Jaune sat alone in the corner of his room, his shoulder's hunched and his head bowed. On the floor by where his clenched hands sat lay his scroll, several teardrops surrounding it and even a few blotched on the screen.

A slow, steady stream of tears ran down his face, dripping off of his chin and adding themselves to the collection on the floor on on the scroll. His blond hair spilled messily over his forehead and fell all around his face, some of it in his eyes. But he didn't care.

The flickering image that lit up his screen was mildly distorted behind the cracked glass and bent case, but the whole picture was clear and composed enough to bring a constant sting to his heart, over and over again as he relieved the origin of the photo.

It was of Pyrrha, a bright, happy smile on her face in mid laughter while her red hair was being blown wildly around by the wind. Many autumn colored leaves could be seen, blurring by her in the background, along with the red and orange tops of the trees that they came from.

A bright red streak resembling Ruby in her semblance could be seen in an almost perfect line behind Pyrrha, the main reason for all of the crazy wind blowing everything in the picture around.

Jaune swiped his finer to the right, another photo of her appearing. This one showed her dressed in her uniform and holding her spear and shield, a photo taken during a training session shortly after class had ended. Her face was serious and firm, laced with that brave expression she always made in a fight.

He sighed, a shaky, emotional sigh, and squeezed his eyes shut, another round of tears pouring down his face. His heart was aching terribly at the moment, and all he wanted to do was sit there and mourn.

The pain of his loss felt fresh and deep right now, and his heart felt as if it had been mauled, left alone to get infected, and then got mauled again with only a slow, miserable interval in between to let it fester. He just could't bear it anymore. He needed to cry.

He swiped to the next picture, one of her simply standing there with her normal face, green eyes looking back at him as if waiting for him to do something or say something.

"Pyrrha..," Jaune began, his voice trembling, "I-I'm so sorry for never realizing how you felt for me. I was just so blind and so caught up in Weiss and Beacon and about how much I wanted to be the hero...I never saw it until it was too late."

He swallowed, more tears filling his eyes and rolling down his cheeks.

"And then, when I had the chance to stop you...to prevent you from killing yourself while trying to buy us all time or whatever...I didn't. I just let you leave one last scar before going off and leaving me here!"

He broke into a quick, short sob, his eyes squeezing tight again and his arms shaking momentarily. He sniffed and wiped his eyes before looking back at Pyrrha's sweet, understanding face.

"I know it wasn't your fault," he continued, his voice feeling tighter and tighter as he continued, "You were just being a huntress, who you knew you wanted and were destined to be. But why would you do that if you knew you'd die if you did?"

His voice was only a pained whisper when he spoke again, tears flowing even harder.

"I believe in destiny, but I don't think that one was yours!"

He began to weep uncontrollably, memories and images of Pyrrha ripping through his mind and making his sobs and tears come uncontrollably. His whole body shook violently as he did, and in only a few moments, his scroll was almost covered in the salty liquid that blurred its portrayed image.

"Pyrrha," he whispered, looking up at the ceiling, "Come back...please."

He knew she wouldn't and couldn't. She was dead forever, and no one could save her. No one could have saved her from Cinder, either.

Cinder!

Jaune's fists balled up tightly, so tight that his knuckles began to turn white under his gloves, as he relieved that horrible name. An image of her smug, haughty face flashed in his head, and a spike of anger ran up his back and produced a prickling heat on his neck, back, and face.

"Gah!" he growled, frustrated and angry beyond measure, standing up abruptly, "I hate you! I hate you so much!"

He began smashing his fists ruthlessly into the wall, his eyes shut, as he channeled his hatred towards her through his arms and into some form of physical appearance. The wall began to crack as he continued, ignoring the alarmed shouts coming from the other side.

"I just wanna smash your stupid face in!" he screamed through the loud banging noises he was producing, "Your idiotic, stupid evil face in and turn you to red pulp! I'm gonna slice that grin off your face with my sword and stuff it down your throat, and force you to chew it while-"

A hand on his shoulder caused him to cease immediately, startled and ripped from his haze of anger and sorrow. He stopped pounding on the wall, turned around, and then slid down into a sitting position, his back against the wall with his head down.

