The Right Canidate

-Two Weeks Earlier; Library-

The whole group couldn't believe their eyes and ears at the photograph before them. Roman Torchwick, was their father! Their actual father! It was unbelievable to say the least. Neither of them looked alike, except for Destiny's green eye. Though when they looked at Cristal, she had nothing to resemble that man! Each of them looked at the photograph while the two sisters sat there awkwardly; Ruby fidgeted a little as she had been standing.

Yang had soon been the first to speak up.

"Your dad…" Yang soon said, "...Roman Torchwick, is really your dad?"

"Yeah." Destiny said as she nodded.

"One of the most wanted criminals? In all of Vale?" Blake soon added.

"Yuuup." Cristal replied, "The whole shebang."

Weiss looked to Ruby as she hadn't been surprised about the whole thing. "Did you know about this?"

"I only found out about this in the afternoon!" Ruby said, "In my defense!"

"How can that be?" Jaune asked, "The news never talked about Roman having a family."

"That's because he kept us hidden." Destiny soon explained, "He once told me that Cristal and I were his secret, and he made sure no one knew about us."

"He was really good at that sort of thing." Cristal said, "That is… Until she found us out."

The two teams looked perplexed at this as they glanced at one another. "She?" Ruby soon asked, "I thought you two said, the White Fang that kidnapped you."

"We did say that." Destiny replied, "But… They only did it because that lady told them to."

"How do you know that?" Nora asked.

"Because…" Destiny said hesitantly, only encouraged by Cristal, when she put her hand on her shoulder, "... Because our dad… Talked to her before we were taken…"

The whole group gasped at this, as once more they were just shocked by this newfound information. "Do you… Know anything about her?"

"Sorry." Cristal soon said, "We can't really say. Neither of them have seen her face, or even heard her name. All we heard was her voice."

"Her voice?" Ren said.

Cristal nodded her head but she stayed silent; Destiny soon took a deep breath before she started to explain.

"The first time… We heard her, before we were taken away. She came to our apartment, and dad told Cristal to take me to our room and stay there until she left. She did, and we stayed. Though he didn't know we were listening to their conversation."

"What did they talk about?" Blake asked.

"We're not sure." Cristal soon said, "We couldn't hear it clearly. But whatever it was, it wasn't anything good. Dad told her that he wouldn't have any part of whatever it was she wanted him to be involved in. But… That's when we felt something hot."

"It… Felt like it was on fire." Destiny soon added, "We knew it wasn't from Dust, but at the same time we knew it was impossible. There was only one person we, or rather I know that could do that, and that was Amber."

Cristal flinched at that name while once again the group had been left perplexed.

"Who's Amber?" Ruby soon asked.

"She's a person that saved Destiny after we were separated from a bad storm." Cristal said, "And… A couple of other adversaries." She cleared her throat, "Anyway, our dad still refused whatever she had been offering, and she wasn't too happy about it. Though something about her had been REALLY unsettling, since she sounded unusually calm about it. Still makes me shiver down my spine whenever I think about it, and she just left without another word. Than… A week after the conversation, while dad was out of the house… The White Fang showed up; Adam Tarrus was leading them."

Blake's eyes widened at the name while her teammates gave her a look of concern; team JNPR on the other hand were just shocked.

"I did what I could to fight him, but in the end as you can tell…" Cristal soon said, "... He ended up winning. He's a lot tougher than he looks."

"The lady…" Destiny soon said, "...She threatened to kill us if he didn't do what she asked of him. He didn't have any other choice; so he started to steal Dust, and go forward with whatever she has planned for the kingdom."

They were all at a loss at this. I mean, it had honestly been hard to believe in anyone's opinion. Someone was actually planning on taking down the kingdoms? If they had been anyone else, they would've called them crazy.

But was it really?

Each of them wondered if it had been connected in some way. RWBY especially considering what had happened a month prior. Questions kept rising to the top of their heads. Could it have something to do with the invasion by the White Fang? Or the woman that broke into the CC tower?

