Prisoners

-Three Years Ago; Vale's Apartment 3G-

"So… Where should we go now…?"

"... Wherever you'd like."

"... How could the Gods let this happen…?"

"Please… Please bring them back…"

"... Let them rest…"

"... This isn't right! I'm begging you! Don't do this!"

"We finally had freedom…"

Destiny awoke with a gasp at a sudden burst of flames; she found herself struggling to breath as her heart raised at the sudden fear she felt. She had only been able to calm down since her sister had been by her side as she gently shushed her.

"There now, it's alright." Cristal said to her softly, giving her a pat on the back, "You're okay Princess."

Destiny soon heaved a deep sigh as she seemed to have calmed down. Destiny wiped the sweat from her brow before rubbing her eyes.

"Cristal--" She stammered, "--I--I had--"

Though she couldn't finish her sentence, Cristal seemed to get the idea of what she wanted to tell her. "... It's the dream again, isn't it?"

Destiny gave a nod, as she let out a yawn, "...I saw her… That lady…"

"I know." Cristal replied softly, before she helped her out of bed, removing her IV bag from the stand provided on the side of where she slept. She set it on her lap as she sat behind her with a brush in hand she had gotten on the dresser between them.

"... It's the strangest thing…" Destiny said as she stretched while Cristal brushed her hair gently with the comb, "... That lady… In my dreams… Even though she's a stranger to us… She gives me the same feeling as we get when we're around dad, you know?"

"Yeah." Cristal said before she started to tie her hair back a little when she was done, "Believe you me, I got that same feeling when I saw those dreams around your age."

"She's always talking to someone, and always singing that lullaby… But… Whenever I listen to it, it always sounds sad and hurt… It's like she's crying out for help. I want to help her… But…" Destiny said as she looked to her hands, "... I don't know how…"

When Cristal was done, Destiny had finally turned to her. "Cristal… That lady in my--Well… I should say, our dreams… She's not someone we made up… Is she…?"

Cristal's expression changed slightly, before she gave a sigh and a pat on the head. "Come on." Cristal said, with a smile, "Let's go and grab breakfast! I swear, I'm so hungry I could eat a whole moose if I wanted."

Destiny had struggled to say something but stopped herself from doing so as she nodded, "Ye--yeah, okay."

After the two of them got dressed they proceeded down the hall towards the kitchen. Just as they arrived where the kitchen had been joined with the living room, they saw a familiar orange haired man passed out on the couch.

"Oh, looks like dad came home late…" Cristal said sadly, "... Again."

"I wonder what he had to do that made him come back home so late." Destiny wondered aloud.

"Who knows…" Her sister replied with a shrug, "... It's not like he tells much about what he does with his line of work anyway."

"I guess." The little one said as she approached towards his side, watching him as he slept. Placing her IV bag down she pulled a blanket over him as she saw him shift a little. As Cristal had gotten out a couple of eggs and a clean bowl she couldn't help but notice the expression her younger sister gave as she watched him sleep.

"I know that I can look anywhere." Cristal said, "What are you thinking about?"

"... Dad hasn't been getting much sleep as of late…" Destiny said worryingly, "... It's those jobs that man has been giving him… We gotta help him out in collecting the money he needs."

"... Princess…" Cristal soon started to say, "... I want to be able to help dad too, but… We're underage. We couldn't land jobs even if we wanted to."

"Well, we can't just sit here and do nothing!" Destiny said to her sister, "He's helped us a lot, so there's gotta be something we can do for him in return!"

Cristal only shook her head before she started to crack the eggs into the bowl, before she started to stir them with a pair of chopsticks.

"... How do you propose we do that?" She asked her little sister.

***

-Present; Atlas, Schnee Mansion-

Weiss sat in her room, watching as the airships passed by just outside of her window. She couldn't help but reminisce about the days she spent at Beacon, where she had the rest of her teammates made her feel whole. Sure she didn't become leader of RWBY but she came to accept her position overtime.

For a brief moment, she turned her hands on her lap. She was eyeing a white and light blue beaded bracelet that had been slightly covered in gray, recalling who had made it for her.

At the very thought, she missed the two of them dearly. The two sisters, Destiny and Cristal. Even after the doubles rounds in the tournament she never got the bracelet cleaned up; she kept it just the way it was, as if it had always been a part of it.

She worried for Cristal when she heard she had been put into a coma, and worried more so when she heard Destiny was declared missing. It even terrified her at the thought of the worst case scenario. Were they both alive? Was Destiny safe? Did Cristal pull through? Were they able to reunite with Roman?

These sorts of questions kept coming up, all which were left unanswered.

