of course. About ungrateful elves and misguided humans. About treacherous wizards.

He picked up the figure of the white wizard and examined it with his fingers. No matter where he went, this one was always thwarting his plans, and inspired humans to oppose him on every turn, and yet, after all this time, Sauron never understood what gave him this strength, this courage. He saw greater men than him brought low, succumbing to temptations, even the greatest of Istari betrayed his kind. But no matter how hard he tried, this one's resolve never faltered.

He looked at this perfect representation of his greatest foe, and, to his surprise, Annatar finally realized that for some reason, every single model inspired by the wizard has a wooden pipe in its mouth.

"No matter." He thought and put the figure back. "He belongs to the past, just like the rest of them. I left those ignorant and foolish behind."

He looked at the crowd with a smile.

"But those people here are not like them. They are more than willing to watch his work. Listen to my words. Admire my craft."

"Next!"

Sometime later

"You done kid?" Postman tried to sound politely, but he grew increasingly annoyed. His shift should end quarter an hour ago, yet thanks to this teenager he had to stay overtime.

"Just a moment!" Jaune said while he finished a letter to his family, and when he did finish it, he sealed it and gave it to the postman. "Sorry."

"It's fine kid." Worker read the address and rose his eyebrow. "That's far away, it will take some time before this letter reach it."

"No problem at all." Jaune said with his tired voice, trying to hide both physical and mental exhaustion as best as he could. That's why he preferred letters over video calls

His Mother and Sisters would see in no time through his facade.

"I see." Postman put a stamp on it. "Alright, I'm gonna grab some coffee." He said to himself and went into the post office, and Arc wanted to leave as well, however he heard inside that someone is furiously writing , and yet he couldn't see anyone else. Slightly curious, he peeked inside and it was just a floating pen.

He turned around, approached the door, opened them, only to finally realize something. He rushed back to the counter and yes, it was still a floating pen.

It wrote on the documents, finished paperwork, corrected addresses on the letters, all with great speed. Jaune blinked few times, trying to understand what is going on with this thing. It was just like the first time when he sparred Ruby and her team, when she suddenly burst into cloud of petals and kicked him out of the arena. She explained that it was her semblance, and sure, it made sense, everyone (except him for some reason) in Beacon had one which made them cool. – Yang burst into flames when she gets angry, Weiss has glyphs, Nora can take a lightning and gain power boost from it. But pens don't have a semblance from what he knew. Unless he overslept that lesson too.

"You like it kid?" Postman returned with a cup of coffee.

"Nice semblance man." Jaune said, and worker laughed.

"Semblance? Kid, only you Hunters have it."

"Then how you do this?"

"Simple, I bought it."

"...What?"

The man chuckled. "You heard me right, I bought from the Dream Smith."

"Who?"

"A Dream Smith! Annatar, if I recall."

"Never heard of him."

"No wonder, he arrived some time ago and opened a Forge in Downtown, on Limestone street. But the stuff he makes…" Postman whsitled with admiration. "Unbelievable, I tell ya."

"A forge?" Jaune questioned, little uncertain what to think about it.

"That's what I said!" the man laughed, and realized something. "Oh, I almost forgot!" He reached for his pocket and pulled out something. "I never wanted to sound rude, but you have a face of a beaten dog. You had a though day, didn't you?"

"What? No! I'm fine. Really."

"Mhm sure. Anyway, this is for you."

Jaune took what appeared to be business card with Forge on the picture, and title "EREGION" written in golden letters, with a quote.

"Fulfilling your dreams takes just one step…" He read out loud, and turned the card "…Or a bus ride."

"There is a ticket attached to it." Postman confirmed. "And a bus station is just nearby."

"That's awfully convenient."

"Yeah man, I think I broke it out." Postamn widely gesticulated. "He somehow made a deal with public transport, and bought tickets in a bulk. Then he gave me and my colleagues those cards as advertisement, and we, in return, got discounts. I don't know about you mate, but for me it was absolute win, just look!" He pointed at floating pen. "I basically got that for half the price!"

"And unlike most bussiness cards, which lay forgotten because we lack time, people are tempted to visit just because of the free ticket." Jaune thought out loud, scratching his chin. "Really smart."

"And he is really nice guy. Little weird, but nice." Worker added. "And you should visit him boy. Maybe he can help you with your problem. If you have one of course." He gave him a wink and drunk some coffee.

Jaune stared at the card, and with each passing second he felt the urge to check it out grow. He will just go and watch, nothing wrong about that? He will not buy anything so it should be fine, right?

He opened his scroll and wrote short message to Pyrrha:

I will arrive a little late, don't worry.

---

* For us humans, it is magic, but for a maia it is a norm.
** Annatar didn't know at the time, but one of the companies producing pens, particulary annoyed by sudden competition, sent one of their employees in disguise, bought one of those pens, disaasembled it to the tiniest pieces and tried to put it into mass production. However, each copied pen didn't work as intended, which resulted in a failure.
Capitalism: 0, Sauron: 1

Notes:

So our knight will have a fateful meeting soon. What fun
Ri2 "Why don't you make new furniture, Sauron? You're good at making things." - Simple really, why bother with something he is not going to use? He doesn't need sleep, it's basically a decoration, and making it would take some of the precious time he could spend on experimenting.
Have a nice week!
Dj

Chapter 6: Helping Hands - part 2

Limestone, Vale

"You may move freely now, I will be finishing soon." Annatar said from behind the easel to the pair of humans, a short man with black hair and mustache wearing white, expensive suit and with black hair and tall female with white hair, wearing a long, black dress that reached her toes.

"May I take a look?" The man asked.

"When I finish the colors." Annatar said, allowing his hand to paint freely, adding depth, shades and brining life to the portrait.

"I thought you are a blacksmith, not a painter." Woman said with little suspicion.

"A Blacksmith?" Annatar scoffed. "True Craftsman does not limit himself to only iron or gold, for that would be a sign that he lacks ingenuity. In my view, those proficient with the hammer must also study the way of the paintbrush to truly cultivate thier skills."

"Then tell me, what else you can do?" Male asked while wine-red and sky-blue mixed on the painting, birthing the Emperor's crimson.

"What I can't do would be a better question." Sauron said with great pride, took a step back to evaluate the painting as a whole.

"Can you sing?" Woman asked genuinely curious, and Annatar couldn't help himself but laugh.

"In my homeland I was highly regarded for both my talent, and my voice." He said as he put down the paintbrush and put his right hand before the portrait. "And although some back there may think that they were better than me, I still surpassed them, both in music, and creation. But that was a long time ago." His hands glowed, heat drying the painting in an instant. "Now, what do you think?"

He turned the easel to the pair and the gathered crowd, showing everyone the image of lightly living room, not too spacy but giving warm vibes. Outside the window could be seen a building made out of red brick. There were furniture inside the room, huge oak table covered by light blue tablecloth. On the cupboard were smaller pictures showing small moments from life, one of the pair in caffe under the moonlight, second depicting the man getting medal for extraordinary work in his workplace. The pair was also there, standing on the rug, which had beautiful Emperor's crimson color. Everyone who looked on the art piece could fell calm and welcomingness flowing from the painting.

"Is this our living room!?" The husband asked in shock.

"It is… beautiful." Wife added.

"It is masterfully made indeed." Annatar said as he handled the portrait to them. "I also included some puzzles into it, I won't spoil too much, but please, take look on the rug's pattern closely."

"The stripes… there are…"

"Exactly ten, one for every year of your marriage."

Husband took hold of the painting, keeping it as close to himself as possible, like he held a cherished treasure in his hands.

"Thank you, Mister, I am really glad we came to you." He left the forge and walked straight to the car parked nearby, wanting to safely pack his new possession, while satisfied Annatar started to clean up his tools.

"Wait." Woman said, stopping Annatar in a middle of cleaning his paint brush, and he turned his head back to his guest.

"Yes?"

"The amount we paid for this is… unfair." Human said. "Paintings like this are in the museums, and are considered priceless pieces of art!"

"I'm flattered." Annatar bowed his head.

"Also you not only sold it for basically for nothing!" She pressed on. "It took you few hours, while for others it would take decades!"

With a friendly smile, Sauron took her under his arm, like an old friend.

"I would not be so harsh for an ordinary painter, back in my early days, at my very beginnings, it would take me around three days of work. And also, we bargained for the price at the start, right?"

"Yes, but…"

"And we agreed we will not raise or lower the price after the work is done, unless I, and I quote: "Mess it up" end quote"

Before she could replay, Sauron chuckled.

"Believe me, true craftsman understands the value of things he creates, and I deemed this exchange worthy of my time." He looked her directly in the eyes. "You don't need to spare me more coin, for I already got what I wanted."

"Which is?" She asked, feeling her will faltering under the influence of the lava-like eyes.

"Time to go dear!" Human yelled to her, snapping her out of that trance. She looked back at Annatar, bowed her head a little and walked back to the car, and Sauron waved to them as they drove away, towards their home, their friends.

Wealthy and, preferably, powerful friends.

He saw more and more members of the upper class either showing just outside of his forge, "accidentally" drove by to take a look or sent their men to scout him out. He was more than sure that this couple arrived here at the orders of someone more influential than them. Regardless, future visitors of their home will certainly ask about the painting. Admire it.

Which will lead them to him.

Sauron couldn't do anything else than cheer a little in his mind – people like this pair were only the first of many who will come. And as he will become accustomed with local elite, the more willing they will be to listen to his ideas, while also retaining his support in common folk.

A long-term plan, but Sauron got time. Plenty of that.

Annatar looked at the polished floor of his forge, and noticed some stones were marked by paint, probably small drops fell while he painted.

"Yowwick, clear the floor…" He turned to his subordinate, and to his surprise, he noticed that Yowwick is stressed out, his eyes twitching behind the sunglasses from right to left and from to right, like a sheep looking for the wolves hiding between the trees.

"Yowwick?" He asked again, but he received no response. "What's wrong?" He demanded to know with such coldness in his voice that even a polar bear would get frostbite, and finally, he got his subordinate's attention.

"They were Atleasians boss." He said through his teeth, trying to not say it too loud, and Sauron felt immense fear in goon's voice.

"Were they a threat?" His eyes narrowed.

"Not them." Yowwick shook his head in denial. "Fangs."

Sauron rose his eyebrow in silence, expecting a proper response.

"Chief, White Fang hate Atlas more than anything. They constantly attack not only SDC, but also Atlesian migrants and their sympathizers. They especially target those who make business with Atleasians as a "punishment"."

"Ah yes, the White Fang, I heard something about them." Sauron nodded, genuinely unbothered. "You think they observe us right now?"

"I didn't see them, but I am more than certain they watch us. White Fangs has eyes everywhere, and they certainly know how to hide in crowd."

Sauron looked at the gathered people and Faunus, and although he didn't see anyone with ill intentions, he felt the stench of treachery and malicious intent. He knew that smell too well.

"What kind of threat they pose exactly?" Sauron asked, very curious about this group. "Clearly bunch of disgruntled peasants wouldn't scare someone like you."

"Boss, they are violent maniacs who recently robbed a train full of Dust, burned warehouses full of atleasian goods and even clashed against the police, of course they are a threat!"

"And I thought I am under protection." Sauron wondered out loud. "Will they truly dare to attack you knowing your master? Are they truly that bold?"

"They don't give two shits about the balance of power in town Chief." Nathan explained, stressed more than ever. "Our boss's name to them means nothing, the only thing they care about is…" Goon paused, and started to think.

"Go on."

"…Apparently, they fight for their rights." Nathan said after a short while, soudnign unsure

"Then why won't you grant them what they want?"

"Because I am not sure what rights they lack in Vale boss." Yowwick shrugged his arms. "Sure, Faunus are called animals from time to time and Hooligans beat them up…, aaand we fought against each other in the past, but that's all I could think off."

For a moment, Sauron remained silent, and then started to quietly laugh.

"...I see, so that what is all about." Sauron started to clean his tools like nothing happened, leaving his subordinate dumbfounded. "This kind of threat."

"What do you mean boss?"

"What I mean is that we should put some precautions against some unwanted guests." He put away the easel to its designated place. "I will ask Junior for more guards during the nights for some time."

"…Of course boss." Nathan walked to the crowd to relay a command while Sauron returned to cleaning the floor, laughing in his spirit about this "White Fang".

They claim to fight for their rights, maybe to avenge humanity's wrongdoings through Remnant's history, but from this short description he saw a very familiar sight.

A self-sustaining, irrational Hatred. Against Atlas for their deeds. Against SDC for their actions. Against humanity as a whole for simply existing on the same world.

Emotion, which condemned Fëanor's sons and elves as they spilled blood on the white shores.

Emotion, which led Uldor to stab his allies in the back during Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

Emotion, which he used well to divide his enemies for all those centuries.

He smirked, thinking how convenient it is that this world has its own version of Easterlings. He won't take their threat lightly of course, that would be unreasonable, but now, knowing what it is all about, he can plan how to utilize their hatred. Eventually.

If they are as fanatical as Yowwick suggests, then it is even better.

After he cleaned up his workplace, he lifted one of his heavy hammers and looked at the piles of steel. Now he has a clear goal for this evening.

Fanatics – They are hard to corrupt, but so easy to control.

"Boss, another bus is arriving." One of the goons said, and Annatar put back the hammer.

"Excellent, watch if there are any interesting guests, and help them get in line." He ordered, thinking about a special gifts he will prepare for both desired guests, and unwelcomed fools.

---

"And here we are." Yang announced taking Blake under her shoulder.

"This one?" Blake asked, surprised to see an unassuming hotel made of a red bricks with pair of Heavy Black doors in the middle, reception desk in shape of a boat on the outside and large title "Elysium" on top of the building. Small groups of people, mostly young adults waited impatiently outside, tapping their feet, yelling for others to hurry up while cashier at the reception desk patiently checked the tickets.

"That's on purpose, the cool stuff is inside." Yang said and let her go, then looked around. "And where are they..."

"There she is!" Both girls heard, and soon tall black man with shot haircut, wearing white T-shirt and blue jeans greeted them before the entrance. "Xiao Long herself!"

"Goose, buddy!" Yang and man apparently nicknamed Goose firmly shook hands and held for some time, until he clenched his teeth in pain. "I see you practiced from the last time!"

"Still not enough I guess." He said with painful expression, and when Yang finally released his hand, he whistled seeing it entirely red. "For Brothers grip, it's just me or you got even stronger?"

"You should see me in combat class!" Yang punched the air few times. "I'm on a win roll!" Goose laughed.

"Yeah yeah of course you are." He finally noticed Blake standing little behind. "And I guess you made new friends on Beacon!"

"Blake, meet Mike, my Gym buddy."

"Hi." Blake greeted him but maintain distance.

"And Goose, meet Blake, my partner, as you see, she is pretty shy."

"Ohoho really? Partners already?"

"It's not like that you idiot!" Yang punched him in the arm, Goose jokingly retaliated and both started to laugh after this short "fight", while Blake smiled a little, remembering similar moments like this, that she shared with her friends. A carefree and fun ones.

She quickly shushed them, trying her best to forget.

"Mav is already inside?" Yang asked while they were walking towards the entrance of the hotel, and Goose nodded. "Pretty unusual for her."

"Hey, we camped the best table for an hour, give us some credit! We even got spare coins."

"No need, but thanks guys."

They approached the register, and Blake finally noticed that the cashier is actually a bulky robot, built into the whole thing and its name - HARON - written on its chest.

"Tartaros or fields?" It asked with ominous tone, and Goose reached for his pocket.

"Hey, There is a line here assholes!" Someone yelled towards them, but Goose ignored them and pulled out the silver ticket with word "coin" written in the center.

"Gold and Silver visitors are off-limits to cross the Styx" Robot responded, and checked Goose's ticket. "Welcome in the Paradise."

"What about those two!? One Silver is not..."

Yang pulled out one Silver "coin" from her pocket and handed it to Blake.

"This one is for you and this one..." She then pulled out a golden ticket with an image of a dragon on display, and showed it to the Cashier "... is for me."

Robot scanned the ticket, went silent for a moment and looked at Yang again.

"Welcome to the Paradise, Golden Dragon!" It said with cheerful voice.

"Golden dragon?" Blake asked her partner while she hid the ticket back.

"It's because of temper." Goose whispered to her.

"AND the hair!" Blonde girl said with pride while the set of automatic doors opened before them.

"Sure, sure, it was because of hair, not because you punched a guy through a roof." Hearing this, Yang looked at her partner with a cheeky smile.

"Maybe you want to hear why everyone calls him Goose?" She asked as they walked down the slowly darkening hallway.

"Hey, you promised to not blab!"

All three walked into the dark hallway, the only visible thing was long, blue carpet leading deeper to another set of doors, and when heavy doors ominous closed behind them, Blake instinctively turned towards it.

"Chill, everything is fine." Yang said to calm her down.

"Scared off a little dark?" Goose teased, and Blake rolled her eyes. Scared of the dark? Really? She could literally just sneak to him, knock him out cold and disappear like a ghost without him noticing that she approached him in the first place.

"Oh no, a dark room." She said, and after seeing him grin, used her semblance to appear right beside him. "Sooo scary." She whispered to his ear and he jumped away in suprise.

"How the f…"

Before he could finish, Heavy doors started to open, and before the hallway was engulfed with bright light and drowned in loud music, Blake managed to cover her eyes when neon-light nearly blinded her.

Before the trio was an enormous hall with four pillars being only source of neon lights, with at least thirty tables in the corners, and a dance a floor between those pillars, which constantly shifted colors, enlightening the whole hall from blue to green, to suddenly mixing red and blue to form purple light.

Each corner had its own bar, and large number of waiters run around, delivering drinks to people gathered around the tables, while the band played rock music on the stage put directly before the dance floor.

…What should I do, Stuck to this chair?

And yet I know

Gonna break away!

It's not my style,

I gotta get away,

Here now and today!

Blake allowed her eyes to adjust, but put one step backwards, now uncertain if she wants to do this. There were so many people both on the dance floor and in the corners. This cacophony of voices made her nervous, and Yang looked at her with concern.

"You alright?" She asked, and after a short pause, Blake nodded, showing that she is fine.

She won't let a chance to get another chapter of "Ninja's in Love" to slip away like that. She can take spending few hours here.

"Let's meet up with Mav, and hope she isn't drunk too much already." Goose started to make his way through the crowd, Yang walked after him, and Blake, after leaving a sigh, joined them.

"It's a Golden Dragon!" Someone yelled from the crowd.

"Hello Pete! New hairstyle?" Yang replied.

"Yang!" Another voice greeted her.

"Samantha! New eyeliners I see!"

"You really know all of them?" Blake asked, really astonished.

"I probably know everyone here." Yang answered with a smile. "You know, I am pretty popular around here."

"You are breathtaking!" Someone yelled making Yang giggle.

"Yeah, especially after you beat up Junior." Goose said after gently pushing another pair aside. "Whole town spoke about that crashout!"

"Who?" Blake run in her head a list of major political figures in Vale and found him at the very bottom. "Wait, you beat up Junior Xiong?" Yang chuckled.

"Mhm, that was so much fun. And the best part is that apparently, Hades had some sort of beef against him."

"Hades?"

"The owner." Goose quickly clarified while Yang waved to someone calling out her name. "When he learnt that Yang beat Junior up…"

"Hey, don't steal my retrospection!" Yang punched Mike's arm, then looked at Blake. "So, as you probably have guessed, Hades sent me a Golden ticket and also gave a permanent discount."

"He even made a drink to "honor" that fight." Goose added, barely holding back his laughter. "You won't guess how he called it."

" 'Dragon's breath'? 'Burn'?" Yang tried to guess, and each time her friend shook his head in denial. "Oh I know! 'The Punchline'?"

"Nope." Goose grinned. "The Nut Cracker"

Both laughed out loud while Blake looked around, analyzing the whole place. She quickly noticed that above the crowd, on the catwalks walk guards dressed in black, who observed everyone on the dance floor and sitting by the tables, the catwalk being too high for anyone to jump on, but low enough to safely jump from, just in case guards have to quickly intervene. She saw how one of the guards pointed at them and said something on the radio.

"They are watching us." Blake said.

"No wonder why." Yang replied. "I used to come here often. I even won a boxing tournament held here."

"They held a tournament?"

"Yeap. And after I won, they told me I can ask for anything!"

"And what did you choose?" Blake asked, and, to her surprise, Yang's smile faded away.

"Doesn't matter." She answered after a while, and Blake guessed that she accidently stumbled a touchy subject.

"But she still can't participate in any future tournaments ever again." Goose commented with a smile.

"Hey, not my fault that they care too much for their walls"

…Here I am as I stand, I can feel you think,

"Such a waster."

It's okay, I don't care

Didn't wanna stay stuck with the fools.

Skating down Park Avenue, I realise my time is now and here

Ready to go,

Being sensible is just not sensible!

"Goose!" Someone yelled to them, trying to get past the crowd, but luckily for her, Mike noticed the familiar face between people.

"Mav!" He switched direction, and soon trio walked through the dancing crowd, and were meet by the girl with quite short green hair and eyes, who immediately hugged Yang tightly, and she answered that with the hug on her own.

"So, after this this two months, how does the Beacon feels? Is it too crumped?"

"Not really, I saw way more people in bars during Free Fridays. But at least those in Beacon can take more than one punch!"

Both of them laughed and then Mav noticed Blake standing behind slightly behind.

"You brought a friend from Beacon!" In span of a second, she appeared before startled Blake and saluted. – Hello, hi, my name is Casey but friends call me Mav, if you ever need a pilot, I will be more than happy to aid a Huntress!

"Umm… thanks?"

"What food do you like? How does studying at Beacon looks like? How…"

"Calm down you chatterbox!" Yang put her arm on Mav's shoulder and looked at Blake. "Forgive her, she loves talking as much as flying."

"Nothing beats the breeze in the air, I tell you!" Mav eagerly said. "I will be a pilot soon, just wait for my papers to finally arrive!" And Blake gave her an awkward smile.

In her past, Blake didn't like people who talk way too much than necessary, but after spending month with Ruby, her view on that matter changed and now only annoyed her.

"Come on, we don't have whole night!" Mav gestured them to follow her and she started to run. "The last to come pays for drinks!"

"Slow down you maniac!" Yang run after her, Blake and Goose looked at each other, he shrugged his arms and both walked after the two.

Meanwhile on the stage the first band left with their instruments, all lights went dark, and shortly after, female announcer walked on the stage Enlighted by single searchlight

"Thank you Subdigitals for this evening! Amazing as always!" She looked at the crowd "ARE YOU HAVING FUN!?"

"Yes!"

"I can't hear you!?"

"YES!" More than one hundred voices cried out in response

"DO YOU FEEL INVINCIBLE!?"

"YES!"

Light returned to the Club, revealing another band already starting another song, drums and electric guitars shaking the air, while the lead singer took the microphone:

Target on my back

Lone survivor lasts

They got me in their sites

No surrender no

Trigger fingers go

living the dangerous life…

Blake's ears twitched under her ribbon due all that loud sounds everywhere, most coming from a nearby loudspeaker, and again had to cover her eyes due sudden eruption of light. She never understood why humans enjoy such places – Everything is so noisy and lights are blinding her all the time*. Half blind, she lost both Yang and Goose while walking through the crowd, and by accident she bumped into someone, making him trip and fall on the ground, his white hat falling off few feet away.

"Watch how you walk you degenerate…" Ghoulish like man with fish like eyes cursed after dropping few bottles of beer, its contents spilling all over the floor and on him, and smell of alcohol reached Blake's nose, nearly making her puke.

"Sorry." She said and reached with her hand to him, but he didn't take it, instead stared at her with shock.

"You…" He muttered, his clothes, at first originally white, now thanks to beer got more brown, shit-like color. Blake tried to focus, but all those bright lights kept blinding her, and she was only able to read part the short text he had on his chest:

"…ster Nickolaus Harrigan"

"Blake, where are you? Our table is this way!" Blake heard Goose calling her, her bow twitched and immediately went in direction of his voice, leaving the startled man behind.

"I'm here." She said and walked past Goose. "I accidentally spilled someone's drink."

"It happens everytime!" Goose shrugged his arms. "If he come to complain, we will just pay for it, no worries."

Blake nodded, but felt something was off, but she wasn't sure what it was.

'

"Hey Ritter, what happened?" Two men approached the one laying on the floor after seeing him covered in beer. They reached with their hands to help, but he brushed off them off.

"I think I saw a wraith." He said after raising up, his teeth clenched.

"Wraith? Ritter, you drunk too much." One of the men laughed. "Ghosts ain't real."

"Not that kind of ghost you idiot!" He screeched. "A train ghost! The Black Panther!"

Workers looked at each other, now sure that their Leader is more drunk than usual.

"Ritter, report said that Black Panther died few days after the incident." One of them pointed out. "Maybe you just saw things?"

"It's true… they said she died…" Nick muttered, now unsure a little. However, he looked at the direction Blake went in and gritted his teeth.

"She is too familiar." He finally stated, then turned to his subordinates" One of you, follow me." He ordered, and pointed at second man. "You, go and inform the rest to look for girl with a black bow on top of her head. Secure all possible ways out."

"Chief, that merc won't be happy if we interrupt the party." One of them argued, and Nick just scoffed.

"Not to mention we are technically not here yet." Second one added. "Lieutenant told us to not stick out if unnecessary."

"This situation is different." Nickolas looked for his hat, and noticed it laying on the floor. "And we have a pest problem, Lieutenant will understand."

He picked the hat with a snowflake with twelve points, cleared it from dirt and put it back on, then looked at his badge, cleared the short "SDPS" insignia from beer.

"And the Golden Bull?" He chuckled ominously. "We pay him for beating up the animals, right?" Men looked at each other, and with wide grins, they nodded in agreement. "Then there is no problem at all."

He tried to get pass few people, but due to his miniscule size he couldn't make his way, so one of his people started to make his way and Nick followed, his crooked teeth grinning in a wicked mockery of a smile.

If it was truly her, he will get very hefty bounty from his superior, maybe even from the Commander himself. But, to be honest, catching her might led him to far more important animal in this zoo.

---

Limestone, Vale

Station: Limestone avenue.

Jaune dropped out from the bus with a small group of people and looked around. He never was in this part of town, mostly because there was nothing interesting here, just few dust shops and bakeries. But the first thing he noticed was a large traffic in the area.

All parking lots were entirely occupied by cars or small pickup trucks, whole lines of people gathered around the shops or walked down the street which really surprised Jaune - would be expect such crowds in a shopping mall, not in the downtown.

Jaune looked again at card he got, unsure if he got the address right, but apparently it was here.

"Hello good Sir!" Someone called to him, and before him appeared a middle-aged man in a black suit, red hat and sunglasses. "I see you hold a card, so you want to meet the Dream Smith, right?"

"I… just came to look, I really don't want anything."

"Maybe you will change your mind after you see him." Man gestured him to follow. "This way mister…"

"Arc. Jaune Arc."

"Nice to meet you, Jaune Arc. My name is Daniel Untich." Both went downstreet while, unbeknownst to Jaune, another man wearing black suit and sunglasses took out small radio from his pocket and turned it on.

"Name: Jaune Arc. Possibly a Hunter." He whispered to it. "Inform Annatar."

As they walked, Jaune looked around in disbelief - This place looked and felt more like a center of a small city, not a quiet neighborhood he heard about. People flooded the streets while hundreds of workers worked tirelessly on repainting, rebuilding or refitting the buildings around, and the clangs of hammers and chatter of the machines came from everywhere

"I know this look." Daniel drew him out his thoughts. "It is all thanks to Annatar."

"Who?"

"The Dream Smith boy."

"Ah right. Wait, he pays for all of that?"

"He pays, guides and gives advice." Daniel answered. "He is a volcano of energy - always has a fresh idea and works tirelessly. It almost looks like he does three shifts a day!"

Jaune counted something on his fingers. "That means he works the entire day non-stop."

"Exactly! And he still finds time to organize everything around here." Daniel pointed at a line of street lights. "He not only personally overwatched upgrading the districts street lighting, but also cut some deals with the city to upgrade Limestone's power supply."

"That's… nice of him." Jaune commented while group of workers carrying metal beams walked past them.

"To think it took him two months to, as he called it, 'bring order to Limestone.'" Daniel added nonchalantly, surprising the Hunter-in-training even further.

"Wait, two months? He did that all in just two months?"

"Yes, and I had a pleasure to witness it firsthand." Daniel pointed at few grocery stores on the one side of the road, and bakeries on the other. "See those businesses? They were struggling before he arrived, on the verge of bankruptcy, and after he settled here, he subsidized these shops, gave loans and support, which allowed them to recover and then grow. And in return, he always asks the exactly the same amount he invested."

"And all of that from smithing?" Jaune shook his head in disbelief. "I don't think it is possible man."

"Many people say the exact the same things, but you will understand once you meet him in person." Finally, through the noise of the crowd, Jaune started to hear the repeated clang of the hammer, more harmonious and… musical?

He looked the building at the end of the road.

The building was not very impressive, just small two-stories high with roof covered in red tiles, the walls were very clear, probably recently renovated. There were five windows on the second floor, each equipped with red curtains, from the one most on the right small citrus tree was looking on the streets. Everything seemed normal, until you looked on the ground level, there was the forge. Jaune couldn't see the insides clearly, but he could get the gist of it. Over half of the first floor was exposed to the street and it was there were all the people were sitting, some of them eating, drinking or talking with each other, but all of them were looking in one direction, to the most left part of the floor, this was where this whole Annatar has to be working. There was just one more, yet important thing. Maybe not inside the forge, but outside of the building.

"A rather large line." Daniel whistled and patted Jaune's back. "But I think you might be able to reach the Dream Smith."

"I just want to take a look." Jaune raised his hands in defensive gesture. "I really don't need anything." When he repeated that, Daniel gave him a hearty laugh.

"Annatar has a saying: "Everyone craves for something" and you know? He delivers exactly what he is asked for. Who knows, maybe you will change your mind too?" And just when he said that, Daniel's scroll buzzed, and he immediately picked it up. "Hello? Oh hey! Yeah, I have time… " He walked away into the crowd, and before Jaune could ask about further details, Utich was already gone from his view, so Jaune never heard what exactly this discussion was really about:

"He is in position, you know what to do."

For a moment, Arc stood alone, picked up his scroll and read few… many messages from clearly worried Pyrrha, Ren and Nora.

"Where are you? Did you missed the transport? Should I come pick you up?"

"Just call if you need something."

"Ren is making pancakes, better hurry, or I will eat yours!"

He took another look at the forge, and again at his scroll, and as he was finally making his mind to go back, someone pat him on the back.

"Hey mate, you look like a good bloke." Tall man in green T-shirt said. "Want to take a look what's inside?"

"We have a free seat at the table 6." His buddy in blue shirt added.

"No really, I…"

"He is already starting his another work, c'mon!" They pushed him to the table without much resistance, and before he could utter a word of protest, he found himself sitting behind the table with a great view into the forge itself.

The interior of the room wasn't looking like a forge, more like a café. Jaune looked around confused for a second, but immediately found the forge proper.

It wasn't as big as he initially expected, but one word came into his mind – comfy. In square seven by seven meters you could find any tool you would ever need to. On the walls there were many shelfs covered in small utensils, probably for jewelry, on which hammers and pincers of all sizes hanged beneath them. On the open sides of this square stood three anvils, two smelters and few more forge furniture which use Jaune could not even guess.

Maybe Ruby would know what are these for.

In the middle of all of this stood, or probably better term for this would be, was moving like the wind, very tall, he had at least seven feet, slender blond man. He wore white robs without sleeves, which fell all the way to the ground. Belt of similar, yet different white material griddled up his torso. His muscles, visible for lack of the sleeves, were well defined yet not too muscular. His face was perfect, there were no irregularities, moles or scars, his nose was sharp yet not pointy, brows looked like he was spending at least ten minutes in front of the mirror each morning, but probably not as much as Weiss. Yet his most relevant feature were his red, like molten lava, eyes, Jaune caught a glimpse of them and for a second he thought that he looked into erupting volcano.

Young hunter was straight, but even he had to admit that Annatar was beautiful.

Annatar's gentle hands worked on something small, in shape of an egg, while customer, a man in a plumber uniform, watched in fascination as Smith's fingers put various parts together then started to inscribe something on the egg's surface – all with such speed and precision that even most advanced robots would have trouble following his movements

Suddenly, he stopped his work, took the metal egg into his right hand, looked all over it and gave everyone a broad smile, full of pride. He then turned to the plumber and finally spoke up.

"You asked for something, which would aid you in your demanding profession." Blacksmith spoke up, and Jaune found his voice soothing and calming, yet also commanding, in fact he felt an urge to listen to his every words, and follow them. HE was sure if this man asked him for help, he wouldn't be able to refuse. "Something better than Atlesian pocket knife. And here it is."

Plumber took the egg and looked at it, unamused.

"There are no buttons here, how I would be able to open it?"

"Think about any tool." Annatar proposed, and plumber, at first uncertain, looked at the egg.

With quiet ting, One end of the egg opened, and a long spoon appeared from it.

"Really, you put the spoon into it?"

"I didn't." Annatar smiled. "Think about something else."

With anotherting, spoon was retracted back into the "egg", and in its place appeared a wrench. Then a knife, then a small hammer.

"How did you put all those things inside?"

"I told you: I didn't." Smith proclaimed and pat the egg. "This device creates the tool of your desire, or you currently need, so there is no need for you to search for the right tool on the occasion – you have them all in one place."

"Really? Anything?"

"Anything."

Another ting, a lighter in shape of the dragon's mouth appeared, plumber laughed joyfully and reached for his pocket, but Annatar put his hand on man's shoulder.

"No smoking in my forge." He said, then waved to one of his workers. "Lead this fine gentleman to the cash register."

As the plumber left the view, Annatar turned to the gathered crowd, then looked at the sky, and from this view, Arc could swear that he looked… nostalgic.

"The moon will soon reach its peak." He announced, his voice echoed across the street." That means I should soon close and rest." He looked at the gathered people as they gave him sad stares. "But I think I still have strength for one last creation. And the one who receive it will be of my choosing."

He closed his eyes and lifted his left hand into the air.

"And who shall I chose?"

Of course, everyone started to yell, wanting to attract Annatar's attention, but Jaune wasn't one of them. He just came here to take a look, to satisfy his curiosity, and sure, that guy is impressive and all, but he does not want anything.

Plus, he didn't have a lot of money right now.

"And I choose…" While Smith moved his finger through the air, Jaune started to type the message back to Pyrrha, not paying attention to everything around.

"I'm coming back, got distracted a little bit…" He wrote.

"…You." Jaune heard, and something in his body told him to look at Annatar, and the blacksmith's finger was pointing directly at him.

"Congrats man!" Someone from the crowd yelled, and people around him started to clap while Jaune looked around in confusion. What? Him? Before he could object, one of the guys who gave him a seat pat his back.

"Don't make him wait, come on!"

"But I don't have any money…" As he said that, Smith started to laugh.

"I won't be an issue at all." Annatar proclaimed in very official manner. "For it shall be a gift." And more people expressed their envy.

At first, Jaune wanted to refuse - He already made his team worried enough, but he felt an immense pressure from the crowd gathered around him. He saw in their eyes that he should, no, must go.

He left a heavy sigh and with defeated expression he walked into the forge, feeling eyes of everyone weighing on his shoulders. He will just ask for something small, like a pen. Yeah, flying pen will do.

He sat on the armchair, and Smith sat before him.

"Tell me your name." Smith ordered.

"Arc." He answered, little nervous. "Jaune Arc."