Weiss soon asked them, "Do… Either of you at least have an idea on what she's planning?"

"Not a clue." Cristal replied, "We didn't exactly think about it when we were escaping."

"Although…" Destiny started to say, "... The only thing we know is that she's already put her plan in motion. She's already infiltrated the school, and.. She's posing as a student."

The teams were once more surprised at this.

"So…" Blake started to say, "... You're saying whoever is in control of the White Fang… Could be one of us?"

The two of them nodded again, both of them staying silent as did RWBY and JNPR as they were trying to process the information. It hadn't been long before Cristal had spoken up again, "Look… If you guys are gonna hate one someone, than hate on me." She said, "Don't hate the little girl. Besides I'm the one that suggested we keep our dad a secret."

This time the team mostly gave a surprised look to each other and them.

"Why would we do that?" Pyrrha asked, "We're just grateful that you guys told us."

This time the two sisters were surprised at this. "What?" Cristal said shocked.

"None of you are mad?" Destiny asked, "Like, any of you?"

"We're shocked, but we're not angry." Ren replied.

"If one of us were in your shoes we probably would've done the same thing." Jaune added.

"In fact I can speak from experience." Blake said to the two of them.

While Cristal was still awestruck by this while Destiny looked over to Ruby as if she had been asking her something. Ruby smiled at the child, "I told you they wouldn't get mad."

Destiny smiled back at her as she couldn't help but giggle.

Cristal smiled as she laughed to herself too, "... I guess you guys aren't as bad as I thought you were."

***

-Present-

It was now in the middle of the double rounds, and the last of the contestants were going up against one another. The fight between Atlas and Beacon had just come to an end. Coincidentally, the ones fightin in the match were two members of team CRDL and their opponents had been Penny Polendina, and a girl one with the name Ciel.

Ruby had told the sisters prior about Penny; about how they met her and she was combat ready for when the Vytal Festival began. When they watched her fight, it was safe to say that Ruby wasn't lying to them. The two of them watched at how she controlled her swords and the way she moved. No words can describe it, they were just left speechless.

As Destiny watched her, she could almost swear that she had been dancing; as if she had been in a ballet. The two of them watched as they left the stage, but Destiny had soon caught Ruby getting up from her seat and going to where Penny had gone. Curious, she had decided to follow and luckily had been able to catch up. She had followed her just around the corner where they had spotted Penny.

"PENNY!" Ruby shouted as she had her arms up.

"RUBY!" Penny yelled as she turned to her.

With a leap, she hugged Ruby; though Destiny jumped when she had basically tackled her onto the ground.

"Wwwwhhhhyyyy….?" Ruby groaned.

"Are you okay?" Destiny asked Ruby, a little worried.

All Ruby did was give her a thumbs up as her arm shook. Just as Penny stood up, she noticed Destiny there. "Salutations there!" Penny said as she saluted her.

"Hi there." Destiny said with a friendly smile while she looked a little nervous.

Ruby soon told her just as she brushed herself off, "Penny… This is Blake's cousin… Ow, so much pain…"

Penny's eyes brightened at this, "Why, that's wonderful! I hope you enjoy your time here!"

Destiny's expression brightened at this, as she said, "I am! It's everything I could've imagined! Congratulations on winning the fight by the way!"

"Thank you!" She said with a smile.

Penny soon turned to her companion just as Ruby finished brushing herself off. "Ruby, Destiny, this is my teammate!" She said with a smile.

"Ciel Soleil." The girl said as she bowed in greeting.

"It's nice to meet you Ciel!" Destiny said as she held her hand out to her.

"Yes, hello." Ciel said as she shook her hand.

Ruby soon waved to her, "Hello there! I'm--"

"Ruby Rose." Ciel said, cutting her off, "Fifteen years of age. Hails from Patch. Leader of team RWBY. Status… Questionable."

