A/N: Well, here we are once again. Please read the A/N: at the end and enjoy.

It seemed that as Team JARS were making their way away from the restaurant, they took a wrong turn and found themselves at the docks. Before they could turn around and start heading back to take Ivory home, the little girl called out.

"Daddy! Look at the big boat! Can we go see it?" All eyes turned to the water as a massive cargo ship was heading into port. From what they could see, it was packed to the gills with containers. Staying and looking at a boat was the last thing he wanted to do. He was tired, sticky, and uncomfortable. But he'd never been good at saying no. With an internal groan, he turned to his team.

"You guys mind if we see the boat for a bit and then head back?" Jaune shrugged, as did Ruby. Weiss sighed.

"Alright, but can we make it quick? I'd like to go to bed and forget today ever happened." Her normally pristine snow white outfit was now marred with stains and rips. In fact, all of Team JARS looked out of sorts. Ruby had flecks of pudding strewn about her skirt as well. Jaune looked the worst. His hoodie was a mess of ketchup and grease marks, as was his face. Even his hair had streaks of red in it.

Artis nodded

"That's fine, right baby girl?" He looked up as much as he could to the little girl on his shoulders. She nodded and tugged on his ears again.

"OK, let's go!" She took one hand off and pointed to the pier that extended out. The group flopped down on the wood and exhaled. It was only then that Artis began to look around. They had somehow stumbled into Vale's industrial sector. Cranes towered into the night sky and various warehouses dotted the landscape. Trucks and cargo containers sat amidst the gravel and dirt. After nearly a minute of watching the ship, Weiss spoke.

"Hang on a second… That's a Schnee Dust Company vessel." Her eyebrows furrowed and she stood. Jaune opened his mouth.

"That's... cool? Is it safe to assume it's bringing in a shipment of dust for the Vytal Festival?" She shook head.

"I'm not sure. I don't remember reading about one in the manifest…" Jaune shared a look with Ruby and Artis.

"You read shipping manifests for your company in your spare time?" She nodded confidently.

"If I am to take over the company someday, I must be aware of everything that goes on within it. How else can I make the best decision without having as much information as I can get?" Jaune shrugged. Before the conversation could continue, a ship roared overhead. The large light that sat on the underbelly of it came to life and began to bounce around from crate the crate. Artis shifted and stood.

"Please tell me the SDC makes a point of sending a Bullhead with every Dust shipment that isn't on manifests." She shook her head slowly.

"No, we don't…" The ship descended and nearly a dozen beings marched out holding guns and clothed in armor with a wolf's head and three claws marks, all blood red. White Fang.

"We need to go, right now." As Artis spoke, another person exited from the ship. A man in a bright white coat accented with a gray scarf, a cane, and a bowler hat. "Now we really need to go." The teens nodded as the blue haired man scooped up his daughter. "We're going home now sweetie, it's bed time."

"But I'm not tired Daddy, can't we stay bit longer?" She whined. Artis shook his head.

"Not this time baby, we gotta go." She whined again but didn't struggle in his arms. Thank the gods. "Now if we move nice and quiet like, we can all get out of here, call the police and Headmaster Ozpin and hang it up for the night. Everyone like that plan?" He was given a chorus of nods and even a light bark from Dusty.

As Ruby and Jaune got to their feet, they heard shouting.

"Hey! What're you doing here?" They all turned and saw one of the White Fang members making his way over. Another voice called out.

"What're you doing you stupid animal? Stop drawing attention to yourself and kill them!" Oh shit.

"Run!" Artis broke off in a dead sprint towards one of the warehouses that was, thankfully, empty. Bullets ricocheted off the steel and concrete walls. Ivory had ground herself into his neck.

"Daddy, I'm scared!" He rubbed her back as gently as he could.

"It's gonna be alright baby, we're gonna get out of here real soon." He passed a look to his team. "Anyone have any ideas about getting out of here without a fight?" They all shared a look that said they didn't as more bullets pounded into the walls. Above, glass shattered, falling down like rain. Artis shifted so his body blocked as much of it as he could from Ivory as Jaune spoke.

"Everyone move! Get to higher ground." Team JARS ran into a side room and marched up several flights of stairs until they were on the roof. They formed a circle and took a knee.

"Someone please tell me they came up with a plan on the way up here?" Artis looked to Weiss first, who shook her head, then Ruby who did the same. By the time he got to Jaune, he'd basically given up hope. Jaune snapped his fingers.

"The lockers! We can call the rocket lockers here, get our weapons, and fight our way out." The blue haired man looked to the little girl in his arms and then to his team.

"Fine, but I can't be on the ground with you, I won't leave Ivory alone." He slinked his way to the edge of the roof and peered over. Several more warehouses were nearby; some even close enough to jump to. "Alright, I've got something like a plan." All eyes shifted to him. "When the lockers get here, I need all of you make a big distraction so I can get to another location where I can keep her" he nodded his head down to Ivory. "Safe. Then I'll give you guys as much covering fire as I can. Sound good?"

The three of them nodded and pulled out their Scrolls, Artis set Ivory down and did the same. After the signal was sent, he dropped to a knee and took Ivory's hands in his.

"We're gonna be OK baby girl, you hear me?" She nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. His heart broke at the sight. Nice job "dad of the year." He tried to go over anything else that they could do but fight only to come up with nothing.

Calling the police would only get them killed, White Fang terrorists led by Roman Torchwick versus standard cops with guns? Not a good idea. There wasn't anyone he could call at Beacon, not that they'd get here since there were no more Bullheads exiting the school, given how late it was getting, there might not even be any heading back. Making a break for it wasn't an option with that Bullhead there, it would easily chase them down and, Aura or no, tear them to ribbons if it was armed. Not a risk worth taking.

They were really going to have to fight their way out of this. Four Huntsman in training, a four year old girl, and a rock dog versus who knows how many armed terrorists led by a thief.

The lockers landed with thuds strong enough to shake the building and send chips of concrete into the air. Artis kissed Ivory's forehead and snatched up his rifle from his locker before sliding the bolt back to see that the chamber was clear. He turned back to his team.

