A/N: Sorry for the wait! I wanted to take a break from writing for a bit and decided to launch Scholar of the First Sin in anticipation of the Dark Souls remaster. I'm so excited! While I wish this remaster did what SotFS did for Dark Souls 2 and some of the graphical changes are somewhat questionable, I am excited for the launch and a newly populated world! Not to mention the introduction of password matchmaking like Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne, so that will be a lot of fun.

Reading lore again, I remembered how much I love Alva the Wayfarer and Zullie the Witch. So much so that I began another story called The Witch and the Wayfarer and it would mean so much if you would go give it a read. If you enjoy that story, consider giving it a favorite and follow! That being said, I am still working on The Forgotten as well, so no worries there.

Sorry for the ramble. To the story!

Chapter 13: There are Other Worlds Than These

It had been a little over a week since Team RWBY and JNPR encountered that mysterious masked man on their training excursion. The events that had occurred were still fresh in their minds, but they hadn't had the opportunity to truly sit down and talk to each other about it since they've been busy catching up with their work. However, it was finally the weekend again and Yang wasn't planning on letting it go to waste. Ruby and Weiss only heard heavy footsteps quickly approaching outside their door before it bursted open. "It's time to relax!" The blond brawler exclaimed with her arms stretched out theatrically. After being met with silence, she glumly dropped her arms to her side. "Well, you guys are a lot of fun," she said sarcastically.

"We were very relaxed until you barged on in." Weiss commented.

"Did you want to do something, Yang?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, like literally anything other than whatever boring thing you two are up to." Yang shook her head disapprovingly with her hands on her hips.

"We're not boring!" Weiss protested.

"To be fair, we weren't really doing anything." The young leader giggled.

"How else do you relax? You two don't see the beauty in having absolutely nothing to do after a long week." Weiss huffed.

The two continued speaking between themselves when Yang finally realized she hadn't heard her partner since she walked in. Her lilac eyes scanned the room, unable to find their Faunus teammate. Yang frowned before looking to the other two. "Hey, where's Blake?"

Ruby and Weiss stopped speaking between themselves, appearing to think of her whereabouts. Ultimately, the two only shrugged. "Come to think of it, we actually haven't seen her," the heiress mentioned.

"She's probably taking it easy after this week, right?" Ruby suggested.

Yang sighed softly as she shook her head. "Yeah, I bet." However, she could guess where the Cat-Faunus would likely be.

Blake was sitting at a table in the library alone once again with unblinking eyes glued to the computer screen. Her fingers typed furiously as she scoured all sorts of databases, the screen appearing as a mayhem of files and tabs. It was amazing that she was able to keep up with any of the information. A red dot suddenly flashed on the screen's surface. The Cat-Faunus' ear in her ribbon flicked in irritation, but Blake chose to ignore it. Despite her best efforts to ignore the distraction, she was no longer able to focus for the red dot began to wildly flick around her screen. "It's not funny anymore, Yang." Blake finally looked behind her, finding her blond partner twirling the laser pointer between her fingers.

"Oh, c'mon. It's hilarious." Yang smirked before pocketing the laser pointer.

"It's really not." The Cat-Faunus huffed.

"Okay, let's meet in the middle. My fault for using the laser pointer. Your fault for not hearing me in the first place." Yang made a shit-eating grin.

Blake sighed heavily before turning in her seat towards the blond brawler. "Why are you here, Yang?"

"Because I know it's been a long week and we all need to relax," Yang explained as she casually walked over to her partner, taking the seat next to her. "So I figured, 'hey, maybe I should go find my best friend.' And you are exactly where I expected to find you." The blond laughed. "You know, you're more predictable than you think."

"I don't want to hear that from you of all people." Blake rolled her eyes.

"I also know that you've been the most distracted of us all since what happened last week." Yang said, her tone taking a more concerned shift. "We talked about this, Blake. We're your team. Come to us."

"I am! I mean, I was going to…" Blake sighed softly as she slumped slightly in her seat. "I remember our conversation."

"Then what's going on? You can trust me." Yang placed a hand on her partner's shoulder as she offered a reassuring smile. However, the blond could figure that it had to do with the masked man they encountered.

"I know I can. It's not like I'm hiding this from you guys or anything, it's just—" Blake cut herself off as she looked back at the screen. "I wanted to find out more about what that man has to do with the White Fang. I've had a bad feeling about this ever since then."

