The halls were relatively deserted as Violet and Ruby quickly made their way back to the dorm, most students likely out in Vale or visiting family for the weekend. Arriving at the Siren dorm, Violet raised a knuckle to rap against the door twice. Though she tried to hide it, her mind was fluttering with the different possible truths that Penny may have revealed to their sister team.

Weiss opened the door for them, stepping to the side and revealing the scene to the two of them. Penny sat on Nora's bed, sandwiched between Pyrrha and Nora while Ren stood behind them, a hand on Penny's shoulder. Violet could see a small flicker of grey passing over the robot's body intermittently, calming her emotions while the others ran distraction.

"Oh my, you weren't kidding, friend Nora! These cats are adorable!" Penny smiled, staring down at the scroll being held in front of her, "I am glad you showed them to me."

Weiss closed the door quietly behind them and leaned over to Violet to whisper, "Her name is Penny. We found her down in Vale near the docks while she was looking for Beacon. As far as we've been able to get out of her, she really wanted to meet you for some reason," Weiss raised an eyebrow questioningly at the end.

Violet frowned and shrugged, "Never met her, even if she is from Atlas. Have you?"

"Winter never mentioned her, and I've never seen her personally either. She's…" Weiss's eyes drifted back off to Penny, giddily watching the next video that Nora had queued up, "...strange, to say the least," she glanced back at Ruby with a hint of hesitation and then to Violet, "Penny listed off all the people that know about you being a maiden. Yang's mom was one of them."

'Raven knows…?' Violet pondered it for a moment, not taking long to figure out why, 'Her little rule. Raven must have sensed Yang's panic at the docks and seen what I did there,' she sighed, 'This is not a good way for the truth about her to come out to Yang…'

"I'll take it from here," Violet announced confidently, stepping past Weiss and gaining the attention of the ginger on the bed. Penny's gaze shifted up to spot Violet, green eyes widening slightly.

Nora was knocked to the side as Penny jumped off the bed to move forward and hold her hand out, "Violet Regalia! I was hoping to meet you! Team Siren has been most kind in keeping me company until your arrival. My name is Penny Polendina!"

Violet gingerly held out her own hand, preparing for the overzealous shake that was sure to come. To her surprise though, Penny's reaction remained more relaxed, grasping her hand with one of her own and cupping the back of it with another. She smiled sweetly, "I would like to make a request!"

Violet's brow furrowed in confusion, "If it's something that I can do, then sure, Penny," she raised an eyebrow, "What do you need?"

"For you to be my friend!" Penny cheered.

"I-is that all?"

"Yep!" Penny grinned fiercely, still shaking her hand.

Violet's gaze passed across the rest of those gathered, finally settling once more on Penny's hopeful eyes. She shrugged, "I can do that, but only on one condition."

Penny's hand faltered slightly, growing hesitant, "Are you going to ask me to reveal more secrets?"

Violet shook her head with a small smile, "No, Penny. Quite the opposite, actually. We wouldn't want you getting in trouble with General Ironwood, now would we? I need you to not mention Raven again, at least not around Yang, okay?"

"Violet!" Ruby hissed from the side, throwing her a disapproving glare, "Are you really going to try and keep more secrets from everyone? From Yang!?"

"No," Violet let Penny's hand fall free and turned to face the rest of those in the room, all of which were looking at her with suspicion, "But this isn't something that we should tell her. Tai and Qrow need to be the ones that say it, otherwise they'll lose Yang's trust. Do you want that, Ruby? It… It isn't something that Yang is going to want to hear, not once she knows the truth."

"What is the truth?" Weiss spoke up, taking a step forward while Ruby shuffled uncomfortably, eyes stuck to the floor.

Violet glanced to the door warily and lowered her voice, "Raven's semblance allows her to open portals to anyone she has an emotional attachment to. She could have visited Yang anytime she wanted to, but she didn't."

Ruby gasped, eyes widening. Weiss took a step back, raising a hand to her mouth and eyes troubled, likely thinking back on her own reclusive mother. Ren and Nora frowned disapprovingly, eyes glancing to each other. Penny shuffled awkwardly, holding her skirt by the bottom hem and eyes downcast.

