In a large brick house in Argus, there would be a young girl with brown hair and lovely brown eyes, sitting on her bright pink bed in a pink nightgown. She has her knees hugged up to her chest as she looks at the wall across from her. The pastel pink wall was adorned with posters of ice cream, candy and various other sweets, something that this girl enjoyed a lot. However, they're not cheering her up this time. She's all alone right now. She was supposed to go see a movie with some kids from school and they said they would call her when they were going to leave, but it's been five hours since the planned time and not a single call from them. She knows she wasn't forgotten because it's hard to forget someone like her. No, she knows that she was abandoned. Abandoned because she is different from the other kids. While most girls are able to sing lovely songs, whisper gossip about the cute boy in class to each other or talk on the phone for hours on end, the girl never had the ability to talk. Any time she would try, all that would come out is a scratchy sound that doesn't resemble anything close to a language. And, since she can't talk, she's not normal to the other kids and often gets ignored or bullied because of this difference. She feels so alone in her life, that not even her parents or siblings are enough to give her that spark that allows her to enjoy her life. The poor girl's parents are always so busy coming up with ways to try to improve themselves that they sometimes forget about their daughter due to how quiet she is, which is of no fault of her own, and her siblings are always hanging out with their friends or studying for school, so they never have time to play with her like they used to. She knows that they love her but, with how much they work, she has a hard time believing it some days. The girl looks to her side and spots her favorite teddy bear, she picks it up and hugs it tightly. "I know you would never abandon me Beary." She thought to herself, imagining that the stuffed animal can read her thoughts.
As the young girl hugs her stuffed animal, she would hear a deep masculine voice call out for her. "Emily! We're home! Can you come here please?" Shouts what can be assumed to be Emily's father. With a small sigh, Emily hops off of her bed, and leaves her room, walking down the stairs to meet her father. At the main hall, Emily spots her father and her mother, though she also spots three other people she doesn't recognize. A tall ginger-haired man dressed in a more laid-back style, a brown-haired woman who is similarly dressed and a ginger-haired boy that seems to be about her age, maybe a few years older. Emily's dad gives his daughter a smile while her mother goes up to her and fixes her hair in an attempt to make Emily look more presentable in front of the guests. "Emily, your mother and I have some people that we would like you to meet." He says with a smile.
The tall ginger man takes a few steps forward and kneels down to Emily, giving her a big toothy grin. "So, yer Emily huh? Well, you can call me Darren Candlewick, this is my wife Amelia and my son Romeo." Darren introduces himself and his family. Emily puts down Beary onto the floor and starts to move her hands, however, Darren nor Amelia seem to be understanding.
Romeo then tugs on his father's shirt and says "Emily is saying that she's happy to meet you. My teacher helped me learn sign language at school!" He exclaims proudly, puffing his chest up.
At that moment, Emily's eyes sparkle as she looks at Romeo. Someone who is her age and is able to understand sign language? And that person is a cute boy too! Emily feels her heart skip a beat as Romeo looks at her softly, their eyes connecting before he looks away, a blush forming on his cheeks. She feels the darkness in her life go away as this young boy ignites her flame. For the longest time, Emily gives a genuine smile which doesn't go unnoticed by her father. "I had no idea that your boy knew sign language." He chuckles softly.
"Well, I didn't either to be honest. But hey, I know how much you said that you worry about your daughter Bartleby, so I'm glad that Romeo and Emily seem to be getting along already!" He says happily.
"Yes, I am too. Now Emily, why not you go show Romeo your playroom and all your toys. I'm certain he would love to play some games with you. Darren and I have some business to discuss, mainly about the project." Bartleby says softly, ruffling Emily's brown head.
Emily gives a nod and starts going up the stairs. "Come on! I have Chutes and Ladders!" She signs excitedly.
Romeo stumbles around on his feet, a bit nervous about interacting with this cute girl, as well as being excited to play Chutes and Ladders, one of his personal favorite games. "I'm coming, Emily!" He says as he chases after his new friend up the stairs.
Neo would be taken out of her small trance by the creaking sounds of the red metal gate that stood underneath the large gateway for Brunswick farms. She shakes her head and runs after the rest of team PNNR who are making their way towards a large blue ranch house. In front of the large house was a stone well, or at least what can be assumed to be a well, the intense snowstorm didn't make things any easier to find. The wind screams behind them as the snow flies through the door before getting cut silent by the slamming of the wooden door. The sound of wood running against wood echoes throughout the home as Pyrrha pushes a large drawer in front of the door, preventing the wind from being able to open it. "There. This should be a good enough place to keep us warm for the night." Pyrrha says as she looks over to Neo. "Now what did you mean that you're back home?" Pyrrha asks.