Yang silently nodded, her premonition proving itself to be correct. "What have you been able to find out?"

"Almost nothing," the Cat-Faunus grumbled. "I found some pictures of Vale's port that tourists took and some had him in the picture."

"Wait, seriously?" Yang frowned. "That's random."

"Maybe not," Blake began. "If it was one or even two pictures, I would chalk it up to a coincidence, but I've found eleven different pictures from eleven different occasions."

"Okay, that's a lot," the blond admitted. "What's he doing in the pictures?"

Blake pulled up a picture of the port on the computer screen. "See for yourself."

Yang looked at the screen, finding the picture taken from the street near the port. And right on the boardwalk was unmistakably the masked man they had encountered. Before she could comment, Blake already changed the screen to the next picture. After every few second intervals, she would change it to the next one. All the pictures were of the port from varying angles, but every single one of them had him in it. The blond looked to her partner in confusion. "What the hell? Why is he just sitting there?"

Blake shrugged as she leaned back in her chair. "That's what I've been trying to figure out all day." The Cat-Faunus turned her head to her partner. "Yang," she muttered.

The blond rose a brow at the sudden change in tone. Blake opened her mouth again, only for her lip to quiver in hesitation before she felt Yang's hand pat her shoulder. She looked up at her partner, the blond offering a reassuring smile. "Don't say anything. Let's go back to the room. You can tell them, too." Yang stood up from her chair, already making her way to the exit.

"Hey, wait!" Blake scrambled to close everything on the computer before hurrying after her partner. Before she could say anything else, Yang turned to the Cat-Faunus, causing her to almost bump into the blond.

"We'll always be here for you, y'know." Lilac eyes stared into ambers. "I will always be here for you." The motherly smile Yang usually carried in these moments was gone. Instead, she spoke in a manner that was not meant to be reassuring, but merely stating a fact.

"Y-yeah." Blake managed to say. She knew that—at least, subconsciously. With those words, she felt silly for ever hesitating to speak with them, even if she planned on going to them eventually. Looking into Yang's eyes in this moment made it abundantly clear that there was no one she could put more trust in than her team. Than Yang. "I will always be here for you, too."

The blond merely smirked. "I know."

"You want us to what?" Weiss asked with a single brow raised.

Blake glanced at her partner, who only shrugged. The Cat-Faunus sighed through her nose, figuring that Weiss would be the one to cast doubt. She wasn't upset about it. She simply understood that it was part of her character. "I said—"

"I wasn't actually asking." The heiress shook her head as she stood up from the bed. "What I mean is that this is crazy."

"Hey, you said that Blake should bring it up to the team whenever she wants to do something like this." Yang defended.

"I know what I said, Yang." Weiss sighed out as she scratched her head. "I just don't really think this is a good idea."

"Well, I'm in." Ruby stood up and walked over to the other side of the room to stand beside the pair, much to her partner's dismay.

"Oh, come on," the remaining member groaned. "You, too?"

"This is what being a huntress is all about, right? Getting the bad guys." Ruby smiled optimistically as she pumped a fist halfway into the air.

"No, being a huntress is about protecting the world from Grimm," Weiss said before pausing. "And occasionally getting the bad guys. But that's not the point! It's not up to us to catch whoever this man is. And let's say we wait by the port and actually do find him. Then what?"

"What's your point?" Blake asked as she crossed her arms, growing tired of listening to her rebuttal.

"My point is that you're not thinking this through." Weiss said plainly. "We lack so much information. What if he's as strong as Henryk or Leo? We only just might win if we have to fight him—which we probably will! He's not just going to answer our questions or come with us quietly. That's not how criminals operate."

"We?" Blake smirked.

"She said we." Ruby affirmed with a nod.

"She definitely said we." Yang couldn't help it as a chortle escaped her.

Weiss groaned once again. "Why are you guys like this."

"Weiss, please." Blake said with determination in her voice.

The heiress looked into the Cat-Faunus' eyes, unable to look away from her unwavering demeanor. She grit her teeth before finally sighing in defeat with her arms crossed. "Not fair."

"Hey there, lady. Can I offer you a drink?" The man with graying spiky hair said. He had a stubble along his jawline and dressed somewhat haphazardly despite it consisting of formal attire. It had clearly seen a lot of wear, likely because he fought in it frequently. The man's eyes were a dull red—undoubtedly weary from years of battle. Henryk was able to make out that much about the man merely by looking at him. It reminded the Hunter of himself.

