New Game Plus, GOTY Edition

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own original characters and works, if you recognise it from somewhere else, surprise it isn't mine.

Betad by OoalGown, Hermes, and TheDonFluffles

Chapter 03: The Ruined God

— Blake Belladonna —

She was quickly learning new facts about her 'master', starting with the fact that he apparently didn't sleep.

She had very good hearing, and while he'd locked himself away in his workshop she'd been able to make out the sounds of him tinkering away long into the night for several days now.

It wasn't loud enough to stop her from sleeping, but she was pretty sure he hadn't slept more than an hour. She'd woken up in the early morning to get a drink and he'd still been locked away in there.

The only time he seemed to actually come out was when Melanie came to visit, and that was somewhat more annoying than his late night tinkering.

She was a maid, which meant keeping the place clean was her job, including Shiro's bedroom. She wanted to complain, but she was getting paid too much to risk her place here over it; so as she changed the sheets on his bed, she was careful not to touch the wet patches. Her senses betrayed her as she got a wiff of Shiro's nightly activities, the smell of sex overwhelming her momentarilyr.

As she carefully gathered the scattered clothes, putting them in the laundry basket she caught a glimpse at what must have been Melanie's panties: white, crotchless, and absolutely covered in obscene stains. Between the smell of the room and the sight before her, she couldn't help but rub her thighs together slightly.

She wished she had one of her books, because hearing Shiro and Melanie every night was starting to get to her, and she had been too tense to take care of her own needs lately.

Grabbing some food and sitting down at the breakfast table, she gave Shiro a smile as he nodded to her, reading something on his Scroll

"Morning, Shiro," Blake said, making him look up.

"Morning, did you sleep well?" Shiro asked, taking a bite of his sandwich. They'd quickly fallen into a simple routine: she would keep everything clean and Shiro would handle the cooking.

Her mother had done it all at home, and she'd never bothered to learn. Shiro wasn't an amazing chef, but he could handle himself in the kitchen far better than her.

"Not bad, you?" Blake asked, pretty sure she already knew the answer as he chuckled.

"Not exactly, I had a busy night, but it's fine. I'm used to it," Shiro replied easily, their conversation trailing off. She wasn't comfortable digging into what he had been working on, he seemed nice but they'd just met.

Instead, she turned to the small tv he had on the wall, watching the news as she ate.

As the woman on the screen talked about the body of a female Faunus that had been found in the industrial area of Vale, she scowled fiercely as she lost her appetite, turning as she heard Shiro chuckle darkly at something the news reporter said.

"How can you find that funny?" Blake asked, her temper flaring as he shook his head.

"I wasn't laughing at the murder, I was laughing at them saying that the Vale PD are looking into the case," Shiro explained, putting his scroll down. "I already know what happened, that street is gang territory. The Brotherhood of Flame operate out of a bar about two blocks down."

"…the brotherhood of what?" Blake asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Stupid name, I know. They're a fairly new gang, a bunch of human purists. The news said the girl was from Mantle, which means she probably came here hoping Vale was more accepting of Faunus. Vale might now be as openly racist, but it's also an expensive place to live. She had to settle for one of the shitty apartments in the industrial area, not realising her apartment was in the middle of a gang territory," Shiro explained, making her frown. "Then those idiots took offense to some Faunus moving into their territory and decided to 'teach her a lesson.'"

"Why hasn't anyone done anything about them?" Blake asked, frowning seriously. The White Fang should have known about this kind of thing, Gods she might not even mind the new violent methods being used against scum like this.

"Who exactly? The police? They've been underfunded for decades, Vale puts a lot of money into its Huntsmen programs, while the police have had massive budget cuts. They mostly stick to the richer districts," Shiro explained, making her sigh.

"What about the White Fang, surely they'd have problems with a gang of humans killing Faunus" Blake said, making him laugh.

"Well, firstly they probably don't know. The brotherhood has existed for about two months, and they're very small-time. I doubt anyone outside Vale knows about them, and even here it's only people in their 'turf' and those who pay attention to what happens in Vale's underworld." That did make sense, she'd never heard of them after all. "Secondly, the White Fang can't openly move in Vale. That would attract Huntsmen attention now that they've been declared a terrorist organisation by the Council."

"So they just get away with killing as long as it's Faunus," Blake scoffed, making him shake his head.

"No. This is new for them, I don't think I've heard of any murders before. Normally they stick to muggings, assault and rape, so my guess is that the girl put up more of a fight than they expected, tempers flared and then there was a corpse. Like I said, they're small time," Shiro said, rubbing his chin. "They won't last, either another bigger gang will wipe them out, or they'll attract too much attention and Huntsmen will be sent after them."

"How do you know all this?" Blake asked, making him chuckle.

"Because I'm smart. I like to know which parts of the city are safe to travel through, plus I work with Junior. He's the head of the Xiong Crime Family, the biggest information broker in Vale," Shiro admitted easily, looking at her calmly.

