As Ruby and Weiss approached the city of Tinker, there was no mistake as to its identity. Towering buildings with glints of bronze and brass shined, visible for miles and miles around. The sound of the hustle and bustle of city life could be heard even from their position in the forest. It was a city of merchants and engineers all vying to develop the latest and greatest technologies. It was in this city that the modern scroll, the design of the first CCT tower, and even the concept for Amity Arena all bloomed from the minds of geniuses.

The city was built centuries ago and the infrastructure - everything from the towers to the high city walls - was a testament to the quality of this people's work. Tinker as a city was a marvel of human will and determination. If there was a way to make the world safer or more convenient, the city of Tinker would find it.

The pair stopped short of the forest edge. Weiss placed her mask back on her face before turning to Ruby.

"Okay Tinker is just up ahead. Put your hood up and your head down and follow my lead. Don't say a word." She said sternly, pointing a finger at her former partner.

Ruby gave her a mock salute and pulled her hood over her head. Just like old times, Ruby thought.

The two walked out of the forest and across a large field before coming up to an entrance to the city. The walls looked much bigger up close. The dull gray concrete made the shine of the buildings inside even more blinding. At regular intervals at the top of the wall, Ruby could see large turrets protruding and aiming at the large clearing between the forest and city entrance that they had just passed through.

A man in an old beaten up uniform stopped them. He had a big rifle slung across his back and padding on his knees, elbows, and shoulders almost like a motorcycle racer. Ruby kept her head down as instructed.

"Halt." He held his hand out in front of him in a stopping motion. "ID please."

Weiss handed him her scroll with an Atlesian military ID on it.

"Alby. Atlesian mercenary. Mission in progress. Designation: D22038. This is my charge. Target is to be kept alive until delivery."

The guard looked at the ID and back to Weiss.

"No last name?"

"Not one you need to know, Mr…" She looked at his weathered name tag. "Gray."

He eyed her for another moment suspiciously.

"If you have any other concerns, you can give General Ironwood a call. I'm sure he would be thrilled to hear that you are holding up a personal mission of his." Weiss said when he still wouldn't let them through.

The guard handed her scroll back to Weiss.

"Don't cause any trouble, Ms. Alby. And keep an eye on your charge."

"Will do, Mr. Gray."

Weiss pushed Ruby forward with a firm hand to her back. Ruby stumbled a bit from the excessive force but managed to recover and keep walking. She wasn't sure if she was piqued by the shove or if it sated a long standing craving, like a hot bath after a long cold day in the snow. They marched into the city without another word.

"You sounded like you had a plan. Where to next?" Ruby asked. She wanted to bring up a conversation about anything but Weiss' hand on her back a moment ago.

"We're going to set up in a hotel and take a shower."

Ruby turned her head to the side. She couldn't quite see Weiss behind her because of her hood, but she was sure Weiss could feel her eyebrow turn up questioningly.

"Our own rooms, Ruby. Separate rooms. I can cover them."

Ruby smirked because even if she couldn't see Weiss, she could swear she felt the heat from her normally pale cheeks in that moment. Weiss continued.

"I spent a lot of time in Tinker. I met a good friend. He helped me make my weapon, Whi-" Her voice trailed off. "He helped me make White Rose."

Ruby's head dipped even lower than it already was. Mixed emotions swirled in a nasty cyclone of memories and pain in her mind. She remembered her days at Beacon with her partner and her team. And she felt the emptiness of being alone for all of these years. The feeling of joy and the feeling of being stabbed in the back when she first saw Weiss' face in the woods sat heavy in her heart. Before Ruby could get mired deeper in her own thoughts and feelings, Weiss spoke up again.

"After we clean up, we can go meet him. He'll have everything you need for a new weapon."

They walked in silence for the rest of the trip to the nearest hotel.

Once they cleaned up, they met up at the front of the hotel to head to Weiss' contact.

"My friend is just up the street here. When we get there, don't be alarmed by his appearance. He's very sensitive about it and has quite the temper if you mention it. The first time I met him, he threw me through the front of his shop."

Ruby's eyes widened.

"Whoa now I really want to meet him."

Weiss smiled, waving a hand over her shoulder and turning on her heel to join the river of bodies that were already racing down the walkway. Ruby made a point to stay close on her heels. Getting lost in this place would be a nightmare.

The door to a relatively inconspicuous store front opened and a small bell rang indicated visitors.

"Tyson!" Weiss shouted. "My friend! How are you doing?"

