"Come on, Jason!" Seven-year-old Lacey Whittaker called out to her best friend, seven-year-old Jason Voorhees. "Papa said the tree house is done!"

Jason huffed and puffed as he ran after her. Unfortunately, his deformities didn't extend to his face alone. He ran with a slight limp, and his lungs were unfortunately not developed that well for his age.

"I… am… trying!" Jason huffed out as he tried to maintain a pace behind Lacey, but the limp and the difficulty breathing made that nigh impossible.

Something Lacey noticed.

"I'm sorry, Jace." Lacey apologized, her face becoming one of shame as she stopped and ran back towards her friend. "I always get excited and then I-"

"It's… okay…" Jason huffed out as he came to a stop, planting his hands on his knees as he hunched over, trying to catch his breath. "I… I just… need… need a moment…" He said as his breath returned, sounding slightly better with each passing second.

Lacey smiled at Jason, before turning back towards the direction. "Hey… do you think we can store snacks and other stuff in the tree house?" She asked Jason, curiously awaiting his answer.

A few seconds passed, and Jason didn't respond.

"Jason?" Lacey asked, turning towards her best friend in confusion.

Her eyes widened when she saw empty air where Jason stood moments before.

"Jason?" Lacey asked, turning to look around the forest in confusion.

"YOU LET HIM DIE!"

Lacey jerked around at the sound of the voice, which sounded ethereal, filled with rage and vengeance.

And yet, it sounded so familiar.

"YOU LET MY LITTLE BOY DIE!"

"Mrs. Voorhees?!" Lacey gasped as she finally recognized the voice. "Mrs. Voorhees, I'm sorry!"

"You let him die… and now you'll die with him!"

Lacey jerked around, spotting the mother of her best friend standing in front of her, a crazed look in her eye, covered in blood with a large hunting knife in her hand.

"DIE!"

"NO!"

Lacey shot up out of bed, panting as she frantically examined her surroundings, trying to calm herself from the trauma of her nightmare.

"Lace?" The voice of one of her roommates, Whitney, caught her attention.

She turned towards the woman, a dark skinned woman with her hair pulled back into a ponytail, looking at her in concern.

Lacey found her memories quickly flooding back into her, as she processed where she was.

It was her dorm room, in Signal Academy. She was in her bed, and most of her roommates were asleep, outside of Whitney.

Whitney was nice. She could be wild, and she was naturally outgoing, but she was extremely kind and caring towards those she cared about. And outside of one other person who had been advanced a few years, Whitney was the only one who knew the full depth of her history.

That she was from another world.

"The nightmares, again?" Whitney guessed, her brows furrowed in concern as she threw her covers off her person, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and standing up.

Lacey nodded, the tears slowly prickling at her eyes.

'I haven't had one in months… why now?' She signed. After the events that had happened at Crystal Lake when she was eight, she'd shut down. She hadn't spoken a word since she watched Jason drown.

The last thing she ever did on her home world was visit the old tree house her dad had made for her and Jason. She'd fallen asleep on her bed that was in the tree house, staring at Jason's own empty bed.

A bed that would remain empty forever.

When she awoke… She'd been on Remnant, under the care of a young, dark haired man.

A man by the name of Qrow Branwen.

Lacey Whittaker… that had been her name on Earth.

On Remnant, she'd Taiyang Xiao-Long, who Qrow had taken her to.

Taiyang had given her the last name of Rose.

It didn't follow the color naming rule… but when asked which name she'd like to have as her last name, Rose sounded nicer.

She'd always been closer with Ruby anyway, especially since they were the same age.

Now… Ruby was at Beacon, with Yang.

And that left Whitney as the only one who knew of her past.

"Maybe it's just an occasional occurrence, hon…" Whitney guessed, moving from her bed to Lacey's giving the girl a gentle smile. "What happened to you… it's not something you'll ever forget."

Lacey nodded in agreement. That made sense. No matter how much she wished it, she'd probably never stop having nightmares.

'Maybe you're right…' Lacey signed, letting out a sigh.