This left Ruby and Destiny perplexed, while Penny didn't seem phased by this. To delude from the awkwardness Ruby soon spoke up, "Penny! You were incredible out there! How do you keep control of all of those swords! It's so cool and--"

"Penny." Ciel interrupted, "I believe it's best if we move on to our next location."

"Could we just have a minute to talk?" Penny asked.

Ciel looked at her watched and backed up to give them space, and gave a nod. The two girls soon turned over to Penny. "Um…" Destiny said, "... Is she a friend of yours?"

"Well in a way." Penny replied, "She's like your cousin Blake, only if she was ordered to spend time with you."

"Than Weiss?" Ruby and Destiny asked at the same time.

"Exactly." Penny answered.

"Does she know about the…" Ruby started to say, before she stopped herself as she looked at the child before them. Ruby put both of her hands over Destiny's ears leaving her confused.

"... The whole does not compute thing?" Ruby whispered so Ciel didn't hear them.

"Oh no." Penny replied, "General Ironwood doesn't want anyone to know about that. There was an incident with a magnet, but I was able to play it off."

Ruby sighed, "That's a relief." She soon removed her hands from Destiny's ears, as she couldn't help but pout. "What were guys talking about just now?"

"Ruby?" Penny soon said as she glanced over to Ciel, "There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about…"

"What is it?" Ruby asked.

Penny soon gave her a smile as she whispered, "... I want to stay here at Beacon."

"Stay here?" Destiny said as she was still confused. She soon noticed that Ruby had a concerned look. "Penny, they'll never let you do that." Ruby said.

"I know…" She said, "But I have a plan!"

Ciel soon came into the conversation, "It's been precisely one minute ma'am!"

"I'll talk to you more soon Ruby!" Penny said before she turned to Destiny, "And it was nice meeting you Destiny! I hope you and I can talk again!"

Destiny smiled and nodded, "Me too Penny!"

With one final wave, Penny and Ciel took their leave, and they both waved back. "What were you two talking about when you covered my ears?" Destiny asked Ruby as she tilted her head.

Ruby flinched before she replied nervously, "Um… Well…"

Just than, they heard Oobleck's voice come over in the PA, "Our next match will begin in 15 minutes!"

The two girls seemed to get excited from this, "Omigosh that's right!" Ruby exclaimed, "It's time for their match!"

"Race you back to the seats!" Destiny said to Ruby, before she ran ahead.

"Hey!" Ruby yelled, "Get back here!"

Yang and Weiss stood in the middle of the stage, waiting for their opponents. As they waited, Yang was doing warm-ups. "Welp, it's finally our turn!" Yang said.

"Just remember to keep a proper form like I told you." Weiss said.

Yang couldn't help but roll her eyes, "Alright. You're from Atlas. What can we expect?"

Weiss soon gave it some thought, "Well, considering they're from a kingdom that's an academy and armed forces all rolled into one. I think we can expect strict militant fighters with advanced technology and carefully rehearsed strategies."

WHOOSH!

Weiss and Yang were both startled by a sudden breeze. The one responsible appeared to be a girl with large twin tails with her bangs partly dyed in a shade of blue. She wore a spaghetti blue strap tank top revealing her stomach and dark purple bra; she also had on purple cropped shorts that was underneath a pink short skirt and belt with a winking smiley emoji.

On her tank top she had on two buttons; one of them containing a cat design and the other having a green heart. Around her neck she had on a white choker and a pair of bracers on her shins and knees. She had a tattoo on her arm of what looked to be a shooting star.

She also had a cat's tail with two bands around them.

Beside her was a dark-skinned man standing beside her. Upon his head he wore a fedora and black shades over his eyes and had an earring on his right ear. Her wore a dark vest with an unbutton and untucked collared shirt. With him, he had on a pair of dark gray dress pants and black shoes.

Weiss and Yang were pretty much dumbfounded by this.

"Or…" Weiss said, "... Whatever they are."

The young dark-skinned man who was named Flynt Coal got her attention. "Hey!" He said, "You're Weiss Schnee right? The Heiress?"