"That's… that's awful!" Pyrrha recoiled with a look of disgust, "What kind of parent… It's inexcusable!"

Violet nodded, "Tai and Qrow have been hiding that from her for the longest time because they didn't want to take away what little hope she had. We don't know anything about Raven aside from that. Those two… they can explain it better than we ever could. I want Yang to find out as gently as possible," her eyes roamed over the group once more, "Is that so bad?"

Collectively, each person shot a glance to the others, silently in agreement. Weiss nodded, face firming, "We aren't letting you keep it from her any longer than Sunday, though. Yang needs to be able to move on, and if it gets delayed any further… That won't help her."

"Agreed," Violet replied easily, pulling her scroll out to send Qrow a message, demanding he be at the cabin tomorrow. She finished, then raised an eyebrow at Penny, "So, were they asking you anything else before I got here?"

"They wanted to know my true purpose, and were very adamant that it was not to only be your friend. It truly is! General Ironwood ordered it!"

Violet laughed, typing out something into the text box on her scroll before stepping next to Penny and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. The ginger robot appeared excited by the gesture, and painstakingly began trying to figure out where to wrap her hand around Violet in kind. Meanwhile, Violet rolled her eyes to the rest of the group and gave a nod to her scroll that rested in her hand out of Penny's line of sight.

"Bodyguard."

Violet turned the screen on her scroll off and used her other hand to guide Penny's arm across her back, "I almost forgot, Penny. There is one more thing you're going to have to do~"

Penny grinned, finally managing to figure out the intricacies of their current embrace, "What might that be?"

"You're going to have to come watch a movie with us," she glanced towards the rest, "We're going to the theater to see a romantic comedy, right?"

Penny's face lit up as the others nodded confirmation. Her eyes widened to the extreme, and she broke away from Violet to raise her arms up higher, "Sen-sational! I cannot wait to go! It will be my first time!"

Ruby brightened, seeing Penny's excitement and staring at her aghast, "You've never been to a movie theater before!?"

"Never! Are they fun?"

"Like you wouldn't believe!" Ruby grinned sweetly, "I'm Ruby by the way. Nice to meet you, Penny!"

Penny zipped across the distance to grasp Ruby's hand, not using nearly as much self-control as she did with Violet, "A pleasure to make your acquaintance! Are we friends now?"

Ruby giggled, "Any friend of Violet's is a friend of mine," she gasped lightly, struck by an idea, "Do you want to come read with me? Violet gave me this awesome book!"

Penny glanced back at Violet uncertainly, likely told by Ironwood not to leave her side for a second, especially if the Atlesian General knew about Amber succumbing to her attackers. Violet gave her a small shooing motion with one hand, "Go ahead. I promise not to leave Beacon without you."

Ruby cheered and giddily pulled Penny along into the dorm across the hall. The door was just beginning to swing shut when Yang and Blake arrived, staring over their shoulder at the odd couple currently making their way into their shared room.

"I take it you guys got everything worked out?" Yang asked with a raised eyebrow, eyeing those assembled and seeing a few shared glances among them. Blake froze behind her, eyes locked on Violet in her current outfit.

Violet ignored Siren's glances and smiled confidently, "You could say that. General Ironwood tasked Penny with being my bodyguard, in a way. You two should introduce yourselves as well. No doubt she's going to be hanging around a lot, and it's better if you can all get along with her."

"You seem awfully okay with that. Do you want someone you don't even know on your heels twenty-four seven?"

Violet shrugged, "It's not as if I'm planning on sneaking off anywhere soon. Consider her an extra line of defense in making sure I keep my promise to all of you."

"Not that you would have broken it anyway, right?" Yang narrowed her eyes, though she seemed to at least be half joking. There was a hint of suspicion left, not helped by the way all of Siren were avoiding eye contact with the blond brawler.

"I keep my promises, Yang," Violet replied seriously. She glanced over to Blake, noticing the girl staring down at the clothes she was wearing, "Blake can attest to that, right Blake?"

The faunus's eyes darted away, face turning bright red and ears twitching, caught in the act, "Y-yup! Keep our promises! That's what we do!"

