Catha had already left.

Qrow read the letter while they snuck through Mani, skipping the mushy bits about her pride over having twins that weren't complete fuck ups. "She's heading to...Mistral proper. Where are we going, Bronze?"

"To find a large enough lodge. I'm exhausted." She pushed through the crowd.

Mani itself was built on the edges of Lake Frostbridge, a triangulation between itself, the capital and Mantle. The swift construction left time for nothing but a series of high rises hastily constructed for the rich, cookie cutter townhouses for the middling, and more manufactured houses for the poor. The city was crawling with refugees, Fauni and not, Atlas' borders closed since the peace talks. Mistral agreed to take whoever they sent beforehand, in exchange for the end of aggression towards the Faunus.

At least, that's what Ren read to everyone, while they were stuck on the railway to the other side of the city, the train car emptied by their very presence.

"We're outsiders everywhere." Nora looked out of the window, the summer heat lessened by the higher altitude, Ren now fingering her hair into a matching plait, a cotton candy ribbon binding the ends. "I wonder if we'll ever be the same again."

"That's a foregone conclusion." Jaune raised his eyes from his Scroll, reading texts from Mom about moving to New Vale.

"First Sanus, then Menagerie, then Anima, now here." Weiss' necklace was back, the pants given way to a skirt with sheer tights. "I ne-"

The train ground to a halt.

"Ah, here we go again." Nora got her warhammer ready. The train continued on. "I got my hopes up."

"I'd prefer you didn't. Seems my guy moved here." Oz sat up, gritting his teeth the whole way, Ironwood skipping the dramatics and doing it for him. "Feathers, Bronze, can we stop for a week or so?"

"...We'll see about that as soon as-" Her Scroll buzzed. "I got a big enough space! I'll get Grandpa-" A golden petal landed on the screen. "Thanks."

"Final Stop: East Mani. Please check the seats for your belongings and have a safe trip to your destination."

James picked up Ozpin, the owl sweeping the hood over his face. "We're infamous. Ren?"

He grabbed Jaune's shoulder and they slipped out, thin as air. Jaune said nothing about watching the airship fly off without him, the month and a half in hospital, nor the fabric stores searched through to find the perfect red scarf. For the fifth time.

The penthouse was furnished, both apartments bought out, a little too swanky for Raven's taste, who poked at the flavored oxygen bar with the blunt end of Omen. Weiss called up a few old friends, slipping off into the night, promising to be back within the hour, the tattoos on her thighs displayed in her charcoal grey dress.

Food, fabric, groceries and a copy of Grim Spirits V ordered in, the cloaks ended up being incinerating by the dragons, with a obligatory shot of whiskey to kiss the tattered gauze goodbye. Oz laid on a couch, arranging or bribing his guy for the first appointment, after convincing Ironwood four times that he would be okay without him.

Jaune laid awake on a different couch 200 more lien than it needed to be. 'See ourselves truly? What the fuck? I'm not a good man, or a great man, I'm just a guy that agreed to get dragged around Remnant in exchange for his girlfriend's smile...I don't do much, I just play DoctorHerBloodPressureisFallingJaune and help where I can. And...occasionally call in the tide and freak out a weather station. TwiceVernalforgivemePlease no-'

Oscar darkened his view of the ceiling. Blake's ears traveled by, bolts of fabric in her arms.

"Yes, Oscar?" A flat boxAuntieI'mcomingdropped on his chest.... "I'm flattered but-"

"It was falling out of your bag." He sat up, checking its contents were safe inside. "You're welcome." He walked off, or tried to, as a pile of rose petals settled on his shoulders, squeaking about the cheese that he couldn't eat and the cherries that he could, a agreement to split the cake down the middle the short way struck between the two.

He held the box, leaning up on his elbow to look at the girl he loved, badgering her unlikely friend over the head with pleads for karaoke, "Raven said you were quite the singer! So! Let's go!"

Adam handed her back the mic. "...that was a long time ago." A squawk careened around the corner. He rubbed his temples. "And I don't do pop music. Most of it is too high."

"Oh please, Drama King." Weiss swung in the door, hands full off boxes that landed right on the table. "You don't do pop music. What? You want to run through Mountain Lord No.6?"

"...I'm not dramatic." Several called bullshit. "And you are not prepared for that."

Winter and Weiss filled the house with a duet on the spot, Qrow peeking from the rafters to look. Adam rolled his eyes, a few rose petals falling in his hair.

'He doesn't sing anymore." He laid back down. 'Isn't it true what Raven said? We're all agreeing to fight because the alternative was death? Ozma said all of our choices will force us forward anyway, but...I'm...still the same. I look the same and act the same aMad giggling, shaving off snow white hair, golden gloves resting on rainsoaked skin, theOh gods, please notA silver sword cracked into the back of our headOw.'

