*Iridescence Hospital, Adenien; January 18, 2020; 7:00 PM*

"So that's what happened the past few months..." Yang sighed sadly.

She had fought through the Inquisitor Wars, all the way to the Blood Red Night. She fought through the skirmishes in Atlas, Los Santos, and Cairo. And she fought her way through the Shadow Wars, where she, alongside all of her friends and guildmates, fought head-to-head with the likes of demons and gods..

This... This was a completely different dilemma, one that had wreaked havok on her psyche.

She felt tired before, but this battle had drained her.

Kat and Ruby had stared at Yang, eyes wide with horror.

"I had no idea..." Ruby sniffled, locking her sister in a tight hug.

"Why hasn't anyone contacted me about this?" Kat demanded.

"Your forces had been eliminated, Kat. Even if we contacted you, there would have been no way any of us could keep Corvus from doing as much damage as she did." Auburn replied.

"I'm not so sure.. Isn't Kat part-god?" Cade wondered.

"Right..." Yang answered.

"You do have a point, Auburn. Sekhmet and I can only do so much.. In a real fight, we wouldn't survive a combined attack from Yang and Corvus." Kat stated.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it now... It won't be long before Dragon Lord Ember hears about this."

"What's the plan..?" Ruby wondered, trying desperately to hold back tears.

"Cade, Auburn, I need you two to pick up Little Auburn from Neo's.. I'll take Alex back and give him the Senzu when the time is right." Yang decided.

"Waking him up in the same room as you is suicide, Yang. He's been training the past 2 Years, if what Vegeta told me is true." Kat rebuked.

"I can handle it..." Yang decided.

"I'm going with you.." Ruby added.

"You sure..?" Yang asked.

"He's my brother-in-law, Yang.. We can't let him live the way he's been living.." Ruby answered.

"I'm going too. If nothing else, I can help defuse the situation if he freaks out." Kat stated.

"Thanks, Kat.." Yang smiled weakly.

"Let's get moving, we might not have much longer.." Cade urged.

"One more thing, Yang. We'll need that weapon Corvus gave to you for testing. We should inform Ozpin that you recieved the All-Maiden's power, too." Kat decided.

"Gotcha." Yang nodded.

"Should Alex ever go AWOL and fight for the wrong side, we need you to keep him in check. He's too dangerous on the other side of the fight." Kat added.

"THAT SON OF A BITCH IS ALIVE?!" Ember demanded, completely enraged.

Twilight, along with Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer, had been in a meeting with the Representatives of Remnant, Dragon Lord Ember, Supreme Leader Krete's Council, Gran Doma, The Chairman of the Magic Council, along with two other members of the Council, and Chancellor Hunter Smith, along with Senators of the North American Federation's Parliament.

"I wasn't aware of Alex's survival after the death of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor.." Twilight stated.

"That wasn't directed at you, Twilight. I was speaking to Sunset and Starlight." Ember disdainfully declared.

"Truthfully, we have been aware... We were under the impression that he would answer for his crimes once he had awakened after the attempt at his life, but he had left our dimension before we could bring him before you.." Sunset admitted.

"And what did he do instead?!" Ember demanded.

"He trained for the next two months, and confronted the Princess' assassins." Sunset replied,

"And did 2.3 Billion Marks worth of damage to the city of Lithia." Supreme Leader Krete coldly added.

"We could provide workers to help compensate the damage Captain Walker did. After all, he is from Earth.." Chancellor Smith decided.

"Not to mention destroying Magnolia a second time! A Magic Council member shouted.

"Until further notice, Adenien will not be able to provide for the defense of the NAF until such time as Lithia is restored." Krete stated.

"B-But that leaves us completely open to our enemies..!" Chancellor Smith desperately reasoned.

"Remnant will also be stepping out of our financial agreements." A Vale Representative decided.

"While all of you are worrying about sanctions, I have to worry about an entire nation of dragons screaming for blood! If I don't declare war on Equestria now, they'll kill me." Ember stated.

"W-WHAT?!" Twilight gasped.

"Now is not the time for war, Ember. We need to be able to move along if our nations and worlds are to survive." Krete scolded.

"Tell that to an army of angry dragons!" Ember replied, exasperated.

"It is no accident that monster, Alex Walker, has led not only your kind to darkness, but Fairy Tail as well. The mages of Fiore are allied in your cause, Dragon Lord Ember." The Chairman announced.

