A.N. (11/11/20) - I have a SpaceBattles version of this story now, check it out.

Chapter 25 - Melancholy

-9 Months Before the Fall of Beacon-

Rin woke up with a start.

Pausing for a moment, it took her a few seconds to recall what she was dreaming about. It was something important though, even if she can't quite recall why. A strange feeling took hold in her chest as she attempted to figure out what was wrong with her.

Sighing to herself, she got up from her bed and began to make her way to the bathroom. It wasn't until she started to change in front of the mirror that she finally realized what that feeling from before was.

She was Rin Tohsaka.

It was something she knew already, but somehow that fact stood out even more today. Staring at herself in the mirror, she took in her appearance.

Although she wasn't exactly as old as the Rin Tohsaka from the original Fate/stay night, she was a close enough age that their appearances were almost identical. She was even dressed in similar enough clothes - a red top and a black skirt - that she was almost an exact copy of the original. If anyone on Earth took a look at her and knew about the Fate franchise, no one would doubt that she looked exactly like Rin Tohsaka.

And yet, the person in the mirror looked like a stranger to her.

Growing up, there were times when Rin felt a strange sense of unnaturalness every time she looked at herself in the mirror. Usually, on those bad days, Rin would feel weird for the rest of that day as she dealt with that strange feeling in her chest.

She shook her head. "C'mon Rin, you shouldn't feel weird about seeing yourself in the mirror. You've already had a few years now to get used to this. Get your head together."

Leaving her room, she paused as she recalled that there was another person who she might be able to talk to about this.

After all, she could just ask if the more experienced reincarnator knew how to deal with this kind of problem.

}-{

"I see," Ozpin muttered. "And have you noticed any other problems with yourself?"

Rin shook her head. "Not that I'm aware of, or at least, none that I can recall at the moment."

Ozpin sighed. "Well, I'm not sure what you were expecting when you came to my door. All I can tell you is that there will always be days like this where such feelings are unavoidable. I can only recommend what I have done in the past to mitigate the effects."

"And what's that?"

He smiled. "Your problem is that you are having trouble holding on to your current identity. You still cling to hints of your past from before you became who you are today." Ozpin poured her another cup of coffee, to which she took a sip out of. "I have a simple solution that might help, as it has done for myself in the past."

He leaned forward. "Take the day off from work today. You're not busy with any projects at the moment, no?" She shook her head. "Then why not meet and interact with Team BRWY and Team AVLN, or even Tukson? Spending time with friends and family should do you some good."

Rin pouted at his words. "I was kinda hoping for better advice than being told to take a break."

Ozpin laughed. "We're a small group of unique individuals plagued with a particular set of problems. Self-diagnosis is always unreliable, and you're the only other person I know who has this particular problem. Unlike a normal identity crisis, our problem is a bit more literal than other cases. Thus, any solution I can think of is based on my own particular set of experiences, which differs quite greatly from yours."

Rin couldn't help but joke, "What? Never turned into a woman before?"

"That's not what I meant," Ozpin said while rolling his eyes. "The memories of my first few reincarnations are vague, having occurred so long ago. But while they were quite similar to your current situation, you do not have one of my disadvantages."

"Which is?"

His eyes turned somber. "The people I took over never disappeared immediately."

Rin winced. As far as she knew, there wasn't anything like an original Rin hanging around in the corner of her soul still. She was Rin Tohsaka, the messy but complete fusion of two different lives. She never had to go through a period where her two lives had to slowly fuse together. It was an immediate process.

The same couldn't be said for Ozpin.

That was the main difference between her and Ozpin, or more accurately, Ozma from his early days. Rin couldn't help but see the similarities between herself and the man from so many years ago. Both had missions given to them by a higher power. Both were granted knowledge that they chose to hid from those that knew them, even for different reasons. Rin hid her knowledge of the future while Ozma hid his knowledge of the Relics. Both felt guilt over hiding their secrets from their loved ones.

But Rin never had to deal with the feeling of slowly subliming another person's sense of identity into themselves. And multiple times even. And Ozpin has been doing this for how long now? Centuries?

"...is this what eternal life is like? You either suffer from an identity crisis or you grow crazy like Salem?"

Ozpin gave a bitter chuckle. "Eternity is never truly as good as it seems."

The two grew silent at that, and both of them had their beverages cool in their hands.

Eventually, Rin sighed. "How did we let our conversation get trailed out of hand like this?" She slowly got up from her seat. "Since your students are in class right now, I'll take a Bullhead to Vale and visit Tukson."

As Rin was about to leave, Ozpin called to her.

"Rin," he hesitated. "I know that we haven't... talked much about our personal problems, even after having known each other for several years. That day when we first met—"

He cut himself off suddenly, lost in thought for a second.

"—at first, I was horrified at the idea that there was someone cursed like me. Knowing that you were different helped soothe that worry, but sometimes, I see something in you that I recognize from my past. I just want you to know... if you ever need to talk about any of this again, you can come to visit whenever you want."

Rin was silent for a moment, taking in his words. To hear Ozpin speak in a way that he's never opened himself up like before.

"...thanks, Dumbledore."

Walking away from his office, Rin noticed Ana beginning to follow her again, having left when Rin entered Ozpin's office.

'Are you okay?' asked Ana.

"Not really," Rin answered honestly. "But I'll get better."

Ana didn't continue asking, and Rin felt glad that her Servant didn't wish to pester. Their relationship was still a bit weird in Rin's opinion. Not quite friendly, but caring for each other.

Ozpin did say to hang out with friends and family, so why not Ana? Maybe she can get closer to the quiet young girl.

As she was walking to where the Bullheads were, a thought passed her mind. Her eyes furrowed as Rin realized that Ozpin never answered her question on whether he's ever changed genders before.

