Pain.

That was the only word that could accurately describe the feeling passing through Frost's entire body as he lay on what felt like a soft surface. For the time being he refused to open his eyes as though keeping them closed would eventually make the pain subside from his extremities- primarily his arms. It felt like he had been trying to lift weights far outside his regular capacity considering the sore feeling he felt tingling every once in a while.

As he slowly opened his eyes, he winced slightly at the bright fluorescent lights that lined the ceiling of the room he was currently in. Upon closer inspection he noticed that he seemed to be laying on a hospital bed, while Neo rested a few feet away on a separate bed in the same room. What was odd, however, was the fact that in a seat situated in the corner of the room sat an older looking man with grizzled black hair and a beard who was holding a flask of some sort in one hand while having his head slumped over the back of the chair itself as if he were asleep.

Frost raised an eyebrow at the odd visitor before slowly, and painfully, struggling to his feet as he climbed out of his bed and went over to examine the things that were currently laying on a nearby desk. For some reason, an odd set of metal bracers and greaves lay on the large wooden surface. Though the fact they were there was odd in itself, Frost assumed they were intended for him as he quietly put them on, though he did wince a few times as he had to contort his body slightly to get the pieces properly in place. The bracers felt heavier than he had expected, though he could take the time to figure that out when he was in a more isolated area as he slowly approached the door to the room that currently was closed. He was halted moments before opening the door to the sounds of a throat clearly rather sharply behind him. When he turned around to the source of the sound, his eyes widened when he realized that the dark-haired man was awake, and from the look on his face had likely been faking being asleep or was just a light sleeper in general.

"Where do you think you're going, kid?" The older man asked with a gruff voice as he staggered to his feet from his chair before slowly striding towards Frost.

Frost frowned with a sour look on his face as he started to turn back towards the door, his voice slightly quieter than usual so as to avoid waking Neo during the conversation that he intended to end quickly. "Look, I don't who you are or what you're doing here, but I'm leaving. Don't try and stop me."

"Think I'm gonna have to say no to that one, considering that I'm under orders to keep an eye on you until you and your friend have been brought up to speed." The older man said as he crossed his arms in front of him.

It was at that moment that Frost caught sight of something gleaming from beside the chair the man had been sitting at. Upon closer inspection, at seemed to be a rather large sword that had appeared to have been supposedly concealed, though it was a rather haphazard job at best. Frost's look expression darkened as he brought his arms up into a ready stance, though he winced slightly at the protest his limbs gave him at the sudden movement. The older man seemed to notice this and chuckled slightly as he looked in the direction that Frost had been looking before shrugging slightly.

"Hold your horses, kid. I'm not here to fight or anything like that. The two of you are perfectly safe here for the time being." His expression became more serious as he continued. "That doesn't mean I can waste time however, so take off those stupid things and climb back onto that bed where you can rest some more before doing anything stupid."

"Why should I listen to someone I just met given what's happened so far today?" Frost said with a hint of venom in his voice even as the old man chuckled and shook his head a few times.

"For starters, I'm a…friend of Ozpin, and happen to be the uncle of a couple of girls you may have met while you were holing up at Beacon. Now sit down and listen for a minute before you decide to leap out a window or something to get out of here."

Frost's expression turned to one of surprise after the man spoke, his arms lowering slightly as he tried to puzzle out what he'd just heard. To begin with, this man knew Ozpin, and somehow knew about his tendency to get into or out of situations by leaping from taller places. And he mentioned something about being an uncle to a couple of girls he had met while at Beacon. That part was…oddly unspecific to say the least. Frost decided to poke at that fact first.

"When you say a couple of girls I met at Beacon…could you be a bit more specific? I kind of know a handful and a really don't know too much about any of them save a few."

The black-haired man grinned somewhat as he gave a sideways glance to Frost before returning to his seat in the corner of the room. "I'll give you a hint. One's an overly energetic girl that loves scythes and cookies; the other is a loose cannon with eyes like fire. That help at all?"

Frost gave the man a confused look for a moment before piecing the details together. The second clue was kind of odd, but the first one was fairly obvious, which meant that-

"You're their Uncle Qrow?!" Frost blurted out before giving a worried look towards Neo's bed before heaving a quiet sigh of relief at no signs of the girl having been disturbed by his outburst. "Yang and Ruby's uncle?"

"Well technically I'm only Yang's uncle by blood considering her mom is my sister, but Taiyang and Summer wouldn't allow me to say no to Ruby calling me the same thing considering how often I was around." A sad expression crossed his face for a moment as he mumbled something under his breath that Frost couldn't quite hear. "Gods I miss those days…"

Frost looked around awkwardly before Qrow cleared his throat and shook off the saddened look before returning his gaze to Frost, who eventually sighed in resolution and carefully removed the protective gear from his limbs before walking over and sitting at the edge of the unoccupied bed. He then turned to look at Qrow with an inquisitive look on his face before speaking, "Do you know who left those here at all?"

