Chapter 52:

Present day:

Silence greeted Ruby as she finished her story.

"Holy...cow..." said Coco after a moment's pause. "That was totally...badass! You are awesome, girl!"

Ruby blushed brilliantly, averting her eyes shyly. "Thanks," she said. "It's not all that big a deal."

"Um...I disagree," said Blake, who'd been watching Ruby with wide eyes as she described some of the moves she'd used to take down the Paladins. "Considering how much trouble we had with one of those machines, that you were able to take down ten of them, with just a little help, is nothing short of incredible."

"Yeah!" agreed Nora eagerly. "That one we fought was super-tough!"

"Well, Roman might have had a better idea of how to use it than the White Fang did," said Ruby. "I think that a lot of their intended pilots were taken out by the explosion, and whoever was closest jumped in to use those machines, so they weren't able to make the best use of it. A lot of them were damaged in some way too, so they were a long ways from full strength. And, uh...Shining Rose is super-sharp, so their armor wasn't as much trouble..."

Ruby found herself hesitating. Her weapon had probably been one of the deciding factors in making the fight against the Paladins much easier than it had been for WBY and JNPR. Shining Rose's blade, just like Ayumu's sword, had the potential to be sharp enough to slice through almost anything, depending on Ruby's intent. With the armor around their cockpits rendered all but useless by her weapon, Ruby naturally would have had a much easier time taking them down with just one or two hits. She also fully believed in the other reasons she'd given for why the fight was as easy as it was.

At the same time, she also had to make sure to steer the conversation away from her weapon, before the discussion became too in-depth. Ruby liked Coco and Velvet a great deal, but she didn't yet trust them enough to entrust them with the secret of her weapon's true nature. She wasn't sure if she ever would. The fewer people that knew the truth about Shining Rose and Green Destiny, before Ruby and Ayumu made their reveal, the less likely it was that the secret would be revealed before they were ready to do so.

Coco looked as though she wanted to ask more about the nature of Ruby's weapon, but stopped herself, apparently taking Ruby's hesitation as a desire not to give too much about her capabilities away, when the Vytal Festival Tournament was coming up. "Well, whatever the case, if we face each other during the tournament, please don't cut through my gun. I put a lot of work into it."

"Same," said Velvet, raising her hand.

"Ditto!" agreed Nora, cheerfully playing along.

"Okay," said Ruby with a giggle. "I'll try." In truth, she could do a lot more than try. She naturally viewed her opponents' weapons as extensions of themselves, rather than as separate, inanimate objects. It was a viewpoint fully ingrained upon her by her own affection for Crescent Rose, before it had been destroyed. As such, her blade would not automatically cut through her opponents' weapons, unless she deliberately intended to do so.

"That works for me," said Coco with a chuckle.

"So that ice cream girl got away, huh?" mused Yang, frowning a little.

"Ice cream girl...?" Ruby blinked, processing it for a moment. "You mean Neo?"

"I guess," said Yang. "Different-colored eyes, pink and brown hair...that whole color scheme of hers makes me think of that ice cream, uh..."

"You mean Neapolitan?" asked Blake.

"Yeah!" agreed Yang enthusiastically. "That! Even her name is Neo, so I'm guessing her full name is Neopolitan...or something like that."

"Uh...what's Neapolitan ice cream?" asked Ruby, a little confused.

"Oh! It's awesome!" cheered Nora. "It's vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream all together in one big lump of delicious deliciousness!"

"What?" gasped Ruby, horrified, whipping her head around to stare at Yang. "I never knew such an ice cream existed!" she exclaimed in horror. "How could you keep this a secret from me, Yang?"

"Uh...I thought I told you once...didn't I?" Yang watched Ruby shake her head slowly. "Huh...Well...my bad, I guess."

"Actually, I think we got some for tonight," said Blake, opening the cooler that they'd been using to store their colder snacks for the evening. Fishing around, she pulled out a small carton. "Here it is," she declared, holding it out to Ruby, who took it in a flash that made everyone wonder if she'd used her Semblance to grab it.

"Uh...we good?" asked Yang warily, remembering how Ruby could get when it came to desserts, though being denied cookies was usually what flipped the switch of her wrath.

"Hmm..." Ruby stared pensively at the carton of ice cream for a moment, before looking back up at Yang. "You're off the hook for now, Sis."

"You have no idea how relieved I am," Yang deadpanned, before finding herself unable to restrain her giggles any longer.

A few seconds later, all of them were laughing, even as they silently wondered how the conversation had slipped from what Ruby, Gin, and Ayumu had done in Mountain Glenn to ice cream flavors of all things.

