RWBY Destiny of Remnant Winter Special

by UGX7

Remnant prepares to celebrate the Winter Solstice and its the first one Team RWBY will spend together, but Ruby discovers that a friend hates the holiday because of a tragedy that happened long ago and wants to help him. Meanwhile, Team JNPR and their families get ready to enjoy the the happiest time of the year together. Post Volume 3 AU, heavily differs from canon.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone.

This is the fourth and final holiday specials that tie in to Destiny of Remnant, meant to show the characters in their downtime when they're not saving Remnant, developing the lore and the world. DoR started shortly after Volume 3 finished, so it radically differs from canon.

This story, and from now on Destiny of Remnant as a whole, is dedicated to my Grandma Rose, 1933-2021, who always made the most out of every Christmas. I will always love you grandma.

Four people moved through one of Patch Island's forests. Their boots made crunching sounds as they made their way through the sparkling snow covered the ground, visible clouds of breath burst out of their mouths and into the air before fading away.

Ruby, Yang, Taiyang and Qrow came to a stop past the group of thick trees, staring at the two small gravestones built upon the cliffside overlooking the ocean.

"Looks like they need some cleaning," Ruby stated.

"Go ahead," Taiyang permitted.

Without another word Ruby and Yang marched forward and set about brushing the snow off of Summer and Raven's grave markers, revealing their emblems carved into the stone.

Taiyang and Qrow walked over to join them, plastic-wrapped flowers and two wreaths clutched in their hands.

"There you go, moms. Much better." Yang muttered as she pushed off the snow, letting it fall to join the rest on the ground.

With the snow cleared from the headstones, Taiyang and Qrow stepped forward to join their daughters as Ruby began to speak.

"Hey mom, Aunt Raven," Ruby began quietly, "We know it's been a while, but ever since we defeated the White Fang things have been really busy at school. Had a lot of catching up to do."

"Lots of homework, lots of studying aerodynamic weapons safety instructions for us to learn," Yang added.

"Lots of theories that don't make much sense, a lot of history lessons we've already forgotten." Ruby voiced, earning a quiet, agreeing chuckle from Qrow and Yang.

"But we'd never forget to come visit you at this time of year, Summer. Despite your name, you always loved winter and the Winter Solstice was always your favorite." Taiyang said with a bittersweet voice as he knelt down and laid one of the wrapped up rose bouquets down upon the grave of his old leader and second wife. "We miss you so much."

"You too, mom." Said Yang as Taiyang laid the other bouquet down on the newer headstone, "You might not have been there for me a lot, but when I needed you you saved me. You gave everything for us. For our friends…"

"For me." Qrow added quietly as he remembered Raven sacrificing herself to save him from Cinder Fall back in Haven.

"And we'll never forget that, Aunt Raven," Ruby remarked, "Thank you."

A lone Raven sat perched upon the branches of one of the numerous trees behind the cliff, silently watching the quartet of mourners.

"We came here today because we'll be leaving to spend the Solstice with Blake and her family on Menagerie. You remember her? Our Faunus friend? I think you'd really like her, mom. She likes reading even more than you." Ruby spoke to the grave of her mother.

"Last solstice we were...separated. It was really crazy, so this year's going to be Team RWBY's first Winter Solstice together," Yang said, "We'll have both of you in our hearts. Ruby's even gonna sing that song you loved so much, Summer."

"Or teach Weiss to sing it. I already sent her the lyrics," Ruby interrupted, "I still don't like the idea of singing in front of people."

"Relax, you'll be fine. Trust me, Qrow and I are lousy singers too, we'll drown you out." Taiyang assured her, which made Ruby smile.

"And if you can give speeches and fight in front of a few hundred million people, singing for over a dozen won't be a big deal." Yang told her younger sister.

"Well fighting's natural and those speeches were...spur of the moment deals. Singing is, well, a different challenge altogether." Ruby argued.

"Don't worry, squirt. You'll do fine," Qrow assured her, "You'll have us, your friends...and them looking out for you." He gestured to the gravestones.

Taiyang stepped forward and knelt down, placing the two wreaths against the graves of the women he loved so dearly. "Summer, Raven...I hope you're happy with us. I do my best to take care of these girls, but it's not easy keeping them out of trouble. Never thought they'd be the ones to give Salem even more of a headache than we did back in the day. I hope you're doing well, up there, or wherever you are. A peaceful, beautiful place I hope."

"They are," Yang assured her father.

"And we couldn't ask for a better dad," Ruby added as she hugged her dad. He smiled and hugged his girls to him

"Or a better Uncle," Yang said as she reached out and grabbed Qrow, hauling him into the group hug.

Qrow smiled as he relented and joined the hug. He was still incredibly grateful to Ozpin for not forcing any missions on him during the holidays. It was pretty rare he had the privilege of spending the Winter Solstice with his family. He remembered last year he was swamped helping Glynda and the others try to deal with the fallout of Beacon and the year before that he spent the holiday season in the wilds of Mistral trying to avoid being killed by a bandit tribe or Grimm. So this was a pleasant change of pace, to say the least.

They spent the next half-hour just standing there, reminiscing about solstices past, with Qrow and Taiyang recalling Team STRQ's first year and how Summer, horrified upon discovering that Qrow and Raven hadn't received any Winter Solstice gifts for years, set out to make it the happiest solstice they would ever experience. Qrow admitted she achieved her job, and told the girls that while Raven would try to hide it, she enjoyed that day, and the dress Summer and Taiyang had bought her, enormously

"I remember the first Winter Solstice she and I had as a couple," Taiyang began, "It was just us and little Yang, Ruby was a while off. Summer was so happy to be a mom, even a stepmom, that she got Yang at least a couple dozen presents."

"Hey, I helped her pay for those." Qrow reminded his old teammate.

"I remember she said you tried to woo the lady who owned the toy store on the mainland to get some cheaper prices. Apparently she gave you guys a discount just to get you out of her store." Taiyang remarked, making his daughters laugh.

Qrow scoffed and shot back "More like she was crazy about me and didn't want to give into her lustful urges."

"Uncle Qrow, no one's that good, except for maybe me." Yang told him.

"Well I guess guys are desperate enough for a girl like you they'd give you anything." Qrow said with a smirk.

Ruby smiled at her family's banter before looking back at the graves, remembering back to when she was little, eagerly rushing downstairs after an almost sleepless night, Yang practically dragging Taiyang down the stairs as Summer, nearly as excited as her daughters, followed them. Looking back on those Winter Solstice mornings of tearing open presents, playing with their gifts, leaving huge messes to clean up later to go outside to make snowmen and angels, to pelt each other with snowball fights, something which got harder for Yang to win once Ruby activated her Semblance...those mornings were a part of her childhood she would always treasure, especially the ones from before her mother gave her life to save Patch.

And she knew that RWBY's first Winter Solstice together would be one of those precious memories. It would be a short but sweet time of peace after so many crazy adventures and skirmishes with the Fall of Beacon, the Battle of Haven and bringing down the White Fang.

Yang's scroll suddenly beeped, so she took it out and looked at the message she received. "That's Sun. Ross is about to land."

"Well we better not keep our friends waiting, don't want to make a bad first impression." Taiyang told them before they took one last look at the two graves. Looking back at the graves, he added "Sorry we have to leave so soon, but we'll be back in a few days."

Ruby noticed a hint of regret in her father's voice, so she took his hand and gave it a loving squeeze.

"Don't worry about it dad. They'll be with us. As long as we remember them and don't stop loving them." She told him.

"Ruby's right," Yang said, smiling widely, her voice sounding close to tears. Yang hated the fact that after she finally reconnected with her estranged mother, Raven was taken away by Cinder Fall, "As long as we keep loving them...they'll never really be gone."

Taiyang smiled and hugged his daughters tight.

Qrow sighed and took something out of his jacket pocket. It was one of Raven's necklaces which he had kept. He gave one to each of the family to remember Raven by, but he felt the strange urge to do something with his.

They said their goodbyes to the departed Huntresses and slowly, reluctantly, made their way home to collect the luggage for the trip.

Qrow, however, lingered behind. He placed the necklace around a thin portion of the top of Raven's gravestone and said "Just for a few days. I'll be back to get it soon. Love you sis. Love you too, Summer."

With that, Qrow turned and walked after his family, not noticing a raven landing atop the stone, watching him go off into the woods.

It didn't take them long to stop by the family's cabin and collect the gifts, as well as Zwei who obediently took up his position in the small but comfortable carrying cage, ready for the journey to Menagerie.

The Winter Solstice was the last of the four major holidays the people of Remnant celebrated. It was an occasion to mark the end of the year, a time to look back on the year and reflect on the good and the bad, a time to look forward to the year to come and hope for the best, to unite with friends and family and cherish the fact that they had made it one more year, and, a part favored by the young and young at heart, it was a time to give loved ones gifts to let them know you care, some Hunters would even say it was a way of saying congratulations for not ending up Grimm food.

Snow covered most of the world, the already frigid Kingdom of Atlas turned even colder with bitter winds and heavier snowfall than usual, some believed this test of nature is what made the Atlesians so strong and cunning, they had to be in order to survive the harsh winters. To brighten the mood and make the landscape seem cheerier, pine trees and homes would be decorated in lights and ornaments, topped with stars or small angel figures, something that would dazzle and raise spirits.

If you were to ask someone what their favorite of the four main holidays was, it was a somewhat safe bet that Winter Solstice, the highlight of the cold season, was their answer. Everyone had their own opinion, but no child could deny the excitement of waking up and running to see what the legendary Saint Nicolai had left them under the tree.

They arrived at Patch's small airport where ships and Bullheads were taking people to and from the island, with a familiar old Bullhead waiting for them off to the side, with a familiar blonde Monkey Faunus waving to them.

Yang and Ruby waved back to Sun Wukong, who was bundled up in a warm orange and black coat, his metallic tail, replacing the one he had lost to Adam, stood out a bit.

Dashes of snow flew up in the air behind him as the small form of his younger sister rose up behind Sun, a lumpy attempt at a snowball in her gloved hand. She brought a finger to her lips, but Ruby's grin gave her away.

Sun turned in time to catch the amateurishly formed snowball in the chest, shaking his head before he used his robotic tail to splash some snow into Haulan's face, making her giggle excitedly as she fell into one of the snow angels she had made.

Sun walked over and took a few packages from Ruby and Yang, "This is her first time seeing snow in person. I think she likes it." He said with a smirk.

"We can tell," Ruby noted as Sun's mother, Gina Wukong, appeared in the doorway with the pilot, Robert Ross. Ruby waved to them and Gina politely waved back while Ross simply nodded, a dour expression on his face.

"Haulan, honey, come in! You shouldn't play in the snow for too long! You'll catch pneumonia!" The mother Faunus called to her daughter.

"But I'm too excited to be cold, mom! This might be my only chance to play in the snow like other kids! This stuff is way better than sand!" The young Faunus cheered.

"You don't have to shovel it," Taiyang said as he reached the ramp, handing Ross a sack of gifts to store in the cargo hold. He offered his hand to Mrs. Wukong, "Gina Wukong?"

"None other, Mr. Xiao Long. I'm pleased to meet you, you have wonderful daughters. I still don't know how to thank them for saving us from Adam earlier this year." She said as she shook his hand.

"You don't have to, it's what we do." Yang told the older blonde as she carried Zwei inside the ship.

"Besides, it's enough to have you with us for the holidays." Ruby added as she dropped her loads and went out to join the Faunus siblings, willing to give Haulan a few tips on how to have fun with snow.

"So, I take it Sun's still nervous?" Yang asked Gina.

"He does a good job of hiding it, but a mother always knows," Gina answered, "He's only ever seen Ghira and Kali Belladonna over screen calls. This will be his first time meeting Blake's Aunt and Uncle in person."

Yang smiled as she thought of Blake's guardians. Blake's parents had been killed when a protest turned violent and she was taken in by her mother's sister Kali and her husband Ghira, who had once been a major figure in the White Fang before it began to turn to violent riots. Prior to the Fall of Beacon Yang had met them via a screen call and had thought they were Blake's parents, and they practically were as they had raised Blake for most of her childhood.

"Kali's nice, she'll love Sun. Ghira...well, Sun better be prepared for some speeches." Yang joked.

"He's screwed." Qrow deadpanned as he walked past them.

"Uncle Qrow," Yang scolded lightly as her uncle shot her a mischievous smile.

"Relax, he'll be okay," Taiyang assured Gina, "We met them during the Fall Break and trust me, Ghira is rough around the edges but he cares deeply about Blake. I think he'll more than approve of Sun."

Gina gave the fellow single parent an appreciative smile as she shivered when a wind blew into the ship. Despite her coat, she wasn't used to such frigid weather, "Urgh, and I thought the desert nights were cold. How do you stand it here?"

"You get used to it." Yang answered as she looked over to see Ruby showing Haulan how to properly make a snowball.

And then, using her speedy Semblance, created a few dozen of them and the two younger sisters began to pelt Sun with their cold ammo.

"Ah!" Sun cried out, "No fair! I'm unarmed!"

Yang placed Zwei's cage down and cracked her robotic knuckles, "Looks like a fellow blond cyborg elder sibling needs my help."

She dove in, her robotic hand (and the only part of the Ember Celica she had on her at the moment, punching into the ground, creating a wave of snow that flew towards Ruby and Haulan, covering them in snow, forcing them to duck for cover.

"Okay, word of warning, do not try to hit Yang's hair." Ruby warned the young Faunus as they made more snowballs.

"Why?"

"Let's just say we'll automatically lose." The silver-eyed Huntress answered as Sun and Yang took cover behind the barrier of snow.

"Forget the Grimm, little sisters are the worst menace in Remnant!" Sun joked.

"You should've seen Ruby when she was Haulan's age!" Yang exclaimed as she began making snowballs, with a pace that showed she was just as much of an expert in snow warfare as her sister.

The two sides began exchanging fire, with snowballs flying left and right, some hitting their target, others hitting the structures around them. A random port worker was taken out by one of Ruby's throws.

Gina watched the playful war transpire and shook her head.

"Kids. What can you do?" Taiyang joked with a shrug.

"Will they ever grow up?" Gina wondered.

"They will. And then we'd probably want to do it all over again." Taiyang told her.

Gina nodded and smiled warmly, seeing his point.

Qrow laughed as he heard Ruby cry out dramatically as she took a hit, moaning as if she was a casualty of a real war. After all they had been through, the kids deserved a happy time of the year like this.

"Once they're done we're setting off for the island," Ross mentioned to him, "Tell me when we're set to fly."

Qrow looked at his old ally, noting the bitter look on the veteran's face. He sighed, knowing how the pilot could get around this time of year.

"Robert," Qrow began. Ross turned around, not used to being called by his first name, "You're more the welcome to join us. The Belladonna's will be happy to have you."

Ross exhaled and shook his head, "This time of year brings back painful memories, Qrow. I'd prefer to spend the holidays in a bar. Maybe if I'm lucky some Faunus will take their pent-up rage out on me."

Qrow watched the pilot walk away. He glanced out to see Yang taking Ruby as a 'prisoner of snowball war'. It was jarring to look at kids so full of happiness for this holiday, while the pilot viewed it as one of the most joyless days of the year.

Maybe they could fix that.

---

Out at sea, a large yacht sailed swiftly through the freezing waters of the ocean, easily breaking apart any drifts of wayward ice that floated in its path. The yacht was painted white and blue, with the name 'Eisbrecher' adorned on the sides, along with the snow-flake sigil of the Schnee Dust Company.

Inside the bridge, the Schnee family's loyal butler Klein Seiben tended to the instruments along the panel, making sure everything was in order.

"How's it going, Klein?" Asked Willow Schnee as he walked in.

"All's well, Master Schnee," the dutiful butler answered, "I was worried that the fog bank would give us some surprises, but no Grimm in sight. The auto-pilot computer projects our arrival at Menagerie to be within two hours or so."

"Good," Schnee said with a nod.

"I must say sir, I appreciate the change of pace this year. It was an odd but not unwelcome idea to use the holiday spirit to try and mend relations with the Faunus people." Klein remarked to his employer.

"Yes well, we'll still have plenty of banquets and parties to hold once the main holiday is done. Still have an image to uphold." Willow voiced with a nod.

"I'm planning it out in my down time, sir," Klein reported.

"Very good," The Schnee Father said before he noticed his younger daughter and Penny Polendina walking out on the decks. Some fathers might have been concerned, but after all his daughters had accomplished in the past year he knew they'd be fine. "Contact us when we're within range of the island." Willow bid before taking his leave of the bridge.

Out on the deck, Weiss and Penny watched as a pod of orca whales passed them about a hundred meters or so away, their shining black and white bodies occasionally breaching the surface of the water, shooting out spouts of water.

"What majestic creatures!" Penny declared as she began to record them with her scroll, zooming in to get as good a look as she could, and even called to them "Hello! Would you mind moving a bit closer?"

"I don't think that would be the best idea, Penny," Weiss told her robotic friend, "They're not usually hostile but they could still inflict damage to the yacht and themselves."

"Actually, should the need arise this model of yacht is equipped with a sonic device that will ward off the whales," Came Winter's voice as she came up from behind, smiling at the sight, "And they are wonderful animals."

"Feeling rested?" Weiss asked.

"Yes, I just needed to sleep, had to work a little longer than usual before I called in for the holiday vacation," the Specialist told her little sister as the orcas jumped up and back down into the water, sending waves of churning water towards the Eisbrecher, their tails whipping up and slapping the water to send sprays into the air.

"Wait until Ruby and the others see this!" Penny voiced, excitedly as another orca leapt up energetically, its heavy body slamming back into the water with a tremendous splash.

"Speaking of, I take it you've been practicing the song she sent you?" Winter asked her sister.

"Of course, it's an old one and not very well known, but I do like it. Perhaps I'll put out a recording of it if I ever do another album." Weiss mused.

"Father did say the record company's been pestering him about that." Winter noted.

"About him...I'm surprised you agreed to come. I know you've been mending things with him, but are you sure you'll be okay with us?" Weiss inquired, "This is the first Winter Solstice you've spent with us in the last four years."

"It's with you and people I'd consider friends," Winter told Weiss, "Father's spent so many Winter Solstices parties with business associates, journalists, celebrities, military liaisons...it got tiresome. My time in the academy taught me how normal people act around this time of year. This...this feels like a proper way to spend the holiday. With people you know, people you have a bond that goes beyond business."

"No argument there," Weiss agreed with a smile, "Last year's holiday was a bit...bleak, considering all that happened. This time, it will be right."

"It will indeed be a merrier hour than the last Midnight of the Year." Said Penny's 'father', Joseph Polendina as he came out of the doorway and walked over to join them, "Ah! Orcas! I haven't seen them out in the wild since I was a young man!"

"I'm recording as much as I can, daddy!" Penny told him.

"Excellent!"

"What did you mean by Midnight of the Year?" Weiss asked the ashen-haired man.

"Oh, well in my studies back when I was your age, Specialist Schnee, I discovered that some of the Valean Clans would call this holiday the Year's Midnight, as it marked the end of the year. Don't quite know why it fell out of style, but it stuck with me ever since."