"Alright guys, let's set up the coms so we can stay in contact." He took out his busted Scroll and set up the joint call. "Testing, testing. Everyone hear me?" The sound of feet pounding against concrete echoed from the stairwell they exited from. "Doesn't matter, we gotta move. I'll call my shots before I pull the trigger." He mumbled to himself. "Hope these guys have Aura."

Looking over to the next warehouse, he tossed his rifle and scooped up Ivory.

"Hang on tight baby girl." She nodded and squeezed him like he was her favorite toy. Behind him, he heard the door burst open and gunfire erupt. Artis sprinted as fast as he could, not bothering to measure the jump. The adjacent roof came upon him faster than he'd have liked and instead of rolling, he slid, tearing up the newly bought jeans. This whole Huntsman thing is awful for my budget. He cradled Ivory and did everything he could to keep her skin from meeting the rooftop. He came to a halt and turned to see Dusty leap to his side like it was nothing. Show off.

A terrorist had breached the door, joining Team JARS on the roof. Bad idea on his part. The sound of lead meeting steel ravaged the night air as bullets pinged off of Jaune's shield. He stood as the vanguard of the formation, Ruby and Weiss at his back. Several dodged his bulwark, causing his Aura to flare. With a grunt, he rushed forward, slamming his shield into the leading gunman. The Faunus terrorist was send cascading back down the stairs and into his lagging comrades. Ruby and Weiss dashed into the stairwell, leaving Jaune alone atop the roof. Soon the air was filled with screaming and shouting, then silence. A ball of pure dread firmly planted itself in Artis's stomach.

"Ruby, Weiss? You guys alright?" Weiss answered.

"We're fine." Ruby chirped up.

"They're knocked out, seems like they've all got Aura." On the one hand, Artis was eternally thankful, he had yet to actually kill anyone and prayed to the gods above he'd never have to. On the other hand, these were terrorists and his baser instincts told him to slaughter as many as he could. Jaune nodded.

"Alright, I'll meet you guys down there." He turned to Artis on the adjacent building. "You go get set up and cover us." He nodded and dropped to a knee by Ivory's side again.

"Sweetie, stay behind me and don't move OK? There are some very bad people down there who want to hurt us a lot. Dusty will protect you but you need to stay up on this roof with me, OK?" She nodded, wiping a stray tear from her eye.

"OK Daddy." Her lip quivered and she threw herself into his arms. "Where's Mommy?" Artis wrapped his arms around her and sighed.

"I don't know baby but as soon as we get out of here, I'll find out. Deal?" She nodded again. "Good." He clicked his tongue twice and called Dusty over. He pointed to Ivory. "Guard." The stone hound let out a low bark and placed himself between the little girl and the stairwell that led to the roof.

Artis kissed Ivory's cheek one last time before gathering his rifle and dropping to the ground. He set up the bipod and let just the end of the barrel peak over the edge and let his Scroll rest just on the edge, next to his mouth. He didn't need the scope to see what was going on down below. A group of three White Fang had begun to run at Ruby, swords drawn. Ruby spun Crescent Rose and smacked the first attack aside with the blunt end of her weapon. It bounced back and she carved through the man's Aura with the blade. It came around again and the second strike sent the terrorist into the water to Ruby's left. Using her Rose Dash, she charged the second White Fang, cleaving through the Faunus's weapon and then his Aura.

The third didn't stand a chance and opted for tossing his sword into the water and sprinting the complete opposite direction of the little Reaper.

Weiss didn't seem to be having any more trouble than her partner; several White Fang had decided to use the same tactic against her as they did with Ruby, with similar results. Though instead of being torn asunder by a massive scythe, they were left like pincushions from her Dust rapier. Of all of Team JARS, it looked like Jaune was having the most trouble. He dealt with the first being to rush him fairly well, jamming Crocea Mors into his chest. It was the second, third, fourth, and fifth White Fang that made things a challenge.

Artis shifted and took aim at one of the terrorists behind his partner. Taking a deep breath, he squeezed the trigger. Thunder echoed from the rooftop and the Faunus was sent hurtling end over end into the water. Taking aim again, he picked off a second member. This was exactly where Artis loved to be. In the back, the whole world in front of him, and not a single enemy soul knew where he was. Oh sure, they could guess but unless they were looking for him, they'd be very hard-pressed to actually lock his position down. This was helped by the fact that he had some very useful distrac- teammates - to help out.

"Sorry Jaune, forgot to call that out." He said with a wry grin. "Forget" wasn't exactly the right word but nobody really needed to know that. His partner didn't say anything but he did bash one of the Faunus in the face with his shield; he hadn't been paying attention and paid the price for it. The ghost factor was one of the most effective weapons a sniper had. When nobody knew where you were, that meant you were everywhere. If it drew even a fraction of the enemy's attention away, it was more than enough to get you killed. That niggling little fear in the back of your mind was infinitely louder when you didn't know where the bullets were flying from.

Jaune ran ahead after dispatching the last of his group of White Fang and met up with Weiss and Ruby. The three of them began to march towards Torchwick's last known location. He'd had been noticeably absent as of late, leading to that pit of dread reforming in Artis's stomach. More White Fang goons ran out of a nearby warehouse and at the teens in a row, swords drawn.

"Far left, all mine." Artis squeezed the trigger again and the Faunus fell. Nothing quite broke up that ball like firing a small cannon at armed terrorists. Weiss and Ruby tore apart the right side with brutal efficiency. Jaune… well Jaune kept them occupied for Artis. "On your ten o'clock Jaune, all mine." Another trigger squeeze, another body. "Three o'clock Weiss." A clap of thunder. "Got him." Soon, the column was dwindled down to one very scared White Fang. Through his scope, Artis could see the man drop his sword and watched as a small wet spot began to form at his waist. Weiss made a noise of pure disgust.

"What else did I expect from a bunch of cowardly terrorists?" Artis squeezed his trigger and his was sent off the edge into the drink below. Ruby spoke, her frown evident in her words.