After that, they chatted a little while longer about a variety of topics before selecting a movie to watch. The six of them continued to enjoy each other's company, long into the night, finally falling asleep just the sun's light began to appear on the horizon.


"All right...let's test the temperature," said Jaune, sprinkling some water over the griddle's surface. Little droplets skittered around excitedly before evaporating. "Looks good. You ready?"

"As ever," replied Ayumu cheerfully, already standing by with the bowl of batter and the ladle.

"All right," said Jaune. "Remember, don't go overboard. They're gonna spread out a fair bit, so don't pour them too close together."

Ayumu nodded and carefully poured ladlefuls of batter onto the hot griddle, trying his best to space them out so that they didn't touch. His efforts were marginally effective, though Jaune noted it wasn't the perfect use of griddle space. Some of the spreading pools of pancake batter ended up touching, despite Ayumu's effort to space them out, while others hovered farther apart than they needed to be. Still...for his first time making actual pancakes in an actual kitchen, rather than on a hot rock in the middle of the forest, it wasn't too bad.

"Okay...now watch them," said Jaune. "When the little bubbles start to set at the edges, you're good to turn them."

Ayumu nodded, taking up the spatula. In flipping them, at least, he proved surprisingly adept, the complex motions of his swordsmanship giving him good control over the comparatively simple movements involved in flipping pancakes.

A few minutes later, a pile of the sweet breakfast treats lay on a platter, ready to be served, while Jaune set out plates, forks, knives, napkins, butter, and syrup.

"All right, guys," said Jaune, "breakfast is ready."

"Sweet!" exclaimed Sun Wukong, jumping up off the common room couch, Neptune following in his wake.

"Someone wanna get Ren and Gin?" asked Jaune absently. "They're out in the courtyard, doing their morning exercises."

"Oh yeah, that Tai-Chi stuff," mused Sun. "I'll get 'em." Not bothering to use the door, he instead slid open the window and bounded out that way.

"Does he know what doors are?" asked Jaune.

"Yeah," answered Neptune. "But he pretends not to."

"Okay..." mused Jaune.

In response to the girls tossing Gin out of Team RUBY's dorm and having a pajama party, the boys had decided to have a get-together of their own. Jaune, Ayumu, and Ren happily welcomed Gin into their room. An invitation was sent to Sun and Neptune, who eagerly accepted.

In response to the girls inviting over Coco and Velvet, Jaune sent an invite to Fox and Yatsuhashi as well. The older boys politely turned the invitation down, much to Jaune's relief. Yatsuhashi was easy enough to handle, but Fox possessed an intimidating presence, whether he wanted to or not. It was probably awareness of that fact that led to them turning the invitation down anyway.

A few minutes later, Sun reappeared, predictably, at the window. "Hey! You guys have to check this out!"

"Check what out?" asked Jaune. "Breakfast's getting cold."

"You'll see," said Sun, beckoning. "Come on!"

The other boys used the door to follow Sun down into the courtyard. There they found that Ren had abandoned his morning exercises to watch Gin, who was still going through his own. The second they saw Gin, they realized why Sun had called them.

Gin had taken a wide, low stance, slowly moving his arms and shifting his weight, going slowly through movements that, at full speed, would translate into powerful strikes. It wasn't anything especially unique, not much different from what Ren typically did during his morning sessions.

What was different, however, was the swirling Aura that flowed around Gin like a powerful current, a thick stream of silver, its sides decorated with scales, its flowing, sinuous motions linked to the movement of Gin's arms and hands. Out at the front, a slightly elongated head, with a large mouth, armed with curved teeth, quested out. A dragon of silver Aura weaved its body around Gin, the boy clearly directing its movements through the movement of his arms. The dragon's moves were as slow and languid as Gin's. But those watching could feel that clear sense of power.

"Oh...you haven't done that in a while," noted Ayumu.

Gin's movements became closer, his arms not reaching out as far from his body, drawing the dragon inwards, winding about him until it slowly sank into his skin and vanished from sight. Finally, Gin slowed to a stop and stood up straight, looking at Ayumu. "I've been slacking off," he said. "I figured it'd be a good idea to get back into the swing of training regularly, if we don't have to worry about finding our breakfast every morning."

Ayumu nodded. "A good idea. I'll have to start doing that too."

"That was training?" asked Sun with wide eyes. "That was awesome!"

"It's fairly basic," said Gin, stretching his arms.

"In any case, come on inside," said Ayumu. "Jaune's been teaching me how to make proper pancakes."

"I'll chew carefully," said Gin.

"So cruel..." Ayumu mock-whimpered.

They reconvened in the dorm's common room to help themselves to the pancakes Ayumu helped prepare. Despite Gin's jocular reservations, the pancakes were fine, even if a few were a bit misshapen.