"No, thank you." Leo grinned mischievously as she pulled out a wad of cash and slapped it on the bar counter, inadvertently drawing the attention of the entire room to her. "For the first time, I have money to use for myself and I plan on using it on a drink most fine."

Henryk leaned against the counter as he scanned the entire room, the onlookers suddenly deciding to look away when he laid eyes on them. His shoulders heaved as he let out a sigh, wondering why he was here. Well, he knew why. His partner wanted to go out to drink the night away, but he was not to be out of her sight, so she pulled him along as well.

The man laughed as he watched the woman hand the bundle to the bartender after a short, inaudible conversation. "Damn, that's a fat stack. But that's way too much money for one drink."

"You think so?" The woman smirked at the man as the bartender returned with two bottles of McAlasdair 50 Year, much to the surprise of the stranger whose jaw hung open in awe.

"What the—You're drinking two bottles of the most expensive whiskey in Vale? You're wild, lady." The man laughed heartily.

"No, I will be drinking only one tonight." Leo said as she suddenly wrapped an arm around Henryk's neck, pulling the Hunter towards her. "My partner will drink the other."

"I am?" Henryk frowned slightly. He wouldn't even be able to taste it.

Leo leaned in to his ear and whispered, "Pour the blood vial in it." Ever since last week, she began putting her blood in vials that she was able to be supplied with by the academy's infirmary. It would be far too embarrassing to have him continue sucking the blood straight out of her arm.

Henryk rose a brow, wondering why he hadn't thought of that. The blood cocktails of Yharnam were actually quite the treat for hunters, but they were equally expensive as they were delicious, so most hunters only used them as tools against beasts. Henryk turned his back so the others in the bar wouldn't see, as he pulled off the cap of the liquor before pouring in the blood vial. The hunter turned back to his partner, only to find that she was already chugging away at the drink. He smirked before bringing the bottle to his own lips, drinking it in the same fashion. Cheers sounded the room, including the man who sat at the bar with them, much to the confusion of the pair. Henryk placed the bottle down against the bar before looking at his partner, who was looking at him just the same. Leo turned to the stranger who sat beside her. "What happened?"

The man laughed, shaking his head. "Wow, you're weird, y'know that? It's a shocker that you'd buy the most expensive liquor here and then begin chugging it. Most people would savor it. I know I would." He took a sip from his glass before finally answering her question. "So everyone was impressed." The man gave the pair a strange look. "Y'all don't really get out much, do ya?"

"Not in this manner, no." Leo answered simply before taking another swig from her bottle.

The man looked between the two quizzically before nodding slowly. "Ahhh," he mused. "First date, huh?" He whispered to the woman. Only receiving a blank expression, the man laughed. "Hey, no need for cold feet. Just have a good time." The stranger stood up, placing his payment for his drink on the counter before waving farewell. "I'll leave you to it. High time I get out of here anyway." Leo watched the man leave, confusion now settling on her face.

"Is something the matter?"

Leo turned her head to Henryk, feeling far more weight in her head than she had ever felt before. "Yeah…No. I'm fine." The woman frowned to herself as she leaned against the bar.

"Your face is flushed. It appears you are having difficulty balancing yourself. I noticed your head sway more than it should. You are inebriated, Leo." Henryk said plainly, before taking a swig from his own bottle.

"What?"

"You are drunk."

Leo sighed heavily, staring at the Hunter in disbelief. "Drunk? How could I be drunk? I will have you know I won two drinking contests with Siegward!"

Henryk nodded slowly with a hum. "Are you satisfied yet? We should head back to the academy."

The woman narrowed her eyes at the Hunter before shaking her head. "You are such a bore."

"Well, sorry for not being the shining example of entertainment," Henryk said, almost defensively.

"Hey, hey, hey." Leo leaned towards her partner, placing her hand on his shoulder. Though, inebriated as she was, the woman didn't realize just how much strength she used. She ended up pushing the man off his seat, falling with him as she was trying to use him for balance. For a moment, her world was spinning before her vision cleared enough for her to realize that she was laying on top of him. "Look, we're having fun now!" She laughed.

Henryk stared at her before a laugh escaped from him. "Looks like we are." He picked himself up, helping Leo up with him before seating themselves once again, earning themselves some chuckles and snickers in the bar.

