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Chapter Text

Roman Torchwick had three simple rules when it came to pulling a robbery. These ran the gauntlet from practical to superstitious and held him in good stead for a career more dangerous for a multitude of reasons than the famously dangerous one so many cliched youngsters rushed to Beacon in an effort to die by.

Rule number one, always carry the bigger gun. Generally this was metaphorical, referring to a superior force, fighting style, or Neo, but there were times Melodic Cudgel, besides being an excellent cane, outfit closer, and club, was a big enough gun to make do.

In this case, the hapless dust store owner had no gun, ergo he had the biggest. All good there.

Rule number two, if a person can be used, they should be. Morality, pride, and respect were beautiful pearls, and the world was a feeding trough for pigs, happy enough to eat them whole as they are rotting food and the decomposing corpses of the people still trying to hold onto pretty ideals like those.

Cinder, Junior's goons, and the shop owner with a lot of dust could all be used, so he would. End of discussion.

Rule number three, if his hat falls to the ground before an operation, pack it in. There wasn't a single person on Remnant who would ever consider Roman a spiritual person or anything less than pragmatic in ninety-nine percent of the way he did business. But he was able to pick up patterns, and every time a stiff breeze, an accidental knock from a cargo crane, or a barely missed assassination attempt knocked his hat to the ground, the heist, con, or other assorted illegal venture, was faced with catastrophic failure. After a time, he decided to take the universe's hint, and despite the flack it often gained from his associates, he wouldn't make the same mistake of ignoring it ever again.

His hat had fallen, but Cinder had caught it before it hit the ground. Now didn't that beat all. He should have trusted his instinct and counted it, but no. He had to be taken in by the sweet sensual allure of money.

It was a weakness Roman freely admitted to having.

Dust was flowing into canisters, shop owner was old and gunless, therefore terrified of all the ones Roman's men had, and honestly he could almost fall asleep with how smoothly everything was going.

Then one of his men went flying through the window and everything became complicated very quickly.

Annoying huntress in training with scythe-gun-thing the size of her entire body? Check.

That tested rule number one quite quickly, Roman honestly felt a bit embarrassedly inadequate when Melodic Cudgel was measured up against a monster like that, but such was the way of the world, he supposed.

Hired goons from Junior folding to her attacks like cheapskates with not even a pair of deuces to their name? Check.

On reflection, they weren't actually as useful as he might have hoped.

A speed semblance, otherwise known as one of those enhancing types that were stupidly rare and also incredibly frustrating to fight against for the ease with which they could be incorporated into a variety of fighting styles? Why not?

She knocked his hat off when he was ducking under one of those scythe swings. Now that absolutely settled it. Game over, heist over, he was going home.

Or he would be, except one of those hired goons had the brilliantly suicidal idea of shooting at her in the direction of the dust store, igniting an approximate what-in-Oum's-name-do-you-think-you're-doing-you-bloody-lunatic amount of extremely volatile and unstable dust.

Now that right there was an excellent way of blowing up the store, and the street next to the store, and the buildings next to the store, and the entire block the building was on.

Roman saw more than felt the multicolored explosion engulf him, and he considered, as his final thought, that going up in flames was an appropriate end for a Roman candle like himself.

His hat hit the ground several streets away. Almost stepped on, but picked up in the end by someone who didn't even know the owner's name.

([___

Glynda Goodwitch would have seen the explosion even if she wasn't already heading to the dust store alarm. She would have seen it from Beacon. She wouldn't put money against seeing it in her Bedroom deep in the Beacon campus.

But luckily for the people caught in the explosion, she wasn't any of those places. She was right there, and as her semblance whipped to and fro, moving bricks that had been partially rendered to powder and lifting people under the slim hope that some piece of architecture or their own aura had saved them, her hopes began to dim with each discovery.

At some later date, they would be identified and given their identities back, but for that stretch of time, they had been labeled in homogeneity: the dead.

It was only at the very edges of the blast, she managed to find people whose labels could be bumped up to 'the gravely injured,' so when she heard a coughing noise close to the very apex of the blast, she almost didn't believe it.

Stones shifted, and she saw her.

The cloak she wore was a deep red and it was only through what remained of Glynda's hope that the thought it had started out that way managed to stay at the forefront of her mind. The rest of her outfit was dotted and charred with black, which was unfortunately a condition shared with her skin.

It would be an understatement to say she was in bad shape. She was knocking at death's door with a sledgehammer.

Still, that didn't stop her from trying to claw her way to her feet. "You're... a huntress..." she wheezed. "I... can help..."

Glynda felt her expression fray as she looked at the girl, this apparent huntress in training, and knew that if she survived, Ozpin would take interest. Still, that 'if' was far away in itself.

With a wave of her crop, she floated in Glynda's semblance-powered grip, as the deputy headmistress began carrying her to the emergency medical personnel just arriving on scene. The EMTs took her, and Glynda lingered for just a moment before searching for more injured. It was long enough to hear the girl answer one of the doctors asking her name.

"Ruby Rose."

Glynda returned to her duty, rescuing any injured that remained, while slowly examining the name in her mind. It was familiar, though she was having trouble placing exactly where. Given her tenacity in trying to help, coming from a family of hunters would make sense, though, so Glynda probably knew of her mother or father at least in passing.

What was she doing there? What caused the blast? How did she survive?

Glynda shook her head. Those were all questions that could be asked if she made it through the night. As it was, she'd seen full grown huntresses succumb to less.

Glynda didn't pray, but she offered a thought to some etheric power in the universe that a young girl wouldn't die that night.

Whether it was through that power, the efforts of a number of doctors, nurses, and surgeons, or some measure of the girl's own tenacity, Ruby Rose managed to live another day.

Of course, that was something Glynda only found out about two days after, when Ozpin requested a meeting.

___])

Ruby's memory of the past few days was hazy, which she partly put to the drugs currently running through an IV drip into her arm, and partly to a serious explosion-caused concussion that the doctors had informed her would probably make her feel dizzy, nauseous, and fumble her memories a bit until it had healed.

She did remember a few things, though, most notably feeling restless in the hotel bed and going for a walk, being interrupted by thugs at the store, fighting Roman Torchwick, and exploding. There were probably quite a few incidents in the middle sections she wasn't clear on, and apparently she was conscious for some time after the explosion, but that was completely blanked out for the moment.

As it was, the farthest back she could go after the explosion was waking up in the hospital with Yang asleep in the chair beside her, and her dad similarly positioned in the corner.

Once past the family's tearful reunion and more examinations by the doctors, her dad had to leave for paperwork, food, and more considerations. Yang barely left her side.

This condition continued even when the headmaster of Beacon requested a meeting.

"Yang Xiao-Long." The blonde jerked upright at her name, spinning to face the man who said it as he idly adjusted his perfectly tailored suit. "My name is Ozpin, I'm the headmaster of Beacon Academy." He extended a hand, smiling wanly. "I had hoped to meet during initiation in a more comfortable setting, but I've long ago learned I can't control the world."

"Oh, uh, nice to meet you." She shook the proffered hand. "Are you... why are you here?"

"Ah, I'm sorry. I had called your father to see if it was okay to come by and have a conversation with your sister, but that wasn't long ago by now. I suppose he hasn't gotten around to telling you I'd be here."

Yang pursed her lips, unsure, but Ruby waved weakly from her bed. "It's fine, Yang. What can I do to help?"

"Curious," he hummed. "You said much the same thing to my deputy headmistress when she pulled you from the rubble."

Yang's eyebrows shot up. "The doctors said it was a huntress, but we couldn't guess who. That was-"

"Me." Glynda chose that moment to walk into the room and announce herself. "Apologies for the late entrance; I was delayed by the front desk."

Ruby felt she looked vaguely familiar, though couldn't decide if that was from the last few days or if she'd just seen her when looking up huntresses at some point.

"So..." she hesitated for a moment before asking. "Can I have your autographs?"

Ozpin chuckled, bringing a chair closer to the bed and sitting down to regard her. Covered head to toe in bandages, with various medical devices strapped to her, Ruby didn't think she made a particularly pleasant sight at that moment. "I suppose we should start with the most obvious: can you describe what happened on the night of the explosion?"

Ruby did her best to comply, describing Torchwick and the fight most of all. She'd already explained once to her family and once to the police, so it wasn't particularly traumatic, though that likely had something to do with not being able to remember most of it. "One of the robbers fired at me, it hit the dust in the store, and after that everything gets... fuzzy." She tried to shrug, even with her wrappings preventing the action. "Sorry I can't give you more."

"Well, you should be happy to know, your actions have taken a dangerous criminal like Roman Torchwick off the streets. He's been a thorn in the side of police, huntsmen, and huntresses alike, so I offer my personal thanks," Ozpin said.

"I'm glad." Ruby nodded. "I hope he uses his time in prison to regret what he's done."

Ozpin and Glynda exchanged glances.

"Torchwick is-" Glynda began, but Ozpin smoothly interrupted.

"Rather obstinate when it comes to regret," he finished for her. "But I suppose anything is possible."

Ruby nodded again in response, and the room lapsed into silence. "Was there anything else?" She asked, eventually.

"Yes, actually." He leaned against his cane, almost resting his chin on it from his seated position. "How do you feel about attending Beacon Academy?"

Ruby's, Yang's, and Glynda's eyes all simultaneously widened at the question.

"It's... my dream," Ruby finally managed, dumbstruck.

"Ozpin," Glynda hissed, but he brushed past.

"In that case, I'd like to grant you full admission, provided your doctors approve and you get through initiation." He stood. "Initiation is in a month, and I believe your projected recovery time is longer, so you'll likely have to miss the first part of the semester, but if you show the promise I suspect, you should have no trouble fitting in."

The two hunters said their goodbyes, leaving the sisters to discuss the visit.

"What about team assignments? What about her injuries?" Glynda asked him, voice dropped low. "What about this do you think means she'll ever be able to fight again?"

"I would take ten hunters who crawl out of the fire over a thousand too scared to feel it," he said, forcefully. "Besides, you've seen her tenacity. I doubt her recovery will end up delaying her very long."

Glynda's frown deepened. "I don't like it. She's too young, and injured, besides."

"Aren't you curious how she survived so close to the blast, when even Torchwick couldn't manage?" Ozpin asked.

"You know something," she accused.

"No," he admitted, a smile stretching across his face. "But I'm looking forward to finding out the answer."

Glynda's etheric force received another thought that day.

([___

After checking several times throughout the day that the meeting with Ozpin and Glynda wasn't some hospital food-induced hallucination, Ruby took to the news of her admission with her usual aloofness and stoicism.

That is to say, she almost jumped out of the bed, full body bandages and all.

After Yang managed to get her back into a seated position, and bore the brunt of Ruby's excited chatter, some combination of exertion and overwhelming emotion had Ruby fall asleep shortly after.

Yang was left alone with her thoughts.

Never a particularly fun time, but Ruby's hospitalization made things worse. Normally, she'd be happy Ruby got accepted into Beacon early. It was both of their dreams, and Ruby really was a natural at it. But with this...

Maybe she could convince her to do something safer... No. Even before getting an early acceptance to Beacon, there was nothing that could dissuade Ruby from becoming a huntress. At least this way, Yang would be able to keep a closer eye on her. Who knew? Maybe they'd even end up on the same team.

That one might be hoping for too much, though.

"Hey, kiddo." Taiyang poked his head into the room, whispering so as not to rouse Ruby. "Got a call from Ozpin a bit ago, so he might be showing up to ask Ruby some questions later."

"Little late on that, dad," Yang huffed. "They were just here. Ruby got into Beacon."

"Oh." Taiyang nodded, retracting his head from the room before opening the door fully a moment later. "What?"

___])

Recovery was slow, even with aura helping the process. It was frustrating, not just because she couldn't move, but also because Ruby knew every day spent in a hospital bed meant her muscles atrophied further. Recovering in time for Beacon's entrance wasn't good enough if she was too weak to get through initiation.

As it turned out, recovering in time for Beacon's entrance wasn't possible either way, though.

"I'm sorry. Your progress is tremendous, but I can't in good conscience release you yet, knowing you'll be jumping right into another dangerous situation as soon as you get out," the doctor informed her. "Do physical therapy with one of our trainers for a month. After that, I'll sign you off to go wherever."

"But if I do that, I'll be late for my first semester at Beacon," Ruby protested.

"I already talked it over with your new headmaster and he says he's sure you two can work something out when the time comes, but for now he's deferring to my expertise." He saw her hesitating, so he added. "Look, I understand that this is important to you, but your health should come first, and our staff of trainers are some of the best in Vale, including some who are former hunters."

She perked up at that. "Can I get one of those?"

The doctor chuckled, nodding. "I'll see what I can do. Will you agree to the month, though? It will be hard work, but you have to stick with it."

"I'm not afraid of a little hard work." She lifted a still bandaged hand and clenched it into a fist, expression determined. "I'm going to be a huntress."

She was set up with a trainer the next day, a young one, which was a bit odd if she were a retired huntress, with black hair and green eyes, er. No. Brown eyes? Pink eyes? That was funny, they seemed to change.

In any case, the doctor wasn't kidding about the training being hard. The trainer set her on exercises she struggled to do before she was injured and forced her on the next set with barely enough time to catch her breath in between. As it was, she kind of doubted this was an entirely approved regimen.

Finally, after the latest exercise had Ruby sweating from everywhere, gasping for air, and with the itchiest bandages ever created in the history of the world, the trainer handed her a bottle of water and a question written on her scroll. 'What happened?'

"With the accident?" Ruby asked, and she nodded to confirm, still not speaking. "A bunch of people were robbing the store I was in. I went out to try and stop them and one of them accidentally shot a load of dust they were trying to steal. The whole block went up, me included, apparently."

She typed out another question. 'And Roman Torchwick?'

"He wasn't the one who shot the dust, that was one of his guys. Honestly, he seemed way too on top of it, to do something like that." She reached a hand up, scratching the back of her head. "I probably shouldn't say too many nice things about a criminal, but he was good. Skilled, I mean. If I'm being honest, I'm not totally sure I would have beaten him if it weren't for the explosion."

She tilted her head. 'So you have nothing against Torchwick, it was just bad luck you were both there at the same time.'

"I guess?" She shrugged. "I don't know about bad luck, though. From what I heard about him, Torchwick was hitting dust stores, dust shipments, even private collections, all at a much faster timeframe than he normally worked with. It kind of seems like it was only a matter of time before he ran into trouble like this."

'An interesting thought,' she typed, considering. 'If it was someone else forcing him to raid dust so recklessly, would you consider it their fault he was at the dust store that night?'

"I mean, yeah. Stealing is bad, but if the only reason he was there was because someone was forcing him to, then that person should also get some of the blame, right?" Ruby set her water bottle to the side. "A person like that doesn't get a free pass just because they're not committing the crimes directly."

The trainer seemed to roll that idea around her head for a handful of moments, before typing out another message. 'Time for the next exercise.'

Ruby sighed and pushed herself to her feet, readying herself to get back to it. "What now?"

That was the question rattling through Neopolitan's mind as she set Ruby into another grueling training regimen.

Roman was dead.

What now?

She could blame this girl, already weak, nearly crippled from the same explosion that killed him. It would be easy to dispose of her, consider that a just revenge. Roman would appreciate the economy of it, too. He always hated wasted effort.

But no. There was only one person she could truly blame for his demise, and no matter how good Neo was, she'd never be able to take out Cinder Fall on her own.

Ruby was running laps, and Neo watched as instead of slowing down as she grew more tired, she instead sped up until her foot caught and she tripped, falling to the floor. At least, she would have, but with a burst of petals, suddenly she was another third of the way down the track.

Did she have a teleportation semblance, or was she really able to move that quickly with a speed one?

Neo felt a smile curl up her face.

Maybe she wouldn't have to face Cinder alone after all.

([___

There was some point where the protesting pain from every one of her muscles blended into the pain from her still healing burns, to the degree the two sensations were completely indistinguishable from each other.

Her trainer, Polly, called that point, 'the bare minimum before a break.'

"I think I accidentally got the most sadistic physical therapist in the whole hospital," Ruby groaned, collapsed into her bed in the extended stay section of the hospital.

It wasn't the most comfortable of room and board, but she didn't have an IV sticking out of her arm anymore, so she'd take it.

"Oof, that bad, huh?" Yang asked through their video call. Her background seemed to be against a tree outside Beacon, but it was a little hard to tell since her hair blocked pretty much everything else from view.

"Do you remember Professor Plum from Signal?" Ruby said, sitting up.

Yang grimaced. "Oh yeah, his classes blew."

"She's like if someone crossed him with a beowolf. It's insane." She shook out one of her hands like that would flick the pain out of it. "I swear, I'm sore in places I didn't even know I had."

"Yikes and yikes," Yang consoled, trying and failing to contain her obvious amusement. "Thoughts and prayers, Rubes."

Ruby huffed a laugh. "Thanks for the support. How's Beacon, though? Is it amazing? I bet it's amazing."

Yang's expression flickered for a moment, but she was still smiling afterward. "It's... something. They are serious about these classes. It's still super early in the semester and they're already trying to push us past our limits, it's kind of crazy. Goodwitch's combat classes are the hardest, by far, but Port's classes get special mention because it's so hard to stay awake during them."

"I feel that. The headmaster's been having someone record the lectures and send them along to me, so I won't be too far behind when I get there and he just goes on and on." She considered for a moment. "Then again, at least I can pause and rewind my Professor Port."

Yang grumbled. "Lucky."

"But I don't want to hear about classes." Ruby swiped a hand through the air, like she was brushing the subject away. "How's your team? How are their weapons?"

Yang chuckled at her sister's antics, but even with that, her expression was strained. "Well, I mean, obviously I would have preferred an all girl team, but I guess with the way everything was set up, that was pretty unlikely. As it stands, there's me, my partner, she's great, and two guys."

"You..." Ruby's expression finally fell, in tune with her sister's mood. "You don't seem to like them much."

"Well, one of them is nice, but really weak, and the other one is strong, but really... not nice." She scratched the back of her head, frustratedly. "The weak nice one is the leader, which is better than C-" she corrected herself, "the strong mean one, being leader, I guess. But my partner is a championship fighter and it's like, seriously? Why isn't she team leader?" She breathed a whistling sigh through her teeth. "I dunno. It just doesn't seem right."

"Well, fifty-fifty isn't bad?" She tried to joke, weakly, struggling for some way to change the subject. "Who's your partner?"

"Oh, she's amazing, but I know your real question here, so I'll give the down low on her weapons." Ruby cheered and clapped at that, which Yang gracefully accepted. "Picture this, if you will: shield in off hand, small but effective, and in the other one, rifle, spear, and shortsword all in one, smooth transform, fast as hell, and she'll use it mid combo like it's nothing."

"I think I'm in love," Ruby gushed.

Yang deadpanned. "You don't even know her name."

Ruby scoffed. "Who cares about her name? I'm in love with the weapon."

"Your level of respect for humanity continues to amaze me, Rubes," Yang said with a roll of her eyes.

"If I could replace myself entirely with robot parts, I would," Ruby assured her, just as facetious, though given her recent state, the joke landed a little too close to an uncomfortable place to be properly laughed off.

"How's the pain?" Yang asked, quietly.

Ruby had by then grown annoyed by the question after a while of repetition from medical staff and family alike. "It's fine. I'm managing, and I don't want to talk about it." She forcefully changed the subject. "Who else have you met? Still keeping up with your friends from Signal?"

"Eh, not really." She shrugged. "We talked a little bit before initiation, but they all got sorted into lower level classes, so it's a lot harder to keep in touch. There is another group my team's been hanging out with, though, and they're pretty cool." Ruby opened her mouth, but Yang held up a hand, stopping her. "Before you ask, kusarigama that turns into a pistol, twin scythes that turn into semi-auto pistols, a rapier that doubles as a rotating revolver dust canister, and a giant hammer that turns into a grenade launcher."

Ruby squeed.

"You're a maniac," Yang informed her, dryly.

"I'm just a purveyor of the arts, you're a maniac for not seeing how much beauty is obviously in the world," she countered.

"Maybe so." Yang shifted into a standing position, stretching. "Well, sun's going down, so it's about time I get me some dinner. You got anything else to talk about before I pop off?"

Ruby opened her mouth.

I think there's something wrong with my semblance.

She closed her mouth.

"Nope," she said, with faux-brightness. "That's everything I can think of."

Yang gave a salute and a goodbye, ending the call.

Ruby tossed her scroll from one hand to the other, back and forth as she chewed on her lip, idly. She was probably overreacting. She was still recovering, so her aura was just a little weird, and if her aura was weird then obviously her semblance would be weird, that just made sense.

She tossed the scroll in the air, letting it fall back into her hands. Then she tossed it again.

She activated her semblance and the scroll froze in place, trapped in midair with no force operating on it. All sound in the room, in the world, had disappeared. Even the slight tickle of the air from the vent running along her skin ceased.

It only lasted a breath.

The scroll fell back into her hand, all the sounds rushed back, and the air from the vent persisted like an interruption had never even occurred.

The first time she'd used her semblance since the accident, everything had only slowed. Then it stopped. It lasted a blink, then a moment, then a breath.

It was still her semblance. Even if the ephemeral rose petals covering her bed didn't give it away, she'd heard from Polly that it looked like super speed from her perspective, so it was definitely hers. But it didn't feel the same.

When she ran before, it was wild and barely controlled. She'd run into walls, other people, she'd trip, all the time. With this, she must have been moving even faster, but she had so much control alongside it. She could see everything, react to an attack before it could even get close to her. It was amazing.

It was scary.

It took more out of her to use her semblance than it did before, and it didn't last long enough to be useful in an extended battle, but even with what little practice she'd done in-between physical therapy sessions, she'd already made everything move slower and the ability last longer. If she really focused on it, could she make it last a full second? Ten? A minute?

If she could fight grimm with an entire minute where she could move and they couldn't, would she ever lose?

Somehow, that question scared her the most. It was one thing to dream of being an invincible huntress. It was quite another to have the possibility she might actually be one someday right there in front of her.

When kids at Signal unlocked their semblances, some were powerful. More powerful than any kid should have, anyway. She'd seen the way it changed them.

Would she change the same way?

She rolled out of bed, ignoring the protesting groan of her muscles and walked out the door. There was some vague thought that the last time she went out for a walk because she was feeling restless, a city block got blown to smithereens, but she forced the thought down.

There was too much going on. With recovering, with her semblance, with Beacon. It was all just so much. She just wanted it all to-

Polly landed in front of her, startling her into a hasty backward stumble that would have made her fall if the taciturn trainer didn't catch her.

"Wha-Polly? What are you doing here?" Ruby managed once she'd regained her footing.

She pointed up to the roof, where a thin blanket sat nestled between two windows. 'Enjoying the sunset,' her scroll said.

"Oh..." Ruby struggled for something to say, before eventually adding. "Okay."

She tilted her head, typing again on the scroll. 'You seem upset.'

"I'm..." the word 'fine' was on her lips, but she swallowed it, telling the truth instead. "A little overwhelmed. A few weeks ago, I was tagging along with my sister and my dad while she visited Beacon, and now I'm going through training from hell so I can go to Beacon myself. Late, which is just, eugh." She clutched her stomach. "Everyone was already going to think I'm weird because I got in early, but now I'm transferring in late, and I'm gonna have all these burn scars, and my semblance has been acting up. I just don't know if I can do all of this. My sister's been having problems with her team and friendships and she's Yang, she's so much better at this than I am; what am I supposed to do if she's struggling?"

She typed out a response. 'How many friends do you need?'

Ruby squinted down at the message. "I don't know. I don't need a lot, I don't think. I'm not looking for a whole lot more to manage, but a few would be nice."

'I survived a while with no one. Then I had one friend. Now I have no one again,' she typed.

"Oh." Ruby's gaze went from the scroll, to her. "I'm sorry."

'You have your sister.' She raised a finger. 'That's one.' She raised two more. 'Finding at least a couple at Beacon shouldn't be impossible. At minimum, you'd catch the attention of those attracted to the strong. If you fail to find more than that, I am here.' She raised a final finger. 'Would that suffice for friends?'

Ruby looked at her face, searching her expression but finding no humor, or patronization, no ulterior to the question, just simple curiosity.

She felt tears bubble to her eyes, uncontrollably, and she jumped forward to tackle Polly into a hug, crying into her shoulder. "Yeah," she choked out. "That... that suffices."

Polly awkwardly patted her back, obviously unused to such obvious shows of affection, but trying her best.

After a few minutes of that, Ruby finally pulled away, wiping her face on her sleeve. "Thanks, Polly. I really needed that."

Polly hesitated, the most indecision, actually come to think of it, the most of any emotion she'd ever seen on her face, before finally, she typed a few more words into her scroll and turned it around.

'Call me Neo.'

Chapter Text

Boarbatusks had armor in the front, thick and durable, to protect its head and snout. With her current weapon's size, weight, and strength, Weiss was sure she would be unable to pierce it from that direction. They were hardy creatures, resistant to ice and fire dust, though lightning stood a fair chance of stunning them, a thought she filed carefully to the side with her other observations. As grimm lacked vital organs in the same capacity humans and faunus did, she surmised a direct stab severing through sixty percent of the beast's midsection would be enough to bring it down.

Her heels clicked against the classroom floor as she deftly avoided another of the boarbatusk's charges.

Weiss Schnee enjoyed fighting grimm. They were mindless, for the most part, acted predictably, and maintained a consistency in line with everything she'd read and retained for each species. This information could be recalled and used to develop workable battle strategies whenever the need arose.

For example,

Feint to the side, gaining a breath, back up three steps, bait a charge, sigil to guard, sidestep, stab, plus one dead grimm, demonstration over.

Weiss retook her seat, nodding primly at the professor's accurate assessment of her skill and talent he was actively complimenting her on. Two seats over, her team leader held her eyes forward at the teacher, not even sparing a glance for her victorious partner. No acknowledgement, no praise, not even a smile for a job well done, her leader gave none of it.

To her.

Nora and Ren would get acknowledgement. They'd get praise, she'd talk and laugh with them whenever they liked, swapping combat advice and homework help. But Blake Belladonna had nothing to say to Weiss Schnee.

And Weiss had no idea why.

She'd tried talking to Blake about it, nothing. She'd tried changing the team leader so at least she wouldn't be commanded by someone who hated her, but got nowhere. She'd even tried changing teams altogether and was blocked at every turn.

Nora and Ren were too preoccupied with their own matters to pay her any mind, if they did notice the unequal treatment, which she wasn't convinced they did, so Weiss ended up with no support from her team at all.

There was another team hers had managed to befriend, somewhat, but Weiss didn't feel like she was at a level in their relationship she could dump all her problems on them, so they were out.

Weiss... wasn't sure what to do.

"Well, that's all the time we have for today. Remember to read through chapter four, and have a good lunch, everybody," Professor Port announced, as most of the students were already ready to jump up and leave through the doors at the back of the classroom.

Honestly, lunch sounded perfect, but with the rest of her team already heading there, Weiss decided to delay that for a walk around the quad. Eating by herself was lonely, but it was better than living through the glares of her team leader, or watching Cardin Winchester making a nuisance of himself bullying a classmate.

Usually, the walks were a nice way to get fresh air and gather her thoughts uninterrupted.

"Excuse me, do you know where the headmaster's office is? I just got here and I'm kind of already lost..."

Sometimes, the walks were interrupted.

"Yes, the administrative offices are in the big building right over there. Headmaster Ozpin should be at the top. I can show you, if-" Weiss had been facing away to point to the correct building, only getting a good look at the girl when she turned back. The sight froze the words in her mouth.

Weiss had a scar over her left eye, pale and pink, that marred her otherwise perfect skin. She was proud of it, acknowledging the battle that gave it to her as hard fought, and that the scar was a symbol of that, but from time to time an errant anxiety would worm through her logic when she saw her reflection in the mirror. In her eyes, the mark would be bigger, more obvious, twisting into something uglier the longer she stared. Still, she knew her self conscious doubts weren't rational, and for the most part she was able to blink and look away in short order.

She couldn't look away from this.

The girl was young, younger than Weiss, certainly, by two years or more, she thought. She wore a skirt with tights and a bright red hooded cloak, but Weiss wasn't staring at any of that. She was staring at the deep, unsettling, burn scars all over her face.

The scarring wasn't uniform, but instead formed a sort of patchwork around the places Weiss could see it. Her face, her neck, her arms, were all spotted by the burnt and unburnt flesh, like her aura had shattered and only bits and pieces remained as protection from the flame.

"Ah, sorry," the girl tried covering her face with her hands, embarrassed. "You probably don't want to be seeing that. I should probably get a mask or something, but so far the only people who have really seen much of it are doctors and my family, so I wasn't really thinking how it would look to-"

"It's fine, it's fine." Weiss swiped a hand through the air like it would dispel the time she'd spent staring. "No need to apologize..." she shook her head. "Actually, I need to apologize. I'm sorry, that was incredibly rude. You don't have to cover yourself up, I was just surprised, though that's no excuse for my rudeness."

The girl slowly lowered her hands. "Sorry..."

Weiss looked her in the eyes, forcing her vision not to stray. "Sorry."

They stood in awkward silence for an uncomfortable stretch before Weiss gestured toward the administrative building again. "The offer to take you to the headmaster's office still stands, if you'd have me."

"Of course," the girl answered, still a little reserved, but with some of her earlier vim returned as they walked in that direction. "I'm Ruby, by the way. What's your name?"

"Weiss Schnee," she answered, automatically, before amending. "Just Weiss is fine, though."

Ruby's head bobbed up and down as she nodded. "Weiss, then. It's nice to meet you, Weiss."

"And you," she answered, dutifully, before her curiosity got the best of her. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you here to see the headmaster about?"

She was fishing, and the slightly stilted conversation left little room to escape that fact.

Still, either because she didn't notice or didn't care, Ruby answered easily. "Oh, I'm actually supposed to start here... well, today, actually. I was supposed to start with all the other first years, but I was," she made a vague motion to herself Weiss couldn't decipher, "a-anyway, I'm starting today."

"You're a first year?" Weiss looked her up and down, skeptically. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen." She shrugged. "It's weird, I know."

Weiss' lips pursed. Prodigy would be an easy guess, but with the condition of this girl, something worse came to mind.

Would Beacon really accept a student just out of pity?

"How did you get in?" She asked, trying not to let the coldness she felt leak too far into her voice.

"I'd kind of rather not talk about it, if that's alright," Ruby smiled, apologetically. "I still have to make it through initiation, so I'm trying to keep my focus forward."

Weiss hummed, dissatisfied. "How does that work? Initiation is supposed to be a group exercise to determine final eligibility and teams, but there aren't any teams left to assign. Do they expect you to do a group exercise without a group or be a team member without a team? It's nonsense."

Ruby drooped, noticeably. "I don't know. Ozpin just said we'd work something out; I'm not sure about any of the specifics. Maybe they'll bring in some people who didn't quite make it before, or maybe they'll shuffle around some of the teams?"

Weiss felt something like a gear in her head click into place. "Shuffle around teams, huh?"

Put her on a team with the pity case, put her on a team where there weren't enough members, put her on a team where she wasn't team leader, she didn't care anymore.

Anything to get her away from Blake Belladonna.

If she talked to Ozpin, volunteered to change teams to Ruby's...

"Come on." Weiss held out a hand. "We shouldn't keep the headmaster waiting."

Weiss didn't see the scars anymore, that mottled Ruby's being. She didn't see the person at all. She saw her ticket out of a miserable team dynamic, and nothing more or less. A means to an end.

Ruby smiled and took the hand.

___])

Ozpin's office wasn't cheery, or sad, cold, or clingy. It didn't shine with great majesty, or a quiet mysteriousness, and it held no real aspect of the headmaster's personality at all. It was simply there, as devoid of substance as any spare room. There was a desk and some chairs, and quite a large window, but Glynda never associated it with Ozpin beyond the simple fact it was where he spent most of his time. An empty shell held vacancy, and Ozpin decided to slip in, a guest without presuming true ownership.

If she really thought about it, Glynda would have said that detachment was quintessentially Ozpin. It was in most things he seemed to consider himself little more than a passerby.

It was because of this, Glynda had to take a more pragmatic approach.

"He simply isn't showing enough improvement." She shuffled the file to another page, red marks glaring up at her equally on both. "He can't be a defender of the world if he can't even defend himself."

Ozpin hummed, contemplatively. "His skills as a leader?"

"Are nonexistent. His partner doesn't listen to him at all, and the rest of his team only do by the barest of margins. He's weak, and they can smell it on him." Glynda didn't take pleasure in failing students. But huntresses and huntsman were often working with an incredibly small margin of error, and they simply couldn't afford to give students a free pass they'd never get in their actual duties.

Ozpin's mouth curled downward, the closest to frustration he seemed to get most of the time. "He has the potential to be strong."

"We don't have the time to make him so," Glynda sighed. "We can't keep planning today's dinner on the seeds we planted yesterday, you have to face the fact that with our enemies moving, some of these students won't last to graduation."

"What do you propose we do?" Ozpin asked.

Glynda's lips were a thin line. "I propose we tell him he's one of them. Send him home. It might be hard on his team at first, but they'll grow faster without the extra weight."

Ozpin sighed, relenting. "He has one more day. Tell the teachers to watch him, if there's something there we missed, some potential we could use, he gets to stay. Otherwise, break the news and send him on his way."

Glynda nodded. "Understood."

His stance shifted, imperceptible if she wasn't used to dealing with Ozpin for so long.

"Problem?" She asked.

"We'll have to see," he answered, cryptically. "Ruby Rose is here."

The knock on the door a moment after was predictable enough. Ozpin always knew when someone was there, though whether that was some installation in the building, a facet of his semblance, or just naturally good hearing, she'd never found out.

"Come in," he called, and Ruby walked in, Weiss Schnee trailing close behind her.

An odd development.

"Hi, uh, it's Ruby... Rose, Ruby Rose. I got the signoff from my doctors, so I was told to come to you for initiation? I'm ready to start whenever." Ruby haltingly introduced herself.

Glynda noted her scarring with professional neutrality. It looked much better than before, though it was far from subtle. Her breathing and stance, too, had returned to what it likely was before the explosion. Her aura had a worrying flicker to it, but it was so slight Glynda wasn't certain it existed outside of her imagination, so she let it go.

"Yes, I've looked over some of the work you've turned in from the hospital, and while you'll still need to work hard if you want to be top of the class in academics, it's clear you won't fall behind too much as long as you don't neglect your studies," Glynda warned. "However, your combat ability remains to be tested in a more controlled environment than-" she caught herself before she could say Torchwick, eyes sliding to the other student in the room with her, "last time," she finished.

"Okay." She actually seemed to relax at the prospect initiation was combat focused and not some written test or something of the like. "What do you want me to fight?"

The teachers had captured a small selection of grimm in preparation for her, intending for them to be released one or two at a time to test critical thinking, stamina, and skill.

Ozpin had a new idea. "Why not Miss Schnee?"

The Miss Schnee in question gave a start at being suddenly addressed. "Me?"

"Yes, I hear from your teachers, your fighting abilities are quite advanced. I can think of no better test for a prospective student than to see how close a match they are to you."

Glynda instantly disliked this idea. In class sparring sessions were a planned and controlled activity, always done after the proper theory was taught and when the sparring partners had warmed up already. There was never anything this impromptu, nothing sanctioned by the staff at least.

Weiss' gaze flickered to the side, where Ruby stood. "Are you sure?"

"I think it will be illuminating for all of us," Ozpin replied. "The fourth sparring arena in the west wing should be unoccupied. Go there and start warming up, Glynda and I will be with you shortly."

Both girls nodded, before turning and leaving, presumably to do just what he said.

"Illuminating for all of us?" Glynda echoed, skeptically.

"Your main question is how she survived, Miss Schnee's is how she was accepted to Beacon. I'm sure this spar will answer at least one of those questions, don't you?" He typed a few keys on an intercom before holding down the button. "You should have two young students heading your way, a Miss Rose and Miss Schnee, show their way to arena four when they arrive, please." After receiving an affirmative, he let go of the button.

"You seem to have a lot of faith in Miss Rose," Glynda noted. "Do you think she'll be able to beat Miss Schnee?"

Ozpin smiled. "Now that, is my question."

([___

Weiss stretched, feeling Myrtenaster sit heavily at her side. She'd only ever used the sparring arenas for class before, and this... decidedly wasn't that.

Ruby was doing the same a dozen paces away, softly humming some tune Weiss couldn't recognize.

"Are you... nervous?" Weiss asked, eventually.

Ruby nodded. "A little, but the worst that could happen is I need to wait another couple years to graduate Signal, and that's what I was originally planning to do anyway, so it's not too bad. Besides, if that happens, I'll have gotten to fight a real Beacon student." Her eyes flashed with a dangerous emotion. "I can't turn something like that down."

Weiss hesitated. She was young, and obviously recently injured, but she was also her best shot out of her team. That was only if she actually got into Beacon, though.

The heiress bit her lip. She'd never thrown a fight before, but maybe...

"I'll know," Ruby said.

Weiss gave a start. "What?"

"If you hold back, I'll know, and I'll stop the match right then and there," she assured her seriously. "I can tell you don't think I deserve to be here, and honestly I'm not super sure, myself. So why not give us both a chance to find out?" She deployed a massive mechanical scythe, swinging it behind her head like it was a quarter the weight it must have been. "Hit me with your best shot, 'Just Weiss'."

Weiss huffed a laugh, drawing Myrtenaster with a whisper of steel. "You'd be better off having me throw the match."

Ruby shrugged, smiling. "I'll take my chances."

Ozpin and Glynda entered, and Weiss realized, as she entered a battle stance, that if they hadn't right then, the match would have already begun without them.

"The spar will continue until one of your auras dips into the red, after which you will cease, immediately. Additionally, I or Ozpin may put a stop to the match at any time for any reason." Glynda stepped backward, moving with Ozpin into the stands. "You may begin the fight on three."

"One."

Weiss and Ruby tensed, lifting their weapons in front and behind themselves, respectively.

"Two."

Weiss took a slow exhale, feeling the energy charged in the air. Human opponents weren't quite as predictable as grimm, but every fighter had a rhythm and flow they always sunk into. Move defensively, feel the flow, then counter.

"Three."

A mass of red filled the left side of Weiss' vision. With a twist of her arm, she raised a reflexive glyph against it, the semblance-made shield shuddering against the force of Ruby's scythe slamming down.

Weiss sliced in front of her, jumping back to reposition, but Ruby barreled through, her scythe slicing right to left this time, its size and coloring drawing her gaze far too easily. With a force of will, Weiss wrenched her gaze away from the dangerous weapon and back to its dangerous wielder, ducking underneath and watching her for any followup attacks.

The followup came a moment later, with another scythe blow Weiss deftly sidestepped.

Move defensively.

Ruby's style wasn't elegant; it was much more Cardin Winchester than Pyrrha Nikos, but she clearly knew what she was doing, and with the power and speed to back it up, Weiss couldn't deny its effectiveness.

Still, it had its weaknesses.

Ruby made a similar move to the one Weiss had a few moments before, swiping her scythe forward, but jumping backward, gaining distance.

The tip of her scythe buried in the ground, and with a metallic click, a slot at the top opened to reveal the barrel of a gun.

Weiss grimaced, raising another glyph to block.

That was a mistake.

Pain shot through her shoulder as the bullet smashed past her shield, impacting there with a cacophonous crack.

The shoulder wasn't broken, thankfully her aura had absorbed most of the damage, but the unexpected force made her stumble backward.

Just in time for Ruby to perform a running slash with her redeployed scythe toward Weiss' head.

Weiss crouched low, a speed glyph appearing beneath her feet, with more following in a line a moment later, carrying her out of reach of the red metal monster.

"Armor piercing sniper rounds?" Weiss scoffed. "Do you have any sense the meaning of the word 'overkill'?"

Ruby was already back on top of her, Weiss jumping to avoid a scythe-based leg sweep. "Hey, if it can't drop a beowolf at a thousand yards, can you even really call it a gun?"

"Maybe not." Myrtenaster's inner cylinders spun, a white vial clicking into place. "But I don't have to."

Weiss' eyes narrowed as Ruby jumped back, clicking open that sniper barrel once again.

It was a two foot thick wall of ice that blocked the bullet this time, springing from Myrtenaster courtesy of pure, refined, Schnee Company dust.

Ruby's scythe crashed through the ice a moment after. One swing, then two, then three. Jump backward, sniper shot. Forward again.

Weiss rolled her eyes at the transparently simple pattern. It was likely Ruby wasn't even aware she was doing it.

Feel the flow.

The scythe charged toward her, but Weiss caught it near the handle with Myrtenaster's blade, tipping it to the side with an adroit parry. The following two attacks met a similar fate, as Weiss set the dust canisters to revolve once again, a red vial clicking into place this time.

Ruby jumped back.

Weiss smirked, victoriously. "Got you."

Counter.

She clicked the dust trigger, sweeping a torrent of flame at Ruby's frame, knowing she was off balance from the landing.

Ruby's eyes widened at the flame, unable to block it, impossible to dodge.

The fight was over.

Weiss didn't blink, she was sure she didn't. It was part of her training, ingrained into her fighting style that the final blow be dealt with both eyes open. She had her gaze firmly locked on Ruby as the fire swept toward her, and she didn't move.

Weiss was on the ground, Ruby on top of her with Myrtenaster pressed against her neck in the scythe wielder's white knuckled grip. Rose petals were all around her, glowing with manufactured aura, but smelling just like the real thing anyway.

And Weiss was in pain.

A lot of pain.

What was that? When did she get hit? When was she disarmed? How did Ruby escape the fire?

Wasn't she winning?

"The match is over," Glynda laid a hand on Ruby's shoulder, and it was only then Weiss got a good look at her.

She was breathing heavily, eyes wide with a mania that bordered on panic, and when she slowly stood, dropping Myrtenaster to the ground, her hands were shaking.

Even through the scarring, Weiss could see her skin had turned several shades paler, and sweat dripped off her in sheets.

She looked horrible.

But she won.

"How?" Weiss ground out, slowly making it to a sitting position. "I predicted your moves, I countered perfectly, you were going to lose, how did you beat me?"

Ruby didn't offer an explanation. With the way her eyes were locked forward, like her own sockets had trapped them there as Glynda led her away, Weiss wasn't sure the girl had heard her at all.

"You fought well, Miss Schnee," Ozpin said, extending a genial hand to help her to her feet. "Perhaps the best you're capable of, at the moment."

Weiss winced at that. He hadn't said it cruelly, but it made the sting of her confusion and pride that much worse.

"Do you know why we assign students teams, when it's only very rarely that huntresses and huntsmen work together in the field?" He asked.

"I assumed it was to cut down on students becoming isolated and dropping out, with hunter training they become dangerous criminals, so giving a sense of camaraderie and community is important." She considered for a moment. "Also, maybe to save on dorm space." That was more cynical, though she didn't believe in it any less.

Ozpin chuckled, lightly. "I won't make the claim both of those aren't true, to an extent. I'd imagine when the system was put in place, a great many costs and benefits were weighed against each other before the decision was made. But when I think about the reason, I keep coming back to fights just like that one you were in right now."

Weiss gritted her teeth. "Fights where I try my best and get pounded into the ground by a child?"

"Do you believe Miss Belladonna would have won that fight?" He asked.

Blake was undeniably good, Weiss knew that, but if she hadn't even seen Ruby move, if her certain victory had been overturned in an instant...

"Pyrrha, maybe." Weiss shook her head. "Not Blake."

He nodded, expression neutral. "Your other teammates?"

"I don't think so." She wasn't even sure how Ruby won, but thinking about Ren or Nora in that same situation, trying to imagine what they could do if one instant they were on their feet and the next on the ground, but always coming up with the answer 'not enough'.

"Teams are funny things, a collection of moving parts trying to fit together into a whole, with their success or failure depending on the shape and efforts of each piece involved, but for better or for worse, the people we surround ourselves with tend to drive our actions." Ozpin lightly adjusted his glasses. "Tell me, if it weren't for your team, do you think you would have fought Miss Rose here today?"

Weiss' frown deepened. "I wanted to get away from them, be reassigned or... anything. That's why I followed her up to your office." She huffed a dry laugh at another realization. "Actually, the only reason I was outside so she could ask for directions is because I was avoiding my team."

"I believe the purpose of teams is to instill in students a want to be better. For admiration, for competition, for a want not to let them down, or a want to protect them, they force you to become stronger to attain your goal." Ozpin tilted his head down at her. "What's your goal, Miss Schnee? Not becoming a huntress, what's the goal your team has instilled in you?"

'To escape them,' were the words Weiss felt on her lips, but she knew that wasn't quite right. Running away was a last resort, a reflection of her cowardice and frustration. What did she actually want?

She thought of Nora and Ren, laughing and eating together, talking about dreams, living in their own little world. She thought of Blake, reading by herself, studying by herself, speaking only when absolutely necessary, a necessity she somehow never found with Weiss.

The goal her team gave her...

She thought of her father, manipulating everyone around him, not seeing people except as tools to be used, trapped in the tiny world he created. She thought of her sister, cold, strict, speaking directly, impatiently, like you were an idiot for not figuring out what she wanted already. She thought of her mother, existing in body alone, living inside a champagne glass.

She thought of being beneath notice.

She thought that would change at Beacon.

What did she want?

Weiss gritted her teeth. "I want them to acknowledge me. I want my team... my leader, to admit that I exist, and that I'm not going anywhere." Her hands squeezed into fists. "So if I have to beat Blake or Pyrrha, or Ruby freaking Rose to get them to see me, then I will. But I won't live like this anymore."

Ozpin smiled, walking out the door. "Welcome to the team, Miss Schnee."

___])

Glynda's office was small and sparse, a few cabinets up against one wall, a desk with a chair for her and another for visitors and students, with a spare off to the side. The room had no windows. The desk had a lamp.

She considered the space sufficient for her purposes. Professional and lacking frivolity, it was an elegant match for her person. Even with that, though, it was not without a caring edge.

Glynda withdrew a glass and a decanter filled with a cloudy yellow liquid from a compartment of her desk, refrigerated for convenience. She gently shook the container before pouring a bit of its contents into the glass and sliding it toward Ruby, already collapsed in her visitors chair.

"It's lemonade," Glynda said, at Ruby's slightly suspicious eyeing of the beverage. "It should help pick you back up a bit."

"Thank you." Ruby took the glass in both hands, taking a sip and scrunching her face. "It's sour."

Glynda raised an eyebrow. "It's lemonade."

"Right." She went back to sipping at it, much smaller ones this time.

After a minute or two, when Ruby had regained some color to her skin, Glynda spoke. "It's your semblance, right? Specialized?"

Ruby shook her head. "Enhancing. Speed type."

Glynda couldn't hide the widening of her eyes. "That's quite impressive for a speed semblance." At Ruby's condition, she added. "Though with the backlash, I shouldn't be too surprised at the power, I suppose."

"Backlash?" Ruby said, confused at first, before realization struck her and she gave an embarrassed half-laugh. "Oh, this. Yeah, my semblance tires me out really quickly, but most of this is...'' she bit her lip. "Something else."

"Something else?" Glynda's eyes skated over her burn scars, the memory of Weiss' last attack bringing understanding to her gaze. "Ah. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Ruby said hurriedly, waving her hands in front of her. "I told her not to hold back, and she didn't. It was an awesome fight, I just have to... get used to that, I guess."

Glynda sighed, removing her glasses to rub the bridge of her nose. "Miss Rose, I won't sugarcoat this; I don't think you should be here."

Ruby sagged in her chair at the words, but Glynda wasn't done.

"Physically, I wish you had more time to recover. I noticed you were keeping your arms from touching your sides as much as possible, those burns are still tender, aren't they?"

Ruby nodded.

"And with the way you were talking to Ozpin and me, I have a suspicion that you're dealing with some hearing loss you might not even be aware of, which requires correcting."

Ruby winced at that. "It isn't that big a deal, my left ear just gets weird and staticky sometimes. I can deal with it."

"Even if that were true, it does nothing to address my primary concern, which is your mental wellbeing." Glynda's eyes swept over the small girl who'd only just managed to stop shaking. "It's obviously too soon after the accident, and you should be recovering in a familiar environment at home with family, not attending a school with classmates two years your senior that teaches you to fight monsters."

"Please." Ruby leaned forward, panic on her face as she put her hands on the desk. "Becoming a huntress is the only thing I've ever wanted in my life. My sister is already here, I have family here. I'll go to the school nurse, I'll get counseling. Anything, just let me stay."

Glynda sighed. "I already discussed it with Ozpin, and regardless, my answer is no." Ruby felt a thick weight in the back of her throat, eyes watering as Glynda continued. "But I was overruled in this case."

Ruby looked up. "What?"

"Ozpin insisted you stay, despite my evaluation, so because of that you're given a chance, and only a chance." Glynda's expression turned severe. "You will report to the school nurse for regular checkups, and you will receive counseling. These are not up for discussion. I believe you have the potential to be a great huntress only if you are allowed the opportunity to become a well adjusted adult as well, so I will bend my efforts toward allowing that to occur despite conditions I view as unfavorable."

"I... don't know what to say." Ruby wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "Thank you."

"Make no mistake, I'm not fond of my advisement being overruled, but I'm here to help you, Miss Rose, as are all the other teachers. If you ever have any issues, let one of us know and we should be able to work out a solution." She took Ruby's empty glass and the rest of the lemonade, stowing it away, before turning to a stack of papers and beginning to look through them. "We have a temporary room made up for you already, that should suffice until we can assign you a team."

"How is the team assignment going to work, with me coming late?" Ruby asked, standing awkwardly by the door.

Glynda didn't look up. "You'll know by the end of the week."

Ruby opened the door, but stopped halfway through. "Thanks... again. I'll get better, at everything, I promise."

Glynda finally glanced up. "I never questioned your willpower, Miss Rose. I've seen it in action. I just don't like my students bringing harm to themselves unnecessarily, and for better or for worse, you're now among that number."

Ruby nodded, finally starting to walk out the door.

"Oh, and Miss Rose? One more thing." Glynda added.

Ruby paused. "Yeah?"

She smiled, kindly. "Welcome to Beacon."

Chapter Text

Yang had looked down at the message over a dozen times, grinning goofily with each one. She wasn't sure when Ruby had gotten off the bullhead and onto campus, had no idea what the meeting with Ozpin was like or what she did, but the message she'd sent, although littered with exclamation marks and a few more words than necessary was simple enough: Ruby got in. She was officially a student at Beacon and Yang couldn't be prouder.

It was pride colored and melded with anxiety and terror that something would happen to her, but pride nonetheless. Yang couldn't control what she felt. She could barely understand it. So she just had to accept it.

That didn't mean she had to do it on her own, though.

"Pyrrha." Yang poked her head into the dorm, scanning around the room for a head of bright red hair and a thoughtful smile. That she found instead Cardin Winchester, lounging on his bed scroll in hand was, to her, a massive downgrade. "You're not Pyrrha."

Cardin didn't look up from the screen. "Astounding observation."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Where is Pyrrha? You seen her around?"

"Yes, I've seen her around. No, I don't know where she is." He waved a hand, dismissively. "Why don't you ask someone who cares."

"Helpful as ever, Cardin." Yang left, ignoring the rude gesture Cardin made as she did. "Dick," she muttered under her breath.

Normally, she'd say it to his face, but actively antagonizing her teammate right before introducing Ruby to her team probably wouldn't end well. Cardin was unpleasant at the best of times, best not to throw oil on that fire, for the moment.

Yang paused, frowning.

"Cardin?" A new voice asked, shaking Yang from her distraction.

"What?" Yang's head jerked up. "Oh, hi Blake. What's up?"

"I heard you say 'dick,' I assume that means Cardin? What's he done now?" Blake asked, amused.

"Just being his usual self-Blake." Yang leapt forward and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Blake, Blake, Blake, Blake, guess what?"

"What? What?" The startled team leader managed eventually.

"My sister got in." She shook Blake, her excitement vibrating off her in waves. "Ruby got in. She got into Beacon."

"Congratulations?" Blake carefully extricated herself from Yang's exuberant grip. "I assume Ruby's your sister? I didn't know Beacon was already accepting submissions for next year."

"Oh, no. She got in for this year. You wanna meet her? I was going to find Pyrrha and introduce her, but I don't know where she is." Yang started moving down the hall, with Blake following suit.

"You don't know where Pyrrha is, or you don't know where your sister is?" She asked.

Yang shrugged. "Either? I'm guessing I'll find at least one of them in the cafeteria or the gym, so you want to check food first?"

Blake waved a hand. "I don't have a preference." After considering for a moment, she added, "Why is your sister coming in so late?"

Yang hesitated, an action so utterly un-Yang it gave Blake pause, herself.

"Yang?" Blake asked after a moment.

"There was an accident," the blonde brawler answered, eventually. "She just got delayed a little. It's fine, now."

Blake reached a hand up, scratching as close to her ears as her bow would let her, feeling discomfort rise in her frame like bile. "Oh.."

It wasn't unusual for Blake's social skills to fail her, but there were some times she found it infinitely more frustrating than others.

Yang pressed on. "Anyway, she's here now, so that should be cool. Fair warning, she'll probably ask about your weapon, she goes a little nuts when it comes to stuff... like..." her eyebrows furrowed.

Blake raised one of her own. "You alright?"

"Did you hear that?"

Blake listened.

Nothing.

"Huh." Yang relaxed. "I thought I heard a-"

A scream pierced the air, sharp and shrill.

Both of them were startled for just under a second before their gaze met in mutual decision and they barreled down the hall toward the sound.

In her head, Yang knew that Ruby's voice sounded different, that the scream she heard was someone else, and in a school full of teenagers more likely to be a bug a student saw than any real danger.

But Yang's feet moved before her head did, her stomach leaching into her shoes at the idea that Ruby was hurt, and she wasn't there. Again.

Blake grabbed Yang's arm, and they both slowed to a stop in front of a solitary faculty member by an empty classroom door. If the fact that she wasn't rushing to help whoever screamed wasn't enough of an indication, the utter unconcern on her face showed, apparently, there was no issue. The only change was when they arrived, to which she raised a single questioning eyebrow Yang felt immediately judged by.

"We heard a scream," Blake explained. "Do you know what happened?"

The staff member smiled, and Yang felt herself skid back a step in response, her aura railing against the woman. After a moment, she typed into her scroll and the electronic lilt of a text-to-speech program filled the air. "A student tripped and fell on the stairs." She gestured behind her at the thin staircase leading outside. "He's been taken to the infirmary, don't worry."

Blake's lips twitched downward. "You're a nurse, aren't you?" She pointed at the two red stripes on her shoulders. "Shouldn't you be with him?"

The nurse slowly raised an arm, and for a moment Yang was sure she was going to attack, faster and deadlier than her frame would suggest, then the moment passed and she typed at her scroll once again. "Of course," the electronic voice responded.

With a turn that forced Yang to blink as some liquid struck her cheek, the nurse walked primly up the stairs, heels click-clacking on the tile, and then she was gone.

"That was..." Blake began.

Yang nodded. "Unsettling."

"I guess Beacon takes all kinds, huh?" She laughed at some private joke Yang didn't even attempt to understand.

Yang wiped the droplet that hit her cheek and looked down at it. "Can you see if you can find Ruby or Pyrrha in the dining hall?"

"Sure." Blake watched her, warily. "Everything alright?"

"Fine." Yang forced a smile. "I just have to check something out. Tell Ruby I'll be down right after, okay?"

As soon as Blake responded in the affirmative, Yang had already turned and was walking back down the hall the way they came. It was faster to get to the faculty building that way, and Yang had to know if that was really a nurse.

Because the drop that hit Yang's cheek when she turned, that liquid she must have been so covered in that so simple an action could make it fly.

It was blood.

([___

She'd only been there a month. It was beginning to feel like a mantra Pyrrha kept repeating to herself as time went on. Over and over, she'd tamp down her frustration with the thought.

Her team was in shambles.

She'd only been there a month.

She wasn't any better at making friends.

She'd only been there a month.

No one had given her an actual challenge.

She'd only been there a month.

It was a mantra that seemed to dull in effectiveness every time she used it, to the point it barely seemed to help at all. Was her team supposed to get better all of a sudden? Would Cardin grow a heart, or Jaune a spine? Would friends appear out of nowhere? Would a fighter that could match her?

She'd been there a month and nothing had changed. She was lonely, she was bored. Things were supposed to be better at Beacon or else why had she gone at all?

She could have stayed in Mistral, kept fighting, kept hoping. At least she would have been making money that way. At least she could have kept the illusion life on the other side of the fence was better, that somewhere out there was green grass to lie upon.

Instead, she was sparring with children, and she hated thinking of them that way. She didn't see herself as superior to them in all ways. They had talents in areas Pyrrha could never reach, and she acknowledged that; she knew she wasn't a better person. But she was a better fighter. In some cases a better fighter by so laughable a margin it felt less like a spar and more like she was shaking them down for lunch money when they fought in the ring.

She was at a school to train some of the greatest fighters in the world, combat specialists who excelled at hunting monstrous grimm and deadly criminal alike, and Pyrrha felt her teeth grit every time she fought against the embarrassing skill of her peers.

There were a handful of fighters that were passable, and she was thankful her partner was one of them or else it felt like she would have lost her mind by then.

On some days it felt too late for that.

But there was nothing she could do.

She couldn't make someone a skilled fighter. She couldn't force them to be better, to push through the pain and struggle into a higher degree of skill. She could only offer to help, and if that help wasn't wanted then she had to stand back and watch.

It was only once, she'd offered to help so far, and Jaune had been... less than agreeable. But she wouldn't give up; maybe he'd change his mind. There was always time.

She'd only been there a month, after all.

Pyrrha sighed, slumping down into a free bench near the back quad. Classes were over already, she had homework to do, plus individual training, plus she hadn't eaten since lunch, but she couldn't bring herself to stand just yet. Standing would mean going about her business, eventually reaching the end of a long, boring, day and beginning another.

When faced with that prospect, she preferred to sit a while longer.

A flash of red flickered in the air and Pyrrha found herself squinting against the setting sun to watch it tumble, finally reaching out to let the single rose petal fall into her hand.

After a moment, it misted away into aura.

A semblance?

Pyrrha hummed. "Interesting."

"Thanks."

Pyrrha shot to her feet, then a good seven feet past the bench for good measure, hands meeting empty air where her weapons would have been had she actually been outfitted for combat.

"Whoah, sorry. Sorry." The apparent owner of the semblance waved her hands in front of her, grimacing. "I didn't mean to startle you."

It took a force of effort to bend out of her ready state and relax her shoulders, but Pyrrha managed it, smiling in what she hoped was a reassuring way. "No harm done, I'm sorry I was so quick to jump, though, I just didn't hear you approach, that's all."

The girl chuckled, scratching the back of her head. "Guess I should start wearing a bell, heh."

"That probably won't be necessary." Pyrrha tilted her head, getting a better look at her. Red cloak, scarred face and arms, a strange sight in Vale, though Pyrrha had seen far worse in the tournament circuit. Maybe not in someone so young, though...

"Do I know you?" It seemed more polite than, 'I don't recognize you, what are you doing here,' but accomplished roughly the same purpose.

The girl's eyebrows furrowed. "I don't think so? I'm Ruby."

The name did sound vaguely familiar, but not enough Pyrrha was sure they'd actually met. More likely, she'd heard it in some snippet of conversation in the cafeteria at some point and it had lodged itself into her subconscious.

"Pyrrha," she introduced herself in turn. "So what brings you to Beacon?"

Ruby opened her mouth to respond, but winced when another voice shouted across the quad.

"Ruby Rose." Pyrrha was surprised to see the usually composed and demure Weiss Schnee stomping toward them, body tilted into a challenging bearing.

"You two know each other?" Pyrrha questioned.

"Something like that," she hedged.

Weiss finally got close enough to stare down the scarred girl, a rare opportunity, Pyrrha thought, since the number of people the Schnee had a height advantage on amongst the students was almost none, but she kept that thought to herself.

"I have two things to say," she prefaced. "First, I wanted to formally welcome you to Beacon, and apologize for misjudging you before. The skill and power you have is undeniable and I'm sorry for ever thinking you were anything but deserving to be here."

"Aww, thanks, Weiss," Ruby said, brightly. "What's the second thing?"

"I'm going to crush you, Ruby Rose," Weiss promised.

Ruby's smile fell. "What?"

"In every test, in every spar, in every combat exercise, I'm going to do my level best to grind you into the dirt. I'm going to make sure for as long as you're matched against me, you'll never know the feeling of victory ever again." She drew herself up, imperiously. "Consider this a declaration of war."

Ruby squeaked.

Weiss gave an acknowledging nod to Pyrrha, then turned on her heel and walked away, leaving the two alone.

"So..." Pyrrha said. "You're a new student, then?" Apparently one that had drawn the... ire? Admiration? Attention, of Weiss Schnee.

Well wasn't that interesting.

