Chapter 3: New World, New Problems

A/N

I AM NOT DEAD! Here we are with another chapter! I know I haven't updated lately… okay, for like, MONTHS.

And I have no excuse. BUT, hopefully this makes up for it! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or Metal Gear. They belong to Rooster Teeth and Konami, respectively.

There was nothing. No sound, no feeling, no anything.

There had been nothing for quite some time. Just endless darkness, befitting those who had nothing to start with. That, and a strange… lifting sensation? No, that wasn't quite right… more like… floating down a river? Something like that. He hadn't been in one to quite tell. And now he never would.

He couldn't tell if it had been a few days or a few centuries. It made sense after a while; Time had no relevance in this place… or was it a state of being? Once again, he had no idea. And once again, it really didn't matter.

And then, he heard them. The screams. The painful, wracking, horrid screams. They both echoed around the vast space and entrenched themselves in the same spot all at once, splitting through the silence like an unstoppable torrent of hacking blades. He could hear their wordless begs for mercy, for empathy, for anything from whatever was about to hurt those making the awful screams.

Luckily, he was already used to the sounds of endless screams in his life. Whatever salvations or mercies they were screaming for, he had long been used to the fact that is would usually not come to them.

But at the same time, something else happened; He moved.

That was a shock in of itself. During the entire eternity he'd been like… this… he hadn't once gone anywhere. Well, it felt like he was in a moving current, but one that was moving in an endless loop, never truly going someplace new.

But this was different. It was almost like… sliding…? Yes, sliding, that was the word. Well, the one closest to describing just what the hell was happening, anyway. He was going somewhere. Of course, he had no idea where. Hell? Reincarnation? Whatever it was, it couldn't be stopped now.

And then one scream rose above the others.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUHHAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

It rocked him to his core. While the other voices seemed like knives flying about, this one was like a terrible beast that tore through everything and everyone in its path. It spoke of incomprehensible pain and torture, the likes of which would leave any mind in shattered pieces of its former self. It represented suffering incarnated. And if he wasn't so adapted to the many, many sources of pain and anguish that existed, he might not have been able to endure it.

But he was.

And then… he could see. Somewhat. Not really. Well, yes, he could, but it was… distant. Like his own point of view was pushed backwards into his own head so that everything his eyes normally saw as close-up suddenly seemed far away. Even stranger, he was in a body… but it was not his. It felt alien and uncomfortable, like a shirt that was a size too small and was on backwards, but was still wearable albiet not very practical.

Goodness, he was going to drive himself insane trying to make sense of everything with comparisons…

"Mantis? Are you awake, old friend?"

… Who was that? It seemed… familiar… but also not. The voice was familiar… but the tone was more so… almost…

"… Liquid…?" Mantis breathed hoarsely, feeling his senses somewhat return. He couldn't feel anything, but he could somehow tell he was lying on a hospital bed in a white room. He could see, but it was more like he was looking at a screen displaying live footage from someone else's perspective. He felt his new eyes looking around before finally resting on a man sitting in a chair nearby with his arms crossed expentantly. Upon recognizing him, Mantis was so shocked he might've died… again.

"Wait… Ocelot!?" He demanded, wanting to sit up but was unable to even budge this new body he was stuck in. True, he heard Ocelot's voice, but it seemed more aged, appropriate given his much older and more wrinkled appearance. Most shockingly, though… it carried Liquid's soul. During their time together in FOXHOUND, Revolver Ocelot had never once spoke to Mantis in such a manner, even during life-or-death situations when no one was sure they would survive. And whenever they did speak, it was usually only when necessary, such as passing along acquired information in the field.

Only their boss, Liquid, ever talked to Mantis like that. Everyone else was either too afraid or too repulsed to even get near him, which he preferred.

"Hah-hah-hah! Make no mistake; it is me, old friend! In a new—er, older body perhaps, but it's still me!" The man who appeared as Ocelot but talked like Liquid laughed. Mantis tried to shake his head but only managed to barely nudge it from side to side. "Wait, nevermind that… How am I alive!? And where's my mask!?" He thundered, equal parts dumbfounded and angry. 'Liquid' calmly stood up and grabbed a mirror off a nearby table. Now that he noticed, Mantis saw several pieces of complex machinery around the bed he was on, their purpose unknown to him.

"You needn't worry about that, old friend. Just take a look." He offered. The right hand on Mantis' new body – which he didn't feel any form of control over but still somehow caused it to move – grasped it and turned it around to show his 'face'.

"… Svyatoy Ad…" Mantis uttered as he stared at what was supposedly his reflection. Staring back was the perplexed face of a young South American woman with long black hair and dressed in some sort of strange form-fitting suit. The most striking thing about her features, Mantis discovered, however, was her grey eyes: They held the source of one of the biggest reserves of pain and sadness he'd ever encountered. He could sense the ocean of sorrow lying beneath her unassuming exterior.

"… Wh-What… happened to me…?" He breathed uneasily and all of a sudden finding it hard to breathe. Seeing his plight, Liquid Ocelot grabbed Mantis' 'shoulder' and made him look him In the eyes. "It was the only way to bring you back, Mantis. It's a new body, and we've barely managed to… empty it enough to implant you inside. Can you see into her memories?" Liquid asked.

Look into her memories Mantis did. He shouldn't have been surprised yet still was when he found that delving into her memories was as easy as looking into his own.

And then he understood. Images of dark rooms, blood-stained floors stretching for miles, glinting blades stabbing into victims young and old, piles of bodies hitting low ceilings, and the many, many screams that cut deeply through each and every memory. Only at the far, far back did he finally find the happy, jovial smiles of family... and even then, it was blurred and faded, drowned out by the misery and torment in every other flashback.

"… Ah, I see. The apptly named Dirty War, was it? Odd name considering all battlegrounds are bound to be filthy and unkempt." Mantis stated casually, his psyche and mind unaffected by the horrible memories.

He'd seen worse.

Equally unfazed, Liquid nodded in confirmation, his arms behind his back in a business-like manner. "Correct. Poor girl practically lost her mind in the old torture chambers before we found her. We have three others like her who have all but lost their sanity from wars and conflicts all over the globe."

"… What the Devil happened to you?" Mantis asked bluntly, wanting a straight answer. Liquid sighed, once again taking a seat. "Much has happened after Shadow Moses, old friend. It'll take me a while to explain, but you can just probably read into my memories for yourself. For now, though, you should know the reason you're still 'alive' is because you have been laying dormant within those nanomachines for at least nine years, and I have a… proposition to make."

That, in of itself, already had Mantis' intrigue. "Is it the kind that involves what I do best? Because I'm not too sure I'll be able to move and do as I please in this body like my own; I can already feel her stirring within, trying to retake control. Not exactly beneficial on a battlefield where everyone is trying to kill me."

A soft chuckle left Liquid Ocelot's hoarse throat. "Oh, you needn't worry about that, Mantis. In the time you were laying dormant, the technology of the world has grown tremendously. And, of course, so have the ways man has developed to kill each other. We figured your psychokinesis might've been a bit hampered by the implant of your nanomachines, so I had my best engineers develop state-of-the-art combat suits for your new host as well as the rest of your subordinates."

Mantis followed along eagerly, growing more and more excited, up until he heard "subordinates". "Wait… 'subordinates'? I will be in command of my own unit?" He asked. Ocelot nodded. "The Beauty and the Beasts Unit. Remember those women I spoke of earlier?"

"… Oh, you wicked devil!" Mantis laughed heartily in understanding, and managed to slap his knee. Liquid joined in as well, though much softer and not nearly as loud or rambuctious. "Hoh-hoh, well, in any case, you should have no trouble commanding them, Mantis. They barely have any wills or even minds of their own, and with the new technology you will be receiving, you will be back on the battlefield and working solely under my command, no one else's. What do you say?"

All of this had been much to digest. Mantis had been essentially resurrected from the dead, given a body to share with a woman suffering from PTSD, and was about to use her to command another, high-tech unit comprised of deadly female warriors.

This sounded interesting.

"You had me at 'battlefield', Liquid." He chuckled.

"Ugh… again…?" Mantis moaned as he slowly awakened, the morning sun's rays shining through his bedroom. It had been quite some time since he'd last experienced such memories in his sleep, and since his younger body wasn't as developed as his previous one when he first died, it had taken a bit of a toll on his head. Quickly gaining full consciousness and losing any bits of exhaustion, the young psychic took the time to look back on the last few months.