He looked at the boots of the person standing in front of him, and felt even more anger erupt inside of him. He glared furiously up at Oscar, his teeth clenching, and then tensed up again.

"Jaune, I-" Oscar began, frightened when he made eye contact with him.

"And you!" Jaune growled, standing up and towering over him, "She died for you, and just because she thought you were on our side! Thought that you had nothing to hide from us and that you were a good, honest man. But she never knew what a monster you really are!"

Oscar shrunk back, eyes wide with fear. He mentally cursed Ozpin, knowing he wouldn't reply, and then stood up straighter, securing his own person and memories before he answered him.

"That wasn't me, that was Ozpin!" he said back, trying not to sound too harsh, "You need to stop blaming me like this!"

"No, you are him," Jaune shot back, thrusting his finger accusingly into his face, "Just a little longer and you'll be him but in a different body. You already talk like him sometimes, anyway. You called me 'Mr. Arc', for the gods' sake!"

Oscar felt a shroud of anger, fear, and a mingle of sadness and confusion cover over his face, giving him a flat and almost exasperated expression. He sighed and took one step back from him, realizing the truths he had said and the lies as well.

"Jaune," he said, giving him his poor farm boy look again, "I'm sorry if Ozpin did those things, and I'm sorry I have to be the illustration of it. I guess I did just as much wrong has he did, because his soul is in my body. So please accept this apology as if from him."

He made a sad, sincere face that made Jaune's heart melt on one side and harden on the other. His hands clenched into fists as the anger, sorry, and confusion of everything, all the secrets, all the lies, all the hidden clandestine things swirled vigorously around in him. He felt more adrenaline and madness rushing through his veins.

Then, with a loud shout of anger and a burst of aura, he shot his fist forward, punching Oscar hard in the face. Oscar reeled back, his hands immediately going to the punched spot, only to be met in the same place with another rock hard punch, harder than the first.

Oscar was about to dodge and then return the next one, but something inside himself, something he wasn't sure of, told him not to. To just sit there and take it all in as if he deserved it and it was his own punishment beating.

And so, without even being sure of why, Oscar stood there, Jaune dealing blow after blow to Oscar's face until his aura flashed down green and the next punch sent him to the floor, blood beginning to run down his face and into his mouth. Jaune just screeched, memories of Pyrrha and then memories of Cinder and Ozpin giving him more and more strength and momentum.

After only a few minutes, Oscar lay on the floor, blood running out of his nose and mouth, a large bruise on the side of his cheek, and even a small area of dispatched skin revealing flesh, on his chin. His aura was down, his head felt hazy and was starting to ache, and his whole face felt like one big burning bruise.

Jaune finally stopped, tears now running down the huntsman's face along with little drops of sweat that made some of his messy blond hair stick to his forehead a little more than before. He panted heavily, his own aura lower than before, due to the amount he used in his punches.

His heart was torn, bleeding, and slowly dying. And he had just taken some of that excruciating pain out of Oscar, or rather, Ozpin. But somehow, he took it, willingly. Did this mean he really deserved it? He had said that he had made more mistakes than any man, woman, or child on this planet, so did this mean that he deserved that brutal punishment?

No, maybe he didn't, and Oscar, this innocent, helpless young man forced to carry Ozpin's burden, had just dealt with the brunt of this pain. How awful of himself! He had just hurt a harmless boy...

Yes, yes he did deserve it. He had stollen Ruby's heart away, taking the last bit of sweet joy he could ever indulge himself in, just by looking at her. Oscar had swept her off her feet before Jaune could. And he probably knew that he liked her, and must've done it on purpose! What if he ended up breaking her heart later?!

Jaune's panting level elevated as his emotions began to build up again, more strength and anger making his fingers twitch uncontrollably.

"Get ou!" he suddenly screamed at Oscar, "GET OUT!" He pointed with a shaking finger at the door across the room, his teeth clenched and his face red and hot. Oscar, looking defeated, sad, and very much in pain, stood calmly up, walked towards the door, and then opened it.

"I'm sorry for the sorrow and loss Ozpin has brought you," he said quietly before quickly and silently leaving the room, closing the door gently behind him.