However, Neo would be silent as she spots something that catches her interest. By a set of stairs that would lead to the second story of the house, hanging on the faded blue wall was a large picture. In the picture were several groups of people, seemingly to be families. They stood in front of the large gateway towards Brunswick Farms. Two figures that caught Neo's attention was a young brown-haired girl with lovely brown eyes and a young ginger-haired boy with green eyes. She gives a longing sigh as she runs her fingers over them. Neo would suddenly feel a small pat on her shoulder, turning around and seeing Pyrrha, Ren and Nora looking at her with concern.
"Is everything alright Neo?" Nora asks softly.
Neo gives a soft sigh as she motions for everyone to get closer to her. She has no reason to hide her identity now that they're here, besides she's a different person now. When her friends got closer, she would point towards the portrait that she was looking at earlier. They take a look at it and observe it. "That's a nice-looking family. I'm guessing they're the owners of this property?" Pyrrha asks aloud.
Neo nods her head and starts to sign. "That's my family. That little girl that's in the middle is me when I was about twelve years old. That ginger boy close to me is actually Roman when he was about fourteen years old."
Ren gives a soft nod and translates what Neo said to Nora who gives a loud gasp. "That cutie is you! You looked so cute! Not saying that you're not cute right now, which you are." Nora rambles excitedly before Ren places a hand on her shoulder to get her to calm down, causing Neo to crack a small smile.
Pyrrha gives a small hum. "So that's your family and friends I assume. Then I wonder where they are and why they abandoned this place?" Pyrrha ponders before looking at Neo, expecting her to have some answers.
"Don't look at me. I left this place with just Roman, no one else." She signs.
"But why did you and Roman leave?" Ren asks.
"I have no idea. One night he just said that we need to leave now before it's too late. I initially didn't want to go at first because I was so tired, but he managed to drag me away. Ever since then, Roman and I have been living for ourselves and took to a life of crime to be able to achieve our dreams. He always commented on how we will show my dad that you must be willing to steal in order to survive." She explained with a longing sigh, remembering her early days with her dum-dum.
"And you never heard from or about your parents at all?"
"None whatsoever. Not that I really mind to be honest. I used to have a lot of respect for them until we moved to this farm when I hardly had any time to myself from how much they overworked my siblings and me, as well as themselves. The times I did had to myself I was usually locked in my room because Roman was too busy with his chores too. But when we both had time to ourselves, it was the happiest times I've ever had. In fact, it's how I was able to discover my semblance." Neo signs as she recalls that fateful day.
Pyrrha gives a small sigh as she can relate somewhat to the feeling of being overworked, though it was more of on her own accord than her parents. "Well, perhaps your family left the place, considering how this place looks abandoned. Right now, let's try to find some bedrooms, firewood, and food. It's going to be a long night so we will need to stay as warm as we possibly can." Pyrrha orders her team. With a nod, all four go their own ways with Nora heading up the stairs, Ren going into the lounge with Neo to see if there was still some firewood inside that they could use, and Pyrrha heading to the right to try to find some food.
It wouldn't be long into their goals until they hear a loud scream coming from upstairs. "Nora?!" Ren shouts in urgency, pushing past Neo to run up the stairs to check on his childhood friend. Neo and Pyrrha follow after Ren, having heard Nora's scream. "Nora! What's wrong?!" Ren calls out as he barges into the room that Nora was in, freezing to a stop as he sees what Nora screamed at. His eyes widen at the sight as before him and Nora, laying down on a large king-sized bed were two wilting corpses, the harsh cold weather having done a very good job at preserving their bodies. Nora clings onto Ren tightly, still startled by the discovery.
Pyrrha and Neo soon enter the room and Pyrrha stares at the corpses before looking at Neo, noticing her eyes widen in shock before she gives a small sigh. "Neo…" Pyrrha utters softly as she watches Neo walk closer up to the bodies of her parents.
Neo looks down at them, a small tear forming in the corner of her eyes as she shakes her head. "You fools…" she thinks to herself before taking the bed sheets and pulling them up over their heads.
Nora holds out her hand for Neo to take. "Neo… I'm… I'm so sorry…" She says softly, feeling guilty for screaming at the discovery.
Neo gives a soft sigh and looks at her friends. "This didn't really surprise me. A part in the back of my mind always knew that they were dead, but this just confirms it. Before Roman and I left, I recall my parents getting into arguments with each other about running low on food supplies and that we weren't going to make the winter. Then Roman would tell me about how he and my father would encounter upon a carriage full of food that could've gotten us through the winter. He would want to steal it so that we could survive only for my dad to tell him no, saying that we must keep our morals during tragedy." Neo signs before pushing her and her friends out of the room, closing the door.
"And so that's why you and Roman left the farm. In an attempt to try to survive the winter that your family wouldn't." Ren comments as he connects the dots.
"Yeah… but it's all in the past now. I shouldn't let this weigh me down. Let's just go try to prepare ourselves for the night." Neo states before heading back downstairs.
