TPoynt: It's not one to one, but yea, that's how it's gonna happen. Ironwood's not gonna be rapey or anything, so don't worry about that.

"The school turned into a Mansion? And you found a talking dog?" Winter eyed her like Ruby had...Well, like Ruby just told her that Beacon Academy had been replaced by a military compound and she found a talking dog inside. "Are you sure the drugs aren't still getting to you?"

Ruby just shrugged helplessly. Winter glared at her hard, trying her best to figure out what part of Ruby's story was true or false. She always had a keen eye for such things, but with Ruby it was harder. The young girl exudes an aura of sincerity that throws her off. She's used to people trying their best to make her believe things by playing to her emotions, or otherwise trying to make her sympathize with them. But Ruby was just telling her the story. She didn't even try to use the fact that she knew Weiss to her advantage. It almost, ALMOST, made her want to believe all the crazy things she was saying.

But this was just the beginning of the story. Ruby hadn't gotten to any pertinent information to the case yet. "I'm going to allow you to continue. But I won't stand for any more nonsense."

"then this is gonna be a short story." Ruby said with a weak smile, "cause things are only gonna get weirder from here."

Judgement Judgement Judgement

Monday, April 13. Mid-day

Me and Yang stop running a few blocks away from the school to catch our breaths. But then I got an alert on my phone, "You have now returned to the Real World. Welcome back!"

"The Real World? What the hell does that mean?" Yang asked.

"I don't know." It was that strange nav app again. I couldn't help but get the idea that the app really did cause that time stop the other day; and probably our little trip into that weird mansion. Part of me wants to try and delete the thing again and offer up a prayer to whatever god will listen that it never comes back. But there's another part that's telling me I should keep it. That the app will be important.

However, before I could make any real decision a couple of policemen walk up to us, "Hey you two. Shouldn't you be in school by now?"

Yang and I shared a look before turning back to them, "Well we were. But when we got there...The school turned into a military base." Yang clearly knew how that statement sounded since she was so hesitant to actually tell the police what happened.

The policeman talking to us, understandably, looked at Yang like she was crazy. "Okay, hand over you bags, we need to check you two for drugs."

Yang looked genuinely offended by the accusation, "What?"

"You two are from Beacon right? Do we need to call one of your teachers to deal with you?"

"Okay look, I know how this sounds. But that's what happened, you have to believe me. Ruby saw it too, right Rubes?"

I opened my mouth to agree with her, but then I thought back to the other day at the train station. When the whole world seemed to stop, I wasn't sure if Yang and dad would believe me, and they're my family. What were the odds that this random policeman would accept such an insane sounding story?

So instead of backing Yang up, I just say to him, "Uh, we should head to school. It's not far from here. We're sorry for bothering you."

"What, Ruby..."

I take her by the hand and look into her eyes, "Yang, please. Let's just go." She gets an annoyed look on her face and lets out a heavy sigh, but relents. We take one more brief look at the officers before walking towards the school again. Thankfully, they don't stop us.

Take Your Time

We don't take Yang's shortcut this time, so it takes us a little longer to find the school's gate again. Only this time, everything looked normal. The school looked exactly how I remembered it from yesterday. "I know I've been saying this a lot today," Yang starts while looking up at the completely normal school, "But what the hell is going on?"

"That's what I would like to know." A teacher walks out of the school and looks down at us from the top of the steps. "It's past noon, why aren't you two in class?" We're not really sure how to respond to that. How do you tell someone the building they are currently standing in front of was replaced by an army base and a huge mansion? There's no way he'd believe us.

"Uh...We thought-I thought I'd take my sister here somewhere to blow off some steam." Yang says wrapping an arm around me, "She was kinda nervous about starting a new school, and I thought she needed to relax. And I guess we just...lost track of time?"

The teacher just scowls at her, "You cannot expect me to believe that. You two don't even look like sisters." I can't tell you how many times we've heard something like that, and it's almost always really annoying. But it's somehow more ikesome when an adult does it.

"I can assure you, they are sisters." Another, familiar voice says to the teacher. And when Mr. Ironwood walks out, both me and Yang stiffen as he appears. "I've seen Yang's mother during her boxing matches. And Ruby here is the spitting image of her." He says while smiling kindly at us.

It's so weird seeing Ironwood acting so nice when less than an hour ago he was pointing a gun at Yang's face, totally willing to pull the trigger. He seems like a completely different person now. While I'm just confused, Yang looks like she's about to punch him again.