"Well, Jaune Arc." Annatar leaned towards him, his red eyes staring directly into Jaune's blue orbs. "What do you desire?"

"Could you make me a flying pen?" Jaune asked, taking Annatar by surprise. "I think it's cool, it writes and flies…"

"You can freely say what you want." Annatar interrupted. "Nobody shall judge you."

"Well…" Jaune thought for another moment. "How about another metal egg? If it can make a pen…" But Annatar rose his hand to shut him up. His eyes kept staring into Jaune's eyes, and the boy now found out that he can't turn away from this gaze.

It was like his entire focus was on this pair of red eyes, staring directly into his very being. Jaune tried to blink, but his eyes refused to do so, and for a moment, two red eyes seemingly merged into one…

"I see." Annatar turned away to one of his workers while Jaune blinked few times, trying to comprehend what happened. "That's all for today Yowwick, tell the people to leave."

"Sure boss." He nodded and Yowwick took a stand before the crowd. "Alright everyone, Smith is going to get some rest, you are more than welcome to come back tomorrow!"

"Thank the brothers." Jaune said, and wanted to get up.

"Not you." Annatar said, and Jaune stopped. "Sit." And the blond boy sat back on his armchair.

As people dispersed and workers started to close the forge, Jaune grew more and more anxious.

"Look man, I appreciate the offer but my friends are waiting for me and…" But Annatar interrupted him with only two words, spoken with such cold that Jaune's throat wasn't able to utter a word.:

"You lied."

---

"There you are!" Yang said as Blake and Goose finally made it to the table. "I thought for a moment that you got lost."

"And you both came last, which means…"

"Which means I am paying Mav." Yang said and waved her hand to the nearest waiter. "Yuh-hu hey, we are thirsty over here!"

"What for you?" Young waiter pulled out the notebook, trying look happy, but clearly, he was just tired and couldn't wait for his shift to end.

"The Dreaming Pearl." Goose said.

"The Restless Corona please!" Mav asked.

"Strawberry Sunrise, but no ice!" Waiter wrote that on his notebook, then looked at Blake.

"And for you?"

"Water."

"Oh c'mon, don't be a wimp!" Mav teased, but Yang shushed her.

"If she doesn't want to drink, don't force her." She said, not noticing a shift in Blake's expression after being called "a wimp".

"Wait." Blake said to the waiter as he wanted to leave with the order. "Do you have a White Swan?"

Waiter blinked few times, shocked to his core while Yang and her friends stared at Blake blankly.

"You sure?" Waiter asked for confirmation, an after Blake nodded, he whistled in respect. "Alright, I will get you that." And he walked away, and Blake looked like she didn't notice all those questioning stares. Only after some time of awkward silence she decided to speak up.

"What?"

"What 'what'?" Goose inquired. "What the hell is this "White swan"?"

"Something wimps shouldn't drink." Blake retaliated and Yang snickered while Mav rolled her eyes.

"Anyway." Yang decided to change the topic. "How have you guys been? Something interesting?"

"Well, council decided to send my unit to the countryside." Goose said with sour. "To, yet again, investigate that SDC train."

"Seriously? How many times they sent you guys there?" Yang asked.

"At least three" Goose said and Yang just shook her head in disbelief. "And still no lead."

"They should just call it a day, it's like you will find something after that long!" Yang remarked and Blake tried to look less suspicious than ever.

"Last time I heard, Hunters already gathered and provided all the evidence, right?" Mav jumped into the discussion looking at Yang.

"I'm only in the first grade, why would I know?"

"Apparently, SDC is not satisfied with the results and demand more action." Goose commenetd, taking a sip. "Can't blame 'em, that was hell of a lot of dust. But considering the risen activity of the Grimm there… Makes me and my colleagues nervous."

"But why they are also sending the police?" Mav frowned. "I am sure those SDC guys can handle anything."

"Because Council don't want to leave SDC unchecked." Blake finally spoke up, dead serious. "Company will do anything to punish those, who dared to raise their hands against them."

"Isn't that a good thing? Punishing those who commit crimes?" Mike asked, and Blake gave him a cold glare.

"That's police's primary goal." Blake agreed, but her face was still like a stone. "But not SDC's. Police want to arrest those who are responsible, SDC wants to capture those, who company executives deem responsible." Blake clarified as Mav listened to her curiously while Goose just stared at her. "Believe me, they will find someone to punish, but not exactly those who actually attacked their train."

"Jeez, I heard that SDC can be ruthless, but you are just overreacting." Mav said, oblivious to the reality, just like many.

"You wouldn't said that if you saw what they and their private army did in Vacuo." Blake replied, sour images of senseless brutality appearing her head. The sheer amount of destruction this company caused there would be enough to turn the public's opinion against them, but nobody believes evidence provided by the White Fang. After all, SDC has large influence over media, and was quickly able to hide everything under the rug, marking all it all as "minor incidents". And, to be fair, even Blake at first thought it wasn't that bad.

She clenched her fists, remembering some members of the Fang speaking about so called "Schnee Dust Protection Service" – a private army of SDC, whose official goal is to protect mines and SDC property, but in reality their primary objective is hunting down the White Fang, suppressing striking workers and even destroying settlements inhabited by Faunus population in response to acts of sabotage.

Luckily, she never met them, as they operate primarily in Atlas and Vacuo, but after seeing her brothers and sisters from other branches with faces marked by burnt iron, deep wounds and broken, deformed bones, she never dared to question SDPS's existence.

"Alright I get it, SDC suck." Yang remarked after seeing Blake in this state, wondering about her partner's reaction. "I'm sure that Weiss would start the argument about it."

"Wait, no way you have an actual Schnee on your team! " Mav said in shock.

"We actually do." Yang confirmed.

"Regrettably." Blake added quietly, feeling that someone is watching them.

"What is she like?" Mav asked, and Yang scratched her chin and thought how to answer that without badmouthing her sister's partner right away.

"She is… fashionable, that's for sure. Has a very cool toothpick." She counted on her fingers. "Oh, and she makes a very good tea."

"That's… good I think?"

Waiter burst out from the crowd, in his right hand he held a plate with two bottles and two glasses, large one containing a red-yellow liquid, the second, small glass filled with transparent drink.

"Your order here." He gave each the ordered drink, and while giving Blake's one, he looked at her nodded. "Good luck." He said and left, going towards the another table. Yang took a look at Blake's drink.

"Looks like water." She said.

"The good stuff is inside." Blake replied, drunk some, shivered a little and left a loud huff.

"May I taste some?" Yang asked, and Blake looked at her, then at her drink, then again at Yang, shrugged her arms and passed it to her.

"But be careful, it is very strong…" She wanted to warn beforehand but Yang drunk it all in one go.

Xiao Long's eyes widened and turned red, she started to cough as her entire body shook, then her hair ignited, making everyone gathered around freak out and run.

"What is this!?" Mav rose from her seat and jumped to Yang, trying to put out the flame while Goose looked for some water or fire extinguisher.

"I told you, it is very strong." Blake looked worried that she might accidently hurt her partner, she reached with her hand but quickly retracted it after Yang's hair extinguished, and her eyes turned lilac again.

"Whoa-ho-ho!" She said, grinning widely. "Now that was a kicker!" She looked at her partner and laughed. "And you drink that!? I felt like my entire body is set aflame!"

"It went in flame…" Blake commented quietly, and Yang took her under her right arm.

"I would never suspect you of drinking something like that!" She said, laughing out loud. "There is still some hope for you!"

"Hope for what?" And Yang scoffed hearing that.

"Don't act like you don't know."

"I really don't." And after hearing this, Yang left a heavy sigh and started counting on her fingers again.

"You act all this gloomy, you try all the time to be mysterious, you barely speak up and all that. It's frustrating! It's like you hide something."

"I don't!" Blake's raised her hands in a defensive gesture as her face turned pale.

"Oh, I have you all figured out Blakey!" Blake nearly panicked and thought about using her semblance to escape. "You are just shy!" Yang pulled Blake closer, and Belladonna left the sigh of relief. "I am sure that you are actually far different person beneath this mask of "I am loner, I love books"!" Yang mimicked Blake's way of speech surprisingly well, and both Mike and Mav chuckled while Yang continued. "And you know what? I really want to know that Blake!"

Blake frown her black brows. "That's why you brought me here? To know me better?"

"Was there ever any other reason?" Yang asked the question instead, and for the first time in years, Blake found herself not sure what to think.

She used to always suspect an ulterior motive from everyone, especially humans, and always kept her guard up. In fact, only few times she allowed someone else besides her parents to get closer, and everytime it turned out be a mistake.

With Yang however, things were different. Sure, she found her annoying at times, and at first didn't like her that much, but with each day, a strange thought started to grow: That Yang is genuine.

The way she interacted with everyone around her, spoke her mind without hesitation, showed affection to Ruby – it all painted a picture of a good, and extraordinary person. Blake of course thought that it was just a façade, and sooner or later, Yang will show her true colors.

But that moment never came. And that was confusing.

And finally, when Yang basically blackmailed her to go to this club, she thought that it was finally this moment, and all masks will fall. Turns out, they didn't.

Or maybe Yang wasn't wearing any in the first place?

"Yang, I…" She wanted to say, but her six sense rung in alert, as she felt someone watching them. Her ear twitched, picking up through the noise and music a quiet conversation between two men nearby:

"That's her?"

"She matches Ritter's description."

She tilted her head to the left, and in the crowd she found two bulky humans, staring directly at them, one of them tried to discreetly point at her and waved to someone to come over, which confirmed her worst fear.

Someone recognized her. How? Who are they? Not the time to think about it.

"…need to go the bathroom." She brushed off Yang's hand, stood up and walked away, and as expected, two humans went after her.

"She is strange, you know?" Goose said, following the girl in black with his stare. "I had never seen eyes like these before."

"Yeah, I wonder what do you see in her." Mav added, looking directly at Yang. "I mean, she looks good and all, but I don't think…"

Yang wasn't listening, she found Blake's abrupt leave rather odd, and looked around for a possible cause, and she quickly noticed two large guys tailing her partner. She is less than an hour here and already has creeps stalking her? That was fast.

And knowing Blake, she probably doesn't know how to deal with them.

Yang on the other hand, knew exactly what to do.

She picked up her strawberry sunrise and got up from her chair.

"Hey, if something starts to explode, burn, or crush, just lay low, will ya?" She told them, and Goose hid his face in his hands.

"Not again…" He mumbled while Mav laughed and raised her drink.

"Go, give them hell girl!" She encouraged while Yang went into the crowd, following the duo with a playful smile. This evening couldn't possibly get any better.

---

Well above the crowd, Owner of Elysium picked up his radio. After listening for a moment, he turned and approached the well-hidden balcony, on which stood a single, red couch.

On this couch sat a person covered in long, black and red robes, which matched her long and bushy black hair. She hid her face under the white mask, which resembled the face of enraged Nevermore.

"Persephone, Golden dragon is on the move, should we intervene?" He asked, and she looked at him.

"No." Voice distorted by mask replied. "I want to see it. Is Cartez in position?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Tell him to engage after the SDC, not earlier. I know how he loves proper duels."

"Understood." Hades opened his radio and relayed instructions, all the while Persephone's gaze followed Xiao Long with great interest. For months, she heard only good things about the daughter of Taiyang, but she never trusted the outside sources that much, always preferring to witness everything firsthand.

"Show me if you are worthy of my time Yang."

Limestone, Vale

"Excuse me?" Jaune asked, both confused and scared by Smith's sudden declaration.

"You lied about something crucial." Annatar said, his voice colder than wind during winter. "And that pains your heart like a thorn."

"No no no, you don't understand..."

"I think I do." Annatar looked at Jaune, his eyes were like gaping maws of fire, able to pierce through his very being. "You try desperately to hide it, yet your body and soul tells me everything I need."

Annatar stood above him, covering the boy in his shadow like enormous, black tower.

"You set yourself on the path to destiny, hoping that one day, you will also be like heroes of the old. But you didn't realize how rough the road ahead is, did you?"

Jaune's body screamed, trying to make him get up and run as fast as possible, far away from the blacksmith and to never look back at this forge. His muscles reacted like small mammal reacts in presence of an old and cruel cat.

Jaune's mind however kept his instincts in check. He saw what Annatar does, right? How he helps his neighbors, creates wonders and works tirelessly. Those gentle hands wouldn't hurt a fly, those eyes could not possibly lie. That man is probably the least dangerous man in the entire city, maybe even in the entire Kingdom. He shouldn't be worried or feel threatened.

Then why his body is shaking?

"And each obstacle you encounter holds you in place, binds you like chains binds a prisoner, making you unable to move forward. And yet, you also don't want to back down either. Forever in between."

Annatar walked slowly in the circle around his guest, sometimes disappearing from Jaune's view to reappear shortly after right beside him.

"Your efforts are admirable, yet with each passing day, burden becomes more and more unbearable. But why you won't share it with someone?"

"I don't want to trouble anyone..."

"Maybe." Annatar interrupted him and put his hand on his right shoulder. "Or maybe it's because you fear the consequences." Annatar took the hand and resumed his walk. "You fear that when truth finally comes out, you will lose everything you care about." Smith stopped after seeing boy's pained expression, thought for a second and again looked directly into hunter's eyes. "Correction: Everyone."

Jaune looked at his feet, feeling of shame covering him like water covers rocks on the beach.

He lied his way to Beacon, thinking that something will happen there, his true potential unlock, radioactive spider bites him or something like in all the books and comics he read. Instead, none of that happened, he remained weaker than everyone.

He was able to finally make good friends, but he never asked to be their leader. It was not his choice.

"I see." Annatar said after seeing this reaction, and his voice turned compassionate. "You tried your best to show everyone that you are as capable as them, yet each attempt ended with utter failure."

"I don't want anyone's pity." Jaune finally spoke up. "It's true, I cheated my way to Beacon. I did everything I can to be the best leader possible, but I just can't keep up with everyone. It is nothing you can possibly "forge" man." He finally realized what he just said after seeing Annatar's amused face. "Wait, no, I shouldn't..."

"What is said in the forge, stays in the forge, that's a rule." Annatar said, calming his guest little bit. "Your secret is safe with me."

Jaune left the sigh of relief. This guy is not that bad at all.

"However, you are under a misconception."

Jaune gave Annatar a terrified look, but to his surprise, Blacksmith started to lit the fires under the Furnace.

"What are you..."

"If we want to finish this before dawn, I need to prepare everything now." Annatar said, shoving coal into the furnace to feed the flame.

"Finish what?"

Annatar shoved even more coal into the rising fire, and it quickly consumed the fuel, and as it raised higher and grew brighter, he looked at his guest with amusement.

"I could make you a sword that cut could through light, gauntlets that would make you as strong as a dragon, or helmet that would make you impervious to harm and cold."

Jaune looked at his arms, thinking that being strong like Yang or Nora wouldn't be that bad...

"But those are mere toys, trinkets which I can make in hour or two." Annatar picked up a bar of gold and put it into the smelter to liquify it. "None of which would solve your true problem."

Annatar looked at the melting gold, his eyes as red and bright as the flames.

"Which is?" Jaune asked, hoping that he won't regret it.

"Your fear and self-doubt created a mental block in your own head." Annatar answered, and after seeing that Arc didn't understand, he thought for a bit. "You consider yourself worse than your associates at every turn, don't you?"

"I mean, they..."

"Do NOT finish this sentence." Annatar said with such power that Arc nearly jumped on his seat. "I won't tolerate such foolishness. Not anymore."

Bright flames licked the shiny metal, slowly liquefying it.

"So I ask you again - why do you think I can't reforge you?"

"Wait, what? Your semblance is going to work on my mind?" Jaune asked with surprise, and Annatar, for the first time in a while, genuinely laughed.

"Semblance! I don't need such a thing." He declared as the fire started to melt the metal. "Some need time, others want few gestures, many act after a promise. But for you..."

He watched how gold lost its sturdy form and melted, now more than ready to work upon, capable to contain the power. His eyes now shined like stars, excited at the prospect of a true, proper craft.

"... A Ring will suffice."

---

If you also had four ears, you would avoid night clubs too.

---

Authors notes

Again, I don't own RWBY or LoTR. Nor the lyrics, these are from the music:

Skillet: Invincible
Subdigitals: Break away

And, as you noticed, I allowed myself a little additions to the world. I will try to make those additions make sense, so here I present my line of thought:

SDC is presented as this amoral company who exploits its workers, abuse Faunus and many shady stuff. Yet we don't actually see their bad actions. Or we see them but in comparison to the White Fang, they seem like no big deal. So, I decided to show RWBY's Arasaka much more... darker side.

Also, Yang's friends - We are just told she is very popular and has a lot of friends, but we never actually see them! They are side characters though, which should be fine.

Notes:

Sorry for quite a long delay... If anyone is still reading it.
If I wanted to, I could probably started writing explenations on why I didn't continue posting, but let's face the truth: I messed up. So instead of trying to explain myself, I will just write this: Yes, this story is crossposted from FF.net, under the same title. If you want, you can go check it out now, but if you don't and give me another chance, then I plan to post each and every chapter on this site each week, until we match the story posted there.
Excpet the next chapter - that will be uploaded... *checks his calendar* tomorrow
Few warnings - At some point, chapters will get long, like, really long.
That's all from me - take care!

Chapter 7: Bonds and Chains

Bonds and Chains

"The strongest bonds are forged in the fiercest flames."

---

"Really? No windows?" Blake groaned in disbelief as she tried to find a stealthy way out. Experience told her that using bathroom as a way out was a viable strategy, either via window or ventilation shaft, since she was nimble enough to get past even the smallest holes.

This time however, some genius thought that unwelcome guests may try to sneak past Haron through said window to avoid paying for drinks and fun, so they didn't make them. And ventilation shaft…

Blake shook her head. Even she wouldn't be able to do that.

Her bow twitched, her ear picked up a quiet conversation through the cacophony of sounds and music.

"You sure she went there?" First male voice asked.

"One hundred percent" Second man replied. For few moments there was silence, both men probably stared at the door to the woman bathroom and weighed their options.

"So… now what?"

"I… don't really know."

"Maybe we should call for someone?"

"Yeap"

Blake looked around the bathroom, trying to find another wait out. There were at least ten closed cabins, and a very long mirror, spanning the entire wall and reaching the ceiling. All conventional means of escape are out, which leaves…

She turned her head from the cabin in disgust. Mere thought of it nearly made her puke.

"Oi, so there you! What are ya doing here you twaltzs?" Blake heard the third, feminine voice right outside the bathroom.

"She is there." One of the men replied.

"Who?"

"A girl in black bow. The one Rittermeister ordered to capture."

Rittermeister? Blake thought. She heard that rank before, but where…

"So go in there and take her in."

"We… can't" One of the men said awkwardly.

"Why?"

"It's… women's bathroom." Second explained

Short pause gave Blake an idea how to avoid the inevitable. She quickly closed all the cabins and locked herself in the last one.

"Ah you pansies, just wait outside!" Woman kicked the door to the bathroom and walked in, her steps as heavy as an Atlesian mech. Blake carefully watched shadow of woman's feet to determine where she was standing.

"Come out, come out wherever you are…" Woman approached the first cabin and knocked the door of its hinges with one go. "Not here I see…"

Three heavy steps, another kick. Eight cabins to go.

"Not here either…"

Three steps, another kick and another door was blown to smithereens.

"You can't hide forever, kitty." This time, woman bypassed fourth and fifth cabin, and went directly for sixth. Powerful kick and cabin was ruined entirely. "Ritter promised large sum for ya head, and I will gladly take it." She knocked out another door. "But honestly? Beating up the animals and getting paid? Heh, it's not a job, it's pure enjoyment."

While the seventh cabin was being destroyed, Blake still had no idea how to get out of this situation. She could fight and probably easily knock out her enemy, but she was more than certain that those two would join the fight, and in confined space like this she had little room to manouver.

Cabin right beside her literally exploded after the blow, shaking the entire room. She focused after hearing first step, her aura emanated a black glow for a moment, and when she heard a third step…

"Aha!" door to the tenth cabin exploded, revealing a tall woman with short black hair, her body built more like a brick, her mouth grinning in triumph, her grin resembling the crack in the wall. She looked inside the cabin and only a not very clean toilet welcomed her.

"What in the bloody hell?" She looked at the fifth and fourth cabin with suspicion, never even thinking about looking up.

Blake held her breath, holding to the ceiling right above the woman, knowing that if timed right, she can incapacitate her without making a noise, however, but those two outside are still…

Just when the woman smashed the fourth cabin's door, Blake realized that those two are not outside anymore.

"Those twatlz are the worst, always doing…" Woman grumbled and turned towards the mirror, just to receive a knee into her nose.

Meanwhile

Just like Yang thought, these two guys were not only creeps, but the worst kind of stalkers – The one who follow you even to the bathroom, and when you leave, they "accidently" bump into you and start cat-calling.

She left a disappointed sigh. They desperately want to pick up a girl?

She made the most innocent and charming smile she could possibly do, fixed her hair and started approached them.

"Bertha seems to have fun." One of them commented, still unaware of approaching Yang.

"Do you think she can handle her?" Other man scoffed.

"She? Of course. But if not, we should be able to do so easily." Yang scoffed hearing that.

Let's see if they can handle her.

"Heeeyyy there!" Yang took both men under her arms, much to their surprise. "You wait for someone?"

"Yeah…" One tried to interject and push the hand away, but Yang tightened her grip.

"You can wait for her on the dance floor!" Yang pushed them both from the door, giving each a bright smile. "I will even buy you a drink!"

One of them looked at his companion with hope, but he shook his denial.

"We don't have time for this." He tried to shake Yang's hand, but to no avail. "Piss off" And Yang gasped hearing this.

"You say such bad words to the girl?" Yang shook her head in disappointment, and caught the glimpse of Blake leaving the bathroom in a hurry. "It will hurt ya in the head."

With that said, she pulled herself back, and slammed their heads against one another. As they quietly limped to the floor unconscious, Yang brushed her hands with satisfaction.

"That should do it." She said, and turned to Blake. "So, with those…"

But Blake wasn't behind with her.

She looked around and caught the sight of the black ribbon moving among the sea of hands. And more guys like those two trying to follow her.

"You found yourself quite a company I see." She stretched her neck and went after her partner.

Limestone, Vale

As the shattered moon rose above Eregion, Annatar turned off all artificial lighting inside his forge, leaving only the flames under the furnaces. In a way, it was calming. – only he, flames, his forge…

"Why do you want work in the dark?" Jaune asked, standing near the only source of light in the room.

…And an ignorant human.

"Only when metal is molten, its true nature is revealed." Annatar picked up some copper and palladium. "And for that, I don't want broken light of the moon to interfere."

Seeing his startled face, Annatar left a sigh.

"Trinkets can be done during a day, for they don't require that much attention. For true craft on the other hand, you must show it care and make every single detail perfect."

He showed the copper into the furnace.

"One false reflection of light, one missed strike of the hammer and your creation will be maimed, imperfect. If craft is forced into its form, or circumstances are not ideal, result will forever scream in anguish, and creator will forever curse the day he made such atrocity."

He looked at his guest again as the copper melted.

"Do you understand now?" And Jaune shook his head in denial, much to Annatar's frustration.

"I really don't. Maybe Ruby would, but for me, it's just weird."

"Then I shall not waste time." Annatar said, grabbed Jaune's right hand and started to examine it. Before boy could react, Smith took a hold of his finger and squeezed it hard.

"Ouch!" Jaune yelped when his finger was crushed by the Smith, noticing how his touch is unnaturally warm.

"I see, I see." Annatar muttered, let go of the finger and turned back to the furnaces.

"What was that for!?" Hunter in training hold his aching finger.

"I needed to measure your fingers in order to make the ring ideal for you." Annatar answered without turning away from the furnaces. "Not only for now, but ever."

His finger is standard size and won't grow anymore, which means the amount of gold, palladium and copper were more than enough. With great care and precision, he picked up the bucket full of molten copper with his pincers and walked towards the anvil. There, he started to make a form. A small ring-like scaffolding made of copper.

Gold alone is too soft, it will quickly wear down, but with copper as a backbone, it will get much needed hardiness.

He looked at palladium, still not melted, but it will just in time. And when he add it into the alloy with gold, it will turn into the famous "White Gold", and the ring will look both majestic and beautiful at the same time.

But both palladium and copper have one significant downside - they can't store the power like gold can. Of all things created by the great song, only gold and gems seemed to be able to hold the Imperishable Flame, aside of flesh of course.

He never knew why exactly, but run a lot of experiments during his service to Melkor, his time with the Elves and during his reign, both on metals and people. Most ended with failure or partial success, but it all were a necessary steps to create the One.

"You said 'Ruby would understand'". He decided to start another conversation. "Tell me, is she a fellow smith?

"I guess so." Jaune answered, thinking about his friend from Beacon "The first time I met her, she showed me her scythe."

"A Scythe?" Annatar started to make a copper construction while Jaune nodded.

"A very big, sharp scythe which puts itself in the box." Jaune thought for a second. "And it is also a gun."

Annatar chuckled with delight. From what he saw in the forest, this weapon is truly work of art.

"And she made such wonder?" He asked with curiosity, while also picking up the hammer.

"From what she told me, everyone at Beacon made their weapons." After saying that, Arc looked sideways to avoid potential eye contact, clearly trying to hide something.

But both Annatar, and his shadow noticed that right away.

"Is something wrong?" Annatar asked and Jaune left a sigh.

"As I said, all of my friends made their own weapons." Jaune explained. "They shot or launch grenades, transform during a fight and make all kinds of crazy stuff!"

"Their weapons sounds... unbalanced."

"Yeah exactly!"

"Too heavy and overcomplicated." Annatar scratched his chin, now deep in his thoughts.

"Ye... Wait what?" Jaune frowned, and gave Annatar a confused look.

"Probably require much counterweight to work properly..."

"I think we misunderstood each other..." Jaune said, and this time, it was Annatar who gave him a confused look.

"Unbalanced means the weight on both ends of the weapon are probably unequal..."

"Yes but it also means that something is too strong or overpowered or..."

Annatar blinked few times, processed the information and finally realized.

"I see, another double-meaning." He said with disdain and returned to the tasks at hand. Copper was more than ready to be put in the form.

"You don't understand double-meanings?"

"I don't understand your double-meanings.*" Annatar replied, raised his hammer, and while the first strike on the anvil echoed around the world, shadow, who knows which strings to pull, now paid more attention to the young human, sensing an opportunity it long craved for.

Vale, Elysium

"I will thank her later." Blake thought while traversing through the dancing crowd, knowing that there are at least three more groups now tailing her.

She cursed her ribbon under her nose, knowing that it sticks out like a sore thumb, but removing it would make it even worse.

"And what would Yang think?" A thought suddenly appeared in her mind, but she pushed it away. Why should she care about her anyway? They were just partners for next four or five years, and after graduation, they would go to the opposite ends of the world. And that's it.

And 'getting to know each other?' She opened herself once, and nothing good came from it. Only more pain.

She tried to navigate through the crowd towards the exit, but noticed another pair coming from the front, and she changed the direction before they reached her.

Tight space between people now worked greatly to her advantage, as she was nimble enough to pass through even the densest crowd while her pursuers were struggling to catch up, but more and more pairs appeared seemingly out of nowhere, tightened their net around her, pushing her as far from the exit as possible.

They seemed too organized to just be some random group of people, they acted more like a police or militia.

She recalled the words woman in the bathroom said, yet again mentioning a 'Rittermeister'. She was sure that she heard that before, but where?

"Rittermeister, Rittermeister, where did I…" She thought until she finally remembered

3 Years ago

"Attention new recruits!" Few dozen Faunus stood in few lines as the Elder spoke "Now we will determine which of you will earn the right to fight on the first line, and which will be relegated to maintenance duties."

Blake walked before them wearing White Fang lieutenant attire, analyzing each and every single one. Most of them were teens, eager to fight, but their muscles tensed in stress as she approached, knowing that she will deem their usefulness to the cause.

And Blake hated this task, and would love to send them all to non-combat duties. "They are just teens" she thought "Just like me. They should not fight or die." But Adam insisted for her do this, to teach her a lesson about leadership.

She looked at the faunus with giraffe features, his face was still young and childlike, and his eyes sparked that youthful spark.

"Name?" She asked.

"Tymon! And I am ready to fight against the oppresionists!"

"He probably run from his parents" She thought with small bit of the sour taste.

"Maintenance." She said to him, and his jaw dropped.

"But I want to fight!" He argued.

"After few months you will get your chance, believe me." She answered and walked to another Faunus, and after seeing new recruit, she put one step backwards in horror.

The new recruit was a boar faunus, but her tusks were ripped off, leaving large scars on her once good-looking face. Her skin looked like she was burnt alive, but somehow survived, and her eyes were radiating with cold hatred. On her thick neck she wore a necklace made of human teeth, with a badge, on which was written "SDPS Rittermeister Yunow". On her hands were wrapped a pair of hard, steel chains, which she probably tore out from the wall during the breakout, and repurposed to fight.

"Name?" Blake tried to ask softly, and raspy voice replied:

"Nobody."

After hearing that, Blake blinked the few times, and boar faunus pointed at the badge.

"He and his stormtroopers stole it, along with my family, my face, and my tusks."

"I'm sorry." Blake tried to comfort the recruit, but boar faunus shook her head in denial.

"Don't be." She stepped out of the line and matched Blake's stare. "This swine paid for what he has done. But there are more like him, who enjoy starving us in the mines. And I will slaughter each and every single one of them." She stood right before Taurus's second in command. "And know this - if you relegate me to the kitchen because of my scars, I will just return to the forest and fight the Schnees like I used to. – with my chains" she rose her right hand, and chains clanged against the floor.

After a few moments of silence, Blake nodded in agreement.

"You will join the fight… Sister" she reached with her right hand, and boar faunus shook her hand with wide, malicious grin.

"Thank you, sister".

Present

"SDC" Blake felt the surge of hate coursing through her. "That explains a lot."

Another pair tried to et her from the flank, but she ducked under a dancing guy's arm, and quickly disappeared in the crowd.

"But what SDC attacks dogs are doing here? Vale didn't sign the defense contract."

She nearly stumbled upon one of the SDPS, who cleverly hid himself in the crowd, but Blake was able to avoid him in the last moment.

"I need to talk with Tuk about this, he always knows what is going on in the city."

She jumped out the crowd, looked around and, to her dismay, she left her cover too far from the exit. She wanted to go back, but when she turned away, those following were already too close.

"Like hunting the beast in the woods." She heard, and realized that she fell right into the trap.

She turned to face at least twenty men and women who formed a half circle around her, all looking at her like hunters watch the cornered animal. Behind them, on few available chairs sat even more people with SDC badges.

And in the center stood a ghoulish man from earlier, still wearing his brown uniform, smiling like a thirsty vampire. And this time, Blake was able to read what was on his badge: SDPS Rittermeister Nickolaus Harrigan.

"A famous Black Panther, caught on our first night in Vale." He giggled and looked at his men "We are in the luck, aren't we?" gathered soldiers laughed out loud.

"You mistake me for someone." And when Blake said that, Harrigan rolled his eyes.

"Don't pretend canine, we have your face plastered everywhere in our quarters." Her face didn't even moved a muscle, but Harrigan continued regardless "You think we are stupid or what? That we didn't have black boxes on that train? Cameras?" He gave her a mocking grin. "Ah right, you animals can't comprehend human technology. My bad."

She clenched her fists as Harrigan and his men laughed at her, wanting more than anything punch that guy right in the face, but she kept her instincts in check.

She is outnumbered, her only weapon is her hidden extra ribbon, and she could only hope that security will react sooner or later.

"But because It's a World Animal day, I give you one chance of lowering your time in the mines: Tell me where is your boyfriend."

"I don't know who are you talking about." She replied, and Harrigan growled in anger.

"Last chance to do it pretty: Where is Adam Taurus?"

Blake remained silent, and Nick looked disappointed.

"Very well then." He waved to someone sitting behind him. "Merc, do your job."

Right behind Harrigan sat a large, muscular men with olive-like skin, which hinted his Vacuan heritage. His long black hair looked like a mane of the lion, and his green eyes looked at her with disinterest. He wore a green, sleeveless T-shirt, gladly showing off his muscles on the arms. But instead of caring for his posture Blake looked for scars, and cursed under her nose. – He has many on both arms.

But the thing what caught her attention most were how this scars looked like. They were more like dents or scratches left on the armor, not healed wounds.

"That guy is probably experienced mercenary" She thought.

Not every graduate from the Academies on Remnant end up as Hunters – many drop because they are unfit for study, are kicked out because of bad behavior, or simply left for personal reasons. But thanks to their time as Hunters in training, they have their aura unlocked, and some even discovered their semblance, which makes them not only more dangerous, but also desirable for more… shady people.

While Hunters are trying to remain apolitical, serving first and foremost people of Remnant, mercenaries serve themselves, and sell their services to those who pay the most, usually companies like SDC or Mantle Trading Company, but some were found to work for crime lords, cartels and even bandit gangs.

Mercenary stared Blake down for a moment, then looked up at the ceiling. He then nodded.

"Cartez… Will sit this one out." Mercenary stated and picked up his tequila.

"WHAT!?" Nickolaus yelled.

"Fifty against one girl." Mercenary pointed out. "Cartez doesn't consider it a fair fight."

"That's right, you should have called for more!" Both Blake and Nick turned to Yang, who just jumped onto the scene. Blond girl smiled and cracked her knuckles. "Especially with me involved."

"Yang, I can handle this." Blake stated, wanting to keep her partner away from this, but Yang just giggled.

"And leave you with all the fun? No way!"

"Who is this girl!?" Nick yelled to his men, they shrugged their arms in response while Yang looked at him, visibly delighted.

"You guys don't know me? That's even better." She said and after SDPS shook their heads in denial, she started to walk towards Nick. "Do you want short rundown or long story?"

"Neither!"

"Then short one it is." Yang said with sweet, almost naive voice as she got even closer to Nickolaus. None of the soldiers realized the danger they are in yet, because for them, she is just tall, stupid blondie who decided to mess with wrong kind of people, and she is about to pay the price.

Blake however was shocked seeing Yang's performance. Hell, if she wanted to, she would be a very good actress.

"Folks here call me 'the Golden Dragon' because of my fiery temper." She said while winking to one of the soldiers. "I came here today to have fun with my friend, Bella" She pointed at startled Blake. "Because I wanted to make Bella open herself a little, so we can talk about boys, hobbies, badmouth our teachers and all that fun stuff. And instead of having fun, she got harassed by a bunch of weirdos."

They clenched their teeth and fists after that insult, but Cartez chuckled after she said that while Blake looked at her with both surprise and disbelief.

"No way she really wanted only that." She said to herself

"I don't have time for your nonsense!" Harrigan approached her in few steps and pointed his finger at her face. "Better learn to not stick…"

That finger.

That finger was a mistake.

A loud, cracking noise could be heard as Yang grabbed extended hand and proceed to crush it between her fingers.

"You weirdos decided to mess up with my partner, so, by extent, you mess up with me." She leaned to him as Nick desperately tried to release his hand from the steel grip, while his soldiers stared at her in shock. "Are you ready to dance?" She asked him with sweet, yet threatening tone.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE!" He screamed in pain to his shocked men. "GET THEM!"

Before any of them could react, Yang twisted her hips, spinned SDPS leader around and threw him right into one of his soldiers with such strength that both flew few meters after the impact. Troopers yelled in anger and finally decided to charge at the duo

Yang turned to Blake and gave her a wink.