Qrow shook his head a few times before replying. "Not a clue. They were already there when I showed up a day ago and spoke to your friend when she was awake."

That last part caused Frost's eyebrows to raise in surprise. "A day ago? How long was I out for?"

"About two days following the incident out on the streets where you lit up the sky like a Christmas tree."

"Huh." Frost mumbled out as he looked down at his arm as he flexed his hands a few times. Now the tingling sensation in his arms made a little more sense the more he thought about it. "And what about Neo? Is she alright?" The white=haired boy looked over at his friend in concern while Qrow chuckled briefly once more.

"She's fine, just a little tired. She asked the same thing of you when I spoke to her the other day. Told her roughly the same thing, too." Qrow gave a pointed look at Frost as he continued to gaze at Neo's resting form. "Though I doubt that's what you're referring to, isn't it?"

"…How did you find out?" Frost asked slowly as he turned to face Qrow with a neutral look on his face.

"Blood tests done on the two of you after you were brought in to recover. Though there was a lot more going through her bloodstream, we found some in yours as well. Care to explain."

Frost sighed as his head slumped forward to look at the floor. "Back when we were being forced to work for Torchwick, they laced out food with some sort of drug. Torchwick thought it was some kind of suggestion that it implanted, but apparently it was something…worse." Frost shuddered slightly at the memories of the darker version of himself that he had confronted on a few separate occasions. "Somehow a drug got made that was able to infuse Grimm essence into a person's body and empower them. The problem was that it also somehow worked against the mind in a manner of bringing out a more savage side at times. I guess now that explains a few of my outbursts between now and then, but Neo had it way worse considering she was exposed to more of it than I was."

"It's more than just that." Qrow spoke from his corner, snapping Frost out of his downed mood as he looked up to watch the man as he spoke. "That drug was part of an experiment to see if people could somehow recover the remains of defeated Grimm and test it to see what it could do if applied to the human body. After several instances of test subjects dying due to the exposure the program was shut down and all traces of data were supposedly destroyed. That was nearly 5 years ago. Yet somehow, a few traces of this drug just happened to show up in a facility that Torchwick and his men are raiding for supplies and Dust? It's not a coincidence. Someone planted those vials."

Frost looked at Qrow with concern apparent on his face before opening his mouth to speak. "Where are you going with this?"

Qrow sighed briefly before getting up and strapping his large sword to his back, Frost's eyes widening slightly as he caught sight of the full size of the weapon, if even for a moment. "I was hoping to wait a while longer before springing this on the two of you, given recent events. But before the big attack was led on the city, Ozpin had told me about his notion that somewhere these tests were still being performed without government authorization. It's even possible they're a part of the same group that orchestrated the attack on the city a couple of days ago. He was hoping that given the fact that the two of you weren't as tightly affiliated with any schools that you could go and investigate the issue." Qrow paused a moment before adding, at Frost's concerned look, "With some more experienced Hunter's help, of course."

"And I'm assuming that's going to be you?" Frost asked after a moment of thought.

Qrow shook his head, however. "Ozpin may have originally intended to have me guide the two of you there, before everything happened. But now with him missing," Frost's eyes widened at this statement as Qrow continued, "I need to try and figure out what to do in his stead while the rest of us are busy doing damage control in their respective areas. So for now the two of you will have to travel to Haven on your own before joining up with a Hunter we know is stationed there. Word has been sent ahead about them expecting the two of you, but that's as much as we can do at this point."

"It'll have to do." Frost said with a hint of finality. However, a moment later his face lit up in thought as he turned to look at Neo. "Though I would appreciate it if you could do something for me."

Qrow gave the boy a confused look before replying. "What is it?"

"Have word sent ahead that it'll just be one person showing up to investigate." Frost turned to face Qrow with a steeled look in his eyes. "I'm not letting Neo get involved in anything having to do with this again. So tonight, while she's sleeping I'm going to pack up my things and leave before morning so that she can't trace my steps when I go." Frost's eyes returned to a sad look as Neo's form shifted slightly, as though in response to his statement.

Qrow gave Frost a bemused look as he turned to spare a glance at Neo as well before turning back to face Frost. "I think she would protest to that plan just a little bit, wouldn't you?"

"It doesn't matter." Frost said with a forced tone. "She's been through enough in regards to that stupid drug, and I'm not letting her get anywhere near it if I have a say."

"Well you don't."

Frost's eyes widened while Qrow's smirk grew wider as Neo's body turned to face Frost, tears streaming from her eyes as she gave Frost an icy glare. "You're not going anywhere without me, and I don't care what you have to say about that."

Frost reeled back from the tone that Neo had used while addressing him before hanging his head in shame. "How much did you hear?"

"Everything. I was awake before you, and Qrow asked me to just lie down and relax while we waited for you to wake up." Her gaze softened as a few hiccups escaped while the tears continued to fall. "Why, though? Why would you think that I w-wanted you to leave without m-me?"

"You heard why." Frost said with a cold tone as he clenched his hands into fists on his lap, ignoring the biting pain that surged for a moment as his muscles tightened in frustration. "You've dealt with this enough."