The teacher looks surprised for a moment, but get's a stern look on his face when he turns back towards us, "Well...even if you are sisters, that's still no excuse for being three hours late. Miss Xiao Long, you will follow me to my office and we will discuss your punishment. As for your sister, I'll go easy on her because it's her first day. You should head to the administration office to sort out your schedule."

Yang just rolls her eyes before walking up the stairs to the school. She follows the teacher, but doesn't pass by Mr. Ironwood without giving him a dirty look. He turns back to me, "I know she's your sister, but I wouldn't follow her example, too much. This is a new school, you don't want to get a bad reputation like her."

Well, that's pretty condescending. I start walking up the stairs, "Thank you, Mr. Ironwood. But I think Yang usually makes good decisions. Especially when it comes to the people she knows." He scowls and walks away before I reach the top.

It doesn't take me that long to find the admin office on the third floor. Dad pointed it out yesterday. But I'm still nervous. I didn't even think about how late we'd be once we escaped from Ironwood's Palace, and Ms. Goodwitch seems kinda strict. I found Ms. Goodwitch sitting at a desk writing something down. "Uh, hello, ma'am."

She looks up at me with a cocked eyebrow briefly before going back to what she was working on, "You know, I'm a little surprised you even bothered to show up considering how late you are."

I blush a little, "Yeah, sorry."

"Is there any particular reason you came in past lunch, with your tail between your legs?"

"Uh…The train was delayed." Ms. Goodwitch stares at me. "It was delayed, like a lot." I don't think she believes me.

She gathers all the papers she was working on up in a case and stands, "Well, if you aren't going to tell me what happened," Yea, she definitely didn't believe me. "We should just head to class. But I should warn you, the school did call your father when you didn't show up this morning. I believe he was quite upset with you and your sister." Oh, great. So that's something I have to look forward to.

Ms. Goodwitch leads me to her classroom, and since she's an algebra teacher, we stay on the third floor. "I don't really care what you've been doing before you finally decided to come to class," She said while we walked, "All I ask is that you don't disrupt my class anymore than necessary. And to be clear, I'm only being so leanian because you've been through so much in such a short amount of time. I will not go easy on you from now on. Is that clear?" I nod sheepishly. We pass two girls in the hallway who give us this weird look and start whispering to each other when we're out of ear shot. They must not like Ms. Goodwitch very much.

Ms. Goodwitch's class wasn't anything special; about twenty students with five rows of the four desks, a blackboard in the front and the back (it looks like some of the students doodled on the one in the back) other than that, nothing really of note in the room.

I stood at the front of the room right next to Ms. Goodwitch's desk, while she introduced me to the class. "Class, we have a new student today. Please welcome, Ruby Rose." She writes my name on the blackboard.

After introducing me, some of the other students start whispering to each other, "Is she the one everybody's talking about?"

"I think so. Hard to believe someone as cute as her is supposed to be dangerous."

She scowled slightly, but continued, "Miss Rose was...not feeling well this morning. So we had her attending class a little later than usual."

"She was probably off her meds or something."

I just ignore the whispering, "Uh...Hi. I'm Ruby. I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone here." I give a weak smile, hoping it would endear myself to the class.

It doesn't work, "She seems nice, but I bet when you get her mad…"

"Yeah, I heard she's Yang's sister. That whole family is full of psychos."

Ms. Goodwitch slaps a ruler against her desk, making everyone flitch and gives the whole class a harsh glare that completely shuts everyone up. She carefully pushed up her glasses and turned to me, "You can sit down now, Miss Rose. The seat by the window is open."

She points to a desk at the right side of the room in the second to last row of desks. But I also noticed someone familiar in the desk in front of the one I was assigned to; that girl with the white hair from this morning. I think Yang called her Weiss. She still looks really annoyed with me, so I stop at her desk and whisper to her, "Uh, hey. I'm really sorry about this morning. I think if we just talk…"

"Miss Rose…" I let out a surprised Eep when Ms. Goodwitch calls out to me. "If you would please sit down?" She says without raising her voice and only arching an eyebrow. It's impressive how scary Ms. Goodwitch can be without trying too hard. I just smile nervously and shrink into my seat. She holds eye contact for a second before picking up a piece of chalk and writing on the blackboard, "Now because the semester has just started and everyone is adjusting to the changed classes, we won't be going over anything too extensive…"

I do pay attention to the lesson as best I can, but I'm a little distracted because I spend most of the class writing a note for Weiss. I know I probably shouldn't care about making it up to someone who was so mean to me, but Weiss was the first person I met in this school. I don't know, I just feel like getting her to like me will mean other people will like me here. Which even I admit doesn't make much sense. I guess I just don't like the idea that I made an enemy in this school before I even made it to the building. The note was pretty simple. It just said, "I'm really sorry about this morning. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going when I really should have. And I'm sorry for you, me, and Yang getting into an argument. I'd like for the two of us to be friends. So, what do you say?" Plus a few doodles of skulls, dogs, roses, a scythe (Although I erase that before handing it to Weiss) that I drew while trying to figure out what I wanted to say. I even draw a little chibi version of myself giving her a peace sign. No one can be mad at something like that.