"Let's show them how we deal with creeps!" Yang charged back at them, and Blake smiled a little, raised her fists, and finally decided to let loose on them…

Limestone, Vale

Annatar looked at the cooper construction and deemed it sufficient. He left it on the anvil and reached for his pincers.

"May I ask you something?" Jaune asked while staring at the scaffolding, small drops of sweat falling down his cheeks.

"Only If I could ask you in return"

Jaune nodded to him in agreement, then turned back to the ring.

"These furnaces, this anvil... They are awfully hot." Blond boy said after finally clearing his forehead "But you don't wear any protection or gloves. Aren't you afraid to get burnt?"

Annatar chuckled.

"True, most smiths use gloves and protection during their craft, but I am not like them." Annatar reached with his pincers to the furnace with molten gold. "I have the experience many would wish for, skills I acquired after years of hard work. Now, I am able to recognize the material by simply feeling it's heat, to measure temperature of the flames with a simple stare and recognize the quality of the tools by simple touch. Gloves or protection on my face would separate me from the sensation"

"So... You are just sure you won't get burnt because you are confident in yourself?"

"Everyone who practiced craft for this long, are sure of their abilities." Smith pulled out the heated bucket full of molten gold with his pincers.

"Man, I would love to have that kind of confidence" Arc said as Annatar carried it towards the anvil.

'But I have no abilities to put my confidence in' stray thought appeared in boy's mind, and he tried to push it away, but Sauron and the shadow noticed that right away.

"You shall soon enough" Annatar announced when he put the bucket beside the copper ring. He turned his gaze to molten palladium. Right on time.

"My question." Smith said while approaching the furnace. "When you spoke about your associates weapons, I heard a quiet note of envy..." He reached into the furnace with his pincers. "Which implies that your weapon is in some way worse than theirs." His pincers grabbed the bucket with white liquid. "What weapon do you use?"

"A sword." Jaune answered while Annatar carried the bucket. "Corcea Mors"

"Yellow death?" Annatar put the bucket on the anvil. "A unique name. Is it an old sword?".

"It... belonged to my grandfather" Arc said and left a sigh. "And also to his grandfather."

He was more than ready to take on the mockery. In Beacon, after hearing what weapon he use, other students either mocked him or laughed, his friends tried their best to not embarrass him. And he expected the same reaction from the Smith.

Instead, Annatar smiled joyfully.

"The family heirloom!" He said with admiration. "Do you have it with you by any chance?"

"No, I left it at Beacon." Jaune answered, surprised that someone aside of Ruby showed interest in Corcea. "I could summon it, but unjustified use of the locker would cause me troubles in school. Sorry." He added after seeing Annatar's disappointed face.

"Shame, I would love to see such a fine blade." Annatar started to make a form on which he will pour out gold and palladium.

"But, it's just sword!" Arc persisted. Although he was more than happy that this guy didn't make fun of him, he couldn't believe in such reaction. "You know, just regular sword, with no guns or anything! It's completely normal and all."

"Yet your ancestors used it to write the history itself." Annatar prepared his finest hammer for task. "Only few blades could achieve such honor." He looked at the boy. "While weapons of the other students still need to write their legacies, you already have one in your hands. And that made it worth more than thousand weapons you may encounter in the Academy."

Jaune looked sideway, not convinced at all. He loved Corcea without the doubt, but when he compered her to Crescent Rose or Magnhild...

'Everyone has better weapon than me' another stray thought appeared, and he quickly pushed it away.

"There is no shame in wielding an old weapon, for it is manifestation of your family's legacy. And in dire need, your ancestors shall aid you through it." Annatr prophesied, then looked at all the components right before him.

"But now, we can start creating your ring" Annatar announced when he picked the large crystal - a lapis lazuli. - And put it on the anvil. "There is, however, one crucial detail."

"Which is?"

"In order to create something truly magnificent, we need to work closely together." Annatar waved for him to come over.

"You... don't expect me to use your hammer, do you?

"No." Annatar said dead serious, and Jaune left the sigh of relief. "Your task is far more delicate." Annatar took his best hammer out of the stove. "For the ring must be filled with power."

Jaune frowned hearing this, his body yet again screamed to run.

"Umm, what kind of power exactly?" Annatar turned to face him, his magma eyes shining with the flames.

"Just follow everything I say."

Elysium, Vale

Yang delivered a devastating paunch to the man's abdomen, but before he fell his companion swinged his fist at her.

She blocked the strong hit, swift left hook to the jaw and her assailant stumbled backwards, trying his best to not collapse.

Deciding to help him reach the ground faster, Yang low-kicked with her right leg, sweeping him from his feet.

Hearing someone approaching rapidly from behind, she threw her head back, headbutting the attacker, and a cracking sound could be heard and muffled scream, but she didn't stop there.

She swiftly turned on her feet towards the man, struck his stomach, face and chest in rapid succession, then with one powerful right uppercut she sent him flying across the club.

Then another assailant landed a hit on her face, but she didn't stagger, instead, she delivered a mighty right jab in return.

She was like a force of nature - hits landing on her had little to no effect, she didn't even bother with blocking most of the paunches. Her attacks and counters, on the other hand, always had a devastating effect. Much to SDPS troopers horror, she never stopped smiling during the fight, sometimes even giggled, even after one of them smashed the table on her head.

This gave them an impression that she didn't even treat this fight seriously.

Blake, on the other hand, was far different story

Blake dodged another fist, countered with quick strike to the liver, making her attacker lose his breath, then finished him by hitting his neck with palm of her hand.

She struck with her left elbow another man who tried to sneak behind her right between the eyes, blinding him for a moment.

Now blind, SDPS soldier started to throw paunches around in hope of hitting her, but she was already upon another foe, and instead he struck his fellow soldier passing by.

Blake was the definition of "fighting dirty" - She jumped around, bounced from her enemies, dodged their blows, struck livers, scratched eyes, always targeted their weak spots to incapacitate her foes as fast as possible and move to the next. She fought for years against far better equipped and armored soldiers and droids, and developed efficient fighting style to deal with them.

Another soldier threw his right hand, but Blake dodged again, and before he could retract his arm, Black Panther stabbed it right in the middle of it.

To the man's shock, he found out that he now can't move his arm at all. Before he could retreat, swift attack towards the neck instantly incapacitated him.

She looked at the small group of SDPS, and they put one step backwards, shocked by sheer ferocity and ruthlessness. Unlike Yang, she didn't smile, her face was like stone. But her eyes were reminiscent of the prowling Panther.

She won't kill, that's for sure. But she will hurt them.

Badly.

"Heads up!" They heard Yang, and before they could withdraw or jump away, one of their companions crushed directly into the group.

"I see you are having fun Bella!" Yang waved to her, and Blake just scoffed. Before she could reply, another female tried to attack seemingly distracted Yang.

A very bad move.

Twisting her hips, Yang smashed her fist into the attacker's face, throwing her with speed of a cannonball, which hit two soldiers further back.

Blake ducked under the fist, pulled a spare ribbon out of her hidden pocket, wrapped it around her attacker's hand, and before he could react, she slide between his legs, and pulled the ribbon.

He slammed the floor head first, a large crack appeared upon the impact. Just when Blake tried to retract her weapon, one SDPS grabbed her around her waist.

"Get her!" She yelled to her companion while Blake scratched and trashed in the attempt to free herself, and he quickly picked up the nearest chair.

"Hold still!" He yelled and swung his makeshift weapon.

But before he could land a hit, Blake suddenly disappeared, leaving only a shadow clone.

"What the..." Woman was able to say before the chair connected with her skull.

Blake appeared above the chairman, landed on his shoulders, wrapped her spare ribbon around his neck and started to choke him.

"Together you idiots! Fight together!" Harrigan screeched. "There are just two of them!"

One of the soldiers heavily landed right before his Rittermeister, and before he could utter a protest, Nick raised him up from the ground and kicked him right back into the fight.

"Are you really this pathetic without your armors!?" Tiny man started to tear out his own hair, but suddenly, a jovial laughter caught his attention.

"Get them guerreras!" Cartez cheered when Yang turned another enemy into a perpetuum mobile.

"On which side are you on!?" Nick lashed out in fury while Cartez continued to laugh when Blake's ribbon struck another soldier like a lash.

"Cartez is on your side in case of an assault" He replied with a smug grin, lifting his glass full of tequila.

"Then do your job and get them!" Nickolaus yelled at Vacuan mercenary, who now drank his tequila slowly, savoring its taste.

"Cartez won't participate in the unfair fight you started, unprovoked" Mercenery replied. "Cartez put that clearly in his contract." And Nick screeched in higher pitch.

"Contract states you MUST protect..." But Cartez rose his finger to hush him

"'Protect' means 'defend', not 'aid you in unfair bar fight you start'." Cartez continued to taste his drink, seemingly disinterested while another scream full of pain could be heard from the group fighting Blake.

But in reality his eyes were fixated on one of the two girls. "Besides, Cartez thinks you handle them pretty well."

Just when he said that, with a loud scream, female mercenary landed on the table, smashing it to splinters. Cartez laughed out loud, admiring the Golden Dragon's strength, yet little disappointed at her lack of form.

"Very well indeed" He added and upon hearing it, Nick clenched his teeth in uncontrollable rage, and kicked his own unconscious soldier.

One soldier tried to tackle Yang, but she didn't even stagger when he slammed against her like a bull.

"Ole!" Yang smacked his face, sending him spinning across the club, but another man tackled her right hand, second grabbed her left, both keeping her in place for the third one to land a hit on her face.

Fourth one wanted to join the pile, but well aimed bottle struck him right in the head.

"Bar fight!" Mav cheered, threw another bottle which struck back of the head of another SDC soldier who tried to attack Blake from behind.

Soldier rose his right fist to strike Yang again, but suddenly a black ribbon wrapped itself around his hand.

Blake pulled her ribbon, throwing the guy out of balance, and giving Yang time to free herself. And Xiao long used that time well.

In the incredible feat of strength, Yang was able to overpower two soldiers holding her arms and smashed all three together.

"Not bad for bunch of assholes!" She praised them while they collapsed on the floor, groaning all the way down. She looked at the remaining SDPS stormtroopers circling around and rose her guard up.

Blake leapt right to her and now both girls were standing back to back while Soldiers slowly started to surround them.

"Relentless, aren't they?" Yang jokingly commented.

"Any funny ideas?" Blake asked in turn, dead serious as the remaining guys finally realized that they still outnumber them five to one.

"How about we end it with style?" Yang asked, her partner looked at her briefly with risen eyebrow. "Just trust me, alright?"

And after a second, Blake nodded in the agreement.

"Get the reinforcements, now!" Nickolaus ordered one of his men who just got up after getting beaten to the pulp. With pained expression, he saluted, tried to run towards the door but tall figure blocked his path.

"Going somewhere?" Asked Goose before slamming his fist into the man's forehead.

Nickolaus looked at Goose, prepared a knife, but then noticed that his subordinates finally surrounded the Duo, but hesitated to approach them.

"What are you waiting for!? Get them!" He ordered, and, at first unsure, grenadiers started to tighten the circle, slightly confident in their number.

First four of them jumped on both girls, but got eliminated by quick hits in their faces and abdomens, next four attacked almost immediately after last hit was delivered. One with short dark beard almost hit Blake in the face, but quick kick between the legs send him onto the ground, kick of the second one almost connected but this soldier was send flying by Yang in last moment.

That left opening for the two targeting blond girl but Blake stooped it ramming into the white-haired guy holding table leg, he lost his ground and fell on his colleague.

But now both girls weren't in position to either attack last two opponents or to defend against them. In that moment Yang looked in Blake's eyes, both locked their arms together and by using momentum built up by their previous movements (and accelerated by their aura,) they made one full circle in the air, kicking last two crocks away.

And after that, the fight was over, all Stormtroopers were laying beaten up or unwilling to fight anymore, and their leader just stood there, not able to comprehend that he lost.

"Golden Dragon!" Mav cheered, and whole crowd went after her example.

"Now that was a warm up!" Yang said and turned to Blake with a wide smile. "I bet those guys never seen that coming!" Yang pat Blake's back. "It wasn't your first bar fight, was it?"

"Not quite." Blake replied. "But why…?"

"Because we are friends, silly! And nobody messes with my friends when I'm around!"

Blake looked into those lilac eyes, again feeling the surge of conflicting emotions coursing through her.

Like the time she met him for the first time.

She wanted to somehow comment this, but loud voice interrupted their moment.

"Dragón Dorada!"

Both girls turned to the merc, who just finished his drink, rose up from his chair and gave them a proud smile.

"Well fought, You gave Cartez a good laugh" Mercenary put off his glass and stretched his neck.

"Finally!" Nick commented with note of anger.

Blake immediately rose her guard and prepared to fight, but Yang put her hand down.

"Leave that to me." She whispered, then looked at the Mercenary and she stepped up towards him. "So, you want to tango, tough guy?"

"Si, Señorita." Cartez nodded while they started to circle each other. "Toro Dorado heard a lot great things about famous Dragón Dorada. And Cartez is more than willing to check these rumors himself."

"You always speak in third person? Little weird." Yang rose her guard up.

"Cartez doesn't understand what do you mean." He rose his fists too.

Limestone, Vale

Hammer fell like a thunder, smashing against the gold with strength.

There was something in how Annatar wielded the hammer: His swings were both powerful and precise, each hit was strong, yet gentle. And with each swing, ring was getting formed.

While working, Annatar sung a nostalgic song only he could understand. About distant white shores, which he will never see again.

About the forge built under the light of two beautiful trees, forever gone.

He sung to the metal, which will become the ring, about the form it shall take, about the adoration it will receive from human stare, about the beauty it bring to this grim world. He pleaded to metal to allow itself to show him its essence, so he can give justice to its soul, and bring its magnificence to the light of the sun.

And metal sung back, eager to become what Annatar envisioned. Then it started to crave for an owner.

"Your part Jaune Arc." Annatar said. "Sing the song of your soul."

"I still can't believe that aura can work like this." Jaune said, trying his best to understand the lyrics of Smith's song.

"Stop thinking about the song, just think about who you are." Annatar said, trying to push boy's doubts away. And when he started to sing again about Undying Lands, Arc, at first uncertain, immerse himself in the smiths song.

And, much to his shock, his aura flickered and Annatar's voice now sung the tale about him. His past, his present, and his potential future.

"YES!" Annatar cheered in his mind as the boy finally used his inner flame.

Inside everyone is fragment of the Flame, which remembers the great song all Ainur sang at the beginning of time. Each song is different and unique, it grows with the owner, expands, interacts with music of others.

Humans can't see that of course, even the elves can't, no matter how hard they try. It is a gift only Ainur possess.

In other words, right now Arc allowed him to put into the ring fragments of his identity, without even realizing it.

Ring listened to the song about a caring man, who helps everyone in need, noble or poor alike,

Ring resonated with that, and gladly accepted the hammer binding this caring nature.

About the unwavering man, who fall time and time again, only to rise and fight yet again,

Ring allowed the hammer to add that unbroken will.

About a helpful man, who will make friends wherever he goes, and fight for them until he breaths his very last.

Hammer bonded the ring with loyalty to his owner.

As they continued the work, Arc saw various moments from his life unfolding before his eyes.

He remembered the day when his dad told him about his grandfather, about when he held the mountain pass for four days straight against tide of the Grimm to allow people to escape with their lives. About his great grandfather, who defeated the legendary Long Tusk, enormous Goliath which was able to trample entire cities.

The inspiration he felt that day still burns in him, driving him to pursue the career of the Hunter.

Annatar saw that too, and with another strike of the hammer, added that to the ring. And the ring responded to that with joy.

But then, while singing about the Arc's family, his voice broke, a false note appeared unwelcomed and undesired.

Thoughts of his father brought Jaune a particularly painful memory, and forced him to relive the day when he told him he is leaving for Beacon.

"Don't be afraid to go back if you fail. You will always have home here."

Why he said that!? He wants to be a hero! He NEEDS to be a hero! Why he doesn't believe in him!?

"Control yourself." Annatar scolded, snapping Arc out those thoughts.

"Sorry." Jaune tried to yet again attune to the song, and after a short pause, Annatar resumed his work.

Shadow laughed in silent mockery. This human's obsession for being a hero is so… adorable.

Hidden deep inside, he tries to hide it from all, but it festers like a thorn, and serves as great foundation for… other emotions.

Shadow knows how to bring out the worst aspects of humanity. How to corrupt something once pure.

It started to sing it's discord…

Elysium, Vale

Yang charged first, shortened distance between her and the mercenary, swung her fist against his face, but they got smashed against his guard, pushing him back few inches.

He countered with precise right jab, striking her face, but she didn't flinch.

She tried few swifts attacks against his stomach, he blocked each of them, then delivered upper hook.

Yet again Yang's face got hit, she clenched her teeth in irritation and tried to respond in kind.

Right hook, left hook, right low kick, each blocked.

"Stop defending like a wimp and start fighting!" Yang taunted when her right fist was once again blocked by merc's guard.

"Then stop treating Cartez like a mere crook!" His left uppercut smashed against her stomach, she got dizzy for a second, long enough for merc to unleash a barrage of blows.

Blake looked at the fight with a bad taste in her mouth. That guy is not as strong as Yang, but his combat stance is way better than her's, and he certainly has experience in an actual fight.

After receiving more than few blows, Yang grabbed the incoming right fist with her left hand, then tried to counter with right hook, but merc grabbed her hand in a steel grip.

He pushed her hands to the sides giving himself an opening, pulled his head backwards, and launched it forward, delivering a devastating headbutt.

Crowd flinched after that blow.

Yang stumbled backwards, trying to shake the dizziness away.

"You should always keep your guard up, Señorita!" Cartez said before another blow hit her right between her eyes, sending her flying back a few meters.

"Do you need help?" Blake asked as Yang landed heavily just before her.

"No." Yang replied while slowly raising up, all playfulness disappearing from her face and her lilac eyes glowed in red. "That guy is just lucky." She stared down slowly approaching mercenary.

"Does Cartez has your full attention?" He asked almost nonchalantly.

"Oh, you have now, Goldi Cow." She replied and smashed her fists together.

She again charged at him, but this time with such speed that the crowd observing barely registered that quick movement.

Cartez rose his guard up, but Yang punched her way through it, slammed her right fist against his chest. Then his stomach, then his chest yet again.

She ended her angry combo with a strong blow to the jaw, which pushed the mercenary back.

"Dragons BULLY cows." She taunted with a smug smile. "Not the other way around." and some people in the crowd even chuckled.

Cartez spit out some red saliva on the floor, and grinned widely after seeing Yang's angered stare, her lilac eyes turned to red.

"Finally! A serious fight!" He said that with almost childlike joy, then tore his green T-shirt in one go, revealing his muscular torso marked with even more dents and scratches. He then smashed his fists together and right before everyone's eyes, his whole body - skin, black hair, short beard. - all turned to solid gold.

"Wow." Mav whispered to Blake. "This guy is jacked."

Blake didn't respond to that verbally, only nodded in agreement, instead focusing on his battle marks, which were incorporated into his golden "armor".

"With his body being to turn into metal no wonder why his scars were unusual."

"Already going Super Saiyan?" Yang asked with a smirk.

"Cartez see no reason to hold back anymore." Mercenary replied. "And Cartez hopes that daughter of Raven will do the same."

Yang's eyes turned lilac for a moment.

"Wait, you know my..." She wanted to ask but Cartez closed distance between them in one jump, punched her face, blow rung like a church bell.

"Don't get distracted now, la amiga!" Cartez scolded, pressed the attack, and after short moment of shock, Yang started to match his blows, her fists smashing against his metal body like a hammer against the anvil…

Limestone, Vale

Another strike of the hammer against the ring.

Annatar's voice started to break, his once great song became less and less harmonious.

Each time when Annatar brought up another good aspect, something twisted his words.

He sung about a wicked men, who will cheat and lie his way to greatness.

Jaune tried to push away the guilt, remembering as clear as the day how he forged that transcript in his home, how he was meticulously crafting the prompt for the 3D printer to make the official seal, as well as making all the documents he needed to join the Beacon Academy.

He knew that when he submit those documents, there will be no turning back. But he was confident – in Beacon, he will prove to everyone that he is capable…

Annatar tried to bring something good from that – a great attention to detail, a careful planning, but the dark emotion still crawled its way into the ring.

No matter. He can work with that. Damage is done, but is not severe.

He tried to change the tide of dark emotions, to redirect it on another path.

Now, Annatar sung about the righteous man, who is not afraid to stand up for others…

With a laugh, Shadow once again pulled the string…

…About a coward who sits by when injustice is served.

Jaune was once again in the cafeteria, and watched how Cardin abuse the faunus student while his past self looked away, ignoring the issue, pretending like nothing is happening.

"You freaky animal should remain in the forest." Cardin said with a wide grin. "Along with other of your kind!"

Oh, how much Jaune hated this dumb brute, his arrogant posture, his cruelty. But, just like others, he remained silent while he abused those weaker than him, fearing that he will become the target.

He tried to explain that to himself – that he is too weak to stand up against him, that he will just make it worse.

But he couldn't hide anymore: He is a coward. He wants to be a hero like his grandfather, yet is afraid to stand up against a bully? He felt… powerless. Meaningless.

He HATED that.

Wrath and Hate crushed its way into the ring, giving it might, while Shadow triumphed.

Perhaps there will be something useful from that human…

In desperation, Annatar yet again tried to change the topic, and sung about boy's potential future:

About ambitious man, who strive for greatness against all odds…

But Shadow wasn't fooled, and twisted the words once more, delivering a devastating blow.

About arrogant man, who think he is as good as those already accomplished…

Jaune found himself between the lockers in Beacon, just to witness himself, Weiss and Pyrrha talking to each other.

"This is Pyrrha." Past-Weiss said.

"Hello again!" Red head said.

"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum!"

Shadow grinned hearing that while Jaune looked at his feet. She was the best in her school, while he…

"Never heard of it." His past-self replied.

Past-Weiss scoffed at him.

"She's won the Mistral Region Tournaments four years in a row! A new record."

Shadow took a great look at the champion, then compared her to the boy beside him. It was unimpressed.

Then it pulled another string.

"She is already a champion while I am… nobody." Thought appeared in boy's mind

"The what?"

Weiss waved her hands in anger, losing it to Jaune's ignorance.

"She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!" She yelled, and finally, past-Jaune realized to who is he talking to.

Shadow wasn't sure how to respond to that statement, concept of "cereal box" completely alien to it.

Jaune looked at his feet, not wanting to listen to this anymore.

"So, after hearing all of this, do you really think you're in a position to ask her to be on your team?" Past-Weiss asked, and both his past self and he replied in unison.

"I guess not…"

Shadow waved it's arm, changing the scene to something more embarrassing…

Shameful…

Pathetic…

Annatar watched in horror as his harmonious work turns to disarray, how whirlwind of dark emotions makes its way into his perfect creation, filling it with primal might…

Jaune tried to cover his head as Cardin pinned him to the ground…

He then tried to free himself when Pyrrha's javelin pinned him to the tree…

He then was yet again threw away after stumbling into Deathstalker's den like an idiot.

He felt again how powerless he is.

How meaningless he is.

With a mocking laughter, Shadow burrowed it's way into the ring like a worm, and Annatar roared in anger, roar so primordial and rage filled that Jaune passed out just when the reflection of him with pitch black eyes looked at him with disgust.

"Who do you think you are?"

---

Left hook, right uppercut, Yang struck against the merc repeadetly, each blow against his golden skin sending sparks of fire.

Cartez backhanded her, pushed her back a little, then grabbed her by her shoulders and headbutted her.

Crowd watching frowned when it happened, then looked away as second headbutt was delivered.

"This is gonna..." Goose commented before third headbutt impacted Yang. Loud clang echoed through the club. "...Hurt."

In the attempt to retake Control of the fight, Yang grabbed hands holding her and proceed to crush them with unimaginable strenght.

Cartez sceamed in pain as cracks appeared on his fingers, let her go, and she used this oppurtunity to grab his left arm and right leg, lift him above herself and threw to the ground.

Floor cracked under such impact, but she wasn't done. As Cartez tried to rise up, she jumped on his back, hitting it's center with her knee, then started to hit mercenery's head, smashing it against the floor, each strike deepend the hole Cartez was in.

"The last time I remember Yang wouldn't be able to take that beating." Mav commented, then looked at Blake. "How is she able to stand after such punches?"

"It's her semblance." Blake said as Cartez struck Yang with his elbow, shook her of from his back and backhanded her with such might that she flew away, bouncing once from the floor.

"She absorbs the kinetic energy which she later uses to empower her own attacks." Blake explained while Yang rose on her feet, clenching her teeth. Blake saw the exact same scenario during their training sessions in Beacon - her opponents tried to overpower her with strenght alone, only to receive a devastating counter and lose the match.

"So it is basically 'stop punching yourself' kinda thing?" Goose inquired.

"To put it simply, yes."

Mav whistled with amusement as Yang again smashed her fists against one another, her hair was briefly set ablaze while Cartez roared on top of his lungs and charged.

"That's hella useful." She said and Blake nodded.

"How long exactly she can absorb this?" Goose asked as Yang prepared to tackle the charging Golden Bull, who picked up more and more speed.

"I guess as long as she has aura left." Blake replied. "Or until someone knocks her out."

"Good luck with that." Goose laughed, knowing how tenacious and resilient Yang is.

She couldn't help herself but theorize two possible ways of defeating Yang in single combat - first is to drain her aura in one strike, and probably only Pyrrha is capable of that, and second is to attack her with not a particulary strong, but numerous and precise strikes to drain her aura over time.

"There is one downside though." Blake added and Mav and Goose turned to her.

Golden Bull picked so much speed, lowered his head and Yang too late realized that Cartez does not want to tackle her. Instead, like a rampaging bull, he rammed into her, sending her flying at least seven meters into the air.

With impressive footwork Vacuan turned his body, stopped in place, jumped into the air like a professional basketball player, and before Yang landed, he punched her mid-air.

She smashed through tables and chairs, then slammed against the wall, fell down and both wood and parts of stone wall fell all over her.

"She feels every blow she takes..." Blake tried to remain calm, but her voice showed that she is worried.

For few moments, nothing moved under the pile of bricks, and crowd started to whisper between one another.

"Xiao, c'mon! Beat his ass!" Someone from the crowd yelled.

"Don't back down just now!" Another person added,

Nickolaus grinned disgustingly from his spot.

Mav just blinked in shock.

"Did she just..." She wanted to say but Blake didn't listen, instead run towards the pile of debris. After short moment of hesitation, Goose decided to run too and put himself between the Golden merc and the pile.

Cartez looked at the hidden balcony, rose his eyebrow in unspoken question, and woman in white mask remained motionless. He nodded, understanding what he needs to do.

Blake threw stone after stone, trying to reach Yang as fast as possible, fearing that her partner just lies there, half-conscious and with her aura running low.

"You shouldn't care." Her inner thoughts told her. "She is your partner out of..."

"Screw that!" Blake said out loud and continued digging. It doesn't matter if she wanted to be have partner in Beacon or not, it doesn't matter that Yang's carefree attitude can be annoying and her puns are just bad, she just... can't stand by and watch.

"Cartez knows you can do more than that, Dragon Dorada." Blake heard as merc slowly approached, and reached for her spare ribbon, ready to fight while Goose rose his hands.

"Come any closer and you will lose your teeth." Goose tried to threaten, yet his voice betrayed that he is scared shitless. Luckily for him, Cartez just gave both of them an unamused look.

"Daughter of such famous Huntress is more than capable of fighting better." He taunted

Blake heard and felt growing rumble under debris and Goose watched in amazement as wood and rock starts to rise up.

"Don't bring shame to her name, el niño."

Blake jumped away as the pile exploded in flames, scattering it everywhere, and from it, like a Phoenix, rose a Yellow Flame, which launched itself at the Mercenary.

"Holy shit!" Goose's instincts kicked in, he jumped away from the trajectory of the comet.

Cartez rose his guard in the attempt to block the incoming blow.

But Yang, literally a fireball at the moment, struck him so hard that he flew back despite his confident stance, bouncing from the ground, pieces of gold flying across the club.

He quickly rose up, looked at his hands, now covered in shattered gold, then at furious Yang, who rushed towards him with fury in her red eyes.

"Don't you DARE speak about shame!" She yelled and threw another punch at him, he barely had time to rebuild his armor.

Although her aura flickered slightly too, she had more than enough steam to beat the shit out of him.

Cartez grinned seeing her rage.

"There she is." He said as Yang was again upon him, hitting him square in the jaw.

Blake was left speechless. - it was the first time she saw Yang THAT angry. Sure, she quickly lose control at their training sessions, but to went full ballistic like this?

"Is speaking about her mother her tipping point?" She thought as Yang delivered earth-shattering blows, breaking the Golden armor piece by piece, but merc fought back, their blows clashed like a thunderstorm.

But then, Blake's six's sense kicked in, alerting her of danger. Her ears twitched under the bow, and her eyes searched for the source of the threat.

Someone was sneaking towards two combatants, combat knife in his hands.

Her eyes were now fixated on him, and like prowling Panther, she soon disappeared in the crowd and started to sneak towards the man.

Cartez swinged his left fist against Yang's hand at the same time as she swung her right.

Both fists impacted in the middle, and shockwave threw both combatants away from each other.

Both lifted themselves up, breathing heavily, and their aura now at the breaking point.

Cartez looked at his left hand, and whistled after seeing that gold protecting his hand, entire arm, and even half of his torso was gone. He tried to regenerate it, but found himself unable to do so.

"Well, well…"

"One more word…" Yang interrupted, trying to speak between breathes. "…And they will have to scrape you from the floor."

Cartez grinned after hearing that, rose his fists for final showdown, but his face suddenly turned from happy to enraged after he noticed something behind her.

Yang caught in corner of her eye a silhouette of a ghoulish man with a combat knife rapidly approaching her back.

Harrigan wasn't recruited to SDPS because he was smart, nor because he was a good leader. He was recruited because SDPS always look for opportunists, who lack morals and are more than willing to stab their foes in the back. And Harrigan, like a bloodthirsty rat, sensed the opportunity for such thing.

Although merc looked like he was winning, Nickoluas didn't rose that high in ranks by taking any chances.

He rose his knife high, it's electric dust came to life in sparks, and aimed for Blondie's cranium. Taking her aura to the account, impact should finally bring her on her knees. Then merc can deal with her, catch the Black Panther, and once again, Rittermeister will get his promotion.

But before his knife could connect, black ribbon wrapped itself around the knife and pulled it out of his grasp. With a shocked face he stared at the Black Panther, who pulled the knife to her and grabbed it.

Moments later Yang struck the Rittermeister right in the stomach, and before he could even scream, golden fist smashed his face.

Both powerful strikes threw Harrigan across the club, he bounced from the ceiling and terrified barman jumped away as he smashed into the stash of alcohol behind the counter.

Yang at first gave Cartez a surprised stare as he slammed his fist against his employer's face, fully expecting him to attack her while she was distracted. Before she could continue a fight, Golden bull retracted his armor.

"I yield" He stated, and Yang's eyes turned lilac again, yet she kept her guard up.

"Not doing some dirty trick, do you?" Cartez shook his head in denial.

"Cartez's ally attacked you while your back was turned. Continuing would be a shameful display." He grinned widely "But you gave Cartez a good fight."

"Likewise." She said as the security started to clear the things up. "About what you said. About my mom." He looked at him, her eyes turned red for a moment. "You really know something or you just know how to piss me off?"

"No, Cartez really met Raven Branwen couple of times." Mercenary said. "First being the Vytal festival all those years ago." His face brightened "Yeeaah, she gave Cartez a VERY good fight back there. But Cartez also met her after that."

He looked at Yang again as her eyes turned back lilac. "If you want to know more, then Cartez is more than happy to answer some of your questions before security politely tell the Golden Bull to leave this establishment."

Yang initially wanted to say yes, the opportunity of learning more about her mother was more than tempting.

"Perhaps, if she came here today alone and as predestined, got into fight with wrong people, she would talk with the Golden warrior for hours, learn few facts about her real mother, true reason why she left her, and about the One, who made the rift Melkor gladly used.

This would probably embark her on journey to whole other continents, wanting to discover the truth buried deep under the mountains made of iron and snow. Truth about the bargain between between the Immortal Queens.

Truth about the sacrifice of Summer Rose.

But stories are like the pair of trousers – There are always two ends."

Something itched Yang in back of her head, and turned to so her partner standing few meters away, clearly distressed about security.

"She had more than enough for today, first those creeps harassing her, now security will start asking questions."

"You know what, tough guy? Today is not about my mother." Yang said and gave him a smile. "But the next time we meet, I won't let you go so easily." Cartez laughed out loud.

"Cartez is more than sure of it, Dragon Dorada." He grinned while Yang approached her partner.

"Leaving already?" Mav sounded almost disappointed.

"Yeah, study and all that stuff." Yang replied.

"Study? You?" Both Goose and Yang chuckled while Blake gave her a confused look.

"I thought…" She wanted to ask, but Blond girl just shook her head.

"We will talk about it later." She said and both girls went to the exit.

Hades looked from the hidden balcony and then at a woman with white mask.

"Don't bother them." She ordered and rose from her seat. "And make sure that SDC won't cause any more ruckus here, and to them."

"I am not sure what do you see in that girl Persephone." Man said as the woman walked past him.

"Does it matter to you?" She asked, and he shook his head in denial.

With a single slash of her blade, red portal opened before her.

"Make sure that merc is paid well." She said. "And tell him to watch after her."

"Sure thing ma'am" He replied and Woman in the white mask crossed the portal.

---

Sun slowly rose above the horizon, and Blake was more than glad to welcome the sunlight warming her skin. And, above all, she was more than happy to finally leave this place.

All these loud music or bright lights are not her vibe, and encountering SDPS wasn't one of the most pleasant experiences she had. But, much to her surprise, she couldn't say that was a waste of time. In fact, she enjoyed one part of it.

"Hey." Yang pulled her out of those thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"I hope you had some fun, despite the creeps."

Blake looked at her partner, and, after a short moment, smiled a little.

"Yeah. I had" She said, and Yang chuckled seeing that. "What?"

"You look way better with a smile." Yang gave her another wink and pulled something out of her pocket. "But we must hurry if we don't want to miss our first class."

Something clicked and nearby motorbike beeped, now unlocked.

"You really preplanned all of that." Blake stated, and Yang nodded with pride.

"Exactly."

Soon, both girls were raiding full speed through the empty streets of slowly waking city, towards the shining Beacon, guided by the sun.

And in that moment Blake looked at the back of her partner head, and decided that maybe, opening herself just a little won't be a bad idea.

Limestone, Vale

Jaune slowly opened his eyes,

He felt like his whole body at the same time got heavier and lighter. His brain started to slowly pick up on things.

The song ended, which meant that the ring was finished.

"Oh Man..." He said, and a terrible pain rung inside his skull. "Is this smithing always that pain in the head?"

Annatar didn't even turn to face him, standing motionless near the anvil and obstructing the view of the ring. Jaune tried to look past him and get a look at the it.

"Is it finished or..." Like a wolf, Annatar jumped at him, and in a blink of an eye, Arc was pinned against the wall.

"WHAT DID YOU FORCE ME TO CREATE!?"

Jaune breathed rapidly, his heart pounded like crazy.

Annatar's face looked sharp, his teeth were wolf-like and his red eyes shined like he was mere inches from tearing Jaune's throat.

"I didn't do anything!" He tried to defend himself, but Annatar tightened his grip.

"Don't lie to me human!" He hissed like a snake. "I would never create such aberration!" he pointed at the anvil, and Jaune followed his finger.