"You didn't have to shoot him; he was going to run away." The blue haired man shrugged.

"We'll say that wasn't one of my finer moments, deal?" He took her silence as acceptance and looked through his scope. "Anybody see Torchwick?" Artis scanned the area, but there was no bowler hat or bright white coat to be found. It had gone quiet at the docks, definitely not a good thing. There was no way they'd dealt with all of the White Fang members and Roman Torchwick was still unaccounted for.

"Could he have run away?" Jaune asked. Ruby shrugged.

"Maybe, he tried to run when I fought him in Vale but I chased him down. Then Professor Goodwitch found me and started yelling at me." Artis cocked an eyebrow, shifting his scope to the little Reaper.

"Why exactly were you fighting Roman in the city?" He could see her cheeks darken from his perch as she stalked across the area.

"I couldn't let him just rob the Dust shop I was in." He watched as she fiddled with the handle of Crescent Rose. "It worked out though, I got to come to Beacon two years early and now I'm on Team JARS. All's well that ends well, right?" She let out an awkward laugh.

Two years? Gods, she's only fifteen. Weiss ground the conversation to a halt.

"Did you guys hear that?" Jaune and Ruby shook their heads. The three closed in on one another, ensuring they wouldn't be singled out. "It sounds like… footsteps." A shock of pink hair caught his attention from in between two buildings. Iris? He looked closer as the pink curls came into view. No, that's not Iris. She's way too small and Iris never lets her hair get that long. Not to mention this chick's got pink and brown hair.

"Heads up, got movement on your guy's four o'clock, coming from between the warehouses. Looks like a kid with an uh… What's the thing called when it's like an umbrella but not for rain?" They all turned, weapons raised as Weiss sighed and spoke.

"A parasol?" Artis nodded.

"Yea, got a girl coming in with one of them." The scope found her again. "Kinda weird to be walking around at night with one of them, huh?"

"Keep an eye on her Artis, she might be lost or a Huntsman come to investigate." Artis nodded.

"Got it." His finger rested on the trigger guard and he spared a glance to Ivory. She was huddled only a few feet away, her knees pulled up to her chest. We'll be home soon baby, just a bit longer. By the door sat Dusty, his eyes never leaving the door he guarded. Just then, he stood and began to growl.

"Daddy, what's the noise?" Artis remained silent, trying to focus his hearing. Footsteps… He stood, letting his rifle rest on the rooftop. He slid his knife from its sheath.

"Ivory, stay away from the door, do you hear me?" A small whimper left her lips.

"What's going on Daddy?" His grip tightened and he picked up his Scroll.

"Someone's coming up the stairs; you don't have any far support." Ruby piped up.

"Do you need help?" He shook his head.

"I don't think so." I hope not. "You guys keep trying to find Torchwick so we can leave." He didn't bother listening for a reply, instead opting to slip the piece of cracked technology into his pocket. We could make a break for it! Just us and Ivory. They couldn't catch us with the rest of the team there to be a distraction! They'd even understand, we've gotta put Ivory first after all… As much as he hated to admit it, the plan wasn't awful. His team would definitely understand and no one could really blame him. His daughter's life is at risk, he could be forgiven for leaving a bunch of kids he's only known for a few months in favor of his little girl right?

Artis mentally slapped himself. No, we're not leaving anyone behind. Everyone is coming home tonight, no exceptions. The thudding of footsteps was getting louder and he stalked his way to the door. His best bet would be to ambush them as they walked in, they probably were expecting to have the element of surprise on their side and keeping the fight as far away from Ivory was his top priority.

He snapped his fingers twice to get Dusty's attention.

"Dusty, hit." The door burst open, revealing six White Fang grunts. Four hundred pounds of stone and slobber smashed into the lead terrorist's chest like a he was fired from a cannon. Artis followed in not a second after. Dusty had driven them back into one another, causing them to fall down the stairs they'd just ascended. His jaws clamped down on his prey's neck. If he was lucky, he wouldn't be able to swallow much for a few months. If not, well… one less terrorist on Remnant.

Guns were swung and bullets were fired but in the ensuing chaos, there was no real target. Artis drove the business end of his hunting knife into the second guy's chest plate. Using the man as a shield, he rushed the third. Bullets ricocheted off the man's Aura until he collided with the second one who'd been turned into the world's furriest knife rack. Artis slapped aside the third man's gun as Dusty barked and charged the fourth, who was as big as a house and nearly twice as wide. Of course there's a bear Faunus…

Tossing Knife Rack and Friend of Knife Rack aside, he made for the fifth, who kept getting knocked down by falling terrorists. She was smaller than the rest, attempting to hold a pair of black swords not unlike the ones her comrades were using earlier. Stumbles attempted to stand one last time but was met with a kick to the skull. He was on her a second later, jamming his knife into her armor. She was unconscious a second later, his knife embedded into the steel.

Stepping off of her, Artis looked to see Dusty clamped onto the bear Faunus's arm while the anthropomorphized mountain rained blows on his snout. The blue haired man came up from behind, snagging one of the rifles from the ground and bludgeoning the terrorist in the back of his head. Bear went down like a ton of bricks, landing on Dusty. Nobody hits my dog…

As Artis went to shove the man off the stone hound, the idea was cast aside by the feeling of gunfire ripping into his back. Son of a bitch that stings! He let out a grunt of pain and dropped to a knee where he was given the same treatment as Bear. The butt of the rifle slammed into his skull over and over again, each one driving him back into the ground. Every strike was punctuated by taunts from the terrorist.

"Come on stupid human, get up!" Another blow. "You can't can you? Well good! You'll die on your knees like the Faunus have done for years!" More pain. "You're only getting a glimpse of the pain we've suffered through. You should be thankful!" Several hits later and he stopped trying to get up, instead curling up and protecting his skull as much as he could.