"See?" Violet laughed at the same time her scroll began to vibrate. She shook her head, trailing off into light giggles while checking the caller ID. Her expression grew more serious, and she raised her eyes back up to the rest, "It's Ozpin. Give me a moment."

Violet accepted the call right there in front of them, clicking the button and swiveling around so that they would be visible overtop her shoulder. Ozpin's face appeared, flanked by Qrow, Glynda, and Ironwood.

"Ah, Miss Regalia. It appears you may be busy, but I was hoping to have a word with you. Would you mind heading over to the tower? There are things we need to discuss."

"Anything you can't say with the rest of them here?" Violet raised an eyebrow disapprovingly. She was committed to not hiding anything from the rest, as she'd promised, 'Aside from the obvious godhood, anyway.'

"I would prefer to speak in person," Ozpin confessed with an apologetic smile, "Any that wish to come along, may. There are no secrets here."

'Ha. Good one, Wizard.'

"It may get crowded in my office with so many, though. Perhaps only a select few? The team leaders would suffice, and I could leave it up to your discretion to repeat back the information that you deemed necessary."

Violet shrugged, "I'll bring Yang as well, since I know she'll want to come," she waited for Yang to nod agreement, "We'll be there soon."

"Thank you, Miss Regalia. We shall be waiting."

The call ended, and Violet returned the scroll to her pocket.

"Was that the General?" Ren asked a moment later, a small tilt to his head, "He appeared to be an imposing man."

"That's him alright," Violet confirmed, "Weiss would probably know more about him, because of her sister and all."

"Not much, I'm afraid," Weiss confessed with some discomfort, "My sister and I don't get many chances to speak, and when we do, it is not often about her work. I get the feeling when he's brought up however that he is a strict, but fair man. Winter seems to idolize him a great deal."

Violet glanced past Weiss to catch Blake staring again and smirked, "Well, let me go ahead and change before we leave. I hardly want to be showing off my thighs to the highest power in my home kingdom," Violet walked past to the door and was careful not to touch Blake, turning to look over her shoulder at Weiss, "Out in a few."

Blake's gaze trailed after Violet for a moment longer before darting back to the rest of the room.

'Perhaps I should wait until after Blake is over me before wearing anything like this again. I don't want to make it any harder on her or Yang.'

Three minutes later, with a less risque outfit on and her previous outfit tucked deep into her clothes drawer, Violet returned to the Siren dorm to get Weiss and Yang. Together, the three made the journey across the Beacon campus.

"Ironwood probably just wants to let us know about Penny, honestly," Violet sighed, "We could have saved ourselves a trip if they'd still been in the room."

"Still, this will give us a chance to clear the air," Weiss commented thoughtfully, "Penny didn't seem like the type to be trusted with the entire truth. What we got out of her was only by accident, really."

Violet shot Weiss a warning glance, then decided to steer them away from the topic with some mild humor, "I wonder if he'll ask me to swear loyalty to Atlas, then whisk me away to become another one of its defenders. Do you think I'd look good in an Atlesian uniform?"

Yang smirked, looking up at Violet's hair, "I don't think grey and white are really your color. Would be kind of hard keeping you low profile when you'd stand out so much," her eyes dropped to Violet's, a curious expression on her face, "Which reminds me… What was with that outfit you had on before? You trying to date my sister or something? I know the two of you were out in Vale together. I… won't say I would really disapprove… just that you might want to wait awhile for Blake to get over you..."

Violet waved a hand dismissively, "Hardly. I just… felt like dressing up a bit, I guess. It's been awhile since I let my hair down."

"Your hair is always down."

"It's a figure of speech," Violet chided playfully, "I'd never think about Ruby that way."

Yang nodded with a relieved expression, "Good," then turned back, "Soooo~... what is your type then? Everybody has one, and Blake obviously didn't make the cut. You've complimented me a lot, even if it was mostly jokingly…?"

Violet laughed at the unasked question, "You're a fine specimen, Yang Xiao Long. No one can deny that much. I'm afraid you're not really my type either. Nothing against you, I just…" she trailed off and shrugged uncomfortably.