"You work for criminals?" Blake asked, making him laugh.

"I work with criminals, I only work for myself. But yes, I'm a smuggler to be blunt. Why do you think I'm so unconcerned about trusting you in my apartment, Ebony. If you stole from me, you'd regret it quickly," Shiro said bluntly. "And smuggling is a fairly victimless crime, I don't deal in human trafficking, and I've not hurt anyone. Can you say the same?" Shiro asked, his voice utterly calm as his eyes looked up at her bow, making her straighten up, her eyes widening.

"You know-" Blake started, being cut off as Shiro spoke up again.

"That you're a former member of the White Fang? I did a background check on you the day you showed up, and when it became clear your name was fake I did a little digging," Shiro said, still incredibly calm. "You're Blake Belladonna, daughter of Ghira and Kali, the founder of the White Fang and one of the original members. Until recently you were the partner of Adam Taurus, a high ranking member and a proud member of Atlas's most wanted list. You're also a wanted woman, after a video of you attacking a SDC transport was posted online."

"Then why did you let me stay?" Blake asked, getting ready to run as she looked around, expecting Huntsmen to kick down the door.

She couldn't deny his words, he smuggled but she had blood on her hands, she couldn't pretend she had the moral high ground.

But this did mean that Shiro was more dangerous than she realised, and that she needed to be on her guard.

"Because I also know you left the White Fang, I had a friend of mine look into the video. It was posted from the Menagerie, through several VPNs, but that couldn't stop Sombra on her worst day," Shiro explained, making her sigh as her fears were confirmed.

"They've changed. The White Fang I grew up hearing stories about wasn't like this, they were freedom fighters, not-" Blake trailed off, making Shiro smile.

"Terrorists?" Shiro finished, making her nod. "I let you stay because I'm not afraid of you. You might be desperate but you aren't stupid. As long as you do your job, we won't have any problems. And if you do decide to betray my trust, well like I said, you're a wanted woman. If I'm feeling merciful I'll just tell the police where you are, and if I'm not then I'll tell your former partner where you're hiding."

She wanted to say Adam wouldn't hurt her, that he understood why she left, but she couldn't ignore the truth. The White Fang wasn't kind to deserters.

"I… understand," Blake said quietly, nodding at him. He didn't trust her, he just knew she was too desperate to ruin this chance.

"Then we won't have any problems. Because as long as you're here, you aren't Blake Belladonna, wanted terrorist; you're just Blake, my maid," Shiro smiled and stood up, putting his plate in the sink and walking past her, patting her on the shoulder as she gave him a hesitant smile.

She could live with that.

A part of her wanted to run, again, but where could she go? If she had other options she wouldn't have ended up here in the first place.

No, she had to stick around and stop running. At least she could use her real name in the apartment now, she kept forgetting to respond to Ebony.

— Shiro Eis —

Melanie is eager to please, even if she'd deny it to her dying breath. I knew Blake was a Faunus, I have a tiny camera in the bathroom and her bedroom, so I've seen her little kitty ears, but it was Melanie who actually found out who she was and told me.

A White Fang deserter, handed to me on a silver platter.

If I'm going to make my own gang, I'll need loyal followers and Blake has come pre-trained. Now I just need to break her and make her mine, and I already have a few ideas about how to go about that.

"Now, I've got things to do today so I'm heading out," I say as I smile down at Blake as she nods. "Don't worry, I know a thing or two about wanting to leave the past behind," I say kindly, walking back into my workshop and gathering all my stuff.

I've already drugged Blake, not that she should be able to tell. It's a very light aphrodisiac I got from Junior, enough to make someone horny but slow acting and weak enough as to not seem unnatural.

Faunus do go into heat, and Cat Faunus' are notoriously intense.

The problem with Blake is that she's an idealist, I realised that immediately. She's too naive, and I need to open her up to more… ruthless measures.

The Brotherhood have volunteered to be the first gang to fall to me, the first stepping stone on my path to ruling the Vale underworld. All I need is evidence of their cruelty to convince Blake to help me take them down, so she can start her descent down the slippery slope towards her fate as my enforcer and pet.

I've already sent my espionage drones to their territory, now it's just a waiting game, and I doubt I'll have to wait long if Melanie's information was right.

I'll have to convince the twins to switch sides and join me as well, maybe Junior as well. That'll be far harder, but I have a few ideas.

As I get on my bike, I hide my frown as my sixth sense warns me of an unseen observer, again.

Someone is watching me, and they're far better at it than the incompetent private eye Jacques Schnee sent after me.

My sixth sense tells me exactly where my observer is, but as I look across the street towards where it claims my observer is, all I see is an empty street.

Starting up my bike and driving away, I frown and start to form a plan to catch my unseen observer.

But not today, I have bigger things to do.

I've finished the prototype of my combat armour, but I need to test it and my combat drones, and unlike my other drones I can't just test them at home.