After I'm finished and satisfied, I knock my pencil out off my desk and raise my hand. "Ms. Goodwitch? I dropped my pencil, can I get it?"

She just rolls her eyes, "I suppose, just be quiet about it." And she turns back around to finish the equation she was writing.

I quickly get up to retrieve my pencil, and as I return to my seat, I slip my note on Weiss's desk. Not often you get a Nat 20 on both Deception and Slight of Hand checks. Pretty good if I do say so myself. Weiss notices the note as soon as I place it on her desk. She carefully opens the note to not draw attention to herself, and takes a few moments to read through it. After she finishes, she turns back to me; and I just now notice the scar over her left eye. I wonder how she got it. We make eye contact and I give her a little hopeful smile. Then her eyes take a harder edge and she crumples up the note while looking right in the eyes. She tosses the note aside and turns back around.

Well, so much for being friends.

Take your Time

After class, I tried one more time to get Weiss to talk to me, but she just walked away before I could get a word out. I try to shrug it off and leave the class. Before I get too far, a boy with blonde hair walks up to me, "Hey, uh...I want to say sorry about everyone in class. Y'know, all the whispering and stuff."

"Oh, it's no problem. I'm sure it's just some weird misunderstanding." I say with a nervous chuckle.

The boy actually winced when I said that, like he was afraid to keep this conversation going, "Uh, yea; unless your name isn't actually Ruby Rose, I'm pretty sure it isn't a misunderstanding."

My shoulders slump, "But...Why is ANYONE talking about me? How does anyone here even know about me?"

The Boy just shrugs, "I don't know. But about a week ago, a rumour started going around school about a girl coming to Beacon who was 'Mentally unstable'," He said with air quotes, "Because of some major trauma. The rumours got really out of hand when it got out that you were Yang's little sister."

I groan and bang my head against the nearest locker. The boy awkwardly pats me on the shoulder. He was a good looking guy, I guess. Floppy blonde hair, like I said, with gentle blue eyes. And his uniform was easily the most relaxed I've seen so far. He had the blazer, slacks and loafers for the boys uniform. But instead of the dress shirt, blue vest, and red necktie; he just had a shirt with two yellow crescent symbols. When I look at him again something clicks, "Do I know you? You look familiar."

"Oh right, my name's Jaune. Jaune Arc. I was on the boxing team with Yang."

As soon as he said it, I remembered, "Oh yeah. I've seen you at the meets. You were giving water and towels to the fighters. Are you like the equipment manager or the waterboy or something?"

Jaune seemed to flinch when I asked what he does for the team, then he scratched the back of his neck, "Uh, no. I'm actually on the team. Y'know, as a fighter."

"Oh sorry. It's just...I don't remember ever seeing you fight."

He shoulders slump, "Heh, yeah, I'm more of a pinch hitter, y'know? Mr. Ironwood likes to save me in case the team gets in real trouble." Then he throws a few punches, and...Well, I don't know much about fist fighting, but even I can tell his form is terrible.

"Yeah I'm sure you're great." I give him what I hope is a sincere smile.

Jaune smiles back, but neither of us notice that Yang had snuck up behind him and slaps him on the back, "Hey Jaune! How's it going? You being good to my sister?"

"Y-yeah. We're actually both in Ms. Goodwitch's class together."

"That's great. Jaune's a really good guy, He'll look out for you if you need it." Yang then leans in and whispers to me, "We need to talk on the way home, okay?" I instantly understand what she wants to talk about, and nod with a serious look. "Alright, I need to head to my next class. I just wanted to see how Ruby was doing."

She slings an arm around Jaune's neck, "Now don't get too friendly with her, alright?" Then she gets a very grim look and grabs him by the collar, "I mean it." She pats him on the chest twice, and says goodbye to both of us. Leaving Jaune more than a little freaked.

"Sorry about that, Yang is really protective of me. It can get annoying."

Jaune just waves it off, "It's fine. I have seven sisters myself. I know how overbearing they can be."

"Wow, that must be rough."

"You have no idea." We share a quick laugh. I may have struck out with Wiess, but I have a feeling me and Jaune could be good friends. We separate to head to our next classes.