On the anvil, there was a magnificent white ring with lapis lazuli on top. True, it was beautiful, but something was off, but he couldn't tell what, since his focus was somewhere else.

Perhaps on the enraged Smith.

"I really don't know what's wrong!" He repeated. "But the ring looks fine to me!"

Annatar let go of him, and Arc fell to the ground. As he left a relived sigh, he noticed Annatar picking a heavy, doublehanded hammer.

"Wait, are you...?"

"I will make another." Smith brushed him off and rose the hammer. "A Perfect one."

"No wait!" Jaune tried to plead, but nothing could stop the swing...

But Annatar held it mid-air, right above the ring.

He roared in rage and threw the hammer away.

"By the Flame I curse your rules once more!" He shouted into the air, and Jaune wondered what the hell just happened right before him. And Smith felt his confusion.

"It is a gift." He said begrudgingly, staring at the object with fury. "If It was a trinket, I would destroy it without issue, but because it is my gift to you, it's destruction is beyond my ability."

"But why do you want to destroy it? It looks good, really! Even if it's scratched a little..." He shut up after Annatar gave him an angry look.

"Wear it on your finger and see by yourself." Annatar ordered.

"It's probably awfully hot..." Jaune commented, and Smith grabbed the ring, steam pouring from his bare hand, but he didn't flinch. After a short moment, all heat evaporated.

"Wear it, then pull it off quickly." Annatar handed him the ring, and Arc looked upon the white ring with lapis-lazuli with curiosity.

Maybe it was just an illusion, but something inside the crystal seemed to be pitch black.

He put the ring on his finger, then looked at the Smith.

And truly, he didn't feel any fear towards him, instead the Smith looked like it was he who is scared.

OFF HIM.

He pulled the ring off.

"What the hell man!?" He said.

"My ring was intended to empower, not strengthen!" Annatar said with anger.

"Isn't it the same thing?"

"NO!" Annatar yelled. "Each human is made of two parts: Soul, and the animal soul inhabits. Both aspects must cooperate with each other to ensure survival. And my ring would empower both."

He clenched his fists.

"But this thing will only strengthen the beast which hides inside you. It disrupts the balance. Make you lose control. Give you might that no human should possess."

Jaune looked at the ring and felt a soothing song from it.

"But it works." He tried to cheer him up. "I don't feel fear…"

"I intended to make you courageous, not brash." Annatar said. "Fear is a necessary component of every brave man. Without it, humans make reckless decisions which get them killed."

Annatar looked at him, his anger seemingly evaporated.

"Give it back to me, and I shall make you another, less powerful yes, but it will work as intended."

Jaune looked at the ring, and felt raw power of it, power he needs to finally become what he always wanted to be.

"But maybe that's exactly what I need?" He asked, and Annatar scoffed.

"You really want to gamble your life on it?"

"I already did." Jaune answered and showed the ring to the Smith. "And without it, I will lose everything. Like you said."

Annatar stared at him for a long time in silence, but this time, Jaune didn't back down from that stare.

"Wear it only when you really need it." Annatar finally said. "Don't wear it during sleep. And while you wear it, don't trust yourself."

Jaune nodded in understanding.

"Now leave!" Smith ordered in harsh tone. "And come back after a week. I will have better one prepared in exchange for this defect."

With snap of his fingers, way out opened before the teenager, and Jaune hurriedly left the forge, leaving Annatar alone inside.

Smith looked at the fires, slowly dying out, clenched his fists and the flames suddenly rose back up, fueled solely by his rage.

He picked up the hammer once again, then bars of steel and started to create the first piece of the armor – the horned helmet, which he will fill with all the hatred he felt at the moment.

Then he made a spiked Chestplate.

Then Heavy gauntlets.

Then Armored boots.

All filled with raw might to the core.

He then opened up the safe with all his money, grabbed some lien and left the forge without saying a word.

---

Sun slowly rose above the horizon, but Jaune didn't care, instead focused on his new belonging.

"Lose control." he muttered. "Just don't wear it during sleep, classes and bathroom and I should be fine."

Since his focus was entirely focused on the ring, he didn't notice how sun revealed that two shadows trailed from his back. But made him realize something else.

"The class!" he yelled, hid the ring the pocket and started to run to the airport. Maybe if he was lucky, he will reach to fastest transport and don't miss the first class of the day entirely.

Shadow grinned and hid himself behind the boy's shadow, deciding to stay dormant for now.

To learn more about the world surrounding it.

But, to its absolute delight, human was more than promising.

---

* One day, both Malachite sisters came to him with a task from Junior, and during conversation, Melanie jokingly said that Annatar is on his "Sigma Male Grindset".
This greatly offended him - How dared she call his smithing "a grind"? And why 'seven male"? It doesn't even make sense!

---

Author's notes

In response to Ri2:

"Oh shit, not a ring!" - Oh yes, the Ring! By the way, I still remember that you asked "So how long until he starts making rings?", Well... three-four chapters!

"Raven? What are you doing here?" - Testing her daughter... and I am really happy that you caught that!

Take care!

In response to Canadian Caesar:

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die.

The ring was given to the white knight, and the shadow took hold inside his heart...

"Good luck, Jaune. You'll need it." - Oh boy, He certainly will.

Notes:

Surprise!

Chapter 8: Sauron encounters 2

Summary:

Fallen maia adjusting himself to the new world.

Sauron encounters: Television

"Careful with this!" Nathan bite his own nails as two goons put a large, flat tv screen in place. "It ain't cheap you know!"

Sauron observed their struggle from his armchair, not sure what to think of this particular gift.

During one of Militiades's visits he asked about those flat palantir's he saw when he first arrived in the city, and turned out that she had vast knowladge about the matter.

Like always, when you show interest in someone's hobby, this person is more than happy to tell you everything about it. And Militiades, at first shy, was no different and they talked for hours.

"Those humans has some knowledge about great song after all." Sauron thought. "To think they can use frequencies like this..."

At first he wanted this tv to simply keep track of what is going on in the city, in whole kingdom and maybe even other kingdoms, but Militiades explained to him that there are far more interesting things to watch than "News", so called "tv shows".

Probably something similar to theater performance, but in comfort of your own house.

Goons finally put the tv screen in place and connected all the wires.

Nathan rose the controller, clicked one button, and television came to life.

"This button change channels, this one..." Yowwick wanted to explain, but Annatar rose his hand to shut him up.

"Do not ruin the joy of discovery." He commanded. "I shall figure everything all on my own."

Nathan shrugged his arms and handed over the controller.

"Have fun tonight Chief." He said and both he and two henchmen left Sauron's room.

He picked up the controller, and pulled out the sheet of paper from his pocket, on which "Channel 378" was written, then pushed few buttons and switched the channel to the one Militiades recommended, because apparently, a very popular tv series had it's so called "marathon", and two first seasons will be played one after the other.

And that was his main concern - In his perspective, staring at the tv screen whole night was a waste of time. He had so much ideas in his mind, many creations to polish, and to think that he would spent even one hour doing nothing was unthinkable. And they want him to spend a whole night!?

But, this humans are different from Numenorians, and if he wants to rule them, he must understand them first. And there was no better way to do so than to watch to finest products of their culture.

He looked at the paper again.

"First step: Make yourself comfortable" he read out loud and looked at his armchair. "Good enough. Second step: Grab some snacks." He doesn't need to eat, but maybe it is an essential component?

That's why he grabbed something from Cafe's storage. Another benefit of running one.

"And the last step: relax" He frowned, and read that again. "I shall skip that one."

There was only one way for him to relax, and it wasn't watching a tv.

Just as he finished his preparations, opening started to play on the screen.

First shot was on the well-made astrolabe made of brass containing a small sun within, but scene quickly shifted to the bird view on the whole different continent, which then zoomed to the large city with numerous high towers and symbol of the black stag on the gear, which rose the city from the ground, and before scene changed, he was able to read the name of the city: "King's landing"

"This world's Numenor." He thought.

Scene then quickly traversed to the far north, to another city, which yet again rose from the ground, and, much to Sauron's disgust, white tree started to blossom.

"So this is the Minas Thirth." He thought just as he read city's name: "Winterfell"

Scene shifted to the large wall made of ice, under which humans built small town. A guard post perhaps? Such structures as this Ice wall could not be raised by human hand, and, most importantly, something raised it to separate the whole continent from the far north.

"What hides behind the wall?" His curiosity sparked just when camera returned briefly to the King's landing, only to cross the sea, to entirely new continent, and stopped right above the city called "Pentos."

Then finally, title of the series appeared:

"Game of Thrones"

"So, this is about politics and schemes?" He chuckled with delight. "Bring it on humans, show me what you got."

---

This was nice sunny weekend afternoon, and the sun lazily traveled above the town, and, as usual in Limestone, people were gathering in front of the forge waiting for their dream items to be made and to watch the how Annatar, one of the most impressive people they ever heard of, is working on them.

But this time, the forge was closed.

Nathan peeked from the window on the crowd, they looked more or less pissed, probably wondering why forge is not open today. There was no information about the break and evening was closing in, so people stayed in hope that something will happen. But the building was still kept shut.

Other Junior employees were also uneasy, but they could not do anything - on the door to their employer's room was an information to not disturb him, so they were waiting.

He finally understood that it can't be helped, and he have to talk with Annatar, or otherwise his reputation will suffer.

He liked working for the Dream Smith. Unlike Junior, he never throws tantrums, blames them for anything without reason, and his rules are fair.

And he even pays them bonuses! No wonder why others are envious of him. And mere thought of losing that all…

He swallowed his saliva and rose his fist to knock on Annatar's door.

Sudden claps from the other room scared him a bit while rest of the goons hid behind the anvils and furnaces. Annatar is clearly having fun, and interrupting him now is a huge risk.

Finally deciding to take it for the team, Nathan slowly pushed the door and peaked inside, trying to hide his worried expression with a smile.

"Hello Chief." He greeted Annatar, who kept staring at the screen and slowly clapped his hands.

"Well done, human, well done." He said with a smirk. "Almost took me by surprise."

Sensing his subordinate's confused stare, former dark lord left a sigh.

"They killed King of the North in the ninth episode." Sauron explained.

"Ned Stark, Chief?"

"Exactly."

"That's why you are clapping Chief?"

"Indeed."

Nathan gulped nervously and then, trying to sound as polite as he possibly could:

"Chief, it's a little wrong to applause Joeffry."

Sauron stopped clapping, and slowly turned his gaze to Yowwick, and Nathan felt himself tremble under this stare.

"I didn't give my applause to that little worm." He hissed. "This pathetic excuse of a man made a critical error, his actions were born out of inflated ego and childlike temper tantrum. This execution sparked a civil war that he should do everything in his power to avoid. This incest vermin should not sit on the Iron Throne."

Yowwick rose his finger, but Sauron didn't stop there.

"Of course, Stark sealed his own fate: he trusted wrong people, acted the way he did on the hostile territory, directly confronted the Queen, who already killed in her quest to not let the truth go out, brought his children to the lion's den..." Sauron shook his head in disapproval. "All in the name of 'honor'. He had all the cards and wasted every single one."

Yowwick wanted to say something, but Sauron yet again interrupted.

"Watching his demise was... satisfying. Not only because fool got fool's death, but also hie face seemed too familiar to one member of the Fellowship."

"Fellowship?"

"Forget it."

Yowwick nodded and immediately stopped caring about this "Fellowship" at all. Boss pays him more than enough to not care about such silly things.

"Then, to whom you were clapping Chief?" Nathan asked.

"To the writer of course." Sauron answered with a smirk. "He skillfully subverted expectations of the audience – By that point in the story some might even relate to Eddard Stark, and most of the humans watching certainly thought he is the main character. However, his lack of understanding of the political spectrum, as well as young king's madness were hinting that he will face a tragic end."

He looked at Yowwick with superiority in his eyes. "It was possible to predict, yet most watching this won't. That's why he subverted expectations correctly."

"Good for him, I suppose."

"But now, to the important matters." Sauron raise from his armchair. "How much time until we open?"

Yowwick looked at his watch.

"We should have opened like… seven hours ago?" Sauron looked at him with disbelief.

"What!?" He rushed to one of the windows and moved the curtain away, allowing the sunlight in. "Whole day!? How could I lose a track of time!? Is this what she meant by 'television will suck you in'?" Sauron thought about a conversation with Militiades earlier, and he now understood.

Television is a very powerful tool indeed.

"Umm…"

"Leave, I need to refresh myself." Sauron ordered, and Yowwick quickly left the room and closed the door.

Five minutes later Annatar left his room, smiling to the waiting people,

"I sincerely apologize for my absence!" He proclaimed. "I shall do everything in my power to remedy the situation." As he walked towards the anvil, he whispered to his subordinate:

"Clean my room from any remaining trash." He ordered, and Nathan nodded, grabbed the broom and went into Annatar's room.

As he cleared the floor from any remaining tidbits, Yowwick chuckled to himself. Yeah, guy is a little weird, but that's fine, makes this job more interesting.

He noticed some paper attached to the tv screen with something written on it, and approached it.

On it was written few words in language he couldn't understand:

Er lumenn' an er úrin randa.

Sauron encounters: shady business

Black truck stopped on the parking lot, and from it, three of Junior's goons jumped out, and behind them, Annatar left the truck.

"Are we here?" he asked, looking with suspicion at the large building right before him.

"Yeap." Nathan confirmed "They are well known throughout the city for the best and cheapest mattresses."

"Best quality and price?" Sauron gave him a suspicious look, and Nathan nodded.

"Yes, and this is one of their smallest stores." Goon said as they were walking towards the entrance. "They have four more spread around the city, the largest being near the town's square."

"I see…" Sauron muttered, pondering on henchman's words

Automatic doors opened before Sauron and his guards, and behind the counter a bulky man waved to them.

"Good afternoon! How can I help you today?" He asked with a smile.

"I am looking for a comfortable mattress for my bed." Sauron answered.

He won't use it of course, he has better things to spend to his time, he only need it so any speculations will be cut short before they appear.

"You couldn't find a better place!" Worker said and left the counter. "Yukaza and Sons have the best mattresses in Vale! Follow me and we shall choose the best one suiting your needs."

They walked deeper and deeper into the large building, passing mountains of well-made and extravagant bed inserts. The worker, man named Jimmy, was talking very professionally about almost all of them, but dark lord could not shook of the weird feeling that something isn't right. Something was lacking…

"Where are other customers?" Sauron asked.

"Excuse me?"

"We are walking for ten minutes and we didn't met a single soul, where are the other customers?"

"Well, they will probably come later…" Jimmy tried to brush the matter, but Sauron persisted.

"This is weekend afternoon, most busy time for any business, yet I am the only one here." Sauron shook his head. "That does not make sense. How many people daily do you provide services to?"

"Chief, you are just overthinking it." Nathan interjected, but Sauron didn't pay any attention to his subordinate.

Jimmy looked into Sauron's eye, and he could not force himself to lie.

"We… have two customers daily if we are lucky, usually there is one or not even that."

"And I suppose that rest of your locations have similar statistics?"

"You are… correct good sire…" Worker couldn't force himself to break the eye contact, this lava like eyes were like the center of massive star, they had their own gravity.

"That makes around six hundred customers for one store for a year, that being generous, two thousand four hundred yearly for all." Sauron quickly counted. "How much on average does a mattress costs?"

"That… would be… four hundred lien…" Jimmy was not looking into a star, it was a nova.

"That makes nine hundred thousands lien yearly, without expenses for keeping the store running, yet your company claimed over thirty million liens of profit last year." Sauron leant closer, knwoing he is rightt. "How is that possible?"

Yowwick and three other goons looked at each other in confusion, now thinking about the matter, while Sauron approached the clearly scared man, and whispered to him:

"You are laundering money here, aren't you?" And when he said that, worker's face changed.

He was no longer scared, his face like stone and his eyes trying to pierce Sauron's head with his gaze, but to no avail.

"Think you have all of this figured out, don't you?"

Sauron chuckled while all the sudden, other workers started to surround them, much to Sauron's guards confusion.

"Of course, it is pretty good scheme." He said with a smile. "I am almost impressed."

Jimmy clenched his fists.

"You are still going to buy a mattress, aren't you?" Jimmy said with a threatening tone.

And Sauron smiled in response.

---

"Goodbye and thank you for your service." Sauron said as they were leaving the building with newly acquired white mattress.

"Pleasure is all mine!" Jimmy waved to them with a genuine smile, army of workers standing behind him.

As they walked away, Nathan finally gathered the courage to ask the Smith.

"What was that all about?" And Sauron chuckled.

"I just gave him advice how to better hide their activities and made an agreement, which is beneficial to both parties." Sauron gave his subordinate a wink. "Unless you meant something else?"

"I meant that whole 'it costs you that much and that and…' " Yowwick said, and Sauron laughed again.

"That? It was a trivial task." He said with a proud smirk. "I prefer to know everything about those who I made business with, so I ran a little research about Yukaza and Sons, and some of the data was… inconsistent."

"But why did you tell them all of that?" Nathan insisted. "You could have them on the hook!"

"Truly, I could blackmail them." Sauron nodded his head as the goons were packing the mattress into the truck. "Which would either make an unreliable asset, or my greatest enemy. But by giving them advice and help, not only I got the very useful favor for the future, but I also didn't lose the hook."

Nathan blinked, trying to comprehend what Sauron just said, and the fallen maia's smile grew.

"No matter how you look at it, I won." He climbed onto the passenger seat in the truck, and gave the store one last look.

He definitely needs to check how deep this "mattress mafia" is.

Authors note:

Well, that will be all for today, wait, what is going on? Hey...!

...

"Author of this story is deeply sorry for accusing Yukaza&Sons for any kind of criminal activity, we are a company with immaculate reputation on the market, well-known for our quality products. There is no "mattress mafia"."

...

Lesson learnt - better to buy a new mattress and don't ask questions.

Anyway, Greetings to you all! If you wnat to know what is going to happen in the next chapter, check out the notes at the end!

Also, translation (Rough I know)

Er lumenn' an er úrin randa. - One hour per day.

Now, to answer your questions:

In response to Ri2:

"Does that mean that because Yang didn't go alone, she'll never learn the truth about all that stuff, meet Raven, or all the other things?" - I would rtaher say that they won't meet again that quickly, and when they do, circumstances will be less fortunate, and I mean by A LOT. But I am glad you caught that! Most people didn't pay that line much thought.

Keep that in mind.

"And does this mean Jaune's doomed to become something very dark indeed?" - Weeelll, I will try to post as fast as possible to answer you, but it is an extremly slow burn, so, you need to be petiant.

If everything goes right, at the end of the month/beginning of the new one, you will have your answer.

Thank you for your comment! Have a nice day!

Notes:

Like I said, Sauron encounters are meant to be fun little in-between chapters on "How would a fallen angel adapt to a sci-fi world"?.
And yes, I love my refrences and I will keep making them. Besides, RWBY is full of refrences like this
*Ekhem* "Simple Wok", "Man with two souls"...
Proper chapter will be posted... tomorrow.

Chapter 9: Frinds and Mentors

Friends and Mentors

Kingdom of Vale, Two months in the past.

The medium sized bar at the edge of the street maybe wasn't as popular as Elysium or Junior's establishment during the evening but certainly had it's unique charm: With it's old-fashioned aesthetics inspired by the pre-war capital, it gave it's guests a nostalgic feeling, a longing for simpler times.

New guest slowly opened the door into the building, and for a moment street was blessed with soothing music from the saxophone.

Headmaster Ozpin looked around, then approached the lone guest near the counter, and sat beside him.

"Well hello there Oz." The man spoke with slightly tired voice, and pushed a glass full of whisky to him. "Care for a drink?

"I will pass." Hearing that Qrow shrugged his arms.

"More for me then." He said and pulled the glass back, and drank it's content.

Ozpin noticed how one of his best Hunters looks like a total mess - his clothes were dirty and torn, like he didn't change them for weeks, his face looked like he wasn't able to catch sleep for a long time, but despite that, the grim determination was still burning in his eyes.

When Qrow drank half of his drink, he put the glass back on a counter.

"So, what was so important to call me in a middle of a Hunt?"

"I sent you the recording Qrow." Ozpin tried to not sound too harsh.

"Oh yeah, I remember." Qrow scratched his short beard and smiled a little. "But I was too focused on my nieces beating up old Nevermore to pay attention to your shapeshifter." He tried to jest, but immediately got serioues after he looked Headmaster in the eyes. "You think it is another of her schemes?"

"I'm not sure." Ozpin admitted. "I can't exclude this option. Even if not, shapeshifting monster is not a good sign."

"What a mess." Qrow turned away and commented with sour. "First Salem's agents attack Amber, and now a shapeshifter is stalking my nieces." He stared at his reflection in the glass. "How is She?"

"Stable and Safe." Ozpin answered. "For now, at least."

"Any chances for her to wake up?" Headmaster remained silent for a minute before he left a heavy sigh.

"Unlikely." Ozpin admitted, and upon hearing it, Qrow tightened his grip around the glass. "Qrow, It was not your fault."

"We both know that's not true." Hunter replied dryly. He relived this moment again and again in his dreams, thinking that if he was faster that day, he could have save her. He was always too slow to save people he cares so much about - Now Amber, then...

"Qrow." Ozpin's calm voice drew him out of his thoughts. "You couldn't predict that. None of us could." Hunter left a heavy sigh, then nodded his head, but didn't felt any better, so he drunk some of the brown liquid

"The recent lead you gave me." Hunter said after a while. "That Glynda encountered her here, in Vale.|

"Did you find her?"

"I found the bullhead." Qrow replied. "Along with four well-armed mercs throwing me a surprise party." He lifted a glass and drank some whiskey. "But the host was long gone."

Ozpin sighed in disappointment "So again, back to the start."

"Not quite."

Ozpin looked at him and raise his eyebrow in anticipation.

"When the fight ended, one of the mercs spilled the beans after I... encouraged him a little bit." Qrow smirked at this memory. "Apparently, the Red Dress wants to gather large amount of Dust as fast as possible, to use it as a bargaining chip."

"With who?" Ozpin inquired, and Qrow shrugged his arms in response.

"I tried to press him for more, but he didn't know that. But what he did know is that she entrusted both the Dust theft, and her operations in Vale to her new partner in crime."

"Roman Torchwick." Ozpin concluded, and Qrow nodded in agreement. "If we find him..."

"...We will find her." Qrow rose from his seat, put some lien on a table and stretched his arms. "But first things first, your shapeshifter." Hunter walked to the door. "If I find something interesting regarding it, I will call ya Oz."

"You should get some sleep first."

"Nah, better to not stay under a roof for too long." As he said that, waiter tripped and glass fell of his hands, shattering into pieces. After sharing with Headmaster a knowing look, he left the bar.

"He is certainly something." Barman grumbled, giving a waiter a disappointed look.

Ozpin rose from his seat, and put something for the table. "This is to replace a broken glass. And for other troubles."

"Pleasure as always Headmaster." Barman chuckled in response, and took the lien. "And don't worry, I will keep my eyes for any information regarding Roman."

"Thank you, old friend."

Back to the Present

Trash can shook violently,  two possums jumped out of it, one holding a loaf of bread in it's mouth, while second run after the first, hissing in anger.

Two animals fought violently for the piece of food while three more peaked out from the trash can and watched the gladiator fight unfolding before them, sharing a bag full of chips.

Suddenly, all animals frowned, and looked down the street.

Someone was approaching them.

Someone really pissed off.

And Possums live in this city long enough to recognize danger when they see it.

Two possums abandoned their treasure and run back to the trash can, closing the hatch after them.

Sauron walked past the makeshift bunker, fuming with barely contained anger. Anger directed, for some reason, at himself.

"Why I am even surprised?" He thought, and few stray cats run away from him. "All humans are like this: arrogant, selfish, petty, full of hatred. And Arc was no different." He clenched his fists. "But how could I lose control!?"

He lost control over the situation few times in the past, most recently those two "halflings", who, in the moment of his greatest triumph, somehow made their way to his domain unnoticed and destroyed the One, something that was impossible. But let's not forget about the time when he thought that he can best this Valar's dog, Huan. What was he thinking anyway? To this day, his neck aches from time to time.

But he never failed in his craft before.

Each item he made through the years was perfect in every sense and always worked as he intended. But this time, his creation was twisted, mangled.

Disgusting.

And, for some reason, he felt it was somehow HIS fault. Of course it wasn't! It was that human's selfish nature that ruined the ring. That's the only possible explanation.

"If only humanity was not full of flaws..." He thought with sour taste in his mouth.

To have a Hunter, not to mention the member of the Fellowship in his forge - what a marvelous opportunity! He could get influence over him, and, by extent, gain leverage on his group. Now, he only hopes that Jaune Arc will be rational enough and come back...

He shook his head in denial.

"He won't do that." He thought. "Humans don't relinquish power when you give it to them, for they lust for more and more. It's in their very nature."

So, he needs to mitigate the damage, plan for the worst outcome, before the Hunter becomes his adversary. But currently, he wasn't able to come up with anything good enough to remove him from the equation.

For now, he tried to move his thoughts away from this colossal failure, instead thinking how he will rebuild this city when he inevitably takes control.

"Those streets are too narrow, but if they reduce the size of the sidewalks, they will have more space for their vehicles. Or that traffic jam could be avoided if only they opened a second lane..." But the sight before him angered him even more.

"Why they are so wasteful!?" He internally screamed after reaching the crossroads, which were caught in an enormous traffic jam, thanks to the broken truck right in the middle of it.

Humans were screaming at each other, saying something about "being late to work", he even heard some kids crying due to all this yelling, while the authorities tried to retain control and tow the broken vehicle away.

Sauron shook his head in disapproval. Crowd do not need sidewalk that large, if they just cut it in half, they would have space for another lane for traffic. This would guarantee a swift flow of resources, greater safety...

"What do You see in these mongrels?" He thought to himself after he changed direction to avoid the traffic jam. "They waste space, time, resources, pollute the air and the earth, they are greedy and malevolent. And yet, you gave them free will?"

He remembered words this old fool said to Melkor when Arda was created:

'...And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite. For he that attempted this shall prove but mine instrument in the devising of things more wonderful, which he himself hath not imagined.'

"More wonderful?" He scoffed, speaking with clear disdain. "Humanity is flawed, easy to corrupt, it's creations inefficient and often crude. They twist whatever they touch, destroy nature in pursuit of wealth, only driven by their selfish desires."

"And yet, I commanded the army of orcs who did exactly that, more, and worse." His internal voice pointed out, but he brushed it off.

"They were just means to an end." He explained. "A necessity in achieving my goal."

He looked at the blue sky "Total dominion over them is necessary to preserve them from the self-inflicted demise."

But the sky, as he predicted, never answered. He stared at it for few more seconds, then turned his attention back to the matters at hand.

Although this sudden leave was at first only a mean for him to ventilate, he decided that he will do something useful - He watched how humans operate those small palantirs called "scrolls", and those devices fascinated him greatly.

He looked at his wallet*, heavy with coin, enough to buy two scrolls - one for his personal, temporal use, second for study. Also some for other 'unpredicted' expenses.

"Can you finally unload this!? I have many deliveries scheduled for today!" Sauron heard from afar and turned his attention to the small bakery, before which stood a truck, and from the said truck, a Baker reached for another package.

But Sauron noticed how the Baker is struggling, his face twisted in pain, barely able to stand on his left leg.

"He probably broke it some time ago, and recovered only recently."

"You could help if you want to speed it up!" Baker shot back, lifting the package.

"They don't pay me for that." Driver retorted, lighting a cigar. "And this engine is a pain to start again."

"Then leave it on!" Baker tried to reason with him, trying to walk away with the large box, but Sauron already knew that this man is not going to make it.

"Only for someone to steal my truck!?" Driver said with anger "Just hurry up!"

Baker collapsed to the ground, his delivery landed right before him. He got up, clenching his teeth in pain.

Sauron watched the whole scene from a distance, not interested in helping the Baker. Why should he? He already has some people of this profession in Limestone, adding another is pointless at this point.

Instead, he decided to run a small experiment.

He watched how humans are indifferent to this whole affair: entire crowd walked past the struggling men, gave him a side eye, maybe even a little pity, but nothing more.

Nothing what matters.

Baker tried to lift the package, but his left leg started to shake violently as he lifted it. He dropped with a large thud, and wrapped his hands around his aching leg.

Few more humans passed him, and did nothing to assist him, nor to check if he is alright. Nobody in the crowd cared.

Sauron looked at all of that with disdain, then looked at the Heaven.

"Do you see it, Eru?" He said, knowing that similar scenes of apathy plays all the same in other parts of the world. "You claim that all of your Creations are good by nature." He pointed at the baker. "Is this good enough for you?"

Baker tried to rise up, he leant against the truck to help himself stand, but his leg still shook in pain.

Another pair of humans passed him, doing nothing. They have their own worries.

Somewhere in the far north, on the freezing streets of Mantle, a small girl with matches lit them one by one, to keep herself warm, while the crowd walk past her, paying her suffering little care…

…In the lands of endless sand, group of bandits attacked and deeply wounded a lone traveler. They stole his clothes and left him to die in the Sun, but soon after they left, a large caravan appeared nearby, driving towards the Grand City of Vacuo, but when they saw him, they shook their heads. He won't make it, so why bother?

"Those wretches do not deserve your gift." Sauron boldly claimed. "They wasted it before, now, and forever."

"And what I was doing with mine? Did I use it for good?" but Sauron pushed those foolish doubts aside.

"I always used mine in pursuit of perfection." He looked at the sky with determined glare. "And only perfection is acceptable."

The Heaven remained silent. As expected.

Baker pulled another package out of the truck, and to ease the burden, he put in on the road.

"You claim that with this 'free will', your children will strive for good." Sauron continued his statement. "But I see them for what they truly are. Some claim they are righteous, but that's a lie. They always lie."

"I always lie."

"To rule over them, I need to be as uncaring and ruthless as they are." Sauron proclaimed.

He turned on his heel and gave this pathetic scene one last glance.

"There are no good people." He stated. "Only evil, and those too naive to realize it."

Feeling his point proven and his views reassured, he started to slowly walk away, contemplating in silence the very corrupted nature of the humanity.

But this time, the Heaven answered.

A young teenage boy noticed a child freezing in the snow, he dropped his jacket and covered the girl, then picked her up and went to the nearby hospital, where they will treat her...

An old man shed a tear at the sight of violated traveler, then took the wounded man under his care, and treated his wounds with oil, deciding that he will pay for a place to stay until the traveler recovers...

"Are you alright?" Sauron's feet came to the halt inches from the ground after he heard that, and slowly turned his head back, curiosity resparked.

There, right beside the Baker, stood a young, light-skinned girl with curly, short orange hair, wearing white, old-fashioned blouse, short gray pinafore, and very long black leg pieces, for some reason attached to her black shoes.

"That's not a usual style of young women in Vale." Sauron thought. "Is she a foreigner?"

Her bright green eyes looked at Baker with concern, and he shook his head in denial.

"Yeah, I'm alright." He obviously lied, to not trouble her. "Could be worse." But she remained unconvinced.

"Those boxes are really heavy, Do you need help with carrying them?" She asked, tilting her head to the side, and Baker gave her a tired smile.

"I can handle this, really." He tried to lift the package and walk to the bakery. "But thanks for..." his strength was lacking, and he tripped and box nearly fell from his hands...

Sauron raised his eyebrow.

Baker blinked few times as the girl caught the box with only one hand.

"Oh dear, it is heavier than I thought." She said, and looked at the Baker with a wide smile. "But I can carry this, no problem!"

"What the actual hell?" Driver of the delivery truck looked baffled by girl's strength.

Before Baker could say anything, girl looked at the truck and approached it.

"Hey, It is really heavy kid, you shouldn't..." Baker tried to warn her, but the girl picked up second box with ease, and now held two large packages without even breaking a sweat.

"Where do you want me to carry them?" She asked with cheerful smile.

"...Just put it behind the counter." Baker muttered in defeat.

"Affirmative!" She replied with a smile and went into the bakery.

"You really expect me to believe this?" Sauron commented. "She clearly wants something from him." But, to truth be told, something with her was... off.

Girl left the bakery after a while and saluted.

"Everything is now in place!" She said, like she reported to an officer. "How can I help you more?"

"You did enough, thank you." Baker looked back the truck driver. "I will talk to your boss later."

"Whatever dude." Driver rolled over from the parking lot and drove away, Baker followed the vehicle with angry glare.

"He wasn't very nice." Young girl said with clear concern and Baker turned back to her, his expression softened.

"I am really glad you helped me." He said and reached for something in his pocket.

"And I am really happy I could help you." She said cheerfully, but when the middle-aged man pulled out the wallet to give her some lien, she rose her hands in defensive gesture. "I can't take it."

"You gave me a helping hand when I needed it." He insisted. "You deserve something."

"Dad always said to not take anything for doing a right thing."

Sauron almost laughed out loud after hearing this, while the Baker put his wallet back and scratched his chin.

"Then wait here for a minute, okay?" He asked.

"Understood!" And the Baker run back into the building, and after a short moment, she started to hum some sort of song.

"So that's how it is." Sauron said to himself. "I was wrong. She uses a common manipulation tactic: decline the first offer, then the second one, and human will give you something even greater."

He looked at the young girl with pride.

"To think such young human already understands how to wrap someone around her fingers..."

But, much to his disbelief, he wasn't able to prove it to himself, because he couldn't 'read' her like he usually can.

Every heartbeat, every move of the muscle, even single breath - all signal what the human currently thinks, feel, or what he or she will do next. If muscles are tense, human prepares to fight or flee, if his heartbeat is rapid and breath sporadic, this indicates fear.

Even something as simple as lying give clues to a watchful eye. He met many good liars in the past, and he learnt from them.

Now, he could lie with ease, like that snake Glaurung. And he could recognize liars without the effort.

But this girl showed... conflicting signs.

Her muscles were tense, like she was stressed at all times, maybe even combat ready, but her breath is too regular for that, and her heartbeat was slow and steady.

In Sauron's view, she was at the same time stoic and restraint, while also being a volcano of energy.

"This human has such control over her body at that age?" He thought with astonishment. "Fascinating."

The first... no, the second human he couldn't see through right away. And, what's more, there was no sign of twisted motive. Just a young girl, waiting for the Baker to return, with a happy smile, humming a song...

It's time to resolve the matter.

"Greetings to you." He approached her, and she at first looked at him with surprise, but didn't flinch when she looked into his piercing eyes.

"Salutations!" She replied after a moment, smiling back to him. "My name is Penny Polendina, nice to meet you!"

"The pleasure is all mine." Sauron answered and bowed, just like he did in Numenorian court. "My name is Annatar, Master of Gifts. You may heard about me already."

Penny froze for a second, even her breath lost its regularity. That reaction, too brief for regular person to notice, unnerved Sauron a little.

"Ah yes, the smith from Limestone 27C! One that makes toys that are magical." She said, but quickly added. "Or they say so. Still, they are probably very well made."

"Precisely." Annatar said, slightly irritated, but maintained the eye contact. "Very well made? That's an understatement. - They are perfect."

"Is something wrong?" She tilted her head to the side, curious about his stare.

"I just wonder who you are and what do you have there?" He replied staring at her face, and his eyes shined with golden light.

"So now you know, I am Penny Polendina." She responded, but after another similar to last one pause she added. "Oh, you mean this?" She touched her face "These are freckles."

"What?" Sauron's eyes stopped glowing, replaced by confusion.

"There is nothing to be worried about, really!" She reassured him. "It is normal for people for have them…"

"I KNOW what freckles are." He cut her midsentence. "I meant something else."