"I am." Weiss said with a smile.

"I take it your pretty good with Dust than?"

"I will do my best!"

"Yeah! My dad was pretty good too! Owned a little Dust shop of his own… Till your father's company ran him out of his business."

Weiss's expression changed, as she looked to him with sympathy, "I'm… Sorry to hear that."

"Sure you aren't." Flynt said with sarcasm.

Yang glared at him, "Hey, why don't you--!"

"Hey why don't you--!" The girl named Neon Katt mocked, "--That's what you sound like!"

Yang was just left perplexed by this. "Hey!" Neon soon said, "Where did you get your extensions!?"

"... This is just my natural hair." Yang replied awkwardly.

"Oooh really~?" She said in a singsong fashion.

"Yeah, is that a pro--"

"You should try rollerblading sometime, it's SUPER fun! It'll probably take you a while though, since, you're so… Top heavy."

Yang and Weiss's jaw dropped at this just as the roulette began, "EXCUSE ME!?!" Yang yelled.

The rest of the group sat on the sidelines and all of them, except for Destiny, had just been in pure shock by what Neon had suggested.

"She didn't just--" Blake started to say, her bow twitching slightly.

"Oh boy here we go." Ruby said as she rolled her eyes.

"What does she mean by top heavy?" Destiny asked Cristal.

"Don't think about it." Cristal replied as she face-palmed herself.

The stage was soon set as there had now been a ruined city, a desert, a geyser field and what appeared to be a lava field.

Port soon began the countdown, just as they readied themselves, "Three… Two… One… BEGIN!!"

***

Flynt soon played his horn and a sudden gust of wind blew upon them, causing Weiss and Yang to forcefully move back. Weiss acted fast and used her glyph to stop herself from going further, while Yang tried to force her way through. Neon rolled with the turbulence and hit Yang towards another part of the stage, leaving only Weiss and Flynt.

Flynt played his horn again just as Weiss leaped forward, using her glyphs to help her out. He had caught her by surprise when Flynt stopped playing, causing Weiss to fall forward. He kicked her just in the back of the head causing her to fall right into the lava field. He chuckled as he moved to the field just as Weiss stood up.

On the other side of the field, Neon moved quick with the help of her rollerblades just as Yang fired towards her. All the while she fired at her, she kept saying to herself "Never Miss A Beat" As she kept dodging her, she kept on taunting her, unknowingly adding fuel to the fire of Yang's anger.

This pattern continued until Neon attacked Yang head on, with what appeared to nunchucks. She kept attacking her from all sides leaving a trail of rainbows in her wake; Yang tried to keep up, but had been unable to.

With a growl, Yang reloaded her weapons, just as Neon prepared hers. She bent the nunchucks slightly so that they glowed a blue color, before she charged at her once more. This time she hit her leg, though when she did, she had found ice covering it instantly.

"Ooo look!" Neon said, while smacking her behind, "Now you're bottom heavy too!"

She slammed her foot on the ground and the ice broke; though she felt Neon hit her on the arm, and ice had been seen again. Neon soon gave her a good hard kick in the stomach causing her to fly towards a broken wall; it cracked upon impact. Luckily Yang regained her footing.

"You should cool off!" Neon said laughing at her own joke, "Get it? Because your angry."

Yang shot another glare as she slammed her fist onto the wall, breaking both that and the ice.

With Weiss and Flynt, she went to make her move. She summoned her glyphs shooting shards of ice over in his direction. Though Flynt used a countermeasure as he quickly used his horn, blowing fire towards the shards causing them to melt instantly.

"Too bad all that money can't buy you skill." Flynt said with a smirk.

This seemed to have angered Weiss as the dial turned on her sword, switching from blue to white. As he played his horn, Weiss used her wind to attack and counter it. Quickly using it as a distraction she formed glyphs around him, and started to bounce off of them attacking him with speed.

