RWBY: MRRN

VOLUME 6, CHAPTER 25: Restored Minds

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.

"Okay," Olivia spoke as the group was gathered around a table in a cheap apartment, eating various foods they had ordered. The cowgirl mercenary placed a map down on the table, showing the airfield in the city where the Atlas Mantas currently were.

"This is where they are. We haven't had time to look into their defenses, but we can expect that these transports are heavily guarded. Atlas soldiers, Mistral soldiers…they're making sure no one can steal these airships for any reason."

"My dear Olivia," Eneas spoke. "Surely, the obvious route would be to set some explosives and blow up the defenses."

"It's not that simple, dumbass," Rufus responded. "We need a SECURE way to get into Atlas. Blowing the whole place sky high will basically bring the entire military of TWO kingdoms on us."

"Meaning?" Eneas questioned.

"It means we must be stealthy," Ketseuki clarified. "As much as I'd enjoy the killing of these soldiers, if we're to get to Atlas safely, we'd need to handle the situation carefully."

"Exactly," Olivia replied. "We can't just go in guns blazing or the minute we enter Atlas airspace, we're screwed and we'll have the entire military after us." She then looked over to Rufus.

"You said you can fly one of these ships, right?"

"Yeah, I learned that when I was in the Atlas Military," Rufus confirmed, his voice sour and full of contempt.

"But you know their jargon, right?" Redd questioned, polishing his oversized weapon.

"Yeah, I know it," Rufus confirmed. "Get me in one of those ships and I can get us to Atlas, no problem."

"Then do so," Cinder growled. "We've wasted enough time. We must get to Atlas."

"Would it kill you to have some patience?" Olivia questioned. "Unless you want the entire military on our backs, we need to think this through." Cinder rose from her seat and glared at the cowgirl.

"I'm going for a walk," she snarled before leaving the run down apartment and slamming the door behind her.

She had waited long enough to get to Atlas and kill Pyrrha Nikos and Ruby Rose. She craved their deaths, their gruesome, agonizing deaths for maiming her body; her once flawless, beautiful, voluptuous body that many women would kill to have and men would lustfully desire.

She always enjoyed having her beauty back in those days. Many male students flocked to her and hoped to have her in a relationship; in her mind, none of them were worthy of someone as beautiful and perfect as her. None of them could satisfy his ego and vanity.

Now because of those two women, she was reduced to a hideous beast. If anyone ever looked under her mask, they'd see a monster, a truly horrendous creature that'd be cast out for her appearance.

None of it was her fault. Ever since the day she lost her parents, she had known nothing but cruelty and hatred. Her step family had treated her like a slave, punished her for the slightest offense, viewed her more as an animal they owned rather than a member of their family.

There was no such thing as love in the real world. There was no such thing as happiness, joy, hope or dreams; there was only hatred and pain. Wherever it was, she sought to destroy it until they were was nothing left but darkness and chaos.

Cinder turned her head to see a young girl with pale blue hair following her, probably fourteen years old. She strolled towards her, making Cinder suspicious of who this girl was.

The Fall Maiden picked up her pace, wondering if the girl would still follow her. Indeed, as she suspected, the girl continued to follow her. Who was she? Was she a spy sent by the Mistral government or some other faction? Maybe a servant of Salem?

Cinder turned the corner into an alleyway and waited to see if the girl was continuing to follow her. As guessed, she was still following the Fall Maiden, which prompted Cinder to grab the girl by her shirt and slam her against the wall of the building.

"Who are you?" she growled. "Why are you following me?" The girl raised her head up, showing her colorless, pale eyes. She was blind.

"How are you following me?" Cinder interrogated. "Answer me!" The girl opened her mouth, but no sounds came out. The Fall Maiden was unsure of what to think of the girl at this point; was she both blind and mute? How had she been able to follow her?

"Who…?" Suddenly, the girl raised her hand up to Cinder's face and touched her cheek; at first, the Fall Maiden was against it, but something shocking happened that made Cinder allow this girl to continue what she was doing.

Cinder's mind was becoming clearer, her thoughts no longer only death and cruelty. Her mind was suddenly becoming less like an animal's and more like before the Fall of Beacon. After the girl dropped her hand, Cinder stumbled back a bit, amazed at how she was thinking now.

"What…what did you do?" she asked, shocked by what had just happened. "How did…?"

