'How am I going to tell her about this during the meeting?' a girl thought to herself as she was leaning on one of the trees around a clear but somewhat cloudy day in the shade, looking at her Scroll to check the time. 'I know that I want to talk to her at a park outside of Beacon Academy, but I hope she might be able to pull herself together after the event that had occured.'

The girl in question had fair skin with medium straight blonde hair that went down a few inches behind her back and have violet-like eyes. The attire she was wearing was a long sleeve purple collar shirt, dark khaki pants with a medium brown belt on her waist, and purplish blue running shoes. The girl also appeared to be in her late teens.

The girl then put her Scroll away in her left pocket before scanning the area to see the other female in question she wanted to chat with. But before she might do anything else, the girl saw a female around her age wearing a short sleeve orange shirt with a medium green skirt that goes to her knees, and light brown walking boots that goes to her shins. But the teenage girl had long red hair in a ponytail, fair skin, and had emerald green eyes. But the familiar face and appearance had alerted the girl in purple when she noticed.

"Pyrrha, Pyrrha Nikos, I'm right here." the teenage girl in purple alerted as she waved her arms out, knowing who she was in a different set of clothes than her usual attire.

The teenage girl in orange named Pyrrha Nikos noticed the girl in purple that was waving and was walking towards her direction in a calm, non-concerend manner to the girl in purple in the shade.

Once Pyrrha was near to the teenage girl in purple who began to stop waving, she asked, "Vera Cocoran, of Team VLGE(Voltage) I assumed?"

"That would be me," the named Vera Cocoran nodded, before adding "I get that you got the message I sent a few days earlier?"

"Indeed," Pyrrha noted, "I take that you wanted to have a meeting in person around someplace that won't draw too much attention after all the craze that's been going around lately."

"Of course," Vera explained in a reserved tone of voice.

Pyrrha then asked, "What do you want to talk about?"

"Wanting an apology to you for the madness you and your team had gone through after Jaune Arc was expelled from Beacon Academy for his faked transcripts," Vera explained. "And the subsequent madness that followed for the past few days."

Pyrrha nodded bitterly, recalling memories of past events that transcribed for the formerly named Team JPNR.

After going to brief memories that occured for the past few days, Pyrrha responded, "Why do you want to apologize to me of all people?"

"I know that despite being famous back in Haven, all you wanted was to be treated like a normal person instead of a champion back at Sactum," Vera replied solemnly.

Vera then sighed for a moment before explaining, "I guess that after I told Professor Goodwitch of what Team CRDL, mostly likely Cardin Winchester, were doing to Jaune with throwing the jar of Rapier Wasp jam on somebody or something with anonymously, she took immediate action to stop them before things get out of hand. But if I didn't tell her, I bet that the person getting hit by the jam would be attacked by Rapier Wasps, and drawing attention to the Grimm from the ensuing madness."

The info regarding to Cardin attemping to force Jaune to throw Rapier Wasp Jam had made Pyrrha really upset in terms of the consequences it would bring, but making Jaune do it was much worse for her.

"I was glad that Cardin was expelled from Beacon Academy," Pyrrha replied. "The rest of Team CRDL will likely be joining him very shortly after, if they won't have to deal with them being rejected for their horrible behavior and willingness to allow Cardin to do this."

"I know. Besides, regular animals like bears, insects, and Rapier Wasps are attracted to jam like any other food. Grimm on the other hand are atracted to negative emotions." Vera added as she was starting to become visibly upset, if not furious as she stop leaning on the tree. "Not only that, people thinking that Grimm, particularly Ursa Grimm, are atractted to Rapier Wasp jam are utterly deemed idiots of all time and, like that event that nearly happened thanks to Team CRDL's actions, would be utterly distastrous to anyone and everyone in so many levels! And it's not helping by the fact that if a person got stung by Rapier Wasps might wind up being in a hospital for weeks, if not months; the victims could be allergic to bee stings; and the people who are responsible for this are going to get serious consquences from the victims' loved ones that want . . . Steaming Hot Justice!"

Despite being upset that Jaune being forced to throw Rapier Wasp jam by Cardin, she couldn't help but chuckle on Team CRDL's plight for their actions.