Flynt had finally gotten fed up and went to activate his semblance. The crowd watched as he split into four of himself, each of them wearing a different color that had not been blue just as he played the horn. Weiss found herself caught in the wind and tumbling on the ground, her weapon falling out of her hand.

"What is this?" Port said over the PA.

"It appears that young Flynt had just activated his semblance!" Oobleck replied, "And quite a remarkable one at that! Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes and Flynt Coal's… Killer Quartet!"

Flipping his hat, the Flynt's went back into one as he walked over to Weiss. Neon headed back towards the center of the stage as Yang followed; her eyes now a crimson red.

"Ooo flashy eyes!" Neon said, "You know, you're actually kind of pretty when you're angry!"

"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" Yang shouted as she rocketed towards her.

Weiss struggled to get up, and went to get her weapon but Flynt had soon towered over her. Just as she was about to finish her off, he heard Yang yell, "GET BACK HERE!!"

He turned over and saw Neon, circling around her, as she continued to taunt him, "I wasn't saying you should go on a diet, I was saying you NEED to go on a diet!"

"THAT IS IT!!" Yang yelled.

"You're fat!" Neon said, sticking her tongue out at her.

Flynt soon hatched an idea, as he glanced over to Weiss. He turned his sights over to Yang as he activated his Semblance again. Knowing what he was going to do, Weiss did the only thing she could do at that moment. She tackled Flynt and they fell into a geyser just as it went off.

"What?" Yang said with confusion.

"WEISS!!" Ruby, Blake, Destiny and Cristal exclaimed.

"It appears we have a double knockout folks!" Port said in the PA.

"In fact it looks as though Ms. Schnee's aura has been completely depleted!" Oobleck announced, "She sacrificed herself to take out Flynt! Wait a minute--What's this!?"

The smoke cleared and everyone was surprised to see that Flynt didn't even have a scratch on him as he stumbled a little.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Flynt Coal remains standing!" Port said in the PA.

With Yang left standing Flynt and Neon walked towards her, as to team up with one another to fight against her. "You did it Flynt!" She said, "Don't worry about her, she's easy, but kind of annoying!"

Yang felt her blood boil as her body shook. In an instant her eyes went from a lilac purple to a crimson red.

"Oooh, and it looks like Yang is angry!" Port said, "And you wouldn't like her when she's… Upset."

Yang cried out a battle cry before she went to attack her opponents; the two of them scattered. "YO NEON!" Flynt yelled, "GO!"

Neon went with a quick pace just as Flynt went to blow his horn giving Neon some help to move quicker. Yang had been caught in the current, but despite this she pushed forward with the help of her weapons. She quickly engaged Neon. As they both traded blows with each other, though she managed to fire a shot towards Flynt causing him to stumble a little; Neon went off course as she nearly tripped on herself.

Yang started to run towards Flynt, just as she leapt into the air. At that moment he started to play his horn while his semblance had been active. That didn't stop her as she rocketed herself towards him. She used both of her hands to cover up his horn which had caused it to backfire knocking Flynt out instantly.

"Ow!" Oobleck said, "Sour note for Flynt!"

Once Yang was done with him, she turned her attention over to Neon, who had been currently trying to evade the terrain that the stage had provided.

"Never miss a beat!" She said, "Never miss a beat! Never miss a--BEAT?"

Neon had been caught off guard when she tripped on a loose rock. She tumbled on the terrain, eventually flying upwards to the sky thanks to another active geyser. Yang had used this as an opportunity to fire at Neon, and it managed to hit her, causing an explosion in the sky, as if it had been a firework, causing the crowd to cheer loudly as the buzzer sounded off.

Yang caught her breath, being exhausted from the fight. That was until she realized--

"Weiss!" She exclaimed, her eyes changing back to a lilac purple.

Yang ran over to Weiss as her body had been covered in ash, and she was all burnt up. She slid over to her side and helped her to sit up, "Weiss, are you okay!?" Yang said with worry, "Say something! Anything!"

