Chapter 1: The Angels Piss on Us

Beta: ZH_Steven

I keep having these dreams lately. I see you and me, I see the light you radiate and it blocks out your face. So bright that I have to shield my eyes. I can't reach for the hand you always held out to me. I wonder if you're still holding out that hand.

I'm not scared that you aren't anymore. I'm scared that I'll never know. I'm scared that, if I try to reach out, you won't be there for me. I suppose that makes me selfish. Maybe people like me really don't change. But I have to try, don't I?

Isn't that what you'd do, Jaune?

It was a hot, humid afternoon and Ruby Rose was covered in blood.

It was not a combination Pyrrha had ever expected to see. Yet as she watched the girl shamble from the wreckage, seemingly immune to the smoke and ash hitting her in the face, Pyrrha wondered if what she was seeing was real. A nightmare surely—things like this didn't happen. Things like this couldn't happen, not to real people.

Not to Pyrrha.

Only when Ruby reached the shore did Pyrrha feel her own knees give out, one stinging as it hit a rock buried under the ash-gray sand at her feet. As if the burnt dust residue from their ship had infected a once beautiful golden beach with its toxins. Or perhaps the sand was a reflection of the darkening sky; big looming clouds clumping up together, threatening the world below with the distant hint of thunder. Splash went Ruby's feet as they slogged into the lapping waves, and much like Pyrrha herself, she fell to her knees. That's when she began to hyperventilate.

She fought for air as if someone was squeezing her lungs. Ruby slapped water in her face like she was starving for it, desperately clawing at the skin and clothes that had been drenched in dark red. Red that thankfully wasn't her own, but Pyrrha wasn't sure that was much better. It pooled around her, wafting off in thin streams that slowly vanished in waves that rocked the shoreline.

"Yang! Yang, are you okay!?" Yelling. Who was yelling? Weiss was on her hands and knees, dragging herself through the sand, which stuck to her hair and face like wet ashes. Her dress was burned black at the hem and skirt, one sleeve torn so much that it hung off her arm in thick clumps. Her tiara was gone, leaving her hair to fall in front of her face like a curtain. One heel was broken, but Pyrrha doubted that was the reason Weiss was crawling. Coughing. So much coughing. Blake came from somewhere, Pyrrha couldn't see since the smoke was starting to burn her eyes. She helped Weiss get away—that when she saw the blood running down Weiss's forehead from an open scrape. Blake wasn't much better, one arm looked like it had been severely burned, the flesh red hot and missing skin. And Pyrrha certainly didn't remember Blake only having one cat ear.

"I'm fine, over here!" Yang spat out as she helped Nora to her feet, helping to get her away from the burning wreckage. Sand caked their hair, and they'd only managed to relax—if relaxing meant crashing into the sand and sucking at the air—when they finally cleared the range of the exposed engine. Which gushed out throat-burning smoke and eye-stringing fire. Fire that licked at its spinning turbines, crackling along with the ear-torturing whine that the scraping metal gears gave off. Faint light from the Dust inside still blazed with life even though the rest of the ship was gone. Yang and Nora said something, but Pyrrha couldn't make it out. Her own ears were still ringing.

How had this happened? Everything was fine. Mister White had been right in front of her, saying...something. Perhaps just rambling like he tended to. Then, yelling, loud enough that Pyrrha had woken up completely. Something dark passed in front of her—a Blake who'd at the time had two ears. She screamed. Then the screaming was gone. Everything was loud. A violent locomotion as if they were pulled into a tornado.

"Everyone...okay?" Ren came from somewhere behind her. His hair had fallen out of the tail, loose about his face. His shirt was torn from the back, and Pyrrha could see a nasty gash there that creased with every step. He limped a bit, and Pyrrha wondered how far he'd been blasted away. He was at Nora's side in an instant, allowing Yang to go to Ruby.

"Alive, yeah. Okay? Take a good look." Yang called back, kneeling at Ruby's side, whispering to her as she helped to wash her off. She had blood running down her head from the back, covering her hair all the way to the tips a bit past her upper back. Her gauntlets were missing—that was odd. Why wasn't Yang wearing her weapons? "Anyone want to tell me what the hell that thing was? A Nevermore?"