Ever since Jason died, she'd never spoken a single word. The trauma, the shock had just rendered her mute. She didn't feel a need to talk at first, but then it became a discomfort. She wasn't comfortable talking to anyone anymore. Or at all, really. She felt exposed, vulnerable.

So, when she'd come to Remnant, Taiyang had taught her sign language.

In spite of being accepted into their family, Lacey was never comfortable calling Taiyang Dad. She considered him her father, as she considered Ruby and Yang her sisters, but actually calling him as such to his face…

It sounded weird, but it was just uncomfortable for her.

Whitney smiled at Lacey, pulling her into a hug. "Girl, I bet this is the only nightmare for a long time." She assured, raising an eyebrow at Lacey. "I bet your buddy wouldn't want you to stir on it."

Lacey nodded in agreement. Jason would never want her to punish herself by repeatedly thinking over his death.

Even if she did feel it was her fault.

If she'd have gotten an adult quicker, or stopped those children, fought harder… maybe she could've saved Jason.

But she didn't, and Jason was dead because of it.

"I recognize that look, Lacey." Whitney's voice interrupted her thoughts sternly. "It's not your fault."

'But if I-"

"No." Whitney interrupted Lacey, her eyes narrowed as she snagged her wrists, stopping her from signing any further. "It is not your fault." She repeated, leaning closer to Lacey until their faces were inches apart. "Do you understand?"

No she didn't. But she nodded all the same.

Whitney smiled. "Good." She said as she let go of Lacey's wrists, thinking she'd finally gotten through to the girl. "Now, what do you say to a little video game tournament when Danny, Ryder, and Amy wake up?" She proposed.

Lacey couldn't help the smile on her face. The video games on this world were such a fantastical invention, and she wished that she could've played some with Jason. But for now, she'd stick to her friends.

Wrapping her arms around Whitney, she had a large smile on her face as she hugged her friend, more than happy at the prospect.

Whitney let out a small chuckle. "Alright, Lacey." She said, resting a hand on Lacey's elbow in an awkward attempt to return the hug. "Now, why don't you read a book, or go back to sleep. Those three won't be awake for a good few hours."

Lacey let out a sigh, but she nodded nonetheless.

'Thank you.'

Whitney gave a warm smile. "It's no problem, hun."

While Whitney climbed back into her own bed, Lacey picked out a book from the small bookshelf next to her bed, finding one that she knew would give her a good dream when she finally drifted off to bed.

Beauty and The Beast

HOURS EARLIER

"Jason…" Ruby mumbled to herself, reading the scratched up carving on the ground. She'd heard, and met, people by the name of Jason, but she'd absolutely never heard the name Voorhees.

"Can't you talk, dude?" Yang couldn't help but ask with a raised eyebrow.

The masked man shook his head in response, before going right back to staring at the two. The lone single eye they could see was unblinking, unwavering as it remained fixed on the two of them.

"Do you know sign language, then?" Ruby piped in, remembering their sister, Lacey, who was mute herself and had to learn sign language. Hopefully the man in front of her had as well.

No such luck, as Jason shook his head once more.

Ruby visibly slumped in disappointment, while Yang let out a sigh. "Well, there's a communication barrier." She muttered, before shaking her head and looking at Jason. "Anyway, thanks for the save. I don't know what I'd do without my sister."

Jason could feel himself recalling memories, the drive to protect his home from intruders in memory of his mother and best friend causing him to nod at the blonde in understanding. He too, knew what it was like to lose those closest to him.

Silence followed the exchange, in which the sisters and the masked man stared at each other, contemplating what would follow.

"Um… are you gonna come back to the rendezvous site with us?" Ruby asked suddenly, wondering if the man who'd saved her skin was a Beacon student… or someone else.

Jason just shrugged his shoulders. It was a response that neither Ruby nor Yang were completely sure of.

The sisters looked at each other for a moment, before Yang let out a sigh.

"Come on, follow us." She said, waving her hand in the direction of another group of people by a set of ruins, gesturing for Jason to follow as she and Ruby began making their way towards the group.

The masked man said nothing, but he moved to follow after them, easily maintaining stride behind them.

