11th Frame Cinema was somewhat out of the way for a movie theater.

The building was near the edge of Vale, not far from the exits leading out of the city toward the smaller villages. It was a tall, imposing structure that appeared to be made of sheet metal and concrete—like an old warehouse. Mostly since, at one point, it was a warehouse, repurposed after the original owner went bankrupt.

Riveted to the side of the building were seven posters, showing the movies that were playing. Six were rather generic-looking action and horror movies—typical Valean affairs, really. Almost all of them didn't start until three o'clock, with their one o'clock showings already forty minutes in.

Though, the film the four huntsmen-in-training actually planned to see started at two o'clock—in about twenty minutes or so. The poster was extremely different from the others, and not just because it was in black and white. Rather than an image of the actors, it showed only Tyra Andrews clad in a white, pre-war Atlesian style dress with the title of the film above her.

As the four approached, Yang noticed the other thing that made the theater unique.

"Wait, this place has a bowling alley?"

Jaune nodded, gesturing to the doors. It led into what he liked to call an 'airlock', the somewhat tacky space-themed carpet leading into two different sets of glass doors. One was the large opening of the movie theater itself, while the other led into the Valean Lanes bowling alley. "Yeah, the guy that owns the cinema owns the bowling alley, too. You get a discount on bowling if you bring your ticket stub over."

Yang smirked, eyes flicking to Ruby as she jerked a thumb at herself. "What do you think, Rubes? Think your new huntsman training can help you beat the master?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Sure miss 'Hit the gutter half the time'."

"I still won!"

Jaune looked between the two, brow furrowing. "You're a bowler, Yang?"

Ruby chuckled. "Not a very good one."

She ducked the predictable punch from Yang.

Yang glared at her sister for a moment before turning back to Jaune. "Yeah. When I was little Dad would always take Ruby, me, and a couple friends out bowling for our birthdays'. Mostly since Ruby here had a crush on the Signal team's bowling coach."

Ruby's face went beet red. "DON'T BRING THAT UP!"

Weiss snorted, trying—and failing—to hide her amusement with her hand. "You?"

Ruby pouted, crossing her arms and pulling up her hood as Yang wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Yep. Little Rubes with her hair in pigtails had a massive crush on an 18-year-old bowling coach. She was so cute~."

"I was nine, Yang!"

No one could hold their laughter at that one, Jaune and Weiss bursting out laughing while Yang pulled Ruby into a hug, chuckling just the same. Ruby, meanwhile, buried her face into Yang's jacket. She muttered a few things beneath her breath, glaring at Yang in particular.

After a minute, the group finally managed to collect themselves, Jaune clearing his throat. "Well, either way, we should probably head in. Make sure we get good seats."

Yang leaned over to her sister, lowering her voice. "How many people do you think are actually here to see a black-and-white Atlesian drama?"

Ruby shrugged. "Beats me."

"I'm thinking 'zero', besides the four of us."

Ruby gave a faint glare at her sister as the four approached the ticket counter. "Come on, don't be mean! Jaune really likes this movie!"

Yang held up her hands. "Hey, just being honest."

The four bought their tickets, each purchasing popcorn and a drink for the movie. Though, in Ruby's case, she also purchased a small box of Meese's Pieces—small, brown and orange peanut butter candies. Not her favorite, but probably the best one they had.

The four made their way down the theater hallway, the attendant breaking off their tickets before gesturing them to theater seven—all ten minutes before the movie was supposed to start. And, to Yang's credit, the theater was completely empty. Since the screen was black, the only light was the exit signs and a few strips of LED lights at the base of the stairs.

Jaune guided the group into an elevated section, at a near-perfect viewing level. He sat toward the middle of the row, with Ruby taking her spot next to him. Though, oddly enough, Yang sat a seat apart from her. "Why'd you skip a seat?"

Yang pointed to her popcorn. "Because you are not eating all my popcorn again."

Ruby shrugged. "Yeah, fair enough."

Ruby sat back, smiling as she felt the plush, comfortable chair beneath her. Seeing as no one was there, both Ruby and Yang put their feet up on the backs of the chairs in front of them. Weiss and Jaune, meanwhile, kept their feet on the ground, casting a side-long glare at Yang and Ruby respectively.

Ruby put her feet down, giving an embarrassed smile.

Yang, meanwhile, leaned further forward, draping her knees over the next chair and laying down on hers, eyes wordlessly taunting Weiss.