When their get-together had started last night, Jaune had been at a bit of a loss for what to do. Sun and Neptune were all for playing video-games late into the night. However, Gin had no experience playing such games and Ayumu's hampered left hand made him unable to use the controls properly. Jaune wanted to find something Ayumu could do, at least. Unlike the girls, sitting and gossiping wasn't really their thing.

At one point, Ayumu expressed in interest in learning to cook conventionally, after tasting some of the snacks Jaune had made for their gathering. Ren and Jaune had been happy to show Ayumu the basics of using the kitchen, while Sun and Neptune took responsibility for walking Gin through the nuances of Ninja Fighter 3. As a result, they spent their evening quite amicably, retiring to bed a good bit earlier than the girls.

Strangely, unlike Blake and Velvet, Sun showed only a little wariness towards Gin, meeting him for the first time since Gin had publicly revealed his nature as a dragon-faunus. However, after spending some time with Gin, even that wariness had faded quickly and Sun was soon talking to Gin like they were old friends.

And now, with Jaune guiding him, Ayumu was showing great promise in preparing breakfast with only minimal assistance.

"So what was that?" asked Sun in between mouthfuls of syrupy goodness.

"What was what?" asked Gin.

"That thing with the dragon!" exclaimed Sun. "That was totally awesome!"

"Oh...that," said Gin, cutting another piece of pancake and eating it carefully. For someone with his rough upbringing, he was a surprisingly dainty eater with a knife and fork.

"Yeah, 'that'!" Sun nearly shouted. "Dude! How can you be so casual about it? It's a freaking dragon!"

"Because I used to do that everyday," said Gin with a slight frown, scratching one cheek. "Ayumu and I got so preoccupied with basic chores on the road to Vale, we didn't even think to go through our own routines."

"Because you were looking after Ruby, right?" asked Jaune.

"Well, 'looking after' implies that she couldn't take care of herself," said Ayumu, "which couldn't be further from the truth. However, Ruby does lack our training in advanced survival skills, so we took it upon ourselves to take care of procuring food during our trip."

"Normally, we leave ourselves a bit more free time, since we're usually just wandering anyway," added Gin.

"Yeah, but that doesn't answer the question of what that was," interjected Neptune.

Gin frowned, seeing that these two boys weren't going to be thrown off this line of inquiry so easily. He turned to look at Jaune and raised an eyebrow. "Is it safe to tell them? It involves the thing Ruby doesn't want us telling people about."

"Oh!" Jaune blinked and thought for a moment. Then he nodded. "Go ahead. Sun and Neptune can be trusted."

"They did join our investigation into Torchwick and the White Fang," added Ren.

"And they fought the Paladin with us," said Jaune. "If we can trust them enough to entrust them with Blake's secrets, then I think that we can trust them with Ruby's too."

"I have to admit that I am curious about the nature of that skill," added Ren.

"All right," said Gin, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them. "It's a form of manifestation."

"You mean like what Ayumu and Ruby do with their weapons?" asked Jaune, surprised.

"What do they do with their weapons?" asked Sun.

Ayumu brought his hands together and drew forth Green Destiny, the blade ringing lightly. The weapon's sudden appearance causing Sun and Neptune to nearly topple over in their seats from surprise.

"No weapons at the breakfast table," said Jaune, pausing to sip his coffee.

"My apologies," said Ayumu, putting his blade away again. "I figured it would be best to go ahead and show them."

"Where did that thing come from?" asked Neptune, staring at Ayumu's hands. "Where were you keeping it all this time?"

"Nowhere," said Ayumu. "Until I brought it out, it did not exist. I made it, here and now."

"Wha-how?" gasped Sun.

Ayumu proceeded to explain the nature of manifestation and materialization to them. The two boys listened with rapt attention, shocked by this revelation.

"I had no idea Aura could do that," said Sun, staring into space after Ayumu finished his explanation. "So Ruby's new weapon is actually made from her Aura too?"

"Correct," said Ayumu. "It's a secret we're saving until during the tournament to reveal. We are hoping to change the way people view the singular importance of Dust in their lives."

Sun's eyes drifted to Ayumu's left hand, remembering the scar it the sleeve over his arm concealed. It had taken some prodding to get Ayumu to talk about his history, and how he'd ended up with that scar, which had cast a pall over the evening for a little bit. "Yeah, I can see why'd you'd want to do something like that. Blake's told me a little about what the SDC has done, but all she has are stories and rumors. You've actually lived through that."

"Well...I feel that it's not something to brag about," said Ayumu. "Besides, that's a tangent we should avoid for the time being. You wanted to know more about what Gin was doing."

"Right," agreed Sun, his mood lifting.