If she had to be honest… That's what terrified her the most.

She was soon snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see that it was two young girls, looking to be about thirteen. Both of them had white hair like she did, and looked alike, down to the freckles and the odd eyes of a different shade of blue.

The only difference however, was one had a pair of small low pigtails that rested on her shoulders, as she wore a jean jacket and brown shorts with black leggings along with a pair of fingerless gloves with a pair of kitten faces and she had on a pair of ankle high black sneakers.

The girl beside her had long shoulder length white hair with a red ribbon tied behind the back of her head and she wore a light blue dress with white sleeves with a pair of brown shoes, and white frilly socks and a set of pearl earrings on her ears.

She recognized them to be her younger sisters, the twins Van (Girl with Long Hair) and Nilla (Girl with Low Pigtails).

"Hi Weiss!" The girl named Nilla said, "Van and I finally did it! We finally made them dance!"

"We showed Nava and she really liked it! We wanted to show you too!" Van said with a smile, "Wanna see?"

Oh, so that's what it was, Weiss thought in her head. She gave a small smile before she replied, "Alright… Show me."

Nilla nodded and smiled as did Van. Nilla took out a CD player from within her jacket, and a bag of marbles handing a second bag over to Van. She sat the CD player on the table and plugged it into the speaker before it started to play a song that was slow, yet soft.

Reaching into the bag, they each pulled out three small marbles; Nilla's marbles were marked with snowflakes while Van's had been marked with flames. They both kneeled and allowed them to roll onto the floor, each far apart from each other.

They soon stood up, and with simple movements from their hands, six glyphs appeared where the marbles had stopped rolling; the glyphs were white and blue. Mist appeared around them and before Weiss knew it, there were small ice sculptures and figures of fire appeared as they had been the size of toys.

All six of them were in the form of ballet dancers. They danced in sync with the song that played that was on the CD player, as Van and Nilla's eyes were closed shut. Weiss had always been impressed by their abilities, as had been her other younger sibling Nava.

She could see they took after their mother. Both were at a young age, and yet they had such high concentration of their abilities. Weiss was proud of them and why wouldn't she be? They were really improving the last time she saw them, and that was before she left for Beacon.

Soon the song had ended, the ice sculptures and figures of fire had taken a bow before they formed back into marbles.

Weiss clapped as Van and Nilla stood up before they took a bow.

"Did you really like Weiss?" Nilla asked.

"Did you?" Van asked.

"Of course." Weiss said with a small smile, "You've both gotten better since I left."

Weiss soon noticed that Van and Nilla's smile disappeared from their faces and they looked at each other. She had been taken back by this sort of reaction. "What's wrong?" Weiss asked the two of them.

"Nothing it's just…" Van said, "... You didn't sound impressed."

"What makes you say that?" Weiss asked.

Nilla picked up the marbles before she replied, "... It's just that… You haven't been yourself since you came back with father. You mostly spend your time in your room, rather than outside."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Van asked.

Weiss didn't answer, as she just kept herself silent; she just turned her attention to the window.

"Weiss…" Nilla said, "... If you're sad, we can cheer up. Just tell us what's wrong and we'll find a way to help."

Weiss looked at her sister before she let out a sigh, "I appreciate it but… You've both just turned thirteen and you're still children… I don't know if you would understand."

Van and Nilla soon placed their hands over her own. "We want to try to understand." Nilla said, "Please?"

"We don't want to see you sad." Van said, "If you tell us, than we'll understand."

Weiss looked into their different shades of blue eyes; that concern they had… It reminded her of her partner, her leader Ruby; back to when they found out Blake had been a Fanus. She showed nothing but concern for her when her teammate just ran, when she herself had doubts about Blake. How could she say no to a pair of faces like that?

Before she could say anything however, there was a knock at her door.

"Yes?" Weiss said.

A butler by the of Klien soon opened the door as he stepped inside.

"Pardon the interruption Miss Schnee." He said to Weiss in particular as he bowed, "But your father wishes to speak with you."

"... Thank you Klien." Weiss said before she looked at the twins, "... I'll tell you both later."

"Promise?" The two of them said.

"... Promise." Weiss said before she gave them each a kiss on the forehead.

She stood up from her seat before she sauntered over to the door.

"Weiss!" Van soon said, making her stop and turn to her, "... Good luck."

Weiss only nodded, before she exited the room. Though the twins were curious as to what their father wanted to discuss, they decided to follow close behind her.

***

-Somewhere in Anima-

"... Do you believe in destiny?"

"...Yes."

"... Jaune…"

"No…!... No…!...Pyrrha…!"