Nora, Ren and Pyrrha all look at each other with concern on their faces before Pyrrha pushes past the two of them. "Ren go try to find some blankets that we can use, Nora you go look for firewood. I'm going to check on the other houses." Pyrrha says before going down the stairs. She passes through the entry way of the living room and spots Neo sitting on an armchair as she looks at the wall. Pyrrha thinks to herself as she wonders what she should say to her friend. "Neo… I'm going to check on the other houses… do you want to come with me?" She asks, only for Neo to nod her head no. Pyrrha looks down to the floor for a moment before sighing and pushing away the drawer that was blocking the door and going outside back into the cold.
When Pyrrha would go outside and into the freezing blizzard, she feels the wind bite her skin as she trudges through the snow. She spots a smaller house that's right next to a large shed of some kind. With a small shiver she busts down the wooden door and looks around the house. As she expected, she found the dead bodies of another couple, in their beds looking like they died in their sleep. She clicks her tongue and pulls the blanket over their heads out of respect before leaving the house. Pyrrha would then go into the large shed that's next to the house to see if there's something that they can hijack to take them to Argus faster. To her surprise, she would find a large tractor with a small trailer to the side. It won't be fast, but it'll be faster than walking. Pyrrha thinks about trying to turn the tractor on to see if it still works but decides not to as she just wants to get back with everyone else and go to sleep. So Pyrrha would leave the shed and start heading back to the ranch house. Through the intense blizzard, Pyrrha would spot another house. In the back of her mind, she knows that she should check on it to see if by some chance there's a survivor there but she's feeling so tired right now that she decides to ignore it, believing that whoever is in that house must have met the same fate.
A few moments would pass as Ren comes back downstairs and into the living room with a bundle of blankets and several pillows, dropping them onto the floor before giving a big yawn. "I'm feeling so tired all of a sudden." He states to Nora who has just finished lighting a fire in the fireplace.
Nora rubs her hands together and holds them in front of the fire. "Well, we've been in the cold for who knows how long, so that's probably why. Come next to the fire, perhaps that will help." Nora says, patting a space next to her so that Ren can sit down. He gives a small nod and sits next to the ginger-haired girl, who rests her head on his shoulder.
Hearing Ren say that he's getting tired causes some old memories to stir in Neo's head. She would recall the time when Winter was approaching, and she would run around her house asking to see if anyone could play with her. "Papa! Can we play a game?" She signs excitedly with a big smile on her face.
Her father puts down a book that he was writing in and looks towards his daughter. "Not right now Emily, I'm really tired right now and I just want to finish this journal before I go take a nap." He says groggily before picking his book back up.
Emily gives a small grumble as she walks away and finds her mother carrying a large crate of canned food. "Mommy! Can we play a game?" She signs once again.
"Not right now sweetie… I have to put this in the basement and go take a nap. Just picking this up and carrying it is making me feel really tired." She says with a groan.
"But you just took a nap not too long ago…"
"I know sweetie but with everything going on… I just need to try to take my mind off of somethings." She sighs before walking off towards the basement.
Neo would be taken out of her flashback when she hears the door to the house open then close. Turning her head, she spots Pyrrha pushing the drawer back in front of the door. Pyrrha enters the living room and gives a small yawn. "All the houses were the same. In their beds having died in their sleep." Pyrrha says. "Fortunately, I was able to find a tractor and a trailer in a shed so hopefully we can use that to get out of here tomorrow morning."
"Well, that's good. I would really hate to do anymore walking." Nora says softly as she enjoys the warmth that Ren and the fireplace is providing her.
"We just need food, and we can call it a night." Ren says softly before giving another yawn.
Neo gets up from the chair and walks towards Pyrrha, giving her a look that she would like to have a small talk. Pyrrha nods her head as she looks over to Ren and Nora. "Neo and I will go look for some food, you two just rest up."
"Thanks, Pyrr." Nora says, waving her hand in the air lazily before hugging Ren tightly.
Soon the two women would head off into the other side of the house to look for some food. As they walked, Pyrrha would look over to Neo and asks. "Do you want to talk about what we found?"
Neo nods her head and starts to sign. "I knew that they were more than likely dead, and I accepted that fact long ago but… seeing their bodies… it still hurt for some reason."
"It's probably because you still cared about them. They were your family." Pyrrha suggests softly.
"I know that but… I started viewing them in a negative light before I left the farm. So, I have no idea why I feel so… remorseful." She signs as her and Pyrrha walk pass a bar that none of them have any use for and find a small stone storage room, taking out their scrolls to use for a flashlight.
Pyrrha takes a small breath and brings Neo in closer, catching the small woman by surprise. "I'm not an expert in emotions, that would be Ren but, if I can give my two cents, I think it's because that this isn't how you wanted them to die. While you accepted the fact that they most likely may be dead, you didn't know how they died. Now that you do, you're crushed with the fact that they seemed to have an uneasy death which is what's making you feel this way." Pyrrha says softly.