So it's time to head out and find some Grimm.

I have a weapon: a mecha-shift rifle/sword. It's a necessity for anyone who travels to have at least some form of protection, and while my weapon isn't amazing, it does the job for the weaker Grimm I occasionally run into.

If I encounter anything bigger, I just run. My bike can outpace pretty much any Grimm and I've always been a good driver, even better now I have an Explorer skill to help with it.

Arriving at the edge of the Emerald Forest, I park up my bike and get off it, bringing my armour and drones out of my inventory as I put it on. It's a slow process, but I'll look at improving that in future versions.

Fully clad in the bulky white armour, i start up the heads up display and link it to my drones, a 'mini-map' appearing as my recon drone gets to work, and as a small red blip shows up, I smile and grab my weapon, in its rifle form, and head into the forest, chuckling as I immediately feel someone watching me from miles away.

Of course this place has cameras, it's the favourite training spot for trainee Huntsmen and Huntresses, and judging from the direction and distance, I'm being watched from Beacon.

It's why I picked this place. Grimm get more dangerous with age and the older Grimm in this place get routinely killed by the Beacon staff to keep their students safer.

It makes it the perfect place for me to try out my tech.

As my drone locates an isolated Beowolf, I set off into the woods with a smile beneath my armoured helmet. I've dealt with Grimm before while I've been traveling, but this will be the first time I've gone actively looking for them.

My combat drone follows behind me as I start to run, my recently built suit living up to the name 'power armour'.

It enhances the wearer beyond even aura, making me both stronger and faster as I charge towards the wandering Grimm.

The beast notices me quickly, my armour is heavy and I'm far from quiet as I shift my weapon to its blade form, leaping forwards as the boosters on the back flares to life, launching me at incredible speeds.

So fast in fact that I misjudged my leap entirely, and as the Beowolf leapt to match me, I end up slamming into it midair.

But as I said, this armour is heavy and having a rocket propelled man-shaped brick of metal fly into you is rather unpleasant, as the Beowolf finds out.

Yelping in pain and confusion as we both tumble to the ground, with me landing on top of it. The beast claws at me in anger, it's fury only increasing as it's claws are deflected by a flare of white, my armour's forcefield coming to life.

It's fine, I wasn't expecting to pull this off immediately and I just misjudged how powerful the jump pack was.

As it tries to claw at my force field, I simply grab its arms and roll us over, so the Beowolf is on top of me, and without a moment of hesitation the turret on my combat drone comes to life, putting a dozen large dust-enhanced rounds into the Grimm as it screeches in pain, before simply dissipating into a cloud of black specks.

That could have gone better.

I underestimated the thrust of my jump pack, I thought the weight of my armour would lessen its effectiveness but apparently not.

That's why I brought the combat drone, if I fuck up it can pull my ass out of the fire, and it's also carrying a spare battery pack for my armour in its storage compartment and I designed the armour to be able to switch power sources quickly, plus I already have a spare battery installed.

The Beowolfs claws barely took my shields down by 7%, and they've already recharged back to their full power.

So, to kill me they'd have to get through my force field (three times), and the thick metal armour, then my aura.

It's why I felt confident coming here, as long as I avoid the stronger types of Grimm with the help of my recon drone, I should be free to practise so that when I actually need to fight, I won't make mistakes like that.

Picking myself up, I brush myself off and look at the hud, watching as a few small red blips labeled 'Beowolf' move in my direction, attracted by the sound.

Beowolfs do travel in packs after all.

Switching back to rifle mode, I turn and face the closest one, using the minimap to choose my target as I open fire.

My weapon isn't the best, it's custom designed but I had it made to be as simple as possible because as it turns out it takes a lot of skill to use the ridiculous weapons this world has.

Looking at you, Ruby.

I don't have the training to use a complicated weapon, so I settled for a simple design.

It's a sword that can fold to hide the blade and turn into a decently powerful rifle, with the hilt holding the clip.

I'm no marksman but I'm a decent shot, and as another Beowolf bursts from the bushes, I fire off a high caliber round, enhanced with fire dust, and watch the Beowolf dissipate as the explosive round hits it.

These bullets are expensive, but worth it. Weaker Grimm like Beowolfs die in a single shot, and if I run into anything stronger my usual strategy is to employ the better part of valour.

Meaning, run for my life.

I mostly want to clear the pack a little, Beowolf aren't individually strong but they're dangerous in large numbers, and I can't experiment if I'm overwhelmed.I turn to face another Beowolf, my combat drone gets to work helping me clear the pack.

I just need one for my current purposes.

— Professor Ozpin —

People going into the Emerald Forest wasn't a particularly surprising or rare occurrence, often it was just an upper-year team heading off to hone their skills.

He had the cameras alert him to people heading into the forest because sometimes he would get younger students heading in alone, thinking they could handle it because they survived the initiation.