'I bet that Cardin may be dealing with a lot of hot water from people, including his teammates, for his idea to throw jam at me or anyone else. Especially by the fact that even extends to Fannus students that wanted payback for his torment towards them.' Pyrrha though to herself in between her giggles as Vera reminded her of a bit like Weiss and, surprisingly Yang and Nora, who were upset on Team CRDL for tormenting Jaune and blackmailing him. As well as the fact that they wanted payback on them, figuratively for the former, and literally for the latter two, particularly once they were caught.

However, with Jaune being forced to tell everything that he had to go through when being blackmailed by Cardin really made Pyrrha stopped laughing once she remembered what had happened after the mission really made her remember all the events that happened after the teams finished collecting Rapier Wasp Jam.

After Vera calmed herself down after the outburst while she sat down on the tree, as well as Pyrrha recalling the past events that are still fresh in her mind while kneeling down on the grass, they looked at each other in silence for a moment until Pyrrha asked, "Vera, although you told Professor Goodwitch about the blackmail being perpetrated by Team CRDL, Jaune had no choice but to admit that he had to forge his transcripts just to get into Beacon Academy."

"Why do that?" Vera asked while retaining her calm and reserved tone.

"To fufill his family's legacy." Pyrhha answered plainly.

"Although that would be understandable for a person to do that, forgery still create problems for everybody involved," Vera noted. "And with Jaune not having Hunter education from the Junior Hunter Academies or being tutored by a Professional Hunter, he's more than likely going to deal with serious backlash from people, including those that have understandable reasons why."

"That would be true, but people now think me being friends with someone who used fake transcripts despite admitting them is unacceptable for me to do," Pyrrha repiled bitterly. "I have to deal with classmates that hated me for my growing feeling toward Jaune and had times they refuse to outright help me when I needed it."

"With the exception of the remaining Team JPNR and Team RWBY, I suppose?"

"Of course; despite learning about the faked transcripts, they know that Jaune is their best friend despite this. Also he was willing to admit to his wrongdoing and why he done this also made them feel little more sad about him being expelled." Pyrrha answered.

Pyrrha looked at Vera before she asked solemnly, "Do you regret reporting to Professor Goodwitch about this, Vera Cocoran?"

"Although I didn't want to do this, I have to," Vera admitted while retaining her reserved tone. "Hunters tormenting innocent people, including their own classmates, all for their sick enjoyment is unacceptable in all levels. Not only that, I rather worry about the severe consequences that could rise up if I didn't stop this."

"Even if that meant Jaune being forced to reveal his faked transcripts?"

"If necessary, yes,"

"Why?"

"I rather dealing with the drama with this right now than the potential consequnces of our classmates facing a severe Grimm attack," Vera responded neutrally, "A few out of Beacon is more suitable than many of them. Especially for a prank that would had caused the Grimm to take advantage of it. Not only that, forgery is a serious crime that, if left unchecked, would lead to major problems for everyone involved, and possibly will be at the mercy of those that will exploit this to their advantage. If Ozpin chose not to take action against this, I rather send the info I recorded on my Scroll and sending it to the Valean Council as last resort if I have to."

Vera's words had shocked Pyrrha for a bit, knowing that she was willing to tell Professor Goodwitch without anyone else knowing to stop this prank even though Jaune could have stood up for himself and willing to get the Council involved in this without hesitation to the potential actions it would bring. But another part of her mind told her that even if Jaune stood up for himself, even if that meant being risked to be pummeled by Cardin and his team, Pyrrha knew that either way won't end well for Jaune for that matter in the end, even if Vera had to indirectly get involved to prevent it going further.

Knowing this, Pyrrha asked, "What do you and your team think of Jaune at this point?"

"Although I think of him as a nice and honest person, with the heart of being a Hunter, he lacks the knowledge, skills, and experience to back him up," Vera explained, before admitting, "If circumstances were different, and if he went to any of the Junior Academies or was trained by a professional Hunter and had decent, experienced, or skilled Hunter skills, I would personally want to get to know him more better. While my two teammates are split in their opinions about their views about Jaune, a teammate of mine think Jaune either can try again at being a Hunter next time or look for a differenr profession that have a lot of opportunities for him. How about you?"

"Jaune is a likable person who wanted to be a hero," Pyrrha explained, "Although he doesn't have the skills to help back him up, Jaune wanted to make sure that he wanted to keep his family legacy alive; he cares about his teammates and friends despite them being more experienced and skilled than him; and while he was forced to reveal about forging the transcripts, Jaune was willing to admit that he had to do this, regardless if his family is going to approve it or not. And we're upset and worried that Jaune could be shunned by his family and had no place left to go."