"PYRRHA!!"

Ruby gasped at the sound of Cristal screaming, finding that it had still been early in the morning. She sat up from her sleeping bag and saw that the others had still been soundly. She let out a sigh as she stood up to stretch, looking onto her comrades that were in their sleeping bags still sleeping soundly. Roman on the other hand had been sleeping against a tree with his hat covering his face.

She let out a sigh as she felt her head give out a ring as she groaned.

"Guess I'm not the only one who decided to get the early bird."

Ruby jumped and looked over in the direction of the voice. She saw it had been Cristal, who had been wide awake, and sitting against the large Griffon Senka.

"Cristal?" She said surprised, "What are you doing up this early?"

"... Had trouble sleeping last night." Cristal replied, before she let out a yawn, "Decided to stay up and keep watch."

Ruby couldn't help but look at her with worry, "... Again? Cristal, you know that's bad for you."

"Oh, don't you worry about me." Cristal said to her with a smile, "I'm just fine. I'm more of a nightowl than I am a bluebird anyway."

Cristal could still see the concern in Ruby's silver eyes. Out of everyone in the group, only she knew that she couldn't find herself having a good night sleep. Cristal kept telling her the same thing everytime she would ask.

"Don't worry about it." She would say.

"It's nothing." She would say.

Each time a different phrasing, yet, it would be the same answer, and it would add more to her worry. Still, she couldn't help but wonder why she was having trouble sleeping; especially considering it has been going on for the past few months since they began this journey. She wanted to be able to help her--

--But she couldn't since she kept to herself.

After the others had woken up, and ate up a quick meal, they continued down the path provided for them. Thankfully they were able to find the map they had since it had been in Nora's bag the whole time.

Ruby was currently lead the way, as she had been trying to make sense of the map; although it wasn't working out.

"So the next town is—" Ruby said, as she had been turning the map, "—Uh-uh… Alright…"

The group soon watched as Ruby had slumped over, with the map hanging from her hand, "We're lost."

"We're not lost!" Jayne said, "The next town is Shion! My family used to visit there all the time!"

That must've been nice for you." Scout said with a smile, "It was the same with me with my mother and father. We would often stop by to get some healing herbs. Even though it was only for a day, it was still nice."

"Maybe we can see all the sights once we're there." Jaune suggested.

"If we have the time for it." Roman said.

"Dad, come on." Cristal said, "Don't be such a stick in the mud!"

"Wait a minute!" Melody said, "When you say family, do you mean your whole family?"

"Didn't you say you had like… Eight sisters or something?" Rosario asked.

"Seven, actually." Jaune replied awkwardly, making Ruby giggle.

"You know that does explain a lot." Nora said with a smile.

"Wait, what do you mean by--"

"Anyway!" Cristal said, cutting him off, "What did you guys do in the village?"

"Oh, all sorts of things!" Jaune said before he started to show Ruby and Cristal, "Over here's a great hiking trail, and right over there is where we went camping! I got to have my own tent, because I was special!"

"Special?" Ruby said with a raised eyebrow.

"That and so my sister would stop braiding my hair…" He added, embarrassed.

"Aww, what's the matter? You didn't like the look?" Cristal asked teasingly.

"Yeah, they just kept on doing pigtails." Jaune replied, "Personally, I'm more of a wolf-tails kind of guy, you know, like what Roman's got!" Everyone had been taken back by this sort of phrasing. Who even uses that term, they all thought in unison.

"Arky…" Roman soon said, "... I'm pretty sure you mean a ponytail…"

"I know what I said." Jaune said confidently.

Most of the group had stopped in their tracks as their eyes had laid upon what had been before them; Though, Ruby, Cristal, Jaune and Roman didn't seem to notice as they continued to move.

"Uh… Guys…?" Nora said, shocked.

"Huh?" The four of them said, before they finally picked up their heads. Their eyes soon widened in shock by what laid before them.

"Good God…" Rosario said solemnly as her gaze softened.

Right before their very eyes, the village of Shion, one that had been filled with life, had now been in ruins. Nothing but the color gray had laid before them, and leftover ash had fallen from the skies, and it had been quiet throughout the village. Corpses laid along the ground, each one looking more grotesque than the one before.

The whole group quickly ran in the village with their weapons armed; they looked through the buildings, or what once had been buildings as they were searching for something or somebody.

"Stay sharp!" Melody told the group, "There might still be survivors!"

Frosty, who had run ahead of the group, started to let out a high pitched bark to get their attention. They followed Frosty's barks and soon saw him beside a man with a weapon at his side. His hand had been over his abdomen that was fresh, and had been propped against what had been left of a wall. Ren and Scout immediately went to his side.