"Yep." Ruby flashed a grin and a thumbs up, apparently already recovered from the 'declaration of war'. "New first year student Ruby Rose, reporting for duty."

She'd been there a month, and now a new transfer student had arrived.

Maybe...

A smile lifted Pyrrha's face. "Well, new first year student Ruby Rose, I don't mean to boast but Beacon's food service is quite excellent." She stood and stretched. "Are you hungry?"

The loud grumbling of Ruby's stomach seemed to answer that question before the girl could, herself. "Uh..."

Pyrrha laughed. "Come on, let's go."

Maybe the future had something to look forward to after all.

___])

The blonde one knew. It was more than obvious by the expression on her face, the tone of her voice, that she could tell something was wrong. But instead of a direct confrontation, she decided to run away to a teacher, give herself the opportunity to be defused.

What a waste.

Neopolitan respected those who followed their instincts. Some of the closest scrapes she'd been involved in were with people who'd seen through her illusions and pursued her regardless. She didn't expect a random fight with unarmed students to rank in that list, but at least the dedication would have been admirable. Now Neo was stuck having to stab her in the back.

If she had fought, she would have known the face of her killer. As it was, Neo sprang from the side, thin blade already angled with enough strength to pierce through her aura.

"Ah, Miss Xiao-Long. I was hoping to catch you." At the new arrival, Neo skidded to a stop, her semblance managing to hide her presence, but only by a comically close margin.

"Professor Ozpin." The blonde visibly relaxed. "I'm glad I found you. Blake and I were just talking to someone, she was dressed like a nurse, but something about her felt... off, and when she turned it splattered blood on my cheek. I think-I'm worried, that-"

Ozpin smiled, reassuringly. "I'm glad you brought this to my attention, but it's quite alright. Nurse Zaffre has been on staff for a number of years, and due to an old injury she sustained fighting grimm, she occasionally coughs up blood. Her wound is manageable, though I'm sorry you had it spit on you, that must have been a bit of a shock."

The blonde frowned, unconvinced. "But, when I was talking to her, I kept getting this feeling, like she was gonna kill me. Are you sure that was really a school nurse?"

"I'll look into it, but you can rest assured Beacon's security is in good hands. If anyone managed to sneak onto the island and impersonate a staff member, I can guarantee that person can't maintain that ruse for any substantial amount of time. What you're describing, though, just sounds like Nurse Zaffre on a bad day, and I can assure you she has no interest in harming students. Now, was there anything else?" He asked.

She looked indecisive for a few moments more before finally relenting. "No. Sorry, Professor. I guess after the whole thing with Ruby I'm still a little jumpy."

"Quite alright, though it is on the subject of Miss Rose I was trying to find you earlier. In case you haven't heard, she had her initiation today and passed with flying colors. I expect she'll make a fine addition to the school."

The blonde beamed. "That's great. She told me she passed, but I was trying to see her in person to get specifics. You know where she is?"

He gestured to the side. "I believe she went with Miss Nikos to the dining hall. You should still be able to catch them, if you hurry."

She ran off, waving behind her. "Thanks, professor."

"Anytime, Miss Xiao-Long." He stood there until the blonde disappeared from view, leaning on the cane in front of him like it was the only thing keeping him upright.

After another minute of him just standing there, Neo shifted her weight to move away, and he smiled.

"It's an impressive semblance, I have to say. The work you've put into it is more than obvious," he commented, and Neo froze in place not even daring to breathe. "It is true, what I said. Nurse Zaffre does have an old grimm injury, and I hope, for your sake, that you didn't overly agitate it when you attacked her."

Neo's eyes widened, but her body remained still as death.

Ozpin's smile twitched downward. "You seem unsure of your predicament, so let me make it simpler.” He turned to face her directly, eyes seeming to bore straight through her illusion and into her own. "By your arrival, semblance, and overall skill, I have three plausible guesses at your identity. The first, you're one of James' spies sent for any number of paranoid reasons, meant to investigate me and the school before reporting back. You'll forgive me if your killing intent toward one of my students makes me find this option unlikely. The second is that you're Roman Torchwick's as of yet unknown accomplice, which your ability and willingness to remain out of sight and kill if necessary lends credence to. The third option is that She sent you, and you're here to find Amber, an activity I can assure you that you'll find no success in."

Neo felt anger surge within her frame for a brief moment before she could cool the reaction. The only one in direct opposition to Ozpin, the only 'She' he could be referring to was Cinder, and the suggestion she'd work with her wasn't just unappealing. It was insulting.

Ozpin smiled again, despite her continued lack of movement or communication. "The second one, then. I'd imagine that makes you here for Miss Rose. Are you here to kill her? No, that would be simple enough in the hospital. Hmm..." He tilted his head, examining what to him should have been a simple empty space. "You're risking quite a lot to come here, no matter your skills it's a gamble to be caught in a place with so many trained fighters, students and faculty alike. So you wouldn't come here for any idle task. But if you are here for Miss Rose that only leaves training and protection. Training is far more likely if you want to craft her into a weapon for some purpose, but..." his eyebrows shot up. "Both?"

It hardly seemed possible for the man to laugh, but the amused hum he gave at that came close enough.

"Fascinating."

Neo wasn't sure what to do. She could fight, but she had no idea what his capabilities were. Running encountered a similar problem. Staying still didn't seem all that effective, but without even an inkling of a plan what else could she do? A drop of sweat traveled down the back of her neck as she futilely held her illusion in place.

"How about I make you a deal?" He offered. "If you deliver Nurse Zaffre whatever medical attention she requires and promise you will not harm or disrupt any of my students in their lessons or lives, then I will allow you to maintain this faculty facade, teaching and protecting Miss Rose as long as it does not cause her to neglect her health or studies. You will have unquestioned free reign of the campus and access to Miss Rose for as long as she allows it. However." His expression turned severe. "Cause harm to anyone else here, threaten or act against a single student, and I will personally rededicate my life to ruining the rest of yours." He crouched down beside her, staring right into her invisible eyes. "I don't enjoy vendettas, but by now I can assure you I am well practiced in them."

He held out a hand. "Do we have a deal?"

Work with him, or die.

It was a familiar arrangement to Neopolitan.

Slowly, carefully, she lowered the illusion. If he was at all surprised by her appearance, he didn't show it on his face. Reaching out her own hand, she took his, and he gave it a slight shake for good measure.

"Welcome to the staff, Miss...?"

Neo hesitated. It was incredibly unlikely anyone on campus would recognize her name if she used it. Still, there was always the chance. On the other hand, she'd likely need a name that would catch Ruby's attention, and she did already know her name. That wasn't the only name she knew, though.

'Polly,' she typed into her scroll. 'Physical therapist and personal trainer.'

"I don't think Beacon would mind having one of those," he commented, standing up. "I'll have Glynda arrange any accomodations you need."

Without even a word of goodbye, he left.

Neo sat shaking, the effort of maintaining the illusion melding with the fear of getting caught, along with something else. It was only for a second, when he got closer, but Neo felt his aura as it brushed against hers. She'd never consider herself an expert at reading aura energy, but she was familiar with scale.

Roman had a phrase he used when referring to jobs with obscene amounts of money involved. If he ever referred to a payout as 'retirement size,' that didn't mean it was enough to live comfortably off, it meant it was so sickeningly big it could never reasonably be spent.

To say Ozpin's aura was retirement size was no exaggeration.

If she stepped out of line, he'd kill her.

Her head turned in the direction he walked away.

It wouldn't even be a close fight, and Cinder wanted to challenge that? If she thought she had a chance, what kind of power did she have? Could anyone else match her? Could Ruby?

Was this a mistake?

'...She sent you...' Ozpin had said.

It was one of the most likely options. He knew Cinder was coming there sooner or later. There was a chance Ruby would have to face her either way.

Neo squeezed her hand into a fist, illusion wrapping around her once again, trading her pink and brown hair with simple black, her eyes for green, her appearance for Polly.

If the confrontation was inevitable, then she'd do what she'd always done. Rig every aspect in her favor, cheat and kill and win. Survive.

And she'd teach Ruby as much as she could how to do the same.

Neo would be the instrument of her survival and in turn Ruby would be the instrument of her revenge.

What else were friends for, after all?

Chapter Text

Of course Ruby knew who Pyrrha was... eventually. She'd seemed vaguely familiar while she was talking to her at first, but she couldn't place it right away, then Weiss had shown up, and her whole train of thought was disrupted, then there was food, and that was the only thing she was thinking about, but now she'd eaten a little bit and she got started actually talking to Pyrrha and it finally hit her where she knew her from.

'Mistral newcomer defeats reigning champion in blistering forty second knockout.'

She remembered the name of the video, she remembered the thumbnail, she practically remembered every frame with the number of times she'd watched it, Pyrrha Nikos at fifteen years old cleaving into her significantly bigger opponent's aura in the time it took Ruby to turn off her alarm in the morning.

She was a legend. She was there, right there in front of her. She was... not what Ruby had expected.

It wasn't a bad thing, just a little disconcerting to have someone she'd seen, idolized, so suddenly divorced from the perfect picture she'd built her up as in her head. Pyrrha was awkward, she was indecisive, she didn't get movie references, but loved knock knock jokes. She was old fashioned, she liked plates piled high with meat, and big terrariums with tiny lizards inside. She was a person.

Ruby had expected the Mistral Newcomer to be larger than life, she'd expected her to live for combat, think of nothing else, drink and breathe blood and aura. She hadn't expected her to be a person.

Pyrrha was.

Ruby wasn't sure if Pyrrha would have liked to be recognized, if she would have been flattered or surprised, but it felt so weird now to connect the image of the Pyrrha in front of her, to the Newcomer's. In the end, she didn't say anything.

Pyrrha said something, instead.

"So how did you get Weiss so riled up?"

Ruby choked on the milk she was drinking, splattering it all over her face as Pyrrha gave fervent apologies, gathering napkins. "I'm okay. I'm okay," she assured her. "Sorry, I kind of forgot about all that for a second."

"I'm guessing you two aren't friends, but you do know each other, right?" She idly chewed on a piece of bacon from the meat mountain that made up her plate. "She praised your skills, does that mean you went to the same school before?"

"She wasn't praising my skills, I mean, not really. She would have won the fight if I hadn't... panicked." Ruby bit her lip. "We didn't go to the same school before, I just met her today. She took me to see professor Ozpin and he had us spar to make sure I could handle being a student here."

"And you won the spar." Pyrrha raised an eyebrow. "Because you panicked?"

Ruby sagged in her seat, idly poking at a french fry on her plate. "My semblance has been acting a little funny since the accident. I wasn't going to use it, but I panicked, so I did."

"So Weiss was going to win in a spar where she used her semblance and you didn't use yours, but then when you used yours she lost," she outlined. "And so afterwards she perceived you as a threat to the point she declared open war on you because of what she saw in your fight, and you think she wasn't really praising your skills?"

Ruby shrugged. "Well..."

"Ruby, what do you think someone praising your skills looks like?" She asked, voice tinged with amusement.

Ruby pictured her dad, she pictured Yang, the teachers at Signal, the people in Patch. She pictured Weiss.

'The skill and power you have is undeniable...'

It wasn't the same. It wasn't big smiles and words of encouragement like the others. It was stiff, and formal, and read off like a fact off a sheet, but put like that, yeah.

"I guess she was praising my skills," Ruby realized. "Huh."

Pyrrha dug up what appeared to be a hamburger from the stack on her plate. "Are you surprised?"

"I mean, yeah. I don't think I've ever gotten praise from someone who hates me before." She started drawing little circles in the ketchup on her plate with a fry. "Unless it's praise like, 'I love the way you feel the need to ask the teacher so many questions,' or, 'nice job beefing the relay in the final stretch, screwby.'" She jabbed the ketchup a little harder than necessary. "But obviously that's not quite the same."

Pyrrha gently set the burger down. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Ruby waved a hand, chuckling like it'd erase the memories. "Beacon's different. I haven't been here long, but I can already tell. It's better."

She hoped it was better.

"Well that's good." Pyrrha picked up the burger again, turning it over in her hands with a pensive expression. "I don't think Weiss hates you, though. At least, not in the way you think."

Ruby blinked, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Weiss is like conflict personified. I don't think she had a lot, or really any, friends back home, so she doesn't know how to do any of that here. Because of that, if there's someone she's trying to connect to for any reason, I think she just defaults to the conflict, makes that person a rival because that's what she's used to." Pyrrha's eyes widened and she waved a hand quickly. "That's just my guess, though. I don't actually know her all that well."

"No, that makes a lot of sense. I guess she just needs a friend." She smiled, brightly. "I wish I was as good at people as you are, Pyrrha. I'm terrible at figuring them out."

Pyrrha's eyes widened, causing Ruby to crease hers in concern. Had she said something wrong?

Pyrrha's mouth opened. "I-"

Before suddenly they were interrupted by the appearance of a tall girl dressed in the Beacon uniform. For someone with her hair tied up in a big black bow, she wasn't particularly any more or less strange looking than anyone else at the school, but the way she walked in cut an imposing figure, regardless.

"Pyrrha. Yang's been looking for you." She spotted Ruby out of the corner of her eye, turning to face her. "Oh, good. You must be Yang's-" her voice stuttered as she got a full view of Ruby's face, but she pushed through it with a dignified effort, "...sister."

"Hi, I'm Ruby," she extended a hand, earnestly trying to ignore the involuntary reaction.

"Blake." She took the hand.

"You're Yang's sister?" Pyrrha gasped. "I didn't even realize, she's told us so much about you."

Ruby looked back and forth at both of them, not quite sure who to lock onto. "Oh, are you two on her team?"

"I am," Pyrrha said. "Blake's actually on Weiss' team."

Ruby didn't miss the way Blake's expression twitched into momentary displeasure before righting itself.

She likewise didn't miss that this was the part of the conversation where a phrase like 'our teams are friends' would probably go, which neither girl offered.

"Right." Ruby said, awkwardly, trying to think of what to say before finally deciding on cramming a handful of fries into her mouth to divest herself of the responsibility.

"I'll..." Blake gestured vaguely to her scroll. "Let Yang know you're here, then."

"Sure." Pyrrha smiled. "Uh, have you started that Oobleck report yet, by the way?"

"No. I was going to look at that tonight," Blake said.

"Oh, okay." Pyrrha's smile became strained as the awkward silence continued, staring at Blake as Blake stared back, both willing the other to just continue or end the conversation already.

Ruby finally finished her fries and miraculously still didn't have anything to add to the conversation. "So..."

"Rubes," the call from across the cafeteria was a descending angel, blissfully saving them from more uncomfortable silence. The angel took the form of Yang, but in Ruby's life it tended to anyway. "Ah, I see you've already met Blake, and my number one best partner in the whole world."

Red crept up Pyrrha's neck. "I'm your only partner in the whole world," she pointed out.

"You got that right." Yang shot cheeky fingerguns in her direction.

"So you're on a team with Yang," Ruby pointed to Pyrrha, "and you're on a team with Weiss," Blake, "but aren't there four people on a team? Who else are you on a team with?"

This question was, apparently, not the riveting conversation starter Ruby hoped it would be, as everyone present suddenly found interesting things to look at on the ground or off to the side.

"Well, Blake's team has Ren and Nora," Pyrrha said, carefully. "They're nice."

Blake latched onto that. "Yes, they are. I mean, they keep to themselves, mostly. But that's fine. I do too, so it all works out."

"Oh." Ruby tried hard not to frown. "That's cool, I guess."

"Yang and Pyrrha's team has Jaune," Blake offered, shifting the conversation over to them, which neither girl seemed to appreciate.

"Jaune's nice," Pyrrha said, haltingly.

"Super nice," Yang agreed. "You ever need someone to help you move, you call Jaune."

Both seemed to struggle with what to say after that.

"Well that's three," Ruby said, slowly. "Does your team not have a fourth member?"

Yang and Pyrrha exchanged looks. "It does," her sister hedged. "He's the one I mentioned on the scroll, the one that's... not nice."

Ruby shrugged. "Well how not nice could he be?"

A figure towered over Yang, a lumbering hulk that gave off the impression of money just as effectively as Weiss did, even while seeming significantly less refined for it.

When he saw Ruby's face, he laughed.

"Now that is one painfully ugly mug. What'd you do, lose a fight with a deep fryer?"

Everyone went still for a moment, just as effectively as if Ruby had used her warped semblance.

Then, all at once, they moved.

That's how she met Cardin Winchester.

([___

Jaune Arc watched the exchange from a distance, a thin frown curling his lips. So much time and effort down the drain, wasted, with nothing he could do about it. He should have accepted Pyrrha's offer to train him, no matter how patronizing she made the suggestion. He should have trained harder himself. He shouldn't have spent so much time futilely going after Weiss. He should have won a single spar, at least.

Too late, now.

"Aren't you going to tell them?" The man beside him asked, voice so smothered with fattening smugness it sounded like a strawberry covered in chocolate.

"And watch them gloat?" Jaune asked back. "No thanks; I'm leaving tonight, less chance of a confrontation that way."

"Good idea. Who needs that headache?" The hummed for a moment, considering. "You should see what lien you can lift off the tall guy's stuff before you go. He won't miss it, and we've gotta get you new clothes."

Jaune hesitated. "I don't-"

"What? You don't think he deserves it?" The man jerked his head toward Cardin, laughing and making some inappropriate comment, it seemed, though Jaune couldn't hear it from this distance. "He's a loud, dumb, brute, everyone can see it."

Yang crashed a punch against his jaw that sent him flying, leaping forward to continue the assault before he'd even fully hit the ground.

"He's worthless, undeserving. He was born with everything, and for all your work you're not even close to what he has," the man whispered, poison dripping from his tone. "The school can tolerate him because he's… what? Bigger? Richer? But you, who actually wants to be a hero is cast to the side? It's despicable."

Jaune felt his hands squeeze into fists. "It's not fair."

The man smirked. "Make it fair."

Jaune's hands relaxed, slowly uncurling. "Yeah. That's all I have to do." He turned away, walking with purpose toward the dorms. "I'll make things fair."

When the three other members of team JYNC finally returned to the dorm, it was to find all of Jaune's things missing, and Jaune himself? Surrendered to the same fate.

Cardin didn't even notice the money stolen from his bag until two weeks later.

___])

Weiss was never exceptionally patient. There were bits of calm she'd managed to scrape together for dealing with her father, but as a rule she never had the hardened composure Winter had, and probably never would. But willpower, that was an attribute both sisters shared.

Weiss trained. After the spar with Ruby, her aura was depleted, and despite barely moving, her stamina felt like it was in the dumpster as well, but she pushed past that. She'd push past everything.

Myrtenaster tore through a training dummy, unassisted by semblance or dust. They wouldn't be of help, not yet at least.

What was Ruby's semblance?

She had turned that question in her head over and over again, but still had no real answer for it. It's like she had overwritten Weiss' victory, replaced it with a loss, and she couldn't even begin to imagine how.

She'd read about huntresses and huntsman with semblances like that, ones so ridiculously powerful they could bend reality, but never in a child. Semblances could grow over time, get stronger through training and practice, through building reserves of aura until it seemed like you could use them endlessly, but that took a lifetime to get to that point.

No one woke up one morning with an ability like that.

Except, somehow, Ruby Rose.

Another dummy splintered under her assault.

There was always the possibility it was a trick. Mind altering semblances were rare, but they did exist. To render some or all of their fight a fabrication, and Weiss simply woke to her defeat would have been impressive to be sure, but not as world shattering as the alternative.

Would she have preferred it that way? Someone messing with her mind?

Weiss shuddered.

No, she supposed she wouldn't.

She skewered the dummy, ripping upward with her sword as it crumpled beneath her.

"Bad breakup?"

Weiss startled at the sudden interjection, spinning to face the training room's new occupant.

Dark sunglasses, black beret, brown hair, an upperclassmen?

"I have the room for another hour," Weiss said, stiffly.

"Oh, I'm not here to train." She sat down on a nearby bench, hands going behind her head to lean against the wall. "I just like watching the new blood go at it."

Weiss considered ejecting her for a moment, but that would involve prolonging the interaction, so she just sighed, and turned back to the next dummy, ramming forward into it.

"He dumped you, didn't he?" The upperclassmen said, tone half sympathetic and half amused.

Weiss gripped Myrtenaster tighter. "No one dumped me, there was no breakup, and I'm not here for any number of the annoying mundanities I'm sure others are. I'm here to train. If you want to gossip, you should try one of the other arenas."

"Ooh, feisty." She hummed. "And nah, I already looked into the others; they were boring. I'm here wondering why you're beating up on these things like they're your alcoholic daddy."

Weiss felt her annoyance spike.

"Did I touch a nerve?" The upperclassman didn't seem all that put out by the realization. "Issues at home?"

"That's none of your business," Weiss ground out, absolutely pulping the next dummy.

"Big issues at home, then," she concluded. "Ah, well. That's what you get for being a trust fund baby, and it takes one to know one, I know."

"Neither my money nor family have anything to do with this." She swiped her blade to the side, cleaning it of imaginary blood. "I'm here for me."

The upperclassman raised a satisfied eyebrow. "Pride took a hit, huh?"

Weiss chose not to answer that.

She shrugged. "Eh, it'll sting for a bit, but you'll get over it. Might as well find out you're not the best sometime."

"I already know I'm not the best." Weiss scowled. "I've known for years."

She nodded. "The girl from Mistral, right? I've seen her train, too. She's pretty good."

"Pretty good?" Weiss echoed, skeptically. "She isn't 'pretty good' she's amazing. She's insane. She makes every moment calculated a thousand times over to be dialized perfection. If Atlas could put that into a machine, the grimm would be done for."

She whistled, impressed. "Wow, you've got quite the little crush on Mistral-girl, don't you?"

"I do not." Weiss stamped her foot. "I have a deep respect for her combat skills."

"Well sounds like she couldn't do much harm to your pride," the upperclassman noted. "From your point of view, losing to her is pretty much inevitable."

"For now." Weiss refocused, jabbing a dummy and then splitting it end to end. "But I'll get stronger."

"So it must've been someone you thought was weaker than you to shake you up this much." She considered for a moment. "Wasn't Velvet, was it?"

"Who?" Sounded like another upperclassman, but the name didn't ring any bells.

She beamed, pride obvious on her face. "My partner. She doesn't look like much, but she'll surprise you."

"I'm sure," Weiss muttered, focus on her training once again. Her muscles burned with overexertion, but she didn't want to stop just yet. The conversation with the stranger only seemed to make her more annoyed, and she wanted to burn off the excess energy somehow.

The upperclassman was quiet for a minute or two, to the point Weiss could almost convince herself she'd left, but all it took was a glance to the side to show she was still there.

"You got a problem aiming for the face?" She asked, eventually, the suddenness almost disrupting Weiss' latest thrust.

Annoyance creasing her brow once again, she paused, turning to face her. "What?"

"You're taking out all these training dummies with attacks to the midsection." She gestured to the destruction around them. "It's effective enough, but you're using a precision weapon, right? Why do you never aim for the head?"

"It's inelegant," Weiss replied, primly. "I don't fight dirty."

She gave a full laugh at that, and Weiss felt her cheeks pink with embarrassment.

"Okay, then." She picked up her purse and walked forward. "How about a quick spar, then? Nothing serious, you look beat half to death, but just like a little game. If you tag my stomach with anything, then you win. I take your sword, I win."

Weiss was exhausted. Fighting an upperclassman she knew nothing about was a dangerous proposition any day of the week, but as it was, if she went all out in a fight Weiss was fairly certain she'd lose. At the same time, though, that victory condition was temptingly easy, and Schnees never backed down. "Fine," she agreed. "One round."

She smirked. "Deal."

Weiss bent into a ready stance. "Do I get your name before I fight you?"

"Coco Adel." She gave a small, almost mocking, bow. "Trust fund kid, amateur lesbian, and leader to team CFVY."

"Quite the pedigree," Weiss said, sarcastically.

"Always been good enough for me," she replied, impassive.

"Weiss Schnee," she gestured to herself.

Coco hummed. "That figures."

"What?" She crooked an eyebrow.

"Nothing. Let's do this."

There wasn't a bell, no formal start to the match, but both knew instinctively when it began. Weiss dove forward with her rapier, Coco shifted to the side, letting her fly past.

Weiss extended, Coco retracted.

Weiss attacked, Coco dodged.

There was no rhythm to the fight, no flow. It was the same action repeated in only a slightly different circumstance. At one point, Coco blocked a thrust with her purse, but that was the greatest variation for several minutes. As each of Weiss’ attacks missed their mark, her annoyance grew. She’d been training for a while by that point, and Coco was still fresh. If her plan was to wear out the fencer, she easily could have accomplished it, Weiss thought.

Then Coco tripped.

It was over a piece of one of the destroyed training dummies, her foot caught awkwardly under it as she stepped to the side, and she tumbled back.

Weiss stabbed toward her in a definitive movement, but all it took to stop her was Coco's palm drifting down as she fell, taking up a handful of dirt and pitching it at Weiss' face.

Weiss squeezed her eyes shut, involuntarily, she felt her feet go out from under her by a brutal leg sweep, and Myrtenaster left her grip before she could take a breath.

It took a few moments to blink the grit from her eyes, but when she managed to look up again, it was to Coco extending a friendly hand up, she reluctantly took.

"Now, was that inelegant?" She asked.

"Of course it was," Weiss huffed.

She brushed past it, undeterred. "Was it fighting dirty?"

Weiss groaned in exasperation. "Yes."

"Did I win?"

The question hung in the air, Weiss unable to come up with a decent response.

"When it comes down to a fight, you win or you lose, shortstack," Coco advised, passing back her sword. "Everything else is just noise."

"I'll..." Weiss took Myrtenaster back, head still spinning from the interaction. "Keep that in mind."

"Cool." She headed for the training room door. "Looks like you've got the room for another forty-five minutes. Spend them wisely."

With that, the door shut behind her, leaving Weiss alone once again.

Just noise, huh?

Tactics, movement, skill, precision, elegance, everything she'd built into her combat style, in a way, everything she'd built into her person, and if she lost it... didn't matter?

She should have felt angry, or convinced Coco was wrong to condense everything so simply, but she wasn't. Somewhere, buried in her mind, she'd always known that was true; to have it spelled out was a comfort.

She'd been looking at things all wrong. She'd felt cheated, her perfect victory suddenly upset, her winning undone, but the bottom line was, she lost. She was never 'winning' because she never won.

Looking at it that way...

"Who cares what Ruby's semblance is?" She asked the empty room.

She wasn't strong enough. Fine. She already knew that. The details of Ruby's abilities wouldn't change anything. Figuring out some trick to beat her wasn't enough. If she couldn't do it under her own power, it was worthless.

Her own power was elegant, it was showy, clean, performative. That had always been enough before, hadn’t it?

No. That’d been enough when she was settling for second place, when she’d seen Pyrrha as so far above her she’d never reach, when she was content for however short a time. Second place, she could manage. Winter excelled in many areas Weiss lacked, but third? Absolutely not.

Her style was cluttered, her refinement and flair taking up far too large a spot in her mind. Against real opponents the only thing it was doing was holding her back.

"Noise..."

Weiss buried Myrtenaster in the nearest dummy's eye.

"I need to get rid of some noise."

Chapter Text

Combat class with Miss Goodwitch was often stressful. The possibility of injury in spars was nothing compared to the brutality of some of her criticisms. If anyone were capable of taking the training for an occupation as dangerous and deadly as grimm hunting too seriously, that person was Glynda.

That said, after a month of combat classes, the first year Beacon students had become much more used to the deputy headmistress' more acerbic disposition, so by that point the stress of the class had begun to fade.

In retrospect, coming into class the day after Glynda had given her and Blake's team a dressing down for getting into a fight with Cardin should have made Yang very, very, nervous.

Her riding crop slammed down, echoing through the training area. "Team JYNC and team BRWN step to the front of the room, please."

Yang winced. 'Brown' may not have been the most flattering of colors to be named after, but she'd still take it any day over the dull grey of 'Junk'.

"Professor?" Pyrrha raised her hand. "Our team leader isn't here today."

"Step here regardless, and have your team see me after class," she said brusquely and both teams moved quickly to obey.

When they made it to the front, Glynda turned to address the rest of the class. "These students have recently revealed to me that they have the excess energy capable of starting fights in the dining service. Obviously this means my current level of training has not been sufficient for them, a mistake I'll attempt to correct now." She turned to both teams. "Stretch and warmup for the duration of my lecture. You will spar team against team at the end of class, then afterwards you will stand here while I inform you and the rest of the class what mistakes were made during the bout. If you still have energy left over after that, I believe the school bullheads are due for a cleaning. Report to me if you're still feeling 'energized'."

Yang stifled a groan. She knew complaining wouldn't help. Even still, this seemed like an extreme reaction for such a small thing. At Signal, students got into fights all the time, and the most they'd get for it was detention, not a public laundry list of their failures.

"Four against three? You've gotta be kidding me." Cardin, it seemed, did not know complaining wouldn't help.

"Perhaps you'd prefer a solo spar against Miss Nikos?" Glynda offered.

Cardin glowered, but surprisingly it was Weiss that stepped in. "Professor Goodwitch, if I may, what if another student filled in for the missing JYNC member, say, someone like Ruby Rose?"

Yang turned to look at Ruby, sitting at the back of the room, and like a pendulum swinging back, the gaze of the entire room swept toward her as well.

Ruby meeped, trying unsuccessfully to bury herself in her collar.

Glynda considered for a moment before nodding. "Miss Rose, do you feel in a fit enough state to participate in this spar?"

"Uh, yes?" She stood up. "Yes. Yeah."

The professor nodded. "Very well, then join us at the front and begin warming up as well, if you would."

Ruby mimicked the motion, slowly walking to the front without a word as Glynda's lecture began.

Cardin's scowl deepened as he grumbled something along the lines of, "rather have an empty spot," Yang tried to cool her reaction to.

Weiss' expression was no less than utter satisfaction, her stretches starting without hesitation.

Ruby had mentioned she'd sparred Weiss for initiation, but she hadn't gotten around to telling much more than that between everything else going on. So it made Yang wonder...

Did Weiss set Ruby up as an opponent again... as revenge?

Gaze flicking to Blake, Yang saw she wasn't the only one eyeing Weiss with some amount of suspicion.

"What are you doing?" The BRWN leader whispered harshly beside her.

Weiss raised an eyebrow, expression forced even. "Stretching."

Blake scowled. "It's Ruby's first day. What are you thinking putting her in-"

"Is my lecture interrupting you, Miss Belladonna?" Glynda asked, dryly.

Blake's head jerked up, paler at being called out. "No, ma'am. Sorry."

The lecture continued, BRWN and JYNC's... Ruby's warmups going on in relative silence.

Yang was grateful for the fact that Ruby was at least on her side. If nothing else, she might be able to prevent Weiss from attacking her. The white haired heiress was strong, but they'd sparred before, and Yang was stronger. Evening the playing field with dust didn't even make up the deficit in skill. If Weiss went after Ruby, Yang was at least confident she could take her down before she got to her.

The lecture buzzed in Yang's ears, static she couldn't listen to even if she tried. The only thing she could feel was her blood pounding in preparation for the fight, anxiety for Ruby curdling with pending adrenaline until she wasn't sure if she was about to throw a punch or just throw up.

Finally, the lecture ended, and Glynda turned back to the two teams. "Are you all properly warmed up?" She received eight nods in return. "Good. You will continue the spar until surrender or every member of the opposing team's aura goes into yellow. If at any time, your aura goes into the red, you are out of the fight immediately and can no longer participate. Fight past the red, or continue targeting an opponent in the red and suspension will be the very least of your worries. Do I make myself clear?"

Another eight nods.

"Good. Begin on my mark. Three, two, one, ma-"

The door to the classroom opened, one of the teaching assistants scuttling to the front of the class and pressing a note into Goodwitch's hand. With a curious expression, Glynda opened the note, scanning through the contents for a moment before sighing.

She carefully folded the note once again, tucking it into a pocket hidden in one of the folds of her skirt. "Miss Rose, report to the medical wing."

Ruby hesitated. "Now?"

"If I didn't mean now I would have told you after the spar." She pointed to the door. "Go."

With a last glance back to Yang, Ruby went.

"I'll restart the count. Prepare for the spar once again," Glynda said, evenly. "Three-"

"This is ridiculous." Weiss schooled her anger under a frown thinner than a needle, but it was impossible not to notice her aura shift as the emotion radiated off her in waves. "She's clearly fit to fight, but you send her away right before a spar she's already agreed to? Whatever it was couldn't wait another five minutes?"

"I would save that fighting spirit for the fight, Miss Schnee," Glynda said, coldly. "Two."

Weiss gritted her teeth. "This isn't over."

"I'm sure. One."

Yang deployed Ember Celica as the others drew their own weapons. With Ruby out of the fight, she should have felt relieved, but the consequence of Ruby being out of the fight was a four versus three match against one of the strongest first year teams in the school, and being part of the three in that equation didn't fill her with exceptional confidence.

"Mark."

Blake went for Cardin, Ren and Nora began to tag team Pyrrha, which just left Yang with... Weiss. Ren and Nora couldn't beat Pyrrha, not alone, Blake was faster than Cardin, but he wouldn't need much more than a couple lucky shots to bring her into the red, and Yang could beat Weiss, so the plan forward was simple. Beat Weiss, help Cardin beat Blake, then take out Ren and Nora with Cardin and Pyrrha. Simple.

Weiss always moved defensively until she found an opening, she never created one herself; that was her problem. As long as Yang was careful, wearing her down was eas-

The tip of Myrtenaster hurtled toward her face at incredible speed, Yang just managed to sidestep, the distance not sufficient to prevent a scoring mark down her left cheek and ear before Weiss flew past, pistoning off a glyph to aim directly at her back.

"Whoah, princess, what's gotten into you?" Yang twisted her hand to deflect the rapier's tip from hitting anything vital, but once again the awkward position meant she still landed a painful blow near her kidneys. "Cripes, are you kidding me? Stabbing at the face and back, could you chill? You can't be this upset you don't get to wail on Ruby."

"Wail on Ruby?" Weiss echoed disbelievingly, jumping off a glyph suspended in the air to stab down from above, forcing another awkward block. "You must be joking."

Yang winced against the pain in her shoulder, firing off a blast of her gauntlets to reposition. "Look, I don't know what your beef with her is, but she's just a kid. She's not your chew toy."

"So you're not joking, you're just incredibly unobservant." Weiss, twirled, glyphs lining beneath her, shooting her forward with speed once again.

Yang ducked under the headshot, shifting to move in close, but Weiss grabbed her head, shoving her knee up into Yang's nose with a crack that made several students in the room wince.

Her aura prevented it from breaking, but a bruise was practically assured.

So Weiss was fighting dirty now, huh?

Yang's aura flared.

"Let's test how unobservant I am," she growled, slamming her fists together.

"Okay." The cylinder on her rapier clicked into place and she swept it close to the ground, a torrent of ice rising from the blade courtesy of the ignited dust stored within.

Yang jumped back to avoid getting trapped in the ice.

And slammed directly into a similarly airborne Pyrrha, arresting her momentum for long enough Nora's hammer was able to forcefully reset it into the far wall.

Yang groaned, rubbing her side where the hammer impacted as she made it to her feet once again.

"I think that particular test speaks for itself, don't you think?" Weiss taunted, flicking her blade to the side on approach.

"Okay, real cocky on the ice queen today," Yang mumbled. "A little warranted, but still."

As far as raw power went, team JYNC was head and shoulders above any of the other first year teams. Between Pyrrha, Yang, and Cardin, they had that section of combat absolutely locked down. Even Jaune was another close range fighter who Yang believed could still grow to fit the team. Strength, they had, but speed?

BRWN had speed.

Cardin couldn't land a hit on Blake. It wouldn't take much to bring her down if he did, but it was more than obvious that wasn't happening. Blake wasn't just dodging him, she was dancing around him, toying with him.

Pyrrha was in a similar situation with Ren and Nora. If she were just fighting one, they would have been in the red already, but those two were nothing if not adept at covering each other. Any windows for attack she saw, she took, but she'd been forced on the back foot from the start.

Yang had to be the one to break the stalemate. She should have been able to take out Weiss by now, but this wasn't like the Weiss she fought before.

It was similar, still calculating, still precise, but she had a vicious edge now Yang hadn't accounted for. It'd be easy to assume she'd been hiding it before, for some reason or another, breaking it out because she lost control, or just wanted that badly to grind Yang into the dirt, but that wasn't how this seemed to her.

This wasn't a change of styles she'd practiced, honed to perfection in the same way her old one was. This was surprising, and effective, but also rough and unpolished. With each attack she took, Yang saw cracks begin to form.

"You okay, Pyrrha?" Yang asked as Pyrrha rose beside her, back to back, with Ren and Nora circling closer.

"Of course." Pyrrha cracked a smile. "I should thank you, my normal jumps don't have nearly that much distance."

Yang chuckled. "I deserve that."

"Can you manage Weiss?" She asked.

"I'm not convinced anyone can 'manage' Weiss." Yang grinned. "But beat her? Yeah, I got it."

Pyrrha nodded. "Good luck."

"Back atcha."

The two stepped forward at the same time, leaping ahead, Pyrrha toward her two opponents, Yang toward Weiss.

With a twist of her rapier, another line of glyphs spun into place on the ground but Yang was already moving ahead of it. Shotgun blasts from behind propelled her past, legs tucking under her, then in front to deliver a painful double kick to her stomach.

Weiss iced the floor with more dust, backing up to gasp her breath back.

"It's a neat mixup, princess, but you should have tried it out sparring against your team before using it on me." Ember Celica clicked, ejecting a series of spent shells as Yang moved closer. "Your body's fast, way too fast for me to keep up with."

Weiss gritted her teeth, spinning more glyphs into place, darting between them, going up in the sky, bearing her rapier down on Yang the same as before, forcing a block out of position.

Yang didn't block.

Her boots squeaked against the floor, spinning to catch Weiss by the collar, her other hand propelling back with a series of blasts to accelerate slamming the heiress into the ground.

"But your body's not the only thing you use in a fight." Her fist reared back to deliver the finishing blow, the last thing keeping Weiss out of the red. "Sorry, Weiss. Nothing personal, right?"

Weiss' eyes darted left and right, trying to find a way out. Her rapier had fallen just out of reach. Without it, she couldn't attack, couldn't use glyphs or dust. She couldn't do anything.

If her team helped, one of them could separate from their fights, break the pin Yang had her in, it would only take a moment, then maybe...

No.

Her team wasn't coming.

Weiss balled her bare hand into a fist, swinging it as hard as she could at Yang's stupid grinning face.

She couldn't do much, but she had to do something, push her back, make her blink, loosen her grip, somehow, free herself.

She had to.

The fist bumped uselessly against Yang's cheek, barely smudging her aura.

Her other fist went up, to the same effect, then again, and again, never strong enough, as Yang just stared down at her in open disbelief.

A shrill whistle sounded through the battlefield, Goodwitch announcing the match was over, and still all the two could do was stare at each other. Finally, Pyrrha came, laying a hand on Yang's shoulder, breaking her from the stalemate, and the blonde brawler stiffly stood up, before reaching a hand down to help Weiss to her own feet.

Schnees didn't cry. Instead, Weiss just stood there as Goodwitch went through all their failings, her failings. Technically, her team won. She'd reduced Yang's aura down to yellow, even if only barely, and the rest of her teammates had accomplished the same. For a four versus three, however, the fact it was such a close match only Ren managed to avoid his aura dipping out of green meant the victory hardly felt earned. Her team was a shambles, there was no getting around that.

By the time she walked out of class, Weiss felt so numb, her expression would have fit better on a frozen corpse than any living breathing person.

Her team didn't say a word.

([___

The latter part of team JYNC stayed behind, bitterness at the loss melding with soreness after the fight to create a miserable cloud over the incomplete teammates.

"He should've been there," Cardin grumbled.

"And done what?" Yang asked. "Who on that team could Jaune have gone toe to toe with?"

"Could've absorbed some damage. A wet sack of aura on the ground still would've been better than what we got which was... oh yeah, nothing."

Yang found it hard to argue with that.

"He never got back last night." Pyrrha's eyebrows creased in concern. "I wonder if there was a family emergency he had to take care of."

Yang folded her arms, sourly. "Wish he sent a scroll message so we at least knew where he was."

Pyrrha thought for a moment. "Maybe-"

"Apologies." Goodwitch returned, the picture of poise but with a dissatisfied undercurrent to her bearing that set the team on edge. "I had a minor administrative manner to follow up on."

Yang shifted, antsily. "Ruby went to the medical wing. Is she-"

Goodwitch waved a hand. "A clerical mishap. I thought her physical examination was conducted as soon as she came onto campus. That isn't the sort of thing we like to leave undone, particularly while that student is participating in spars. Rest assured, she's going through the same examination you did on first entry, so there's no cause for alarm."

Yang relaxed, visibly, nodding. "Thank you."

"Of course. Now, onto the matter at hand." Goodwitch looked up to face them. "Your team leader has been expelled from Beacon."

Silence, for a handful of seconds as the words sank in.

She continued on in the same clipped, businesslike, tone. "Arrangements will be made to select a new team leader. You'll be informed of the results by the end of the week."

"Why?" Pyrrha managed eventually.

She raised an eyebrow. "Because it takes some time for the teachers to get together to decide on a new leader."

"Why is he gone?"

Goodwitch sighed, a deep weariness sliding down her face at the question. "Put simply, mister Arc has failed out of the program. He'll be allowed to reapply next year, but for now we've determined his improvement was not sufficient to graduate the year, and decided to make alternate arrangements sooner rather than later, in the interest of your team's growth." She removed her glasses, face downcast. "It is not a decision we made lightly. I'm sorry that it had to be this way."

"So, what? We're gonna be down a member forever now?" Cardin snapped, frustrated. "Arc was a loser, but he could occasionally draw aggro at least."

"What about my sister? Ruby just got in, maybe she could-" Yang began, but Goodwitch cut her off.

"Miss Rose's placement, as well as what is to be done about your open spot will also be decided at the end of the week," she informed them. "I can't give you more until the teachers have made a decision."

Cardin chuffed. "I'd almost feel worse with the little matchstick girl on our team than an empty spot."

"Call my sister that again," Yang said, darkly.

Cardin opened his mouth to do just that before Pyrrha stepped between them. "Stop it. We're all tired and upset. Both of you walk away from this, now." She looked up at Goodwitch. "If that's alright?"

"That was all I had. I hope that, whatever happens, your team is stronger for it."

With a final, respectful nod, what remained of team JYNC went their separate ways.

Cardin, to the gym, where boiling over frustration bled into training, as it usually tended to for him.

Pyrrha, to the roof of the dorm building, where she could look down at the milling students, tiny as ants, and wonder what it would be like if things were different.

And Yang, stalking the halls for one student in particular, curiosity winning out over the incredibly likely possibility that the conversation would go poorly.

Yang had never let that stop her before.

___])

Tired and sweaty didn't even begin to describe how Weiss felt; all she wanted to do at that point was make it back to her dorm, shower, and lie down, any action beyond that sapped at a well of energy that should have been long dry by then.

So naturally this was the time Yang Xiao-Long waylaid her in the hall. The fact it took five or six tries to even get her attention was, apparently, no deterrent to the blonde's will.

"What?" Weiss asked, annoyed.

"Earlier, when you were talking about Ruby, you didn't want her there just to beat her, did you?" Yang accused lightly, walking beside her.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Of course I wanted to beat her. I don't make a habit of fighting people I have no desire to win against."

"But that wasn't the reason you wanted her there." She shrugged. "So why?"

Weiss stared at her appraisingly for a handful of moments before sighing. "Because you're wrong about her. You and pretty much everyone else in this school, too. She isn't a child. She isn't something to be wailed on or coddled. She's someone who deserves to be fought at full strength."

Yang paused, Weiss making it a few steps past her in the hall before stopping as well. "But, she's my baby sister..."

Weiss turned, bridging the gap between them and flicking her in the forehead. "Wrong. She's a peer, a fellow student who's earned her place here. If you watched her fight, you'd know: she doesn't need anyone babying her."

"So you thought if she fought with us, if she showed everyone she was supposed to be here, she'd have an easier time with everyone."

"It doesn't matter what I 'thought'." Weiss scowled. "The reality is, she didn't get to fight, so almost the entire school is still convinced she's worthless trash."

"It matters." Yang laid a hand on her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Good intentions matter."

"I'm from Atlas." She stepped back, slipping out of Yang's grip. "So on that, I have to disagree."

"Well, if nothing else, I can see I was wrong about you being some weird stuck up princess sadist who wanted to kill my sister for getting into the school." She grinned as Weiss regarded her with a single unimpressed raise of an eyebrow.

"Really?" She said, deadpan.

Yang shrugged. "Yeah, I can admit when I'm wrong."

"That wasn't-ugh." Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Whatever."

She turned to go, but stopped after a few paces more. "What did you mean... when you said my body's not the only thing I use in a fight?"

Yang hummed, checking the time on her scroll before jerking her head toward the door. "Let's do this on the quad. It'll be easier to show you."

Exhausted and sore, Weiss followed. It was begrudging, and slow, but some dim remnants of curiosity lingered in her frame. She knew she was faster than Yang, knew there shouldn't have been a way she could catch her like that. So how?

"My uncle fights like that," Yang explained, stepping onto the grass. "He aims for the eyes, the back, the throat, whatever it takes. My dad says it's like watching a cornered dog, all teeth and claws." She cracked her knuckles, bag discarded. "I tried to fight like that once, and I ran into the same problem you did."

Weiss set her own bag down, warily. "And what problem is that?"

"I'm going to aim for your stomach, then your face. Dodge, okay?" At her nod, Yang sprang forward, fist shooting toward her midsection with enviable skill.

Weiss managed a sidestep for the stomach, but Yang twisted into a jab toward her face in the same movement. Weiss watched it, knowing there was something off about the movement as that too she managed to evade.

"Did you see it?" Yang asked.

"It was slower, when you aimed for my face." Her eyebrows furrowed. "Why?"

"Look again, stomach, then face, okay?" Another nod, and Yang attacked once more, the stomach shot, powerful, smooth, then the face, with that same power, but the smoothness wasn't quite there.

Her hand wavered when she attacked the face.

It threw the balance of the entire punch off, forcing it to slow so she wouldn't overextend.

"What about now?" She asked.

"It wasn't just slower, it was... hesitation. You didn't hesitate when aiming for my stomach, but you did for my head." Her eyebrows furrowed. "That doesn't make any sense."

"If it was up to your body, you would have hit me in the face every time. Whatever you were training with, targets, or the dummies in the training rooms, you could probably hit those with full speed, but when it comes to me, on some level you don't want to hit me in the face, so your mind makes your body hesitate." She laid down on the grass, eyes locked in fond remembrance. "When I tried it on my uncle, he said I was too nice for that kind of style, so when I saw you hesitate, too, I figured it was the same thing. That's when I thought you might've had a different reason for wanting Ruby to fight." At Weiss' silence, she added. "Guess you're not as much of an ice queen as you look."

Weiss didn't speak for the longest time. It got to the point Yang wasn't sure she was even still there, when, "I'm sorry."

Yang looked up. "Eh?"

"That answer isn't good enough." Her hands squeezed into fists. "After a day's practice, I've gotten closer to beating you than I ever have before. I can't give that up because I'm 'too nice'. Besides, you said your uncle used this against you, right? How did he keep from hesitating when attacking his own niece? There has to be more to it than that." She turned to go. "Thank you, for the advice. The next time we fight, I'll do my best not to hesitate."

Yang sat up, watching her start to walk away, before calling out. "Your fancy swordfighting tutors never taught you how to throw a punch, did they?"

Weiss paused, one foot slightly raised, like she couldn't decide whether she should just put it down in front of her and keep walking or not.

"I could teach you, you know." She offered.

Weiss tilted her head, but didn't turn around. "What could you possibly have to gain by doing that?"

"Nothing major, just keep doing what you're doing: looking out for Ruby even if she doesn't need it." She shadowboxed the air for a moment. "I show you a few moves and Ruby has another person in her corner. Seems pretty simple to me."

"Tch," she scoffed. "Ruby's going to have plenty of people in her corner, with or without me. You and your... team can take care of that."

Yang chuckled. "You can't act all standoffish when I already know you're a good person. Stop trying to talk me out of it, come on." She shrugged. "What have you got to lose?"

"My team... they can't know." She still hadn't turned around.

Yang nodded. "Okay."

Finally, she spun on her heel, holding her hand out, and Yang took it, using it to get to her feet once again.

"I'll look out for Ruby," Weiss assured her. "But I won't go easy on her in class. I've already made a declaration of war."

Yang belted out a full laugh at that. "You know, you're nothing like I thought you were."

"I believe the exact phrasing you used was 'ice queen'," Weiss said, flatly.

"Yeah, but you're not. You're kinda sweet." She snapped her fingers, grinning. "Like Weiss cream."

Weiss winced at the atrocious wordplay. "Please tell me puns aren't going to be a regular part of your instruction."

"Of course not," Yang assured her. "I'll only use them as pun-ishments, I promise."

Weiss rubbed her temples with her fingers, groaning. "Stop."

"Hey, if you can't take a pun-ch, how do you expect to throw one?"

"Please stop."

"It's just my punny disposition."

"Why."

"Whipping up a punderstorm over here."

"I'll kill you."

"I'm too punderful for that."

"Die."

It wasn't quite the same as any of Weiss' other tutorships.

"I'll just rise up as a pundead."

"I hate you."

Maybe... she could live with that.

Chapter Text

It was funny, Blake wasn't quite sure when she stopped wanting to become a hero. In the beginning, it was the only thing she could think about. To fight back, to be a savior, to help people, to be held in the hearts of the downtrodden as they knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that one day she'd be there to save them, that's what she wished for from the deepest sticking moors of her heart.

It wasn't before she'd joined the White Fang, she knew that much. Every muscle torn in training, every blow taken in the fight for freedom, that, she knew, was for being a hero.

Maybe it was when Adam fell, when she kept fighting past the murky depths of her comfortably black and white world, when faunus were sacrificed here to make a statement there, or innocents began to get caught in the crossfire, had she stopped wanting to be a hero then?

Or could it be when she left Adam, left the White Fang, and came to Beacon for a last bit of training so she could be released out in the farthest stretches of a kingdom somewhere and fight grimm without being responsible for a single other person's life or death.

A simple life of quiet repentance, no longer holding a gun to the head of a stranger, having to guess how many faunus would be killed if she just didn't pull the trigger that day. She didn't think that would be too much to ask.

"Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as team BRWN. Led by... Blake Belladonna."

Led by.

Three more lives in her hands, thrust there. She was supposed to lead more people, keep them alive by her orders, or damn them through her incompetence. No.

"I can't lead." Ozpin had a habit of disappearing. She wasn't sure how, but she knew if she didn't catch him right after he stepped off stage, he'd be gone at least for the night. She couldn't wait that long, this needed to be fixed immediately. "You have to make someone else the leader."

"Miss Schnee, perhaps?" Ozpin suggested evenly, and Blake couldn't suppress the wince that came with that.

"If you think it's best. Just... anyone but me." She put her hands together, bowing her head. "Please. I can't. I can't. I can't." Her eyes were squeezed shut, her throat burned. "Not again, please."

Ozpin sighed, his voice becoming drawn, less filtered. "You've been robbed of a great many things in life, Miss Belladonna," he said. "And I'm sorry to say this isn't my attempt at giving anything back."

Blake stiffened at the words, finally looking up again.

"If the world were run by my design, I would have put you on a team filled with bright hopefuls where you might have had a chance to reclaim some of what you lost, but this is not my world." He moved his arm up, and Blake turned in the direction to see the three members of her team sitting at a table, awkwardly digging into the post-ceremony dinner, the whole trio seeming just a bit off-kilter compared to the rest of the students. Any conversation, if any were being had at all, unheard and unseen from the distance Blake was from them. "In this world, you have them."

"I don't... want them." Blake squeezed her hands tighter. "I don't want this. Why can't I just be a follower?"

"Do you have many good experiences being a follower?" He asked directly.

Blake shuddered, hugging her arms close to herself.

The mines, the train, a gun to a head, the order to shoot.

Adam.

"No." Blake shook her head. "No, I don't."

"Then it seems you don't need me to provide an answer to that question." He reached into his coat to withdraw a small golden pocketwatch on a chain, flipping it open and glancing down at the time with a frown. "The position is yours." He shut the pocketwatch. "But there is only one person that can make you a leader, and regrettably it isn't me."

Blake blinked, confused. "What?"

He smiled, genially, stepping away. "Enjoy the party, Miss Belladonna."

Before she could say anything more, he slipped through a side door, leaving her alone.

Team leader should have felt like an honor.

It should have.

After a handful of moments, then a handful of moments more to try and regain her bearings, Blake walked out, mechanically spooning food onto a plate and sitting down at the table with her team.

"I hope your talk with the headmaster was productive," Ren remarked, blandly.

"You..." Blake's fork stilled a handful of inches above the plate. "You could see that."

"We all could see it." The Schnee hadn't looked up from her plate. "What did you talk to him about?"

"Ooh, was it about uniforms? Do we get cool matching ones? Can mine have a wolf on the back?" Nora gasped. "Can we all have a wolf on the back?"

"I don't think we get uniforms," Blake said eventually. "Not team ones, anyway."

"Aww, well that stinks." Nora's expression was crestfallen only for a moment before lifting again. "Maybe we could make some team uniforms."

"We'd need fabric," Ren observed.

"Vale has fabric."

"We'd need money."

Nora pumped a fist into the air. "We could start a car wash. Big carwash event to make uniforms: our team may be BRWN, but your cars won't be."

Ren considered that for a moment. "We'd need a sign."

"Are you going to answer my question?" The Schnee asked, tone even, but with an impatient undercurrent to it.

"I was asking him about team assignments," Blake answered, vaguely. "I wanted..." the fork in her hand bent, suffering under the frustration in her grip. "It doesn't matter. Obviously, I didn't get it."

"I see." The Schnee pushed her plate away, half eaten and stood. "I'm retiring to our room to sleep, so be conscientious when returning." Her gaze lingered on Blake for a moment more. "Goodbye."

Nora tried giving a hesitant wave goodbye, but the Schnee was already moving away with brisk, purposeful, strides.

"Should someone go after her?" Ren asked, and suddenly Blake had two sets of eyes focused solely on her, looking for guidance.

Blake hesitated.

If she were the Schnee...

"No." She shook her head. "Give her some space. I think it'll take all of us some time to get used to this."

They gave her space.

The Schnee worked hard, every position of her rapier felt like a move on a chessboard, so precisely placed it was easy to forget she was watching a combat instead of a rigidly structured and noble game.

It was captivating to watch.

It was also a shame, because Yang Xiao-Long did not play that game. Yang was brutish and punishing. Watching the Schnee face her in Goodwitch's class was like watching a chessboard get tossed into a woodchipper.

Painful for her, almost certainly. Painful to watch? Definitely.

The Schnee would limp back to sit down on the bench beside her team, always separated off by another foot, like she couldn't stand to be around them, and wearing an expression like she was daring them to say anything at all. There was no need to, of course. It was obvious she was keenly aware of where she went wrong, and Blake never found pleasure in kicking someone who was down.

In matches where the Schnee won, even then she didn't seem happy, and she'd wear that same face, that challenge to say something, anything, to point out the skill she clearly already knew she possessed.

Arrogance wasn't a surprising quality for a Schnee to have, but Blake still felt continually shocked at how much of it one person could have.

Managing her, when inevitably Blake would have to for team exercises, would be a nightmare. Managing Ren and Nora would be the same, but for entirely different reasons.

That difference mostly came down to independence versus codependence. The Schnee didn't need anyone while Ren and Nora only needed each other. Nobody needed Blake. That'd be a situation she was perfectly fine with, except that at some point she'd be expected to actually lead the group in combat, and she was firmly positive any order she gave that didn't align with something her teammates already wanted to do would be summarily ignored.

It was a similar issue Jaune Arc of team JYNC had. Their teams had no reason to defer to their leader's reasoning, so why would they follow orders?

It was an idle thought that slid across her mind from time to time, that she should talk to Jaune about it. He seemed like her, thrust unwillingly into leadership, both of their skillsets ignored to forward some unknowable scheme the headmaster came up with.

Inevitably, though, the thought would always pass. Their teams were mild acquaintances at best, and even then it was mostly Yang trying to reach across the aisle. Approaching him to try and commiserate on a team situation she could be reading completely wrong would be wildly inappropriate.

Why wasn't he here today?

"Professor Goodwitch, if I may, what if another student filled in for the missing JYNC member, say, someone like Ruby Rose?" The Schnee suggested, some scheming element in her tone.

Blake's eyebrows furrowed. Ruby Rose... wasn't that Yang's baby sister? The same baby sister with the arms that looked like she'd been in a coma, a scarred up face, and the temperament of a scared rabbit?

An eep from the back of the room confirmed the identity.

Why...? A glance over at the Schnee showed a satisfied smile Blake inwardly groaned at.

Could she not go one day without acting so much like a Schnee?

"What are you doing?" She whispered to her, with palpable warning.

The Schnee put on a faux-innocent expression. "Stretching?"

Blake's teeth gritted together. "It's Ruby's first day, what are you thinking putting her in-" the rest of the sentence would have been, 'a spar before she's even learned Goodwitch's basic safety rules', but the owner of the rules, themselves, cut her off.

"Is my lecture interrupting you, Miss Belladonna?" She asked.

"No Ma'am." Blake tried to ignore the Schnee's expression getting more pleased at her being caught out. "Sorry."

So petty.

With a measured nod, Goodwitch returned to lecturing while Blake began her warmups. Today, it was on positioning. A valuable skill in fights, and one her team as a whole was fairly adept in. The possible exception to that was Nora, but typically her raw strength overpowered any weakness that brought.

Still, that didn't mean anything against people like Yang and Pyrrha. Raw strength, positioning, skill, aura, they had it all. She'd only sparred against Pyrrha once, but actually standing in front of her in the ring was so much different than meeting her outside of it.

She'd drawn her weapons to begin, and her whole aura shifted until, for just a moment, Blake hadn't seen Pyrrha anymore. Through the haze of adrenaline, her bright red hair had seemed shorter, her clothes darker, and her pale face began to contort into a sickening mask. It was only for a moment, but Adam was standing in front of her once again.

It didn't take long to lose that match.

Facing off against Yang and Pyrrha at the same time didn't seem like it'd end much differently, her team's presence notwithstanding.

"Miss Rose, report to the medical wing," Goodwitch suddenly announced, right before the match could begin.

Ruby didn't move immediately, her eyes shifting like she wasn't sure if this was some kind of test or not. "Now?"

Of course now, Blake almost said.

Goodwitch sighed. "If I didn't mean now I would have told you after the spar. Go."

It took another moment, Ruby looking over to her sister for guidance, but finally she left and Blake managed to release the breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding, thankful that the little girl had been saved from the chopping block the Schnee had randomly decided to place in front of her that day.

Her blowup at losing her prey was inevitable, the fact she actually did it to miss Goodwitch only lifted Blake's surprise a little.

"This isn't over," she promised.

Goodwitch didn't budge. "I'm sure. One."

Blake wrenched her gaze from the Schnee, leveling it instead at her opponent, the less proximal faunus racist Cardin Winchester. Gambol Shroud left its sheath and Blake adjusted her grip on it a few times until it became comfortable.

Cardin hit hard and took it just as well, but in terms of any kind of comprehensible style he was more straightforward than even Yang and twice as bullheaded. Fights against him weren't a test of skill so much as a test of endurance: which would run out first, Blake's stamina or his aura? The answer was usually aura, but the margin was close enough to be uncomfortable all the same.

Shifting her weapon to its pistol form as Cardin charged forward, Blake managed to squeeze off six shots before he got close enough to swing. The fact the shots pinged off his aura without even slowing him down undercut the achievement somewhat.

Leaping over his swinging mace, landing a scoring mark along his side with a quick transform to sword mode in the air, then jumping back again to dodge the followup swing, Blake felt confident in the rhythm she found. Cardin's consistency made him an almost boring enemy to fight. Once she'd slid into the groove against him, any kind of adjustments she needed to make past that were few and far between. If it wasn't for the damage she'd take if he ever did land a hit, Blake would be spending the whole fight just thinking about something else.

Even with that, the temptation was there.

A shadow ate a mace swing, a ribbon slung her blade down Cardin's leg, she moved out of reach of every attack almost before he could even start them. Cardin was a competent fighter, but the whole thing ended up being boring after a while.

So boring...

Blake gripped her weapon tighter. Boring was good. Boring was safe. She wasn't there to laugh and have fun, she was there to graduate and get out, that was all. Anything that didn't get her closer to that goal wasn't worth having.

A painful crack diverted Blake's attention for a moment, as she watched Yang stagger back from the Schnee, clutching her nose and muttering curses.