"What exactly?" She asked, and Sauron scratched his chin.

"I will say it openly, I didn't expect someone so young trying to build her own web of connections."

"What do you mean?"

"You helped this man." Sauron pointed at the bakery.

"Yes."

"And you didn't accept his repayment for the troubles."

"Indeed I did not."

"So you intentionally keep him on a hook." Sauron said.

Girl froze and looked into Sauron's eyes. "Now she definitely stopped breathing." He thought in this moment.

A second passed.

Second second too.

"I don't understand" Penny said, her face actually looked confused. "I thought I was kind."

"Indeed you were." Sauron agreed. "And just like the old saying goes: kindness never goes unrewarded."

She blinked a few times, but Sauron continued.

"It is quite simple really: when you give other person a favor, help them in their hour of need, the recipient will be filled with urge to repay you. Most humans will try to repay as fast as possible, before this urge becomes the weight on their very soul. But when you deny it…" He looked at her, wanting for her to end his thought.

"They will feel… bad." She said, and Sauron nodded in agreement.

"Exactly." He said with pride. "This feeling will become unbearable, and depending on a person, you will be offered far greater reward than initially promised. Even control over them."

"Control?"

"Over time, he will do ANYTHING for you, and guilt will keep him by your side. Of course, such simple thing as carrying few packages won't make him your thrall, but after few more favors..." Penny stepped back with horrified expression.

"I just wanted to be kind!"

"Don't try to fool me, I saw right through your facade." Sauron replied. "When you refused his initial will to repay, you left a loose thread in his head. If he is not a psychopath - and let's be honest here, he doesn't look like one - he is going to suffer guilt for not rewarding you in any way."

Girl looked like she was analyzing this new information. After another second, far sooner than normal person would she said her conclusion. "So, by leaving this "thread" open, the debt is going to rise over time?"

Sauron smirked "Indeed. With that settled then, I want to…"

"How can I resolve this?" She asked, and this time, it was Sauron who froze for few seconds.

"What?"

"How to let him off the debt, because if I say 'no' again, he will just feel more guilty!"

Sauron didn't expect that reaction. Was she really selfless? Probably not, but he didn't have time to make up a lie to put himself in more favorable position, so he answered truthfully.

"Then just accept his reward and move on."

"But dad said it is not kind to money for a doing a right thing." Penny protested.

"Then don't accept anything too pricy and instead ask for something smaller." He explained and gestured at the building. "He is a Baker, you can ask him loaf of bread."

"And this will be 'truly kind'?" She asked for confirmation, and Sauron shrugged his arms.

"Of course it will, but I don't understand why would…"

"I'm back!" Both turned to the door of the bakery, and from there, baker approached them with plate full of cookies. "Sorry it took that long, I needed to warm them first. Take it, for your troubles."

Penny first looked at the plate, then at Sauron, who now observed her with great interest, then at the baker.

"Will it settle your debt?" She asked, and baker at first looked at her with confusion, then laughed.

"Of course!"

"Then I gladly accept those cookies." She said, and took few.

"You can take more if you want." Baker said, but Penny shook her head in denial.

"It's more than enough, thank you."

"No, I am the one grateful." Baker nodded, and looked at Annatar. "You want some too?"

"I will pass." Baker shrugged his arms in response, and looked at the girl.

"They are very good!" She said, and hiccupped immediately after, which Sauron noticed right away.

"If you ever want more cookies, just come here anytime, I will always have prepared batch for you." He gave her one last smile and when right back to the bakery.

"Bye kind Sir!" She waved after him, and then looked at Annatar with pride, expecting a praise. "Was that truly kind?"

"Indeed it was." He replied, nodding his head. "You are foolish and naïve." He turned on his heel and started to walk away, startling Penny for a moment, and he was only able to walk away few meters before Penny finally realized the meaning of his words.

"Hey!" She appeared right before him, moving faster than any human. "You can't just call someone 'foolish' and leave!"

"Can't I?" He sarcastically asked.

"Yes! Wait, I mean no…" She shut up for a moment and Sauron smirked seeing this reaction. "Why did you call me foolish?"

"Because you want to be genuinely kind." He answered, and Penny blinked few times.

"You consider being kind... stupid?" She said with disbelief in her voice.

"Being genuinely kind is like hitting an empty anvil with a hammer." Sauron replied. "You can, but what's the point?"

Penny again went silent, thinking and at the same time Sauron looked at her soul.

And it burned bright, but… slitghtly different from other humans.

"I… don't agree with you." She said, and Sauron rolled his eyes.

"Listen, as much as I would love to indulge myself with a conversation, I am very busy man and still have things to do." He said and walked past her. "So I advise you to go and find your father, he will explain you the basics."

"Wait!" She grabbed his arm to stop him, and something was abnormal about her hand.

Her skin felt like it was attached to the body, not an integral part of it, and in places where should be bones, there was something much heavier, sturdier…

"I want to get into argument with you." She proclaimed. "Prove to you that being kind is not stupid."

"She is not a human." He thought, but that was impossible, she clearly possess a soul. "Is she an elf? No, she doesn't act like one…"

"You just said that it is stupid, but you didn't give any arguments to support it!" She continued.

"Interesting…"

"I want to know why you think being kind is 'foolish'." She ended her sentence, and then, when she looked into his eyes, his stare changed from mild annoyance to fascination.

"Very well then." He gently pulled his hand back from her grasp. "I will gladly engage into this fascinating debate."

"Just like that?" She said in confusion. "But you wanted to leave moments ago…" she added, not sure what to think about this sudden shift in behavior.

"I changed my mind." He bluntly said. "But I still have some important matters to resolve, so why won't you accompany me? Of course, if your father doesn't mind."

"Father wants to make friends, so he won't mind!" She hiccupped again, and when Sauron rose his eyebrow in silent question, she just smiled at him. "What did you want to do?"

"I wanted to buy a scroll today, but in Limestone there is no shop offering this, so I decided to travel to Callahan's Passage, and buy one there." He explained his plan, and Penny tilted her head to the side.

"On foot?" She asked. "It is the other side of the town!"

"That's why I took a day off."

"But there is a tramway which would take you only half an hour…"

Of course Sauron knew about such thing as "streetcars", but he was so furious to think about using one. A shame really, he wanted to try it, but he didn't have time.

"I basically secluded myself in my forge, like that fool Radagast." He smirked to himself.

"There is a station nearby, and next streetcar driving to Callahan's passage should be leaving in next five minutes." She quickly added, and Sauron scratched his chin in response, then nodded in agreement.

"Then, lead me there, and we can continue this discussion during our travel." Hearing this, her smile brightened, and eagerly raised her hands.

"Great!" She grabbed his hand and started to pull him with far greater strength than he anticipated. "So, my mission today is to help you buy the best scroll possible, and show you that being truly kind is not stupid!"

"Better abandon this last quest, it is a lost cause." He chuckled, but his mind was focused on something else than pointless discussion.

"What are you exactly?" Annatar thought.

This day just got more interesting for him.

Beacon Academy, Vale

"...The Treaty of Mutual Assistance, more commonly known as 'Prometheus protocol' was signed after catastrophe of Central Power Grid in Kingdom of Mistral, now known as a 'Long Night'. It obliges all Kingdoms to immediately send large parts of their Dust supply to struggling Kingdom in case of emergency." Told tall woman with crow-black hair and long, grey ears walked before the desk, wearing a long gown, a sign of prestigious position in Kingdom's judicial system. "Although used only once..."

"Psst Weiss." Ruby whispered to her partner, but Weiss ignored her.

"… This treaty is also crucial to you as future Hunters, for it will allow you to perform your duties in other Kingdoms without any…"

"Pssst, Weiss!"

"What?" Weiss finally answered, still focused on her notes.

"Which name is better: Ice Flower or White Rose?"

Weiss didn't answer, only gave her partner a "what are you talking about?" stare.

"White Rose is short, easy to remember in a heat of a moment, but it is pretty obvious and someone might pair us too easily." Ruby explained, undeterred by confused Weiss. "And the Ice Flower is clever, because you use ice and I..."

"Ruby, stop right here." Weiss finally spoke up. "About what are even you talking exactly?"

"Our combo attack of course!" Ruby showed her a hand-made drawing of her and Weiss mixing their attack. "When we combine our attacks, we will catch the Grimm off-guard! Like in the video games or cartoons!"

Weiss hid her face with her hands in embarrassment.

"First off, it's not a game." She said. "And second, do you think it is really time for that?"

"Excellent observation student Schnee." Both girls looked at the Professor, and fell under her displeased stare. "I encourage discussion in my classes, if they are relevant to the topic."

Ruby, now ashamed a little mumbled a little 'sorry' and turned back to her notes, Weiss rolled her eyes and Cardin few seats behind them chuckled seeing them embarrassed, but Professor Lovas then turned her gaze towards him.

"And Student Winchester, you might not realize it until now, but I have a really good hearing." She said. "So yes, I heard all epithets you shared with your colleagues. I would expect better vocabulary from the son of a Lord."

His eyes widened in anger, and Nora snickered. When silence finally fell upon the class, the Professor wanted to return to the subject at hand.

Only for door to the classroom door to burst open.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Jaune run into the classroom, and trying to not stick out, he quickly run to his seat under the gaze of the Professor Lovas, and when he sat on it, he pretended like nothing happened.

"Student Arc, raise from your seat." She commanded and Jaune immediately stood up like soldier on a parade. "Care to explain why you arrived…" She looked at the watch on her wrist. "Exactly one hour and twenty five minutes late?"

"Uhmm well, I have an explanation, but it will sound… unbelievable." He replied, feeling the stare of the entire class on him.

"I already heard about 'Grimm eating notes' if that's what you mean." She replied with stoic face. "But I would love to listen to your story."

Jaune left a heavy sigh.

"So, I went to the post office to send a mail, and the worker there gave me a flayer about the forge in Limestone and I…"

"There is a forge in Vale!?" Ruby rose from her seat and asked, but she quickly fell under contempting gaze.

"Student Rose, did I ask you to rise up?" She sarcastically asked.

"No?"

"Then please, take back your seat." As Ruby sat on her chair a little sad, Professor looked back at Arc. "And you went to this forge I presume?"

"Yes!" Arc replied instantly, and the professor gave him a suspicious look.

"And he kept you there for so long that you arrived on the last five minutes of my class?" Jaune stared at his feet.

"Well… Yeah." He said after a while, and the Professor left a heavy sigh.

"You were right." She said after a minute. "It is unbelievable." She started to walk in a circle around her desk, but maintained the eye contact with Jaune. "Since you are one of few who actually tries to learn, I shall let this slide. This once." Jaune left a relieved sigh. "But recent incidents gave me a more worrisome conclusion." She stopped and looked at the entire class.

"You don't take it seriously. You pay little to no attention to the presented topics, waste time gossiping or engaging in other activities. Outside of few notable exceptions…" She looked at Pyrrha, Ren, Weiss, then at Yang, who waved to her with a mischivious smile on her face**. "…Each of you is below average."

Most of the class lowered their heads, expecting the imminent blow.

Only for Cardin to raise up from his seat.

"Because we don't need all this crap! We can do whatever we want as Hunters, as long as we fight the Grimm!"

Even gretaer silence fell on the entire class, nobody eager to join Cardin in his protest. A fly buzzing over their heads could be heard, like a bomber ready to drop its explosive payload.

"You are lucky Mister Winchester, that our Academy prohibits physical punishment." She said. "However, your words just confirmed my concerns." She glanced all over her class. "I shall run a test next week, covering all the topics we discussed to this day."

Angry grunts could be heard from all around the classroom.

"NOOO!" Someone screamed in the back.

"Uhhh..."Nora hid her face in her hands, and Ren pat her back.

"It's okay, I will help you with studies." He said, and she tilted her head to look at him.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Jaune just leaned against his seat very tired, since he was barely able to catch some sleep.

"Hey." He felt a finger tapping his shoulder and turned his head to Pyrrha. "We were worried that something happened to you."

"But I wrote that I'm coming back…" Pyrrha raised her eyebrow in response. "…And I lost a track of time. Sorry." And Pyrrha, not able to get mad at him, just laughed a little.

"That's okay, you just missed few pancakes.." She said and gave him a smile. "…I just hope you had fun."

"Yeah…" he nodded, and pat his pocket. "But after today's lessons, I am going straight to bed."

"You know…" Pyrrha put her right hand closer to his left. "…Since they test is approaching, how about we will study for it together?"

"Thanks, but I'm good, I will just ask Ren for notes." Jaune replied, and with defeated expression, Pyrrha retracted her hand, and one team behind them groaned while their team leader just silently facepalmed.

"I don't understand all this fuss." Yang said, making herself comfortable on her seat. "This stuff is so easy!"

"Say for yourself." Blake replied, already visualizing restless nights before her.

"Oh c'mon, it is all about memorizing it all! Not difficult at all." She exclaimed, then looked at Weiss.. "You read it once and you are fine, right Ice Queen?"

Weiss took a deep breath, trying to ignore the tease.

"No, it takes and the effort to learn anything." Weiss said, and Yang rolled her eyes. "Reading it once is not enough."

"You could agree with me at least once." Yang pouted her cheeks.

"And you still didn't explain why you look like a total mess." Weiss said in turn, and Yang looked away from the Heiress. "You got into a fight, didn't you?"

"That's NYB for you." Blake jumped into Yang's defense.

"NYB?"

"Not Your Business." When Blake said that, Yang laughed and Weiss left an annoyed huff.

"Say something…!" Weiss looked at Ruby, and only now realized that Ruby didn't even listen, instead focused on the sudden information about the forge.

For she couldn't help herself but think about the day when she and her uncle made the Crescent Rose, her "baby", as she used to affectionately call it. The entire days and nights spent near the fire, working on the anvil, creating the frame and parts…

"Ruby."

And to think that Jaune found a forge in the city! Sure, Academy's forge is nice and all, but it quickly turned out that most of the students in Beacon only knew the basics of the smithing, so she was usually alone there, only her weapon keeping her some sort of company.

"Ruby!"

But finally, she had a chance to meet another Smith! She wondered, myriad of questions she will ask appearing in her head: Does he use tools made by Strongarm or Burleigh? Does he make weapons and if he does, what kind? What does he think about titanium alloys? Because when she worked on it turned out that it is a little overrated…

"RUBY!"

"I'm awake!" Rudely thrown from her thoughts, Ruby first looked around finding the current atmosphere in class strange, and then at her teammates. "What did I miss?" She asked quietly.

"You…" Wiess stuttered. "You didn't even know what happened?"

"Nope? Something important?"

Blake smiled a little, Yang started to laugh even more and the Heiress white skin, likely a boiling pot, started to slowly turn red.

"I…You… I can't…" Her left eye twitched in anger, staring down at the confused Rose.

"That's all for today, Class dismissed." Lovas finally announced, and Weiss immediately rose up, took her belongings and left without further word alongside the crowd.

"What's up with her?" Ruby asked her sister, as all three watched how Weiss approached Pyrrha.

"Oh, You could say she came under the Pressure." Both Ruby and Blake recoiled from that pun.

"Can you stop with those puns?" Blake sarcastically asked while picking up her pens and notebook.

"Why so Blakey attitude, Bleake?" Yang continued, and Blake rolled her eyes. "Our next lesson shouldn't be that bad."

"Sorry!" In a hurry, Ruby passed her teammates, wanting to catch up to Jaune.

"Student Rose." Ruby halted in place hearing Professor's voice. "A minute."

Ruby looked with surprise at the Professor, then at her team, who was equally startled.

"We shall wait..." Yang wanted to say, but Lovas shook her head in denial.

"Only me and your Team Leader miss Xiao Long." Lovas stated calmly " And don't try to stay behind the door, I will know."

"We will meet in Class, ok?" Ruby asked, and a little hesitant, Yang nodded and both she and Blake walked away, and soon, door closed behind them.

Little sheepishly, Ruby approached the Professor's desk, fearing that she might get scolded for drawing during the class.

"Take a seat, Miss Rose." She pointed a green, comfortable chair before her desk.

"I'm sorry, I just had this really cool idea and I..." But Lovas rose her hand to silence her.

"Miss Rose, Do you know what 'precedent' is?" Professor asked, taking Ruby by surprise.

"Ummm..." She hummed, thinking about the answer, but nothing came to her mind.

"In short, it means that Judge's ruling will have an impact on the future in similar cases." Lovas explained. "Unlike in Atlas, precedents hold significant influence in Vale's judiciary system."

"That's... cool I guess?" Ruby replied, not sure why Professor brought that up.

"With that information in mind, could you tell me what danger might arise from this?" Professor continued, and Ruby tried to think about it. Seeing her struggling, Lovas nodded her head.

"It might create a undesirable norm." She answered for Ruby.

"Aha." Ruby replied, still not sure what discussion is all about. "And that's... not great?"

"It might bring the chaos into the well-oiled machine not only our Judicial system is, but our Renown Academy." Lovas picked a paper and started to write on it. "So yes, it is 'not great'."

Her pen scribed do fast that even Ruby couldn't keep up with reading what was written, something about "protocol" and "STRQ".

"Do you have any idea why am I telling you this?" Lovas suddenly stopped and looked into Ruby's eyes.

"Because you want to teach me something?" Ruby answered, earning a dry chuckle.

"I tried that for two months now." Professor said with reignation. "I'm telling you this because you are a precedent."

Lovas let that sentence sink.

"Wait..." Ruby wanted to say something about it, but Professor continued.

"One of the Rules of our Academy clearly state that only those who surpassed the age of seventeen may apply to become the Hunter. And when Headmaster announced that we will be accepting you..." She pointed at her with the black pen. "...I was against it. Not because I don't like you personally, it's because, in my opinion, you are too young to truly comprehend the material presented during class."

"I'm not that bad in the classes!" Ruby argued. "Professor Port said that I have qualities of the good Huntress."

"Peter teaches you to be a great 'Grimm Killers', but being a Huntress is much more than chasing Grimm around the forest." Professor replied. "You are meant to be the Guardians of Peace between the Kingdoms, Defenders of Humanity and the Wise Judges. And right now, Student Rose, you only have developed one of the dozen necessary characteristic of being the good Huntress."

Ruby lowered her head a little, feeling unwell in her stomach.

"However, Headmaster Ozpin sees something in you aside of those extremely rare Silver eyes." Lovas added. "And during those two months I tried to see what it is." She cleared her throat, drank some Coffee and continued. "But even the greatest of us can make a mistake..."

"He didn't make a mistake!" She rose from her seat, giving the Professor the determined glare. "I want to be a Huntress!"

"And why is that?" The professor asked.

"Because I want to be a hero, like Erchamion, who fought against the largest Beowolf ever to protect the woman he loved." Her mind brought back the final scene from the movie about him she watched a child - the Man and the Beast locked in the dance of steel and claws, thunders falling around them as the Beowolf roared and repeatedly charged against the Hunter. Soo cool... "Or like my Mom..." Lovas rose her hand to stop her, now agitated.

"Summer was…!" Professor stopped midsentence, and left a heavy sigh. "…Summer was more than that."

Ruby looked to the side, clearly bothered by this discussion, and tried to avoid the Professor's stare. Lovas retrieved another sheet of paper.

"I will be honest with you, if you get the mediocre score on the test, the Academy will be more than happy, but you should ask yourself the question: Is being mediocre good enough for you?"

She looked at Ruby, who still avoided her stare.

"Dismissed." She said, and Ruby nodded, rose up from her char, run to the door, opened them and left the classroom.

As the door closed behind her, Professor Lovas left a sigh.

"He would probably say that I was too harsh." She thought as she filed her report about progress of STRQ protocol. "But in her case, a push is required."

She could only hope that Ruby Rose will ponder on her words, because otherwise, there will be a rude awakening for her in the future.

---

The tracks screamed as the streetcar made its way forward, unstoppable like charging olog, not slowing down despite all the people it currently carried.

"So efficient." Sauron thought from the backseat, observing and studying how this entire thing works, visibly delighted. "It transports nearly one hundred humans and don't slow down! Perhaps it could transport even more and still be faster than the horse or warg." He watched how the streetcar stopped at the station, dropped few people and took dozen more. "It doesn't need to rest or eat, only requiring constant flow of power."

As the craftsman and the Smith he already envisioned grander and more powerful designs, able to carry not only people but also goods and treasure. But knowing humans, they already have things like that. They are ingenious when it is needed from them.

"If only I had those things back in Mordor…" His mind returned to the plains of Gorgoroth, land always covered in ash and hidden under black clouds, but with plentiful of resources and minerals. In his head he already envisioned long tracks mirroring the black roads, reaching from the Barad-dur to fertile lands of Nurnen, and from his grand fortress to the Black Gate itself. "Mobilization would took me months, maybe even weeks instead of a year, Middle-Earth would be mine in no time!"

"Are you riding the streetcar for the first time?" Penny suddenly asked, and Sauron remembered that he is not alone.

"How can you tell?" He turned to face her.

"You just sat there and started looking around with enthusiasm." Penny explained "Like people flying the plane for the first time."

Sauron chuckled. "Indeed, many of Vale's inventions… Fascinate me, to say the least."

"Are you not from Vale?" Penny asked, and Annatar nodded his head. "Then, from where are you from?"

"I rarely speak about lands I used to call 'home'" He replied.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to."

"Do you miss it?" She insisted.

"No." He answered, and Penny gave him a worried look.

"Did something bad happen?"

"Yes and No." He shrugged his arms. "But You are not from Vale either, are you?" And Penny nodded.

"I came from Atlas with my dad two weeks ago." She answered, and Sauron looked her deep in the eyes.

"From the rich, Flying city, or its client city-state, Mantle?" Sauron inquired.

Of course he studied Remnant's history in the meantime, and learnt not only about each particular Kingdom, but also memorized some of their prominent figures, military commanders and richest citizens, their friends and foes, past alliances and old rivalries. He gathered every information which might be useful in the future.

"From the Flying city of Atlas, the most scientific city on the planet!" she replied with patriotic pride.

"And source of many resentments." Sauron commented in his head. "So, your father must be very rich person to afford such travel." He continued, and Penny shook her head in denial.

"My dad does not care about the money." She answered, and Sauron scratched his chin.

"I see… So your father must be on military mission to Vale, right?" And Penny shook her head in denial.

"My dad works with…" She blinked few times, and looked away. "I… shouldn't speak about it." She quickly brushed the topic off,

Seeing her reaction Sauron knew that pushing further might cause more harm than good, so it was time to change the subject. For now at least.

"Fair enough." Sauron replied, as Penny looked relieved when he said that. "After all, you wanted to discuss entirely different matter, what was that again?"

"About you thinking that "genuine kindness is stupid." Penny answered. "And you still didn't give any argument supporting it."

"Ahh right." Sauron made himself comfortable on his seat. "For the start, a small question for you: What is kindness?"

Penny looked like she blacked out for a moment, and, like reciting a book:

"Kindness is a type of behavior marked by acts of generosity, consideration, rendering assistance, or concern for others, without expecting praise or reward in return." She said, and Sauron nodded.

"Incorrect." He replied, confusing her. "Kindness is a tool, and very useful at that, which helped humanity with creation of civilization."

"But there is no such definition…" She tried to counter, but Sauron was already prepared.

"It's taken from observation and life's experience." He said. "Early humans were kind not because it was in their nature, but because it ensured their survival in the wild." He looked at her. "Do you know from which point the civilization begun?"

"The official beginning of human civilization is marked by the old urban settlements found on Sanus continent approximately four thousand years ago." Penny answered, and Sauron nodded in agreement.

"True, to some degree." He said. "Do you want to know when civilization truly started?"

"I would love to know!" She replied, always eager to learn.

"When strong started to care about their weak or sick." He said, and Penny tilted her head in silent question. "Other animals abandon their old or frail, not wanting to waste their limited resources on potential prey for the predators, ensuring only the fittest survive. But humanity defied this circle of life."

"People had to stick together to survive against the Grimm." She pointed out, and Sauron laughed.

"That actually proves my point! Think, how easier would it be, to abandon their own for the creatures of Grimm to kill while the strong run away?"

Penny started to process the information given to her, and then responded.

"But they chose not to because… they were kind?" She asked, and Sauron gave her a smile.

"Indeed. Because strong cared for their weak, humanity was able to grow in numbers. And thus, they took the reign of the world from the unforgiving nature."

"But it is against your point!" She exclaimed.

"Is it?"

"Yes! You said that genuine kindness is stupid and now you said that it helped humans in the dark ages."

Sauron looked at her triumphantly.

"And who said that their kindness was genuine?"

Pure shock appeared on Penny's face as she heard this, but Sauron continued his thought:

"Kindness was born out of necessity, not because it was 'a right thing to do'." He giggled as he said that. "Selflessness of the strong was a well-thought, pragmatic decision."

"But they didn't get anything from it!" Penny tried to argue.

"Actually, they did." Passenger sitting before them turned to them and jumped into the conversation. "By protecting the weaker members of the tribe, strong and capable hunters ensured that all menial tasks like preparing food and clothes were done by those unable to join them in the hunt. Cooking is far less enjoyable than hunting, but someone must do it."

"Not to mention in case of an accident during the hunt, those strong were treated by those they protected earlier, or when they got old, community they helped to raise would take care for them." Sauron added.

Penny looked away, thinking how to respond to this, while the passenger looked closely at Sauron.

"Wait, are you Annatar, the Dream Smith?" He asked.

"The One and Only."

"I didn't expect to run into you in the streetcar of all places. Not to mention hearing a discussion about beginnings of the Humanity." Sauron laughed hearing this.

"Life truly creates unbelievable scenarios, doesn't it?"

"Yeah." Passenger looked at his scroll and his smile faded. "I would love to continue listening to this discussion, but the streetcar will soon reach my stop." Sauron put his right hand on passenger's shoulder to stop him.

"How about we continue this discussion later, in my forge?" He retrieved a business card with his left hand and gave it to the passenger "Show it to one of my men, he will let you skip the queue."

"That would be… amazing." Passenger rose from his seat as the streetcar stopped on the stop, staring at the business card "Very kind of you, Good Sir. I wish you a good day"

"Farewell." Annatar said his goodbyes as the passenger left, and then leaned on his seat with a smug smile.

"Do you understand how kindness works now?" He asked, and Penny looked at him with curiosity.

"If this is how it works, then why the definition is different?"

"Simple, it's because humans want to feel better about themselves and the truth – that kindness is yet another form of trade - pains them, so they twisted it to give themselves an illusion that they were selfless from the beginning." Sauron explained his reasoning, and looked at her. "But, as I showcased, it is not necessarily a 'bad' thing."

"I… don't know what to say." Penny replied after few seconds.

"So, do you finally agree with me?"

"No! I still think what you say is wrong but… I cannot think on the argument that would disprove your statement." She looked genuinely worried, and she again looked at the window, like she searched for answers in the sky.

"There is nothing wrong with that." Annatar commented, and Penny turned back to him as he continued.

"My conclusions came from long time of research, observation and learning. I paid them a lot of thought, and found many arguments to support my thesis. Not being able to disprove them right away is initially good for you, because you start to think about your arguments, which you will then use later in discussion. And in your pursuit of knowledge and answers, you start to shape your own beliefs and worldview, and this in turn, strengthens your character."

"Did you say 'initially'?" She asked, and Sauron nodded, amazed by her perceptiveness "I thought pursuit of knowledge is always a good thing?"

"It is, but there is a lethal trap in formulating your own opinions." Sauron replied. "For in this pursuit, you might lock yourself in your own world, believing that your opinion must be right, and when obvious truth is presented right before your eyes, you deny it to protect your believes from shattering into pieces. And thus, what once was a knowledge, starts to become a delusions of a squabbling fool."

Penny looked her hands, then at him, and her smile widened.

"So.. Can I think about my answer and come back to this discussion later?"

"I even encourage you to do so, Penny Polendina." He bowed his head with respect. "But there is nothing wrong with admitting that you were mistaken."

"Because you know I am right, you just need to realize it."

'Arriving to : Callahan's Passage' Voice from the streetcar announced.

"I presume it is our stop." Sauron rose from his seat.

"It is!" Penny quickly followed behind him, and when streetcar stopped, they got out of it.

"Is this "Electronics" close?" Sauron asked as they were walking away, just when the streetcar roared back to life and drove away, and Penny froze in place for two seconds, scanning the road ahead.

"We must go straight-right-straight-left-cross the small-bridge-left-straight-right-straight." She answered, wildly pointing said directions, which Sauron found slightly amusing.

"Then after you, Penny Polendina." He allowed her to go first, but then suddenly stopped. "But one thing before we go."

"What is it?"

"May I ask you a small question?" He asked.

"Of course!" She replied after a second, slightly before he even ended his sentence.

He looked into her in the eyes.

"Is your father, by any chance, Pietro Polendina?" He asked, and she blinked few times in confusion, but as Sauron predicted, none of her muscles moved.

"Do you know him?" She asked with little hint of doubt, and Sauron threw his heads backwards and laughed.

"I wish I do! Pietro Polendina, the Genius, Head Researcher of Atlas and Expert in robotics." Sauron said, not faking any of his praises. "He is a true inspiration. One day, I want to build the robot myself, but I don't understand those things called 'computers' and 'hardware'."

"Yet." He added in his head.

Penny at first looked a little unsure if she should answer, but after a short while she nodded.

"Yes, my dad in Pietro Polendina." She answered sincerely, much to Sauron's delight.

"You must be very proud of him." He said. "Having such famous parent."

"I am." Sauron saw in her eyes that she wants to change the topic, and decided that it was enough, for he had all the answers he needed.

"And that's all what I needed to hear." Sauron said, and Penny looked at him with relief. "But now, I believe we have a scroll to purchase."

"Yes! We march!" She turned on her heel and started to march. "One-two-one-two-one…" and Sauron followed her, satisfied that he solved this puzzle.

For Pietro Polendina does not have a daughter.

---

Students waited before the classroom, not sure what to expect. When they noticed that previously a blank space between Huntsman regulations and Combat Class was filled by additional lesson, all were rightfully angered. But when the outrage toned down, first year students tried to scout information from older colleagues about so called "Combat Introduction". But, much to everyone's dismay, second, third and even fourth years maintained a conspiracy of silence, revealing only few facts:

"This lesson is lectured by a Vale noble, he is a little eccentric but he doesn't make tests or exams." Weiss recounted all she knew. "Then he must grade us after each lesson."

"I heard he fought in the Great War." One student whispered to another.

"Then how old he is?"

"He must be walking with a cane."

"I wonder what kind of literature he will give us."

"It doesn't matter if he is old or he fought in Faunus War or whatever, we will be on top of the class like always, right Pyrrha?" Weiss asked, trying to start the conversation.

"I guess?" Champion replied, trying to sound as polite as possible.

"I mean 'Combat Introduction'? It can't be that hard..." She noticed Blake and Yang approaching them, rolled her eyes and walked to them.

"And where is Ruby? She got herself in trouble from Professor Lovas, didn't she?"

"Professor..." Blake wanted to answer, but Yang stopped her.

"We should be asking you." She said, giving a startled heiress an accusatory look. "Rubes is your partner, and you just dipped her off to hang out with Pyrrha."

"I am not her babysitter." Weiss replied. "If she got herself in trouble, then she should be the one resolving it, like an adult."

"You do everything to avoid her, and give her a cold shoulder whenever she tries to be friendly with you." Yang added, not backing down. "You really think it is fair towards her?"

"Fair?" Weiss replied, now agitated. "Was naming her a 'team leader' despite not having any good qualities of one 'fair'?" Few students looked over, but after angry stare from Yang they turned them away.

"That what is all about? That Ozpin made her a team leader instead of you?" Blake asked, and Weiss scoffed in response.

"A silent critic now decided to take part in discussion? Who would have thought that fooling around with that walking anger issue will have a some other effects than collateral damage."

Yang's hair light up slightly while Blake just gave the heiress an angry glare, but Weiss remained undeterred.

"We all had to earn our right to be Huntresses in the future, but unlike you two, I had to sacrifice so much just to be here, and unlike our 'fearless team leader', who got her position handed over on a silver platter, I bled to prove my worth." She pointed at the nasty scar over her left eye.

"Oh, you have no idea about sacrifice." Blake said with growing anger.

"And I have bigger bruises than this 'scar' on my rear." Yang added with a smirk, but Weiss just gave both of them a dismissive look.

"You are in no position to judge me. And I'm done with this discussion."

Just when Yang was about to let her mouth loose on the heiress, Ruby ran from around the corner.

"I made it!" She said with relief, but when she approached her teammates she quickly noticed a tense atmosphere. "Is something wrong?"

"No." Weiss said. "We were just talking about how life can be really unfair."

"And about some folks who can't see past their nose." Yang remarked, and both she and Weiss turned from each other, to not even look in their general direction. Ruby looked first at her sister, then at Weiss, then at Blake, who just shrugged her arms.

"Was that a heated discussion or..."

"You really can't take a hint, can you?" Weiss remarked while Yang just snorted.

And moment after, door to the classroom opened wide, and those close peeked inside.

"Oh man..." Jaune commented.

"Now that's a classroom!" Nora added, and her voice echoed across the classroom

The "classroom" in reality was as a gym with many lanes drown on the ground, and numerous lights illuminating the whole room from the ceiling.

To surprise of the students who went in, whole area was empty - there were no chairs, bookcases, desks, nothing aside from the wooden floor.

And an old, slander man in black and brown fencer tunic stood in the middle.

"Welcome students!" He greeted them with ceremonial bow, and took of his fencing helmet, revealing his old, sharp face with short white beard and hair. "Make yourself comfortable, we shall begin shortly."

"But there are no seats..." Someone pointed out, but as it was said, from the floor rose enough seats for everyone.

"I think introductions are in place." He put his Cup-hilt rapier on his belt. "I'm Count Cassim William Lee, and as my students you may address me simply as 'Professor' or 'Sire'. I shall be your "Combat Introduction" instructor."

"His weapon is old, but is still kicking. I wonder if he made it himself." Ruby whispered to her partner looking on Cassim's elegant rapier, but Weiss ignored her entirely.

"But we were taught basics in Signal or back in our home academies." One of the students voiced out the concerns of the entire class, and only Jaune recoiled after hearing this.

"Indeed, in Junior Academies you were taught how to jump, dash and fire with your guns. In other words, you were encouraged to not be couch potatoes." He took a great look on the entire class and his smile widened. "And you were successful in this regard. But combat is much more than hopping around with guns blazing, for in its essence, combat is a test of control, endurance, will and knowledge. And today's session will be all about control."

He gestured with his hand, and part of the wall opened, revealing a large armory full of rapiers, with exactly one for each person.

"We won't be able to use our weapons?" asked mortified Ruby.

"Don't worry student Rose, each rapier is exactly the same." Professor reassured to no one's relief, thought of fighting without their weapons of choice as horrifying as the Lovas's test.

Except Weiss, for her, it was a dream come true.

"But I don't know how to use something… so small." Said black-haired girl, weighing her double edged axe in one hand and rapier in second, but then she noticed her partner, a boy with dark blond hair grinning at her. "Sylwester I swear to the Brothers, if you say something stupid…"

"Whaaat? I just thought how bizarre this situation is. And what were you thinking, hmmm?"

"Don't worry student Walka, this lesson is not about fighting with them." Cassim said with a hint of amusement as she swung her rapier against the boy's head, only for their third teammate to come between them. "It's about controlling the fight. And there is no better way to learn what control is when someone takes it from you." Old man said with a smirk.

"That doesn't make any fucking sense!" Said loud voice from second end of the gym.

"Bad words!" Ruby yelled from the other end.