Often not realising that the staff of Beacon would wipe out all the powerful Grimm a week or so before the initiation, though admittedly sometimes the older, and smarter, Grimm manage to lay low and avoid the massacre.

With Beacon starting again soon, it was due for another cleansing, which meant there were some rather dangerous Grimm wandering the forest.

It was very rare to see someone he didn't know heading into the forest, because he knew every Huntsman and Huntress in Vale, and knew most of the ones from outside Vale as well, from the experienced to the trainees.

So as he watched the white armoured figure move through the forest, he stroked his chin in curiosity.

They were observant, he'd spotted them looking towards almost every single camera they passed, even the hidden ones, and the drones they had following them made him think of Atlas for a moment before he shook his head.

James would have told him if he was testing anything in Vale, and Atlas had moved away from mechanical forces for… obvious reasons.

The so-called God Programs that started the Omnic Crisis had demonstrated the ability to take control of almost any technology, including Atlas's mechanical armies, and while it was publicly claimed that they were destroyed during the crisis, he was well aware that they still existed.

This wasn't James, but it was clearly a test. The man in the power armour was almost clumsy, obviously not used to the speed and strength it granted him, and while he knew how to use his weapon, he wasn't exactly skilled with it.

He didn't think this was related to Salem, but with the recent attempt on Amber's life he wasn't willing to take chances. If Ana hadn't been there he didn't want to think about what would have happened, evidently Salem's pawns hadn't expected the sniper to be trailing Amber, and once Ana had killed the strange beetle Grimm, they'd cut their losses and fled.

He didn't recognise the figure wandering his forest, but it wasn't that hard to find his identity. He hadn't parked in the view of any cameras, but there was only a couple of roads that lead to the Forest, and accessing the traffic cameras he managed to locate his mystery man easily enough.

Once he had a clear shot of the license plate on the rather expensive bike he was riding, it was just a case of seeing who it was registered to, and he had his man.

Shiro Eis, registered as an independent courier with a reputation for being reliable and efficient.

Looking into his background, Ozpin frowned to himself as the pieces started to slot into place. He'd always been good at putting evidence together, it came with his immense experience.

Shiro shared the white hair and icy blue eyes prevalent in Schnee's, and while that didn't mean much on its own, Shiro's age got him thinking.

The only Schnee who could be his parent would be Willow Schnee, and if Qrow's bastard child with her had survived childbirth then he would be exactly around Shiro's age.

Qrow was convinced his semblance had led to the miscarriage, pushing him to keep almost everyone at arms length, but if the child had survived…

Jacques would not want some bastard child threatening his position, or harming his reputation anymore than Qrow and Willow's indiscretions already had.

But Jacques, while not a pleasant man, was not the type to kill a baby just for being born, faking his death and sending the child to an orphanage as a casualty of war was far more his style.

It was a hunch, with very little actual evidence to go on, but the more he looked into things the more convinced he became.

Many of Shiro's deliveries happened to head to the same region the Branwen tribe was currently in, did Raven suspect the same?

Could Shiro be a member of the tribe, possibly a spy for Raven? No, he'd be better trained if that was the case, but he doubted it was a coincidence.

Or Raven was adapting and becoming more subtle, which was a worrying prospect. Raven was dangerous enough with her 'might makes right' mindset, but she was also very predictable.

Both she and Qrow had a shard of his own magic inside them, it was what gave them their shapeshifting abilities. He made that decision in the hopes of convincing them both to side with him, the lure of power worked well on bandit types.

But while Qrow had come to prefer life away from the tribe and truly care for his team, he'd greatly overestimated the bonds between Raven and her team, once the truth of Salem became clear she fled, unwilling to die for his pointless cause, in her own words.

He'd never been sure what would happen if either of them had children, and while he'd kept a close eye on Yang for any signs of blossoming magic, Shiro had slipped under his radar, the aftermath of the Omnic Crisis taking much of his time.

He had a theory that while Yang had shown no magical abilities yet, there was a very high possibility of a Maiden power passing over to her, which also meant there was a high chance of Raven becoming a Maiden herself, a troublesome prospect indeed.

But he also didn't want to push Raven into Salem's arms, so he'd been forced to mostly leave her to her own devices.

As one of the cameras deeper in the forest showed a rather powerful Grimm heading Shiro's way, he made his mind up.

He had no actual proof Shiro was a Branwen or a Schnee, but that could be confirmed or dismissed later. For now, he calmly grabbed his Scroll and made a call.

— Shiro Eis —

I've made a tactical error. I'm not too proud to admit it.

Watching the explosive round hit the giant, heavily armoured, scorpion in the face with seemingly no effect, I immediately make my drone open fire, aiming for the massive Grimm's many eyes as I turn and start to move.

Beacon doesn't start for another two months or so, and that means they haven't purged the dangerous Grimm yet.

I should have been patient and done this after this year's initiation, but I've never been good at waiting.