Neo would nod her head before wrapping her arms around Pyrrha's chest, hugging the spartan. This action catches Pyrrha by surprise before she gently returns the hug, rubbing her back softly as she rests her chin on top of Neo's head. Neo gives a few quite sobs as she squeezes tighter onto Pyrrha. She knew that her family could've survived. It was so easy for them to have been able to! Yet they're still dead. They failed in their goal of surviving on their own. If they only just stole from that carriage, then they would still be alive.
A few moments would pass as the two girls hug in silence, hugging longer than either of them would like to admit. They feel so warm from this freezing cold, so warm that it's making Pyrrha feel even sleepier, almost as if she could just fall asleep in Neo's arms. However, remembering the massive size difference between the two prevents Pyrrha from doing so as she finally separates from the hug. "Are you feeling better?" She asks.
Neo nods her head as she looks up at Pyrrha softly. "I am. Thank you, Pyrrha. I'm… so happy that I was able to meet you." Neo signs with a gentle smile on her face. She takes a quick glance around the room and gives a happy gasp as she spots a shelf that's full of canned food. She quickly skips over to the shelf and finds various canned food from vegetables, fruit, salmon, and pudding. Neo picks up a can of pudding and tosses it around in her hand with a smile before placing it back on the shelf. "I claim all of the pudding." She signs with a smirk.
Pyrrha gives a small chuckle as she starts to take several handfuls of the canned food. "You'll have to fight with Nora over them. She loves her sweets too."
"Oh, I will. I won't show her any mercy. No one comes in between me and my sweets!" Neo signs with an evil grin, causing Pyrrha to give another small chuckle.
"Just as long as you don't kill her, you two have fun." Pyrrha says as she takes more food and starts to leave with Neo, the two women carrying arms full of canned food. Soon the group would return to the living room and find Ren and Nora exactly where they were, seeming to have fallen asleep. Pyrrha gives a small shout to get their attention, causing the two of them to wake up with a startled gasp. "We found some food. There's enough for all of us." Pyrrha says as she gives the two of them some food. "Also, Neo claims all of the pudding." Pyrrha smirks, expecting Nora to give a complaint.
"Huh? She did? Well, that's fine, I guess. I kinda wasn't in the mood for pudding anyways." Nora yawns before taking a can of peaches that Pyrrha gave her. She stares at it for a moment before giving it to Ren for him to open. He gives a small groan as he takes out his weapon and opens the can so that Nora can eat the peaches.
Pyrrha raises her eyebrow, a bit surprised by Nora not wanting pudding of all things. "Nora, are you feeling alright? You normally would be jumping at the opportunity to have pudding." Pyrrha asks as she sits down on the sofa right next to Neo to eat her portion of the food.
"Yeah, I'm just tired and not really in the mood for pudding." Nora says with a yawn as she grabs a slice of peach from the can. Pyrrha gives a small shrug, respecting Nora's reasoning and not questioning it.
While Neo hasn't known Nora for super long, she knows that this isn't right. Normally, Nora would have her eyes sparkling with excitement at even just the mention of pudding, but she casually dismissed it and said that she's tired. In fact, everyone appears to be tired, except for her. If anyone is to be tired, it should be her because she loves to be lazy when she has the chance to be. This isn't making any sense and Neo starts to wonder what is going on.
When everyone was finished with their food, the group gives a small stretch and a yawn. "Let's wake up first thing in the morning and leave. We shouldn't stay any longer than we should." Pyrrha says.
"Yeah yeah… okay." Ren groans before laying down on the floor, resting his head on the pillow. "Just wake me up when it's time." He yawns.
Nora lays down next to him, resting her head on his chest. "It's getting so warm and cozy in here, I almost don't want to leave." She yawns before smacking her lips. "But just wake us up when it's time to leave."
Pyrrha gives a small nod, not seeing anything out of the ordinary of how the two reacted. She gets off of the sofa so that Neo can sleep on it before hearing a small cough. Turning around she spots Neo, who has put her hat on the coffee table. Pyrrha tilts her head softly and looks at the mute. "Yes?"
Neo taps her fingers together before she looks up to Pyrrha softly. "Do… do you mind if you sleep with me. It's a bit cold and… I just need the warmth of someone else." She signs with a faint blush, knowing how awkward it is to ask this question. But she just needs the embrace of someone to help her sleep and she knows Pyrrha the most out of everyone in this house. Plus, she wants to see how Pyrrha would react so that she can tease her for it later.
Pyrrha shrugs her shoulders and walks back towards the sofa. "Sure. Staying close will let us stay warm." Pyrrha says softly, not reacting strongly one way or the other towards the statement.
Neo's eyes dart away for a brief moment as she fully expected Pyrrha to blush brightly and stumble around with her words, yet she didn't seem to care. Whatever is going on here, it seems that Pyrrha has been inflicted with it too. She gives a small sigh as she climbs up onto Pyrrha's chest and hugs her softly. She starts to feel her eyelids get heavy, before soon enough she falls into a deep sleep.
When Neo falls asleep, she would find herself shaken awake by a tall ginger haired boy. "Come on Emily, wake up we need to leave now!" He says with urgency in his voice.
