A/N: Before anyone asks, Volume 4 does not exist in this divergent canon story (and neither does Volume 3 for the most part). Weiss and Winter are the only two Schnee siblings.


Team RWBY were in their dorm resting, having come back from their morning training for the tournament. With Team JNPR not scheduled to come back from their pre-festival mission until late in the day and Zwei returning home, Ruby was bored from having nothing to do. She would usually walk around the city to find something to do, but most of the stores were in repairs after the Grimm attack, and it felt awkward to wander the city with those robots walking around.

"I'm boooored," moaned Ruby, hanging upside down from the side of her bed. "Someone give me something fun to do."

"If you need something to do," said Weiss, "start studying about the other teams registered for the tournament."

"I said something FUN!"

"Why not read a book?" said Blake, tossing Ruby one of her books.

"Not in the mood for reading," said Ruby, tossing the book back.

"How about getting some crayons and coloring?" said Yang.

"Yang, I'm a young adult, not a five-year-old!"

"You certainly fooled me," said Weiss.

"You guys are mean!" pouted Ruby.

"Maybe instead of complaining about having nothing to do, you can-"

Weiss was suddenly interrupted by her scroll ringing. Weiss checked to see who would be calling her now, and was surprised to see it was from Winter.

"Who is it?" asked Ruby.

"It's my sister!" said Weiss, answering her scroll.

"Sister?"

"Hello, Winter! ...I'm doing just fine. ...really? Today? How wonderful! ...Ivory too? Are you sure she'll be okay? I mean, I wouldn't want her to...okay, whatever you say! See you then!"

Weiss hung up and suddenly looked like she was walking on air.

"My sisters are coming to visit Beacon!"

"You have sisters?" asked Ruby. "What are they like?"

"Hope they're not as cold as you are," joked Yang.

"My older sister is a special operative working for Ironwood. My other sister is...well..."

Weiss looked uncomfortable talking about her other sister. She didn't like to talk about Ivory due to her mental disability, as she was afraid of having to answer a lot of questions she either didn't know the answer to or wasn't comfortable sharing with other people.

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"When are they coming to visit?" asked Ruby.

"My sister said she should be arriving near academy grounds in about thirty minutes."

"Nice! Let's all go over and greet them!"

"I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Why not? It finally gives me something to do!"

"My little sister is really shy around new people, and meeting three new people right away might scare her."

"But I'm not scary! I mean Blake and Yang might be scary, but certainly not me!"

"And just WHAT is so scary about me, sis?" said Yang, feeling somewhat peeved by that comment.

"I simply can't imagine," said Blake sarcastically.

"Look," said Weiss, "my little sister is...different, and I'm not sure if she's going to react in a positive way."

"C'mon Weiss," said Ruby, "let us see your sisters pleeeeease?" Ruby folded her hands and started giving Weiss the puppy-dog look.

"Fine!" said Weiss. "Just PLEASE try to act normal around them, okay?"

"Promise!"

Team RWBY left their dorm and headed to the port Winter's ship would be landing on. While Ruby and Yang were secretly discussing what Weiss' sisters might be like, Blake was interested to know about this mysterious third sibling of the Schnee family. Having done espionage work for the White Fang in the past, Blake was aware of the Schnee family tree. She knew about Winter, Weiss, and their father Jacques, but she knew almost nothing about Ivory. She heard about the Schnees having a third child, but that child was so reclusive, hardly anything was known about her. With the way Weiss wanted to avoid her team meeting Ivory, something was definitely up.

#

Winter's airship arrived at Beacon Academy. As soon as Winter and Ivory got out of their seats, Ivory clutched Winter's hand tight while holding on to her Pyrrha doll; she was still nervous about who and what she was going to see when they got off the ship.

"You promise the first thing we're going to do is see Weiss?" asked Ivory.

"I promise," said Winter. "In fact, Weiss should be outside this ship ready to say hi."