You'd think a building sized scorpion would be slow, but you'd also think it wouldn't be stealthy, and that was rapidly proven wrong after it burst out of the ground under me.

I'm guessing there's tunnels beneath the forest created by subterranean Grimm, something I didn't take into account in my initial plans.

It tries to stab at my drone with its massive stinger, but the one advantage I have is that it doesn't have any ranged abilities and the drone simply flies into the air, changing its targeting to fire at the creature's many legs instead, unable to do any substantial damage to the thick carapace.

The shots make the beast stumble as it charges after me, still gaining on me despite my armour enhancing my speed.

I'm definitely giving my drones a heavy rocket launcher once I get out of here. The current turret works for dealing with the average Grimm, but it just lacks the firepower to kill the bigger and more dangerous ones.

My own weapon might as well be a water pistol for all the good it did, and as I run through the forest a flashing alert warns me to the other threat before I see it, but there's little I can do but brace myself as I activate my jump pack and jump into the air to dodge the Deathstalkers snapping pincers.

Leaping into the air, my eyes widen as I reach the apex of my leap and keep going up, the talons of a Nevermore digging into my shoulder as it tries to pierce my shield and armour.

My shield is rapidly draining from the sharp talons, but that's not the real danger. The Nevermore isn't a mindless creature, it knows the power of the home field advantage, which is why it immediately started flying upwards after grabbing me, rapidly gaining altitude as it flies directly upwards.

And as it realises my shield is protecting me from its attempts to impale me, it changes its strategy and simply lets go… sending me plummeting back down to Remnant as gravity takes offense to something as heavy as me and my armour being so high up.

Gaining speed at a particularly worrying rate, I bide my time and activate my jump pack as I'm about to hit the ground.

It isn't a jetpack, it wasn't designed for sustained use, but at the very least I can take the edge of my impact.

It's probably what saves my life as I crash into the ground, hard rocks beneath me as my force field flares up and shatters, my aura taking the brunt of the impact as I groan in pain, trying to pick myself up.

But I'm immediately reminded of how hawks hunt turtles. They take them high into the air and drop them onto sharp rocks to crack open the shells… so they can get to the fleshy bits inside.

Landing on top of me, the gleaming red eyes of the Nevermore stare down at me almost triumphantly as it strikes down with its spear-like beak, piercing my armour and stabbing into my aura, the light blue shield flaring up as my last line of defense begins to wane.

I've lost, my weapon is God knows where, my combat drone got left behind when I went on my unscheduled flight, and as the Nevermore pecks at my aura, I know it's only a matter of time before it breaks through it.

Staring up into the almost smug eyes of my soon-to-be killer, for a brief moment the red eyes on a bone like face are replaced, the image of an expressionless white face staring at me in disdain from under a dark green hood.

Something inside me snaps, as unadulterated rage fills me.

I will not be killed by an overgrown bird, and without really thinking about it my hand rises up, black mist pouring from it and engulfing the face of the bird that thought it could kill me.

As the mist fades, I watch the red eyes flicker as the bird rears back in surprise, thrashing around as a light blue starts to seep into the red eyes, a ring of blue energy forming around its large head.

Rising to my feet painfully, I watch as three lines appear on the ring, two smaller ones surrounding one larger line, almost like tally marks as the thrashing stops.

Honestly I thought it'd take you at least two weeks before you almost killed yourself.

Semblance Unlocked

[The Ruined King]

???

Staring back at me, the Nevermore pauses for a moment before it bows its head in submission, my combat drone finally catching up as I quickly eject the drained battery and replace it with my spare, breathing a sigh of relief as my force field comes back to life.

My Semblance?

I'm almost unsurprised at how little the skill tells me, just a somewhat foreboding name and nothing else. It leaves me with more questions than answers, but as I look at the creature that was trying to tear me to pieces not ten seconds ago, I think I get the idea.

Hearing the sounds of the Deathstalker crashing through the trees, still hungry for my blood, I glance down at the torn metal and exposed skin for a moment as I brush myself off.

My next suit will have flight capabilities, better armour, and some way of reducing fall damage.

But for now…

— Glynda Goodwitch —

Running through the forest, she mentally sighed to herself as she sped up, easily keeping up with her heavily armoured companion despite her heels.

She could only hope they'd be fast enough to save the fool who thought a Grimm filled forest was a good place to spend their time.

"Quickly, my friend! Our trespassing friend requires our assistance!" Reinhardt bellowed, activating the jet booster on the back of his massive suit of armour.

Because apparently strapping a jet to the back of several tons of metal was a good idea. Torbjörn was bad enough when he didn't have Rein egging him on, but put them both together and suddenly everything had a jet welded onto it.

Speeding herself up, she frowned as the sounds of combat started to reach her ears. She expected gunshots, but she wasn't even sure what she was hearing.

Seeing Rein just standing there as she finally caught up, she blinked before looking at what had made him stop.