"Okay, so maybe I might be a little drunk," she admitted in a murmur. "Must be because I am human again." Leo raised her hand, studying the smooth skin on its back, remembering how decrepit she once appeared as she hollowed. "How wondrous!" She grinned before looking back at the Hunter. "How are you sober? You drank as much as me."

"As is the answer to most of these questions, it is because of the Beast-blood." Henryk answered. "It makes me much more resistant to poisons than the average person. Though, it is still possible. I would have to drink an inordinate amount."

"Then get to it." Leo smiled mischievously as she pushed his bottle closer to his lips.

Henryk chuckled before allowing the liquor to go through his system. As he did so, his mind began to wander, finding the questions he had been meaning to ask. "Leo."

"Hmm?" Leo placed her bottle on the counter, swallowing the whiskey in her mouth.

"Why do you think we are here?"

"Why are we here? To drink, of course." The woman chortled.

"Leo. Why are we here?" He asked again.

The warrior paused, now understanding what he meant. Sunset hues glanced up at her partner before her gaze shifted to the bottle of whiskey next to her. She rubbed her thumb against his label with a sigh escaping her. "To do some good?"

"Is that so?" The Hunter mused. "Well, I must say that I believe I have done enough," the man said bitterly.

"Must be nice," Leo snickered. "I wish I could say the same. I was brought back by a goddess who told me I must absolve myself of my sins. Truer words have not been said."

Henryk frowned. "A goddess spoke to you?" The Hunter received a nod of affirmation from the woman. He hummed to himself, finding it strange that despite their similar circumstances, he had not experienced anything remotely like that upon his awakening. He was only met with the cold comfort of a coffin. "Well, I think this goddess speaks nonsense."

Leo turned her gaze to the Hunter, clearly confused. "Nonsense?"

"Nonsense," he repeated. "You've done more than anyone could ask. And this so called goddess tells you that you have done wrong? Such a goddess is ridiculous."

The warrior couldn't help but laugh, finding his words to be far more ridiculous that he claims Velka to be. "You jest, Henryk."

"I mean what I say," Henryk stated as a mere fact. "I have killed such beings. I am sure you have, too. You should remember to do right by yourself. Live how you want. You do not owe anyone anything."

The woman's lips curled into a small smile. "You know, for a scholar you sure have a way with words."

"One who cannot explain such things simply would not be worthy to be called such," the man uttered, a smile creeping upon his face as well—an infectious expression.

"I can't believe we're doing this." Weiss said as they walked through the streets of Vale.

"Hey, we're already out here. No use complaining now." Yang mused.

"All I'm saying is that I cannot imagine this panning out well." Weiss crossed her arms.

"You worry too much, Weiss." Ruby noted as she skipped over to her partner, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Like, what if this actually goes really well?"

The heiress stared at her optimistic partner before rolling her eyes. "Oh, I'm sure he'll just roll over for us. That is if we find him at all."

"Quiet, we're here." Blake hushed them as they came to the street corner. She peaked around the corner, being able to spy on the port. The others peaked around the corner as well before returning behind it.

"Really? This is the plan?" Weiss scoffed.

"No," Blake shook her head. "We get better vantage points." The Cat-Faunus looked up to the buildings. The sisters only nodded their heads before jumping to position, leaving only Blake and Weiss behind. "You can go back if you want to, Weiss. I'm not forcing you to be here."

"This is absolutely crazy," Weiss noted once more. "But that's why I can't leave you all to do this without me." The heiress turned away from the other before jumping up to the rooftops as well. Blake smirked before following suit.

The four took to different rooftops, all in view of the port. Between them all, they also had a good vantage of the surrounding areas. Being connected by their scrolls, they should be able to easily call out to each other if any one of them spot the masked man. Though, time continued to pass as the minutes added up to an hour.

"Are you sure he's going to be here tonight?" Ruby asked via scroll.

"While I can't say for certain," Blake began to explain. "From what I've found, this man seems to visit the port whenever the moon is out." The Cat-Faunus looked up at the night sky, the shattered-moon glaring down at them ominously.

"Yeah, in the eleven pictures you found, each one had the moon in the shot." Yang added.

"Even so, there's no saying that he will be at the port today. The only time the moon wouldn't be out is on nights of the new moon." Weiss stated.

"I'm hungry." Ruby complained.

"We're not going to find him let alone have dinner at this rate." Yang said.