"Basically, what I was doing is the second form of manifestation," explained Gin. "I don't materialize like Ayumu and Ruby do, because I don't need to. I don't think I need to explain why."

Remembering the claws and scales on Gin's forearm that were more than a match for any manmade weapon, Sun and Neptune had to nod their agreement.

"But, besides producing objects, manifestation can be used in technique, to essentially give technique tangible 'form,' which produces greater power," said Gin.

"You didn't use that in your match with Yang," noted Jaune.

"Well, I was supposed to beat her, not shred her to pieces," said Gin. "But, besides that, there was no real need for me to do so."

"You were holding back?" asked Ren, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Hardly," said Gin. "But I wouldn't say I was going all out either. Letting her pound me with her Semblance aside, fighting my opponent in the most efficient and effective manner possible, with the minimum expenditure of my own strength, is the ideal method Master Yu taught us."

Ayumu nodded sagely.

"Oh..." said Sun.

"Normally, when I fight, unless I'm really trying to destroy my enemy, you wouldn't see the whole thing," said Gin. "I don't completely manifest unless I really am striking with all my strength. What you saw me doing in the courtyard was a little different, even from that. Guiding my Aura outside my body is for the purpose of honing my ranged skills."

"Ranged skills?" asked Jaune.

Gin held up his hand and extended his claws, though his scales remained concealed. The sudden movement made Sun jolt. But, otherwise, he didn't show any other reaction to the reminder of Gin's draconic nature. "I've always been happy to rely on the weapons I'm born with. But, if there's one thing that I've realized I was lacking, it's the fact that my claws are not also guns."

"Very true," admitted Jaune. "So...your ranged attack is basically throwing your Aura in the form of a dragon."

"'Throwing it' sounds crude," grumbled Gin. "I put a lot more work into it than that. The truth is, I don't encounter many situations where I actually need to do that. It uses a lot of Aura, so it's one of the most wasteful techniques I have. Under most circumstances, I'm usually able to manage an approach against an opponent, no matter what methods they have. Even airborne Grimm, like Nevermores and Griffons, can generally be drawn to ground level if you play on their aggressiveness."

"That makes sense," said Neptune.

"But practicing like I was this morning is also just practice to help refine manifestation in general," said Gin. "Manifestation is reliant upon the image of what you want to create, in both form and action. My 'dragon' is an example of both. So my main purpose in doing that is to improve my ability to visualize what I want to create."

"Doing so makes the execution of the technique faster and more efficient," said Ayumu. "With practice, Gin will be able to call up the image of what he wants his Aura to become with almost no delay, which means less of an opening."

"That's pretty neat," said Sun.

"Any other questions?" asked Gin.

"Just one," said Sun. "Can you teach me how to do that? That looks awesome. I'd love to be able to do something like that."

"Hmm...we can walk you through the basics of manifestation," said Ayumu. "However, yours would probably be quite different from Gin's."

"Different?" asked Sun.

"Your manifestation should be distinct to your own nature and preferences," said Ayumu. "It needs to be something that suits your style of combat. If you focus simply on imitating others, you'll only hamper yourself."

"Oh..." said Sun.

"That being said, Master Yu always says that 'to imitate is to learn,'" said Ayumu. "So...if you start by imitating Gin in the basics of manifestation, you'll eventually come to realize how to make it your own."

"A warning...it's not easy," said Gin.

Sun chuckled. "What is?" he asked rhetorically. "If it was easy, it wouldn't be worth learning in the first place."

"A fine attitude," said Ayumu cheerfully. "We can work out the particulars later."

"A word of warning, it's not something you can normally pick up quickly," said Gin. "It might take months of practice before you achieve meaningful improvement."

"Fine by me," said Sun, folding his arms.

"Well, we have a while before Ruby and Yang's father is supposed to arrive," said Ayumu, glancing at the common room clock. "We could begin straight away, after breakfast."

"Cool!" said Sun.


Ruby awoke slowly, blinking her eyes blearily. Their room was dark, Yang having drawn across the curtains to ensure that the sun didn't bother them. Despite waking up on her own, she felt sluggish and lazy, probably because she'd become accustomed to early mornings during the weeks on the road with Ayumu, Gin, and Yu.

Smacking her lips, Ruby looked around, not yet awake enough to really be able to make use of her Shingan. In the darkness, she could see the still forms of her friends, still fast asleep. The sight of it all was enough to make Ruby smile. However, she felt grungy and her mouth tasted nasty. Ruby realized that she'd fallen asleep without brushing her teeth, something she'd rarely forgotten before.