Weiss nodded, she had to admit she rather liked the term, it was quite fitting.

Winter looked out to the sea as the orca pod began to swim away from their vessel and said "We'll be entering the warmer waters soon, Menagerie isn't far now."

---

And indeed it wasn't.

Menagerie, a rather large island, or set of islands as it had several smaller land masses surrounding it, was located off the coast of southern Mistral. Leased to the Faunus by the Mistral Government and the Councils of Remnant, it had been seen as a haven for Faunus kind for over a generation, a place to escape the persecution of bigoted humans, and while such prejudice had significantly softened in recent years, there were many Faunus who wished to live separately from humanity.

Blake Belladonna walked through the main road of Kuo Kuana, walking towards the city hall where her Uncle and adoptive father Ghira worked as Governor of Menagerie and mayor of Kuo Kuana. Everywhere she went the Cat Faunus saw children chasing one another, playing games or staring through the store windows as the items on display or the fabulous decorations that would only become more beautiful when night fell.

Some of the adults used Ice Dust Crystals to create patches of ice for the children to slide on, and every night during the last twelve days of the month, they would use the Ice Dust to create a false snow to fit the mood of the holiday, a common practice in some places where it didn't snow. Sadly the snow would always be gone once the sun rose, but the cold ocean air would help it last through the night.

She couldn't help but smile as she saw a large Bear Faunus hold up his daughter to hang decorations on the palm tree in the town square, while a long limbed, and long-necked, Giraffe Faunus helped them curl garland around the trunk.

Blake had always loved this time of year, even during the darker periods of her life. It seemed to be the one time of year when shut-up hearts would be opened, people would show a side of themselves they tended to hide away, and even some who didn't care for Faunus would lighten up.

She remembered when her mother, Esther Belladonna, was alive and how she would do anything to make her happy, telling her stories from the old books, showing her the decorations, scraping together enough to buy something for Blake.

And for the first time, Blake could share the Winter Solstice with her friends.

She approached the town hall, seeing a middle-aged Hedgehog Faunus with a scarred face speaking to a Chimpanzee Faunus.

"All right, Hans, I'll do my best to keep the volume under control." The Chimpanzee said.

"You'd better, last year I was up to my nose in complaints from Faunus with ears," Hans, the Hedgehog Faunus, and assistant mayor of Kuo Kuana remarked sternly, "You want to liven things up, not burst eardrums. And stick to the approved songs!"

"Right, right," The Chimp said, a tad annoyed, he noticed Blake and nodded "Miss Belladonna."

Blake nodded back and walked towards Hans Grovel, a long time friend of her family.

"Ah, good day, Blake," Hans said in a friendly tone, despite his rough voice.

"Hi Hans, Merry Solstice. Is Uncle Ghira available?" She inquired.

"The Boss is dealing with Councilman Henry in Vale, making sure the last of the delivery ships get here before nightfall," Hans told her, he smiled at her and added "It's wonderful to have you back, Blake. The last few Winter Solstices felt empty without you."

"It's good to be back, Hans. I always missed this place around Winter Solstice...last year I spent it in the Vale countryside or sneaking into the city to kill Grimm. It'll be wonderful to spend it with friends and family." Blake said with a smile.

"Uh, yes...about that…" The Hedgehog Faunus began, "I know they're very dear to you and they've done so much for us, what with stopping Adam and all...but are you sure it's wise to have so many humans on Menagerie? The Schnee family, no less?"

"They'll be all right, Hans," Said the deep, imposing voice of Ghira Belladonna as he walked out of the town hall, smiling at his niece. Ghira had been an orphan, so had taken Kali's name when he married her, making him truly feel like part of the family, "Blake, what brings you here? Shouldn't you be finishing up the decorations with Kali?"

Blake smirked, "You know how she gets about decorating, we finished them hours ago. I wanted to talk to you about our guests."

"Wait for me in my office," He told her, "I need to clarify some arrangements with Hans."

Blake nodded and went inside the large office building, nodding and smiling at the various assistants and workers who went about their duties, eager to get the day over with and return home to their families.

After about five minutes of waiting the large Faunus returned to his office to find his niece, even though she was the closest thing he ever had to a daughter. "Councilman Henry wishes us a Merry Solstice. The supply ships will be here with the packages in a few hours, and I've got confirmation that gifts from your friends are on the way. What do you need?"

"Well Uncle Ghira," Blake began, "I was just thinking about...asking you to not go all out on Sun."

Ghira crossed his arms and said "Relax Blake. I won't overdo it on him, by the Brothers and Sisters I know he suffered enough and sacrificed his tail to save you from Adam. But I wouldn't be much of an uncle or adoptive father if I didn't grill him at least a little."

Blake let out a sigh, so Ghira placed his muscular hand on her chin and made her look up at him, "I respect him, but I want to make sure he understands his feelings for you. To make sure he's right for you."

"He is. Trust me on this," Blake told him firmly. She secretly wondered just what exactly Ghira's reaction would be if he discovered that Yang was a part of this romance as well.

"Kurt isn't here to approve of him, I'd be letting him down if I didn't put the fear of Oum into him a little. I won't threaten him or do anything to make him end your relationship. I just want the chance to get to know him. I know I can be intense sometimes."

"Sometimes? Uncle Ghira, when the White Fang was controlled by Adam they never made a move to eliminate you. Adam killed many Faunus who left and was even willing to attack Beacon, but not you or anyone else on this island." Blake pointed out to him.

"A fact Kali is very proud of. I think she'd do worse to him than I would," Ghira remarked with a slight smile, "But don't worry, I'll only talk to him, make sure that we understand one another."

Blake nodded, "Okay. I trust you. But if you go too far, you don't get to give me away at the wedding."

Ghira's eyes widened, the thought of Blake getting married, when it seemed like only yesterday she was getting ready for her first protest, made him uncomfortable. And the thought of not giving her away was even worse.

"You've made your point. Kali taught you well." He told her.

Blake smirked, "She knew that would do the trick. Speaking of which, Weiss told me to tell you not to have any of your guards look after the Schnee yacht, Mr. Schnee has Atlesian Knights to look after the ship."

"Figured," Ghira remarked, "And don't worry, I've already drilled it into the local hotheads there will be no attacks on the Schnees. The Albain Brothers know we'll be keeping an eye out for any underhanded schemes they may have in store. There'll be no international incidents this Solstice."

---

Elsewhere in the small Valean city of Cadia, the home of the Arc family was decked out with multi-colored lights and decorations, some were lit-up signs wishing passers-by a happy holiday while others were characters from familiar stories.

Pyrrha stood on the ground, wearing a hoodie similar to Jaune's as she used her Semblance to lift up the last strand of lights to the roof, where Ren secured it with a staple gun.

"Oh, it looks wonderful!" Beamed Azure Arc as she beheld her home's festive appearance, "Saphron, Terra and little Aiden are going to love it!"

"Thanks, it's the least we could do since we practically live here during our breaks from school. We've done our best to help, but it's been a long time since we've decorated like this, so I hope it's acceptable." Ren said as he finished up securing the lights.

"More than acceptable, it's fantastic! We haven't decorated like this in a few years, but now that everyone's going to be together and Jaune's got himself a great girl, this will be the best Winter Solstice we've had in a while!" She said as she smiled at Pyrrha, who blushed at the compliment.

"Oh it's the most awesome time of the yeeeeaaaarrrr!" Sang Nora dramatically as she stacked a large ball of snow atop an even larger one. "It's a real improvement over last year's! We were all so down 'cause of everything that happened, but now that we have Pyr back, we're all as happy as can be!"

Nora put special emphasis on this by skipping over and hugging the taller girl as Ren leapt down, careful not to land on any patches of ice. "It is great to have you with us this time, Pyrrha. Last year we spent the Solstice in a drafty inn while we were on our way to Haven." He remarked to the redhead, who looked a bit uncomfortable as she thought back to last year's Solstice.

"And I was in the process of being brainwashed, it's safe to say this year is a vast improvement." The Spartan said, managing a smile as Nora released her.

"Yeah, last year was...pretty gloomy for everyone. This year, everything will be better." Azure stated confidently.

"Couldn't be much worse," Nora remarked as the front door opened, allowing Andre Arc to step out and examine the decorations.

"You kids did a phenomenal job!" He praised, "I take a break for twenty minutes and you practically finished without me. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. Joanna and the others will love it."

"I hope so," Said Pyrrha, rubbing her gloved hands together as a cold wind blew past them.

"Ah, I know they will," Stated Nora firmly as she rolled up another ball of snow to finish up the snowman.

"Speaking of which, when do we go pick up Sienna at the airport?" Azure asked her father.

"Soon, she picked up Saphron and Terra from Argus, saves them some money." Andre informed them.

"I hope Saphron doesn't mind us being here." Ren voiced.

"Of course she won't," Said Azure, "My cousin is one of the most welcoming people I've ever known, she's great! She's practically the eighth Arc Sister."

"Trust us, she'll be overjoyed to finally meet the three of you," Andre said, "Now, you better head inside and warm up."

Taking his advice, the three Hunters-in-training headed inside as Andre started up the car so it would be warm when he left.

Ren made some hot cocoa for the group and gave some to Andre and Azure just before they set off for the airport.

Nora flopped down onto the sofa, snuggling into the cushions and pillows as she savored her boyfriend's cocoa as he came into the living room to sit down next to her, causing the orange-haired girl to slump over against him.

"First rate as always," She told him as he failed to suppress a smile.

"Thank you, Nora." He returned, enjoying feeling her natural warmth as she cuddled against him. She reached over and grabbed the remote off the hassock and turned the tv on.

"Let's see what Solstice movies are on," She said, "I hope they air the really funny ones this year."

"You know they will," Ren remarked as he glanced over to see Pyrrha heading upstairs, her mug in hand.

"As long as we don't have to sit through that one they rerun for an entire day." She muttered.

Ren chuckled, during their tenth Winter Solstice the two had been ill in one of the shelters they had stayed at, and had been stuck with the tv channel on a marathon of that one particular film about a boy who wishes to become a Huntsman and get his first weapon for Solstice and they had been so sick they couldn't even get up to grab the remote. Nora had apparently even seen the movie play in her dreams that night.

"Ooh! 's Vacation! My favorite!" Nora said as she found a comedy she loved, and one Ren couldn't help but admit he enjoyed as well.

Upstairs, Pyrrha strode through the hall until she came to Jaune's open doorway. Hearing a loud snoring she looked over to his unmade bed to see the family's pet, an old white cat named Singer, sleeping soundly on Jaune's pillow.

Smiling, Pyrrha strode into Jaune's room, a few articles of clothing haphazardly scattered about the floor along with some workout gear laying in front of his bed. She took in the shelves, filled with movies, books, and toys from his childhood, his dresser was covered with pictures of his family, his friends from Beacon and his team, with a picture of her in the center, causing her to blush.

She took off her hoodie and sat on his bed, reaching over to pet the old cat, who woke with a start, but calmed when he saw her. Singer was a rather cowardly cat and was easily scared by those outside of the Arc family, and even then if they'd hadn't been in the house for a while he would still be wary of them. The cat was especially terrified of Nora, who could get very carried away petting him. With Pyrrha, however, he had quickly warmed up to her, possibly due to picking up Jaune's scent on her thanks to them having merged auras, as she knew animals had a way of knowing these things.

He licked her hand before she rubbed his cheek and neck, causing him to purr and lean into her fingers. Pyrrha continued to show affection to the old cat until she heard a car door closing. She swung her legs over and placed her mug on Jaune's nightstand to look out his window, seeing the family van had returned, and Jaune was currently at its rear, boxes and bags being piled and hooked onto his arms.

Jaune groaned as he felt the weight of the grocery bags dragging down his arms. He glanced over at Indigo, who watched him with an amused expression.

"Feel free to pitch in at any time." He managed to say with a strained voice as more boxes were stacked onto his hands.

"Don't sweat it, Jaune. After everything you've been through, carrying this in should be no problem." She told him before some packages were shoved into her arms by their mother.

"Help your brother, dear," Joanna ordered her daughter with a smile as she closed one of the car doors. "Sorry Jaune, but you do owe us for leaving us so worried last Solstice. Now watch out for any ice patches!"

"Thanks for the warning," Groaned Jaune as he placed his chin down on the pile of packages, beginning to walk as carefully as he could despite the weight put upon him. He had no idea how much he was carrying, but it had to be at least sixty pounds of the stuff. Still, it was a good way to put his muscles to the test.

Carefully going up the paved path to the porch, Jaune carefully followed his mom and sister's steps so he wouldn't slip.

"Need any help?" Called Bianca as she and Shani pulled up. They had been out shopping with the other three, but went in Bianca's car.

"I got it!" Jaune managed to call as he finally reached the porch. With great effort, Jaune took a long step up and then managed to get onto the porch but a very slight stumble caused him to rush forward inside the house, his boots trampled over the welcoming matts as he made it into the house and then he braced himself against the nearest wall so he wouldn't fall.

"Made it," He exhaled, mentally praying the bags wouldn't give out on him.

"Good job," Came Pyrrha's voice as she walked down the stairs, smiling at her partner and lover.

Jaune smiled, "Piece of cake...though I could use some help here…" He admitted as his aura began to flare up around his arms.

The Spartan leapt down the stairs and rushed over to help her boyfriend, taking most of the gift boxes into her arms. "There, that should be some help. Should I put these under the tree, Mrs. Arc?" Pyrrha asked as the matriarch of the family stood in the hall the led to the kitchen.

"Yes dear, thank you. Go with her Jaune, then bring the grocery bags into the kitchen." She instructed.

"You got it, mom." He said as he followed Pyrrha into the living room, while Bianca and Shani entered the house.

"Nice job, Jaune. Guess our shopping sprees helped out with your training, huh?" Teased Shani. The girls giggled while Jaune groaned. Indeed, due to all the girls Jaune had around him growing up, shopping sprees in clothing, jewelry and makeup stores were not that uncommon in his childhood and since his father was usually busy he was often stuck carrying the bags.

Jaune and Pyrrha moved to the living room where Nora and Ren watched their festive comedy. "Need any help?" inquired Ren.

"We've got it," Pyrrha assured him before Nora laughed loudly at the film's slapstick.

Jaune dramatically collapsed onto his knees in front of the decorated tree, "Finally here!" He said as he removed his arms from the loops of the bags and allowed the boxes to come to a rest on the carpets. Pyrrha chuckled as she knelt down with him, gently placing the presents down as Jaune slumped over, breathing in and out.

She placed a hand on his shoulder and asked "You okay?"

Jaune grinned at her and gave her a thumbs-up, "If I survived Haven, I can handle carrying a few heavy things...but now I gotta take some stuff to the kitchen…" He groaned, before collecting the bags that had groceries and managed to get up and venture into the kitchen while Pyrrha began placing the presents around the tree.

When Jaune came back he glanced over at Ren and told him "Mom will call for you in about an hour, that's when she begins cooking the feast."

"Understood," Ren said with a nod as Jaune, after kicking off his shoes, went to help Pyrrha.

"This is quite the haul. No wonder you were gone for four hours." She remarked.

"Yeah, but it'll be worth it to see everyone's happy faces tomorrow." Jaune replied with a smile as the duo scooted around the tree, placing presents as they went before they met up behind the tree, "Some of these we got from the post office, gifts from our friends in Team Beacon, family...we'll all have a lot to open tomorrow."

"You know, you didn't have to get me anything. The matching hoodie you got me for my birthday was wonderful, plus just being with my friends and family, alive and well, for the Solstice is the best gift I could ask for." She told him as she took hold of his hands.

"And the fact that we're together now must be pretty sweet too, huh?" Jaune said with a light blush on his face.

Pyrrha blushed too, "Right," She confirmed.

"Well, hate to disappoint you, but I did get you a little something." He told her.

She smiled adoringly at him before she glanced up and got a mischievous smile on her face. "Oh Jaune, look up," She whispered as she pointed upwards.

Jaune looked up and saw mistletoe hanging from the decorated tree.

"Should we? I mean we are covered but-"

"It is a Winter Solstice rule…" Pyrrha answered as she leaned in.

Jaune happily gave in and the two shared a loving kiss as they hugged one another.

---

Ross' ship flew over the Atlesian Ocean, soaring through the dark clouds as snow fell around the small vessel, the winds blowing harmlessly against the armored airship.

Haulan looked out the window, glancing down at the glimpses of the rich blue water, a few icebergs were even moving along.

"Quite a view, huh?" Yang said as she sat next to the young Faunus, as her tail energetically swished this way and that.

"It's amazing! Just look how small those icebergs look from up here! Have you ever jumped into the ocean before?" Haulan inquired.

"Duh, we grew up on an island, but this is a pretty bad time of year for it." Yang answered with a smile as she stretched out her legs while reaching down into Zwei's carrying case to pet him a few times.

"Came close to it when me and my team got an assignment early this year, 'course we broke our fall on a Sea Feilong," Sun bragged as he glanced over at his shivering mother, bundled up with thermal blankets, "You'll get used to it, mom."

"I-I d-d-doubt it…" Gina Wukong managed to say, "Haulan, honey, please bundle up!"

"I'm fine, mom!" Haulan whined, as she felt her warm clothes and the heat from the ship was more than enough.

"Kids." Taiyang whispered to the mother with a knowing smile. She could only sigh and nod in agreement.

"Me and Raven spent most of our childhoods in the desert, snow blew our minds the first time we saw it...and we were not prepared for how sick we got from the cold once we were on our own." Qrow remarked as he kept his head propped against the wall, the hum of the ship's engines filling his right ear, which he would use to lull himself to sleep.

It was then that the three adults began exchanging stories about the illnesses their children had suffered through in the past. Yang and Ruby both cringed upon recalling a Winter Solstice when they were young, shortly after Ruby unlocked her Semblance, and used it and a candy-induced sugar-high to push herself and Yang along in the sled as Taiyang and Qrow helplessly chased after them, only for the fun to come to an abrupt end when they went over a slope that went directly into the shallow edge of the ocean on Patch Island's beach, which led to the sisters both ending up sick in the hospital with pneumonia for nearly two weeks.

"Well, that's what we get for not listening." Ruby admitted.

"Not that it did much to stop us afterwards," Joked Yang with a smirk.

Taiyang ran a hand through his hair and chuckled, "No it did not, you were just slightly more cautious."

"If only these two were," Muttered Gina as she smiled at her children.

"Hey, I wasn't as bad as she is." Sun joked, earning an elbow to the ribs from his little sister.

Ruby chuckled before she stood up, stretching her legs, "I'm going up and check on Mr. Ross." She said.

"He's fine, squirt. He's been flying for decades." Qrow told her.

The silver-eyed girl shrugged, "Still, it's the Winter Solstice, he deserves something for doing this for us." She replied before she went through past the passenger seats and climbed up the small staircase leading to the cockpit.

Qrow sat up and sighed before he glanced over and shared a look with Taiyang.

"What's up?" Sun asked, noticing the unsure looks on their faces.

"Yeah, why is Ross doing this anyway? Shouldn't he be with his own family?" Yang added.

