AN: Here's chapter 10. It's going to be the last semi-dark chapter for a while, because I want to start writing happier and more fun stuff for a while. Thank you to Petrol Oil for all his help. And with that, here we go!

(Garnet POV)

I had a dream about my dead parents. I was a child again and we were in the forest where we used to go for walks. In my dream, I had rescued a frog from a bird. I ran to show my parents.

"Look mommy! I saved a frog!" I beamed.

"We're so proud of you Garnet," Leon praised.

"But," my mother said as her and Leon's skin began turning black and charred, "it's too bad you couldn't save us too."

The back round changed to the rubble of what once was my house. My parents turned to ash and were swept away by the wind.

I jerked awake with dried tears on my check. Pyrrha, who I assumed had been sitting on my bed, had been flung to the ground by my sudden movement.

"He's awake," she called out.

The heads of my team and sisters popped up like in a cartoon. Ruby and Yang were looking at me with worried expressions.

"Garnet, how much do you remember?" Yang asked with a wavering voice. My team looked confused.

"I-I remember everything," I said in despair covering my face with my hands.

"Garnet, what's going on?" Ren asked, clearly concerned.

I didn't bother responding. "Why? Why didn't you tell me?" I demanded, raising my voice.

Ruby opened her mouth, but closed it again, unable to speak. Yang stepped in.

"Soon after the incident you and Ruby came to live with our dad and me. You had no memory of what had happened, our mother, or Leon. We didn't want you to remember. We thought it would be less painful for you that way. So we just pretended it never happened."

Our friends were still just standing there, unsure if they should get involved. Weiss had an exasperated look on her face.

"Would anyone care to fill us in?" she huffed.

I ignored Weiss. "And you two thought it was better to wait for everything to come crashing back all at once years later? Do you know how terrifying it is to lose control of you body and have no idea why? To forget the darkest moment of you life and then have it come flooding back in such horrifying detail that you pass out? To have that moment play in the mind over and over again?" I yelled.

Blake was also getting impatient with being in the dark. "What are you talking about?" She asked in an agitated tone.

"My mom and step-dad are dead and I'm the one who killed them!" I yelled, causing Blake to shrink back and the room to fall silent. "Now does anyone else what to twist the knife in the wound?"

Pyrrha put a hand on my shoulder, but I just shrugged her off. "Just leave me alone!" I burst. Pyrrha looked hurt, but backed off.

"I'm going for a walk," I mumbled, walking out of the room.

I stopped in an empty hallway and slumped against a wall.

"Um, excuse me. You're Garnet, right?" a quiet voice asked.

I looked up. In front of me stood the rabbit faunus from earlier. "Yeah," I said trying to keep my voice neutral. I failed horrendously.

"Are you ok?" the girl asked. I just laughed in despair. What does ok even mean any more?

"Do you want to talk about it? Listening is one of my strong points." The girl said pointing to her large ears. "I'm Velvet."

That's better than just sitting here feeling sorry for myself. "I just remembered my family, my mother and stepfather. My mother was human and my stepfather was a faunus. They were the kindest and most supportive parents out there."

"That sounds lovely," Velvet said as she clapped her hands together.

I continued. "I remembered that they're dead. I'm the one who killed them."

Velvet grabbed my hand. "I'm so sorry." I wanted to pull my hand back, but she sounded so sincere.

"You don't think I'm a monster?"

Velvet shook her head making her long ears flop about. "You're just a person with a sad past. Besides you're one of the few people who has ever stood up for me."

I smiled at Velvet. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it. I'm just returning a favor." She smiled back.

She looks cute when she smiles… Where'd that come from?

"Bye the way, don't you think your team is worried about you?" Velvet added as an after thought.

"About that… I might've not reacted well to remembering my past, and I possibly blew up at my team." I said hesitantly.

"So that's exactly what happened, right?" Velvet guessed.

"Yup. I doubt they want to see me right now. I'm sorry to push this on someone I don't really know, but can I bunk with your team tonight?"