The days had quickly went by for the psychic. Tukson never had him actually work in the storefront when customers were present, clearly feeling that Mantis' gas mask and general overall appearance might be a bit off-putting. Not that Mantis minded, he'd never been one for social interaction to begin with.

It also gave him plenty of free time to read about this new world in the room Tukson gave him. The psychic usually found himself sitting near the foot of his bed, reading into one of the books he had initially collected. And needless to say, he was deeply fascinated by the seemingly mystical properties this world had compared to Earth.

First and foremost, it's name: Remnant. Did that have something to do with the moon, which had been apparently blasted by some cosmic catastrophe and literally left as remnants of what it once was? Or the fact that humanity was at odds with a race of beings called "faunus" that could cause the world to descend into war and crumble to pieces and "remnants" of its peaceful state? Regardless of whichever it was, the relationship between humans and faunus was… interesting, to say the least.

Faunus. As far as Mantis could tell within the pages of Tukson's books, faunus were essentially just regular people with one or two animal parts and sometimes had habits and desires that matched whatever animal they were part of. They and Remnant's humanity had some kind of literally war-torn relationship that stemmed from mankind looking down on them as mere animals and thieves. Treating them like overall trash. That made no sense to Mantis whatsoever, since it had been apparent that faunus had senses and abilities surpassing any regular human, and therefore should've been superior to and above them. In the past, faunus had tried to peacefully gain equality alongside mankind by forming a peaceful activist organization known as the White Fang. However, as humanity's rapidly apparent discrimination continued to bear down on them, its formerly peaceful methods turned violent and dangerous, using terrorist tactics to target humans of specific power who discriminated against faunus, as well as any faunus who attempted to side with mankind. Currently, the White Fang was a worldwide threat and had roots in every major populated area on Remnant. As of late, they were mainly sticking to supply raids and robberies, which Mantis presumed were to gather resources to mount future attacks.

However, he had by no means been surprised by this revelation. Humans had such a capacity to hurt that he'd waved off the thought of them arrogantly denouncing theoretically superior beings. He'd even been glad to find out another odd peculiarity of this world: The Grimm. Demonic, soulless creatures that not only did not have any (thus far) observable need to feed, but specifically attacked humans and faunus and literally no other creature else unless some territorial dispute between them was the case, and even then it hardly escalated to death and bloodshed between Grimm and the animals they met with. They came in endless varieties and forms, each stronger and deadlier than the last, and seemed to evolve over time with the sole purpose of killing humans and faunus. And Mantis loved them to no end.

'Finally, something specifically designed to kill off mankind, aside from itself! If only Earth had such a force to remind man how truly puny and pathetic it is… Oum, you were truly a genius!' Mantis jeered in his mind when he first read about them, chuckling darkly when he had read several cases of Grimm breaking into kingdoms and slaughtering civillians and military personnel alike. So terrible was this endless plague of death called Grimm that humanity had been forced to mainly reside in four kingdoms separated by immense oceans, towering mountains, thick jungles and abysmal deserts. As of now, they were Vaccuo, Atlas, Mistral, Menagerie – which seemed to be some closed off area where faunus were dumped off to live – and, the kingdom he was currently residing inside, Vale. Of course, mankind had a few other chief defenses aside from erecting giant walls and turrets: Aura, Semblance, and their specialized users known as huntsmen and huntresses. Right off the bat, Mantis did not like these strange warriors.

Huntsmen and huntresses were described as trained warriors specifically called upon the defend humanity's borders and citizens against the creatures of Grimm. Not only were they highly trained and disciplined, and had to be trained in specialized huntsmen academies strictly for fighting and killing Grimm, but they also possessed a few key traits that distinguished them from regular military personnel, such as the use of Aura; which was, in essence, the physical manifestation of someone's soul. It could be used as a skin-tight barrier to block attacks of almost any kind as well as heal certain wounds mid-battle. It had to be unlocked, however, in order to be utilized and mastered. As far as Mantis could tell, only the people known as huntsmen and huntresses mainly had that ability, as well as Semblances. Semblances, bluntly put, were an individual's single and unique superhuman ability that enhanced their combat prowess and helped each huntsman/huntress to create their own fighting style and eliminate the Grimm threats on a daily basis.

'So, that must've been what that red-wearing girl used to move so quickly, and those women to shoot fire and create stone missiles… most likely a speed Semblance for that girl, in hindsight.' Mantis realized, 'All the better, then, that my psychokinesis can easily blend in as just another Semblance. Now… just what is this 'Dust'?'

Dust had been the most peculiar oddity of Remnant. It was a strange form of crystal mined from deep underground, and had not just one, but many different types and varieties that stemmed from four main types: Fire Dust could be used to create explosions and fire-based attacks like that fiery-eyed woman he encountered, Earth Dust could control rocks and the ground for environmental manipulation, Ice Dust could create slippery footing to knock foes off-balance and/or freeze them solid, and Lightning Dust could control electricity and power devices such as cars, airships and the handheld devices called Scrolls that weren't dissimilar to the cellular phones back on Earth. For some reason, though, Dust in all forms ceased functioning when outside Remnant's atmosphere, and apparently oil wasn't a thing – yet – on Remnant, so there hadn't yet been any expeditions to the moon nor to any of the planets in Remnant's solar system.

'So, not only is humanity somehow able to get away with discriminating a technically better race here, but it can't even find a way to leave the planet with all these damn near mystical sources of energy?' Mantis scoffed, having closed the final book with a sigh, 'Apparently, mankind really is a waste of flesh and space no matter what world it takes root in. Good to know.'

Those discoveries had happened only about two months ago, so Mantis had had plenty of time to mull over his thoughts. Being a child wasn't THAT bad; It was just the pretense of having to act like one that grinded his gears. Right now, he was reading a novel that Tukson let him read after helping him finish several calculations on the store's revenue count and the amount of new stock they'd need. Luckily, Mantis' intelligence meant that such math was little more than a fly for him to solve.

'At least the literature here is decent. THAT definitely helped keep my sanity intact.' Mantis commented in his head. He already sitting in his usual spot and closed the book he was currently on, having already finished most of the other books he'd considered up to his standards in Tukson's bookstore. A few seconds later, several knocks on the door interrupted his thoughts. Looking up, the psychic twisted the doorknob and opened the door without leaving his bed. Tukson was standing in the doorway, as he'd always gone to wake up Mantis whenever he hadn't awakened by himself.

"Morning, Mantis." He began. Upon spying the book in psychic's lap, he asked "Did you already finish that book?"

Mantis shook his head, "Not quite yet. I must say, these are quite informative and detailed, Tukson." He commented, "I thank you once again for lending them to me."

"Don't worry about it, they're still technically in my possession, so it's not like I can make you pay for them." Tukson replied. Then, his demeanor turned a bit more serious, and Mantis could sense it without using his power, "Anyway, I just came in here to tell you that I need to go out and buy some more groceries, since I didn't anticipate another mouth to feed. I need you to watch over the shop until I'm back, okay?"

Mantis raised his eyebrows in confusion under his mask, "You want me to run the bookstore in your place?"

"Eh, I trust you enough not to make a mess out of the place or play around with people's heads. Besides, business has been a little slow as of late, and I shouldn't be gone longer than thirty minutes, so it's not like I'm leaving you alone for long anyways." Tukson shrugged. Mantis hopped off the bed and walked with Tukson downstairs.

"It's not going to be anything hard: If you hear someone ringing this bell, here," Tukson gestured to the call bell on the desk, "You are to serve and help them with whatever they might need, and if they happen to break any of our rules, do your best to politely get them to leave the premises. Understand?"

Psycho Mantis almost wanted to groan. With a mental sigh, he raised gave Tukson a childish thumbs up.

"Got it." He affirmed. Tukso smiled warmly. "Great! I'll be back soon, so don't get too comfortable."

Mantis stood silently behind the front desk as he watched Tukson exit the bookstore and walk down the street. As soon as he was gone, Mantis sighed, levitated himself up and casually lay himself down on the counter, propping his head up on his hand.

"Hmm… what to do, what to do…" Mantis wondered aloud. Tukson was officially out of the store and temporarily left to leave him to handle the store. Looking back on it, he shouldn't have been that surprised; In the few months of him being here, he'd proven quite handy and intelligent to Tukson, helping him count each day's cash amount and shelving new copies. It only made sense Tukson could trust him to handle the store by himself.