"A Huntsman!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Can you help him?" Ren asked the Fanus.

Scout removed the man's hand gently to examine the wound, "I'll try…" She replied softly, before she went to work on stopping the man's bleeding.

Roman soon approached the man, as he kneeled in front of him.

"Can you hear me?" Roman asked, the man, "Can you tell us what happened here?"

The Huntsman coughed as he struggled to reply, "... Bandits… A… A whole tribe… And… With all the panic…"

"...Grimm…" Ren soon finished for the man.

Roman soon noticed the wound, as Scout was struggling to stop the bleeding. He had seen this kind of wound inflicted before, therefore he unfortunately knew the Huntsman before his very eyes… Didn't have very long.

"Alright…!" He soon heard Ruby say, "... We can get him to the next village over and find a doctor there!"

"Ren and I can take turns carrying him!" Jaune soon suggested.

"No need!" Cristal soon said, "I can have Senka carry him!"

Senka let out a questioning squawk as he tilted his head.

"Do you think he'll be okay with that?" Melody asked.

"He might not be at first, but I'll convince him otherwise." Cristal replied.

Senka let out a growl, as if he had been speaking to her. "Well like it or not, you're gonna have to live with it!" She told him.

"... Don't bother." Roman replied as he stood, "He's not going to survive the trip."

The group looked at him surprised. "Dad… How can you say that?" Cristal asked.

"How do you know that?" Ruby asked him.

"Red… Look at him!" He said sternly, "That bleeding isn't going to stop! He'll be dead within minutes…"

"You can't just give up on him like that!" Cristal exclaimed.

"Little Gem--" Roman started to say, before he had been cut off by Jaune.

"Your wrong! He's going to make it!" He said, "We'll make sure of it!"

"He's gotta a point you guys…" Rosario stated sadly, "He's not going to survive if we take him…"

"Maybe they're right…" Nora added, "... I don't know if he'll make it…"

"He will!" Jaune said, "He has to!"

"We can increase his chances if we leave here right away!" Melody soon said.

"You're right!" Ruby said, "I can run ahead and look for help!"

"I'll come with!" Cristal said, "I can help cover more ground!"

"Red, Cristal--!" Roman started to say.

"He WILL make it!" Ruby said cutting him off, "So don't say that he won't!"

"You guys…" They soon heard Rosario say, getting their attention. They noticed Scout had her head down and the ears upon her head had been slanted.

Their eyes soon fell upon the Huntsman as had shown no signs of movement. His eyes were opened slightly and they lost color. The group couldn't help but have solemn looks on their faces as they came to a realization.

Scout proceeded to shut the man's eyes as it looked as though he had been sleeping peacefully.

"His wound was too severe I'm afraid…" Scout said, with sadness in her voice, "... There was nothing that could be done."

They couldn't help but mourn for the Huntsman before them; It hadn't been long before Frosty started to howl for the man before them as if he had been mourning as well.

Finally after what had seemed like hours, Ren was the first to speak up.

"We should go." He said, "It's not safe here."

"We can't just leave him like this…" Scout said to him, "... We should at least bury him…"

"I can agree with Ninja here." Rosario said, "Whatever kind of Grimm came through this place might come back."

"But…" Ruby started to say, "... He's a Huntsman. It wouldn't be right just to abandon him like this."

Roman finally heaved a sigh before he spoke his mind, "Red and Foxy are right. We should bury him, he's a Huntsman afterall. He doesn't deserve to be left out here to rot."

Cristal soon noticed the look on her father's face at his words; her gaze softened slightly, "Dad…"

"Some of you can look around to see if you can find any shovels." Roman soon said, "Or at the very least things that could be used for digging. Cristal and I will look for a spot to bury him. Meet back here once you've found something."

RNJR and CRMS looked to one another as they had been equally surprised that Roman had taken charge of the situation. "Well…" Melody soon said, "... You heard him. Let's work quick. However don't let your guard down easily, there could still be Grimm left roaming around here."

With one last glance to each other, each of the party left, looking through the destroyed village. Cristal looked at her father's expression as she now looked worried. She approached him, placing her hand on his arm.

"Dad…?" Cristal said, "... Are you okay?"

Roman didn't respond as he looked at her, before he gently pulled her into a hug, hiding his face. As she returned the gesture, she felt his body shake.