The pain was incredible; he didn't need to check his Scroll to know his Aura was dangerously low. A few more hits and the White Fang would be colliding without that pesky Aura to get in his way. This was how it ended wasn't it? Not surrounded by friends and family while he sat in a bed waiting for a machine to be turned off. Not quietly in his sleep. Not even in a forest surrounded by Grimm. No, Artis Zaffre was going to die in a stairwell, in warehouse by the docks, being beaten to death with a gun while his daughter was less than twenty feet away. I'm sorry Mom and Dad, seems like all that training wasn't going to save my life at all. I'm sorry Iris, I wish things had turned out differently. I'm sorry Jaune, Ruby, Weiss, I wish I'd gotten to make more memories with you all. I'm sorry Ivory that I won't be able to be there for you when you need me.

It stopped. Artis slowly removed his arms from his face, expecting to be struck again. It never came though. Seconds passed as he waited for the room to stop spinning but it never came to a full halt. Instead, he rolled onto his hands and knees, looking over to see Dusty tearing into his attacker. It seems that the stone hound didn't take too kindly to seeing his master attacked and decided to change the command he'd been given from "hit" to "kill." Dusty stepped off the man, turning to his master. His features were a mess of blood and gore. Artis didn't want to look but a sickening curiosity compelled him to do so.

The Faunus terrorist had been ravaged. His throat had been torn asunder, geysers of blood jettisoned from the wound and his body twitched and writhed. Artis suppressed the urge to vomit, averting his gaze as he failed. Stomach contents expelled themselves onto the wall that helped keep him from having another untimely meeting with the floor. Dusty trotted over, nuzzling his snout into Artis's shoulder. After wiping his mouth, he scratched the hound behind his ears.

"Thanks buddy, I owe you." Dusty gave his master's hand a lick, leaving a red smear on his palm. Using nothing but determination and the wall, Artis dragged himself to his feet and retrieved his knife. Only ten steps separated him from the rooftop; it might as well been ten thousand. Everything was spinning, his head felt like it had been stampeded by a herd of Goliaths, and all he wanted to do was go home. Groans and grunts of pain echoed from his pocket and his hands fumbled to retrieve the Scroll. On the screen he saw the three faces of his team and their corresponding Aura readings. Jaune's had just ticked into the yellow, Ruby was firmly in it as well, and Weiss was red.

"Guys? What's going on down there?" Nothing but grunts. "Come on dammit, someone give me something here!" The effort to shout caused him to fall forward. He would crawl the remainder of the way. His hand shoved the door as hard as he could, which meant it barely squeaked open. Immediately, a pink haired little girl was in his arms.

"Daddy!" Tears flowed down her cheeks and she squeezed him as tightly as her little arms would allow. "Are you OK?" He let out a pained laugh as he hugged her back.

"I think so baby girl." He gave her a light peck on the cheek. "Gotta let go now sweetie, Daddy's gotta help his friends." She wiped the remainder of the tears from her eyes and let go. Slowly, Artis made his way back to Ivory's Song, setting his Scroll down next to his rifle. "Guys, I'm back. Sorry about that. What's happening down there?" Flopping down on the ground, his eyes found the scope and it, in turn, found his team, giving him his answer. They were engaged with the pink and brown haired girl he'd seen earlier. She was running circles around his team, dodging most, if not all, of their attacks.

Weiss attempted to pin her down with a flurry of thrusts from Myrtenaster but they were all parried or dodged. Ruby tried to match her speed, using the massive swinging arcs from Crescent Rose to clip her and shots from the weapon to keep her honest. She wasn't fast enough; the girl's umbrella sword slipped into Ruby's space and tore her Aura to ribbons. Jaune… well he tried but someone who was too fast for Ruby and too nimble for Weiss could've dealt with his partner with their eyes closed and arm tied behind their back. Big sweeping attacks and overreaching thrusts were dodged with a smile.

What the hell is this girl…? He took a breath and tried to steady himself, believing that breathing more would make everything stop spinning. Focus, gotta focus! He screamed at himself mentally. His finger found the trigger and the crosshairs attempted to find the girl. Come on, hold still for just a second. She finally did. As she stopped, two things happened. One; his Scroll rang, signaling another incoming call. Two; he heard rotors coming from the distance in front of him. Three Bullheads slowly came into view. Sparing a glance at his Scroll, in big bold letters it read. Call from: Iris. Son of a bitch… He wasn't sure exactly what he was referring to. His chance was gone and the girl was moving again.

"Guys, we've got Bullheads incoming." If they heard him, they didn't reply as the fighting raged on. He tapped the fractured screen, adding Iris to the call they were all in. Her voice was calm, cold, and just as sexy as he remembered.

"Where are you?" He took aim at the first Bullhead and let thunder clap again. The front glass shattered and it broke formation, veering upwards. "What was that?"

"Docks, White Fang, Bullheads coming." He heard a groan from the other side of the call.

"Where's Ivory?" He pulled the trigger again and heard an empty click.

"Shit…" He ejected the magazine and slapped in the spare one that had arrived with his weapon. "Uh, she's here on a rooftop with me… at the docks… with the White Fang attacking us… in Bullheads." Iris let out a string of curses foul enough to make a sailor blush. Behind him, her heard Ivory speak.

"Is that Mommy?" He let out a sigh.

"Yes it is sweetie." She was at his side again, snatching up the Scroll.

"Mommy! There's a bunch of bad guys here and they hurt Daddy and his friends. They're blowing things up and it's really scary!" Iris's voice immediately changed from cold and calculating to jovial.

"I missed you so much baby, Mommy will be there as soon as she can to take you home OK?" Ivory nodded, fresh tears falling down her cheeks. "Don't cry baby, Mommy's coming." Ivory wiped her eyes and set down the Scroll.

"Please hurry, Mommy." Iris let out a grunt of approval as Ivory walked over and hugged Dusty, apparently not caring or not noticing his bloody maw.

"Artis." He passed a glance to the Scroll. "Sixty seconds." With that, she hung up and Artis felt chills run down his spine. He looked through his scope again, taking a breath. Gotta make this last six shots last a minute. I can do this.