"You only answered one of my questions, and it wasn't even the one I really asked in the first place. What's your type?"

'Do I even have one?' Violet frowned, trying to think back to the last time she'd had a serious relationship. Out of all the memories she managed to pull free from the thousands of lives she'd lived, all came up empty. She'd indulged in casual sex on occassion, but usually only at the behest of someone else. Violet didn't go looking for a partner, and was fine going without over the span of multiple lives.

She shrugged once more, "Sorry to be the odd woman out, but I don't have one. It's fun to tease, but when it comes down to it, I don't think of others that way."

"Never?" Yang looked dumbfounded, and shook her head in confusion. Her face went a shade brighter, and she refused to meet Violet's gaze while stumbling over her words, "Have you ever… you know? Enjoyed some uh, alone time?"

For as bright as Yang was, Weiss became many times more so. She hid her face in her hands before shooting a glare between her fingers at the blond brawler, "Y-Yang! That is not the kind of question you ask someone else!"

Yang drew herself up defiantly, face still red, "Why not? It's perfectly natural, Ice Queen. Don't tell me your parents never told you about the birds and the bees?"

"The birds and the…?" Weiss frowned, "I have no clue what those have to do with anything, but n-no. Why would they? S-something like that should be saved until you're married!"

Yang laughed loudly, throwing her head back, "No way! You want to wait until you're stuck with someone before finding out whether or not they're even good in the sack? That's far too long!"

Violet smirked, "I'll have to agree with Yang on this one, Weiss. As crass as she's being, she has a point," her eyes caught the blond's as Yang turned back to her, "To answer your question... No. I've never done that either."

"Wow…" Yang stared at the ground, aghast, "I guess Blake never really stood a chance then, huh?"

Violet shrugged, replying truthfully, "I offered to try, but I think after hearing me out she understood how I really felt. It might have even made the rejection a little bit easier."

Yang shrugged, "A rejection is a rejection, but I get your point. It might help when you aren't being turned down for greener pastures, I suppose," she stared at Violet hard, eyes searching, "So nobody has ever caught your eye? Not in the seventeen long years you've been alive?"

'You mean in the billions, maybe even trillions?' Violet mentally shrugged, deciding to dip a toe into her own memories through her omniscience, 'There had to have been one, right?'

What she found made her freeze in place, mentally and physically grinding to a halt. Violet didn't notice her friends' confused glances, nor Yang's hand when it came out to shake her shoulder worriedly. Weiss's eyes darted around the campus, hand straying to Myrtenaster in case it was the work of some semblance.

Violet was too busy staring at the gaping hole that existed in her own omniscience to care about what they were doing.

'...What in the… How long has that been there…?' Violet tentatively reached out, feeling with her mind along the edges of the gap in her memory. A gap that by all rights, shouldn't exist.

Couldn't exist.

'I don't use it often, and even when I do, it's only for very specific purposes and minor details…' Violet hadn't fully embraced her omniscience in more life times than she could count. It was the crux of her greatest enemy. Why would she willingly embrace it?

Violet summoned up her courage, and attempted to plunge into the gap. At worst, she was expecting simply nothing to be there. Instead, her conscience mind slammed up against an invisible force, locking her off from retrieving any of the memories stored within. She gasped audibly, startling her two companions.

'The only way this could be possible is if I used my own omnipotence to do it…' Violet let her mind retreat, backing carefully away from the memories she had separated herself from, "Do I… Do I even want to know what's in there…? If I went through all that trouble…'

'I might be better off never knowing.'

'I'll leave it alone… for now,' Violet breathed out deeply, noticing for the first time that her pulse had increased drastically, and that both Weiss and Yang had now taken on defensive stances, eyes scanning warily for any threats.

"Ummm, sorry about that," Violet rubbed her head in embarrassment, feeling a migraine beginning to work it's way into the back of her head, "I can definitively say that not in all my years have I ever found someone I'd want to share it with…"

Yang and Weiss shared troubled frowns, the latter of which lowering Myrtenaster to place a hand on Violet's shoulder, "Are you feeling okay? You kind of… blanked out for a minute."