"Not helping by the fact that when it hit the news like wildfire all the way to the Valean Council due to your popularity, Headmaster Ozpin asked politely if he wanted a voluntarily resignation after this semester for his actions for allowing Jaune to Beacon Academy despite the evidence of forgery to the Council," Vera added, "As well as not having the Professors and himself not taking action to suspend or expel Cardin because of his family status (which would be tarnished pretty soon thanks to the now called 'Near Rapier Wasp Incident' and more thank likely might be dealing more and more lawsuits in the near future) that made the Council willing to allow his resignation. It's possible that we might have a new Headmaster or Headmistress meeting up pretty shortly at this point."

Vera grew quiet for a moment before asking, "How was Nora, Ren, and Team RWBY? Are they doing okay?"

"Of course they are . . . just somewhat," Pyrrha replied wearily, "Although Team RWBY are trying to adjust without Jaune around by making friends with people that felt bad about Jaune leaving to keep them distracted, although Ren and Nora felt pretty bad about Jaune leaving and actually spent more time with chatting with him and me regardless, since they had no place left to go at this point when they told me about their past. Even with all this, they still had to deal with backlash from their classmates regardless."

Although Vera was curious about the other two teammates of Team JPNR, Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren, about where they're from and what happened to them, but something within told her not to ask about that question at a time like this.

Instead she asked, "Why are willing to stand up for Jaune during all of this, even if he may had no place left to go at this point?"

"I'm doing this out of respect for him," Pyrrha replied.

"How come?"

"Jaune is a honest person even as he was expelled from Beacon," Pyrrha stated, "And if I'm going to be criticized for it, I'm more than happier to take that risk anyway."

"Why are you willing to do this?" Vera disagreed out of concern, "People had looked up to you as a role model for others to become Hunters just to follow in your footsteps. Helping someone who had been expelled for forgery may damage your reputation and you might lose the respect others had about you."

"I know," Pyrrha acknowledged before she added, "I may be the top rank Huntress back in Sactum Academy for my combat skills and was popular enough for Pumpkin Pete to sponser me to have enough finances to keep me afloat, but being a true Huntress even means helping out their loved ones, including their fellow Hunters, even if they admit to their wrongdoings and and are willing to atone for their actions wholeheartedly despite how others think of them otherwise.

"The real reason why I was successful back at Sactum was that I trained myself to see if I'm strong and smart enough to defeat my opponents in combat; I kept myself physically, mentally, and psychologically in shape; trained whenever I'm not too busy with homework or my studies; had parents who cared about me for my well being and were always there for me, even in bad times; always being educated as much as possible, including literature and philosophy; used my finances wisely while donating partial amounts to charity; I listened to classical and jazz music just to help keep me relaxed; spent as much time interacting with my friends and family; and I'd remained honest to everyone I meet. In essence, that's how I'm really popular."

Vera looked at Pyrrha in amazement by the fact that despite all the popularity she had, she rather remain a everyday teenage girl who wanted to help inspire others. But as she looked back at herself, Vera chuckled dryly about something personal, which unexpectedly brought attention to Pyrrha.

"Are you feeling okay?" Pyrrha asked in concern.

"No," Vera replied.

"Why is it?"

"Because looking back, your life seem more better than mine to be honest," Vera admitted softly. "Because unlike you, who was remembered by many, I was from a lower family status in my childhood and, as I considered, a nobody that had limited friends back in Vale."

Pyrrha looked at Vera for a moment before asking, "What happened, Vera?"

Vera sighed before she explaine, "Back when I was a child, my parents lost their jobs for no reason by their employers just because despite being hard workers and were forced to look for other jobs just to help feed me and my brothers and sisters. They had to sell their home to move someplace cheaper to save money while my siblings and myself had to transfer to a neighboring school also in the process. During that time, my siblings and I had to start trusting each other more often when our classmates started to dislike us for being 'different' by the way we act and behave; we were more civilized than they are and took offense to our behavior, which end up with my parents being forced to have us take online classes with mom choosing to stay at home to look after us while dad continue his job search after countless reports that we defended each other when our classmates tried to fight us several times without the staff not wanting to help or defend us."