A massive man three or four heads taller than Ruby turned to face them and she had to make a particular effort to keep her jaw from disconnecting from her skull. This man was absolutely gigantic. Weiss' old weapon, Myrtenaster, wouldn't have been fit for a toothpick for this hulking being. And just his biceps were probably bigger than her whole head. His hands were so big that he would have no problem picking up Ruby by the head with two fingers. She could see now how he could have thrown Weiss through a freaking wall. But most shocking was his face. Everything from his shoulders up must have been scar tissue. Half of his face was turned up in a goofy smile while the other half seemed to be stuck in a perpetual scowl. That along with the eye patch that covered his "happy" eye made it very difficult to determine how he was feeling about Weiss at the moment.

"Ah my friend!" he shouted in a deep booming voice that could be felt more than heard. His accent was very thick but Ruby wasn't sure what it was. It sounded as if he left off the end of every word. "It has been far too long, girl!"

He walked around a counter and picked Weiss up in a huge bear hug swinging her back and forth a few times. Her feet hung above the floor and Ruby worried a little about her back. He placed the relatively tiny woman gently back on the floor.

"What can I do for ya?"

"I'm here with my-" Weiss paused and looked at Ruby.

Partner was not the right word and friend seemed a little too close at the moment. She turned back to the giant.

"Tyson, this is Ruby Rose. She needs a new weapon."

Ruby smiled sheepishly almost as if she was afraid Tyson would eat her. She gave a small wave a nod.

"Yeah well I owe you, snowflake. I think I can help ya. Do you know what you are looking for, little one? We got all kinds of swords, gadgets, rifles. You name it, we got it."

Ruby replied immediately. "Can I make my own?"

Tyson raised his one good eyebrow. Ruby wasn't sure if it was a questioning eyebrow or a surprised one. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I suppose so. I'll have to see what I got in the back but I'm sure we can fix ya something up."

"All I need is some tungsten carbide, carbon fiber, and some high carbon steel."

Tyson's eyebrow shot up again, definitely in surprise this time.

"And some red paint, primer, and clear coat if you got it."

Tyson looked over to Weiss. "The firecracker knows her stuff eh?"

"You could say that," Weiss said, a proud smile adorning her face.

"Yeah then follow me. The shop's in the back."

They followed him through a door that he had to duck under before they emerged in a large open area filled with the sound of billows and forge fires. This place was much bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside. A few large anvils were scattered around the place and what looked like blacksmith forging hammers hung on the walls in various sizes from a small mallet to ones that looked like a team of blacksmiths would be needed to wield it. Or one Tyson.

"Welcome to my forge, Ruby Rose. The materials you need are in the storeroom on your left. Let me help you get started."

He ducked under the small door to the storeroom and emerged moments later with long bars of steel and something black.

"Here's the steel and carbon fiber that ya asked for. There's a little tungsten carbide too but not enough to be useful. I can grab some and bring it tomorrow if ya want."

"Thank you very much, Tyson. I would very much appreciate that."

"And I trust ya know what you're doing?"

Ruby just nodded. She hadn't worked in the forge since she made Crescent Rose at Signal Academy. She had thought that Crescent Rose was her masterpiece, her magnum opus. But now that the smell of coal fires and raw iron and steel filled her nostrils, she was ready to get back to work. It was like riding a bike.

"Ruby is the best blacksmith I've ever known. If anybody knows their way around a forge, it's Ruby."

"Ha ha ha!" Tyson's roaring laughter echoed off the hard walls of the forge. "Ya know me, my dear snowflake. She must be quite something."

He looked over to Ruby.

"If she vouches for ya, then I believe it. You're damn near bouncing out your boots. Best leave ya to it."

He was right. She was almost vibrating with giddiness. Weiss nodded to her and followed Tyson out of the forge.

Snatching a large piece of steel from the pile, she got to work right away. Billet after billet, she began forging a long shaft for this weapon. The sound of the hammer against steel was music to her ears. Every note of metal on metal held years of pain. Every swing was a song backed by the force of her nightmares. The cacophony of the forge was a melody that Ruby couldn't get enough of.

She had a vision for this weapon, almost enlightened. After the shaft, the blades. Two of them. And then a bident at the tip of the shaft. It was like a double-edged battle axe and a halberd had a baby. But no weapon of hers was complete without some projectile weapon. It must also be a gun. At the end of the weapon where the shaft met the base of the bident was the barrel of a sniper rifle. If nothing else, Ruby would stay true to her identity as a sniper first and foremost.

At last, her work was complete. She had no idea how long had passed since the forge had no windows but it was surely many hours. She had worked nonstop and the soreness in her arms and shoulders caught up with her. She leaned her new weapon against a wall and slumped down against the opposite wall to admire it, propping one arm up on a raised knee and letting the other fall limply at her side. It was beautiful. It was taller than Crescent Rose, especially with the bident pointing to the sky. The two axe heads were gigantic. Each blade was longer than her torso. When placed sideways with one blade on the ground, the tip of the other blade reached past her waist. And the bident extended way past the tip of the axe blades. It was designed for reach and power.