Winter and Ivory boarded off the ship with their robotic bodyguards and stepped foot on academy grounds. As expected, Weiss was there waiting to say hi. However, she was also surrounded by a group of girls who were curious to see Winter step foot on the ground. The one in the black and red dress seemed especially excited to see them. Weiss and the others immediately ran up to greet Winter; Ivory tried to hide behind Winter's leg.

"Hello Winter!" said Weiss. "It's good to see you again."

"Hello Weiss," said Winter. "It's good to see you too. And...you brought company."

"Hi!" said Ruby. "I'm Ruby! It's great to finally meet you!"

"Oh yes, Ruby Rose. You're Weiss' partner. You are certainly...a person."

Winter was already turned off by Ruby's overenthusiasm, and couldn't believe how such a young energetic girl was chosen to be leader over Weiss. Then again, Winter always believed Beacon to be more laxed in their standards of leadership and quality of huntsmen. It wasn't any surprise when the councils turned to Ironwood and the Atlas military to handle the security for the Vytal Festival.

"Thank you!" said Ruby. "I am most certainly...a person. These are my teammates, Yang and Blake!"

Yang also waved enthusiastically, while Blake just stood there with her arms crossed.

"Well Weiss," said Winter, "you've certainly made some...unique friends."

"So," said Ruby, "is that the little sister I've heard about?"

Ruby tried to walk up and get a better look at Ivory. Ivory tried to move away from Ruby and clung to Winter's leg. Weiss grabbed Ruby by her arm and pulled her away.

"What are you doing, you dolt?" muttered Weiss.

"I'm just trying to say hi!" said Ruby.

"Ivory has a little trouble talking to new people," said Winter. "You'll have to introduce yourselves properly before she start's talking."

"Oh, okay!" Ruby cleared her throat and folded her arms as she bent forward. "Hello Ivory, I'm Ruby Rose! A pleasure to meet you!"

Ruby tried to put on a big smile, hoping that would ease Ivory's fears. Ivory still hid behind Winter, not sure what to do.

"Go on Ivory," said Winter. "Say hello."

Ivory let go of Winter and clung tightly to her Pyrrha doll as she stepped forward, finally giving Team RWBY a better look at Ivory. Right away they noticed how different she looked from the other Schnee sisters with her red eyes and black highlights.

"Hello Ruby," said Ivory, doing a curtsy with her dress. "I'm Ivory Schnee."

"Nice to meet you!" said Ruby. "These are my other teammates!"

"I'm Blake Belladonna," said Blake, giving a small wave of her hand.

"I'm Yang Xiao Long!" said Yang, walking up to Ivory to shake her hand. Ivory looked up and down her body, then started groaning like something was bothering her.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Your legs!" said Ivory.

"My legs?" Yang looked down at her legs, but nothing appeared wrong with them. "What about my legs?"

"Your socks aren't the same height! And you're wearing that scarf!"

"What are you, a little fashionista?"

"You're not symmetric!"

"Suh-what?"

Ivory suddenly went up to Yang and tried to pull up the sock that was hanging over her boot.

"Hey!" said Yang, pushing Ivory off. "You just can't grab people like that, little girl!"

"But you're not symmetric!" yelled Ivory. Weiss knew when Ivory started raising her voice, it usually led to one of her tantrums, and quickly tried to diffuse the situation.

"Yang, please fix your socks," said Weiss.

"Are you serious?" asked Yang.

"Yes!"

Yang rolled her eyes and pulled up her other sock so they were now at matching height. Weiss pointed to the scarf around her leg; Yang grumbled how ridiculous this was as she took off her leg scarf and stuffed it in her pocket.

"I apologize," said Winter. "Ivory isn't trying to do this to annoy you."

"Then why?" asked Yang.

"Ivory has Asperger's syndrome. She's very serious about things having to be symmetrical."

"Papa says symmetry is very important," said Ivory. "A lady or gentleman can't be proper if they aren't dressed symmetrical. That's why papa doesn't like Weiss very much."

"Oh really?" said Yang, intrigued by the Weiss family dilemma.

"My father and I have had some...disagreements before I came here," said Weiss. "That's all you need to know."

"Papa isn't happy that Weiss hasn't called back," said Ivory. "That's why he's canceling her credit card."