"And who might you be looking for?" A voice spoke right into the blond's ear with a familiar drawl. Yang immediately turned with a right hook, but her fist only met air.

"Sorry, love. Didn't mean to startle you." The man let out a low chuckle as he observed the brawler take a fighting stance. "You seem a little defensive. May I ask why?"

"We're looking for you, smart-ass. You already knew that." Yang said before her teammates jumped to her side, taking battle-ready stances as well.

"Yes, I admit I figured that. Though, why must this come to fisticuffs? I am a gentleman. I am sure that you lot are not truly as barbaric as you are making yourselves seem right now." Despite his words, the brim of his top hat hid the upper half of his mask, leaving only the snickering expression to be seen. It made his remark seem ever more backhanded.

"Yeah, most people would get a little defensive when you unleash a giant Grimm on them." Weiss said with hostility in her tone.

"Hmm?" The masked man mused. "Oh, yes. As I recall, I did not unleash anything. I was being threatened for no good reason, you heard something and then I led you all to it. Unleashing—" The man laughed. "You sure are one for exaggeration, aren't you?"

"No good reason?" Blake rose a brow, keeping the barrel of Gambol Shroud fixated on the masked man.

"Heard something? You said you kidnapped a child!" Ruby accused.

"Darling, allow me to point out everything wrong with that sentence." The masked man began while shaking his head. "I did not say that. That redhead with you said that. I only went along with it because," the man turned his head toward Blake. "I was being threatened for no good reason."

"You were working with the White Fang. I want to know what you're up to. You can either tell us willingly or we'll force it out of you." Blake demanded. Weiss wanted to melt into the floor right there. Why was she instigating a fight?! She had already outlined the dangers earlier!

"You're getting really worked up over this, aren't you? I told you, I am but a mere businessman. Nothing more to it. The White Fang needs supplies, so I supply them. It's good money." The masked man answered nonchalantly. "Does that satisfy you, animal-girl?"

Blake's gaze immediately changed to a glare. "What did you call me?"

"Ah, my apologies. You call yourselves Faunus, correct? Faunus-girl? Feel good now?" The masked man said in his constant slow drawl. He studied the expressions on each of their faces, finding a mix of anger and surprise. "Oh, you think by tying up a bow on your head that I wouldn't notice? Has that worked on others? What a bunch of imbeciles." Ruby winced slightly at the remark, as none of them knew until Blake told them. "What? Nothing to say? You really didn't have a plan for this, did you? Just wanted to seek me out on a whim? Well, I feel as though I properly answered your questions. With that, I am leaving." The masked man turned around, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"You've been giving pretty half-assed answers. We want to know everything. If you're such a gentleman, you wouldn't mind telling us the rest of the story from a cell, right?" Yang tightened her grip.

The masked man let out a long sigh. "Always throwing around threats, I see. Let me tell you—These violent delights have violent ends." The man forced the hand off his shoulder before rolling to avoid another right hook from the brawler. "You are too predictable!" He called before flicking out what appeared to be a small revolver from his sleeve. His thumb cocked back its hammer, powering the cylinder in a white light. Weiss herself was quite familiar with various types of dust through her father's company as well as her extensive usage of it in Myrtenaster. She immediately recognized its effect.

"Yang, look out!" The heiress called out to her teammate.

The blond took heed to the warning, dodging away from the barrel. Unfortunately for her, she was never the intended target. The masked man pulled the trigger, blasting a strong burst of wind that would have easily concussed the average person. Ruby gasped as she attempted to use her semblance to get out of the way, but the attack was far too quick. The young leader ended up getting swept away by the blast and was thrown into one of the buildings below.

Leo sighed softly as she gently waved her bottle in the air, disappointed from the sound—or lack thereof—of liquor in it. "Live how I want, huh?"

Henryk had finished his bottle as well, finding the drink rather delicious with her intoxicating blood in it. It lacked the pungent odor of Yharnam's blood cocktails, something he found to appreciate—for this truly was a delicacy as opposed to the hunter tool that attacked the senses. Crimson eyes met sunset hues as she gazed back at him, almost with a sense of wonder.

"Then it would be okay for me to fight by your side? To be yours truly?" She laughed at her own words, sounding like the knight she never was.

Henryk chuckled at the infectious laugh of his partner. "I said you can live how you want. I know due to circumstances—"

"I want to be by your side." Leo spoke sincerely, though just how serious she seemed was undercut by her behavior as the woman held onto the counter for balance. "This is the first time," Leo paused. "That I might be allowed to want something for myself."