My next class was History with Mr. Oobleck. He was...interesting. He was tall and thin with messy windswept green hair, and thick coke bottle glasses. And the way he dressed was a total mess; his tie hung loosely around his neck and the collar of his dress shirt was rumbled up and even a few of the buttons on his shirt didn't line up correctly. His classroom was just as much of a mess, with maps haphazardly pinned on the walls and the blackboard and books stacked seemingly at random on his desk and a few even laying on the floor. I actually tried to pick a few up, but some of the other students just told me not to bother because they'll probably just end up on the floor again by the end of the class. Mr. Oobleck himself was really hyper. He talked a mile a minute and seemed to zoom for one spot in the room to another at the blink of an eye. And he drank a lot of coffee. Taking a sip from his mug after almost every sentence.

But once you get past his initial strangeness, Mr. Oobleck actually knew what he was doing. It was a little hard to understand him at first, because he talked so fast, but eventually your brain re-adjusts and it's easier to keep track of his lectures. And when you do, you realize he's really insightful and passionate about history. And he doesn't take kindly to people who disrespect it. There was a boy with short red hair (Kary? Carl? I can't quite remember) Who was making snide comments about Faunus when it came up in Mr. Oobleck's lesson plan. (Racism, fun) So Mr. Oobleck gave him a "Special" assignment to write a 20 page essay on a Faunus figure important to Vale's history.

I decided I really liked Mr. Oobleck.

One up side to coming to school so late was I only had two classes after Ms. Goodwitch's. I'll still need to get a feel for the rest of my teachers tomorrow, but for now I need to get to my locker for the first time. I didn't have time to do so after Ms. Goodwitch's class because of my conversation with Jaune. I head to my locker on the second floor and I see one of my locker neighbours taking a book out. A Faunus girl with rabbit ears and long brown hair. I think back, and I'm pretty sure she's in Ms. Goodwitch's class with me. I'm about to ask her about it, but she just closes her locker and walks away after making really brief eye contact with me. Usually I'd just assume she was in a rush and had to get to her next class. But after what Jaune told me earlier, It's hard not to think she somehow knew who I was and thinks I'm crazy or something.

My next class was Mr. Zeki's Computer Science on the first floor. He actually looked really cool, nothing like how I expected a computer teacher, or really any kind of teacher, would look. He was really tall and skinny and his head was shaved bald. He had one of those jewel things on his forehead (I always forget what they're called) and a few beaded bracelets on each wrist.

He talked in a very slow monotone, that caused a bit of whiplash after seeing Mr. Oobleck practically bouncing off the walls during his lesson. He had a very methodical way of teaching, taking the time to fully explain what every component does and why it's important. He was also very patient, taking the time to answer any question a student had to ask. However, the way he talked, not to mention the subject matter, had a lot of other students really bored. A few of them were starting to nod off towards the end of the lesson.

I, however, was paying as much attention as I could. Sure I had the stereo to tinker with, but I always wanted to try building a PC from scratch. I doubt a high school Computer Science class could teach me enough to do that, but any little bit helps.

After class, and putting more of my books in my locker, I head towards the front gate of the school to wait for Yang. But she's already there, talking to a girl with black hair. She spots me and smiles, "Hey, there you are!" She turned the girl around to face me, and I instantly recognised her pretty golden eyes. She was also one of the only student's I've seen with her whole uniform intact. "Blake, this is my sister, Ruby."

I smile at her and extend a hand, "We sorta met already."

"You did?" Yang asked as we shook hands.

"Not really." Blake says with a shrug, "I was studying in the library yesterday and I saw her and your dad heading to the third floor. I assume you were going to see Principle Ozpin, right?"

"Yeah, we were. But Why'd you run off like that?"

She shrugged again, "I didn't get a good look at your dad, so I wasn't totally sure if you really were Yang's sister yet. Besides, I had to get to the subway to catch my next train soon anyway. Sorry if it seemed like I was blowing you off."

"No it's alright."

"We also have Mr. Oobleck's history class together."

"We do?" I said with a confused look on my face, "I don't remember seeing you."

"I'm pretty good at not drawing attention to myself."

"Hell, sometimes I'll forget she's here while I'm talking to her." Blake lightly slaps her in the shoulder while Yang gives her a cheeky smile. "And why am I not surprised you came here on a Sunday to study?"

Blake raised an eyebrow, "Maybe because I actually care about my grades?"

"Really? I thought it was because you're boring as shit."

Blake just rolls her eyes, "Whatever. I need to head home, I'll see you both around." She walks off and waves goodbye to us.

"You two seem close." I say to Yang, who kept her eyes on Blake with a soft smile until she rounded a corner.