"He's WHAT?"

"Ivory, let's not discuss family issues in front of Weiss' teammates, okay?" said Winter.

"But it's true!" said Ivory.

"Whether it's true or not," said Ruby, "sometimes there are things you shouldn't share with other people, especially about private family matters."

"Papa says the only people who have something to hide are criminals," said Ivory, "like those filthy Faunus in the White Fang."

Ruby, Weiss, and Yang can feel a chill run down their spine on Ivory suddenly spurting out such a racist remark in front of Blake. Thankfully, Blake kept her cool and didn't react. Blake wasn't surprised a Schnee who likely didn't get out much would say such a thing.

"I apologize," said Winter. "Unfortunately, part of Ivory's mental disability is she can't understand the concept of socially acceptable behavior. She'll always say what's on her mind whether it's appropriate."

"Always says what's on her mind, huh?" said Yang. "Remind you of anybody, Ruby?"

"Does it ever," said Ruby.

Ruby noticed Ivory holding on to something in her other hand; it was a doll of their famous next door neighbor.

"Hey Ivory, are you a fan of Pyrrha?"

"Yes," said Ivory. "Weiss and I loved watching Pyrrha's fights on TV."

"Well, did you know Pyrrha Nikos goes to this school, and just happens to be our dorm neighbor?"

Ivory's eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning.

"Really? Is this true, Weiss?"

"It sure is," said Weiss. "In fact, her team should be coming back from their pre-festival mission today. I know she would love to meet you!"

Ivory was now super excited. Meeting Pyrrha Nikos herself was like a dream come true.

"Winter, I want to go meet Pyrrha!" said Ivory.

"Once we settle down in our hotel room, we'll go see her," said Winter.

"But I want to see her now!"

"Ivory, I swear we'll go once I'm done with my meeting and we unpack!"

"But that'll take forever!"

"I have a suggestion!" said Ruby. "If you're busy, why don't we just take Ivory with us? She can stay in our dorm! We wouldn't mind having her crash with us, would we guys?"

"I'd love to!" said Weiss.

"I'm fine either way," said Blake.

"I protest this decision!" said Yang.

"I'm not sure about this, Weiss," said Winter. "You know we have Ivory on a strict schedule. Are you sure your team can handle having her around?"

"It won't be a problem at all," said Weiss.

"All right then. Ivory, looks like you'll be spending the day with Weiss and her friends."

"And Pyrrha!" said Ivory.

"Give us a few moments."

Winter pulled Ivory aside to talk to her privately. Even though Weiss was aware of Ivory's habits, she was worried Weiss was not fully prepared with how to deal with Ivory's meltdowns, especially when she had those bizarre teammates of hers that might cause one. Still, it was better for Ivory to do a bit of exploring instead of being locked up in their hotel room under watch.

"Ivory, I need you on your best behavior. Don't cause too much trouble for Weiss and her teammates, and whatever you do, do not ever leave Weiss' side, okay?"

"Yes, Winter."

"I'll see you later tonight."

Winter kissed Ivory on the forehead and handed her to Weiss, along with one of Ivory's suitcases.

"Her art supplies are in this suitcase. Make sure she doesn't lose her doll or her blanket."

"Of course," said Weiss.

Winter went to the Beacon clock tower where Ozpin and the others would be waiting, waving goodbye to Ivory one last time.

"Weiss, I'm hungry!" said Ivory.

"I guess this calls for lunch," said Weiss. "Unfortunately, it appears I'll be a bit low on funds for a while."

"Then let's head to the cafeteria!" said Ruby. "It's cheeseburger Friday! Do you like cheeseburgers, Ivory?"

"I don't know what a cheeseburger is," said Ivory.

"Then be prepared to have the greatest meal of your life!"

"It couldn't be any better than the meals our chefs make at home."

"We'll see about that! To the cafeteria!"

As Ruby lead the way for her team and their special guest, Yang walked by Weiss to talk about Ivory.

"If you didn't tell me that Ivory was your sister," said Yang, "I could have sworn she was your older sister's kid."