Velvet had a slight blush on her face. " I don't actually have a team since I'm a Solo, but you can sleep in my room if you need."

My brain froze. Did I just accidentally talk my way into a girl's room?

"Th-thanks." I said, trying to ignore the thought. I hope Ruby doesn't find out about this.

I followed Velvet into her dorm room.

Velvet was stroking her ears nervously and I was shuffling my feet, trying to ignore the awkward atmosphere in the room.

I looked around trying to get a feel for the room. It was just your average dorm room. There was a small dresser, a desk filled with books and papers, a door leading to a bathroom, and a single bed placed against one of the walls.

I tired to think of anything to say to break the awkward silence.

"I'll floor sleep, ok?" Smooth move lady-killer.

Velvet just stared at me for a second before cracking up. "Care to try again?" she asked in between bouts of laughter.

"Yes please," I said sheepishly. "I'll sleep on the floor." Velvet was still giggling slightly. It was an incredibly calming sound, like the quiet tinkling of bells. I smiled, feeling more at ease.

I laid a blanket and pillow on the ground near Velvet's bed, while Velvet was in the bathroom changing.

The bathroom door opened and Velvet appeared wearing a pair of grey shorts and an oversized blue t-shirt. She raced under the covers of her bed, causing me to chuckle. I took off my shirt and got under the blanket I had put on the floor.

"So, you said you're a Solo. What is that?" I asked Velvet, trying to make conversation.

"A Solo is just a person with out a team. Since they work on their own they can't accept difficult assignments, but they can ask a team or a member of a team to join them on assignments."

"Have you always been a Solo?" Velvet fidgeted uncomfortably at my question.

"When I first came to Beacon I had a team with three of my friends, all of whom where fauna, but they all left because of harassment." I could hear sadness in her voice and I immediately felt awful for asking.

"Sorry. I bet you didn't want to think about that."

Velvet lifted her head up. "No, it's fine. I'm sure you've had a hard time too." Yeah, no kidding.

We enjoyed a comfortable silence for a few moments. Then my curiosity and nerdosity about weapons interrupted the peaceful moment. "So what's your fighting style?" I blurted out. I was curious how a Solo would fight to handle support and offense without any teammates.

"Hmm… I'll tell you, but you have to tell me how you fight first," Velvet teased.

"You drive a hard bargain," I joked. "I'm a swordsman. I dual wield dust katanas."

"You dual wield too?" Velvet asked excitedly. Some how she had appeared next to me on the floor without me noticing.

"Um… Yes? What do you use?"

"Well I mainly rely on dust spells, but I have two kunai. They're small knives that can be used for throwing and hand-to-hand combat. They're from the Eastern Kingdom." Velvet quickly finished her explanation.

It's official. This girl is awesome. I reviewed what I know about Velvet. She's cute, compassionate, isn't scared of me, and has an awesome fighting style. If she isn't the best thing since seeing Nora after she drank coffee, I don't know what is.

"Hey Velv," I said, trying out the nickname, "want to spar tomorrow? Seems like all I've been doing lately is getting hurt and going to class, so sparing would be a nice change of pace. Besides, we don't have classes tomorrow."

Velvet yawned. "Sure, but first, sleep." With that she got back into her bed, rolled over, and pulled the blanket over her head.

I chuckled. "Yes m'am."

The next morning I woke up feeling well rested and ready to go. I stood up to see if Velvet was awake yet, but she was still dead to the world.

Is it impolite to use someone else's shower? "Screw it," I said quietly, stepping into the bathroom for a quick shower. When I was finished, I got dressed and headed back into the room.

Velvet was awake and dressed. Well, she was half awake and stumbling around, but at least she was dressed. She was wearing a pair of black shorts with a belt that hung low on her left side, and a red sleeves shirt with red sleeve things on her arms that left her shoulders bare. On her belt were multiple small pouches and her two sheathed knives.