When Neo would rub her eyes, she would find herself back in her younger body when she was about thirteen years old. Emily stretches her arms and signs to Romeo "Why do we need to leave? I was just getting comfy in bed."
"Because your old man brought some terrible things into here. I'm not sure what they are exactly but… they seem to be having some kind of affect on everyone here." He tells his mute friend, tugging at her arm until she climbs out of bed.
When Emily looks at Romeo, she seems unamused thinking that this is just another game of his, especially when it's so late in the night. "Romeo, it's nearly two o'clock in the morning. I really want to play a game with you, but can't it wait till later?" She asks, giving another yawn.
"Emily, it's five o'clock in the afternoon." Romeo says as he shows her the alarm clock, causing the young girl to give a silent gasp. "We can't stick around here any longer Emily; I can already feel myself wanting to go to bed." Romeo yawns as he shakes his head, his determination and willpower keeping him awake.
"But what about everyone else? Our parents and my siblings?"
"I'm sorry to say Emily but it's too late for them. I've tried waking them up but they just… refused to even react to me. Your old man did something bad without thinking of the consequences and now, he's suffering for it. Now we need to leave before it's too late Emily." Romeo urges starting to drag Emily out of the door to her room.
The young girl quickly put some shoes on, Romeo not giving her enough time for her to change out of her nightgown. Soon enough her and Romeo burst out of the house and walk into the darkness. Emily gives one last look to her house and finds it getting engulfed in giant large black hands with snow white claws digging into the wood.
The horrific imagery would cause Neo to wake up from her slumber, quickly sitting up on the couch. She looks around and finds Pyrrha, Nora and Ren still sleeping soundly. She's surprised that her sudden movements didn't cause Pyrrha to wake up. When she would take a look outside the window, she would spot that it's clearly day out. "This isn't first thing in the morning! Pyrrha of all people should know when to wake up!" She thought to herself as she starts to gently shake Pyrrha. Her efforts would prove fruitless as she shakes the spartan harder, causing worry to grow on her face.
Thankfully, she would breathe a sigh of relief when she sees Pyrrha's eyes flutter open. "Ugh… Neo… what is it?" She groggily asks, rubbing her eyes.
"We overslept! We need to leave like we planned!" Neo signs quickly hopping off of the bed to wake Ren and Nora up from their slumber, causing the two hunters to give a tired groan from their sleep getting disturbed.
"Can't you just let me get breakfast in bed? I don't want to get up…" Nora groans as she feels her stomach growl.
"It's far past breakfast Nora! It's almost past lunch time too!" Neo quickly signs, to which Pyrrha translates, albeit unwillingly.
Normally Nora would look heartbroken at the fact that she missed breakfast, because it usually meant that she couldn't eat Ren's pancakes that he cooks nearly every morning, as well as some bacon and a good cup of orange juice. But now, Nora is too tired to really care about missing breakfast. "I missed breakfast? That's a shame… well I can just go back to sleep and try again in the morning." Nora yawns as she starts to lie back down, only for Neo to pull her up to her feet. "Okay fine, I'm coming." Nora groans as she grabs her weapon, Magnhild.
Ren gives a soft groan as he rolls onto his back. "I was just about to get to the best part of my dream…" He sighs, only to feel Nora gently tap his stomach with her foot.
"Come on Ren, if I have to get up, you do too, even though I would love to take another nap with you." She sighs, helping Ren up to his feet.
As Neo fast walks to the front door of the house, giving a small grunt as she pushes the drawer away from the door, the others slowly walk towards her, watching her push the large wooden object out of the way. When the large wooden object was pushed out of the way she turns around towards her friends and gives a scratchy groan. "Thanks for the help."
"You're welcome." Pyrrha replies flatly, not even a hint of a smile on her tired face.
Without further delay, Neo opens the door, and the team finds themselves back outside, the sun shining brightly onto the white snow, reflecting it's rays ever so slightly. Neo would then quickly rush to the shed to get the tractor out. When she would get to the tractor that's inside, she hops onto it and flips the small switch. She soon hears the engine start to roar to life. Soon she drives the large green machine out of the shed and in front of the porch. Neo turns towards Pyrrha and signs "Can you go get the trailer please."
Pyrrha rolls her eyes and gives a groan, similar to how a bratty teenager would when their parents would ask them to do a chore. "Fine." She says as she stomps towards the shed. Soon enough she quickly pulls the flat bed trailer out from the shed and brings it towards the tractor. She hooks up the trailer to the tractor and goes back over to Nora and Ren. "Neo… I've been thinking. What's the point in all of this?" Pyrrha asks as she looks up towards the pink and brown-haired woman with dull eyes.
"What? What do you mean?" Neo signs confused or perhaps refusing to believe what she just heard from the spartan.