Not wanting to greet her sister and friends with morning breath, Ruby decided to take advantage of the fact they were still asleep and claim the first shower for the day. Fifteen minutes later, she stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed and feeling much more awake and comfortable. Stretching, she winced at the feeling of her back popping, probably because she'd fallen asleep in something of an awkward position, rather than in her bed. Her sleep had also been a little bit more fitful without Gin there beside her, not that Ruby would ever admit as much out loud, especially where her sister might overhear. At the very least, she was glad to know that she could get through the night without him, having started to worry that she was getting a little too clingy.

Opening the door, Ruby stepped out into the hallway, deciding to stretch her legs and move around a little. Hopefully, when she got back, the others would be ready to greet the day.

She heard familiar voices from the common room and made her way down the hallway. There, she was surprised to see Gin with Jaune and Ren, listening intently as Jaune explained the basics of how to use the microwave to him.

"Morning," said Ruby, before pausing and smacking her lips, then yawning.

"Morning," replied Gin with a wry smile, "barely. You look like you had a late night."

"I did," said Ruby. "We didn't get to sleep until the sun was almost up." He came over to her, the two of them hugging and exchanging a quick kiss.

"Told ya," said Jaune to Ren and Gin. "Girls will keep each other up all night long."

"Hey!" protested Ruby.

"That sounds like a euphemism," added Gin.

"Almost everything is a euphemism for something these days," said Ren.

"Usually for sex," added Jaune with a sigh.

"Where are the others?" asked Ruby, looking around, noticing that Ayumu, Sun, and Neptune, the latter two she'd learned were invited to the boys' party last night.

"Ayumu's been walking Sun through the basics of manifestation," said Gin. "Neptune's watching. We told them. I hope you don't mind."

Ruby frowned a little. But then, thinking back to all the things Sun had done with and for them, including the things she'd heard had happened while she was away, she decided there wasn't anything to worry about. Sun had proven himself a trustworthy friend to their group, Neptune as well. "I'm okay with that," she said.

"Good," said Gin with a relieved smile. "Ayumu should be back soon."

Then something about Gin's morning registered with her. "Wait a minute...what did you mean by 'barely' earlier?"

Gin blinked. "You said 'good morning.' I was just pointing out that it could barely still qualify as morning. It's almost noon. I was about to come and wake you girls up myself."

Ruby blinked, Gin's words rattling around in her head. It was a testament to how out of it she was, having her sleep schedule thrown askew by the party, that it took so long for her to comprehend what Gin had actually said. It's almost noon! Dad's going to be here at twelve-thirty!

An instant later, she was gone, a cloud of scattering petals being the only indicator that she had been there at all.

"That was kinda mean," said Jaune with a sly smile.

"I suppose it was...kinda," said Gin, looking down and blushing.

"If Ruby weren't in a hurry, I'd bet she'd be proud that you could tease her like that," added Jaune gently patting the younger boy on the back.

"Thanks," said Gin with a smile.

Meanwhile, Ruby burst back into her team's room, rushing across it to the window and yanking the curtains open. "Yang! Get up!"

Yang wasn't the only one rudely awakened by the sudden shower of light that bathed them. Blake moaned and curled up into a ball on her cushions. Velvet's rabbit ears folded down to cover her eyes. Coco groaned and pulled a pillow over her head. Nora...didn't react at all, still snoring blissfully away, without a care in the world.

"Huh...wha-what's wrong, Ruby?" asked Yang, slowly forcing herself upright, her hair a tangled mess and her eyes glazed.

"It's almost noon!" exclaimed Ruby. "Dad's gonna be here any minute!"

"What?!" shouted Yang, shooting to her feet. "I gotta clean up!"

She staggered into the bathroom, slamming it shut behind her, drawing muffled expletives from Coco, beneath her pillow.

"Ruby...what's going on?" asked Velvet sleepily, also sitting upright.

"Sorry, Velvet," said Ruby. "I didn't mean to wake all of you. I sorta panicked."

"Why?" asked Velvet.

"Well...Dad's coming to see us today, and this is the first time I've seen him since before...you know," explained Ruby.

"Oh..." said Velvet, her eyes widening.

"I'll close up the curtains," said Ruby, smiling apologetically. "You can go back to sleep."

"If it's almost noon, we might as well get up," said Coco, sitting up and stretching with a yawn of her own.

"No going back to sleep after that racket," added Blake sardonically as she too sat up.

"Sorry," squeaked Ruby twiddling her fingers nervously.

"It's all right," said Blake. "It's good that you'll get to see your father again. We should clean up around here, so our dorm doesn't look like a complete disaster, when he gets here."

"Right," said Ruby.

They moved around the room, clearing away the detritus of the previous night's events, cleaning up trash and putting away the cushions and pillows they'd laid out. By the time it was almost twelve-thirty, their dorm room looked almost habitable again.