"If that was a Nevermore, its not one I've ever seen. Or heard of." Blake coughed, sitting Weiss with Ren and Nora. No one else had an answer, and for Pyrrha, she was surprised Yang could even answer that question. The most she'd seen were thick, giant teeth half her size coming straight through the floor and ceiling of the ship. A mighty screech. Someone had yelled, a deeper, more masculine voice. But not like Ren's. A burst of air that immediately knocked her to the ground. Who'd been screaming?

It really had been Ruby's misfortune to be the one grabbed by Captain White when the fall began. A section of the ship, sharp and hungry, took him by surprise.

She'd seen it in horror movies, a bisected body—it almost made it hard to believe in reality. A jutting portion of the ship held up the top half of the captain, letting his insides spill out and hang like horrific decoration streamers. She'd have said he died instantly, but it was hard to tell while his face was being eaten by the flames starting to spread across his body. The other half of him was on the ground, as lifeless as the top. And the pilot of the ship? He unfortunately was a lot more than bisected. And spread too far apart to even entertain the idea that he could have survived.

"Do we know where we are?" someone asked. Pyrrha didn't. Blake, most likely.

"Who cares!" Weiss snapped, "What are we going to do? Maybe you haven't noticed the situation you've put us in!"

"Me!?"

Arguing. Why were they arguing? Couldn't Weiss take her own advice? Pyrrha for one couldn't say anything, looking around her for any sign of anything. But all she could see were the woods behind her.

No, not woods. A forest. A rainforest.

The trees were so tall, taller than the trees she saw at home and Vale. seventy maybe eighty feet, and so closely packed together they were like cage bars. The slots past them were pitch black even though the sun was still peeking through the clouds, at least for now. Thick, dark green brush littered their tops like the clouds above. And under them, did they entirely mask the world from the light? What was inside? And as small as the beach was, the forest itself seemed to stretch far and even into the ocean as if it was coming to wrap itself around the land. Pyrrha's heart beat violently in her chest. Green, she remembered seeing this forest from above. The screaming came back. The one who was not accounted for.

She'd seen him fall, and hadn't been able to reach him before he was a speck sailing into a great green expanse a thousand miles below. A burst of fire, the ship tearing apart, and a mighty roar that she could still hear through the pounding of her eardrums. Pyrrha had been forced to wrap herself and the others in a metal casing from the hull of the ship to protect everyone. Everyone but one. The ship exploded halfway down, and they were lucky that was enough of a distance that their aura would save them from any lasting damage.

Everyone but one of them.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha hopped up in a panic, crying out as she gripped at her leg. She didn't look, but she could tell she had an injury, a gash perhaps. It stung when she touched it, making her gun fall off her back. She stumbled toward the forest, fighting to stay upright. "Jaune, where are you!?"

"Pyrrha!" Ren called out, the girl turning to him. "We can't worry about him right now." he turned to everyone else, "Whatever we can—food, clothes, canteens, weapons. Start looking now!"

They couldn't just forget about Jaune. He was the only one unaccounted for. Who was to say how far away he was? It'd take a long time to find him—too long. No Huntsman's aura could save them from the fall that high. Not even Jaune. He was injured, at best. At worst...

Maybe no one else objected, but Pyrrha stumbled toward the forest anyway. The others called her name, but she ignored them. They could find supplies, but she had to find Jaune. She had to. Something stopped her, a strong hand. Pyrrha fought and struggled, but that hand was joined by another, one that dragged her away from the forest no matter how much she fought. "We'll find him, Pyrrha. Soon, okay? You need to stay here."

She couldn't do this. What if Jaune was hurt? Goddamn it if her arms didn't hurt, she could break away. As it stood, she was pushed toward the group, and while Pyrrha wanted to make another attempt. A stern look from Ren convinced her otherwise.

"The sea! Look!" Nora called out.

Something in the distance. Dark and round—a section of the ship. Floating more and more quickly away—it was a mere speck over the edge of the darkening horizon and black ocean. Everyone gathered up to the shore, stared out at it in silence. "That can't be the storage hull..." Blake shook her head in disbelief.

"It can't be anything else." Yang pursed her lips, staring out at it with narrowed eyes, fists clenched tight.

"My weapon…" Weiss whispered. And not just hers, likely Nora's and Yang's too. Pyrrha had hers on hand, but only Milo. She'd lost Akouo in the blast. There was a collective flinch, a dim flash in the black heavens. Something wet dropped onto Pyrrha's face, sank into her eye in a way no different than how her heart sank into her stomach.