"Shoal…" the girl spoke weakly. Cinder looked over at the girl, inspecting her closely.

"Shoal?" she asked. "Is that your name?"

"Y…yes…" she answered. "I…sensed…"

Cinder noticed that while Shoal was talking, her mouth had been badly burned, clearly making it very hard for her to talk. The Fall Maiden put her hand on the girl's mouth, stopping her from talking.

"That will not do," she stated. Cinder started to summon a light that Salem had instructed her to work on after the Fall of Beacon. The first few attempts didn't work until Cinder focused on the small orb of light, which finally appeared.

"Hold your mouth open," Cinder responded. Shoal opened her mouth and Cinder placed the orb of orange light inside. Shoal started to feel a warming sensation in her throat and mouth, almost as if it was healing. Her eyes widened in shock as the burns inside started to go away.

"Thank you," she responded. "Thank you so much!"

"Now you can talk clearly, how did you follow me?" Cinder questioned. "And how did you…do that to my mind?"

"My Semblance," Shoal responded. "I…I can sense emotions in a person, especially when they're highly negative or positive. If I make physical contact with that person, I…I can stabilize their minds."

"So, your Semblance grants you two abilities," Cinder assumed. "That's how you were able to follow me."

"Yes. How did you heal my throat? How…?"

"I have power, my dear," she answered. "Luckily, someone I knew insisted that I work on that orb, in case I ever needed to heal myself."

"Then may I stay by your side?" Shoal asked. "I can sense your emotions are rather…conflicted. It's almost as if-"

"I want you by my side," Cinder responded almost in a motherly tone. "As much as I don't want to admit it, my mind has become…unstable. But with you, I can keep my mind clear; if I allow it to degrade, then…I may end up getting myself killed and I'll never have my vengeance."

"I…" Shoal started coughing horrendously, almost as if she was choking. Cinder raised an eyebrow, unsure of what was going on, then it struck her.

She hadn't worked on that ability as much as she thought; perhaps the orb of light had only temporarily healed Shoal's throat, not entirely as she thought. Shoal held her throat tightly as if it was on fire.

"You…" Shoal spoke weakly as before. "How…?"

"Perhaps my ability was not as strong as I thought," Cinder replied. "But if you help me, I'll work on that ability of mine…and restore both your throat and sight. Do you agree?"

"Yes…" she responded. Cinder took Shoal's hand in hers and led her away from the alley, back to the apartment where the rest of her group was. Just as she was about to open the door, Rufus opened it first.

"Well, Amber, nice to see you," the red squirrel Faunus greeted sarcastically. "We're all so happy to see you again."

"And you as well," Cinder greeted in a more polite tone, a contrast to the usual self Rufus had seen. The squirrel raised an eyebrow in response before noticing the girl next to Cinder.

"Who's she?" he asked.

"Shoal and she's coming with us," Cinder stated.

"Why?" Rufus questioned, crossing his arms. "She's blind, she doesn't look like she can fight and-" Cinder conjured up a fireball in her hand, warning the alcoholic Squirrel Faunus to shut up.

"Because I need her," Cinder responded. "Now, let's get back to the plan, shall we?"

"Oh, now you're interested," Rufus snarked. "Geez and I thought working for those catfish Faunus years ago was a pain in the ass. All I got from them was ten Lien."

"If you're done annoying me, let's get back to strategy," Cinder demanded.

"Okay, okay. Let's go."

-0-

Math, Robin and Saf sat at the table in the living room, snacking on some of the food Thetis had offered them for dinner as the outside grew darker. The spear martial artist looked over at her brother, knowing that he wasn't feeling well at all after what happened with Pyrrha.

"Math?" Saf asked.

"Yeah?" he responded.

"We'll figure this out," she assured. "For everyone."

"That's not what I'm concerned about," the wolf swordsman responded. "Her whole world just came crashing down. She thinks everything she was taught was a lie."

"Well, it was," Robin responded. "Ozpin created the Academies solely for the purpose of protecting the Relics and stalling Salem. He's been using us from the start, just as we thought. And Yang…" the archer sighed heavily.

"I just don't understand. Why would she keep Raven a secret from everyone, especially her friends and teammates? That's so…just so hypocritical of her."

"Well, hopefully, we find out once things have settled down," Math suggested. "At least we have a chance to get to Atlas-"

"Why should we keep going?" Robin questioned. "Ozpin's plan is extremely flimsy. If we don't have a set plan to defeat Salem, them how do we win? I am not throwing away my life in vain."