"I hate to sidetrack your past, but why the staff didn't want to do that?" Pyrrha asked.

"The staff were afraid the troublemakers' parents would hurt them," Vera answered, "But my parents had zero tolerance with their actions; to them, self-defense was a right given to everyone, and had the neighboring school shut down for the staff and teachers failing to restore order after we secretly record everything about the school for a week with our Scrolls and posting all the videos online secretly for everyone, including the police, to look at."

Even though Pyrrha wanted to learn more about this, she instead asked, "Can you continue with your story?"

"Of course," Vera replied before she continued, "While my siblings and myself tok online classes, my dad had to search more serious for a job for his family, which took a lot trial and error a couple of times before my dad found a legit job while my mom agreed to continue being a stay-at-home mom after realizing she enjoyed more time being with us. Once my dad had enough finances for us to move again to be closer to his new job out in a nice neighborhood, but we chose to stay with online classes after our experiences with the now closed neighborhood school back then and we because it's more interesting for us to learn. But during that time I wanted to become a Huntress to help support myself and my family with the finances, but back then, my parents were no hunters, nor was my grandparents, with the finances my dad had were enough for the home and for his family; it took me a while before I found a group of affordable tutors that were Hunters that put effort in training their students to become good quality Hunters in their field despite being regular Hunters and Huntresses, out of respect for my family's finances.

"Before applying for the tutor of my choice, I had to work part time early to keep myself financially stable before joining, and despite not having the gear that I have than my peers, I was the most dedicated to my training and wanted to learn multiple skills just to survive-if not thrive, without all the fancy weapon-changing technologies that everone else in that group teaches. In the process, my tutors started to notice my dedication for success and knowledge for mulitple skils that they were willing to help make the time with the training go into more managable levels for my time and finances and helping me get the equipment, weapons, ammunition, armor, and a personal attire for combat that I need at a discounted price. Although I may be deemed a nobody by others around me for being too focused on earning my way to success, my family, my mentor, and the peers that were training with me, they were the only friends I can rely on."

Although Pyrrha listened to Vera's story, she asked, "Vera, I can understand where you can from, your financial situations that your family had gone through, and your training from the group of Hunters that wanted to help with your situation, but when you told Professor Goodwitch about what was going on, why you wanted to be anonymous? Do you wanted the fame that you deserved?"

"I don't care about publicity." Vera answered.

"Why not?" Pyrrha wondered.

"Asside from the fact that Cardin's family might want payback if it went public, as well as unwanted publicity, it isn't worth the risk, including the fact with Jaune being in a team with you in it," Vera explained with a small smile on her face as she sighed contently. "I rather remain a normal person regardless; fame for the sake of it is overrated anyway, and making meaningful friends that watch each other's back in all times is more better anyway."

Pyrrha started to nodded with a small smile to Vera's ressponse to her decision despite the potential backlash she and her friends had to face after Jaune's expulsion, despite herself knowing that she rather remain a normal person despite the fame.

"By the way, what are you going to do now?" Vera asked as she returned her reserved expression.

"I have help Jaune out during his time outside of Beacon while retaining my career as a Huntress," Pyrrha explained. "I know it won't be easy task, but I want to make sure he had someone who's there for him incase he had no one else to lean onto in case his family disowns him. Surprisingly, Nora, Ren, and Team RWBY agreed to help train him to become a Hunter if he decides to come back to Beacon or any of the Academies if he wants to."

"Why all that?" Vera asked curiously.

"Because he's our friend," Pyrrha responded, "And it's job to help each other out. Even if we experienced hard times along the way."

Vera nodded as she stood up to stretch and pulled out her Scroll out of her pocket to look at the time before she said, "I think I need to get back to the Academy. Want to come along?"

"I'm good," Pyrrha replied as she stood up.

Before Vera started to walk away from Pyrrha, she asked, "I think we should seek some counseling for this? Although the meeting was longer than expected and we got to know each other a lot more better, it's going to take awhile before we can all resolve our issues completely, especially in regards to our teammates' stances at this point. Including the fact that it's going to take a while for things to settle down with all events that are still going on right now."

"I know," Pyrrha nodded before she added. "Take care of yourself, Vera."

"You too," Vera noted as they walked to their seperate paths as they left the tree they were in and were leaving the park.