Ruby, admittedly, was somewhat curious as to how the others would react. Jaune would probably be a little intimidated, Weiss would almost definitely be angry… She wasn't sure about anyone else. She didn't really know them.

It was apparent, however, that their new friend was very hard to miss, as all eyes turned towards him as they approached.

"Um, who is that?" Weiss asked, raising an eyebrow as she put a hand on her hip, giving Jason a critical look.

"This is Jason." Ruby introduced the masked man. "He saved my life."

"And took down a Nevermore in the process." Pyrrha added, catching looks of surprise from Ruby and Yang. "I was actually paying attention, Ruby." The spartan said in response to Ruby's gaze, walking up to the man with a smile and offering her hand.

Jason looked at the hand for a moment, before he hesitantly indulged the girl, shaking her hand, albeit with discomfort running within him.

"So, who is he?" Blake asked, looking at the man with narrowed eyes.

Yang shrugged. Admittedly, they had no clue. "We don't know. He doesn't speak. We only know his name cause he carved it into the ground."

"How convenient…" Weiss muttered, eyeing the man with distrust.

"You can't speak?!" The ginger who'd rode in on an Ursa, Nora, gave an overdramatic gasp. "How can you not talk?! Talking is the best thing ever!"

"I disagree completely." The ninja, Lie Ren, disagreed, even though his voice was level. He was completely ignored by Nora.

"How'd you get so strong?" Jaune couldn't help but ask, interrupting the ramblings of the energetic girl. "I've never seen anyone so strong, semblance or not!"

Yang snorted. "You don't know me yet…" She whispered under her breath.

"You made it look so easy!" Jaune remarked, his gaze filled with wonder, rather than intimidation, as Ruby expected.

Jason simply shrugged, not saying much of anything.

"We can figure that out later." Weiss interjected, looking at the hobo with narrowed eyes. "I doubt this hobo is a Beacon student."

"Hey, you never know." Ruby said with a shrug, though admittedly, she agreed with the heir.

"You, shush." Weiss said, turning towards Ruby with narrowed eyes. "You're in trouble with that stunt you just pulled." Ruby averted her gaze, while Weiss looked back towards Jason. "So, where'd you come from, dirtskin."

Jason said nothing, not a single word, in response to Weiss's question. But his shoulders were visibly moving as he breathed, a sure sign that he was less than pleased by the names he was being called.

"Weiss, you might wanna cool it with the names." Yang replied, glancing over towards the hulking behemoth, unsure of whether she was feeling concern or slight fear.

"What? It's a valid question!"

"Not right now it isn't." Ruby interjected. "We're in the middle of a warzone. Our objective's right in front of us."

"She's right." Blake nodded. "We were supposed to retrieve artifacts, not fight Grimm. Who cares if we found someone else along the way?"

"Exactly." Ruby said, looking at everyone with narrowed eyes. "We need to get the artifact, and get to the extraction point."

As if to reinforce her words, a shrieking roar echoed out through the forest, causing all of them to look around frantically for the source.

"Run and live?" Jaune questioned nervously. "Now that's a plan that I can get behind."

Of everyone he'd met so far, Jason already had a fair idea of which ones he didn't like.

Weiss and Nora.

Weiss was too judgemental and rude. She was outright mean, actually, and Jason wondered how much of a spoiled, pampered life she'd lived. Not all scars were gained in battle, and he severely doubted that was the case for the one over her left eye.

Nora… she wasn't mean. She was just too loud. Jason knew he'd have to get used to bustling life and constant company, but did one have to be so ungodly loud over the littlest things?

…okay, maybe he was still a little irritated about her remark over his mutism.

To be fair, he still preferred Nora at the moment.

But he didn't really know these people, and something told him that until he escaped this forest they were in, he'd never know them either.

"Come on, guys!" Ruby Rose shouted, leading the herd through the forest quickly, everyone running after her.

Now, say what you will about Jason, though he preferred to stalk after his prey, he could run all the same should the situation call for it. So, with his machete drawn and ready for combat, Jason took up the rear, guarding the back as the group of teenagers gunned it towards the… extraction point? Yeah, that's what Ruby had said.