Ruby watched from a distance as she saw Roman and Cristal exchange in a hug; she couldn't help but have her concerns. She remembered the story Cristal and Destiny told them… About how they lost their mother, about how they lost what little of a normal life they had. She knew very well what it was like to lose a mother… And yet all she could do was imagine the kind of pain they went through and for that matter, the kind of feeling Roman had been going through right now.

She was worried about them… About him… About everyone really.

She turned to Jaune, as she noticed the expression he made, "... Jaune?... Are you okay?"

Jaune let out a sigh, "... I'm just… Tired of losing everything."

***

-Atlas; Schnee Mansion-

Weiss didn't know how many times she found herself walking through the enormous halls of her home; Always going to her father whenever he needed to talk to her. Everyday of her life, for as long as she could remember… Was like living in a dollhouse. Always being told what to do, always doing what her father thought best was for the family name?

But was it really?

Since she had returned, she didn't know what to think anymore.

All she thought about was what had happened months prior. In all that time she spent, she forgot what it was like back home again. She hardly remembered the happy times she spent in the large house… All the memories she had before her sisters had been born, was nothing but sadness, nothing… But control.

As she had approached her father's office, she was greeted by the sound of a familiar voice just in front of her.

"Good afternoon sister."

She picked up her head and noticed two people in front of her. One had been her younger brother with short white hair, one by the name of Whitely who appeared to be fifteen. The other had been a young girl with a braided ponytail who appeared to be fourteen, named Nava.

Whitley had been tall and slender, with light blue eyes, wearing a white short sleeved with a black tie and vest, wearing dark blue pants with a pair of black shoes. Nava had dark blue eyes as she wore a light ocean blue dress that reached up to her knees, and had a pair of brown shoes as she looked to be nervous.

"It's a pleasure to see you out of your room for a change." Whitley said as he bowed.

"H--Hi Weiss." Nava said nervously.

"Hi there Nava." Weiss said to her with a warm smile, before she looked at Whiteley as her tone changed, "Hello Whiteley, you're in awfully cheery mode today."

"Klein made crepes for breakfast." Whitley replied with a smile.

Weiss raised her eyebrow as she noticed the look on Nava's face as she looked to the floor. She shook it off before she asked him, "What do you want?"

"I heard father shouting with someone in his study earlier." Whitley replied.

"Is it mother?" Weiss asked.

Nava shook her head, before stating sadly, "She's outside in the garden. Drinking again." She soon looked at Weiss, "... It was a man whose father was speaking too… I think…"

"Nava and I just wanted to warn you." Whitley stated, "We heard he wanted to speak with you."

"... I'll be fine." Weiss said as she rubbed her elbow.

"We know you will." Whitley said just as Nava had been about to say something, "You're strong like Winter--" He placed a hand on Nava's shoulder causing her to flinch, "--It's no wonder Nava here, as well as Van and Nilla look up to you and here."

Weiss couldn't help but look confused, "... You never liked Winter."

"True…" Whitley replied, removing his hand from Nava, "... But you can't deny her resolve."

"You seem… Different."

"And you've been gone. I'll have you know that I didn't stop growing while you were at Beacon."

Whitley soon turned and walked away, "Anyway… Good luck with father. Come along Nava."

Nava glanced back at Weiss, before she gave a small wave to her. Weiss waved back to her before she went to catch up with Whitley. Placing her hand on the beaded bracelet to her wrist, she approached her father's office. Though just as she did, she heard voices inside the office.

"--I'm not talking about the good of the company, I'm talking about the future of Atlas!"

"That is a load of garbage and you know it!"

"I beg your pardon!"

Weiss opened the door and stepped inside, seeing her father and Ironwood within the office; both of them yelling at one another. They didn't even notice she stepped inside as they continued to argue.

"Jacques!" Ironwood said, "Will you please hear me out!?"

Weiss's father, by the name of Jacques, slammed his drink on the table roughly as he sat back in his chair.

"You are a trusted friend and ally to this family James…" Jacques said, "... But what you're suggesting is absurd!"

"You are blowing it out of proportion."

"THE COUNCIL WILL NEVER AGREE TO IT!"

"You forget… I hold two seats on the council."

"Your Dust embargo has already cost me MILLIONS! I can promise you I have not forgotten!"

"So this is about YOU?"

Weiss had been startled when the door closed shut a bit louder than she expected. She saw Jacques and Ironwood look over in her direction as she put her hands behind her back and stood straight.

"Miss Schnee!" Ironwood said as he stood; he bowed his head, "My apologies, I should've been gone by now."

"No, it's okay!" Weiss reassured him.

Ironwood soon turned over to Jacques, "We'll continue this another time."

"Indeed." Jacques said, "Klein can show you out."