"Jaune." Qrow hopped a few beams, falling down on bare talons. "Jaune, stop digging at your skull, nothing is there." Glynda pulled on gloves onto his hands, the tips reinforced with steel fibers. "We're staying for a while. You...you've really got to calm down."

Pyrrha's shadow fell over the back of the couch. "...are you okay?" The full flower of youth was upon her, the baby fat finally gone, though the freckles kept coming.

"Hi Pyr." He pressed the box behind the pillow. "What is it?"

"What's that?" She leapt over the couch, landing on his legs, reaching for the box anyway. "...are you hoarding Pumpkin Pete pins again?"

"No..." He looked past her hips, Ruby was talking to Blake on a different couch, her amber eyes wet with tears. "...it's for something else."

"I..." She got off of his legs. "I see."

'Choose something in life, you wet cat.' He sat up, fishing the box from its piss poor hiding spot. "To you, Pyrrha."

She opened the box. A small bronze plate laid slightly askew in the box, the edges embossed with meanders and red gems, the patterns of her original shield framing a smoky quartz gem, the neck chain broad enough to not catch hair.

She closed the box, setting it back on his chest. "...let me...pray on that."

Oz returned a day later in Ironwood's arms, and came back down the stairs in another, taking the twins on in a fist fight, a sheet of metal over the living room floor so the hardwood wouldn't lose face to three sets of talons, dawn pressing through the ceiling to floor windows.

Taiyang, of all people, slid into the balcony. Jaune sat alone, watching the sun drift across the sky, morning holding its chill longer and longer, reflecting against the black curtains on the other side.

"You know, I had to ask Summer twice." He sat on the railing, the sun on his back. "I mean, the meaning has relaxed over the last fifteen years. But..."

"We're done."

Taiyang threw a pillow at him."That's called walking away with your tail between your legs. Oh look it's Dad Squad." Ironwood and Oz came out of the door. "Hi, I'm Tai."

"If you were trying for a dad joke, I haven't gotten that far yet." Ironwood stood by the door, Oz sitting on the ledge. Tai snorted embers. "Jaune, are you done moping yet?"

"I'm done when I'm done. Leave me alone. I don't need any sage advice or dad jokes, I need to figure out how to run the team I just broke with hasty decisions."

"Jaune," Oz got off his still tender hip. "You've been temperamental and hypersensitive lately. I am very concerned for your health-"

"Are you going to tell us the truth at any time?" Oz blinked. "Excuse me, Tai." Tai slid out. "I don't appreciate being lied to. Told half truths. I have to deal with one liar, I'm not dealing with any more."

"I have no idea what you're taking about, Jaune." Oz pressed into Ironwood, backing into the door.

"Why are you running? After all of this, will you create another pers-"

"I never told you that."

"The water told me everything." He blotted away tears. Ironwood held Oz's shoulders, picking him up as he collapsed. "I'm sorry. I won't tell anyone out of my mouth. But, you will tell us at some point..."

"Then you know about me?" James sighed.

"...I do." James resettled Oz in his arms, Blake sliding in after, amber eyes widening as the older pair crashed into a couch.

"What do you want?" She blinked at him, long and slow, shortened hair getting her eyes. "I don't care."

"Will you listen to me?"

"Preferably not, but you're still-" His eyes tunneled into the distance, hazy and far away.

"Jaune." She crossed her arms, the white cardigan thin for the weather. "Jaune." He blinked, tears at the edge of his eyes. "Jaune?"

"...you were saying?" He looked up. "Get to the point."

"I want to apologize for everything."

"I don't owe you forgiveness, Blake."

"No, but you do owe me trust. And you're half way off the balcony, and Grandpa'll have to get you this time." He sat back down in the chair. "I still trust you."

"And why should I? No secrets, no bullshit, no silence. Say what you mean, the first time you come towards me."

"Jaune! You can't continue to throw me aside like this! Can't you listen to someone who is trying to offer you an sincere apology!"

"I don't give a fuck about your apology when you shouldn't have to apologize to begin with!"

"Why do you care so much!? He means nothing to you! Seven months ago, he would have been a stranger!"

"You don't know that! You only know what people tell you, and trust me, that is nothing! Every time, every single time, I have to deal with their wounds!" He got up, throwing off the ruined gloves. "I'm not talking about the one I'm healing, I'm talking about the pain and hurt that goes alongside it! And it doesn't even end when I let go! And now, it's not even that!" He stalked towards her, canines bared. "YOU WANTED TO KILL YOURSELF ON ADAM'S SWORD AND YOU PUSSIED OUT!"