"That's the problem." Qrow answered before he stood up.

Ruby opened the door of the cockpit, and was surprised to see Ross wasn't operating the ship, which was on auto-pilot. His elbows rested on his knees as his hands held a picture in front of his face, he was so distracted he didn't even hear her enter.

"Mr. Ross?" She asked.

No response.

She tread carefully up the small cockpit and tapped on his shoulder, just as she glanced over and saw the picture he was holding was of a younger Ross with a rather pretty Faunus woman with the antelope horns with a young boy with the same trait.

Startled, Ross whirled around in his chair and looked up at her, his eyes wide and haunted.

"Are you all right?" Ruby asked, concerned.

Ross placed the picture face-down on his lap and wiped his face as he answered "No easy answer to the question. What are you doing up here, Ruby?"

"I wanted to check on you, and to thank you for coming with us. Sorry you had to miss out on spending the holiday with your family." She told him as she gave an encouraging smile.

Ross looked at her and nodded absently.

This did nothing to assuage her, so she asked "Something wrong?"

He said nothing.

"Something right?" She added.

He shook his head, "No. Sorry, kid. I'm… This time of the year always makes me depressed."

"Why?" She asked, "How can it? All the cheer and goodwill going around, the happiness of the kids' faces, the charities-"

"All well and good. It's...personal. Something I'd rather not talk about." He told her, clutching the photo to him.

Ruby noticed this. She was more mature than people gave her credit for, she was able to read between the lines.

"Ruby," Came Qrow's voice as he stood in the doorway. "I think Ross needs some space."

She nodded and placed her hands atop Ross' before saying "I'm so sorry. If you want to talk, I'm here."

She got up and walked silently out of the cockpit, leaving the two men alone.

"She's a bright kid," Ross muttered, "You know, Nicky would have been her age now."

"Gods, has it really been that long?" Qrow remarked as he sat in the empty co-pilot's seat.

"Ten years ago today." Ross confirmed with a nod as he held up the photo.

"You want to talk about it?" Qrow inquired.

"I've talked. I'm tired of talking." Ross answered before he whispered "Maybe it's a mistake...maybe we're all wrong, like a fish out of water…"

"What?" Asked Qrow, confused.

Ross lifted his head to look up a Qrow and replied "Every year, around this damn holiday, I can't stop thinking about...death. Sickness. Cancer. Serial killers like Norvick. Disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes… The Grimm…" He spat with hate before quietly adding "Just death. Painful, pointless death."

"Death is a mistake?" Qrow voiced as Ross returned to looking at the photo of his family.

"Yes. Especially death by Grimm. If death is natural...if all of those things are a natural part of our world, then why are we afraid of them? Why do they horrify us so much? Why do we view death as evil...unless it wasn't meant to be?" Ross said as he gripped the frame tightly.

"Because we don't want it to end," Qrow answered, "Perhaps we're meant for something greater, something we can only achieve through death...but we don't know what that is."

Ross scoffed, "I haven't believed in anything greater since Luptia and Nicky were taken from me. That whole reveal about the Maidens when Vale fell made me doubt...but I don't really know. I doubt the Oum and the Four Gods could exist. If they do, then where are they? They on some sort of cosmic sabbatical while the children on this planet suffer? Would any good god invent something like death?"

"Perhaps it's not so bad. I'm willing to bet there is an afterlife. A place where we can spend eternity in peace, making all the suffering worth it. I'm no preacher but, hey, I can hope." Qrow said.

"What if there's nothing?" Ross asked, "What if we die...and we're met with oblivion. Nothingness. What if we just...fade away?"

"There is that chance. Who knows? I hope reincarnation isn't true, because with my luck I'd come back as a termite or something. Besides, who wants to live forever?" Qrow remarked.

"Wouldn't you?" Ross asked.

"Eh, I'd get too bored after a century or two." The Dusty Huntsman answered.

"There's countless things you could do. Read books, watch movies, climb mountains...build model train sets." Ross returned as he looked out at the clouds out the window.

"We've all lost someone we love, Robert," Qrow said carefully, "No exceptions. Life goes on."

Ross smirked, "A very cliché answer...but it's true. Life does go on. The sun rises and falls, the oceans churn, the plants grow and die regardless if we're dead or not. As if none of us ever even mattered."

"People do matter," Qrow chided before he gestured down to the passenger area, "They all matter. Everyone matters. I admit I didn't always used to think that, hell sometimes I still don't, but this damned holiday has gotten me all sentimental. You matter."

"Do I?" Ross asked as he stared out at the grey sky, "Will I be remembered when all this is said and done? Or will it ever truly be done? Even if this group of kids manage to defeat Salem, what's to stop some other Grimm Queen from rising? And the struggle just goes on and on, and I'll be forgotten."

"They'll stop it. I know they can, and you won't be forgotten." Qrow assured the pilot.

"Who would remember me? I'm just a pilot," Ross said, "A bit part in someone else's story."

"I'll remember you, and so will they," Qrow replied firmly, "Ruby and Yang will. That's the kind of people they are."

Ross gave the Huntsman a sad smile, his eyes were on the verge of tears, "You're a good friend, Qrow. I suppose I'm lucky I've got a drinking buddy like you."

Qrow smirked, "Likewise."

Placing the photo in a small compartment, Ross returned his attention to the controls, "We'll arrive at Menagerie in about two hours. Thanks for the talk."

Qrow nodded and stood up before taking his leave of the cockpit. He closed the door behind him, pretending he hadn't heard the quiet sob the pilot tried to suppress.

He returned to the passenger area and saw his family and the Wukongs all looking up at him, though Haulan was currently playing a game on her scroll, wearing earplugs so she wouldn't have to find out what was so sad. It was understandable, it was a time of year a child should be happy and not have to deal with the harder parts of life.

"So...what exactly happened to Ross?" Sun inquired.

Qrow and Taiyang looked at one another before Qrow decided to drop the bomb.

"His wife and son were killed in a Grimm attack, ten years ago today." The dusty Huntsman admitted.

"Oh gods…" gasped Gina.

"Wh-what happened?" Ruby asked.

"Ross was one of the Valean military's best pilots, was loaned out to become a pilot for Hunters like us. He was constantly ferrying Hunters to and from missions, even helping out occasionally. Got to spend less and less time with his wife and son. Apparently there was some...tension. He and his wife had an argument the last time he saw her." Taiyang began.

Qrow then took over, "Seasonal depression always brings Grimm around, so from what they could gather, the detectives decided that all that sadness and resentment towards Ross for not being there on the eve of Winter Solstice attracted Grimm to their home. Ross had come home early to surprise them, got someone else to cover for them...he came home to find the house in flames. He rushed in but it was too late."

"And I guess he's blamed himself ever since, right?" Yang surmised.

"Oh yeah. Checked himself into a mental health facility for about six months. He always gets like this around the Winter Solstice, we asked him to take us because we thought it'd be good for him to be among friends." Taiyang said.

"What about the rest of his family? Where are they?" Asked Gina.

"That's...a pretty sore subject for him. His wife, Lupita, was a Faunus. Most of his family didn't exactly approve. They tried to patch things up after what happened, but he refused and cut them out of his life." Qrow explained.

"That's...so awful." Was all Ruby could say.

"Yeah, I don't know how he can stand being here." Sun remarked.

"He usually spends it drunk in a bar in Vale," Taiyang said, "It only gets bad around this time of year, but he's sober right now."

"No wonder he drinks," Gina voiced, "I would too if something like that happened to me."

"So, he staying with us?" Yang inquired, "I mean, it sounds like he could use some company."

"He'll probably stay on the ship. He prefers to drown his sorrows alone," Qrow said, "He'll probably keep up the tradition on Menagerie."

Ruby looked past her uncle at the steps leading to the cockpit, a determined look on her face, one Yang recognized all too well.

"What do you got in mind, sis?" She asked.

"We need to help him." The silver-eyed girl replied simply.

"Not a wise idea," Qrow told his niece, "It's wonderful that you want to help him, pipsqueak, but sometimes it's best to just leave certain things alone."

Ruby nodded, but privately she knew that this was something she couldn't leave alone. She needed to try to help the pilot.

---

Blake stood with her family on the wooden docks of Menagerie's main harbor, watching as the dock workers caught strong cables from the Eisbrecher before tossing some up to the Klein and then making sure the ship was secure as the ramp lowered down.

Blake waved as Weiss and Penny appeared over the edge, waving back to her as they walked down the ramp.

"Salutations, Blake!" Cheered Penny, "And Happy Winter Solstice!"

"Happy Winter Solstice to you too, Penny." Blake said as she welcomed her teammate, "How was the journey?"

"Pleasant once we got into your warmer waters," Weiss remarked as she nodded at Blake's family, "Hello Governor Ghira, Kali and Claudandus, it's wonderful to see you all again."

"Same to you, dear," Said Kali warmly as she smiled at the ashen haired girl, "You girls must have taken a liking to our home."

"What can I say, it's a lovely place." Weiss told the older woman. Team RWBY had spent some time of their fall break at Menagerie and while Weiss had gotten a rather cold reception, she didn't let it bother her.

"So, you're Penny," Ghira greeted as he eyed the android, "We've heard a lot about you from our niece and her team."

"They are wonderful friends, thank you for having us here," Said Penny respectfully.

"It's our honor, any friend of Blake's is always welcome on our island." Said Kali.

"Especially ones as heroic as you are." Added Claudandus as he smiled at the two girls, "I still feel indebted to all of you for saving not just my life, but the lives of all those prisoners from Adam."

"Think nothing of it, sir, it is our duty." Came Winter's voice as she, her father, Dr. Polendina and Klein disembarked from the yacht, the last of which was pulling a small freight trolley packed with gifts.

"Ah, you are too kind, Specialist Schnee." Claudandus said as the group did their best to ignore the scornful glares of some dock workers as Weiss introduced them to her group.

Ghira's face darkened as his gaze met Willow Schnee's.

"Governor Belladonna, pleasure to meet you in person." Said Willow, who had previously attended political summits with Ghira, but always via hologram. He slowly offered his hand to the large Faunus, who glanced down at it.

There was an awkward moment of silence before Ghira accepted, "Mr. Schnee, I welcome you to our island, and I thank you for your part in liberating Faunus slaves."

"It was the least I could do. A small step in mending my family's image in the eyes of your people." Willow replied as he felt the larger man's intense eyes drill into him, as though searching for any sign of deceit.

Kali put a calming hand on her husband and then looked at the Schnee patriarch, "We appreciate your efforts, Mr. Schnee and we hope you'll enjoy your stay here."

Willow nodded as Blake and Weiss spoke to each other.

"Ruby, Yang and Sun will be arriving very soon, you got here just in time." Blake told Weiss.

"Excellent," Weiss stated, "Hopefully everything goes smoothly, you think Sun will be all right?"

Blake glanced at her aunt and uncle before replying "With Aunt Kali? No doubt about it, Uncle Ghira on the other hand, I think he won't cause a scene, but he's definitely going to give a speech to Sun."

"We called it," Weiss muttered, as she, Yang, Coco and some of the others had predicted as much. She looked over to her father and gestured to Blake, "Father, this is our host and my teammate, and a very good friend, Blake Belladonna."

Willow Schnee nodded at her, clearly feeling awkward.

Blake smirked before her scroll rang, signaling a text message. She took it out and read the message and stated "They're approaching the island."

"How far is the airport?" Weiss inquired.

"Not far, in walking distance actually," Kali told her, "Come, let's not keep them waiting."

The group set off as Klein pressed a button on a remote, causing the ramp to raise up, effectively locking up the ship as a few Atlesian Knights began to walk about the deck, standing on guard.

"Just a precaution, I hope you aren't offended," Klein told their guests.

"Not at all, it's understandable." Claudandus replied as they moved off.

"It must be a nice change of climate compared to Atlas' weather." Kali spoke to Winter, as even the chilly ocean breezes weren't much compared to the frigid winds of Atlas.

"It is much more pleasant, but we grew up with it, so this is a little unusual," Winter admitted, "But not unwelcome."

They walked out of the harbor area, trying to ignore the passing glares of those they walked by while others did their best to give friendly nods, knowing Weiss' friendship with Blake.

"Hopefully they'll warm up to us," Muttered Dr. Polendina.

"It's not you they have a problem with," Winter whispered to him as a young Possum Faunus moved past them in the opposite direction.

As the young Faunus reached Klein and his trolley full of gifts, he struck, grabbing the nearest package he could easily carry and then made a run for it, his wildly swinging tail, smacking Klein's knee.

"Hey!" Klein exclaimed, "Thief! There!"

He pointed at the boy as he dashed away.

"The nerve…" Muttered Ghira as Blake sprang into action. She leapt after the boy and took out Gambol Shroud, launching her weapon's bow and ensnaring the thief's legs, tripping him up and causing him to crash onto the ground, the package tumbling out of his reach.

He groaned and turned around, looking up fearfully at Blake as Weiss, Ghira, Winter and Penny approached.

"That wasn't a very smart move. If you're going to rob someone, don't pick such high profile targets." Blake advised.

"Especially when they're Huntresses like us." Weiss added as she grasped Myrtenaster's hilt.

"What do you have to say for yourself, boy?" Ghira demanded as some civilians either observed the situation at hand or tried to ignore it.

"They owe us!" The boy exclaimed, "I don't know how you can invite these humans here! Especially the Schnees!"

"It's not healthy to hold grudges," Blake told the would-be thief, "Is stealing from us really worth the trouble you're in?"

The boy shied away, not able to meet their gazes, blushing when he looked at Blake.

"It's not like they're hurting for lien," He muttered nervously.

"True, but that doesn't justify it," Weiss told him as Penny retrieved the gift, thankfully undamaged, "This gift was someone special to me, someone I care about. What were you planning on doing with it?"

"I-I was gonna sell it, if it wasn't something I needed…" The boy managed to say.

"And what do you need?" Weiss asked firmly.

"A present for my sister," The boy answered meekly, "I don't have enough money to get her somethin' nice."

Weiss and Blake's expressions softened as Penny tilted her head.

The young heiress sighed and said "Let him go, Blake."

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"It's Winter Solstice, a time for compassion," Weiss answered as she reached into her belt's pouch.

Blake undid the bow/string as Penny helped the boy up.

"It is a first offense, I assume, he did it so blatantly and so poorly that this has to be his first time," Winter remarked to Ghira, "I see no harm in letting him off with a warning."

Ghira grunted and nodded as he glared down at the boy, "Agreed, but make no mistake boy, I'll have the police keep an eye on you, if I hear you try something like this again I will inform your family. Understood?" He said fiercely.

"Y-yes sir…" The boy answered fearfully as Weiss took something out of her pouch, a handful of folded lien.

"Here," She said, "A little over a hundred, but it should be enough to buy your sister something. Save some of it for the future, Merry Winter Solstice."

She gave the boy a smile before she turned her back, leaving the boy dumbfounded at the act of kindness she had just shown. He looked up at Blake and she nodded, permitting him to leave. Blushing, as he found the older Faunus quite pretty, he began to run off, looking back to see Ghira giving him the 'I'm watching you' signal, which made the boy run even harder.

"Merry Winter Solstice!" Penny called before she turned around to follow Weiss.

"Are you sure that was wise?" Winter asked her little sister, "I might encourage others to try something similar and take advantage of your generosity."

"Well, our family has been taking advantage of people for generations, it's only fair we give something back." Weiss retorted as they rejoined the others.

"I think you handled it wonderfully," Kali told Weiss with a smile.

Willow Schnee simply nodded as he said, "Lead the way to the airport, we shouldn't keep the others waiting."

Kali had been correct when she said the airport wasn't far, in fact it wasn't long before they noticed Ross' ship overhead, heading for the landing area. Weiss, Blake and Penny dashed ahead, eager to welcome their friends.

The landing legs folded out and the transport landed, the ramp lowered down, steam shooting out of the arms as it came down, allowing them to glimpse Ruby as she dashed down the ramp before it even touched the wet tarmac.

"Weiss! Blake! Penny!" She cheered as she ran out, capturing her partner in a powerful hug.

Weiss groaned at the overly-enthusiastic embrace, but managed to return the hug. "Great to see you two, Ruby, but it's only been a week since we left Beacon."

"Yeah, but I still missed you guys," Ruby said before she hugged Blake, "This is going to be great, thanks for having us!"

"It's my pleasure." Blake assured the smaller girl, before Ruby was captured in a powerful embrace from Penny.

"Merry Winter Solstice, Ruby!" Penny cheered.

"You too!" Ruby returned, having mostly gotten used to Penny's strong affection.

"What up?" Yang said as she and the others came down the ramp, carrying Zwei's case on her shoulder, with Haulan rushing out in the lead, eager to take in Menagerie, a place she had heard about for so long. Yang and the others hauled out the collections of gifts and bags filled with personal belongings

"Hey." Blake greeted as she hugged her partner, "Nice flight?"

"Had worse," Yang answered with a smirk as Sun approached.

"Mind if I cut in?" He asked.

"She's all yours," Yang replied with a smile before the two Faunus hugged each other.

"I really missed you. You miss me?" Sun asked.

"I'd be lying if I said no," Blake admitted before they shared a loving kiss. Kali sighed happily as she watched her beloved niece and her boyfriend, while Ghira looked on with a stoic expression, crossing his arms.

"Well, they certainly don't waste any time." Klein remarked.

"Young lovers never do," Dr. Polendina stated, a look on his face implying he was thinking back to his own young romance long ago.

Haulan looked around, taking in the palm trees, the buildings and the jungle in the distance, gleefully making note to explore it all once she got the opportunity.

"This place looks beautiful!" She declared.

"Why thank you, Haulan," Said Kali, "I'm Kali, Blake's aunt, she's told me a lot about you."

"Pleased to meet ya!" Haulan said, offering her hand out, which Kali accepted and shook as Gina approached.

"Hello Mrs. Belladonna, I'm Gina Wukong, Sun and Haulan's mother, what a lovely island you have. I've heard about Menagerie for years, but this is my first time here." The elder blonde Faunus said.

"We're glad to have you, Gina," Kali said before she bowed, "And thank you for bringing your family here, we're honored to have the family of a brave young man like your son here."

"He has made me proud," Gina said with a smile as she glanced over at her son, who had an arm around Blake's shoulders while Yang fist-bumped Weiss and slapped metal hands with Penny.

"Let's get introductions out of the way," Weiss said, "My sister you've already met. This is my father, Willow Schnee and our family's loyal servant Klein Seiban."

"Charmed to meet you all," Klein greeted with a courteous bow, "I hope you've had a good holiday so far."

Willow Schnee nodded to his fellow guests, "Hello, I hope we can enjoy our time together," He told them, not really knowing what to say to people who were so far below his own social standing, especially since some of them were Faunus, but he knew this was a prejudice he had to cast aside.

"Smooth," Qrow snarked, only to get an elbow in the ribs from Ruby.

Weiss continued "Father, this is my team you've heard so much about, my partner Ruby Rose,"

"Hello, Mr. Schnee! Nice to meet you at last." Ruby greeted politely.

"And this is her sister, Yang Xiao Long."