He paused in his thoughts. Helping someone…

'What in the hell is this place doing to me…?' Mantis wondered with contempt. Every time he used his psychokinetic power to help Tukson around the place, he felt it: That strange, alien sensation that made him feel like he could fly without his power. Well, not quite. He remembered it when he first helped Solid Snake all those years ago, when he used his dying breath to open up the doorway that would lead him to his final duel with Liquid, and the feeling of helping someone then wasn't the same he felt now. When he helped Tukson, it was still to benefit himself by ensuring he had a roof over his head. When he helped Snake back at Shadow Moses, it was when Mantis had nothing to gain and with no benefit to himself… mostly because he was literally dying at that moment and therefore couldn't possibly have benefited from anything. What he felt here was only a slight sliver of that.

Still, Mantis did not like it. Not one bit. It made him feel… nostalgic.

And if it made him feel that way, it made him unfocused. It made him weak. And weakness was something Mantis could never afford.

'I need to do something… something else that I'm familiar with…' He decided. As if on cue, a small bird landed in front of the bookstore, innocently pecking away at the ground for any morsels or crumbs. Mantis noticed the bird.

And snapped his fingers.

*CRIK!*

As soon as that happened, the bird suddenly keeled over and fell to the ground, its neck bent at a horribly unnatural angle. Mantis let out a silent sigh of relief, telekinetically lifting the dead bird and tossing it onto the other side of the street, which was vacant of human or faunus citizens. Strangely, none of the stray cats or dogs that lived in the alleys even tossed a second glance at the otherwise appetizing meal.

"There we go, much better!" He cheered, feeling that strange sensation instantly disappear. Content, he hopped off the counter and turned to the doors that led to the back. Tukson had never let him inside his office during his stay thus far… and now that he'd left Mantis alone, there was nothing keeping him from taking a peek. Mantis wasn't an idiot, he knew Tukson was hiding important things from him. True, he could've broken in during the other times Tukson left for errands, but he wasn't as curious or bored back then, either. He'd decided against just outright reading his mind and memories, however; There wouldn't be any fun out of simply reading the secrets straight out of him.

Now, deliberately breaking into his things and rummaging through his personal objects? THAT he was up for and actually held entertainment value!

Floating through the hallway, he wasn't surprised to see that Tukson had locked the door leading to his offce. Not one to be easily deterred, Mantis extended an arm to the door and focused, channeling his power through the gears and screws holding the door shut. If he'd simply torn the door off its hinges, he had no idea how to fix it in a way that suggested it never happened. It'd no doubt get Tukson's attention and force him to either erase Tukson's memory of it or brainwash him into believing it was never there, and Mantis wanted to abstain from using his power in such a trivial fashion.

*CLICK!*

"Ah, there we go!" Mantis sighed, unlocking the door from the very mechanisms of the lock and pushing it open, revealing Tukson's neatly organized and clean office room. There was a large desk near the back, though smaller than the one in the storefront, and it was surrounded by about several filing cabinets in the different corners of the room. Mantis cackled to himself, ready to find whatever secrets Tukson held in here.

*DING!*

"Tukson? Hello! You there?" A feminine voice asked. "Oh, keep your voice down, Miltia, it's supposed be like a library where you keep your voice down, right?" A similar voice retorted.

"… chertov…!" Mantis swore under his breath, flipping his hood back to show his red hair as he turned and headed back through the corridor. He mentally prepared his voice to sound friendly as he rounded the corner to the storefront. What greeted him was the sight of two teenage girls with long, black hair in similar yet very different attire.

The one on the left was wearing a white and cyan strapless dress, a feathery scarf, gloves on her hands with a matching bracer on the left wrist, a bow on her dress, and oddly enough, aesthetic wings on her back and long boots with heels that seemed… dangerously sharp. The girl beside her looked very much the same except with a red outfit, her dress being of a blood red color and a choker on her neck, feathery accesories being visible on her shoulders and ear, a black bow on her waist and long boots with heels that weren't nearly as thin-edged as her apparent twin. Strangely enough, her dress seemed to be decorated or even made of newspapers of all things, although what stood out to Mantis the most were the curved blades stored on her arms attached to long gloves. Both girls wore heavy makeup and had pale complexions. The white-dressed girl rose her eyebrows at Mantis' strange appearance while the red-wearing one took a step back in caution.

"Uh… what the hell?" The white-dressed one snorted upon seeing Mantis' strange appearance, "Is Halloween this early? Or did Tukson get seriously desperate for employees? Oum, and I thought Xiong had issues..."

Mantis' eye twitched under his mask but he kept his composure, "Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the Sun! Don't worry, this mask is just a… habit of mine, nothing serious." He greeted, waving cheerfully at them. The red-dressed one took a few steps closer and peered curiously at him, "Oh, is that a gas mask? Where'd you find it? It looks cool!" She commented with a smile. This time, Mantis was at a loss for words; No one had ever complimented his mask before. Several awkward seconds of silence passed before the red-dressed girl spoke again.

"Okay, how old are you, kid? I don't think it's "Bring your son to work day" already, not that Tukson could even have a kid." The white-dressed one commented, folding her arms suspiciously. Mantis nearly sighed in irritation, "No, I am most assuredly not Tukson's son. He, er… found me on the street. Let's just say that my family… made some very powerful people angry, and I was forced into hiding to save myself. Tukson found me and let me stay in exchange for me helping him with the store, so… it's a win-win." He explained, reusing the lie and using a fake sad voice. It wasn't all a lie, he was sure that woman on airship wasn't dead yet and would surely bear a grudge.

"Aww, Tukson took you in?" The red twin smiled, nudging her sister, "See, told ya he wasn't all cold business talk like Junior!"

"Ugh, fine, sheesh." She relented before turning her attention back to Mantis. "You said you pissed off some bad eggs? Not too surprised, there are a lot of ugly rats crawling around Vale. You seem pretty smart for a kid, but I'll tell you anyway that you should probably stay off the streets for a long while."

Mantis almost wanted to laugh at the prospect of him being frightened by any of the street thugs he'd ever seen, but kept it to himself. "Duly noted, miss. So, what may I do for you?"

"Uh, yeah, we just kinda came here to buy a book that Tukson promised us after we saved up enough cash. Well," She paused to shrug and gesture to her sister, "More like Miltia over here really wanted a book but didn't have the cash at first, and only now finally saved enough Lien to buy it."

The newly-dubbed Miltia bawked indignantly, "Like you're one to talk! You never seem to be able to save much of any of your earnings because you keep using them to buy so much hair conditioner, Melanie!"

Melanie waved off her sister's rebuttal as if it were a fly, "Only because I actually need my conditioner, little sis. But whatever," She turned to look straight at Mantis with bored eyes, "Just get Miltia her book before our break ends, Junior's gonna throw a hissy fit if we aren't back soon."

Mantis did not know who this "Junior" was, but it seemed clear from Melanie's words that he was an associate of Tukson's and owned some sort of business. Not that Mantis really cared, it didn't seem like something that could be considered a big secret. Then again…

Miltia stepped forwards and held up a dark red purse, taking out a particular sum of Lien and showing it to Mantis. "The Legend of The War Runners, please. You still carry it, right?" She asked hopefully, placing the money back in her purse. Mantis put a hand to his chin in thought.

"Hmm… Ah, yes! We still have two copies of that novel! Please excuse me for a moment." Mantis walked out from behind the desk and towards one of the shelves situated to the right of the main desk. Looking up at the top row, he quickly found what he was looking for. He extended his arm towards it, and Melanie was about to open her mouth to snarkily point out that he was too short to even reach it when the novel suddenly floated off its spot on the shelf and moved slowly through the air into Mantis' hand. He turned around and attempted to hand it to Miltia.

"One copy of The Legend of The War Runners for… uh, hello?" He began but was cut off by the stunned stares from both Miltia and Melanie. This in of itself was confusing to Mantis; Isn't the concept of everyone having their own unique ability a regular thing in this world?

"Uh… did you just levitate that book? Like, with your mind?" Melanie asked cautiously, shifting her sharpened heels cautiously. Before Mantis could answer, Miltia also broke from her stupor, her eyes going even wider and her mouth about to spew a large amount of questions. At that moment, however… her eyes narrowed suddenly, a spark of recognition in her irises.

And that feeling of being recognized terrified Mantis out of his wits.

"Wait…" Miltia began, her gaze beginning to scrutinize him and Melanie watched with mild curiosity, "Cool gas mask… crappy hair… pissed some people off… mind powers…" She slowly pieced together. Mantis tilted his head to show confusion, but internally he was screaming in fear and anxiety that he might be recognized and his whereabouts spread across the kingdom. Then, the worst happened.

