Sorry about the delay in updates folks! Stupid computer wouldn't read my hard drive... So without further ado...MASS UPDATES!

It was supposed to be an ordinary mission. Go in, kill some random beowolf, and return back to Vale.

Except it wasn't ordinary. Not in the least.

Glynda Goodwitch looked dumbly at the child left in the middle of a known Grimm hotspot. How it survived long enough to be rescued while deep in territory known for having some of the most vicious Grimm in existence was baffling, but she couldn't in good conscience leave the child here.

She bundled up the toddler (a girl, she dimly registered) and prepared to make the long trek back. She couldn't afford to buy another ticket and there was no way she could leave the girl in an orphanage. Her application at Beacon as the assistant headmaster/aide to Ozpin was on a time-limited deadline. Any delay could be fatal to her plans of semi-retirement as an active hunter.

Ozpin barely registered the child, and to her relief the interview was short, simple and easy to deal with, considering her frazzled nerves.

She nearly had a heart attack when he finally did bring up the kid.

"So, about the child sleeping in the chair."

She flinched.

"I found her in Grimm infested territory with nothing but some ill-fitting clothes and a very dirty diaper. It looked like it hadn't been changed in hours, and something looked like it was keeping the Grimm at bay. Her aura is still locked, so I don't think it was her doing."

Being given a crash course on changing a diaper from a helpful member of the airship crew she was on was not what she had in mind after this mission. The fact they even had the right size also didn't help her poor nerves.

At least they had been very understanding when she explained why she had a small child in such dangerous territory...

"Hmm. Are you doing that or is she doing it?"

Glynda blinked, before turning to see...several objects floating around the child with nothing to hold them up.

"What..."

"So it's not you. It seems we have a very intriguing mystery on our hands."

Glynda felt nothing but stabs of potential guilt as Ozpin drove home what could happen if a child like this one was simply left in one of the nicer orphanages. The second someone heard about things floating, even with her aura still locked...

The implications were disastrous. And she had no idea how she was to raise a child.

Fortunately there was a clause in the Beacon charter that would allow her to raise a child with no one doing more than raising a few eyebrows. She could claim the girl as her daughter, and it would allow her to enter Beacon as a potential huntress.

Of course for the moment that a bit premature. The girl couldn't apply into any of the schools around Vale until she was ten, and she couldn't be more than two at the most.

So she would learn about the Grimm and how to be a Huntress before she was sent to Signal for a time before returning.

At least that was the plan.

"What is her name then?" asked Ozpin.

Glynda looked at him wide-eyed.

She had gone from a prospective job to motherhood in the span of a few days. And now she had to name it...her.

It took her a few moments before Glynda said the first name that came to mind.

"Grace. Grace Goodwitch."

"Welcome to Vale, Grace," said Ozpin.

The newly named Grace gurgled, putting her thumb in her mouth while look at them past matted reddish hair that shined gold in the sunlight and green eyes not too dissimilar to her new mother's.

Glynda got her first taste of motherly rage when she had the school infirmary check over her new daughter.

The girl had been severely neglected, more than just leaving a dirty diaper on or letting her wear ill-fitting clothes. There was signs of being hit with a human hand, she was suffering from a relatively mild case of malnutrition...enough that her age was in fact three, not the two as she had assumed, and she flinched at raised voices from the adults.

The only one she would allow to even hug her was Glynda. It was as though some form of trust had been established between them.

Because of how she was found, Glynda found herself with a brand new pair of papers declaring to the world her recent ascension to mother of a little girl. No one questioned her about her sudden adoption, not when they learned she had been found in Grimm territory. Just as no one bothered to ask where her parents were.

If they were willing to abuse a child like that and dump them in an area where they were almost certain to be killed, then they were either dead or might as well be in the eyes of the governments.

Thank Oum Grace was a relatively calm and quiet girl. She was content to watch the child-friendly stories in between classes, as she was too young to socialize with the in-training Hunters.

The few times she went with her mother to the cafeteria, she was almost immediately swamped by the huntresses-in-training, who promptly declared her to be absolutely adorable.