"The lamp has one question left," Forest responded as he entered from the hallway, having taken a shower. "We should ask Jinn how Salem can be defeated."

"Just like that?" Robin questioned. "What if Salem can't be defeated at all? If she can't be stopped, then all we're doing is delaying the inevitable."

"No," Math refused. "Salem may be immortal, but she's not invincible. Everything and everyone has a weakness; Salem has to have one too."

"When did you become so cynical, Robin?" Saf asked, concerned for her cousin.

"Maybe when we found out that everything we fought for was a lie," the archer answered. "If you ask me, we should go back home. To fight a war that cannot be won isn't courage, it's suicide."

"Maybe Ozpin himself cannot kill Salem," Saf suggested. "But what if someone else can?"

"That's why I'm suggesting we use the last question to find out," Forest suggested. "We'll wait until tomorrow to tell everyone; I won't do it unless we're in agreement."

"Sounds fair," Robin agreed.

"Forest," Math addressed. "Earlier, you said you had something to tell us. What is it?" Forest exhaled.

"Well, after what happened earlier, I was planning to wait until later. But if you feel you feel calm, then I'll tell you."

"Please," Saf insisted. "Tell us." The eagle walked up and sat at one in one of the many seats in the living room.

"Your mother asked me not to say this to you, but…since you two plan to go see Donovan, I feel you should know before you go."

"What would that be?" Robin asked. "What do they need to know?" Forest took a deep breath and looked down for a few moments, readying to tell something that neither of the Kendrick siblings suspected.

"Math…Donovan is not your father." Math's eyes widened in shock, unsure if he heard correctly.

"What…?" he questioned. "What did you…?"

"Donovan is not your father," Forest repeated. "He's Saf's father, but not yours."

"Not…?" Saf gasped, her mind filled with shock, confusion and surprise. "Are you…is this some kind of joke?"

"I wouldn't call it that," Forest responded. "But it's the truth. Donovan is not your biological father, Mathdon."

Math shook his head, his mind processing this information. All those years ago, Math had suffered abuse at the hands of a man who wasn't his father? Is that why Donovan mistreated him so much and Safirlas as well?

"Does Donovan know?" Robin asked.

"No, he doesn't," Forest confirmed, waiting for Math and Saf to wrap their heads around this revelation.

"If Donovan's not my father, who is?" the autistic swordsman asked. "Who?" Forest put his hands together and leaned forward.

"My teammate, Trenton Brownwood."

"Trenton…Brownwood?" Math asked. "Wait, isn't he…the one who…?"

"Died, yes," the eagle confirmed.

"So that would mean…David Brownwood…"

"Is Math's biological uncle, yes," Forest responded.

Needless to say, Math and Saf were overwhelmed by the information they had learned from the master swordsman. To realize that they were only half-siblings, that their mother had bore a child from another man, Forest's teammate, and that their mother possibly knew all along…it was much to take in, perhaps too much.

"I know this is a lot to take in," Forest spoke sympathetically. "Take your time."

"How did…how did this happen?" Saf asked. "How did mom and…Trenton have Math?"

"How long have you known about this?" Robin questioned.

"A few months after I started training with Math," Forest responded. "When I spoke to Corcra, I found out that you were Trenton's son, Math."

"How!?" Math almost shouted. "How is he my father? How did this happen?" Forest sighed.

"Your mother and Donovan had gotten into a very bad argument when Saf was very young, so he stormed off. Later, Trenton came by the house and comforted Corcra, then…he impregnated her with you."

"She…" Saf tried to talk, but couldn't finish.

"When she realized she was pregnant with you, Trenton's child, he promised that after the mission he was about to go on, he'd take her, you and Safirlas to Atlas with him. During that mission, he told me that he was going to be a father and planned on taking you to Atlas with him. But…he died and he didn't tell me that your mother was the woman who had you, his son."

"Why would…Mom just…sleep with him?" Saf questioned.

"They actually knew each other back at Beacon during their years there," Forest explained. "At first, she was put off by how arrogant and headstrong he could be, but she warmed up to him after seeing that…he was possibly the bravest member of my team. They started dating for a while until he ended it with her to keep her safe from Salem."

"So she knew Math was someone else's child?" Saf questioned. "You knew all along? Why didn't you tell us this?"