"Oh! You're that Psycho Mantis guy!" Miltia suddenly shouted, beaming joyfully at her revelation and pointing with carefully trimmed and painted nails at Mantis. Behind her, Melanie adopted a look of shock, staring with wide eyes at Mantis before her facial features too showed signs of recognition. "No way! The half-pint that took down an airship!?"

Mantis took two steps back, subconsciously holding his arms out in their signature position as he began pooling his power in his mind in case drastic measures had to be taken. 'How in hell did they find out my name!?' He raged in his head, searching for answers and finding none.

"Oh no, no! I'm afraid you must be mistaken! I do not possess nearly the amount of power needed for such a feat!" He tried to convince them, feeling his pride take a hit from denying he did such a thing. Miltia, however, did not seem convinced.

"No way, you're definitely that Psycho Mantis guy! That gas mask, that hair, your weird mind powers, there's no way it isn't you!" She asserted, glaring slightly at him. Mantis cursed internally, seeing that the situation was quickly getting out of hand. To make matters worse, Melanie stepped in as well, cocking a hip and resting her wrist on it as she too scrutinized him. "Wait a sec… My Oum, it really is you. Hey, how on Remnant does a dweeb so short have the power to drop a flying hunk of metal from the sky like a flyswatter?"

At this point, Mantis was getting more and more frustrated, both by their backhanded jabs and his identity being found out. He still hadn't fully been able to practice his ability to manipulate minds in his younger body without putting a serious toll on himself, and brainwashing two teenage girls seemed like a serious waste of his power. Still, if there were no other options available, he might just have to.

"Well… I gotta say, you've picked a great spot to hide out! I seriously doubt anyone could find you here!" Miltia commented in a slight whispering tone with a praising smile.

'… What?' Mantis asked himself. Were… were these girls about to keep his whereabouts a secret?

Deciding that denying who he was would get him nowhere at this point, Mantis sighed in resignation. "How did you know who I am? And… are you saying you still won't tell anyone I'm here?" He asked cautiously, still internally preparing his psychokinetic power to use force if necessary. Both Miltia and Melanie scoffed, as if the idea of ratting out Mantis' location and identity to anyone who might want to know was a joke.

"You kidding? You shot down an airship and lit it into a glorified bonfire in the middle of the street with a single attack, were you expecting it to not make the news? Seriously, you're all everyone's been talking about, especially in the darker parts of town." Melanie explained casually, "Oh, and by the way… those goons that you and that old huntress fought were associates of ours. Specifically, our boss, Junior. They were hired by that douche, Roman Torchwick, to rob a boatload of Dust for Oum-knows-what. Until, of course, you and that Goodwitch bitch tossed them in the slammer and wrecked their getaway flight."

That didn't make Mantis feel any better, knowing that these girls were associated with people who very well consider him a threat. He also chastised himself, feeling stupid for not knowing that something like a flying vehicle being blasted to smithereens within a heavily-populated area would undoubtedly be investigated deeply and featured in news all around the city.

"And… need I worry about you spilling the beans on my whereabouts to those with less-than-positive intentions?" He asked cautiously, slightly entering a defensive position and using his power to detect any signs of lies and/or deception. To his surprise, Miltia just shrugged and Melanie shook her head with a scoff.

"Meh, I don't think you ought to worry. We don't really give a flying flip what the hell that Torchwick loser wants with you, and Junior's more mad at Torchwick anyway for leaving his goons behind to get thrown in jail. Trust me, kid, he couldn't care less about you, and I'd be seriously surprised if Torchwick can even walk after a crash like that, if he's even still alive." Melanie stated coolly, rolling her eyes.

Mantis leaned his head back in surprise, not just by Melanie's casual tone but also because he could see in the top-most surfaces of their minds that they truly had no intention of spreading the word if his whereabouts to neither their apparently-shady employer nor any of their associates who may want to come after him.

"Oh…" He uttered, honestly believing that he would've had to either brainwash or kill these two girls to keep his secret hidden. "Well… here you go, I suppose." He reached the book still in his hands to Miltia. With a small yet excited smile, she eagerly took it from him and beamed at the cover. She reached back into her purse to give Mantis the Lien needed to pay for it when Mantis held up a hand to stop her.

"It's on the house. Consider it payment for choosing to help me. I'm sure Tukson will understand." Mantis said appreciatively. Miltia looked with surprise, but then giggled happily and bounced on her heels. "Aw, thanks! Tell Tukson I came by for me!"

With that, Miltia turned and skipped out of the bookstore, staring at her new novel happily. Melanie made to follow, but before she did, she turned back to Mantis with a surprisingly soft smile. "Y'know… I ought to thank you, too."

Mantis raised an eyebrow in confusion, prompting Melanie to elaborate, "I mean, we're super good at what we do for Junior, but I get that my sis doesn't really, y'know… like it. And, well, she's been looking forward to getting this damn pile of pages forever now. I don't really get why she even cares about it, but she always sounds super giddy when she talks about it. This was the first time in a looooong while that my sis was this happy about something. So… yeah, thanks for that. See ya around."

With that, Melanie waved goodbye and sauntered out to meet Miltia, who'd been waiting impatiently for her. As they walked away together, Mantis couldn't help but wave back awkwardly, not quite knowing what to do in such a situation.

'Er, okay, then... I suppose I did my job of making the customers happy...' Mantis figured, not too concerned of what Tukson might think or do when he found out Mantis gave away one of his books for free. Sighing in relief that it was over, he immediately turned and headed back to Tukson's office through the hall. Stepping up to the first filing cabinet, he reached out and pulled the first drawer open, and peered inside with a dark glint in his mask's lenses.

Tukson whistled casually as he strolled down the commercial district of Vale. The sun shined brightly, and he was glad to see that there were no squabbles or bickering breaking out between the faunus and humans living in Vale. A young couple of two deer faunus merrily walked passed him on the sidewalk, holding hands as a bold show of their affection. Tukson couldn't help but give a friendly nod to the male deer faunus, who gave a casual smile back.

"Morning there, Scoperto. Garofana." Tukson greeted the young couple. The male, Scoperto, waved back, "Hey, there you are, Tukson! Whatcha up to? We haven't heard from you in two months, buddy!"

His girlfriend, Garofana, a deer faunus with a fluffy doe tail, leaned against Scoperto. "Yeah, we know you like your space, but you gotta talk to your buddies once in a while!"

Tukson sheepishly raising his arm over his shoulder and scracthing his neck. "Geez, has it already been that long?", he chuckled slightly. "Sorry about that, guys. I, uh… Yeah, something came up and I had to stay in for a while. I am fine, though, thank you."

Scoperto and Garofana gave small, understanding smiles. They were curious about what this "something" was, but knew Tukson well enough that if he didn't want to talk about something, his lips became an iron trap. They could and always did respect his privacy. Just then, a small beeping from Tukson's watch grabbed their attention. Raising his arm to eye level, Tukson realized that it was about 1:30.

"Well, I gotta go; They're having a salmon sale over at the market, so I better get what I can quick." Tukson told them. "Oh, okay. See ya at the shop later, Tuks!" Garofana cheered as she and Scoperto stepped to the side and allowed Tukson by. With a goodbye wave back to them, Tukson continued on his walk, although a bit more brisk. Soon, he was already a dozen yards from the market.

He was lucky he had opened the bookstore so close to it, since it only took him about ten minutes to get there and ten-to-twelve to get back depending on how much he was carrying. It definitely helped that his faunus heritage meant he was physically stronger than most humans, so he would easily be able to buy and carry the added amount of food his new tenant would need.

He frowned. As much as Mantis was a big help around the store, Tukson knew he was probably hiding something from him. It was no secret between the two of them that Mantis had inadvertently angered some very powerful people in the illegal, crime-infested underworld of Vale, which had forced the young psychic into the streets for shelter and was what set in motion the meeting between the two in the first place. However, Tukson couldn't help but feel there was much more to the story, and judging by his work in the storefront as well as his proper use of language compared to nearly every other child Tukson had met, he could tell Mantis was smarter than he probably let on most of the time.

At the same time, though, Tukson knew what it felt like to be on edge and cautious after getting mixed up with shady people, especially after it became apparent that he and the White Fang were a less-than-ideal match. He didn't want to force the youngster into telling him everything, and it certainly didn't seem to hamper his health nor ability to carry out any tasks Tukson gave him, so he let it out of his mind for the most part.