"You guys catch all that? Cavalry's coming in a minute. Just hang on." The side door on one of the Bullheads opened to reveal a massive minigun and its gunner. Son of a bitch. Artis aimed and split the sound barrier with his weapon. The gunner was ejected from the ship and sent hurtling down to the concrete below. "Everyone get inside NOW! I'll cover you!" The only indication that he'd been heard was that they slowly began to move towards a nearby warehouse. The side door opened on another ship to reveal another gunner but it had moved so Artis didn't have an angle.

Switching targets to the pilot, he squeezed the trigger. The sound went unnoticed amongst the chaos but its effect didn't. As quickly as it had come, the Bullhead began to fall. The only problem was where it was landing; amongst a pile of containers packed with Dust. A sickening crunch of steel against steel rocked the landscape. It was paled in comparison to the explosion that followed. A normal Dust explosion was dangerous, capable of killing a normal person and doing some serious damage to a Huntsman's Aura. A cargo container full of Dust though? That would incinerate even those with the strongest of Auras. Thankfully, his team was far enough away from the blast as to not be instantly killed. They did not, however, get off scot free.

The resulting blast knocked them from their feet and sent them closer to the warehouse. Even the girl they'd been fighting was sent flying. Artis had two options here, try to take out the other Bullhead which would risk another massive explosion but would help his team's survival chances or take a shot at the girl his team had been fighting, getting a small modicum of payback and taking her out of the fight but leaving his team open to an aerial attack.

Taking another breath, he squeezed the trigger and let five ounces of lead and Dust fly through the air. The pilot never knew what hit him. The second Bullhead was sent careening down into the water. With one left, he shifted down to the pink and brown haired girl only to find her gone. Damn it. With a sigh, he looked back to the third ship only to see it beginning to turn in his direction. Oh no. Shit shit shit shit shit. He hopped to his feet, snagging his rifle and collapsing it back down. He turned and sprinted for the door, scooping up Ivory.

"Hold on tight baby and don't you dare let go." His legs felt like jello and the rest of him felt very much the same. The world had stopping spinning but it was far from being stable. He didn't hear Ivory's reply; it was drowned out by the sound of gunfire and explosions. Destruction rained down on his building, shaking the whole complex. Taking care to make sure Ivory didn't see the gore fest in the hallway, the little family managed to get to the main floor, hunkering down in a little side office.

The building continued to shake and rattle as the windows were blown out and walls were torn to smithereens. He picked up his Scroll and set it on the office desk as he cradled Ivory in his lap.

"Artis! Artis, are you OK!?" Jaune. He sounded exhausted, his voice was hoarse and it wasn't farfetched to imagine he didn't look any better than he sounded. Through shaky hands and head trauma, he replied.

"'OK' might not describe it but we're all alive." Ivory had latched onto him like a parasite, her face cradled against the crook of his neck. "What about you guys?" There was a sigh and the sound of weapons clattering to the ground.

"Weiss and Ruby are real low on Aura. I'm still good to go though." Artis looked to the Aura reader on his Scroll. Jaune was still at about half. Ruby and Weiss now both sat in the red. "How's Ivory?" The blue haired man looked down at the little girl in his arms. She was still crying, her tiny hands interlocking with one another.

"She's scared Jaune; she's real scared right now." Artis brought a hand up, stroking her hair. He mumbled into her ear. "It's OK baby girl, we're safe in here." Another explosion tore through the building. Through one of the windows just below the ceiling in the office Artis spotted Roman Torchwick standing and firing down at him through the side door of the third Bullhead. That's where you went you son of a bitch… He began to drift into thinking about all of the awful things he was going to do to Roman once he got his hands on him for endangering his family and friends. Jaune's voice dragged him from his revelry.

"Iris should be here any second right?" Artis looked to the clock on his Scroll. Ninety seconds. She's late, as usual. As if on cue, the explosions ground to a halt. He took a risk and peaked his head out the door to see the Bullhead spinning out in the air. A white suited man was thrown from the craft, landing on (and denting) a Dust container. He rolled off of it and made a break for the resting ship that had somehow only sustained minor damage. The same could not be said for its cousin though. It kept spiraling and eventually found itself in the drink, meeting another one of its relatives.

Before it could make contact though, a streak of orange and pink leapt from the falling craft and onto the concrete. Unfortunately, by the time it landed, Roman had begun his takeoff and was airborne. Good riddance… Slowly but surely, Artis walked out of the office and back onto the main drag of the docks.

There she stood, one arm leaning on her massive silver and black double headed battle axe/shotgun hybrid that she named "Dawn's Edge", the other on her hip. She was tall for a woman, matching Artis's own five foot ten. Her hair was cut like a pixie's and it's bright pink color contrasted greatly with the night sky. She was lean and gorgeous in the way every Huntress was (Aura does wonderful things for your skin). Her skin was lightly tanned, complimenting her deep brown eyes. Even from a distance, Artis could still spot the little scar above her lip that she'd gotten as a child. She wore a pale orange t-shirt emblazoned with her family's crest, which was a pair of crossed axes with a diamond in between the axe blades. With that, she combined white leggings that were marred with runs and tears. She was beautiful with just the right amount of terrifying and she was staring right at him.

To his credit, Artis didn't stop walking though he did slow. The air had cooled a great deal, coupled with the breeze off the water and it was downright freezing. In all the chaos, he didn't even realize how cold he was. Now though, his tattered clothes were doing very little to keep the elements out.

Ivory had managed to unchain herself from her father's neck and struggled in his grasp. With a sigh, he set her down and she broke off in a dead run, her little dress flowing in the breeze.

"MOMMY!" Iris dropped to a knee and welcomed the little girl in her embrace. A smile found Iris's face, showing off the little dimple on her cheek.

"Hi sweetie!" She smothered the little girl in kisses and hugs. "Oh I missed you so much!" It didn't take more than a minute for Ruby, Weiss, and Jaune to leave their own cover and join the three of them. The red Reaper Rose Dashed to Artis, wrapping herself around him much like Ivory had.

"I'm so glad you're OK!" He let out a groan of pain and ruffled Ruby's hair.