"After I spoke with her, she asked me not to tell you," Forest answered. "She wanted to tell you both herself when she felt the time was ready, so I stayed silent about it. But since you plan to confront Donovan, I felt it was best that you two know the truth before seeing him."

"I…I don't know what to say right now," Math responded, his voice shaky and uncertain. "She…was going to leave Donovan? She had another man's child all along and never told us?"

"She wanted to wait until she felt you two were ready to handle it," the eagle replied. Math looked down, his eyes widened in shock and his mouth partly open as he tried to process this unexpected revelation.

He was Corcra's son, but not Donovan's. He was only Safirlas's half-sibling. His true father had died years ago, a man he never knew.

"Why are you telling us this now?" Saf asked.

"Because there was going to be a man who would've been a proper father to you," Forest explained. "He would've loved you, both of you. Asperger's or no Asperger's."

"He would've…loved us?" Math asked. "Both of us? Mom too?"

"Yes. All three of you." Math looked down at the floor again, holding his forehead in his hands as his mind was completely taken back by everything he had just learned while Forest patiently waited for them to recollect themselves.

"All this time…we suffered at the hands of a man not my father," Math spoke quietly. "I…I truly don't know what to say right now."

"This just proves how Donovan truly failed," Saf spoke, her mind somewhat collected from this truth. "He failed as a father. He failed as a husband. He failed as a man to the point that Mom…Mom was going to leave him for someone who truly cared for her, who would've cared for us."

Math looked up at his sister, agreeing with what she said. Donovan had indeed failed as a father, husband and man to the point that Corcra was going to leave him behind. If Trenton had been alive today, then their lives, their views and their issues would be much different.

"Thank you," Math told the eagle in a weak tone. Forest walked over to them and put his hands on their shoulders, hoping to comfort them.

"Who else knows about this?" Robin asked.

"Sterling and Ruadh," Forest answered. "David doesn't know; if he had, he would've brought you to Atlas, but as I said, your mother want to tell you herself."

"Now…we'll be ready to face Donovan tomorrow," Saf claimed.

"Yeah," Math reluctantly agreed. When Forest was certain the two Kendricks were calm, he retracted his hands and stood up.

"Sleep on it tonight. Tomorrow, we have a decision to make if we're to keep going."

"Hopefully, we can," Robin responded. "Or everything we've done has been for nothing."

"No," Forest refused. "There is always hope. All it takes a spark to make a flame." Forest then walked away, leaving the three Kendricks to themselves.

"Saf?" Math asked, making eye contact with her. "We're still siblings, right?"

"Y…yeah," Saf replied reluctantly. "I'm still wrapping my head around this, to be honest."

"But like he said, sleep on it and we'll decide tomorrow," Robin suggested. "I seriously hope we can."

"That makes three of us," Math responded.

-0-

Ruo, Ruby and Yang made their way back to Terra and Saphron's house and walked inside, where Weiss, Blake and JNR had already arrived back. Needless to say, the reception from some of them was not very warm towards Yang, their trust in her having been damaged by her decision to keep Raven a secret from everyone.

"Yang," Blake spoke, grabbing a plate wrapped in foil and handing it to her. "We saved you some dinner." Yang was about to refuse it, but Ruby gently insisted that she accept it.

"Thanks, Blake," the sun dragon responded, taking the plate.

"Did you already have dinner?" Ruo asked Blake.

"We did," Blake replied. "We saved enough for you two as well."

"Thanks," Ruby thanked her teammate.

"Well, if you don't mind, I'm heading to bed," Yang spoke. She was about to walk upstairs, but Weiss walked in front of her, stopping her from proceeding.

"Weiss…" Ruby addressed. "I don't like what Yang did either, but she's-"

"Why?" Weiss questioned. "We trusted you, Yang. I told you I considered you family much more than I do my own. So why did you lie to us?"

"Can this please wait until tomorrow?" Ruo insisted. "Yang…we need time to rest and approach the problems tomorrow with a clear mind. So, Weiss, please move."

"No," the Schnee ex-heiress refused. "I want the truth and I want it now."

"Weiss…" Blake spoke up in defense of Yang, but the sun dragon held up her hand to stop her.

"If you want the truth, here it is," Yang responded. "I was going to tell you about Raven, but I needed time…" She stopped, making Weiss raise an eyebrow.