As the two began to bicker, Ruby turned to Jaune. He was simply munching on a bit of his popcorn, setting it between his feet after a second. "So, how'd you end up getting into Atlesian movies like this, anyway?"

Jaune leaned back, and if Ruby had been blessed with Blake's night vision, she would've known the Arc was blushing. "Well, when I was little my mom and I would watch old recordings of them. It was, uh…kind of the only type of movie I knew until I was twelve. Lot of people my age didn't uh…well, see the same way."

Ruby nodded a few times, giving him a reassuring smile. "Well, I'm sure this movie's at least good! Nothing wrong with the classics, right?"

Jaune gave a knowing smile. "Yeah…the classics."

Ruby turned ahead as the screen flicked on, the previews beginning. It showed a few ads for local businesses before getting into a trailer for one of the movies already playing at the theater—a story about a young man coming to terms with his mother's death in the midst of a warzone.

Ruby found herself zoning out, resting her head on her hands as she gazed idly at the screen. Her eyes flicked to Jaune, seeing him equally bored as the ads kept running. Her gaze lazily moved to her sister, seeing Yang now sitting like a normal person, talking with Weiss about something or other—likely insulting her given Weiss flicked the back of her head after a second.

It wasn't until a loud fanfare of trumpets sounded that Ruby turned back to the screen, zoning back in as the movie started. It went through the credits first—something Ruby had never understood about old movies—before beginning the first act.

She couldn't lie…Jaune had a point.

The movie was genuinely good.

The general plot was rather easy to follow, involving Duchess Mercia having a forbidden love affair with a young man who her family never approved of. Though, what really got her attention was just how well the film was structured and acted. Every character felt real, every reaction seemed genuine.

At the climax of the film, the Duchess was revealed to have suffered a miscarriage.

Ruby…didn't take it too well.

Her popcorn had long since been nibbled away, tears running down her face as she stared at the screen. The heartbreaking sobs of Mercia tore at her very core, shaking her to the fibers of her being. She reached over, not questioning the hand that gently took hers, only gripping tight to it.

She wiped at her eyes, turning to Jaune to find him with dry eyes. "How are you not crying?"

"I did the first three times I saw this movie, I won't lie."

Ruby looked over, seeing Yang bawling her eyes out as even Weiss shed a few silent tears at the scene. It was a rather odd scene, she'd admit, watching the 'Ice Queen' comforting Yang of all people over a movie scene. It was a very emotional scene, granted, but still.

Yet another thing that shocked Ruby was how well the film played with her emotions. One moment she was sobbing over Mercia's miscarriage, and the next she was laughing at some one-off gag. It went from the highest highs to the lowest lows in seconds, taking her emotions on a roller coaster.

Even Jaune shed a few tears at the end, despite having seen it before. After all the suffering, seeing Mercia finally get together with the love of her life made Ruby feel bubbly and happy in a way few movies had ever made her feel. Despite herself, she stood and started clapping as the movie ended—joined by Yang, Weiss, and finally Jaune after a few seconds.

Jaune, meanwhile, turned to the four, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. "Did I tell you or what?"

Yang rolled her eyes as the four made their way out, giving Jaune a faint smile. "Alright, I'll admit, that was a really good movie. Especially for one in black and white."

Weiss nodded. "I'm inclined to agree."

Jaune turned to Ruby, giving her a faint smirk. "Pretty good for an old Atlesian period piece, huh?"

Ruby sighed. "Alright, alright, you were right—it was great."

The four made their way outside, Weiss reaching into her pocket and producing her scroll. She looked over it for a moment, eyes widening a bit. "Huh, it's not even four yet. Feels like it should be night outside by now."

Jaune shrugged. "Yeah, movie theaters are like that sometimes."

Yang looked over, eyes flicking to the 'airlock', as Jaune referred to it as, leading to the bowling alley. She gave a faint smirk at Ruby, crossing her arms. "Well, unless you've got any more movies you wanna watch, how about I beat the three of you at bowling?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Here we go…"

Weiss looked up, giving Yang a faint smirk as she crossed her arms. "You might beat these two, but I happen to be quite the excellent bowler myself."

Yang's eyes widened, giving a small smile as she pat Weiss's back. "All right! The Ice Queen finally likes something actually fun we can all do! Rubes, write this down! It's a miracle!"

Weiss shoved Yang away, glaring at her as she placed her hands on her hips. "Excuse me? I'll have you know I like plenty of fun things you guys do. Just because I don't like mindlessly pushing buttons and staring at a screen for several hours at a time doesn't mean I'm not fun."