"That won't be necessary." He said, "I know the way. Until next time Jacques."

With that, Ironwood proceeded to head out the door. Before he did he turned to Weiss, "Please know that you'll always have a home at Atlas Academy Miss Schnee. We'll be back in session before you know it."

He took his leave, as only her and Jacques had been the ones left in the room.

"Did you forget your manners while you were away?" Jacques asked his daughter.

Weiss sighed before she turned to him, "No father, I'm sorry."

"Can you believe that they're still people in the world that blame Atlas for what happened to Beacon?" He said, "To Vale?"

"Well… They weren't there." She replied.

Jacques soon sat at his desk as he turned in his chair, his back to Weiss, "It's a wonder he wasn't stripped from his rank. I suppose the council trusts him… For better or worse."

"... I trust him." Weiss said.

He sighed as he turned back to her, "Thanks to him, Atlas is forbidden from exporting Dust to other Kingdoms. 'A precautionary measure' as he puts it. 'Until we can be certain nobody is going to declare war.' How in the world could anyone possibly find that to be sound logic is beyond me… Which is why the Schnee Dust Company will be holding a charity concert in the coming weeks."

Weiss's expression perked up. Mostly she had been surprised her father suggested something like this.

"We need to show the people of Remnant that we're on their side." Jacques had explained, "That we're all victims of the fall of Beacon."

"... That's…. Wonderful news!" Weiss said with a smile.

"I know." Jacques said, "... And I think it would make a lot of people happy… If YOU performed at the event."

At this, Weiss lost her smile, "... Excuse me?"

"Many forget you were there." Jacques explained, "My own daughter, a Schnee! On the grounds defending another kingdom! We need to remind them, and show them that the Schnee family is strong as ever!"

She couldn't help but look skeptical at this, "... Are you asking me if I would like to sing… Or are you telling me?"

Jacques only smiled, "... I think it would make a lot of people… Very happy."

Weiss looked into her father's eyes, before she let out a sigh, "... I'll start practicing."

Jacques couldn't help but look pleased, "... That's my girl."

With that being said, Weiss left the room without another word; the minute she shut the door behind her, she noticed the twins standing there. They both had worried looks on their faces. "Van… Nilla…" She said softly, "... How long have you two been listening?"

"Father's making you sing again?" Van asked her.

Weiss's expression changed, "No." She said, trying to reassure them, "No it's nothing like that."

"But it's true… Isn't it?" Nilla stated softly, "... It's not fair… Doesn't father know what you've been through? True… We may not know, but…"

"... He definitely doesn't." Van had finished.

Weiss held a tearful expression this time, as she couldn't help but hug them both; they returned her embrace as they gave her comfort.

"Hot coffee Miss Schnee?"

The three sisters turned and saw Klein had been holding a tray with three cups, each in a different shade of blue, as they broke out of the hug. "I always find he keeps his study dreadfully cold." He said to Weiss with a smile.

Weiss took the mug that had been in the middle, "... Thank you Klein."

Klein only nodded before he turned to the twins, "Here you are Miss Van, Miss Nilla." He said to them warmly, "I took the liberty of making you hot chocolate."

"Awesome!" Nilla said with a smile, taking her mug.

"Thank you very much!" Van added.

They both took a sip from the cup before Klien noticed the look on Weiss's face. She looked down after her conversation with Jacques.

Luckily, he knew just what would lighten the mood.

"You know what I think?" Klein asked, as he put the tray in front of his face. When he removed it, his had turned from brown to red.

"I think it's just to balance out all of his hot air!" He spoke with a gruff accent.

The twins giggled as he laughed, while Weiss smiled.

"Klein!" She said, checking the door to make sure Jacques didn't hear anything. Though ultimately she started to laugh too.

He soon let out a sneeze as his eyes changed to blue.

"Uh--Apologies my lady's!" He said, this time, his voice sounding high pitched.

He pretended to sneeze again, and the three girls giggled as he wiggled his moustache. His eyes soon changed to yellow as he sighed happily, "There's my happy little snowflake!"

"Funny as always, huh Klein?" Van said as she had a smile as well.

"Well Weiss?" Nilla asked, "Do you feel any better?"

Weiss nodded in reply, before she looked to their butler "... Thank you Klein."

***

"Jaune…"

"... Do you believe…"

"... Jaune...!"

"... In something called magic?"

".... Jaune!"

Ruby awoke after yet another dream, this one being different from the rest. When she opened her eyes, she found that it was still late. She had decided to go back to sleep, until--

"Jaune."