Even with minimal talent in aura reading, the difference between the two's states was obvious: Yang, scuffed and bruised, annoyance cleaving her face like an axe had been buried between her eyebrows, and the Schnee fighting furiously, but with that same captivating exactness she always brought to her duels.

Blake watched out of the corner of her eye as the Schnee baited Yang into jumping into Pyrrha and Nora's scuffle, as she taunted, not even winded by the fight so far while Yang gritted her teeth to stand. The fact that she was winning against Yang was surprising, the fact it was so one-sided was nothing less than bizarre.

"Eyes on your own fight, hairbow." Cardin's mace slammed into the ground where Blake's shadowclone was a moment ago, splintering the tile into a fine white powder. The effect wouldn't have been quite so dramatic if it had actually hit her, but painful was guaranteed.

"Or what? You'll land a hit?" Blake deadpanned, to Cardin's great annoyance.

"Tch." His next attack swung wide, and Blake closed to tap his midsection with her sword, meeting an unexpected backhand from his offside, launching her backward.

Twisting in mid air, Blake managed to land on her feet, as the momentum had her skid to a stop close to the ground.

"How's that for a hit?" He taunted, charging in with his mace brought to bear in a right to left arc.

Blake bent backward, letting the swing pass overhead as she swiveled into a leg sweep.

Her satisfaction was barely filtered in her expression as Cardin cursed, backing up. The sweep didn't take him down, of course, she didn't have the power or leverage for that, but a solid strike to the shin was enough to make anyone pause.

Squeezing a few shots off toward him as he closed, a dodge to the side, snaking her sword down his arm, Blake danced out of range once again. Years of skills honed for the purposes of not dying quite as messily as she'd seen so many others before her, focused to defeat someone as utterly inconsequential as Cardin Winchester. The thought might have been funny if she didn't find it so pathetic. Each clone dying in her place, the feeling was far too familiar.

She couldn't think about that.

Cardin's aura was already yellow, but she'd need to push it down to red to take him out of the fight. The problem wasn't the openings, it was the pace. If she attacked more recklessly, she might be able to burst him down in time to help the others, but if she got hit again, she'd be in the yellow at least. She couldn't risk-

The Schnee gave a choked squeak that froze Blake's momentum.

Flicking her gaze to the other side of the arena, she saw her buried in an indent in the floor with Yang on top of her, poised to deliver a finishing blow. Tactically, a teammate in that situation was considered a lost cause. Even if she could get over there and help, there was no guarantee she'd be fast enough to reach her before she di-was taken out of the fight, and if she did make it there in time, then what? She'd take on Yang on her own? No, that wouldn't work.

Blake's legs didn't think tactically. They were already on the way before her brain could catch up.

Stop.

The Schnee would be fine. Yang wasn't the type of person to go too far, and even if she did get hurt, this wasn't the White Fang anymore. There were doctors, nurses, she probably had a fleet of medical staff all on her own, she would be fine.

Stop.

If her team won the match, if they lost, it wouldn't even matter. One spar wouldn't make a difference in anything. There were no innocents on the line, there weren't even grades, there was nothing. This was all so pointless.

Her legs wouldn't stop.

Yang hadn't seen her approach, she hadn't finished the Schnee off, yet. If she could get a solid kick off to the side of her head, that'd be all it'd take to dislodge her.

Blake already knew she was pathetic as a leader, but maybe-

Cardin's mace slammed into her stomach, launching her away and into the wall, where she collapsed on the ground gasping for air.

"Tried to warn you, hairbow," Cardin said, faux-dolefully as he lifted his mace up to knock her firmly into the red. "Eyes on your own fight."

The mace came down, and it was only through Goodwitch announcing the match was over that Blake avoided the pain of the impact.

Cardin didn't offer to help her up, but he also didn't smash her face in with a metal club and claim he didn't hear the match was over in time, so she'd take it.

The bar was starting to feel pretty low.

"Can anyone tell me how team JYNC lost?" Goodwitch asked after both teams managed to limp to stand in front of the class. A hand near the front raised. "Yes. You."

"They were down a person?" She offered, and there was a wave of vaguely agreeing mumblings passed around the assembled students.

"An interesting thought," Goodwitch considered. "Would your team like to step up and combat JYNC's current three person lineup?"

The eyes of the crowd shifted to Yang, Pyrrha, and Cardin, mumbling dying down.

"Huntresses and Huntsman can often be found with missing limbs. I advise you don't take combat with such individuals lightly as a result. Loss can allow you to take greater stock in what you still have, and grow to use that, or it can leave you floundering for what to do while you fail to adjust to the new situation. If JYNC had coordinated their attack and defence, working together to provide openings for their heavy hitters and protect each other from enemy attacks, then the outcome of the match could have been quite different." She pointed her riding crop at a student near the back. "You. What did team BRWN do wrong?"

"A lack of communication, distraction with each other's battles, and bad matchup choices," the student said after a moment's consideration.

"Ah, so a fair few options. Let's take a look at them one by one: first, a lack of communication." She turned to address the team. "Do you think that would have made a difference? Helped you end the conflict faster? With fewer injuries?"

Blake hesitated. "Nora and Ren's communication was fine. It was mine and," her eyes went to the Schnee's, "hers that still needs work."

"While I won't deny, your teammates' coordination with each other was well practiced, they still lacked any words to the other members of their team." Goodwitch's gaze narrowed at Ren and Nora. "Teams are comprised of four individuals, not two. You'd do well to remember that."

Ren and Nora both nodded, stiffly.

"I believe the next option was distraction, correct? Miss Belladonna's preoccupation with Miss Schnee's match put her in danger several times throughout the course of the spar, while Mister Ren's reaction to Miss Valkyrie's sustaining damage almost ended his fight then and there. Miss Schnee herself brought a new style to the battlefield today, and while I support experimentation to find a method of attack that best suits you, I do not support haphazard attempts, which this seemed to become more and more as the bout continued. I would advise you all to firmly practice any style you wish to attempt until you can perform it without thinking before bringing it into a proper spar. Any amount of slow down to remember how this move or that move is 'supposed' to go often ends in injury. While in the fight, stay in the fight."

The Schnee seemed to crumple under the words, only remaining standing by the barest of margins.

"Let's move to matchups: did any of you feel you faced off against your ideal matchup in this engagement, and in the event you weren't, who would you rather have faced?" She turned to Cardin. "We'll start with Mister Winchester."

It looked for a moment like he wasn't going to answer, face twisted into a scowl as it was, but finally he forced one out. "If I had to pick, I would have preferred Ren. He isn't as fast as Blake and none of his attacks could make a fast enough dent in my aura. Even his aura pulse techniques are much more effective against grimm than other people with aura, since they deplete his own to work. Plus, if for some reason I never managed a hit, all it'd take was a minute or two for his stamina to be shot enough I could basically ignore him."

"A piercing observation," Goodwitch noted, turning to Ren. "It seems your trouble managing extended fights hasn't gone unnoticed, Mister Ren." He frowned grimly at that. "Who would you have liked to be matched up against?"

"Yang," he answered, to the blonde's surprise. "Her semblance functions off her emotions, fueling her strength and aura through her anger, while my own dampens them. Hamstrung like that, my aura pulses would be able to burst her down more effectively than anyone else on my team."

"Succinct and to the point." She stepped in front of Yang. "Who would you choose?"

"Blake." Blake felt her ears prick up at this. "Her semblance and weapon both perform best at close range, so her only options when fighting me is to try and duke it out in midrange, where, no offense, but my shells beat your nine millimeter, or go to close range and try to maneuver around my fists with a sword. Not great choices either way."

"Forcing your opponent into disadvantageous situations is the essence of strategy." She turned again. "Miss Belladonna?"

Blake sighed. Who her opponent should have been was obvious in retrospect. It was cowardice keeping her fighting Cardin. Adam used to say fear was a sword in its sheath, always with the potential to save your life, or kill you just as easily. You had to know when to draw, use it without letting it use you. "Pyrrha," she answered.

"An interesting choice." Goodwitch tilted her head. "Care to explain your reasoning?"

"Pyrrha's style works at all ranges without any falloff in effectiveness. She's fast, and strong, with a large reserve of aura that'd need to be burned through to bring her down to yellow, let alone red. In a one on one engagement, there aren't many situations I could win, but in a teamfight, I only need to keep her focus long enough for my team to win their spars and assist. My semblance won't do much against her offensively, but defensively it would allow me to avoid attacks my teammates wouldn't be able to, distract her without getting knocked out myself."

"A team-centered style..." Goodwitch considered her words for a moment, brushing by. "Unusual for you."

Blake winced at the accurately blunt statement.

"Miss Nikos?" She stopped in front of the redhead, barely winded even after facing two opponents at once. "Who would you have liked to face?"

"Weiss," she answered, readily. "Her mix of semblance, dust, and rapier methods pose a challenge to anyone with less seamless shifts in range. As... Blake points out, my style can adapt to almost any range, so I'm more prepared to deal with it than any of my teammates."

"A much more familiarly team-centered strategy from you," Goodwitch said, moving on again. "And you, Miss Schnee? Where would you like to be?"

The Schnee looked up to answer, but whatever lingering amount of emotion in her eyes died under her teacher's gaze, and finally her eyes cast downward again. "Cardin," she said, quietly. "He's slow and can't adapt to my techniques as well as the others. I'd... choose him."

Goodwitch's lips pursed in an expression almost resembling disappointment. "I see."

The Schnee seemed to shrink into herself at that.

"Miss Valkyrie. Your choice?"

"Yang." She shrugged. "I don't really care. Wherever Ren goes, that's good enough for me, and I can always help him take her down faster."

"I remember fondly the days I was so assured in my strength it didn't matter to me who I was matched against." Goodwitch smiled for a moment, before the edges of her lips dripped down once again, her face briefly shadowed by dark emotion. "I hope, for your sake, Miss Valkyrie, you begin to care on your own before some circumstance forces you to."

Nora's eyes widened, but Goodwitch had already turned away, snapping her crop down with a sound that jolted nearly everyone in the room.

"Team JYNC, stay here. Everyone else, you're dismissed."

Blake watched as her team shuffled out, looking far the worse despite their apparent 'victory' against JYNC. While the losing team had earned a passing rebuke here and there, it was BRWN that had obviously earned the brunt of Goodwitch's ire that day, and Blake couldn't even claim they didn't deserve it.

Her team was a disaster.

And she had no idea how to fix it.

"What am I doing?" She asked the empty hallway, leaning heavily against the wall. "Why couldn't they have just gotten a leader that knew how to... guh."

In the White Fang, in the few times she was forced into command, she still had Adam. She had the mission, the goal. There was always something to focus on, but at Beacon everything was indistinct, blurred.

She was supposed to lead them, but lead them where? How?

"You really suck at this, Blake," she whispered to herself, pushing off from the wall. "You really, really, suck."

Too tired to go into the city, too jittery to relax with a book, Blake went to the gym, where she was reasonably assured no one would bother her.

She was wrong.

Halfway through her stretches, before she'd even started a set, Cardin Winchester entered through the other side. Whatever conversation Goodwitch was having with team JYNC it apparently wasn't long enough.

There was a moment she held out some hope he'd surrender to some quiet exercise in another part of the gym, but as he spotted her and walked closer with purposeful strides, that hope withered.

"Come on." He jerked his head toward the barbells. "I'll spot you."

The fact it was in no way phrased as a question didn't fill her with confidence.

"Why?" She asked, warily.

"Because I'm nice." With his tone approaching a snarl, that was a bit hard to tell. "Come on."

"Pass." She slowly stood up. "My core needs-"

"Your core is fine. You can flip and twirl with the best of them, it's your hits that stink fat faunus turds." Her nose wrinkled in disgust, but Cardin pressed on. "Hence, the big scary bench press."

"I'm not scared of the bench press," she said, flatly. "I just have no use for it."

Cardin huffed a laugh. "Yeah, I could tell today."

Her eyes narrowed. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're a moron." He picked up a weight plate in one hand, casually looking it over for a moment before setting it down and trying another. "Bench has been sitting here since you got to this school and you've been ignoring it cause you think you're better than it."

"I know my own style." Blake forced her ears not to twitch in irritation. "I know what it needs."

"Ah, yes. The patented hairbow style," he chuckled. "How's the strategy for that one go again? Dodge around until your opponent gets miraculously hit by a train because you don't have a finisher? Nice strat against Pyrrha, by the way: really puts the 'I dunno, figure it out,' in the word 'plan'."

"And how would you fight Pyrrha?" Blake snapped. "Swing and miss a few dozen times until she gets bored?"

"Maybe." He shrugged. "But also moot for the moment. Goodwitch isn't about to set teams against themselves in class, but another team on team seems pretty likely, and despite mine being entirely composed of people who can't take a joke, I'm very consistent on the bench."

"So if you can hit, you can hit hard?" She rolled her eyes. "Am I supposed to be impressed?"

He flexed an arm. "Most people are, but I don't particularly care about your admiration. I just wanted to drop you some much needed advice: the bench is here, use it."

Blake's frown deepened. "I don't need it."

"You do, but I think I'm starting to understand." He snapped his fingers. "You don't know how it works, do you?"

Blake scoffed. "I know how it works. It's hardly the latest in Atlas machinery."

"No, I get it now." His smile grew wider. "You're not scared of it, you're just completely clueless on how to work it."

"What are you even talking about?" She hissed, disbelievingly.

"The barbell uses plates." He held one up in front of her. "You take the plates you can handle, and you stack them on each side, locking them in like this. You can take two plates or four, but they have to be even on each side, always." He slapped the plate he was holding onto the rod, catching it before it tipped completely. "If you don't balance the shaft, it isn't just a dumb mistake, it's also dangerous. You damage the equipment, damage yourself, it could get you thrown out of the gym entirely."

"Your knowledge of gym procedure is truly dizzying," she riffed, sarcastically. "You done now?"

"Back home, I worked with a much heavier set of plates, and when I got here I was pissed off that these were the only ones they had, these pathetic little weak ones, it made me mad just thinking about 'em." He looked at her, expression surprisingly serious. "Started missing workouts, figuring, what's the point? If this is the level of strength the teachers expect us to have and I've already outpaced it, why should I keep going?"

Blake watched him, no easy response coming to her lips.

"I could've been wrong." He shrugged. "Could've been right, but the bench is here either way, for you. It's yours, whether you use it or not."

"We're not still talking about gym equipment..." Blake put forward. "Are we?"

"Weiss could probably crush me in a fight. She'd have to get real sloppy for me to win, and she doesn't do sloppy, but you and I both know I'm not the one she should be fighting in that matchup." Cardin pressed a plate into her hand. "Balance the plates, use the bench. Do. Your. Job. Before someone gets hurt." He turned and began to walk away. "Consider this spotting a one time thing. You screw up again, I'm just gonna laugh as it lands on you."

"You're..." Blake looked down at the plate, thoughtfully. "Thanks."

He flipped her off from behind, an action she rolled her eyes at.

"Dick."

Still, he wasn't wrong.

"Balance the plates..." She fit the plate in her hand onto the other side of the shaft, watching it even out from the one Cardin placed there before. "I'll have to do something about Ren and Nora eventually, but right now the team is unbalanced." She placed another weight, and the rod tipped once again. "The Schnee won't talk to me..." she placed the last plate, evening the rod at two on each side. "Then I'll just have to talk to her."

She turned to go, leaving the bench on its own. Two weights on each side of the rod.

Four, in all.

Chapter Text

Taiyang Xiao-Long was never thought of as particularly perceptive by most. Certainly when he was at Beacon, the prevailing perception about him was that he was a bit thick when it came to figuring out what other people were thinking, and Taiyang personally had no issue keeping it like that.

Being left alone to raise two girls changed the situation, somewhat, with the fact those two girls had a habit of getting into trouble in two entirely different ways adding on to the sudden pressure he felt to learn how to read between the lines.

By the time both girls made it into Beacon, far from the slouch he was before, Taiyang was probably the single individual in the world most adept at figuring out what his daughters really meant when they said things to him. A valuable skill, since what they meant usually had next to nothing to do with what they said.

"Hey, dad," Ruby said with a smile and a wave through the scroll call. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

That roughly shook out to be, 'I desperately want to talk to you, but my self esteem's not doing so hot right now, so I can't take finding out I bothered you in the middle of something.'

"Of course not, Rubes, just a mild mooting on lunch, if you've got any ideas for me." He shrugged. "What are they serving up in Beacon these days?"

"Too much." She flipped around in bed, the scroll view changing with her. "The options change every day, so even though I've been here almost a full month, I still never know what's gonna be there."

"Well despite the overabundance of eating options, how've you been doing?" He asked, lightly. "You look a little pale, but your arms are thickening up again, so I have to assume you're not just surviving on junk food."

She laughed, scratching the back of her head. "I'm pretty sure Weiss would kill me if I tried to get away with that." She considered for a moment, smile dipping slightly as she muttered, "if Polly didn't get to me first..."

"Making friends?" He commented, sardonically. "Or enemies?"

"Jury's out," she hedged. "Polly's actually the physical therapist I had in recovery. She just started working at Beacon recently."

Taiyang's eyebrow twitched up. "Funny coincidence."

"Yeah..." her smile became plastic. "Coincidence..."

([___

Ruby heard the heavy classroom door shut behind her, wincing at Weiss' heated argument with Glynda that followed her departure. Why'd she have to report to the medical wing, anyway? She felt fine.

Okay, a little tired, and a lot sore, and loud noises were still a little bit of an issue, and fire she apparently had to watch out for, but she could still fight. Why didn't Goodwitch want her to fight?

What was on that note she got handed, anyway?

She was being sent to the medical wing, was that note something from her doctor? Did they find something that meant she couldn't go to Beacon? No. No, she got a clean bill of health, her doctor promised she could go, that wasn't, couldn't be, it.

She pressed a hand against the door to the medical wing, bracing for a moment before pushing it open and stepping inside.

Where she was immediately tackled to the ground and had a knife pressed to her throat.

Ruby felt her semblance activate before her head could hit the floor.

Petals bled from her arms and legs, the tips of her hair to the ends of her skirt, all of it drifted in the air as her aura was consumed to fuel the ability. She'd thought, when she was first learning about her semblance, that the petals were the ability: something pretty she could make whenever she wanted. But the petals were a byproduct: a materialization of burning aura, like cinders flying off a fire.

Ruby grabbed the blade from her immobile attacker, twisting it out of her grip and pushing her off. She wanted to do more, restrain her, or at least get a good idea who she was, but her whole body began to shake with only a couple moments using her semblance and after less than a second, a gasp tore through her, signaling her speed shutting off and normal time coming crashing down around her again.

Her assailant rolled when time resumed some excess force transferred over to slam her into the cabinets on the far wall.

Ruby raised her arms to meet whatever counter she'd bring, but instead of making any move against her, the attacker's mouth cracked open in a soundless laugh.

Wait, soundless?

Ruby's arms slowly lowered to her sides. "Neo?"

She held up her scroll, still smiling. 'Did you miss me?'

"I mean, yeah, but why are you here? Why... did you attack me with a knife?" One of those questions seemed more pressing than the other. "Why do you look different, too?" That one was tertiary at best, but she was still curious.

Where before, Polly's outfit was a simple athletic attire branded with the deep red of the hospital, now she wore what seemed like an elaborate corset with black leather pants and a jacket in pinks and whites.

'My usual attire,' she wrote on her scroll, and with a blink she was back to being Polly again. 'I don't like attacking people while my semblance is up, it tends to be... delicate.'

"Yeah, sure, I get that." Ruby nodded, considering for a moment or two. "Why... uh, why did you attack me, though?"

'Nurse Zaffre is on temporary leave to deal with a medical emergency, so I've been assigned to conduct your physical.' She gave a grin tinged with eery sadism. 'Reflexes seem good.'

"Beacon does its physical evaluations by attacking students?" Ruby asked, then a few beats later, sighed. "This isn't really officially approved, is it?"

Finding out Polly's name was actually Neo didn't lead to any immediate questions. Ruby wasn't exactly in the right mindset for any of that. But it wasn't a difficult leap to think, and then directly find out, that some of Neo's more difficult training methods weren't exactly on the hospital's approved list.

When she learned Neo herself wasn't technically on that list, or any list at all, her former PT's image became murkier and murkier in Ruby's mind.

But Neo wanted to be friends with her, and despite the weird training and the sketchy past, and everything else, Ruby wanted to be friends with her too.

So she'd trust her.

That's what friends did, right?

'Let's test stamina next,' Neo typed, brightly.

Ruby shrugged. "Okay, yeah, su-"

Neo's fist was rocketing toward her before she could blink.

___])

"And Weiss?" Taiyang asked next, filing away the information on Polly for another time. By the way Ruby reacted, there was definitely more going on there than she was saying, and asking Yang about it at minimum was probably a good idea.

If she lied about it, too, there was always Oobleck.

"Weiss is..." she hesitated, scratching the back of her head. "Weiss and I are..." her face kept shifting, recalling one memory or another, happy, sad, angry, confused, somewhere in between. "It's complicated?"

([___

"A thirty-eight on aura theory?" Weiss growled, slamming her own test down on the table beside Ruby, a large one hundred displayed proudly on the front in red ink. "How am I supposed to be satisfied beating you if you aren't even willing to put the work in?"

"Hi Ruby, how'd you do on the test? Oh not so good? I'm sorry to hear that," Ruby parroted the imaginary, more polite, conversation Weiss could have been having with her, sarcastically. "I did pretty well, did you want to study together? My name's Weiss."

Weiss folded her arms across her chest. "If you think I'm suggesting some mild study group, you clearly haven't seen your score."

"We didn't do aura theory at Signal." She slid her paper away, into her bag, embarrassedly. "It's new to me, okay?"

"You wrote that there were five semblance types," she deadpanned. "Five? Really?"

"I forgot, okay?" She groaned. "Don't even know any stupid Emitters."

"That's no excuse," she slammed a hand down on the table again, grabbing her test and removing it as well. "Determining an opponent's semblance type is the first step in beating them. If you don't know how their semblance functions, how are you supposed to avoid it?"

"I usually just kind of dodge?" Ruby tried.

Weiss raised a dangerous eyebrow. "And if their ability creates projectiles that can follow you even if you dodge?"

Ruby tilted her head. "What kind of semblances can do that?"

"Ggh-" she choked. "Emitters, you recalcitrant stooge. Emitters literally all the time."

"Ah."

"Yeah, 'ah'." She reached a hand up to pinch the bridge between her eyes. "Come to BRWN's room tonight after dinner. I'll get the contents of that textbook through to your head if I have to cram the thing into your ear."

Ruby gulped, giving a weak thumbs up. "Thanks, Weiss," she said, shakily.

"Tch," she straightened up and walked away with quick, purposeful, strides.

Ruby slumped over on her desk, groaning at the studying hell she'd just signed up for.

"I think she's warming up to you," Yang commented from right next to her, uncharacteristically silent throughout the whole exchange. "Give it a couple more years and she might say hi to you in the hall."

Ruby groaned louder.

___])

"She's like really intense?" Ruby tried to carefully phrase. "About everything?"

Taiyang's thoughts couldn't help but drift to a few Hunters he knew that could have the same label applied. One in particular...

"Hang on." He waved a hand. "Weiss, this isn't Weiss Schnee, is it?"

"Uh, yeah. The Schnee Dust one, she mentions that, every once in a while."

Often, Taiyang interpreted.

"That..." he considered. "Tracks..."

"What does?"

"I'm familiar with her family, her sister in particular." Taiyang sighed, leaning against a doorframe. "It's not an easy place she's coming from."

"Yeah, I kinda picked up on that." Ruby laughed, awkwardly. "But I guess she's not alone there."

He chuckled. "You got that right. Been a while since I went to Beacon, but I do remember about half the kids being legacies with Hunter parents, and the other half being screwed up in one way or another. Though come to think of it, I guess those two options weren't mutually exclusive. How'd your team make out in that scale?"

"My team?" Ruby whistled, but even though she tried, she couldn't stop a smile poking through. "Oh, they're all kinds of messed up."

([___

The week leading up to the team assignment was hell.

Ruby was accustomed to some amount of separation from her schoolmates. It wasn't always the same root cause, but there was a regularity to the isolation. Too young, too loud, too clumsy, too immature, teacher's pet, crybaby, screwup. But this? Latecomer, pity case, wandering the halls without a team, with a face that scared people, this was unbearable.

"You'll be on our team, Rubes, no problem," Yang assured her. "Yeah, having to wait for the teachers to actually say so is annoying, but with Jaune gone, there's no way you're going anywhere else."

Ruby felt sick.

"Hey, listen, I know Cardin's a pain, but you'll still have me and Pyrrha, right? It'll be okay."

Very, very, sick.

But it wasn't just because she couldn't participate in most of Goodwitch's classes. Not just because it somehow made her even more of an outcast than her age and burns did. Not just because she kept getting lost trying to navigate the campus.

But because after dealing with all that, the whispers about her behind her back, the stretching and training she did solo during Goodwitch's class, and hearing every professor she had make the same joke when she walked in late. Every day, of Weiss and Cardin, and a hand shoving her in the hall from a face she couldn't even see, Ruby had to spend the end of the day walking alone back to her single room.

Because she'd been mocked before, she'd been shoved, and berated, and made fun of, but she'd never been alone.

Yang was there, her dad was there.

Now they weren't.

That's what made it hell.

It wasn't that she didn't believe Yang. Yes, it seemed obvious that the first year team with a missing member would be the one she'd join, it was just... once she was on a team, once she was officially a student at Beacon and entrenched in with everyone else, would anything change?

Somehow, the thought that feeling wouldn't go away once she had a team was even worse.

It made even nice moments, eating with Pyrrha and Yang, seeing Weiss smile when she got a question right, watching her classmates spar with weapons that were all so cool, slowly sour the closer she got to the end of the day.

It made dealing with Cardin feel like fighting a Grimm with a toothbrush.

"Ah, corn muffin." He snatched it off her tray, biting into it without hesitation. "You got good taste, Matchstick. But the snacks in the food hall are for the people who actually earned their place here, so..." he crammed the rest into his mouth, smiling with bits of food visible between his cheeks. "Confiscated."

"That was the last one," Ruby groaned. "Could you not be... you, for just so much of the day?"

"No can do, Sticky." He purposefully bumped into her as he passed, almost making her drop her food tray. "Me's all I can be."

"Dick," she muttered, moving to a free table to eat.

If she really were assigned to Yang's team, wouldn't that make Cardin her partner?

Ruby shuddered.

Was there any other option? Some other team missing a member she didn't know about? Students to come in off the reserve list? She'd love to be on a team with Yang, and Pyrrha was great, but she wasn't sure she'd last a month as Cardin's partner.

If she didn't kill him, Yang would.

But Goodwitch and Ozpin and the other teachers knew that, right? They'd definitely figure out a way that'd work out for everyone. That's why it took an entire week for them to assign her a team.

...right?

___])

"The beginning was the hardest part," Ruby admitted. "When the assignment went out, I don't think anyone was really... happy, with my placement."

Taiyang raised an eyebrow. "Not even Yang?"

Ruby hissed a tiny laugh through her teeth. "Yang most of all."

([___

Ruby idly kicked her legs, sitting in one of the half-padded chairs in Glynda's office. It'd been a couple minutes since she said she had to step out and take a call, but Ruby's anxiousness at trying to find her and interrupting something trumped her anxiousness that she'd misunderstood a direction and Glynda had actually wanted her to follow instead of waiting there.

So sitting it was.

Occasionally her hand twitched to play on her scroll while she waited, but thinking about Glynda walking in to see her on a game was also embarrassing enough to prevent her.

Sitting.

Sitting was okay.

"Apologies for the delay." Glynda strode into the room, efficiently tucking herself back behind her desk. "The call took longer than I expected."

"'S cool." Ruby waved a hand. "You're probably super busy."

"Of that, Miss Rose, you have no idea." She hummed, agreeably, shuffling through papers for another moment before looking up at her. "After some deliberation among the faculty, we've decided to place you with the former team JYNC."

"Oh." Ruby nodded. "Okay."

"The decision is final, for the moment, though if you have any questions, comments, or concerns to tell me now, it would help deal with team disputes in the future."

"I mean, mostly it's okay. I kind of expected that's probably where I'd go, but..." Ruby scratched her cheek, nervously. "I'm a bit worried about Cardin. I don't think he and I are gonna," she threaded her fingers together, "mesh. Ever."

"You'd be surprised the kind of people a Huntress can learn to work with," Glynda said. "While some personalities can be challenging to adapt to, it is important to know we are all fundamentally on the same side. You may not like him, you may not even respect him, but we are here to fight monsters, Miss Rose. When it comes down to the wire, I believe Mister Winchester knows you are not his enemy just as you know he is not yours."

"Guess that's true," she mumbled, unsure.

"Anything else before I call in your new team?" Glynda asked next.

Ruby shook her head no and Glynda pressed a button on her desk connected to an intercom. "Team JYNC, you may enter now."

It took a moment or two, but finally team JYNC entered, Yang at the front and Cardin lagging behind, but all present bar one.

She was that one now, Ruby supposed.

"Hey, Rubes, G, what's this about?" Yang asked, voice breezy, but stance more uneasy. If Ruby didn't know her sister, she never would have picked it up, but as it was, the uneasiness traveled too easily to her as well.

"Professor Goodwitch will suffice, Miss Xiao-Long," Glynda corrected, sternly. "Please, all of you have a seat." When they did, she continued. "From this point forward, Miss Rose has been assigned to your team." Pyrrha smiled, Yang grinned, and Cardin muttered something dissatisfied under his breath, all predictably enough. "She will be taking the role of team leader and your team name will be adjusted as a result, RWPY, team Rupee-"

"That's not fair."

Ruby blinked, and Glynda wore a similarly surprised expression, though hers was more subtle.

To hear that from Cardin would be one thing, but he wasn't the one who said it.

"Come again, Miss Xiao-Long?" Glynda asked.

"I said that's not fair." Yang stood up, knocking her chair back behind her. "Pyrrha's the best fighter out of any of us. She can manage conflicts in the team, she should be the one leading us. But she's been passed up as leader twice now. For Jaune? For Ruby?" Ruby winced at the way she said her name, which Yang must have caught out of the corner of her eye, because she turned to her next. "I'm sorry, Rubes; I'm super stoked to have you on the team, but you shouldn't be the leader." She turned back to Glynda, righteous anger bending her frame. "Pyrrha earned that spot, Professor. You know she did."

"Yang, it's okay-" Pyrrha tried to say, but Yang cut through.

"It's not, Pyr." Yang stood her ground, staring down Glynda. "I'm your partner, so I'll fight for what you deserve, even if you won't."

"Sorry, Professor, but I gotta side with Blondie." Cardin folded his arms across his chest. "I'd love to be leader myself, but none of these chumps'd listen to me, so I know that's a lost cause. As it is, Pyrrha's the only one that can pry me and Yang apart when we get into it, and your ninety pound rabbit replacement won't cut it in that department."

"Miss Nikos," Glynda adjusted her glasses, looking down at the champion. "What do you have to say about this?"

"I don't want to make a fuss," she said haltingly. "I know you and the other professors have probably thought about this quite a lot, but, I don't understand what you must be looking for." She stood slowly, rising up until she was an imposing image above Glynda, not threatening, but with a palpable presence. "I have the respect of my team members, I have the skills to lead. If that isn't what you're looking for when deciding team leader, what is?"

"Well, the short answer is that we take every consideration we can who will allow each member of the team to grow to their fullest potential." Glynda spread her hands. "Sometimes that means the member with the highest skill, sometimes it means the friendliest, sometimes the meanest, the weakest, or any number of personality traits and skills the team leader is the most adept at carrying to the others. What you say is true, from what I've seen Miss Nikos is more than adept at her chosen style, an enviable mediator, and a worthy student. I think she would make an incredibly valuable leader. But we chose Miss Rose, not because we believe Miss Nikos would fail as a leader, but because we believe Miss Rose has something to offer in the role you wouldn't be able to get anywhere else." Glynda stood as well, adjusting her glasses lightly. "I am confident you earned the role, Miss Nikos, and if there was even the slightest chance that upon not being assigned leader you would lose your combat skill, ability to mediate, or scholastic potential, I am sure that is exactly what you would have been assigned, but quite the opposite I believe your abilities in these areas will thrive all the better in the new situation." She nodded to Yang, then Cardin. "I believe that of all of you."

Glynda's words had pierced the anger in the room, but the indecisive skepticism leftover as all eyes turned to Ruby felt, to her, like more of a lateral move than anything.

"Now, I understand you have a field trip you should be preparing for, so you're dismissed." Glynda sat back down, eyes scanning through papers on her desk once again. "Miss Rose, I'll take one more moment of your time before you go." She looked up for a moment. "Just Miss Rose, that will be all."

It wasn't more than a moment's hesitation before JYNC... RWPY shuffled out, leaving Ruby behind.

"So..." Ruby shifted, uncomfortably. "What'd you want to talk to me about?"

"You have an uphill battle to fight, Miss Rose, and I'm sure you're aware of that," Glynda said, seriously. "While what I said is true that you have something to offer them, it does not mean you don't need skill and respect to lead. You do, and you should work on attaining both as quickly as possible for the good of your team."

"I understand." She didn't, not really. "But... what exactly do I have to offer?" She asked. "Why did you pick me over Pyrrha?"

"Actually, I voted for Miss Xiao-Long to lead," Glynda said, and Ruby winced at the admission. "She's very protective and you got a firsthand demonstration what a powerful advocate she could be for your team. I had also theorized that working as a team leader could pat down some of her more reckless and immature qualities, but several other teachers disagreed."

Ruby looked up to see Glynda with a light but kind smile.

"They told me that in the week you've been here, Weiss Schnee has improved at a blazing pace trying to beat you. They told me Cardin Winchester has finally stopped shutting himself in his dorm room specifically so he can seek you out to torment you. They told me Pyrrha Nikos has been lurking around the medical wing asking when you'll be cleared to fight her, and when she finally got the okay, she looked more excited than she had since her first days in. They told me you make Yang Xiao-Long slow down, because she's so worried about you, incidents with her have been cut in half since you got here." Ruby felt heat creep up her neck. Were all of those really good things? But Glynda continued. "They told me you have a way with people, you push them forward just by being there, by being you. They told me you're a leader." She jerked her head to the door. "Show your team why they're right."

Chapter Text

Bullhead designs varied, of course. The particular one headed to Forever Fall was built off a binary dust injector that infused fire and electric dust together in the engine to create propulsion. The fact the mix was technically on the safer side of dust combinations meant very little in the grand scheme of things: if the mix ended up wrong, the casing on either of the injectors failed, or there was a blockage in the output valve, the bullhead would explode at worst and at best, they'd all simply fall from the sky.

Weiss knew this in the same way she knew that teams were built on communication, trust, and mutual respect, and that her semblance required unwavering concentration to keep active.

She knew this, yet her team was still built on nothing, and if her concentration slipped during a critical glyph, one she needed to land on, or block something with, she also knew there was about as much she could do about that as there was if the bullhead she rode on suddenly exploded. And while that was an unlikely scenario.

"Hey..." Blake said, uncertainly, and it took a moment for Weiss to realize she was even speaking to her. "When we get to Forever Fall, do you mind going somewhere to talk?"

There were always things more unlikely.

"Going somewhere to talk," Weiss echoed. "With you?"

"Yes, I..." her eyes flicked to the sides, noting the crowded bullhead filled with students attempting to inconspicuously listen in. "Would you?"

Weiss really wanted to say no. "Sure." But that wouldn't solve anything.

Blake nodded, satisfied, before retaking her seat, comfortably two away from her. Whatever she wanted to talk about, Weiss wasn't confident she'd be happy with the conversation. At worst, it'd be some dressing down of her faults in the latest combat class or something, and at best it'd be along the lines of, 'the team thinks you should stay over here while we collect sap, because otherwise you'll make everyone uncomfortable.' Which, while a statement that would make Weiss want to tear her own fingers off if she actually heard it out loud, would at least get her out of accomplishing the ridiculously useless task assigned to them for the excursion.

Professor Peach had given them the dubiously important duty of collecting 'samples' from the trees. What exactly the samples were needed for, the method of extraction, and any type of recording as to which tree the samples came from was all completely passed over. The whole thing couldn't read any more as 'teambuilding exercise' if Professor Goodwitch had stapled an icebreaker example sheet to her forehead.

Teambuilding of course required a team that wanted anything to do with her, so she resigned herself to a hopefully relaxing solo assignment instead. After whatever Blake wanted, of course.

"Don't talk to her that way." Weiss winced at the sudden volume in Yang's voice, and by a look around the cabin, she wasn't the only one.

Guess maybe some teams did need building.

"Here's an idea, why doesn't our fearless leader speak up for herself if she doesn't like how I talk?" Cardin snapped back. "Check me if her fire-dust facemask made her mute, too, but I'm pretty sure I've heard her talk before."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. Fire-dust facemask? Her gaze flicked to the seat on the end, where a defeated looking Ruby sat.

Ah, so she finally got her team placement, she realized. And fearless leader, too? That was... interesting.

No, good. That was good. Probably good? A little odd Pyrrha was passed up for it again, but generally good.

"I think Ruby can-" Pyrrha started to say, tone as diplomatic as ever before Yang powered through.

"Why would she want to respond to that? Why are you trying to stir something up here?" Yang's focus hadn't strayed an inch away from Cardin. "She isn't a matchstick, she doesn't wash her face with fire dust, or stick it in a deep fryer, or confuse a firework for lipstick, and if you say one more thing either about her, to her, or even slightly mentioning her in passing, I'm gonna feed you to the nearest grimm I can find. Through. A. Straw."

Ruby, Weiss thought. Do something. Intervene.

Still, she just sat there.

Why wasn't she doing anything?

You're a leader now. Be a leader. Take action, speak up, show them. Beat Cardin to a pulp if he talks to you like that. Don't just ignore him, you shouldn't, you can't.

You can't ignore him.

Cardin leaned forward, teeth bared. "Match. Stick."

Yang's eyes flashed red as she moved, fist raised, Ember Celica shifting into place, rocketing toward Cardin.

"Ruby," Weiss shouted, and she jerked in her chair, sucking in a breath.

It was just like before, that feeling like everything suddenly shifted out of place, dancing into a reality just one across on some cosmic row. Rose petals covered the cabin, in the air, on the floor, already misting away but making the whole place smell like a flower garden in the interim. And Yang had suddenly traded seats with Ruby, her punch sailing effortlessly by a surprised Pyrrha, while Cardin blinked in confusion at the loss of his target.

Ruby's wide eyed gaze locked onto her from her new seating position, and though she didn't look nearly as bad as she had at the end of their spar, her hair and clothes were in more disarray and she was breathing heavier.

"Thank you," Weiss mouthed to her, and Ruby gave a minute nod in response, breathing easing somewhat.

"What the-" Yang started to say, before Goodwitch interrupted.

"Everyone, we are beginning our descent. Remain in your seats until the bullhead has come to a complete stop and the doors are open. If you stand up before the doors are open, you'll be spending the entire field trip within my direct line of sight, is that clear?"

Every head in the cabin nodded.

The bullhead sloped slightly, pushing everyone into the person on their left, and though almost all the petals left by Ruby's semblance had misted away already, Weiss could see Pyrrha narrow her eyes at one before it too disappeared.

The doors opened, students stood up, collecting whatever weapons and bags they'd stored in the overhead compartments, and shuffled out under Goodwitch's direction.

And when she finally got out into the sun,

Forever Fall was beautiful.

Weiss liked Atlas. For as cold and split her home was in her head, she missed the enormous structures of glass and steel always towering above, reflecting light like the alleys were made of mirrors during the day and at night so clear the moon was never fully out of sight.

She missed the conveniences of the public terminals, the spotless scroll coverage, the fashion, the smell. And sometimes, when she'd get out of bed in the middle of the night, restless, and find some place to train, when her frame shook with soreness and exhaustion, she missed Winter more than anything else in the world.

Vale was different from Atlas, she always knew that. The way the government was structured, the environment, the temperatures, she'd seen examples of the differing architecture in books and online, she was aware of the comparisons on paper. But none of that prepared her for... color.

Atlas had color, obviously it wasn't something she was ever missing. But Vale had color. It was so vibrant in the clothing, in the animals, in the plants, dear Oum the plants that stretched from her feet to the sky that bled color like the brightest of dust for no other reason than that someone could see it.

Forever Fall was everything Vale had and more, it was color incarnate.

Nothing could ruin this.

"You two go on ahead, we just have to talk for a minute," Blake said, waving Ren and Nora off.

Oh, right.

They walked out of the way a good two minutes before Blake was finally satisfied, coming to a gradual halt.

"So..." Weiss spread her hands. "What-" do you want? "-is this about?"

"I wanted to talk about," she hesitated, "the essay for Professor Oobleck's class."

"Okay?"

"No." Blake covered her face with a hand, starting to pace. "That's stupid. I don't know why I said that."

Weiss hadn't expected the need to add, 'Blake wanted to have a conversation just to waste my time,' to the lower half of the event scale.

"I want to be a leader," she finally forced out after a few false starts.

"Well congratulations." Weiss folded her arms across her chest. "You got the position."

Blake groaned. "That's not what I mean."

"Well what do you mean?" Weiss asked, impatiently.

What was her problem?

___])

Why was this so hard? Blake scrubbed her face with a hand, pacing through the thick red forest with the Schnee at her side. 'I screwed up.' 'I want to be a better leader.' That's all she needed to say, but... that wasn't true, was it? She did screw up, and she did want to be better, but that wasn't all she needed to say, she needed to have a plan. Why didn't she come up with a plan?

Did she honestly think she'd be able to fix her broken team just by trying harder?

'Did you honestly think we'd be able to change the SDC's minds just by trying harder?' Adam's voice ricocheted around her skull like a physical thing, the memory forcing her to swallow bile at how uncomfortably close her inner thoughts had become to his.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot," she said, haltingly, trying to figure out some way the conversation could move from there to working as a teamlike unit, and coming up with very little. "I realize you probably wanted to be team leader, yourself-"

"Not a goal I've had for a while," the Schnee swiped a hand to the side at that. "I had a more pressing priority of trying to get onto a team that actually wanted me there."

"There's a team that actually wanted you there?"

The Schnee flinched, hard. "...right."

She spun on her heel to stride briskly away, but Blake chased after her. "Wait, sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

She shook off the hand Blake tried to place on her shoulder. "Then what do you mean? You'll forgive me if I came to Vale attempting to avoid having to sift through infinite alternate meanings when someone talks to me."

"I mean I screwed up." Blake shouted, hands clenched into fists. "I screwed up, and I have no idea how to fix it."

She stopped moving, silent.

"I don't know how to run a team," Blake sighed. "I'm not the coordinator type; I'm the type to be sent off solo because I'm so much better at managing myself than even working in a team, much less leading one. This... it's all new to me, and whatever you needed, I know I haven't been giving it to you. Just tell me what it is and I'll do it, I want to do this right. Please?"

She hummed, the sound drifting in the air with the leaves. It was funny, she knew at some vague level one of the Schnee children was a singer, but she'd never been able to connect it before, something as simple as a hum being so musical. "You know, Yang's been teaching me something."

"What's that?"

Blake felt her nose crack under the punch.

She landed on the grass, fallen leaves crunching under her and shock, more than anything else, coating her being. "Why-?"

"Day one, you glare at me from the moment I get off the bullhead to the moment I lie down to sleep, day two, you get paired with me in Initiation and seethe. You get assigned team leader, and before you've even sat down to eat with us, before I can even apologize for whatever it is I did that offended you so badly, you're talking to Ozpin trying to kick me off the team." White hot fury bubbled across her face as she towered above. "And before you even think about trying to deny it, I know that's what it was about. You come to him, and after one sentence from you, I see him look right at me, a couple later you do the same, pleading, and when you come back and I ask what you were talking to him about, what do you tell me? 'Team assignments.' It's not hard to connect those dots."

Blake felt her stomach drop. All this time, she thought that's what that was about. "I-"

"Day three, there's the snipes as I'm unpacking my bag." She counted off her fingers. "Day four and the only time you smile during combat class is when I'm getting beaten. Days five, six, seven, eight, nine, up to thirty seven I get nothing from you but suspicion, hatred, and disregard every single day, and on number thirty-eight, you finally look around and see your team's a mess and you tell me you don't know how that happened?"

She spat, the action so un-Schnee-like it shook Blake more than the glob hitting her cheek ever could.

"Screw you, Blake Belladonna, and screw your apology." She turned, leaves kicked up in her wake as she walked away. "You want to know how to make it up to me? Start by learning my name. Bet you didn't think I noticed that either, huh?"

Blake thumped her head back into the dirt, hearing the crunch of dead plants beneath the Schnee's departing heels.

Of course.

Of course she noticed that.

'Are you really going to let her talk to you like that?' Adam's voice in her head, jeered. 'A Schnee?'

"What else am I gonna do?" Blake asked back. "It's not like she's wrong."

'No wonder you left the White Fang.' His voice stung with disgust. 'How long has it been since you've lost your bite?'

"That's the point: this isn't the White Fang. Not everything can be solved by violence out here."

Adam chuckled. 'Tell that to your nose.'

Blake reached a hand up to her nose, wincing at the bruising already obvious through her aura. Hairline fracture, painful, and impressive it got through her aura, but more than likely healed by the end of the day. That fact was cold comfort to what caused it.

'You know how we'd fix this in the White Fang.'

Blake sat up, teeth gritted. "I'm not in the White Fang anymore."

'Suit yourself,' her inner Adam said. 'But like it or not, the White Fang was a team. Surely you remember that much, my darling.'

She hated that voice. It used to be a comfort when she was alone on a mission, something that could tell her the right thing to do, what he would do. But as she became more and more unsure what he would do was the right thing, the voice became unreliable in turn. To not be able to trust the person she'd come to know so well felt like glass in her throat, but to not even be able to trust her own thoughts? That was even worse.

But was he wrong?

Yes, she immediately spiked down. About the way to faunus equality, about what was too far, what was justified, about humans, yes, a million times he was wrong. But was he- was she, wrong about this?

She knew how the White Fang would handle this. It was messy, and savage, and everything the worst of humans said about the faunus.

It was as likely to get her expelled as it was to fix this.

With a sigh, Blake pushed herself to her feet. "Dust, I wish I had any other ideas."

'You really suck at this,' her inner Adam supplied.

"I know."

([___

Ren could see her aura coming before she crested the hill, twisted and writhing with anger that hardly ever showed in her expression. His skill in aura reading wasn't easily earned, and he never doubted its benefits, but there were days when he feared it gave him too great a glimpse at the people around him. Souls were meant to be private things, after all, and for as much as it being made manifest on the skin was a boon in combat, it also made it difficult to keep anything of substance beneath his notice.

Weiss was clearly taught by the best in terms of body language and expression. She could act bored, disaffected, or neutral with the best of them, and though she rarely used it in his presence, he'd seen her feign interest and happiness as well. But her aura never lied. Her aura was sick.

And at that moment, to him, it seemed she was a handful of seconds away from losing control completely.

Ren's semblance licked across his fingers as he approached, ready to try and soothe her aura with his own. All it would have taken was a touch, but...

"Weiss." The roar jolted everyone to a stop, Nora with a bottle of syrup up to her lips, Ren with his hand half raised, and Weiss with that ever so careful neutral mask cracking under unmistakable surprise.

Ren was distracted for a moment by a flock of birds startling out of the trees nearby, but when he turned back and saw Blake approaching he understood.

Her nose was broken, a thin trail of blood leaking from it, and though her aura was more controlled than Weiss' at that moment, more focused, to his eyes they were almost indistinguishable.

"Uh, Renny," Nora said, uncertainly as Blake came closer. "Should we... do something about this?"

Weiss laid a hand on her rapier, and Ren hoped that Blake would catch the warning in the action.

Above everything else he'd seen, Blake was reserved and defensive. She wouldn't escalate the situation, it simply wasn't her way.

"Finally learned my name," Weiss said, evenly.

"Yep." Blake's weapon clicked against Weiss' forehead faster than Ren could react, and before the heiress could do more than widen her eyes, she fired.

Weiss staggered back a step, two, and her expression broke completely, showing the fury buried underneath.

"Okay." Weiss drew her sword as blood trickled down her forehead from the impact. "Let's do this, then."

Blake's aura hissed as she dove forward, shadow clone eating a stab meant straight for her eye, while the true Blake buried a fist into her teammate's stomach.

Weiss' aura screamed, a horrible battle cry that Ren couldn't help an instinctive step back at. She forced her way through the punch, turning to minimize the damage before she twisted her whole body, bringing the hilt of her sword down onto the back of Blake's skull.

A hit like that would bring anyone down, Blake knew that as well as Weiss. So she went down.

Not before she shoved forward into a clinch, however.

The two toppled down the hill, tearing, biting, scratching, weapons used more as clubs than their intended purpose, any grace or dignity to the encounter long discarded.

Seconds passed. Minutes.

Blake wrapped the ribbon of her weapon around Weiss' neck, and she in turn spun the dust chamber of hers, jabbing it toward the ground and lighting them both ablaze.

Winning? Losing? The concepts didn't even come into play for them at that point.

Make it hurt.

Weiss slammed her head into Blake's already broken nose and Blake surged forward, squeezing her thumbs into her eye sockets until she screamed.

Make them cry.

Broken bones, burns, spit and blood, themselves, the area around them, destroyed in their private war.

Who gives up first?

Who dies?

Never who wins.

"I'm going to get Miss Goodwitch." Nora turned to go, and Ren was about to agree, except when he saw the auras move it was different than before, and his eyes widened as he almost couldn't believe it.

"Wait." He held up a hand.

She paused, eyebrows furrowed. "Ren? What are we waiting for? They're gonna kill each other."

"No." He watched their auras, mesmerized. "They're not."

___])

Weiss' vision was a blur, blood leaking into it, wiped away, and leaking again, hazed by the fight, by anger, by pain she constantly had to push past again and again.

Her whole body was pain by that point. Most of the fingers on her left hand were broken, bent the wrong way, or used to block the wrong swing, she couldn't remember which. Bruises bloomed all up and down her body, black and brown, yellow and blue, and where her aura had faltered is where Blake's sword actually found purchase, cuts and stabs, shallow wounds, ones that'd heal quickly if she just got a chance to rest that seemed so impossibly far away right then.

Her mouth felt like it was stuffed with iron and cotton, her throat like she'd swallowed nails. She was sure if she tried to say anything, it wouldn't come out resembling intelligible speech in the slightest. But honestly, there was nothing she wanted to say.

She was angry about... something. She couldn't remember what. The fight was pushing her to her limits, this shadow of death in every swing, every push and grab, Blake wanted to kill her, she could feel it. She had to stop it. Had to kill her right back.

If she thought about why she was angry, thought about what to say, focused on anything but kill or die, then she wouldn't survive.

This eclipsed everything.

It was so simple.

Was Atlas ever this simple?

The thought came without warning, a distraction that let Blake's teeth clamp around her shoulder before Weiss could kick her off, aiming for a space she'd seen a scar before, an old wound she'd acquired somewhere, and not from a surgery either. It probably hurt more to aim there, she hoped it did.

Was Blake ever this simple?

Jabbed with the backside of Blake's sword, batting it aside before the gun form could fully deploy, hand against her throat, too close, both hands, have to make her let go.

She threw Myrtenaster to the side.

A laugh bubbled up from her throat, brushing aside the nails, the blood, the iron as she pried Blake's hands off her, and after a moment, she was vaguely aware of Blake doing the same.

They were laughing, like maniacs, grappling against each other. Hands with fingernails bloody from endless scratching hung limply on each other's backs, balanced into standing like cards in a tower.

The fight wasn't over, was it? Did it matter?

It felt like she'd passed some event horizon, all the pain she felt crossing over into this numbness that covered her completely.

She couldn't speak, couldn't curse or fight anymore. Every bit of her energy was spent in this, and Weiss Schnee felt herself, for the first time in her life, covered in the worst wounds she'd ever known, able to truly relax.

This steel core of will to her Schnee temperament, this discipline that outlined her being, bitterness, anger, all of it was used up, deemed unnecessary systems in the near deathmatch and deactivated to fuel a desperate need to survive.

She'd survived. In that moment, nothing else mattered.

Blake hugged her tighter, more energy somehow lingering in her being. "I'm sorry, Weiss. I was stupid and stubborn and I tried to leave you behind."

Weiss kept laughing.

"I was wrong." She sank to her knees, and bent against her as she was, Weiss did the same. "You don't have to forgive me, but please, please, let me be there for you now."

Weiss hiccuped, and even through the numbness she could feel her eyes ache, her throat burn. Was she still laughing?

"I know." She kept her arms right there. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Exhausted, aura only barely working to stitch her wounds together, Weiss slumped further into Blake's embrace and finally slept, sobbing like she never had as a child.

A moment after, Blake joined her.

Chapter Text

There was something wrong with Ruby. Pyrrha didn't mean that in a mean way, or overly judgemental, just observationally there were aspects of Ruby that didn't line up correctly. It was an instinct Pyrrha had learned to trust after too long in the tournament circuit. Certain fighters with kind faces and good reputations she'd interact with for a few minutes and feel something... off about them. They'd do things like invite her out for drinks before the match, ask her to friendly spars, or even something as simple as going to the gym together, and she'd have to figure out some way to wriggle out of it without causing offense. Before those matches she felt almost paranoid, checking and rechecking her food, equipment, anything handed to her, and she might have kept feeling that way if she didn't always find something wrong.

Usually subtle, no way to trace it back, no damage to the fighter's reputation, but she knew where it came from. When the pieces in her weapon's transformation gears became filed down, when she smelled her water bottle and jerked back at the incorrect scent, when weights were mislabeled or safeties removed, the culprits were obvious.

She didn't think Ruby was like that, of course. She was off in a different way.

It started with her face, once again, not judgemental, but curious. Burn scars in a patchwork pattern given recently, with the last fact being obvious by the condition of the scars as much as the way Ruby treated them. She seemed surprised whenever someone reacted, instead of resigned, and couldn't face windows when the lighting made them reflective for longer than a handful of moments. Whatever acceptance would be required for such a wound, she was still a long way off from reaching it.

The month's absence from school was another piece, and given something she'd heard Yang say in passing about an 'accident' that caused it, Pyrrha felt it was fair to guess the scarring and absence were related.

The cause, however, was more difficult to estimate. Both Yang and Ruby were vague on the subject, which left her scrolling through local news sites from the sisters' home: a small island village named Patch. And though she managed to find pictures of their father, a retired hunter with, she presumed, either the Rose or Xiao-Long last names, there didn't seem to be any record of an accident the size Ruby's condition would warrant within the right time frame.

Expanding her search to other cities might produce an answer, but would definitely take up an absurd amount of time in the process, especially given she had no idea which ones the sisters and their father were likely to travel to.

Dead end.

But that wasn't Ruby's only oddity.

Ruby's semblance transmuted her aura into rose petals. This wouldn't be the worst semblance she'd ever seen, surprisingly enough. The rose petals were pleasant, bright, and could be used as a distraction or flourish in combat if she could create many very quickly, which Pyrrha found out quickly enough she could. Honestly, the semblance was well matched to its user: a pretty thing carved into a weapon, it was perfect.

It was a lie.

Ruby's semblance did produce rose petals, they were pleasant, and it fit her well enough, but it also did something else. And Pyrrha had no idea what that was. Stealth focused? There were multiple points throughout the week she'd known Ruby that she had shown up somewhere without making a sound. It was a trait she shared with Blake on occasion, but while Blake moved silently all the time, Ruby's was more in bursts accompanied by the petals, and completely devoid of sound or sign until she was practically right on top of her, compared to Blake's more imperfect stealth.

It could have been a Manipulator semblance. That would fit with some things she'd observed, moments that seemed to be missing, where a cookie would disappear off a plate and into Ruby's hands without anyone seeing it, where people would change seats, or projectiles would be intercepted and Pyrrha would narrow her eyes and wonder when something got there. She didn't much appreciate Manipulator semblances, but it would be interesting if Ruby had a powerful one. The ability to make an opponent lose even a split second of time was invaluable in combat.

If she'd ever actually seen Ruby fight, she'd probably know, but either on purpose or by chance, all the combats in the week she'd been there had been team focused and without a team she was left waiting in the stands. Convenient. Or inconvenient.

That also didn't mean she got away with not fighting, there were frequent times she'd be called to the 'infirmary' only to come out more injured than before. Wherever she was actually going, Pyrrha doubted it was medical in origin.

Following her always ended up with Ruby losing her, somehow, which just added to the mystery. Pyrrha was hardly trained in tailing, but most people wouldn't suspect having one at all. The fact she was apparently seen and lost so easily only made the waters of Ruby's past even muddier.

She could follow Yang where she went just fine, so what made Ruby different?

It was a thought that lingered as they all stepped off the bullhead into Forever Fall.

"Here." Yang jabbed a jar toward Cardin, growling. "Take this and go off somewhere far away to fill it."

He let it fall, not even making an attempt to catch it. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize our team had changed leaders already; rough news for you, matchstick."

Yang opened her mouth to respond, but Pyrrha cut her off. "Enough." She leaned down to retrieve the jar, picking a random direction. "Let's just go and get this over with."

Ruby, Yang, and Cardin all followed behind, unhappiness in varying degrees radiating off them in waves.

Pyrrha sighed, shaking her head.

Teams, huh?

They walked a fair distance before reaching a set of trees that none of the other teams were vying for. Even if they could share the same space, Pyrrha really didn't feel like adding any alternate vectors to her team's already strained mental state.

She was about to stop, but was surprised when Ruby pushed past her and kept walking farther. Seeing no particular reason not to, she followed.

When they'd finally gone far enough the nearest other teams were just barely in sight through the trees, that's when she stopped. "Okay." She swiped her boot across a tree stump, knocking the leaves that had fallen on top to the side before sitting down to face them. "Let's talk."

Yang quirked an eyebrow. "Talk about what, Rubes?"

"About me." She spread her hands, patchy scars carved into her arms shining in the light filtering through the leaves. "Even though, to be honest, I'd rather talk about anything else, I know this is important, and if it doesn't get resolved soon I'm pretty sure I'll lose my mind, so let's get on with it." She looked at each of them, expression clear, but set. "I was chosen to be leader. I didn't vote for me, and there are a lot of reasons I shouldn't be, so what are yours?"

Yang scratched the back of her head, blonde mane bouncing with the action as her gaze flicked to the side. "Ruby, we really don't have to do this. We know you didn't pick yourself as leader, and we know there's nothing we can do about it, so there's no reason to take it out on you."

"You really think that, Yang?" She asked.

"Of course."

"Then yeah," she differed, flatly. "We really need to do this."

Yang opened her mouth to answer back, but Pyrrha beat her to it. "You're several years below us," she sighed, everyone's gaze shifting to her. "That's several years of schooling, training with weapons, combat, tactics, and yes, even leadership you've gone completely without. I can understand taking the opportunity to go here early, really, I can. But from one prodigy to another, these skills make a difference. Sooner or later you're going to run into a situation where the lack of these teachings drags you down. And I don't want our team to be dragged down with you when that happens."

Ruby nodded, not commenting on that directly just yet, but turning to Cardin. "I've got a pretty good idea what you're gonna say at this point, but let's just have it out loud, right?"

He gave an exaggerated faux-bow. "I live to serve, master matchstick." He counted off on his fingers. "You're weak, you're tiny, you're injured, you're a child, your weapon's a joke, you missed a whole month of classes on top of everything Pyrrha just said, you're weak willed, shy, a social nightmare, you bruise like a banana, you look like the after picture for a botched plastic surgery done during a bullhead crash, you have your sister fight all your battles for you, which is hilarious since she also doesn't respect you at all, and you're some nobody from a nobody family and a nobody town who somehow got special pity treatment from Ozpin."

"Is that all?" Ruby's eyes flicked to the side where Yang's were already turning red. "Yang, sit down; this is exactly what I wanted."

Yang covered some momentary shock at the statement with spinning and punching a tree, leaving a splintering hole in the center even without her gauntlets deployed.

"Your voice is also really annoying, and you're poor," he added, succinctly.

"Does the last one really have to do with me being a leader?" Ruby asked.

"I added it as more of a point towards your general unlikeability," he explained, snidely.

"Right." She took a moment, seeming to absorb everything before standing and starting to pace. "Well, you're right about a bunch of stuff. I am tiny, I'm younger, I came in late, and I don't think anyone can argue against social nightmare, but..." she unslung her weapon, the red cube whirring to deploy into full scythe mode. "You also called my weapon a joke, and that's where I'm gonna have to argue with you."

She leveled the blade toward Cardin, her intentions obvious, and Pyrrha felt her interest prick up at the action.

"Ooh, so the little matchstick girl wants to fight?" He drew his mace, the image of it up against her unsettling when even the handle almost eclipsed her whole head. "Real poor choice, but I'm here for it anyways."