Ahead, a large structure hung over a cliff, a tower of sorts with a bridge connecting both ends of the cliff.

The group wasted no time in making their way across it. Without any company following after them, they were free to complete the mission with little difficulty.

Once they made it across the ravine, only then did they slow down, huffing and puffing to catch their breath. Well, Jaune was, anyway.

And Ruby… and Weiss…

Okay, so only those three were, but it made sense.

"We… made it…" Ruby gasped out between breaths, glancing down at the oversized chess piece in her hand.

"Out of breath there sis?" Yang teased with a grin. "You need to start running without your semblance sometimes."

"Shut up…" Ruby moaned as she finally caught her breath.

"I'm glad to see you all made it in one piece."

A new voice, unfamiliar to Jason, caught their attention, and they turned to two newcomers approaching, a large airship thing behind them.

The man wore a strapping green suit, with an ornately designed cane in his grip. He had a small pair of glass, and his silver hair stood out.

The next woman was a blonde one, shorter than the man, though taller than most of the teens present. She had a… riding crop, of all things, hanging from her hip, and she held a small device in her hands. Her eyes kept glancing towards Jason, to the revenant's irritation.

"Hi, Ozpin!" Ruby said with a wave, smiling cheerily. "We did it!"

"That you did, Miss Rose." Ozpin nodded with a smile. "Though I find intriguing that there thirteen people returning from this particular exam, rather than twelve." He remarked, his eyes flicking towards the hulking behemoth accompanying the group of teens.

"Oh, this is Jason." Ruby explained, gesturing towards the large man next to her. "He saved me from a Deathstalker and a Nevermore."

"Did he now?' Ozpin asked with a questioning gaze. "I don't remember seeing transcripts for a student like you."

Jason said nothing in response, simply shrugging his shoulders.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow as the woman behind him spoke. "You do know that falsifying legal documents is against the law, right?" She asked, giving Jason a warning look.

Jason shrugged once more. He cared nothing of their concerns about his presence. He needed Ozpin alone, so that he could explain his presence.

"He doesn't speak." Yang suddenly spoke up in place of the man. "The only reason we know his name is because he scratched it into the ground." She explained to the headmaster.

"I wonder if he can speak, honestly." Weiss decided to put in her two cents.

"Interesting…" Ozpin muttered, eyeing the revenant. "Unfortunately, though, Glynda is correct. So unless you have a valid reason for being here, I'm afraid we must-"

Jason decided that he'd explain things to Ozpin, or at least get his attention, in a way that only he'd understand.

Admittedly, everyone stumbled back in surprise when Jason yanked his machete from it's sheath and slammed it into the ground. On instinct, Ozpin and the woman Jason now knew as Glynda took combative stances at the action.

Only to relax when Jason began carving something into the ground.

As the scratchy pattern became more and more legible, Ozpin and Glynda's eyes widened in absolute shock, a feeling Ozpin thought himself immune to at this point, as he read the word carved into the ground.

Salem.

"Ahem…" Ozpin cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses. "On second thought, I'd like to speak with you in my office before making a decision." He decided, glanicng towards Glynda. "Glynda, if you would…"

"Yes, Professor Ozpin." Glynda nodded, before turning towards Jason. "If you would be so kind as to follow me, Jason."

The man nodded his head, and followed the woman with a nod, while he heard Ozpin begin speaking to the students once more.

"For your safety, we will take a separate transport back to Beacon while Glynda and Jason take this one back." Ozpin instructed the group of students.

"But… Jason helped us…" Ruby couldn't help but mutter under her breath as she watched Jason climb into the airship, before it took off.

"I'm aware, Miss Rose. But I must be safe rather than sorry." Ozpin informed his student as he turned to watch the bullhead rise. One thing he knew…

There was something more to that man. And Ozpin wasn't sure if he wanted to know what.

A/N: And that's the end of the chapter. The first few chapters might be pretty short, but I'm hoping to make the chapter length for this story the same as what it usually is nowadays, which is about 8k to 12k words. But for now, I'm trying to get a few shorter chapters out that will set the stage, especially considering I'm planning this story out a lot better compared to the original.