Yang glared at her, pointing a finger at her face. "Hey! Kung-Fu Ninja Slayer Ultimate Death Battle II is a masterpiece of gaming! Every character's fleshed out and the action is perfectly paced! Right, Rubes?"

Ruby slid up to Yang. "Yeah!"

The two high-fived.

Jaune vaguely wondered if Weiss would roll more strikes at the lanes or with her eyes today, the white-haired girl walking past him. "I know full-well bringing up my accomplishments in the sport would be pointless to a meathead like you, so I'll prove it the only way you will understand: Beating you."

Yang smirked, walking over to Weiss and hovering over her. Despite Weiss standing on her tip-toes, Yang was still a bit taller—her hair partially obscuring Weiss's face. "That cocky, huh? How about we make this interesting, huh?"

Ruby walked over to Jaune, shoulders slumping as she stared at the two. "This isn't going to end well—no matter who wins."

Jaune leaned over, lowering his voice and raising a hand to shield his mouth. "Why? Is Yang going to go overboard with it, or is she just hyper-competitive?"

"Yes."

Jaune suddenly hoped Yang didn't involve him and Ruby in this.

Of course, his hopes were dashed a second later when Yang looked at the two, a faint smirk on her face. "Hey, Rubes, how about you and Jaune get a game going for yourselves? Ice Queen and I'll get our own lane after we, uh…sort out a few things."

Ruby looked between the two, internally debating if she needed to intervene. On one hand, she was their team leader and it would be irresponsible of her to not do something before things got out of hand. On the other hand, Yang was her sister, and she wouldn't go that far, surely. After all, Weiss was their friend! It wasn't like she was going to hurt her or anything, right?

Then again, Ruby kinda wanted to see how this would play out.

"Alright. Come on, Jaune!"

The two walked in, seeing several wooden tables and bowling ball racks set up along the alley. Polished wooden lanes led back to gray ball returns, each decorated to look like a beowolf skull with black and white paints. The pins themselves were normal, but what contained them appeared to be decorated like the Emerald Forest, complete with nevermore's painted flying over them.

The place was practically deserted, with only one group of seven playing near the entrance. They weren't that loud, besides the sound of them rolling every now and again. A few more people were off to the right from the door, playing at what looked like a small arcade—several machines set up. Right next to it was a counter, separating the arcade from what looked to be a small pizza place.

The two approached the counter, behind which was a pretty normal, beige wall—almost identical to the movie theater next door. The man behind the counter looked between the two for a moment. "One lane? Just two?"

Ruby and Jaune nodded.

"Ten lien, or five if you've got your ticket stubs from the 11th Frame Cinema."

The two presented their ticket stubs.

The man nodded, taking five lien from Jaune before walking back, pointing to the lane farthest to the right. "Lane ten's yours for a game. What're your shoe sizes?"

Jaune spoke first. "Nine and a half."

"Four!"

The man nodded, producing two pairs of bowling shoes on the counter. Both had the same dark-red and cream coloration, making them look—in Ruby's mind—a bit like regular-sized clown shoes. The two grabbed them, thanking the man before heading to the tenth lane. It was against the wall, with only a small alley leading to behind the machines on the right of it.

Ruby walked over to the table set up in front of the ball return, smiling as she sat down. "Oh, nice! They've got these kinds of chairs, too!"

Ruby pushed back, the chair fixed only to a bar connecting with the table.

Jaune sat across from her, turning to the rather ancient-looking computer at the end of the table. From there he entered his name, a small TV monitor above the lane turning on and showing it—along with a blank scorecard next to it. He started removing his shoes when he looked up to see how Ruby was doing.

Only to reveal she was still spinning in her chair.

"Ruby?"

She stopped, her cheeks tinting pink as she nodded, slipping off her boots. "Right, right—sorry. Here to bowl, not play in these cool floaty chairs."

Jaune chuckled as he pulled his shoes on, Ruby entering her name into the game before tying her shoes on as well. She looked back, staring between the circular racks containing the bowling balls—each placed behind the tables.

Jaune barely hesitated, grabbing a ten-pound, dark-blue swirled ball and laying it onto the ball-return track. He looked back, seeing Ruby mulling over them before picking up a smaller, seven-pound pink ball. As she set it on the track, she looked up to see Jaune grabbing his. "Hey, I never asked—how good are you at bowling?"

Jaune moved to the lane, casually throwing his ball.

Ruby's eyes widened as every pin fell.

He turned and gave a faint smile. "I like to think I'm pretty good."