Glynda latched onto a potential source of free daycare for a pass on any test or assignment barring the important ones. Ozpin and the other professors found it amusing, but didn't say anything. The fact she was a new teacher/aide to the Headmaster and balancing motherhood on top of it was a bit hard even for the best multi-tasker.

Six years later...

Glynda almost felt an overprotective urge towards Grace as she handled the weapons.

Never mind that most huntresses learned their weapon preference early on, or at least the ones they didn't want to use. It had been terrifying unlocking Grace's Aura.

The ominous black ooze that felt far too much like the stronger Grimm that had erupted that day had sent most of the senior Hunters and Huntresses in the area scrambling to see what had broken out of the training grounds.

The odd scar on her child's forehead had faded until it was almost a distant memory, but Glynda had been wary of introducing huntress training after that.

Grace passed over the training swords, the rifles, and several of the bladed weapons.

It was when she picked up a bow and went to aim an arrow that Glynda felt some relief.

Grace was a natural at aim. She hit an apple one of the younger huntresses was tossing to her friend with the blunted arrow without any training at all.

While they still hadn't figured out what her Semblance could actually do, conjuration was one of the things that fell within it's range.

Conjuring random items (up to and including a copy of Ozpin's favorite mug) was well within the range of her Semblance, even if they haven't pinned down exactly what it was just yet.

Because it was so volatile, Grace had taken to training more with her weapons, Dust, and glyphs rather than fall back on her Semblance as most would have.

Though even Dust sometimes reacted oddly around her. Like the time she somehow managed to use fire Dust to make a pond freeze. Or the time she used a combination of wind and water to cause burns.

Glynda had given up trying to figure that one out.

"I still like the idea of a sword or a whip," said Grace.

"When you make your weapon, you can figure out a way to incorporate them. Until then you can practice with the older students."

"When can I go to Signal?"

"When you're ten, and not a day sooner," said her mother flatly.

Grace was eager to do more than just study from the old books. She wanted friends her own age, to practice with other students.

The other students at Beacon were nice, but they didn't really connect with her. Even someone her age knew they were just babysitting for the pass.

Grace had a rather large amount of allowance. She had been saving up for years, so she had enough to get whatever materials she needed. And she had an army of experienced hunters and huntresses who could help her create whatever weapon she could think of.

Grace grinned. She couldn't wait to get to work.

Ozpin had a small...problem. As the headmaster of Beacon, he had to attend the Vale council. The issue was that it was exam time for all the students, and he had been delegated Grace's minder for the next several hours while Glynda oversaw the exams. He had offered to watch the girl since she was usually quiet and reading which meant he could work on his paperwork.

He sighed, before the only actual option hit him like a brick.

"Say Grace, how would you like to see how the Vale council works?" asked Ozpin, already writing up a quick text to Glynda.

It was a bit of a surprise to many students, but Glynda was quite the loving mother, even if she was strict with her students. She expected nothing but the best, and she was free with her praise when it was warranted. She made a point not to be overly critical, but rather gave small tips so that her students could improve.

Grace perked up. She could still read while Ozpin was in the council, and it was more interesting than being cooped up in the office all day.

That taken care of, she collected her books and followed her uncle to the air ship.

For the most part it was somewhat boring...until they got to one of the more well debated topics that had the White Fang up in arms.

"Alright, now on to old business. The request from the faunus to repeal prop C619. Any suggestions how to keep this from blowing up in our faces?"

Grace perked up. She vaguely knew what it was about, but discreetly texted her uncle for clarification as the pro and anti faunus factions in the council argued. Ozpin was one of the few neutral on the subject.

'What's C619 about?'

'It's a holdover from when a rather unpleasant faunus disease was running rampant. It made the infected little more than animals, and the law was made to insure that the people voting weren't under the influence. Naturally we have a vaccine for it now, but the faunus are still required to take blood tests before voting. Which is why the White Fang are demanding that we repeal the law, since only faunus are required to take the test.'

Grace immediately saw the issue and why it was hard to get an agreement.

'Why not instead of repealing the law, make it an inactive one to only be brought back if the disease mutates beyond the current parameters of what the vaccine covers?'

Ozpin read the text with interest, before deciding to have Grace explain her idea. Sometimes the best solution was to ask a child what they would do.