"Yo." Yang said simply, not exactly feeling friendly knowing what the head of the SDC had done during the Haven debacle.

"And this is their father and uncle, Taiyang Xiao Long and Qrow Branwen,"

Taiyang simply nodded while Qrow narrowed his eyes, "Surprised you agreed to this, Schnee," the dusty Huntsman voiced, "Even if you're trying to change for the better, I wouldn't think you'd be very welcome here."

"There have been more than a few people opposed to it, but with him as my guest I suspect nothing will happen." Ghira stated.

Winter sighed before she held out her hand, shaking Qrow's, "Good to see you again, Branwen. I suppose your flask has some eggnog for the occasion?" She quipped.

"Wanna sip to find out?" He jokingly offered.

Winter smirked and shook her head as Weiss carried on, "This is Sun Wukong, Blake's boyfriend and a member of Team Beacon with us."

"Hey," Sun said with a casual wave, trying to be polite to the human who's company had given the Faunus race so much grief and was indirectly responsible for his own pain. He briefly remembered Adam Taurus, who's past had been so twisted due to the SDC that he had gone mad, eventually cutting off Sun's tail. The memory briefly caused Sun's robotic replacement to stiffen. Still, he couldn't blame the Schnees for it.

Blake gently squeezed his hand comfortingly as Weiss introduced Sun's family. He looked over and tried not to laugh at the look on Haulan's face, as he knew she was resisting the urge to make faces at the male Schnee, while Gina simply bowed politely before she focused on Ghira Belladonna.

"Hello, Mayor Ghira, I'm pleased to finally meet you." She said.

"The honor is mine, Mrs. Wukong, we're happy to have the family of someone who has done so much for Blake here." Ghira told her.

Sun and Blake looked at each other, surprised. Maybe Ghira wouldn't be so hard on Sun after all.

Claudandus bowed to Gina, "It's a pleasure to have your family here, I owe your son a great debt. If it wasn't for him, Adam Taurus might have won. I witnessed his bravery first hand, you must be very proud of your son."

"There aren't words to describe how proud I am of him," Gina agreed, smiling at her son, who blushed.

Weiss introduced Dr. Polendina to the Wukong family, as Haulan rushed Penny and hugged her, still grateful to the android for saving them when Adam attacked their home during the summer.

"It is wonderful to see you again Haulan, Mrs. Wukong," Penny greeted as she hugged Haulan back.

"Great to see you too, Penny! This is your first Winter Solstice, right?" Haulan asked.

"Technically, before my father and I only had a small celebration before my original body was destroyed and I was mostly offline last year." Penny stated.

"Then this will be your first proper Winter Solstice, and we'll make it an awesome one." Ruby assured her cheerfully, before the sound of boots hitting the ramp caught her attention.

She looked back to see Ross, now with a warm jacket over his torso, strutting down the ramp and looking around.

"And that is Ross, he's a pilot who's helped us out in the past year." Ruby added, knowing she had to cheer him up somehow.

"Hey, Mr. Ross, good to see you again." Called Penny.

Ross simply nodded, "Good to see you all again, hope you're having a good time so far." He said.

"Ross is coming with us, would that be okay?" Ruby suddenly asked.

"Of course, our home has more than enough room." Kali agreed, much to Ross' surprise.

"What? Actually I was just gonna stay in the ship." He said.

"Nonsense, that's no way to spend the Solstice," Kali told him, "Mr. Schnee will be staying on his yacht, so there's more than enough room for you, Mr. Ross."

"Just come with us," Blake told the pilot, "It's useless to resist Aunt Kali's kindness."

Ross groaned and Qrow placed an arm on his shoulder, "Come on Robert, it will do you a world of good."

Seeing no way out of his current predicament, Ross sighed and nodded, "Lead the way." He said, before using his ship's remote to seal it up and close the ramp.

Ruby smiled, "You won't regret it, I promise." She told him.

The group moved to leave the airport and walk through town. Ross walked close to Qrow towards the rear and muttered "You told them?"

"When she suspects something it's hard to keep it from her," Qrow remarked, "Same with Yang. If I hadn't told them they would've bugged you until you snapped. Decided to tell them about what happened."

"I don't want any charity." Ross muttered bitterly.

"This isn't charity, it's kindness, something Ruby has in abundance," Qrow told the pilot, "Just go with it. It's not healthy to dwell on your guilt for so long, let the kids try to cheer you up. Trust me, you won't regret it."

Ross decided it would be wise to go along with it for the time being. Perhaps the young Hunters-in-training could cheer him up. Stranger things have happened.

A few moments later, the entourage was strolling through the bustling streets of Kuo Kuana, crowds of Faunus of all kinds walked this way and that, some taking no notice, some shooting dirty looks at the human visitors, while some nodded acceptingly. Winter Solstice decorations were everywhere, the palm trees that littered the town were lovingly decorated with lights, tinsel and garland while a huge banner reading 'Merry Winter Solstice' hung between two large buildings on the main street. The homes were very diverse, some looked like fishing shacks on stilts while others looked like middle-class beach homes, all of them were done up for the Solstice.

A huge market area stood before the main street at a civilian dock, made of numerous stalls with the vendors selling their wares at the seasonal discount. Faunus stood in the market buying food, toys and other gifts for their families, while children played wherever they pleased, some using the sand to make their own versions of snowmen.

Music came from the speaker system, usually used for public announcements, the traditional Winter Solstice songs filled the air, some cheerful, some somber and thoughtful, most of them easily recognizable and even memorized.

"Might not have the snow we get, but its Winter Solstice all the same," Yang remarked, as she and the other Hunters-in-training walked closely together in the towards the rear, while the adults walked ahead of them and Haulan in the lead, taking everything in with wide eyes.

"Wait 'til you see how we desert dwellers do it," Sun said with a laugh, "Some of our neighbors use cacti instead of trees, mostly as a joke."

"Really?" Asked Weiss.

Gina giggled, "Oh yes, when you live in a desert town like we do, you have to make due with what you have."

"I hope you don't mind the change," Blake told her.

"Not at all, quite a pleasant one, if I'm being honest." Gina said as some children ran by them.

"So, will you be staying with us at Blake's?" Ruby asked Weiss.

The heiress nodded, "My sister and I will, but Klein and my father have decided to remain on the ship."

"Think someone will wanna try something?" Sun asked.

"There is that chance, and a man like my father can't take any unnecessary risks." Weiss remarked, "But since my sister and I have proven we can take care of ourselves, he's fine with us staying at your house, if you don't mind."

"Trust me, the people of Menagerie built a very big home for my family, practically a mansion, though nowhere near as large as yours must be, Weiss," Blake told them, "We have enough room for everyone, even Ross."

Blake glanced up at the pilot as he lingered slightly ahead, looking around wearily at the merrymaking Faunus.

"So, what exactly has been going on with the White Fang? I've heard of some new incarnation that's setting out to help people, but are there still some trouble makers?" Gina asked the Belladonnas.

"Once the truth about the things Adam was doing got out, he lost many supporters, but there are still some fugitives at large, Faunus who think he was justified. My sources say they have formed into a group called the Red Fang," Ghira explained quietly.

"I've heard of this group, but nothing concrete. Atlesian Intelligence has been keeping eyes out for anything related to them." Winter told the large Faunus, "Do you think there may be some on Menagerie?"

"There are a few sympathizers but none that are willing to join such a group, most are happy to enjoy the peace, though we do have certain figures we keep tabs on, such as the Albain Brothers," Ghira said, "How they could think Adam was justified is beyond me, even when you consider what happened to him."

"A part of me still feels bad for him," Said Kali, "True he became a monster in the end and deserved what happened to him, but the world was so cruel to him that it would have been a miracle if he didn't turn out like that."

Ghira shook his head but smiled, "Your compassion truly has no limits, does it dear?" She only smiled at him.

"On the way here, we were chatting about some lesser known facts about the Solstice. Did you know some of the desert tribes of Vacuo called this time of year the Midnight of the Year?" Dr. Polendina asked, hoping to make pleasant conversation.

"Why yes," Said Claudandus, "Been a long time since I've heard that title though."

"Some of the tribes still use it," Said Gina, "They come into our towns to trade and buy supplies."

"Why do they call it that?" Asked Ruby.

"Well my dear," Began Claudandus, "Think of the year like an hour, the Winter Solstice signifies the end of the year and the beginning of the new one, so it's like midnight, the end of one day and the beginning of another, yet the winter will still last more months like the sun will not rise until long after midnight has come and gone."

"That makes sense." Noted Yang.

"Yes, but I remember a legend the desert tribes believed," Claudandus resumed, "It is said that at the exact moment of midnight on the Winter Solstice, if one were to be near a graveyard, they would see phantom-like shapes in the guise of the people who would die in the coming year."

"Ooo," Remarked Ruby, "Should've saved that one for the next Fall Solstice."

About half of the group laughed at her comment, while Ross let the old legend sink in as he looked around at the surrounding crowds of Faunus, made up of happy families, parents doing last-minute shopping for Solstice gifts, children playing, donation seekers for charity… The typical signs of the holiday were all around them. A feeling of resentment began to boil within his gut, seeing people be happy while he just felt miserable.

The bitter look on his face did not go unnoticed as he looked back at a passing Antelope Faunus woman with graceful horns, allowing the teens to see his dour face.

"What's up with him? He looks rather blue." Penny noticed.

"Well, he's not very fond of this holiday," Yang began before lowering her voice to a whisper so Ross wouldn't hear them, "He lost his wife and son to Grimm ten years ago, this happens to be the anniversary."

The others looked at Ruby, Yang and Sun, surprised.

"Oh my...that's so awful." Penny whispered.

"Are you serious?" Blake asked quietly.

"Yeah, sadly," Ruby confirmed, "Really messed him up, Uncle Qrow got him to take us here because he thought maybe it would cheer him up."

"Yeah, but is it possible to cheer someone up after something like that? Especially since he blames himself for it." Sun remarked.

"Why?" Weiss inquired.

They answered her in whispers, making the others even sadder for the pilot, and while the humans ahead of them couldn't hear them due to the music and crowds, two particular Faunus could. With serious faces, Ghira and Kali shared a look, the latter briefly glancing back at Ross with sympathetic eyes.

"Gods, I don't think it was a good idea for Qrow to invite him here," Blake murmured.

"It's worth a try," Yang whispered to her partner, "Everyone deserves some happiness, maybe we could help cheer him up?"

"What if he doesn't want to be cheered up?" Weiss asked, "Some people need to deal with it in their own ways."

"Yeah, but he's been dealing with it for ten years," Ruby pointed out, "I think we need to at least try to help him out."

No one could argue with that.

Ruby decided to go first, running up alongside Ross and saying "This is nice, you know? So festive!"

"I suppose," He said, "Everyone seems mostly cheerful."

"So, Uncle Qrow told us about what happened ten years ago, I'm so sorry." Ruby told him gently, not really knowing how to transition into talking about his grief.

Ross let out a heavy sigh and nodded, "Thank you, Ruby, but I have talked about it. So much so that I don't think there's anything left to say, but thanks for trying."

"Everyone's lost someone they love, Mr. Ross," Ruby told him, "Yang, Weiss and I lost our moms, Sun lost his dad, Blake lost her parents, but we still have family. We can still turn to people who love us. Maybe you need someone like that."

"I'm not interested, sorry kid." Ross rebuked.

"Come on, man," Yang said, "We're trying to help you out. No one deserves to be miserable on the Winter Solstice."

"What if I don't want your help?" Ross suddenly asked as he turned to face them, his grim face stood out among a sea of happy ones that surrounded the group. "Perhaps I just want to wallow in misery and grief. It's none of your business."

Ruby spoke up after an awkward silence, "You're right, but it's not a good idea to just let you suffer and blame yourself for what happened."

"And why shouldn't I?" He demanded, "It's my pain. Leave me to it."

He turned and moved to rejoin the rest of the group, who had noticed the small confrontation.

Undeterred, Ruby ran ahead and took hold of his hand, "I know it's none of our business, but I don't want to leave you feeling so awful. You don't deserve to suffer like that."

"Maybe I do." Ross voiced simply.

"No, you don't." Yang told him as she and the others came up, gathering around him, "Trust me, I know what it's like to feel like you messed up, it's never a good idea to just lock yourself away."

"She's right," Agreed Blake, "Whatever argument you had with your wife before the attack, do you really think she would want you to suffer like this for so long?"

Ross looked at the Hunters-in-training and shook his head, "You don't get it. What happened was my fault. If I had been there, it would never have happened. I hate the Winter Solstice celebrations, because wherever I look around, I see all these happy people with their families and it's like an old wound is torn open again and someone is pouring salt into it."

"Ross," Came Qrow's voice, causing them to look at the Huntsman, "Everything okay?"

Ross turned to face his friend and shrugged, "Not really. Look, I…I feel like I need a drink. I think I'll just wander around and ask for directions to the house once I'm ready. I'm sorry, I just…don't want to bother anyone's holiday." He said.

"You won't-" Ruby tried to say before Qrow cut her off.

"Let him be, squirt. Sometimes you just have to let people be alone." Qrow told his niece.

Blake nodded hesitantly and gave Ross directions to her home so he could find his way once he was ready.

Ross thanked the Belladonnas for allowing him to stay before he split off from the group and set off into the crowd, soon vanishing among the Faunus throng.

"That poor man," Kali muttered.

"What's wrong with him?" Winter inquired.

"Long story, we'll tell you later." Qrow said before he gestured for them to lead on.

Ruby followed the group, but kept her eyes out for any sign of Ross and hoped he would be okay.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the Belladonna's home, a large three story building made of wood with a brown roof. It was situated at the end of the main road that led through the village, sat atop a hill with a wide view of the surrounding town and the jungle around it.

The group admired the home as they walked through a forecourt which served as a place where Ghira would sometimes hold meetings. Situated there were a pair of two wheeler dollies loaded with boxes.

"Goodness, what a lovely home!" Exclaimed Gina, very impressed with what she saw. Taiyang and Qrow nodded in agreement, as it was much larger and nicer than Taiyang's modest house.

"Much better than I was expecting," Observed Willow Schnee before he quickly added "No offense meant."

"None taken, Schnee." Said Ghira, "Those are the gifts from your friends, they arrived just before the Schnee's yacht came in so we had them brought here. Mind helping me carry them inside, Sun?"

Sun knew this was probably the best way to get on Ghira's good side and quickly nodded, "Sure, right away!" He said.

"Oh let's get them inside and show them their rooms before you do that," Kali insisted.

Ghira nodded and they went inside, Kali opened the door and bid her guests to go ahead of her. "Go ahead, our home is yours for the Solstice," She told them before looking at Klein, who carried the gifts from the Schnees and Polendinas. "Just put those with our Solstice Tree in the living room, Klein."

"Thank you, madam," Said Klein respectfully as he took off his shoes and went to the doorway she had pointed at.

"Whoa, Blake showed me pics of it, but this place is great." Sun declared as he took in the surroundings.

"Way better than our town. Can we move here, mom?" Haulan asked, earning an amused laugh from her mother.

"You must be hungry after that long trip, I'll fetch some snacks and food to tie you over until dinner." Kali said.

"Thanks a lot, Mrs. Belladonna," Said Yang. as she and her sister cast aside their shoes and hung up their jackets on a coat rack. Yang placed Zwei's case down and opened it up, allowing the Corgi to trot out and realize he was back in Menagerie, as he had joined Team RWBY on their vactation here during Fall break. He barked at Kali, who smiled and knelt down to pet him.

"At first I was worried if there'd be enough room for all of us, but now I see you may have room to spare." Remarked Dr. Polendina.

"You and Penny will share a room, Dr. Polendina, I hope that's all right?" Kali asked.

"More than okay, Mrs. Belladonna, gives us more time together." Penny voiced.

Yang would be staying in Blake's room while Ruby and Weiss shared another guest room, with another being taken up by the Wukongs and the last would be inhabited by Taiyang and Qrow while Winter would stay with her father and Klein on the yacht.

The guest rooms were decorated rather sparsely, but the guests didn't mind. Sun noticed he would have to sleep on a chair in their guest room while his mother and sister would share the bed, but that suited him just fine as he had slept in far worse places. Yang had brought a sleeping bag to Blake's room, as she had done during her previous visit to Menagerie.

"Same room as last time," Ruby remarked to Weiss as she placed Crescent Rose down on the desk, "Guess this is ours whenever we're here."

"Seems that way," Agreed Weiss as she cracked her fingers while stretching out.

"Try not to hog all the blankets this time," Ruby teased, earning an indignant huff from her partner, though secretly she didn't mind sharing a bed with Weiss.

"And you try not to kick me like you're in a fight!" Weiss shot back, failing to repress a smile.

Ruby looked out the windows, seeing dark clouds in the sky that did very little to overshadow the cheerful mood of the holiday.

"Looks like snow clouds," She noted.

"Don't be daft," Scoffed Weiss, "Menagerie is tropical…though that is a possibility."

"It'd be great to have some snow. It's just weird to have Winter Solstice without some," The silver-eyed girl said, "Though I guess that's never been a problem for you, right?"

"Definitely not," Remarked Weiss, she didn't think a single Winter Solstice had gone by without every area in Atlas being covered in the stuff.

Ruby looked out the windows again and smiled, "I hope the others are having a good time."

---

Back at Cadia, all of the Arc sisters had finally made it home, along with their cousin Saphron Cotta-Arc and her wife Terra, along with their son Aiden, who had arrived from the island of Argus, having been ferried from the island to Cadia by Sienna who was on her way home from making post deliveries with her airship.

On a whim, Indigo Arc had suggested they go visit Cadia Central Park like they did every Winter Solstice when they were young for old time's sake, something everyone had eagerly agreed to, while Joanna and Andre Arc remained home with Olivia Arc's husband Justin to prepare the Solstice dinner with help from Hera and Zeus Nikos.

The group walked down the wide sidewalk, having been cleared of snow in the morning. Violet Arc was in the lead, using her police coat to keep warm as she walked alongside Bianca and Shani, chatting about what they had been getting up to recently. They were followed by Jaune and Pyrrha, who were holding hands and taking in the sights, with Olivia Arc following them with her baby Arabella Nevil-Arc in a stroller, speaking with her cousin.

Saphron had the typical cerulean eyes of the Arc family, but her blonde hair was a darker shade than that of Jaune and his sisters. She pushed Aiden in a stroller, he had tan skin with messy dark brown hair, constantly looking around at the bright Winter Solstice decorations and displays, cooing as they went. Saphron's wife, Terra Cotta, walked alongside them, she had light dark skin with neatly brushed black hair, and wore glasses with a comfortable blue jacket around her body.

"So, how different is Cadia from Argus during the winter?" Olivia asked.

"Warmer, believe it or not. Being so close to Atlas and on the ocean means we get very bitter cold. It's still cold here, but not near as bad." Saphron said.

Terra nodded, "Those ocean winds can be very biting," She said, "I'm just glad I was able to get a vacation. I was honestly afraid I wouldn't get off."

"What do you do?" Asked Ren, as he and Nora walked behind them, with Azure, Indigo and Sienna bringing up the rear.

