AN: So this is pretty much a back-story chapter, which covers a portion of most of the characters back-story, or at least something relevant to each of them in the context of what's going on. Thanks for reading this and I hope you enjoy the story.

Everyone seemed to be on edge around their new companion. Blake Belladonna, a woman who merely an hour ago, had managed to find her way into the hall of the Queen of Sanctum, easily defeat Yang and Jaune in combat, and then reveal that she is now a part of their team. Needless to say, everyone had a reason to be concerned, even Blake would admit to that. When she originally was found by Ozpin, she didn't seem to find his idea very promising, so she wasn't putting too much of an investment into what she was told. In the process of finding out whether it was something that was worth the effort, she met Ruby Rose, a young Huntress whom in the day before, had saved the city of Sanctuary from a terrible threat. She spoke to her about many questions she wanted to know, questions regarding a way she would judge a person's character. She saw the light in that young girl, and it was just enough to convince her to join, in hopes of being able to see the world in a different light.

She understood though, that gaining the trust of these new companions of hers, wouldn't be easy or quick. Time would need to be put in before she could be trusted, and she would need to prove her worth to them as a result of her actions. As Ruby had said before they left, she was going to be bombarded by questions, and she had to be prepared for that. So far in the journey however, everyone stayed pretty quiet, aside from the occasional small talk. Ruby was guiding the way back to Vale, and she seemed to be in a hurry, wanting to get there so they could leave for Menagerie. They were to go to the Schnee Castle and find someone called, 'the Experiment', though no one could imagine who this person was. Ruby didn't want to miss the cargo train that they were to take over to get there, since Menagerie was quite a long distance away, and it would appear that time was of the essence.

Blake was just waiting for the moment when the questions would start, knowing fully well that it would happen at some point. She didn't seem to be too worried about it though, because when it would come, she knew that she would be ready for it. Hours passed before they finally set up camp for the night. No one seemed to be curious about the fact that not a single question was asked. Blake herself was surprised by it too, though to be honest, she knew that she would rather they not know too much about her, and some of the dark things she had done in the past. As they set up the camp, Blake noticed that Yang had managed to start the fire with extreme ease, she seemed to have a very fiery personality from what Blake though. They took shelter inside of a small outcropping along the side of a cliff, easily defensible and with a high view of what was going on around them.

Once everyone had pretty much settled down, Ruby finally spoke up to Blake about what she had asked before. "So, now that we have a moment to ourselves, you wanna tell us about yourself Blake?"

It was a broad question even by the loosest standards. "Fine, anything you want to know specifically?" Blake had asked in reply.

Before Ruby could say anything, Yang spoke up first. "Yeah so how come when you first showed up, you didn't like, just walk through the front door like a normal person?"

It was clear as day to Blake that she was still a little miffed about what happened earlier in the day. "First, I doubt that the guards would have let me in, and second, I'm pretty sure you would have reacted the same way if I just randomly walked up to you. Either that, or you would have laughed me off as a mere annoyance."

Yang looked to argue, but then she thought about it and realized, she would have done exactly that. "Fine, but that still doesn't say why you attacked us."

"Technically we attacked her first." Jaune said, quietly and mumbled so that only those with the sharpest of hearing could understand it. Ruby and Blake looked over at him, knowing fully well what he had said. "What?"

Ruby just chuckled a bit. "At least you see that point Jaune." Ruby then turned her attention back to Blake. "I want to know about you. Things like, where you're from, or something like your story basically."

Blake didn't really know what to say at first. She never had someone ask for her life story before, and she never really told it to anyone else. A moment of silence hung in the air as Blake tried to think of something to say to the group in front of her. "Sorry, I've never actually said anything about me to anyone else before, so just bear with me." Blake took a deep breath, knowing that she had a lot of talking to do. It wasn't something that she particularly enjoyed, but when she wanted to talk, or tell a story of some kind, she really could do well.

"I was born in Menagerie, outside of the Capital city of Fangorn. Growing up was hard for me, the country was in the midst of a revolution, the military power in charge trying to be overthrown and replaced with a more kind regime. My parents were a part of the forces fighting to bring change to our lands, so I didn't get to see them too much. Eventually, like most of the rebellion, they died, leaving me alone carrying the burdens of being an orphaned child. I had no other family, so I quickly had to learn how to survive out in the harsh world of Menagerie under the Military regime, that had become much worse than before." Blake looked up at the sky, the moonlight shining brightly down upon them, and the light of the fire glowing on her face. "It was tough, but I made it through somehow, even through the torture that I had to personally endure."