Henryk stared at the woman in disbelief. Who would want to be with a Hunter—to be by his side. "Why me? You could go anywhere. You do not even have to stay at this academy. You are not their puppet—you have no strings."

"Why you?" She seemed to give it some thought before giving a crooked smile. "Why not you? We can learn to just be people together."

The two sat silently at the bar, the sounds of indistinct conversation happening around them, glasses clinking, feet shuffling. Henryk never realized that for the first time, he had a moment of respite from his life as a Hunter. He finally had time for himself. Not by himself, but for himself. The Hunter opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off when something came crashing into the bar. The two immediately stood up to investigate—Leo more like stumbling off the bar stool. The bar-patrons immediately began fleeing from the scene, even the owner himself. They heard a low groan of a familiar voice sound from the debris, causing the two to look at each other in recognition. "Ruby?"

As the dust cleared, they saw the young girl cough away the debris in her lungs, waving a hand in front of her face, squeezing her eyes shut from the dirt. Henryk called out to the girl once more. "Ruby."

"Henryk?" She managed to say between coughs before she opened her eyes when the air finally cleared. The two rushed to her side, but the girl simply stood up and began brushing herself off, seemingly more annoyed than harmed. It goes to show just how effective aura was.

"Ruby, what is—"

"What's going on?!" That stranger from the bar called out as he stepped through the now destroyed wall of the bar.

"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby called back in confusion.

"Ruby?" The man said in return, equally perplexed. He looked at his niece first, relieved to see that she was okay before his gaze fell upon Henryk and Leo. "You two? What are you doing? Get out of here, it's dangerous."

"Uncle Qrow, those two are professors at Beacon!"

"They are?" Qrow looked back at his niece and then back at the pair. "What the hell, didn't think to mention that?"

"Why would we bring that up?" Leo said with a casual shrug.

"I suppose we should get better acquainted then, since you're the uncle of this fine student." Henryk nodded at Ruby who grinned in return. "My name is Henryk. This is Leo." He gestured to his partner.

"Henryk, Leo. I'm Qrow. Old friend of Ozpin, I guess." He went to shake their hands, but winced at Leo's grip before pulling his hand back. "Damn…" Qrow muttered, shaking his hand in the air.

"I apologize on her behalf. She appears to be somewhat inebriated and may have trouble controlling her strength." Henryk noted.

"You and me both, lady." Qrow chuckled before looking back at his niece. "Alright, pleasantries are out of the way. What's going on, Ruby?"

"So there's this guy we ran into around last week who's involved with the White Fang."

That immediately got the pair's attention as they began to listen more intently. Qrow only groaned, rubbing his temples with one hand. "And you went after him yourselves didn't you?"

"No—We—I mean," Ruby stammered before hanging her head. "Yeah."

"You kids just can't stop being reckless, can you?" Qrow scolded.

"Hey, you are, too!" The girl argued.

"The difference is that I'm not in training. I'm a professional." Qrow said, slightly shaking his head as he never thought the day would come where he would hear those words come out of his own mouth. The girl's uncle sighed. "Alright, just tell me the rest."

"Well, he actually ended up finding us and we weren't going to let him go because he's a bad guy and we should catch bad guys and then he shot me and now I'm here." Ruby said, amazingly in one breath.

"Jeez, Ruby! That's something you lead with!" Qrow immediately turned around, jumping out of the hole in the building. "Yang!" They heard him call out.

"Yang!"

The brawler frowned as she heard the distant call of a familiar voice. "Uncle Qrow?" She paused for a moment and looked around as Blake and Weiss continued to fight the masked man in attempt to apprehend him. It wasn't long before he was at her side, holding her by the shoulders as he looked her up and down.

"Uncle Qrow, I'm fine. What are you doing here?" The blond asked.

"I just happen to be in town, don't worry about it. What the hell are you girls doing?" He scolded before looking towards the sounds of combat, seeing Blake and Weiss narrowly dodging powerful blasts from the masked man's dust-powered revolver.

"Oh, y'know…Everyday hero stuff." Yang tried to justify with an awkward smile.

Leo, Henryk, and Ruby finally arrived on the rooftops, Yang being immediately pushed to her sister. "Stay there, understand? I'm taking you all back right now."

"But what about—" Ruby began.