"Terra's a CCT technician," Saphron informed them, glancing back as Aiden waved to those behind them, causing Nora and the three girls to coo and wave back at him, "Her job can be very, very demanding."

"Sometimes I go days without coming home," Bemoaned Terra before she leaned into Saphron and Aiden, "I'm lucky to have such an understanding wife."

"I knew what I was getting into," Saphron stated as she kissed Terra's forehead.

Up ahead, Shani cried out as she slipped on a slick patch of ice and slid backwards, only to be caught by Jaune.

"You okay?" Asked the youngest Arc child.

"Yeah, thanks," Shani replied as she got back on her feet, muttering "They never get all of the ice."

"No big deal, the park's employees do a way better job at clearing the ice with fire Dust," Said Bianca before she pointed off to the large park, now visible from around the corner.

"Watch your step," Olivia warned as she tread carefully.

"Just walk where we walk, you'll be fine." Advised Ren as he moved ahead.

After crossing the street and going through the open gate, the group made it into Cadia Central Park, a huge park where Jaune and Pyrrha had gone on a date during the Spring Solstice.

"It's beautiful!" Exclaimed Terra as she surveyed the landscape, seeing candy cane decorations lining the paths while many of the tall pines were decorated with dazzling lights. The lake in the center of the park was frozen and had been enhanced with Ice Dust Crystals to ensure that the ice skaters would be safe. A carousel with reindeer replacing horses stood nearby, classic Winter Solstice music playing and was filled with children and families eager for a ride.

"It's just like when we were kids, nothing much changes around here," Violet remarked, "Probably why you moved so far away, huh Saphron?"

"Bingo," Saphron confirmed, "Argus wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but we're happy there."

"Man, I would have loved to have a park like this when I was a kid," Voiced Terra, "I was born on Argus, and the park there was pretty small compared to this."

"In that case, we'll try to visit whenever you get a vacation," Replied Saphron to her wife as Azure rushed up to the mothers.

"Wanna take the babies for a ride on the carousel?" She asked.

"Sure! Once the crowd has lightened up. Would you like that Aiden?" Saphron asked, earning a giggle from her child.

"Oh I think Arabella would love to take a ride, wouldn't you?" Olivia said to her daughter, who only said gibberish in return as she looked around at the pretty lights and decorations around her.

The group split up, with Jaune showing his team the sights of the park filled with snow, which seemed just as beautiful in the winter as it did the other seasons. They came to the same hill Jaune and Pyrrha had been on during their Spring Solstice date, looking over to the lake where ice skaters showed off their skilled, some more graceful than others, while a snowball fight took place nearby, some snowballs pelting the side of a horse-driven carriage that went down the main road of the park. The tree atop the hill was now bare and icicles hung from the spindly branches.

"You'd think we'd be tired of snow after last year, but it always manages to charm me." Nora remarked.

"I know, you told me what a hard time you had out in the Mistralian wilderness last winter," Pyrrha said, recalling what they had told her of their time as Team RNJR, "But this year we can all just lay back and relax."

"And find new ways to get warm." Voiced Jaune as he placed an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in. Pyrrha giggled and snuggled into Jaune, liking his suggestion very much as they looked over

Ren smiled as Nora nudged him in the side and whispered "Not a bad idea, huh Renny?"

Ren shook his head but smiled before Nora launched into him, only for Ren to trip over one of the tree roots, causing the two to fall into the snow.

"You okay?" Jaune asked.

"Just fine, we've had way worse than that." Nora replied as she rolled off of Ren, who groaned as he sat up.

Before Jaune could react, a snowball hit him right in the face, "Hey!" He cried.

The group looked over a to see a group of kids, ones from the snowball fight, standing halfway down the hill.

"Ha! Arc is still an easy target!" Said a boy who seemed to be about thirteen.

"Friends of yours?" Ren asked as Jaune recovered.

"I was a pretty easy target in snowball fights when I was a kid, still am since the older kids told the younger ones to go for me." Jaune explained before he smashed the next snowball out of the air with his hand.

"Well, let's fix that!" Nora suggested before she suddenly launched some snowballs at the kids, who cried out in surprise.

"Hey, no fair! We didn't go for you!" Called a girl.

"You mess with our leader, you mess with us!" Nora declared.

Pyrrha laughed before she ducked a snowball and quickly made one of her own, "It's war then." She said as she gently tossed one at the retreating kids.

Jaune grinned, "Finally, revenge!" He joked as he quickly made snowballs of his own, "After 'em!"

"Yessir!" Cheered Nora as she leapt off of the edge of the hill and then raced down after the kids.

Ren shook his head, "You don't know what you've done, when Nora gets into a snowball fight, there's no stopping her."

"Then we have a huge advantage!" Jaune said before he looked to Pyrrha, "Want to go?"

The redhead laughed and replied "After you."

At the base of the hill, Nora jumped off the slope and smashed into the ground, sending a small shockwave through the snow that tripped the offending kids.

"Get her!" Said one of their friends as he launched a ball at Nora, who ducked it easily. Jaune and Pyrrha charged down the hill, scattering one group of kids, who had been winning the snowball war, while the other side cheered for their 'reinforcements'.

Jaune tossed snowballs in the air and Pyrrha leapt up, kicking them to launch them at the fleeting brats, knocking them down before she quickly moved to shield some of the friendly kids from more projectiles with her hands and her expert speed.

"Thanks! They were pounding us!" Said a dark-skinned boy to Jaune.

"It's about time some of those kids learned a lesson." Jaune said, before he took another snowball to the head.

"Well hello there, Arc! Funny to see you here," Said Brice, a former bully Jaune had to put up with before he left for Beacon. Jaune groaned as he saw the kid who had first hit him standing next to Brice, ready to go.

"I thought I recognized him, training your little brother?" Jaune said.

"You know it, Hugo's making me proud so far." Brice voiced as he tossed a snowball at Nora, hitting her in the shoulder, causing their own forces to launch a barrage of snowballs at the girl. "Ready to get buried again, Jaune?"

"This time everything will be different!" Jaune promised as he ducked, allowing Pyrrha to leap over him and send two snowballs from each of her hands, hitting Brice in the chest while Jaune attacked from below and threw another snowball at Brice's stomach as he tried to turn and run as his little brother got hit by a snowball from one of the friendly kids.

"Okay kids, this time you've got Hunters-in-training on your side, if we can kill Grimm, then these punks shouldn't be a problem. Press on the attack!" Order Jaune the friendly kids sent a barrage of snowballs at their enemies while Brice took cover behind a large cluster of bushes for cover.

He turned to his troop of snowball warriors, "Okay, I did not think to warn you about Arc's team, but as long as his sisters don't get involved we should have a chance."

Hugo nodded and whistled, signaling their own reinforcements to charge from around the hill, one carrying a sled loaded with snowballs!

"Keep up your fire! Don't let them gain any more ground!" Brice commanded as countless snowballs were sent soaring at Jaune's group as Hugo moved to take command of their group on the other side, which was situated behind a willow tree at the base of a small hill.

Acting quickly, Jaune used his Semblance to create a shield to protect Pyrrha and some of the kids, while he watched some of his young allies get taken out by the snowballs.

All of a sudden there was a loud rumbling. Brice looked to his left and cried "Scatter!"

A large snow boulder careened down the hill, Ren right behind it. Brice and his group scattered for cover as it smashed into the bushes, with fragments of snow flying everywhere, knocking down more of the enemy.

"Good job Renny!" Shouted Nora from the other side.

"I couldn't sit this out," Ren said with a smile.

Bianca, Violet, Sienna and Indigo stood or sat on the smaller hill, watching the war unfold. Bianca had been using her scroll to take pictures of the picturesque park for future inspiration when the battle got intense.

"Can you believe they're doing this?" Sienna asked, shaking her head.

"Jaune and Nora? Totally. Pyrrha and Ren kinda surprised me." Violet admitted as she watched some teens on Brice's team flee from Nora's assaults.

"Oh, let them have their fun. Remember how into it we got?" Bianca pointed out.

"I still wanna get into it. Whattya say girls, one last battle for old time's sake?" Indigo offered as she got up, a mischievous look on her face, while a kid on Jaune's side dashed past them.

"Oh please, I'm a police officer! It's going to take more than some snowballs to get me all gung-ho now." Violet replied, before promptly being hit in the face by a snowball from Hugo.

"Oh, crap, sorry!" He called.

Violet wiped the snow off her face, which was now grave and serious. She pulled down her gloves nice and tight.

"Okay, you want a war? Well now you've called down the blizzard!" Violet declared.

"What have I done?" Wondered Hugo before he was knocked down by a firm snowball from Indigo.

Bianca burst out laughing as Sienna began making snowballs. "Might as well," The pilot said with a shrug, "Want to join in, Bianca?"

"No, no, consider me a war photographer." Bianca declined as she laughed while Hugo and his friends ran for their lives as Violet and Indigo stormed after them, pleting them with snowballs all the way.

Nora cheered as Violet and Indigo joined the fray, while Brice looked on in horror.

"Oh no…" He muttered, while Jaune had always been an easy target in snowball fights, his sisters had been experts and were feared on the snowy battlefield, in fact Jaune had only become such an easy target after his sisters were too old for it, but now his little brother had unintentionally awakened the sleeping warriors.

Sienna tossed her snowballs from atop the small hill and Nora and Indigo caught them and sent them flying at Brice's forces while Jaune and Pyrrha led the main push against their enemy.

From behind Brice's 'territory', Azure, Olivia, Saphron, and Terra, babies in arms, were strolling through the park, heading back to the carousel but had unwittingly walked right behind the warzone.

"What are they doing?" Asked Terra.

"From the looks of it, going to war." Olivia deadpanned.

"And we're in a perfect position to help them out from the rear…" Azure said with a mischievous tone of voice.

"I think it's best to stay out of it," Saphron voiced, "Once Aiden and Arabella are old enough we'll get involved but until then-"

"Arcs behind us!" Called one of the kids on Brice's side.

"Wait, we're-" Terra tried to begin.

"Get to cover!" Olivia ordered suddenly.

Before Terra knew it, she was pelted with dozens of snowballs.

"Terra!" Cried Saphron as she and Azure took cover behind a broad pine tree, "Take Aiden!" She said, gently giving her baby to Azure before she dashed out. Before Brice's forces could do anything, Jaune and Pyrrha led a charge with Violet, sending hundreds of snowballs zipping through the air and taking out the hostile youths.

Saphron grabbed her wife and dragged her to safety as one of Terra's attackers was clobbered in the face with a snowball.

Finally behind the shelter of the tree, Saphron hugged Terra's seemingly unconscious body. "Don't you die on me! You can make it!" Saphron said melodramatically as she shook her wife's body, but got no response. Pretending to weep, she hoisted up Terra and gave her a kiss, which was returned gently by Terra as she opened her eyes.

Their lips parted and Terra quipped "Huh, guess I should get knocked down more often." Saphron laughed as she hoisted her wife up, and the two both laughed out loud as Aiden tried to sloppily throw snow at the retreating kids.

Brice, for his part, met up with Hugo as he shouted "They're too strong! Run for it!"

Before he could make his getaway, a snowball hit him right in the back of the head. He spun around and got another one directly in the face, causing him to stagger over and fall into a pile of snow. He opened his eyes and looked up as Jaune and Pyrrha stood over him.

"Give up?" Jaune asked.

Brice couldn't help but laugh and said "Okay, okay, I give Arc, I give up. I gotta admit, you're no pushover anymore."

Jaune smiled and glanced at Pyrrha, who returned the expression…just as Jaune got another snowball in the face.

He looked over to see that Hugo was the offender. "Nora! Sic 'im!" He ordered.

"You got it boss!" Nora called as she charged at the boy, who made a run for it as the hammer wielder shouted "There is no escape from Nora Valkyrie!"

Jaune and Pyrrha laughed as Violet came next to them, shouting orders like a general.

"Ease up sis, their leader has surrendered." Jaune advised.

"He has, but the rest of them haven't! Wipe them out!" Violet called to her 'troops'.

Pyrrha chuckled and asked "So, is it always like this when your sisters get involved."

"Oh yeah," Jaune answered, "Wanna make it an annual thing?"

"Sounds like a great idea," Pyrrha said, before she grabbed Jaune and pulled him out of the way of another snowball.

---

Back at Menagerie, Sun finished helping Klein and Ghira bring in all of the gifts into the Belladonna's main living room, placing them carefully around the tree.

"Looks good, huh Mr. Belladonna?" Sun asked.

"Fine work, Sun." Ghira told the blond as he glanced over at Willow Schnee, who was sitting on a futon and was reading something off his scroll, looking like he felt very awkward and out of place.

"Take a breather, Mr. Seiban," Ghira told the Schnee's butler.

"Are you sure? I could be of some help to Miss Kali." Klein offered.

"Ask her, but trust me when I say my wife's cooking is more than enough for all of us…but maybe she would appreciate some help." Ghira said.

Klein nodded before looking at Willow, who dismissed his servant with a nod.

Ghira looked back to Sun and said "Come with me. We need to have a discussion."

Sun gulped as he hesitantly nodded before he followed Ghira out of the room.

Yang, Ruby, Weiss and Penny were hanging around on the second floor when they spotted Ghira leading Sun to his study.

"Think he'll be okay?" Ruby asked.

"Who knows?" Yang said with a shrug before she waved to Sun and gave him a thumbs-up and whisper-shouted "Good luck!"

"You're going to need it!" Weiss added dryly.

Sun let out a quiet groan as he followed Ghira into his study. It was a large room, the walls were almost completely lined with bookshelves, a pair of futons were in the room's center separated by a table, and a large desk sat with two chairs for guests in front of it and a window behind it, showing the slowly setting sun outside.

Sun whistled, "Man, books really run in the family, huh?"

"They do indeed, you should see my wife's collection, she inherited half of it from her sister." Ghira confirmed as he closed the door…and locked it.

Sun's heart began to beat faster and faster, fearing what the elder Faunus might say to him.

Ghira sat at his desk and asked "Drink?"

"Uh, no sir…not if it's alcoholic." Sun declined.

Ghira nodded, "At least you passed that test. Now Sun, Blake had told me you have a bit of a minor criminal history-"

"It's minor stuff!" Sun said defensively, "Petty theft, some food, nothing major. You know us Vacuoans, we're all thieves at heart."

He laughed nervously. Ghira didn't.

"Don't worry. I perfectly understand. I was an orphan, Sun, Me and Kurt, Blake's dad, came from the same orphanage, we had to steal just to eat sometimes too. Kurt was my best friend, he and Ester were some of the finest Faunus I ever had the pleasure of knowing. Kurt and I were like family before we married the Belladonna sisters. That's why I feel I have to do this." Ghira explained, gesturing for Sun to sit down.

"Do…what, exactly, sir?" Sun asked, hoping he would get out of this room in one piece as he struggled not to look away from Ghira's firm gaze.

"Do you like my niece?" Ghira asked.

Sun was confused.

"W-well of course I do. More than that, I love her." Sun managed to say.

Ghira nodded, "Sun, I've been around for a long time, and I've seen a lot of romances blossom…and wither away. You see, there's a difference between liking someone and loving someone. Do you understand?"

Sun nodded slowly before shaking his head, "To be honest, not really."

Ghira leaned back in his chair, thinking carefully. "You see, Kali and I knew each other a while before we became a couple. I honestly didn't know if I loved her or not…but I knew I liked her. A lot. I liked her in ways I couldn't quite describe. I thought it was love, but I honestly didn't know for sure. I courted her, I kissed her, I proposed to her, I married her. One day, a few years into our marriage, I woke up in a shabby apartment we had back in Mistral before we came here, and I saw Kali, sitting on the edge of the bed, looking out at the sunrise. She looked back at me and smiled so beautifully…it suddenly dawned on me that I truly did love her. At that moment I understood what love was. Oh, I thought I loved her, but I didn't understand until then just how powerful that feeling can be."

Sun kept silent, in rapt attention to the Cat Faunus' words.

"It's when you see just how beautiful and wonderful they are, when you realize how happy they make you…that's when you know for certain you love them. Others might not be so lucky. I've seen other people, human and Faunus, rush into things. If you love someone without liking them first…it can make things hard. Nights can be cold and lonely, and in the day you're filled with a contempt that grows until one day it just blows up and you're both left broken hearted. You can never let it get to that point, Sun." Ghira told him sagely.

Sun nodded, "I never will. I care about her too much to let that happen."

"I hope so, Sun, because women can be very difficult to understand. I've known Kali for most of my life now, but she still manages to surprise me. You see, you can never underestimate or predict a woman. Sometimes they'll even punish you for not doing something you didn't even know you were supposed to do in the first place."

Sun gave him a confused look, "Like what?"

"Well that depends on the girl or on how they're feeling at the moment." Ghira elaborated.

Sun still looked stumped, "Uh, I'm afraid I don't understand."

Ghira gave a slight smile, "I know, I could never understand it myself, but suppose Blake just started crying and you had no idea why, you ask her and she won't tell you, and then you'll ask if it was something you did that upset her, but she still may not tell you, which might get you angry. You can't let anger ruin your feelings for her. Women can be like this, exasperating and they no doubt have the same frustrations with us. If something like that happens, just embrace her, let her know that you're sorry or just try to comfort her any way you can."

Sun nodded again, "I will. I'd do anything for her."

Ghira glanced at Sun's robotic tail and sighed, "I know. You did everything in your power to help her, despite the things in your way. Despite her past with the White Fang. Despite Adam… I think you've proven yourself to me, Kali approves of your relationship and so do I, and I'm sure Kurt and Ester would be very happy that Blake found someone like you."

Sun's face brightened instantly, his lips spreading into a wide smile, "Thank you, sir. I won't let you down and I'll do everything I can to be the right guy for Blake."

Ghira gave him a smile, "You're already doing fine. And stop calling me sir, I get enough of that around here. Just call me Ghira."

He then stood up and offered his hand to Sun.

Sun accepted and shook the larger man's hand. "Thanks, Ghira."

---

Menagerie had its own bar, named 'The Watering Hole', it was a popular location for the older citizens to hang out after work and have some drinks, but since it was Winter Solstice Eve, it wasn't particularly crowded and it would soon be closing.

However, it still had customers. Unusually, one of them was a human.

Ross sat in a booth by himself. Three shot glasses stood on the table before him, two empty and the final one hadn't even been touched.

He made no move to down the glass. He just kept looking at it.

This had not gone unnoticed by the waitress, a rather pretty Skunk Faunus with an elegant tail and the bartender, a chubby Mole Faunus.

"Has he ordered anything else?" Asked the bartender.

"No, he just keeps looking at the glass, I'll ask him if he's okay." Said the Waitress, who walked over to him, ignoring the rowdy behavior of the other party there, a gang of Faunus who used to be prominent members of Menagerie's White Fang chapter.

She made it over to Ross' table, "Excuse me, sir, but are you all right?"

Ross looked up at her with tired, sad eyes, "I'm fine." He lied.

"Need anything? I could get you some wings." She offered.

"No thanks, I'm not hungry." He declined, waving her away, "I just want to be alone for now, okay?"