"Or perhaps he doesn't?" Rein said calmly, as they watched a very large Nevermore lift a Deathstalker into the air by its stinger, several cracks in the scorpions carapace.

She knew how hard it was to damage an old Death Stalker's armour, and as they watched the Nevermore fling it into the air, the next oddity hit her.

Since when did Grimm have blue eyes and markings?

Almost all Grimm had black bodies, white bone-like armour with red markings and eyes.

So why did the Nevermore have glowing blue eyes?

Spotting the armoured figure they'd been sent to find just watching the battle with a kind of silent satisfaction, the figure turned to face them for a moment before turning back to the battle, making a gesture with his hand.

Immediately, the Nevermore lunged at the Deathstalker, uncaring of the stinger that stabbed into its chest as the giant bird pierced the carapace of the scorpion, tearing out one of its eyes, making it screech in pain.

Even Grimm showed self-preservation, but whatever he has done to the Nevermore, it didn't care about its own life anymore, ignoring the slicing pincers and stabs from the deadly stinger as it tore the Deathstalker apart, ripping off a leg and tossing it aside.

This utter lack of self preservation made it a deadly foe, and despite the Death Stalkers desperate attempts to fight off the Nevermore, it proved too much as the scorpion screeched in pain as the Nevermore's beak stabbed straight through its skull, making it slowly dissipate.

Turning to them, the Nevermore hissed at them as the man waved again, making it back down as he finally moved, walking up to them.

"A tamed Grimm?" Rein said quietly, his tone serious as they watched the man pause, glancing at the Nevermore.

"Not tamed, controlled," the man finally said, his voice distorted by his armour, the white helmet having only a thin horizontal slit at eye level, a blue visor staring at them.

"How long does this last?" Glynda asked seriously, her riding crop prepared. Her eyes flickered to the torn metal on his chest. Nevermore's beaks were made for tearing into armour, devastating against Bullheads, but personal armour could be pierced just as easily.

He'd been fighting the Nevermore.

"…that is a very good question," the man admitted, pausing for a moment before he reached up and removed his helmet, the armour hissing slightly as he pulled it off, revealing a handsome younger man with neat white hair and a pair of icy blue eyes. Strange, he looked oddly familiar. "Considering I found out I could do this all of a few minutes ago, I'm not exactly sure."

Her mind was racing with the possibilities of this power, that Nevermore was by no means a weak one, she could tell from its size and the old scars on its body that it was an old one, perhaps even ancient.

Ozpin believed their enemies sent her stronger Grimm to lurk wherever the next initiation was going to take place, to kill off the young students before they could become true Huntsmen and Huntresses, which was why the forest needed to be cleared so often.

You couldn't truly capture a Grimm, if they couldn't get to their captors, they simply died quickly, usually within a day at the most. Likely to prevent them from easily learning anything about them. If this man could take control of a Grimm and make it willingly submit to a study, it could do an immense amount of good.

Information was power after all.

"Are you alright, my young friend? Your armour has taken some serious damage," Rein said, walking forwards and patting him on the shoulder.

"I'm fine, my aura protected me and I've replaced my armour's battery so my force field is back up. I wasn't expecting to get tag-teamed by two powerful Grimm," he admitted, poking at the hole in his armour as a small drone flew up to him, dropping a rifle which he caught. "Ahh, so that's where that went."

"And may I ask exactly what drove you to decide that a Grimm infested forest was a good place to spend your day?" Glynda asked, slapping her crop against her hand as he chuckled.

"I needed to test my armour and drones, even if things didn't go the way I expected it's still useful information," he said easily, making her sigh slightly as she gave him a stern glare.

"This is no game, you could have died had your semblance-"

"I know, believe me I do. I'll be more prepared next time," he said calmly.

"Ahh, not easily scared off, I see! As expected as a fellow connoisseur of armour, though yours isn't quite as impressive as mine," Rein boasted, tapping a metal fist against his own shiny armour.

"Well, this is just my prototype. I'll improve the next version, and get some better materials," The man replied calmly.

"Reinhardt, do not encourage this kind of recklessness," Glynda said sternly, turning her glare towards her large co-worker, making him laugh. "And you-"

"Shiro Eis, not 'you', and save your lectures for your students, Professor Goodwitch," Shiro replied with a lazy tone as he tinkered with what looked like a battery, taking something from the storage compartment on his drone.

"What are you doing?" Glynda asked, put off by him simply ignoring them to mess with his tech.

"Testing something," Shiro said as the battery started flashing. "Open wide," Shiro ordered, watching the Nevermore its mouth obediently. "Testing something, and getting some sweet, sweet, vengeance."

Tossing the battery into the Nevermore's open maw, he calmly activated his force field and watched as the Nevermore simply sat there, unconcerned about the beeping coming from its stomach.

Getting the hint, Rein quickly activated his own shield, the transparent energy field forming as he raised his arm, just in time as the beeping sped up, coming to a sudden and entirely predictable stop as the improvised bomb detonated, the blast splattering pieces of black ichor and bone across the shield.