Violet rubbed a hand across her forehead, wiping away the sweat that had begun to bead there, "Oh, I'm fine," she glanced ahead to the tower that was still a block away, rising up into the sky above, "Let's not keep them waiting too long, eh?"

Despite Violet's efforts to help them relax, both Yang and Weiss remained on guard the rest of the way to the tower. They shot down Violet's attempts at conversation with simple one word answers, appearing far too preoccupied to keep up with anything beyond that. Violet gave a resigned sigh and stopped bothering. This would hopefully blow over soon enough, explained away as one of her awkward quirks.

They arrived at the tower and Violet took the lead inside, holding the door open for the other two and staring at their weapons as they passed. They got the message, Yang's shotgun bracers returning to regular bracelets and Myrtenaster being resheathed within a few seconds. The trio headed over to the elevator and stepped inside, doors immediately closing.

"Top floor, Headmaster's office~"

Soon enough, the double doors were dinging open to announce their presence, the three of them stepping into the room where the more seasoned hunters waited. Glynda flashed them a stern, but calming smile. Ironwood stood a small way off to the side, hands crossed behind his back in a soldier's resting pose, while Ozpin sat behind his desk as usual, sizing the three of them up with piercing green eyes.

Ozpin stood as they approached, gesturing down to the three chairs waiting on the other side of his desk. Where he kept them up here for occasions such as this one, even Violet didn't know.

"Welcome!" Ozpin nodded to his left, "I'm certain that you all know who this is, but formality is important. I'd like to introduce you all to James Ironwood, General of the Atlas military and Headmaster of the school there."

Violet nodded kindly in greeting, "General Ironwood. Little far from Atlas, don't you think? How are you liking the weather?"

Ironwood smiled lightly, "It's nicer than the constant blizzards in Atlas. Any rookie that's been stuck on patrol in the tundra could attest to that. Glad to see that two of our own are faring so well. Two team leaders from Atlas? I'm sorry you didn't choose to attend my school instead."

"Didn't want to join those rookies," Violet smirked.

Ironwood nodded acceptance, "I can't fault you for that."

"Well, now that the pleasantries are out of the way," Ozpin hid a smile behind his mug, sipping for a moment to retain a straight face, "Would you like to inform Miss Regalia of the bodyguard she is about to have?"

"Penny?" Violet interrupted, "We met her already."

"Pyrrha met her while we were down in Vale," Weiss confessed, "Penny said she was trying to get to Beacon so we brought her along. That was before we found out that she knew about Violet being a Maiden."

"I still don't agree with your decision to tell someone without Ozpin's permission, James," Glynda scoffed, shooting him an accusatory glare, "Decisions like that should be left with all of us."

"Well, when I heard about the-"

Ironwood was cut off by Ozpin, who cleared his throat loudly, "Please, let us not fight in front of students," he shook his head, turning back to the trio in front of him, "I'm glad to hear that you're getting along so well. I'm afraid that either way, I was going to accept Ironwood's request in allowing Miss Polendina to accompany you, both on and off school grounds. We can never be too careful, after all."

"That's fine with me," Violet replied easily, turning back to face Ironwood, "As long as the General understands that I don't need to be treated like a piece of glass that could break at any moment?" she raised her voice near the end, turning it into a question.

"I would hardly presume so much," Ironwood chuckled, "I've seen the footage of your most recent fight against Miss Nikos, as well as from the Emerald Forest. I know you're more than capable of taking care of yourself while training. The amount of damage you sustained during the attempted assassination on the other hand… That does give me cause for concern."

Violet waved dismissively, "I had it under control."

Yang glared, "You could have died, Vi," she held a hand up, index finger and thumb separated by a miniscule amount, "You were this close to your aura breaking. I could have sneezed on you and it would have been gone."

"You do have famously strong sneezes~" Violet tried to play it off, but by the expressions the rest in the room shared, knew it was a futile effort.

"Regardless, Penny will remain by your side. I'll have Ozpin add me to your contact list. If you ever have to get in touch with me for anything, know that I'll respond immediately."

"A General on speed dial?" Violet smirked, "Do all Maidens get such first class treatment?"