"Gentlemen, how about we ask the only person in the room who doesn't already have a bias for or against the law?"

Everyone looked at him, before they turned to Grace. Ozpin had explained who she was at the start, and since she was quietly doing her homework they had more or less ignored her.

"Are you sure?"

"It seems to me that a fresh perspective might give a solution everyone can live with," said Ozpin diplomatically.

The adults nodded. It couldn't hurt.

Grace walked up to her uncle.

"Grace, how would you handle the repeal of a law that is only targeting faunus, but not out of prejiduce?"

"C619 is mostly because of a disease that faunus were susceptible to, right?" she asked cautiously, and got an approving nod from Ozpin. "Then instead of repealing the law, change it so that the only time it would be used would be when that disease is currently active to a large enough degree that it would cause an issue. And that it should be verified by independant sources. Diseases do change, after all. And a vaccine can only handle so much before the problem it targets mutates outside what it can handle. This way you appease the faunus faction and make it clear you're not trying to make them jump through hoops to vote."

"It's simple and it appeases both parties. Your tag-along has a good head on her shoulders," said the leader of Vale's military. Grace perked up at the praise.

"Well gentlemen, all in favor of making prop C619 an inactive law unless the disease goes outside what the current vaccine can handle?" asked Ozpin. Enough of the council voted in agreement, as making the law inactive was a lot easier than repealing it.

"Very well, motion carries. We'll announce it once the decision goes into affect," said the speaker.

Ozpin patted Grace on the head.

"That was well done. It was a difficult problem that the adults couldn't solve, but you did it in five minutes."

Grace beamed at him.

"How would you like to learn diplomacy?" asked Ozpin. The way she handled herself during the meeting sparked an idea of what to teach her next, as the only real thing she needed to learn at this point was social interaction.

"Really?"

"It'll be a nice change of pace, and you seem to have a natural knack at it."

One year later

Signal Academy

Grace eagerly looked around, observing everything. This was the first time she was able to have friends her own age. Unlike the other students she already had her weapon.

It's standby form was a collapsed sword, which depending on how she worked the various parts, could turn into a bow, a full length sword, or a long whip. This was due to the fact that the scabbard wasn't just a scabbard.

It was half of the bow.

Her mother still couldn't believe she came up with something as ridiculously complicated as her weapon.

And that was before she got into her Dust bullets.

Depending on what type she used, a different element would be shot out of the bow.*

"Omigosh, omigosh!" squealed a girl behind her.

"Hi!" said Grace.

The girl turned to face the one who spoke. She was about her age, possibly a year younger. She had short reddish black hair and silver eyes. She wore a black cape with a deep red color on the underside, and a black corset over a red and black skirt with a rose pattern.

It was also immediately apparent the girl was rather shy.

"I'm Grace. Grace Goodwitch. What's your name?"

"Um... I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose."

Grace looked a bit closer, before her face brightened.

"Are you related to the huntress Summer Rose?"

"She's my mom."

"She is like one of my top five favorite huntresses! Well up next to my mom anyway," said Grace.

Ruby brightened. Her shyness was starting to chip away around Grace. Then she noticed the girl's weapon.

"What sort of weapon is that?"

"I call it Storm's Embrace! It can turn into a whip, a bow and a sword!" said Grace proudly.

And hadn't that been a nightmare to pull off. Eventually she got frustrated enough because the whip part of the weapon refused to retract as it should and just pushed her Semblance into the weapon before it was properly finished.

Storm's Embrace had glowed so brightly she had been afraid she would melt all her hard work...but then there was a loud click and the whip rolled back into sword form. More than that, the other half of the bow finally started attaching properly to the bottom of the hilt and shifting into sniper mode properly.

Her mother had been exasperated with the ridiculously complicated weapon, but had gotten permission from Signal for her to practice with it, since most of her classmates would be making their own weapons when they were third years.

Considering she had been practically raised in Beacon her entire life, the teachers were rather understanding of the matter. She was mostly going to Signal to socialize with others her age and to learn how to work with them before returning to Beacon and getting her license. Her application was already accepted when she was ready to come 'home'.

The fact her mother was surprisingly overprotective of her was a bit of a side joke among the faculty.