"I should be saying that to you guys." He exhaled and gave a look to the devastated warehouse. "I'm sorry I couldn't cover you guys from that girl." Jaune shook his head.

"Don't worry about it, from what we heard from your Scroll, you weren't exactly sitting around doing nothing." Artis shrugged and tapped Ruby's shoulder.

"Glad to see you're alright Rubes but can you let go please?" Her cheeks darkened and she took a step back. He looked to the heiress. "How're you holding up Weiss?" She inclined her head.

"I'm fine thank you. A day or so of rest and I'll be back to 100%." Artis put a hand on her shoulder and patted it lightly before looking to Jaune.

"That girl really did a number on you, how you holding up?" He ran a hand through his hair and let out an awkward laugh.

"Yea she did but I'm alright." He paused before shaking his head and continuing. "Exhausted and sore but I'll be OK in the morning." Artis cocked and eyebrow but decided to table the thought for now. The clearing of a throat got the blue haired man to turn around, only to see Iris glaring at him.

"Why was she here?" Artis let a hand come to his forehead, rubbing it gently.

"She wanted to see that big boat over there." He nodded his head in the direction of the cargo ship on the far side of the water. "Then Torchwick showed up and we kinda got trapped."

"Why didn't you call for help?" Artis shrugged.

"No one to call. There's no way the police could've handled this, I wasn't about to call my parents, the only people I know at school are already here, and I didn't know if you were in town." She cradled Ivory in her arms and shook her head.

"Still should've called someone. There's no way a group of first years could take on Roman Torchwick and a platoon of White Fang members, untrained as they are." Artis rolled his eyes.

"I'll be sure to do that next time." Iris set Ivory down and began to close the gap between them.

"Maybe next time don't bring Ivory into a war zone." Artis stepped forward.

"It wasn't a war zone when we got here." It was her turn to roll her eyes. "What was I supposed to do Iris? Tell me, what the hell was the right call in that situation, huh?" She poked his chest with her index finger.

"Run away. You put Ivory's life in danger because of your stupidity." Artis's fists clenched.

"Of course you'd tell me to run away. Why stand and deal with your problems head on when you can run and hide, right?" Unbridled rage crossed her eyes.

"Sometimes it's smart to run. That stubbornness of yours is going to get someone killed one day. Hopefully that someone isn't your daughter."

"Oh fuck you, Iris. I did what I had to do. Maybe if you'd ever be there for Ivory instead of running away every chance you get, I'd be more inclined to listen to your advice." Her hand met his cheek before he could process that it had even moved. Normally, it would've stung but not done any real damage. With his Aura as low as it was though, he was knocked to the ground. There was a gasp from his teammates. She let out a groan of frustration.

"You always do this. You get under my skin and drive me up a gods damned wall. Why can't you just listen to me!? I'm just trying to help you!" Artis didn't bother to get up, instead choosing to spit a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the ground.

"Because you're not always right!" She took a step closer to him.

"Well this time I am! You nearly got our daughter killed because you had to stand your ground. This is why I said she should stay with my parents and not you and yours." He let out a bitter laugh.

"Oh you'd love that wouldn't you? You know damn well that your family would shoot me on sight if I so much as sniffed your property. At least my parents let you see Ivory when you're in town!"

"Maybe it'd be best if she didn't see you all the time! She might pick up on your stubborn streak and hurt herself trying to take on a beowolf because she's got too much pride to run."

"ENOUGH!" Iris and Artis turned to see Weiss was holding a crying Ivory. Jaune was doing her best to hold back his smaller redheaded teammate from attacking the both of them. "Can't you see what you're doing to your daughter?" Iris walked towards the white haired girl.

"And you are?" Weiss narrowed her gaze and began to caress the little girl's back.

"I'm someone who knows what it's like to watch your parents fight all the time. If you want to fight, do it somewhere else, not in front of her." Artis looked to Iris and they both sighed.

"You're right Weiss. You're right." Ivory whimpered in the girl's arms but turned to her parents.

"Why are you guys fighting? Was I a bad girl?" Artis and Iris both rushed to her, taking her from Weiss's arms.

"No sweetie, not at all." Iris nodded,

"It's not your fault at all baby. Mommy and Daddy are just… having a discussion." Artis suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.

"But you hit Daddy." Iris averted her eyes.

"Mommy and Daddy had a fight but it's not your fault princess. I promise. We're just worried about you is all, OK?" She nodded and wrapped an arm around both of her parent's necks.

"I don't like it when you fight." Brown and yellow eyes met.

"We don't either baby." The girl turned to her mother.

"Then why do you fight?" They shared a look again.

"Mommy and Daddy are both very… passionate people. Sometimes we get too passionate and take things too far." Artis picked up on the subtle 'I'm sorry' and shrugged.

"Mommy's right princess. Sometimes we fight and sometimes we get loud but we'll always love you. You know that right?" The little girl nodded. Flashing red and blue lights bounced off of the destructive scene and cops followed not long after. They all gave their names and the police ended up calling Beacon who sent a Bullhead to come pick them up. As it touched down, Iris looked to Artis with a sleeping Ivory in her arms.

"I'm sorry about what I said and did. I know you weren't trying to hurt her." He nodded and gave Ivory a kiss on the cheek.

"I would never intentionally put her in harm's way. You know that." She inclined her head.

"I know." She was silent for a second. "I'm glad you and your team are OK." He leaned in, giving her a one armed hug.

"Thanks for saving us at the end. I don't think we would've gotten out alive without you." He looked over to see his team calling for him. "Can you take her to my parent's tonight? I've gotta go." She nodded.

"Take care of yourself Artis." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"You too." With that, he stepped into the Bullhead, took his seat, strapped himself in and they took off. The ride was quiet for the most part. Miraculously, they were all spared from Jaune's intestinal pyrotechnics, something all were thankful for. They'd all received a message from Headmaster Ozpin saying that he'd speak with them in the next day or so. Ruby broke the silence.

"Do you and her fight like that a lot?" Artis shrugged.