"Well… you saw what happened back at Haven. Cinder just… completely overwhelmed us both. The only reason that we won is because of interference from Yang's mother." Pyrrha says as she sits down onto the wooden steps of the porch. "What's the point in trying to get revenge on Cinder for killing our loved ones if we can't even come any where close to defeating her. Plus, really, we don't matter that much in the grand scheme of things. Team RWBY have the relic and Oscar with them, it's clear that they have more importance than all of us combined."
Neo couldn't believe what Pyrrha was saying, the woman who was so hellbent on killing Cinder and getting revenge for everything she's done, is giving up. This isn't like her at all! She looks towards Ren and Nora and sees that they're nodding their heads in agreement. "The only reason that I beat Hazel was because of my semblance. If he didn't use electric dust, I would've been buried six feet under." Nora says with a soft sigh.
"I think that team RWBY is better off without us. Less people for them to get attached to so that they can stay more laser focused on their goals and not be held back by intense emotions." Ren rambles, not making any sense.
Neo is stunned as she just shakes her head and rubs her ears. Why is everyone feeling so down on life all of a sudden?! It's just like what happened before she and Romeo left the farm. She starts to quickly move her hands as she tries to retort their claims. "We can train and become stronger! We can stand a chance if we work together as a team! Even against someone as powerful as Cinder! The only reason we lost to her was that we were unprepared for her fancy new trick, but now that we know what to expect, we can plan around that." Neo's eyes are lit with passion, unlike the dull, lifeless eyes of her teammates who just give a small shrug.
"I still don't understand what you're saying…" Nora points out before giving another yawn. Neo gives Nora glare as she looks to Pyrrha, expecting her to translate but of course, Pyrrha seems to have no interest in wanting to do it.
"Neo, listen, we can't be prepared for everything. The bad guys always seem to have some kind of trick up their sleeve that allows them to push over us. Plus, you saw what Salem looked like. How can we go against someone like her?" Pyrrha yawned as she makes her way towards Neo, putting her hand on her shoulder. "I think it's just best if we just go back inside and take another small rest. Maybe one that lasts forever. Team RWBY will be fine without us. Plus, we will be able to see Jaune and Roman again soon."
This doesn't make sense, Pyrrha isn't making any sense! Yet for some reason, Neo starts to find herself starting to agree with the spartan. Perhaps their desire for revenge is futile, especially if it means that she can see her Dum Dum again. The glimmer that was in Neo's eyes starts to fizzle out, her pink and brown eyes starting to go dull and lifeless. She's really starting to feel tired now. A nap does sound good. As she's about to give in to her apathy, she feels a cold breeze sting her face which causes a shiver to run down her spine. The breeze also caused the bowler hat that belonged to Roman to fly off and fall into the well. Neo's eyes spark back to life as she realizes that her hat is carried away by the wind. She looks down the well in any attempts to find her one last remnant of her love. She gives a small groan as it's too dark for her to see.
"Neo, don't worry about it. It's just a hat." Ren says, waving her off.
"It's not just a hat! It's something that's very important to me! This is the hat that Roman always wore! It's the one thing that reminds me why I'm here and why I keep on moving, no matter what gets in my way!" Neo signs with passion, as she feels the fires in her soul get reignited.
"It's just an article of clothing Neo, it's not important." Pyrrha lectured, causing Neo to look at Pyrrha in disbelief. She feels her anger building up towards the spartan but then she remembers that this isn't like Pyrrha. Perhaps she needs a reminder about who she is too.
"How would you feel if you lost Jaune's hoodie?! You always wear that ragged thing because it's the last reminder you have of Jaune! It's no different from my hat!" Neo signs rapidly. "I don't care if you'll help me find Roman's hat in the well, but I just want you to know that I would help you find Jaune's hoodie! Same goes for you two Ren and Nora. I would help you two try to find any sentimental object that got lost too!" Perhaps telling her team this will help give them some sort of motivation to do something instead of standing around in their own self-pity.
Pyrrha gives a small nod as she sees that Neo is making sense. "Okay fine… we will help you look for your hat. But afterwards we're going to go to sleep." Pyrrha says as she makes her way towards the well.
Ren nudges Nora to get up as he makes his way towards the well. Nora gives a small grunt as she follows her childhood friend. "So… we're going down the well I'm guessing?" She asks, to which Neo nods her head yes. "Fine, I guess. Let's just hope it doesn't take too long." She grumbles.
Neo was the first one to jump down the well, followed by Pyrrha, Ren and finally Nora. They all land on their feet with a small thud, the bottom of the well surprisingly being not that deep. They all take out their scrolls and turn on the flashlight as they look around their immediate surroundings. It seems like this is more than just a well. It's like some underground catacombs or sewage system. The sounds of dripping water can be heard echoing throughout the cave as the air gets dank and heavy. Soon enough they start to walk through the narrow halls of the well. "It shouldn't have gone far, it's probably somewhere around the immediate area." Pyrrha says as the group comes up on several splitting paths.