Velvet noticed me and waved, her eyes still half shut. "Guh moring," she yawned.

Did she even sleep?

"Are you ready to spar?" Velvet asked while stretching to wake herself up.

"Sure," I responded, "just let me grab my gear."

After I had my swords, Velvet and I headed to the cliff above the Emerald Forest. I pulled out my blades and Velvet did the same. In a barely visible movement, Velvet pulled grabbed something out of a pouch on her belt.

"Ready to go, Garnet?" Velvet asked, hopping from foot to foot slightly as she spun her blades into a backhand grip.

"Ladies first," I replied, holding my swords at the ready. Velvet grinned and rushed forward at a frightening pace. I followed suit.

Mid stride Velvet launched on of her knives at me. I redirected it and continued moving forward, preparing to counter attack. I swung my blade, but Velvet wasn't there anymore. She'd just disappeared. I heard a "woosh" of air above me and rolled forward as Velvet fell out of the air in a downward slash.

I swung my leg to try and knock Velvet off balance, but she nimbly jumped over my leg. In mid air she snapped her fingers and a vortex of wind dragged me up into the sky. The vortex lifted me higher and higher into the air as I flailed my arms in the hopes of grabbing onto something. I managed to grab a branch of a nearby tree, pulling myself out of the vortex.

I crouched on the branch, sniping at Velvet with fire and electricity from my blades, but she avoided my shots and snapped her fingers again. A ball of fire shot at me, forcing me to jump off my branch. The only way I'm gonna beat her is with speed. I activated my semblance and rushed Velvet, trying to give her no time to prepare.

I swung my blades in complex arcs, feinting and stabbing as my semblance increased the speed of my blades. Velvet did her best to parry and dodge my strikes but she was falling behind. Finally, I saw an opening in her guard.

Now! I swung my blade, aiming for Velvet's exposed side. I'd actually forgotten that this was just friendly practice. Realizing my mistake, I quickly flicked my wrist so I would hit Velvet with the flat of my blade instead of the razor sharp edge.

The flat of my blade rocketed into Velvet, who dropped her weapons and grabbed her side, coughing slightly. That must've really hurt. I rushed over to make sure I hadn't broken one of Velvet's ribs or anything of the sort. Luckily she was just winded.

"I'm so sorry," I quickly apologized.

"Don't worry about it," she sputtered, "we were both getting a bit too into it."

"If you say so…" I still felt bad. " How about some food?" I asked extending my hand to Velvet.

She took my hand in her own. "Sure."

I smiled at the feeling of Velvet's hand in mine as we walked toward the main building of Beacon.

"What's with the big grin?" Velvet asked.

"I'm just really happy." There was no other way to describe the feeling.

Velvet giggled. The sound was like music to my ears. "That's better than yesterday," Velvet said happily.

I didn't even have to think before responding. "That's thanks to you." Velvet blushed.

"Now you just have to sort things out with your team." Velvet began pulling me toward the dorms.

"I-I don't think I want to do that yet," I said quickly trying to think of an excuse.

"Too bad," Velvet sang happily as she tugged on my arm.

I sighed. "Are you always this pushy?" I asked grumpily.

"Only when the person matters," Velvet replied. I smiled as I let that statement sink in.

AN: And finally the dark stuff is over. If you liked all the dark stuff, let me know and I'll see what I can do. Anyway, Velvet's now an important character, so expect to see me write from her perspective in later chapters. Now on to the reviews.

-darknesskitsune1235: I'm glad you liked the chapter 10. I mean, I think you liked it. But anyway, you said you were excited to see what came next and here it is. Tell me what you think of the chapter.

-crazyman90 (in response to chapter 8): I've never actually watched Bleach or an of the "big 3"; Bleach, One Piece, and Naruto. As such I don't know who Byakuya is. On an unrelated not, my favorite animé is Cowboy Bebop.

That's it for the reviews. Read, Rate, and Review. Rinse and Repeat.

-Ventusblade