As Rein shut off his shield, the pieces of Grimm dissipating, she turned to the smug madman with a fierce glare.

"Have you lost your mind!?" Glydna shouted, watching Shiro calmly fold up his weapon and sheath it.

"Possibly, but I regret nothing," Shiro replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me I need to go and repair my armour, and start designing my next armour," Shiro said calmly, making her eyes widen.

"I don't think so, I believe Professor Ozpin will want to speak with-"

"Well he can wait. I'm going home, for a shower and a nap, which takes priority over whatever some headteacher wants," Shiro said, staring her down.

"I- you-"

"Unless you're going to arrest me for killing a Grimm?" Shiro said, making her pause. "No? Then if you'll excuse me, I have places to be. I'm sure a man as powerful as Professor Ozpin will be able to get in contact with me if he so desperately needs to," Shiro said, giving her a cocky smirk as he started to walk away, Rein chuckling.

Suddenly it struck her exactly who he reminded her of.

Somehow, some way, this was entirely Qrow's fault.

— Shiro Eis —

I need better gear, which means I need better resources, which means I need to stop being a courier and start being my own boss, and more importantly other peoples boss.

Also, I am going to find a way to have that woman on her knees.

One good thing that came out of this was that I actually traveled far enough to complete my explorer quest.

[Escape Artistry]

There's nothing Explorers hate more than being tied down, or tied up for that matter. You have a natural talent for slipping out of any and all restraints.

[Explorer's Fortitude] - Perk Upgraded

Explorers travel the four corners of the world, and it shows. The cold doesn't bother you, neither does the heat, you can travel through the coldest tundra and the hottest desert without the proper protection without fear. Illness and disease cannot touch you, and you tire far slower than other people, requiring only a couple of hours sleep a week to be fully rested.

[Nature's Veil]

You are adept at hiding yourself in the wilds, able to seemingly vanish from sight to those less perceptive. You also leave no tracks or scent while moving through the wilds.

Picking the Scholar class that gained my interest last time, I head back to my bike. I really do need a nap.

[Critical Analysis]

You are a quick study, especially under pressure. You are able to analyse a target, developing a plan on how best to take them down. Once you have fully analysed your target, you gain a form of precognition when it comes to predicting their next actions, as well as a complete understanding of their unique abilities.

[Hardened Mind]

Scholars' minds are highly developed, and through intense training you've learnt to differentiate between illusions and reality. You are incredibly resistant to anything that would affect your mind, and can see through illusions and holograms.

[Knowledge is Power]

You can learn a lot through careful observation. Once a target has been fully analysed, and they attempt to use their semblance you can use your own aura to disrupt theirs, interrupting their semblance. Once you have interrupted them, you can duplicate their semblance once. This does not work on 'passive' semblances.

Well, I can definitely use that.

Bonus Scene - Blake Belladonna

"You wanted to see me?" Blake asked as she entered Shiro's room, a part of her was worried he'd decided to take advantage of her anyway, but as she spotted him sitting at his computer she relaxed slightly.

Honestly she was horny, and her mind kept jumping to dirty conclusions, so when Shiro asked her to come to his room it wasn't really surprising that she was half expecting him to tell her to get on her knees.

The skimpy maid outfit really didn't help, she'd seen his appreciative gazes at her legs and bust.

"I did, our conversation before got me thinking. I was testing out a new drone type, with a built in cloaking system, and after some thought I decided to use it to investigate the Brotherhood, they're getting a little too aggressive and I wanted to know why," Shiro explained, moving out of his seat and gesturing for her to sit at the desk.

As she sat, he started a video, standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders.

Watching as the camera fly through the night sky, she wondered why Shiro was showing her this at first, watching the drone slip into the building through an open window, panning around the room, several rough looking men and women just relaxing, each with a flame symbol either on their clothes or tattooed onto their bodies.

Her questions were answered quickly as the drone headed further in, exploring inconspicuous rooms until it headed down into the basement. It paused at a large security door, hovering as the video sped up considerably until one of the men came down and opened the door, unknowingly letting the drone slip inside behind him.

Clenching her fists, she glared at the screen in barely restrained fury, suddenly all too aware of why Shiro had decided to show her this.

"The Brotherhood were small time, but apparently not anymore. I originally planned on selling the espionage drones to Junior, or gathering intel I can sell to him, but-" Shiro trailed off, his tone serious as she stared at the screen.

The basement was lined with small cages, and most of the cages were occupied.

Naked Faunus women and children were stuffed into the cramped cages, at least a dozen from what she could see, each cowering and terrified as the man ignored them, heading to the center of the room.

She could feel her nails digging into the flesh of her palms hard enough to draw blood as the man calmly undid his trousers, moving to the centerpiece of the room.