Ozpin laughed, "You would be the first, I'd assume."

"I'll be sure not to abuse it. Thank you, General."

"You're welcome, Miss Regalia. In the meantime, one of my operatives will be joining you on your mission as well," his eyes planted firmly on Weiss, a smile playing at his lips, "Winter Schnee is currently working with Qrow, getting a tour of the city."

Weiss recoiled in surprise, a hesitant smile coming to her face, "Winter…? My sister is in Vale?"

"Indeed. She should have some free time tomorrow once Qrow is finished with her. I'll be sure to allow her some time away so that the two of you can catch up."

The hesitance fell away from Weiss's face, replaced by a genuine expression of happiness, "Thank you, General. I would appreciate that very much."

"Judging by your placement in Miss Goodwitch's class, you've more than earned it," Ironwood admitted, seeming pleased with himself to have brought the sisters together, "I'm sure the two of you can figure out a time."

Weiss nodded gladly, hand absentmindedly hovering over the scroll in her pocket as if she wanted to message Winter at that very moment.

Yang leaned forward, hands on her knees, "We're certainly gathering quite the crew together. Do you think the half maiden is really going to pose that much of a threat?"

Glynda and Ironwood shared a glance, words passing unspoken between the two. Ozpin sighed and weaved his fingers together in front of himself, leaning forward on his desk to mimic the seriousness of Yang's own pose, "We want to limit the chances that another Maiden might be taken from us as much as possible. We feel that the substantial group is necessary for the task at hand."

Yang glanced over to Violet before returning her gaze to Ozpin, eyes firm, "If that's the case, then why not keep Vi in Beacon altogether? She's important, right? Why risk her life at all?"

"Yang," Violet began, quickly beginning to protest, "If this is to try and get back at me-"

"It's not," Yang cut her off, expression softening, "I just… wanted to make sure we aren't exposing you for no reason..."

"Unfortunately, leaving Miss Regalia out of the mission is not an option," Ozpin replied simply, "The strength of the half maiden isn't completely known. She may have gained much more of Amber's power than we think, only missing the shred of whatever's left keeping her alive. Without Violet's help, I fear you would all fail to bring her down. We may only have one chance. It is a risk we must take."

Violet took her eyes off Yang to nod firmly at Ozpin, "We won't fail."

"One can only hope. Fate is not so simple that throwing together a mismatched brigade of variously skilled hunters and hunters-in-training will solve any problem. Needless to say, I wish you all the best," Ozpin looked to either side at the two adults flanking him, "Is there anything either of you wish to add?"

"Don't get complacent just because you have so many on your side with you," Glynda announced seriously, pausing a moment longer on Yang than the Weiss or Violet, "Anything can happen in the field. It's your job to assess the situation in the moment and reduce as much collateral damage as possible. Look out for your fellow hunters, and… make sure you survive whatever comes your way."

Violet could hear the slight anxious tone in Glynda's voice. No doubt she was even more afraid for them, now that their party had grown. Not for the first time, Violet wished she could do something for her, but... it was out of the question. She wasn't supposed to know about the goddess, or what her 'superiors' thought they knew about her. On the same note, it would hardly help her attempts at distancing herself from the goddess if her persona went around easing people's fears.

Ironwood shrugged, a slight lifting of the shoulders and no more, "Enjoy your weekend. I would say 'good luck in your classes', but from the grades you've received, I doubt any of you require luck."

"We are sure to study our hardest," Weiss agreed, always glad to be praised for her efforts.

Yang scoffed, "Most of us, anyway. You wouldn't believe how much time Violet spends doodling in Oobleck's class."

"As if you don't benefit from the help I give," Violet argued with a smile, "Don't be jealous of my personal tutors~"

"You are frustratingly knowledgeable when it comes to history, Violet," Weiss confessed, a hint of vexation disturbing her otherwise happy smile. She glanced to Ozpin playfully, "That wouldn't happen to be another Maiden power, would it?"

Ozpin grinned, a slight glint in his eye, "Decidedly not. Miss Regalia has only her own intelligence to thank for that feat."

