Pyrrha takes in a short gasp of air as she opens her bright green eyes. It feels like she was suddenly woken up from a dream. She can't remember how she got here… come to think of it, she doesn't even know where here is. Everything is white. Just an expanse of white, as far as the eye can see. She is lying on her back, so she must be lying on something, but as she sits up, she doesn't see any sort of surface. This is very disorienting, she thinks. What's going on?
The next thing she realizes is that she isn't wearing her armor. Miló and Akoúo̱ are nowhere in sight. She feels naked without her weapons and armor to protect her in this strange place. She looks down at her body, and sees she is wearing a simple tank top and shorts. None of this makes any sense. Where am I? What…
"Hello," says a soft voice from behind her. Pyrrha whips her head around to find the source of the voice, and sees a young woman in a white cloak standing behind her. Her hair is black with red highlights, and she has silver eyes… somehow very familiar.
"Ruby?"
"I'm afraid not," says the woman. She holds out her hand to help Pyrrha up, and Pyrrha gladly accepts help from this friendly stranger. The silver-eyed woman looks Pyrrha up and down with curious but kind eyes. "You must be Pyrrha Nikos." A shadow of sorrow crosses the woman's face. "I'm sorry about what happened. You must be very scared right now."
"I… who are you? And what DID happen, exactly?"
The young woman sighs. "Well, let me start with your first question. My name is Summer Rose."
"Summer… Ruby's mother?" Pyrrha stops for a second. "But… not to be rude… aren't you dead?"
Summer hesitates. "Yes."
"Then how…"
"Pyrrha," Summer says gently, "What's the last thing you remember before you woke up here?"
Pyrrha closes her eyes and concentrates. Images and emotions start to flash in her mind. Determination… a broken elevator… anger… combat… huge gears at the top of Beacon Tower… Cinder… and-
Pyrrha's eyes snap open. Her fingers fly to her chest, but find nothing unusual, just her smooth skin under her touch. "I- I think-"
"Do you believe in destiny?"
"Yes."
Pyrrha's eyes go wide. "I- I'm…"
"You're dead, Pyrrha." A strong hand rests on her shoulder. It belongs to a tall, dark-haired man wearing a green vest over a white shirt. Pyrrha's head begins to spin. Her body starts shaking like a leaf.
"This is a bad dream," she tries to say confidently, but it comes out shaky and afraid. "I'll wake up, and everything will be fine."
"No, Pyrrha. You are dead. You do not get to wake up." The man's accent is strange. She looks up into his face and once again feels a sense of familiarity. His hand still rests firmly on her shoulder, grounding her. "My name is Li Ren. You knew my son." He pauses. "Thank you for taking care of him."
"Ren is more than capable of taking care of himself," Pyrrha says with a little laugh. Then she stops as reality hits her again. She sits down abruptly on the featureless ground.
"It never hurts to have a little help." This voice is a woman's, someone new. The newcomer kneels down and her face comes into Pyrrha's view. "Ren needed your help, believe me. And maybe you need some help from us right now."
"You have to be brave," says the man. "It is never easy for anyone who arrives here. But we have a duty now. We must make sure those who carry on after us are all right."
Pyrrha's eyes fill with tears, and she looks down. "I don't understand. None of this makes any sense!" Then her mind processes what Ren's father has just said. She springs to her feet.
"Jaune!"