Weiss finally opened her eyes before she started to cough a little, "... I may not be singing for a while…"

Yang sighed with relief at this and smiled, "You know…" She soon said, "... I'm not sure that was the proper form."

Weiss laughed sarcastically before she started to cough again.

"WHAT!?" They heard Neon shout as they noticed that her whole body was just gray, "WE LOST!? WE LOST!? TEAM FNKI LOST!? That was--That was--" Her color seemed to have come back as her eyes began to sparkle, "--AMAZING!!" She soon shouted as this happened, "Oh my gosh! You guys were super crazy! We should DEFINITELY hang out sometime! Right Flynt?"

Flynt got up as he brushed himself off. "That was a gutsy move, Schnee." He said to her, "... I dig it."

Yang and Weiss couldn't help but smile at this. It hadn't been long before Ruby, Blake, Destiny and Cristal ran over to them.

"Good job you two!" Blake said.

"Yeah!" Ruby added, "That was great!"

"You two really outdone yourselves! You especially Ice Queen!" Cristal said to the two of them, "I honestly thought Yang was gonna bite it, but you caught that guy by surprise when you pushed that guy!"

"... Are you… Complimenting me?" Weiss asked amused as she coughed again.

Cristal chuckled, "Don't tell anyone."

"You two were so cool!" Destiny said with a smile, "I'm so glad you were able to pull through."

"Thanks Dessie." Yang said, giving her a pat on the head.

Weiss soon noticed the bracelet on her wrist as it had been covered in ash. "Oh no…" She groaned, "... Your bracelet… It's all dirty now…"

Destiny smiled at Weiss as she shook her head, "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad my bracelet really worked and protected you!" Destiny couldn't help but give her a hug, and though there was a bit of pain, Weiss hugged back. The group eventually did the same as they all relished the feeling.

***

-Two Weeks Earlier-

About a day had passed since RWBY and JNPR had been told about Roman by both Cristal and Destiny. They still couldn't believe that he had been the father of the two of them. They were pretty much the opposites of Roman; okay maybe not so much Cristal, but Destiny had been sweet while Roman on the other hand was just not the thing Destiny was. They still couldn't picture Roman as some sort of a father figure to them.

Than again it's as the saying goes, never judge a book by it's cover.

Today, it was just Destiny along with Pyrrha. RWBY and the rest of JNPR needed help setting up the fairgrounds, and Cristal even decided to help them out.

Pyrrha had decided to show Destiny around Beacon, as she and her walked through the courtyard of the academy, looking at all the various stands that were being put together for the festivities. Though eventually they decided to take a break as they laid back in the bed of grass; watching the clouds go by in the sky.

"That one looks like a sheep!" Destiny said as she pointed to the sky, "And that one next to it is a bunny!" She turned to Pyrrha, "What do you see Pyra?"

Pyrrha gave it some thought before she pointed to the sky as she replied, "I see a Huntsman… Tap dancing through a meadow."

"What!?" Destiny exclaimed, "Where do you see that?"

Pyrrha replied as she pointed to the sky, " Right there."

Destiny squinted to see better; it wasn't long before she let out a giggle, "That Huntsman looks really funny!"

Pyrrha smiled warmly as she laughed along with her. "Thanks for doing this Pyra." Destiny said to her, "This is the most fun I've had in a long time. I just wish Cristal came with us today."

"Don't worry, we'll bring her along with us next time." Pyrrha reassured her, "And I'm glad you're having fun."

Destiny still held her smile as she looked back to the sky; watching as the clouds drifted, each one having a unique shape. Destiny had a thought in her head as her expression changed slightly to what looked to be a sad look in her eye. Pyrrha didn't really notice at first until--

"Hey… Pyra?"

"Hmm?" She said as she looked at the child.

"Is it… Alright if I ask you something?" Destiny asked as her gaze was still to the sky.

"Sure, what is it?" Pyrrha said.

"... Do you… Believe in things… Like destiny? I'm not talking about myself, but well… Generally speaking."