"Hey," Yang barked, standing between them. "You're not fighting here. Didn't you listen when Goodwitch was talking? There's grimm in the area, low aura could be a death sentence."

"Then we won't play to aura," Ruby said. "Three downs or a ten count, how about that?"

The grin that slicked across his face was far from pleasant. "Works for me."

But it was accommodating.

"No." Yang swiped a hand down. "This isn't happening. Ruby could get-"

Pyrrha grabbed Yang by the collar, dragging her to the side despite her protests. Ruby had seen Cardin fight; she knew he wasn't a pushover, but despite that, she didn't seem nervous to be up against him. Actually, this here was the least anxious Pyrrha had ever seen her. She'd beaten Weiss, somehow, badly enough to earn a grudge.

If she didn't see what she could do for herself soon, Pyrrha was sure she'd die of curiosity.

"Our team leader's made a decision, Yang." She set the blonde upright, dusting off both her shoulders and giving her an encouraging smile. "We should respect that."

Yang's expressions swapped between different anxieties faster than Pyrrha could clock them. "But-"

"Thanks, Pyrrha." Ruby waved, before a razor focus sharpened on Cardin. "Count of three?"

"One." Cardin crouched down low.

"Two." Ruby stood up straight, scythe behind her in an almost lazy grip as she slowly breathed out.

"Three." Cardin jumped forward.

Ruby breathed in.

([___

Rennfort was smaller after the war. Not in size: once it was no longer necessary to crouch strictly within the city's walls, farms, pastures, and more crept out of the city, spiderwebbing along the road wherever enterprising workers could find purchase. No. In size it was as big as was required. It was in stature the city seemed smaller.

What used to be a destination for soldiers on the front lines, a blot of civilization so close to the frontier, a haven for time off, and a last look on the way to battle, was suddenly just another city. Civilization was no longer at a premium, and as remote as it was, as small compared to cities like Vale, it was so quickly remembered as what it was then, rather than what it is now.

A little shabby, not very exciting, but miraculous in its people.

Rennfort didn't have the finest bakers, artists, or farmers in Vale, but something about the area, a natural competitiveness to the people, the boredom of a remote outpost, or even something in the water produced an amount of Hunstmen and Huntresses that it was practically a statistical outlier.

There wasn't a year in the last half century Beacon's graduating class didn't have at least one Rennfort-made. It was a point of pride in the community.

Heroes came from Rennfort, that's what people said.

And Cardin Winchester had found the greatest one.

"Hey, you alright, man?" The sun was at his back, forcing Cardin to squint from the ground as he stretched a hand down. "That was a heck of a beating you took; I'm impressed."

Everything hurt. If Cardin had any aura left, it was a light slap from shattering, and if he lacked any in the first place, he would have been dead long ago. Instead, he just vaguely wished he was.

He swallowed, roughly, tasting iron and bile. "The ursa, is it...?"

"Dead." He took the hand, letting the man pull him to his feet with a friendly smile. "You did a good job, man. You training to be a Huntsman?"

"Who killed it?" He looked up at the massive teen with no small amount of awe. He was hardly short, himself, even at fifteen he was a full head above most adults. The fact this man was so much taller was beyond a rarity. "Who are you?"

"Aramis Russ'Artagnan," he introduced himself with a hearty handshake. "Ursa was on its last legs, I just pushed it over."

Cardin's eyes swept to the side where a deep furrow had been carved into the earth, the ursa's dissipating remains splattered against a tree with such force the wood splintered and cracked. "Pushed it over, huh?"

"Whatever you're seeing is probably a hallucination." He slung his arm over Cardin, helping him walk despite broken ribs slowly mending themselves together again. "Come on, let's get you to a hospital."

"Are you training to be a Hunter?" He wheezed, spitting a mouthful of blood out onto the grass.

He gave a light laugh at that. "That sounds like way too much stress. My speed's more in the sculpting area of things."

Cardin grunted. "Seems like a waste."

"Maybe." He shrugged, accidentally making Cardin wince with the strain it put on his ribs. "But I'm only an apprentice and I have my own workshop, so you can't say it's something I'm completely skilless at."

"Fair enough."

They walked in silence for a while, the walls of the city cresting into view as they ascended the hill. "Hey, you're a Winchester, right?"

"Cardin." He hissed, clutching his chest as they started going downward. "Call me Cardin."

Cardin had seen the sculptures after he was discharged from the hospital, and they were certainly nice. Even the ones he didn't understand, which if he was being honest was most of them, he could admire the art that went into the creation.

"It's a statement on the decline of communication between humans and faunus put through the lens of a fish and bird trying to talk."

If it was possible, the artist was even harder to understand.

"You couldn't do a sculpture of a human and faunus trying to talk?" Cardin asked, checking to see if tilting his head made it make more sense. "How am I supposed to get that from this? Looks like the bird's two seconds from eating the fish."

"See, that's part of it, the communication problems are in part because of distrust, but as the communication gets worse, so does the distrust, and that breeds this desire to conquer and control the other, that the bird represents."

"So the bird is humanity?" Cardin tried.

"The bird is both; both distrust, both want to control and conquer. Humanity and faunus are the bird and the fish, we're the same."

"Have you ever met a faunus, Rusty?" Cardin huffed, lightly. "Cause I have, and take it from me: not the same."

"I've met faunus," he defended, scratching the back of his head. "Not a lot of faunus, but still. And Aramis isn't that hard to say, you know, Rusty isn't even close to Russ'Artagnan."

"Rusty is very close to Russ'Artagnan, I'm shocked no one's called you it before," Cardin drawled, "and Aramis doesn't fit you at all as a name; it's way too... soft."

"I have the sensitive soul of an artist," he pronounced.

"And the body of a beowolf outhouse."

He sighed. "Not gonna be a Hunter, Cardin."

It was a conversation they'd had before. Once or twice or pretty much every time they'd seen each other after that. Rusty's art was well made, he could admit that, but the fact he wasn't even considering the occupation was such a massive waste of natural talent Cardin couldn't stand it.

"You'd be the best Hunter, and it wouldn't be close, believe me." Cardin picked up one of Rusty's carving hammers, weighing it in his hand for a moment before pitching it full force at a sculpture.

Rusty sighed, plucking it out of the air with the ease of breathing. "It's not me. I mean, it's kind of harsh, I just don't care about people that much. I'd flunk out of Beacon in a week."

"You wouldn't flunk out, and you do care about people." Cardin tapped his chest. "You saved my life." Rusty rolled his eyes, backing up and returning to his latest, still mostly stone, project. "Besides, what about your sculptures? It's all caring about people stuff. Humans and faunus, humans and grimm, war, love, family. If that ain't caring about people, you're a real impressive psycho."

"Making sculptures doesn't require putting myself in danger." He looked down at the hammer and chisel in his hand. "At least, not more danger than bashing my thumb, anyway."

"How much danger does fighting an ursa to save some guy you didn't even know put you in?" Cardin wheedled. "You don't even have aura."

"I don't even need aura," he tossed back. "Cause I'm a civilian."

"You know, I could unlock it for you." Cardin clicked his fingers. "I got my mantra figured out and everything."

His eyes narrowed. "And leave me eighty-percent more likely to get targeted by grimm, plus have half the Hunter population able to read my thoughts? Hard pass."

"Clearer skin, faster healing, living longer, more defence against attacks..." Cardin listed out.

He rolled his eyes. "Have to eat twice as much, keep exercising so it doesn't get stagnant and make you sick, random possibly horrible semblance, you're really selling me on this, man, keep going."

"Possibly amazing semblance, extra strength, aura reading, aura pulses, aura shroud. You realize if you learned that last one you could keep your tools sharp for like ever, right?"

"Ah yes, who could forget the greatest part of having an unlocked aura: extra learning," he deadpanned.

Cardin flicked the back of his head. "Prick."

He rubbed the back of his head, glaring back, but without any real anger. "Everyone's a critic."

"Spar with me one time." Cardin held up a finger. "If you win, I'll drop the whole thing."

"And if I lose, you'll inform my nonexistent next-of-kin?" Rusty turned back to working. "Yeah, I'm not letting you unlock my aura, and I'm pretty sure aura versus non aura is an automatic lose on my end."

"Come on, I won't even use weapons. If you can hit me even once, it's your win. How about that?"

Rusty finally put down his tools, pinching his eyes with a hand. "Fine. Okay, one spar."

"Yes." Cardin pumped both fists to the sky. "You want to use my weapon?"

"Nah, I'll just use this." He hefted one of the heavier sculptor's hammers. "At least I'm used to holding one of these."

"Suit yourself." He jerked his head to the door. "Out in the yard?"

"Well I'm not doing it in here." Rusty stood, clicking his back with a groan. "Alright, let's try this out."

The yard was patchy, mostly dirt, with only the occasional clump of grass to break up the flat tan slate. In essence, practically perfect for a spar.

"On three, right?" Cardin asked, and Rusty grunted in confirmation. "One..."

He spun the hammer in his hand, looking down at it like the stone before he started carving, an intense concentration he rarely used outside the workshop.

"Two..."

Cardin cracked his knuckles, crouching to ready himself for a tackle. He was still smaller, but people weren't immune to the laws of gravity.

"Three."

The hammer slammed into his face.

___])

Cardin could see, even from the distance Ruby was away from him, her eyes widen. Then he felt a hot sticky liquid splash down his back, red dripping past his ears, and it took after he could even recognize the sensation to realize Ruby had moved.

There was a blur, if he really concentrated, if he half imagined her form, he could see it. Red, and black, like a grimm, with silver dotting in between like the beast's teeth opening wide.

Crunch.

The head of a beowolf landed on the ground beside him.

"Grimm," Ruby yelled, and Cardin whirled to see her standing there on top of the monster's decomposing corpse, as more gathered through the treetops. The grimm blood that showered over his back from before misted away with the body, never leaving a sign behind save destruction, and flower petals surrounded him, vanishing the same way.

Pyrrha was the first to move after her, weapon shifting to its rifle form, shots firing off to slam into grimm heads with almost sickening precision.

Cardin moved second, mace coming to bear so close to his expected target, but batting a monster aside instead of caving in Ruby's aura.

Yang didn't move at all.

"Yang?" Ruby asked, slicing through another beowolf.

She stared forward, openmouthed, at the spot the first grimm died.

"Yang." Ruby's voice started to grow more panicked, looking back at a beowolf that had broken through, circling around to attack the still immobile blonde.

Pyrrha twisted, clicking her gun into place and firing off several shots that slammed into the grimm's head, but the beast kept going, ignoring the efforts.

"Yang, snap out of it," Ruby screamed.

The beowolf's jaws opened wide.

It was only because he was standing so close, Cardin heard her curse, saw her hands clench tighter around her scythe, and watched her breathe in deeply.

Rose petals exploded in a line like a laser tracing right from where Ruby was standing to a space just past the grimm attacking Yang.

The grimm was more than split in half by the force of impact, it was like a bomb had gone through it, splitting through the space ribs and guts would have been if grimm had use for such simple organs.

Grimm blood and red roses mixed with the leaves in the air, a cloud of shifting crimson such that Cardin wouldn't have been able to pick out Ruby's form at all if it weren't for two piercing silver eyes staring at him from beyond it.

She was a monster.

Cardin's heart beat faster, base animal terror clutching to his spine like a goblin that wouldn't let go. She could kill him, he was sure of that now, and he wasn't sure he could do a single thing to stop her.

A grin split his face, smoother than glass as elation rose to meet the fear. "What the hell, matchstick?" He yelled back to her. "Why didn't you do that in the first place?"

Cardin loved monsters.

Fighting them, talking with them, hurting them, eating with them, killing them, killing with them, he'd done it all. His teammates needed time to adjust, he could see Pyrrha compartmentalize all of this for later, but it still slowed her actions, and Yang was only just then being shaken from her stupor, but not him.

For him this was only too familiar.

Another beowolf appeared and Yang clicked her gauntlets into place, reaching past Ruby's face and slamming into the grimm's face with enough force it caved in.

"We talk about this later," Yang said, pleading eyes poking through her mussed up hair.

Ruby nodded. "I promise."

Pyrrha shifted her weapon into its spear form and set into the gathered grimm with ferocity, Cardin and Yang moving to match as Ruby lingered behind. It'd be easy to count the action as that of a general leading troops, but Cardin's snuck glances behind showed her leaning heavily against a tree looking more pale and sickly than even the impressive amount she did before.

Ah well.

Cardin's mace bit into a beowolf's spine, mashing it into the ground.

She was still young, after all.

By the time the battle had finished, she'd regained some of her breath back, and the part of the forest they were in was thoroughly demolished by the encounter, decomposing grimm corpses littering the clearing like black bonfires.

"There shouldn't be this many grimm out here." Pyrrha's lips pursed as she collapsed her weapons once again, sheathing them on her back. "It doesn't make any sense."

"Well, I don't think any of us were in a tiptop emotional state," Ruby said dryly. "And we're pretty far from everyone else."

"Even still." She shook her head. "This is wrong."

Ruby considered for a handful of moments, looking out at the field. "Maybe-"

"Students." Every head whipped up at the voice, terrible recognition instantly setting in. "What exactly happened here?"

"Hi..." Ruby waved weakly. "Professor Goodwitch."

Chapter Text

Taiyang couldn't remember the last time he'd slept through a scroll call. It had to be before he had kids, probably before he was a Hunter, too. There was a time a herd of ursa wouldn't be able to rouse him from a good night's sleep, but stress and necessity had ground away at such peaceful ventures to the point even the ding of a message had him clambering half asleep over furniture to reach his scroll.

Sleeping through a call, not being there if something happened to his team, to his daughters, he couldn't stand not knowing for even the time it took to wake up.

"Hey, dad. It's a little late, hope I didn't wake you up." The screen was dark, just Yang's face illuminated by the scroll, but even with that Taiyang could see her expression clear as day. "Kinda looks like I did."

"Yang, baby, what's wrong?" He moved to the couch, easing down onto it and flicking on the lamp, lighting up the room some more. "Did something happen?"

"My team got in trouble." She curled up into herself a little more. "During the field trip, we went pretty far out and got attacked by grimm." Taiyang's breath caught. "We're all okay, but Ruby..."

"Did she get hurt?" If any lingering traces of sleep still existed, they didn't after that.

"No one got hurt." She breathed deeply. "Well, no one on our team got hurt, and that still wasn't grimm. I was going to be, but Ruby... stepped in."

Taiyang parsed through the strangely wandering sentence, as if she couldn't quite figure out how to say what she wanted. "Ruby's fought grimm before," he said, carefully. "What kind?"

"Just beowolves." She shook her head, hesitating, throat moving like she was trying to swallow pebbles whenever she tried to talk until eventually she managed. "Has Ruby seemed... different to you, since the accident?"

Taiyang kept his voice even. "Different how?"

"I dunno, different." She half shrugged, leaning back against her bedframe. "Sometimes we'll be talking and she'll just get really sad out of nowhere, and she won't tell me why. She won't even admit it's happening, but it is, I can see it. She doesn't like looking at herself in the mirror anymore, like," she waved a hand, "she never did as much as me, I know that, but now it's like she really doesn't like it."

"Are people making fun of her, for the scars?" Taiyang asked, knowing kids that age weren't always the most understanding, particularly of something like that.

"A few." Her eyes darted to the side. "One of my team members included."

"Didn't she just get added to your team?" He preempted Yang's question by adding. "She messaged me about it this morning."

"Yeah, she's here now. She's... team leader." Yang looked away again.

"That's a role with a lot of responsibility," he commented, not making a stance either way.

She frowned, saying quietly, "it should have gone to Pyrrha."

"It would've been simpler that way."

Yang grit her teeth, hands clenching into fists around her blankets. "She deserves it. I would have listened to her, I..."

"Can't listen to Ruby," Taiyang finished for her.

Yang stilled.

"Like I said." Taiyang shrugged. "It would have been simpler."

"I don't know what I'm going to do." Yang covered her eyes with an arm, leaning back further. "It's not just her being sad, she's also weirdly serious at points. Or scared, or mad at times she never would've been before. It's like she got replaced."

Taiyang chuckled. "She didn't get replaced, Yang."

Yang's arm slowly lowered. "Her semblance is different, dad."

Taiyang's laughing quieted in a moment.

"I can't see her anymore, when she moves with it." She gestured with her hands like she could shape the movement. "It tore apart a beowolf; she went through it. Two of them. I don't think they ever stood a chance. If she used it in a fight, against a person, I don't know what would happen, but it's not... hers."

"Sounds like she's gotten faster." Much faster, Taiyang's thoughts supplied.

"Maybe." She sighed. "Feels like I'm going nuts."

"Have you talked to Ruby about this at all?"

"And say what?" She threw her arms up. "Hey, you've been acting weird enough it's getting harder and harder to tell if you're even still my sister? Why won't you talk to me and tell me what's bothering you? Why do you keep sneaking off somewhere and coming back hurt? Why won't you tell me what's going on with you?" As she went through options, her voice got louder and she got more restless. "How long has your semblance been like that? Why wasn't I the first to know? Don't..." she bit her lip, eyes shadowed over by her hair. "Don't you trust me anymore?"

"Good." Taiyang nodded. "Tell her that."

"Which part of that?" Yang asked, weakly.

"All of it. Everything you just told me, tell her." At Yang's indecisive expression, he pushed. "Whatever happens, it has to be better than wondering, right?"

Yang didn't say anything for a while, eyes still out of view. For as loud as the girl could be, when she was this mired in her thoughts Taiyang had even seen her rival Summer in silence. When she finally spoke, it was so quiet he barely caught it.

"What if it's not her?"

At Taiyang's silence, she continued.

"There are semblances that can change your face, or make you see things..." she brought the scroll closer, fear and worry coating her expression like mold, thick, consuming. "I don't know why, I don't exactly know how, but if someone really wanted to break into Beacon... couldn't they do it? Just like that, Ruby is gone and someone else is here."

The Red Queen.

Taiyang didn't want to think it, didn't want to entertain the thought Yang might be right, but...

'A Specialist type semblance, to take the Maiden's powers,' Qrow had said.

'What else?'

'They had a Manipulator among them: one of those three could disguise faces; couldn't get a solid look at any of them.'

'And the third?'

'Don't know, but it had to be something powerful to take Amber down that fast. Something we haven't seen before.'

Fast...

'It tore apart a beowolf...'

'If she used it in a fight, against a person...'

'I don't know what would happen.'

Qrow.

He needed to get Qrow there.

"Talk to her," Taiyang said, keeping as much of his thoughts out of his expression as possible. "You'll feel better, I promise."

Yang hesitated for a moment, but finally sagged. "Yeah, dad, you're probably right. It just surprised me, you know? When I saw her use her semblance and it was so different on top of everything else, I... didn't know what to think."

"Beacon has some of my favorite memories in it, and I'd never deprive you girls from going once you had your hearts set, but I also know that it's one of the singular most stressful places on the planet." He smiled, comfortingly. "The teachers, the other teams, your team, the dorms, classes, everything, I get it."

Yang smiled back, relaxing against her pillows once again. "There's a bit of that going around, believe me. Ruby's only part of it when there's Cardin, Jaune, and... dad, what do you know about bad team situations?"

Too much, Taiyang considered with a sigh. "Who do you know in a bad team situation?"

([___

Nora didn't think field trips were supposed to be like this: her teammates, exhausted to the point of unconsciousness, carted back into the bullhead on stretchers so as not to exacerbate their injuries. Sidling in beside another team that reeked of dead grimm, and bearing Glynda's explosive rant on irresponsibility, danger, and recklessness.

She always thought, if that was the reason for her team to get expelled, it'd be her fault. The fact it was someone else's, the fact she didn't do anything to stop it was just... wrong. Blake and Weiss had started fighting and she hadn't broken them up, hadn't joined in, she'd watched.

What kind of teammate was she?

Didn't she like Blake and Weiss?

It was that last question that stalled in her mind, forced her to stare at her hands the whole bullhead ride back to Beacon, not because she didn't know the answer, but because she did.

No.

She didn't like Blake and Weiss.

It wasn't that she disliked them; they were both dedicated, strong, capable teammates, and she was sure given enough time they'd all be a big happy friendly team. If they didn't flunk out before then, or get expelled, or if the stretch of time necessary to be 'enough' didn't actually extend past graduation.

She was getting off track.

The point was, she didn't hate them or anything, but she wouldn't really call them friends either, or anything past acquaintances or coworkers. Even the technically accurate title of roommate seemed too personal for all she knew about them.

Weiss was a singer, she'd read somewhere, but she'd never heard her sing. Her family was rich and big in Atlas? Something something controversial with faunus labor laws? But that wasn't really about Weiss, what did she know about Weiss?

She went to bed early, and woke up before anyone else. She was usually already out of the room by the time Nora could blink her eyes open and besides seeing her in class or occasionally eating at the same table in the dining hall, Weiss avoided their team entirely. She didn't hang out in the room, didn't spar with them, outside very specific classwork, and barely spoke to them apart from the barest scraps of icy pleasantries.

Nora couldn't even call her a black box, because at least those, someone got information out of.

And miraculously Blake was even worse. She was there in person slightly more, usually waking up after or around the same time Nora did, but she went to bed later so usually she never even saw her come in. She spent most of her time in the library, rarely sparred at all, and didn't even seem to visit the dining hall that often. At least Weiss had the benefit of there being some information about her online, politically skewed as it was, Blake had nothing about her Nora knew beyond the most basic surface level attributes, and even then it felt like she was missing something.

So no, she didn't like them. There were two strangers sharing a room with her and Ren, a situation in common with nearly every hostel they'd ever been in. If she was supposed to suddenly have a magical connection this time compared to all the others, she hadn't felt it yet.

Did Ren like them?

He didn't know much more about them, tangibly, than Nora did, but his aura reading definitely put him in a better state to glean reactions at least. Both of them had incredibly strict, locked down expressions most of the time, so when they heard or saw something that bothered them at least he had a good idea when that happened.

Was that enough?

Nora doubted it.

"Nora."

But even if she didn't like them exactly just yet, that didn't mean she wanted a different team. She didn't want them to flunk out of Beacon and she definitely didn't want the whole team to flunk out. She just wanted them to give her and Ren a little more to work with, you know?

"Nora..."

And yeah, she and Ren definitely could have done more, she knew that. They could have actually talked to Weiss more and Blake more, and maybe they could have become friends that much sooner. Maybe things wouldn't have gotten to the point those two beat each other within an inch of their auras because the chance to talk had been left so far behind.

"Nora, you're talking out loud," Ren finally managed to get through Nora's slightly rambling inner-outer monologue.

Nora blinked, tilting her head to Ren. "Was I?"

The nurse bumped past her, silently resuming checking over the two girls. It was a different nurse than she had for her incoming medical checkup, this one was younger and gave her an oddly queasy feeling when their gazes met, but no one else was making a stink and it wasn't like she was doing anything weird to Blake and Weiss, so she guessed it was okay.

Weiss chuckled, idly, drunk off exhaustion as the nurse put an IV into her arm. "I knew you didn't like me."

"You'd prefer we like you when we don't even know you?" Ren asked, placidly.

"People hate me when they don't even know me all the time." She yawned. "Would'a been nice the other way for once."

Nothing showed in Ren's expression, but Nora knew him well enough to feel the casually pitiable statement hit far too close to home. In many parts of the world they were vagrants first, criminals, cursed, and children a very distant fourth or fifth if they were lucky.

To be judged, hated, before even being seen as a person, was something with which both of them... all three of them, were intimately familiar.

By the way Ren's eyes flicked to Blake, watching her aura as her expression became carefully fixed, Nora adjusted the counter.

All four of them knew what that felt like.

"Guess it doesn't matter. Bu' still,'' Weiss' eyes fluttered closed, "would'a been nice."

"I..." Ren stood suddenly. "I have to go."

"Ren-" Nora reached out, but Ren had already strode briskly out the door. Her gaze swept from the door to her two other teammates and back, torn.

"Go after him," Blake waved a hand, drained sickly pale from the aura she'd lost: aura and blood. The medical cot she laid on creaked with the action, but it was more than obvious she wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. "Come back when you're ready."

Nora hesitated for another moment longer, then she dashed from the room, leaving Weiss and Blake alone with the nurse in the infirmary, her thoughts swimming.

Would it have been possible?

'Goodbye.'

If that first day had been different...

'Should someone go after her?'

If Blake had said something else.

'No.'

If Nora had ignored it, gone anyway, found Weiss and just told her...

"Ren." She tackled the boy from the back, rolling on the grassy quad with him.

Hi.

Let's be friends.

"We have to go back," she said breathlessly on top of him.

"Yes, we do." Ren gently took her hands and eased her off of him, looking slower, more tired than usual. "But I need to do something first."

Nora cocked her head, curiously. "Why?"

"Because the only thing you need to do to become friends is talk to them, and that's not my strongsuit." He smiled, wanly. "That, and I'd really rather avoid having to resort to Blake's method."

He stood up, brushing off the dirt and grass that stained his pants from the tumble.

Nora stayed on the ground. "What are you going to do?"

"I... don't know yet." He ruffled a hand through his hair, black and pink spilling through his fingers. "Weiss and Blake, the team, needs something to show we're going to start over right, that we're going to be there. It needs a symbol, it needs..." his eyes widened as some idea sparked to life behind them. "It needs a sign."

He turned and ran, a soft smile painting his face as he did.

"Wait, you can't just say that and run off." Nora jumped up off the ground and sprinted after him. "I wanna be there for the revelation, too."

___])

If Ruby was being honest, she didn't expect much waking up the morning after Forever Fall. Her first night with an actual team, able to walk back to the dorms with people, sleep in the same room as her sister again, and all of it was wasted on a day of arguments, uncertainty, and being chewed out by Glynda.

Getting up after that wasn't the most optimistic she'd ever felt, and as she staggered over to the bathroom just to find the door locked and the shower running, she gave a groan, pounding on the door.

"Ya-ang. Let me in, I don't wanna miss breakfast." It was a daily scene in the Xiao-Long household reenacted in the Beacon dorms, which Cardin raised a momentary eyebrow at before returning to writing out an essay for Oobleck's class.

After a small pause where a very tired and bedheaded Ruby tried to hurry Yang up, the door unlocked and she finally slipped inside to start up her morning routine.

"It's so weird sleeping in the same room as this many people," Ruby commented, spitting out into the sink. "It's like camping, but... I dunno, it's supposed to be normal? Have you gotten used to that yet?" She'd only been doing it a little over a month, but Yang also tended to adapt much more quickly to those types of situations. "What am I saying? Of course you have." Ruby washed her face, steadfastly ignoring her reflection in the mirror. "You were probably braiding Pyrrha's hair in the first week."

Yang didn't answer, and with the curtain in the way, Ruby wasn't even sure she was listening, but Yang was always good to ramble to anyway, and with such a long time apart, it felt good to finally do it in the morning again.

"Does she... freak you out at all?" Ruby asked, drying herself off with a towel. "Cardin's Cardin, he's super straightforward, but Pyrrha is so nice and sweet in person, but then I see her in a fight and it's like wow." She leaned against the sink, hugging her arms to herself. "The look on her face doesn't feel like she wants to beat her opponents to get a good grade, it feels like she wants to eat them." She shuddered.

It took a few beats for Ruby to look over at the shower, raising an eyebrow. "Nothing? No, 'she can eat me anytime'? Come on, it was right there, Yang."

Still no response, so Ruby just sighed.

"Hey... I know this isn't... your favorite," she waved her hands, trying to find the words, "placement. Even if you really super wanted me to be on the same team as you, which I... don't think is true, team leader? Your little sister? It's tough, I get it. Just... in front of the others, can you try to go along with my leading? If they see you not taking me seriously, then they won't take me seriously and I just really need to make this work, somehow." She hugged her arms to herself again, tighter. "I can't screw this up. Can't let them know how scared I am."

At Yang's continued silence, Ruby first felt anger bubble inside her, boiling in an instant, and cooling just as quickly, the hands she'd tightened into fists loosening up, and all that fury she'd felt in that moment feeling like it hollowed a path through her frame, leaving her tilting in the breeze.

"Alright," she ran a dejected hand through her hair, turning to the door. "Well I'll talk to you later, then. I haven't forgotten we need to catch up on my semblance, okay? But I'm going down to breakfast first." She waved as she left the bathroom, the pajamas she'd just changed out of bundled up in her arms. "See you, Yang."

The door shut behind her and she slipped the bundle into the small laundry basket beside her bed, catching Cardin smirking from his desk. "Have a nice chat?" He asked faux-innocently.

"Uh, yeah, fine," Ruby said warily.

Cardin nodded, still privately amused by something. "Good to hear."

She waited for him to do something more Cardin-like. Insult her face, or set fire to her pajamas, or something, but he just went back to his essay.

She didn't think anything could be worse than bullying-Cardin, but scheming-Cardin was starting to seem really close.

"Okay..." she slid on her boots, heading out the door with one eye still on Cardin as it shut.

It was already in the latter half of breakfast, and she knew several options wouldn't be there anymore, so she used a couple semblance assisted jumps to hurry along as she went.

By the time she made it to the dining service, she was breathing heavily, a stitch feeling like half her side was on fire, for as stressful as reliving that scenario was, and she was absolutely famished, but more or less still on time for breakfast.

Scooting into the mostly empty line, she picked up eggs, toast, and bacon, along with maybe one too many muffins, and a large glass of cranberry juice before sitting down.

"Hey, Rubes," Yang said across from her, a little stiffly.

"Hey, Ya-" Ruby spat out the juice she'd been drinking. "Yang? What are you doing here?"

"Eating?" She lifted up a bagel sandwich, bits of lettuce and bacon poking out of its cream cheesed sides. "It's breakfast."

"But you were in the shower a second ago." Ruby's expression scrunched up. "You can't have gotten here faster than me, even if you had a shortcut, it's-"

"I wasn't in the shower a second ago," Yang differed. "I didn't get a lot of sleep last night and didn't want to wake anyone up, so I took one earlier and then went down to Vale to walk around for a bit. Just got back a few minutes ago."

Ruby shook her head, baffled. "Then who was-?"

Cardin's eyebrow raise when she knocked on the door calling for Yang.

His smirk when she walked out again.

'Have a nice chat?'

'Good to hear.'

Yang was here, Cardin was there, which meant in the shower was-

"Ooh no." Ruby covered her eyes with an arm, any optimism she had left shriveling away under the weight of embarrassment. "I walked in on Pyrrha in the shower and told her she was scary."

Yang choked on her food.

([___

Cardin had just finished editing his essay for Oobleck's class when Pyrrha got out of the shower. It was annoying, on a battle from the faunus war only remarkable because it was the first one a famous faunus general took charge in, but Cardin managed a decent overview despite his intense disinterest. Oobleck already didn't like him, so putting his best work out there wouldn't get him anything, and phoning it in would just mean he'd be graded all the harsher.

"So..." Cardin said, smiling a bit cruelly at Pyrrha's almost shellshocked expression. "Have a nice chat?"

Pyrrha nodded vaguely. "She thought I was Yang."

"Yeah, I managed to pick up on that," he deadpanned.

"Yeah..." she shook her head, moving to her bureau in the closet to dig out her clothes. "Hey, do you..." she hesitated, shutting the bureau door. "Nevermind."

"Do I what?"

It took a few beats, Pyrrha's expression warring with indecision before she leaned against the closet doorframe, idly toying with the bundle of clothes in her hands. "Do you think Yang doesn't want Ruby on the team?"

Cardin raised a skeptical eyebrow. "This the same Yang we talking about? Cause the one I remember won't shut up about how much she likes her sister."

"Yes, but there's a difference between liking someone and wanting to be on the same team with them," Pyrrha hedged, carefully. "I don't like you-"

He shrugged. "Feeling's mutual."

"But I'm glad I'm on your team," she finished, to Cardin's widening eyes. "Yang likes Ruby, loves her even, but we both saw she didn't want her to be leader in Goodwitch's office, and if that extends to her being here at all..."

"You're glad you're on my team?" Cardin repeated, disbelievingly. "You?"

She blinked, surprised right back. "Well, yeah. Your aura work is sloppy at best, and whatever your semblance is, you completely haven't incorporated it into your fighting style, but in strength and stamina, skill, you're easily in the top brackets of our class. You're spiteful and cruel, but I do believe being part of this team means something to you. You may not like me," she smiled, "but you won't leave us in the lurch, either."

"That seems..." Cardin covered his mouth with a hand, off-put by the mixed praise, "baseless."

"Then why were you trying so hard in the last team fight, to keep Blake from attacking Yang?" She shrugged. "By the end of the fight, she was already in the yellow with or without Blake's interference. If you only cared about winning, you would have let her go and helped me with Ren and Nora, but you didn't. You didn't want Yang to get hurt, so you put yourself between Blake and Yang every time."

Cardin waved a hand. "I think you're reading too much into it."

"Maybe." She shut the closet door, slightly muffled voice coming from behind it. "But you haven't let me down yet."

"Tch." Cardin shook his head, putting away his essay and grabbing his scroll to walk out the door, but not without a last lingering look at the closet door Pyrrha was behind, and pausing for just a moment.

"I guess," he muttered, "there are worse teammates to have than you."

The door shut behind him, on the dorm room belonging to his team.

Chapter Text

Weiss' mother had lied to her about a number of things. She'd lied about the Schnee name, about why her sister left. She lied about her looks and why she'd married father. She lied about the maids and she lied about the drinks and she lied when she told her she'd love her forever. But she also lied when she described the worst way you could wake up was with a hangover. Weiss had had hangovers before.

Aura exhaustion was incomparably worse.

"Am I dead?" She croaked out, throat dry.

It took a handful of moments, a time where Weiss couldn't even bring herself to turn her head and look around the room, much less sit up, from the sheer weariness and pain she was under. Finally, though, Blake's voice drifted from the side. "I hope not," she said. "Would send a really mixed message to my ex."

Weiss gave a thin chuckle at that, not fully grasping the meaning, but appreciating that Blake made a joke of some kind regardless. It was probably the first time she'd made one in front of her. "So..."

"I'm sorry." Blake said, quietly. "I don't know how much you remember of the fight, but-"

"I remember all of it." Weiss grimaced. "Beginning to end."

"Oh." Blake didn't say anything for a while, seconds ticking away by the beat of their monitors. "It was the only thing I could think of, the only way to finally get us somewhere... stable."

"I don't think you'd qualify for an Atlas mental health professional," Weiss said idly, and Blake gave a small laugh of her own at that.

"Probably not, no." There was a frush against her pillow like she was shaking her head, and Weiss found herself jealous of the capability. "But I figured after everything else, the fastest way of getting all that anger for each other out was-"

"Clawing each other's eyes out like rabid animals?" Weiss finished, and Blake winced at the honest appraisal.

"Did it work?" She whispered.

"I don't... understand you." Weiss' eyebrows furrowed as she ran through everything she knew about her leader. "If I were chosen to lead a team, I'd have everyone be up at six, out training in the yard by six-thirty. I'd workshop team combination moves in every position, work all of us to oblivion I'd be-" she laughed, wanly, "horribly cruel. I'm sure it would be a nightmare to work with me, but... I'd be there." Slowly, painfully, she managed to turn her head to look at Blake, already facing her. "Why weren't you there?"

Blake hesitated, searching out the words. "My last... job, had teams. And I thought my team leader was the smartest, strongest, greatest leader in the world. He was never unsure, never distracted, never anything but the best in every way and whenever I got an order from him it was like I could just shut my brain off for a while, because I believed everything he did, he did for the good of me and my friends." Her hands clenched and unclenched with the description, agitation marring her brow. "I... there was a slide, it happened slow... then... not. The orders he gave, what he said to do changed. It wasn't right anymore, it wasn't what I wanted, but... it was still so easy to believe in him, to just," she clicked her teeth, "turn my brain off and trust in what he said."

Weiss watched her expression shifting as she spoke, watched the sadness, longing, anger, regret, all muddled together with every word.

"If I wasn't leader, if I were here waking up at six, listening to what you said, or Nora, or Ren, I thought I could deal with it. I could be more careful this time, notice when things started to go too far, not place my trust where it shouldn't... shouldn't ever have been placed." She closed her eyes. "But then, during the ceremony, Ozpin picked me to lead."

She sighed, the action carried through her whole frame, creaking the medical cot with the movement. "When I talked to Ozpin after the ceremony, it wasn't to try and kick you off the team; it was to try to kick me off the leadership." She reached a hand up to brush lightly against her bow, still somehow unsquashed despite their brawl. "I thought if I was a follower, I knew what to watch out for, but if I was a leader... what's stopping me from being just as bad as him?"

The question hung in the air, trapped in silent tar as Weiss didn't even try to answer it. It took awhile, absorbing the words, working through her conflicting feelings on Blake before finally, she spoke.

"Did you know, out of all the servants in my house, all the butlers and maids, valets and bodyguards, I never gave an order until I was seven years old?" Blake's eyes widened, but before she could answer, Weiss continued. "People think, 'she's a Schnee, she has all this power,' but... the SDC isn't my company. The servants in the house aren't my servants. It's all my father's and I..." Her throat closed up, too dry to keep going. "I need some water."

"Water," Blake called out, voice sounding just as hoarse. "Nurse, can we get-" she breathed a frustrated sigh through her teeth. "I don't think she's here."

Weiss leaned back in her pillows, eyes sliding shut in preparation for just dealing with the pain, but after a few moments she heard a groaning creak from beside her, and soft steps shuffling across the floor.

"Here."

She opened her eyes to Blake, holding out a glass of water, gripping the edge of the bedframe like it was the only thing holding her upright.

"You..." Weiss struggled upright, managing to reach out and grip the glass of water well enough to bring it to her lips. She was glad she could because if she hadn't, if Blake had tried to feed her, Weiss was fairly certain she'd never get over the mortification she'd feel at that.

With a few deep breaths, Blake maneuvered her way back to her cot and collapsed into it with a soft string of curses.

"Thank you," Weiss said, quietly.

Blake gave a muffled grunt through her pillow, but the room descended into silence past that once again.

"Little songbird," Weiss said after a while.

Blake raised an eyebrow at the sudden statement. "What?"

"My... father used to call me that." Weiss felt her fingers dig into her leg, her body not wanting to talk about it even more than her brain did. "I used to like it. Made me feel pretty and, next to Winter, my... my sister, who was always so good at everything, it made me feel special, but... my father never meant it the way I heard it."

Blake stayed silent, but the way she held perfectly motionless, Weiss had no doubts she was still listening, even not turning to look.

"Vale is wild, overgrown with plants, animals, life everywhere, even to its own detriment. I'm sure not every person in Vale loves it, but some do and when they have to move to Atlas which is so... different, in that respect. I can see why they'd miss it. One of them," Weiss waved a hand, feeling her exhaustion double over with the story, "wrote a poem."

A quiet stretched over them again, far longer than the one before, the words trapped behind Weiss' teeth, refusing to budge on their own.

"A poem?" Blake finally prodded, carefully.

Weiss closed her eyes again, reciting the lines.

"Pretty little songbird, sweet eyes so blue.
How happy would you sound if you only knew?
The sun has no bars, the outside no bowl.
Your pretty little cage has swallowed you whole.

"Pretty little prisoner, your world so new.
If I made it smaller, what would you do?
Cry a little higher, sing me a mighty tune.
Don't worry little songbird, it'll all be over soon.

"Pretty little songbird give me a song.
Show me all the places nature got wrong.
Fly in a circle feeling so free.
Pretty little songbird belonging to me."

Blake's voice was cold, stripped bare of the emotion she felt. "Your father called you that-"

"Because he thought it was funny." Weiss forced a smile on her face. "Because it reminded him how much I was under his control."

There were a few points Weiss could hear Blake's mouth open and close, jaws working to provide some solace, or comfort, apology, but she already knew everything sounded too hollow for something like that. Even in her own mind, Weiss had no words for it.

"You can screw up. You can make a bad call, even get one of us hurt because of it, but Blake?" She turned to meet Blake's gaze, to push through in her eyes as much as possible what she wanted to convey. "If you show up, if you're there to lead, I promise you I won't let you control me. I won't even let you try."

Blake sighed, tension leaving her frame as she sagged into the hospital bed, expression clearer than she'd ever seen it. "I believe you."

Thank you, the sentiment dripped from the words even without being said, Weiss felt it.

She relaxed into her own bed, satisfied, for the moment, the confusion and anger that had cut such a deep furrow into her brow, for once, eased and she slid by the power of her comfort and fatigue into an easy sleep beside her partner.

___])

Pyrrha was scary. She didn't mean to be, certainly there were others in the tournament circuit much more concerned with putting up an intimidating front. But her skills, her unflinching ferocity, were worth more in estimation to whoever saw it than any smile she could give at breakfast.

She wasn't offended Ruby saw her as scary in the ring, she'd heard some variation of that plenty of times. If anything, her acknowledgement of how nice she was outside of it was pleasantly surprising.

Pyrrha fought like someone to whom losing was never an option. They called her invincible for that, they called her vicious, they called her scary. She was.

But Ruby was too.

Yang fiddled with the training center's controls, changing out the environments from forests to plains to mountains, the enemies from moving targets to dummies, the wind and temperature higher and lower, the rooms could be calibrated for just about any combat situation, as long as any actual combatants were provided by the students.

"What does everyone want?" Yang asked, with the same tone she'd use ordering a pizza.

"Dummies, lots of 'em," Cardin said, thumping his mace against his hand.

"Last few times were desert and mountains, maybe something with water?" Pyrrha suggested.

"Cold." Ruby shrugged further into her cloak. "Make it cold."

Ruby's semblance was still mired in as much mystery as her person, but if Pyrrha had any doubts about its power before, the demonstration at Forever Fall dispelled them. Explosive, instant, deadly.

She couldn't wait to face it in action.

The training room doors opened to a small cove filled with water. A ship rocked back and forth on the water, filled with dummies, with more placed on the edges of the cove as ranged targets. True to Ruby's direction, the room was cold, enough to be uncomfortable even with aura's moderate protection from the elements.

"Alright." Ruby stepped forward, looking back at them. "What do you want to see first?"

It was an idea they'd had the night before, after Forever Fall. A slightly more official look at Ruby's capabilities. Yang had stayed out of the discussion for the most part, but both Cardin and Pyrrha were eager to see what their new leader could do after her little demonstration before.

As for what they wanted to see first?

"Range," Pyrrha said. "From what I saw, I'm guessing it's an Emitter semblance. You stretch out your aura to a position close by and when you've gathered enough of it you can exchange places with it, breaking apart anything the aura was overlapping with. What I want to know is how far outside your body your aura can travel for the ability before it dissipates."

Ruby chuckled, a little nervously, scratching the back of her head. Cardin just laughed.

"It's not teleportation, Lambchop, she actually moves the distance if you look closely. It's a Specialist semblance, gotta be. One of those transformation ones like that chick that turns into a bear."

"Actually," Ruby tried to awkwardly cut in. "It's-"

"It's Enhancing," Yang said, coolly, watching Ruby with a half-lidded gaze. "Isn't it, Rubes."

"Uh, yeah." Ruby looked at Yang askance. "It's called Petal Burst, and it just uses my aura to enhance my speed for short periods."

Pyrrha and Cardin's eyes widened and they looked at each other before moving back to her. "Enhancing speed?"

"Fast enough it..."

"How?"

Enhancers were known for being simple and straightforward, for being hunters of exceptional will and strong conviction. For being capable fighters and naturals in the wild, but for as common as Enhancers were among huntresses and huntsman, it was hardly the flashiest of semblance types. If anything, the simplicity of the abilities tended toward the association of Enhancers as being dull but useful, and even in the cases of an Enhancer being powerful...

Ruby closed her eyes and sucked in a breath of the cold air leaking through the open training room door.

Then she vanished.

A clatter of metal came behind them and all three of them turned to see Ruby dropping their weapons on the floor, breathing heavily. Pyrrha hadn't even felt her weapon lifted off her.

That wasn't powerful. That was impossible.

"I don't know how. I don't know why, I just..." she swiped a hand across her sweating forehead, tiredly. "I can. Somehow."

Cardin practically cackled, slapping her on the back and making her stumble forward. "Screw me sideways, Matchstick, that's incredible." He gripped her by the back of the collar, lifting her up to his face and his all teeth expression. "But touch my Executioner again and I kill you. Right?"

Ruby gulped. "Right."

"Then we're square." He dropped her, bending down to retrieve his mace. "How many times can you do it in a row?"

"Three times in a row is the most I've done so far. Past that, it gets really hard to breathe." She reached a hand up to her chest, rising and falling with the already laborious breaths she was taking after a single use. "But hey, a month ago I could barely do one, so progress?"

"Fast progress," Pyrrha hummed, watching her curiously. "But I'm still curious about your range."

"My range?" Ruby echoed. "But I'm not an Emitter."

"If your semblance works in bursts, there's still a maximum range you can travel in one go." She pointed into the training room at the dummy on the other side of the water, the farthest away from the entrance. "Can you reach that in one burst?"

"I'm... not sure." Ruby's lips pursed. "So far I've just been trying to stay in it as long as I can, do one thing, I've never tried seeing how far I can run in it."

She breathed in deep, her breath hitching halfway, and she took a step forward as Yang's eyes widened.

"Wait, don-" she stretched a hand forward, but Ruby had already disappeared.

([___

She'd never get used to the way all the sound ceased during Petal Burst. It used to be a roar of wind, the flapping of her cloak, the countless bits of rose moving against each other. Now it was nothing. No ambient noise, no birds chirping or hum of lights, not even the sound of her own footsteps, just... void.

But she couldn't focus on that. Not when the target was so far away. She crouched low like a sprinter at the starting line, and pushed off toward the water. There was a technique she knew about, something a few veteran hunters could accomplish, where they gathered aura into their shoes to some compact shape such that they could balance perfectly on still water.

Ruby didn't know how to do that.

But, if she was moving as fast as she thought, she should be able to-

The water gave only slightly to her step, the surface tension never breaking, and only the thinnest of ripples beginning to form where her boots landed.

If she could in that state, she'd have laughed.

Instead, she ran faster; sweat pooling on her forehead, under her collar, her cloak feeling more and more suffocating with every step, she ran.

Ever since her semblance changed, she’d always used it to rearrange positions, recover from a trip, spend that little bit less time on a task. Even in the cases where she’d ran during the burst, to save Yang or Cardin, get somewhere faster, she’d always had to end the effect all the sooner from the strain. She’d never sprinted during a burst, never tried so hard to stay in the effect just a little longer, never felt so perfectly like she was drowning and trying to force herself under just a little bit longer.

The dummy blurred in front of her eyes, shifting to the left, the right, growing taller, the colors of the petals, the walls bleeding into its form. Red and white and black.

Her lungs burned, her eyes stung with sweat, but she was so close. So close to-

Her heart froze.

For a moment, a pathetic, fleeting, instant. Through unfocused eyes and half hazed brain, it wasn't a dummy in front of her at all.

"End of the line, Red."

She could hear Torchwick whisper in her ear, the rush of fire, the flare of excruciation from dust sizzling into her skin, the stench of her own fat grilled in flame.

Her feet failed, staggering over each other, sending her tumbling into the rock and sand, skinning her legs, arms, where aura should have protected her.

She could hear the sounds return, Yang's yell, Pyrrha's gasp, heavy footsteps coming closer, but beyond anything else, she heard the blood pounding in her ears, the way her breathing choked like her lungs were full of glass.

She coughed up something, couldn't tell what it was, but somewhere in the back of her mind she knew the color was bad. As she laid back and watched her team surround her, however, she couldn't help victory from twinging her upturned lips.

She'd made it to the dummy after all.

Now her team wouldn't think...

...she was...

...weak.

With a shuddering sigh, Ruby's eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she blacked out against the sand.

___])

No.

No. No. No.

Don't be dead. Don't be dead. Please.

Please.

Don't leave me.

"...ng?"

"...ang."

"...mn it..."

Yang felt the harsh sting on her cheek first, then the cold in the air rushing to meet the heat there, and it was only after a handful of seconds she could even recognize she'd been slapped.

"Yang." Pyrrha shook her. "Ruby fainted, but her heartbeat is still dangerously fast. Tell us what's going on, is this her semblance's backlash?"

"I don't know," Yang balled her hair up in her hands, eyes darting between Pyrrha and Ruby. "It shouldn't be. Her semblance didn't used to have a backlash like that, but it changed, I don't know anything about her new one, I don't know. I don't-"

"If you don't know, then shove off, Blondie." Cardin muscled her to the side, reaching down and lifting Ruby into a carry, heading for the exit. "We wait around here any longer and her little hummingbird heart's gonna explode."

The training room door slid open just barely in time to avoid Cardin crashing into it, bursting out into the hall.

"Cardin, there's an alert for the nurse in the training center." Pyrrha pressed the emergency, the button lighting up in recognition, tailing after Cardin, and Yang felt her legs follow after, brain still feeling like it was submerged in oil: a slickness to her thoughts making them harder to grasp onto.

There was something there, she just needed to...

"That'd take too long, we need-"

"Ren." Yang set steel in her voice like a splint, forcing the thought to come through. "Ren's semblance is like a sedative, if he uses it on Ruby-"

"It could slow her heart down," Pyrrha finished, nodding. "You hear that, Cardin?"

"Yeah, guy can do a thing, where the hell is he?" Cardin shouldered his way through the door into the quad, ignoring the stares of various wayward students as he passed.

Pyrrha's frown deepened. "I don't have his scroll conta-"

Yang breathed in as deeply as she could.

Then she screamed.

She screamed Ren's name like a woman possessed, something unnatural crawling out of her throat, sound pitched too high, too loud, to be ignored. Every activity in the area ceased, dorm windows opened to investigate the sound, people ran closer or farther away, but still she screamed. When her voice finally gave out with a crackling wheeze, when her knees hit the grass, and all those oily slick thoughts jumbled and crashed together in her mind, that's when the scream stopped.

Ren came. Ruby was safe. Yang watched as grey passed over her body, her breathing easing, the flushing of her face fading, and the nurse arriving so Cardin could take her away.

She was dimly aware of Pyrrha gently lifting her to her feet and guiding her back inside, past the prying eyes of curious students and the too-loud sound of the outdoors, and into the impersonal privacy of a back staircase the Beacon students had long figured out a better shortcut for.

Pyrrha didn't say anything, just leaned against the wall as Yang sat on the stairs, trying to come back to herself.

"Ruby's... gonna be fine, right?" Yang finally said, what felt like hours later, when the hum in her brain had died down, and she could feel the rawness in her throat, the back of her shirt stuck to her neck with long dried sweat.

Pyrrha's gaze flicked to her, then back ahead. "You'd know better than me."

A short time ago, Yang would have agreed with her.

"How did you know she'd get hurt?" Pyrrha asked, after sitting in silence another minute or two. "Before she made that last burst, you tried to stop her; how did you know it would go wrong?"

Yang hugged her arms to herself, looking away. "Ruby's always been... stubborn, especially about her limits. There's a face she makes whenever she's just about to push herself too far, it's like she's psyching herself up even though she knows she's gonna get hurt. Right before that burst, I saw her make it and that's..."

"Is that why you didn't want her on your team? She takes things too far?" Pyrrha asked.

Yang didn't answer right away, but Pyrrha didn't prod. She just waited, like she could do it forever.

"Do you have any sisters?" Yang asked, eventually.

Pyrrha's lips twitched downward by the smallest of margins.

"No."

"It's..." Yang threaded her fingers together in thought. "I love her, and I want to spend time with her, but back in Patch she doesn't have any friends and I see her all the time and the house is so small I..."

Pyrrha tilted her head toward her. "You wanted to go to Beacon to get away from her."

Yang looked up sharply. "No."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Not... get away from her." Yang scratched the back of her head. "Just... I wanted a little time to myself, so, when we came to Vale a month before initiation to make sure all my entrance forms at Beacon were squared away and Ruby wanted to go out on the town with me I... said I was too tired."

Pyrrha shrugged. "I don't think there's anything wrong with choosing to stay inside for a night, sibling relationship or not."

"I didn't stay inside. I said I was too tired, but that night I snuck out and went to a club, and Ruby... Ruby snuck out too." Yang buried her face in her hands, sighing. "She got into an accident; dust store robbery went wrong, she tried to stop it and..."

She remembered the light, the bright flash outside quickly followed by a terrific boom that rattled the windows in place. She remembered the blaze visible even from the other side of town, the smoke and ash she could smell on the air.

She remembered doing nothing.

"I did it again." Her hands clenched into fists, fingernails digging into her cheeks. "She needed me and I wasn't there. Again."

Pyrrha nodded. "You feel guilty."

"I am guilty." Yang shot to her feet, teeth bared. "If I hadn't snuck out, none of this would have happened. If I had gone out with her, if I had stayed in the hotel room, if I was there with her, she would have been fine, and now you have no idea how not-fine she is."

Pyrrha blinked, but Yang charged forward, voice rising.

"Ruby was awkward and funny and heroic and brave. She wanted to screw around, play games, hang out with friends, with me. She wasn't bitter and secretive, she wasn't desperate and... scared." Yang almost spit. "I thought she was just recovering from the accident, and when she joined our team I thought if we just kept her under the radar then even if she couldn't keep up like she could before the accident, as long as no one noticed then they wouldn't get rid of her."

Pyrrha's eyes lit in understanding. "Like Jaune."

"I didn't even like Jaune that much." She threw her hands up. "He was goofy and embarrassing. He was never any help in combat class and that wasn't because he was just that super on the theoretical side of things. But now with Ruby here I just can't help but think how much like her he was. Messing around, making people laugh, and they... threw him out. Just like that."

Pyrrha laid a hand on her shoulder. "They're not going to throw her out."

Yang laughed, painfully. "Well I know that now, don't I? Because instead of her old semblance, instead of her old self, instead of her old anything, she has this.... this... unreasonable, unreal, speed and control unlike anything I've ever seen. She can tear grimm apart, win against anyone like some propaganda piece for huntresses. Like it's... not even her." Pyrrha opened her mouth to say something, but Yang stepped away, making her hand fall. "And today, when I saw that expression on her face, when I finally realized how stupid I've been being, do you know what else I realized?" She locked eyes with Pyrrha. "I realized you're absolutely right: Beacon isn't going to throw her out because she's going to kill herself with her new semblance long before that happens."

Yang slammed a hand into the wall above Pyrrha.

"My little sister's gonna kill herself. Because of me."

Pyrrha rose to her feet, slowly. "I'm sorry for slapping you earlier."

"It's okay." Yang backed up a step, taking a breath. "You had t-"

Pyrrha slapped her again, harsh and without restraint.

"I'm sorry for that, too." She stepped closer, not glaring, but with a stare so intense Yang couldn't look away. "But you need to get out of your head and pay attention to the words I'm about to say, okay?"

Yang wanted to be angry, wanted to ask her why she slapped her, why she was being like this after hearing everything that happened but... the anger wasn't there. It was Pyrrha. She could be angry at Pyrrha's passivity, her modesty, even her kindness at times, but at the end of the day none of it changed who she was. At the end of the day, she trusted Pyrrha.

So it wasn't a question, or a demand that slid from her mouth at that. It was a simple, "okay."

"What happened to Ruby was an accident. It wasn't your fault." Yang opened her mouth to protest, but Pyrrha cupped a hand over it. "Listen, please. What happened to Ruby wasn't your fault. Ruby isn't going to commit suicide by semblance or otherwise. No one is dying. Can you tell me that?"

"What happened to Ruby..."

"Was horrible." Pyrrha laid both her hands on Yang's shoulders, squeezing them with comforting pressure. "It was disgusting and unfair, and could have happened to anyone. It was not your fault, and it doesn't do Ruby any good to have you blaming yourself for it."

Yang sagged, feeling her eyes sting. "I wish things were different."

"I know." Pyrrha closed the distance, wrapping her into a tight hug. "But things aren't all bad, right? She's got the team, she's got you, and you have us."

Yang hugged her back. "It's not my fault."

"Good."

Yang closed her eyes. "Ruby isn't going to kill herself."

"Never."

"And no one's dying."

Pyrrha pulled back, smiling bright.

"No one's dying."

When she said it like that, Yang believed it.

Chapter Text

Ozpin knew, somehow, Glynda could tell as soon as she stormed into his office, he knew exactly what had happened at Forever Fall. She was tempted to forgo the explanation entirely as useless, but as was so often the case it felt like these meetings to bring Ozpin supposedly new information were more for her benefit than his.

"Welcome back." His tone was annoyingly inscrutable and attempting to read his aura never worked, so she brushed past it.

"Grimm attacked the students. In numbers I've never seen them that close to the school." She wasn't in the mood to play at niceties. She needed answers.

"Were any students harmed?" He asked, unmoved by the information.

"Not by the grimm. Blake Belladonna and Weiss Schnee had an altercation that almost broke both of them down to the aura."

Confusingly, his posture seemed to relax at that. "Do you know if Miss Schnee initiated the confrontation?"

Glynda raised an eyebrow at the curious question. "According to the other members of their team it was Miss Belladonna that struck the initiating blow."

His mouth didn't move, she was sure of it. But at the news, there was something in his eyes, some shadow to his features that gave off the impression, even as his lips remained still, that he was smiling.

"Don't tell me you approve of this?" Glynda accused, galled at the idea.

"How could I approve of harm coming to the students whose protection I hold as my utmost duty?" Ozpin asked.

Asked. Not answered.

She decided not to follow that particular snipe. "The grimm. Even as far out as team RWPY were, there were far too many to be normal."

The smile, even the shadow of one, slowly fell from Ozpin's face, as a contemplative expression creased his features. "It could be a coincidence, poor timing, a hunt some miles east forcing a pack of darkstalkers west, and them ursa, and them beowolves, and so on until whichever manner of beast attacked the students made its way to them. Or..."

"Or?" Glynda echoed.

"Or the grimm's movement wasn't random chance. It was by someone's choice that they came so close."

Glynda's eyebrows furrowed. "Are you suggesting someone captured and transported grimm just to release them on students? But why?"

"A show of strength, a show of fear." Ozpin cupped a hand to his chin, murmuring. "If the grimm had to be captured at all..."

There weren't any implications of that she found comforting. "What are you suggesting?"

"Idle thoughts," he waved a hand. "That's all."

Ozpin had an annoying habit of creating conversational dead ends, and an even more annoying habit of keeping them from being revived.

"What should we do?" She pressed. "We must do something."

"We must do what we've been doing: shepherding the next generations of Huntresses and Huntsman, preparing them as much as possible for what's out there." He faced the window, peering out at the students below. "This latest crop of students is balanced on a knife's edge, teetering between greatness and oblivion. If we can just give them that push..."

"And Ruby Rose?" She asked. "Which direction are we pushing her?"

"In the last direction she wants to go, I'm afraid." Glynda joined him at the window, watching as Winchester broke into the quad, the limp subject of their conversation in his arms, moving frantically with the rest of her team beside him before they were joined by Lie Ren, and the new nurse Ozpin had suddenly hired on with no explanation.

"Toward fire."

([___

Ren's interactions with Ruby Rose were limited, to say the least. He hadn't fought her, hadn't talked to her beyond a few pleasantries at lunch or dinner, hadn't even seen what she could do at Initiation. Weiss seemed to have some respect for her, and she was teammates with powerful fighters, but beyond the superficial there wasn't much he knew.

What he knew of her team was similarly bare, though he was aware of Pyrrha's reputation as a tournament fighter, of Yang's easy extroversion being friendly to most students, and Cardin's seeming determination to do the opposite. He wasn't expecting Cardin to be friendly once Ruby had been taken away and Pyrrha had ushered Yang back inside.

"Teach me."

But he hadn't expected him to say that, either.

"What?"

"You know Aura Reading, right? And your aura pulses, those are techniques, which means you can teach me." He laid a hand on Ren's shoulder, the noticeable weight of the limb pressing down on him. "So teach me."

Ren twisted fluidly out of the contact. "Aura control classes are offered in third and fourth years. You can learn it there."

Cardin's hands clenched into fists. "That'd take too long."

Ren watched him, carefully, seeing his aura shift in agitation. "You've lived this long without it, why the rush now?"

"Tch." He almost spat on the ground when he spoke. "Because being the weakest member of the team was Arc's job, and I'm not looking to fill the position."

Ren raised an eyebrow. "You're that worried the bleeding, unconscious, fifteen year old that just got into a training accident is going to surpass you?"

His aura shifted again, amusement, fear, pride. "You've got no idea, believe me."

The ominous statement piqued his curiosity, but there was something else he had to ask, more pressing. "Why are you coming to me with this? You could find upper years, or ask a teacher, or I know for a fact Pyrrha can do this. Even Yang I think has some aura control, but you're going to me before your own teammates?"

"You want to know the truth?" Cardin asked.

"I do."

He shrugged. "I asked you cause you're standing right next to me, I know you can do it, and finding someone else seemed like a pain in the ass."

Ren observed him, measuringly, for a moment. "Pay me."

"What?"