Jaune stood there, in the middle of the room, his whole body pulsing with heat, adrenaline, and anger. He couldn't bear the heavy burden of the feelings that he had bunched up inside of himself for almost 2 years now. The feelings that he had refused to allow to escape and that he shoved to the side so that he could tell the others to be strong.

To keep moving forward.

"But how can I keep moving forward if there's nowhere to go?!" Jaune shouted at the top of his lungs, "Pyrrha's dead! Ruby's gone from me! My life has been a lie this whole time, and now I'm suppose to keep moving forward?!"

He collapsed to his knees and began to sob, his who body shaking hard as he did. Tear drops dotted the floor and soaked into the carpet, leaving a darker wet spot in its place. And then the room was silent.

Jaune stood up, slowly, and then stared at the wall he had recently pounded his feelings on. There were two very large dent-like marks in the wall, and many, many cracks surrounded and covered it like a spiderweb. Bits of chipped paint and cement from the wall littered the floor below it and threatened to fall from the wall.

Wiping his eyes, he slowly stood up and walked to his bed, which was pressed up against Qrow's in the smallish, cluttered room. He, Ren, Oscar, and Qrow shared that room while Ruby and Yang shared one, Nora and Blake shared on, and Maria, of course had her own.

He sat down heavily on his bed and flopped down onto his back, staring up sadly at the off-white ceiling. The tiny patches of golden morning sunshine that had sneaked through the shades and onto the ceiling looked like tiny gold lakes on a gray and snowy plane.

Then he lay there, drinking in the silence, the faint sounds of birdsong from outside, and the muffled talking from the others who likely had no idea of his misery and desperate pain right now. Maybe they thought that his banging had been from his anger at Oscar. Man, how much he had beat the snot out of that poor guy.

Jaune covered his face with his hands, feeling more hot tears filling them and making them wet. He continued to silently cry, wondering if he'd ever stop or if he'd every even leave the room today. He was just such an emotional mess. It was all too much for him to keep hiding.

Why was he so upset, and why did he feel so alone? He still had his seven sisters and his parents, not to mention all of team RWBY and Nora and Ren. They all loved him and were his best friends, and it was so wonderful. But for some reason, the feelings that Pyrrha's death had drained, along with the fact that Ruby didn't love him, seemed to cancel that all out at the moment.

"I should be grateful," he murmured weakly, his throat aching when he talked, "That I still have her as a best friend. It's not like she's dead...I just can't be with her, be the love of her life. And what's wrong with that? It's not like I've always liked her."

He sighed and uncovered his face, looking back up at the ceiling again.

"In fact, it wasn't until after I got rejected from Weiss and after Pyrrha died that I started really having feelings for her. She even seemed to like me too, that was, until Oscar..."

He felt his anger rising again, but he quickly slowed it down, closing his eyes and blocking it out. No more outrages. It was time to be calm and to figure things out.

"Ugh, I'm being so selfish!" he groaned, sitting up and looking at the door, "I should be happy with what I have and keep moving forward. Pyrrha even told me that everyone has a purpose, and that mine was to be a huntsman." He sniffed, feeling his emotion building up again.

"And if she was here, she'd be telling me to pick myself up off the ground and keep going; to not let anything hinder my destiny and what I'm doing." He sighed, closing his eyes. "And she'd be proud of me right now. All of us."

He wiped his eyes again and sniffed, feeling his aching heart cry out for Pyrrha, and at the same time, smiling at the words he had just spoken. It was all true, what he had just said, and he could live by it. If Pyrrha would and could, he would. He'd live by her now.

Taking in a deep, shaky breath, he cleared his throat and tried to smile, even though it was partially against his will and contradictory to his emotional state. He finally managed, after several failed attempts, to produce a wobbly, pained smile, tears sparkling in his eyes while he did.

But then, glancing down at his scroll again, the image of Pyrrha's calm, understanding face looking at him as if saying, "I told you you could," he felt more tears rise up into his eyes, and his smile faded instantly.

He broke down into more heart wrenching sobs, tears pouring down his face and seeming to supply an infinite stream that could carry out his seemingly infinite sorrow. The last thing he remembered before crying himself to sleep was Pyrrha's face, partially hidden behind the grates of her school locker and her last words to him before she was gone from him forever.