Damn, now that thought's gonna nag at her for the rest of the day.

}-{

"Any luck?" Mercury's only reply from the green-haired girl was a frustrated cry. The sound of something smashing into the wall clued him in that Emerald was probably not in a good mood. "Guess not."

"That pig-headed bull is so infuriating. He keeps doing whatever the hell he wants without paying any attention to what I've told him. If Cinder were here..." her voice trailed off at that last part.

Mercury couldn't help but also wince. Yeah, finding out that their boss was taken out really did a number on their cred. Adam's been a bit snippy with them ever since he found out about that, and Emerald was too depressed to do anything about it.

Somehow, Mercury found himself taking the role of substitute leader, to his surprise. Emerald was too snappy and impulsive, which wasn't normally like her. Then again, the girl seemed to go crazy after Cinder never came back. Mercury had a few Lien on the idea that Emerald wasn't taking abandonment so well.

Either way, he wasn't Cinder though. He couldn't control the Grimm, he couldn't contribute to plans, and while good in a scrap, he grudgingly admitted that he wasn't even the best fighter. If it wasn't for the fact that he was the one to convince Tukson to work with them...

Honestly, why is he even here still? The only reason he followed Cinder in the first place was that she looked like she was gonna kill him if he refused to work with her. Now that she's gone, what's stopping him from leaving?

Then again, it's not like he has anything better to do either.

The two of them still have no clue where Cinder was - if she's even still even alive. And while Emerald's idea of storming Torchwood's base and interrogating him for answers seemed like a fun thought, it wasn't really feasible. Might as well keep up this alliance with the White Fang for now and hope for the best. Who knows, Cinder might even come back?

He snorted. Hah, only Emerald's hoping for that particular outcome. Honestly, while the jabs and insults from the White Fang are a bit annoying, he's pretty much okay with everything that's happened so far.

And things are pretty entertaining right now. Apparently, Adam's thinking of taking a small team to go on a mission to Atlas. Something about stealing some robots or whatever.

Either way, as long as he's having fun, Mercury could care less about everything.

}-{

Amber wasn't sure what to make of the events of the past year.

One on hand, she was a super badass powerful Maiden who could control the forces of nature to do as she wished. On the other hand, she was constantly on the run from the forces of evil, causing her to have grown up with limited social interactions with anyone her age due to mostly traveling without settling anywhere for too long.

So the fact that she's been living in Atlas for a few months now still felt strange to her. Especially since she wasn't exactly alone...

"Hello, friend Amber!"

Definitely not alone. Gods, she wishes she was back in the wilderness.

"Hey Penny, I see that you're back." Honestly, Penny wasn't really that bad. Sure, Penny was technically here to keep watch on Amber at all times, for reasons that haven't been explained to her. But since she's literally the only person Amber's allowed to talk to, Amber found herself growing used to the bubbly girl.

"Yup, I've recently had a few of my parts improved to optimal performance. Making me combat ready!"

Parts? "You mean your weapon?"

Penny paused all of a sudden, then slowly nodded with a strange expression on her face. "Yes, I am definitely talking about the improvisation of my external weapons. No upgrades on my personal self at all, nope."

Amber rolled her eyes. Penny definitely had a few screws in her head loose, but she was someone that grew on you. Even if she was a bit much sometimes.

"Actually, I came here to tell you about some good news!" Penny pulled out a rectangular case bound in paper. "I was able to acquire the items you requested during my outing yesterday."

Amber took in a breath, feeling a sense of excitement. "You don't mean..."

"I do mean. I have the complete set of books of the Harry Potter series. The screening process took time, but General Ironwood approved the items himself."

Amber tried not to grimace as she was reminded of the person who was taking care of her.

Or rather, watching over her.

Because seriously, that man is seriously on her case all the time. Keeping several soldiers nearby her at all times, limiting her appearances in public, vetting anyone and everything that comes into contact with her. Sure, he says he's doing it for her protection, but why in the world does she even need protection?

Actually, even now she still has no idea why Qrow told her to stay in Atlas for a while. Literally, all she was told was that Salem's agents were closing in on her location, and suddenly she was on the next plane to Atlas.

But forget all of that, she has books to read!

Amber gingerly took the books away from the other girl. "Thank you so much for this Penny. You don't know how much this means to me."

"Not at all, that is what friends are for." Penny's face turned awkward. "I know that you do not wish to be here. I know that your situation is unfair to you, even if it is all to protect you. I do not wish for your stay here to be unpleasant, even if there is a limit to what I can do."

Amber gently grabbed Penny's. "It's okay, the fact that someone cares is enough."

Sure, this whole situation sucked. But the one good thing that came out of this was that Amber made a friend in Penny. The crazy, weird, unusual, socially incompetent ginger who Amber never would have met if not for this situation.

Penny's face bloomed into a smile. "Oh! I feel like our friend status is being upgraded. Are we now the—" Penny looked around for a moment, before leaning in to whisper to Amber. "—besties?!"

Amber laughed at that. "Sure, why not."

The smile on Penny's face lit her day.

A new chapter and I finally introduced Amber and Penny. I mentioned a while ago that Amber had to move to Atlas, which helped protect her from getting killed by Cinder. But since Cinder's technically defeated at this point, I'm thinking of bringing her back to the story when the Vytal Festival comes around. And since Ironwood wants the best possible protection over the Maiden, why not assign the combat robot, Penny, to watch over her.

The next chapter's gonna be two weeks from now on 11/25, for those of you who don't check out my profile. If you don't know by this point, I keep a little schedule of when a new chapter is being released on my profile page. But since the website's been acting up since a few weeks ago, I've been meaning to look into other ways of notifying people in case something happens.

But that's all from me. Hope everyone enjoys themselves, see ya in two weeks!