"Now, when you retrieved your weapons, we can begin with making pairs." Cassim announced. "And since we have three hours, your sparring partners will be swapped after three rounds."

Ruby weighed the rapier in her hands and left a sigh. She wants to fight with Crescent Rose, not some random piece of metal. Yang looked unamused and wondered if she can throw it away and fight with her fists, and Blake, as always, maintained her composure, but Weiss was more than overjoyed. She watched how most of the other students even handled the rapiers wrong! She couldn't wait for the lesson to begin.

Right beside Team RWBY, Jaune swinged his rapier few times and just shrugged his arms, since the weapon was lighter than Corcea, although less comfortable to handle.

"Try to hold it like this." Pyrrha grabbed his hand and placed it a little lower on a hilt. This time it was perfect.

"Thanks Pyrrha." He nodded to her and took few more test swings, and that, although clumsy, gave him some confidence, and she smiled to him in response.

"Neaaayh not as satisfying as a hammer." Nora commented after trying to handle her rapier as a baseball bat.

"Why you always try to turn everything into a hammer?" Ren asked, having no issue with his weapon.

"Maybe because I love to smash stuff?" Nora looked at him and Ren smiled a little. "Don't tease me, you know what I meant!"

"There are three rules I shall enforce." Cassim announced and showed three fingers. "First: You can't drop your weapon. Second: At least one feet must always touch the ground. Third: You can't use your semblances. Round ends after one successful hit against the body or when one of the duelists leave the square. Each sparring match ends after three rounds. Is that clear?"

"Yes." Students responded with varied enthusiasm.

"Good" Professor's aura shined in purple light, and students feet and hands holding the rapiers also shined in purple. Before anyone could ask what was that, Cassim pointed at two students in the crowd

"Blake Belladonna and Dove Bronzewing - square one" Cassim said and pointed at the small square at the far end of the classroom. "Yang Xiao Long and Lie Ren – square seven." He pointed at another square.

Crowd started to slowly thin as Cassim made pair after pair, seemingly at random, either taking people from other teams and making pairs such as Nora against Russel, only to subvert the expectations and pair Pyrrha Nikos with Jaune Arc, much to Weiss's dismay. She looked at few remaining students, including Ruby, Sky Lark, and few members of the unorthodox, five member team – SABER or something, she only remembered that they are struggling in classes.

"Angelina Clark and Beatrice Walka – square twelve." Cassim continued. "Sylwester Loret and Robert D'Artagnan. – Square eight."

Something was not adding up for the heiress. Now, there were only Ruby, who still looked at her rapier with great displeasure, Sky Lark, who looked horrified at mere thought of facing either Rose or Schnee, and Weiss of course.

"Excuse me." She called to the Professor, as he announced a final pair:

"Sky Lark and Ruby Rose – square third." Sky Lark looked at Ruby, and left a sigh, already accepting his defeat, and as they left, Cassim looked at Weiss. "Is there a problem, Miss Schnee?"

"I lack a pair, so yes." She replied and Cassim left a friendly chuckle.

"Weiss Schnee and Cassim William Lee. – square seven." He retrieved his rapier and pointed at the empty square in the middle.

"I… It's quite an honor Sire." At first taken by surprise, Weiss bowed courtly, showing proper respect to noble man, but also felt a little satisfied.

"Pleasure is all mine Student Schnee." He said as they approached the arena. "As I heard you are quite proficient with your own rapier."

"I am." She replied with pride. And Professor picked up her instead of Pyrrha, which speaks a lot.

"Then training with others would not cause you any problems." The Professor said. "Which is why our duel shall have one additional rule."

"Which is?" She asked after she positioned herself on the one end of the arena.

"You will be able to switch a pair only after one successful strike against me."

"That's it?" She asked, trying not to smirk. She will prove him how good she is.

"I shall do my best." Cassim bowed to her with respect, and then looked at the class. "Begin!" And whole class erupted into motion.

Weiss approached slow, moving with grace and carefully aiming her weapon, while Cassim approached the center with confidence, she stared directly into his eyes, trying to predict his next movement. But Professor wasn't focus on her, his eyes calmly wondered from one side of the eye to another, registering everything what was happening during class at once.

She suddenly sprung into quick movement, shortened distance, launched her weapon against his chest like scorpion launches its stinger. She wanted to use his lack of concentration.

Exactly at this moment his eyes narrowed on her, he parried the approaching blade in single motion, turning the parry into a strike against her left arm, scoring a hit.

"First round for me." Cassim said and started to walk to the other end of the square, leaving surprised Weiss in the middle.

She wanted to end the fight in one quick movement, thinking that his reaction time is not good enough. He must be an experienced huntsman, that's for sure, but his old age should slow him down.

But it looked like that for him, age was just a number.

She clenched her teeth and walked to the other end of the square, ready for the second round. This time she won't underestimate him.

Other duels were less spectacular - without experience their strikes were clumsy, often too slow, sometimes too fast, but few duels were more interesting than others.

Sky Lark started his fight with Ruby Rose very passively, knowing how fast she is in the combat classes, but when Ruby attacked him, he found out that her strikes didn't make sense. – they were still swift, but not as fast as with the Crescent Rose at hand, her fingers instinctively tapped the hilt of the rapier, like she wanted to fire it.

Although she claimed the first round, idea started to grow in Lark's mind, which might give him an upper hand in the next duel.

Duel between Blake and Dove dragged for some time until Bronzewing landed a clear hit on her hand, claiming a fist win.

Nora tried to jump at Russel, but much to her shock, while her right leg sprung into the air, her left was stuck to the ground like it was glued, and she collapsed on the ground, giving Russell a chance for swift victory, which he claimed.

"Student Valkyrie, don't forget about the second rule." Cassim said for everyone to hear, and Russel smirked.

"What's the matter froggy? Can't jump?" He taunted and when he noticed how angered she was, he grinned with satisfaction. "Ribbit."

"Oh c'mon that was way too fast!" Yang shouted as Ren walked away. "You couldn't hit me like this!"

"You swinged wildly and opened yourself for my attack." Ren explained. "Try to defend a little."

"Nah, nah, nah I will get ya next time." She replied and rose her rapier. "Ready?"

"Begin!" Professor shouted, and again the classroom sparked to life.

Weiss approached slowly, this time she wanted to take this duel more carefully and leave no room for a mistake, and she followed his hands, knowing how quick the professor really is.

"Student Jannistone, keep guard not only on your head, but also on your torso!" Cassim suddenly said, and Weiss instinctively looked in that direction.

He sprung at her like panther, shortened distance between them and startled Weiss was only able to repel first few strikes, but with little time to prepare her defense, his rapier landed on her shoulder, scoring a hit.

"Second round for me." Cassim calmly said to startled Weiss. "I encourage you to control your reactions." He looked away for a moment. "Student Xiao Long, it's a rapier, not a club."

"Damn it!" She shouted as Ren claimed another victory, and tried toss the rapier away, but when she attempted to throw it away, it remained in her hand. She looked at it with surprise, then started to rapidly wave her hand.

"You didn't even pay attention to me…" Weiss pointed out with anger, and Cassim chuckled.

"I am a teacher, I need to pay attention to everyone." He answered her. "And I am only able to do that because I have control."

"Let go let go let go let go!" Yang freaked out as the weapon remained stuck to her hand like it was glued.

"As I said student Xiao Long, I shall enforce previously stated rules." Cassim reminded as more and more students realized that they can't drop their weapon too. "And I encourage you to not relay on your anger too much, because some of your problems can't be resolved with your fists." He looked again at Weiss. "As for you Miss Schnee – control what you possibly can, not others."

With sour taste in her mouth, Weiss walked to her end of the square, and Professor Lee went to his corner as well.

Meanwhile in another corner of the room Sky Lark decided to be more aggressive and charged at Ruby with incomprehensible battle cry, successfully taking her by surprise, and after a short exchange of blows, he struck her hand.

"YESSSS!" He fell on his knees and rose his hands in euphoria. "I DID IT!"

"If only I had my baby with me…!" Ruby wanted to fire back, but Cassim interrupted.

"Student Rose, stop thinking about what you don't have, and look at your advantages." He said, then looked at Sky Lark. "Student Lark, you were able to take control. Excellent work, keep it up."

Second duel between Dove and Blake seemingly looked like the first with him pushing her to the brink. With a confident smirk, he pressed on, wanting to defeat her this way.

"No chance Faunus lover." He taunted, but Blake didn't flinch, in fact, he played right into her trap.

His next strike against her head would throw her from the arena, but much to his surprise, Blake parried that, and then struck his rapier with all her might, throwing it opposite way, towards his face.

But before the blade turned his nose and teeth into a bloody pulps, it stopped right before his eyes.

"Student Belladonna, it is an "exercise", not a real combat." Cassim reminded as Dove left few terrified huffs from his lungs. "Don't try to severely harm your opponents."

"Sorry" She muttered to the Professor, but not to Dove.

"And student Bronzewing, do not ever underestimate your adversary."

"Y-y-yes Professor." Dove stuttered, still in shock of how close that blow was.

"Left-right-left." Pyrrha attacked in the said pattern, and Jaune was able to deflect all blows. "Great!" She complimented him. "Now right, low left, high right…"

"Why are you doing this?" Jaune asked, deflecting another flurry of blows.

"Because I want to." She said. "Now faster: Left-left-right-high-low left…"

"Wait, was that high rig…" Rapier landed on his shoulder, sending him on the floor and ending the second round with Pyrrha's victory.

"Sorry!" She said as Jaune remained on the floor.

"Oh man…" He groaned. "Why those trainings have to be that painful?"

He opened his eye and stared at Pyrrha giving him a hand to rise up.

"You attack in the third round, okay?" She said with the sweetest smile possible, and after a moment, Jaune took her hand and got up from the floor.

"But why? You don't need to this." Jaune said. "I won't be able to strike you."

"As I said – I want to help you." She replied, the crossed her hands shyly. "And if you want, we can practice later…"

"AUGGHH!" Russel's scream interrupted their moment.

"I take it back, it is as satisfying as the hammer!" Nora giggled after slamming her rapier against Russell's head. "Not so cocky now, are you?"

"Wait for the third round you…" He replied in anger.

Cassim chuckled and pointed his weapon at Weiss.

"Ready for the round three?" He asked with calm voice, and Weiss took a deep breath, then tightened her grip on her weapon.

"Yes." She bluntly said.

She has to hit him once, just once.

"Begin!"

---

The shop with scrolls looked similar to the beeping labyrinth, every corner and wall beeping, calling, trying to persuade him to take it. But Sauron remained deaf to scrolls siren's song, instead relaying on his companion's knowledge.

"You want your scroll to be the newest model or the most functional?" Penny asked him as they walked into the shop.

"Aren't those two things intertwined?" He asked her as they passed small group of people inside.

"…Not necessarily." She replied after a moment. "Sometimes the newest model are not better than the previous ones."

"Then, what is a benefit of having it?" he asked. "If the old one are reliable."

"Well, they often have more apps, are prettier, have built-in virtual store…" Penny started to explain, and Sauron left a sigh.

"So that's how it is." He wasn't even disappointed with humanity's greed. "I prefer functionality above beauty."

"Understood!" She changed directions in this labyrinth, and Sauron followed closely behind. "They should have them here, in section 98."

As they walked, Sauron couldn't stop thinking about his little companion, to be more exact, about what she actually is, and still couldn't believe it, for a human achieved something even his master, Aule would not.

Pietro Polendina created a living craft. Not merely a tool that wants to be a tool. A Robot, which not only thinks, but also is a human.

"How was he able to do it?" He asked himself, knowing that under this 'synthetic skin', which to her credit, fooled him once, lies a fine craft.

He always held fine crafts in high regard, and had little respect to selfish humans. But when combined… he wasn't sure how to proceed with her.

"May I ask you something?" Penny suddenly said, drawing Sauron out of his thoughts. "about your definition of kindness."

"Of course you may."

"If kindness is a tool, then how you can truly make friends?"

He rose his eyebrow, genuinely curious about this question.

"Elaborate."

"My dad told me that 'friendship starts with kindness', but If being kind is just 'another form of trade', then making friends is like… bribing them to spend time with you." Sauron scratched his chin, and smiled with pride. That was a very good question.

"Friendship is a special case." He answered as the walked past the shelf with TV-s

"In which way?"

"Being kind is not a necessity in making a friend, but is certainly helpful." He replied. "But before I tell my thoughts about it, tell me, what do you think is 'friendship'?

"Well…" She froze for a moment. "Friendship is spending time with person you like, having fun with him or her…" She stopped after Annatar shook his head in denial.

"You can also spend time with your allies and feast with them." Sauron said. "Look somewhere else."

"Well…" Penny sank deep in her thoughts. "Friendship is when you can talk to about your problems and help you…" Yet again Annatar shook his head in denial.

"That's an advisor." Sauron commented. "Certainly a knowledgeable person, who gives you additional perspective and solutions, but he is rarely your friend. Sometimes he is even your worst enemy." He chuckled, seeing the face of the character called 'Peter Baelish'. "Try again." And Penny froze in place, and Sauron patiently waited while people walking beside them gave them few strange looks.

"Friendship is when you can trust another person, knowing that he will help you regardless of circumstances." Penny said, and Sauron thought about it, then shook his head in denial, much to Penny's confusion.

"You can also trust your rival in a way." He said. "For the great rival will come to your aid to not allow other to claim the glory of defeating you."

"Then, what is your opinion about it?" Penny asked, and Sauron chuckled.

"You really wish to hear it?"

"Sure!" After that answer, Annatar nodded.

"What you mentioned earlier were only parts of what a friend truly is." He said. "And to understand who friend is, you need to know first who is an ally, and who is an enemy." He said as they passed through another gallery. "An enemy is someone you keep within reach, to able to read his weaknesses, so as to determine how to best defeat him. And ally is someone you keep in view, so as to determine how to best use his strengths. But a friend for me… Is someone you keep neither within reach, nor in sight."

"Why? Shouldn't you keep friends also close?" Penny asked, and Mairon shook his head in denial.

"Friend must be able to forge his own destiny. If you are lucky, his and yours destiny will sometimes join and close for a time. But if your destines separate, you are able to find comfort in thought that a friend still graces the world with his skills, and his viewpoints." He looked at her and noticed how she started to analyze it. "For if one is remembered by a friend, one is never truly gone." Mairon ended his thought.

"Then, how to make one?" Penny asked after short amount of time.

"It takes time to forge a bond like this." Annatar answered. "And finding common understanding. Sometimes the greatest friendships starts between the humans, who hated each other initially.***"

He gave her a curious look. "And you ask about it because…?"

Penny left something akin to the sigh. "I… never had a friend." She confessed, and Sauron rose his eyebrow.

"And why is that?"

"It's because… People find me weird." She said. "At first everything seems normal, but after some time, they get nervous for unknown reason and leave. Each time I try to think what did I do wrong, but..."

"Enough." Sauron interrupted her, much to her surprise. "Don't always assume you are in the wrong."

"But maybe I am? I am different from others."

"Each human is also different from one another." She looked at him with surprise, and little glimmer of hope.

"You don't consider me weird?" She asked, and Sauron scoffed.

"In my opinion, you are unique." He answered. "Your behavior is sometimes odd, but you are not worse in any way from them. What's more, because you are special, I decided to talk with you in the first place. And If that what makes you special scare the other humans away, then so be it. They probably didn't deserve your attention anyway."

She looked away, and Sauron didn't notice that, but those words made her happy. She couldn't possibly guess the true meaning behind Maia's words.

"You must have a lot of friends." She inquired after a while, and he shrugged his arms.

"I never had one." He answered truthfully, taking her aback.

"Why?" She asked in shock.

Because in Sauron's world, there was no place for such a thing, for inhabitants of Middle-Earth were either his enemies, needed to be crushed, or his servants.

Those who serve must be controlled, because without his leash, they will fall into chaos, and those opposing him must be destroyed in order to preserve his rule.

All in the name of creating a paradise.

Thought of someone, who is neither controlled, nor his foe, was unthinkable.

"I never made the effort." He said the half-truth.

"Why?"

"Because I never met someone worth it."

"Would you try if you meet someone who wished to be your friend?" She continued, and Sauron shrugged his arms yet again.

"I can't say for certain." He just said when they reached their destination.

Just like Penny said, those older models were not as flashy as the rest, but Sauron could hear the material from which they were made. They were sturdy, but reliable.

"You will like this one." Penny pointed at the beeping at the end. "Try it!" She encouraged him, and he put his right hand above it, focused his will to activate it…

"What are you doing?" Penny asked after a while, and Sauron realized that it wasn't like the Palantir.

"Force of habit." He explained and picked up the surprisingly light thing, and looked at the screen. Trying to use his previous experiences with television, he searched with his eyes for a remote, but there was none.

"You need to swipe here…" Penny touched the screen with her finger and swapped to the right, revealing to the Smith myriad of options. "… And there we go! Now when you click here…" She pointed at one of the icons. "you can search anything you want."

"Click?"

"Touch it with your finger!"

Annatar clicked it with his finger, and the icon opened before his eyes.

"Less convenient than Palantir." He noted, annoyed at the fact that he can't control it with his thoughts, but was impressed regardless. As an experiment, he decided to search information's about his forge.

"You need to type something first on the screen." Penny said as Sauron touched the icon of magnifying glass.

"By 'type' you meant 'write'?" He frowned. "But there is no pen…"

"Mhm, here." She again touched the screen, and another panel appeared. "And now you type what you want."

"Why the letters are not in proper order?" Sauron asked.

"This layout was designed to prevent the keys on a first typewriters from getting stuck when typing fast." Penny explained. "Most common keys were arranged in that way to keep the most used keys were apart, ensuring that during writing, it won't jam the machine, and since we were already familiar with this layout, we just imported it."

Sauron thought about it for a moment, and acknowledge it's logic – they used what they knew and although more efficient option existed, changing it would be too costly to pull off. "At least for now." He thought.

"Fair enough." He said after he typed "Eregion" and pressed the magnifying glass.

And, much to his delight, image of his forge appeared.

"Your home looks pretty nice." Penny commented.

"Still far from the original." He said and before Penny could ask about what he meant, his gaze fell upon the "reviews" section.

"I didn't put it there." He said and put his finger on it.

"It's automatically created with the site." Penny said as Sauron frowned in confusion, then typed something. "It allows people to share their thoughts about certain places and…" She looked at him as his face turned into stone, and his looked like they will soon fire lightnings. Little surprised, she peeked at the screen.

'Overall Stars: 4.9/5"

"Sort by: Worst reviews."

"Review by: TheMarik1234"

"Stars: 4/5"

"A forge in the city? Really? What is he going to do anyway? I don't think that many people needs to shoe their horses."

"This insolent fool, brazen mongrel, arrogant…" Sauron fumed, for this human ruined his perfect 5/5. He wasn't aware of such thing in the first place, but know when he knows, his pride demanded action.

"Don't take it too personally, it is just an internet review!" Penny tried to calm him down, surprised by his reaction.

"Oh, I will take it personally" Sauron thought to himself. "And I will find you, TheMarik1234."

"Is something wrong good Sir?" Shop Manager approached them, and Sauron took a deep breath, and showed the approaching man a scroll he held.

"This will do." He announced. "I want to buy one more."

"You want to buy two?" Shop Manager looked confused, but then shrugged his arms. "Well, Client is always right. Do you want to buy an insurance? You will already get one-year free, but you can buy four years more, and this will include…"

"The answer is no." Annatar said.

"But there are many benefits.."

"And my answer still remain the same." Annatar cut it short while picking up the second scroll. "I just want to pay and leave."

Shop manager left a disgruntled sigh. "Client is always right I guess. Please follow me." As they walked, Penny leaned to Annatar. "Why you refused him? He sounds nice." She whispered to him.

"Because he only appears to be good just to sell me something I don't need." Annatar whispered back. "By the time this so called 'insurance' expires, I will be able to repair the scroll on my own."

"Ohh…" Penny said with sudden realization. "So, by your definition, he was… kind?" And Sauron looked at her a proud teacher at his student.

"You quickly learn."

---

"The time of my lesson nearly passed. Leave the rapiers in the armory and take your seats for few final words." Cassim announced, and whole class left a sigh full of relief. Two hours of rapier training was surprisingly tiring for most. He then looked at Weiss, who tried to hide her anger and shame.

"Thank you for your time, Student Schnee." He bowed his head with respect. "It was a wonderful performance."

"I didn't hit you once." She shot back, and Cassim chuckled.

"Only because I have a lifetime of an experience while you are still on the beginning of your path." He said. "I studied the blade for more than eighty-years, fought in the Great War, Faunus Right's Revolution and then trained many Hunters in this halls." Blake's ribbon in distance shook, and her face turned pale for a short moment before truning back to normal.

Weiss looked away and puffed her cheeks, preparing for the usual "You are still young, you should listen to those older."

"But I admit, if you had few more years of experience, I would be the one defeated today." Cassim said, surprising her a little. "You are already a remarkable warrior, and you learn exceptionally fast. You clearly put great practice into the techniques from 'The Extension of a Warrior'."

"You know that book?" Weiss asked with surprise, and Cassim laughed.

"Of course I would know the moves I created!" Cassim laughed. "I am an author after all."

"But the book was written by the Hero called 'Lion from the Whedon's Row.'.." She blinked few times. "No way it was you!" and Cassim winked to her.

"Everyone has a personal history." William Lee said. "And I will gladly watch yours unfold."

Students started to take their seats, awaiting final words from their Professor, and, most importantly, how he will grade them.

"You should take your seat as well, Student Schnee." He said. "But I have one last advice for you today: There are some things that shouldn't be controlled."

Weiss bowed her head with respect, then went for her seat, and Cassim waited patiently for her to sit down.

"The lesson today served as the introduction to 'Introduction of Combat'." He announced. "Don't worry about your performance today, for it shall not be graded."

"Thanks the Brother Gods…" Someone said from the back and few students giggled.

"On my lessons, you may either pass or fail." Cassim continued. "And in case of failure, you may repeat it each Saturday."

"Oh c'mon, not the Saturdays!" Yang shouted.

"Have some mercy!"

"Just like I said, that's just in case." Cassim continued. "And to clarify: I won't teach about the creatures of the Grimm and how to slay them, that's Professor's Port domain. I won't teach you how to fight in the tournaments or against renegade humans, that's Professor's Goodwitch's expertise."

He looked at the class.

"I shall teach you about yourselfs." Door to the classroom opened wide. "Class dismissed."

Tired first years students started to leave the classroom, going straight towards their dorms, team RWBY included.

"That guy was something." Yang said, seemingly full of energy. "He kicked your butt Ice Queen." Weiss just rolled her eyes in response. "And nice job with that jerk Dove Blakey."

"Someone had to." Balke bluntly replied, but words about Professor Lee's involvement in Faunus's Right Revolution still rung inside her head.

"And Rubes, you really let Lark…"

"Shut up shut up shut up." Ruby covered her ears in embarrassment, and Yang laughed and pat her sister's head.

"No worries sis, during next combat class we will make sure that you will face him on one versus one." Ruby looked at her sister.

"Promise?"

"Promise." And Ruby's mood improved a little

After few moments, Ruby finally realized something.

"I forgot to ask Jaune about the Forge!" She wanted to turn around and search for him.

"We can wait for him in our dorm." Blake said, thinking about nothing less than to take a bath and go straight for bed.

"And we will go there tomorrow." Yang added.

"We won't" Three girls looked at Weiss. "Ruby always chose the places we go to, and as this 'team building exercise' we went to the amusement park a week ago."

"But it was sooo cool!" Ruby said in her defense, and Weiss cleared her throat.

"Yes, it was fun." Heiress replied. "But after that rollercoaster you said that I will decide where we go this month. And during this weekend, I want to go see the premiere of the movie."

"That 'Dune'?" Yang asked with disbelief, and Weiss nodded. "Weren't those tickets expens… nevermind, forget I asked."

"Weiss pleaseeee." Ruby pleaded, but Weiss shook her head in denial.

"I can't refund the tickets Ruby, we have to go no matter what."

"And I want to see that movie." Blake added on top of that, hoping that it will stick to the source material.

"See? Even Blake agrees with." Weiss said with a smug smile, and Ruby looked at her sister, her puppy eyes asking for help.

"I understand Sis, really, but if we don't go now, the internet will be full of spoilers." Yang replied with broken heart. It was certain that Mav would become a volcano of unwanted info regarding the movie during their next meeting.

"Then the next week!"

"I already have something planned the next week." Weiss replied. "Nothing involving a forge."

"Just this once!" Ruby tried to beg, but Weiss remained colder than ice. "I will do anything!"

"Anything?" Something sparked in Heiress eyes, an idea have born in her mind. "How about a bet?"

"What kind of a bet?"

"Next week we have a test, don't we? If you get a better score than me, we will go to that 'forge', and I will not complain."

"And what if Ruby lose?" Blake asked, not trusting her teammate in a slightest.

"I will take charge of the team for a month." Weiss answered, then reached with her hand to Ruby. "Do we have a deal?"

"Ruby do not…" Yang tried to stop the inevitable, but it was too late.

"Deal!" Ruby firmly shook the Heiress's hand, much to the Schnee's delight.

"Then good luck. You will need it." Weiss said with a smile and walked past her partner, leaving her teammates behind as they started to argue, barely able to hold her excitement.

Finally, a chance she craved for too long. Now, she couldn't wait for the upcoming test.

For after that, she will finally be able to show everyone that she is more than capable of being a team leader.

---

"To think that this small thing may contain ocean of knowledge." Sauron thought with admiration at the scroll in his hands. He will understand it's secrets, and then use them.

"I am more than grateful for your assistance, Penny Polendina." Sauron looked at her. "You aided me greatly today."

"I am just glad I could help…" She replied and stopped when Sauron handed to her his wallet. "What are you doing?"

"Your kindness should be rewarded, and I have no further use for that money." He said, trying yet again to prove his point. "I have plenty of other treasures in Limestone."

But Penny shook her head in disagreement.

"I can't take it from you, it would be wrong." Sauron left a disappointed sigh.

"So, you are going to intentionally keep me on a hook." He said, faking his sadness.

"I don't want to!" She said, then froze for a moment, and her expression changed. "Actually, there is something I could ask you for…" And Sauron rejoiced.

"You want me to create something for you? Then I assure you Penny Polendina, the gift I shall make for you will be one of the grandest…"

"Would you like to be my friend?" She asked, and Sauron stopped talking and blinked few times, stunned by her words.

Second past.

Second second past.

Third second past.

"What?" He finally said, for the first time in centuries not knowing how to respond. Was she serious?

"Talking with you today was pretty fun, and although I don't agree with your views, I find them interesting to think about. And I still have to prove to you that being genuinely kind is not stupid!"

"There are plenty of humans who would fare better, perhaps someone your own age?" And Penny looked on her fer feet with sadness.

"I… never had such long conversations like I had with you before, except with my father." She replied to that argument.

"Now you are trying to manipulate to pity you!" Sauron laughed. "Good plan. And would work on anyone else. Except me."

"I don't want to manipulate you!" She rose her hands in a defensive gesture. "But you are the first person who doesn't consider me weird, and decided to spent time with me on your own. That made me really happy!"

"As I said, I consider you unique." Sauron said. "After all, you looked into my eyes and not even shivered."

"Should I?"

"Bravest men trembled under my gaze." Sauron smirked. "Even when I wasn't threatening them."

"That actually supports my point!" Penny said, much to Sauron's frustration. "You don't consider me weird and I don't tremble under your stare!"

"I would be a terrible friend." Sauron shifted his defense strategy, but Penny was swift to respond.

"You said that 'you never made the effort', so why not at least try?" She countered.

"But…!" Sauron wanted to argue more until he realized what an opportunity he has right before him.

For hundreds of years, he claimed to be the master of the world, the All-knowing God thanks to his experience, empiric research and observation. But so called 'friendship' - he knew only in theory. And even if he tried to make a friend, then with whom? Humans who wither and die with age? That pesky elves, too blinded by their own arrogance? Other Maia's who treated him like an outcast before he joined Morgoth? That mad beast Gothmog?

But before him stand basically a human, the least irritating of all the children of Eru****, in a body which will never wither and pass away. Better yet, she is a work of a fine craftsmanship, something he always respected.

After a few seconds, he left a friendly chuckle.

"Right." Mairon gave her a warm smile. "I think I can try."

---

*Far better than a sack in Sauron's – easier to reach, hide, store money etc. Why nobody did them in the Middle Earth?

**She is on top of the class, much to everyone's disbelief.

***Did Certain Dwarf and Elf come to mind?

****Dwarfs are NOT children of Eru, they were created by Aule, basically an Angel of Smithing.

TheMoreYouKnow "piano plays."

Authors notes:

Well Hello there!

This chapter is less flashy, but is no less important. After all, from the very idea of "Dark Mentor" and his student this fic was born. As well as from few other ideas I teased in previous chapters.

In fact, in this chapter there is a secret which might give you a little insight of what will happen in the future. I encourage you to look for it, because I would love to hear some of your theories and predictions.

And those two Professors I added: They are my little homage to two real life personas - Professor Lovas is based on my teacher, who helped me greatly during my studies, and Cassim William Lee is based on Christopher Lee.

Seriously, this guy was a Giga-chad before the term "Giga-chad" was even created. An inspiration for entire generation.

Chapter 10: Motivations

Motivations

Limestone, Vale

„Do I really have to wear this?" Annatar looked at his black suit.

"You look good Chief, no worries." Nathan reassured from the couch.

"Still, it's rather… small." With snap of his fingers, he changed his size, shrinking from above two meters to something around one hundred eighty centimeters. "Much better." He said while looking at the sleeves. "But black is not my color…" with another snap of his fingers, his suit changed colors into molten-metal red.

Smith adjusted few more things, but prolonged silence finally caught his attention, he looked on Nathan and made surprised face noticing his underling's shocked confusion.

"Is there something wrong?"

Once again only silence answered.

"Yowwick?"

"How are you able to do something like this?"

"Like what?" Sauron asked, sounding innocent.

"You just shrank yourself!" Goon broke his composure. "I thought your semblance is lightening fire, or those eyes of yours…"

"I never claimed to be using a semblance." Sauron reminded, which temporarly stunned his henchman.

"Then what the hell is it!? Some kind of magic?"

"Close, but still far from the truth." Sauron chuckled, but his face became sharpened, threatening even. "I could tell what it is, or I could SHOW you what I am. But the question is: What do you TRULY desire to know?"

Yowwick scratched his chin, then tilted his head and without saying a word, and made his choice. Sauron smiled, and Annatar's face turned to a normal, cheerful face of your neighbor smith.

"Then, what do you think of it?" He pointed at his suit, continuing like nothing happened.

"Now it looks even better on you Chief." Nathan gave him a thumbs up.

"It is still underwhelming." Annatar said with clear distaste. He dined in halls of Numenorian kings, which flourished with gold and silver, danced with Elven princesses in Celebrimbor's court under the stars. In comparison to that, Vale's sense of style looked… dull.

"You are just going to talk with the governor, not redefine fashion."

"Not redefine fashion yet." Sauron pointed out. "Pleasures after the work."

"Like a sweet desert Chief." Yowwick agreed, and with satisfied smile, Sauron opened the door and left his room.

There, beside the long limo Malachite twins waited for him, Junior would not let his most valuable business partner travel without a proper entourage.

"Do I meet expectations of Vale's upper class?" He asked them.

"You sure do." Militiades said and her sister nodded.

"It is not your style, that's for sure." Melanie added. "But still looks good."

"Then it is time." Annatar turned to the armor stand, on which armor made of black metal stood. "Rogtar za vend, snaga." He whispered with a vile tongue, and armor born of hate reacted to his words. Although he said that quietly, his words still sent shivers down the spines of people in forge.

The Black Speech – Creation out of necessity to unify his thralls, a tongue which most vile and twisted servants understood and obeyed without question, while humans and elves trembled upon hearing it. Unlike Quenya, language of the elves, which makes the speaker sound like he is singing, Black Speech contains only pure, savage might.

After all, you can't speak to the wicked in poems.

"Tell the crew they have a day off, they have eanred it with their service." Sauron said to Daniel, and tossed something to him. "Have some fun."

"Thanks Boss!" Daniel, his lookout for guests, saluted, then turned on his feet and run to the rest of the group.

"You seriously want to leave this place unguarded?" Melanie asked while Eregion's crew cheered to Daniel upon receiving extra payment. "Junior could certainly lent you some men." Annatar gave her the sweetest smile imaginable.

"Dear Melanie, Limestone is my domain, and if I leave someone to guard it during my absence, it will be taken as a sign of weakness." Sauron answered as he opened the door of the borrowed limousine. "Besides, Eregion can protect itself." He took his seat and with satisfaction watched how the goons are sealing his forge before they leave for party. Sisters looked at one another, shrugged their arms and got on the front seats.

"Yowwick." Sauron called for his subordinate. "Take a seat on my left."

"Sure thing Chief." Nathan sat on the couch. "Oh wow, It is so comfortable."

"You said the exact same thing when you sat on a wooden chair."

"Chief, I had to wear a giant bear suit, everything is more comfortable than that."

"Giant what?"

"Forget it Chief, this part of my life is waaay behind. Or at least I hope it is." Sauron chuckled as the car started to drive.

"I see." Annatar made himself comfortable.

Everything went according to plan so far. – He made himself an valuable member of the community and unofficial leader of Limestone, which will serve as a perfect foundation for his future projects. And thanks to the gathered treasures, he became an important business partner of Junior Xiong, for Eregion now served as a financial pillar of the Xiong's little 'empire', while also staying as far away as possible from the more… shady businesses. But when he prepared himself to launch the second stage of his plan, he found himself before an unexpected obstacle.

For his more ambitious ideas and plans, he had to receive a governor's approval, but when he tried to receive it, he was dismissed as a 'low priority'. And Sauron knew why.

Long time ago, way before he arrived to this world, people of Limestone worked in three large manufactories, and made their living based on the salaries earned from their hard work. But due to time and technological advancements, manufactories were shut down, and later two were turned into museums, while the third one was left to crumble, it's location too "unattractive" for investors.

And due to losing their primary source of income, and continuous neglect from the authorities, the entire area and its neighbors were plunged into obscurity and poverty, which was used by Xiong's family.

But thanks to Sauron, Limestone was rejuvenated, old schools refitted, outdated technologies replaced and old buildings slowly reconstructed. This brought much needed investment and people, which in turn bought humans loyalty to him, and only him.

However, it was apparently not enough to change the stance of the government. Something he intended to change today.

"Yowwick, would you kindly read me the list?" Sauron asked.

"Sure thing." Goon took a sheet of paper, put on his glasses. "Well, that's a very long one."

"Start from the top priority." Sauron commanded, and looked at outside from the vehicle.

Car now rode under the shadow of the city's wall, the mighty structure built during the Great War to protect the Capital.

Just like all major cities on Remnant, Vale raised its walls to protect itself from the ever looming threat of the Grimm while its protectors ventured to the far shores to wage war, but thanks to its natural barriers, Vale only had to deal with small, yet mobile packs of these deadly beasts. That, and growing manpower issue prompted the Council to find more creative solution to their problem.

Soon, a large armored train was riding on top of the wall, casting it's shadow on the buildings below. Armed with machine guns, cannons and heavy artillery, requiring only few people to operate, it could reach any part of the city wall in no time thanks to large, underground train network.

Sauron admired briefly the creation born from human resourcefulness while Yowick kept reading him a list.