"I'm sorry."

Ruby stood there, staring at herself in the mirror that was attached to the dresser. Her shirt was up and she was carefully examining her bump, which was larger than it had been when she last checked on it. That had been all the way back when they were still at camp.

She slowly rubbed it, the urge to do that feeling natural, for some reason. It just felt so good to do that, as if she was embracing her baby before it was even born. Well, whatever the real reason was, it was good and it made her feel closer to her baby.

She covered it back up with her shirt, cringing at how much she noticed it. Sure, it really wasn't that bad, but especially since she had just seen its uncovered, beautiful bareness, she could really see it. She just hoped that no one else would be able to see it as much as she did...

"Hey, sis!"

The door burst open and Yang flew in, slamming the door shut behind her before she jumped onto her bed and rolled over onto her side, propping her head up on her elbow. "Watch'a doing?"

"Eek!" Ruby squeaked, leaping from her spot in front of the mirror and turning around, frightened half to death by her sister's sudden entry. When she realized that it was just Yang and that her bump was no longer exposed, she relaxed, panting from the excitement.

"Yaaaaang!" Ruby wined, "Quit doing that!"

Yang winked one of her eyes and stuck out her tongue, then giggled playfully. "Well, sorry for being the best big sister ever."

"No, best big sisters ever don't do that!" Ruby argued back.

"Yah huh," Yang answered, "Just ask Dad. He has an official Best Sisters rule book. Written sincerely by Taiyang Xiao Long!" Yang laughed.

Ruby sighed and smiled, shaking her head at her and Yang's pretend sibling fighting. It was fun and helped her keep her mind off of the negative things that always seemed to be going on. And right now, she really needed that.

Yang was wearing her pajamas still, despite the fact that it was almost noon. The morning had passed quickly after Jaune had stormed off, angry about Ruby's lack of love for him, and Ruby had just decided to sleep until she felt better.

She was currently wearing her newer pajamas; a tight black tank top with a looser red shirt over it to hide her bump, along with some tight black leggings. Comfortable as they were, she still didn't like the red shirt. She thought it made her look ugly, and she didn't like how it hung around her the way that it did.

"So what are you going to do?" Yang asked after a while as she picked her bare toes. Ruby shrugged.

"Maybe I'll call Weiss," she said, eyeing her scroll that lay on her messy bed. Yang popped up from her laying position, her massive mop of golden hair following her and then deciding to stick up all around her in a tangled mess.

"Oh my gosh, how did I forget that we could do that?" she said, purposely laying the shock on thick. Ruby rolled her eyes.

"I dunno," she said, walked towards her bed and snatching her scroll, "But I don't see why we couldn't. We're not even that far away from the Schnee Manor, too."

"Okay," Yang said, shrugging, "What're you gonna tell her? Give her an update on how things are going here, O Great and Powerful Team Leader?"

"Yang," Ruby mumbled, dialing Weiss' number in, "Cut it out."

"Fine, fine," Yang answered, waving her hand, "Just tell her I say hi."

"Will do," Ruby murmured, holding the scroll up to her ear after she pressed the call button, "You can leave now."

"Sheesh, sis," Yang said with mock offense, "I didn't know I was such a burden to you just to be in the room-"

"Quit it!" Ruby yelled angrily, making Yang step back. She flashed Ruby a grin and then nodded her head.

"Okay, okay, have fun."

Then Yang left, shutting the door behind her and then breaking out into an obnoxious loud tune that Ruby hated. The sounds slowly trailed off as Yang walked farther and farther away.

"Hello?"

"Weiss! Hey, how are you?" Ruby felt excitement surge through her at the sound of her friend's voice. Even though it had only been a little more than a day, it had felt like years.

"I'm good, thank you. Where are you guys?" Weiss sounded both relieved and concerned to be getting a call from them.

"We're in Atlas City Left, at Maria's house."

"Everyone's there? No one's hurt or anything?"

"Nope! We're all good!"

"And the Lamp?"

"Safe and sound. Maria was hitting people's heads with her cane because we asked." Ruby giggled.

"Well, that defiantly sounds like Maria." Ruby could almost hear Weiss roll her eyes.