Her eyes widened as she sat up from her sleeping bag. When she looked around, she saw everyone had still been asleep like usual. Frosty had been on top of Melody's bottom half as she slept, while Senka slept beside Cristal, his whole body practically curled up against her,

She heard her!

She heard Pyrrha, though she knew that to be impossible. She soon noticed Jaune had been missing as well as Roman from where they had usually slept. She got up from where she slept, and followed the sound of Pyrrha's voice as the fireflies glowed in the night; a single one nearly landed on her finger.

Than, she noticed Jaune as she hid herself behind a tree nearby.

He had been armed with his sword and shield, as he had been taking a couple of practice swings. Sitting on a stump nearby, had been his scroll; a familiar red haired girl had been within the frame of it.

She recognized her… To be Pyrrha.

"Alright Jaune, just like we practiced." Pyrrha said in the video, "Follow these instructions."

Jaune tightened his grip on his sword and shield and prepared for the instructions that were to follow.

"Shield up."

He brought his shield up.

"Keep your grip tight."

He double checked to make sure he had his grip tight.

"Don't forget to keep your right foot forward."

He kept his right foot in place, since he hadn't forgotten.

"Ready?... Go!"

Jaune swung his sword, cutting the air, as if an enemy had been standing in front of him.

"Again!"

He moved forward again, using his opposite foot this time as he swung his blade.

"And again!"

Jaune took one final swing, stepping further onto the bed of grass. He took deep breaths as he had been catching his breath, after taking three powerful swings.

Pyrrha giggled in the video, "Alright, now assuming you haven't cheated, we can take a break."

He wiped the sweat off of his brow as he looked at the video.

"I know this can be frustrating…" Pyrrha began to say, "... And it can feel like so much effort to progress such a small amount, but…" She soon smiled, "... I want you to know that I'm proud of you. I've never met someone so determined to better themselves. You've grown so much since we started training. And I know… This is just the beginning."

Pyrrha soon looked away from the camera; her face turned slightly red, "Jaune…" She struggled to say, "... I… I…"

Ruby saw Jaune anxiously waiting, like he was expecting Pyrrha in the video to finish.

It hadn't been long before she turned back to the camera with a smile on her face, "... I just want you to know… I'm happy to be a part of your life. No matter what happens… I'll always be here for you Jaune."

"Pyra!"

A twelve year old girl soon came into view; she had possessed magenta hair with her bangs partly in orange as she had a black eye patch over her right eye. She jumped onto Pyrrha's back as the teen couldn't help but laugh.

Jaune cracked a smile as did Ruby when they saw it had been Destiny.

"I found you Pyra~!" Destiny said as she kicked her legs a little.

"You certainly did." Pyrrha said, taking the child's hands into her own.

"Everyone's waiting for you so we can head to the stadium." Destiny said, "The single rounds start tonight and you could be picked for the first match!"

"Don't you worry I won't forget a thing like that." Pyrrha said, "We shouldn't keep them waiting."

Destiny gave a nod, before she noticed the camera on the scroll had still been going. "Oh no…" She said worryingly, "I'm sorry, were you recording something? Did I interrupt?"

Pyrrha reassured her, as she took her in her arms, once she got her off her back, "I was, but I'm all finished now. You didn't interrupt anything."

"Oh…" The child said softly, "... What were you recording?"

"That's a little secret." She replied, "But… Since your good with keeping secrets, I'll tell you about it later."

Destiny soon held out her pinky, "Promise?"

Pyrrha laughed softly before intertwining her pinky with the little ones, "Promise."

Their foreheads touched each other as they both possessed a smile; Pyrrha soon looked to the scroll before she pressed a button, letting the video come to an end.

Though it wasn't a second later when the video just rewinded itself back to the beginning.

She repeated the same words as she did when the recording started. Just as Jaune was about to repeat his movements from earlier, a hand reached out and paused the video.

"You know…" A voice soon said, "... If you're going to be out here just to reminisce, the least you can do is be sensible about it."

Jaune looked as did Ruby; both of them had been surprised when they saw that it had been Roman.

"... What are you doing up?" Jaune asked him.

"Couldn't sleep." Roman replied leaning against the stump, "Though I would take an evening stroll to take my mind off of my troubled thoughts." He soon looked at the scroll, "... May I?"

"Sure, go ahead." Jaune said.

Roman took the scroll from where it sat and looked at the video; he fast forwarded it a little just when Destiny came into view of the video.

"This is her than…? Pyrrha Nikos?" Roman said, though he didn't expect Jaune to answer, "The one many called, the Invincible Girl. Cristal talks a lot about her… Red does too, and your friends when they can. Red told me… Her and Destiny were practically best friends.