"…The bus network is too inflexible, there is literally one bus per three hours, which makes morning's ride to work a miserable experience for those without cars…"

Of course, he could tell Yowwick that he already memorized the list, but it would spoil the test he prepared for his subordinate. For this human proved to be useful, but maybe his usefulness can be extended? And also, Sauron could enjoy the views without someone interrupting him with unexpected details.

For now, he decided to simply enjoy the ride.

Beacon Academy, Vale

"Ursa minor, simply referred to as 'ursa', is one of the more common creature of the Grimm." Professor Port showcased the image of roaring bear-like Grimm on the projector. "Usually, Ursa Minor is larger than a grizzly bear but smaller than the Cave bear, and like all creatures of the Grimm, Ursa grows with time. The largest Ursa ever recorded lived in Mistrelian mountains and was called by locals 'Ozark'" image shifted to standing twenty-five feet tall Ursa major, most of its body covered in thick bone, lifting the pickup truck with little to no effort. "Although Ozark was an unique specimen, all Ursa's should be able to reach the same size, if not for continuous efforts of Hunters to cull the strongest, as well as their rivals in nature."

Weiss wrote that in her notebook, writing in 'potential exam questions': "Ursa's height while standing: between from ten to twenty feet."

"For Ursa's are very territorial creatures, and constantly fights with other animals for dominance." Professor continued. "Unlike Beowolves, which travel in packs from place to place in search of easy prey, Ursa minor often live in pairs or alone. In fact, there was once a theory that two Ursa's are mates, and when one of them dies, it's partner is unable, or unwilling to find another. But it was ultimately disproven by me twelve years ago." Port smiled at the memory, then the image started to shift. "You see, to check if that theory was true, I had too..."

"NOO!" Class screamed as they turned away from the screen, while Yang covered Ruby's eyes. Professor looked at them with confusion, then at the screen and laughed.

"Kids this days, easily spooked." He said with amusement, then shifted the picture. "As you didn't see, Ursa's lack the reproductive function, just like all creatures of the Grimm."

"Or like Cardin!" Nora rose from her seat said out loud in sudden realization, and the class started to laugh at the bully's expense, and Cardin, at first looked at her with shock, then slammed his fist against his desk to shut everyone up.

"I ask you student Valkyrie, to refrain from such comments in my class." Professor Port said calmly, Nora stuck her tongue to Winchester and sat back on her seat.

With a sigh, Weiss wrote in her notebook. "Ursa lack this." She wasn't pleased that Professor didn't take action to punish Nora or Cardin, but she kind of understood - Cardin was hated by 'everyone', even teachers disliked him, but since his father is an influential figure in the city and a noble, they had to tolerate his customs.

"However, after a long time, approximately 10 or 12 years, Ursa enters another stage of its life: Ursa Major." Professor continued, and image on the projector turned into a well-known Ursa-Major. "At this stage and for still unknown reasons, Ursa Major leaves its territory for another pair of Ursa minors to inhabit, and wanders closer to human settlements in search of a target. By this time, it's bone-armor is well-developed and able to take on the shots from 0.50 caliber round, and sometimes even shake off fire from a thirty millimeter cannon." He pointed his stick at the claws. "It's armor is particularly strong on its back and paws, but weaker on the joints and around the neck. With that in mind, how would you approach this fight student Ren?"

"I would aim under its knees to immobilize it,  use my speed to get into its blind spot, then slash its throat." Ren answered without batting an eye.

"That's correct, you would do exactly what any good hunter would do!" Peter exclaimed with pride for his student. "Are there any other weak spots?"

One hand burst into the air faster than others.

"Yes, student Rose?"

"Eyes!" She said and pointed at her own eyes. "I can blind it and ursa will go 'aaah I can't see!' while I will slash its paws!"

Students chuckled as Ruby enthusiastically explained her reasoning, and Port thought about it, then nodded in agreement.

"You are correct student Rose, Ursa's eyes are easy to aim for, but always remember, after blinding it, the beast will run berserk, so gain some distance before re-engaging it. And make sure no civilian is present nearby!" Ruby sat down with a smile while Weiss just rolled her eyes.

"Is she making it on purpose?" She thought just when the bell rung.

"That's all for today, on our next lesson we will talk about more dangerous prowlers of the night. Class dismissed!"

"See you in the dorm!" Ruby said to her teammates and disappeared in burst of rose petals.

"And what's up with her?" Weiss asked, and Yang shrugged her arms.

"You can ask her if you want. Like her partner." Blonde brawler replied.

"Nevermind, I didn't care anyway." Weiss took her belongings and went after the team JNPR, who just left the classroom.

"Check this out!" With excited smile, Nora started to pull out something from her backpack. "Pamparampam ta-daa!" She finally pulled a box with a game.

"Wow, 'Grimm attack vol 5?'How did you get that!?" Jaune asked with surprise, and Nora put a finger on her lips.

"That's a girl's secret." She looked at Ren and pointed his finger at him. "And this time, I will beat your butt Ren!" He chuckled in response.

"Like the previous eighteen times?"

"This time will be different!"

"Then I look forward to it." Ren replied.

"This is gonna be a gaming evening everybody!" Nora looked at Pyrrha, and with teasing voice said. "Oh Pyrrrrrha..."

"What?"

"You know what 'what'." She continued to tease, while Pyrrha's face started to turn red. "Don't be shy..."

"What is she talking about?" Jaune turned to his partner, and Pyrrha looked away, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Nothing really." She answered, only for Nora to handle the box to Arc.

"Read here." With a cheeky smile, she pointed with her finger at the underlaying text.

"Jaune, it is really nothing important!" Pyrrha wanted to stop him.

"You voiced one of the characters!?" Jaune looked at her with disbelief, and Pyrrha, now her face as red as her hair, looked down at her feet.

"Y-yes."

"You can play as Pyrrha, you can play as Pyrrha!" Nora chanted, and Champion hid her face in her hands.

"Nora please." Ren tried to stop her, but to no avail, as she continued her tease.

"Jaune can finally play with you!" Pyrrha's embarrassment reached the boiling point.

"That's so awesome!" Arc finally said, and Pyrrha's face slowly started to turn back to normal.

"You really think that?"

"Of course! First, you are on cereal box, now you voice a character in game? You are like, famous or something!"

Ren just shook his head, Nora giggled, and Pyrrha blinked few times, then started to laugh as well.

"You can say that."

"Not to boast or to sound cocky, but I was a pro in previous game." Jaune tried to sound as confident as possible. "So, don't take it too badly when you lose."

"You want to... play with me?" She asked, surprised by the offer.

"Well, yeah! It is probably the only activity in which I stand a chance against you." And when he said that, Pyrrha looked sideways, with a happy smile.

"You really think Pyrrha would want to waste time with something do childish?" Weiss suddenly jumped into the conversation just when Pyrrha was about to speak.

"If you want to join as Snow Angel, then there is always an open spot for you." Jaune winked to her, and Weiss groaned in response.

"I have way better things to do than wasting time playing some stupid games." She crossed her arms. "And I would prefer to listen to Professor's Oobleck than hanging out with you."

"Low blow." Nora whispered to Ren.

"I had plans for today. Sorry." Pyrrha said to resolve the tension. "Maybe another time."

"Sure. Invitation is always up for you." Jaune nodded, then looked at Weiss. "For you too Snow Angel."

"I will pass." Weiss replied with clear distaste.

"Then see you later Pyrrha! Join us when you finish!" And with that said, three members of the team JNPR left, talking about the 'combo moves' from previous games.

"Video games." Weiss scoffed and turned to Pyrrha. "What a waste of time, right?"

"I guess?" Pyrrha tried to sound as polite as possible. "I need to meet someone, so sorry, but I need to leave." Pyrrha turned on heel and went the opposite direction, but Weiss walked up to her.

"Maybe I can tag along?" Heiress asked.

"But I thought you had other plans?" Pyrrha said, and Weiss scoffed and dismissively waved her hand.

"Xiao Long is probably going to party in some backwater bar, Belladonna is more interested in her books, and Rose is probably doing something pointless." Weiss explained. "And I wanted to hang out with you today, if you don't mind."

"I don't." Pyrrha left a defeated sigh, being too polite to just tell the Schnee to go away. Not to mention the bad publicity it would bring.

"Great!" Weiss clapped her hands. "So, what did you plan today?"

"I wanted to go to the training hall." Pyrrha said. "To…"

"How could I forget?" Weiss interrupted her. "You are a Champion, of course you maintain a rigorous training."

Pyrrha raised her hand to interjected, but Weiss wouldn't stop here.

"Then I will gladly join in one of your training sessions!" Pyrrha lowered her hand with defeat.

"Sure." Both girls walked to retrieve their weapons.

---

"All-right!" Ruby sat slamming the book on a desk and sat before it. "It's time for studying, team leader Ruby!"

She looked at a clock. "Read first thirty pages in three hours, got it."

She didn't even touch the notes during the weekend, so she had five days* to read one hundred fifty pages. No big deal, she is a really quick reader.

"And start!" With enthusiastic smile, she started to read.

But after a while, her smile slowly faded away, her silver eyes became heavier, and boredom made its place on her face.

"This is boring." She concluded and looked at the clock, and, much to her disbelief, only five minutes passed.

With a heavy sigh, she returned to the task, but after some time, her vision became blurred, and words started to somehow mix on the paper.

She yawned, trying not to fall asleep, and again looked at the clock.

Again, only five minutes.

"Oh cmon!" She groaned. "It was way longer than that!"

She picked up her scroll. "Short break won't hurt." She thought and started to play a game.

And after a what appeared to be a quick, yet intense round, she shutdown her scroll.

"Okay, time to go back to studying team leader Ruby!" She tried to encourage herself, and looked at the clock...

Fourty five minutes.

She scratched her eyes, not able to believe what she see.

"Hey! that's cheating!" She tried to argue with the clock, yet reality once again proved to be deaf on what people want.

"Alright, two hours, twenty-five pages, still possible." She said and returned to reading though the script.

And yet again her body became tired. She read page after page, said what she learnt out loud, only to realize that she forgot what was three pages away, so she had to return to the start few times.

After that much struggle, she leant on her chair. Now she was able to recite the first ten pages out of her memory. A good start.

She looked at a clock, and oh well, one hour passed.

"WHAT!?" She now realized that she is not even half way through. She slammed her head against the book and groaned.

Meanwhile Blake walked into the room with a book from the library in hand, walked past depressed Ruby, jumped on her bunk bed and started to read it.

Just when she was ready to immerse herself, Ruby groaned again, trying to get her attention. Blake left a sigh and tried to continue reading, only to be interrupted yet again be even louder groan. Her left eye twitched, but Belladonna took a deep breath and tried to focus on her book

Only for even louder groan to interrupt her yet again.

"What is it Ruby?" Blake asked, trying to sound calm

"Studying is sooo booooring." Ruby replied, her head still laying on the desk.

"Yes, it is." Blake half-heartedly agreed, trying her best to focus on her book.

"I love books, why they don't love me back?" Ruby continued her rambling.

"Some books are not worth loving." Blake bluntly replied, already getting immersed with the story.

"What are you reading?" Ruby appeared right beside her teammate, and Blake sighed.

"The Story of the Seasons." She  replied. "It is a story about the Maidens, who have to…"

"It is a classic! Let me see!" Ruby sat behind her and looked past her arm. "My father used to read it to me before the sleep."

"That's sweet of him." Blake replied, but this brought memory of her father reading her books when she was little. She remembered how he passionately read her various fairy tales, keeping her on the edge of her seat.

But the memory of her father was quickly followed by guilt. After all, she left him without saying a word.

"Do you believe it?" Ruby suddenly asked, drawing her out of her thoughts.

"Believe what?"

"That Maidens existed? And there is like… actual magic."

Blake thought for a moment. "I hope they existed."

"Hope?" Ruby inquired, genuinely curious about Blake's opinion.

"Remnant is… not a perfect place. We hide behind the walls from the Grimm, we are depended on dust to survive, tensions between Humans and Faunus are reaching the boiling point…" Blake counted on her finger, then looked at the first page of the book, where was a painting depicting four woman, each representing one of the seasons. "…And thought that four maidens came and brought beauty, good harvest and safety for everyone, regardless of who they were... brings me solace. Because if they really existed and did all of what was written in the book then, maybe one day, they will return and fix the world once again?" Blake looked at Ruby.

"I understand." Ruby nodded. "I think that's a very nice view."

"And what about you Ruby?" Blake decided to continue the conversation. "Do you believe in Maidens?"

"With all my heart!" Ruby pat her chest, and Blake chuckled.

"And why?"

"Because just like for you, it gives me hope." Ruby took a deep breath. "Maidens were capable of great things, like creating an oasis in the center of Vacuo, or raising mountains in Vale, heal deepest wounds and grant wishes. If magic is real, then everything Is possible, right?"

"I think so." Blake agreed.

"Then maybe I will be able to see my mom again." Ruby confessed, and Blake's ribbon twitched.

"Your mom?" Belladonna asked, her lower lip twitching slightly.

"She left when I was just two years old." Ruby continued with somber expression on her face. "I barely remember her voice and I saw her face on some old pictures." She looked at her hands, which now shook a little. "I would love to talk with her, hug her tightly and never let go." Ruby turned to Blake, and sadness vanished, replaced by hope. "And if there is magic, then maybe she is still here, waiting for me?"

Blake went silent, not being able to say anything or comment, but Ruby facepalmed after a second.

"AGH,I have to study and instead I bother you! I'm so sorry!" Ruby jumped off the bunkbed and walked back to her desk.

Just when she sat on her chair and prepared to continue her studies, Blake looked at the book, then at Ruby, and after a while, she jumped from the bunkbed, picked up the chair and sat right beside her team leader.

"With what exactly you have a problem?"

"Huh? But I thought you wanted to read the story?"

"It is not going anywhere." Blake replied. "And studying together is better than doing it alone."

Ruby nodded and pushed her notes towards Blake, so both could read it at the same time.

"Besides, image of Weiss being a team leader doesn't sit with me very well." Ruby only chuckled in response.

You could even say that magic takes many forms, and is often far more subtle than moving mountains or raising rivers.

---

Right in the middle of the target, three shots struck one after another.

"Nice one." Weiss nodded.

"Thank you." Pyrrha replied after turning Akuo back into xiphos. "Wanna go?"

Without saying anything, Weiss stepped into a shooting range.

Chamber of her weapon turned and yellow dust vial shined, then Myrtenser glowed with yellow light. With one move of her hand, a ball lighting surged through the air and smashed against the target.

Upon the impact, the electricity shocked the target dummy, sending sparks everywhere

"Nice shot." Pyrrha praised, and Weiss rose her head with pride, gladly taking the praise.

"Thanks!" Myrtensers chamber circled, and Weiss opened it like some sort of revolver, and switched now empty vial of dust with another. "If I really wanted, I could fire a lightning bolt. Do you want to see it?"

"Maybe another time, sorry. But Ruby and Nora would love to see it." Pyrrha remarked, and Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Don't mention her please." Pyrrha rose her eyebrow.

"Is something wrong?"

"Everything is wrong with them!" Heiress replied "Xiao Long lacks discipline and constantly gets into some bar fights and returns late at night, Blake always acts distant and behaves like she is hiding something, and Ruby is a child not suited to be a team leader."

"But they are your teammates..."

"I would never chose them if I had a choice." Weiss interrupted with sour taste in her mouth. "But, like always, someone already made a choice for me."

Awkward silence fell on both girls, Pyrrha was not sure what to say and Weiss was clearly annoyed for her accidental spill up, so she quickly decided to change the subject.

"How about a duel?"

"Now?"

"Why not?" Weiss said, already getting excited. "I think I improved since the last time."

"Sorry, but I actually promised Sylwester..."

"Who?" Weiss frowned.

"That's me!" Both girls looked at the top of the stairs, where a one of the first year students stood short and slim, yet well-built young man with dim-blond hair tailed in ponytail. He held his saber under his armor-clad right arm.

He jumped on the railing, slide down on it and bowed upon the landing.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting, but I encountered a stupid obstacle on my way."

"He means Cardin." Said black haired girl when she entered the gym.

"Someone has to kick him in the balls, maybe then he will learn something." Beatrice added with a snarl, but her partner pat her back.

"You already forgot Professor's lesson?" Sylwester chuckled hearing it, then bowed slightly to Pyrrha.

"I hope you didn't wait long."

"She did." Weiss interrupted, and Sylwester couldn't pretend anymore that she is not here.

"Ah right, to address the elephant in the room." He reached with his right hand. "Sylwester Loret, friends call me Sylw."

"Weiss Schnee." She replied dryly, and didn't take his hand.

"So that's where the nickname came from." He retracted his hand and looked at Pyrrha. "Ready to beat my sorry ass again?"

"You fought very well last time!" Pyrrha tried to compliment him, and he shook in laughter.

"You MURDERED my ass in eleven seconds!"

"It took her ten!" Beatrice's partner shouted.

"Robert, please give me some slack!"

"Nothing you say will change this!"

"Fine fine ten whatever." He gave Pyrrha a smile. "Thanks again for pointing my flaws, but I am really not into prolonged fights if you know what I mean."

"But you need to learn how to conserve your energy." Pyrrha said and retrieved her weapons, Miló and Akoúo. "So this time, you won't attack me."

"What?" He stepped backwards few times, taken aback on what she said.

"You will only defend this time. And don't worry, I will hold back…"

"Nononono…" Sylwester pulled his saber from its sheet and separated it into two twin weapons. "I get it, defend myself as long as possible. But if you hold back, then this won't be an exercise."

"Then you must last at least a minute, okay?" Pyrrha assumed her combat stance, and Sylwester looked at his blades

"Dusk, Dawn, we defend today, alright? Great." He pointed them at Pyrrha. "Then ready when you are."

"Wait wait wait, hold on." Weiss interrupted them before they could start. "Who do you think she is?"

"Pardon?" Sylwester looked at her, genuinely surprised.

"Weiss, it is fine." Pyrrha said.

"Not it isn't!" Weiss stepped before Pyrrha. "She is a Champion of Mistral, and you think you can match against her?"

"Of course I can't!" Sylwester replied. "But I want to improve, and there is no one better in the Academy to ask for guidance."

"Ask for guidance?" Weiss scoffed. "From day one you were so unremarkable that I even forgot you existed. She shouldn't even care for someone like you." Sylwester rolled his eyes.

"Not everyone has a rich dad princess, give me some slack."

"Excuse me?" Weiss frowned, and Sylwester left a sigh.

"I was born in family with military traditions in a country with no army to join, in small, backwater village, where we had to work both day and night, just to pull ourselves out from there!" He explained, glaring at Weiss. "Unlike you, Cardin or Lark, I had to both study and hard work until my very bones screamed in pain. I am here only thanks to my hard work, and I won't be criticized by the spoiled rich kid!"

"I did work to get there!" Weiss shot back.

"Please, you probably just asked your rich daddy and he gave you a ticket to Beacon." Irritated Sylwester replied, and Weiss, now very deeply insulted, pulled out Myrtenser.

"If you are so keen, I will show you my 'ticket'." She said, and Loret prepared his sabers.

"With pleasure, Princess."

"Sylw, she is really good." Angelina yelled. "You stand no chance!"

"Like I give a damn."

"Weiss!" Pyrrha shouted, stepping between the two before they could come to the blows.

"He came her unwelcomed!" Weiss protested, only for Sylwester to chuckle. "And interrupted us!"

"It was the other way around, Queen Bee." Weiss gave him a death stare. "Maybe go and be an annoying brat to your own team."

"Enough." Pyrrha spoke again. "Weiss, I wanted to train Sylwester today, and Sylwester, just stop talking."

"She…" Sylwester wanted to say but Pyrrha looked at him with disapproval, and he sheepishly lowered his head.. "…Sorry Pyr."

Weiss blinked few times, not knowing how to respond. Why Pyrrha is supporting him? She should understand, must understand!

"Why do you want to spend time with him instead of me?" Weiss asked Pyrrha.

"Because he asked me for help, and if I can help, then why not?"

"But… you are a champion!" Weiss argued further. "The best of us! You should be more like…" Last words stopped in her throat. "We were supposed to be friends."

"We are friends Weiss!" Pyrrha replied. "But just like you said, I am a champion," She looked at Sylwester and his team. "And as a champion, it is my responsibility to lift others as high as they can go." She looked at Weiss with a soft smile. "To give them a hand when they need it, to encourage them to push forward, and give them a shoulder when they struggle. That's why I wanted to be a Huntress."

Weiss went silent, her face like stone. Then, she hid Myrtenser and bowed her head slightly.

"I am sorry for my behavior." She said to Pyrrha and Sylwester. "I was unnecessarily rude."

"Umm, thanks?" Loret replied, genuinely surprised.

"Now, if you excuse me." She started to walk towards the exit.

"We can train together if you want!" Pyrrha proposed, but Weiss shook her head in denial.

"I… wish to be alone for some time. And think." She walked past the rest of the team SABER, her face not revealing a turmoil within her.

---

Black limo stopped before the governmental building, and Sauron stepped out of the vehicle. He searched for someone with his stare, and soon his gaze fell on small group right before the entrance, one of them started to wave for him to come over.

"There they are." Sauron looked at Melanie and Militiades. "Do you remember your roles?"

"Of course." Both sisters replied at the same time.

"Good, then we should not keep them waiting."

"Park somewhere nearby and arrive when I call, understood Al?" Yowwick said to driver.

"Sure thing Nat." Driver, Alex the Henchman, replied and drove away, and Yowwick run after Sauron and Malachites.

"Annatar, my friend!" a chubby man with magnificent mustache and round, black hat reached to him with his right hand. "I am glad you arrived!"

"Just like I promised to you." Annatar shook the man's hand.

The man he spoke to is called Doug Volta, a representative of Stonecradle. Gullible, yet empathetic man, owner of many charities and workhorse of the community. He always worked for the betterment of his vast neighborhood, but without support from the government, it was Sisyphean task. When Sauron started to expand his range of operations to Stonecradle, this man was not only more than happy, but also helpful and cooperative. Maybe not the greatest of politicians, but when presented with a goal, he is willing do anything to achieve it.

"You are much shorter in person." Tall faunus woman with red hair, tiger ears and eyes remarked with little surprise, yet no hostility, and Annatar chuckled at the comment, then, much to her surprise, gently took her hand.

"Stories portray me as imposing for a reason, my dear." He kissed her hand. "But how stories could possibly miss such Belle Fluer Exotique is beyond me." She laughed and looked, surprised by his old-school manners, yet flattered.

Asana Asim, representative of Clasthara, one of the few so called 'Faunus districts' in the Capital. From the information's Sauron gathered, he could picture her as a 'a humble leader' – she lead her community through numerous hardships, at the same time fighting against discrimination against Faunus kind, as well as opposing and condemning actions of the White Fang, which made her numerous enemies both in the government, and in the community. Although she was technically 'young' by human standards, the amount of stress she endures daily greatly worn her down, leaving her little to no energy. Much to Sauron's delight, she will be more than willing to relinquish power, but only if a suitable candidate, who will protect her people, appear.

"I told you Asana, he is great! More than great!" Doug clapped his hands. "And since the elections are coming, Governor Pryce will now surely listen to our proposals now!"

"He has charisma, that's true." Asana pulled back her hand.

"Oh, it's is more that charisma, I assure you. However, introductions are in place." He gestured to Militia. " This charming woman is Militiades Malachite, my assistant and the one, who helped me greatly upon my arrival." Militiades bowed her head gracefully, and Sauron's gaze turned to her sister. "And this equally charming woman is Melanie Malachite, also my assistant and trusted companion." Then turned to swiftly approaching Yowwick. "And this man is Nathan Yowwick, someone who I value."

"Thanks Chief." Yowwick looked away, not sure what Annatar meant by "value".

"Pleasure, quite a pleasure!" Doug tipped his hat to the twins, and both girls rolled their eyes.

"Whatever."

"Meeting will soon commence, so I should inform you about my plan." Sauron announced, shifting attention from the rude reaction.

"A plan?" Asana looked at him with suspicion.

"Indeed, I arrived on the meeting prepared." He snapped his fingers and Yowwick handed to the two representatives two sheets of paper.

"How are you sure we will follow your plan?" She asked, still not convinced, while Doug read the paper before his eyes.

"Simple, because this plan is flawless." Sauron smiled. "And beneficial not only for us."

"You even wrote his potential arguments against our proposals?" Volta said with a note of admiration.

"I wrote down every logical argument against us and prepared a counter argument for them." Sauron explained, and looked at Asana. "Is your curiosity satisfied?"

"It is." She replied after reading through the whole plan again. "It is… well-thought out."

"The only problem lays with your reactions." Sauron said. "Do exactly as I have written, remain calm and collected, and we will leave this establishment with all our goals accomplished. Is that clear?"

"Sounds good to me." Volta said, and Asim simply nodded her head.

"Good, because I won't repeat myself twice."

"Governor is ready!" Receptionist yelled to the crowd.

"Let the game begin." Sauron said and started to walk towards the entrance, the rest of the group following closely behind.

This may sound insignificant, meeting some low-ranking individual, but when you want to climb up the ladder of power, you need to often start from the bottom.

Kingdom of Atlas, seven years ago.

Robot swung it's sword arm, but swift parry from the rapier left it open for the counter, which young girl in white combat dress used to cleave the machine in half.

Two more robots jumped at her while the third one stayed a little behind.

Faster than a blink, young Weiss dodged their attacks, then with the quick dash through the air, robot fell to the ground in two pieces.

"Klein, what exactly am I looking at?" Tall, slender man in white suit looked at his butler.

"Sir, Weiss is showcasing you her great skill and talent." Klein Sieben, butler of the Schnee family, answered quickly.

"Oh of that I am aware, I paid her tutors more than enough, and nourished her talents." Jacques Schnee replied with clear indifference. "Your point?"

Weiss danced around two remaining robots, and the machines looked sluggish and graceless in comparison to her.

With quick blink of the rapier, one of the robots lost his sword arm.

"My point is Sir, that she would make a perfect candidate for a Huntress." Butler added, and Jacques left a heavy sigh.

"I believe we had this conversation already." Jacques commented. "Could you remind me what was my answer back then?"

"Sir, I believe the circumstances has changed." Klein pointed at the arena. "Please, take a look." And Jacques attention returned to the fight below

With quick move of her fingers, Weiss created a white glyph under the two training robots and after a second, it propelled them into the air. She swiftly created few more around the flying robots, then under her feet.

For a moment, she became a white blur, and bouncing from glyph to glyph, she cut through the machines so fast, that they fell apart just after she landed.

"She already displays an ability to control her semblance." Klein stated when Weiss has sheeted her rapier, and fixed the belt with dust vials attached to it. "It's remarkable achievement for someone her age." But the Schnee scoffed

"Willow can too, it is nothing impressive really." Jacques brushed his butler off with his left like an annoying fly, which made Klein grow visibly irritated.

"Sir, I think Weiss would like to…"

"She likes what I tell her to like, she does what I tell her to do." Jacques interrupted him, and then exchanged looks with her daughter, his stare cold and callous. "She doesn't have time for fantasies." Weiss took a deep breath.

"I want to be Huntress father!" Weiss finally spoke up, and Jacques chuckled.

"And what I would get from my Heir risking her life in the wilderness huh?" He sarcastically asked, but Weiss remained calm and collected.

"Having a Huntress in the family greatly increase our prestige father." Weiss explained her point. "Both your business partners and rivals will be jealous when they learn that your heir is a successful huntress."

"Isn't Winter already studying in Atlas Academy? I don't need another."

"You disowned her, father." Weiss pointed out, somehow remaining calm, even though blood boiled under her skin.

"Ah right! I almost forgot. Almost." He looked Weiss directly in the eyes, and she foought the urge to look away. "Why do you want to chase the military career?"

"I don't." Weiss replied, not backing down from him. "I want to be a genuine Huntress, so our family will be known for more than Dust."

"So, you want to be the best Huntress of all time, right?"

"Yes."

Jacques looked at his Butler with hint of amusement. "She prepared for today, didn't she?"

"Yes Sir." Klein nodded. "And you must admit that what she says is reasonable."

"True…" He scratched his chin, thinking about potential gains, but also losses. "But does she realize the true dangers of this job?"

"Then maybe you want to test her out?" Klein and Jacques looked at the two newcomers.

One was a tall, dark-skinned man with white eye-patch over his right eye, the left one yellow, black hair and short mustache. He was wearing a white tail-coat with few citations on his chest, right beside his lieutenant badge, on which his name – Sepp Urgan – was displayed.

The second man was slightly taller than Seep and wore a white lab coat. He was tanned-skin, with short black hair, thick mustache and eyebrows, his green eyes sparked with intelligence.

"Arthur." Jacques greeted him. "I didn't expect you to come back so soon."

"Since I gathered all the necessary data for Paladin Project, I didn't see a reason to stay in the desert any longer." Watts took a seat beside the CEO of Schnee Dust Company. "And Lieutenant's insight was more than helpful in my research." Jacques looked at Commander of the SDPS, and the one-eyed man grinned.

"Troublesome elements didn't even put up much of a fight." Urgan's harsh voice reported. "Order in the mines has been restored with minimal use of force, agitators were swiftly executed, but there were… few casualties on our own."

"Make sure that soldier's families are compensated." Jacques replied, and Urgan bowed his head. "Now to the more important matters at hand." Jacques looked back at Watts. "What do you have in mind friend?"

"I brought here some prototypes I designed and developed alongside the paladins back in Vacuo." Watts answered, nonchalantly crossing his hand behind his head. "I wanted to do some testing in more controlled environment before I release them oto the field. And just so happens that they are right behind the gate."

"Are you suggesting to throw combat robots at Weiss?" Klein jumped into the conversation. "Are you out of your mind!?"

"She wants to be a Huntress, doesn't she?" Watts countered. "Isn't she going to fight against the deadly Grimm whole day?"

"That's something way different!"

Jacques locked his hands together and looked again at the defiant Weiss down there, awaiting his verdict, already prepared for another argument.

"Do you have them under control?" He simply asked, and Klein blinked few times in shock while Watts chuckled and showed his wrist.

"I always do." Doctor replied with a smirk.

"Sir…" Klein tried to plea, but Jacques rose his hand to shut him up.

"Weiss." He said loud enough for her to hear. "What you showed me today was not impressive at all." Weiss eye twitched in anger at this remark. "For me, destroying practice dummies is nothing worth noting. But since you insist on proving me something today, I shall grant you your wish." Sepp took the last remaining seat and grinned widely, showing his sharp teeth while Watts pressed something on his wrist. "Open the gate."

Weiss fixed her belt, full of colorful dust vials, and pointed her rapier at slowly opening gate, and when it opened fully, multitude of sounds assaulted Weiss's ears - screeches, hisses, heavy footsteps and insect like clicks sent shivers down her spine. Did they released Grimm on her?

She pointed her rapier at the darkness, and three pair of blood-red eyes looked directly at her, while the heavy steps grew louder. But the thing which came out of the shadow startled her.

It was a robot, but not an Atleasian Knight Mk 100, which looked similar to human. It was much taller, standing above seven feet, but it's body was thin, probably as thin as Weiss's. It dragged it's way too long arms on the floor like a gorilla, each hand ending with a set of five sharp claws. Robot's legs were bulky, yet way shorter than the robot's torso.

It slowly limped forward, it's red eyes focused on her, while its entire body twitched. She lowered her guard a little and gave it an unamused stare.

"You are just trying to be scary." She said with an overconfident smirk.

Fatal mistake.

With loud, ear-bleeding screech, machine run at her on all fours with unmatched speed, and within few seconds, it swung it's clawed hand directly her face.

Surprised by the machine's quick movements, She barely parried that with her rapier, jumped back to regain her footing, but robot kept up, it's claws nearly hitting it's mark once more.

"What are these things Watts!?" Klein lost his composure, and the scientist just chuckled.

"Just like I said, these are the prototypes of the future combat droids for military use." Watts calmly stated just when two remaining robots screeched and run out onto the arena.

"Combat droids!?" Klein replied with disbelief, while Weiss barely avoided the metal leg. "They look like beasts from a horror movie!"

"Thank you."

Weiss slashed the thin torso with her rapier, but much to her shock, blade simply slide from the machine's body. She summoned a glyph under her feet and jumped away, trying to make distance and take a breath.

But the second robot shoulder slammed her mid-air, throwing her to the ground, as she painfully tumbled on the floor.

She had no time to get up, third machine pounced at her, it's legs first, and she desperately rolled away from danger.

Machine's legs smashed against the floor, which cracked upon the impact, and robot stuck itself deep in the floor, forcing the other two to walk around it, giving Weiss enough time to get up.

"You must stop it." Klein said to his boss, but Jacques waved his hand dismissively.

"She wants to be a Huntress? Then she should know how this job actually feels like."

Weiss ducked under machine's claw, blocked another strike with her rapier, quickly summoned the glyph and used it as a shield from the another machine flanking her.

Robot attacking from the front kicked her square at the abdomen, sending her flying backwards.

She slammed against the wall, her aura flickered after taking the heavy hit, leaving her breathless for a split second, but despite that, she still managed to land on the floor on her two feet. She looked at the quickly approaching murder-machine, which shrieked like a wild beast.

"So far, she is faring very well against the Predators." Watts commented with clear astonishment, even sounding little impressed. "I thought she will beg to call them off by now."

"Predators?" Urgan repeated, 'tasting' the name with his tongue, then grinned. "I do like the ring of it."

"I saw enough." Jacques rose from his seat. "Watts, turn them off, she is not capable." He said loud enough for Weiss to hear.

"NO!" She yelled, and fueled by anger, she leapt into the air, dodged the claw, landed on the extended arm, and kicked the robot's head really hard.

Machine's oval head cracked, it's mechanical body fell to the ground, thrown into violent, electrical spasms, trashing around like fish out of the water.

Weiss landed away from the damaged droid, and retrieved the vial full of yellow dust from her pouch.

Watts cursed under his breath, Jacques rose his eyebrow in slight amusement while Klein looked with clear worry. Only Sepp smiled, observing the destruction of the killer-droid with childlike joy.

Two remaining bots charged at her, Weiss took a deep breath and summoned the glyph under her feat.

But unlike other glyphs, which usually took shape of the snowflake, this one looked like a clock, and yellow vial shimmered in her hands.

Bots attacked from two directions, two claws struck low, another two struck high. Impossible to block or parry.

Impossible for everyone.

Except for Weiss.

Her senses heightened and her movements quickened, her rapier became a steel blur, deflecting all four incoming blows in one single move, staggering both machines.

Low on her knees, she dashed between the nearest robot's legs, and slashed upwards with all her might.

Robot stood motionless for a second before it collapsed on the floor in two pieces.

Remaining machine tried to pounce at her, but quicker than wind, she side-stepped, spun, aiming at the neck. Robot blocked the strike, slashed with its left claw, she spun a swift pirouette, high feint at the head. Robot tried to protect his head with his right, but with swift bent of her arm, she struck at robot's extended left arm.

Clawed hand fell onto the ground, but droid, undeterred by the loss, tried to attack once more. She started to circle around it, always going left, trying to disappear from the machines view.

Seeing it, Watts started to write something in his notebook.

Weiss grabbed with her free hand a vial of white dust, it shimmered in her hand, and her rapier shined with white light as well. She shot forward, aiming at the robot's head.

It tried to block the blow with its clawed hand, but Weiss's rapier pierced through the hand, then through the head.

Robot twitched, it's integral systems destroyed, and shut down shortly after. When Weiss retracted her blade, it fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

Previously damaged robot rose back on its feet, it's cracked head sent numerous sparks in the air. With it's one remaining eye, it glared at the Heiress, and she pointed her rapier at it.