"I'll go down this way to the left. I don't know nor do I care where you guys go." Nora says as she slowly walks down the small tunnel towards her left, leaving behind Neo, Pyrrha and Ren. As Nora walks down the tunnel, her footsteps echoing with each step, she spots something out of the corner of her eye. She shines her flashlight towards it and finds out that it's Neo's hat. She gives a relieved smile, happy to know that this is over. "There it is. Now I can go take a nap." Nora says as she kneels down to pick the hat up. When she picks it up, her flashlight shines over some weird mass of darkness. Slowly trailing her flashlight up, Nora finds a large colony of human like Grimm, with dislocated jaws and glowing red eyes. They give a large groan as they spot Nora, reaching their two fingered clawed hands towards her. Life suddenly returns to her eyes as Nora let's out a loud terrified scream and starts to run away.
Nora's scream echoes throughout the well, causing Ren and Pyrrha to snap out of their trance as they hear their friend in danger. "Nora?!" Both Ren and Pyrrha shout in unison. Neo quickly takes out Hush and run towards the direction she heard the scream. Ren and Pyrrha both follow Neo, taking out their respective weapons as well.
They would find Nora running towards them, fear plastered on her face. "We need to get out of here!" She shouts with urgency. Crossing the corner, Ren, Neo and Pyrrha would see what Nora was running away from. The blob of human like Grimm give another groan as they slowly walk towards team PNNR.
Neo's eyes shrink as she finally connects the dots. So, these are the ones responsible for everything. These are the monsters that Roman mentioned her father brought to the farm. These are the culprits behind the tragedy of Brunswick Farms. She stands dazed, not realizing that Ren and Nora are already running away. She gets brought back to reality as Pyrrha shakes her shoulders. "Don't just stand there like a deer in head lights! Run!" Pyrrha shouts.
Neo shakes her head and runs alongside Pyrrha, their rapid steps in the small puddles echoing through the sewers as the team of hunters tries to find some kind of exit. They can't remember the way they came from however so they're hoping they either stumble upon it or something else. As the four turn around a corner, they spot another large swarm of the zombie like Grimm walking closer towards them. There's too many of them to fight off, so with no other choice they trace back their steps and run down another tunnel. They come across a large grate that's blocking them away from what appears to be some kind of wine cellar. Pyrrha steps forth as her hands glow black, with the metal bars of the grate glowing black too. With a blink of an eye, the grate flies off and lands on the floor with a clang.
As they make their way into the wine cellar, they hear the groans of the Grimm directly behind them. They would then suddenly give a large scream that reverberates through out the area. As they scream, everyone would start to feel weak, as if they got hit by a wave of exhaustion. They land onto their knees as they grab their head. "W-what's going on?! Why is it hard for me to do anything?!" Pyrrha groans as she crawls towards the stairs, slowly making her way up. When near the top, she finds a metal door that leads outside. She tries to push it open with her polarity, but she can't concentrate enough to use it. All that happens is her hands blink black for a brief second before fizzing out. Pyrrha lays down on the stairs as she tries to fight through the exhaustion. This can't be it! There has to be something that she can do! But… she can't think of anything, her attempts are futile, despite how close she was.
"They're draining away our willpower!" Ren shouts as he slowly crawls towards the stone floor of the wine cellar. He crawls a few inches forward before falling flat, his twin guns falling out of reach from his grip.
Neo gives a grunt as she feels weak and helpless. She can't let it end like this! Not when they were so close! She turns around and spots Nora lying on her back as she stares up at the wall. If she could talk, she would definitely be screaming Nora's name.
The horde gets closer and closer towards Nora, reaching out their arms as they're so close to digging their claws into her flesh. Yet despite this, Nora doesn't seem to fear anything. "This is fine… I'm tired anyways…" she says softly.
Neo looks on in horror at the oncoming demise of the ginger haired girl. She slams her fist on the ground as she tries to fight back by any means! She can't go down like this! Not when she finally found a place where she belongs after thinking that she would never find anyone that would treat her like Roman did. The kindness and comradery that Ren, Nora, Ruby and especially Pyrrha showed to her, how despite her past, their willing to look past it because she shares the same goal as everyone else! She's not an asset to these people, she's a partner, no not just a partner, they're a family! With a screeching scream Neo's aura glows brightly as she feels the thuds of heavy armored footsteps rushing past her. Turning around she spots Pyrrha bashing the Grimm that were trying to kill Nora with her shield, before stabbing them with Milo.
With the small break away from the Grimm, Pyrrha gently nudges Nora up who looks up at Pyrrha tiredly. Something seems off about her. Her skin looks like porcelain and her eyes are very glassy. It also seemed like her mouth was simply painted by red paint. Nora then sees "Pyrrha" get stabbed through the chest, causing Nora to snap out of her daze. "PYRRHA!" She cries out. Yet as she sees Pyrrha get stabbed, she breaks apart into glass. Nora, recognizing this, turns towards Neo and finds her hand reached out. Without questioning what just happened, Nora quickly gets back up as she runs towards the stairs, dragging Ren with her who was able to build energy again.