"My sister was always very attached to Ivory," said Weiss. "I think she sees Ivory as a daughter of sorts ever since she found her."

"Found her? So, Ivory's adopted?"

"It's a long story."

#

Winter arrived in Ozpin's office where Ozpin, Goodwitch, and Ironwood were waiting.

"Good afternoon Professor Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch," said Winter.

"A pleasure to see you again, Miss Schnee," said Ozpin. "Ironwood was telling me about your accomplishments since you've become his top SO."

"Never expect anything less than the best from Schnee," said Ironwood.

"Thank you, sir," said Winter. "Shall we begin our meeting?"

"We're still waiting for one more person to arrive," said Ozpin.

"This person wouldn't happen to be Qrow, would it?"

"Afraid so," said Goodwitch. "I know he can be a pain in the rear, but he is a valuable member of our group."

"That's your opinion," said Ironwood. "Quite frankly, we'd all be better off without him."

The elevator doors suddenly opened and in walked Qrow, carrying something behind his back.

"Speak of the devil. You're late, Qrow!"

"Sorry about that," said Qrow. "I was on my way here from the bar when some talking trash can kept hounding me for my ID."

"A talking trash can. Drunk as usual, I see."

"I'm serious! Here, I'll show you!"

Qrow pulled out a disembodied head from an AK-200 behind his back and tossed it to the floor, pissing off Ironwood.

"You just destroyed Atlas Military property!" yelled Ironwood.

"Your point being?" asked Qrow.

"I can have you court martialed for this!"

"In my defense, I had two perfectly good reasons for defending myself!"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah," said Qrow. He put up both of his hands and counted using only his middle fingers. "One, and two!"

"You worthless son of a-"

"Enough!" yelled Goodwitch. "The two of you are acting like children!"

"I'm sorry mommy!" said Qrow, putting on a sad face. Goodwitch can already feel a migraine coming from Qrow's antics.

"Seriously, does he need to be here?" asked Ironwood.

"I'm here in case Ozpin needs medical assistance," said Qrow. "You know, from that giant knife you plunged into his back!"

"I'm not the one who allowed Vale to be attacked by scoundrels!"

"No, but you were the one who threw Ozpin under the bus like a no good motherfu-"

"Qrow, please!" said Ozpin. "What's done is done. Let's focus on why we're here."

Qrow folded his arms and turned his head so he wouldn't have to look at Ironwood. Winter noticed he was almost facing towards her direction and turned herself around to make sure she didn't see Qrow. Just having him in her sights made her feel uneasy with having to keep Ivory a secret.

"Now, we know the ones who infiltrated Beacon's systems are in alignment with the White Fang. However, we strongly believe the White Fang could act independently from this faction, if the train incident is any indication. We need to gather more info on what the White Fang could be up to as the Vytal Festival draws closer."

"I assure you, everything will be under control," said Ironwood. "Miss Schnee will make sure this city is thoroughly protected and root out any traces of White Fang scum hiding in the shadows."

"I doubt that," said Qrow. "How is anybody supposed to trust your men Jimmy when the White Fang were spotted using YOUR tech you wanted to show off to the world?"

"A grave oversight, likely because somebody was too laxed to keep a better eye on Vale."

"You just love twisting that knife, don't you Jimmy?"

"Previous incidents aside," said Winter, "we know what we're doing! I'll have this city safe and secure for the Vytal Festival!"

"You're in way over your head, ice queen. You're not even aware of the greater danger at stake!"

"What are you babbling about?"

"Miss Schnee," said Ironwood, "the four of us have to discuss some other matters. Please step out for a moment."

"Whatever these matters are, I see no reason for me to-"

"That's an order, Miss Schnee!"

Winter didn't understand what was so important that she couldn't be part of the discussion, but if it was none of her business, then she wouldn't press it any further.

"Yes sir!" said Winter, stepping into the elevator and leaving the room.

"As for this greater danger, Qrow," said Ironwood, "the Atlas military is ready to handle such a threat."

"You don't even know where they're hiding!"

"We have our theories."

"Well here's a hint: They're in this school."

