Disclaimer: I do not own either RWBY or Star Wars

"A diplomatic mission to Menagerie… Yes, it might just be time." Aureus said contemplatively.

"While it is far from essential, we cannot ignore the potential boon an alliance could bring to our legitimacy…" Roland mused.

"The question is who to send." The Captain added. "Too large a party might not be overly well received, but…"

"The weight of the party will be important." Ouka said. "I don't think we can leave out the Lady…" The fanatical Faunus glanced over at Wayle.

"Of course not." Wayle declared, which was honestly a bit of a surprise. "I believe Blake, myself, Felis and the Captain to be a suitable party."

"I certainly want to go but… I have duties to attend to here…" The Captain responded.

"Latune can cover for a while." The young Lord replied.

"Certainly Master." She responded.

"Not to doubt your judgement my Lord but… Can you really afford to go yourself? At this time-" Roland queried.

"On the contrary Roland, now is probably the best time for our Lord to move. If his ascension goes through, his personal time will be heavily impacted, and any movement on his part will become that much more of an event." Aureus interjected.

"True enough." The Paladin responded.

"What do you say Blake? I hope you can understand that we cannot let you go alone…" Wayle turned to Blake.

Until now she had let the inner circle discuss without a word, feeling uncertain and a bit out of place, despite being the one who brought up the proposal.

Honestly, she wasn't too unhappy with the proposed members… although she certainly dreaded having to introduce Wayle to her parents…

'So here's this boy I like… He's human, a bit scary and maybe just a bit too ambitious… maybe…'

Definitely not like that.

"Blake?"

She was a bit startled when Wayle suddenly spoke up.

"Sorry, I was a bit lost in thought…" She finally said, a bit embarrassed. "I think it's a good line-up. I have no complaints. And I do understand, really."

"That is good…" He responded with a benevolent smile, before his expression turned thoughtful. "Phantasm will also come along, as added security."

"With all due respect my Lord, but her alone? I understand you want to keep the size to a minimum, and that her loyalty is… assured…" Aureus spoke up, clearly a bit doubtful. "I can't say protection is her speciality after all…"

Wayle looked upon the man with an almost… amused, expression.

"Perhaps that is how it might seem. But she has a few tricks that can help protect someone." The young Lord returned.

Aureus for his part seemed a bit lost, but Felis clearly seemed to understand the meaning behind those words.

To be fair to the man, he was a bureaucrat through and through, he had a hard time thinking in terms of Semblances and how they could be applied even outside of one's speciality.

Although in all honesty he was probably just not understanding Phantasm's true speciality and how that could be applied to protecting someone and focusing more on her previous character and reputation.

Perhaps realising that he was the only person with doubts, Aureus capitulated.

Roland sighed ever so softly. "Moving on. I have been in contact with Miss Goodwitch. Her Hunters have been venturing out seeking Grimm in order to cull their numbers or detect large groups early…"

"Not very useful when a swarm of flying Grimm show up out of nowhere." Felis grumbled.

"I seem to recall you missed them as well." Roland shot back.

"That's why I said, 'out of nowhere'. I meant it. They can cross uncomfortably large distances, uncomfortably fast, when they want to." She gritted out.

The elderly man shook his head. "My pardons, I seem to have misjudged the intent of your comment."

"Just… Get back to what you were talking about…" The silver-haired Faunus said, clearly aggravated.

"Ah, well… yes. Returning to my report, they have found little sign of unusual activity amongst the Grimm. If fell purpose guides them, it is either biding its time… or has its eyes set elsewhere."

Wayle sighed deeply. "It is the one thing I just cannot quite understand. If Salem wanted to destroy all civilization on Remnant… Well… Frankly speaking, she should have been able to do so many times over."

He sent a glance over to Latune, who took it as her que to speak.

"We have been searching, as best as we can without arousing Goodwitch's suspicion, but we have yet to find anything. Either our enemy found it, and took it away, or it remains hidden… Assuming of course that there is anything to find in the first place."

"What about the underground facility where they housed the Maiden?" The Captain queried.

Latune shook her head. "I've investigated as thoroughly as I can. If there is something else there, I couldn't find it."

"It would certainly help if we had a clear grasp of what it might be… or that it even truly exists." Ouka grumbled.

"I have attempted to sift through what I can find about the Maidens, the Wizard and anything even remotely related… But I can't easily tell what is pure myth, what is a deception and what actually harbours a kernel of the truth." Aureus chimed in.

"I see. Thank you for your reports. Your efforts are most appreciated." Wayle declared, marking the end of their meeting.

-Break—

The first thing the eight Hunters noticed when they entered Haven academy was that it was quiet… and empty.

The second was that the first person they met was the Headmaster himself.

Leonardo Lionheart. An older man, and a member of Ozpin's Inner Circle.

The explanation that the teachers were on leave after fending off a Grimm attack on Mistral made some sense, even if it also left many of them feeling uneasy.

