The next day, when Winter finally arrived in Vale after another sleepless night, her heart sank with fear when she saw a scene similar to the one she had left behind in Mistral.
Chaos, destruction, and death.
The difference between the two kingdoms was in the size of the affected area, where Vale had not fallen, and the cause of all this was not the out-of-control Grimm, but rather the shockwave resulting from that explosion of red light.
If it weren't for the crater turned into a lake where a mountain range used to be, Winter would have said that the explosion had taken place within the city and not miles away.
With that in mind, she could only imagine what would have happened if the explosion had occurred within Vale. In that case, instead of damaging a residential area, the entire city would have ceased to exist.
Such a possibility was frightening, and it only served to push Winter even closer to the edge.
She needed to find Weiss, hold her in her arms, and then scold her like never before for not responding to her damn Scroll!
In fact, Winter was seriously considering sending Weiss back to Atlas, where she would be safe... physically speaking.
Being in Jacques' manipulative clutches might be bad, but it was better than being dead.
Unfortunately, Winter was unable to find her sister in Beacon, and none of the few students present seemed to know the whereabouts of Weiss or her team, only that the first-year students had been dispatched along with the remaining teachers to assist in the rescue and cleanup operation in Vale.
Not even the Headmaster or the Deputy Headmistress was present at the time, leaving the school completely unprotected, which felt like an extremely reckless thing to do.
However, given the situation, perhaps it was inevitable and necessary.
That aside, with each passing second, Winter felt more frightened by the possibility that something bad had happened to her little sister, and this filled her with guilt.
At the end of the day, she was the one who sent Weiss all the way to Vale so she could have a glimpse of freedom. Instead, there was a good chance her little sister had met her end... just like so many others.
Seeing all those black bags lined up when she arrived at the affected area terrified Winter to her core.
If Weiss were in one of those bags, she would never be able to forgive herself and would devote her life to hunting Prince Vegeta.
While it seemed unlikely that this man was the cause behind the red calamity, he was responsible for the golden anomaly and equally guilty for all the chaos that had spread across more than half the world.
Worse still, Prince Vegeta was powerful enough to put an end to this problem just as quickly, but it took him almost a week to take action.
Regardless of the reason, he needed to pay for his crimes.
Then, just as despair was about to take hold of her heart, Winter found a familiar face in the form of Pyrrha Nikos, a first-year student whom Weiss always praised and even admired.
Thanks to this, she could feel a huge weight being lifted off her shoulders upon discovering that her little sister was safe.
However, that relief did not last.
Soon, Winter was informed that Weiss had left the premises in the company of a powerful man—one who had led this entire rescue operation and whose description was frighteningly similar to that of Prince Vegeta—the day before with her team and had not returned since.
The way some of the other girls talked about it was full of insinuations, and Winter wanted to strangle Weiss for it.
What in the world was that girl thinking!?
As if her negligence in informing her family of her well-being wasn't enough, Weiss was ignoring her duties as a Huntress in training and getting involved with an older man?!
That was as irresponsible as it was scandalous!
Later, after returning to Beacon to finally meet with Ozpin, who seemed to have aged a decade in the last week, and an equally dejected Glynda, Winter discovered that she wasn't the only one dealing with this same problem.
Apparently, Qrow's two nieces, who were also part of Weiss's team, had spent the night together at that man's residence.
Worse still, it really was Prince Vegeta!
Given the way this disgrace of a Huntsman was drinking and even refraining from making his stupid jokes, it reflected the conflict he was experiencing after this last week in the hell that the front lines represented.
It was a feeling Winter could relate to, especially after discovering that an important member of her family had spent the night with an older and extremely dangerous man.
Speaking of Prince Vegeta, somehow, he had returned to Vale the day before and helped with the problem that, according to Ozpin, he himself had admitted to causing.
This was something that confused Winter.
She could see Vegeta as the one responsible for the golden anomaly; his power was absurdly strong and equally golden, but the red calamity? He was in Mistral when that explosion happened and seemed confused by it, so how was it his fault?