"Needed time for Ozpin to prove he could be trusted?" Ruby asked in a gentle tone, putting her hand on her sister's shoulder.

"Until I…I…" Yang couldn't finish, shaking her head as she was about to confess the truth behind her actions.

"I just wanted to forget about Raven," she claimed. "I just wanted to forget…"

"Forget?" Ren questioned. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that I spent years looking for her, wanting answers to why she left, why she never contacted me, why she abandoned me," Yang explained. "When I found her, I hope I'd get some answers. Instead…" The sun dragon looked down, her growing hair covered her face.

"It was all for nothing. I spent years trying to find a woman who didn't care about anyone but herself, who looked for reasons to justify her decisions, even if it went against her beliefs. She abandoned me…because she only cared about herself. I…I just wanted to forget her." Ruby held her sister tightly, preventing Yang from having a complete emotional breakdown in front of everyone.

"So you were using your distrust for Ozpin-" Nora tried to talk, but Ruo silenced her with a fierce glare.

"I think you've all made your point clear," the White Tiger spoke. "None of us condone what Yang did: she did lie to us when she demanded no more lies and half-truths. But don't look at her as if she's Raven or Ozpin; she is nothing like them. She made a poor choice, but that doesn't make her like them."

Weiss gently reached over to Yang and touched her robotic hand, making the sun dragon look over at her. While Weiss's expression had softened a bit, it was clear that she was not completely over what Yang did.

"Look me in the eye and tell me the truth," she demanded. "Were you going to tell us about Raven?" Yang took several breaths before giving her answer.

"Yes. I was going to tell you."

Weiss's expression didn't change, leaving everyone uncertain of what the Schnee would do. When Weiss didn't respond or do anything for a while, Yang decided to speak again.

"I shouldn't have lied to you guys and I'm sorry for that. I…I just needed time to get over what happened with Raven, to know that…everything I did was for nothing." She then looked over at Nora.

"Mostly, I did use my mistrust of Ozpin as an excuse. I'm sorry, guys. I'm sorry." To Yang's surprise, Blake wrapped her arms around the dragon, hoping to comfort her. Blake didn't care if Yang didn't reciprocate the gesture; she just wanted to help her teammate during a moment of emotional vulnerability.

Ruo took the plate from Yang, allowing her to return the gesture towards the Cat Faunus. The two just stood there until Ruby joined in as well. Ruo looked over at Weiss, whose scowl had changed from stern judgment to sympathy. She was about to join in, but they broke apart before she could.

"I'm heading to bed," Yang told everyone before taking hold of Ruo's hand and leading him up the stairs to the bedroom she was shown.

"Yang?" Ruo asked his beloved. "Are you okay?"

"I'm…I'm fine, hopefully," she answered. "I just hope…I didn't want to lie to them, but I just…I didn't…"

"It'll be okay," Ruo interrupted. "Let's get some sleep. It's getting late."

"Will you stay the night with me?" Yang asked, to which Ruo confirmed he would. Yang led him into the room where she was staying, placed the food on a table and prepared to crawl into bed with him. Before she could, Ruo pointed over to the plate she had.

"You should eat first," he insisted.

Honestly, as hungry as she was, Yang didn't want to eat; she wanted to snuggle with the man she loved, who had supported her through so much, who she had become very dependent on. He made it very clear, though, that he felt she should eat first before coming to bed.

Yang quickly ate her food, let it set for a bit and then got under the covers with Ruo, wrapping their arms around each other as sleep slowly overtook them.

-0-

"Here lies Leonidas Nikos, a father, a warrior and a teacher. May his soul rest in peace."

Those simple words were adorned on the gravestone of Pyrrha's father, his angel symbol underneath. All Pyrrha could do was stand there, her eyes glued to her father's grave as leaves flew onto it in the evening breeze.

"Father…" she spoke weakly. "Everything I know…everything I believed in…" She knelt down, her eyes starting to water.

"How do I keep going forward, knowing that everything I knew was a lie? How do I keep going?"

"Pyrrha?" a voice spoke. Pyrrha turned around to see her mother along with a younger woman who was Pyrrha's older sister, Vyssina, who bore the same red hair and green eyes that she and Thetis had.

"Hey, Vyssina," Pyrrha greeted weakly.

"What's wrong, dear?" Thetis asked as she and Vyssina approached her.