The waitress nodded understandingly, she had been in that kind of mood before so she knew he'd want to be left in peace.

Meanwhile, the large group sat at a collection of tables clustered together, some of them sat at the bar taking drinks. They were rowdy, shouting loudly as a song played over the radio, a much more energetic heavy metal Solstice song that got them pumped up.

At the bar sat two hooded figures who had led the group into the bar. They were well known around Menagerie as Adam Taurus' representatives, Fennec and Corsac Albain, Fox Faunus brothers. Fennec had long fox ears coming out of his hood while Corsac had a dark grey tail coming out of his pants. After Adam's defeat the two had renounced their support of him, but still were very unpopular among the people of Menagerie and Ghira had his suspicions that the two didn't exactly regret their support of Adam at all.

Compared to their fellow former White Fang members, the two were very calm, simply sipping the wine they had ordered in peace, Corsac looking rather annoyed by their companions, some of whom were fighting over a game of billiards while a rather attractive Zebra Faunus danced suggestively atop the tables, clad in tight shorts.

"I cannot wait to send these fools off to Hui," Muttered Corsac quietly to his brother.

"He'll whip them into shape," Fennec assured Corsac as the waitress walked by to talk to her employer, "Besides, once they're done here we'll see just how good they are once Schnee returns to his yacht."

Fennec overheard them talking and his ears twitched when he heard her say "Weird to have a human here alone tonight."

Fennec looked over at Ross, curiosity piqued.

"What is it?" Corsac inquired.

"I do believe we have a human in our presence." Fennec said, gesturing over to the pilot, who was somehow managing to ignore the obnoxious patrons.

Corsac noticed and raised an eyebrow. "What's he doing here?"

"Well our dear friend Chief Belladonna," Fennec began sarcastically, "Did invite some of Blake's new human friends to our island. Perhaps he was hired to bring them here."

Corsac nodded and got up, making his way towards Ross, Fennec didn't try to stop him, so simply watched with interest.

"Mind if I sit?" Corsac asked the lone human. Ross looked up and shrugged, not speaking. Corsac sat across from him and asked "What are you doing here, human?"

Ross looked up from his glasses and said "Wasn't aware this place was segregated."

"It's not, but perhaps it should be." The Fox Faunus replied, glaring at the man, "What are you doing here?"

"Got invited. Maybe I should've turned it down." Ross muttered wearily.

"You should've, yes. We may try to put on friendly faces, but really we don't want your kind here," Corsac told the human, "This must be quite the role reversal. How many Faunus did you harass like this in your youth?"

"None," Ross answered bluntly, "I never had any issue with Faunus, despite how the people around me acted."

"I doubt that," Corsac snarled, "This island is our home, we don't want you humans here, we've had enough of you."

"I'm not doing anything," Ross said.

"Yes you are, you're trespassing." Corsac replied.

Before Ross could reply, a muscular Faunus with the horns of a bull let out an excited howl and backed up to their table. "Let's hear it for the Albain brothers! They might be stuck-up jerks, but at least they're payin'!" He said as he hoisted Corsac up, much to the applause of the other punks.

"Thank you, thank you for your kind appreciation, my friends," Said Fennec as he stood up, "We are proud to call you our comrades in these trying times. This has been a difficult year for we Faunus who have not forgotten the deeds of humanity. We have many setbacks and some great losses."

The group grumbled in agreement before Fennec carried on, "While Adam Taurus may have gone a little mad, what he wanted was for the greater good of Faunus everywhere. To make the humans pay for what the injustices they have inflicted on us and our ancestors. Some of us, like Chief Belladonna, his family, and the traitors claiming to be White Fang think that some nice words and a shaking of hands is all it takes to make us forget the centuries of slavery and prejudice we've endured."

The members of the group hissed and jeered, but Fennec raised his hands to calm them while Crosac managed to free himself from the Bull Faunus' grasp.

"Yeah," Agreed the Bull Faunus, "At least Adam knew we could never trust humans! So what if some turncoats got their parts amputated? Anyone who thinks humans can be trusted is a damn fool! Adam was a crazy bastard, but at least he never forgot, he never forgave!"

There were cheers of agreement as the waitress managed to slink behind the bar. The bartender tried to grab for his phone, only for Fennec to slam down his weapon, the wand-like dagger known as Cyclone, mere centimeters from the man's fingers. Fennec shook his head and was about to say something when Ross stood up.

"Yes, Taurus was a crazy bastard," The pilot said, "And so is anyone who thinks he was someone to admire."

The bar went silent as everyone looked at Ross.

"Who the hell are you?" Asked the Zebra Faunus, placing her hands on her hips.

"Just a pilot from Vale," Said Ross, "And an ally to the kids who took Taurus out."

Some of the seated Faunus stood up, all eyes were on Ross. "Is that a fact?" Corsac asked as he reached into his robe, grasping his weapon, a twin to Fennec's own, named Inferno.

"It is. You're fooling yourselves if you think he really cared about the good of all Faunus or about your basic rights. He didn't. He just wanted revenge, and he wanted it by killing as many people and inflicting as much pain as possible." Ross told them, only for Corsac to hold out his sharp weapon to his neck.

"What do you know about it? How can you even begin to understand what our kind has endured?" The Fox Faunus demanded.

"I was married to one." Ross answered.

"'Was', past tense," Noted Fennec.

"What, she dump you?" Asked the Zebra Faunus.

"No. She was killed by Grimm." Ross answered.

"Aw, poor old human," Said the Bull Faunus as he placed an arm around Ross' shoulders, "You wanna be like us or something? I know, how about we go into the jungle, find an animal, cut off its tail shove it up your ass and then you'll really be one of us!"

There was an uproar of laughs and Fennec rolled his eyes and Corsac grimace.

Ross smirked bitterly, "Sure, want me to buy you a drink first? Waitress, get this guy a drink, fill it with lizard's blood, he'd probably prefer it to booze." He said.

The Bull Faunus let Ross got and slapped him hard a few times, sending the pilot reeling back into his booth.

"Hey! Cut it out!" Shouted the bartender.

"Why should we?" Slurred a Ferret Faunus who clearly had too much to drink as he reached over the bar and grabbed the waitress by the tail, "It's the Winter Solstice, let's have some fun!"

"Hey!" Ross shouted, trying to get back up only to be shoved down to the floor by Corsac.

"Leave them alone," Ordered Fennec, "We don't want to harass any of our fellow Faunus. Our human friend here, is an outsider…"

Corsac knelt down and took out Ross' dog tags, "Well, well, Flight Captain Robert Ross of the Valean Air Force, tell me, why are you here?"

Ross groaned and answered "I brought some people here, Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long, Sun Wukong…the ones who put your pal Adam out of his misery."

"Looks like we have ourselves a hero!" The Bull Faunus said as he hoisted Ross up, putting him in a headlock while Fennec stepped forward, not noticing as the waitress slinked away into the back room.

"Now, since Captain Ross was married to one of us but aided in the humiliation and defeat of the White Fang, I propose that we show him a good time." Fennec announced, met with applause and cheers from the hoodlums they had recruited.

"Wanna join the club?" Asked the Zebra Faunus, a suggestive look in her eyes.

"Go to hell." Ross replied.

He was rewarded with a knee to the groin from the Zebra Faunus. Ross groaned in pain as the gang laughed at him, the Albain brothers watching with interest.

"O-okay…don't go to hell…go fuck yourselves." Ross managed to say before the Bull Faunus held him up, while a Badger Faunus raced up, a length of long black chain in hand.

Ross grunted as the chain was tied securely around his throat, only for him to then be slammed forward and then yanked back by the Bull Faunus as he gripped the chain firmly. Corsac came forward and forced the pilot to his knees as the Ferret Faunus grabbed a mug of beer and jeered "You look thirsty, have one on me!" He then poured it all over Ross.

They laughed at him cruelly, as the bartender looked on helplessly. He hoped his waitress' absence was unnoticed, but his train of thought was ruined as he watched the Bull Faunus slam Ross into a support beam.

"So, got anything to say, human?" Asked the brute.

Ross smiled bitterly, tiredly. "Yeah…give me another."

He was answered by a strong punch to the gut.

---

Back at the Belladonna home, Kali was chatting with Gina in the dining room, a tall circular room with strong stone columns that were decorated with hanging baskets filled with poinsettias. There was a short table in the center, surrounded by zabuton pads in place of seats, currently seating Kali, Gina, Blake, Sun, Ruby, Yang, Taiyang, Claudandus and Dr. Polendina, eating some snacks like rice balls and bananas while Klein took over for Kali in overseeing the grilling of a huge collection of fish for the Solstice Eve Dinner.

"Ah, that smells wonderful! I can't wait to have some of your cooking, Mrs. Belladonna," Dr. Polendina said.

"Thank you, doctor, I hope you'll enjoy it." Kali said.

"I know I will, and Sun certainly deserves some. Congrats on making it out in one piece!" Yang said, clapping Sun on the back.

"Can't lie, it was pretty intimidating at first, but I think me and Ghira are cool now." Sun remarked.

"Wow, first name basis, must have gone very well," Gina noted with a proud smile.

"You say he didn't threaten you once? I'm a bit disappointed in him," Joked Taiyang.

"Ease up, dad!" Ruby said, "But still, I bet you feel a lot better now, right?"

"You bet I do!" Sun confirmed, "Now we can just lay back and enjoy the Solstice in peace." He then looked at Yang and asked "Your uncle's study is practically a library, I guess a passion for books runs in the family?"

Blake nodded, "Everyone in my family loves reading."

"It was my dad's passion, then he got me and Esther hooked and we influenced Ghira and Kurt to become bookworms too. Blake began reading at a very young age, when she was three she read literally everything she could, she'd even point out street signs and read them out to us!"

The others laughed while Blake blushed and let out a whine of "Aunt Kali!"

"Ah relax, Blakey," Said Yang, "It's not like the rest of us didn't do anything embarrassingly cute when we were kids."

"Yeah, hey dad," Ruby began, "Tell them about that time Yang got her arm stuck in a glass jug when she was little."

"She what?" Asked Gina, amused.

"Oh it's quite the story," Taiyang began, as Yang looked mortified at the idea of hearing that story again.

Just then, Ghira entered the room, a grim look on his face, "Where's Qrow?" He asked.

"The living room, why?" Kali inquired.

"I just got a message from Hans, he received a call from The Watering Hole, apparently your pilot friend has gotten into a confrontation with the Albain Brothers and some thugs." Ghira explained.

"Oh no," Blake said, dreading what could happen.

"Who are the Albain Brothers?" Gina asked.

"Supporters of Adam Taurus, though they claim to have renounced him, and they hold a very deep grudge against humans." Kali explained.

"How bad is it?" Ruby asked.

"No way of knowing for sure, but it could turn ugly." Ghira told the silver-eyed girl.

"Can we go too?" She asked.

"I'd prefer if you stay out of it, but since Qrow is close to Mr. Ross, I think he should be there to help me break it up." Ghira said.

"What about your police?" Yang inquired.

"They're a small force and overloaded as it is. We'll handle it." Ghira assured them before he left for the living room.

Ruby and the others got up and followed him, only to be met by Qrow, up and ready to go.

"I should have known this would happen, how far is the dive?" Qrow asked.

"Not far, just follow me and try to keep up." Ghira told him as he led the Huntsman out the door.

"Be careful!" Kali called.

"If it's bad, call us for backup!" Ruby demanded.

"Sure thing!" Qrow assured her as he and Ghira headed out, the large Cat Faunus taking off at surprising speed.

Ruby muttered, "Let's get our weapons and go after them."

"Oh no you don't," Taiyang said firmly, "This isn't our territory, who knows what could happen if human Hunters are seen fighting a bunch of Faunus, even lowlife ones."

"It's best for you to just stay here, knowing my husband it won't take long to sort this out." Kali told the kids, "Now, let's just…try to keep ourselves busy until they get back."

The adults headed back to the kitchen as Weiss and Penny came into view on the second floor.

"What's going on?" Weiss asked.

They quickly filled them in, "I can't just stay here! I need to try to do something." Ruby griped.

Yang and Blake shared a look and the blonde spoke up, "Go upstairs and get Crescent Rose, we'll keep the adults busy, they won't notice you sneaking out." She told her little sister.

Ruby looked at Yang, "You sure about that?"

"Trust me, I think we can keep them busy with some cutesy Winter Solstice memories." The blonde brawler remarked.

"Really?" Ruby asked, skeptical.

"It's a sacrifice we're willing to make," Sun told her, "Now get going."

"Weiss, Penny, come on down, we may need your help." Blake called.

Weiss nodded, "Right."

"Good luck, Ruby." Penny said, just before the silver-eyed Huntress in training vanished in a burst of rose petals, rushing up the stairs and into her guest room.

---

Back at the bar, Ross was soaked with beer poured on him, his aura was flaring up as he was punched from one Faunus thug to the next, each punch was met with a cheer from the crowd as the Albain Brothers looked on, very much amused.

"This is great!" Said the Zebra Faunus, "Let's make a game out of this, do it to every lone human we come across in the future!"

Her suggestion was met with applause and drunken cheers as Ross was thrown to the floor, his face made it obvious how sick he was getting and his aura was crackling, a sign it would soon break. He feebly tried to crawl over to the bar to pick himself up, only for Corsac to jump off and slam his boot into the pilot's face, hard enough to shatter Ross' aura.

The thugs laughed and jeered as Ross rolled onto his back, breathing raggedly. Fennec got off his barstool and walked over to Ross, kneeling down as he grasped Cyclone in his hand.

"Now you know what it's like to be one of us in a human's world, Mr. Ross." Fennec told him, "What I don't understand is why you're not even trying to fight back?"

"Because maybe I deserve it," Slurred Ross.

"Oh, you most certainly do. All humans do." Fennec replied as he accepted a mug of beer from his brother and poured it on the floor. He then forced Ross onto his stomach and grabbed him by the back of the head, "Now lick it up. We Faunus were looked down upon as animals by you human scum for generations, it's only fair we get to turn the tables for one night. Now lick it up like the dog you are!"

Letting out deep, racking breaths, Ross tried to get up, only to be forced down to the wooden floor, his nose pressing hard against the floorboards as Fennec quietly ordered "Lick."

Reluctantly, Ross licked at the spilled beer, only to be hauled up by Fennec and dealt a blow to the face by Corsac, knocking him onto his side in a miserable heap.

"Human scum. And they called us animals." Corsac snarled.

The crowd erupted with horrible, mocking laughter, only to be interrupted by a loud, ferocious shout of "STOP THIS AT ONCE!"

Everyone turned to see Ghira and Qrow standing in the doorway, their eyes simmering with fury.

"Ch-chief Ghira…" Muttered a sleazy looking Rat Faunus, fearfully. No one in the crowd made a move as Ghira and Qrow slowly walked into the bar, towards the fallen Ross. Qrow knelt down to help his friend while Ghira glared angrily at the Albain Brothers.

"Hey Qrow," Muttered Ross weakly, "Meet my new friends…"

"Yeah, real nice bunch." Qrow snarked as he looked around, trying his best not to cut them down with Reaper.

Ghira looked around and spoke up, "Well, isn't this just perfect. A Winter Solstice celebration that Adam Taurus would have loved. You people make me sick," He spat, his voice oozing contempt, "What do you hope to gain from this? Proving the bigots right? Acting like animals? Because that's what you're doing. No, you're lower than animals."

"Enough, Ghira," Fennec snapped, "Collect your pet human and get out."

"I don't think so, Albain. You're all under arrest. You'll spend your Winter Solstice in a jail cell." Ghira barked.

The crowd laughed, as two of them moved to block the exit. "You find this amusing?" Ghira asked.

"Very much. You see Ghira, at first we were just having a bit of fun, but now you've unwittingly walked right into our grasp. We have you outnumbered and surrounded, you and your friends will be valuable hostages for us." Fennec said.

"Like hell we will." Snarled Qrow.

"Sorry I got you into this," Whispered Ross.

"Stop making it worse for yourselves, just give up and go home, and we don't have to fight." Ghira told the crowd.

"Too late for that." Sneered Corsac, just as Fennec unleashed a whirlwind blast from Cyclone, blowing the three down. Ghira slammed into a support beam and was then smashed to the ground by a punch from the Bull Faunus, while Qrow found himself ensnared by chains some of the gang wielded.

Qrow struggled in place as Ross crawled on the floor, looking up at him apologetically.

"What about Ross?" Corsac asked.

"Ghira is the chief and Blake's uncle, while I believe this man is Qrow Branwen, uncle to Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long. We don't need them, kill him." Fennec permitted before ordering the others to "Render those two unconscious before they can recover."

Qrow struggled harder as the Zebra Faunus wrapped her legs around his neck, allowing the thugs began to beat him. Corsac kicked Ross onto his back and jumped down to straddle him, holding Inferno a loft, "Well, we had fun, Mr. Ross. Give your wife my regards."

At that, Ross sobbed, not even trying to hide it.

The Bull Faunus laughed at the display as he grabbed an empty mug, looking down at Ghira, who was glaring up, "You're not so tough after all, Chief."

Ghira looked around, rage burning in his eyes. Fennec grew concerned, "Knock him out now!" He ordered.

The Bull Faunus moved to slam the mug into Ghira's head, but the Cat Faunus moved with surprising speed and caught it. Grunting, the Bull Faunus tried to rip it away, but Ghira kept his grip tight. Their combined hands and the mug trembled, until there was a snapping sound…

"Get Belladonna!" Fennec shouted, just as the mug shattered in the Bull Faunus' hands, glass piercing his skin. Despite the aura, blood burst out of the wounds and the Bull Faunus let out a horrific scream of pain, falling to his knees as the others watched in horror and amazement.

Ghira Belladonna rose up, the Bull Faunus now looking up at him fearfully, just as Ghira sent him to the floor with a mighty punch to the face.

Corsac wasted no time, he abandoned Ross and stood, aiming his weapon at Ghira, only for it to be shot out of his hands, a clean bullet hole through one of the windows. He cried out in surprise as Ghira surged forward, smacking his hand aside and grabbing the tailed Fox Faunus by the throat and slamming him against a support beam. Ghira kneed Corsac in the gut twice before landing a precise chop to his head, which he then grabbed and sent flying into Fennec, who landed in a heap with his brother.

"Kill him!" Shouted a Warthog Faunus, who charged Ghira, only for the Cat Faunus to easily sidestep the sloppy attack and grab the thug by the back of the neck, twisting him around until he forced him down, twisting his arm around before spin-kicking him into the group that held Qrow captive.

A Hyena Faunus attacked next, but Ghira easily dodged his swinging knife before he attacked, hitting the thug harshly before sending him sailing into a table, which he crashed roughly into.

Qrow kicked one of his attackers into the door before Ghira punched another one his way. Qrow then pinned the thug against a support beam and began punching him out, just as a female Cat Faunus smashed a beer bottle and ran at him from behind, Qrow whirled around and grabbed her by the air, whirling her around and then forcing her to smash into another thug which Ghira had just dispatched.

"Come on!" Ghira snarled as he was rushed by a Moose Faunus, who he grabbed easily and sent flying and crashing to the wall behind the bar, shattering the mirror and breaking numerous bottles, sending glass everywhere.