In any case, Winter would find the answers later. For now, she focused on personally reporting the tragedy that had occurred in Mistral, and it had to be the most difficult thing Winter had ever done in her career.
Suddenly, the already heavy atmosphere had sunk into a pit of darkness that was only illuminated by the green flame burning in Ozpin's eyes.
The reason for this ranged from Leonardo's undeniable betrayal, the fall of an entire kingdom, along with the loss of thousands of innocent lives, and the person responsible for all these problems, who enjoyed his freedom in the company of four of his students.
Prince Vegeta needed to be held accountable for his crimes.
With that, and without saying a word, Ozpin rose from his chair, grabbed his weapon, and moved toward the elevator.
You didn't have to be a genius to know that the Headmaster was on the warpath. However, you had to be an idiot to let yourself be carried away by emotions and confront Prince Vegeta in such a reckless manner.
Unfortunately, it seemed that everyone in the room was exactly that, with Glynda and Qrow following him without hesitation.
Winter could only curse under her breath as she decided to follow them back to Vale, as it was her duty as a representative of Atlas.
Besides, Weiss was there, and she needed to ensure her little sister's safety.
With that decided, it didn't take long for them to find themselves in front of Prince Vegeta's residence and be warmly welcomed by the person Winter wanted to see the most in the world.
Considering her little sister's reaction as she hugged her in less than the blink of an eye, so fast that Winter couldn't even react, she wasn't the only one who was worried.
So strong, too! She almost winced in pain under that bear hug and had to use her Aura to protect herself before deciding to ignore this sudden surge of power and return Weiss's affection, but not for long, before grabbing the girl's shoulders and looking her straight in the eye. "You have a lot to explain, young lady!"
Her punishment would come after that.
"I..." Weiss was taken aback, but all things considered, this reaction was to be expected, and she could only smile in response. "You have no idea how much."
Her sister's world was about to be turned upside down!
Who knows, maybe Weiss could convince Vegeta to train her sister, too!
In Ruby's words, that would be awesome!
Winter wanted to scold this girl who seemed to have lost her mind, right there, for daring to smile at a time like this, but she took a deep breath and chose to maintain her composure.
This was not the time or place to let herself be overwhelmed by emotion, especially when the rest of the group seemed ready to explode upon laying eyes on the reason they were there in the first place.
For a second, Winter had some intrusive thoughts as she focused on the defined mass of this man's body, displayed with provocative pride and a testament to all his power. While Vegeta couldn't be considered a handsome man, as Qrow used to be before he became the drunken loser he was now, he was far from ugly.
Physically speaking, Prince Vegeta was everything a man should be.
Suddenly, it made sense why her little sister would be interested in someone so dangerous, and she wasn't the only one.
Winter could see the conflict dancing in Glynda's green eyes, almost as if she were in denial about the guilt of the man before her and... getting hurt by it.
She has feelings for the enemy. She noticed, and she had sympathy for the woman who served as an example of everything a true Huntress should be. At least she's not going through this, years after marrying the wrong person.
Just like it was with Willow.
With that in mind, Winter needed to make sure the same thing didn't happen to Weiss and open her eyes to the risk of getting involved with someone so dangerous.
While Qrow was giving his nieces an effective silent treatment and a warning with his red eyes about the scolding that would follow, Ozpin ignored everything else and approached the divine entity responsible for spreading chaos in the world he had sworn to protect, even before he was cursed by the Brothers of Light and Darkness.
Just thinking about the kind of monsters gods could be, as well as Mistral's fall, rekindled the long-forgotten hatred within him, and the magic burning in his eyes reflected that. However, such resentment did not go unnoticed, and purple eyes filled with destructive divine energy stared back at him with the same level of hatred.
Ozpin had already noticed this the day before, but for some reason, Vegeta had no love for him either.
Good.
That was exactly how things should be between them.