"There may still be stuff laying around, not everything was in there." Ren ushered the group, "Let's hurry everyone, get what we can before the rain starts. We need to find shelter. Now."

Pyrrha was sure there were more questions to be asked, but Ren was right about that one thing at least. Shelter first, figuring everything else out second. But her feet didn't move, her eyes couldn't leave the distant horizon where the sky met the ocean. Nothing for miles. No pilot, no Huntsman that was surely experienced in situations like this. No Jaune.

Was he safe? Was he alive? With her leg the way it was, she didn't think she'd find out today, and that was enough to make her fall onto her ass in disbelief. Barely a month. Just a few weeks into the new year and this was the first thing to go wrong on her first mission? It wasn't right, it wasn't fair. This wasn't how things were supposed to go.

Ruby was the only one besides her that still sat in the water. Blood almost completely off her, yet she stared at her hands with wide, tear rimmed eyes as if she could still see it on her. Feel its warm, metallic horror.

The girl lurched, then immediately began puking into the ocean.

—RA—

There couldn't be humidity without rain, and since it was humid before the rain started, Pyrrha could only assume it rained often here. And that already didn't bode well.

What was it that her father had said? The rain is as you see it. The optimistic thinks the angels cry for them. But how do you think the pessimist sees it?

If there was anything Pyrrha was sure of, it was that the pessimistic man had it right this time. The rain came like thousands of buckets of water, as if the ocean had been flipped upside down and now fell on the planet in great big gouts. Pyrrha had to rely on feeling her footsteps wobbling through gunky sludge, for she certainly couldn't hear it over the booming thunder. Between thick folds of foliage barring her path, an inclining wave of mud at her feet, and the thick gray mist screening her view, Pyrrha could only guess how much she'd fallen behind.

The world was dark on every side, and on the rare chance she looked up and managed to ignore the rain rain pelting her face, the canopy hung over them in bushels of black. Keeping its victims contained—trapped. In a way, her clothes were no different, Pyrrha having been forced to abandon her armor. Stuck in her skirt, stockings, sports bra and...one of Jaune's spare jackets they'd managed to find. It all stuck to her skin, from her jacket to her underclothes, no part of her was spared. She shivered and sneezed, but stumbled forward anyway. Like the world would give her any other option.

Its violent wake kept everyone forward, but just barely. Pyrrha could see Yang in the lead, her hair burning bright through the darkness. Weiss, Blake, and Ruby were close behind. The latter clutched tightly to Blake's side, Weiss stumbling in the mud—she'd need to get rid of her heels, borrowing Ruby's extra boots that they'd been lucky to find. And they hadn't been lucky to find much.

Not much extra ammo or clothes, no tents or sleeping bags, only a few canteens and even less food. All to be split between the eight of them. Starving. What would that be like? Pyrrha knew what it was like being cranky when missing lunch. She had a feeling that being cranky would be the least of her problems.

Pyrrha had lagged behind, though at this point she couldn't be sure about whether that was a conscious choice, or she was having trouble keeping of her, Nora held Ren's hand, him guiding her through the mud. Occasionally over the rain, she could hear Nora sucking at air, trying to ignore the pain. Her legs wobbled, struggling through the mud that now caked her body from one too many falls. Nora was normally good at traveling through harsh conditions—she'd lived most of her life in the badlands.

Things became harder with an injured knee. A knee that couldn't be rid of the pain. Pain that flared up in harsh weather.

Pushing on, Pyrrha caught up with them. She nodded at Nora, tried to wrap her teammate's arm over her shoulder. Only for her to jerk away. No, Ren had pulled her away. Ren didn't hold his glare for long, continuing forward with Nora in his arms, and apparently no one else's. Nora looked back at Pyrrha would have stood there, wondering to herself why, perhaps get a little angry.

But how worth it would it even be? Sighing, she followed after them.

Had it been an hour of walking, perhaps half the time? Pyrrha had been keeping track, but quickly forgotten it the moment Yang called out to everyone. Not far off, an outcropping of rock poking out of the undergrowth that stretched up into a small cliff. A cliff with a big overhand that protected its underside from the rain. Its top was covered in moss, and like blankets to a mattress, giant leaves fell over the overhang and diverted the rain flow away from the bed of the cliff. Everyone funneled inside, the loud rain seemingly fading into a distant ambience the moment they'd escaped it. However temporarily. Shaking leaves, the lot of them, and Pyrrha doubted that the floor would be smooth and warm like she was hoping it was.