Ruby and Grace formed a quick friendship...mostly because Grace was more than happy to act as the ice breaker for Ruby to make other friends. She also clicked rather easily with Ruby's older sister Yang, who was three years older than Ruby.

"So your mom teaches at Beacon?" said Ruby. She was happy to find that she was now the official roommate of Grace Goodwitch.

"Yeah, she found me years ago in Grimm-infested territory and Headmaster Ozpin was nice enough to use a loophole so I could stay with her. You won't believe some of the things that happen at Beacon. I've met a lot of up and coming hunters and huntresses...mostly because mom offered a passing grade if they acted as babysitter since I was too little to be trusted alone. I had to wait so long before I could go to Signal!"

"But the youngest you can attend is nine," said Ruby.

"Mom can be really overprotective. I think she kept me at Beacon because it took me so long to build Storm," said Grace sheepishly. "So what's your favorite song?"

"Oh! I love Red Like Roses!"

"Which part?"

"Both of them! So what's your Semblance like?" asked Ruby.

Grace winced.

"I've been banned from using my Semblance in Vale around other hunters unless they're aware of what it does."

Oh had her mother been pissed when Ozpin was forced to make that announcement. It was a complete accident how they found out what her Semblance could do, and when the other countries were informed of it they immediately banned her from using it except in emergencies or when she was hunting solo.

To be fair, she could totally understand why, but it was still a touchy subject with her mother.

Ruby looked confused.

"Why?"

"I have a 'Rogue' Semblance. My ability allows me to copy the Semblance of others to the point I can use it like my own. If I do it enough then I acquire it permanently."

"So what's so bad about that?" asked Ruby.

"Your Semblance is tied to your Aura, your Aura is tied to your very Soul. Copying someone's Semblance is akin to reading their very soul, good and bad. Most wouldn't like it because it means I'd be copying their talents, the thing that makes them special," said Grace, quoting Ozpin when he explained why the other headmasters made that verdict.

The only ones she had copied before then were her mother and Uncle Ozpin. That was how they found out by accident what she could actually do.

She didn't really like using her Semblance much anyway, as it rapidly depleted her Aura. Every time she played a simulation game, she always ended up dead when she overused it.

So she trained herself to use her Semblance as a last resort. It meant she was much more efficient than most of the new recruits.

Ruby's eyes were wide.

"That's so cool!"

"Tell you what... I'll help you with your weapons training if you help me socialize. I've pretty much grown up in Beacon, so I don't really know the hot spots," said Grace.

"Deal!"

As Grace went to sleep, she had the dream again.

A great darkness was descending on the kingdoms. One that was full of Grimm...but lead by something that looked human.

It was the same dream she had gotten every night since she pushed her powers into Storm's Embrace.

The thing that terrified her the most?

She was starting to see the figure a lot more clearly since then. It felt like a warning...that the dream wasn't a dream, but a premonition. It was like Remnant itself was trying to warn her that something or someone was coming that could do a lot of harm.

Her mother just thought it was a cryptic nightmare, and didn't really ask why she trained so hard until her hands bled. Never thought twice about Grace memorizing glyphs, mastering her odd ability to use Dust the wrong way, or why she secretly honed her Semblance with Ozpin so that she could copy anyone's ability with a single attack.

He said she couldn't use it except in emergencies or proper supervision. And it meant he got a break from the paperwork.

She had all the long-time Professors abilities now. And some of the friends her uncle drummed up with blackmail. Though that last one was limited to a single Hunter by the name of Qrow Branwen.

She could only hope it was enough to survive the coming storm.

A/N: Her weapon is a lot like Signum's from MGLN. Her sword is thin like a katana with a bit of a curve similar to a scimitar, the cartridge system is replaced with something similar to the one in Weiss' sword and the whip is quite thinner and shorter than the one Signum uses in the series. The bow line is made of Dust energy and Grace has to use special gloves in order to draw it back to shot arrows made of Dust energy. The revolver system in her weapons serves a purpose... depending on the bullet inside the chamber when she fires it, different types of Dust will either coat her weapons or turn into arrows. She can also launch attacks like Weiss by firing bullets and sending them to her target.

Grace likes to joke that the sword is for short range, the whip is for mid-range and the bow is for long-range combat.