With that in mind, if I show more power than this, he'll kill me on the spot. As tempting as the chance to put an end to his curse was, Ozpin had the salvation of an entire world weighing on his shoulders, and for that reason, he needed to put on a mask and suppress his feelings. "Prince Vegeta."
The greeting was made as he sat down at the table without waiting for a response or permission, his animosity more than evident.
"Ozpin," Vegeta returned the cordiality in the same cold tone and did his best to calm the destructive power boiling beneath his skin. A little more, and I would have killed him.
That would have been the worst.
After all, the last thing Vegeta wanted right now was to show more of his bad side to Weiss.
With that, the two sat face to face, and the others, sensing the seriousness of the situation and the conflictual standoff taking place, moved to take their places alongside the one they supported.
Glynda, Qrow, and Winter to Ozpin's right.
Weiss, Ruby, Yang, and Blake to Vegeta's right.
This arrangement alone served to heighten the tension in the air, with the judgment present in the eyes of the adults and the stubbornness of the girls.
"I think we can agree to ignore any futile formalities and get straight to the heart of the matter." They were beyond that point, and Ozpin didn't want to waste time playing games with a god. "What is your goal with this world?"
If recent events were any indication, it couldn't be anything good.
His choice of words, however, managed to elicit a distinct reaction from the others.
While those beside him showed confusion, the girls were genuinely surprised, as if they hadn't expected Ozpin to know that this god didn't belong to this world, and that bothered him deeply.
If Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang knew the truth, then why on earth were they getting involved with this man?
While he didn't want to call it treason, it was hard not to think that way after what Leonardo had done.
"Training." Vegeta wasn't surprised that this wizard had noticed his extraterrestrial origins, making the conversation more direct and to the point. "For the next year, I will be settling in Remnant for that purpose."
After that, if he survived his fight with Kakarot, Vegeta would return permanently.
Earth was no longer a place he could call home, unlike Remnant.
Part of him wanted to say this out loud, but Vegeta could imagine the happy reaction Weiss would have, and that would make things even more awkward than they already were. This was even more true with the presence of this beautiful woman with white hair and blue eyes who was glaring daggers at him, surely the older sister Weiss had mentioned, and one who did not approve of him.
Considering the state of her blood-stained clothes, the marks of sleep deprivation under her eyes, and her aura weakened by exhaustion, it would be strange if she had a remotely positive opinion of him.
Winter must have gone through hell this past week, just like most of the protectors of this world.
As for the red-eyed man, the hostility emanating from him was even stronger, but not as much as the smell of alcohol on his body. Given the color of his eyes, appearance, and energy, it seemed he was related by blood to Yang, but not to Ruby.
More important than that was the almost imperceptible trace of magic within his body.
He probably had a strong connection to Ozpin, perhaps his apprentice or someone blessed by his magic... or his next vessel.
Lastly, and the one who affected Vegeta the most, was Glynda, with the conflict and sadness in her eyes.
After the day they spent saving the lives he himself had endangered and even destroyed, he expected a much stronger and more negative emotional reaction from her.
Instead, Glynda looked like Bulma when she was disappointed in him, and that made Vegeta regret his mistake even more.
"Training?" Ozpin repeated as if he had misheard and narrowed his eyes, feeling like his intelligence was being insulted. "Do you really expect me to believe that?"
There was no way in hell that a divine entity would waste time on something so trivial!
Besides, why would Vegeta need even more power?!
Whatever the reason, it couldn't be anything good.
"Believe what you want, Wizard." Vegeta couldn't care less about his opinion and was only entertaining this charade because of the chaos he had caused. "It doesn't change the fact that I came all the way from the northern quadrant of the universe to this planet to increase my power, and that's exactly what I intend to do."
Not only that, but he also wanted to stay as far away from Kakarot as possible.
"I... don't understand." Glynda found herself doing the unthinkable by interrupting this conversation and voicing the question that wouldn't leave her mind. "How do you know about Ozpin's powers? And why are you talking as if you're not from Remnant?"
Winter and Qrow were the same, each more confused than the other, with the direction this conversation was taking.