"Ruby, hey." Yang was whispering. Kneeled down to her little sister, she was patting her cheek, trying to get her attention. But Ruby didn't answer, her dark red was slicked to her face and neck, and she shivered so freely it was as if her bones had turned to ice. She was no longer wide-eyed but still stared forward with sullenness that didn't fade flinch even as Yang helped her out of her boots and pulled a small blanket from a bag. Yang didn't look much better off, her speech slurring in tandem with her hair, which dimmed on and off like a faulty lightbulb.

Blake tried to help Weiss, but the latter had merely snarled and pushed her away. Whatever they'd said, Pyrrha couldn't hear, and Blake eventually gave up and went to sit next to Yang, leaving Weiss to wrap her arms around herself and try to glare the rain away. Pyrrha didn't have the heart to tell her it wouldn't work.

At the front of the outcropping, Ren had Nora resting against the wall. He gently rubbed her right knee—it was about all he could do without her medicine. If they'd had Jaune, maybe he could heal her pain, or numb it if that was possible. Pyrrha wanted to go help, but not with Ren there.

She'd be alone tonight. But then, that hadn't really changed from normal, had it? "Are you alright?" Pyrrha asked Weiss as she approached.

"I'm alive." she answered curtly.

"Not exactly what I asked..." Pyrrha muttered, but let it go. Nothing was said for a while, and the only thing Pyrrha could hear was Yang softly singing something to comfort Ruby. Perhaps to comfort herself too.

"I tried to grab him. I was the closest to him and I still wasn't quick enough..."

Pyrrha nodded, trying her best to consider running out and screaming Jaune's name a bad idea. Even if he was close, there was no way he'd hear him. But he was smart, he'd have found a place to stay for the night too. He'd be fine. He'd be fine...

"Don't blame yourself." Pyrrha said, "This wasn't anyone's fault."

Weiss's lip curled, a fury simmered in icy blues eyes that would surely freeze the ocean over with a glance. When they met Pyrrha's eyes, that power didn't last long and she hung her head with a sigh as if she just couldn't muster any more strength. "Like it even matters now."

"Someone is coming to help us." Pyrrha sat beside her, "Ships have distress signals sent out automatically when emergencies happen. So someone has to know what happened and be on the way."

"Maybe."

Maybe? No, not maybe. Signals like that were designed for situations like this. A few days at max and rescuers by the thousands would storm the forest calling out to them with soundphones so loud they could clear miles. With dozens of ships flying overhead with ghostlights that could cut through the thickest darkness. Pyrrha nodded to herself. There was no maybe. There couldn't be a maybe.

Pyrrha hadn't gotten any more tired even as time passed. Yang, Ruby, and Blake were the first ones out, curled up next to each other for warmth. Then Nora, holding tightly onto Ren, who looked to be fighting off sleep in some thin attempt to keep watch. Weiss had curled up on her side, hands squeezing her shoulders as she trembled freely. Stubborn girl. Letting a breath out through her nose, Pyrrha wrapped her arms around her, almost managing to smile as she relaxed into her. Almost.

And as Pyrrha slowly let herself drift into the dark abyss of sleep, she kept on assuring herself that everything would be fine. That Jaune was out there, uninjured and safe from the rain. Help was coming, she just kept on thinking that.

No matter how much she couldn't convince herself of it.

—RA—

To be Jaune Arc was to be unlucky.

His blood ran cold as he looked into the dark branches overhead. Branches that twisted and wrapped themselves along the circumference of giant trees circling the soggy clearing. Something was there. Something that was moving with certainty even through the pouring rain.

Something with red eyes shining through the darkness.

There was a low sound, a growl, one that Jaune thought he would run away from. Instead he stayed there, following those eyes as they slowly weaved through the black. Watching, waiting. What creature did those eyes belong to? Jaune didn't wait long to find out. A flash of light, barely a second long, but it was enough.

Large white fangs, practically daggers. A thick muscled black hide with casings of bone covering the flesh like armor. Cracked armor. Razor sharp whiskers and paws that teased the claws hiding in them. A panther...or was it jaguar? Its a big cat, moron. Why the hell does its species matter right now?