"Thanks, Headmaster," Violet forced a laugh, realizing they were straying dangerously close to a hint, "If that's all for today, we have a new bodyguard to get to know, and a theater to visit," when no one raised any objection, she stood from her chair, followed closely by Weiss and Yang, "Have a good day!"

"Enjoy your movie," Ozpin gave a small wave goodbye with his fingers, eyes never leaving the trio until the elevator door had long since closed.

Violet stood close to the door while Yang and Weiss leaned on either side against the railing, both deep in thought for a few moments before Weiss finally spoke up in wonder, "I really wasn't expecting to see my sister again so soon."

"I'm happy for you," Yang grinned, giving Weiss a thumbs up, "It's always nice to see your family."

Weiss gave a small huff, "Winter is the only one that applies to. The rest… I'm better off staying away from them."

"Oh…" Yang deflated slightly, raising a questioning eye to Weiss, "Sorry if it's a bit personal, but… What's so bad about them?"

"Aside from my father running what amounts to slave mines for faunus and profiting off their misery?" Weiss shot back, a tinge of anger in her voice. She backed off a moment later, returning to her resting position and crossing her arms, "My mother was never around, and my brother… Father paid special attention to him after he was born. It was obvious from the beginning that Whitley was his favorite. Winter got out of there as soon as she was old enough... I did the same."

"Sorry to hear that, Weiss," Yang replied truthfully, "At least you can make the most of your freedom now, right? You're doing what you wanted to, not what he did?"

"You've got that right," Weiss confirmed vehemently, "and that's never going to change."

'I hope that's the truth, Weiss,' Violet thought idly, thinking on the way she was taken away, back to Atlas with her abusive father, 'If I could instill a bit more courage into that backbone of yours, then your next interaction with him just might go the way you wish.'

Violet sighed, "That's enough depressing talk for one day, don't you think? We've got a movie to get ready for."

"I knew you'd be excited, Vi!" Yang cheered.

"What are we seeing by the way? All I heard you and Nora say was that it's a romantic comedy."

"You heard right! We're gonna see 'Dye Hard 2: Baked Alaska'! Spruce Willis plays a character on his honeymoon, but he gets his sugar swapped on accident with cocaine and his wife bakes it into a pie he eats. Spruce has to fight off the drug cartel while keeping his wife out of the way because he promised her he wouldn't fight crime anymore. The critics say it's hilarious!"

"Blake and I are choosing the movie," Violet stated flatly, turning away to face the elevator doors once more.

"What!? Nooo!"

Violet wasn't paying attention. She'd already brought her scroll out to dial Blake's number.

"What even is an 'Alaska'?" Weiss frowned disapprovingly.

Yang took her attention off Violet for a moment to shrug, "I don't know, the kind of pie he eats?"

Weiss nodded firmly, "I agree with Violet. That sounds like a silly movie, Yang."

"That's the entire point of a romantic comedy!"

Despite her best efforts, Yang had no other option but to concede halfway back to the dorms.

Violet and Blake had already picked out one of the many better options, and Violet had bought everyone a ticket online.

"Sorry, Yang. They're nonrefundable~"

Ah, what to say, what to say? The odds certainly seem to be stacked in Violet's favor. They should be able to take down our half maiden easy peasy with a squad like that, right? What will Cinder do in response to this overwhelming threat? What's with the gap in Violet's omniscience?

Thinking of doing a Qrow / Winter chapter next, along with the gang going to the movies. That's a dynamic that I haven't gotten the chance to write yet, and I'm glad to have the chance. Also the mental image of a super excited Penny rocking side to side in a theater chair with a huge soda on her lap is too adorable not to write.

Thanks for reading,

- Sybaen

PS - If you haven't seen it yet, give my newest story 'RE: Generation' a read. I'm hoping for feedback on whether or not people are interested with the premise. It's been a few days and picked up 23 followers already, so maybe there's something to it. I've done a bit more planning ahead because of that, and already know how it will eventually end. The journey there should be a fun ride~

If nothing else, consider it a 1,349 word investment towards your own potential happiness, heh.

PPS - Oh! I got a twitter banner commissioned of Violet and the MC of my other story, Olivia Mandevilla. I really love it! Give it a look!