"So the ones after the Fall Maiden have already infiltrated Beacon?" asked Goodwitch.

"Glad to see somebody catch on!" said Qrow. "So Ironwood, are you going to start forcing the students to carry IDs around? Random seizures? How about good old fashioned waterboarding?"

"Being a bit extreme there, don't you think?" asked Ironwood.

"You want to see extreme?" Qrow picked up the robot head and held it up to Ironwood's face. "These things are all over the God damn city! I can't go a block without these things staring at me and demanding my identification! You've turned Vale into a God damn police state! You honestly think any of this is going to prevent the White Fang or this secret faction from attacking the city?"

"Whatever is necessary to protect these people!"

Qrow brushed off Ironwood and turned to Ozpin. "You're really going to let him do this?"

"The council has made their stance clear," said Ozpin. "There's nothing I can do now but make sure the Fall Maiden remains safe."

"Well then, since Atlas is in charge of everything, why the fuck am I even here? If anybody needs me, I'll be out drinking!"

Qrow dropped the head back to the ground and left Ozpin's office. Along the way out of the clock tower he came across Winter; Winter tried to avert her gaze from Qrow.

"Must feel pretty proud getting to lead this little operation," said Qrow.

"Very," replied Winter.

"Because if there's any family that knows about keeping the peace, it's the one who creates conflict with the Faunus."

"I'm simply doing my job, and not as a Schnee, but as a protector for the citizens of Vale! Whether as huntsmen or specialists, we all have the same goals in mind, do we not?"

"Well, when you put it that way...you're right. As much as I don't like you or Jimmy Backstabber, and would love to see you two fall flat on your face, it won't do the people of Vale any good. Hope everything goes smoothly for you, ice queen."

After Qrow left the clock tower, Winter entered the elevator to head back to Ozpin's office. It was stressful enough she had a big responsibility for the upcoming Vytal Festival, but she also had to endure Qrow's company, knowing that the daughter he could never find out about was right under his nose. As risky as it was to have Ivory come to Vale, it was all worth it to Winter if she could finally spend the quality time she always wanted with Ivory.

Winter took a deep breath to compose herself before the elevator opened and she returned to the meeting.

"Are you okay, Miss Schnee?" asked Ozpin. "You seem to have something on your mind."

"Just a bit concerned about...well, I guess everything," said Winter.

"You have no need to concern yourself. I know you'll have everything ready to make sure Vale remains safe."

"Thank you, Professor Ozpin."

#

Team RWBY were in the cafeteria having lunch. Knowing Ivory's eating habits, Weiss made sure to get a burger with nothing but the meat and bread so she wouldn't waste so much time trying to separate everything. For a while Ivory just sat there looking at her separated burger; Ruby was starting to think Ivory had no idea how to eat a burger.

"Having trouble there, Ivory?" asked Ruby.

"Ivory is fine," said Weiss. "This is just the way she eats everything."

Ivory picked up the two pieces of bread and placed them in her right hand, then started making flapping motions between them.

"Look Weiss!" said Ivory. "I have a bread mouth!"

"That's cute, Ivory," said Weiss. Weiss knew it was pointless to make Ivory stop as that would just lead to a temper tantrum, so she watched as Ivory pretended to keep talking with her bun hand.

"Hello, Ruby!" said Ivory. "My name is Rye N. Wheat!"

"Oh oh!" said Ruby. "Weiss, give me your burger!"

"Why?" asked Weiss.

"Just give it to me!"

"Fine," said Weiss, handing Ruby her food. She didn't like burgers in the first place. Ruby took apart the bun and tried to grip it in one hand like Ivory.

"Hello Mister Wheat, my name is...uh...Pump R. Nickel!"

"Hello Mister Nickel!" said Ivory. "How are you today?"

"I'm feeling great to say the yeast!"

"Ha ha ha!" said Yang. "Good one, sis!"

Weiss groaned at such a terrible joke, but was enjoying seeing Ivory having fun with Ruby. It helped that her partner had the personality of a nine-year-old herself.