"Initiate Vengeance Protocol." Machine said with distorted voice, and it's torso opened, revealing a reactor core full of red dust powder.

Red dust which started to rapidly heat up.

With her eyes widened in horror, Weiss reached for vial with light blue dust on her belt, but her fingers trembled, stress got better of her, and she couldn't get good grasp on it.

Robot run at her on all fours, rapidly shortening distance between them.

"Arthur, turn it off." Klein pleaded, but Watts simply looked at Jacques with one eyebrow risen. "Turn it off now!"

Machine got closer to Weiss, but she finally caught the vial, and quickly summoned the glyph.

"Hold it." Jacques ordered before Watts could press the button.

A burst of ice traversed through the floor towards the charging machine, trapping it in the ice, just few feets from her. Shortly after, the reactor exploded, shattering the icy prison into tiny pieces and throwing Weiss on the floor by the sheer power of the explosion.

She breathed rapidly, her heart still pounded like crazy. If not for her aura, she would be seriously injured, and if that thing got any closer…

She looked at her rapier and belt with few remaining dust vials.

"I need a better solution." She thought, and the idea of a rapier being both able to store dust, and still be useful on the battlefield, appeared in her mind.

"See now Weiss?" Her father suddenly spoke up, bringing her out of her thoughts. "This test was merely a taste of what is to come. As a Huntress, you will risk your life constantly."

She glared at him with anger, wanting to shout at him, but she bit her tongue just in time.

"It's unforgiving profession, a tiniest mistake will result in your gruesome death." Weiss slowly rose back up. as her father spoke. "That's why I won't allow you to become a Huntress."

She looked her father in the eyes, her stare saying more than thousand words.

"If I am going to allow you to chose this path, You must be the Best Huntress in the World." He continued, his gaze colder than ice. "You will make no mistakes, you will not complain, and you will not waste time. And if you bring me shame or become a failure, our agreement is off. Do you understand?"

His eyes locked with her, trying to make her falter. Just say no. His gaze spoke. Just give up and be a good, obedient daughter, like your little brother. But Weiss stood firm and said one word:

"Yes."

Back to the present

Weiss let the memory of that day fade away as she walked through the forest nearby the Academy, traversing through the bushes and grass, towards the sound of falling water. That day, she fought for her life. Both in the literal, and spiritual sense.

She thought that, after beating Arma Gigas in battle and getting to Beacon, she will be finally able to make her own choices, make true friends, and finally be happy. But reality proved once again to be cruel mistress.

She finally left the treelane into the small glade, and the center of the glade was a small pond with crystal clear water, and the water fell from the rocks above it. Here, grass looked more alive, trees seemed to whisper something into the air, blue roses bloomed, and falling water sound like a rhythmic heartbeat.

She found this place few days after arriving to Beacon, and seemed to be the only one to know about it. And she gladly used this place as a Sanctuary from the world, to be alone and unbothered.

Even though from the viewer point of view, she felt out of the place – Her pale skin and white dress contrasted blooming life around making her look like she is a ghost.

She sat right before the crystal clear water, and looked at her reflection. At her beautiful face, scarred by the monster. At her blue, sad eyes.

She took a pebble and threw it into the water, and with quiet splash, her image in the water cracked.

They say that the mirror is the window to someone's soul, and even though the waves caused by the pebble vanished, her broken visage remained.

"~Mirror, tell me something~" Both Weiss and her reflection sung. "~Tell me who is the loneliest, off all?~"

"~Mirror, tell me something,~"

"~Who is the loneliest off all?~"

"~Mirror, What's inside me?~"

"~Tell me can the heart

be turned to stone?~"

She gave a pause and looked at her broken self.

She fought hard, sacrificed years of her life to arrive here and start over again. And what came from it?

Nothing.

She grabbed another pebble.

Weiss thought that she finally met someone, who will finally understand her struggles. After all, Pyrrha had to go through the same hardships, right? Of course she did, she wouldn't be a champion.

Pebble splashed into the water.

Then why they are so different?

"Now what?" She thought and wrapped her arms around her legs. And worst off all, she didn't even know what she did exactly wrong, since she was kinda bad at reading people. The only person she could open up was her butler and friend, Klein. But he stayed behind.

All she really wanted was someone to speak to. To open, just a bit.

Suddenly, bush behind her shook, and she immediately rose up and put her hand on Myrtenser.

Grimm shouldn't be that close to Academy grounds, but maybe a lone beowolf?

She approached the bush with caution, weapon at the ready, and when she got close enough, she pushed some leaves aside to take a look.

And she locked eyes with a fox.

It was not Valeian red fox, it was small, arctic fox, entirely covered in soft and fluffy white fur. Animal looked at her with its large blue eyes without fear, most likely being accustomed to humans. If not for a characteristic tail and head, she could mistake it for a dog.

"Awww..." She put back her rapier, and lifted the animal. "What something so cute do here all alone? Did you escape from the zoo?"

Surprisingly, fox seemed comfortable in her hands, and licked her face.

"Heeey, don't do that! You will ruin my make up!" She put the Fox back on the ground. "You shouldn't wander alone, what if you met a big scary Beowolf?" Fox looked at her, it's blue eyes showing complete obliviousness to the danger.

"I can't get mad on something so adorable." She scratched it's head, and it purred with delight. "But seriously, you need to go back." She turned on her heel and walked back to the pond, and Fox followed behind her.

When she sat back on her previous spot, fox sat right beside her.

"I said go back." She said, and fox looked at her with pleading eyes. "Don't look at me like that! I don't have enough room in my dorm. And I am not good with pets anyway."

Fox tilted it's head in silent question.

"Yes, I never had a pet before." Weiss admitted, and wrapped her hands around her legs. "My father hates animals, and each time I tried to ask him for one, dog, cat, even a hamster, he straight up refused." She left a sigh. "He never cared about my opinion anyway."

Fox kept staring at her with question, and Weiss chuckled. "I shouldn't talk about my personal problems with animal, should I?" She looked at the fox, and the animal gave her "I am a barely conscious animal, I can't comment but I can listen."* stare. "At least you won't be able to judge me, right?"

Fox looked sideways to avoid her stare, and Weiss huffed in annoyance.

"Not you too!" She grabbed the stone and threw it into the pond. "Everybody thinks I am awful and cold, but nobody cares why!"

Stone splashed against the water, distorting the reflection of angered Weiss even further, and with each wave her anger subsidized, only to be replaced by sad expression.

"When I was three, White Fang killed my uncle." She said after few seconds. "He run a charity for the poor, and often he rode off to provide the aid himself, despite my father's warnings." She smiled slightly at a faint memory. "I don't remember his face anymore, only that he always knew how to make me and Winter laugh, and how he disguised himself as a Samichlaus during the Winter holiday."

But then, she clenched her fists in anger. "And the Fang killed him out of spite, just to hurt us." She looked at the Fox. "Each time I walk down the street, I fear that those Faunus, who now smile and wave to me, will pounce on me once I turn my back on them." She threw another pebble into the water. "That's why I prefer to keep them all at a safe distance."

She gave her reflection in the water a sad smile. In the Academy, there are many Faunus, and she does her best to avoid them, even though they are probably not members of the White Fang. But who truly knows? They pulled out some insane and bold tactics before. They hide very well in a plain sight

At least none of them is in her team.

Fox leaned to her, and she scratched it's head.

"It's okay." She lied, and after short pause, continued. "Because of his brother's death, father, like a true opportunist he is, decided to 'protect' me and my sister from danger. 'You will have private tutors Weiss, you don't need to leave the manor', 'Don't walk too far from home without your guards Weiss', 'Always tell us where you go Weiss'." She mimicked his voice, then left a heavy sigh. "When I tried to complain, he scared me with stories about Faunus kidnapping children and prowling around every corner." Weiss looked at the animal. "But in reality, he couldn't care less."

Fox lowered its ears when she clenched her fists once more.

"All he ever wanted is to control every aspect of my life." Weiss continued with clear distaste. "It took me some time to realize that all those 'security' measures were just means to make me obedient. To listen to his every word, and have no ambition aside of his desires. And each time I tried to protest or rebel, he isolated me even further. It was like a golden cage - I had every luxury possible, yet I couldn't get out."

Another stone landed in the middle of the pond.

"For years, I thought that I can't change it" She continued after a while. "That course of my life will always be decided by someone else. Until my sister decided to join the Atlas Academy." She smiled, and when she recalled that memory, she felt inspired once more. "Father did everything to stop her, even threatened to disinherit her, but she persisted and got into the military like she wanted to." Weiss looked at her rapier. "She showed me that if I work as hard as she did, I will be able take back my life."

Fox looked at her in awe.

"Every free moment I had, often between the lessons, I studied and trained to become the best Huntress and get into the Academy, as far away from home as possible, make my own friends and start my own life!" She stood up and raised her hand in triumph. "And when I finally did it...!" Joy left her face like a morning breeze. "...Someone else decided for me."

She sat back and hid her face with her hands, while the fox leaned to her with sorrowful expression.

"All my hard work, restless days and nights, many tears, bruises, sacrifices and yet, I am stuck for five years with people I don't even like. It's unfair."

Fox put its head on her shoulder, trying to share the pain just a bit.

"They wouldn't be even my fist choice if I had one!" She shouted into the water. "Xiao Long is just annoying, undisciplined and brash, Belladonna always gives me an uneasy feeling whenever we are alone, and Rose..." She paused, and fox looked at her with "What about her?" stare.

"Ruby is childish and naive." Weiss said after a while. "But whatever she does or says sounds... sincere and honest." She stared back at the animal, deeply impressed by the red-hooded girl. "She speaks what's on her mind, and talks about her passions without any hint of embarrassment." Weiss was more than sure that such behavior would got Ruby in deep trouble with atleasian nobility, but surprisingly, she found the idea of person like Ruby… endearing.

She then cleared her throat. "If she was just my teammate, I wouldn't mind her that much. But Headmaster made her a team leader. And Team Leader needs to be strict, rigorous and disciplined. In my opinion, making her a team leader was a mistake."

Fox looked into the pond at broken image of Weiss in the water, lowered its head.

She left a sigh. "And if my team is not the best, father will recall me back to Atlas." She kicked the ground under her feet, scaring the animal. "I don't want to go back! I will never go back!"

Feeling fox's gaze, Weiss turned back to it, and the animal gave her a pleading stare.

"What, You want me to give her a chance?" Fox eagerly nodded, but she scoffed in response. "I can't teach her discipline."

Both remained in silent contemplation, staring at the water reflecting the setting sun.

Few ever gave her a choice in any regard, forcing her to work twice as hard just to earn the right to have one. She doubted that Ruby went through similar hardships.

But, on the other hand, by not giving any chances, Weiss acts just like her father.

"Listen." Fox stroked it's ears. "When I return to dorm and I see Ruby doing something productive, I will give her one chance. But only one. Sounds good?" Fox eagerly nodded in agreement. "Great."

She took a pebble and prepared to throw it.

"Don't gossip about what you saw and heard, alright?"

But Fox was already gone. Weiss blinked few times and looked around, but there were no tracks from the fox. It looked like it simply vanished. Not knowing what to think about it, she looked back at her broken reflection in the water one last time, then rose up and left the glade.

This night, the old trees hummed a different song, about the broken mirror and wondered:
"Can heart of stone be turned back to gold?"

---

"… Any questions?" Governor Lark, a short bald man asked, few hands flew into the air.

"What about the spare funds?" One of the representatives asked.

"Ah yes, that." Governor said, then clicked something on table, projector came to life and image of Vale's industrial district appeared on the wall. "Thirty percent of the remaining budget will spent on buying new vehicles and establishing new bus lines, and renovation of the streets. Like this." On the image appeared the web of yellow lanes. "This will ensure that every citizen will reach his destination whenever they…"

"They won't" New voice suddenly interrupted, and Governor looked at a person interrupting.

"What?" He replied, and Annatar rose from his seat.

"If this is an official development plan, then why Limestone, Stonecradle, Clashtara, Basin and Reaching trail are excluded?"

"Well simple, it is not our current priority." Lark replied. "But rest assured, in next development plan, those districts will be taken into consideration." But Annatar shook his head in denial.

"Funds allocated are more than enough to create a web of connections, which should include the central sectors." Annatar pointed out. "Especially since Limestone and Stonecradle are one the fastest growing places in whole Industrial District."

"What are you talking about?" One of the representatives sitting on the other end of the table asked, and Annatar snapped his fingers.

Melanie and Militia walked around the table and gave everyone a sheet of paper.

"As you can see, Limestone achieved an influx of wealth reaching nearly one-hundred and fifty percent in comparison to the previous five years, while Stonecradle achieved less, but still substantial growth reaching ninety percent."

Doug smiled with pride when Annatar said that.

"Godsdammnit." Someone whispered after reading the information on the document, while Governor's face turned to angry snarl.

"This brought a rapid growth of our annual budget, and our analysis concluded that this year income will exceed income from previous fifteen years ten-fold." Annatar continued. "If the predictions remain that way, we will exceed Terminus in next four years."

"You can't be sure of that." Governor countered, but Sauron smiled.

"Oh, On the contrary, I am more than sure of it." He looked to the side, and Yowwick retrieved another document from the suitcase. Sauron took the paper and flung it across the table towards the governor.

"This is a copy of the document from Royal Office of Economy." Annatar announced, and Governor took it and started to read it. "On it, you will see that all what I have said is true. But you are aware of it, right?"

Governor put the paper away, red on his face with anger.

"Then why are we treated as a second class citizens!?" Doug rose from his seat and slammed his hand against the desk. "Our people deserve access to public transportation, AND renovation of our streets."

"Repairing roads in the central sectors will take too much time, and poor living there are not willingly work on the public projects." Governor countered. "Just like in the previous years, when my predecessor tried that."

"Wasn't it because the previous governor took back on his words, and offered only miniscule portion of the budget, which meant that the founds provided would be enough only to pay for small, ad hoc repairs, but at the same time disturbing, if not stopping flow of the traffic?

Governor rose his finger, but couldn't answer that, and Annatar chuckled seeing his reaction.

"I can assure you, things changed from back then, and everything is in place for major public projects." He looked at the gathered people. "Please, turn the documents I gave you to the other side."

Curious, humans turned the documents and either gasped in surprise, or stared dumbfounded at the paper.

"As you can see, the plan I proposed will bring benefit to all of us." Sauron said. "And prominent investors, such as Textile Manufacturer "Oran", are backing my plan." He looked at the governor. "In fact, all you have to do now is sign…"

"What about the Faunus in Clashtara?" One of the representatives asked. "They will steal all the equipment and piss on the foundations before we even start."

"These are shameless accusations and I won't stand for them!" Asana rose up from her seat. "Faunus showed numerous times over that they are a respectful citizens of this city."

"White Fang proves otherwise." Someone smirked, and tiger faunus focused her eyes on the new attacker.

"White Fang has no ties with common citizens of Clashtara, in fact, they used them to shift blame for their activities." She pointed out. "And those accusations are illegal, because art 14 of our Constitution forbids excluding minorities based on prejudices."

She sat down, leaving her opponents startled, while Annatar nodded to her in appreciation. With his opposition decimated, and his points proven, he will have his way.

He looked at the governor Lark once again. "One thing left to do is to sign a document."

Governor slowly rose his head, and looked Annatar directly into eyes, and Sauron found in them something surprising.

Hatred and Fear.

"You are missing one thing, 'representative' Annatar." He spoke slowly, yet hidden threat lied on his tongue.

"Which is?"

"I AM in charge here." He said, and jumped from his seat. "I AM the one making deals, plans, directing the future, NOT YOU." He pointed his finger at Annatar. "Your useless…

---

…ideas and delusions are undesired."

Sauron was once more in the Dark throne room of Angband, The Black Fortress of Evil, standing before the First Dark Lord Morgoth, clad in black iron.

"You need to understand, digging even deeper is pointless now." Sauron said to his lord. "The earth itself turns hostile, the magma bursts from the corridors, and reinforcements of the tunnels became too costly for us to maintain."

"Then put more slaves to work." Morgoth replied with indifference. "They will dig with their bare hands if necessary, and reinforce the tunnels with their bones when they die."

"It will take too much time and bring minimal results!" Sauron protested, staring at his Dark Master. "We are already running out of space for our armies!"

"And why is that?" Morgoth leant to him, giving Sauron a perfect view of his crown, in which three pure and beautiful crystals shined weakly, dimmed by Morgoth's malice. "Are you not fulfilling the tasks I bestowed upon you?"

"Your dragons take too much space, my lord." Sauron spoke calmly. "They grow too fast, are becoming larger, and they drain our stockpiles dry, while the orcs live on one another in the tight tunnels."

"As it should be." Morgoth replied, picked up the large chunk of meat and threw it into the corner. Three dragons immediately jumped on the food and started to tear it apart. "Dragons are incarnations of my might, and I won't make less of them to give these worms a place to dwell."

"A single dragon is worth ten thousand orcs."Sauron continued while drakes started to tear each other for remaining pieces of meat."And we can make hundreds of thousands of foot soldiers instead of few dozen of fire-spewing lizards."Dragons growled hearing that, but Sauron didn't care. "But like I said, beyond the gate, on the blackened sands, there is a plenty of unused space, which will be more than enough to quarter the…"

Ghrond, the Hammer of the Underworld, struck the floor, cutting Sauron's speech before it even started.

"I will NOT build under the gaze of the Sun." Morgoth snarled. "NEVER."

"Think about the benefits my lord!" Sauron argued. "When we finally put all of the area around Angband to use, we will be finally able to turn the tide."

"Tide?"

"Orcs are now pathetic wretches which die in droves in every battle." Sauron continued, not turning away from Morgoth's wrath. "But I see a way to improve them, but to this, I require space, space your dragons currently take."

"Orcs live and die on my command." Morgoth waved his hand dismissively. "As long as they serve their purpose, they can live on dirt and feast on scraps."

"But they could serve it better." Sauron argued further. "Right now, it takes three hundred orcs to slay one elf. If you allow me to expand on the outside, I will be able to turn that ratio into thirty for one."

"You relay too much on numbers." Morgoth pointed out, then chuckled darkly and gave his lieutenant a mocking grin. "Or, perhaps, you care for these leeches?" And Sauron scoffed in response.

"I couldn't care less about them, but in order to make them more efficient…" Morgoth groaned hearing this.

"You always talk about efficiency Sauron." Morgoth said and scratched his eyes, like he tried to keep himself awake. "About 'logistics' and 'development'. This pointless discussions bore me to no end."

Sauron took a deep breath before he spoke again.

"You can't win a war with few dragons and balrogs. If you weren't so insisting on those overestimated beast, you would have conquered Arda by now."

This time, Morgoth laughed, his laugh darker than moonless night and colder than arctic blizzard, and it quickly brought terrified slaves and servants to their knees, covering their ears in pain and fear.

"Conquest!? War!?" His loud and mocking laughter continued, and Sauron's ire grew beyond the boiling point. "Arda is mine, now and forever! There is no one in this world capable of challenging my rule! And you stand before me, and compare eradication of vermins to warfare!?" Sauron's face turned to snarl as Morgoth shook from laughter upon his Dark Throne. "I never thought you are my Jester as well!"

"These 'vermins' as you call them, sieged Angband TWICE because of YOU." Sauron finally snapped, tired of Morgoth's ramblings.

Silence fell upon the entire fortress, like the whole area fell into the vacuum of space. Morgoth stared at him with rage.

"What. Did. You. Just. Say?"

"I speak the truth." Sauron said, not flinching from the hateful glare. "On a brink of victory, your folly brought upon us the Legions of Noldor. It was your arrogance that allowed warriors of man and elves to breach our gates during the second siege. And when they reached the gates to your throne room, you covered in fear behind your throne, while Gothomog fought desperately to keep the invaders at bay."

Commander of Balrogs growled in anger for Sauron insulted his Master, but also had to begrudgingly agree, for the wounds from that day still didn't heal properly.

Morgoth's vision narrowed, his stare fully focused on Maia before him.

"You said that these defenses were impenetrable Sauron." Morgoth reminded, his voice threatening. "I should have punished you for that lie!"

"It was YOU who ordered the deconstruction of most of our defenses, because you thought that nothing will even dare to break through the first gate!" Sauron shot back. "Your stubbornness and arrogance hindered my efforts to bring Arda to its knees! Noldor victories are only possible because…"

"SILENCE!"

Morgoth's fury smashed Sauron against the floor, which cracked upon the impact. Sauron was pinned to the ground, like a butterfly by a nail, unable to fight back or rise up.

"You grew bold, serf." Morgoth hissed like a snake. "You are here to obey me without question, and yet, you dare to speak up in such a manner against me?"

How Sauron hated this, being treated like an inferior even though he was right.

"You are barely worthy to even speak to me, but still, you have the audacity to waste my time with delusions?" Morgoth continued without mercy, his thought still weighing on Sauron like a boulder.

Sauron looked at his master with unquenchable hatred. His mind demanded action, pride demanded retaliation. But there was nothing he could do now. How can he be so blind? Sauron was right, even this fool would understand his reasoning.

"You will cease this foolishness once and for all, and I shall consider letting you keep your current position." Morgoth lifted his might from Sauron, allowing him to breath once more, but instead of relief, this brought a confusion.

For Morgoth killed even his greatest servants for lesser slights, and yet he allows Sauron to stand up, with metaphorical slap on the wrist? Sauron looked at his master once again and finally understood.

Morgoth knew Sauron is right, but if he agree to his points, he will appear weak in the eyes of his thralls. Because by agreeing with Sauron, he will acknowledge humans and elves as a foes, which should be reckoned with, not vermin in need of extermination.

Morgoth wants to maintain the facade of strength before his servants, because he was no longer Melkor, the one who shattered the First Lights. He was no longer the strongest of Ainur, who could challenge and fight his brothers and sisters all at once.

This fallen Vala, now clad in black iron, once able to bring Chaos to the Song of Creation, was a shadow of his former self, for his long absence and imprisonment made him fat and weak.

Melkor was no more, only Morgoth remained.

How pathetic he now was in Sauron's eyes.

He rose up from his seat and went towards the door of the office.

"Hey!" Governor rose from his chair. "The meeting is not done!"

"I wasted enough of my time here already." Sauron replied. "And I won't play along with this farce any longer."

Representatives gathered around the table looked at each other, not sure what to think or say.

"Excuse me?" Lark asked, his face red from anger.

Annatar looked at him, and raging hatred in him startled the governor, yet his words were calm:

"I wore this to pay you respect as a man of authority" Sauron pointed at his suit, and with one snap of his finger suit morphed into set of robes, causing whispers among the gathered people. "But you deserve none. I came here to share my vision of the future, and you considered me a threat to your authority. And this made you unworthy of my gifts."

Governor opened his mouth to interject, but Sauron wouldn't let him speak.

"There is no future for you, and everything you built and cherish will turn to rubble and ash."

"Are you threatening me!?" Governor screamed, just like Morgoth that day roared, and Sauron's answer remained the same:

"To beings like you, threats are unnecessary. You will be a sole cause of your downfall."

Sauron then looked at the gathered people and prophesied.

"Hear my words, for the storm clouds gather above our heads, and those who stand with him and his false hopes and promises..." He pointed at the seething Governor Lark. "...Will join him in ruin and defeat. I warn you: Leave him and thrive with me, or stay here, and let his incompetence drag you into the mud."

With that said, he opened wide the door of the office and walked away, Militia, Melanie and Yowwick closely behind. After short moment of silence, Doug, Asana and some other representatives raised from their seats and decided to leave as well in sign of solidarity.

"Then begone traitor!" Morgoth roared after him. "And never return! And if you dare to crawl back in here wretch, asking for mercy, your punishment will be everlasting!"

But Sauron couldn't care less about squabbling of the weaklings.

For that day, he vowed to never let anyone worse than him insult him like that.

That day, he vowed that he will be the Master of his own Fate.

"What now Chief?" He half-noticed Nathan walking beside him while the media waiting outside desperately scrambled to take some footage.

"We go to the place, where I can finally work." Sauron replied as he and his entourage left the building.

Long time ago, it was the day, when Morgoth's downfall, and Sauron's rise begun.

---

Weiss slowly opened up door to the dorm, and tiptoed into the room, thinking that everyone is asleep already.

"Hi Weiss." Ruby greeted her and Weiss nearly jumped in place.

Ruby's head lied on the desk in the sea of paper and empty coffee cups, holding another piece of paper right before her eyes. Weiss blinked few times, surprised by the view.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Studying." Ruby replied. "I studied with Blake for some time, but she went to sleep, while I made myself some coffee."

"You have some in your hair." Weiss pointed at few strands of black hair fell inside the empty cup.

"I knooow." Ruby murmured. "But I am too tired to do anything about it. This coffee is overrated."

Weiss took the cup away and looked into it.

"It's mostly just hot water, how much you pour into it?" She asked, and Ruby touched her lip.

"I don't know, I pour a spoon or two and then hot water…"

"Too little to make an effect." Weiss commented and when she wanted to walk to her bed, words she said just moments ago, rung inside her head.

"I will give her one chance."

She looked back at Ruby, who still tried to learn despite being barely asleep, and, truth to be told, was amazed by her determination.

"I will make a coffee if you want." Weiss said, and Ruby looked at her with surprise.

"You want to…"

"How much sugar?" Wiess looked for something under her bed.

"Five spoons and the cream?" Ruby answered, still not sure why Weiss asks that.

But moments later, heiress came back with fresh cup of coffee.

"Here, since you want to study for a while longer. Tomorrow I will show you how to make a proper coffee." Weiss put the cup beside Rose, then picked up a chair and sat right by her. "And if you want, we can study together for a bit."

"Thanks?" Ruby looked at the cup, then at Weiss. "But I thought we had a challenge…"

"Don't get me wrong, I will still win." Weiss replied with confidence. "But not giving you a fighting chance is not a very fair behavior, right?"

And Ruby smiled widely to her.

"Thanks Weiss."

"Don't mention it." Weiss smiled back to her, and for a moment, her reflection in the window mended just a bit.

---

Authors corner

* Just try to say to your cat that you forgot to buy his favorite food. His glare says more than the whole litany of obscenities.

That took me a while, but well, here it is. Slightly more exposition to the world and to the characters, but in my opinion necessary for future developments.

See you soon.

---

White Fang member fired with his makeshift gun at the target, and the bullets missed entirely.

"Hey, hey, hey, you need control your fire!" Roman Torchwick approached and lowered the gun. "Aim from your shoulder, little lower, fire in bursts, then repeat. Understood?"

"Yes." White Fang member replied, and Roman pointed his cane at the target dummy made of empty barrel and wheels.

"Then show me, don't be shy." Masked Faunus did exactly as told, and short burst of bullets tore through the dummy.

"Great, keep it up." Roman pat faunus's back and returned to his general inspection.

Around him, White Fang members trained with their guns, worked like ants in a hive on the fleet cars and pickup trucks, refitting them with makeshift armor and loading them with boxes full of ammunition to small arms, and heavy caliber weapons.

"Larian!" Roman shouted to the bulky lion faunus with bushy hair in a repurposed mining exosuit carrying a AA-gun, and the lion faunus looked at him with his cat like eyes. "Was there any problem with the coaxial gun?''

Larian gave him a thumb up.

"Good, carry it to the truck. And don't drop it, it is a very expensive stuff!"

Lion Faunus rolled his eyes, signed short sentence with his fingers.

"Not that expensive!" Roman groaned, and lion Faunus walked away with mischievous smile. "And here I thought only Neo is that talkative..." He liked Larian, this guy had something the others lacked - he is reliable. You tell what to do, and he will do it. Not to mention his talent with the guitar.

Suddenly, four Goat Faunus's run past him carrying a large wooden box with such speed, that Roman spin few times in place, and his hat almost flew away.

"To Infinity and Beyond!" On the said wooden box stood a young Faunus girl with short white hair, black and white dress, mimicking a captain of a spaceship.

"Hey, watch it!" Roman shouted, catching his hat before it fell to the ground. "These are not toys!"

"Sorry Roman, couldn't be helped!" Young girl replied, the she jumped off onto the goat faunus's shoulder, then onto the ground while the four buff faunus put the box inside the vehicle. "We used to play with Big Sis before every action, and we are not going to change that, right Big Brothers?"

"Of course little Sis!" All four faunus eagerly replied, and Roman just left a sigh, then light up another cigar.

"Just don't break anything, alright?"

"No promises Torchy!" Girl playfully saluted, then turned to on her brothers and reached with her hands. "Piggyback! Piggyback!"

One of the brothers gently lifted her up and put her on his shoulders.

"Will you carry me to Infinity and Beyond?" She playfully asked as they started to run.

"Sis, We will gladly carry you to the moon!" They replied and she gasped with childlike joy.

"Reaallly!?"

"Always!"

Roman followed them with his stare, then chuckled to himself.

At first, he was annoyed by 'Goat Brothers' antics, but overtime, he started to value their attitude. They do everything with such an enthusiasm, while also having so much fun with the tasks, that usually boring jobs were way more enjoyable. He often caught himself smiling at their jokes and pranks.

"Roman, can you hear me?" His radio came to life.

"Loud and clear Eldi, what's up?"

"There are concerns regarding your plan." Harsh voice said, and Roman rolled his eyes.

"Wait for me." He turned his radio and walked towards the warehouse.

White Fang has many hideouts spread in, and outside of the city, since city officials care little about abandoned storages or factories, and White Fang ensured to keep the low profile while using these places.

But after the upcoming operation, they will have to relocate.

Roman walked into the magazine, where more White Fang members worked on the heavy trucks, adding metal plates and gun emplacements.

"Remember, it is a grenade launcher, not a machine gun!" Hyena like Faunus explained to younger members while showcasing the said weapon. "Fire into the building to set the foundations on fire!"

"Remember Laszlo, no civilian casualties!" Roman said while walking past him "We want to break stuff, not people." Faunus's face turned into vicious snarl as he saluted.

"Ay ay human!" Faunus showed him his sharp teeth. "No death, but maximum collateral!" He started to laugh maniacally while Roman walked into the makeshift command was large, oak table, on which map of the whole capital was placed, various point of interest marked with red circles.

Right before the table stood the muscular faunus with short black hair, wearing standard clothes of other white fang members, aside from the custom Grimm mask covering his entire face and the black tattoos on his left arm.

"What's wrong Eldi?" Roman walked to the table. "Just few days ago you said that my plan is flawless."

"I said it." Faunus known as Elder confirmed. "But there is one detail you intentionally missed."

"Truly? What is it?"

"Hunters." New, older voice jumped into the conversation, and Roman turned to face another Faunus, who was exactly his size. Unlike other White Fang members, he wore a specialized, blue and white combat suit, with many kukuri knives striped to it, and covered his face with a mask of a nevermore.

"What are we going to do when Hunters show up?" Hawk faunus continued his question, his voice indicating a lifetime experience.

"Well Zenith, that's a thing about Hunters." Roman replied. "It is hard to predict where and when they decide to show up."

He felt something behind him, and he looked at the smirking small woman with brown left eye and pink right one, her hair also half pink and half brown, wearing a white cropped wide, broad tailed jacket with a pink interior, collar, a single pink button and large pink cuffs, and brown, leather trousers with high heel boots. She quickly gestured something to Roman, and he huffed in annoyance.

"Exactly, how could I predict that not one, but TWO Huntresses will decide to show up in the random dust shop?" He covered his face with his right hand. "That's just annoying, you know?"

Woman quickly gestured something again, and Roman sighed.

"Neo, please give me a break." Neo gave him a playful smile in response.

"In this case we need to think about some precautions against them." Elder said. "That's why we should take columns in the middle…"

"Nononono." Roman walked to the table. "I will take column one, and you should take column four."

Elder frowned. "Why?" And Roman puffed a large cloud from his cigar.

"Common sense." He replied, and gestured at himself "My face is quite popular in town, and as much as I love to have an audience, it is also a magnet for Hunters." He pointed his cigar at Elder. "And you Eldi, are a leader, and will certainly cause some attention as well. If we are two close to one another, one veteran hunters team will be able to stop both of us at the same time."

Elder scratched his chin with his right hand. "But if we are far from one another…"

"…They will have to choose who to stop, giving the rest enough time to escape." Roman concluded, and looked at Zenith. "And with you Hawkeye, we will have an early warning when Hunters decide to spoil the fun. And support if necessary."

"Makes sense." Zenith nodded in agreement

"Then we need to have an additional firepower and bodyguards." Elder concluded.

"Firepower is not that big of a deal, you have plenty of that." Roman said. "As for bodyguards, pick whoever you want, I already have mine." Neo waved with her fingers to the Elder.

"Not enough." Elder shook his head. "If we are going to face Hunters, we need to ensure our safety." Roman rolled his eyes.

"Fine, who do you have in mind?" He asked, and through the open door walked a short boar faunus with chains wrapped around her arms. "Can I take Larian please?"

"Nobody is one of the greatest fighters in our cell and is dedicated to our cause." Elder said. "She fought and survived all on her own for years before she joined us, and was a trusted companion of the Black Panther. Like you said, you are a 'Hunters magnet', and she is more than capable of ensuring your protection."

"Don't think I take pleasure with this task human." Nobody said to him.

"The feeling is mutual, I would gladly take anyone else." Roman replied and she growled in response, then Torchwick left a sigh. "Just do exactly what I say when I say it, and we will be fine, capiche?"

"No promises."

"Sister." Elder reprimanded her, and Nobody lowered her head in sign of defeat.

"Great, with that settled, I have more important matters to attend to." Roman wanted to leave the room, Neo right beside him.

"Wait." Nobody suddenly spoke up. "One more thing."

Roman looked at her, clearly annoyed. "What now?"

"Your plan, for some reason, left out SDC storage depots in the area, full of imported dust." She said, her fists clenched in rage. "If our goal is to steal as much dust as possible, then why are we leaving SDC unharmed?"

And, much to her surprise, instead of berating her, Roman chuckled in response and put his hand on her shoulder.

"You really want to hurt them, do you?"

"I want to see them burn." She confirmed, screams from the past echoing in her head.

"Then don't attack them directly." Roman said, cunning smile on his face. "They don't give a damn about the lost dust, they have plenty of that stuff back home. You want to really deal a major blow?" He pointed at the small tv in the corner, and Neo appeared out of nowhere beside it and turned it on, just in time for the SDC commercial.

"Schnee Dust Company, always on the forefront of innovation." Woman on the commercial spoke. "Our products are the Finest of them all." Roman smiled a wolf.

"Then strike them, where it will really hurts."

Authors note

Haha, fooled ya (I hope)

Anyway, this chapter is my little take on Remnant's worldbuilding, because, as a concept, Remnant is such a fascinating place. Sometimes it will be silly, sometimes it will be serious but I will try to make my additions make sense. But there will be other refrences of course.

I wnat to explore different Kingdoms and their cultures in time, as well as the White Fang. 

Anyway, to answer your comments, and I encouarge you all to write them, I will read and answer them all!

In response to Ri2:

"Not the mattress mafia!" - Shhh! If you inore them, they won'tbother you!

"Awww, Sauron's made a friend!" - Yeah, It's still funny when I think of it. Where were the odds?

"And I'm worried about Ruby and very annoyed with Weiss."  - For Ruby part, it's her chance to reflect and learn, as for Weiss... you being annoyed is EXACTLY what I wanted to achieve here.

Because it's hard to criticise someone without knowing WHY they are who tehy are, right?

Thanks for the comments, I hope you will stick around!

Notes:

Is it just me, or Weiss and Sauron have something in common?

Notes:

Authors note

I had this idea brewing in my head for a while now, and I hope once I get enough time, I will expand on this in the future.
And necessary disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.