"Yea, she was one of the only people to keep talking to me after...Well, you know." I nod silently. It's always a downer when you have to remember some of the harsher parts of life. "Speaking of which, we still have some stuff to talk about."

"Right, but are you sure we shouldn't just head home? The school called dad, so he knows we were late."

Yang runs a hand through her hair, "Yea, I heard about that; dad's gonna be pissed. But I figure he's already mad, we might as well take our time before we get in trouble."

I just shrug and shake my head, "If you say so."

Take Your Time

Monday, April 13. After School

Yang led the two of us past the subway entrance to a food cart a few blocks away from the school. The man running the cart is a Faunus with ram horns and a 5 O'Clock shadow. He and Yang seemed to know each other, so she must have come by here a lot. "Fire Dust Special; with the works. And a normal dog with ketchup and relish, right Rubes?" I nod and the vendor makes the two hotdogs like she asked. Mine looked pretty standard, but Yang's had a bunch of extra stuff on it; like peppers, onions, red powder, and some kind of sauce. The vendor actually argues with Yang on whether or not she should also get a bottle of water. He even offered it for free, just so she'd take it.

We start eating as we walk back towards the subway, "I don't know how you can eat that much spicy stuff all at once." I say, as Yang sucks in some air after taking a few bites of her hotdog.

I can ever see some tears in her eyes, "It's not that bad. Gives ya a nice rush, y'know?"

We lean against the subway entrance and finish our little snack. As soon as she finishes her last bite, Yang downs half the bottle of water, "Glad you took that, now?"

"Shut up." I giggle as Yang empties the bottle. She stays quiet while I finish my hotdog, I can tell she's thinking hard about something. And I'm pretty sure I know what she's thinking about. "So...Hell of a first day, huh?"

I swallow the last bite before giving a wry smile, "If I didn't live through it, I wouldn't have believed it."

"So what should we do about it?"

I'm quiet for a while. Trying to process, I guess. On one hand that place was terrifying and dangerous, and whatever that version of Mr. Ironwood was wouldn't think twice about killing both of us if we tried to go back. That fact alone should be enough to make me want to never see that place again.

But on the other hand…"Part of me feels like we should go back." Yang just nods, but she doesn't look at me. "Yang, I know that place is dangerous. And part of me wants to just head home and never think about it ever again. But…"

"You can't." And then Yang just kinda smirks and takes a deep breath. "Did mom ever tell you why she and dad split up?"

I shrug, "A little. She kinda broad stoked it. Mom and dad disagreed about her job in some way." Honestly I didn't really push the issue that much after it happened. I know it heavily affected both of them, so after getting the most direct answer to why, I just kinda lived with that.

"That's the jist of it, yeah." Yang took the wrapper out of my hand and walked over to a nearby trash can and threw our trash away. "Apparently mom was investigating some dangerous guys, like the mob or something."

Sounds like mom, I think to myself with a little smile. She was an investigative journalist, she was big on "Chasing the Truth" as she always said it. "Dad was worried it would come back to bite all of us in the ass. You remember all those fights they had?" I nod, "That's what they were about. At some point they must have realized they were never gonna settle on the whole thing and…" She shook her head as she leaned against the metal wall again. We're silent for a moment, before Yang looks at me with a sad smile, "God you are so much like mom, you know that?"

I think I get what Yang is saying, and I look down at the sidewalk, "So you don't think we should go back?"

"No, I don't. But I think this is your decision to make."

I sharply look back at her, "You do?"

She shrugs with a soft smile, "Well, you're the one with the superpowers." She lets out a sigh and looks up to the sky, "After mom died, dad said he always regretted not supporting her more. But he was always too stubborn and angry to try and patch things up." Then she looks back down to me, "I don't want to live with that kind of regret. So if you say you want to keep looking into this...I'll back you up. No matter what."

I can feel tears forming as I bring Yang into a nice tight hug. But as I do, I feel something tingling at the back of my head and pulling at my heart:

Judgement Judgement Judgement

Winter swipes some of her bangs out of her face as she continues to examine Ruby. "It would have been safer for you to operate alone, but you decided it was more beneficial to ally yourself with others. Someone to help protect you, maybe? You the brains and they the brawn?" She leans forward in her seat, "Tell me who they are, and what they've done."

Judgement Judgement Judgement

I am Thou, Thou art I; Thou hast bonded with a New Soul

They shall be the Light to guide thee through the ceaseless Darkness

With the Birth of the Strength Arcana, Thou hast found a new Path to Victory

We separate and go back to loitering in front of the subway. Honestly I think we're both putting off going home, considering what's waiting for us. "Y'know, I'm pretty sure mom regretted what happened too."