A simple horizontal metal frame sat in the middle of the room, it's purpose obvious even without the Dog Faunus girl being chained to it, bent over at the waist with her wrists and neck attached to a metal bar.

As the man moved behind her, the drone picked up her whimpers, distorted by the ring-gag in her mouth.

"They're-" Blake started, her words trailing off as Shiro ended the video.

"Traffickers, from what I've been able to gather. Kidnapping Faunus women and children. The Brotherhood were small-timers, but they've apparently found a sponsor. They're too well equipped, whoever they're sending the Faunus to must be paying them very well," Shiro said bluntly.

"We have to tell someone," Blake said quickly, making him chuckle darkly.

"Who? The police? My guess is that their sponsor is very well connected, how else would they have gotten away with this? We tip off the law or Huntsmen and they'll clear out long before any raids can happen. Worst case, the Brotherhood disbands and shows up under a new name in a month's time," Shiro said calmly, making her turn and glare at him. "They'd just move the… 'goods' sooner."

"So we should do nothing?!" Blake shouted, making Shiro shake his head.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I've been thinking lately, and while the Brotherhood needs to go, just wiping them out doesn't solve the issue," Shiro explained calmly, making her pause.

"So what would?" Blake asked, making Shiro smile slightly.

"Replacing them. Someone needs to take their territory and hold it so they can't just crawl under a rock for a week then show back up," Shiro explained, making her pause.

"Are you suggesting-"

"I have the contacts, the tech and the intel we'd need, you have the skills," Shiro said calmly, a smirk growing on his face.

"You know I just left a terrorist organisation to try and turn over a new leaf, right?" Blake said after a moment, her eyes flickering back to the screen.

"True, but in this case I believe violence is very warranted. This isn't attacking a train to steal dust, it's attacking a gang of rapists and slavers. So, are you in?" Shiro asked, making her bite her lip before she sighed.

How could she say no, when it would mean leaving those Faunus in the hands of those bastards?

"I'm not sure about forming a gang but we need to help those people, when do we start?" Blake asked, making Shiro smile.

"Right now, but first things first- be a dear and take your uniform off," Shiro said calmly, making her eyes widen.

"What?!" Blake shouted, standing up and turning to face him.

"Well, you'll need to stay incognito for this, lucky for you I happen to be pretty good at making specialised armour, so I need to measure you." Shiro explained calmly as he turned and gestured for her to follow her, leading her to his workshop.

As she entered she spotted three sets of armour on stands, as well as several drones and parts carefully sorted, tools hung up on one of the walls.

"Now, stop being squeamish and lose the maid outfit. It's not like it covers that much anyway," Shiro ordered, turning to her expectantly. "Really Blake? I'm going to have to pull an all nighter to make this, we can't waste time and risk them moving the captives because you got shy," Shiro sighed, making her pause hesitantly before she reached behind her and unzipped the back of her revealing maid dress, her face burning as she slowly pushed it down.

How the hell did he make her feel guilty for not wanting to strip?!

The problem was simple, her uniform wasn't exactly made to be worn with a bra, and as she pulled the top of it down, her breasts popped out, proudly on display as she felt her blush travel down to her neck, her nipples hardening to the cold air.

Pushing the dress to the floor, she stepped out of it hesitantly and looked at Shiro, well aware that her purple thong did little to cover her privates.

"Good girl, now stand on the circular platform over in the corner please," Shiro said calmly, his eyes briefly flickering down to her exposed tits.

Wanting this to be over with, she turned and walked toward the small metal circle on the ground, well aware that Shiro's eyes were on her ass, utterly on display as the string of her thong slipped between her buttocks, giving him more than an eyeful.

"This had better be worth it," Blake grumbled, turning back to face him as the circle lit up, a ring floating up from the circle and several lights blinking as it scanned her, a screen on the wall turning on.

Seeing pictures of her naked body from several angles, she blanched slightly. Ugh, just perfect.

"It will be, what's a little discomfort compared to the lives and freedom of those women and children?" Shiro asked, not even looking at her as he sat at his computer, grabbing a drawing pen and getting to work.

"…nobody will ever see those pictures, right?" Blake asked quietly, making him chuckle.

"Nobody but me and you," Shiro agreed, making her sigh. She didn't even bother asking him to delete them, she was pretty sure she knew what the answer would be.

He'd definitely have some excuse why he had to keep her measurements, Gods she was already starting to regret this… but she wanted to atone for what she'd done, and taking down slavers seemed like a good start.

The things she did for her people…

-- Shiro --

What's that saying about the road to hell again?

And with this, Blake is one step closer to being my own pet assassin/enforcer. Using her loyalties to her race and guilt is all too easy.

And while I've seen that ass on my cameras before, it's truly a thing to behold in person.

Ahh Blake, you have no idea the slippery slope you've just started to slide down.

I don't particularly care that the Brotherhood are trafficking slaves, but Blake does and that gives me the in I need to start pushing her down the path I want her to go down.