Neo, seeing that Nora and Ren are close to the stairs closes her eyes and with a small shimmer of her body, she creates a replica of Ren and Nora. Ren crouches down to the ground and soon the area around the wine cellar becomes colorless as he uses his semblance while Nora charged towards the beasts, swinging her hammer wildly with reckless abandon. The Grimm let out cries of pain while also losing sense of the direction of the humans they were chasing earlier, almost as if they just disappeared. Instead, they focus on the clone of Nora who is cutting down their numbers, attacking it with slow claw swipes until it breaks away into glass. Neo gets up onto her feet and make her way towards the stairs. Just as she got to the bottom of the stairs, the clone of Ren shatters apart, most likely due to overuse from using his semblance.
As the area gets filled with color again, the Grimm sense the fear from Team PNNR and notice that they're on the stairs and far away from them. They let out another loud cry, causing the four of them to feel their energy be drained away. With a pained grunt, Neo creates two clones of Nora and Pyrrha, who charge in towards the Grimm, fighting exactly how the real ones would. They would prove to be a strong enough distraction as Pyrrha gives a loud yell, punching the doors to the cellar open, causing the doors to fly off and break the chain that held them together. "Let's go!" Pyrrha shouts.
Team PNNR quickly scrambles out of the cellar, leaving behind the clones to take care of the horde before getting overwhelmed. As the four of them run out from the storage closet and past the bar, Neo slows to a stop as she looks at all the bottles of booze. She gives an intense glare as she rushes towards the bar, taking the bottles and throwing them into the storage closet and across the bar. The glass bottles shatter on impact as the alcohol goes everywhere. Reaching into her pocket, Neo takes out one of the large fire dust crystals she got from Pyrrha so long ago and throws it into the puddle of alcohol. Using Hush, she points towards the crystal and fires a small shot, causing it to burst into flames. Thanks to the alcohol, the flames roar to life rapidly as they set fire to the wood.
Seeing her job done and not wanting to get burned alive, she runs after Pyrrha and the others as the flames slowly consume more and more of the rustic house. They run out of the house and towards the tractor before turning around and sees the house get engulfed in flames. Neo looks up at the wreckage she caused as a small frown grows on her face. A small tear starts to form in her eye as she remembers all the memories she had of this place. She would then feel a firm hand pat her shoulder as she looks up and finds Pyrrha giving her a comforting look. "It's okay Neo." She says softly.
Ren goes up to Neo as well, patting her other shoulder while Nora pats her back from behind. Neo gives a deep sigh as she looks up at her childhood burning away from her. "The past is in the past. Emily Brunswick died alongside her family and that's okay. I'm a new person now, and I have a new family that I found." Neo signs with a gentle smile as she looks at her friends and family. Pyrrha crouches down to give Neo a hug, with Ren and Nora joining as well, wrapping the small woman in a warm embrace. She's never felt this much love ever. Roman was just one person who loved her, while this is an entire group that cares deeply for her. She can't help but get a little bit choked up as she hugs her team and family back, giving a small sob. The four hug in silence, not needing to say anything as they know that actions speak louder than words.
Soon enough the four separates as Neo rubs her eyes, wiping her tears away. Nora gives Neo a gentle sisterly smile as she places her hat back on top of her head. "We will always be here for you Neo. You're one of us now, whether you like it or not. We treat our team members like family, because for Ren and me, they're the only family that we have." Nora reassures with a calm smile. Neo gives a happy nod, a permanent smile growing on her face as she hops onto the tractor with Pyrrha, Nora and Ren hopping into the trailer.
With a step from the pedal, the tractor soon takes off at a decently fast speed, away from Brunswick Farms. Neo takes a small sigh as she feels like she can finally leave this past life behind now. She has a new family and that's all that matters now.
As the four ride along in the tractor, telling small stories to each other to pass the time, the sun would start to set as the sky turns into a beautiful color of orange, yellow and red. As they drive down the road, Pyrrha would feel her scroll vibrate. Getting confused, she takes it out and notices that she's getting a call from Ruby. When she answers the phone, everyone on board can hear Ruby shout through the phone. "Pyrrha! Oh, thank god that you're okay! I've been trying to call you ever since we arrived in Argus last evening!"
"Wait… what?" Pyrrha responds, confused to be getting a call from Ruby. She thought that there was no signal out here. Putting her phone down she notices that they've come to a stop.
Neo turns around and gives her friends a smile. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at our destination." She signs as she gestures towards the large wall in the distance that was Argus. Ren and Nora stare at the city in awe, admiring the pure beauty of the landscape with the setting sun in the horizon.
"It's beautiful!" Nora admired, having never seen a sight like this before.
"We made it… we're one step closer now." Ren says softly, happy to just be here right now.
Pyrrha gives a small warm smile as she looks over the town that was her home. "Despite everything that's happened to me, it feels good to be home."