As he neared the grocery store's entrannce, Tukson walked briskly passed the windows, peered within to see the many fruits, vegetables, snacks and desserts inside…

And then casually walked right by the market.

"Sorry, salmon… I'll be right back after I'm done dealing with these… psychos." He growled to himself, irritated at the prospect of missing out on the sale. Instead, Tukson reached for his pocket and pulled out a small, faded-brown piece of paper. Looking at its contents, he sighed and continued on, headed towards the city limits. He walked past the commercial districts, to where the leaves turned red and brown as autumn, where the broken moon shined pitifully to the soil below.

He looked around first, then disappeared into an alley behind a clothing store. At the end was a shroud of bushes, dead and brown from insufficient water. Tukson bent low and rummaged his hands past the brambles, delicately pushing them apart. Sure enough, there it was; a large hole in the ground, leading to a tunnel that stretched beyond the city limits and into Forever Fall. After looking around one more time, he hopped into the tunnel and disappeared.

"Yes, students, the forest of Forever Falls is indeed beautiful. But, we are not here to sightsee." Glynda stated sternly, mainly in response to seeing Ruby Rose rubbernecking joyously at the bright nature imagery around them over her shoulder, "Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest." As an afterthought, she added, "And I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so."

The group was heading through the bright red trees, gazing with wonder at the red leaves littering the floor, giving the forest floor the appearance of being buried under a velvet carpet. Eventually, Glynda came to a stop, the mere action of doing so causing the students following her (except Jaune, who accidentally bumped into an irritated Cardin) to freeze.

"Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates." She warned them seriously, though it didn't seem to cause any of their confidence to waver judging by the eager smiles she saw amongst the students. "We will rendezvous back here at 4 o'clock. Have fun." She finished curtly, allowing the teams to get to work.

Before much of anything could happen, Cardin abruptly grabbed Jaune, who was balancing a box in his arms with multiple jars on it. "C'mon, buddy! Let's go!" The large boy smirked arrogantly. The blonde boy carrying the jars was clearly unhappy with being singled out by the racist, his dismay only deepened by Pyrrha's sad and disapproving glance up ahead. With a sorrowful expression, Jaune nodded just slightly and turned to follow Cardin and his team into the woods, leaving the rest of JNPR to gather sap without him.

Mantis grunted as he opened one of the last cabinets and rummaging slowly through its contents. To his disappointment, it was mainly filled with normal stocking papers and files on what the store carried, just like all the other cabinets. He had been almost certain that Tukson had been hiding something deep from him, but there was nothing here that even came close to that. Even in his desk drawers, there was nothing truly interesting other than usual sales count and recordings that was normal for a bookstore.

"Hmph, seems as though I did all this for nothing. Damn..." He muttered in frustration. As he stepped away to leave the room, however, he barely felt his toe nudge something beneath the black carpet. Raising an eyebrow, Mantis took a step back to peer down at the floor, easily remembering where his toe touched the object. Standing off the carpet, Mantis summoned just enough power to lift the nearest corner of the cloth and reveal a hidden trapdoor just behind his office desk.

"Ah, there we go! Maybe this will have some satisfactory results on what that man is hiding…" He smirked, reaching down with his shrunken fingers into the small opening. Inside was a small space about big enough to contain a watermelon filled with an assortment of envelopes and carefully folded letters that seemed very much different from the regular files and papers he'd found earlier. Reaching inside, Mantis pulled out one of the first letters at the top of the stack and read, as they seemed to be stacked in the order they were received. This particular paper seemed to be the most recent one

"Brother Tukson…

We remind you that utmost trust and loyalty is vital and the most important aspect for all faunus to have in our cause. We understand your hesitance to bring violence our fellow faunus, but those we stand in our way of peace must be eliminated to further our goal to stand above humans. Please understand that the White Fang aims to aid all faunus-kind, and to teach humans to give us the respect we are owed."

At the bottom of the letter was a logo that appeared to be a savage wolf's head with three slash marks crossing behind it, printed in blood red. Mantis's eyes widened upon recognizing the logo from various newspapers and television headlines.

'The White Fang? What on Earth is Tukson doing being associated with them?' Mantis asked himself. During his short time with the man, Mantis never found any evidence to suggest that Tukson was affiliated with terrorists, especially those of another species… unless…

"… Tukson's a faunus himself, isn't he? Really, Miles? THAT'S the big secret for me? Or was it BloodStalker this time? Oum, all these writers are confusing…" Mantis groaned out loud, facepalming in exasperation whilst tilting his head directly up to where the sky would be. Now that he'd thought about it, it made more sense; Tukson had obviously been keeping something from him, and he'd read in the books around the store that some faunus could hide their animal traits, such as chameleon faunus keeping their colors to human ones or horned faunus wearing hats if possible to hide such traits.

The White Fang, as far as he could tell, would not tolerate a human in their ranks unless it was absolutely necessary. And honestly, Tukson did not seem like more than a drop in the bucket compared to the undoubtedly countless White Fang operatives around Remnant, which was saying a lot considering that the majority were likely not much different than regular citizens, both of human and faunus heritage.

Still, though, this was a game changer. The White Fang were clearly a prominent organization with influence all over Remnant, so the fact that Mantis – a human - was living with someone in their ranks was a bit startling. If Tukson wanted, he may be able to alert his superiors within the group about him, his whereabouts and stage an attempt for his fellow operatives to abduct or even kill him. However, if this letter was anything to go by, it appeared that Tukson did not quite agree with the White Fang's barbaric methods. With luck, he might not even have to deal with—

"Wait, what's this here?" Mantis suddenly asked himself. Upon turning the page over, he found more writing on the backside:

"We respectfully request for a meeting between you and a representative to settle any lasting dispute. In order to succesfully work towards a better future for faunus-kind, we must come to final agreement and move forwards, lest we fall to the same petty barbarianism man has. We will await you in the location described by the following coordinates on 10/31/13."

All at once, Mantis' eyes widened.

'That's today! Damnit…! Of course Tukson would choose today to 'go out to buy groceries'! Whatever happens at that meeting will undoubtedly affect me, since I'm living with the damned bastard!', Mantis raged, filled with realization. Normally, Mantis wouldn't give a damn what the White Fang were up to… but this was different. If Tukson was in deep enough trouble and grew desperate, he might just give up Mantis to the White Fang leaders as proof of his "loyalty" to their cause. If they decided to just kill him outright then and there, however, that would lead Mantis with no way to provide for himself given that he was too young – physically, anyway – to own a shop, and the money in the office and storefront would only last two months or so, and he didn't exactly rejoice at the thought of entering an orphanage nor living on the streets.

He might be able to handle any of those outcomes… but he'd rather not if it could be averted. And attempt to avert it, he would. Honestly, he really didn't care all that much what happened to Tukson, but whatever happened to him as a result of this meeting would surely affect Mantis in some way as well.

Taking another look at the coordinates listed in the note, Mantis hurriedly placed the paper back into the opening, sealed it, locked the office and raced for the back door of the building. Not even bothering to lock up the place, Psycho Mantis raced into the back alleys and took to the skies. Mantis strained his powers to create a light mist from the air that mostly concealed him from any onlookers down below as he flew as fast as his psychokinesis would allow.

'I swear to all deities in this realm, Tukson…', Mantis seethed in his mind, easily outpacing the birds in the air with him, 'You better not say or do anything stupid! Because, if you do, I might be dragged down with you, you piece of shit!'

"Hey! Great work, Jauney-boy!" Cardin jeered from his comfortable seat against one of the many trees in the Forever Fall forest. As he and his teammates watched, a visibly exhausted and slightly dazed-looking Jaune dropped multiple jars of tree sap onto the ground, as well as himself a literal moment later. "Now that wasn't too hard, was it?"

"Ugh… I th-think I'm allergic to this stuff…" Jaune mumbled. Ignoring it, Cardin and his team finally stood up and smirked down at their blackmailed servant. "Great, great, great. So, Jaune, I bet you're asking yourself: 'Why did my buddy Cardin make me collect six jars of tree sap when there's only five of us?'"

"… That is one of the many questions I have asked myself today, yes." Jaune answered with a mix of sarcasm and exhaustion, not that CRDL seemed to notice. Or care. "Well, come with me, and you'll find out!" Cardin continued with rather enthusiastic tone.