"What do you mean?"

Destiny soon sat up, looking to the floor; she gripped the bag that contained her medicine. "It's just…" Destiny started to say nervously, "... Well… How do I put this…?" She placed a hand over her eyepatch.

"There was…" Destiny began to say, "... Another reason why dad kept me and Cristal hidden. She and I--Or rather… I have something that… Others might not find acceptance. Sometimes I wonder… If something different were to happen. Like, what would happen if I was given a choice? If I had the ability to change for the better and everyone else…"

Pyrrha soon sat up, "Destiny? Where is this coming from?"

The child soon replied, keeping her gaze away from her, "What if I said… The lady that took us… Wanted to use me for something other than to threaten my dad. Like if it had something to do with my secret? What if… I was capable of hurting people?"

Pyrrha looked to her filled with worry; though at the moment she said nothing as she listened to what more the child had to say.

"That lady…" Destiny said, "... The one I mentioned… She would often come by. One day… She told me she knew about our secret. She told me my secret was interesting, and that it intrigued her. She told me… I was meant to play a part with her plan. Now… Whenever I think about it, I just see the people that'll get hurt. The fear in their eyes, and the lives that'll be ruined. Now sometimes… I wish I could just change it, so that I would never have had this awful secret to begin with."

Destiny had been taken by surprise when Pyrrha had pulled her into a hug, as to comfort her.

"Don't take what she had said to heart." Pyrrha said as she began to massage her back, "Whatever your secret is, whatever your sister's secret is, I know… And everyone else knows who you really are. You're the kindest and sweetest girl we've come to know. Your sister is strong yet compassionate, and most importantly, she's your best friend. You two couldn't be what the lady said you were. Don't let others tell you otherwise."

Destiny couldn't help but smile at her words before she hugged her back, as she took comfort in her embrace.

***

-Present-

Cinder, Emerald and Mercury had been sitting in their dorm room for most of the day. Emerald had been looking through her scroll, mainly searching the web, while Mercury had been doing push ups. Cinder on the other hand had been going through the Atlas database on her own scroll, going through the information that had been on it.

One passage in particular caught her eye as her two companions took notice.

"What is it?" Emerald asked her.

What she had been looking through was a set of schematics to a synthetic being; one by the name of Penny. She skimmed through the information provided.

"Oh nothing." She eventually replied, "We're going to make a slight… Alteration to the plan."

The two of them exchanged looks.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mercury asked.

Cinder simply said all with a smile, "It means… This will be much easier than we thought.

***

-Headmasters Office-

Ozpin sat at his desk, with his gaze towards the window as he had pondered a certain thought. It hadn't been long before someone familiar entered the room; This familiar someone being Qrow.

"You know…" Qrow said, "... Ironwood is just making a fool out of you."

"His heart is in the right place." Ozpin replied, "He's just… Misguided."

"Sometimes I'm not sure he has a heart."

Qrow soon took a sip from his flask, as he soon asked, "So… Have you chosen your guardian?"

"Maidens choose themselves." Ozpin replied, turning to him, "I simply believe I found the right candidate. Ever since I met her, I had a feeling she would be the one. She's strong, intelligent, and more importantly… She's ready."

From the outside, Pyrrha looked a bit nervous, as she didn't know what he had wanted to talk to her about. She took a deep breath and just as she was about to step inside, something peculiar had caught her eye, at the steps.

It looked to be that of a flower that grew from the stone, which she found quite odd. The flower looked to be that of a tulip, with black and white petals. Though the flower was strange, she looked to be in a trance.

"What a beautiful looking flower…."

She reached to pick it up; when her fingers had touched the steam, she pulled back slightly from a sudden pain. She looked to her finger seeing a trickle of blood, though she found it perplexing since there appeared to be no thorns on the tulip. Still she felt compelled to pick it up from where it sat.

What she failed to notice however, was that on one of the petals… There had been a faint red glow, in the shape of an eye.