"Not so much anymore. That's the first real fight we've had since we broke up way back when." Weiss chimed in.

"Does she always hit you?" He shook his head.

"No, well yes. Sort of. That was the first time she's ever slapped me out of anger and not out of… " He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence as his cheeks blushed a bit and his gaze turned to the floor. Weiss would soon join him in redness.

It was half past midnight by the time they got back to Beacon. As they came to the main courtyard, Jaune plopped down on a nearby bench while Ruby and Weiss decided to head back to their dorm.

"I'll come back in a bit. I just want to sit out here for a bit, clear my head." The girls exchanged a look between themselves and then shared it with Artis. Ruby spoke.

"Are you sure?" He nodded. "We'll leave the door unlocked then." She gave him a quick hug and backed away. "Night Jaune." He plastered a smile on, nodding.

"Night guys." The white haired girl simply waved, seemingly too tired to muster up a reply. Artis patted the boy on his shoulder, starting off after the two girls. He wasn't more than thirty feet away when he stopped.

"I think I'll join Jaune in clearing my head if it's all the same to you guys." The same look from earlier was traded between their faces.

"Alright, like Ruby said, the door will be unlocked." He nodded, saying his evening pleasantries as he took the seat next to Jaune on the bench. Dusty dropped to the ground, curling into a very large ball. It was cute in a way, like a cuddly boulder.

Blue eyes looked over at him and Artis nodded his head at the boy.

"Hell of a day, huh?" The blond slumped forward, his eyes finding the ground. He looked exhausted. His clothes were ripped and punctured; his fingers were raw and scraped. His hair, while normally messy and unkempt, was covered in a thick layer of dust and dirt. There were even still a few streaks of ketchup from earlier. I guess we all look like hell tonight. Can't even imagine how bad I must be right now.

"I guess you could say that." Artis put a hand on his shoulder. I should apologize; the whole day was my fault. I should've just told Ivory no, it was time to go home. Gods, I messed up.

"Listen, I'm… sorry about what happened." He cocked his head, an eyebrow raised. "What happened was my fault, from the food fight to the docks. I should've been better, I should've told Ivory no, I definitely shouldn't have had that fight with Iris in front of you guys." Jaune shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. The food fight was great, I mean we'll probably never be allowed back there again but still, it was… fun." Running a hand through his ragged blond mane, he continued. "I'm sorry I wasn't more help during it." Artis let out a chuckle, taking his hand away and leaning back on the bench.

"You got beat with a cheesesteak." The chuckle grew into a full on belly laugh. Jaune even joined in a few seconds later. Their joy echoed through the night air until they were both wiping tears from their eyes. Soon though, it came to an end and it was Artis's turn to apologize again.

"Again, about the docks… That one's on me. We should've never been there." A hand waved him off.

"You didn't mean for any of that to happen. Besides, I'm team Leader, if I really thought it was a bad idea, I would've said something." Artis nodded, letting his head fall back to stare up at the night sky. Being as far away as they were from the city and having a whole forest around the campus meant there wasn't a speck of light produced that wasn't Beacon's. Thanks to that, there were plenty of stars hanging above.

"Team JARS, led by our fearless leader, Jaune Arc! With him at the helm, there's no foe we can't defeat." the blond scoffed.

"Yea, tell that to the pink and brown haired girl we were fighting at the docks. She was toying with us the whole time."

"That's what Beacon is for though. They take what you learned in Combat School and elaborate on it. Show me something you learned from there, I might be able to help you out for next time." He hopped to his feet, gesturing to the boy, who tried to wave him off. "Just get up and show me what you've got."

"Can't we do it in the morning? I'm beat, Artis." The blue haired man shook his head.

"This won't take more than a minute. Just show me something and we'll go right to bed. I promise." With a groan, the boy joined Artis on his feet, drawing Crocea Mors and slipping into his stance. The blue haired man brought a hand to his chin as he examined the boy.

"That's the stance you learned at… Where did you say you went before Beacon?" Wherever he went, I hope he didn't pay them well. His form is god awful. It looks like how I did when I tried to teach myself how to use a knife all those years ago.

The boy shuffled his feet, his eyes going to the grass below.

"Uh, I went to uh… Signal! Yea, I went to Signal." Artis furrowed his brows.

"Really? Who was your instructor there?" He crossed his arms.

"Um, my instructor? Well, it was uh… Professor… It was Professor… Tawney?" Bullshit.

"Bullshit." The boy paled. "Professor Tawney is the axe instructor. That's who Iris had. Who trained you, Jaune? Because frankly, it looks like you trained yourself." If it was possible, he paled even more, becoming a shuffling blob of noises. Wait a second. No, he didn't… there's no fucking way… But that explains everything! His poor form, lack of conditioning, and even not having Aura. Yea but that's impossible. There's no way Ozpin would make some a leader, let alone let them in, without training. "Jaune, you do have training, right?" If he was a mass of noises after the previous comment, Artis's question must've reversed evolution and stolen his ability to form words.

Come on Jaune. Say something, anything. Tell me your family trained you and they'd never held a sword before. Tell me you're an orphan or that you're Ozpin's grandson or something. Tell me anything but that you trained yourself. There is no way he's stupid enough to attend a Huntsman Academy with no prior knowledge.

"You're self-trained aren't you? You have absolutely no former training at all, do you?" Seconds of silence passed though they felt like centuries. Eventually though, Jaune let his head droop.

"You're right. I'm… untrained." Fury ignited Artis's blood and he was on the boy in a second. His hands grabbed the collar of the boy's hoodie, lifting him into the air. His knuckles were snow white and all of the pain and exhaustion was gone in a second. The boy struggled but it didn't matter, Artis dragged him until they were nose to nose.

"ARE YOU FUCKING STUPID!?" He paused for a beat. "That's it isn't it? You're a complete fucking idiot." A tear formed in Jaune's eye. "That's the only explanation I can think of that you would try to attend a school for at least semi-trained warriors to be molded into Grimm killing machines without a single fucking lick of training!" His breathing was ragged, all rational thought was gone. "How the hell did you even get in, huh?" A heartbeat passed and when Jaune didn't answer, Artis shook him. "Tell me!"