Ruby felt a little bad for Blake, a person who had lost her family to a war she didn't understand, much like the destruction she witnessed. "I can't imagine what it was like over there." It wouldn't do anything to help, but it seemed like a nice thing to say at the time.

"Most people don't. They live their lives comfortably in their homes, the biggest worries on their mind being what to eat for dinner." Another deep breath from Blake, her mind filling with memories from a long time ago. "Eventually, a group went to take a stand against the current regime, even after the last group had failed. Only this time, their methods were more brutal and destructive. Even now, they still fight in Menagerie, however most other realms think of them as terrorists, because of the actions they take on kingdoms outside of Menagerie." Ruby knew exactly what group Blake was talking about, having dealt with them on a few occasions in the past.

"You mean the White Fang." Ruby said.

Blake nodded. "When they first got started, the people started to rejoice. But those cries of cheer, soon turned into shouts of hatred. The people saw that the White Fang were no better than the power that was already in place, and they were caught in the middle of another civil war."

Pyrrha decided to jump in at that point. "So then what did you think of the White Fang?"

Blake thought it over for a second, she knew deep down that she needed to choose her words carefully. "I would say that while the intentions are good, the methods are wrong. Though from experience, not everyone who is a part of the White Fang, is as ruthless and coldblooded as those who sit up top of their ranks. Do they deserve to be called terrorists, even if they never killed a person before in their life? I find myself wondering that every single day."

Ruby realized why Blake had asked the questions that she did. Blake had some kind of personal connection to either someone in the White Fang, or maybe even the White Fang itself. Ruby kept this little bit of information to herself so that Yang Pyrrha and Jaune wouldn't freak out, hoping that when she had a moment alone with her, that they could talk about it. "I take it that's why you asked me about that before huh, when you saw me at the break of dawn." Blake didn't say anything, electing to just nod instead. It was all that Ruby needed to know though, so she let the topic rest, choosing to bring up something else instead. "So, I wanted to know about that trick you did earlier today, the one that you used on Yang earlier."

Blake chuckled a tiny bit. Mentally she was thanking Ruby for changing topics, as well as remembering the look on Yang's face when she did that. "I can create a shadow image of myself, so that in instances where I would be hit by an attack, they would hit the fake. It's useful for the moments when I get an opportunity to strike my opponent while they are confused, like Yang was earlier. Speaking of which, I hope you still aren't mad at me over that." Blake looked over to Yang, who was rolling her eyes.

"If I was mad, you would know. Plus it'll take a lot more than that to get me mad." Yang leaned her back against the wall as she sat around the fire with everyone else. "Then again, I don't go around making a habit of sneaking up on people."

Ruby rolled here eyes, as Blake just sighed. "For what it's worth, I apologize to you for what happened." Blake stood up and walked over to Yang, offering out her hand when she got over to her. "Why don't we start over?" Yang looked at Blake for a second, before she decided to put her issues aside. Yang shook Blake's hand, showing her willingness to forgive and forget.

"Sounds like a good idea. Name's Yang Xiao Long by the way."

"Blake Belladonna."

Ruby looked pleased by the turn of events. As she saw the two of them start to get along, she realized something that she overlooked before then. She realized that Yang's last name was different. "Xiao Long?"

Yang almost immediately knew what she was referring to. "After our home was destroyed, I was taken in by a world famous mercenary. The guy was really sweet and caring. When I first met him, he was curious as to why I was wandering the woods by myself. I told him about what happened to my home, and that you were still missing, and so he decided to take me in. He taught me how to fight and helped me become a strong person." She subconsciously placed her hand on the orange scarf around her neck. "When he died about two years ago, I decided to take his last name as my own, since he didn't have any family of his own, and he left me this scarf to remember him by."

Ruby walked over now and gave Yang a hug. They had spent a long time apart from each other, and there was so much to catch up on. Luckily for them they had a lot of time to do that, so they wanted to take things slowly and not bombard each other with stories. Even now though, Ruby wished for nothing more than to just hope that they get to spend a long time together after they were done.