The Zebra Faunus grabbed a pool cue and charged to stab Ghira with it, only for Qrow to grab her by the arm, punch her in the gut as hard as he could before he brought her head down to meet his knee, he stole the cue and smashed it across her face before tossing her atop of a booth table.

Unseen by Qrow and Ghira, Ross crawled to the door, only to be met with a pair of boots. He glanced up to see Ruby Rose, her face shocked and very worried. She held Crescent Rose in her hands, which she had used earlier to disarm Corsac, but knew it was more important to help Ross than to help right. She knelt down and helped the pilot up, "Let's get you out of here!"

The Bull Faunus stood up, groaning as he snarled hatefully at Qrow and Ghira. He stomped loudly, snorting as he lowered his head, ready to impale the two with his horns. With a mighty roar he charged the duo…

Ruby didn't see what happened, but as she tried to get Ross to safety her attention was stolen by a loud shattering of glass. She turned to see the Bull Faunus had been launched out of the bar directly through the window, glass went flying everywhere. He landed in a pathetic, moaning pile before he slumped down, unconscious, and missing the sharp edge of his right horn.

Ruby couldn't help but smile as she turned around to help Ross to safety, only to be surprised by who she was now facing.

"Ruby? What are you doing here?" Asked a familiar, deep voice.

Back in the bar, Qrow and Ghira found themselves surrounded, the rest of the gang had recovered from their initial shock and were now ready to fight. The Albain Brothers glared at the two warriors, impressed but determined to take them down.

"You may defeat most of us, but you can't take us all on!" Fennec declared.

"Wanna bet? I've had worse odds." Qrow replied.

"Take them down!" Corsac shouted, but before the crowd could charge, the thug nearest to the door was sent down to the floor by a hard punch to the back of the head.

Everyone turned to see a very unexpected sight; Razor and Sienna Khan, the leaders of the reformed White Fang! With them was Razor's adopted daughter Piper, along with Alessandro Kane, Selena, Jinty and Babara

Everyone looked at the new arrivals, stunned.

Razor surveyed the scene and smirked, "This your handiwork, Ghira? I always knew the beast within you couldn't be fully tamed!"

Ghira grinned, "Only by my wife, Razor."

"Kill those traitors!" Ordered Fennec furiously.

Sienna fended off the initial wave with her Cerebus Whip, catching a few of the thugs and making them cry out in pain. Razor grabbed the nearest Faunus by the shirt and headbutted him, throwing him to Babara who picked him up and tossed him into the charging attackers.

Kane leapt up into the air, his Flying Fox wings spreading out as he grabbed the wooden chandelier and kicked s couple punks in their faces before he flew down, tackling a large Hippo Faunus while Selena avoided the knife attacks from a Rat Faunus before she clobbered him in the face and then delivered a roundhouse kick to his back that knocked him into Sienna Khan, who slashed him across the face before kicking him in the groin, sending him out the door and into the wet street.

Piper jumped up on the bar and began dancing as she used her Semblance and her musical weapon to create an energetic theme to go with the battle, and occasionally helped out as she kicked someone trying to get Jinty from behind right in the back of the head.

Qrow kicked a rather fat Dog Faunus in the chest and was about to be grabbed from behind by another thug, which Barbara slammed into him. Qrow then grabbed the Dog Faunus in a headlock and Piper handed him the bottle of wine the Albain Brothers had been sharing and was about to smash it over his head when he noticed something.

"Oh hell, this is a great vintage!" He said before quickly drinking as much as he could before smashing it over his captive and then hurling the fat Faunus into a punk Ghira had just taken out.

The Albain Brothers stood back, taking cover behind an overturned table.

"Things have taken a turn for the worse rather quickly." Admitted Fennec.

"We must use our combined weapons." Corsac advised.

"Yes, it might kill some of our recruits and burn the place down, but it will be worth it to take out our adversaries. On my mark," Fennec said as they grasped their weapons.

The twins activated their weapons and jumped up to attack, only for their hands to be struck by the sharp snap of Sienna's Cerebus Whip. They cried out in shock as Sienna slammed her whip into the duo, knocking them down as she leapt over the table.

"Well hello Fennec, Corsac. I can't lie, I've been looking forward to this." She said with a smirk.

Within moments, the bar fight was over, all the thugs lay knocked out in various states of pain.

Ghira breathed loudly, looking around with a smile as Razor grinned at him.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Qrow asked.

"We were on the way back from a mission, Piper convinced us to stop by for a visit." Kane explained as Piper hopped down from the bar as the bartender and the waitress came out of hiding.

"Look who we have here." Sienna said, shoving the Albain Brothers forward. Razor and Ghira caught both of them.

"You made a very bad mistake tonight." Ghira growled at Fennec.

"Yes…not killing you the moment you walked in!" Fennec spat.

"I overheard them referring to these miscreants as recruits." Sienna informed them.

"Recruits for what?" Razor demanded.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Corsac growled.

"Yes, I would." The Razorback Warthog Faunus snarled as he tightened his grip on Corsac's neck.

"Are you affiliated with the Red Fang?" Ghira interrogated.

Fennec glared at him and said "We had no one else to turn to. Hui and the others who escaped our enemies at Vacuo have begun a new iteration of what the White Fang once was, they need more troops who still haven't been fooled by the lies of humans."

"Where are they?" Sienna asked.

"We don't know. We were going to rendezvous with them tomorrow in Menagerie's desert, but they'll only answer to a specific signal from us. We'll die before telling you what that was." Fennec said spitefully.

Razor and Ghira shared a look, "In that case…" Razor began before both of the burly Faunus punched their captives in the face and slammed them into each other. The Albain Brothers collapsed in a ruined heap on the wet, glass-ridden floor.

Qrow looked around, alarmed. "Where's Ross?"

"That guy Ruby was helping out? Thayer went with them, they're probably almost at the Belladonna house by now." Selena said.

Qrow breathed a sigh of relief, happy that Ruby had taken Team STRQ's old philosophy of 'ask for forgiveness not permission'.

Just then, a group of Menagerie's police officers stormed the bar, looking at the aftermath in bewilderment. "Chief? What happened?"

"Nice of you to show up," Ghira said to the head constable before adding "Just putting down some troublemakers. Take them away and let them spend their Winter Solstice in a jail cell. Make sure they're nice and secure, I'll deal with them the day after tomorrow."

Sienna looked at the stunned bartender and waitress before she tossed them a handful of lien, "Sorry about the mess."

---

An hour later, Ross lay bandaged in Claudandus' bed, who had kindly allowed him to recover there. The Belladonna house had been quite bustling for a brief while as Kali demanded Razor and his group stay there for the night and leave in the morning and Ruby only received a light scolding for disobeying orders. Willow Schnee had agreed to lend his Atlesian Knights to the Menagerie police to keep the Albain Brothers and their failed recruits under tight supervision.

Ross could faintly hear the noise from downstairs as old friends and strangers mingled, but his attention was taken by the shattered moon, almost drowned out by the clouds. Suddenly the door opened with a loud creak and he looked over to see Ruby standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Mr. Ross."

He nodded, "Thanks for getting me out of there. I owe you one."

Ruby closed the door as he sat up, allowing her to sit on the bed next to him.

"Why didn't you run? Or try to fight back?" Ruby asked.

Ross let out a heavy sigh and said "After all these years, a part of me still can't forgive myself for what happened to my wife and son. For a long time, a part of me has wanted to die, a part that gets stronger every Winter Solstice. Perhaps I wanted those punks to kill me."

"Don't." Ruby told him gently, "We'd really miss you. I might not know you that well, but I still think of you as my friend."

"Ruby, do you know what it's like to blame yourself for someone's death?" Ross asked her, "I don't think you could understand my pain-"

"Yes I can," Ruby cut him off, "Pyrrha. The night Beacon fell."

Ross nodded, remembering. "I'm sorry, I-"

"Listen. I was too late. I made it just in time to watch Cinder shoot an arrow in Pyrrha's chest, and then I thought she incinerated her," Ruby began to tear up, "Yeah it turned out she was alive, but for months I blamed myself for it. I kept telling myself it was my fault, that I should've been faster, I should have done more. I blamed myself for her death and for Jaune's pain, for the grief he, Nora and Ren felt. When I learned what happened to Pyrrha, I was so happy she was alive, but I blamed myself for not being able to save her in the first place. I understand what it's like to fail someone you care about. To feel like you can't forgive yourself for failing so horribly."

Ross was silent, "I'm sorry."

"It's all right. My point is, you can't let your guilt get the better of you. You have to do everything you can to make up for it. Uncle Qrow has told me about how you've flown Hunters in Grimm infested zones, flown civilians out of the villages when Grimm were attacking, and you helped us out. You brought Team CFVY to Atlas to help rescue Penny. You don't know how much that means to us, to her." Ruby told him.

Ross took out his wallet and opened it, showing Ruby an old picture of himself with his wife and son. "My wife was named Lupita, and that's my son Nicolas. He would have been about your age right now."

Ruby gave a small smile, "I bet we would've been great friends."

Ross managed to return the smile before asking "How did you carry on, Ruby? How did you find the strength to go on and search for Cinder Fall? Someone like me would've just given up."

"Well, I just knew I couldn't give up. I couldn't let Cinder get away with it. I didn't want to let Pyrrha go unavenged. I thought hard about what my mom would have done, so I just talked to Jaune and his team and we set out."

"You're much braver than I was at your age," Ross remarked.

"Ross, did you love them?" Ruby asked, gesturing to the photo.

He nodded solemnly, "More than life itself. They were everything to me."

Ruby wrapped an arm around his shoulders and said "Did they love you?"

He nodded.

"Then whatever happened between you before you left that day, they would have forgiven you. Because that's what the love of a family is, and family and friends mean everything on Winter Solstice." Ruby told him.

Ross began to silently cry before he gave into his emotions and hugged Ruby to him. Ruby didn't fight it and hugged him back.

"Thanks, kid. I-I really needed this." He whispered.

"No problem, Mr. Ross. Glad I could help. Feel better?"

"Physically, I still feel like crap…but to be honest, it does feel like a weight's been lifted."

Ruby smiled, "So, dinner's gonna be ready soon. Want me to bring you something?"

Ross grunted and shook his head as he managed to stand up, "I think I'll attend it in person, if that's all right with you. Just help me down the stairs."

Ruby smiled, "You got it." She opened the door and ran ahead of him, briefly leaving him by himself.

Ross looked at the photo of his family in his wallet and smiled. They would have forgiven him, because that's what family always does. That's what love means. And even though they were gone, Ross had never and would never stop loving them, and he would never forget the happiness they brought him.

It was time he let go of his guilt, and look back on the happy memories. He placed his wallet back in his pocket and left the room.

Ross looked over the handrail of the second floor to see the Belladonna's various guests, including Ghira's assistant Hans, mingling, some heading for the dining room. Ross looked up to see Qrow leaning against the wall.

"Feeling better?" He asked.

Ross gave him a smile and nodded, "I suppose I am. Thanks for coming to save me."

"You'd do the same for me," Qrow told him, "Now, let's get some food."

"Qrow," Ross began, "Thanks for inviting me here. Happy Winter Solstice."

Qrow smiled, "You too."

Down in the dining room, another table and some more pads had been brought in from a shed behind the Belladonna's home so the additional guests would have room to sit. Haulan was rather overwhelmed by the excitement and was very impressed by the new, much more heroic iteration of the White Fang, and was currently being amazed by Piper's sound-control Semblance. Zwei was currently enjoying his own Winter Solstice meal in the form of dog food his owners had brought, but of course he'd still beg for some scraps.

"Honestly, dear, you could have let the police handle it. It's what you pay them for!" Kali gently scolded.

"Sometimes the Alpha has to show his herd why he's in command," Ghira retorted with a dry smile that Kali found irresistible.

"It was amazing to see the old cat in action again after so long," Said Sienna, "Sorry I thought you lost your ferocity."

"We won't make that mistake again!" Remarked Kane as he glanced down at the entrees Kali, Gina, Taiyang and Klein had laid out.

Razor glanced over at Willow Schnee, who was sitting across from him. Willow Schnee didn't flinch away from the gaze of the muscular Faunus.

"Do you have anything to say to me?" Willow inquired.

"Yes I do," Razor said before he extended his hand over the table, "I found that manifest saying you bought Faunus slaves, but you were really trying to free them and bring those slavers to justice. Thank you for trying to help my people."

Willow accepted the gesture and shook Razor's hand, "I'm just trying to make up for old sins."

Weiss and Winter smiled at the scene, amazed their father was accepting such a gesture. Weiss looked to Piper, sitting next to her and got an idea, she whispered something into the nearly-mute Mouse Faunus' ear and she nodded her head in agreement.

Just then Ruby, Ross and Qrow entered the room, with Ruby loudly announcing "Merry Winter Solstice!"

Many in the room echoed her declaration as she helped Ross over to a seat.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Ross?" Penny asked.

"Surprisingly good, Penny. My body hurts, but I just…feel better." Ross told her as he took a seat.

"Well if getting pounded cheers you up, just let me know next time, okay?" Joked Yang, making the pilot laugh.

"You sure you're all right?" Sun inquired.

"Kid, I've realized that I can't let my pain overshadow the rest of my life. My wife and son wouldn't have wanted me to suffer like that. I'll never forget them and never stop missing them, but I have to try to live. Live for them, if nothing else." Ross answered.

"Amen to that," Qrow agreed as he sat down between Ruby and Ross.

Just then Kali opened the door to the kitchen, allowing Taiyang and Klein to bring in a large plate carrying a massive plate holding all kinds of grilled and baked fish. "Dinner's finally ready!" She declared as the two men laid the huge dish down on the table.

Blake's eyes sparkled in anticipation, Yang couldn't even tease her about it as it really did look and smell delicious.

Ghira sat at the head of the table as everyone took their seats. "We have a rather odd assortment here. We have members of the White Fang, the Schnee family, some very promising Hunters-in-training, an android…it's probably the most unique gathering Menagerie has ever seen, and I'm very happy to have all of you here. I have my wonderful family finally reunited for a proper Winter Solstice, old friends I've been wanting to see for a long time and new faces I never would have expected to call friends. Here's to the Winter Solstice, here's to family and friendship. And let's hope that whatever may happen in the year to come, we can look back on this and always smile."

Everyone nodded in agreement, some even clapped.

"Now, let's show my wife how much we appreciate her hard work and dig in!"

That was something everyone could agree with, even Penny who couldn't even eat.

---

Naturally the kids finished earlier than the adults, who would take time to chat and reconnect while the kids hurried to the Belladonna's living room to make a special call.

"All set up?" Yang asked as Weiss and Penny worked to connect several of their scrolls together to the main television screen in the Belladonna living room so they could make one big call to multiple parties.

"Just about, and it's almost the time we agreed on!" Penny said as she checked her internal clocks, which had been keeping time for the various time zones the rest of their friends were in, so the screen was divided by three while Weiss scroll was set up to transmit themselves.

"Okay, we're ready to receive," Weiss said as the rest of her team, along with Sun, Penny, Haulan and Piper all gathered around the sofa just as the signal from Cadia popped up, which Weiss accepted.

Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora and some of Jaune's sisters appeared on one third of the screen, which was lit up in strange, dazzling lights.

"Hey! We actually pulled it off, thanks Indigo." Jaune told his sister.

"No problem," Said his sister, who was soon drowned out by the cries of "Merry Winter Solstice!" From the Arc family and Team JNPR.

"Hi! Hope you're all having a good Winter Solstice." Pyrrha wished them.

"I know we are!" Declared Nora, "Looks like you're closer to Winter Solstice day, the sun's just now starting to go down."

"Though probably not as action-packed as ours was." Ren remarked.

"You guys get into a fight?" Yang asked.

"We were in a straight-up snowball war!" Said Nora, "It was awesome!"

"What's up with the light show?" Haulan inquired.

"It's the Aura Crystal," Jaune said, "It started making weird shapes a few days ago, apparently there's always been some kind of Winter Solstice celebration, even before Remnant was created."

He moved the scroll around to show them the Aura Crystal, suspended in the air, creating aura shapes of a Winter Solstice tree, something that looked like a lowercase 't', a spinning top, a large candle holder with numerous candles, snowflakes, etc…

"Wow, it's so beautiful." Said Haulan, stunned by the display.

Just then they got another signal, this one from the Daichi family compound near the Valean town of Dovagh, which Penny accepted, allowing another third of the screen to show Team CFVY along with Yatsuhashi's younger sister named Hiyoko, who was around Haulan's age.

"Hey guys!" Greeted Velvet, dressed in a bright Winter Solstice sweater.

"How's it hangin'?" Asked Coco as she leaned into an oversized chair that clearly belonged to Yatsuhashi.

"Pretty good! How about you? Having a good time so far?" Asked Ruby.

"Can't really complain," Fox said, "Yatsu's family has a pretty sweet place and we've managed to get your gifts just fine."

"And we got all of yours," Blake assured them.

"So did we,'' added Jaune.

"And I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that's your sister, Yatsuhashi?" Yang said.

He nodded, "This is Hiyoko, she can be a bit of a pain but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't missed her."

"Aw, love you too big brother!" Said the small girl.

"Emphasis on big," Teased Coco, just as the last signal popped up, one from the Atlesian town of Kijsan.

"And there's Neptune!" Announced Sun as Weiss accepted the message, allowing the final third of the screen to show Neptune's neat and tidy room, now occupied by the bluenette, Scarlet and Sage.

"Yo!" Called Sage, "Hope you guys are havin' as good a time as we are!"

"They're lucky, it's probably not anywhere near as cold where they are as it is here!" Complained Scarlet, who was wearing a St. Nicolai hat.

"I told you to dress for the cold!" Laughed Neptune.

"Did you get the gifts okay?" Asked Ruby.

"You bet we did!" Confirmed Neptune, "You get ours?"

"Yep!" Said Velvet, echoed by Ruby and Nora.

"Hey, am I crazy or is that Piper?" Velvet asked, waving to the younger Faunus.

"Hey! What're you doing there?" Asked Coco, recalling the silent Faunus, who waved back cheerfully.

"They happened to be nearby so they decided to drop in," Blake told them, "And you're uncle's here too, Velvet."

"He is? Could you bring him in?" The Rabbit Faunus asked.

"Sure, I'll go get him," Ruby said before rushing off and then came back in a matter of seconds dragging Thayer Scarlatina into the room.

"Velvet!" He exclaimed.

"Uncle Bigwig! I hope you're doing okay with the new White Fang. We all really miss you." Velvet told him.

"I'm doing just fine, how're you? How's your mom and dad?" Asked the older Rabbit Faunus.

"They're great, they're getting along very well with my friends' families," Answered Velvet, "And I'm happy I get to see you."

"Me too, Velvet, me too." Thayer agreed with a happy smile.

"And who is that?" Ruby asked, pointing at Saphron and Terra, who were working with Pyrrha and Nora to play with Aiden.

"Guys, this is my cousin Saphron, her wife Terra and their son Aiden," Jaune introduced

"Hello! Jaune and his team have been telling us so much about all of you!" Saphron said as she held her son.