After a few moments of rest, she got up to test the folding mechanism. With her hand on a button on the shaft and a firm lift of the weapon, the two blades came together and folded in on itself to hide the sharp edges. The shaft collapsed telescopically along with the bident leaving a compact weapon similar to what Crescent Rose looked like in its rifle form. And then with another tug, it collapsed even further to a small frame slightly larger than a briefcase. It was perfect. This weapon was definitely heavier than Crescent Rose by a decent margin so she would need to get used to it. And she would need to practice with it even more than before.

With the weapon in its compact form, Tyson and Weiss walked through the door.

"Well that's quite the paper weight ya got there, tyke," Tyson joked.

"Are you done, Ruby?" Weiss asked. "It's been a little over a day. You have to eat something. And you desperately need a shower."

Ruby let out a gruff chuckle. "I'm almost done. Just need to make the ammo and we're good to go."

"Ah just leave that to me," Tyson said. "I got the tungsten carbide right here. I'll fix ya up a good batch of ammo something fierce. Come back this afternoon and it'll be ready for ya."

With a grateful smile and a 'thank you', they left to get food and for Ruby to clean up once again.

"So why does Tyson owe you?"

Weiss kept walking without turning to look at her. When Ruby was about to ask again, Weiss spoke.

"Let's get you cleaned up first and we'll talk over food. Meet me in the front of the hotel in half an hour."

Half an hour later, they were sitting in a burger place that Weiss was fond of during her time in Tinker.

As Ruby stuffed her face with a cheeseburger, Weiss told the story of Tyson.

"So like I said, the first time I met Tyson, I gawked and he threw me through the front of his store. It was a rocky start. But I came back and apologized. I got to know him a little more as I began building my new weapon. After all, Myrtenaster was too recognizable. He told me about his daughter. A young one. And he had a wife too. Very beautiful, he said."

Weiss paused to let it all sink in.

"Well one day they were taking a stroll through the woods near the clearing for safety and they were attacked by Ursa. These must have been ancient Grimm because they were huge and covered in those bony plates. He tried to fight them off but was knocked out. At this point, I was walking out of the city and I heard the commotion and saw Tyson bleeding out, an Ursa approaching his wife, and his daughter bawling nearby. I thought he was already dead but I ran over to help. I was too late. The turret operators saw the Grimm and fired. I saw as round after round passed clean through the Ursa and then clean through his wife. The turrets were still firing to clear the rest of the Grimm, but I grabbed his daughter anyway and bolted for the clearing. I saw flashbacks to that day but, I managed to get inside the gates with his crying daughter over my shoulder. I think I was crying myself but I couldn't feel much of anything in that moment. I heard the gunfire stop and I saw three men dragging Tyson inside. You could barely recognize him he had so much blood on his face. But he was alive."

She finally looked up at Ruby to see her expression. Ruby was staring intently at her with a level countenance. Weiss couldn't read her at all but she knew she must have felt something. With a heavy sigh, she continued.

"I let his wife die and yet he still thinks he owes me his life for saving his daughter."

"It wasn't your fault, Weiss."

Weiss almost let a tear fall but she forced it back and took a deep breath.

"Her name is Lily. She's ten years old and she has amazing golden blonde hair and deep purple eyes like Yang. She loves the woods and playing with model cars. She calls me auntie Weiss."

The tears flowed now and she could barely choke out the next words.

"And sometimes she accidentally calls me mom."

She began sobbing now. The memory was painful. Ruby placed one hand on Weiss' and squeezed tightly. Physical touch has been a bit of a delicate topic to broach but Weiss needed her friend in this moment and Ruby would be just that.

When they returned that afternoon, the ammo was ready, already sitting on the counter in the front of the shop. Tyson smiled brightly when they entered, the fading sunset's rays against the other buildings reflecting beams of golden light into the room.

"Thank you, Tyson," Ruby said humbly. "I really appreciate everything you've done. So what do I owe you."

Ruby went to reach for her money when Tyson burst out.

"Ha!" His voice startled the two women. "Owe me? My girl, I'll be owing Weiss here whatever she wants for the rest of my life. You don't owe a damn thing."

Ruby beamed and gathered the magazines and placed them on her belt one by one.

"Thank you very much, Tyson," Weiss said with a gentle smile.

"Anything for you, snowflake."

He turned back to Ruby again, pointing at her new weapon.

"So you went with a battle axe eh? What'll ya name her?"

Ruby didn't even hesitate. "Requiem. Her name is Requiem."