"Forget it. It's none of your concern." Qrow said before taking his weapon in hand and jumping into the fray.

"Seriously?" Ruby groaned before looking up at the Hunter. "Henryk?"

"Listen to your uncle, Ruby." He said before running towards the fight as well with Leo at his side.

Chester reloaded the cylinder before taking aim once more. However, he looked at his revolver strangely when nothing happened after pulling the trigger.

"Oh, did your gun jam? Tough luck, buddy." Qrow said as he stepped past Blake and Weiss. The two looked up at the man surprised, but were unable to say anything before he casually picked the both of them up under his arms. "No complaining, girls. We're getting out of here."

"And let him go?!" Blake squirmed.

"That's not what I said." Qrow looked at the pair who reached for their weapons. Henryk pulled a strange katana-saber hybrid seemingly out of thin air while Leo reached for a non-existent weapon at her hip. He had so many questions, but no time to ask them now. "Can I leave this up to you two?"

"Of course." Henryk affirmed, crimson eyes locked onto the masked man.

Qrow left the scene with Team RWBY, leaving the pair to their standoff with the masked man. Leo mentally cursed as she once again was lacking any of her equipment in such a crucial moment, save for the chime Yorshka had left with her. The masked man chuckled as he looked between the two, spinning the cylinder of his revolver once again before clicking it into place, seemingly satisfied with it. "Ah, there you are. I figured it was only time before I would be seeing the both of you after that scuffle with the children. A formidable bunch, they are. If it wasn't for this age's technology, I would not have stood a chance."

"Who are you?" Henryk asked, glaring daggers at the masked man.

"Marvelous Chester!" The masked man bowed theatrically before standing up straight. "No need for you to tell me your names. I know everything there is to know about you both."

"What could you know about us?" Leo spat, her anger returning from their last encounter.

"Well, to the both of you, it would seem as though I were around since the dawn of time." Chester said whimsically. "Regardless, I have always been a businessman throughout the ages. I've seen the both of you through my ventures, but never went out of my way to greet either of you. Why would I? I didn't need your business."

"Horseshit." Leo glared at the masked man.

"You can ask your so called gods. I was picked up and thrown into this world without warning. And without any further intervention, here I am." Chester snickered. "The same happened to you, no? By the whims of a god, you rose from your grave and you have no idea what you are doing, right?" He took her silence as a yes. "I can give you purpose, Leo."

"I want nothing to do with you." The warrior said, though her voice wavered in uncertainty.

Henryk unholstered Evelyn, taking aim at the masked man. "I have heard enough of your poisonous lies."

"Lies? At what point have I lied?" Chester aimed the revolver back at the Hunter. "Nor am I lying here."

"What do you want with me?" Leo couldn't help but ask. Henryk glanced at her, somewhat disappointed that she was still listening to the stranger.

"Kill the Hunter."

The two stared silently as they took more ready stances.

Chester only hummed to himself, receiving the response he expected. "Yes, you wouldn't just do as I ask, right? I am only telling you your best option. A certain client of mine knows about your blood, Hunter."

Henryk frowned as he tightened his grip around Evelyn. "Who?"

"I'd rather not say. She's like the boogieman." He chuckled. "Leo, you can ask that old dusty crow yourself if you really want to know." The masked man pulled back the hammer, charging the revolver in a yellow glow before a sharp bolt of lightning released. It immediately pierced the side of the woman's neck, being far too quick to dodge.

"Leo!" The Hunter exclaimed as she struggled to hold her ground. Henryk caught her in his arms as she began to fall over, realizing his mistake when he looked down the barrel of a revolver.

"Goodbye, Hunter."

A concussive blast fired from the barrel, throwing the both of them off of the rooftops and to the port below.

A/N: This chapter's title is part of a quote from Stephen King's The Gunslinger. The full quote is "Go then, there are other worlds than these."

I also just had to add the quote from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet that has become an infamous phrase in the HBO show, Westworld: "These violent delights have violent ends."

Please, go check out my other story The Witch and the Wayfarer because I am actually quite proud of it. Please please please. It would mean so much.

Again, I would like to apologize for the long wait. I was feeling a little unmotivated to write The Forgotten and I feel like I needed a breath of fresh air, hence The Witch and the Wayfarer. And then between playing Dark Souls 2 and Monster Hunter: World, my free time was fully taken up.

Thank you for reading and as always, I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time.