The only problem was Nora, who continued to sleep like a rock, but snore like a chainsaw. Any attempts rouse, or even move her, only made her snore louder and clutch all the tighter to the cushions she was sleeping on, which made her an awkward load to bear. Finally, Ruby, with a sly grin on her face, went to fetch her official "Nora countermeasure," and came back with an amused and exasperated Ren, who woke Nora with the magic word guaranteed to bring her out of the deepest of slumbers and snap her out of the worst stupors, "Pancakes."

Nora was immediately awake with a shout, though the sight of Ren caused one of the subjects of their conversation last night to come back to her in a rush. Nora's face flushed bright-red. Before anyone could react, she practically bulled Ren over in her rush to get out the door, zipping across the hall to JNAR's room, and locking herself in the bathroom over there. Ren looked after her, confused, while the other girls hid amused titters.

After that, they continued to go through the process of picking up what remained of their slumber party. Yang still had yet to emerge from the shower, which was fairly typical, considering how much maintenance her hair needed in the morning. Ruby had just finished clearing away the pillows and was moving her and Gin's bed back into position, when she heard knocking on the door, which they'd left open to simplify taking out all the things that needed to be thrown away.

Looking up, Ruby's eyes widened and a gasp escaped her at the sight of the man leaning against the doorframe. "DADDY!" Unable to contain herself, Ruby threw herself at her father, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

Taiyang Xiao Long laughed and returned the hug, holding his daughter with an embrace that put some of Yang's strongest bear hugs to shame. Ruby didn't mind in the slightest, burying her head in his shoulder, tears spilling freely from her eyes.

"I'm so glad to see you, baby girl," said Taiyang, kissing the top of her head.

"I'm s-sorry!" said Ruby, her voice choked with sobs. "I should have at least called."

"It's okay," said Taiyang, now gently rubbing her back. "Qrow said you were going to be radio silent for a while."

"It doesn't excuse me not calling you when I got back," said Ruby.

"That's okay," said Taiyang. "Just knowing you're all right is enough for me. My little girl is home and safe, and all is right with the world."

For a few more minutes, they simply continued to hold one another, Ruby's friends looking on fondly to see her reunited with her father.

"So...where's your sister?" asked Taiyang after a few minutes, releasing his hug, though he still kept his arms slightly around her, allowing Ruby to pull back to look him in the eyes.

"Shower," said Ruby with a sniff, rubbing her nose.

"This late?" Taiyang raised an eyebrow, then took in the state of the room, which looked much better, but wasn't yet fully restored to its normal state. "I see. Slumber party, huh?"

"Yeah," said Ruby, now wiping her eyes.

"Stayed up all night?"

"Yep."

"Have fun?"

"Yep."

"Good." Taiyang chuckled, then turned his eyes to Blake. "Blake, good to see you again."

"It's good to see you too," said Blake, smiling back. "I'm glad we could meet under better circumstances this time."

"Me too," said Taiyang. His eyes went to Coco and Velvet. "I don't believe we've been introduced."

"Oh!" Ruby pulled out of his arms and bounced over to the two girls from Team CFVY. "This is Coco and Velvet. They're our upperclassmen."

"It's nice to meet you," said Velvet, smiling politely at Taiyang. "We're all glad to have Ruby back."

"That's true," agreed Coco with her signature smirk.

"Good to hear," said Taiyang. "Thank you for looking after my daughters and their team."

"Our pleasure," said Coco. "Though it seems they don't need all that much looking after."

Velvet giggled.

The door to the bathroom opened and Yang emerged, fully dressed, but still toweling off her hair. She looked up and saw her father and dropped her towel. "Dad!"

"Hey there," said Taiyang. "How's my Little Sunny Dragon doing?"

"Daaaad!" protested Yang, her cheeks turning red as the other girls giggled discreetly.

"Sounds like you had quite the night," said Taiyang. "Now...I have something here for you..." He pulled a small pack off his back and deposited it on the floor of the room.

The girls all looked at it, then flinched back as the pack suddenly jumped on its own. Then the flap shot open, and the head of a familiar gray and white corgi emerged from within, barking a greeting.

"AAAH!"

All five girls shouted in unison, though they had different tones. Coco and Velvet shouted in surprise, Yang and Ruby with excitement, and Blake with terror.

"Zwei!" yelled Ruby, holding out her arms.

The little corgi didn't hesitate, jumping up into her hold, and licking enthusiastically at Ruby's face as she giggled loudly, cuddling the little bundle of fur and cuteness.

"I missed you too!" said Ruby, in between giggles as Zwei slathered her face in wet puppy-kisses.