"Pay me for my time." He spread his hands. "And I'll teach you what I know."

It was Cardin's turn to raise an eyebrow. "You just want... lien?"

"All I want," Ren confirmed.

"Alright, easy." He thrust his hand forward to shake. "I pay you; you teach me. Nice and simple."

Ren shook it before pulling out his scroll. "Most of my team is still recovering, so I'll have some time before and after classes tomorrow. Contact me when you have time to meet and we'll work out a schedule."

Cardin tapped his scroll against Ren's, transferring contacts between both of them. "I'll let you know by tonight. Hope you know what you're doing, Teach."

Ren nodded. "I guess we'll see."

With a grunt that might have charitably been a goodbye, Cardin left for some section of the dorms, leaving Ren to release a small sigh at the strange interaction.

Teaching, huh?

He'd taught a handful of things to a handful of people over the years. Teaching and labor were the two best ways to secure room and board in a new town, so depending on what was needed, either he or Nora would take on those roles. He'd taught everything from self defence, to woodcarving, cooking, stealth, even dancing to a nice elderly couple in a small village in the south of Vale. Most of those were to ordinary civilians, though, no one with their aura unlocked, so no need to teach aura techniques.

The closest he'd ever gotten to doing that was a few sessions with Nora which yielded some limited success eventually and were put on hiatus for a while afterwards. It didn't help that Nora considered aura reading unnecessary since she figured she'd always be able to just ask Ren what he saw, so her maximum focus was never quite on those lessons.

He wondered if Cardin's would be.

"Reeeeen," Nora slammed into him from the side, knocking him into the grass once again. "I've got a new plan: see, it turns out you only really need one kidney to live, so as long as we're really careful with the surgery we can-"

"I don't think that will be necessary," he gently lifted her off and onto the grass beside him. "Cardin's willing to pay me to teach him aura techniques."

"Ooooh." She quirked her head. "Why?"

"He thinks it'll give him a leg up on Ruby."

"Makes sense." Nora nodded, hand to her chin. "She's super scary."

"Scary?" Ren echoed, some light skepticism touching his voice. "That isn't exactly the way I'd describe her."

"Well why not?" Nora shrugged. "She got special accommodations from Ozpin to get into the school early and late at the same time. We never saw her at Initiation, never saw her fight, and she got put onto a team that has Yang, Cardin, and Pyrrha on it, and then put in charge? For all we know, she could be a deep cover spy from Atlas with a semblance that turns her into a hundred foot tall fire breathing dragon." She threw her hands up. "And I know that'd be totally cool, but also scary."

"The special circumstances are odd," he acknowledged. "But the size and strength of her aura aren't anything exceptional. If anything, when I first saw her, it seemed underdeveloped. Definitely nothing that would allow her to turn into a dragon." At Nora's disappointed expression, he added, "though I might be wrong."

"Well, she is a little young," she hummed. "What if she has the potential to turn into a dragon, so Ozpin got her in here as soon as he could so she could train up her aura to become one?"

"That seems more the purview of private tutoring, and not team leading."

Nora shrugged. "What if her aura is just bigger than it looks?"

That was... possible. He'd heard some Hunters were able to limit their aura's size to appear weaker or even like a civilian without their aura unlocked altogether, but, why bother doing something like that at Beacon? Assuming Ruby even could, it'd just be hamstringing herself for no reason.

'You've got no idea, believe me.'

Still. Possible.

"Now that she's officially part of a team, we should be able to see her fight in Goodwitch's class soon. I guess we'll find out there."

Nora pumped her fists upward. "Dragon fight. Dragon fight."

Ren laughed, softly, following her off the quad.

Last time, BRWN had won in their inter-team fight by an uncomfortably close margin. He wondered how hard it'd be to win next time. With that thought, though, came a wriggling doubt in the back of his mind, remembering the match and Cardin's words put together.

'Being the weakest member of the team was Arc's job, and I'm not looking to fill the position.'

He was the weakest member of his team. Ren knew that already, was fine with it, but... seeing Cardin's aura so frustrated at that fact, desperate even to avoid it, made Ren uneasy.

He'd never been overly competitive, never had much of a desire to stand out. He was still easily in the top percentiles of his year. There was nothing wrong with being near-best.

'That'd take too long.'

Or maybe there was.

"You alright, Rennie?" Nora's concerned tone reached him easily, pulling him from the musings. "Whatcha thinking about?"

"I think... I want to get stronger," Ren blinked, the words slipping out fast enough he was surprised by his own admission.

Nora looked at him for a few moments before a wide grin bloomed across her face. "Finally."

___])

Waking in pain was becoming startlingly normal for Ruby since the accident, and no more easier to bear in that time. Waking thirsty, also used to that. Waking in a hospital bed, getting more normal by the day, but waking with a scroll hovering in front of her face, with Neo making an expression she could only pin down as twenty degrees south of 'irked', that one was new.

'Do you have any idea how close you were to dying?'

"My headache says too close?" She tried to joke, but Neo's frown only deepened as she typed out another message.

'Your heart went into tachycardia during training. It took your team bringing you to someone with a sedating semblance to even reach me, and by the time I got you here you went into cardiac arrest.'

Ruby's eyes widened. "My heart stopped?"

'Yes. Everything that happened is written out in this report. When it gets sent in, your father will get called and the teachers will need to reconvene on your status as a student.'

Ruby hadn't even finished reading the message before Neo was sticking a lighter under the file.

"I'm pretty sure there's like a healers oath or something that says you can't do that," Ruby deadpanned, weakly.

She dumped the smoldering folder into an empty wastebasket beside the bed, and Ruby unconsciously shied away from the smoke as she typed out a response.

'There is. Out of promises I've broken, it's not the most serious.'

Ruby blinked at the message. "Wait, you actually took a healer's oath to get a job here?"

Neo stared at her for a handful of moments before drawing her scroll back to type out a simple message.

'No.'

She pulled back again, typing something else.

'What were you doing that caused the rapid heartbeat?'

"My... I used my semblance, I was in it a lot longer than I usually am. I was running." Ruby felt her lungs constrict at the memory, and it took a force of will to start taking deep breaths again. "I must have passed out once it deactivated." She scratched the back of her head, sighing. "Sorry for getting hurt..."

'How long were you in it?'

Ruby's eyebrows furrowed. "I dunno. I think it was the same amount it usually is for everyone out there, but for me everything feels kind of soupy in there. Maybe ten seconds? Maybe less?"

Neo paused, tapping her fingers against the outside of her scroll as she considered the answer. Finally, she typed out a message.

'Do you think that will be enough?'

Ruby looked at it, then at Neo's face and the wrath swimming in her eyes. "...what?"

'Do you think ten seconds is good enough?'

Ruby's dad, sister, uncle, her teammates, teachers, neighbors, out of everyone she'd ever known, she'd never seen eyes that looked like that. Eyes that could stare, unflinching, as a blade went right through them.

Unbounded hatred.

The fact it wasn't directed at her was cold comfort, Ruby was terrified of those eyes, of their owner. When it came down to it, she didn't really know anything about Neo at all. She should have gotten out, found a teacher, told them everything and lived with a delayed or even revoked entry into Beacon, lived with being sent back home to her dad that loved her. She should have.

"No." Ruby stared into the eyes, steel in her voice. "It's not enough."

She earned her place at Beacon, earned the right to choose. And Neo was her friend. She was scary, but so was Pyrrha, so was Weiss, and even her uncle Qrow sometimes. Ruby had long ago accepted the world was full of scary things.

'We'll add your semblance to our physical therapy sessions. It'll be better to practice staying in it for longer when we have the medical facilities right here.'

But if you looked really close, you could usually find someone who helps, too.

"Thanks, Neo," Ruby said, brightly.

That was what Huntresses were for, after all, right?

"Who's Neo?" Ruby's head snapped to the side, an action which had an aggravatingly unfortunate effect on her headache, to see a bedridden Weiss and Blake watching the scene between the two with curious stares.

Neo stared at the pair for a handful of moments before reaching out and roughly slamming the privacy curtain down.

([___

It was a few days later when Blake and Weiss were finally cleared to leave the medical wing and, by their estimation, that was a few days too many. Breaking out into the cooling air outside, Weiss managed a deep breath for what felt like the first time in months. She'd recovered from the fight, reached some kind of friendlier accord with her team leader, and was now free from the Beacon nurse's less than tender ministrations.

"I'm not asking for the whole servant routine, just a little professionalism," Weiss griped as Blake walked beside her. "We were recovering, too, how difficult would it be to put a glass of water by the bed or grab us a book so we're not spending the whole time twiddling our thumbs?"

"Forget the water," Blake hummed. "I just need the book to survive."

They walked along together a bit more, with Weiss hesitating before asking, "what... kind of books do you read?"

If Blake felt any discomfort at the question, she brushed by it easily enough. "I read all kinds of books, fiction, mostly, but romance is my main comfort pick."

"Ah, romance isn't a genre I'm... particularly familiar with." Weiss scratched her cheek with a finger, awkwardly. "I typically tend toward mysteries."

"Have you tried the Alice Clementine series? It has mystery and romance elements," Blake offered.

Weiss blinked. "Oh, I've never heard of it. Thank you, I'll try it out."

Blake waved a hand. "I have the first book in the dorm; I'll lend it to you."

"Thank you." Weiss bowed her head, inwardly cheering.

Successful interaction. Common ground established.

"Are you always so... formal?" Blake asked, watching her askance.

Warning: interaction proceeding out of schedule.

"I'm... I-" Weiss sighed. "It's likely going to take me a bit of time to grow... comfortable. I hope you understand."

Blake's eyes flicked back ahead as she nodded, slowly. "I understand."

"It's not-" Weiss rubbed the back of her neck, struggling to get the words across. "It isn't about you. I just don't have a lot of experience being comfortable around people."

Blake bit her lip. "That's-"

"It sounded sadder when I said it out loud, than I meant it," Weiss cut in. "I was just trying to say it isn't what I'm used to."

"Comfortable..." Blake reached a hand up to itch at her bow. "Yeah, I guess I'm the same."

"Hopefully it's a temporary arrangement." Weiss smiled, softly. "I think being friends would be nice." Her eyes widened and she waved her hands in front of her. "E-eventually, I mean."

"Eventually," Blake agreed, looking straight ahead again with a smile on her face.

They made it into the dorms, swiping their scrolls to get into the building, and walked up to the third floor where their room laid. After several days in an uncomfortable medical cot, Weiss looked forward to her still uncomfortable but noticeably less so dorm bed.

Had her standards dropped? Yes. Did she care? Not as much as she thought she would.

Blake paused in front of their door, scroll poised to unlock it, but put off by something. "Cardin?" She muttered. "Why is he-?"

"What about Cardin?" Weiss asked.

Blake shook her head, lowering the scroll to unlock the door and walking in with Weiss trailing behind.

"Just consider it like stretching," Ren's voice came through before Weiss could see him. "Your aura is used to pooling around you, it moves, but very slowly. You have to agitate it, get it ready to move first, then you can start in on techniques."

"Well that must be great to say," Cardin's voice came after, heavily annoyed. "But just going 'get it moving' ain't working as an explanation for me, so give me something I can use."

Weiss finally managed to enter the dorm room proper to see Cardin standing in the middle of the room, with Ren sitting and Nora lying down, both on Ren's bed.

"Think of it like- oh, welcome back," Ren greeted, causing Nora to jump into an upright standing position in an instant.

"They're back," she yelled, causing both Blake and Weiss to wince. She whirled to look down at the still seated Ren. "Should I get the thing?"

Cardin rolled his eyes, his arms coming together to cross over his chest. "Hey, we're all super glad the wonder twins are back, but we're kind of in the middle of something."

"Right, Nora get it, I'm going to finish this up." He turned to Weiss and Blake as Nora dashed out of the room. "Do you mind if we finish in here?"

Blake shrugged. "I don't mind, but what are you doing?"

"Aura techniques," Weiss answered for him, moving to her bed and flopping down on top of it. "That explanation worked for my sister, but I needed something else."

Cardin and Ren exchanged glances. "What did you need?" Cardin asked.

"Do you know your semblance?"

"Yeah," Cardin answered easily, and Blake raised a surprised eyebrow at that which Weiss agreed with. He'd never used his semblance in any of the combat exercises, was it purely utility?

"What type is it?" Weiss asked.

"Is that relevant?" He said, testily.

"No, just curious." She raised an arm out, summoning up the images of her glyphs in her mind's-eye, her aura shifting in anticipation. "Try activating it, getting your aura all ready to let it go, but at the last second, pull back. Keep doing that, eventually you can hold that feeling, keep your aura agitated for longer and longer."

"I didn't know you used any aura techniques," Blake commented, moving over to sit on her own bed, sinking into the soft mattress.

Weiss snorted, releasing the agitation. "I'm really not very good. I just use some aura shrouding on Myrtenaster to keep it from breaking when the dust chambers fire."

"And on your legs when you cushion falls with your glyphs," Ren put in, causing Weiss to sit up suddenly in bed.

"How did you-"

He tapped the space near his eyes. "I saw it during Initiation. It seemed like a good technique."

"You should see my sister's." She laid down again. "No one has better control."

Ren opened his mouth to respond, but a grunt from Cardin interrupted him, and looking over Weiss could see Cardin standing with every muscle tensed, breaths coming out sharp and short.

"Yes," Ren swiveled on his bed, refocusing his attention on Cardin. "Just like that, hold that for as long as you can."

'As long as he could,' turned out to be another fifteen seconds or so. Impressive for a first time, but nowhere near good enough to use.

Cardin braced his arm against the wall, breathing heavily. "Well that's a workout I've never tried before," he snarked idly.

"If you keep practicing that until you can hold it for five minutes, then we can start to work on moving it," Ren said, Cardin's eyes widening with the words.

"Five minutes? You gotta be kidding me, how long's that gonna take? Might as well be five friggen years at this rate."

"Just practice it when you have the free time. It's going to be tough at first, but you'll get used to it the more you do it." At Cardin's reluctance, Ren added. "Come on, you know how this works."

"I know, I know." He waved a hand. "The concept of a workout routine to build fundamentals ain't exactly new." He sighed, scratching his head. "Five minutes?"

Ren nodded. "Then we can do more. You should practice it to get it past five, though."

"Then I'll come back once I've got it." He turned to the door, waving behind him. "These techniques better be worth it, Teach. You hear me?"

Ren shrugged. "I guess we'll see."

Cardin snorted, flipping him off as the door closed behind him.

It took a handful of moments of silence before Blake decided to break it. "Well, that was... something."

"Sorry to bring him in here without asking. If I'd know you were coming back today, I would have made different arrangements."

"I think our nurse was supposed to notify you when we were discharged, but she seemed," Blake and Weiss exchanged glances. "Light on procedure."

Ren's gaze flicked into an observational one, looking over both of them. "I hope that doesn't extend to the treatments."

"She treated us fine, professionally," Blake assured him, while Weiss scoffed, lightly. "We won't be rushing to go back, but we're pretty much all healed up."

"Glad to hear it." He sat back down on his bed, the three descending into awkward silence. After a minute or two more of silence, he rubbed the back of his neck sighing. "I expected Nora to be back by now, but since she's not, I guess I'll start." Weiss and Blake looked up at that. "I'm... we're sorry, to both of you." He stood up again, trying to look at each of them, and eventually settling for neither, eyes off to the side. "When Nora and I got to Beacon, we thought it would be different. We thought we could put down roots, however temporary, learn something, make friends..." he shook his head. "Beacon was different. But, it turns out, we weren't. We did what we always did: protect each other, ignore everyone else, survive. We never met you halfway." His eyes went forward again, hardened with determination. "That ends tod-"

Nora kicked the door open, arms full of a plain but large cardboard box. "Got it, got it, I got the-" she looked around. "You started without me?"

Ren rubbed his eyes, sighing. "I thought you'd be back sooner, but I had to get the ball rolling before they fell asleep."

Nora groaned. "They couldn't find our order number, I had to-"

"Enough." Blake swiped her hand to the side, standing. "Thank you, for the apology, but if I were actually leading at the start, you wouldn't have had to act on your own. You say you didn't meet us halfway, but," she looked at a wide-eyed Weiss who nodded, "I don't think there was a halfway either of us met either."

Ren spread his hands. "We just want to be a team. A real team, from now on."

"And friends," Nora broke in. "We want to be friends, too. Best friends."

"That's a little harder to force people on, Nora," Ren advised, carefully.

Nora raised a finger to the sky. "These are our terms and we'll stand by them."

It was the sort of thing that should have made Blake laugh, but her expression remained as serious as it was when she'd fought Weiss in Forever Fall, her voice crisp and without hesitation. "I accept your terms."

Ren and Nora both looked taken aback by that, but Nora recovered first. "Well, good, cause otherwise this'd be a little awkward." She reached into the box and pulled out several parcels wrapped in paper, handing one to Blake, then Weiss, then Ren, and dropping the box to hold the last one herself.

Weiss carefully unwrapped the package, her fingers teasing along some waterproof material, then something softer within. After finally tearing all the paper away, she lifted the object in front of her to see a buttoned jacket, white with black accents, and a design on the back that forced her to look twice as the first made her breath catch.

The design of the White Fang's logo was a melding of different animals, bears, dogs, panthers, and it was easy to see where the resemblance came in. But the animal on the back of the jackets wasn't a melding or brand, or any true drawing at all. It was a simple black outline of a white wolf.

Wait, a wolf?

'Ooh, was it about uniforms? Do we get cool matching ones? Can mine have a wolf on the back? Can we all have a wolf on the back?'

Weiss' eyes widened. Did they really-?

"You don't actually have to wear them," Ren said, laying his own over his legs as he sat back down. "But we wanted to give you something physical, like a promise that we'd try to be better teammates."

Blake gave some kind of thanks, said something else, Weiss was pretty sure Ren or Nora responded, but all of it came through like static.

She couldn't stop staring at the jacket.

Someone was calling her name, asking if she was alright, but she just rolled over on her bed, her back to all of them.

It felt like a dream, like it wasn't real. To go so long fighting to get on another team, to be recognized in her own, to suddenly breaking through to Blake, Ren, Nora, all at once, it was too much.

Her heart twisted as she clutched the jacket closer, tighter. She didn't want to wake up, but if it wasn't real, she didn't want to spend any more time in the dream either, not when reality was so close by.

"Just... give her a little time," Blake said as Weiss pulled her blankets over her head, muffling the sound and light from outside. "It's been a rough week."

A rough week, a rough month, a rough decade, Blake was a master of understatement.

Weiss fell asleep, clinging to the jacket, the promise, with the fear it wouldn't be there in the morning.

But in the morning, it still was.

She ran through her routine in a daze, making it to the training center without even noticing her feet were taking her there, her body more used to her schedule than she was.

"Morning, Weissy," Yang greeted, several dummies already in pieces around her as she wiped her face with a towel. "Nice jacket."

"Yes." Weiss breathed deeply, slowly centering herself again, the jacket a comfortable warmth despite the weather crawling inexorably toward Summer. "Yes it is."

"Ready to get into some footwork?" Yang offered. "You gotta be going nuts cooped up in the medical wing for so long."

"I do feel a little nuts," she huffed, a smile breaking through. "But good."

Yang grinned widely. "Aww, that's adorable." She surged forward, pinching Weiss' cheeks. "I've never seen you smile like that before. Do it again."

Weiss shoved her off, forcing a scowl onto her face. "You're insufferable."

"Punstufferable," she said from the ground.

Weiss kicked her in the legs, hard.

"Footwork feels good," Yang grunted. "Maybe we don't have to work on that."

She rolled her eyes, reluctantly helping a still grinning Yang to her feet. "I think my guard needs work." The fight with Blake came to mind, every scratch and punch she couldn't defend aching still. "You got anything for that?"

"Yeah, we can work on it." Yang raised her tape wrapped hands, bare of any weapons she wasn't born with, for as little a difference as that made to her effectiveness. "Ready?"

Weiss took off her jacket, laying it carefully against a chair as she set to wrapping her own hands, falling into the stance Yang taught her, head low, arms up. "Ready."

She couldn't slack on her training now.

Her team needed her, after all.

Chapter Text

Weiss' pen tapped against the page, thoughtfully, drumming some rhythm she'd picked up from somewhere she privately suspected was part of Yang's workout mix. She hardly ever wrote anything on paper anymore, her essays typed up for easy drafting, but certain things required a more personal touch.

'Dear Winter.

'I apologize for the lateness in this letter. My team and I have had some,'

Weiss hesitated.

'Growing pains,' she decided on after a moment, 'which I wanted resolved before a full overview of my experience at Beacon thus far could be summarized.

'For starters, Vale as a whole differs from Atlas in ways I'm still getting used to. The buildings have more stone, there are plants and bugs everywhere (I saw an ant inside the dorm building once, which none of my teammates reacted to even after I pointed it out to them) and while the city proper functions well enough in its purpose I think even the smaller cities in Atlas would consider it rustic in comparison.

'Stores are usually privately owned, most with the owners living in the same building, as strange as that is. Even kitchens, I saw the owner of a small restaurant's daughter come down the stairs and back behind the counter like it was perfectly normal. She even took my order despite not wearing any kind of uniform at all. My teammates once again had no reaction, so I have to assume it's a standard practice in Vale. Yet another thing to get used to.

'On the subject of my team, we're in the top percentile of our year both in academics and combat. My team's fighting styles are unorthodox, but highly effective. Though, if possible, their personalities are even more so.

'Nora Valkyrie uses a combination two handed hammer and grenade launcher she calls Magnhild, designed by herself. What surprised me the most about it was the fact there was no lock on the launcher capabilities while in its hammer form, meaning she has to utilize excessive discipline to keep from accidentally nudging the trigger while swinging it. Privately, I suspect excessive luck might be involved as well.

'Nora's personality is loud and upbeat, with a strangely vicious side it's taking me some time to get used to. She's never mean, as far as I can tell, but she does have a protective streak that reminds me of you, actually. Before, I'd only seen it applied to Ren, but I guess at some point the range must have extended to the team as a whole.'

___])

"Apologize," Nora shouted at the flailing faunus she'd already captured in an armbar. "Apologize for what you said to Weiss."

Weiss did her best to ignore the quickly gathering crowd of onlookers in the streets of Vale, trying to pull Nora away from the rude man. "Nora, it's fine. It's not a big deal."

"Well I'm making it a big deal." She growled down at him, his deer ears flicking frantically as he tried to escape. "You think it's fun for her that her family's like that? She hasn't done anything to you, so don't pretend like she has."

"A Schnee and her entourage bullying faunus," a smoothly snide voice came down the street. "To be perfectly honest, I expected something more subtle from you."

Blake stiffened off to the side as the woman came into view, a rat faunus with a fleshy tail flicking out behind her, just barely avoiding scraping against the ground. The fact she didn't have any visible weapons was undercut by the several other faunus accompanying her, who fanned out to block passage on that side of the street.

"We were just leaving," Weiss said, coolly, her next yank succeeding in getting Nora to stand, releasing the deer faunus to scuttle away.

"Well now that seems a little hasty," the rat faunus said. "Don't you want to apologize for inconveniencing that poor faunus?"

The edge to her tone made several of the onlookers shuffle off to business elsewhere, and while half of the ones that remained looked uncomfortable, the other half seemed to be gearing up to fight.

"He appears to be gone now." Weiss forced her tone even, non-confrontational but not backing down either.

"That's alright." She smirked. "You can just apologize to me."

"Is that really necessary?" Blake cut in. "Why don't we all just go our separate ways and continue on in peace?"

"It's just a simple apology." She stepped forward as the faunus with her slowly started to encircle the group. "You don't consider that a small price for peace?"

Weiss closed her eyes for a moment, just wanting the situation to be over. When she opened them again, it was to lock eyes with the ringleader's abundantly smug expression. "I'm s-"

She pointed a finger down at her feet. "On. Your. Knees."

Weiss' expression hardened in tune with the rest of her team.

"What's the matter?" The rat faunus jeered. "Are you with your sadistic racist family or not? What's an apology compared to all you've done?"

"That tears it," Nora announced, Magnhild deploying behind her as she leapt forward and slammed it into the ground, launching dust and debris into the air.

Weiss felt a hand pull her back, into an alley and away from the gang of faunus scrambling to find them. And more than anything, Weiss felt drained by the encounter.

Beating them in a fight would have been easy; that was the problem. Beacon students were heavily disciplined for getting into fights with civilians, and if any of them didn't have aura it could have turned lethal with far steeper consequences.

Self defence was slightly lighter punishment, which was why they were trying to goad her and her team into striking the first blow. It was a tactic, that was all.

That didn't stop it from hurting.

Nora kicked a trashcan, fuming. "Ooh, I'm gonna break her legs if I ever see her again."

"I doubt Professor Goodwitch would very much approve of that," Ren said, but his expression was no happier as he turned to Weiss. "Are you alright?"

"Fine. I'm..." Weiss sighed, tiredly. "I'm fine, thanks."

"Does that happen often?" Blake asked, tonelessly.

Weiss gave a slightly choked laugh at that. "Only everywhere there's faunus."

Blake's frown deepened.

"Come on," Ren jerked his head toward an out of the way noodle shop just in view past the alley. "Let's grab something to eat before we start walking again."

Weiss felt her dour expression lift, somewhat. Chairs, food, quiet, indoors, a perfect combination after... all that. "That sounds like a great idea."

([___

'Lie Ren has a dual weapon, a pair of bladed automatic pistols he collectively calls Stormflower. They don't transform, per-se, but I think they must have some kind of compact form because of the way he deploys them from his sleeves. I'm not sure what grimm he plans to fight exactly that would need to be fooled by a sneak attack like that, so I suspect he wants to become a Hunstman for other purposes, though I haven't asked him about it as of yet.

'In contrast to Nora, Ren's personality is much more calm and reserved. He hardly speaks outside of when he's asked directly, and almost never acts until the precise moment he must. His discipline, I think, you'd like. His temperament is so perfect for the military sometimes I can picture him in uniform, which just makes me laugh because he'd have to bring Nora along to do that and she is maybe the most ill suited military recruit I've ever seen.

'Apart from the discipline, though, I think Ren's greatest strength lies in his understa-'

Weiss scratched that out.

'Discernment. The amount of time he's spent with Nora has given him exceptional intuitive abilities when it comes to other people. A skill I often feel I need to improve in myself.'

___])

"You've been stewing for a while now." Blake gave a start at suddenly being addressed, looking up from her book to see Ren slide into the chair across from her, his soft speech easily low enough not to bother the other library patrons. "Want to talk about it?"

Blake's eyes flicked back down to her book. "There's nothing to talk about."

"It's about the faunus from the other day," Ren said, causing Blake to stiffen, "isn't it?"

Blake didn't answer.

He leaned closer. "You know, if you hate faunus I'm sure you have good reason to, but they aren't all like that."

Blake snorted, involuntarily, which Ren just took as confirmation.

"I thought that's what it was." He sighed, leaning back again. "Nora and I haven't always had good experiences with them, but I guess it helps that's not unique to groups of faunus in our experience."

"I don't hate all faunus," she said, tersely.

"Just some..." Ren's eyebrows furrowed. "The White Fang?" He must have seen something in her expression because his own steadily became shadowed. "I'm sorry." He stood to leave. "I'll stop bothering you now."

He started to go and Blake was going to let him, too fresh wounds festering close to her skin, but of all things it was his jacket that caught her eye, that thing that clashed so highly with his and Nora's outfits, that matched so well with her and Weiss', that they wore anyway.

"I'm..." she swallowed heavily as he waited. "People say they're monsters, worse than grimm, unfeeling, but they're not, I know they're not. It's just..." she threw her hands up, words failing.

Ren sat down again. "They hurt you."

"Yeah." Blake hugged her arms close to herself. "I guess they did."

"Have you talked to Weiss about it?"

"Why would I do that?" She huffed, disbelievingly. She knew Ren had misunderstood her position with the Fang, but even with that, the thought of talking to her about being in the Fang was too ridiculous to entertain.

"She's a Schnee." Ren tilted his head. "Do you really think she wouldn't know what it's like to be hurt by the White Fang?"

There was a part of her, larger than she liked, that said 'so what?' to that. The only reason she'd managed to get as far as she had with Weiss was because she separated out her teammate from the Schnee. Bringing those two parts together again... it was too soon.

She didn't want anything bad to happen to Weiss, but the Schnees? She hadn't shed a tear for them yet and probably never would.

"I'll... think about it," she allowed.

"Just an idea. If you wanted to talk to me or Nora about it, or someone else. I could show you some techniques I use to meditate." He shook his head. "Anything has to be better than stewing over it."

Blake smiled, softly. "Thanks, Ren. I'll... how-" she laughed at the repeated stumbling over her words. "I think the meditation sounds good. Do you have a place for that?"

"Wherever I am is my place for it." He stood up again. "But our room is probably the best for instruction."

"Our room it is." She stood as well, her book in hand. "Cardin's not gonna be there this time, is he?"

"I honestly don't know," he admitted.

Blake barked out a surprised laugh at that. "Yeah." She walked along with him. "Fair enough."

([___

'Blake Belladonna is our team leader. She uses a two part shifting weapon, with the sheath able to be used as a cleaver in the off hand, and her sword turning into an automatic pistol or kusarigama, though so far I've only seen that form during Initiation as it seems to perform best in wide open spaces. She's fast, and strong. I've hardly ever seen her hit in training, but I have seen her take a grimm apart in seconds. She is an exceptionally skilled combatant.

'Personality-wise, Blake is-'

Weiss rubbed the back of her neck, staring down at the page, uncomfortably.

'Reserv-'

She scratched it out.

'Quie-'

Again.

'Stran-'

'Indeciph-'

'Blake is complicated.' She nodded, satisfied. 'She's clearly not used to leading a team, which lead to some conflict early on, but now she's trying hard to live up to the role. It isn't perfect, she still needs to communicate what she wants far more effectively, and I don't think she's fully figured out how to wrangle Nora just yet, but for the most part things are running much more smoothly, for which I'm thankful.

'She-'

Weiss hesitated once again, slowly setting her pen down to the page again.

'She likes to read, romance mostly. Physical books as well, I've never seen her read on her scroll. She gave me a mystery series to read with a detective named Alice Clementine, have you ever heard of it? It's good so far. The first book was all short stories, but I'm midway through the second now and it's quite engaging. She-'

Weiss sighed, writing the words out on the page and staring down at them.

'I think she hates me.'

A minute passed watching the ink slowly leach into the paper before finally she scratched out the words.

'Blake has a habit of being very careful around me. It's different than the way Ren is. He's just careful, but with Blake it feels like she's worried what I'll do if she lets me get too close. She acts friendly, she's trying so hard, I know that. But it's like there's a wall there I can't get over. Do you have any advice for me on that?

'Everything's going so well now, I don't want to ruin it. But if there's something I can do, I want to do it. I want to be the best teammate I can be. I just-'

Weiss leaned back in her chair, covering her eyes with an arm. "I just don't know what to do."

___])

The good news was, Cardin wasn't there when they got back to the dorm. Weiss was, however, which added a wrinkle when it came to using meditation to forget about the faunus incident since the chief focus of it was right there.

Weiss waved at them when they came in and Ren nodded in acknowledgement while Blake waved back. No words were spoken, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Of their team, the only member who didn't enjoy the quiet was Nora and she seemed somewhat suspiciously absent at that moment.

Actually, that was going to be another obstacle to meditation.

"Where's Nora?" Blake asked aloud.

"She said she had to ask Pyrrha something." Weiss tapped her pen against the page. "Been gone all morning."

Ren sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in mild exasperation. "I don't know why I thought she'd drop that."

Blake raised a wary eyebrow. "You know what she's asking Pyrrha?"

"Nora thinks Pyrrha is holding back in combat class. She wanted to ask her about it-well..." he corrected himself, "she wanted to 'confront her' about it, but I managed to talk her down to that much. She didn't do anything yesterday, though, so I figured she'd forgotten or decided it wasn't worth it." He headed for the door again. "Sorry, Blake, I'm going to go find her."

"I'll come with you," Blake said, maybe a little too quickly if Weiss' exhale was any indication.

"I'll go, too." She pushed away from her desk, slipping her jacket over her shoulders. "I've reached a... stopping point, in my letter, anyway. It'll be more efficient to compose the rest in my head."

"You were writing a letter?" Blake asked, holding the door and following after both teammates.

"Yes, my sister works for the Atlas military, so there are many places she can't bring a scroll or any kind of CCT networked device, so instead of sending updates to her through those, I write letters. That way, she can read them even in secure locations."

Schnee.

Blake winced against the force of the thought in her head, squashing it down again.

Her sister's a person, too.

Shut up, she hissed at herself.

She already knew the Schnees were people. She knew the White Fang hurt them, she'd hurt them, sometimes indirectly, others directly, it happened.

She didn't feel bad. She couldn't force herself to.

It colored every interaction she had with Weiss, every passed back joke and literature discussion, always in the back of her mind it whispered.

'I hurt you.'

'And I don't care.'

If there needed to be any more reason to keep her faunus secret from her team, that was it. Because that was a conversation she never ever wanted to have with Weiss.

"That's nice," Ren commented, sliding a curious eyebrow Blake's way, likely thanks to the twisted shape her aura must have been in. "Does she ever write back?"

"When she's able to, but she's usually very busy. She goes out on missions, you know, to places and for purposes she's never allowed to tell anyone. Sometimes I won't get anything from her for months and the next time she writes it's to tell me she's been gone all that time and I never knew." She gave a one shouldered shrug. "It's kind of funny to think about, sometimes, how long it would be before I'd know if something ever happened to her."

Blake had begun to notice Weiss had a peculiar definition of 'funny' at times.

"It can't be easy," Ren said quietly. "Living like that."

Weiss gave a start, like she was surprised at the sympathy, making another awkward half-shrug in response.

"It's just the way things are."

Blake knocked on the door across the hall from them, waiting for a member of RWPY to open up. It was unlikely, given how long she'd been gone, that Nora would be there, but if someone had a good idea where she went they'd at least have a place to start looking.

Ruby answered the door, and Blake once again ignored the slightly pitiable feeling that welled in her gut when she saw the young girl's scarred face.

"Wow, whole team." Ruby looked around at the assembled bits of BRWN. "You looking for Nora?"

Chapter Text

'Of course, there is another team that's caught my attention,' Weiss composed in her head as she and her team followed Ruby toward the bullhead into Vale where apparently Nora had gone with the rest of RWPY, for reasons she found dubious at best.

'A strange construction that initially I was only interested in for its inclusion of Pyrrha Nikos, the fighter I'm sure you're already well aware of. Team RWPY has had a... tumultuous beginning, as unfortunately I can relate to. Their former team leader, a man by the name Jaune Arc was rather ill-suited to the Hunter lifestyle, and unfortunately even worse fitted for his team as a whole, much less leading it. Apparently he either left on his own or was failed out about a month into the semester, the specifics of which none of the remaining team are forthcoming on, though I suppose it matters little.

'You'd think the obvious next choice for team leader would be Miss Nikos herself, but surprisingly enough, no. A new student transferred in around the time Jaune left: a prodigy by the name Ruby Rose.'

Weiss watched Ruby aboard the bullhead, her head tilted to look out the window at the sprawling city underneath, eyes filled with wonder that made the corners of Weiss' mouth tip up in a smile.

'There are times Ruby is as classically country bumpkin as I believe could reasonably be accomplished. She shows such surprise for the most mundane of city accommodations and features at first I was convinced she was trying to play a joke on me, but after knowing her a bit longer I'm certain now she is truly as naive as she appears. I'm not sure just how small her home island must have been, but if I found out its only inhabitants belonged to her family I wouldn't be at all surprised.

'It's just unfortunate that this coin has another side.'

Weiss' smile fell, slightly, watching Ruby gently scratch at some place under her arm and wince against a still-tender burn.

'Ruby suffered an accident a short time before the semester began that inflicted her with severe burns, requiring her late entry. Without such an event, I suspect her naivete would be complete, and I'd find her a childish and annoying distraction. It's... odd how conflicted I feel about that. For as infuriating as I'm sure I would have found her, it's hard not to interact with her now and get the impression something about her is missing, something important.

'Maybe it's useless to think about what could have been.'

([___

Ruby hurt. She'd been hurting for a while by that point, Neo's training sessions feeling like an exercise in having her body eat itself. She'd been practicing using her new semblance for longer, but it was always small increments, fractions of seconds gathered here and there slowly, comfortably.

Apparently that wasn't a style Neo had a terrible amount of patience for.

Ruby winced against one of her burns, trying to scratch around it at the frustratingly itchy and tender flesh. She was pretty sure they were supposed to be healed by then, her aura speeding up the process until they were faded scars at the very least, but sometimes they felt as fresh as when she'd first woken up in the hospital. It felt like they got worse whenever she had one of those training sessions, but... they were working.

It felt easier to slip into her semblance now, more like soaking, less like drowning. At the start, at least; by the end, trying to force herself to stay longer still felt very much like drowning. But that was still progress.

She used it in class, sometimes, just for a moment or two. A break from the constant chatter of Oobleck's teaching, a chance to groan at Port where no one could hear her. If anyone noticed the petals drifting off her body afterwards, they hadn't said anything.

Spars... were another issue entirely.

Her team was understanding, mostly. Yang was terrified after she blacked out the last time she'd pushed her semblance too far, and even though Cardin was a little frustrated and Pyrrha, though she tried to hide it, was very frustrated she wasn't using it in her spars, they were understanding for the most part that she'd take it slow. Ruby thought Weiss would push her, she thought Weiss would challenge her for not fighting at full strength, but she didn't; she just kept on like she always had, more or less, if a lot more relaxed.

In the end, the one who was most frustrated she wasn't using her semblance in spars was Ruby herself.

She wanted to be using it, she wanted to be stronger, but every time she thought about it, something stopped her. She thought of Yang's expression, terrified. She thought of Neo so upset she did it where she could get hurt. But more than anything she thought of Goodwitch, who already thought Ruby shouldn't be there. Thought she was too injured, too young, too weak, and more than anything else Ruby didn't want to prove her right.

So she trained harder with Neo, fought as best as she could without her semblance in class, and waited for when she could bring the two together again.

Another burn rubbed uncomfortably against her clothes, making her wince. The pain was bad.

The waiting was worse.

A shuddering groan that shook the bullhead for a moment signalled their landing in Vale, and everyone present gathered up whatever bags and weapons they typically carried with them and departed.

"So," Blake broached, gently, once everyone had exited and taken a moment to get their bearings. "Why exactly is Nora and everyone else in Vale?"

If there weren't other passengers on the bullhead, Ruby was sure Blake would have pressed the issue already, but as it was she appreciated being given some time with her thoughts.

"Well, Yang wanted to do some shopping and Cardin told me to mind my own business when I asked, so that's why they went. For Nora and Pyrrha, I really don't know. Nora came in accusing Pyrrha of holding back in Goodwitch's class and Pyrrha suggested they take a walk in Vale and talk about it." Ruby shrugged. "Seems like a pretty simple yes or no to me, so not sure why they needed to go into the city for it, but I can give Pyrrha a call and tell her we're in town, if you want?"

"Please," Blake said, frowning down at her own scroll. "Nora hasn't been picking up and I'm starting to get actually worried."

Ruby nodded, pulling out her scroll to tap into Pyrrha's contact and letting it ring until eventually it hit voicemail. "Okay, so that didn't work... let me try Yang, maybe she bumped into Pyrrha somewhere." She clicked into Yang's contact and once again let it ring until on the final ring, Yang answered.

"Heya, Rubes. Everything alright?" Ruby tried to ignore the very real thrum of concern beneath what should have been an idle greeting.

"I'm fine. Here with BRWN, they're looking for Nora. You see where she and Pyrrha went once you separated?"

"Not really," she hedged. "I mean, they went south off the bullhead, but that was hours ago so they could be pretty much anywhere at this point."

Ruby sighed. So that was a bust.

There was a shifting sound of Yang moving down the street. "Hey, wait, I think I see Cardin over there. I'm gonna ask if he knows anything and call you back if he does."

Ruby's eyebrows furrowed. "Cardin's still in Vale? I figured he'd already taken care of whatever he wanted and headed back to Beacon by now, hit the gym or the training center or something."

"Guess he decided to make a day of it." Yang shrugged, still moving. "Cardin, hey, Cardin. I'll call you back, Rubes."

"Good luck," Ruby said before the call disconnected.

"Anything?" Weiss asked, impatiently.

"She went south from here, but that was hours ago. If Cardin knows anything, Yang's gonna call me back, but I kinda doubt he does." Ruby shrugged. "What now?"

___])

'Ruby's partner is Cardin Winchester, first son of the Winchester family. My personal encounters with him have been few and far between, but he's a capable if simple combatant with an... abrasive personality. I've heard some students compare me with him, though lately the frequency of that has decreased somewhat. Whether that's due to his team's increased consistency leaving him less room to be outwardly volatile or my own improved mood, I'm not sure, but I'm glad for some distance either way.

'I don't dislike Cardin, necessarily, I don't have much of an opinion on him at all. I hear Yang talk of him often, and Ruby very occasionally. I've eaten meals with him nearby, but the conversation he partook in and the ones I partook in didn't have much overlap. Cardin is... simple, I suppose. No elaborate weapon or outfit, no strangeness to his nature or appearance. It's possible despite being ill mannered and relatively disliked, that he is the most normal person in the entire Beacon campus at the moment.

'Somehow, in Beacon, that normalcy makes him the strangest of all.'

([___

There were a few places Yang expected Cardin to be once they got in the city. Some kind of seedy bar that didn't card effectively was her top guess, though admittedly it was possible she was projecting a little there. Runners up were underground fighting ring, some kind of drug dealer, and secret faunus wife. Personally, she was hoping for the last one because even though it was by far the least likely, it was also the juiciest and she loved it as soon as Pyrrha idly suggested it as a joke a few weeks prior.

None of those were where she found Cardin, however.

"Cardin." She knocked on the window, pressing up against the glass to watch Cardin's eyes widen in recognition and then narrow in annoyance. "Cardin, I see you."

He flipped her off, which Yang took as open invitation to stride into the darkly lit building, home of bright lights, beeping machines, and tokens that flowed like a river: Vale's premiere arcade, Pan's Arcadia.

"Heya, Cardin," she said, voice already primed in a teasing tenor.

"You know, I was almost having a good day." He took a long tired sip of the soda in his hands, leaning back against the arcade cabinet he was playing at a moment earlier. "What do you want, Blondie?"

"Whatcha playing?" She peered over his shoulder to look at the game. "Hunter Quest Four?"

"That didn't sound a lot like telling me what you want." He turned and walked further into the arcade. "So if you're just here to bother me, you can screw off."

"Pyrrha and Nora haven't checked in with anyone yet." Yang followed behind, passing by cases and cases of games and cabinets. "You have any idea where they went?"

"Nope. That all?" He idly inserted a token into a whack-a-mole game and twirled the mallet in his hands as the grimm moles shook for startup.

Yang's teasing expression dipped into a frown. "What, you're not the least bit concerned that something might have happened to them?"

"Nora came to confront Pyrrha about her holding back in Goodwitch's class, and her answer wasn't to immediately deny it." He smashed a mole down with a little more force than necessary. "As far as I'm concerned, that means she has been holding back, and if what I've been seeing in class is the neutered version, then I'm not fussed about her spending a day in the big scary city, no."

Yang's lips pursed. "She-"

"You know, you did this with Ruby, too." The machine groaned as he slammed the mallet down on another mole. "Is it really that hard to acknowledge your teammates are stronger than you?"

Yang's brain ground to a sudden halt.

"If you think you can make it in the city then they can. Have some confidence in your team for once." He thwacked the last mole, the machine whirring and spitting out tickets he grabbed and tossed in her direction. "Prize counter's that way, maybe you can cash those in for a reality check."

The words rattled around in her mind, not finding purchase on anything.

She knew there were people out there stronger than she was, of course she knew that; her own mother probably was one. She knew that even if she were the strongest person at Beacon, she'd still be just a big fish in a small pond. But... she wasn't the strongest at Beacon. She wasn't even the strongest in her own team.

She...

Was she the weakest in her whole team?

No. "I'm stronger than you," she called out, causing Cardin to freeze.

He turned his head slowly, just enough he could see her out of the corner of his eye. "Yes, you are." He kept walking, face forward again. "How long's that gonna last?"

___])

'Yang I have a bit more experience with. She's an exceptionally skilled hand to hand combatant, quick on her feet, strong, and with an Enhancing semblance that makes it difficult to last in any kind of extended match with her.

'Personality-wise, it's possible she's one of the most annoying people I've ever encountered. She's pushy, flirtatious, teasing. She has no sense of personal space or privacy. Her sense of humor is warped into this atrocious wordplay and she acts beyond everything else like the world was made to be her sandbox, like her greatest problems are the slight inconveniences of someone not catering to her completely. It should be like every stupid aristocrat and arrogant noble we've ever encountered at father's parties, but somehow Yang isn't like that at all.

'The impression I always get when I'm talking to Yang is that some time before someone told her a joke that was so funny it banished all her troubles away. All her worries and fears, everything that made her angry or sad dimmed under the force of this incredible humor and she spends as much time as possible trying to get people in on the joke. So everything she does, all that complete lack of boundaries and horrible puns is like she's trying to get you to understand something only she knows.

'I don't know, maybe I'm reading into it too much. It's hard to explain, but sometimes I look at Yang and I get this flash of something unbreakable, like you could knock her down a thousand times and she'd always get back up the same way she did the first time. Beacon has some exceptional fighters, incredible people, but whenever I see that aspect of her, I can only think, one day,

'She's going to be an amazing huntress.'

([___

"Hey." Cardin rolled his eyes at Yang's rapidly approaching footsteps, apparently still not done bothering him. "Hey, Cardin, wait up."

It was incredible in a city as big as Vale how apparently impossible it was to avoid his team. "You got something else to say?"

"Fight me." She grabbed onto his shoulder but he shook her off, still walking.

"Pass." He waved a hand. "I've been working my aura around like taffy this week, you'd probably crack it in the first round and that wouldn't massage your ego any."

"My ego's fine, I got..." she scratched the back of her head, uncomfortably, "caught off guard, a little. But you're right. I've been worrying way too much about other people and not enough about improving myself lately."

Cardin whirled a finger, sarcastically. "Whoop-de-doo. Glad you figured out what I had to spell out for you."

"But-" she forced past, a bit of annoyance sneaking into her voice. "The reason I wanted to fight you was because you're right; you've been paying attention to me, Pyrrha, Ruby, and I realized I don't know, like, anything about you." She considered for a moment. "Apart from you being a dick, I guess."

He looked at her askance. "Do you make all your friends by fighting them?"

"Pretty much." She shrugged. "Hey, come on. It doesn't have to be an actual fight; we're in an arcade; it could just be a game or something."

Cardin sighed. Was she really not going to let this go?

"Cardin, Cardin," a much younger voice called out when they'd entered the main game area once again. "Cardin, I beat him." Dahlia slammed into his leg, tugging against the Beacon uniform. "I beat Roy. I beat him."

Cardin could feel Yang's curious gaze pressing into his back, but he steadfastly ignored it. "Well what are you telling me for? Roy's the one that was mouthing off, rub his face in it."

"Oh, right." Dahlia disengaged off his pant leg, running across the arcade at inadvisable speeds. "Thanks, Cardin."

He had to give Yang credit for the surprising six whole seconds of restraint she managed before speaking. "So... who was that?"

"Some kid? Look around, Blondie, arcade's full of 'em." He gestured at the arcade area they were in, where, true to his word, the occupants were almost entirely kids and teenagers. "And before you ask how she knows my name, I told it to her like ten minutes ago cause she was bugging me."

A smile played around Yang's lips. "Sounded like you helped her with something."

"Tch, barely. She was losing to some twerp in a fighting game and he was being annoying about it so I showed her how to do quarter circles for the bar attacks. Nothing two seconds of looking at the moves list wouldn't have done, but since she's a dumb eight year old obviously she didn't know that."

Yang nodded, thinking for a moment. "Pick a game. Any game in this place, I'll play against you. If you win, I won't set foot in here ever again. If I win, next time you come here, you have to bring me, too."

Cardin raised a skeptical eyebrow. "And because I have no reason to think you'll actually follow through on that, I do this why?"

"What makes you think I'm gonna welch?" Yang asked, noticeably affronted by the suggestion.

"Dunno, could it be your entire personality and everything you've done since I met you making you seem flighty and unreliable?" He stepped up onto the dance pad for Beat Beat Psychotropic Eighteen, eyes flicking to the side as Yang joined him on the second pad.

"What have I ever done that's flighty and unreliable? Name one time," she demanded.

The upbeat announcer in the machine chimed in. "Versus mode, engaged."

"You screw around in class, you slack off in training, you always leave your weapon maintenance to the last second." He scrolled through songs, trying to find one that fit his current mood. "You were a liability when we fought against grimm in Forever Fall. You don't know anything about your own sister's semblance, and despite being her partner and best friend in the whole school, you had no idea Pyrrha's been holding back in class or otherwise." A song caught his eye and he clicked into it with a smirk.

"Song chosen. You have selected: 'Can't Trust That Blonde,' by, 'The Church of Public Opinion'," the arcade machine announced.

Yang laughed, darkly. "Oh, you're a dead man."

Arrows started flying up the screen as the first chords played, Yang a bit awkward at first, but finding her rhythm fast enough.

"Ruby's semblance is different now, it's changed. It's not my fault I didn't know about it." She grimaced, missing a step. "Forever Fall was my first time seeing it. I was trying to figure out what was going on 'cause it wasn't her semblance."

"She could have told you." The tempo grew faster. "Why didn't she?"

"I've been asking myself that same question." Yang sighed, pulling sweaty hair out of her eyes. "You have any siblings, Cardin?"

Cardin grunted, missing two easy steps in a row. "What's it to you?"

"Ruby thinks I go overboard." She grimaced. "Doesn't want to tell me things she think'll upset me in case I overreact. My best guess is that's why she didn't tell me this."

"Did it feel good?" Cardin asked. "Beating up on those bullies?"

Yang's eyes flicked to the side. "How did you-"

"Figure out that someone like Matchstick got bullied and you reacted to it? Come on. She's got target written on her forehead and you've got overprotective guardian. Really not hard to put it together."

Yang nodded, the song starting to wind down. "Yeah," she admitted after a moment. "It did feel good."

Cardin smirked. "You want to take me on too, don't you?"

Yang laughed. "So, so, much. Yes. I want to grind your head into the concrete for all the stuff you did to Ruby." The song finally ended and she leaned back against the railing around the dancepad. "Every time you call her 'matchstick' I want to punch you in the throat."

He shrugged. "Why don't you?"

"Because then Ruby'd think I overreacted again and she'd tell me even less." She smiled with maybe too many teeth. "You seriously piss me off, though, man. I hate your guts."

Cardin laughed, leaning against the railing on his side, too. "You really don't mince words, do you? Good. I think you're going nowhere fast and, if you manage to graduate, I think your greatest claim to fame is gonna be that you were on this team. I don't hate you, but I sure as hell don't respect you, and I don't give a damn that you hate me."

For some reason, Yang's shoulders relaxed at that. "You know, Cardin; there was a part of me that was worried we'd have this talk and I'd find out you were really a big softy on the inside and I'd have to pretend to like you, somehow, so I'm actually kind of relieved to hear you say that." She jerked her head at the machine. "Another round?"

He shrugged. "Pick a song."

She flipped through the selection for a few seconds before clicking into one.

"Song Chosen," the machine announced. "You have selected: 'Fifth Ring is for Wrath (Pick up the Scroll),' by, 'Infer-yes'."

"You would like Infer-yes," Cardin scoffed.

Yang rolled her eyes. "Ah, shut up and dance."

Chapter Text

'While I don't claim to know any specifics of the process, I'm certain Atlas did its due diligence looking into and attempting to recruit Pyrrha Nikos for its school. I couldn't tell you why Beacon was successful where Atlas Academy failed, and it's more than understandable if you were busy with other missions or weren't privy to the research into Pyrrha, but I can say whatever Atlas has written down on her file, it isn't enough to describe Pyrrha.

'Pyrrha is contradiction, itself.'

"It wasn't the White Fang." Blake's sudden statement forced Weiss to tune back into the conversation around them, where her leader was currently frowning above a confused Ruby.

"But, the police said-" she started, but Blake cut through.

"I know what they said, it's-" Blake seemed to notice her voice had risen and the conversation was attracting curious onlookers. "It's not them," she said, quietly, moving on again.

Weiss walked alongside Ruby, trailing back behind Ren and Blake. "What was that about?"

Ruby shrugged, helplessly. "We passed by a busted up store a block back, I heard one of the police saying it was the White Fang, but when I brought it up, Blake freaked out."

Weiss' lips pursed. "A lot of people have trouble acknowledging the White Fang is what it is. It's easy to turn a blind eye and act like the time they were holding up posterboard and picket signs was yesterday instead of years ago at this point."

"You think Blake likes the White Fang?" Ruby crinkled her nose.

"You don't have to like something to feel sympathy for it, and for as much as the White Fang are degenerate scum you have to admit on paper the 'freedom fighting' faunus are far more sympathetic than the fabulously wealthy Schnees and whatever other targets they claim to fight against."

Ruby winced, very small, but noticeable.

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Problem?"

"Sorry, it's just... hearing you call them 'degenerate scum' like that, not even angry, just casual. It surprised me."

"Do you like the White Fang?" Weiss asked, and Ruby hurriedly waved her hands in front of her.

"No, nothing like that. I don't even know that much about them. It's... degenerate scum seems really harsh?"

"For terrorists?" Genuine confusion touched her voice at that.

Ruby threw up her hands. "For anyone. I don't know if I'd ever call the grimm that, and these are actual people."

"Faunus," Weiss corrected, automatically.

"You don't..." Ruby shrank back, "think faunus are people?"

Weiss sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Ruby, of course I think faunus are people. It's a force of habit, that's all."

Her frown deepened. "Habit... so you used to think faunus weren't people."

"It's complicated." Weiss gave her a tired expression Ruby thankfully took as a hint to change the subject.

"I like your jacket," she said, reaching out but hesitating just short of touching it. "Do you like wolves?"

Weiss brushed a hand against the soft material, considering the question. "I've honestly never given it much thought, but I suppose... yes. Atlas has far more beowolves than real wolves, of course, but I do remember, once, my sister Winter took me skiing up in the mountains." Weiss beamed in fond remembrance. "I remember barely being able to stand in those skis, I fell over and over l, getting snow all around my face and into my coat, but with Winter's help I finally made it down that tiny slope and I felt so proud it..." her cheeks pinked, hugging her arms to herself, suddenly self-conscious. "A-anyway, at the bottom of the slope there was a wolf; a mother, I think. At the time I was so terrified, I thought it was a grimm." At Ruby's quizzical expression, she explained, "I'd never seen one at that point, a wolf or grimm; I was very young."

Ruby nodded. "You weren't too close to the pups, were you? If the mother felt threatened..." her eyes flicked up to the scar over Weiss' own.

"She didn't do anything, really," Weiss assured her, brushing past the sting of self-consciousness the reminder of her scar brought her. "She just... stared at me."

Ruby didn't say anything, just listened along as they walked down the street.

"It was... she was..." Weiss felt her hands curl in the air, trying to quantify what she felt. "It was so outside anything I'd ever known. Dangerous, unique," her voice dropped to a whisper, "beautiful."

Her shoes scratched against the ground, almost bumping into Blake and Ren, who she only then noticed had started listening in to her recollection at some point.

"Her kids, pups, I guess, called for her and she disappeared into the woods. I... that's it. That's my wolf story," she ended, awkwardly. It was such a simple series of events, trying to explain it made her feel ridiculous. When no one said anything for a minute, she added, "so yeah, I guess I like wolves. Of the one I've seen, I... yes, I liked it."

There were many times Weiss felt like she'd put her foot in her mouth in the presence of her sister. Very rarely had she felt it as strongly as she did right then, her whole team minus Nora, plus Ruby, staring at her in silence.

"I fought wolves, once," Blake offered, catching everyone's attention and thankfully relieving the pressure on Weiss. "It wasn't anything like grimm. You could feel them angry, happy, desperate, when they fight. It was more like fighting humans, aura included."

"You didn't kill them, did you?" Ruby asked.

"No, Ad-" she shook her head. "My friend, wanted to, but I convinced him to just scare them off, instead."

"I don't know why Nora picked wolves, to be honest," Ren admitted. "She likes them, but she likes a lot of animals. I think it'd be just as likely to be a wolf as a sloth or a raven, but I'm glad you both have some connection to it."

Blake and Weiss looked at each other, Blake smiling, uncertainly, and Weiss doing the same right back.

'Perhaps my earlier fears about Blake were made too hastily. I think I must be something of an unknown quantity to her and our relationship just needs time to properly form. I know I'm hardly the most open and approachable to people I barely know, and she's had much more time being friendly to Ren and Nora than she has to me. Blake is careful, I have to imagine she's been through some bad experience to make her such, but I genuinely believe she wants to be my friend.

'Moreover, I believe it's worth it to want to be hers.

'I am composing this section of the letter in my head, and am thus unable to go back and check what I was writing about before. To be honest, I've legitimately lost track of what it could be.'

"Excuse me. Are you team BRWN?" A young woman asked, wrenching Weiss from her internal dictation yet again.

"Yes," Blake answered, warily. "Who are you?"

She smiled with brightness discordant with Blake's tepid response. "My name is Penny. I have a message to you from friends Pyrrha and Nora."

'Ah, now I remember.'

"Your friends would like you to know they are currently in the Vale central police department building to give a statement."

"A statement about what?" Ruby asked.

Penny tilted her head. "About the White Fang, of course."

'Pyrrha is incredibly kind, gentle, and fiercely loyal. She's graceful in battle, funny, even occasionally when she doesn't mean to be, and there are very few I would rather have by my side in any kind of conflict. She is also ludicrously, concerningly, vicious, and there isn't anyone I'd fear to fight against me as much as her.

'I'm sure Atlas' files have this information, but it doesn't have the feeling I get whenever her aura brushes up against mine. It doesn't show what Pyrrha really is.

'Because if it did, I'm sure Atlas would have tried to kill her already.'

___])

Nora's knee bounced impatiently the entire bullhead ride over. Pyrrha and Yang were chatting about fashion and everything Yang was going to pick up or look at in Vale. Cardin was staring out the window with earbuds in, but Nora was beyond restless.

Pyrrha was holding back. Every time she looked at her, Nora became more and more certain of it. There was a way people with the kind of strength she'd shown moved, an expectation of treatment she didn't have. Far from it, she seemed against being treated abnormally, acting everywhere except class like she wanted to distance herself from the idea of Pyrrha Nikos the unbeatable warrior. Of course, Nora was fine with that, until the idea wormed its way into her head that it might not be everywhere 'except' class; it might be everywhere, period.

The bullhead landed, Pyrrha waving at Cardin and Yang as they went about their business, walking the opposite direction with Nora.

"So..." she said, eventually. "How did you know?"

"It's a lot of things," Nora hedged. "You don't use your semblance, for starters."

"A lot of people don't, to be fair." She smiled as they walked through Vale, passing storefronts and homes. "The backlash is too annoying, or the activation requirements too niche. Sometimes it's just not a semblance built for fighting people and the grimm in Port's class aren't strong enough to be worth the effort." She looked over. "What's your excuse?"

Nora blinked, surprised. "You noticed I-?"

"Don't use your semblance in class either?" Pyrrha shrugged. "You and Cardin both. He's tight-lipped on his, but I've been meaning to ask you yours."

Nora bit her lip.

"My original guess meeting you was that you're an Emitter, but I couldn't figure out any reason you wouldn't use something like that in class, even if it was explosive. Enhancer was my second guess, but I ran into the same problem there. You don't fit the typical mold for Manipulators, Conjurers, or Transmuters, so then I thought you might be a Specialist, like Weiss." She looked over, trying to keep her expression somewhat smooth, but obviously excited. "Am I wrong?"

"I'm a Transmuter," Nora said, trying to gauge how much she should reveal. There were certainly many huntresses and huntsmen who gave out information on their semblances easily, and some with semblances obvious enough they didn't need an explanation. But with that, there were just as many who were private about what they could do. Semblances were supposed to be reflections of the soul, after all. Some thought discussing it in public was uncouth, in a way. "Enhancer secondary, but the activation doesn't come up much, so I haven't really used it."

"Transmuter?" Pyrrha furrowed her brow. "Huh. Really wouldn't have guessed that. The Enhancer secondary does help, though. Not many can pull that off."

"Thanks." Nora watched her, feeling out of her depth beyond anything else. Why was it so hard to get a proper read on Pyrrha? "You're a Transmuter, too. Aren't you?"

"Manipulator." She scratched the back of her head. "Emitter secondary. I try not to talk about it because people get nervous around Manipulators, in my experience."

"Is that why you don't use it in class?"