"I… I… I cheated." Artis's eyes went even wider. "There was a guy in back home in Ansel that said he could get my name on a scholarship list and put transcripts through for a few hundred lien." The tears began to flow down his cheeks. "I'd always dreamed of being a Huntsman but the only Huntsman in my town was Dad and he refused to train me. I studied every book on swordsmanship I could find and trained for months. Then I paid the guy and he took care of the rest…"

Artis was so stunned, he dropped the boy, who fell back into the bench.

"Are your dreams that much more important than that boy's whose spot you took? Are your aspirations that much higher than the girl who worked her ass off but was a bit late finding the chess piece? Gods, just how selfish are you?" Jaune wiped his eyes but kept them glued to the ground.

"I'm sorry." Artis shook his head.

"The hell you are. This isn't something 'I'm sorry' is going to fix, Jaune. Not only did you steal the spot from someone who deserved it but you put the whole team at risk." The boy looked up at his partner. "We're supposed to be able to rely on all of our teammates to protect our backs. We're supposed to be able to protect each other and rely on one another. How can me, or Weiss, or Ruby trust that you've got our backs if you have absolutely no training!?" Weiss and Ruby.

"Do they know?" He shook his head.

"No, you're the first person I've told." Artis brought his hands to his face and screamed as loud as he could into them. It should've felt good to get it out of him but it just kept getting replaced with more anger.

"You could've gotten them killed tonight Jaune, do you understand that? If Iris doesn't show up or if I'm a second later getting back to the rifle, Ruby, Weiss, or even you, could be a corpse right now. The rest of us would be having a funeral tomorrow and not a meeting with the Headmaster."

"I'm sorry, I… I didn't think about it…" Artis sneered.

"No, that much I can see." He let out a sigh, his hand going to his forehead. "What do you think I should do Jaune? Do I go to Ozpin with this and get you kicked out or do I sit on this? From where I am, there isn't really a good option." He began to pace back and forth. "You see, if this was earlier in the semester, I'd take to the Headmaster right now, get you ousted, and we'd get a new teammate. Now that we're a decent way into the year though, that changes things. There's no waiting list or backlog of kids, plans have already been made, and things are set in stone for the most part. I could still go and expose this but I don't know what this would mean for the team." Jaune looked to his partner again.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that if the leader of our team gets thrown out and there's no replacement, there's a chance we'd be disbanded and possibly kicked out." A look of horror appeared on the boy's face. "Me, Weiss, and Ruby would probably all get our tuition back and be guaranteed a spot next year but we'd have to go through Initiation again. I don't know if I'm willing to take that risk and I'm not about to make that decision for them either." He went to the back of the bench, resting against it.

"I don't know what to say Artis. I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to affect everyone so much. I… I just wanted to live my dream. You understand that right?" Artis crossed his arms and scanned the courtyard. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, maybe an answer. Maybe another student that they could come to Ozpin with as a replacement for Jaune. When nobody walked out of the darkness, he replied.

"It's not your reasoning I have a problem with. I know what it's like to dream about this. I just hate how you went about it." His mind went back to the long hours he spent fantasizing about being a Huntsman. He thought of the moment he got his acceptance letter from Beacon and the pure unadulterated joy he felt. He'd called Iris right after he showed the letter to his parents. She'd been nearly as excited as he was. They'd only started dating a few months before and attending the same school was going to help them immensely. All those hours of training, running, lifting, sparring, and stretching. Every ounce of sweat, blood, and tears had finally paid off. He snapped back to the present, an idea in mind Sweat, blood, and tears…

"I think I have an idea." Jaune shifted in the bench, turning to his partner. "I'll train you myself." He was floored. His mouth hung open but Artis could see the gears shifting behind his sapphire eyes.

"You will?" The blue haired man held up a hand.

"Don't go getting excited now, there's a caveat." This is an awful idea. Yea, but what other option do we have? He's not going to get better overnight and we can't risk being kicked out. I don't like it. Me either. "First, you tell Weiss and Ruby first thing in the morning." His face dropped and he began to ring his hands. "They deserve to know they can't trust you to watch their backs. It's their life on the line too." After several seconds of cold silence, he nodded.

"OK, I'll tell them tomorrow after breakfast."

"Good, then I'll bring up the training and we put it to a vote. If Weiss and Ruby say no, then we'll take you to Ozpin and deal with the repercussions. I'm going to need their help since I only know so much about sword fighting. I'll tell you right now, it's going to be the hardest thing you've ever done or will do. You'll be making up for nearly seven years of time and I'm not going to pull any punches. It's going to hurt, it may even kill you but if it works? You'll have earned your place here."

Artis began to walk to the dorm after tapping Dusty on the flank. Somehow, the stone mutt had slept through the whole ordeal.

"I'm going to bed." He heard Jaune get up and start to follow after him. He stopped and turned. "I don't want to sleep in the same room as you tonight. Give me your Scroll." The boy passed the piece of technology to his partner with a look of confusion. "Find somewhere else to sleep tonight." Jaune's mouth opened to speak but he thought better of it. "Go ask Team RYBN across the hall or go to the Library, stay out here for all I care. I just don't want to see you until tomorrow." Artis spun on a heel, heading home.

"Night Artis." His only reply was to shove his hands in his pockets and walk a bit faster. Despite his exhaustion, sleep wouldn't come easy that night.

A/N: Quite a ride huh? Far and away the longest thing I've ever written and I did it in two days. This is the end of Volume 1 and Pers. is going to end at Vol 3 so we're at about the 33% mark. Now for the bad news and the good news. Let's start bad. I'm taking a hiatus from Perseverance until early later December/early January. I need a bit of a break from this one. College and the holidays are going to be very busy, not to mention that I'll be getting a new computer in a few weeks. Good new though, there will be content from me in the form of a few one shots. Tell me what you liked about this chapter; tell me what you hated as well. Let me know your thoughts and what you've been thinking. May fortune favor you all.