"Everything I knew to be true was just…just a lie," she wept. "My father…he was used like a pawn on a chessboard. Everything…"

There were no words to describe the pain Pyrrha was in. To her, everything she had learned from her father was ultimately a lie; Huntsmen and Huntresses were ultimately nothing more than soldiers for Ozpin's war, a war he possibly didn't know how to win.

"Pyrrha," Thetis spoke gently, kneeling next to her and placing her hand on her shoulder. "Your father was a good man and a strong warrior. He fought for what he believed in."

"What if that faith was a lie?" Pyrrha questioned. "What if everything he believed in was just some hoax?" Vyssina then knelt down next to her sister and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Dad knew what he believed in," Vyssina assured. "Even when others called him a fool, called him naive, called him some outdated idealist, he always knew what he fought for."

"He did," Pyrrha replied, reaching out and touching the gravestone. "I always wanted to be like him. Strong, courageous, kind…he was everything I wanted to be."

"Pyrrha," Thetis addressed. "Your father always knew what he fought for: the belief of responsible use of power, the protection of innocents, and the fight to defend what you love. He never let others decide what he believed in, not even if everyone said that his beliefs were a lie."

"What?" Pyrrha asked, looking over at her mother.

"Do you remember what your father taught you when you started training as a Huntress?" Thetis asked. "Do you remember what he used to teach you?"

"He always taught me that we must use our power for the greater good," Pyrrha replied. "We must always seek to defend, not to destroy. We must use our skills and power responsibly so we can defend those who cannot protect themselves."

"So what happened to those beliefs?" Vyssina asked. "They don't decide what you fight for, what you believe in, you do. Even if everything you found out was a lie, don't let that make you forget what you believe in. So tell me, what do you believe in, Pyrrha? Why do you want to be a Huntress?"

"I want to be a Huntress because I want to act on what my father taught me. I want to be the kind of warrior he was: one who didn't fight for glory or fame, but to defend what he loved."

"Then remember that," Thetis told her daughter. "Your father's ideals are a lot of things, but they are not lies. You are Pyrrha Nikos, kind, caring, devoted, loving and beautiful. You are everything a Huntress should be; your goals and ideals were never lies."

Pyrrha thought about the words of wisdom Thetis spoke to her. Even if Ozpin's intention with the Huntsmen and Huntresses was a lie, that doesn't mean that he'd decide what they fought for. Many Huntsmen and Huntresses fought for money, fame, power and control, not caring about others in the slightest.

But there were also Huntsmen and Huntresses who upheld the ideals they were taught, identical ideals to Pyrrha's. Even though the intention of the Huntsman Academies was far from Pyrrha's goals and dreams, that doesn't mean that would determine what she fought for.

She believed in the power of good triumphing over evil. She believed in defending those who cannot protect themselves. She believed in love, kindness, friendship, morality and responsibility. Were her ideals worthy throwing away simply because of Ozpin's lies and hypocrisy?

She looked up at a nearby tree to see a red cardinal perch on one of the branches. It seemed to look at intentionally at the Amazon, almost as if in a way to reassure her.

"A red cardinal," Vyssina spoke. "That was Dad's favorite bird."

"It was," Pyrrha responded, her eyes fixed on the bird that looked at her. She smiled, knowing what those birds meant to those who believed in their symbolism.

"Pyrrha?" Leonidas spoke to an eight year old Pyrrha.

"Yes, Daddy?" she asked.

"Let me tell you something," he started. "Look up there at the night sky. When we pass from this world, those worthy go up there."

"Go up there?" Pyrrha questioned.

"The body may die, but the soul is immortal and lives on," Leonidas responded. "When I pass, I'll go onto that paradise and I'll look down on you with happiness and pride."

"But what if I don't see you?"

"Even if you don't see me, it doesn't mean I'm not there. I will be there to guide you always."

"Father…" she spoke softly. The bird then flew off in the direction…of Atlas.

"Come on home," Thetis insisted to Pyrrha. The Amazon nodded her head and rose to her feet.

"Yes," she agreed. She and her family walked back to the Nikos home; immediately upon entering, Pyrrha saw her beloved asleep on the couch, most likely exhausted from the trip in the wilderness. She smiled warmly and walked over to him, giving him a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"I'm sorry, Math," she apologized, planning to give him a proper apology in the morning.

Author's Notes: I hope you enjoyed this chapter and were surprised by that twist surrounding Mathdon! Keep on reading, fellow readers and writers!