'Crap, that can't be good…' Jaune reminded himself, having been around the bullies long enough that whatever they considered good usually came at someone else's expense. Specifically, Jaune himself.

This time, though, he got the dreadful feeling that, for once, someone else was on Cardin's shit list today, which he didn't consider for a second to be a good thing.

Elsewhere, a certain psychic was also having a rather bad time.

"Come on, come on! I know it must be around here somewhere!" Mantis growled as he shot through the red-colored forest's treetops. It wasn't easy though, considering that not only was he expending psychic energy that he still hadn't managed to properly manage yet, but he also had to stick low to the treetops to ensure he wasn't spotted by Tukson or the White Fang members he was meeting with. 'I need to know what happens there! If anything goes wrong, I'll at least be able to prepare myself to leave before anyone can find me!'

It didn't help that his masked face was constantly buffeted by branches and leaves, which nearly caused him to crash on multiple occasions. Concentrating to try to find the meeting spot by finding their emotions, Mantis tried to use his mental powers like a radar to find Tukson. All of a sudden, though, Mantis could've sworn he felt multiple people milling about the forest in one area: About thirteen. He peered down, and for the briefest of seconds, he thought he saw several teenagers dressed in different color themes on the forest floor beneath him.

Including a familiar girl wearing a red hood that fluttered like a cape.

'Wait, what!?' Mantis questioned. Due to his immense speed, she appeared as a blur as he sped by, but he plainly recognized the determination and optimism dwelling inside her fragile figure. The same things he sensed within the girl he'd fought alongside against that Roman Torchwick. What was she doing out here?

Mantis shook his head, reminding himself that it didn't matter. He was here to make sure Tukson didn't accidentally make Mantis a target for the White Fang or result in Mantis becoming homeless again if he was killed. He kept moving forwards, nearing closer to where the meeting should've been taking place.

Then he felt it: Frustration, disgust and fear. It was emanating from a source relatively nearby, and was moving slowly yet surely to where Mantis had figured out where Tukson was meeting the White Fang representatives.

'Bingo, you bastard.'

Slowing down to a mere 14 miles per hour, Mantis followed the figure deeper into the forest. He wanted to peer into their mind, but his kid body was too underdeveloped for that level of psychokinesis, at least for now. Like a ghost, Mantis drifted through the trees and bushes of the autumn-colored woods, staying just under the thick treetops. Eventuallly, he felt the negative emotions from the figure increase exponentially, as well as stopping completely in its tracks. Now, Mantis also felt two other beings with his target, both of whom with only trace amounts of impatience and stress.

'Finally. Time to see just what these White Fang are like.'

Mantis moved forwards to get a good look. Arriving at a clearing and stopping right before the edge, Psycho Mantis predictably found the familiar bury figure of Tukson standing near the middle of the clearing. Facing him were two men, who looked so much alike that Mantis nearly thought they were twins. Both men wore red hoods that covered their heads like cloaks, with black tunics reaching beyond their waists. They wore no shirts other than their black tunics, but had detached white sleeves that covered their arms with pleated knee-reaching white pants and black sandals. The only difference between them were their heights and the fact that one man had large fox ears while the other had a furry fox tail. Both had calm and casual visages, but Mantis could barely sense bits of disapproval and annoyance on the inside. To better hide himself, Mantis stealthily floated up near the treeline so that his red hair blended with the leaves and his dark attire with the shadowed bark and branches.

"Fennec. Corsac." Tukson began, his disdain for the meeting already apparent. "Brother Tukson. Thank you for accepting our request for a meeting." The taller and presumably older of the two strangers greeted back simply.

"Yeah, yeah. Might I ask just what you guys are doing here? I thought I heard you guys were supposed to be over in the Menagerie sector." Tukson commented. The shorter of the two White Fang associates answered, "Not quite yet. We are scheduled to depart for Kuo Kuana within a week's time, so we have a bit of time on our hands."

When he finished, however, both of their demeanors turned darker. "Well, enough about us," the taller man stated quietly, "We both know the purpose and nature of this meeting, do we not, Tukson?"

Tukson sighed deeply. "Of course I do, anyone with a working head woud be disgusted with the thought of killing their own kin!" He snarled with a grimace at the duo, "The White Fang is strong and terrifying as it is, I'm pretty sure most faunus who want out would be too scared to talk to the fuzz anyway. I'm down with taking Lien from humans who think they're different than the dirt they walk on, but I don't see a reason why we have to kill our own brothers for wanting to get away from all the bloodshed!"

"Believe us, we understand your disgust and disapproval to the lengths the White Fang is willing to go to." The younger, fox-eared one responded calmly, "Rest assured, we do not enjoy the thought of having to dispose of our own kin. It is an act that should never have to be condoned."

"However, these are not normal circumstances, Brother Tukson." The taller, fox-tailed one continued, "When we join the White Fang, we swear to pledge our being and souls to attain true quality and justice for all faunus in this world. We agree to lend our very existance and all effort to the cause. Such a monumental oath is not to be treated lightly. Therefore, it is critical that any and all members of the White Fang stay true to the cause and their loyalty to their sworn brothers."

"… And to turn one's back on that sworn loyalty is to turn one's back on all faunus-kind. And that, of course, is nothing short of the greatest betrayal that can be committed against our race. Anyone who has the nerve to commit such a sin deserves no redemption, Tukson. It proves them to be as lowly and filthy as the humans they semmingly despised." The shorter brother finished, this time with a noticeable edge in his tone. Not only did Mantis notice, but it seemed Tukson did as well.

"Well… yes, that is something everyone should agree on." Tukson conceded, although the psychic spy could tell that was a lie that luckily the two brothers seemed to buy, "But, still, why is it an issue if I don't want to be the one taking out the trash? Most of us have more important agendas that don't involve having to deal with a couple cowards, Corsac."

"Because, Tukson," The taller one, now dubbed Corsac, began, "To be able to dispose of such barbaric runaways is but one of the best ways to prove oneself's loyalty to the cause. As disgusting and low as they are, all faunus are still fellow faunus, and threrefore it requires the most determined and passionate soldier to keep the safety and security of the cause by ridding them of our ranks. To be able to eliminate them proves one capable of aiding the White Fang closer to its ultimate goal, and unwavering loyalty is a trait we need in spades if we are ever to complete our mission of granting equality to our Brethren."

Mantis watched with disgust. So far, the White Fang seemed no different than many of the terrorist organizations back home. Frankly, he had seen enough of the whole "the-ends-justifies-the-means" policy, to the point that now it was just getting boring. It only reinforced that faunus were just as toxic and pitiful as the humans they oh-so despised. Mantis was even willing to bet that most of the members of the White Fang just wanted to take their anger out on the world as a whole and were just bitter over what path their lives had taken rather than being personally and individually put down by mankind.

"Well… alright, look. You guys make a good point." Tukson once again lied, seeming to Mantis like he just wanted to get as far away from those men as quickly as possible, "But… what else can I do to prove myself? I know I messed up… Anything I can do to, y'know, make up for it?"

When he finished, the two fox brothers looked to each other with a smirk that made both Tukson and Mantis in the bushes nearby anxious. The younger brother, whom Mantis figured was Fennec, pulled out a Scroll and uploaded an image on it for Tukson to see.

"As you know, a human by the name of Roman Torchwick has unfortunately taken up a rather prominent space within the White Fang. After he had been seriously injured a few months ago, Adam Taurus and his… associates have agreed to launch a hunt for this child." Fennec explained.

To Mantis' shock, a picture of himself back at that fateful day was on that Scroll. Tukson took one look and recoiled in abject surprise. "Wh-What!? A human kid!?" He barely managed to keep his voice from a total yell. "Indeed", Fennec answered, "The same child responsible for the destruction of the airship used to escape and the cause for Roman's injuries. The only thing close to a name we have currently is 'Psycho Mantis', likely referencing his powerful ESP-based Semblance. For reasons not given by neither Khan nor Taurus, it is required that this child is captured and brought to them alive. Should you have any information on this boy's whereabouts, or even bring him to us yourself, you can be assured that your standing with your White Fang brothers will be restored with no issue. In fact… you may even be granted an even higher reward for such a feat."

Tukson's surprise faded, turning into wariness. "So… if I just find this one kid, that'll be it? Well, if it's to put humans in their place… I'll get right on it."

Corsac and Fennec smiled coldly. "Splendid. Might you already have any ideas to his location or activities? You do happen to live near where the incident happened, after all."

Mantis waited with bated breath for Tukson's answer, watching as he mulled over it.