As Ruby and Ivory were having fun with their buns, the cafeteria was getting crowded as the afternoon rush was starting to file in. Ivory looked around and suddenly felt uneasy with such a large number of people around her. The noise of the crowd was pulling Ivory's concentration in all directions at once. Feeling uncomfortable from everyone around her, Ivory suddenly grabbed her Pyrrha doll and went under the table, trying to block out the noise.

"Ivory, what's wrong?" asked Ruby.

"It's too noisy!" said Ivory. "I can't think!"

"I was afraid of this," said Weiss. "Ivory can't stand large crowds. We need to go."

"But we were just having fun!" said Ruby.

"Trust me, if we don't leave now, Ivory is going to have a meltdown. C'mon Ivory, let's go to our dorm."

Ivory got out from under the table and held Weiss' hand, leaving the cafeteria as quickly as possible with the rest of the team. Ivory was so distracted from the noises that she didn't realize she had dropped her Pyrrha doll under the table.

#

The downtown industrial district in the city of Vale was widely regarded as a ghost town of sorts. Abandoned warehouses and businesses littered most of the section, making it a perfect hideaway for the criminal underground to gather in secret. Such was the case with the White Fang, whose new location was somewhere in the area since their cover in Mountain Glenn was blown.

As ordered by Cinder, Neo headed to the coordinates given to her. She arrived at a dilapidated building with three red scratch marks spray-painted on the boarded-up window, indicating she was at the right place. Neo knocked on the door and was greeted by the White Fang Lieutenant through the peephole.

"What's the password?" asked the Lieutenant. Neo frowned at the Lieutenant; he knew full well Neo couldn't say a word.

"Sorry, no trespassers allowed."

The Lieutenant slid the peephole shut. Having little patience for his nonsense, Neo knocked on the door again. This time when the Lieutenant answered, Neo brandished her sword and took aim for the Lieutenant's eyes.

"Hey! Relax you little psycho, I'm just messing with you!"

The Lieutenant opened the door and escorted Neo into the basement where their leader was awaiting. Along the way, Neo can hear the Lieutenant mumbling to himself about Neo being a "little human freak." The man was lucky he had a mask on, or else Neo would have ripped his tongue out right then and there.

In the basement stood Adam and some White Fang soldiers, looking over the map of New Vale City, marking down all the places the Atlas Military were heavily stationed.

"Hey Adam, that woman's little crony is here," said the Lieutenant.

"About time," said Adam. "I assume Cinder made you aware that you are to follow my orders?"

Neo nodded. As per the agreement, Neo was to help Adam and the White Fang with anything they needed. It was also a way for Cinder to keep tabs on them in case they tried to double-cross her.

"So what's the plan, sir?"

"I spoke to Cinder earlier. She says we are to remain idle until she gives the signal during the Vytal Festival."

"Are you saying we have to stand around doing nothing until that woman says so?"

"That was her orders. However, I'm the one leading this group, not her or that worthless mutt Torchwick. We're going to take action on our own."

"Now that's what I want to hear! What did you have in mind?"

"Our intel indicates that Atlas' top special operative, Winter Schnee, is in town to overlook the city's security."

"Great! Another chance to kill a Schnee! When do we strike?"

"Be patient, Lieutenant. As much as I'd love to have Schnee killed ASAP, we have to remember Atlas has its military policing the city 24/7, and from what I've gathered, Winter is no amateur student like the ones who interfered at Mountain Glenn. We need to wait for the opportune moment to present itself. In the meantime, continue to lay low and keep gathering Grimm as Cinder ordered."

"Yes sir, Adam."

"As for you human, make yourself useful and gather the Grimm."

The Lieutenant left to continue his work; Neo remained in the room with Adam, looking dissatisfied with Adam. Neo knew if the White Fang did anything without Cinder's approval, Cinder's master plan would be ruined, and if Cinder didn't get her way, she was going to make everyone suffer for it. Neo would be damned if her and Torchwick would be casualties because of some stupid Faunus freedom fighter.

"Got something to say?" asked Adam.

Since Adam couldn't understand Neo as well as Torchwick could, Neo took out her scroll and quickly wrote out a message for Adam to read.