It was when he reached for his sword that he remembered his problem. His sword had snapped in half. He couldn't even pay it a glance anymore for fear of losing his predator, but he recalled the sight clearly after he'd woken up. Wherever the tip of his sword had gone, he hadn't had the time to look. Leaving him stuck with a half-sized longsword and his shield, which was thankfully still intact.

The panther, jaguar, or possibly a really big bobcat, now inched toward him. It stuck to the trees, only now its deep growls were more apparent. Clicking and bubbling in a way that caused Jaune's skin to bristle, his senses to flare. Jaune could swear he saw it drooling, searching for a chance to pounce. Why not now? Why was it waiting? Most Grimm attacked on sight once they saw a human. Another flash, Jaune got a good look at its face. A deep slash was in its mask, giving a cracked appearance, unhinged and unpredictable. It opened its mouth, unveiling the teeth that Jaune feared not even his own aura could protect him from.

Had he not used Shield and pumped himself full to near bursting, he was sure he'd be splatter. And even then, he doubted he could do much running with how his body was aching. How his head still rang from the screech of the giant Grimm that had sent him and his teammates into freefall. Were they nearby? Were they okay?

Would he live long enough to find them? Perhaps if I ask this monster nicely...

It began to circle him after leaping out of the trees and landing just a few strides away. Its muscles bulged, its aged armor cracked and damaged perhaps from years of battling. From years of surviving. Jaune's fingers closed around the handle of his sword, and he slowly stepped to the left to mirror the monster's footsteps. He remembered his match with Yang, how they'd done the very same. Circled each other like hungry jungle cats, both intent on surviving. Well he'd won then. He could win now.

Could.

"Human doesn't taste very good, you know. Its all gangly and rough." he said, swallowing to slow his pounding heart. Catching a whiff of the salt in the air from the pouring rain, a taste of it on his tongue. "Now, salad, there's a healthier option."

The beast lowered itself. Jaune mirrored it. "Killing me won't make your ex come back, either. Or get you that promotion."

It took a step forward, hot breath blowing out of its mouth as if a steam engine burned inside it.

He shook his head, a fury boiling up inside that he hadn't noticed was there until then. Dumb animal. This situation was bad enough as it was—this would not help him in the slightest. But a good fight was a good distraction.

The beast leaped. Except it didn't—its partner did.

The teeth dug deep, deeper than Jaune had expected them to. Jaune clawed at the creature that had caught him from behind, sunken its teeth into his shoulder. He roared, punched at its mask, red lightning sparking off his fist again and again. He threw himself to the ground, avoiding the leap of the scarred Grimm. Taking hold of the second's jaw, he dug his hand into its throat, grabbing its hot wet tongue.

The saying wasn't supposed to go exactly that way, but no better time than now to flip the script. The beast howled as he ripped his arm out, taking it tongue with him. It fell back, scrambling on the ground. Jaune didn't waste time going after it, cut short when the scarred one leaped at him again. He jumped away, tumbling in the grass, spitting out dirt that got into his mouth.

With a sharp flash, Jaune revealed his sword, almost humiliated at its length. But it still had a serviceable edge and it wasn't like he had much else to work with. The second had gotten up by now and began circling him from behind.

Scar attacked first, Jaune meeting his leap head on. It weaved away, rather smoothly, as if it had predicted it. Had faced a weapon—a fighter—like Jaune a million times before. Jaune swung at him, but Scar was disturbingly patient, leaping and dashing out of the way, tail whipping behind him. He'd snap his teeth, hoping to catch him when he was open, but didn't keep up the pressure. Why the hell wasn't this thing just attacking him?

The partner wasn't nearly so patient, and if there was any kind of coordination, it certain didn't show. It attacked without rest, extended claws swiping at the air as it chased Jaune down. He leapt back, ducked aside—shit, these things were fast. Incredibly so. They were almost blurs amidst the night and heavy rain, and Jaune couldn't move nearly as well with random patches of mud upsetting his balance.

He fell back as his boot slid in a puddle, and Scar seized that chance to leap. Jaune quickly rolled out of the way, mud kissing his face and neck, sliding under his shirt. The second one came at him again, but this time he was ready. He bashed its claw aside, kicking it in the belly to send it halfway across the clearing. Scar was next, teeth snapping together and killing only air as Jaune began to weave away.

Green lightning sparked around his body. Faded. It was a form that took a lot out of him—with not much aura left, he'd probably only be able to use it one more time. No better time than now to make it count.