Jaune nodded at this, "... Most of us were busy when we were finishing the preparations for the Vytal Festival. Pyrrha mostly volunteered to look after Destiny."

Roman couldn't help but chuckle, "I can't believe she even gave her a nickname. Pyra…" He laughed again, "... It's clever. Though, I didn't think that trait of mine would rub off on her. Here I thought she took more after her…"

His words started to trail off, and Jaune had been quick to put together as to why, when he saw his expression had saddened a little.

Roman soon cleared his throat, "... From hearing from this video… I can tell she meant a lot to you too."

This time Jaune stayed silent, as he looked to the floor.

"... Your torn about what happened to her…" Roman soon added, "... Who could blame you for it? From what your teammates said… You were the one that had been very close to her."

"She…" Jaune began to say, "... Was the first person to ever believe in men, when I started to attend Beacon. Even when I didn't deserve it… She was right there. I can't seem to let go of all that you know?"

"It's kind of funny, when I think about it actually…" Roman couldn't help but comment, "... Everytime Cristal, Red, or the others talk about Pyrrha… It makes me think back to my wife. The more I think about it, the more I realize… The way Pyrrha was… It was like how Trinity had been. I assume they told you about her?"

"... Yeah." Jaune said, "... Cristal was really close to her, and Destiny… Even though she's never met her, she looks up to her, and loves her like she does."

"That's thanks to the stories I tell about her every now and again." He continued, "But… I'm going to let you in on a little secret, just a little something between us."

Jaune looked confused, as he couldn't help but wonder what he meant by that.

It hadn't been long before Roman answered his question for him, "... My life… Wasn't exactly easy. I came from a place you wouldn't believe. Back when I was around the same age as you, I used to think us people were just--If you'll forgive the expression--A wolf in sheep's clothing. After I left, what let's just say, would've been the end of my life. I encountered a lot of people that stabbed me in the back just to save their own skin. Or worse they would do it for their own entertainment. Everyday I tell myself, people are the worst, I even found days where I hated myself, because I turned into one of them."

Roman soon gave a smile, "... But, my perspective changed, when I met a girl with magenta hair, and having eyes, that I swear… To this day, I believe it is made from the finest amethyst. She--like your friend, saw a side in me I didn't even know I had. She showed me that even though the world was cruel, there was always something good to look forward to. She showed me that there were people like her, that were decent, honest and hardworking like her. She never gave up on a person, even to others that many didn't think needed a second chance. It's what made me fall in love with her to begin with."

Jaune couldn't help but be in awe of this, "Whoa… I don't know what to say…"

Roman soon placed the scroll back on the stump as he turned to Jaune, "The point I'm making here is simple." He said, "People like my wife… People like Pyrrha are not ones that tend to stay forgotten. Even with Trinity gone… Her love is still there. Not a day goes by when I wish she was still here, to watch our little Gem and our Princess to grow up one day. We can't forget about the people we love… Despite how much it hurts, we can't. But… We can learn to move on from it. Sooner or later, you'll have to learn to move on as well… Even if you don't want to."

Jaune looked to Roman, before he looked to the still image of Pyrrha and Destiny; though really, he was looking to Pyrrha in particular as he had a certain thought.

"Thank you." Jaune said to Roman, "I appreciate what your saying, really."

Roman gave a pat on the shoulder as he proceeded to take his leave, "... Try not to stay up too late Arky. It's bad for your health."

Ruby, who watched and listened to the whole thing, couldn't help but have her own smile. Despite still having her worry and concerns, she was surprised Roman lending a hand. She wanted to be able to help him as well, though she just didn't know how.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to eavesdrop Red?"

Ruby jumped and saw Roman standing next to her.

"How long have you been listening?" He asked her.

"Awhile." Ruby replied softly, not wanting Jaune to hear.

Roman gave a nod before saying, "We better head back, and get some sleep. We've got a long day of walking ahead of us."

"What about Jaune?" She asked him.

"Don't worry about him." He reassured her, "He'll catch up. Now let's go before he sees you here."

Taking one last glance at Jaune she walked alongside Roman as they headed back towards the campsite. It hadn't been long before he heard her giggle.

"What?" He asked, giving a quizzical look, "What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing~!" She replied teasingly, "I didn't know you were one to give really good advice."

Roman turned away from Ruby, his face slightly red with embarrassment, making Ruby giggle a little more.

"You know something…" She said as she gave him an affectionate nudge on the elbow, "... You've changed in a good way these last few months we've been out here."

Roman chuckled, taking a puff from his cigar, "What can I say? Not everyone stays the same."