"Cinder is going to kill you when she finds out about this," said Neo via the text.

"Planning to squeal, human? I know Cinder sent you here to make sure I remain obedient. Quite frankly, I don't see why we shouldn't get rid of you the same way we did that idiot Torchwick."

Neo was getting mad that Adam was constantly badmouthing Torchwick. She gripped her umbrella handle ready to take out her sword, only for Adam to suddenly brandish his katana and press the tip of his blade at the throat of Neo before she can even blink.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, human. If I find out you told Cinder about our plan, I will hunt down and kill you."

Neo sheathed her sword and held her hands up, backing out of the room. As powerful as Adam was, Neo wasn't scared to fight him or any other White Fang member she had to put up with. The only thing preventing Neo from killing any of these mongrels was wanting to avoid Cinder's wrath if she caused this alliance to fall through. Neo was going to do what she did best and remain silent, letting everything play out as intended for now.

#

"Welcome to the official Team RWBY dorm!" said Ruby, showing Ivory around the room. Ivory was perplexed at the sight of the beds being stacked on top of each other, especially with how shoddy and amateurish they were built.

"Why are the beds like this?" asked Ivory.

"They're bunk beds! Cool, huh?"

"These are what bunk beds are like? They look terrible! Weiss, why did you want these so much?"

"Trust me Ivory," said Weiss, "real bunk beds look a lot better than this. Still, they are surprisingly sturdy and they give us more room to walk around."

"So Ivory," said Ruby, "what do you want to play now?"

"According to the time, Ivory has to have her art therapy now."

"Art therapy?"

"Ivory has a very active imagination, which as fun as it is, becomes a distraction when not contained. We have her let out her creativity through drawing."

"Ooh, what kind of drawing?"

"Sketches mostly," said Ivory. Ivory opened her bag and took out her art supplies. She had a wide array of pencils and erasers along with several sketchpads. Ruby picked up one of the sketchbooks and was surprised to see the drawings in them. They looked way too good to be done for someone Ivory's age.

"Whoa! You drew all of these, Ivory? They look awesome!"

"Let me see," said Yang. Yang picked up another sketchpad and was impressed by the different kinds of fantasy creatures Ivory loved drawing. "Wow. These things remind me of those shows we used to watch as kids."

"OH NO!" yelled Ivory, frantically going through her suitcase.

"Ivory, what's wrong?" asked Weiss.

"I can't find Pyrrha! She's gone!"

"Pyrrha?" said Ruby. "Oh, you mean your Pyrrha doll."

"I need Pyrrha!" said Ivory. "I can't draw without her help!"

"I'm sure she's around here somewhere!" said Weiss. "We just need to look!"

Weiss and Blake began searching all over the room for the missing doll. With her doll missing, Ivory unwrapped her comfort blanket around her waist and balled up into a corner of the room, crying that she was missing her favorite doll.

"Calm down Ivory!" said Ruby. "We'll find your doll!"

Ruby put her hand on Ivory's shoulder to help reassure her, but Ivory kept crying and was on the verge of having a total meltdown.

"Say Ivory, let's play a game! How about hide and go seek? Or how about a video game?"

"No!" yelled Ivory. "I want Pyrrha!"

"Ivory," said Yang, "if you stop crying, I'll take you out for ice cream!"

"I WANT PYRRHA!" yelled Ivory even louder.

"Listen you dunces!" said Weiss. "Ivory isn't going to stop until we find that doll! Hurry up and search!"

The girls kept searching to no avail while Ivory kept crying and getting worse. Suddenly, there was a knock on their door, which couldn't be happening at a worse time.

"What now?" asked Weiss. Weiss opened the door and was surprised to see it was Team JNPR, returning from their mission. Team JNPR were excited to come back until they heard chaos erupting in their neighbor's dorm.

"Um, hey," said Jaune, worried about why there was a lot of yelling coming from inside. "We just came back a few minutes ago and wanted to say hi and...did we come back at a bad time?"

"Actually, you came at the perfect time!"