Reaction. Aura brimmed to life through his body, warmed his muscles, sharpened his senses, exposed the depth of the field around him. He took a breath, could feel the way his lungs contracted and expanded. Could more clearly hear the pounding of his heart. The growling in his stomach.

He was a lightning bolt, flashing in the night just as brightly if not brighter than the lightning in the heavens. He flashed forward, Scar gambling on a dodge that paid off. Jaune wasn't done, quickly altering his trajectory after skidding in the grass. They leapt at one another, Jaune smashing his shield against the beast's face, leaving it sprawling in the mud. The partner closed in, snapping at Jaune's heels. Not nearly as quick as it seemed before.

Or he'd just gotten better at, well, reacting.

It swiped at him, and Jaune almost knew instinctively that it was over. He slashed upward, took off its paw. Then leaping at its midair body, he buried his sword into its head, ignored teeth sinking into his shoulder in some thin attempt to take him down with it. Jaune bellowed, pinned the monster to the ground like a thumbnail. It kicked and gurgled, its breath a sour blast of rot and blood. Twisting his wrists, Jaune ripped the sword out of the side of its mouth, silencing its whines forever.

He whipped around just in time. Scarface skidded to a stop just a few feet away, and Jaune's hand trembled as Reaction Form fizzed out. Immediate exhaustion, an emptiness as if he'd been starving for days. Too much aura used in too little time. He wanted to fall over, capsize like an overturned boat. Holding on, he stared Scarface down, waiting for him to make a move. He just had to react quickly enough and end him. The monster would attack soon. Right about now. Jaune readied himself...but Scar didn't move. In fact, Scar wasn't looking at him.

It was looking at it's partner.

He held its gaze for a while, stared as if contemplating something. As if it was thinking. It nearly made Jaune lose grip on his weapon. What the hell was it doing? He knew Grimm got more intelligent as they aged, but...now he was seeing it. It just couldn't be. This just couldn't be real.

Scarface looked at him, lowered itself, almost waiting for Jaune to raise his guard again. Only for him to spring away and hightail it. With a mighty leap, it disappeared into the deep forestry. There were no red eyes to be seen anymore.

He'd...run away.

Grimm didn't run away. They fought like wild angry animals with no sense of thought or regard for the world around them. They didn't look when Grimm fell. They didn't wait for their human opponents to attack and certainly didn't predict what those attacks would be. Grimm couldn't do that.

But this one did.

Jaune looked around. Suddenly colder than the rain had ever made him. The forest looked like it could hide everything—that it was hiding everything. The giant one that attacked the ship was not one he'd ever seen. Was it in here somewhere? Were there more of them just like with these jaguars? What else was here?

Staring at the one he'd killed, Jaune swallowed hard. He'd only killed one, and had to rely on his most costly formchange to get it done. It went without saying how bad that would become if he didn't find the others.

And fast.

Sup.

If you're wondering where I've been, I've been hard at work for nearly a year now working on my novel. Its been a journey, one that isn't over, but something called me back to fanfiction.

Let me just say that even though this is the sequel to Tournament Arc, do not go in expecting the same thing. I cannot replicate nor add onto the unique flavor that was TA, I can only hope to continue it in a way that improves upon the things that have been established. It is perfectly fine to not read this sequel if the ending of the original was enough for you, I completely respect that.

If after this chapter you have a lot of questions, then good. I decided to start strong and push y'all into the deep end. Rest assured, things will be explained. But I will try to refrain from explaining and justifying myself in these Author's Notes and trust that I have the ability to explain things in the story in a way a good writer should. I don't have a schedule, and since I'm working on this alongside my novel, updates won't be super frequent either since even with this virus business, I still have to work full-time. I don't know if I'll work on already existing fics, I'd rather not make promises I can't keep, so I'm sorry if that disappoints you. With that said, I hope you've enjoyed the read.

If you're interested in my novel, I'm thinking about posting it online. My profile has a summary of my book if you're curious, and if I do decide to post it, I'll be sure to let you all know.

To DonEscuero, Loganhunter, Ehbon, Randompanda, Mike the Remnant Paladin, and ZH_Steven, thank you all so much for helping to get me back into fanfiction again. I've missed this. Its good to be back.

So readers, are you ready for an adventure? If so, then strap in and brace yourselves. If TA was a pair of boxing gloves, then its sequel will be spiked gauntlets.

ISA