"Hmm… As a matter of fact… Sorry, no."

'… What?'

"Never seen that boy anywhere around my store. Hell, didn't even know he had a name until now. I'll definitely be poking around, though, don't you worry." Tukson affirmed. Mantis wasn't sure what to be more surprised by: The fact that Tukson was stating he'd never known or even seen Mantis, or the fact that he could sense no real intent to fix his errors with the White Fang.

"Well, if that's all, I'm afraid I need to head back. I do have a business to run, as you know." Tukson said. With a nod of understanding, the two brothers turned and calmly walked off in the opposite direction, smoothly disappearing into the thick foliage. As soon as they were gone, Tukson growled and began jogging straight back in the direction he came. He ran so fast, he nearly bumped into Mantis, who managed to lean to the side in time to avoid being noticed. Mantis stared at Tukson's retreating form until he was certain he was out of earshot.

'… Alright, what the hell is going on!?' Mantis demanded as he rose into the air and rocketed off in a different direction, taking a separate route to get back to the bookstore without Tukson seeing him. His mind raced with questions. Why wasn't Tukson selling him out even though doing just that would definitely fix whatever problems he had with the White Fang? Why would the White Fang even want him alive despite the threat his power presents to them?

What of that hate-filled woman he'd surely made an enemy of? If Torchwick was associated with the White Fang, that woman had to be as well.

So caught up was he in his own thoughts that he almost didn't react in time to the intense flash of pure white light that completely blinded him. Skidding to a halt in mid-air, Mantis quickly turned away and lifted an arm to cover his eyes.

'Wh-What the Devil is that!?'

As the light died down, Mantis began hearing voices a few dozen feet ahead. Focusing, Mantis detected the presence of at least five people, whom he was stunned to recognize as part of the group he'd sensed earlier. To add to his surprise was the fact that one of them seemed to be emanating a powerful yet foreign energy, one that the psychic had never seen before, and simply screamed of courage and loyalty. Mantis found it difficult just to describe it due to its sheer alien qualities.

Then he heard the roar.

*"NGRRROUGH!"*

The psychic froze in place. It sounded eerily reminiscent of forest bears… except totally and utterly lacking any life that all animals should possess. To any other person, it would've sounded like the generic movie monster roar one often hears in films, but Mantis could feel the deeper layers the sound held. It felt cold, empty, barren, and absolutely monstrous. And it chilled Mantis to the bone.

It screamed… of death.

Mantis was vaguely aware of the shouts and yells of terror that accompanied the devilish sound, clearly coming from the people he'd sensed coming into contact with the source of the roar. He shook off his hesitation and realized at once that it simply had to be one of the world's greatest threats he had read about but had yet to actually encounter yet: A creature of Grimm. Soon, excitement overtook fear as Mantis' mind pondered on just what these beasts must appear like in the flesh.

'… Time to see if these so-called Grimm are truly deserving of their reputation.' He finally decided after only thirty seconds. He regained his composure and eagerly flew stealthily to where he'd sensed the group earlier. Soon enough, he came at another clearing and hid himself in the darker parts of the shadows. He arrives just in time to see what appeared to be a hellish, demonized bear-like abomination with black fur, white bone-like armor and eyes demanding for blood stalking over a large teenage male in strange armor similar to the knights of his world. Nearby was a blonde male who appeared to be the same age with similar yet fewer and different armor along with a sword at his side.

As Mantis looked on, the boy whom the beast was targeting brandished a large mace to threaten his attacker, but the demon simply swatted it aside like a harmless fly, landing near the scraggly, blonde male. The larger teen kicked up at the beast's jaw and hit hard enough to make it flinch, giving him enough time to kick himself back and scamper up onto his feet. Watching the poor boy attempt to run, Mantis realized that the young man somehow had tree sap splattered on his chest.

'… That better not be the reason that it's even here. If just getting sap that bears naturally like off your body is enough to keep these bastards away, these Grimm will have officially lost all of my respect.'

Then, however, another conundrum hit Mantis. These two young men were on their own against a literal beast from hell, and Mantis had the chance to use his power quickly enough to potentially kill it and be on his way.

'… Nah.' He quickly decided, "If these Grimm are truly dangerous, I need to see for myself just what they can do to mankind to deserve such fear from the populace. It will take Tukson some time to return to the bookstore anyway, and it doesn't appear that this will take long anyway.'

With the lightest chuckle he could allow from his vocal chords, he thoughtfully added 'And it will rid this world of two more worthless bags of meat! A win-win; The result of Tukson's meeting and what these abominations can do. Not bad for a single day's results...'

While he was thinking, the bear-like Grimm had leaped in front of the large teen and swiped him to the ground, roaring once more. Then, to Mantis' surprise, three other teenage girls appeared from the forest's depths. One was dressed similarly to the stereotypical Spartans of his world, with a bronze corset top, red mini-skirt, a belt attached to a circular bronze plate on one hip and two pouches on the other, bronze greaves and long gloves topped with rose red hair. Another was the palest girl Mantis had ever seen; Long white hair in a bun, white strapless dress, bell sleeved and red-lined white bolero, heeled boots, a white sash around her waist containing a pouch near her back, and snowflake decorations on her sleeves and skirt.

However, it was the third girl who stuck out the most to Mantis.

'… Okay, WHAT in bloody Hell!? What are the odds!?' Mantis screamed on the inside, having recognized the girl as the one he'd met when they faced Torchwick and that vile woman as well as having spotted her minutes earlier while flying through the forest. He also saw that all of them were carrying what seemed to be advanced versions of melee weaponry; The taller armor-wearing girl was sporting some type of lance and hoplite shield, the white-haired girl was wielding a thin rapier, and, of course, the red-hooded girl held her enormous scythe like a child's plaything.

'Well… at least now I hopefully see how these Grimm are dealt with.' He surmised, guessing from their weapons that these teenagers were in training to become huntsmen and huntresses. He was still nerved by the appearance of that familiar hooded girl, but decided to shove it to the back of his mind.

The boy who had the misfortune of getting sap on his clothes was still trying to get away, but the beast wasn't having it. All of a sudden, the bear-like monstrosity reared up and raised its enormous paw, ready to cut its prey down. It swung its arm down like a hammer, and surely would've dashed the boy to pieces were it not for the sudden action of the smaller, scraggly teen who managed to jump in at the last second and barely blocked the strike with a white shield he'd somehow been storing this whole time. Despite the fact that the monster had to be at least five times bigger than the boy, he mustered enough strength to hold back the beast's gigantic paw long enough for his supposed comrades to enter battle-ready stances. Well, except for the red-haired armored girl.

"… Wait!" She commanded, stopping the white-haired girl from launching a preemptive strike with her rapier. They all watched the blonde boy push off the monster's paw and deliver a slash with is blade that forced it back. However, it did virtually nothing to actually injure or even slow it down, and it quickly retaliated with another downward strike with its other paw that the boy ducked and rolled to avoid. He got up and jumped clear over a sidways slash from the demon that raked through the forest floor. The boy was vulnerable in mid-air, however, which the monster capitalized on and used to slam its fist directly into the boy's unguarded stomach. To Mantis' surprise, the scraggly male got up relatively unharmed and charged headfirst at the beast.

'Fool.' Mantis shook his head simply as the Grimm merely swatted the child away. This time, it took the boy a bit longer to get up, and a concerned look overcame his features when he saw something on his Scroll. Correctly deducing this to mean that the boy's Aura was running low, Mantis stared with anticipation as the ursine beast charged at the boy with a menacing roar. The blonde knight, however, showed no fear whatsoever, and charged forth with his own battle cry. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the two neared, their weapons prepared to end the other's existence then and there.

That's when Mantis felt the strangest energy he'd yet to feel emanating from somewhere in the clearing. In the corners of his vision, he saw the red-haired girl reach her arm out to the boy, an arm which was outputting an incredibly alien energy. All at once, Mantis could not only feel the mysterious substance travel through the air and connect itself to the boy's shield, causing it to raise up to block an incoming paw strike, but also the vast array of emotions felt from everyone present; The larger male's shock at seeing his fellow huntsman-in-training fight the monster, the hooded girl and white-haired girls' anxiety of what was to happen, the red-haired girl's confidence and pride for the boy dueling the beast, and most of all, the blonde boy's intense determination and courage that easily overshadowed any and all doubts and fears he might've had. It was so much that Mantis didn't even realize that the energy emanating from the armored female made the boy's shield rise up to block the strike and allow him to chop the beast's head cleanly off it's bulky shoulders. Red leaves and petals flew into the air as the monster's decapitated body leaned over and crashed to the floor, ending its bloody existence.