Yang grinned, happy to see her family's pet and even happier to see him reunited with Ruby. Glancing over, she saw that Coco and Velvet were both cooing and looking forward to fawning over Zwei. Blake, however, was nowhere to be seen. Blinking in confusion, Yang looked around, not seeing Blake in the bathroom or near the closet. Motion out of the corner of her eye drew Yang's vision up to her bed. There, she saw Blake, crouched tensely, her golden eyes looking out over the edge and glaring down at the dog in Ruby's arms.

After a moment, Blake noticed Yang looking at her and looked back. Their eyes met.

Yang began to grin.

Blake's eyes narrowed dangerously. Even though no words were exchanged, there was no questioning what Blake's look meant. Not. One. Word.

Yang merely covered her mouth with her hand to hide her smirk.

"Well, now that we're back together, I'm going to take my girls out to lunch," said Taiyang. "Would you ladies be willing to look after Zwei while we're gone. He's very well-behaved."

"We'd love to," said Velvet eagerly, exchanging smiles with Coco. Velvet knelt down and held out her hand and the eager and curious corgi quickly bounded over to investigate.

Blake would have disagreed, but she chose to retreat back behind the edge of Yang's bed, and watch warily from above for her chance to escape.

"Now then," said Taiyang, "shall we get the others?"

"Huh? Others?" asked Ruby, tilting her head in confusion.

"Well, I do want to meet the boys who saved my precious little girl," said Taiyang firmly. "Buying them lunch is the least I can do."

"Oh!" said Ruby, her eyes widening. "You want to meet Gin and Ayumu? They're just down the hallway."


"You can't be serious," growled Weiss, staring at the document in front of her.

"Completely," said the severe, stern-looking man sitting across her. "I've reviewed the evidence myself and, unfortunately, even our best efforts would be unable to undermine it. I've reviewed the rules of evidence to see if there's any way your 'confession' that the victim recorded could be disallowed, but she was acting with Professor Ozpin's sanction, which is equivalent to a warrant."

"She can't have been," snarled Weiss. "That brat didn't let everyone know she was back until days later!" She winced after her outburst. Shouting strained her throat, which exerted pressure against the one accessory she now wore in addition to her prison uniform. Unconsciously, Weiss reached up to finger the silver collar, wrapped snugly around her neck.

The Aura-suppression collar was a piece of technology, like most advanced technology, invented in Atlas. As the power of Huntsmen and Huntresses grew, so did the fear of what they would be capable of should they abuse said power. After many decades of research and hard work, this was the answer that had been come up with by Atlesian scientists. Weiss didn't know how the collar worked. All she knew was that it completely inhibited her Aura while she wore it, keeping her at the level of a person whose Aura hadn't been unlocked, and preventing her from using her Semblance. It was the only reason she could even be permitted outside her cell, now that she'd fully recovered from her beating at the hands of Ruby.

"It appears that Ozpin was informed of Ms. Rose's activities beforehand," explained the lawyer. "I'm sorry, Ms. Schnee. But, at this point, there is nothing more than we can do. A trial would be little more than an exercise in futility."

"I know my father's lawyers could do better than this," grumbled Weiss.

"But your father's lawyers are not here," replied her appointed defense lawyer. "And, even if one of them were, I imagine they would see the same thing I have, a hopeless case. You have no effective defense, Ms. Schnee."

Weiss ground her teeth together, staring at the document her lawyer had brought her. It had come through him from the prosecution. "But signing this is a guilty plea," she objected.

"It is," agreed the lawyer with a cautious nod. "By signing this, you agree to enter a plea of 'guilty' to the charge of Attempted Murder in the First-degree. As a consequence, the charge of Conspiracy to Conceal will be dropped. Your sentence shall also be reduced. You will go from Life, with a possibility of parole in fifteen years, to Seventy, with a possibility of parole in seven years."

"Seven years..." Weiss stared at the paper. If she signed this, it would be seven years until she got the chance to see the world outside the walls of prison again. Worse than that, she would only get out if certain conditions were met. "That brat..." she growled. "She did this to me."

"Ms. Rose has no say in this," said her lawyer. "The offer comes directly from the prosecution. They wish to avoid wasting time and money on a trial."

"I...I need time to think," said Weiss.

"You have one week," said her lawyer.

"What?" she gasped. "That little time?"

"The prosecution has been instructed by the Council to go ahead with the trial as soon as possible," explained the lawyer. "They are currently clearing a space on the docket for your case, and that of Ms. Nikos. The two of you will be formally asked for your pleas in one week's time. If you do not agree to this by then, you will either have to plead 'not guilty,' and take your chances, or plead 'guilty' without any concessions."