They received help with lodging, and gathered for a meeting.

"Why didn't we just immediately ask him about Cinder?" Jaune questioned. "Isn't that one of the main reasons we are here?"

"Because there aren't many people who could have helped Cinder enter the Vytal Festival as a student of Haven. We need to be more secure in that he wasn't the one before we ask him." Qrow replied. "Unfortunately, with everyone away, it'll be hard to even start to find any clues."

"Are we seriously suspecting a Headmaster, and someone chosen by Ozpin?" Ruby said dejectedly.

They hadn't particularly brought it up on the way since they had other concerns and well… didn't really want to talk about it.

"It wouldn't be the first time Oz's judgement turned out to be wrong… We could argue the point on Ironwood all day, but it is certainly a fact that he chose to put trust in my sister…" The rugged Huntsman shot an uneasy look towards Yang before steeling himself. "And she betrayed it, and abandoned our cause."

After a good while of silence, with Yang looking especially unhappy, Weiss spoke up.

"So, what do we do now?" She asked.

"I'll go around trying to find some of the Huntsmen or Huntresses that should still be around. I hate to say this, but I think you guys should stay here for now." Qrow said, rising from his seat.

"Really?" Yang said, shooting her uncle a displeased glare.

"I know this city at least somewhat, and have something of a grasp on who to look for." He responded, leaving before any retort could be mustered.

A few moments passed before anyone said anything.

"Honestly, I vote for us taking it easy for a while." Pyrrha suddenly said.

The others seemed to take a few moments to consider the words, before they simply nodded.

Qrow might have been a seasoned vagabond, but the others weren't.

They could use a little bit of rest.

Assuming they could get any…

-Break—

Once he'd exited Haven, he looked around a bit, and spoke.

"Come on out. I know you've been following us since we left Vale."

At first nothing happened, and for a short few moments Qrow was worried they wouldn't come out, but finally two figures appeared.

He didn't particularly recognise them, but he hadn't exactly expected Wayle to send anyone he would, so he wasn't particularly surprised.

If anything, he was surprised because he'd only called out to one of them.

They weren't wearing anything that would reveal their affiliation immediately, like the uniform of his Army or for that matter the one worn by his spies.

Instead they were clad in dark grey robes.

"What do you want, Qrow Branwen?" One of them, a young man asked.

There was a hint of arrogance in his voice that was entirely different from a lot of people. A bit like that guy's Faunus apprentice Qrow supposed.

"I wanted to know why you are here, and if you wouldn't happen to have any agents or such around I could talk to."

"We are here to monitor the situation." The other, an equally young woman, responded. "As for your other question, we are sad to say that the ones we have managed to check up on so far have vanished."

She was at least more polite, and less arrogant.

These two… they weren't ordinary agents. This feeling…

They must be some of those additional Force-users the Schnee girl was talking about…

"I see. And you don't want me to meet up with anyone you haven't checked up on yet. Right?"

"See it that way if you want to." The girl responded.

"Anything else you'd like to ask us while you're at it?" The guy asked, clearly a little bit annoyed.

The glance the girl sent him, and the quick hint of danger that came with it, didn't pass Qrow by unnoticed.

Which one of the two he needed to be more wary of became a little bit more unclear.

"Just a little bit quickly. Do you know where any of the local Hunters are?" He asked.

The girl shook her head. "No. Even worse, we haven't seen any trace of them."

"Right. Shit. That bodes poorly. I suppose I should thank you for your help and let you go on with your business."

The two bowed slightly and disappeared.

Once Qrow was satisfied they were really gone, he set out.

He needed to check on the situation with the Hunters for himself.

-Break—

"What is the situation?" Wayle asked the holographic images of two of his Knights.

More specifically, the two that had been sent to Haven.

"We have managed to establish contact with two of our agents. The rest have disappeared, presumably killed, although we can't say for sure." One of the two, the male, reported.

"I see… And what did the remaining have to say?" The young Lord asked.

"The Hunters from Haven have more or less all disappeared, sent on missions that they have yet to return from. We don't know if they are dead, but it seems quite likely." The female said.

Wayle hummed thoughtfully.

"So, they might be near making a move…" He said. "Continue monitoring the situation. Future updates will be relayed to Latune or Ouka."

"Yes, my Lord." The two said simultaneously.

"Your orders remain unchanged. Carry them out. Undetected."

"As you will, so shall it be done."

Author's notes: Hello everyone, how are you? My life is going just great. *Sarcasm mode deactivate**sigh* This chapter took way longer than I wanted it to. A phrase I suspect you will find in an uncomfortably large amount of my Author's notes. Feedback is appreciated, as always.

Honestly, I haven't watched either of volume 6 or 7, and while doing some research for this chapter spoiled myself. Not that I care much for spoilers, sometimes they can even make me want to watch/read/play something. Unfortunately, this isn't one of those times. I still don't want to watch volume 6 and 7.

I hope you enjoyed, and that you have a nice day.