"It's a real honor to meet kids as brave as you," Said Terra, very much impressed with their heroics.

"Ah, they're either overselling us or underselling us," Yang joked, "But yes, we are awesome."

"Merry Winter Solstice, so nice to meet you," Greeted Penny, "Who's that little guy?"

"This is Aiden! Jaune's cousin-nephew-whatever." Nora said as Saphron held him up, causing him to wave at them with a giggle as Ren decided not to correct his girlfriend.

"Aw, he's adorable!" Velvet cooed, something everyone agreed with, with Piper moving closer to the screen to get a better look at the cute toddler.

"So, what do you say we open up our gifts?" Proposed Sun.

"Neptune's mom is a bit of a traditionalist and didn't want to let us open them until tomorrow morning." Sage began, and then Neptune took over.

"But I managed to talk her into making an exception just this once." He said, as his door was flung open to reveal a rather pretty woman with flowing blue hair.

"And only this once!" She said, "Hello, Sun! Hello everyone! How are you?" Asked Ariel Vasilias, Neptune's mother.

"Hey Mrs. Vasilias, I'm doing pretty good," Sun said as he hugged Blake into his side.

"So Blake's uncle approves?" Scarlet observed.

"You better believe he does!" Sun exclaimed, receiving applause from his team and the others.

"Well, I'll just get out of your way, Merry Winter Solstice, everyone!" She bid them and received the same wish in return.

"So let's get to it! Who goes first?" Asked Neptune.

"How about Pyrrha and Jaune? After all they've gone through they deserve it." Ruby suggested, something no one could argue with.

And so began the exchange of gifts, there were many gifts received from person to person but among the highlights for each one were…

Jaune got a framed photo of Team RNJR signed 'To my favorite co-leader - Ruby', and his own team had gotten him a pocket knife, a bracelet with the letter 'J' on it and Pyrrha had bought him a small statue of his favorite character from his favorite show 'War of the Animal Kingdoms', along with a passionate kiss.

Pyrrha got a beautiful necklace, a bottle of expensive shampoo, a very nice new hairbrush, a bracelet with the letter 'P' and Jaune had gotten her a pair of earrings and an equally passionate kiss.

Ren got a new set of kitchen utensils, a new chef's hat in his green, black and pink colors and a scarf among other things, along with a bracelet like the others with the letter 'R' on it.

Nora got decorated weight lifts, a very fitting sweater with 'Nora Smash!' written on it, along with a gift from herself, a bracelet with the letter 'N'.

"I made one for everyone! A letter bracelet for each of us!" She revealed, and indeed, everyone did get a bracelet with the first letter of their name on it from the hammer wielder.

Coco had gotten enough giftcards to buy out an entire store, along with a very fashionable new scarf and an extra pair of sunglasses.

Fox had gotten books, a new desk lamp as his old one had been flickering pretty badly and a pair of long gloves.

Velvet had received some special earmuffs to keep her Rabbit Ears warm in the cold weather, some books, a few movies, and a rather revealing nightgown from Coco, which got a big laugh out of everybody except the Rabbit Faunus herself, who was given a loving, gentle kiss from Yatsuhashi.

Yatsuhashi was given a new set of shoulder armor from his team, as his old one had been badly damaged by an Ursa before Winter Break, some whetstone and Dust for his sword, a coat in his size and a kiss from Velvet.

Sage was given some whetstone, Dust and ammo for his weapon, along with new pens and an art pad, as art was his personal hobby.

Scarlet was given a new scroll has his old one was quite outdated and had taken a beating during a mission last month, along with a new jacket for the cold, some comics and movies and a few gift cards.

Neptune was given new bottles of hair gel, a comb, a very neat new jacket and a pair of water wings and a rebreather mask as a joke, "Just in case we have some kind of underwater mission!" Said Yang.

Sun got some new pants, as his old ones were a little worn, with a hole for his robotic tail already in place, along with some oil and tools to keep his tail in shape, along with extra Dust and, of course, some very tasty bananas, along with a kiss from Blake (And a secret one from Yang later).

Penny got a bunch of clothes, including a new dress and more casual clothes for whenever the group would just hang out, along with a new hat, which Penny absolutely adored, which stumped Haulan as she couldn't comprehend anyone being satisfied with being given only clothes for Winter Solstice.

Yang was given new bike tools, lots of shampoo, conditioner and body lotion (almost everyone remarked she was the easiest to shop for), new bullets for her Ember Celica, and a new shirt from her little sister.

Blake received a lot of books, a new jacket and shirt, gift cards for a seafood restaurant in Vale that she really loved, some new Dust to use for Gambol Shroud and a loving kiss from Sun (and Yang in secret later on).

Weiss had been given separate parts of a dress from her team, including a jacket, skirt and shirt, along with a hairbrush, some not-very expensive jewelry, along with a bundle of gift cards so she could buy something herself, even though she didn't really need them.

And finally, Ruby Rose got a ton of bullets and Dust for Crescent Rose, Weiss had bought her a Wyvern action figure which she had been trying to get her hands on for several years now but it had been quite expensive due to its rarity, a bootleg Crescent Rose t-shirt which had been popping up after the Haven battle (something Ruby screamed in joy at receiving), and finally several boxes of cookies, with not a raisin in sight.

All in all, it was a very wonderful series of gifts, and everyone was happy with what they got, though Haulan was a bit grumpy that she couldn't open any of hers until morning.

The various members of Team Beacon thanked each other for the gifts and wished each other a Merry Winter Solstice, with the promise to see one another once the winter break was over.

"Thanks a lot everyone! This turned out to be a great Winter Solstice!" Ruby declared.

"Tell me about it, once we're back at Beacon we'll fill you in on our victory." Jaune assured them.

"Looking forward to it, Jaune," Voiced Neptune, "We gotta get going, my cousins are at the door and they wanna spend more time with the guys."

"Seriously, we can't keep 'em off of us!" Scarlet complained.

"Mostly girls?" Blake guessed.

"Oh yeah, crushing on us hard!" Sage confirmed, "And the snow here is making it worse!"

"Yeah, I kinda…signed us up for snow shovel duty tomorrow…there's a lot of it." Neptune admitted before adding "Bye guys! See you in a couple of weeks!" They bid them good night and ended the transmission.

"We gotta get going too," Said Coco, "Our folks want us to spend as much time with 'em as we can."

"Nice to meet you all!" Said Hiyoko.

"It was wonderful to see you, uncle. I hope we can spend the holiday together in person next year." Velvet said.

"I'll do my best to be there." Thayer promised before Team CFVY said their goodbyes and vanished from the screen, leaving only Team JNPR and some members of the Arc family.

"Thanks for everything guys, this has been a great Winter Solstice so far." Jaune said.

"A great one? It's one of the best!" Nora stated with certainty, "We need to have another snowball war once we get back at Beacon."

"You're on!" Accepted Yang eagerly.

"See you then, tell your families Merry Solstice for us." Ruby said to Team JNPR.

"We sure will, Merry Winter Solstice to all of you." Said Pyrrha warmly.

It was sad for them to end the call, but Jaune's mother were calling them in as dinner was ready.

"We gotta go, have a good time!" Jaune bid them.

"We sure will! Bye!" Ruby said before the call ended before turning to those present and saying "Thanks everyone, this really was one of the best Winter Solstices I've ever had!"

"Same here, Ruby!" Agreed Sun.

"Affirmative!" Penny voiced.

"Well, there still is one more gift I have to give," Said Weiss, looking at Ruby.

Ruby smiled, just as Taiyang came into the room, "Hey kids, you might want to look out the window."

Upon glancing towards the window, Ruby did a double-take when she realized it was snowing.

"Snow!" Cheered Haulan as she dashed past Taiyang to the door, followed by the others.

"They've started up the snow machines," Observed Blake.

"Well that's just it, Blake, I just received a message from them, they aren't ready yet. This is natural snow!" Hans informed them as Zwei barked happily.

"Oh my, this must not happen a lot." Guess Gina as she smiled at her daughter, who was dragging Sun and Penny out to play.

"Well, looks like some of Atlas' weather followed us, don't blame us for it." Quipped Willow Schnee to Ghira and Kali.

"Willow Schnee making a joke to us? Truly a Winter Solstice miracle!" Joked Kali, earning a hearty laugh from the members of the White Fang and even Winter.

Ross looked up at the night sky, just barely able to make out the stars shining brightly between the clouds. He didn't know why, but he felt deep within his heart, that he truly had been forgiven.

"Hey, Merry Winter Solstice, Ross." Said Qrow as he handed him a cup of eggnog.

Ross accepted and said "And to you, Qrow. Thank you for inviting me."

"Wanna come next year? We may have it at our house?" Qrow remarked.

"Uh, we'll see…" Muttered Taiyang, doubtfully.

Weiss stood in the forecourt with Piper and nodded. Piper used her Semblance in tandem with her instrument to create a beautiful melody, one that resonated in everyone who heard it, one that made them think back to a part of childhood they always remembered fondly.

And so, with Ruby smiling brightly, Weiss began to sing.

"Old friends, dear friends

Here where we ought to be

We'll be together at Solstice"

---

Back at Beacon, Professor Ozpin, Glynda, Dr. Oobleck, Professor Port and Dr. Crane were attending a party thrown in the ballroom, for the rest of Beacon's staff and the students with no home to go to. They were joined by an expected guest in the form of General Ironwood, who once again asked Glynda for a dance and again she accepted.

Port laughed and began telling the students about his days as a young Huntsman when he dominated a group of Grimm and used them to drive a sled through a blizzard, which Oobleck was tempted to point out was utterly fiction.

Professor Ozpin looked out at the snow-covered academy and smiled, it had been a very hard year for all of them and he hoped the next year would be better.

Elsewhere in Vale, Junion Xiong's club was filled with music and flashing red, green, gold and white lights as people danced, sang and drank. Junior and the Malachite twins even had a surprise visitor for the holiday; Neo, who they welcomed to join them in their celebrations.

---

"Old friends, dear friends

Living in harmony

We'll be together at Solstice"

Somewhere in Remnant, at the apex a snow-blanketed mountain range, in an exact location only known to a select handful of people, a magnificent fortress known as the Tintagel stood out from the snow, hidden from the rest of the world, it served as home base for the secret order of Remnant Knights.

For the Winter Solstice there would be no training, no studies, but instead a well-deserved intermission. While their agents out in the field would keep up their never-ending vigil over Remnant, a majority of their forces were gathered in their strongholds to celebrate another year's passing and the arrival of a new one.

As was tradition, the Grand Knight Master of the Order permitted his Knights to remove their armor, so the various warriors of diverse talents could go about in robes and relax for the time being, many savoring the peace before they would have to return to field duty.

The main dining hall of Tintagel was a tad larger than some of the other grand halls, it was built like a cathedral, with large chandeliers hanging from the rafters and many alcoves lined the walls with tall windows. Four long tables encompassed the length of the dining hall, upon the tables lay a magnificent feast made up of delicacies from all over the world. Each table was reserved for knights from the different legions, but they all took time to mingle with their comrades. but before they could eat, they stopped to pause and pay a moment of respect for those who had died and all vowed to strive to be better in the future and save more lives than they had in the years before.

At the far end of the hall was a long stone table meant for the leaders of the Order, with twelve throne-like chairs each draped with a banner of the sitter's personal emblem. Occasionally there would be a thirteenth throne added when the senior advisor to the Grand Knight Master was present, but he was rarely seen in person.

In an alcove along the hall, Sharp Strike looked out from one of the beautiful stained-glass windows, one depicting a climactic battle of a small group of Knights against thousands of Grimm, and through a clear circle in its center that allowed him to look out and up at the starry sky and the broken moon that cast an enchanting light over Remnant. As he gazed at the moon, it brought a memory from his childhood to mind in which he would lay on top of his family's home enjoying the cool air and trying to identify the constellations with his closest friend. He silently wondered if someone he deeply cared about was thinking of him at that moment.

He was snapped out of his silence by a tap on the shoulder from Steel Gale, a skilled swordsmaster from the Steadfast Sentinels legion, he was another knight who had been taught by Argentius and the two had become good friends. The sandy-colored haired knight smirked and greeted his friend warmly and invited him to a sparring match once the feast was done. Sharp Strike declined, as he wished to go as long as he could without fighting, even if it was just a friendly spar.

The clanging of bells drew their attention, as well as the hundreds of other knights who had gathered in the hall. They took their seats with Sharp Strike sitting next to Argentius and Soul Seer. The leaders at the round table were still clad in their armor, to ensure their authority was still respected.

Before they could eat, they all bowed their heads in respect to their leaders and held a moment of silence for all those knights who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. Sharp Strike in particular made a silent resolution to be better in the coming year so he could save more lives and ensure no one else experienced the same pain he had.

Grand Knight Master Seraph Pendragon raised his arms and bade everyone in the dining hall to begin eating. It had been quite a while since the knights had seen so much good food and drink, and quickly obeyed.

The life of a Remnant Knight wasn't never easy, but they would take whatever little moments of peace they could find.

---

"Some things change with passing years

Let this feeling stay."

Deep in the Mountains of Atlas, Elsa, the Winter Maiden emerged from her trance-like state, returning from the plane known as the Maiden's Mindscape, having just had a private little celebration with her sister Maidens, Heliosia and Amethyst.

She stood up and walked to the next room, where her guardian Kaifin was looking out at the windows at the howling winds and blustering snow.

She smiled as she came up alongside him, only for the large man to pull her into a loving hug, giving her a loving, warm kiss.

---

"Old friends, new friends

Home with the family

We'll be together at Solstice"

The Vasilias house was a little packed with the various family and close friends who had been invited, and Sage's parents and Neptune's parents were getting along swimmingly.

While Neptune, Scarlet and Sage were being swarmed with the kids, effectively being put on guard duty to prevent the kids from trying to steal away any presents too early.

Scarlet didn't want to admit it, but this was the funnest Winter Solstice he had ever experienced, laughing as he tossed a would-be thief onto the couch.

---

"Snowflakes, sleigh bells,

Bringing back memories

We'll be together at Solstice"

At the Daichi family compound, the family and their guests gathered in the center of the area as the Solstice decorations were lit up, creating beautiful and dazzling displays for everyone to enjoy.

Smiling, Yatsuhashi lifted Velvet and Hiyoko up and sat them on his shoulders so they could get a better view, while in front of them Coco and Fox handed each other some sweet cookies decorated with icing.

It was then announced the carols would begin, and Fox's eyes widened with dread, making Coco laugh uproariously.

---

"Some things change with passing years

Let this feeling stay."

The Arc family home was the warmest and happiest it had been in a long time. The family was mostly united and tomorrow they would be joined by Joanna's side of the family from the DuBois farm. All their children were under one roof, along with some babies who were overwhelmed by the sights and sounds.

Hera and Zeus Nikos wouldn't have missed this gathering for the world, and their hearts swelled with joy to see their daughter alive, well and happy as Pyrrha and Jaune sat on the window seat, leaning against the window to watch the snow fall and cuddling to keep warm.

Jaune saw tears streaming down Pyrrha's cheeks, he rubbed them away and gave her a concerned look, but could see they were tears of joy as Pyrrha pulled him in for a kiss Jaune would never forget.

Ren and Nora held Aiden and Arabella, bouncing the two laughing babies on their knees with Nora giggling just as excitedly while Ren didn't even try to hide how happy he was.

Bianca Arc had set up her scroll on the fireplace and sat in front of the tree just in time as it went off, capturing a pure moment of a united family on the happiest night of the year, one she would recreate with painting to be her gift next year.

---

"Old friends, near friends

Hoping we'll always be

Here with each other together

On Winter Solstice Day!"

Weiss sang the old song with a voice more beautiful than that of an angel, only emphasized by the beautiful music Piper made.

As she sang, Sun offered his hand to Blake, who was more than happy to accept as they began to dance in the snow, soon joined by Ghira and Kali, Kane and Selena and even Babara and Jinty.

Penny grabbed Haulan and tossed her into the air, allowing the young Faunus to catch snowflakes in her mouth as she cheered happily, coming down and being caught every time by the android.

Winter decided to help out, using her weapon to fire Ice Dust in the air to create additional bursts of snow that fell down upon them.

Yang cut-in on Sun and Blake's dance, and Sun was happy enough to let the partners share a dance between each other, while he hugged his mother lovingly.

Dr. Polendina and Claudandus smiled at one another and clashed glasses of eggnog together.

"Here's to our survival." Dr. Polendina said.

"And to the happiness of our loved ones. Thank the gods for them." Claudandus voiced, his heart warmed by the scene before them.

"You know," Klein said to Willow Schnee, Sienna Khan, Thayer and Razor, "If something like this could happen; humans, Faunus and an android, young and old, can get together and just be happy for a brief time of the year, then perhaps nothing is impossible if we don't stop believing in it."

"I never would have believed I'd be standing next to a Schnee on Winter Solstice Eve, maybe I need to have a more open mind." Sienna remarked.

"Agreed," Said Willow with a nod.

Weiss finished the song, dragging out the final 'day' to a loud finish as Piper brought her musical performance to a dramatic end. Everyone clapped for the two, who bowed as they soaked in the praise.

Razor came over and picked up Piper, spinning her around as he hugged her tight.

"Having you in my life is the best gift I ever had." Razor whispered to the Mouse Faunus as she kissed his forehead.

Ruby came over and stood next to Weiss as Piper sat atop her adoptive father and used her power to make more Winter Solstice music.

"Thank you, that was the most beautiful version of that song I've ever heard…since my mom." Ruby told her partner.

"It was nothing," Weiss replied, only for Ruby to capture her in a crushing hug. Knowing it was useless to resist, Weiss relented and hugged her back.

They parted and Ruby looked up and was surprised at what she saw. "Hey Weiss, look."

Weiss looked up and saw, hanging from a string of lights going from the house to the forecourt lampposts, was a lone mistletoe.

"How did that get there?" Weiss wondered.

"No clue. Should we?" Ruby asked.

"No, no," Weiss declined, "It's not like it's a law or anything."

Ruby nodded, but gave Weiss a quick kiss on the cheek. Weiss groaned as Ruby laughed before her partner lightly shoved her off. Weiss rolled her eyes and hoped her blush wasn't too obvious.

And so everyone enjoyed the rest of the night enormously, as the children of Menagerie ran out to play in the snow while they could.

It was a wonderful night, and in the year to come everyone knew that they would look back on to cheer themselves up when things got dark. It was a magical night where, for only a brief time, everyone's worries were forgotten.

It wasn't perfect by any means, but it didn't have to be. It just had to make people happy so they could cherish the love that they found and would always keep within them deep within their hearts so they'd never truly be alone.

The End

I hope you've enjoyed these Destiny of Remnant seasonal specials, I know I loved writing them, even if I did get stressed out at times (and this one in particular had many roadblocks in its way like downed internet and personal problems), but they're finally done!

I would like to thank Relentless Crusader and Cosmic Fiction for their help and to songwriter Jeff Moss for the original version of the song featured at the end.

I hope everyone enjoys this wonderful time of the year.