He pushed away from the table and stood up. "I have to go and deliver the same offer to Ms. Nikos. If you both refuse, you will be tried together. However, if only one of you accepts, then the one who refuses will be tried. Your decision is your own." He gestured at the paper. "I'll leave that with you. If you decide you wish to accept the bargain, let me know when I come back tomorrow."

He left, closing the door behind him. Weiss was left in the room, still seated at the table, staring at the paper. I can't sign this, she thought vehemently. I won't let Ruby beat me!

That was the crux of this matter. It had already dawned upon Weiss that she had no chance of winning this case. However, accepting this bargain, pleading guilty, felt like less of an acknowledgment of what she had done, and more of an acknowledgment that what she had done was wrong. The only thing I did wrong was not making sure that brat really was dead before leaving her body for the Grimm to chew on.

In the back of her mind, a traitorous voice spoke up. So what Father said about me was right then.

Weiss shivered. Her eyes glanced over the page once more. Her fingers curled inwards, her nails scraping the table's surface with the movement. She glared down at the page, as though it had personally insulted her. Anger hummed through her veins. She wanted nothing more than to shriek, tear the paper to pieces and then overturn the table for good measure. However, she knew that such behavior would likely lead to punishment, so she forced her anger down.

Despite all the factors stacked against her, Weiss still held onto hope for a way out. There was still one tiny ray of reassurance remaining, the one person she truly knew was on her side. Mother was a drunkard, too inebriated to be capable of doing anything but order more liquor. Her brother, Whitley, had gotten the inheritance, thanks to this whole affair, and would be in no hurry to help her. But Weiss still had her sister. She still had Winter.

Unfortunately, all her efforts to get in touch with Winter had proved fruitless. According to the person she'd contacted on Ironwood's staff, Winter was overseeing a classified military operation, and was unable to be contacted. They didn't know when she would be available again. Weiss realized that there was every possibility that the week, or even the whole trial, could go past before Winter was able to get in touch with her.

"What do I do?" Weiss asked herself, grabbing her head with her fingers, tangling them in her hair. "I can't do this!"

Despite that, however much she wanted to deny it, Weiss was confronted with the truth that accepting this offer by the prosecution might be her only choice. So it was that, in this place, in the heart of one of the most secure places in the world, though she was far away from any Grimm, Weiss' mind and heart were slowly torn and devoured by the twin monsters, Fear and Doubt.


When Ruby, Yang, and Taiyang arrived at the common room, they saw that Ayumu had returned from teaching Sun the basics of manifestation, and was enjoying a cup of tea with Ren and Gin, while Jaune sipped from a mug of coffee. Gin and Ayumu noticed their approach before they'd even entered the room and were already looking up expectantly.

"Ah, good...um...afternoon, Ruby," said Ayumu, wrestling with the greeting for a moment as he juxtaposed his knowledge of the time with the fact it was the first he'd seen of Ruby this day.

"Yeah," said Ruby, blushing at the reminder of how late she'd slept.

"Ms. Yang..." said Ayumu, nodding at Yang.

"Hey," said Yang with a grin, raising her own hand in greeting.

"And..." Ayumu's eyes rose to Taiyang. "...I presume this is your father."

"That's right," said Taiyang, striding past his daughters. "I'm Taiyang Xiao Long. Nice to meet you both."

Ayumu and Gin rose from their seats to greet him. They faltered slightly when Taiyang held out his hand, before realizing they were meant to shake it. They each took his hand in turn, Ayumu wincing slightly at the power behind Taiyang's grip.

"It's nice to finally meet both of you," said Taiyang. "Qrow didn't say much about you two. But what he did say was reassuring. I can't thank you enough for what you did for Ruby. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

"Ah...well...getting to know Ruby was reward enough for the two of us," said Ayumu with a sheepish laugh, rubbing the back of his head, "especially in Gin's case."

"Huh?" Taiyang blinked and turned his gaze to the silver-haired boy, who stared back at him with a level, neutral expression.

"R-right..." said Ruby, realizing she'd forgotten to bring this up. What was more, it appeared that Yang hadn't mentioned it to their father either, when they'd arranged his coming over. "Gin's my boyfriend now."

"Your boyfriend?" Taiyang's eyes widened.

Both Gin and Ruby blushed, but she darted over and took his hand in hers. They meshed their fingers together and gently squeezed.

"Well now..." Taiyang was at something at a loss for words as he looked back and forth between Gin and Ruby.

In the meantime, Ayumu sidled up next to Yang. "You didn't tell him on purpose," he said softly.

"That's right," Yang whispered back, a sly grin on her face. "Now we're in for a show."


No one trolls better than Yang Xiao Long. Also, it seems silly that Ruby wouldn't know what Neapolitan ice cream is, but I felt it was funny, so I put that in.