"I do, sometimes." She squeezed her thumb and finger together. "Just a little, though. Most of the time I don't need to."

"You're a lot more open about this than I expected you to be," Nora admitted. "I figured I was at least gonna have to break your legs a little."

Pyrrha laughed, the genuine sound making Nora relax somewhat from her previous nervous edge. "I'm already more famous than I ever wanted to be. When I started fighting, it wasn't because I was after some great prize or recognition, it was just something I was good at. At Beacon, I already knew I'd be considered strong, but..."

"You're top of the class, now." Nora's eyes widened in realization. "If you really went all out, it wouldn't even be close, would it?"

"Like I said," she smiled, wanly, "I'm already more famous than I want to be."

"So how strong are you, really?" Nora leaned closer, like she could smell the strength off her. "How fast could you beat me?"

"That's a bit of an awkward question," Pyrrha said, pinking slightly. "And you're a strong warrior, so it probably wouldn't be too much faster than I would, usually."

Nora's eyes narrowed. "Liar. You're just trying to spare my feelings. What would it take, actually?"

Pyrrha sighed, closing her eyes. "I'd have your weapon out of your hand in the first second. The next ten would be for choking you out. I wouldn't need to draw my sword."

"Eleven seconds." Nora stared at the ground, trying to wrap her head around it. "I... are you sure?"

"Of course not." She shrugged, helplessly. "Anything can happen in a match, you know that. But... at your current level, it's my best guess at what would happen. As long as your semblance didn't interfere, of course."

"My current level... so I could get stronger?"

Pyrrha looked over, measuringly. "You can't read aura, can you?"

"Nope. Renny tried to teach me once, but we were traveling through Mistral at that point so we kept getting interrupted until eventually we just dropped it. You think I should learn it?"

"Your instinctive aura control is good, and your attack power is easily enough to carry you through most encounters, but the raw aura you have access to is... lacking." Pyrrha's gaze shone with concentrated aura as she appraised Nora's own. "Between RWPY and BRWN, I'd say your aura reserves are only barely ahead of Ruby's, and even then I'm not sure since her aura fluctuates so massively. It's possible yours is the lowest in both our teams."

The lowest?

Nora's eyebrows furrowed. "But, Ren can read aura. If I'm really so weak, why hasn't he told me that by now?"

"Because you're not weak." Pyrrha shook her head. "You're exceptionally skilled, exceptionally strong, you've managed a secondary type to your semblance which is something many full huntresses never manage. The only problem is you're unbalanced. You use your aura efficiently, so you typically don't run into issues with it, but that's not good enough against people who can match your speed and damage." At Nora's silence, she added. "It's not an uncommon problem. I've fought plenty of people on the circuit with the same issue. You're self-taught, right?"

"Mostly." She nodded. "Ren and I had plenty of teachers over the years, but we never really stuck around too long, so a lot of it was just figuring stuff out."

"That's why. Your skills are impressive, just top-heavy. That's all." Pyrrha gave an encouraging smile. "Work on expanding your aura, and if possible try to bring your semblance in to your combat more. It's probably more trouble than it's worth in class, but if you don't get the practice in, it'll end up awkward when you try to use it later on."

Nora tilted her head. "Doesn't that apply to you, too?"

"How do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"You're holding back. You're not using your semblance, you're barely using aura techniques, you..." Nora's eyes widened.

'What if her aura's just bigger than it looks?'

"You haven't just been holding back what you can do." Nora's gaze sharpened. "You've been limiting the size of your aura, too, haven't you?"

She raised an eyebrow. "So?"

"So, what happens if you really need to cut loose, sometime?" Nora demanded. "You'll be so out of practice, don't you think that will make it awkward to use, later?"

"Part of the reason I'm holding back is to refine my actual combat skills without the crutch of my semblance or aura. I'd probably be fighting completely without both if I thought Goodwitch would even consider allowing it."

"That's my point, though. Your combat skills are great, your real aura and semblance probably are, too, but what if you went up against someone who matched your power and skill? Someone who hadn't been holding back, wouldn't any amount of rust be dangerous, then?"

"I see your point," Pyrrha acknowledged. "But someone like that would have to be a fully grown one-star hunter at the absolute minimum, and to be honest, I wouldn't even be particularly nervous unless it was a two-star like Goodwitch. There's just no way I'd be facing someone like that while I'm attending Beacon."

They stopped in an alleyway, the end they were traveling down blocked by several faunus advancing slowly. Turning to the other side, the way they came was similarly constricted.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Schnee's lapdog." Nora felt her nose crinkle at the familiar voice of that rat faunus from the other day. "And I see you brought a friend just for me. Aww, you shouldn't have."

Pyrrha muttered something Nora wasn't able to catch.

"Does the other Schnee lapdog have something to say? Come on, say it out loud for the folks in the back," the rat faunus jeered, mockingly.

"I called you children." Pyrrha's shoulders relaxed as she turned to face the faunus fully, eyes shining with aura. "I'd love to fight a two-star hunter some day, Nora, but until then I have to contend with... this." She raised her voice so both sides of the faunus could hear. "The three of you without aura, I'd suggest you make it out to a distance of at least a hundred feet. If you don't, I can't guarantee this won't cause damage."

The rat faunus' expression twisted with rage. "Who do you think you-"

Brushing up against aura was personal, even rude in some places. Beyond catching flecks of emotion in the action, beyond being able to touch some deep part of the person, strong aura could be-

Nora's knees buckled at the smothering warmth of Pyrrha's aura, extended out far past where it should have been.

Overwhelming.

"You three," Pyrrha said the words quietly, but the authority thrummed through her aura. "Leave."

She didn't use a semblance. There was no technique there at all. The only thing compelling the three to sprint away down the street was base self-preservation.

Nora couldn't blame them. She couldn't see the shape and size of Pyrrha's aura, but she had a good sense what she was feeling, and anger, determination, passion, any of it would have been better than what it was.

Sheer, unadulterated, boredom.

She wasn't fighting for her life. The encounter hadn't even gotten to the point it was fun, it was just... nothing.

"You can't do this," the rat faunus hissed. "I know your rules: you can't attack civilians."

"You're right." Pyrrha walked forward, towering over the other girl, eyes half-lidded. "So I'm not going to attack you." The aura pressed down like it was a physical thing, thick, suffocating. "I'm going to stand here, until you go away."

The faunus grimaced under the weight, unable to stop herself from sinking down into an awkward half-crouch. Behind her, the other faunus started to run, one by one, leaving her alone.

"I'll get you back for this, Schnee lover," the faunus hissed. "I'll bring the whole White Fang on your head."

Nora's eyes widened. These faunus were part of the White Fang?

"Well that sounds like fun." Pyrrha crouched down to be at eye level with the girl. "Do you think then I'd have to draw my blade?"

The faunus' eyes shone with vicious, seething, hate, desperation, then fear, and finally, her defiance flickered.

She ran.

Pyrrha breathed deeply, her aura receding with the action, carefully knitted back close to her body, unobtrusive, normal. Just the way she liked it. To Nora, it seemed all the faker at that moment.

"If they really do have connections to the White Fang, we should report them to the police. They seem intent on causing trouble either way, but we can't mess around with a group like that." She walked toward the mouth of the alley once again, tone, gait, everything back just the way it was before. "Nora? You alright?"

"You can't do that." Nora said quietly, the words carrying easily to Pyrrha nonetheless.

"Do what?"

"You can't do all that and just shut it away again, pretend you can't." Nora looked up, eyes burning. "I can't-"

"You can't allow it?" Pyrrha said, challengingly, arms folding across her chest. "Because I'd be wasting my potential? Because I should be special, I should be famous even if I don't want to be?"

"It's you. You can't just keep shutting away part of who you are. I get that you don't want to be famous, you don't have to be. But you can't keep your arms tied behind your back all the time. Sometimes you have to stretch."

"And you'd help me stretch?" Her eyes narrowed. "For eleven seconds at a time?"

Nora stood up straight, gaze pinned right on Pyrrha, and when she spoke it was with a simple honesty she imagined Pyrrha heard only rarely. "If that's what it takes."

Pyrrha blinked, her hands dropping to her sides. "Okay, then." She scratched her cheek with a finger, looking away. "If it means that much to you... thanks."

Nora smiled, opening her mouth to say something else, when a shouting sound interrupted. "Over here," a man called with buzzed back hair and bulk hidden under a thick coat and lumpy hat, a moment later, several similarly looking men flooded into the alley, surging toward Pyrrha and Nora both. "We can't let her get away."

"The Fang work faster than I thought," Pyrrha mused, grimly.

Nora's hand twitched to her weapon. "Do we fight or run?" She wished Ren were there, but failing that anyone with aura reading would have a better idea what they were working with.

"They're strong," Pyrrha said, her gaze flicking to the side where Nora could hear just beyond the alley, people talking and laughing in the area. "Too strong to fight without risking civilians."

"Fine." Magnhild deployed in her arm and she slammed it into the ground, raising a cloud of dust like she had before to cover their escape. This time, however, it was immediately blown aside by one of the buzzed men's semblances, a powerful gust of wind that had Nora crouch to stay rooted to the ground.

"Transmuter," Pyrrha mumbled as one of them leapt forward, drawing a morningstar she intercepted with her shield. "Go on. I'll be right behind you."

Nora hesitated, hands gripping her hammer tighter, but ran all the same. For as much as she wanted to fight, Pyrrha was right: there were too many civilians far too close. She pulled out her scroll, navigating to Ren's contact. He had to get the teachers involved so they could evacuate the area. Without that, someone could get-

A gleaming silver dagger struck her scroll out of her hand, sparking against the ground, the dagger smashed right through the screen.

Hurt.

"Conjurer." Pyrrha scored her sword against the wall, rocks and debris covering her escape from the alley as she joined Nora outside it. "You alright?" She asked as they darted between food stands and shoppers, thankfully in a less populated part of town for as much as that mattered.

"Fine, but they got my scroll. Is yours-" Nora started to ask, but Pyrrha shook her head.

"Left it back at the dorms. I hardly ever use it, so I usually don't remember to bring it places."

"Well..." Nora grinned, a little sardonically. "At least we're getting the exercise in."

"Don't let her get away," one of the men shouted, planting his boots against the ground and shooting forward with unnatural speed, his thick combat knife skidding across Pyrrha's shield.

"Enhancer." Pyrrha's eyes narrowed at him. "And a slow one."

"What are you doing?" Nora shouted, still running. "Where are we going?"

"One more," Pyrrha said, jumping back to dodge past the enhancer's flurry of keenly aimed knife strikes.

"What are you-?" Nora's eyes widened as she looked back, a glowing red and pink sphere hurtling toward Pyrrha's blindspot. Magnhild deployed in her hand before she could think, stepping forward to slam the sphere into the ground, rocketing down the street at the explosion it caused.

"And there's the Emitter."

Nora caught herself, digging her fingers into the street to glide to a stop, noting her aura flicker at the damage with some chagrin. They'd finally made it to the edge of town, where civilians tended to shy away from the wall to prevent grimm incursion, but that didn't mean there weren't any people around, just much fewer.

"No Manipulators or Specialists." Pyrrha smiled. "We got lucky."

"You idiot," one of them shouted at the Emitter. "You could have damaged her."

The Emitter shouted back, another orb charging in his palm. "I was aiming at the other one, she got in the way."

Nora's eyebrows furrowed. They didn't want to hurt her? But that didn't make any sense, why would the White Fang...?

Her eyes widened. "Pyrrha, the hats. Take one of their hats-"

Pyrrha didn't acknowledge the request with words, but she did shift her stance, grabbing on to the knife the Enhancer was wielding with her bare hand, throwing her shield to knock into the Transmuter and using that hand to pluck the Enhancer's hat off and toss it to Nora before the shield returned, blocking one of the Conjurer's thrown aura knives.

The whole movement took only a moment, flowing smoothly like a choreographed dance instead of an earnest fight.

Nora didn't catch the hat; that wasn't the point. The point was, on top of the Enhancer's head, where Nora had expected to see animal ears and horns, hidden for the Fang's agenda, she saw only strictly regimented human hair.

"Pyrrha, I don't think these are Fang."

She grunted against another Emitter explosion, her shield taking the brunt, but knocking her back to stand beside Nora.

Nora gripped Magnhild tighter, confusion and uncertainty radiating off of her in waves. "I think these guys are military…" the four regrouped, covering the empty street, knives and semblances primed to attack. "Atlas military."

Chapter Text

Ciel Soleil always wanted to travel the world. She loved Atlas, of course, but after spending as much time as she could exploring within the confines of her city, then her kingdom, she found herself only craving more.

So she did what any patriotic Atlesian would have done: she joined the army.

Admittedly, when her aura was unlocked and she made it through the Academy, she'd expected to be assigned somewhere in the far fringes of Atlas she'd never been in before, maybe if she truly impressed her teachers she might be able to do something in another kingdom as a military specialist, and in a sense she was correct, but...

"Amazing. Food and jewelry sold right on the street. We should investigate immediately," the girl in the seat beside her exclaimed, jabbing a finger at the vendors through the window.

It wasn't quite what she thought it would be.

"I'm sorry, Miss Polendina. I have strict orders from General Ironwood that you not leave any of the approved areas." Ciel looked out the window with a certain amount of longing. "We'll be returning to the hotel soon. Then an agent will be able to provide whatever you need."

Polendina's expression fell, one of her fingers reaching up to brush against the window, an action Ciel had an unfortunate amount of empathy for.

For a machine, she really could mimic human emotion quite well.

It was crazy to think Atlas engineering had advanced this far, crazier still to think if she had a different semblance she probably wouldn't even know it had.

The car shifted, turning down a side street that had Ciel instantly on alert. "Problem?"

The driver shook his head. "No, ma'am, there's traffic up ahead, just finding an alternate route so we don't get boxed in."

Ciel nodded. "Keep it close. There were reports of an increase in White Fang activity in the area."

"Yes, ma'am." The car went down the road, paranoia wrapping thickly around her as her eyes went from one window to another.

Penny Polendina, the culmination of project Eunomia, unless something went wrong, or someone had a new idea for a screw to tighten here or there, in which case she'd be replaced infinitely easier than she'd ever come into being.

Not that Ciel was much different. She knew in the grand scheme of the Atlas military, she was a rare convenience, not an absolute necessity.

The car rolled to a stop.

"Driver?" She asked.

The window separating the back from the driver rolled up, without a response.

"Shoot." Ciel shouldered her weapons case, opening the door and sliding out. "Polendina, stay with me, this vehicle is compromised."

"I am combat ready. I can assist with-" she offered, but Ciel cut through.

"Keep your head down. Do not engage. Do you understand me?" Ciel stared her down, trying to find some acknowledgement in her eye-shaped cameras.

"I..." she hesitated. "I understand."

"Then move." Ciel pushed her along, all the previous care and decorum superfluous in the scenario. All she had to do was get her far enough away.

Ironwood's orders were very clear.

Keep her secret.

They reached the mouth of an alley, Ciel looking down it at two uniformed Atlesian's. "Up ahead, those are Kurtz' men. Stay with them, I'll secure the area and be back when I can."

Keep her safe.

Polendina nodded, sharply. "Understood, Miss Soleil."

Test her body and aura's response to the Vale climate.

Ciel moved out of view and flared her semblance to life.

And most importantly, test what she does when she's given free reign in the city.

"Stay with the guards, stay with the guards, stay with the guards," Ciel whispered to herself, eyes closed as her semblance continually pinged off Polendina's position.

She moved away.

"Of course." Ciel's shoulders sagged, gripping onto a drainpipe and ascending to the roof of the building with steadily increasing annoyance. "See the world. Go on adventures. Babysit killer androids. Should add that to the freakin pamphlets," she grumbled, flicking open her case to slot the two halves of her rifle together. "Alright, Polendina." She watched her through the scope, traveling down the street with amateurish stealth. "Let's see what you do."

([___

The knife sailed past Pyrrha's eyes in slow motion, like she was receiving instruction in the attack. What are you supposed to do when the knife goes here? What about here? There? It often didn't matter how much the person attacking her wanted to kill her. To her, all of it was a play-fight, a lazy instruction.

A mockery.

It wasn't her semblance that made it so, no manipulation of her aura, but something that settled in her bones for as long as she could remember, maybe as long as she'd been alive, she'd noticed it.

Why was everything so slow?

She'd noticed it in the bugs around her home, the fire at the ends of crude torches on her fingertips. She saw it in grimm as they crept toward her, but in people she saw it most of all.

Dodge. She brought her shield to bear, slamming it in the knife wielder's face, his nose crumpling by the impact even through his aura.

Come on. She shifted her sword to its rifle form, managing three shots off before the conjurer could close the distance. Chest, neck, head, all sparked with aura as each shot perfectly found its target, guided by hands steady in a way near total relaxation could only give.

Dodge already. She threw her shield with her left hand, using her right to shift her rifle back to a javelin and throwing that in the other direction. The shield hit one, the javelin another, knocking them aside. If they dodged it would have been difficult to fight unarmed and retrieve them, but as it was, Pyrrha felt the subtle pull of her semblance tugging their rebounding motions back into her hands.

Why couldn't anyone do it?

Why did she always feel like a little girl on the playground throwing balls no one wanted to catch?

She tilted her head to the side, the explosive bit of aura sailing past, missing its mark. "You're Atlas soldiers, aren't you?" She darted forward, catching the emitter by the collar, throwing his legs out from under him and slamming him into the dirt. "Is this really the best you can do?"

Pyrrha felt herself get tackled to the side just as a glowing aura-knife sailed overhead. She was barely able to recognize Nora's arms around her before they were both enveloped in a stinging white cloud.

The cloud hadn't fully cleared by the time Nora pulled her to her feet and ran for the mouth of another alley, but Pyrrha could still see the wall of ice left behind to cover the street.

"Dust?"

"I was saving it. Seemed like as good a time to use it as any." She looked back, genuine concern etched onto her face. "Pyrrha, fighting a few thugs is one thing, but do you really want to take on the whole Atlas military?"

What if she did?

Pyrrha breathed deeply, cooling the flippant response that came so naturally to her mind. "No... no, of course not."

"We have to find Ren, or a teacher. They'll be able to sort this out." She kept running, approaching the mouth of the alley on the opposite side. "I think he should be-guh."

She slammed into another girl, knocking both of them to the ground.

"Sal-u-tations," the girl said from the ground. "I appear to have caused you some trouble and would like to offer my sincerest apolog-"

Nora had jumped to her feet and was already helping her up. "I am so, so, sorry. I ran right into you, are you okay?"

"Completely," she announced once she'd dusted off her skirt. "But I still need to apologize and-"

"No, there's no need." Nora waved a hand. "I was the one who ran into yo-"

"Nora," Pyrrha interrupted gently. "I think her apology isn't about that."

Nora's eyes widened, turning back to the girl. "Thank you, your friend is correct. I am afraid the reason for your encounter just now is my fault." She bowed low, orange hair Pyrrha couldn't help but notice was so similar to Nora's bobbing down to hide her eyes from sight. "Those men attacking you were looking for me."

Similar builds, similar features. It was only a passing resemblance if you knew either of them, but for a contract put out through the military, Pyrrha could see them mistaking Nora for this girl.

"But, why would the Atlas military be looking for you?" Nora asked.

The girl tapped the tips of her fingers together, looking away. "That's...-"

"Over there," a call came from the alley, heralding the rallying of the Atlesians.

"Maybe we should continue this conversation in a more private setting," Pyrrha suggested.

"An excellent thought," the girl said, brightly. "Do you know anywhere in the city that would produce such an effect?"

Nora seemed at a loss and the other girl was clearly new to the area. Pyrrha hadn't spent much time in Vale, but there was one place that was always reliable, for as frustrating as it'd be to deal with.

She sighed. "I know a place."

Who knew, anyway?

Maybe nobody there would recognize her.

___])

Winter Schnee trudged through the forests of some Mistral backlands, wiping blood off her face with a rough cloth. Grimm blood turned into mist somewhere between a second and a minute of exposure to air, lending credence to the idea they weren't living creatures at all, but constructs of something neither aura nor dust. Winter didn't have much of an opinion on that.

She finished wiping, tossing the cloth to the side and igniting it with a flick of fire dust to burn it away.

Though it'd be nice, she thought, if all blood behaved that way.

"Milady Winter," one of the soldiers greeted her as she made it back into camp.

"Private Redline," she nodded to him. "I trust nothing's occurred since I've been gone."

"Perimeter remains secure. There were a few fisherman from the village down the way but they were dissuaded by our plants in the area." He followed beside her. "Er... are you alright?"

"I am uninjured." She wanted a shower, badly. But that was hardly Redline's business. "Anything else?"

"Oh, yes. A call from Specialist Soleil." He shouldered a backpack with a field scroll rigged up inside. "She was requesting you, it seemed urgent."

Soleil? Winter searched through her memory for the name for a moment before finally landing on it. Ah, project Eunomia. Urgent calls from that right when they were starting field testing didn't fill her with supreme confidence. "I'll take it in my tent." She took the bag from his grasp, firmly. "See that I'm not disturbed."

Redline gave some kind of affirmative, but she was already moving away, passing by the showers with her eyes locked resolutely forward.

Not yet, Winter.

Not just yet.

She made it into her tent and wound up the field scroll, putting the thinly covered bits of wires up to her ear and mouth before speaking into it. "Snowfall to Oil Can, come in."

"This is Oil Can, reading you loud and clear. Where you going, Snowfall?" The other end crackled after a handful of moments.

"Patch me through to Specialist Ciel Soleil. Vale." Oil Can gave another assent, and Winter waited as the transfer went through, pinging between Atlas' private network and the CCT.

It took another handful of moments after the connection was made for Soleil to finally pick up. "Hello?"

"This is Schnee."

"Oh, Specialist Schnee, thank Oum you're finally back," she said, relief flooding her voice.

"What's the damage?" Winter asked, flatly.

"From Polendina? Nothing. It's Kurtz's dogs I need you to call off. They've already assaulted two civvies and it's almost blown the whole thing." She hissed, distracted for a moment. "They've broken off from them for now, but Polendina's already made contact so no telling if this'll put Eunomia out in the open."

"If it does then we have to assume that's what she'd do eventually anyway. Containment's someone else's responsibility. What's the condition of the civilians?"

"I'd be surprised if it was a mild sweat," Winter could hear Ciel mutter from the other end.

"Explain," she said, not allowing curiosity to touch her toneless voice.

"They're Beacon students, I'm guessing seniors at least, unless they have a hell of an accelerated program. Tore through three corporals and a sergeant like it was funny they were even attacking. It'd be nice if that means Kurtz will have a better leash on them after this, but I doubt we'll be that lucky."

Winter sighed, quietly. Ciel was young, a certain amount of professionalism would come with time, but until then she had to make some allowances for her wandering attention. "What are their names and what did they do?"

"Sergeant took out one of their scrolls before I could get in range and the other one wasn't carrying one at all, so no last names, but I heard them calling each other 'Pyrrha' and 'Nora', if that rings any bells." Winter's eyes narrowed as Ciel continued. "Outfits and weapons are both Mistralian made."

"Mistralian made, but you pegged them as Beacon students instead of visitors for the Tournament?" Winter prodded.

"They were talking about finding teachers, but none of the ones from Haven have come across the pond yet. Figured if it wasn't there, it'd be here."

"And Pyrrha from Mistral attending Beacon didn't set off any kind of red flags for you?" Winter asked, leadingly.

There was a long pause from Ciel on the other end as Winter had to imagine embarrassment crept up her neck. "Oh."

"Oh, indeed."

"Polendina gets free reign of the city for an hour and a half and runs into Pyrrha Nikos of all people? The odds of that are just so staggeringly-"

"Unlucky," Winter finished for her, resisting the urge to peek outside her tent for any black-winged birds. "Yes, it would appear so."

"What do we do?" She asked and Winter had to raise an eyebrow at that.

"'We' do nothing. You continue your mission. I'll handle everything else. Update me if the situation changes. I'll be back in Atlas within the day."

"And Kurtz?" Ciel asked, grating Winter's nerves with mild annoyance.

"I already told you." She hung up the scroll.

Ciel would learn, eventually, that Winter's words were carefully measured. She never lied unless under orders, never talked around what needed to be said, and when she told someone she'd handle it then that was exactly what she'd do.

No half-measures. No wasting time.

"Snowfall to Oil Can, come in," she requested once again.

It took another handful of moments before the line crackled to life again. "Oil Can here, we read you."

"Patch me through to Commander Kurtz. Atlas."

As she waited for the call to go through, she found herself kneading the shoulder where she'd strained her arm fighting, one hand reaching up to try and rub a feeling other than pain into the dejected limb.

Humid, full of bugs, rocky and swampy, smelling like a barn turned over, Winter couldn't count the number of ways Mistral was a miserable kingdom. She hated it, hated being there, hated dealing with the locals, hated it all.

By her preference, she'd much rather be in a hotspring in Vale reading a letter from Weiss or watching some of that asinine television show she'd caught the men back at base laughing at a few months before.

Wanting that and doing it were two different things, however. She wasn't in Mistral because it was fun, she was there because it needed her, just like Atlas needed her, and Vale, and Vacuo, to different degrees, at different times, but no less true. She had a duty to the world, now.

Frost crept up her fingernails as she looked at them, melting away in the heat a moment later, not a shred of evidence it was ever there.

As much as she hated Mistral, as much as she'd rather be somewhere else, she couldn't forget why she fought.

"Commander Kurtz speaking," the man said gruffly once he'd finally picked up the scroll.

"This is Specialist Winter Schnee. Send out an order recalling all of your troops currently stationed in Vale city. I want them to cease any current mission activities and be out of there by end of day. You can consider this an order coming directly from the mouth of General Ironwood himself, with the authority and penalties for breaking the order fully in place."

"I, what?" He barked, furious. "You want me to pull out all my men in Vale? Why? Do you have any idea the kind of delicate work we're doing in there?"

"It's unfortunate for you I do, but in any case my operations take priority and I can't have you continuously underfoot during actually complex missions."

"You want me to cut all my maneuvers off at the roots cause my men ruffled your feathers and you're feeling territorial?" He growled.

"No, I'm ordering you to cut your maneuvers off at the roots. Any of my reasoning past that is no longer your concern, it's General Ironwood's. You're welcome to put in a complaint with him, of course, but the order takes priority as well. See it done, Kurtz. I'm not interested in negotiating with you."

He seethed on the other end as Winter waited patiently for what she already knew was coming.

"Understood," he ground out.

There it was.

She hung up the scroll.

A headache was starting to build behind her eyes and she found herself sinking into a chair to fight against it. Had she drunk any water since setting off that morning? Sloppy. She'd have to do better. It was beginning to feel like that pending shower was less luxury and more medicinal.

Could she take it yet?

No.

Some quiet childish inner part of herself railed against her duties, but Winter smothered it with long and tired practice, picking up the field scroll once again.

"Snowfall to Oil Can, come in," she said once again.

"Oil Can here, Snowfall. What can we do for you?"

"Patch me through to General Ironwood. Atlas."

To Oil Can's credit, he only hesitated for a second. "Right away, ma'am."

What was Weiss up to now? Winter wondered. The semester was almost over, was she getting along with her team? She knew Beacon's assignment system was irregular, what if it sorted her into lower achiever groups that brought her average down? What if it sorted her with one of those misguided youths that liked to play at allegiance to the White Fang?

No. Even if such a thing did happen, Winter was confident Weiss could deal with it. She'd be alright, even if Winter hadn't heard from her.

And if the opposite were true, if Winter hadn't heard from her because she gelled with her team perfectly, what then?

Then she'd be satisfied her sister was doing well, of course.

What. A. Liar.

"Winter," Ironwood addressed her familiarly. "I hope this call is confirming your mission was a success?"

"All targets found and neutralized, sir," she reported first. "Though my call was also to warn you of the very angry one you're likely about to receive from Commander Kurtz."

"Oh? He doesn't usually stir up trouble. What happened?"

"His men attacked Beacon students in an attempt to recapture project Eunomia." Winter heard Ironwood's heavy sigh at that. "Rather than go into how monumentally stupid that was, I ordered him to withdraw all his troops in the area."

"And Kurtz was of course thrilled to receive such an order from a Specialist outside the normal chain of command," Ironwood deadpanned, sarcastically.

Winter huffed, lightly. "Him liking me was never high on my list of priorities."

She could practically hear him roll his eyes. "If you ever encounter someone you consider it a high priority to get to like you, I would absolutely love to meet him, Winter."

"If it ever happens, I'll be sure to inform you, then," she said with a ghost of a smile on her lips.

"Any other problems with the project?" She heard papers shifting in the background as he apparently sat down on his desk.

"None of substance. Agent Soleil is as unpolished as ever, but otherwise seems to be handling herself well. I wasn't sure about putting her on Eunomia, but so far she's done everything asked of her to the best of her ability. That, coupled with her age being close enough to Polendina's appearance gives me comfortable expectations for their participation in the festival."

"Provided all the testing goes through without incident, which we have no guarantee on," he hummed, considering. "Polendina is unexpectedly unpredictable, lately. We need these Vale tests for her safety as much as ours."

"We're putting a lot of faith that Soleil can control her if she gets out of hand." Winter left the implied 'are we sure that's wise?' Unsaid.

"My faith isn't that Agent Soleil will stop her if she gets out of hand. My faith is that she'll prevent her from getting out of hand at all. I didn't choose her for Eunomia simply because her semblance already gave her knowledge of the project, I chose her because she reminded me of you."

Winter's eyebrows shot up. "Me, sir?"

"You and Soleil both have this unshakeable quality you give off when you're protecting someone that whatever you tell them to do, it is firmly within their best interest. Polendina is a marvel, truly, but she is also a child in all the respects that matter. I knew there wasn't anything else she'd respond to as well as that." He gave a small chuckle. "I'd have assigned you to travel with the project personally if I didn't so desperately need you everywhere else."

Winter forced her tone level so as not to betray the full smile on her face at the words. "Thank you, sir."

"Only telling you what you already know is true, Winter, that's all. Now if you're all finished up in Mistral, fly back here when you can. Atlas is getting restless, we could use you here."

She bowed her head despite him not being able to see it. "Of course. We'll pack up the camp and fly out as soon as possible."

"Excellent, Winter. I'll see you soon, then."

"Eh," she interrupted before he could hang up the scroll. "Sir. Before you go, do we have a current location on Qrow Branwen?"

"Qrow?" He echoed, surprised, shuffling more papers around. "Looks like last update puts him somewhere in the far south of Vale, but that was a few months ago. Did you see him in Mistral?"

"No, just looking for someone to blame." Traveling from the south side of Vale to the city proper in a few months was easily doable, especially for Qrow. Though that didn't necessarily mean he was responsible, it was just the possibility that irked her. "I'll let you know when we land back at base."

"Until then," Ironwood bade, ending the scroll call with a dull click.

Winter sighed, leaning back in her chair with a pensive expression. Atlas being 'restless' could mean any number of things, but Ironwood had been worried about a coup lately and the chance there was rising news on that front was too high to ignore.

She felt her hand fall to her saber, grimly.

Of all things, killing Atlesians always made her feel hollow. She didn't relish any pending opportunity to do so. But she had a duty to fulfill, always another duty.

Forcing herself to her feet again, Winter made for the flap of her tent, walking outside and addressing a stalwartly waiting Redline. "Gather the men and start packing up the camp. We'll be flying back to Atlas as soon as our gear is stowed."

"Understood, milady." He saluted, his posture cracking slightly a moment later to ask, "er. That is, you want the whole camp packed up right now?"

Winter raised an eyebrow at the question for a moment before realization struck and she coughed awkwardly into her closed fist. "Leave the showers for last."

He nodded, brightly. "I'll get right to it, milady."

Winter watched him start scrambling to gather people, recall the perimeter guards, and start packing up the base with muted amusement.

Too intuitive by half.

She shook her head, walking to the showers. When the hot water finally hit her shoulders, she gave a groan of relief for her aching muscles and the coming comfort of a face and body not so sticky with blood and sweat.

She would...

Her hands tightened around the outsides of the shower stall.

She would really hate it if he were part of the coup.

Winter finished scrubbing her body clean, the comfort somewhat subsided, and when she'd dried her hair and redressed in a proper uniform instead of her, less explicitly Atlas, operative gear, it was to walk outside and see the entire impromptu base ripped up by its moors, tents and fences rolled up and packed into a bullhead ready and waiting to take off.

As soon as she took one step outside the showers, that too was struck down, packed, and loaded with enviable efficiency.

"Everyone here and accounted for, ma'am," Sergeant Lockheed reported.

"Then we're wheels up in two." She strode onboard, taking a seat beside the others in the compact bullhead.

"Ready to head home, milady?" Redline asked from the seat across from her, squashed between two large corporals and looking all the smaller for it.

"Home?" An empty bunk at a base, no real personal possessions. Nothing that couldn't fit in a briefcase or a cubby. No family, at least not there. Not anymore.

None of that was Redline's business either.

"Yes." Her eyes slid closed, leaning back in the rumbling bullhead seat. "I'm ready to go home."

Whenever she had one again.

([___

Ciel ran across rooftops, jumping and rolling from one to the other, disregarding the way her aura flared with every landing. By the time she finally made it to the building Nikos, Polendina, and her lookalike were traveling to, her knees, ankles, and shoulders burned like fire, but despite a close call once or twice she hadn't lost or alerted her quarry.

She laid down on the roof, feeling the sun beam into her skin and wondered, not for the first time, if Winter ever felt like this.

Personally, she bet not.

Her semblance flared to life, tagging the three traveling some back hallway beneath the ring. Nora, Polendina's apparent lookalike, she could see entirely through, everything from the digesting pancakes she'd eaten for breakfast to the pebble caught in her shoe. Pyrrha Nikos, she could feel the shape of her aura, and just how much of it she was binding close to her skin. And Polendina herself she was viscerally aware of every grinding gear and sparking wire, shredding away what was an intensely guarded state secret in an instant.

How did she become a specialist even though she was barely out of Atlas Academy? Look no further than that semblance.

Perfect observation in a thirty foot sphere around her, the ability to see, hear, touch, taste, and smell every brick in a wall, every page of every book on an entire library shelf, everything under the sun for a few seconds at a time before the information overflow got bad enough to force her to shut it down.

A specialized semblance for spies, that was Laplace's Demon.

She activated it again, filtering through the roar of applause in the ring, the slap of flesh and steel, all the way down to Nikos trying to sweet talk the guard at the door into letting her and her 'friends' inside, a statement that set the wires in Polendina's processors absolutely frantic for reasons Ciel couldn't pin down.

She flicked it off, breathing deeply for a bit before turning it on once more, bearing the explosive information dump with the same stubborn grit-toothed effort as always.

Eyes on them from the other fighters, whispers about Nikos' skill, Polendina asking if she meant it when she said they were friends, someone approaching, the backstage lunch menu had a typo in it, Nikos' aura felt confused, the headliners were beginning their match, cheering, sweat, blood.

Ciel winced, toggling it off again.

She was glad her semblance gave some protection from the backlash or she was sure every activation would be accompanied by a complementary brain aneurysm. The fact it was followed by a legendary migraine on overuse instead made that cold comfort at best, however.

Deep breaths.

On again.

"I'm sorry." Polendina's voice, deep below, a bench to the side of the gym. "But I can't tell you why they were after me."

Project Eunomia, she... wasn't going to tell them?

The clank of gym weights, bitter coffee from a vending machine she could taste on her tongue, a novel one of the fighters had perched on her sleeping face. A scream, a laugh. Blue. Red. Green. Bird.

She flicked it off again, still lying down on the rooftop, her rifle beside her, and unable to suppress a shudder that threatened to make her lose her already distant breakfast.

On again.

Stabbed in the stomach in the ring, aura flaring, pain.

Off.

Ciel breathed deeply. Focus.

On.

"...Ironwood's secret lovechild?" Nora said, to Nikos' obvious shock.

Polendina considered the question. "I am a child and a secret and it could be argued I 'belong' to Ironwood, so..."

"So confirmed."

Another clang, the fighter startled awake, pages of the book fluttering, wind moving, Nikos laughing.

Off.

Ciel doubled over in laughter of her own, scraping her sides against the roof she was laying on just at the sheer ridiculousness of it all. Two highly trained Beacon students were sitting right next to the current pinnacle of Atlas engineering and had drawn exactly the most incorrect conclusion they possibly could.

See the world, go on adventures, babysit killer robots.

Ciel smiled, sitting up.

Why not?

On.

The seat beside Nikos was cool, chilled by the gym's air conditioning without anyone to sit on it. Nora was returning with juice from the machine, apple, grape, cranberry, all sweeter than Ciel's normal taste, gotten to celebrate their friendship, or the 'solving' of the mystery of Polendina, that context must have been lost while she was laughing. Nora smelled like sweet syrup, Polendina like strict Atlas laundering, and Nikos like blade oils. And as they sat and talked while waiting for the threat going after Polendina to die down with the later hour, if she really focused,

It was almost like Ciel was sitting there with them.

Chapter Text

Blake wasn't sure there was anything Penny could have said that would have made Weiss angrier. She didn't wear it on her face, but Blake could feel it in the tenseness of her muscles, the way her hand rested on her rapier, Weiss was more than transparent once she actually got to know her a bit. She was sure, from Ren's expression, he got even more watching her aura.

"The White Fang?" She asked, tersely. "What happened to Nora?"

Penny tilted her head, confused. "Friend Nora is safe. She went to the Vale central police department building to-"

"To give a statement about the White Fang." Weiss stepped forward, looking down on Penny like she was forty feet tall and not barely scratching the same height. "Why."

"Ah, apparently they ran into a group of faunus they were already familiar with and they threatened them by claiming to be affiliated with the White Fang." Penny smiled brightly. "The situation was resolved with no injuries, but friend Pyrrha still wanted to report the incident to the police, given the recent rise in Fang affiliated crimes in the area."

"One of them was a rat faunus woman, weren't they?" Weiss asked, and Blake stiffened beside her at the memory.

Those faunus may have been horrible, but Blake knew they weren't Fang, not proper ones at least. There was a difference between donating money or offering a bed to a runaway and being part of the actual militaristic Fang Adam spearheaded. Part of that was a training process at times stricter than the academies leading up to Beacon. It weeded out the casual supporters, the weak, and any spies anyone dared to send in its own special way. She could see how Weiss would guess them, given her own limited knowledge of the Fang, but the day Adam let faunus in who didn't even have their aura unlocked was the day he'd officially forgotten anything the White Fang stood for when it came to protecting faunus.

"I was not present at the event in question," Penny hedged, "but friend Nora did mention a rat faunus as being involved."

Blake raised an eyebrow.

What?

"Tch," Weiss breathed a frustrated sigh through her teeth, turning to Blake and the others. "Does anyone know where the station is?"

"I know where-" Penny started to say, before Weiss cut her off.

"Does anyone I actually know, know where it is?" She asked, sharply.

"Hey, don't be rude to Penny; she just got here," Ruby defended. "If you want to find the station so bad but can't trust her, why don't you just look it up on your scroll?"

"Maybe I will," Weiss hissed, stomping ahead, scroll in hand.

They all watched her move on ahead, but it was Ren who sighed. "I should probably go t-"

"I'll talk to her." At the surprised stares of her teammate and Ruby, Blake added, "team leader, right? I should act like it."

With that said, she increased her speed to a light jog, catching up to Weiss to walk beside her.

"Here to tell me I was too mean to Penny, too?" Weiss bit out, glancing down at her phone every now and then to keep on whatever path it directed her to.

"A little callous, maybe. Ruby said rude, I don't think anyone went as far as thinking 'mean'." She smiled to her, comfortingly. "Besides, you're worried about Nora, right? I think everyone understands that."

Weiss nodded, her shoulders relaxing even if only slightly. "Are you from Vale, Blake? It just occurred to me, I never asked."

"Originally I was from a small island to the south of Mistral. You've probably never heard of it," Blake hedged, the statement only true by the loosest of definitions. "But I've been living in Vale for quite a few years by now."

"Have you ever been to Atlas?"

Blake hesitated, trying to think of a reasonable way of wording the experience. "Once... an old friend of mine started working in one of the dust mines. Me and another of our mutual friends went to visit him and..."

"Is that why you're sympathetic to the White Fang?" Weiss asked, straight out.

Blake stopped walking, stunned by the question, but after seeing Weiss' steps hadn't slowed, she hurried to keep up with her again. "I've never said I was sympathetic to the White Fang."

"I don't think I've ever said I have white hair, and yet somehow people still pick up on that fact," Weiss said, evenly.

"Alright, fine." Blake held her hands up. "I am sympathetic to the Fang. Even," she said before Weiss could respond, "if I don't agree with all of their methods."

Weiss gave a derisive huff at that. "You don't think that's a little like saying you're sympathetic to lighting houses on fire even if you don't agree with leaving people without a home?"

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"Meaning organizations are their methods, full stop. If you agree with what they stand for but now how they do it, find an organization that stands for the same thing peacefully." She shrugged, faux-idly. "Unless you're just asking for measured violence."

"You want me to scour around Atlas for the 'lighthearted association of peace, love, and faunus welfare'?" Blake challenged, sarcastically. "The White Fang were doing things peacefully-"

"Years ago," Weiss cut past. "The organization started off with recruitment and moved to violence as soon as they had enough followers. It's not a difficult tactic to understand."

"Tacti-" Blake cut herself off, breathing deeply to calm her heating nerves. "You can't attack me because you're upset about Nora getting harassed. That's not fair."

"You think it's fair they harass her just because she walks next to me on the street?" Weiss shot back. "Is that another of their 'methods' you agree with? Guilt by association, right? Better to not be friendly with the Schnee, who knows what might happen to you."

"Those faunus weren't Fang," Blake asserted, forcefully. "They were bullies, and they were cruel, and they happened to be faunus, but any other non-faunus group that fit the other two descriptors would have just picked another reason to harass us."

"You really believe that? You think a group of ordinary civilian bullies would have looked at a team of highly trained Beacon students and made up a reason to come and attack us?" She turned down another road, still following her scroll's direction despite the conversation. "The only reason faunus think they can act that way is because there's an organization like the Fang around to swing their weight enough ordinary people are scared of them."

"So you're comfortable with humans pushing faunus around, but as soon as it swings the other way, suddenly it's a big issue?" Blake said, dryly. "That's pretty much what you just said: the White Fang make other faunus get uppity, and you have a problem with that."

"No, I think any organization that galvanizes others into attacking people is a problem." Her eyes narrowed at Blake for a moment before turning back to the scroll. "Don't you?"

"Of course I do. But the White Fang isn't forcing anyone to attack people, it's bringing attention to society-wide problems that are getting worse all the time. If faunus are frustrated by that and taking their anger out on other people, don't blame the Fang, blame faunus treatment and exploitation."

"Right, cause it's never the faunus' fault, I see," Weiss bit out. "Isn't it always so much easier to blame the SDC?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "Faunus exploitation is more than just the SDC."

"But that is what you were thinking of when you said it, weren't you?" Weiss waved a hand. "It's what those faunus from before were thinking. It's why they target me. My family is the face the White Fang put on faunus exploitation. No one forced them to do that, and 'societal problems' or no, what they did got other faunus to hurt me and my family."

Blake sighed, looking away. "And that sucks, I know. I wish it wasn't true. But it's also the only way your father gave in on anything regarding faunus rights. I'm sure the White Fang saw it as their only choice-"

"So we're past 'they were just bringing attention to society-wide problems,' then, that's good. I was having trouble there for a second pretending they weren't a terrorist group."

"They're people who want to do good and it got twisted along the way. It could happen to anyone. It could happen to you, if you ever got a cause you cared about." Blake winced against the sheer amount of accusation that had leaked into her tone at that.

"You don't know the first thing about me. What I care about, what I had to sacrifice for it, nothing," Weiss asserted, acidly.

"I overstepped," Blake said, calming herself once again. "Sorry."

Weiss breathed a long sigh, still walking, but seeming to cool her own heating temper. "You don't really think bombing dust transports is going to get the faunus what they want, do you?"

Blake considered the question for a moment, dismissing any off the cuff answer she might have given. "I think I used to. It's nice to imagine there could be one thing to take out, one dragon to slay and I'd wake up the next morning and the world would be a better place. Now, though, I know making an enemy of the SDC outright, of Atlas... all it'd get us is another war."

"Us?" Weiss echoed, and Blake choked on her mistake, quickly recovering.

"You don't think if there was another faunus war, we'd be wrapped up in it, too?"

"Mm, good point," Weiss acknowledged. "Do you think we'd be on the same side?"

No.

"I hope so," she said, throat dry. "I really do."

"Yeah," Weiss answered back, seeming just as unsure. "Me too."

The police station loomed above them, simple, but official enough to be readily recognizable for what it was. They walked in, Blake trailing behind just slightly to make sure her bow was on tight. There were few places she could think of she wanted to reveal her faunus heritage less than in a police station investigating White Fang crimes in front of Weiss Schnee.

"More Beacon students?" One of the policemen muttered, stopping in front of them. "Hey, there. What can I do for you?"

"We're looking for our friends, Nora Valkyrie and Pyrrha Nikos? We were told they'd be here," Weiss said, politely.

"Ah, yes, right over-" he started to point when an excited voice called out.

"Blake, Weissy," Nora shouted, skidding to a stop beside them as Pyrrha followed sedately behind. "Did you meet Penny?"

"Yes, we did meet Penny." Weiss stepped forward, jabbing a finger at Nora's chest. "We met her after we walked all up and down the entirety of Vale looking for you. What do you have to say for yourself? Not answering your scroll, not telling anyone where you were going, not even Ren knew where you were. Don't you know how worried he must have been?" Nora opened her mouth to answer, but Weiss pressed forward. "And on top of everything else, the White Fang? What would he have done if you had gotten hurt? Forget being expelled from Beacon, he would have gone on a rampage through every White Fang faunus in Vale. He'd be in this building instead of you. He'd be... you didn't..."

Nora wrapped Weiss in a thick hug, stifling the words that were already becoming faded and pained, mixed with that emotion Weiss seemed to so loathe showing.

"Hey, it's okay," Nora whispered, rubbing Weiss' back. "I'm okay. I'm here."

"Stupid... irresponsible." Weiss mumbled, hands stiff like she wasn't sure what to do in a hug. "He needs this team."

"I know." Nora stole a glance at Blake, smiling a little sadly. "I know he does."

Blake had to look away. It was something in Nora's expression that sent the message to her more effectively than her saying it ever could.

Don't screw this up.

Blake was trying.

From beside her, Pyrrha sighed, looking at Nora and Weiss with a bit of longing. At Blake's gaze she cleared her throat, looking away, embarrassedly. "Sorry, I just... wish my own team would have come."

"Ruby was-" Blake began, before the overpowering scent of roses filled her nose, petals all around her and Ruby somehow already clinging on to Pyrrha's back in a tackling hug.

"I'm here, Pyrrha. Sorry about the wait," she said. "Weiss and Blake ran ahead, but Ren and I wanted to get the full story from Penny."

How did she...?

She hadn't even heard the door open, no footstep, no scent until Ruby was practically right on top of her. Some of the best infiltrators in the Fang couldn't do that, so how could she?

Pyrrha didn't even seem surprised by it, she just laughed and apologized for making her worry.

It was a few minutes later Penny and Ren finally arrived and after apparently doing some kind of headcount, Pyrrha asked, "where are Yang and Cardin? Did they head back to the dorm already?"

"I'm actually not sure where they are," Ruby admitted, hopping off Pyrrha without the warrior even taking a step forward to rebalance. "I called Yang when we were just starting out and she said she saw Cardin, but I haven't heard from them since then."

"Call them," Weiss said, urgently. "Call them right now."

"Hey." Blake laid a hand on Weiss' shoulder as Ruby tapped into the contact, holding her scroll up to her ear. "They're not going to be attacked by random faunus who don't even know you know them, right?"

Weiss hesitated, looking to the side to breathe out a frustrated sigh. "I just hate it," she said, quietly.

'I hurt you.'

'And I don't...'

"Yeah." Blake squeezed her shoulder comfortingly before letting go. "I do, too."

"Yang?" Ruby said. "Hey, we found Pyrrha and Nora, I-..." her eyebrows furrowed. "What are you talking about? Monkey faunus?"

Blake and Weiss both stiffened at that.

Ruby's eyes widened in horror. "He did what to your hair?"

___])

Sun had the opportunity to stow away on a different ship, plenty of them, actually. It wasn't uncommon at all for transports of goods and people to move between Mistral and Vale, and while a good portion of them were bullheads, the marine trade hadn't ceased to be just because of a few technological advancements. Really, he'd chosen that particular ship on a whim, chosen to depart when he did, and chosen to run away from the local Vale constabulary. For all his faults, Sun was fully aware of his own autonomy. When something bad happened to him, he usually had a good grasp just how much it was his fault.

His current predicament was... mostly his fault.

"You seem upset." Sun ducked under a right hook delivered with such power the force of air alone behind it ruffled his hair. "Would it help if I said sorry?"

"It'd help if you'd stand still," the blonde grunted, eyes blazing red and the air crackling with her heated aura.

"Yeah, I think that might be bad for my health, so I'm gonna have to pass-whoah," Sun leapt into the air, swinging onto a street lamp to avoid getting flattened by a massive mace. "What'd I even do to you?" He asked the well-built man wielding it, disbelievingly.

"Do you have any idea how long Blondie here'd whine about it if she lost you? It's practically my civic duty to take you down." So saying, he smashed the mace against the lamppost, vibrating it to the extent Sun was forced to jump off or risk knocking his brain around in his skull.

"Ignore him, I just wanna talk to you." She grinned viciously. "Just lemme get my hands on you, then we can talk."

"Now that sounds really bad for my health." Sun twisted and dodged through the Vale streets, picking alleys and routes with the fewest number of people in them since he and the two incredibly scary Beacon students at the very least didn't want to hurt any civilians. He could probably have gotten away just by hiding in a crowd of them, but since this was his problem he really didn't want to get anyone else mixed up in it if he could help it. Despite what some said, he wasn't totally irresponsible.

When he finally reached an abandoned construction site, he felt finally able to take a full breath, hopping up onto a bit of framework to see the two Beaconites still tailing below. "Wow, you guys are persistent."

"Well, let's see," the man said, still approaching with mace in hand. "You stowed away on a ship, evaded arrest, there's battery, theft, and vandalism, and that's just the things you've done directly in front of us."

Sun bit into an apple he'd technically 'appropriated' from a stand, pointing at them with a finger. "I dunno if you can prove any of that was me."

"Cardin," the blonde called, jumping forward to land on the man's swung low mace before he launched her at high speed toward him, easy as striking a baseball with the monstrous weapon.

"What is wrong with you?" Sun yelled, flipping off the metal beam he was on as the high speed blonde shot past like a vicious fireball. "You're really gonna kill me cause I stole an apple?"

"Actually, I was gonna arrest you cause you pushed me into the mud and got my hair dirty." The blonde caught herself on an outstretched girder, swinging up onto it and shifting her gauntlets such that he could see gun barrels with an ominous click. "The laundry list of crimes just makes it sound like it's gonna stick better."

Sun dodged past the spread of shotgun fire, moving behind a storage shed with urgency that bordered on panic. "Wow, you Valeans really hold a grudge, don't you?"

The man tore through the wall of the shed, arms reaching over to grapple Sun tightly, and it was only Sun's activating his semblance clones to force enough space to slip through the arms he was able to roll away, his clones dissipating a moment after.

Then he had to roll away again to avoid getting flattened by the blonde catapulting herself through the air to punch down on him, cracking the ground.

Were these really students? They looked young enough, but what on Remnant were they feeding the little demon children at Beacon?

He rapidly deployed his staff, managing to parry the man's mace strike even as he tilted his head to let the blonde's fist whistle past his ear. He was a fair hand at dodging, but between the two of them, forget winning; counterattacking wasn't even on the table.

Which meant his best option really was escape.

He jumped up, the ground beneath him exploding in a shower of dirt at the shotgun blasts the blonde shot toward him.

As soon as he figured out how exactly to escape, that was.

Worst comes to worst, he was pretty sure their current location was only about a block away from the police station, so he could turn himself in and wait for Neptune to pay his fine or whatever. It'd get him away from the crazy Beacon students at least.

Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, though.

The blonde shot forward again, and Sun managed to redirect her with his staff, deflecting her bodily the same way he'd done with the man's mace a moment before. "I'll tell you guys what, why don't we all walk quietly to a coffeeshop, and I pick up one for everyone on me, we call it square, how's that sound?"

The mace slammed down where his body was a moment before.

"They don't really teach peaceful resolution tactics at your school, do they?" Sun mused.

"Oh, they do," the blonde assured him, her gauntleted fists cracking against his staff. "My friends and I are top of our class."

Sun planted his staff in the ground and leapt up on top of it, allowing the blonde and the mace to sweep under. "I weep for the future of Beacon."

"You'll weep for a lot of things," the blonde muttered, darkly.

"Yang?" A voice called from the side, and both of the Valean's heads turned toward it, giving Sun the opportunity to jump over them and leap toward the crowd of apparently their friends.

"Oh no you don't." The blonde burned brighter, sprinting after him and throwing a heavy right hook he dodged over a white haired girl to avoid, whose eyes widened at the attack then suddenly aimed at her, too fast for the blonde to stop.

Sun twisted in the air, seeing if there was a way to divert her, minimize the damage, but in a flash of red, the white haired girl disappeared.

The blonde skidded to a stop a moment after, leaving Sun to escape onto a rooftop, the Beacon students effectively distracted with each other.

"Well that was a nightmare," he grumbled to himself once he'd made it what felt like a safe distance away without random Beacon students making his life miserable. After a few moments fiddling with his scroll, he finally pulled up Neptune's contact, clicking into it.

It rang twice before he picked up. "Hey, Sun, you make it to Vale alright?"

"Oh yeah, no problem." Sun waved a hand. "Okay, well one problem: I think we might be screwed in the tournament."

Neptune raised an eyebrow. "You realize that's a very big problem, right? What even happened?"

"Same thing that always happens." Sun looked out in the direction the Beacon students were. "Blondes and brunettes."

([___

Nora could tell the mood was off once her team finally made it back to the dorms. Yang had regaled them with a play by play of the incident with the monkey faunus, how he'd been chased by dock workers and Vale police before bumping into her and sending her into the mud, which brought them into the chase. Cardin actually going along with it was surprising, but Nora couldn't say she was fully aware what their team dynamics looked like at that point. Maybe they were friends now, she didn't know.

Her own team's dynamics at that moment were similarly a bit blurry.

"The monkey faunus isn't-" their team leader tried.

"Don't start with me, Blake," Weiss cut her off. "Don't. Even. Start."

Weiss tripped on a loose floorboard walking in, strangling off a scream partway, and limping slightly to her bed, with rigid control.

Blake tried again. "Not every faunus-"

"Oh, who cares about every faunus? Not every human blows up trains. Not every human robs and harasses people. Yet no one ever has a problem when I point out humans that do." She raised a finger at Blake. "But as soon as I say one thing about faunus, you come swooping in like their great defender, and you're not the only one. Yes, not every faunus is a horrible miscreant or terrorist, Blake. I do realize that, I'm not a child. But you should check the ratio sometime, because so far the precious faunus you're defending from the big bad Schnee aren't representing themselves stellarly, and I don't deserve a lecture for saying so."

Blake sat down on her own bed, eyes not breaking from Weiss. "You've found some bad seeds, I'm not arguing that, I'm arguing that you're generalizing it to the rest of a population that doesn't deserve it."

"Which population? All faunus? All Vale faunus? All Atlas faunus? I know you're not talking about Menagerie because I'm not in Menagerie and despite the fact if I ever went there I'm fairly certain I wouldn't get out alive, I'm sure that most of the faunus there behave themselves just fine on a day to day basis, but my experience is with the faunus here, who in one trip to Vale, managed to assault and threaten all four of our friends that went down there, which is a statistical marvel to find that many bad seeds when they're so rare in Vale compared to humans."

Blake threw her hands up. "It's a city, crime's always higher in cities, you don't have to make it about faunus, is my point."

"And my point is, have you ever considered they may not be bad seeds?" Weiss pressed. "Have you ever thought they may be exactly what faunus culture has chosen to churn out, or at the very least what they don't spend enough time discouraging in their population?"

"A lot of faunus don't have a population. A lot of them don't even have parents, and you know why that is. Humans and faunus both have street kids, who exactly is supposed to be discouraging them of anything? The police? They learn that lesson pretty quick, don't they?"

"If they're orphans, they should be picked up and helped, and I'm sure many of them are, by the police. You want to come at me for generalizing, and turn around and say no faunus orphan could talk to an officer without, what? Getting killed? Or is the bad ending here really getting placed in a home, maybe even a human home, instead of ending up in a drug den, or among the White Fang?"

"There's no shortage of people willing to hurt kids, Weiss, and that includes cops. You're not an idiot, so don't pretend like it's always going to end up fine and dandy if they pick up a faunus kid off the streets."

"Don't pretend like living on the streets is fine and dandy," Weiss retorted. "You're acting like homeless street urchin is the default state that a policeman could deprive them from and not a clearly dire situation a child shouldn't be in. And all of this is apart from the fact that obviously not all faunus are orphans, and the ones that aren't still aren't effectively brought up."

"And what would 'effectively brought up,' be, in this instance?" Blake's eyes narrowed. "You mean brought up like humans."

Weiss scoffed. "Brought up with an idea of hard work, decency, and a respect for the law. If those are exclusively human traits to you, that'd be an interesting turn to this conversation."

"Do we have to fight about this?" Nora asked, finally slumping into her own bed. "Come on, guys. We all know all humans aren't good and we all know all faunus aren't bad. Pyrrha and I are fine. Yang and Cardin are fine. What else is there to talk about?"

Blake and Weiss both quieted down, but it was obviously a tense silence. Nora considered it good enough for the moment. It had been an incredibly long day at that point and she was sure they were all tired.

They'd feel better in the morning.

___])

'Dear Winter.

'Blake Belladonna is the single most annoying person in all of Remnant.'

Weiss jabbed her pen down upon the page, her other hand reaching down to rub her leg where she'd once again tripped on some slightly raised floorboard no one else on her entire team seemed to be able to find.

'You would think there would be someone else. Some mid level bureaucrat holding up vital goods shipments, a huntress who always asks the city she saves for unending praise and favors in return, maybe even a radio jockey with a voice fit for print, but no. I have found the peak of Remnant's annoyance and it is located three beds away from mine while I sleep.

'"But Weiss," I hear you ask. "What could possibly make her so annoying?" And that's an excellent question, Winter, so I'll tell you. Her annoying habits are as follows:

'Number one, she utterly refuses access to the bathroom during her extended baths. At the start, I respected this, as privacy is at a premium here and it's understandable she wouldn't want to be interrupted. However, as the semester has gone on, I thought a level of trust had been established such that she could open the door for absolute emergencies and just draw the shower curtain on the assumption that obviously none of us would peek, but no. She has remained utterly steadfast in her refusal to allow interruptions, and it's only through the mercy of RWPY just across the hall that we've avoided the situation getting worse.

'Number two, she leaves her books everywhere. I didn't realize anyone could or should read this many books simultaneously, yet here I am tripping over the ones on the floor, on her bed, in the bathroom, in her locker, has the girl ever heard of a scroll? She does realize there are digital versions of all these books she's reading, does she not? All in a conveniently palm-sized device?

'And the light. The light is another thing. In the middle of the night, still going, still wide awake with that blistering sun of a table lamp reading those physical books like a Valean hick who's never discovered electricity.

'Number three, is the fish. I've never seen anyone eat as much fish as she does and it smells so disgusting I can't believe she doesn't-'

Weiss stabbed her pen into the page, poking through the paper, then doing it again, purposefully jamming the pen into the page several more times before crumpling it up and throwing it into the trash.

Her fist squeezed around the pen for a silent minute in the empty room before she finally forced it to slacken, drawing another paper forward and touching the pen down on it.

'Dear Winter.

'Blake is a White Fang apologist who somehow gets her kicks by jumping on my back for standing by my principles when obviously she doesn't have any of her own. It's ridiculous the lengths she'll go to trying to explain away their actions as 'misguided' instead of completely rotten through, trying to say I'm wrong for pointing out criminals when they commit crimes literally right in front of us just because they're faunus. And people call me racist when people like Blake exist in absolute scores it-'

Weiss crumpled up that paper and threw it away, too.

'Dear Winter.

'A week ago, my teammate Nora and friend Pyrrha were attacked by-'

Weiss gritted her teeth, another page bouncing against the wastebin.

Why was this so hard?

'Dear Winter.'

She hesitated, trying to find the actual words she wanted to get down on the page.

'Blake thinks that bad actions can be explained away by good intentions. I don't know how to convince her this is wrong, that actions can be measured and intentions can't. I don't know how to tell her that bad people shouldn't be punished when they do good for bad reasons, and good people should when they do bad thinking it's good. I don't know how to tell her, when the dust settles it doesn't matter what anyone was fighting for, that the only thing anyone sees are the bodies and broken buildings. I don't know. Because whenever I open my mouth I think the only thing she sees is a Schnee mouthing off about faunus.'