"JAUNE!" Claws wrapped around her neck, her own scraping the glass. "HELP ME!" He just squeezed tighter, the shut curtains and door counting her rescue.

"I'm tired of you coming towards me, telling me to get over the fact I have to suffer! I HAVE TO RELIVE THIS SHIT EVERY FUCKING DAY!"

"HELP! Please!" Winter opened the door, slate blue wide with horror. "HELP-"

He kicked her back into the house, roaring loud enough to shake the glass, Winter barely missing the second kick.

"PLEASE!" Blake yowled, coughing from her spot on the floor. Tai barely held Ironwood back, Weiss and Ruby watched with indifference. Pyrrha leant over the balcony. "NO MORE!" Jaune stood over her, a growl rattling the glassware. The rest of the Calvary came running. Winter found herself wrapped in Qrow's arms. Glynda leant around the corner, only to get snatched up by Tai, his jacket falling on her shoulders.

"Why should I have to tell you things that would be made clear if you weren't still so selfish? You want forgiveness? Earn it!"

Jaune still loomed over Blake, the girl holding her snapped arm.

"Jaune, I meant no harm, I didn't know that you're-"

"Why should I tell you when you might rub salt in the wound?"

"I haven't said anything to anyone in weeks! Please! I'm trying!" Adam slinked over from his normal corner. "I want to start over." She scooted towards him and rubbed her head against his leg, a pitiful mew getting between her teeth. He picked her up by the collar.

"THERE IS NO STARTING OVER."

"Jaune, what are you talking about?" Nora eased into his vision, speaking softly, Blake dropped like a sack of potatoes, crawling out of range.

"Stop blaming me!" He wrenched around to look at her, the haze over his eyes unwavering. "I fell! I wanted to die eleven months ago when I took that invite to Beacon and yet you would've sullied my death with you blood? WHAT THE FUCK?" Nora's eyes watered.

"I never told you-"

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO!" He kicked her into the staircase, Ren barely making the catch.

"Grandpa, haloperidol and diphenhydramine." Qrow whispered, looking at Oz. "in a syringe, enough for Jaune." It fell into his hands. "And show up, please."

"I can't do this..." Jaune teared at his own arms, tears and blood pooling on the floor. "It's too much, I can't do this. I don't know who I am, I can't do this..." He took a step forward, reaching for the kitchen knives, Glynda floating them away. "No...NO!" He turned towards Glynda, a shriek splitting Tai's ears.

Adam snuck up behind him, taking the punch to the face, slamming Jaune into the metal sheet, a horde hands pressing him into the slab, as he roared and cried. Qrow tore his shirt open to stab him with the needle, Glynda and Ren trying to soothe him, as the drugs set in, as he fell into sleep.

Pyrrha wept into Raven's arms. "Darlin', you sleep in my room until further notice. And you don't get to be alone until further notice."

Ozma stepped in, one hand holding a bowl of mac and cheese, the other holding syringes, set onto a end table. "Master-" He hushed Weiss, though he pressed the bowl into her hands as he lifted Jaune off the floor, carrying him to a vacant bedroom. On the return, he sat at the bar, the rest standing at attention nearby.

"I didn't mea-"

"Blake, this time, it's not your fault." Weiss handed him back the bowl, now reheated. "...I didn't expect this to be easy. I didn't expect you all to come out scot free. But this is unprecedented. You all will be staying here, until I give you leave, Qrow, Pyr- not her-"

"I'll be okay." Brown eyes looked her up and down. "Yessir."

"Qrow, if you get anything, write it down-" A snarl made him drop the bowl, snatch a syringe and disappear, 'down, kitty!' slipping through the cracks before he reappeared, a glass of lemonade now by the bowl. "...thank you Weiss. What is he made of?" The stove whirred on.

"Sugar and crippling altruism." Raven traded Pyrrha into Ironwood's arms. "What are we going to do for him?"

"Well, nothing." Ozma rubbed his temples. "The stress is a problem. Give him a m-KITTY!" He disappeared once again.

"Oh dear." Winter left, gathering the weapons into a closet, handing Ironwood the key. "This is dangerous business."

"What is the nature of the disturbance?" Glynda handed out the syringes, looking Qrow dead in the eye as he took his. "Can it be reasoned through once he's calmed?"

"OKAY!" Ozma reappeared, with a different shirt and bleeding scratches on his face, the mac and cheese now featuring lamb slices, Weiss avoiding his visage. "He's out, finally. What's wrong?"

"He...seems to know too much." Oz bit through the rib bones he was gnawing at. "About everyone in here."