"You think?"

"Yeah. After we moved to Patch, mom started writing more fluff pieces and stopped going after the bigger juicier stories she'd usually do. I guess mom ended up agreeing with dad, but was just as stubborn."

Yang just smiled and shook her head, "Christ our parents are a mess." I smile as well and nod. She then pushes off the metal wall and swipes off the back of her skirt, "Alright, let's get this over with. Time to get yelled at."

I sigh and we walk into the subway tunnel, "I guess we have to go home eventually."

Take your Time

Monday, April 13. Evening

So you know how I was saying, despite how warm and cuddly he could be, dad could get really mad when he wants to? "What the hell were you two thinking!? For God's sake, it was Ruby's first day!" Yeah, he was really mad. "Three hours! Three goddamn hours! How could you miss THREE HOURS of school!?"

My and Yang both flinch every time he raises his voice. "Well, we-"

"I don't wanna hear it!" Dad cuts Yang off before sitting on the couch and putting his head in his hands. "Just go to your rooms. I need to think about this."

We both look at each other, but do as he asks. When I get to my room, I change out of my uniform and decide to read up on some of the talking points Mr. Oobleck discussed during his lesson. I was sitting at my desk, taking notes about Vale's first democratic election, when dad knocked on my door before poking his head in, "Hey Ruby. Mind if I come in?"

I was a little caught off guard with how quite he was, but I still said, "uh, yeah. Sure."

He nodded then walked in and sat down on the bed. He was quiet for a moment before finally saying, "So...how are you liking the room so far?"

"It's...nice. I guess?" Dad just nods silently, seemingly thinking deep about something. "Dad, aren't you mad about what happened?"

He takes a deep breath and looks me right in the eyes, "Ruby I am absolutely furious. You and Yang really screwed up today. I mean…" He stands up and starts pacing around, "Look I get why you two would want to ditch. Yang's been having a hard time since the thing with James. And you're starting a new school with everything else going on. I get it." He stops pacing and looks at me again with he hands on his hips, "But when I got that call about you two not showing up. I...I just kept expecting a call from the police, just like with Summer."

"Oh. I didn't think about that."

He kneels down in front of me so that we're eye level and puts a hand on my shoulder. "Listen Ruby. you can't do something like that again. Disappearing without a word, making me worry like that."

"I get it, dad. I-I'm so sorry. I didn't…"

He just holds up a hand to get me to stop talking, "You. Are not. Doing this again. Understood?" I just nod. Dad stood up with a heavy sigh, "Okay. Now, I usually let Yang go out at night after school; and I was going to let you do the same as long as she was with you. But that's not happening now. You get home, you stay home."

I nod again, it's not like I could say anything right now. Dad nods before kissing me on the forehead and leaving my room. I can't say I'm surprised by what happened. And I really did feel bad about what dad said about mom. I mean, if I was a parent who just lost a loved one in the last month and then I got a call saying my kids were missing...yeah, I'd probably be scared and angry too.

And that's something else to think about with this whole Persona thing. Looking into the Palace is going to be dangerous. I can try to protect Yang with Persephone, but things can still happen. Heck even with Persephone something could still happen to me. And what if both of us die inside the Palace? Would anyone be able to ever find our bodies? We would just be gone and dad would never find out what happened to us.

The reasons to just stop kept piling up. But I keep thinking about Mr. Ironwood. About the version of Sky in his Palace. The real Sky sat next to me in Mr. Zeki's class, and he was nothing like the Imaginary Sky we saw in the Palace. He was more arrogant for one thing. He never made a big show of it, but he seemed almost annoyed he had to be in this class. He knew what he was doing, he picked up on Mr. Zeki's lessons faster than anyone else in class (And acted like anyone struggling was an idiot) so I can only assume he knew a lot about computers before the class started. He had a quiet confidence that would have been admirable, if he wasn't being a jerk about it.

So if Mr. Ironwood could reduce someone like that to a weak-willed, broken shell of himself in his mind, I don't want to think about what Yang looks like in his Palace. And if that's what's going on in his mind, how is that affecting him outside of the Palace? I realized I needed to talk to Yang about Mr. Ironwood.

I quietly knock on Yang's door and she lets me in. "Hey, Rubes. Dad read you the riot act too?"

I close the door when I'm fully in the room, "Yeah, but I understand why he's so mad."

"Yea, me too." She said solemnly while sitting on her bed, "So what's up?"

"Well...I was hoping you could tell me what it was like on the Boxing team."