"And so that means you get to go off on your own and play Hero, while I sit here and fall apart after everything we've been through together?"

"Sometimes people shouldn't have to deal with stuff that isn't their fault."

Neo's eyes widened a moment in realization. "I already told you, I forgave you for what happened all of those months ago. Let it go."

"WELL MAYBE I DON'T DESERVE YOUR FORGIVENESS!" Frost yelled out in frustration. He then raised his head to look directly at Neo, even as a few tears escaped from his own eyes. "Before the night on the rooftops, I thought I had finally forgiven myself for what had happened since none of it was your choice. But when you told me that you had to go along with it for my sake while I was moping about in the school, I lost that. Everything that you had done for Cinder was to protect me, and I didn't deserve that. You should have gone to someone and blown the whistle on them the moment you had the chance."

"How dare you!" Neo screamed from across the room as she got up and strode over to Frost's bed before delivering a harsh slap to his face. "Do you really think that you mean so little that I would just throw you away like fodder if it meant I could help other people? I wish I was strong enough to do what was necessary to help others, but if that comes at the cost of those I care about, I refuse to make that decision!"

"But you could have stopped all of this by just saying something!"

"And so could you!" Neo screamed back in defiance as her shoulders started to shudder quickly. "But you c-couldn't, could y-you?" The tears fell anew even as Frost quickly got up to wrap his arms around her in a gentle hug. "You couldn't s-sacrifice my life just s-s-so others could b-be safe. So why would I-I do the opposite when I care about you so much, that it hurts."

"Stop, please." Frost begged as she held tightly to him amidst the hug.

"No. You need to hear this as much as I do." Neo forced out as she took a shuddering breath before continuing. "We may not have known each other before the incident with the village, and we may not be siblings by blood, but I still consider you a brother to me after everything we've been through. And I'm going to you do something stupid like go off along just to feed your Hero complex or something stupid like that."

Frost gave a sad laugh as he rested the side of his head atop Neo's due to their height difference. "Fine. You win. We'll do this together, just like we always did before." The two basked in the moment as they both came to terms with everything they had been through before the sound of someone clearing their throat echoed through the room.

"Not to interrupt the moment or anything, but now that you two are up to speed, I should really go visit my nieces while I've got the chance. Give yourselves a few days to get readjusted, then contact my via Scroll to get everything sorted out. Be prepared to leave as soon as possible once things are set in motion."

"You make it sound so official. We're not exactly Hunters, you know." Frost said with a laugh as he and Neo separated, though his hand stayed on her shoulder in reassurance. "I barely got into the year and Neo here hasn't even been accepted or anything. Besides, I bet there's a height requirement anyways." A swift jab to the side had Frost wheezing in pain with an agonized smile even as he kept his gaze forward and away from the smiling glare that Neo was giving him. "Also, ow."

"Given the current circumstances, I don't really care what the two of you are. Anyone that's willing to help is welcome to at this point in time. Either way, I'll be in touch."

A few days later, Frost and Neo stood atop a bluff overlooking the city of Vale as snow gently fell around them on the trees and cliffs. The two gave each other a measured look before nodding their heads solemnly and beginning their trek to Haven and the mysteries that lay ahead. In the distance, a crow passed overhead as it flew above the tree line, its destination unclear as it flew in solitude. Where it was headed, no one knows. For now, Frost and Neo trudged onwards, the only thing they had going for them being each other…

And all of the hope they could muster.

And that's it. This story is officially complete. Speaking from an outside point of view I am incredibly proud of myself for coming this far after past experiences with attempts at fanfics. Usually I would come up with an idea and just see where it took before running out of ideas and just quitting. This time I knew better and actually planned things out to gather a better idea of how things would go up to and including the ending.

Yes, the tone at the end makes things sound like there will be a sequel, and I do intend on doing just that. But not right away. While the ideas may be floating about in my mind, I am also going to take a brief reprieve as I sort a few things out in my personal life and affairs as well.

Either way, just a few things worth noting:

Item #1: I had originally intended to turn this into a shipfic for my OC and Neo by the end. But eventually I just said screw it since it could very likely lessen the effect of numerous scenes throughout the story. That and very rarely do OC-shipfics actually sound anywhere near good depending on who is writing them. I have read some great examples of it being done well, but I don't see myself on that level, or see it as necessary for the plot of the story.

Item #2: The adjustments to certain events in the show. I realize that a lot of folks can have serious issue with established events having other characters included or deviating from source material. This is however, a fanfic and my own take on things using an OC, and I will be delving into the realms of full-on AU in the sequel. I will be avoiding using any plots or things that RoosterTeeth happen to use in V4, as I want this to be my own thing. If things happen to coincide, then that is merely a coincidence.

All in all, this has been quite the adventure, and to anyone that has read this or does read this in the future: Don't be afraid to speak your thoughts via PM or review. Any feedback helps me fix issues I may have in my writing, or in continuity that I missed throughout the story. Other than that, I wish you all the best.

Peace out.