"Chairman, is this really the best course of action?" The Representative of Mistral demanded.

"Either ally yourselves to our cause or die like the other 24,000 of our residents lost in meaningless war!" A Council member shouted as he slammed his fist on the table.

"... No. The Armies of Remnant must defend their allies. I say we fight!" The Atlas Representative declared.

"Have you lost your mind?!" The Vacuo Representative, completely surprised, asked.

"He's right. Equestria has been our ally since the Inquisitor War, we can't stand by and let our allies be eradicated." The Mistral Representative assured.

"Vale will not take part in this war. It's purely idiotic to send men and women to die defending a broken nation."

"Tell that to Adenien." a Magic Council Member scoffed, casting a condescending glare at Supreme Leader Krete.

"I just said we could no longer provide funding for Earth." Krete retorted.

"If Adenien and Earth won't fight, we'll wipe out the NAF, too!" The Magic Council Members shouted.

"This is escalating too quick..!" Ember sweatdropped.

"Very well... Vacuo shall send it's forces to help Fiore and the Dragon Lands.."

"T-This is insane..!" Sunset gasped.

"Mistral will assist Atlas. Our trade routes with Equestria are vital to our economy."

"And what say you, Supreme Leader?" Chancellor Smith demanded.

Supreme Leader Krete coldly glared at Chairman Doma.

"Adenien can't afford to take part in this conflict, at least, not officially. However, if we were able to provide assistance, we would defend our allies."

"You really screwed up, you know.."

Alex knew he was dreaming again. He half-expected Saisho to appear again.

This voice was very different.

"Who..?" Alex gasped.

"I don't think we've met yet, Saigo.." The voice called again as a somewhat familiar figure materialized before him.

" Chūkan.." Alex gasped.

"Yep..! So... Shit's kinda hit the fan here.." Chūkan awkwardly began.

"No shit, Sherlock. I exploded." Alex deadpanned.

"Only after breaking your wife out of mind control and nearly killing all of your friends."

"Ex-wife. Former friends. Assholes all turned their backs on me, and for what?" Alex corrected.

"FOR EVERYTHING I JUST SAID, IDIOT!" Chūkan shouted.

Alex sharply turned his back on his older brother.

"I-I'm sorry..." Chūkan immediately apologized.

"It's fine. Not the first time I've been called an idiot for all the right reasons." Alex shrugged.

"So... what are you gonna do about Yang..? Kat, Ruby, and the others think you'll kill her the moment you wake up." Chūkan wondered.

"Y'know what? Fuck 'em. I'm not even talking to them." Alex coldly declared.

"N-Not even Yang..?" Chūkan asked.

"Especially not Yang. You must've seen what she did to me. She's too dangerous to be around. The other assholes either want me dead or want me out." Alex figured.

"Then, what's the plan..?" Chūkan wondered.

Alex stood in silence for a long time.

His "friends" were the only reason he had lived this long in the first place. For the first time since his parents had died, he actually felt at home with those people.

That was then.

That was before Corvus absolutely gutted their unity and drove a wedge between their homes.

Now?

"I'm staying the fuck away from them. I'm done" Alex decided.

"What?! They'll need you more than ever! The Dragon Lands and Equestria essentially Balkanized the other worlds you guys made contact with! It's like your World War I on a bigger scale!" Chūkan exclaimed.

"Honestly, I don't give a fuck. Every world can blow each other to smithereens as far as I care." Alex scoffed, forcing himself awake.

Alex jolted upwards from the bed.... wait...

A quick look around the room told him this was Ruby and Yang's childhood home in Patch.

How did he get here?! He'd assumed they'd leave him for dead in Lithia...

Lord knows that's what he would've done..

"Alright. I'm gonna give Alex his Senzu." Yang said from the other room.

"I'm going with!" Ruby declared.

Alex quickly got to work opening the window, leaping out onto the cold winter's snow.

Deciding to be more careful with his escape this time around, he lowered his Aura Level, and quickly scampered into the woods a safe distance.

"Shit, shit, shit..! He's gone..!" Yang cursed.

"Where is he?!" Ruby fretted.

"HE WHAT?!" Kat demanded.

Alex privately winced, now sneaking further into the frozen woods.

He heard more and more panicked murmuring, along with a few barks.

"Dammit, Zwei.." Alex growled under his breath.

Alex, now desperate, flew at top-speed in the general direction of Vale, where the closest Dimensional Gate was located.

Surely, he'd figure something out..

He had to.