"Still trying to figure out what to do with this Palace stuff, huh?" I just shrug, "Alright, well; it wasn't so bad at first. Ironwood was strict, but he wasn't an asshole about it. He pushed you just enough to get the best out of you, y'know? Helped me a lot. Even dad noticed how much my technique improved since I joined the team. And we were good. We even won a national competition."

"I remember that. Mom and dad were so proud of you."

A small smile found it's way on Yang's face, but quickly fell off, "But that's when things started to change. Ironwood's training got more and more intense and injuries got more frequent. Sometimes he'd work a fighter to exhaustion or tell them to ignore it if they got hurt. What he was doing was dangerous. So, I started to speak up. Even getting into shouting matches with him in front of the whole team. You can imagine how much he liked that. And then there's Jaune."

"What about him?"

Yang looked up towards the ceiling, trying to short her thoughts out, "I don't know. The thing is, and don't tell him I said this, Jaune is the worst fighter on the team. Hell he's probably the worst fighter I've ever seen. You could probably beat him up without that Persona thing of yours." I actually giggle a little at that. "But Ironwood kept him on the team. And I still don't know why. It always felt like something was wrong with it, but I couldn't figure out what."

I thought for a few seconds before asking, "But that's not why you hit him. He said something about Raven." She just nodded, but didn't say anything else. I noticed her hand was fidgeting again, "You don't have to tell me what he said, if you don't what to."

Yang sighed in relief, "Thanks. I just...Don't like thinking about it." She took a moment to rake a hand through her hair and stared up at the ceiling. "The most fucked up thing is that, if it weren't for Ironwood, I probably wouldn't have been on the team in the first place."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, before Ironwood showed up, Beacon had two gendered boxing teams like most sports teams in the school. But the girl's team almost never had enough members to really do anything. Hell, even when I was on the team it was only me and...uh…" She stopped and looked to the side, "One other girl."

Whatever was upsetting her when she mentioned this other girl didn't seem to have anything to do with Mr. Ironwood. But before I could say anything, Yang clears her throat and continues, "So when Ironwood agreed to couch the boy's team, he decided to dissolve the girl's team and make a single co-ed team."

"That's pretty cool, I guess."

Yang just shrugged, "For everything I can bitch about, at least I can't say he's a sexist piece of shit. Well...hope this helped in some way."

"It did, thanks." I smile at her and turn to leave her room.

"Ruby." She calls out before I leave, "I meant what I said earlier. Whatever you want to do, I'll back you up."

I smile again and nod while closing the door behind me. What Yang told me did help. If what Zwei said was true, that a Palace is created when a person's heart is distorted, that would explain why he became harsher and less concerned with his student's well being. And who knows what could happen if the Palace is allowed to continue existing.

But I'm still a little apprehensive. I still feel like I should keep looking into the Palace, but the danger keeps me from jumping in head first like I really want to. The points and counterpoints of going back to the Palace keep ping ponging in my head, even while I'm getting ready for bed. After I'm done brushing my teeth, I look into the mirror and can feel Her. "Persephone?" My reflection starts to smile by itself and it's eyes change from silver to yellow. I blink a few times, not sure what to think about my reflection moving by itself, "What are you?"

I am you.

"No, I get that. But what does that mean? How does this work?"

That is something you will understand in time. I just sigh. I think I might actually be going crazy. I'm talking to myself in the bathroom, for crying out loud! I can sense your hesitation. There is more Death for you to deal.

I look down with both my hand gripping the side of the sink. "I know, I know. Spread Death 'Be the Reaper'. But why is all this happening? What are these Palaces, how are they made, what does having one even mean?"

I'm afraid I can't answer that. I am you, after all. If you don't know something, how can I?

"Okay, I guess that makes sense." I sigh and turn away from the mirror and lean against the sink. "I just don't know what to do."

The world needs a Reaper. And Fate has deemed it to be you. And now, you have a decision to make: Do you accept the responsibility your powers have burdened you with, and face the danger to come with your head held high? Or do you ignore it, and attempt to live with the knowledge that you could have helped others, and chose not to?

I jerk up at the sound of someone knocking on the bathroom door, "Hey, anyone in there?" Dad asks through the door.

"Yeah, I'm coming out now." I glance at the mirror, and my reflection is back to following my movements like it's supposed to.

Take You Time

I wake up to the sound of music. A piano piece that I instantly remember as the same song that played in the Velvet Room. And sure enough, I'm back in the small bedroom and wearing the outfit with the hood and the corset. While it's all still pretty weird, I at least know the drill this time. I head straight to the door and enter the main area in the Velvet Room where Igor and Penny sit in the same position as the last time.