'Wh… What…?' The psychic asked himself in stunned surprise, more so from having sensed so many emotions from so many people all at once than the boy's surprising victory over the monster. That, and the strange energy that the armored girl emitted to manipulate the shield enough to block an attack from the Grimm.

"Uh… what?" Ruby asked Pyrrha in complete confusion. Of course, any of them could've done what Jaune did to that Ursa, but far faster and with much greater efficiency. However, even Ruby was able to notice the unnatural way Jaune's shield moved in order to block the Ursa's incoming attack, and combined with Pyrrha's hand motion only made her more confused. Weiss also seemed to have picked up on it, "How did you-?"

"Well," Pyrrha began, "Ruby has her speed, you have your glyphs", she gestured to both of them respectively, "My semblance… is Polarity."

For all her knack of weapons designing and modeling, Ruby evidently had no clue what that meant. "Oh… you can control poles…" She breathed quietly, prompting Weiss to correct her. "No, you dunce! It means she has control over magnetism!"

"… Magnets are cool, too." Ruby said anyway, a distant look on her face. On the other side of the clearing, Mantis was still trying to comprehend how such a clearly inexperienced and untrained teen (he could just tell from his undisciplined movements) could have beaten such a large Grimm, especially one as towering as an Ursa. With a hint of disappointment, he was about to reach the conclusion that perhaps the Grimm weren't so deadly when he heard a quiet yet deadly, raspy bone-chilling hiss right behind him.

'… Oh, shit…' Mantis thought as he slowly turned around, not making any sudden movements. To his amazement and shock, he looked up to see two enormous blood-red eyes the size of a human head boring into him, resting atop a diamond-shaped head tipped with large fangs, a double-ended tongue that whipped into the air, all of them connected to a single, long neck.

A King Taijitu. Specifically, it's black head. No doubt the other, white-colored head was nearby.

"GAH!"

Mantis instinctively dashed straight up into the air and dodged a sudden strike from the serpent, flying up above and spreading his arms out into their signature position.

"What was that!?"

"Is someone there?"

Mantis cringed, only then remembering that the teen warriors were still there. He turned and flew deeper into the forest, above the monster's winding body. He'd only just flew a dozen meters when a blur of red and white came at him from the side, prompting him to swerve downwards to avoid the white head's gaping mouth coming at him. He increased his pace, already hearing the Taijitu's long body shifting in the vegetation and following close behind.

'Why me!?' Mantis cursed as he looked over his shoulder to see the white half of the Taijitu swerving around trees and across bushes, rocketing through the forest faster than a serpent its size should have. With a grunt, he locked his psychokinesis onto three trees ahead of him and uprooted them from the ground. He then turned around and launched one directly at the white snake head, which had opened its mouth to attack. As predicted, the tree lodged itself deeply into the Taijitu's throat, causing it to halt instantly and began squirming and choking, trying to cough it out. Mantis stopped and laughed at it.

"HA! Can't complain, you worthless serpent! Isn't vegetation supposed to be good for you?" He jeered.

*"HRRAGH!"*

"Whoa!" Mantis yelled in surprise as the other Taijitu head came rushing out of the bushes at him. He managed to teleport in time, reappearing a dozen feet above it. He growled as he launched the other two trees at it, raising one into the air and swinging it onto the serpent's black head and ramming the other into its cheek from the side, dazing it. Looking around, Mantis quickly saw the midpoint on the Taijitu's body where its black and white halves were conjoined, which was colored a fitting equal grey.

However, before he could further think about it, the white head managed to spit out the tree it had been choking on and lunged straight at Mantis, who was forced to swerve to the side. The Taijitu head tracked him and twisted its body to chase him in mid-air, hissing hungrily for prey. Mantis had none of it and used his psychic power to send a cloud of red leaves from the ground up into its eyes, blinding and confusing it. He then pointed a palm to his side and created an invisible psychic wall to block a wall of teeth in the form of the black-colored head careening at him from that direction, and pushed the barrier forward to shove off the attacking head. Mantis moved his barrier to his front to block an attack from the white head and fly backwards, dissipating the barrier to save energy. The two King Taijitu heads hissed and snarled at Mantis from different directions, and maneuvered to either side him and coiled their necks like springs.

"Hey, over here! It went this way!"

Mantis looked over his shoulder upon hearing that voice and cursed under his breath. He needed to finish this quickly if he wanted to get back before he was found out by either Tukson or the teens who were evidently after the King Taijitu in the woods.

'Damn it… Why is it always snakes!?' He snarled in his mind, glaring at the two Taijitu heads. All at once, the two sprung loose and lunged at Mantis, mouths gaping wide.

They did not possess nearly the amount of intelligence needed to know that it was a mistake.

'I have had it up to here with all these filthy, damned, slithering SNAKES!'

Mantis tilted his head back and growled loudly. At the same time, a powerful spherical barrier appeared around his body and pushed outwards, colliding with the serpent heads so hard that not only did they stumbled back, but their top two fangs on each head was chipped loose from their mouths. Not letting up, Mantis grabbed all four teeth telekinetically and launched them straight at the midpoint that connected the two halves. Like spear points, the disconnected fangs buried themselves deep past the King Taijitu's scales and penetrated into its innards, causing the two heads to hiss and flail wildly in pain. Ignoring them, Mantis aimed his open palm at the fangs for better precision and psychokinetically sawed straight through the King Taijitu's midpoint, the four fangs hacking up and down through fast enough to be barely seen as blurs until the two halves became undone in less than two seconds. Blood poured like a river from the disconnected halves, forming a dak pool between them. The two heads weakly tilted their necks to the sky, opened their mouths for a last, demonic screech…

*"SSSSSCREEEGGGHHHH!"*

… Before both of them collapsed to the ground with a loud *thud!*, the twins sending up a much larger hail of red leaves and petals than the Ursa did minutes earlier. Two twins, black and white, once mighty killers of men… now no more than old, useless lumps of meat and bone.

"Go to Hell." Mantis snarled to them, still up above the half-and-hald beast and grimacing down at its now disintegrating corpses. It was oddly… satisfying.

"Hurry up! We can't let it get away!"

"I think I see something up ahead!"

'Shit!' Mantis cursed, realizing that the three girls – including the red-hooded one – were nearing his location. He lowered to about ten feet off the ground and under the height limit of the surrouding trees, he sped off in the direction of Vale. Right now, it didn't even completely register that he'd just won his first encounter with the creatures of Grimm so quickly and easily.

All he could think about was how to deal with the knowledge that the White Fang were officially looking for him.

Finally, after several minutes of flight above the trees and crossing into the commercial district, Mantis found and recognized the bookstore from the sky above and quickly descended to the back door. He hastily locked it behind him after entering. He breathed a preemptive sigh of relief since he didn't sense anyone in the residence, and went about fixing anything that might give away the fact that he broke into Tukson's office and then snuck out. After several minutes of double-checking and looking around, he finally returned to his post at the front desk and waited for Tukson to eventually return.

And return, he did. Within about ten minutes, Tukson walked back into the storefront. To Mantis' surprise, he was carrying actual grocery bags with enough food to keep them going for at least a week and a half. However, Mantis could also feel high amounts of regret, frustration and unease radiating off of him, which was reflected in his tired and stressed visage.

"Oh, hello Tukson!" Mantis greeted, making it look as though he'd been there the whole time, "How did the outing go? Need help putting those groceries away?"

Tukson didn't respond right away, seemingly thinking deeply about the meeting Mantis had eavesdropped on. After a few seconds, he finally replied. "Uh, no, no, I'm good Mantis, thanks…"

Several more seconds of awkward silence.

"Uh… Tukson? Are you feeling well?" Mantis feigned sympathy and concern. Tukson finally took in a deep breath and let out a tired sigh before looking Mantis right in his lensed eyes. "Look, Mantis… we gotta talk."

'… Shit.'

A/N

And that's it for this chapter! Tell me what you guys thought. I'm worried about the characters seeming OOC, which is something I seriously want to avoid going forward in a story like this. Kinda felt like this chapter was lackluster, which is probably a sign I need to get off my ass and keep writing this story more consistently.

I'll try to keep updating more often rather than leave a cliffhanger for months on you guys, which I get is not cool. At all. Any questions or concerns can be PM'd, if you please.