Weiss sighed, considering ripping up that letter, too, but finally finishing it off.

'Please advise.
'-Weiss'

([___

Ren slashed through one of Blake's shadowclones, calmly bringing Stormflower up to block her overhead strike from behind, grunting against the hit, but still managing to blast a flurry of bullets back with his other hand she had to dodge away from.

He'd gotten better at using aura reading mid-combat, but it was still too large of a mental drain to consider bringing it anywhere outside of a spar at that point. Until he could do it largely unconsciously, he couldn't risk it, but he was getting there, slowly but surely.

Blake had talked about training her aura capacity up, and maybe experimenting with Shadow to try and expand it, and he was sure she'd get to it in time, but that particular spar it didn't seem to be a great priority for her.

"She never cleans her hair out of the drain in the bathroom, she's constantly moving my books, when she eats it takes an absolute eternity. It's like she has no concept of other people's property or time, which I guess makes sense since she's the quintessential picture of Atlas privilege." Blake stabbed down at him like he'd personally offended her, backing up when he went for an aura strike and whipping her chain to keep distance. Still formidable even when she obviously had other things on her mind. "She wakes up earlier in the morning than any reasonable person should and bangs around like she has no concept of the word 'stealth'. I can't imagine being so inconsiderate of a roommate."

Ren sprayed her down with Stormflower, forcing her to close distance again or risk her aura getting chipped down by his much faster firing weapon. "All of those can be annoying tendencies, to be sure," Ren said, reasonably. "But they're also ones she's had more or less the entire time she's been here. Why do they only bother you now?"

"They bothered me before, how couldn't they?" Blake asked back, swinging her blade at Ren's stomach and forcing him to parry with Stormflower. "I just haven't been vocal about it."

"Why the change?" He saw her aura shift with another shadow clone, spinning to catch her attacking from behind yet again.

"Fine, if you don't want me talking about it, I'll shut up," she said, frustratedly, creating a shadow clone to dodge backwards.

"I don't mind you talking about it, I just wish you'd be more honest with yourself." He crouched below her scythe swing, reloading both guns. "Why are you really mad at Weiss?"

"She's a faunus racist who thinks her father is justified when he works thousands of faunus to death and denies their families everything from compensation to at times even the bodies of their loved ones." She unloaded her SMG in his direction, forcing him to sprint to the side to avoid it. "She's a sheltered little rich girl who lives in a black and white world where laws are always right and the people who break them are always wrong. She's a bad roommate and horribly, laughably, incorrect on this. Do I need any other reason to be mad at Weiss?"

"That would be enough," Ren acknowledged. "Though it'd help if she'd actually said most of that."

Blake gritted her teeth, closing the distance and swiping with her cleaver and sword, which Ren nimbly dodged away from. "If she's not against her father, she tacitly approves of his actions. There isn't any wiggle room here; he's a monster."

"But he's also her family, and you have to know how hard that makes this." He blocked both the cleaver and the sword with both halves of Stormflower. "Besides, I haven't heard her say anything nice about her father or mother, only her sister."

Ren wasn't sure what the situation with Blake's parents was, whether they were still alive or not, estranged, healthy, sick, but he knew it was complicated by the strange swirl of emotions her aura became whenever they were mentioned.

Weiss' relationship, for as little as she talked about it with him, was much more straightforward.

Her father and mother, anger, bitterness, disgust. Her sister, admiration, happiness, fear.

That last, he never could decide whether it was fear for her, or of her, though he supposed it could easily have been both.

"You haven't heard her speak out against him either." She darted back with another shadow clone, attempting to circle around his side to stab at his blindspot. "She doesn't understand that the only reason the White Fang have gotten this bad is because he, and people like him, are willing to trade their lives for dust, and he's not even particularly concerned at the conversion rate."

"Is it that she doesn't understand?" Ren grunted, a stab at his kidneys making its way through his guard to flare against his aura. "Or is it that she doesn't care?"

"How could she not care? She's not heartless." He spun, slicing down her arm with Stormflower before she managed to disengage. "Just ignorant."

"You want to educate her?" Another swipe, another dodge.

"I want to show her what's actually going on." Clone. Stab. "She has to have been pumped full of Atlas and SDC propaganda since birth. I know it's not her fault, but every time I try and explain things to her, she shuts down." Blake bore down on him, her sword and cleaver sparking along his Stormflower as she tried to press through his guard. "She thinks I'm a terrorist."

"She thinks the White Fang are terrorists," Ren said, pointedly, sweeping his legs under hers, forcing an awkward disengage. "At most, I think she sees you as a terrorism apologist."

"Yeah, well she doesn't seem all that receptive to either." Ren held up a hand, Stormflower retracting into his sleeves as he squeezed his eyes shut against an oncoming migraine. "That your aura reading limit?" She asked.

"Apparently so." Focusing aura in his eyes was difficult at the start, but manageable with practice to the point he could do it in daily life almost constantly. Using it in combat, when his focus was already split, aura strained with attacking and blocking... "how long did I make it, today?"

"A little less than eight minutes," she informed him, checking her scroll. "Getting better."

It was like he had to learn it all over again.

He nodded vaguely, dissatisfied, but forcing patience against the feeling. "You know, despite what some street thugs told Nora, it's extremely unlikely we'll actually encounter any of the White Fang," he pointed out. "And, in the event we did, you would fight them over letting them hurt Weiss."

"Of course I would." She crossed her arms. "What's your point?"

"My point is, you're acting like Weiss is on fire, like if she doesn't immediately accept all faunus, she might explode, and I'm not sure why it's such an emergency." He blinked, concentrating aura back into his eyes to look back up at her, seeing guilt and fear twisting in her aura. "Blake...what are you so worried will happen if Weiss doesn't change?"

___])

Weiss could hear Nora coming before she even got to the door, much less opened it. As far as their team went, she was far and away the loudest and Weiss appreciated that not just for the early warning it gave her whenever Nora planned on dropping in, but also for taking the bottom spot from her, considering Blake was already annoyed at the noise she made in the mornings, Weiss didn't want to make it worse.

"Weissy," Nora called, swinging in on the opening door. "You wanna get dinner?"

"I probably should." Weiss pushed away from her desk, standing and stretching. She wasn't particularly hungry, but that wasn't unusual. Her appetite was never tremendous on the best of days, and recently fighting with Blake had made it even worse.

Nora cheered, swinging back on the door out into the hall as Weiss rolled her eyes, moving to join her.

And tripping on that same loose floorboard that had been the bane of her existence all week.

Weiss slammed her knee into Blake's bed, catching herself, and cutting off a strangled curse at the vibration down her shin even through her aura.

"Weiss, did you find the floorboard again?" Nora asked, swinging in on the door once again.

"What do you think?" Weiss bit out through gritted teeth.

"I think the odds it's some psychosomatic extension of your fight with Blake are a little higher than there being a slightly upturned floorboard that only you ever trip on that's only started showing up now." Nora swung back on the door, into the hall again.

"Well, excuse me if Atlas is typically a little better constructed and I'm not used to clomping around hiking my knees up all the time." She fruitlessly bent down to feel along the boards, trying to find which one was loose. "I think it's much more likely Cardin's heavily armored self bowed one of the floorboards into the ground slightly when he was training with Ren and I'm the only one who walks in such a way to notice."

"All I'm saying is, you could cut Blake a little slack." Nora said, voice muffled a little by the door. "A little philosophical difference isn't gonna change the fact you'd do everything you could to protect Blake from the White Fang or anything else, and she'd do the same for you."

"I wouldn't call it a 'little' philosophical difference," Weiss huffed, feeling along a board. "It's about which one of us actually has a moral code. Without one, any action can be explained away by circumstance, no matter how abhorrent. I'm not worried about Blake and me helping each other, I'm worried who she might help or refuse to help in the future. If I don't change her way of thinking now, she might-" Weiss' eyes lit up, finally finding a part of the floor that shifted under her touch. "Got you."

"I just don't think you're giving Blake enough credit," Nora said. "You're both plenty moral and even if you don't agree, this doesn't have to be solved when we've only just started being a team. Cut her a little slack, that's all."

Weiss was just about to call out to Nora so she could prove the board was real, when she noticed something glint under it. Curiously, she pressed down on one end of the bowed wood, gently prying up the other to see a small space hollowed out in the ground.

"Dust?" There wasn't very much of it, honestly Weiss usually brought more with her on field trips than existed there, but the worn bottles seemed gently laid there, like they were precious.

Beside them were faded pictures of faunus children, laughing, playing, posing. Weiss raised an eyebrow at the black haired one featured in most of the pictures, usually with a book in hand, with two cat ears on top.

It looked like Blake.

Did Blake have a faunus daughter?

No. She would have had to have it ridiculously young, and these pictures were older than that would allow, anyway.

Then...

"Weiss?" Nora called from the hall. "Did you hear me?"

Weiss reached toward the last item in the cache, one not much larger than her hand and thickly wrapped in cloth. In the back of her mind, even as trembling fingers unfurled the wrappings, she knew what it was.

She sat on the floor of her dorm room, a White Fang mask laying in her lap.

Blake's White Fang mask.

She could have screamed, but the air wouldn't reach her lungs.

"Weiss?"

Numbly, Weiss rewrapped the mask, setting it in the hole in the floor and recovering it with the board. "Yes, Nora." She stood up, moving to the door and opening it to see her teammate, visibly concerned. "I heard you."

"Oh, uh, you..." she looked at Weiss, dubiously. "Alright?"

"Just fine." Weiss smiled, beatifically. "Are you hungry?"

"Always." Nora walked along with her toward the dining hall. "You?"

Weiss' porcelain smile didn't shift even a fraction. "Starving."

Chapter Text

Winter frowned down at the small bundle of disjointed and confused letters from her sister, ranging in levels of concern from mild in the case of the first letter to intense by the time she got to the third.

It seemed clear enough to her that even on a cursory inspection of the letters' contents, things were not all well in hand for her sister at Beacon. This, she had expected, as Weiss had the tendency for brash action, rushing into things without thinking them through all the way, but it was the last letter that truly concerned her.

The last letter indicated something had changed.

The door slid open, General Ironwood stepping through it with his usual cavalcade of assistants, messengers, various members of the military and cabinet, as well as his personal guards, their shadows, any specialists he'd summoned for one reason or another, and any hangers-on trying to ply him for a favor. Usually, if she was in Atlas, Winter would be among the crowd, but this time as she was sent away on local business, it was far more economical to wait for him near his office than to track down his political parade.

"Ah, Winter," he smiled genially when he finally looked up from whatever document he was signing and saw her. "I trust everything went well?"

For a certain standard of 'well'. "I took care of it without issue."

"As I knew you would," he said, solidly, before turning to the assembled crowd. "Now I need to have a private discussion with Specialist Schnee in my office. The rest of you may wait outside or leave as your business dictates."

With that, he turned and entered his office, Winter shadowing close behind.

"I really don't have much to report," she admitted, after the door had been firmly closed and Ironwood had sat at his desk. "The dissident head of the Stone family has fallen ill and we've replaced him with the young Johannes from the loyalists. His terms were within expectations, so I had them paid."

"Yet you don't seem happy," Ironwood noted.

Winter hesitated. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

He waved a hand. "Granted."

"Johannes is a stuffed shirt and the dissidents know it. We've taken one of theirs and replaced it with our own, but it's the opportunity cost that's killing us."

"You think our time would be better spent elsewhere?" He asked.

"Frankly? Yes. We're not losing anything major, but we never gain anything major, either. We can't keep letting the dissidents operate freely and just put out the fires they leave behind. We have to act if we want this to end sometime in the next decade."

He spread his arms. "And what would you have us do?"

"Cut off the head and the serpent dies." Winter slammed a hand on the desk for emphasis. "If we kill Frau Holly the coup dies with her."

Ironwood considered the words for a few moments before shaking his head. "No."

She retracted the hand, expressionless. "Why not?"

"The same reason you don't deal with hornets by eating their hive." He tapped his finger against the desk. "We kill her, the splintered dissidents lash out or go underground. We're stretched thin enough dealing with the White Fang; I won't have another terrorist organization hatch in Atlas."

Winter nodded. "Then we stay the course."

"In a few weeks it'll just be another valve to turn to keep the city running. I'd rather be able to keep an eye on Frau Holly to know the dissatisfaction in Atlas than attempt to track down some rogue cell out in the countryside. I know you don't like kingdom politics, but you'll only need to be directly involved until then." He leaned back in his chair, rubbing at his eyes with a hand. "What are those?" He asked after a moment, gesturing to the letters tucked in Winter's left hand behind her back.

"Nothing vital," she said, evenly.

"Winter," he cracked a smile. "I have spent my entire day attempting to keep the world intact. I would love to hear about something non-vital for once."

She brought the papers forward, paging through them again. "They're letters from my sister. She started at Beacon this year and wanted to update me on her team and progress."

"And what do you think of her team and progress?" Ironwood asked.

Winter furrowed her brow at the contents of the letters. "I'm... not entirely sure. Her first letter is in her usual style and apart from an alarming description of some of her classmates, it proved more amusing than concerning. The second, she asked me for advice, but the third..."

"May I see it?" He asked, extending a hand.

She passed the letter to him so he could see the simple, short message penned in Weiss' elegant hand.

'Dear Winter,

'Please disregard the previous letter.

'-Weiss.'

He raised an eyebrow, passing it back. "It sounds like whatever she needed advice on in the previous letter, she resolved on her own."

"Sir, with all due respect. My sister would have rather sent me a verbatim transcript of her resolving the previous issue than a message like this." Winter shook her head. "This says to me, the problem has grown too out of hand for her to accept advisement on."

"Oh? Then are you worried she won't be able to accomplish the task?" Ironwood asked.

"No, sir. I'm worried she will. I think she's going to..." Winter clenched her hand, slightly, taking a moment to find the words. "Attempt to eat a hornet's nest."

Ironwood laughed at his own turn of phrase used again. "Now that does sound dangerous. Do you want some time off to help her back to the right path?"

Yes.

"No, sir." She shook her head. "My place is here."

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't relieved to hear you say that," he admitted. "Things are still delicate here. I could use my best soldier a little longer."

She laid her right hand over her chest, bowing smoothly. "I serve at the pleasure of the General."

"And it is my great pleasure that you do." He nodded, satisfied. "I'll let you know your next move in a few hours. Get some sleep in the meantime."

"Yes, sir." With a last nod, she stepped sharply around and walked out the door, the heavy steel slamming shut behind her.

Weiss always chose the worst times for these things. It was the exact same way when she told father she was going to Beacon. Why couldn't she think ahead? Why couldn't her sister just wait until she was there?

Winter sighed, rubbing her forehead with a hand.

Whatever her issue was with her teammate or otherwise, she could resolve it on her own. Despite everything, Vale was still much safer than some other places.

Her eyes drifted to Frau Holly passing her in the hall, walking towards the General's office, free, in the center of Atlas' entire political structure.

Weiss would be alright.

It was the rest of the world she was worried about.

([___

Ruby was worried about Weiss, though it'd be much more accurate to say everyone was. After an entire week of nonstop arguing with Blake, suddenly it was like a switch in her brain got flipped and she was fine. Well, not 'fine' exactly, more like broken.

She never said anything personal, never let anyone touch her, and never stopped smiling. That wasn't fine. That was creepy, and concerning, at least coming from Weiss.

But no one knew what to do. Everyone who tried to talk to her was met with insistent assurances she was fine, and any digging into what had happened was met with deflection. Whatever caused the change, it was clear Weiss wasn't interested on sharing it with anyone.

Ruby's eyes drifted over to Weiss, a few seats in front of her in Oobleck's class, dutifully writing notes with that fake smile fixed firmly in place.

Come on, Ruby thought.

Talk to me.

She wasn't sure how much longer Weiss could go on like that. Ruby couldn't have done it at all.

At least, she considered, scratching at a burn on her arm, not that well.

"Now, on the last tests I got back, I noticed some general confusion in some of the answers on the exact methods the Hunter's Guild names and recognizes the strength and service of the huntsman and huntresses they employ, so I thought I'd take a brief moment here to go over that," Oobleck said, sipping out of his thermos for a moment before setting it down, raising his hand. "Can anyone guess what rank I am?"

Ruby didn't hear Weiss' answer, but she vaguely remembered Uncle Qrow saying he was Two-Star a while back, so she guessed that, aloud, apparently along with the majority.

"I am a One-Star huntsman," he revealed, walking to the board to write down some figures. "After you graduate and interact with other hunters in the world, the overwhelming majority of the ones you will find will be either One-Star or unranked. Hunters graduating from one of the four major academies have around a fifty-percent chance of receiving One-Star status within the first three years of them graduating. If you become a hunter another way, or graduate from a satellite school, the chances of that drop to around twelve-percent. It is the bare minimum recognition the Guild can give for saving a large number of civilians from Grimm, providing exceptional and prolonged service on cleanup efforts, or otherwise showcasing you have earned the right to become a hunter. It is minimum, but that does not mean it is easy. Based on odds, roughly half of you will remain unranked for a long time and the other half will be One-Stars and happy you've made it that far. If you expect recognition as a huntsman or huntress on graduating, you should not. For many already out there, respect is only earned through that star. Until you have that, you are just a child to them."

Ruby grimaced at the thought. "Okay," she muttered to herself. "Gotta at least get one of those."

"Two-Star hunters have shown exceptional skill and bravery in defeating grimm. This accolade is mainly rewarded to those who have killed grimm of such advanced age and power as to be officially Named by the Guild. Some of you may know our very own Professor Goodwitch is a Two-Star huntress for defeating the Named nevermore mutate: Witch of Storms, Vespera. She is, to date, the youngest to attain this rank, when she was only twenty-four years old."

Ruby's eyebrows shot up. Killing a Named grimm at twenty-four? Go Goodwitch.

"There have also been cases of hunters being rewarded this rank for the takedown of large criminal organizations or terrorist groups, so if anyone has a semblance capable of pushing a button to get rid of organized crime in Vale or organized terrorism in Atlas, at least you'll get something out of it for your trouble." He smiled at the class' chuckling. "There are many who say Two-Star hunters are every positive and negative trait associated with the profession magnified. That they are as dutiful or caring as they are rigid or eccentric. I can't speak much to that, but I can say they are powerful. If you find yourself in contact with one, do not get in their way. If you've ever seen Professor Goodwitch upset, then you'll know what I mean when I say your life could be in the balance." Another smattering of laughs from the students as he returned to writing on the board.

"Two-Star ranked hunters make up less than one percent of the total hunter population, there are somewhere around one hundred to two hundred of them in all of Remnant, which makes them exceptionally rare, though not nearly as rare as." He tapped the board with the chalk, pointing at three stars there arranged in a triangle. "Three-Star hunters are given that title only by the unanimous decision of each of the Vale, Mistral, Vacuo, and Atlas branches of the Guild. They are recognized for rendering services without which an entire kingdom could fall into ruins. If it weren't for these huntsmen and huntresses, Vale, Mistral, Vacuo, Atlas, even Menagerie could all have been destroyed already. By my count, there are probably around twenty Three-Star hunters around today, and out of those at least five are retired. If you ever get to meet one, shake their hand, and do whatever you can to help."

A student raised her hand, and Oobleck called on her. "Yes. Question?"

"Yeah, um, if you're ranked One-Star and Professor Goodwitch is a Two-Star. Does that make Headmaster Ozpin a Three-Star?" She asked.

"An excellent question, and one that raises much debate over the way the system is structured as a whole: Ozpin is officially recognized as a Two-Star huntsman for killing the Named grimm geist mutate: Metal Monarch, Nome. This was back when he was still an active huntsman. Now that he's retired and become the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, he's done more in service to Vale and Remnant than even some Three-Star hunters, but as he isn't an active hunter, the Guild either can't or won't recognize him for what he's done. So it's a question I put to you: what is the strength being measured by the Guild's ranking system? If there were Two-Star hunters that could beat a Three-Star in a fight, should that disqualify them from the role? If you grow old and could no longer defeat the same grimm you could younger, does your Two-Star rank mean the same? And if these ranks aren't given solely for combat strength, if they're recognizing something else, then what precisely are we supposed to be teaching you at this school? Choose at least one of those questions and prepare five hundred words on what the answer could be, in your opinion, by next class. I look forward to reading your thoughts."

He looked over at the clock on the wall, checking it. "Now, our time is almost up for today, but there is one more quirk of the ranking system that's been gaining traction recently, particularly in regards to the Atlas section of the Hunter's Guild: that being, if One-Star's are recognized for saving, say, a village, Two-Stars for saving a city, and Three-Stars for saving a kingdom, should there be some additional ranking in place for those recognized for saving all of Remnant? This, 'Four-Star hunter idea,' has sparked debate from many in the Guild, not the least because the proposal from Atlas came with a recommendation for the first to receive it as well. Does anyone know who?"

No one answered, and after a moment, Oobleck picked up his thermos again, taking a slow sip. "I know at least one of you does."

He was looking at Weiss when he said it, but Blake was the one who answered.

"Winter Schnee," she said, her gaze also flicking to her right, where Weiss sat on the other side of Ren and Nora.

"The unofficial Four-Star huntress. Quite the feat for someone so young. If the Guild ever agrees, we might be on the dawn of a new age. If Atlas truly believes that she saved Remnant, the clear next question must be: what did she save Remnant from?" His eyes swept the room, at the pensive expressions of the students, taking another sip. "Something to consider, at least." The bell rang. "Class dismissed."

Weiss stood up and walked out quickly, her and Ruby's teams trailing behind.

Winter Schnee... Ruby thought, watching the white haired girl moving through the hall. She'd heard her talk about Winter enough to know it was her sister. She'd heard her call her strong, but... a Three-Star huntress. What must she have done to get a title like that?

If Ruby fought her right then, impossible semblance or not, would she be able to win?

She wasn't sure.

Both teams sat down in the dining service to eat, trays heaped high with enough food to make most ordinary civilians balk at the amount. Weiss, for her part, never ate as much as most of them, but even with the food she had in front of her then, she seemed more choking it down than properly eating it.

"Hey, Weiss, do you..." Blake hesitated, hand half reaching out to touch her, but stopping short. "How's your food?"

"Fine, Blake." Still smiling. "How's yours?"

"Mine is good," Blake said, haltingly. "Weiss, we're worried about y-"

Weiss stood up, suddenly, half her food still on the tray. "Well, looks like I'm done. I'm heading back to the dorm, see you there."

Without waiting for anyone to respond, Weiss half walked, half sprinted away, causing Blake to sigh, setting her fork down. "Does anyone have any ideas?"

Silence across the table, until eventually Yang asked, "what was the last thing you argued about?"

"Menagerie," Blake said, toying with the edges of her plate. "She suggested one of the reasons faunus have so much trouble 'adjusting' to human culture was because they want everywhere to be like there."

Yang shrugged. "Okay? Sorry, I don't know squat about Menagerie, is that a big deal?"

"It's..." Blake shook her head. "I don't know. It is a big deal, but I don't know why it'd affect Weiss enough to do something like this."

"Maybe she just needs space?" Pyrrha offered.

"No." Blake pushed away from the table, standing up. "She doesn't do well trapped in her own thoughts. We have to be there for her." She started walking away, going after Weiss. "Or I do, at least."

After a moment's hesitation, the rest followed, excepting Cardin, who remained in his seat and kept eating, to no one's great shock.

When they made it back to the dorm, though, Weiss wasn't there. She wasn't in the gym, or training center, or library, either. Any attempts at calling her scroll or finding her anywhere else in the school were met with failure.

"She took dust with her," Nora reported.

Blake sat down on her bed, feeling it creak beneath her. "She'll be back. She always goes to sleep before any of us, anyway."

Whether or not she needed it, whether or not she'd do well with it, Weiss got her space after all.

Team RWPY withdrew to their own dorm, finishing up lingering assignments, playing a few games or doing some reading before finally retiring to bed.

Whatever was happening to Weiss, they knew she couldn't get into too much trouble at Beacon. Eventually, she'd be back and they'd be able to work it out. At least, that was the thought.

The next morning, Weiss was still gone. She missed classes for the first time they'd ever seen, and even another thorough check of Beacon wasn't enough to turn her up.

"She's in Vale," Blake sighed. "What would she be doing in Vale?"

"She could just be hiding out in another student's dorm," Ren offered.

"She doesn't know any other students." Blake scratched her head, pacing fiercely. "At least I don't think she does, and whatever happened, why wouldn't whoever would be hiding her tell us? Try to get us back together? No. She's in Vale, I can feel it."

Nora stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "Then we'll go to Vale. We'll find her."

Blake started, like she was surprised by that, but after a moment she took the arm, nodding. "Yeah... yeah, we will."

Whatever Weiss was doing, whatever caused her to act that way, they'd find her.

That was what a team did.

___])

'You're not acting rationally,' the little voice in Weiss' head that sounded like Winter said.

Weiss tried to shake it off, stalking through Vale trying to find... something. She wasn't even sure what, yet, something to make it make sense.

'You're exhausted,' the voice said. 'You haven't slept.'

Not well, anyway. All week, she kept startling awake in the middle of the night, thinking she heard someone move, creep closer, knives brushing up against her aura. How could she sleep like that?

Blake was a member of the White Fang. If Weiss didn't know them, that'd be the end of it. She'd scream, run, tell her team, teachers, whoever she could get to listen, and she'd be kept safe. Or maybe, on some far off possibility entertained only when she looked at her team jacket, she'd talk to Blake about it first, and Blake would tell her why. She'd tell her it was a mistake. She'd tell her it wasn't true.

But Weiss did know the White Fang. That was something Blake could never accept in all their arguments. Every time she'd try to tell her about their goals, their messaging, their 'fall from grace,' trying to educate her because if she could only escape her ignorance, surely they'd agree, Blake wouldn't accept Weiss knew the White Fang better than some of its own members did.

She knew they held rallies, recruitment drives, and she could recite speeches from ones that had been recorded by journalists or police. She knew the manual numbers of the guides from which they built their bombs and weapons, old Atlesian surpluses that should have never been made public. And she knew their procedure when going on a 'mission'.

Sabotage, assassination, deep cover, all of them had the same rule: you don't work alone in the White Fang.

Blake was a member of the White Fang, sure.

Who else was?

The question was a red hot iron grinding against her ribcage, pounding her heart beneath a porcelain smile.

'You... alright?'

Was it you?

'Hey, Weiss. You seemed a little... off, at dinner. Are you...?'

You, maybe?

'We're worried about you, that's all.'

You?

'Why won't you talk to us?'

"Because I don't know who any of you are." Weiss leaned against a grimy brick wall, sliding down it to her knees.

Every time she looked at them, any of them. Yang, Ruby, Ren, Nora, Pyrrha, Cardin, she couldn't see her friends anymore. All she could see were baggy clothes that could hide tails, thick hair that could hide horns, fur or feathers beneath every hidden patch of skin, it was like they'd all been replaced.

But they weren't the ones who'd changed; she was.

'Your paranoia is going to get you killed,' the Winter voice said.

Weiss could appreciate the irony in that.

"Hey, I know you." Weiss drew her sword at the approaching faunus, lifting herself to her feet and crouching low in preparation. Whether she was going to fight or run, she hadn't decided yet, but even in her current state, she wouldn't just take whatever they dished out to her. "You're that chick from Beacon, right?"

She wasn't... exactly, expecting that identification.

Weiss looked at the monkey faunus with the bright blonde hair and apparent lack of ability to clothe himself, if his shirtless state was any indication, smiling guilelessly down at her.

"Do I know you?" Her grip on Myrtenaster tightened, defensive stance not faltering in the slightest.

"Sun Wukong, from Haven Academy, here for the Vytal Tournament." He grinned, extending a hand. "Your friends are really strong."

"Thank you?" She looked at the hand for a moment, trying not to imagine where it's been, before gently shaking it with her off-hand. "Why are you... talking to me?"

"I dunno, you seemed down." He scratched his cheek with a finger. "Looked like you needed someone to talk to, so... I'm here."

"Why?"

"I want to be a huntsman that makes people happy." He jerked a thumb at himself. "If everyone's happy, the grimm'll never come, right? It'd save us a lot of trouble fighting, and, bonus, happy town. Win-win."

"That's incredibly childish." Weiss regarded him for a moment before deciding he wasn’t much of a threat and sheathing her sword, folding her arms across her chest instead. "You can't make every person everywhere happy."

"Maybe not," he shrugged. "But no one's tried it before, so... why not give it a shot?"

"Ridiculous." She looked away, tapping a finger on her arm, considering. He did seem to be a bit of a dullard, hunter trained or not. Honestly, she doubted there was anything she’d want to discuss with him in the best of circumstances, which she decidedly wasn’t in. She should have coldly dismissed him, or simply left, herself, but there was a whisper of an idea that held her tongue, maybe the only true resolution to her problem she could hope for. After longer than could be considered polite standing in silence, she finally asked, "could you take me to a White Fang rally?"

He hummed, taking his time before answering. "Pretty heavy thing to ask a guy you just met..." he said, eventually. "Can I get some context?"

'It's not too late to go back to your team,' the Winter voice said.

'Isn't it?' She thought back.

Even if she did go back, if she apologized for making them worry, tried to return to a normal life with her team, none of it would go away. She'd still know Blake was White Fang, still suspect everyone else of working with her, none of it would be the same ever again.

And if she confronted Blake about it, what if there was no explanation? If Blake was put there by the White Fang to kill her, or ingratiate herself to her, maybe to try and kill her parents, or just at Beacon for some other purpose, what would telling her she'd been found out do?

She knew the White Fang's policy on that, too.

So, if she couldn't talk to her team about their White Fang connections, then only one option remained: she'd have to talk to the White Fang about their connections to her team.

And Sun Wukong, the happy Haven huntsman, would be her ticket in.

She looked up at him and his still smiling face, even after she asked him to take her to a terrorist meeting place. She severely doubted he was actually White Fang, they needed some kind of subtlety to operate it seemed like he sorely lacked, but as long as he knew where it was, that was good enough.

She shrugged, finally answering his question. "What do you want to know?"

Chapter Text

What would it be like to wake up one day and not trust anyone? Sun couldn't imagine it. He was never all that suspicious minded, for better or for worse, and on his best days he believed wholeheartedly that when the chips came down and people were pushed to the edge, he could trust them to come out better for it. Deep down, people thrived on helping each other, it was the whole reason groups formed, teams, towns, cities, kingdoms. They'd never be able to come together without trust.

Weiss didn't trust anyone. And even if she described it blandly, talked about any one of her friends being White Fang, wanting to kill her, or worse, Sun knew the blank expression she wore wasn't real. It had to be unimaginably painful.

"So who's your best guess?" Sun asked, sipping at a cup of green tea from a nearby café and digging around the plate of cookies trying to find a good one.

"My best guess for what?" Weiss asked, eyeing his hand, distastefully.

"Which of your friends is secretly White Fang?" He finally found what looked like a snickerdoodle, biting into it. "Anyone have any weird animal characteristics to give away? Or maybe they just act weird around you, like Blake?"

Weiss drew back slightly, her arms crossing over her chest again. "I don't know."

"Well you've gotta have a guess, right?" Sun pressed.

She didn't answer right away, but after a minute or two she finally relented. "Ren might be a sloth faunus. He's strong but moves slow, patient, and he covers up enough of his skin there might be thick hair anywhere. Nora is excitable, my guess is a bird faunus of some kind, maybe hummingbird. I saw her drink down tree sap like it was water, and that can't be normal." She tapped her fingers on her arm. "Yang and Ruby might be dogs or wolves. They're loyal, but strong, and they can get vicious when they're pushed. Cardin is a great elk, or maybe a goat or bull, something not too bright, but willing to lock horns to get you to back off."

Sun nodded. "And Pyrrha?"

"Pyrrha worries me the most." She hugged her arms tighter to herself. "I don't know what kind of faunus she'd be. Maybe a hunting bird, like a falcon. All I know is, even if I was one hundred percent certain she was White Fang, I don't know what I would do about it. The teachers, police, anyone, why would they believe me over her? She has real acclaim, prestige, for what she's done. My family has money. I can get my voice out with that, but I doubt many would believe me. And if I don't look for help, if I try to deal with it, myself? She'd kill me in a second, I'm sure she would."

"Remind me, Ruby's the one that came to school late, right?" Sun asked.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean she isn't dangerous. Far from it; after Pyrrha, she's one of the ones I'm most worried about."

Sun nodded, sagely. "But... if she came in late, she can't be the one who came in with Blake, right? Cause she was there at the start of the year."

Weiss hesitated, the question poking against her paranoia gently, as Sun intended. "I suppose..."

"And if Ruby's not a secret White Fang member, then she's probably not a secret faunus either. Which means her sister Yang can't be secret White Fang, cause she wouldn't be a secret faunus." He went through his words again, double checking that they made sense. "Right?"

"I believe they're only half-sisters," Weiss bit out. "Whichever parent is different could easily be faunus."

"But then, wouldn't Ruby have said something at her sister suddenly hiding that she was a faunus? I mean, she ought to know, right? She wouldn't hide it at home."

Weiss' shoulders eased, ever so slightly. "I can still see circumstances where it's possible, but I do admit both of them are unlikely prospects..."

"So we stick with the more likely ones, I mean, from the sounds of it, Ren and Nora seem way more like White Fang to me."

Instantly, she tensed again. "Right."

"Though it is kind of weird the Fang'd send their worst two members on an assignment like this," he mused.

"Nora and Ren are exceptionally capable." Her eyes narrowed. "If they weren't, I wouldn't be nearly as concerned."

"Then why haven't they killed you, yet?" Sun asked, point blank. "Why hasn't Blake?"

"They could be waiting to be out in the field somewhere," she answered, coldly. "That way they could blame it on grimm."

"I thought you said you became friends with Blake after a dustup on a field trip in the middle of nowhere crawling with grimm? Wouldn't that be the best place to do it?"

Weiss stood up, her chair scraping against the floor and her fists tightened into painful fists on the table.

"I am not friends with Blake."

"Okay, sure." Sun held his hands up. "But still, you've gotta admit, it's pretty incompetent they couldn't take a chance like that when it landed in their laps."

"That's if killing me was their goal," she bit out. "It could easily be getting close to me to influence me, or to get into a position to hurt my family."

"Then why were they so standoffish to you when you first met?" Sun shrugged. "Why was Blake? Wouldn't it be smarter to actually try and befriend you?"

"I don't know." Weiss threw her hands up. "I don't know what the White Fang's plan is."

He counted on his fingers. "So that leaves Cardin, who also doesn't seem to have put much effort into befriending you, and Pyrrha, a super famous tournament fighter you're assuming has managed to hide the fact she's both a faunus and White Fang from literally everyone up to this point."

"By your logic, not even Blake is White Fang," she snapped. "They're planning something, they want something. I know they do. I just don't know what it is."

"But you do know it's not killing you, right? It wouldn't make any sense to be. So that means trying to kill you would only screw up whatever plan they're actually doing." Sun grinned. "You're basically untouchable."

"The White Fang are fanatics," she sighed. "Despite their goals, at any time one of them could still lose control and try to kill me. They aren't a proper military, I can't count on them following orders."

Despite her words, he could tell her movements weren't nearly as jagged as they'd been when she'd first sat down, and her voice had lost some of that affected calm for a more real one.

She stepped away from the table. "Now come on. I think you've heard plenty, so take me to the White Fang rally."

Sun stood up as well. "Of course."

As soon as he could figure out where one of those were.

([___

Penny didn't think Ciel liked her much. That was okay. A lot of the people who knew what she was didn't like her. That just meant she had to work extra hard so her friends didn't know. Everyone said keeping it a secret was important. Penny agreed.

"We're clear on this floor." Penny felt Ciel's semblance recede. The interaction it had with her aura was subtle, but she had enough iterations where she knew it was being used or not to analyze its particulars.

Now Ciel couldn't use it on her without Penny knowing.

But that was another secret to keep track of. Ciel was sensitive about her semblance; if she told her something like that, it'd only make her dislike her more.

"Sensational." Penny leaned back on her heels for a moment before standing upright again. "Now appears to be an excellent time to explore the city."

"I wish," Ciel muttered, quieter than normal ears could detect. A bit louder, she said, "our orders are not to leave the hotel until morning."

"I did not join the Atlas military." Penny tried not to sound too petulant. "Why do I have orders?"

"I'd consider that a consequence of being military property." Ciel opened the door and gestured at the two large hotel beds present there.

One for bot, one for minder, Penny was sure Ciel thought.

"Home sweet home." She set her rifle case down beside her bed, thumping down on it and breathing a tired sigh. "My academy friends would flip to see this is my detail."

Penny noticed a distinct lack of using her scroll to contact them, which she was certain in her friend research was the natural next step of a statement like that. "But you are not going to tell them?"

"Polendina, you are the absolute top of Atlas military secrets. Everything from what you are to where you are is privileged information I can't leak to the King of Vale, much less a bunch of random cadets." She waved a hand. "After this, whatever posting I get next is probably gonna be the same in that way. I'm a specialist and they're not, so odds are good I won't ever see them again."

Penny frowned. "That is... sad."

"You really are an engineering marvel to pick up on that, huh?" She closed her eyes, and Penny could feel her semblance wash over her once again for a handful of seconds before receding. "I know you don't sleep, but try to keep yourself busy for a few hours. We'll be out of here again at o' six hundred. Talk to Corporal Abrams if you need anything; he's right outside."

"Message received," Penny said, brightly, sitting down on the hotel bed, her mind clicking away.

It was over an hour before Ciel's sleep became deep enough Penny felt confident in moving, walking quietly to the door and opening it to the jerking upright Corporal Abrams. "Oh, uh, Miss Polendina. Can I... is there anything I can do for you, ma'am?"

She liked Abrams. He didn't know what she was, so it was easier to talk to him, but because of that, he was hardly ever around, either, and she already knew he wouldn't be friends with her because she was a 'diplomat's daughter' as the cover story went, and he didn't want to break protocol.

"Hello. I noticed there was a snack machine down the hall and was hoping I could go and retrieve some." She considered for a moment before adding, "to eat."

"Well, you're definitely supposed to stay in the room," Abrams said. "But if you tell me what you want, I can get the snacks for you?"

"Sensational," she said quietly, so as not to disturb Ciel. "I would like chocolate and chips, but not chocolate chips."

He raised an eyebrow at her clear and precise communication. "...right. Okay, chips and chocolate, coming up."

He walked down the hall and Penny pretended to close the door, watching until he finally turned the corner and she slipped outside the room. For security reasons, Ciel had chosen a room with no windows, so nothing could get in or out without a guard knowing. Unfortunately, the hotel did not follow that same rule for the windows in the hallway.

Penny pried the window open, sliding through it and falling four floors down to land in the dirt outside, sitting up free of the hotel's confines. "Sensational."

Her escape successful, Penny walked quickly away and into Vale proper, wondering if she just went back to the first place she met them, if she'd see her friends again.

It was, of course, worth a try.

___])

Ruby wasn't sure how she'd ended up with Cardin when they decided to split up and search Vale for Weiss. She wasn't really sure why he was there at all, since he never seemed to care about her before. Ruby thought Yang was going to volunteer to go with her, she had opened her mouth and was probably just about to, when Cardin stepped up first.

Why?

Yang ended up going with Pyrrha, Ren and Nora went with Blake, and Cardin went with Ruby. Teams, she guessed, all intact.

"You think Weiss is an idiot, or what?" Cardin said after they'd been walking for a while, asking whoever was around if they'd seen her, and the out of nowhere question put her off-balance just as effectively as a mace-swing in that moment.

"I don't..." Ruby shook her head. "What? Why would she be an idiot?"

"Cause she's been a wreck for a week, and somehow in all that time hasn't figured out she's got nobody else to talk to." Cardin scratched his back, lazily. "Or figured out how to solve her problem, herself."

"Well, maybe this is her solving the problem, herself," Ruby put in, hopefully.

Cardin smirked. "Then why are we out here looking for her?" Ruby looked down, awkwardly tapping her fingertips together. "Yeah, didn't think you believed that, either."

"Weiss is... intense, but I've only seen her be intense about small things so far. Homework, food, how clean our room is-"

"The White Fang?" Cardin asked, amusedly. "That a small thing, too?"

"No, it's not. But that's my point, so far that's the thing I've seen her take the most seriously out of anything, and it's been constant arguments with Blake and her team because of it, and that's only something theoretical." She tried showing a picture of Weiss on her scroll to a passerby, but she just waved her off. "If she'll freak out at all the small stuff, if she'll act like that just talking about something, how would she react if something really serious happened? Something big?"

"Disappear into the big scary city? Cut off all her hair and change her name?" Cardin suggested, chuckling.

"I don't know." Ruby hugged her arms to herself. "That's what scares me."

"You care way too much about someone who isn't even on our team," Cardin scoffed.

"Weiss is my friend." Ruby glared at him for a moment, breaking off to futilely show the photo to another person, but getting nothing in return. "Why are you even out here if you don't care?"

He shrugged. "Thought there were decent odds she and Blake'd fight again. Last time it landed both of them in recovery for days, I wanted to see it in action."

"You're unbelievable." She glared at him harder, but it didn't seem to make a difference to his expression. "Why would you even want to become a huntsman if you don't want to help people?"

He rolled his eyes. "Oh please. If you wanted to help people, you'd become a farmer or a field medic, but you don't. You want to fight monsters, and so do I. Don't mouth off to me about pure intentions, Matchstick. I already know when it comes down to it, you'd choose stopping the badguy over saving the person, every time." Ruby stiffened beside him, but he kept going. "Heroes are for fairytales, hunters are for hunting, and Winchester is for results."

Ruby folded her arms across her chest. "What results?"

He pointed straight ahead and Ruby looked in enough time to see a flash of white hair disappear down an alleyway.

"I really hate you," Ruby groaned, running after her.

Cardin smirked, keeping up. "You know, it's funny; everyone else who doesn't know what they're doing says the same thing."

([___

Blake was wrong. Her aura was all wrong, ever since right before they left for Vale, Ren had seen it. Worry and confusion had curdled into guilt and loathing like a dial had been flipped. Nora and Ren had only lost sight of her for a minute or two, just enough time for her to go back into the room and grab some dust, but whatever happened was enough to shake her down to her soul.

He hoped a member of RWPY found Weiss first. In both their current states, if Weiss and Blake were to meet each other, he wasn't sure what would happen.

"Do you think Weiss ran away because of me?" Nora asked, suddenly.

Surprise blanketed Blake's aura and face for a moment before the previous emotions regained their hold once again. "Why would it be because of you?"

"I was bothering her right before she got all weird." Nora looked down, idly clenching and unclenching her fists. "I was teasing her about tripping on the floor, trying to get her to stop fighting with you, interrupting her homework... she was fine, and then she talked to me and now... she's not."

"Oh, Nora..." Blake wrapped one arm around her as they walked, bringing her close. "No. I don't think it was your fault. I know it wasn't."

"Whose fault is it?" Ren asked, calmly, watching Blake's aura shift in agitation at the question. "Yours?"

Blake closed her eyes, breathing out, slowly. "Yes."

"Why?"

Fear ate up the other emotions in her aura like a howling beast, coating even what he could see on her skin in its slick sheen. "I..." she swallowed, roughly. "I can't..."

"It's okay." Nora rested her head on Blake's shoulder. "When Ren and I were just starting to get to know each other, we had a lot of secrets. I know a lot of people say it takes trust, or courage, like it's something you can just do because you want to, but more than anything else it takes time." Blake's breathing eased as Nora leaned against her, the fear receding by her uncharacteristically calm voice. "We'll wait for when you're ready, Blake. It's okay."

"I... don't know if we have the time," Blake admitted, quietly. "If I don't tell you and we find Weiss, she will, and that..."

Fear. Guilt. Loathing. Anger. Pride. Shame. Superiority. Regret.

Sadness.

It was that last that leached into her steps more than the other melded hues of emotion. It tagged with regret, like more than anything else she wanted to say-

"I'm sorry."

Nora stumbled, the Blake she was leaning against turned to mist as Blake stepped away, shoulders hunched forward, head down, everything in her posture bent to make her appear smaller, like prey in front of a much bigger predator.

"I have something I need to tell you."

___])

Ruby and Cardin ran through the alleys and streets of Vale, always just barely missing Weiss as she turned a corner or entered a crowd. There were more than enough times Ruby was tempted to use her semblance to catch up, but every time she started to, something caught in her gut and she stopped it right away.

She'd like to pretend it was just because she didn't want to leave Cardin behind, but Ruby knew the answer was far simpler: her body just didn't want to be in pain again.

Stupid body.

Okay, it was possible she'd been overstressing it a bit with Neo's training that week, but it was already getting so much better. So it hurt a bit, and sometimes she had trouble breathing in class, or her aura got a little wonky, so what? She was in Beacon two years early, she had to work harder than everyone else. She was leading a team, she had to prove she deserved to be there.

Her body just had to get with the program.

"Is she trying to make a break for it?" Cardin wondered aloud.

Ruby looked at him for a moment before refocusing on the disappearing Weiss. "What do you mean?"

"She's going toward the bullhead d-" Ruby saw Weiss go left, just as Cardin went right. "Where are you going?" Cardin snapped. "She went this way."

"What?" Ruby jabbed a finger to the left. "She went this way."

"Or maybe..." both their gazes shot up toward the new voice, standing atop a shipping container, a woman with white hair, but... "you've really been chasing your tails all this time."

That wasn't Weiss.

She wore a white skirt and jacket, like Weiss, but with brown leather pants instead of leaving her legs bare. She tilted her head, hair falling to reveal small and soft mouse ears underneath, and on her face was a grimm mask with no eyeholes: a White Fang mask.

But why would the White Fang be here?

"I knew you White Fang losers were pathetic, but I never realized things had gotten bad enough you'd stoop to wasting the time of random Beacon students." Cardin chuckled, waving a hand. "I can also tell you're not that strong, so just run along n-"

"Random Beacon students?"

Ruby felt a chill grip the back of her spine at the man's voice.

No.

"You think I had Hickory lead you here at random?" He dressed like him, the black pants, the white coat, the hat, but he was shorter, blonde, and wearing a grimm mask despite not having any obvious faunus traits. He was dead, different. It couldn't be him, but his voice, the unerring arrogance, smug self-satisfaction in it...

He sounded just like Roman Torchwick.

"I had her lead you here, because I wanted you here, Cardin Winchester." Cardin frowned at his name being spoken aloud, but before he could respond, the man who would be Roman slid his gaze to Ruby. "Nice to see you again, Little Red."

Ruby started hyperventilating.

"Matchstick?" Cardin drew his mace, trying to shake her into focus. "Matchstick, gonna need you here... st- Ruby. Come on."

Nobody else was there that night. Nobody else survived. She'd never told it to any of the police, any of her doctors, even her family, so how could the imposter have known?

How did he know Torchwick called her Little Red?

"Alright, guess I'm fighting solo. What else is new." Cardin's grip on his mace tightened. "Bring it on, you animal freaks." He shouted. "I'll tear you apart."

"You know, Cardin," Torchwick grinned, "we were hoping you'd say that."

Chapter Text

Weiss was beginning to suspect Sun was leading her in circles. After wasting far too much time talking, they'd finally set out into Vale to take her to the White Fang rally, and then spent another several hours seemingly wandering around without any direction.

"You'd better have a good explanation why we passed that shop for the third time, Wukong," Weiss growled, palm resting on her sword handle.

He held up his hands. "Hey, the requirements for finding a White Fang meeting place are hard, we can't just run around randomly until we stumble across it, that'd be insane."

"That'd be suspiciously similar to what we've been doing," she huffed. "It's obvious you have no idea where they are."

"Not true, I got chased off by a White Fang guy near the bullhead docks just the other day."

"Then why aren't we at the bullhead docks?" She asked, piercingly.

"Are you crazy? There could be White Fang over there."

He dodged up a lightpost to avoid getting skewered by a particularly powerful thrust of Myrtenaster.

Sun hung upside down by his tail, holding his hands up, or down, in surrender. "Okay, if you want the real reason, it wasn't a White Fang guy, it was just a big faunus, and I get chased out of a lot of places, so it didn't seem relevant until now."

"Take me to the docks," she said through gritted teeth. "Now."

"Whatever you say, princess." He flipped off the lamp and landed on his feet, skipping along the street with new purpose. "But don't come crying to me when there aren't any Fang there."

"There will be," she said, darkly. "Atlas cargo ships don't deliver in Vale this late in the year since the air currents are unfavorable, they save on fuel by parking in Borea to the East, and moving any cargo that needs to go to the city by train. Anything left at the docks now are private ships that don't need extra security. So if you were chased out by a faunus, odds are good..."

"It's them," Sun nodded. "Huh, why does a Valean huntress in training know so much about Atlas shipping practices?"

Weiss' frown deepened. "I ask questions."

'I don't understand.' A younger Weiss blinked her eyes quickly, too quickly, to hold the tears in. 'She said she'd be here. She said Vale was safe.'

Winter went down on one knee, taking Weiss' hand in her own. 'Aunt Yuki never made it to Vale. Her bullhead landed in Borea, and the Fang got to her there.'

She clenched and unclenched her fists, shaking her head, tears coming down no matter how much she tried to stop them. 'Why didn't she go right to Vale? Why did she go somewhere they could get her? Why couldn't anyone stop them?'

'I don't know Weiss. I really don't.' Winter looked nervously around as Weiss squeezed her tight, bawling her eyes out. After making sure no one was looking, she hugged her back, carefully, like glass. 'If you ever find an answer, let me know.'

"Cool," Sun said, brightly. "What else do you know about?"

Dust mining.

Dust refining and transport.

White Fang recruiting, ideology, procedure.

Faunus history.

Weapons. Combat. Explosives.

Laws in Atlas, Vale, Vacuo, Shade.

Menagerie.

Terrorist psychology.

Architecture.

Robotics.

Aura and semblance mechanics.

Propaganda.

Cult tactics.

The faunus rights movement.

Guerrilla warfare.

Assassination methods.

Leadership.

Dogmatism.

Martyrdom.

Communication networks.

Supply lines.

Organizational structure.

Known members.

"Everything I need," she said, walking with purpose beside him. "To become a Two-Star huntress."

([___

Blake felt the silence pound in her eardrums as she walked, waiting, for Ren or Nora or anyone to say something. Call her names, say she was right, wrong, inhuman, anything.

They didn't. They just walked along, even Nora's usually bright smile buried under a furrowed brow.

"When we find Weiss," Ren said, after a while. "What are you going to say?"

"I... don't know," Blake admitted. "I'm not even sure what I could say."

"Are you sorry you were in the White Fang?" Nora asked, suddenly, and Blake gave a shaky sigh at the question.

"That's..." she scratched the back of her head, idly. "A harder question to answer than you might think."

"So you don't regret it," Nora said.

"I don't regret doing something to help faunus. I don't regret protesting, I don't regret joining, I don't regret all the friends I made." She shook her head. "There's even a part of me that doesn't regret the more extreme parts, the stealing, the destroying, hijacking, burning it all to the ground because we could. But hurting people, hurting Weiss? What do you think?"

Ren and Nora exchanged grim expressions.

"I think there isn't a chance Weiss saw what she did and thought you were a 'former' White Fang member," Ren said.

"Well, that's why we have to find her." Blake looked up to see a bullhead rising into the air, her eyes narrowing. "Does that look like an Atlas ship to you guys?"

"No markings," Ren reported. "But it does look like Atlas design."

Blake started running, Ren and Nora following a moment later.

"Where are we going?" Nora asked, looking at Blake from the corner of her eye as she ran.

"The bullhead docks." Blake grimaced. "I have a bad feeling."

Don't be there, please, Blake thought to herself.

Whether she was talking about Weiss, or the White Fang, not even she knew for sure.

___])

The mouse faunus dropped off the crate, landing on the street with a crack that echoed through the alleyway. As she walked forward, she drew a black cane from behind her, wielding it by the handle like a club, and tapping it on the ground to produce more echoing clicks.

Cardin's eyes went up to the other White Fang on the crate. He hadn't moved yet, didn't seem to have a weapon, but instead watched the scene with obvious amusement.

Guess that's the boss, Cardin mused. Didn't look like he was too keen on coming down right away, but the Fang dictated rank based on strength, so he couldn't get complacent.

First thing's first, though.

Cardin grabbed the unresponsive Ruby by the hood and threw her behind him, rolling her down the alley.

Now he could fight.

The mouse faunus charged forward, twisting her cane around his guard to slam against his ribs, withdrawing fast enough to avoid his counter swipe.

Didn't hit too hard, maybe a bruise, but she was fast enough. Annoying. Judging by him and Ruby seeing her in opposite directions, she could be a manipulator, too, so he'd have to be careful.

She darted forward again, but this time he managed to shift his hands higher on his mace, wielding it like a staff to block a handful of attacks before she drew back once more.

"Tch." He grimaced, calling up to the Fang boss. "You here to waste my whole night, or you actually want to get something done? Tell your pet to cut this in and out hit and run game, I'm dying of boredom over here."

Don't talk to the underling. Talk to the boss.

They were animals with animal hierarchies, like the Atlas military with worse costumes. Fish and birds of a feather and scale.

He could beat this one just fine as it was, but it would take forever, and if he was being targeted specifically he might not have that kind of time.

"Mr. Winchester, your entertainment is our chief priority," the boss assured him facetiously. "Hickory, show the gentleman a good time, will you?"

Hickory reached behind at a pouch on her belt and withdrew a handful of colored vials, showing them for a moment before throwing them on the ground between them, showering the area in fire and rubble, making Cardin raise an arm to cover his eyes for a moment.

They'd waste Dust just to gain cover? Cardin thought, disbelievingly. She didn't even try to throw it at him, just directly on the ground.

Cardin felt his back sting as something slashed across it, and swinging his mace behind he could see the mouse faunus with a sword drawn from her cane, smiling smugly beneath her eyeless mask.

He was just convinced she was going to bounce backward with the same hit and run tactics, when she dove forward again instead, landing a thrust against his guard that scratched up his chest.

Cardin shoved his mace back against her, but she jumped on top of it, flipping backward to kick him in the jaw, then moving low to slash his legs as she passed.

Great. The Hairbow style, back with a vengeance.

Swing his mace in front, get slashed in the back. Try to swing behind, get stabbed in the chest. Alright, then.

Cardin brought his mace to bear in front of him, crouching low and sweeping close to the ground, the faunus leaping up and over, sword angling down to catch him in the neck.

That's when she got hit by his bare backhand.

Landing ungracefully in the alley, she hurriedly disengaged to evaluate the damage, which wasn't much in the grand scheme of things, but probably stung like hell.

Cardin chuckled, flexing his hand as he walked toward her. "Gotta say, after touching your aura just now, I'm not impressed. I rate you about point-eight Nora's, and that's not good news for you in this fight."

"A bold bluff considering we already know you aren't versed in any aura techniques," the faunus sneered. "And how the one attack you've managed to land hasn't even dented mine."

Cardin raised an eyebrow, pausing. "What makes you think I can't use aura techniques?"

She froze, surprised.

"So that's it..." Cardin grinned. "Who knew Beacon'd have White Fang spies?"

The mouse faunus gritted her teeth, darting forward to slash past his guard, too quick for Cardin to block effectively. He could move to avoid some damage, make attacks to force her back, but she was too small to hit consistently and too fast to defend against.

Trying another feint was met with her twisting in the air to avoid his arm, landing with a painful stab to his kidneys.

Fantastic.

What was plan B?

([___

It was them. Fang crawling over the bullhead docks like flies in a wound, stacking crate upon crate of dust into bullhead ships, Weiss watched them all with quickly mounting disgust. Atlas ships, Pholus class with the markings scrubbed off, built for highly efficient cargo transport at short distances, originally troop supply, then sold to private businesses like the SDC. It didn't matter to her whether they stole these from the military or bought them from some underhanded auctioneer. They were there, they were numerous, and they were a problem.

"There's enough dust here to start a war," Sun breathed, the most serious she'd ever seen him.

"No," she disagreed. "There's enough dust here to finish one."

"We have to tell someone about this." Sun started to move away, but Weiss caught him by the shoulder.

"They've infiltrated Beacon, you think the police would be too difficult for them?" She hissed, harshly. "Besides, by the time we tell anyone and they mobilize, the Fang'll be long gone."

"Well, what do you think we should do?" Sun threw his hands up. "Cause if your plan is to take on the entirety of the White Fang with just the two of us, that's gonna turn into just the one of you, pretty quick."

"First off, this isn't the entirety of the White Fang, it's a cell, and a recently created one at that. Second off, of course that's not my plan, don't be simple," she scoffed. "Those bullheads work off binary dust injectors. If we can break the casing inside, then they're grounded. No transport means no dust getting shipped wherever they need it. After that, we can call whoever we want to clean up this mess."

"Okay, well I know my bullhead knowledge obviously isn't as advanced as yours, but wouldn't the casing inside the dust injectors also be inside the ships? You know, the ones actively being loaded up by Fang?"

"That's why we need a distraction," she hummed, hand on her chin. "How long do you think you could hold their attention?"

He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it, slightly. "I dunno. A few minutes, maybe. They kicked me out in the middle of the day when no one was wearing the masks, I'm pretty sure if they saw me now they'd just shoot me."

"A few minutes isn't enough time..." she sighed. "Do you know what a binary dust injector looks like?"

His eyes widened. "Hey, you're not thinking of-"

"I'm a Schnee." She smiled, grimly. "I am the single most distracting thing to them we could put up there. Now tell me: do you know what a binary dust injector looks like?"

"No," he admitted, scratching the back of his head. "But anything carrying dust has to be labeled with one of those sticker things on the inside, right? Safety feature, they wouldn't bother scratching those off."

"I think you're underestimating their willingness to be self destructive, but it'll have to be good enough." She made to stand. "Wish me luck."

Sun grabbed her arm, keeping her down. "You've known your team for months and you're convinced they're all secret faunus just waiting to stab you in the back. You've known me for a day and you're willing to risk your life trusting I'm not just going to run away. Does that not seem ridiculous to you?"

"Do you have any idea how much I'd rather my team be here?" She yanked her arm away from him. "Do you think I wouldn't try to convince even Blake how important this is? Every crate they're loading is an extra twenty mortar shells, an extra handful of bombs, an extra flight for an extra ship to derail a train or slaughter an outpost, and I see hundreds of crates. Sun, I would trust you with my life whether I'd known you a few hours or a few minutes because there are thousands of other lives at stake here."

Sun breathed out, slowly, steeling himself. "Break the casings. Ground the ships."

"And don't get caught, if possible. I don't need your death on my conscience."

"You really know how to pump a guy up, you know that?" He said, sarcastically.

She rolled her eyes. "Sorry, Beacon doesn't have a class on pep talks."

He looked at her askance. "Does it have a class on this?"

"As a matter of fact, it does." She drew Myrtenaster from its sheath, standing. "Professor Goodwitch teaches it."

Sun watched her walk right into the middle of the dock, every White Fang member freezing in place at the absurd confidence emanating off her tiny form, to willingly surround herself with so many that would see her dead or worse, that could accomplish that feat.

"Attention terrorists." The dust chamber on her sword rotated, clicking into place, and when she activated it flames coated her blade like oil. "You are all under arrest."

That got their attention.

No one attacked immediately, but the dissatisfied rumbling grew louder, and snarling growls filled the air.

"Weiss Schnee." A man in a grimm mask, white suit, and bowler hat, clapped his hands, slowly, as he walked forward, the other Fang parting to make way for him. "You truly are as bold as they say."

"What do they say about my blade?" She crouched into a fencer's stance, leveling her flaming rapier at the man.

"Less after this, I'm sure." He waved a hand, melting into the crowd of gathering White Fang thugs. "Go and do what I'm sure you all want to do."

The Fang descended on her like a wave, and Weiss was swallowed up by them.

___])

Blake's eyes widened in horror at the scene, Weiss arriving, delivering herself willingly to her death. Had Blake really pushed her so far? Did she think she had nothing to return to Beacon for, or was she just so firmly ingrained in her principles she wouldn't allow the White Fang to stand even at the cost of her own life?

It didn't matter.

The three of them, Ren, Nora, Blake, were crouched in an alleyway a short distance off, observing the scene and trying to figure out what to do next, when Weiss showed herself.

The two of them, Ren, and Nora, watched as Blake ran forward without a word or thought to bridge the gap between her and Weiss.

Shining white sigils covered the dock, Weiss zipping between them, stabbing anywhere her rapier could reach, and clubbing with the handle anywhere too close. It was crude, but the way she crunched the pommel against a deer faunus' nose, sending him falling to the ground like a wet sack of sand, Blake couldn't deny its effectiveness.