Pyrrha walked over and placed a hand on Yang's shoulder as well, thinking of her own life. "I know what it's like to lose someone close to you. About 6 months ago, my father was out on a scouting trip. Him and the three men that went with him were ambushed by a pack of Grimm and no one survived." Pyrrha sighed. "I was one of the men sent out to find the scouting team, and when we found them..." She shuddered upon remembering the image of her father' dismembered corpse, picked apart by the buzzards. "...let's just say that I wish I wasn't a part of the group that was sent to find them."

Everyone had their own issues, each of them carrying it with them wherever they went. Jaune had the expectations of his family that he has failed to meet up to this point, causing him to question everything he did. Pyrrha, she had seen death and loss frequently, letting the memory of her father's death stay with her in the deepest recesses of her mind. Blake spent her whole life alone in a war torn world, having her life connected to a group that is considered terroristic. Yang had dealt with the loss of her own family, not knowing what happened to them. Even though she had her sister back, Yang still worries that it will all get taken away from her again in an instant. Even this 'experiment' seemed to have a troubled life, and they didn't even know who this person was. If someone was referred to as an experiment instead of a person, it was easy to see that they had their own share of issues as well.

Ruby herself, had so much that she had held in. Witnessing the destruction caused by the Black Dragon, seeing her home destroyed, losing her family, it all piled up on her. She saw death on an almost constant basis, and it was never the prettiest of moments. Even the trials she went through to join the Huntsman were grueling and some of the most taxing challenges she went through in her entire life. The thought of knowing that she could die at any point didn't make her feel any better, though she was prepared for that eventuality. The only hard part was knowing that it would hurt Yang when it happened, and maybe even Jaune, Pyrrha, Blake, and everyone else she met up with on this journey.

After a very long and uncomfortable silence, Jaune stood up and looked out on the horizon. "It's a really beautiful view out tonight." It broke the silence that had laid in. "Kinda reminds me of this place I would run off to as a kid. I would, sneak off when my mother wasn't looking, go out to this little hill that had a great view of the horizon, and just sit there and watch the sunset. I didn't have a care in the world, what kid would honestly?" He turned back towards his companions. "Even though we each have our own inner demons and our own personal scars, there's still a lot of life and good in each of us. I mean, we're all trying to make the world a better place, so that goes to show what we're capable of, right?"

Jaune looked over the faces of everyone siting in front of the fire, noticing them brighten up after he finished. "Good speech Jaune. I believe you'll make a fine leader some day." Ruby said to him smiling. She stood up now and stretched. "I don't know about you guys, but we still have a long way to go before we reach Esgaroth. A good night of sleep will do us all a huge benefit." Everyone seemed to be in agreement on that point, and they started to slowly fall asleep, keeping a bit of small talk going as they fell asleep one by one.

Ruby was the last one still awake, something in the back of her mind keeping her up. She quietly walked over to the edge of the cliff and sat down, letting her legs hang off of the side. She thought about what came ahead, with every step of their journey growing harder and harder as they went along the path they took. It wasn't going to be easy, and Ruby still managed to not question her own judgement on some things, but she knew that the journey would be hard to begin with. She thought back to a moment when she first went to join the Huntsman, something that would stick with her for as long as she was alive.

When she came up on the gates of the Huntsman's home, she met with a prominent member of the group. She remembered talking to him about all of the different trials she would have to go through in order to officially join the ranks. While she was being told all of this, she remembered the body of a Huntsman being carried into the gates, the man having given his life out in there for someone. When she saw this man, the person she was talking too turned to her. Ruby remembered exactly what he said to her that day.

"One of the few things people don't realize about us. They see us as these great indestructible warriors, yet we are actually far from that. We're just as vulnerable as everyone else, but there is one difference between us and them. I say this to everyone who comes through these halls, and to be honest, not everyone likes this idea. We know that any task we are given could be our last task, something that you will learn as you go through the trials. We want to make the world a better place, and sometimes that requires us to make a sacrifice to make that happen. If you go into any fight knowing this, then you learn to hold nothing back, and treat every day like it is your last. Today, enjoy what you have, tell your friends and family you love them, because tomorrow, you may not have the chance."

It was an idea that kept Ruby going, allowed her to make the most of the life she lived, and gave her a chance to make a difference. Looking out at the horizon, she smiled to herself, before she went to sleep.