"Because Vegeta isn't a human or a faunus," Weiss found herself answering in place of her beloved, with a certain pride in her voice. "He's a Saiyan, an alien from another planet!"
While Ruby, Yang, and Blake nodded in agreement, the others looked at them as if they had finally gone mad.
"Ha hah. Very funny, mini ice queen." Qrow couldn't be more sarcastic in his tone of voice. "If this guy is an alien, then I'm the tooth fairy."
Really, except for that black flame-shaped hair and his overly trained and potentially doped-up body, there was nothing alien about this guy.
Well, and his power.
"More like the alcohol fairy," Winter scoffed, using one hand to ward off the terrible smell coming from the mouth of this man who almost had a worse drinking problem than Willow. "Even so, I have to agree with this loser and say that your little story is... unlikely."
An alien? From another quadrant of the universe?
Winter could love her little sister, but she had to be kidding. Contrary to her expectations, the girl's smile only grew, almost as if she had lost her mind.
"Then I just have to convince you!" Weiss was waiting for this, and she wasted no time in eagerly grabbing her beloved's hand. "Vegeta, let's show them the Hyperbolic Time Chamber!"
That place would be more than enough to do the trick!
"No, no!" Ruby jumped up, having a much better idea! "Let's go to that red planet Vegeta gave you!"
She wanted to take another look at those aliens and collect some of those strange flowers!
"I don't think that's a good idea, Ruby." Yang wasn't exactly against it, since she also wanted to explore that place a little, but there was a problem. "I don't want to see Vegeta trying to destroy that planet a third time."
Having an entire moon wiped out of existence right before her eyes was traumatic enough, but that didn't mean she wanted to go back to that cursed room, too.
"I vote for the Room of Spirit and Time." Blake could understand where her partner's hesitation was coming from, and she also wanted to avoid leaving the planet, especially because of that teleportation technique. "It's closer, too."
Now, whether that would be enough to convince the authorities, she didn't know, but it was worth a try.
"Alien?" Ozpin decided to ignore all these suggestions, as well as the dangerous insinuations from the most problematic team to join Beacon in years, and focus on what really mattered. "I thought you were a god."
He had to be!
While it had been millennia since Ozpin had last been in the presence of a divine entity, he would never forget the unique pressure that the power of a god conveyed!
"As expected of a wizard." Vegeta was impressed, and that only made him more wary of his existence. "You can sense the divine energy within my body."
That was not a feat that could be replicated by just anyone.
"Wait, you're a god?!" Initially, before discovering his origins as an alien, that was exactly what Weiss believed him to be! "Why didn't you say anything about that before!?"
Now, she stood with her arms crossed and glared at Vegeta, almost as if she were scolding him for lying, and this scared the hell out of those who didn't understand the nature of their relationship.
However, this was replaced by pure shock at the Prince's reaction.
"I'm not a real god," Vegeta was quick to explain, perhaps too quick. "I just have God Ki."
A lot of it, but not enough to classify him as a god... not that quantity served as an indicator of true divinity.
Shin might be pathetically weak, but he was still the current God of Creation of this universe.
"Oh, right." Weiss calmed down and blushed a little after realizing she had just made a scene for no reason. "I forgot that mortals can also have divine energy."
One of the reasons why Kakarot was so powerful and could use Ultra Instinct.
"Well, I'll be damned," Qrow muttered as he took a sip from his flask and leaned closer to Winter. "Looks like your little sister has the evil prince wrapped around her finger!"
If Winter hadn't been in shock over this unexpected development, she would have thrown this drunkard into that lake for daring to whisper in her ear.
Not only was she sure that Weiss liked this man, but their feelings were mutual!
This had to be a nightmare!
Worse still, Vegeta had heard every word Qrow said and was staring directly at them... while blushing!
"Weiss," Vegeta called out, now wearing a sinister smile as he focused on this loose-lipped fool. "Let's go with your idea and show them the Hyperbolic Time Chamber."
In a way that they would never forget!