Weiss suddenly grabbed Pyrrha by the hand and took her inside their dorm.

"Ivory, look who came to visit you!" said Weiss. Being a celebrity who dealt with anxious young fans, Pyrrha was familiar with this kind of situation.

"Hello!" said Pyrrha. The moment she heard her voice, Ivory looked up and gasped. She could hardly believe who was standing right there in front of her.

"It's you!" said Ivory. "It's really you! Pyrrha Nikos!"

Ivory stood up and gave Pyrrha a hug as the rest of Team JNPR walked in.

"Oh, who's the little one?" asked Nora.

"Everyone," said Weiss, "meet my little sister, Ivory."

"Little sister, huh?" said Pyrrha. "You must look up to Weiss a lot."

"Not really," said Ivory. "She's not my real sister anyway."

"Excuse me?"

"Ivory was adopted into our family," explained Weiss, "and as you can see, she's very upfront about her thoughts. She's also a very big fan of you, Pyrrha."

"Well Ivory, it's always an honor to meet my youngest fans."

"I've watched your tournament matches on TV!" said Ivory. "I think you're one of the best heroes in the world, but papa thinks you're overrated."

"I've heard many criticisms," said Pyrrha, "but I never let it get to me."

"When Ruby said you were a student here, I couldn't believe it! Someone as strong as you must be the leader of their team!"

"Actually, my team has a different leader."

"Hello!" said Jaune, holding out his hand. "Jaune Arc, pleasure to meet you."

"What?" said Ivory, disappointed to hear that Pyrrha wasn't leader. "You're...not the leader of your team?"

"That's right," said Pyrrha.

"Wow. If neither you nor Weiss are the leaders of your respective teams, then this school is really as terrible as papa always told me."

"Now Ivory, that really isn't a fair assumption. Our headmaster had his reasons for making the teams the way he did."

"But you're Pyrrha Nikos! How can a wimpy looking boy like him be picked over you?"

"Beats me," said Weiss. Everybody but Pyrrha and Ivory turned to Weiss with a stern look on their face.

"Jaune may not look like an experienced fighter," said Pyrrha, "but you should never judge a book by its cover. Jaune is quite talented in other areas and I'm proud to have him as team leader."

"What do you mean by judging book covers?" asked Ivory.

"It means you can't assume something about someone you meet just based on what you see. Do you understand?"

"I understand! I'm kind of the same way. People assume a lot about me because of my disability. So, if you say Jaune is a good leader, then he must be!"

"Thank you, Ivory. It was nice meeting you, but we have to get back to our dorm."

"Wait! I have a lot of things I want to ask you!"

"Ivory, Pyrrha just got back from an important mission," said Weiss. "I think she would rather rest before answering your questions."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all," said Pyrrha. "What would you like to know?"

"How did you get to be on Pumpkin Pete?" asked Ivory.

"Well, it's quite a long story."

Ivory followed Pyrrha and the rest of Team JNPR back to their dorm. Weiss felt bad for making Pyrrha babysit after arriving back to Beacon so soon, but it did buy Weiss some time to find that doll before Ivory had a meltdown.

"We've searched the whole room twice over," said Blake. "I think Ivory must have lost her doll before she came into our room."

"She probably left it somewhere in the cafeteria," said Weiss. "I'll go search for it."

"Before you go, I need to ask you something. You say Ivory's real parents were killed by the White Fang shortly after she was born?"

"That's what my sister told me."

"I see. I'll be in the library."

Blake and Weiss split paths to their respective destinations. Before heading to the library, Blake grabbed a personal journal she kept with her since her days in the White Fang. Something about Ivory's supposed origins were bugging her, and she needed to see if a theory she had brewing in her mind was true.

Along the way to the library, Blake came across an older looking huntsman walking down the hallway. He seemed old enough to be one of the professors in the school, but Blake had never seen him before. He wore a grey coat and a red cape sort of like Ruby's.

"Excuse me," said Qrow. "Is this where Team RWBY's dorm is?"

"Make a right over there, first door on the left," said Blake. "Mind if I ask who you are?"

"Just a visiting relative. Thanks."