For a moment, as Blake ran closer, she almost believed Weiss could do it: she could arrest them all through sheer force of will, through skill honed like a razor's edge. But another faunus caught her by the skirt, she missed the glyph she was aiming for, and got dragged to the ground, where the faunus she couldn't slash at with her sword started kicking her in the legs, ribs, anywhere they could hit.

No more quiet.

Blake growled as loud as she could, sound with no words, something low pitched and deadly. Even with that, the meaning was clear. Several smaller faunus backed up in surprise, while a larger bullfrog faunus moved to stand in her way.

No more stealth.

She leapt to grab at his head, stumbling him backward before shifting off with a shadow clone infused with fire dust, exploding in his face just as Blake landed over Weiss.

Her hair ribbon fluttered to the floor, ears out and twitching in the wind. Her stance was similar, crouched low, covering, protective.

"Nobody touches her."

A few faunus hesitated at the action, either because of the ease she took down the bullfrog, or the absurdity of a faunus defending a Schnee, but the hesitation was ultimately temporary, and after only a handful of moments they started to surge forward again.

Be a leader.

"Nora." She shouted behind her. "Grenade."

The first few faunus to get close were blasted back courtesy of Nora's grenade launcher, any who got past that, Blake was able to weave between with Gambol Shroud, her blade biting into necks and legs with ruthless skill.

Aura protected their lives, but none of them could take a stab to the throat from a huntress and stay standing.

Weiss gritted her teeth, making her way back to her feet and twisting her rapier in her hands, glyphs coating the ground once again, slipping her forward like her whole body was a shining white lance, piercing into the crowd.

"Well now, isn't this trouble?" The man dressed like Torchwick said, twirling a cane in his hand from the onramp of a bullhead. "I'm afraid if Snowball and Alleycat don't stop distracting my workers, I'm gonna have to call in more..."

"You like music, Schnee?" The rat faunus from before walked out in front of him, mask firmly affixed, but voice recognizable enough. "How 'bout a song?"

The man laid his hand on the small of her back, and Blake could feel a shift in the air as her aura became thicker, stronger. "I think you should play for them, Piper," he suggested.

"I think that's a swell idea." She lifted a simple wooden flute to her lips, and began to play, the notes heavy with a semblance Blake couldn't recognize.

"Ren," she called to him. "Take out-"

Footsteps running in, far too numerous to be police, and as Blake turned to see them, eyes lit red with enchantment, she felt her stomach drop out from under her.

Children, human children from Vale charmed by a semblance, no training, no weapons.

No aura.

"The White Fang doesn't do this." She glared furiously at the man, the rat faunus, everyone else. "We take faunus who want to fight. We train them, unlock their aura, this?" She squeezed her grip on Gambol Shroud until it felt like the handle was sawing into her hand. "This is for monsters."

"Aren't you supposed to be a huntress?" The not-Torchwick cleaned his ear with a finger, lazily. "You should be used to fighting monsters by now."

The grenades from Nora stopped, too dangerous as the children mixed into the crowd. Weiss' semblance, as well, flickered off for more grounded precision.

"Why are you here?" She asked Blake, coldly, disarming a Fang's pipe wrench he was using as a crude club.

"Because I'm your teammate," Blake said, but shook her head, correcting herself. "Because I'm your friend."

"You're not my friend." Weiss bit out, slamming the tip of her sword into another faunus, launching him back. "You're White Fang."

"Yes, I was." Blake flipped an attacking faunus around, pressing her gun into his spine and firing along it. "In some ways I still am. But I'm your leader and your friend first. I hurt you, Weiss, I know I did, and I'm sorry."

'I hurt you, Blake, I know I did...'

Blake gritted her teeth. When did she start sounding so much like Adam?

"You're a liar, and a terrorist, and I can't trust a word you say." If Weiss had said it angrily, it would have been a comfort. It would have meant she felt something, that she had pain close to the surface that could be soothed, but to say it with as flat an affect as she did meant the opposite. In Weiss' mind, the words were a statement of fact, nothing more.

"Can you trust that I'm here?" One of the children leapt at her, and Blake gingerly threw her to the side, trying as hard as she could not to hurt her. "If you can't trust what I say, can you trust what I do?"

One of the faunus held out a shotgun toward Blake, firing, before the projectile was blocked by one of Weiss' glyphs. "You could be here for any reason. You could be a spy, or an assassin, a saboteur, I don't know. How could I know?"

That, she sounded angry about.

"I lied, I'm sorry. I left the White Fang when Adam started getting more violent, when he started targeting more innocent people, I quit. I came to Beacon to start a new life, how could I have told you what I was?" Blake grunted against a Fang pressing against her guard with a thick cleaver.

"You could have trusted me. You could have trusted I'd hear out your reasoning, but you didn't tell me because I'm in that list in your head of people who aren't 'innocent'." Weiss slid one of the children away on a path of glyphs. "What's an unacceptable target to you, Blake? Not so easy to take out bullheads and trains once the Schnee name is scratched off the ledger?"

Blake winced, slamming her sheath into the chin of the faunus on her, knocking him to the floor. "I didn't tell anyone. Ren and Nora only found out after I realized you already knew. And you're not an acceptable target, Weiss. You never were, and I'm sorry I ever thought otherwise."

"I'm sorry, too," Weiss said, dispassionately.

"Wh-" Blake felt Weiss shove her back, off the dock and into the water. As she fell, eyes widening in surprise, the chamber on her rapier spun, and with a final grim expression, Weiss exploded in a shower of white dust.

Blake hit the water, cold suffusing her to her very core.

Chapter Text

Cardin grunted in pain as another attack sliced against his arm, his whole body littered in scratches and bruises at that point, his aura working overtime to protect and heal him at the same time.

He needed a new plan.

"Getting tired already, Cardin?" The man on the crate chuckled, lowly. "And here I thought you'd be better in a real fight."

"You think this is a real fight?" Cardin set his mace down, crunching the top into the pavement so the handle pointed straight up, and cracked his knuckles. "I'm still messing around."

The mouse faunus came in again, ducking under his guard to scratch against his ribs. He definitely wasn't faster than her.

His fist slammed into her shoulder, a counter punch using her own forward momentum to add to the damage, pushing her back.

But he didn't need to be faster to trade hits.

Sure, he'd get more damaged, but he had a solid amount of aura at his disposal, he could take it. She was like Blake in that way, built to dodge, not to tank. He didn't need any fancy aura techniques to know that, just a good sense of aura sizes when his touched hers.

It may have been a bluff, but his point-eight Nora estimate wasn't far off.

The mouse faunus gritted her teeth, pushing forward again and getting a punch in the stomach for her trouble, then one to her arm, and while the one to her head missed, he still managed to shove her head to the side after she tilted to dodge the punch, making her stumble.

A good solid hit from his mace might take her down completely, but for better and for worse, Executioner was heavy enough his swings couldn't connect. This was slower, but doable.

He landed a blow against her ribs, but had to back up a step in surprise at her counter. He saw her hit his shoulder, felt it, but at the same moment, it felt like she hit his leg, too. Did he imagine it or was that part of her semblance?

She hit his ribs and his kidney, his back and his knee, his side and his stomach, and suddenly Cardin's counter plan felt not quite as viable. When she hit him in his neck, chest, and shin all at once, he definitely knew it wasn't.

"Is this you fighting seriously yet?" The man on the crate taunted. "Maybe you need some extra motivation. Dock, kill Little Red."

Cardin's confusion at the man calling the faunus a different name was overshadowed by her suddenly darting to the side, trying to get past him.

"Oh no you don't." Cardin bodily checked her into the wall, clamping his hand around her face, and finally able to rear back and deliver a full power blow to her midsection.

Except, when his hand moved to do that, two more emerged from her stomach, catching his fist, with another two erupting from her sides, duplicate caneswords stabbing him in the chest.

"What?" Cardin managed before another masked face slithered out of her, and another, two duplicates standing beside her, all the same down to their weapons. The third, still in his grip, stabbed at a nerve in his arm, painfully forcing him back.

She wasn't a manipulator; Ruby and he hadn't seen illusions of duplicates, they'd seen the duplicates themselves. "You're a conjurer," he spat.

All three grinned, maliciously.

One of them ran toward Ruby again, and just as Cardin caught her, two swords were planted in his back from the clones. He'd throw the one in his hands further down the alley, and one of the others would try to get past him. Stop her, leave himself open to get stabbed, again. Each of them grinding against his aura, wearing it down bit by bit.

Cardin laughed, wiping blood from his cheek and spitting to the side, turning so his presence covered the alley, a wall of aura and muscle. "You think that's all it takes to bring me down?"

Agitate, he felt his aura shift under his concentration, stretching, roiling, until it no longer passively covered his skin, but rumbled around him, just like Ren taught him. He couldn't hold it for five minutes, not nearly as long as Ren needed before he taught him actual techniques, but he could hold it for one. That was enough to check something, at least, maybe enough to bluff.

One of the faunus turned to the man on the crate, angrily. "You said he didn't know any aura techniques."

"Huh," the man answered, genuine surprise piercing the amusement he had before. "Guess an old dog can learn new tricks."

The three dashed forward again, one stabbing into the air, and the other two easily grabbed and thrown into the alley walls to the side, confirming Cardin's suspicions.

"Thought so." His gaze narrowed. "Should have figured from the eyeless masks, but it was my first feint that really sealed the deal. You're blind, aren't you?"

The three mouse faunus made it back to their feet, nearly identical grimaces on their faces.

"You haven't been aiming at me; you've been aiming at my aura. And if I spread it around like this, you don't know what to hit." He smirked, victoriously. "I knew there wasn't a chance someone with your aura reserves could conjure two moving, fighting, duplicates without some downside to it." He lifted his mace from the ground, hefting it over his shoulder. "Which means your doubles are just as blind as you are, mousey."

One of the faunus' ears twitched, and that one stood up straighter than the others, smiling. "Isn't it always so cute when humans think they're right?"

"Too cute," the one to her left agreed.

"Adorable," the last added.

The middle mouse faunus rushed forward, the man in the crate calling out, "to your left, Dickory," letting her duck under his mace swing and slap him firmly on the back, not with a sword, but with her bare hand, the action causing a ripple to his aura, but no real damage.

"Well that seemed usel-" as Cardin shifted, he could hear a bell ring, and moving again a few times, it felt like every joint on him had the same effect, like his whole body was covered in high-pitched ringing bells, going off every time he moved.

A semblance? But that was impossible, her semblance was creating those clones, he'd seen it.

The three slashed at him, perfect accuracy once again thanks to the noisy semblance.

Cardin took a knee, leaning heavily against his mace, breath ragged. "That's... impossible..." he managed after a moment, the three faunus smugly standing just out of reach. "No one... has two completely different... semblances."

"Who ever said you were fighting one person?" One of them jeered. "Or can't you humans tell us apart?"

The man on the crate spread his arms wide, grinning gleefully. "Allow me to introduce to you Hickory, Dickory, and Dock, blind mice triplets of the White Fang, and specially chosen just for you, Cardin Winchester."

Triplets. Three opponents. Three semblances.

"I'm touched that you'd go to the effort." Cardin rose up again, his mace lifted in front of him. "But a semblance that hides people and a semblance that clips an airhorn to my back ain't impressing me."

"Then maybe you'd like to meet the actual conjurer of the family," Hickory said, walking forward and tossing her sword to a sister before drawing long thorny whips out of her palms.

Cardin wiped blood from his brow, looking down at it in his hand, thoughtfully. "Sorry, but just not feeling it, mousey." He closed his fist, the blood squelching through his fingers. "You wear the mask, you talk the talk, but you're not a monster." He smirked up at her, at all three, at the man on the crate. "You're not worth my time."

The man on the crate sat down, legs dangling over the edge, with his hand to his cheek. "You know, you're right, Cardin; you're the monster, here."

"There's only one monster in this alley." Executioner swung in front of him, dust crystal charging with new heat. "If you haven't figured that out yet, your Beacon spies suck."

Far behind him, Ruby's fingers twitched.

"I'm done talking," the man sneered. "Kill him."

"If it was that easy to kill me," Cardin yelled, barreling forward, "everyone would do it."

([___

Weiss thought Ren was a marvel. There wasn't a chance he had any formal education, no support, no expensive tutors, everything he knew, he knew by working himself to the bone, catching every errant scrap of information and bending it to his skillset. Weiss had every opportunity in the world to improve, and Ren could still beat her in a fight. Not every time, but enough to find incredible. Easily enough to make her father furious.

Weiss had a handful of aura techniques, minor directed protections here and there, and while she knew the basics of a skill like aura reading, it was a major overstatement to say she had a firm grasp on it in practice. At the same time, Ren almost never turned his off. The sheer mental fortitude that must have required was almost sickeningly impressive. Weiss knew she couldn't manage it.

Desperation, however, was her ally in this case.

"I'm sorry, too," Weiss mumbled to Blake, and shoved her off the dock, away from the incredibly stupid decision she was about to make.

At that moment, Weiss had no time to decide how she felt about Blake, no space to analyze actions, words, none of it. The only consideration was that Blake had aura, and that was going to be a strict negative in a moment.

Aura was energy and life, meant to live inside the body; by unlocking it with a mantra, it could flow outside, resting languidly against the skin. Agitate aura and it became angry and unstable, but movable, provided you knew what you were doing. You could use this to move more aura to brace legs for landing or around a handle for extra protection, and if you were truly, exceptionally, careful, to some part of the body much more complex and delicate.

Weiss shifted as much aura as she could manage into her eyes in the time it took Blake to hit the water.

Her vision exploded with color, drowning out regular sight, pure instinct the only thing allowing her to duck under a Fang's wild swing. Every mass of shifting color was a White Fang member, which meant every dark spot must be a child. Hit every Fang member at once, protect every child.

Weiss breathed deep, the chamber on Myrtenaster rotating into ice dust. She summoned her glyphs, and cranked the cylinder to the maximum, not bothering to protect the casing with the grim suspicion another movement of aura would make her black out.

The dust chamber exploded, covering the end of the dock in painful, arresting, ice.

___])

Ren watched the wall of ice erupt from Weiss as Nora fished Blake from the water. It took a moment for the dust to clear, to get a good view of the dozens of glyphs blocking the attack from the children, of the even more White Fang buried up to their chests in it. Ren had watched Weiss in training from the first day he'd set foot on Beacon; she'd never stretched her semblance that far before.

The glyphs flickered and failed, Weiss swaying on her feet, with a half destroyed Myrtenaster hanging in her grip. She stopped more Fang than he thought possible, but it wasn't enough. It didn't look like she could move her arms at that moment, much less defend herself. She needed help.

Ren had to trust Nora and Blake to provide it.

"Piper, was it?" He asked, silently moving behind her.

She turned, surprised, just in time for him to slam Stormflower's blades into her shoulders, buckling her where she stood.

As soon as she stopped playing, the enchanted children stirred, free from the spell, and Ren fired a series of rounds down the flute, smashing it to pieces to ensure she couldn't resume her performance.

This, was his job.

Granted, 'Ren, take out-' was hardly a full instruction, but he believed he got the gist of Blake's command.

"Hi, Ren."

He felt a slam against his temple as Torchwick hit him with a modified cane, knocking him back.

"Listen, I'm spread a little thin at the moment, so I don't appreciate the distraction." Another heavy whack against his jaw, pushing him down the dock. "Now be a good little hunstman and. Fall. Asleep."

Ren caught the next swing, bending past it to deliver an aura pulse to Torchwick's chest, knocking him back.

Immediately, Ren felt something off when his strike connected, and his brow furrowed in confusion. "You're..."

"Spread thin, as I've said." He twirled his cane around his finger, grinning. "Looks like y-"

Ren's body uncoiled, stretching right up against Torchwick, Stormflower clicking into his hands from his sleeves to press under the man's chin, and before his last words were finished being said, Ren fired.

The man fell, a body made of aura and stone. A statue. A semblance.

The huntsman's mouth curled downward. 'Spread thin', indeed. He was never there at all.

But, if he wasn't there... where was he?

([___

The man in Torchwick's clothing laughed at Cardin's persistent attempts, at his aura being chipped away, blood drained out of him from a thousand razor cuts, it was perfect. He'd been skeptical at first, but the triplets had really outdone themselves.

He winced as another statue disconnected.

It was a shame the other drones weren't nearly as reliable. Ren had figured him out with a touch, and the ones he sent after Pyrrha and Yang were... clearly not sufficient.

Still, Cardin was dying. Nothing could ruin this.

The sound of someone retching filled the alley, and he wrinkled his nose in disgust, his eyes moving further up to Little Red emptying her stomach on the ground. He knew she was pathetic, freezing at the first sign of danger, but the least she could do was be quiet when other people were working.

"Dickory," he instructed. "The girl."

She nodded, crouching low to dive under Cardin's arm, Hickory catching him with her whips, preventing him from stopping her again.

"Bad luck, Red." Dickory held her sword above her head, grinning. "Wrong place. Wrong time." She swung it down.

Then Dickory vanished.

He blinked, checking again to make sure she hadn't just ducked behind a trashcan or some such thing, but when he shifted, the large shipping crate he was sitting on gave a groan, and he looked down to see Dickory embedded in the side like she'd been crushed into it by a train.

She peeled off it, aura shattering when she hit the ground, unconscious.

"What the h-" he muttered before Cardin's laugh interrupted.

"Welcome back, Matchstick," he called over to her. "How you feel?"

She wiped her mouth with a sleeve, grimacing down at the pile of sick. "Really, really, bad, Cardin. Thanks for asking."

"What did you do to her?" Dock demanded, sword poised in front of her and-

Red was behind her.

She had a scythe in her grip, though he'd never seen her draw it, a mechanical albatross that must have been as heavy as she was, held in one hand curving around Dock's body. She vanished again, and Dock collapsed against a dumpster on the other side of the alley.

Hickory's blind eyes were wide with fear, her whips shaking as she lacked the concentration to hold her aura together, before finally going out completely, unarmed against the red cloaked huntress.

Against a creature like that...

Hickory crunched against the crate and fell, her scream dying in her throat. He hadn't even seen her that time.

'There's only one monster in this alley.'

Oh. He realized the meaning in Cardin's words, just as he felt the scythe's blade around his neck. When did she get all the way up there? When did she get behind him? Why pretend to be afraid all this time?

The answer was the same to all.

She was a monster.

His stone head fell on the crate, perfect victory upended in a pathetic handful of moments.

Cardin had called her 'Ruby'.

He'd remember that.

___])

Blake was soaking wet, cold, tired. Her aura had been abused by too many Fang that had gotten lucky hits in, and an overuse of her semblance against the many foes.

Still, she ran back for Weiss, sliding down ice to scoop her up and lift her past the remaining unfrozen Fang, while Nora stepped in to prevent any of the Fang from attacking as they passed. "You idiot," she chastised, roughly. Weiss' hand was broken, none of her usual protection when the dust chamber of her sword blew. It had to be painful, but it looked like she was in too much shock to feel it at that moment, barely present except to groan.

"Came back for me," she muttered as Blake carried her away. "Why?"

"Weiss, I'm going to kick you in the shins if you make me explain to you what the concept of a 'friend' is," Blake said, tiredly.

Sirens sounded, coming closer and instantly setting the White Fang on edge.

"Head for the bullheads," one of the Fang shouted, and the ones not knocked unconscious or frozen to the dock rushed to comply, Weiss making an amused humming sound at that, which Blake couldn't guess at, given the circumstances.

"Nora, we have to ground those bullheads," Blake directed. "If we can cripple a wing, we can-"

"No need."

Blake startled at the sudden arrival of another faunus, backing up a step, to half cover Weiss. "Who are you?"

"Sun Wukong, I'm a friend of Weiss'," he said, which Weiss gave a weak wave at with her good hand.

"Weiss Schnee is friends with a faunus?" Blake said, skeptically.

"Well, two, seems like." He gestured up at her ears, still uncovered by her discarded bow. "But yeah, it's a recent thing. She went out to distract the Fang while I sabotaged the bullheads. I figured it'd be bad, but..." he grimaced at the damage that had been done to Weiss, that she'd inflicted on herself. Crumpled aura, broken bones, broken weapon, bits of ice sticking to pale flesh around her arms, legs, and stomach, burning there like frozen embers, and eyes that were unfocused and drawn, like she could barely see out of them at all. "I didn't think it'd be this bad," he finished.

"She really doesn't do anything halfway," Blake sighed, watching as police cruisers began pulling up to the docks, gathering up the Fang fleeing from the disabled bullheads, Ren moving beside her.

"Torchwick wasn't there," he reported. "When I touched him, his body felt off, I attacked and he turned to aura infused stone in front of me. I think someone used a semblance to copy him there."

Blake's eyebrows shot up. "You said stone? Like a statue?"

"Yeah, do you know the Fang who did it?" Ren asked.

Blake sighed, scratching the side of her head. "There's a faunus with a semblance like that, but he's not Fang. Me and my team tried to recruit him a bunch of times and he wasn't interested."

"I guess the new guard's a little more persuasive," Ren noted.

"Their recruiting in general has gone up." Blake's frown deepened. "There were far more Fang here today than usual, and most of them were not nearly trained enough."

"It also doesn't make any sense to be working with a human criminal like Roman Torchwick," Ren noted.

"That wasn't Torchwick."

Everyone startled, slightly, at Ruby's sudden presence beside them, breath a little shaky, and body pale, but otherwise alright. "If it was the same person mine was, at least."

"You fought another statue?" Ren asked.

"With Cardin, yeah." She jerked her head behind where Cardin was leisurely strolling up, appearing completely unbothered by the numerous wounds he'd sustained and limping leg, given the amusement radiating off him.

"You want to call that a fight?" He huffed. "You've got a lot to learn, Matchstick."

"What happened to Weiss?" She gasped, when she saw her hanging limply in Blake's arms.

"Ask me that again when I'm less angry at her." Blake shifted her gently over. "Anyone heard from Yang and Pyrrha?"

"Hey-o," Yang greeted, brightly, walking up with Pyrrha in tow at the mention of her name like a devil being summoned. "Souvenir." She tossed a stone head to Nora, who caught it, seeing the grimm mask carved into it.

"You fought one, too?" Nora asked.

"Yeah, no biggie." Yang waved a hand, and Blake caught Ren's eyes narrowing slightly to her side. "He was with a couple of raccoon faunus, didn't stand a chance."

"Pyrrha?" Ren asked, and she looked up, suddenly. "You alright?"

"Yes, fine." She said, smiling without it quite reaching her eyes. "Nothing to report."

Blake opened her mouth to press further, but they were interrupted by one of the officers on the scene, identifying them as Beacon students and starting to ask questions about what happened. Once he got the barest statements necessary, he had everyone load up to be taken to the hospital, Cardin and Weiss in particular given some emergency treatment on the way.

Pyrrha and Yang looked untouched after their fight, which even if they faced fewer faunus than she had, was nevertheless a little demoralizing. She already knew they were capable fighters, but every time something happened it felt like the gap between them was widening.

And Weiss...

There was a time not long ago she couldn't even protect herself reliably with her glyphs, much less the amount she did that night. Using an entirely unpracticed aura technique on top of that, taking that much dust and remaining standing, she was evolving, too.

The first semester at Beacon was nearly over, and Blake's biggest hurdle wasn't any kind of physical training at all, it was in trying to learn how to manage her team. There was some part of her that wished she could feel bitterness at that, the lost opportunity to get stronger alone, but what she found there instead was a deep-set fear that her team would fall apart.

None of them, Nora, Ren, or Weiss, were the strongest Beacon had to offer, but she couldn't give any of them up for someone else even if she ever got the chance. She needed Ren's calm analysis, Nora's positivity, even Weiss' absolute, rigid, passion; she couldn't reject any of them.

But Weiss could reject her, Nora could, Ren could. So Blake had to grit her teeth and hope, right down to her bare aura, that they wouldn't.

Blake felt something brush against her hand in the ambulance, and she looked down to see Weiss' hand there, palm side up like she was offering it.

Slowly, Blake took it in her own, squeezing it comfortingly.

Weiss was mouthing something to her, barely visible through the breathing mask she wore, but Blake leaned closer, her eyes sweeping over lips struggling to form exaggerated silent words.

'Don't...'

'Lie..'

'Again...'

Blake squeezed the hand tighter, tears pricking at the edges of her ears.

"I won't," she whispered. "I promise."

Weiss smiled, eyes sliding closed. Just once, Blake felt the hand squeeze back.

Blake was still furious Weiss would do that to herself. To stop Fang, to save people, even then they could have worked out something else, but... she supposed she could save that earful for her until after she recovered.

It looked like her team was going to stay together a little longer, after all.

Chapter Text

Technically, it wasn't supposed to be until a few weeks later that the Haven students were planned to travel to Beacon for the Vytal Festival, but Sun had jumped the gun on it for a few reasons.

The first and most obvious reason was that any opportunity to cut the last of his classes and take a trip to a different kingdom was an automatic yes in his mind. Add in the fact this was going to be the first Vytal Tournament he could actually participate in, and it was going to be in Vale instead of stuffy Atlas or creepy Vacuo, and Sun was stowing away on a boat heading that way before he'd even finished telling Neptune and the gang he was going.

The second reason was that usually most of the students coming from the other academies showed up and got their dorm situation sorted out while the students for whichever academy it was that year were away on break, so it gave them a chance to explore around campus and the city the academy was in proper without being swamped by a million regular students from the hosting school. Personally, that was a strict negative for Sun; he wanted to see all the Beacon students before anyone else, get the scoop on who was who on campus. Was Pyrrha the strongest student? People said yes. Was the school nurse a psycho? Also confirmed. Was Yang the funniest Beaconite around? Accounts on that varied. The important thing was that it was an entirely new social scene and Sun was swimming in it.

The third reason was smaller, but no less important. That being, on the chance he was caught and arrested for some of his... mischiefs, he'd have ample time to get bailed out before the Tournament.

He'd thought he'd gotten out from under that last by then, but...

"You."

Apparently not.

"Oh so you're Yang," Sun pointed at her from his elevated position being held against a wall by his jacket lapel. "Yeah, lot of things clicking together now."

"You're the monkey faunus that stowed away on that ship and got my hair dirty," she growled. "Cardin, back me up on this."

Cardin didn't look up from his scroll on the other side of the dorm common room, idly tabbing through something. "Yeah, my ability to care about a random faunus that did something to you expires about forty seconds after he leaves my field of vision." He waved, vaguely, in her direction. "Past the statute, nothing I can do."

Yang sighed, Sun sagging slightly in her grip. "Don't know why I bothered. Thanks, Cardin."

"Can you let Wukong down, Yang?" Weiss said, walking in stiffly with Nora's assistance, thick bandages over her eyes. "Regrettably, I believe he's paid back his debt to society already."

"What do you mean 'regrettably'?" Wukong challenged, grinning. "Hey, you should be fighting for my honor here, Princess, you really gonna let her treat me this way?"

Weiss snorted. "I changed my mind. Yang, keep hanging him by his legs or whatever you're doing."

Sun's playful exclamation of 'hey' was put in the background under Nora's instructions. "Big step here, couch right next to you now, to your left."

"Thank you, Nora." Weiss carefully lowered herself onto the piece of furniture. "Now I'm going to choose not to move from here for at least another few hours."

"Still rough walking without seeing where you're going?" Blake asked, Gambol Shroud disassembled on the table in front of her for cleaning.

"She only hit her shins on three things on the way here, this time," Nora announced, cheerfully.

"Yay." Weiss' cheer was much more sarcastic in nature.

"Hey, your eyes are gonna be alright, right? Like, it's not a permanent thing, is it?" Sun asked, his upbeat tone flickering with the question.

Weiss smiled. "Yes, thankfully the doctor told me I should have full vision returned in a week or two, well before the Tournament begins, but until then I have to 'rest' them like this as a precautionary measure."

"That's what you get for using a technique like aura reading without taking it slow first," Ren said disapprovingly, walking in with a plate of pancakes from the adjoining kitchenette and setting them in front of Nora. "You will be learning how to do it properly so that this never happens again."

"Thank you, Ren." Weiss bowed her head to him, slightly. "I'll try to learn it well."

"Teach strikes again, who won't be learning from you by the end of the year?" Cardin commented, making Ren duck back into the kitchen, a little embarrassed.

"Not exactly what I was expecting to be doing when we came into Beacon," Ren called from in there. "Anyone for pancakes?"

"I'll take some," Sun answered, still pressed to the wall.

"Me too," Yang said with him.

"Mmf phoo," Nora added, mouth stuffed full of all the previous pancakes given to her.

"Are we having pancakes?" Ruby's team had gotten progressively more skilled at accepting her ability to appear in the middle of a room or situation without making a sound. Weiss' team at least were able to mostly suppress a flinch by then. Sun still reacted every time. How did she do that? It was freaky.

"I hear four pancakes, is that right?" Ren asked, and after receiving a positive, went to mix more batter.

"Yang, let Sun down. He isn't even doing anything," Ruby said after she noticed what her sister was engaged in.

Yang did so, sliding him down to the floor, pouting. "None of you care about justice, I hope you know that."

Blake began refitting her weapon back together. "That's why we all joined a huntress academy: because we hate justice, Yang. I'm glad you could figure it out."

Yang pointed a finger in her direction, giving an exaggerated gasp. "Holy cow, Blake is a faunus."

Blake rolled her eyes, uncovered cat ears twitching. "You know, contrary to what you might believe, Yang, that doesn't actually get funnier every time you do it."

"It's a slow burn, Blakey, it'll get you one of these times," Yang waved a hand, slumping down into one of the couches.

The Beacon dorm common areas were separated out four on each floor, one per corner of the dorms. With finals rapidly approaching and most students occupied studying or in one of the multiple other common areas available, the two teams and Sun had managed to more or less claim that one for themselves. Though the smell of Ren cooking brought with it more than a few curious eyes, none of those stayed long and both teams found themselves unconsciously congregating around there throughout the day.

Cardin had chosen his chair first and privately suspected everyone else had started gathering there specifically to bug him.

"So what's everyone doing for break?" Ruby asked, jumping over the back of a sofa to crouch on it, knees tucked under her chin.

"Staying here gang," Nora announced, pumping her fists up in the air. "Who's with me?"

"I will also be remaining," Weiss said, primly. "Though I'm not sure how entertaining it will be if I can't use my eyes."

"Cardin?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, unlike you people, I actually have a life outside of school, so I'm out as soon as finals are over." He kept on whatever he was doing on his scroll, not even bothering to look up.

"To do what?" Yang needled, grinning.

He huffed. "To visit my secret faunus wife, what's it to you?"

Yang's eyes lit up. "I knew you heard that."

He grunted, idly. "Amazing what ears can do when you don't ruin them listening to trash music."

"I feel like there's a dig on me incoming," Blake said, cat ears twitching again.

"If your reaction to someone calling out bad music taste is, 'this must be about me,' I'm pretty sure you've already made the dig for me." Cardin clicked his scroll off, standing up and starting to walk out. "Heading to the gym, don't bother me."

"Well I know you don't care, Cardin," Yang ignored his immediate 'I don't' comment, turning to address everyone else in the room. "But Ruby and I are heading back to Patch to see our dad before he completely loses his mind."

"Last thing he told us was he was redoing the front porch, so I'm pretty sure we'll have to come in through the chimney to actually get into the house," Ruby added.

"Isn't your dad a huntsman?" Weiss asked. "Does that not keep him busy enough?"

Yang waved a hand. "Retired huntsman. He works at Signal now, local combat school, but that doesn't take nearly enough of his time."

"He had too much free time when he was doing that and taking care of us," Ruby pointed out. "Now it's just Zwei back home, and he's pretty self sufficient, too."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Zwei?"

Yang gasped. "You haven't seen pictures of Zwei? I thought I showed everyone pictures of Zwei."

"Not much use showing me pictures now, is there?" Weiss said, flatly. "What even is Zwei?"

"That's our dog." Ruby spun in her seat, kicking her legs over the back and lying with her head off the edge. "He's adorable."

"A dog..." Weiss and Blake made nearly identical expressions at that. "How nice."

"What are you doing on break, Blakey?" Yang asked, apparently deciding not to pursue that reaction.

"There's an old friend of mine I have to track down." Blake slotted the last piece of her gun together with a click. "But I should be back before break's over."

"What kind of old friend?" Yang said it casually, but the meaning behind the question was clear to everyone.

"Old friend and former colleague," Blake confirmed, her voice dropping quieter in the technically public space. "There are too many questions with the Fang now. Their recruitment, working with humans, moving all this dust. If anyone knows what's going on there, he will. I've heard he's set up a bookstore somewhere in Vale; if I can find where, I can find him."

"Need any backup?" Yang asked, cracking her knuckles.

She waved a hand. "Thanks, but I should be alright. Even if he is still part of the Fang, I think I can get him to talk to me."

"Still, given how our last fun adventure with the Fang turned out, I don't feel great about it." Yang scratched the back of her head, sighing. "But I guess if you're set on it, not a lot we can do."

"I'll be alright, Yang. Really," Blake assured her, looking around as Ren began laying plates of pancakes near those who requested it. "Hey, where's Pyrrha?"

"And what's wrong with Pyrrha?" Ruby asked, flipping over again for better access to pancakes. "She's been acting weird ever since the other night."

Yang's lips twitched into a frown. "Heck of a thing for you to say, Rubes, don't you think?"

Ruby laughed, awkwardly, looking away. "Sorry. Seeing Torchwick again was... I mean, I know it was an imposter, but..."

"You can talk to me about it, if you want," Yang offered. "You still haven't really talked about-"

"Welp, gotta check in with the nurse before dinner." Ruby stood up, suddenly, stuffing pancakes in her face with disgusting fervor.

"Ruby-" Yang started, but she vanished in a cloud of rose petals before she could finish whatever thought or plea she had. "Or just leave. That works, too."

No one said anything for a few minutes, the slight sizzling of pancakes on the stove filtering in from the kitchenette the only sound.

Weiss was the one that broke the silence. "Torchwick was involved in her accident, wasn't he? That's how she knew he was an imposter; she'd met him already."

"Yeah..." Yang rubbed at the back of her neck, sighing. "You could say he was involved."

"She'll talk about it." Sun nudged her in the side, sitting down next to her on the couch. "When she's ready, she will."

"Thanks, Sun." Yang smiled, wrapping an arm around him, then squeezing a little threateningly. "I still haven't forgiven you, though."

Sun curled his tail out and used it to slowly slide his plate of pancakes her way.

"Alright, I'm warming up to you."

([___

Ruby stumbled, choking, before finally spitting out a chunk of pancake into a nearby trashcan, leaning heavily against it, shaking.

"Okay, note to self," she muttered to herself. "No semblance with a blocked airway. Got it."

"Are you alright?" Pyrrha came behind her, rubbing comfortingly at her back.

"Yep," Ruby said, coughing into her hand for a second. "Just learning new things every day."

"Aren't we all?" Pyrrha said, quietly.

"I guess the better question is, are you alright?" Ruby turned around, concerned. "You've been really quiet after the Fang. Not even Yang's talked about your fight that much, so... what happened, really?"

Pyrrha hesitated, backing up a step, and as she struggled to find words to fit her thoughts, Ruby just stood in the Beacon hallway and waited patiently for her to speak. It took a few minutes, but finally, she did. "Do you believe in destiny?"

"I... don't know," Ruby admitted. "I guess I never thought about it."

"I think there's something in everything you can do, everything that happens to you, that builds to something else. It's like a purpose, something you're meant to do, somehow, and whenever I find something that only I could have done, I feel a step closer to it. That's what I call destiny." Pyrrha hugged her arms to herself, looking away. "Sometimes, though, there are times I come across something that seems so obviously like it's calling to me, like it feeds into my destiny, but I don't know how. I thought I was supposed to be a huntress, a hero, but... I don't know how this fits in with that... maybe my destiny's something else entirely."

Ruby's eyebrows furrowed, confused. "Something like what?"

She hesitated again, obviously hedging around whatever filled her thoughts. "How special do you think humans are?"

"Like, compared to faunus?" Ruby asked.

She waved a hand. "No, like people. Humans and faunus, everyone."

"Compared to what?"

"If there was a... grimm, that walked and talked like a person. If you could hold a conversation with it, ask about its likes and dislikes, would you think that was a trap? Some skill it had to lure in prey, or try and infiltrate people somehow, to hurt them, or would you think maybe, just maybe, it could really understand you? Have feelings, life, in a way that you didn't think possible before?" Pyrrha looked at her, expectantly, eyes pleading for something Ruby didn't know.

"I mean..." Ruby scratched the back of her head, uncomfortably. "Are we sure it's even a grimm?"

"Let's say you have a semblance that can feel grimm; you use it on her and find out there isn't any part of her that isn't... grimm."

'Her'?

"I'd be a bit suspicious, for sure," Ruby admitted, carefully. "But also, what if it's true?"

"You really think it could be?" Pyrrha said, skeptically.

"Well, yeah. Remnant is a big place, and even after fighting grimm for so long, we don't nearly know as much about them as a lot of people want to." She shrugged. "I don't think that grimm could be like that, but I don't know for sure they couldn't either, and more than that, if it is true, that person-grimm doesn't deserve to get smacked down just because other grimm are monsters, right? It didn't ask to be a grimm, if you think it's possible it's actually alive like that, why not give it a chance to prove it?"

"It could be a spy," Pyrrha said, quietly. "Could be a trick."

"Sure, but so could anyone, right?" Ruby gestured back toward the common room, where BRWN still was with Yang. "Weiss ran away because she thought Blake could be, and she was worried any of us could be the same. That's always gonna be there, but... we've gotta trust people a bit anyway, cause otherwise how are we ever gonna make friends?" Ruby thought of Neo, of Weiss, Pyrrha, all of them scary in their own ways, but all of them still some of the best friends she'd ever had. "People are weird, and complicated, and a lot of them are jerks, so maybe the grimm-person is, too, but how are you gonna know before you try?"

"I..." Pyrrha closed her eyes, breathing out slowly for a handful of seconds before opening them again. "Thank you, Ruby. You are... unexpectedly wise."

Ruby chuckled, feeling her ears burn a little. "Nah, I'm just on the side of being friendly."

"Even so, I think I needed to hear that," she said.

"So, am I ever gonna meet this grimm person, or whoever it is that makes you wonder about it?" Ruby asked.

Pyrrha smiled, mysteriously. "Maybe," she hummed, walking away with her hands behind her back. "Who knows? Maybe you've met already."

Ruby furrowed her eyebrows again. "Who?" Pyrrha laughed, still walking. "No, seriously, who?"

Still, she didn't answer.

___])

Ciel was mad at Penny again, which wasn't necessarily a surprising outcome given what she did, but still made Penny guilty every time it happened. On top of everything else, though, her first testing period in Vale had expired, so she was going to ship her back to Atlas on a bullhead no matter what she did, and having Ciel angry was an acceptable price for seeing her friends again.

Her friends...

Nora was still out there somewhere, but Pyrrha had given her that look, and even though she didn't have much experience with friends, she was pretty sure that look meant it was over. It was the same look Ciel gave her, that Ironwood gave her, that anyone who knew what she was always did. Penny wasn't sure how she knew, it felt like her aura had rippled with a semblance, but she didn't have enough instances to properly analyze it.

She'd thought she was combat ready, and in a way she was, the White Fang didn't stand a chance against her, but... if she had to do it over again, maybe it would have been better to stand there and let Pyrrha and Yang deal with it.

"Is it fun?" Ciel asked.

Penny tilted her head, confused. "Is what fun?"

Ciel looked up at her, frowning from across the bullhead's seating. "Running away from me, is that fun for you?"

Penny felt another little stab of guilt at that. "I wanted to see my friends." She tapped the tips of her fingers together, looking down. "Don't you wish you could see yours?"

"The difference being I know I can't," Ciel sighed. "And you should know the same. You're not allowed to do whatever you want, that isn't even because you're Atlas property, no one can just do whatever they want. We have laws, duties, consequences for anything you do. If you want to try and live above that, eventually it'll all catch up to you."

Consequences...

That face Pyrrha made, confusion, fear, suspicion, she never would have made it if Penny had just stayed in the hotel room.

But... "I can't stay locked up forever." Penny threaded her fingers together, eyes resolute. "There's a difference between doing whatever I want and being able to go outside, talk to people, make friends. I know there is."

Ciel shook her head. "Not for you, there isn't. Maybe in a few years once the techs have all the kinks worked out you can do that, but right now you're stuck here. That sucks, I get that, but every time you go off doing something like that, it doesn't just hurt me, and what the higher ups think of my ability to keep you under control, it also hurts you in the future, cause who knows what they'll think if you keep going rogue?"

Penny sucked in air, an imitation of a breath, just like everything else. Camera lenses for imitation eyes, processors for an imitation brain, wires and lightning for imitation nerves. Fake. Thing. Property. Able to be altered, destroyed, maybe even simply switched off, at the leisure of her owners.

Her aura flared in agitation at the thought, but that's what finally cooled her whirring brain.

Aura, a product of the soul.

"I am real," she said, firmly.

Ciel raised an eyebrow. "Okay?"

She didn't understand, but she didn't need to. As long as Penny knew, that was enough. Ciel and the others in the project may not think she was alive, but Penny already knew she was. And she knew it wasn't right to cage living things who had done nothing wrong.

Even with that, she knew it wasn't Ciel's fault. She didn't want her to get in trouble for Penny acting out.

She'd wait for a better chance. It'd come sooner or later.

Ciel leaned back in her seat, apparently satisfied that the conversation was over. "Well, I hope you enjoyed your joyride through Vale. It might be a while before you're able to come back."

Penny looked out the window at the endless sweeping forests of Vale, so different from Atlas. "It was sensational."

She couldn't wait to be back.

([___

Frau Holly walked through the halls of Atlas Command with a crick in her neck to match the stiffness of her shoulders. To say it had been a long day was a criminal understatement. On top of her normal duties reading through reports and sending recommendations to the General, on top of listening to pleas from the people, trying to wheedle as much to help them as she could out of current policy, send in new policies in the hope some could slip past, she'd met with resistance members that day growing increasingly restless at Ironwood not showing his hand yet. Some attributed that to ignorance, saying he wasn't aware of the rebellion growing right under his nose, or if he was aware he was powerless to know where to strike at it. Others worried the opposite, that he knew everything, every member, every act, and was waiting for something before he wiped them out completely. Holly imagined the truth was somewhere in the middle. He knew enough to act, but decided to wait until he knew more.

It wasn't a comforting thought, but for every day he delayed, they were working harder on consolidating power, protecting themselves, their families. He wouldn't be able to wipe them all out without provoking unrest, or prying eyes from the other kingdoms. If he did that, then even after death, they'd have won. Ironwood wouldn't survive such intense scrutiny. He couldn't.

She walked into her office, wrapping her coat tighter around herself. After five, the offices shut down the heating to save money. It was a wonder with how much they spent elsewhere, the sheer amount of policies in place meant to save the government money.

Her hand touched the handle of her filing cabinet and she drew it back, sharply, cradling it. It felt like the handle was on fire. What-

Her breath came out in thin white wisps, eyes widening when she saw it, the door sliding shut behind her.

"Hello, Frau Holly."

She spun around to see Ironwood sitting at her desk, Specialist Schnee behind him like a grim spectre, neither seeming bothered by the freezing temperature in the room.

"General," she said, unable to mask her surprise at his sudden late night visit. Her fear, she only managed barely. "And Specialist, what can I do for you, today?"

"Two hundred thousand," Ironwood said calmly.

She blinked, confused. "What?"

"That's the minimum number of people that would need to die to make a successful coup against me," he explained. "And really, that's just the coup. It doesn't take into account the civilians who'd need to die for connections to higher military figures, or those who would die from corporations that would pull support and collapse the economy. In just the coup, whether it's loyalists or dissidents, two hundred thousand would need to lose their lives for you to beat me."

"I..." she kept her panic subdued, under her skin. "I don't understand. Why are you talking about coups?"

He brushed past the question, continuing on. "You will maintain your dissident connections, any complaints you receive will filter through to me, along with who is making the complaint, where we will measure its merits. You won't take any actions without checking with me first. Your 'coup' is now property of the Atlas military. We'll be managing it from now on."

Holly felt her face grow pale, anything masking her fear falling away. This was far worse than ignorance, even then destruction. This was becoming a puppet to the system she was fighting against, damning all her colleagues to the same.

"Tell anyone about this arrangement and we will kill you, whoever you told, and anyone we suspect you might have told on top of that," Ironwood said, still unstoppably calm.

The meaning sunk into her bones with the chill of the cold, making her breath catch. "My family-"

"Has been recalled from their Mistral vacation. They're actually on a train heading back into Atlas now for a banquet celebrating many members of the government, including you, who do such good work to keep the wheels of the kingdom turning." He leaned forward, hands clasped together. "There isn't anywhere you or they can go that is out of our reach, Frau Holly. You have to know that by now."

She was shaking, shivering in the room that only seemed to be growing colder by the second. "You're... you can't do this."

"Your life or that of your family's is not the first I've had to trade to save two hundred thousand," he said, tone as frozen cold as the room. "It isn't even the most valuable."

She swallowed, heavily. "Can I have some time to think about it?"

"Of course." Ironwood stood up, walking to the door. "You have until I leave the building." He walked out, the door closing silently behind him.

Winter didn't move.

Holly stared at her as Ironwood's steps grew steadily farther away, her glare like ice, and though she must have been breathing in the freezing room, there wasn't a wisp of steam coming off her.

"If you keep doing this," Holly said. "We'll never have a free Atlas."

"No," Winter agreed. "We'll have a safe one."

Holly looked down, hands tightening into fists. "Tell that to my family."

"Say no and we'll have no use for them." Winter's eyes narrowed. "They'll probably leave Atlas, or choose to continue your legacy, but either way they'd be free to do so. Say yes and they'd be safe, we would ensure it. You tell me which you value more."

Holly hesitated for a moment, desperation coating her like a gel, making her sweat stick ever tighter to her despite the cold, but after the moment was over, she ran out the door, sprinting down the halls, down stairs, making it out to the first floor just in time to catch Ironwood at the door out of the building.

"Yes, Frau Holly?" Ironwood said, casual, like she'd come up to him in a coffeeshop or boardroom instead of running like mad to catch him before her life was forfeit. "Have you made a decision?"

"I'll do it," she said, still shaking. "I'll take your deal."

Winter passed her, silent as death to stand behind Ironwood once again.

Ironwood smiled, clapping his hands together once. "Excellent. I'll expect the first report on my desk by Monday. I'm sure we'll all be happy working towards a better future for Atlas together." She couldn't muster a response to that, but Ironwood didn't need one, turning and walking out the door with his Specialist following close behind. "See, Winter?" She heard him say before the door shut completely. "Just another valve to turn."

Holly was left alone in the government building, captured completely.

But safe.

___])

Jaune Arc breathed in deeply through his nose, sighing contentedly at the beautiful vista before him. He'd never done much traveling before, but now that he'd gotten a taste, he loved seeing all the sights Remnant had to offer, from the glass arches of Atlas, to the mysterious forests of Vale, the Mistralian mountaintops had to be his favorite by far.

Yet another thing he supposed he had to thank his Beacon expulsion for. It probably would have been years before he could see a view like this, if he ever did. Maybe he should write Goodwitch and Ozpin a thank you letter.

Nah.

"Incredible, isn't it?" Jaune asked a nearby goat faunus, slumped down one of the trail benches. "Nothing in Vale could compare."

"It's fine," the goat faunus hedged, uncertainly. "Just, half the time I come here, feels like a big old pile of rocks and that's it."

"You Mistral-born?" Jaune asked, and at his affirmation, nodded his head. "That's your problem, man. You can't appreciate what you've got. I've been all up and down the kingdoms at this point, this is the first time I've seen something like this."

The goat faunus scoffed, lightly. "Yeah, well, I'm not really in an 'appreciating what I've got' mood," he said, bitterly.

"School trouble?" Jaune asked, curiously.

"Not anymore." He picked up a rock and threw it off the cliff, the stone bouncing and tumbling far below. "Got kicked out of Haven yesterday."

"What? No way." Jaune grinned. "I got kicked out of Beacon."

He looked over, skeptically. "Really?"

"You're looking at the proud owner of half a semester's worth of tutelage from the fine Beacon teachers," Jaune announced, gripping his lapel like it was some great achievement.

The goat faunus snorted, looking back out at the view. "Well, congratulations. I guess we're both failures."

"Failures? No." Jaune waved a hand. "The system's rigged against the people who want to change it. The only way to fail is by playing."

The faunus looked at him like he was crazy, before returning to the view. "Sure, dude."

"No, I'm serious." Jaune picked up a rock and threw it off the mountain, too, watching it bounce down the cliff. "Beacon's interested in optics and prestige. They're limited by law what they can do and what they have to teach to keep it going. The actual combat and training you're doing is a fraction of the curriculum compared to all the history, english, math, and listening to Port drone on that they need to stay accredited, and I'm willing to bet Haven's the exact same way."

"I mean, sure, but we have to learn that stuff," he said, giving a lopsided shrug.

"You went to Haven to learn about punctuation?" Jaune shook his head. "I don't think so. I bet you went there to do the same thing I did: to become a hero, am I right?"

He sighed, slumping further into the bench. "It would've been nice..." his hands clenched and unclenched in agitation, trying to find the words. "All my life, I wanted to be a huntsman. I wanted to be strong, save people, do what I could to help out wherever I could. My hometown isn't all that big. We only had the one huntsman in it, but he was... incredible. I trained as hard as I could, got him to unlock my aura eventually, and when I got into Haven was the happiest day of me and my family's life." He buried his head in his hands. "I don't even know how to tell them I flunked out."

Jaune shrugged. "Don't tell 'em."

"What, you want me to live up in the woods, come back during the weekends and pretend I'm still up at Haven actually going to become something every time I sit down for dinner? No thanks. I might be a flunky, but I'm not stupid enough to lie to my parents."

"What if there was a different way you could become a hero?" Jaune laid a hand on the faunus' shoulder, pumping his semblance into him, the goat faunus' aura growing bigger, brighter.

"Whoah." He stumbled off the bench, backing up before his breathing got heavier and he looked down at his hands. "What did you do to me?"

"Just a little power boost, it's my semblance." Jaune showed his glowing hand, guilelessly. "I was in the same place you were after getting kicked out of Beacon, but I found new friends who really put the whole thing into perspective for me. They taught me you don't need to go through one of those cruddy mismanaged schools to become a hero. You just need to have something to fight for." He sat down on the bench the faunus was in just a few moments before, stretching out with a relaxed sigh. "My friends all have something to fight for, and they could take on anyone at Beacon from student to faculty any day of the week. Trying to now, actually."

"What do you mean, they're trying to?" The faunus asked, suspiciously.

"Beacon's corrupt," Jaune said, frowning. "Haven, Shade, Atlas Academy, they're all corrupt. They pump out soldiers whose whole job is to keep the status quo. You ever notice anything about the status quo? It keeps guys like us from poor towns from becoming heroes, and it elevates the dirtbags from the rich cities so they have more power than ever before. I wanted to be a huntsman so people could be happy when I walked into a town, and you want to know what I found out? The further you go from the big cities, the more people hate huntsmen. I went to a town in West Vale where they told me the last three hunters that walked into their town extorted them for money, stole their food, even hurt people, and every time when they tried to report to the Guild about it, they were told to shove it. Hunters aren't heroes." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a white mask, laying it on the bench between them. "Those are heroes."

"The White Fang?" The faunus took another step back. "You're a terrorist?"

"They call them terrorists because they're fighting a corrupt system. If you wanted to discredit them, you'd do the same thing in their place. But you talk to the people who have actually met Fang, and they'll all tell you the same thing: they want change, they want a better future and they know the current regime is gonna fight tooth and nail to make sure that doesn't happen. You ever wonder why the good deeds of the White Fang are never talked about on the news? I mean, it's a huge group, there's gotta be some of them out there doing good, right? But to admit that would be fighting the narrative, so they keep quiet about it. That's what it means to be in control."

"I guess..." he took a miniscule step forward, uncertainly. "It's a little weird..."

"Look, I don't want your money, don't want you to do anything crazy, literally just let me introduce you to a couple of my friends, we'll hang out and go bowling or something, see how you feel about 'em, that's all." Jaune spread his hands, reasonably.

The faunus hesitated, looking side to side like something was going to pounce out at him at any moment. "Nothing crazy?"

"I promise, just friends hanging out, that's most of what it is when we aren't training anyway. It's like Haven without the boring classes."

"Alright," he finally relented. "But you're buying me snacks at the bowling alley."

"Done and done," Jaune agreed.

"And put that mask away, it's skeeving me out." The faunus brushed past him, back down the path.

Jaune grinned, tucking the mask back into his inner jacket pocket.

"Hooked another one," the translucent man beside him noted, smugly.

Jaune chuckled, moving to follow. "It's a wonder they got anyone to join up without me."

He hiked his backpack further up his back, everything he needed from extra water to weaponized dust stowed safely inside, and went faster down the path, trying to catch up to the faunus. "Hey, wait for me."

White Fang recruitment had never been so good.

([___

Ruby crept into the medical wing, time slowing to a crawl, bleeding petals with every movement, silence and pressure surrounding her like a deepsea trench.

Neo was looking through a medical file of some kind, sitting in a chair by her desk, paging through it, frozen fingers on frozen pages, completely unaware.

She lunged forward, just as regular time resumed, wrapping her arms around Neo and-

Neo shattered, shards of aura infused light scattering to the ground.

Ruby hissed through her teeth, immediately dropping into a crouch and spinning to try and intercept Neo's counter, an action that might have worked had she not burst out of a cabinet on the side she was just facing, legs wrapping around her neck and twisting to drop her to the floor in a painful hold.

Ruby tried to reactivate her semblance, but Neo squeezed her legs tighter around her neck every time she tried to get a full breath, and eventually she tapped out, Neo finally releasing her.

"Thought I had you that time," Ruby groaned, flopping back onto the floor.

Neo's scroll hovered into view. 'Your sneak attacks are getting better, but you're not going to get anywhere clomping through the hall like that. I heard you long before you activated your semblance.'

"So be quieter next time," Ruby sighed. "Got it."

She tapped in a response, holding it out again. 'And check your surroundings next time, too. You could have spotted the real me if you had looked.'

"The real you..." Ruby sat up, biting her lip as Neo stood to gather up some papers that had fallen during their brief skirmish. "Neo, there's something I think you should know about when we fought White Fang in Vale the other day..." Ruby said, hesitantly.

Neo flashed a questioning eyebrow her way, righting the papers and moving on to the sink, to fill a glass with water, sipping it.

"We fought a bunch of White Fang, but there was a human with them, too. He was wearing a grimm mask and... he was dressed like Torchwick."

Ruby didn't know what Neo's relationship to Torchwick was, but she figured there was some connection there. It was one of the first things Neo had asked her about, back when she was still pretending to be Polly, and since then every time Ruby had brought up Torchwick or the accident, as admittedly few as those times were, she got this sad expression on her face, almost like mourning. It was always a little strange to think someone like Roman Torchwick could have someone feel so deeply about his passing, but...

The glass in her hand cracked under a grip that turned knuckle white.

She wasn't wearing a sad expression just then.

Neo didn't need to type on her scroll, the liquid rage bubbling down her face said everything for her.

Still, Ruby kept talking, babbling at a point. "He had the hat, the cane, the coat, but even with the mask I could tell it wasn't really him. Even his voice was different, but... he called me Little Red, like Torchwick had, before..." she sagged, looking down, "...you know. I never told anyone about that. Maybe he got lucky, maybe someone picked it out of my head with a semblance, but for I don't even know how long as Cardin fought the Fang all I could do was stand there, useless." Ruby stared at her hands, helplessly. "I'd understand if it was him, but it wasn't him, just someone playing pretend, and even that was enough to make me freeze. That's what bothers me the most. What am I supposed to do if all it takes is a suit and hat to shut me down?" Ruby felt Neo come closer, but she kept talking, words dribbling out past her mouth like vomit. "And I feel awful talking to you about this, cause it's not like I liked Torchwick. I thought he was a jerk, and you were actually his friend, I think, but who else am I gonna talk to? Yang's so worried about me and everyone else is so strong, what am I even gonna say to them? I'm supposed to lead a team with some of the strongest people in Beacon in it, and as soon as I see a guy in a hat, or fire, or have a pancake in my mouth, I turn into a wooden plank." Neo knelt down in front of her, but Ruby didn't look up, throat burning around stifling heat. "I keep having to stretch for ages every morning because my joints lock up in the night. I'm always too hot. I have nightmares constantly. It feels like I hurt all the time, and I don't know if it's ever gonna get better."

Neo grabbed her hands, stilling their shaking, and Ruby finally looked up to see her, anger largely subsided for one of those sad, mourning, expressions she wore for Torchwick. She slid her scroll into Ruby's hands, drawing forward to wrap her in a hug, tight with rough emotion.

'You're broken,' Ruby read off the scroll, with eyes already blurred from tears she couldn't control. 'But I'll fix you, like he fixed me. We'll make them pay for what they've done to us, and we'll get strong enough no one can ever hurt us again. I promise, Ruby.'

Ruby sobbed, gripping Neo tighter, scroll slipping out of her hands, and feeling wet on her back, where Neo's own tears landed.

'I'll make you better.'

___])

Glynda lived her life under a strict code of discipline, an ethos she did her best to impress on her students as well. She had a firm respect for rules, but also had a great skill in foresight and attempted to arrange aspects of her life to prevent future problems. She never engaged in activities she knew would create difficulties in the future. No matter how 'fun' it seemed, no matter the temporary convenience, Glynda's impression of greater utility was largely unmatched.

That being said, when it came to Guild politics and some of the impenetrably mysterious actions of Ozpin, it was unfortunately often she found her patience ground into nothing. So, in an attempt to keep as much control as possible, she did her best to manage both in small amounts.

It worked right up until Ozpin requested a meeting with some Guild representatives.

"Are you out of your mind," she hissed at him as the last of the Guild members shut the door to Ozpin's office behind them. "Why would they ever agree to something like that? Why would you suggest something like that? Why-"

"I think that went well." Ozpin said, smiling enigmatically. "Don't you?"

Glynda's eyes widened. "They practically laughed in your face. I think one of them actually did, and just pretended it was a cough. If that's your measure of the meeting going well, I'd hate to see how it could have gone badly."

"I was looking for amusement or anger, I got amusement. The disturbing scenario would have been them trying to humor me." He turned to the window, looking out at the few students remaining during the break between semesters. "She needs a more complete body of huntress work, a recommendation from someone who isn't her teacher-"

"She needs to graduate," Glynda cut off, eyes narrowing. "She needs to actually begin working as a huntress."

"No." Ozpin shook his head. "The requirement to be a hunter has never been graduation; it's been recognition. As long as I can make her recognizable, she'll be acknowledged as a huntress."

"And your idea of recognition is to make her a laughingstock?" Glynda spread her arms, furiously. "And say this ridiculous plan ever goes through, what will it accomplish other than painting a target on her back?"

"She's going to have a target on her back either way. I'm simply taking steps to ensure she knows it's there," he said, mildly. "As for the laughingstock question, I don't believe anyone will continue to have that opinion once they see what she can do. This is just a way to get them to remember her name at the moment."

Glynda crossed her arms, eyes narrowing. "And the Candidate process? Do you want her to become a Maiden as well?"

Ozpin considered the question for a handful of moments before shaking his head again. "No. Given her current state, that process would make her far too unstable. We need someone fully grounded in themselves to stand a chance."

Glynda sighed, moving alongside him to witness the students below. "They're children, Ozpin. For this, for the Maidens. We're playing with the lives of children."

"Yes." Ozpin closed his eyes, sadly. "I've often thought even our graduates are too young to put in the positions they are." He opened them again, looking at her. "Did you still feel like a child when you fought the Witch?"

Glynda's hands twitched, imagined lightning arcing down them, even after so much time had passed. "You've fought Named grimm, too, Ozpin," she said, quietly. "You already know the answer to that."

"I suppose I do." He turned back to the window. "She needs a recommendation," he said. "It'd work better if it was someone who hates me."

"I don't suppose we're short on that supply," Glynda remarked, sardonically. "But why would that someone give her a recommendation on your say-so?"

"I don't expect that." He smiled, the shadow of smugness behind his eyes. "I expect whoever we choose, to watch her and make a decision on her merits alone. I expect by the time we arrange it, she'll have grown enough to impress on her own."

Glynda hummed at the point. "Then I suppose a better question is, why would this hunter even come to see her?"

Ozpin thought for a few minutes in silence, Glynda alternating between staring at him or looking out the window all the while. When she was just about to say something else, he finally turned away and began walking to the door.

"Field trips need chaperones, don't they?" He asked, and it took until he had already left the office for Glynda to grasp his meaning.

Glynda lived her life with foresight, logical steps following into the future allowing her to gauge the potential ramifications of actions, hers, her students, and others. Every day, Ozpin tested this. No matter how hard she tried, sometimes, when he put his all into an action.

She had no idea how it'd turn out.