"Welcome back, Miss Rose." Igor said as I sat down in front of his desk and gave Penny a little wave. "It seems you've awakened to your powers. This is the first step to becoming a most extraordinary Huntress."

"Thanks, I guess."

Igor folds his hands under his nose as he examines me with his unnerving bulging eyes. "You are hesitant."

I just look down at my hands, "I guess I'm still a little on the fence about this whole Huntress thing. I just don't know what's happening or what it all means."

Igor hums to himself, "I can understand your hesitation. However I must impart the importance of this journey. Without your power, ruin will surely consume all you know."

I just sigh, "I don't really have a choice then."

Igor just closes his eyes and lets out a heavy sigh, it was probably the most human thing I've seen him do so far. "Of course you have a choice. You may leave."

I actually reel back a little, "I...I can?"

"To be the Huntress this world needs, you must have conviction. If you lack that, your powers will be worthless." He extends his hand towards the room I woke up in, "And if that is the case, then you may leave this place. You will not visit the Velvet Room after this night."

I looked towards the room, then turned back to Igor. He looked about the same as he always did, the inhuman grin and bloodshot eyes, but I could tell there was a hint of disappointment in his expression. I glanced at Penny, who was more openly sad at the idea of me leaving.

"But…" I started, "What about this 'Ruin' you keep talking about?"

"As I said,'' Igor placed his hands on the desk and leaned back in his chair, "When darkness rises to threaten the world, a Huntsman or Huntress will appear to challenge it. We will merely find another to take your place. You are not the first to refuse the powers granted to you."

I was about to leave; I probably should have left. Igor had just given me the perfect out. I could just be a normal high school girl again. No saving the world. No stopping Ruin. No Personas, no Shadows. But I couldn't. I couldn't get up. I couldn't let this all go. Not without knowing one thing, "When a person has a Palace, what would happen to them if it doesn't go away?"

Igor clasped his hands together and started to rub his thumbs together, "The distortion that created the Palace will increase as time goes on. Eventually, the individual will attempt to make reality match their distorted vision of it. Want that could entail is unknown, but it would undoubtedly be unpleasant for those around him."

"So...Mr. Ironwood could hurt someone?"

"If he hadn't already."

I looked down, staring at nothing for a moment. I couldn't do it. I always knew I couldn't. But this. The idea that if I didn't do anything, Mr. Ironwood's students could be in danger. I know for sure, I can't live with that.

"Alright, I want to stay." I say with hard resolve in my eyes, "I'll be your Huntress."

Igor's ever present grin grew as he could clearly see how serious I was, "That is reassuring. And you need not worry about the danger you will face. There is a way to better insure your success. You have the power of the Wild Card. By bonding with those around, you may use their strength to improve your own."

"How do you mean?"

"The strength of a Persona is dependent on the strength of your heart." Penny says, speaking for the first time since I got here, "By forming bonds with others, you can strengthen your heart and increase your power of Persona. And there are other benefits to doing this as well."

"I would advise against the forming of frivolous bonds. Only by making true connections to those around you, will you find the path to true power. You must be willing to even use me to reach your goals" As he says that, I get the feeling Igor really does want to help me, in his own weird, almost alien way.

I am Thou, Thou art I; Thou hast bonded with a New Soul

They shall be the Light to guide thee through the ceaseless Darkness

With the Birth of the Fool Arcana, Thou hast found a new Path to Victory

"There are other people all over the place that have strengths and skills that can help you on your journey." Penny continues, "All you need to do is find and connect with them. I can help you develop those connections into new power."

Alright, well it's nice to know I don't have to do all of this on my own. I don't know who could help me with all of this Persona stuff. But I'm still glad Yang really can be with me through all of this like she said she wanted. "Okay, I'll try to do that."

Igor nods, "Unfortunately our time together is coming to an end. The next time you come to the Velvet Room, it will be of your own will."

"But how?"

"You shall see in time." He gestures for Penny to stand, "Penny, if you would escort Miss Rose back to her room?"

Penny nods and stands up, "Of course Master. Right this way, Miss Rose."

I stand up and follow her, but before we reach the door, I say, "Hey, you don't have to keep calling me Miss Rose. You can call me Ruby, if you want."

Penny looked genuinely surprised by my suggestion, and for a moment I thought I had insulted her. But then her face softened and she smiled, "Thank you...Ruby." It's funny, Penny has the same strange yellow eyes that the other Ironwood had; but unlike Mr. Ironwood, who had a cruel alienness in his eyes, Penny's are soft and kind as she smiles at me.

I smile back at her as I walk into the room and the door closes.