"Your vagaries disinterest me, Ozpandrel." The bowl was finally emptied. "Speak plainly."

"...he knows either how we all died, would have been dead or what was running through-"

"What destroyed you." Tai swallowed his scotch, the exhale catching flame. "Simply put."

"Nobody in here is playing with a full deck of cards, so that's fun. Weiss, stop feeding me." She put down the bananas. "Unless?" She held them aloft. "No nuts, and it's fine." She got the flour down. "You all should try to get to grips, the withdrawals might kill you, don't try it." He sighed. "I'll be on deck. If you can't handle him or prefer not to, I'll take him now."

"No," Ruby spoke up, finally out of Adam's hair. "We caused it, we'll get through it with him."

"Pyrrha? Can you handle it?"

"I don't know. Can I stick with you for a day?"

"Fine by me. I need help with something, anyway. The rest of you, do not agitate him further. Do not withhold reasonable requests either. Do not endure or enable any delusions, hallucinations or descriptions of your own demises. Ozpandrel, put the doctorate to use for once. I'm in screaming distance until further notice. Weiss, that is too much sugar-" The rest of the cup fell in. "I wanted to pretend I was eating a fruit."

"Winter!" Tai called, she skated over. The news displayed banners and her father's visage, a reporter struggling to keep pace with the announcement: Jacques Schnee Escaped from Prison.

Adam sat by himself, backed into a reading nook, an older opera in his ears and his arm over his eyes, the arm of the couch strained under the weight of the rest of his legs, the window framing the red moon.

"Hello?" The arm lowered. Winter stood there, the middle distance in her eyes. "I wanted to talk to you. And I know you hate small talk." He paused the aria. "I know that I can't make it go away. But I want to apologize on my family's behalf for your scar."

"Heiress."

"No. Weiss and I threw it aside, in life and in death."

"I'm not impressed by this-"

"I have no ulterior motive. But, the news changed things. I...will have to kill my father if there's to be peace in his world and-"

"Your father branded me." The one eye refocused as her nails dug into her palms.

"...I...had...no idea."

"Most don't."

"Do you want to have in on this? Weiss and I have already begun machinations. You deserve your revenge as much as we do."

"You're his daughters. What has he ever done to you?"

"May I speak freely?" Adam sat up. She sat besides him, pulling up her sleeves. "He branded me too." Fine scars, cigarette burns, and calloused skin. "Weiss is no better, her scars are more internalize-"

"Why?"

"He wanted two boys. One to be his heir and the other to go lord over your people. So, he made our lives hell in more ways than you're thinking about." Her eyes watered. "I'm sorry. The man inflicts pain wherever he goes. And, forgive me, I asked Qrow how did you come to lose your sight to begin with. I didn't know you could..." She sighed. "My family wrecked yours."

"Do you pity me, Winter? Is that why you're here?"

"No. I'm here to ask you to help me destroy the man that destroyed our lives. His reign of terror has to end someday. I thought that the arm of the law would still hold strong, but apparently that is no longer the case. If not for you, then the rest of your family." He said nothing. Weiss leant around the corner. "Stop being a creeper."

"I'm trying to be sensitive." She pulled her frame the rest of the way around the wall. He rolled his eyes.

"I would prefer honesty over the illusion of timidity."

"You're brutal."

"Snowflake."

"Inciter."

"Cease!" Winter got up, Adam's legs back on the ottoman. "I'll leave you to think-"

"There's nothing to think about. I accept." Weiss did a little spin in the air, snowflakes showing up and melting in the same instance. "What was that?"

"Good, I'll leave you to Ritual Madness no. 7." Winter left those two to bicker.

"I get to kill the tenor!" A round of laughter bounced down the hall. "With extreme prejudice!" She choked on her own amusement. "Weiss, why are you still here?"

"...Are you...done with Yang?" The scowl returned with a vengeance. "No, that's not what I meant-"

"What are you referring to?"

"I am not attempting to insult you by assuming that you...hit and ran. Doesn't seem your shtick."

"Get to the point."

"She's...withdrawn and sullen. I can't get a word in that isn't the basic necessities of life. You were the last person that she let in."

"And the last, at this rate-"

"Because I know the next thing you're going to ask me is 'why do I care?'"

"Do tell."

"I care about everyone in here. That does include you. You didn't walk in here alone. Don't walk out alone because the bitch did you wrong for the fourth time. Think about it, Red."

"Stop playing matchmaker."

"Stop playing hermit." She turned, a shadow dancing on the wall. "OHSH-"

"ADAM!" Jaune crashed in, grabbing him by the collar. "You have to believe me! Pyrrha is dying! You-" Ironwood grabbed him, kicking and screaming. "BELIEVE ME!"