"Yeah, you're missing out on some good stuff here," Ruby continued excitedly, "The snow, the ice, the blizzards, the cold weather..."

"Yes, yes, I get it. I've never seen anything like that before, ha ha."

Ruby giggled again. "Yeah. Getting here was actually pretty easy! There was just this one dude who-"

Ruby froze, suddenly remembering something she had wanted to ask Weiss about every since she had heard his name. In fact, she was sure that the entire group was wondering who that man was and why his last name was what it was.

"Hey, Weiss?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you have an uncles?"

"Yes. I have three. Two on my father's side and one on my mother's."

"What are their names?"

"Um...why?"

"No reason!"

"Ruby, I swear, if you try calling them up and-"

"No, no! Don't worry about that! It's just, I think I might have met one fo them."

"Your kidding."

"Nope."

"Well, there's Uncle Frere and Uncle Geforen, on my father's side, and then there's Uncle William, on my mother's side."

"Huh. What's your dad's name?'

"Jacques."

"Do you have any older brothers?"

"No. Just one younger one, Whitley."

"Cousins?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

Ruby stood there, confused.

"Okay...um, do you know a Vorst Schnee?"

A long moment of silence passed on her scroll, and Ruby began to get impatient.

"No," Weiss finally answered, "I don't. Are you sure his last name isn't something else, or if he was lying?"

"I dunno, Weiss. He has the white hair and the blue eyes...just like you and Winter. Although, his eyes are darker blue than yours."

"That's very strange. I don't know anybody in this family, or even extended family, named Vorst. How old his he?"

"I have no idea. But he looks like he could be in his twenties or maybe even his thirties."

"Still doesn't ring a bell."

Ruby let out a loud, frustrated sigh. "Of course not."

"Well, it's not like I know everything," Weiss snapped back. Ruby suddenly burst out laughing, very audible on her scroll for her to hear.

"What's so funny?" Weiss asked, barely audible over Ruby's laughing, "Did I say something?! What are you doing?!"

"Imagining if you had said that in the Emerald Forest!" Ruby squeaked, hardly able to breath, "I have to be imagining that; it's too funny!"

"No it is not," Weiss mumbled, "Was there anything else you wanted to tell me? I have to leave for the afternoon meal soon."

Ruby quickly composed herself, not wanting Weiss to get in trouble and not wanting to waste any precious time on what she could be telling her. Weiss had told Jacques that she was dead, for whatever reason, and if he saw her calling his daughter, he'd know instantly that Weiss had lied and that she was probably hiding something.

"Should I tell Jaune that you like him?" Ruby blurted out randomly, earning a little gasp from her friend, "Cuz he told me that he liked me, but I told him that I liked Oscar, and then he got really upset, and now I don't know what to do! He's super sad because of Pyrrha and he had always tried to get you to like him before and-"

"Hold on a second," Weiss interrupted, trying to take in everything Ruby had just burst out, "You want to tell him that I like him to make him feel better about loosing Pyrrha and not having you?"

"Well, yeah?"

"I mean, it kind of makes sense...but he'll think that you're lying."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because! This is so out of the blue. I never liked him, and I was always so rejecting of him for just about the entire time I've known him. So why would he believe you when it wouldn't make any sense for him to?"

"Well...why do you like him all of the sudden, then?"

"It's...complicated. Maybe I'll tell you later. I'll just say that things change, and people don't exactly see what happens behind the scenes in a movie or whatever. Things happen that people don't see."

"Wait, does this have to do with that one time a while back before Emerald and Mercury captured me and Oscar-"

"NO! I mean, yes! I mean, maybe? Okay, now you're prodding me too much. It's not really any of your business."

"It isn't?"

"No! Just leave that alone, please."

"Wait, can I still tell him?"

"Well, I mean, I don't know. If you really think you need to. I mean, I don't think it'll ruin anything. In fact, thank you for liking Oscar. I knew you liked him, I just didn't really know if I should've said anything. Glad you finally told people."

"Well, I mostly just told Jaune, but you know...the news has probably already spread pretty fast."

The sound of the door opening behind her startled her again, and she jumped, whipping around to see who had entered the room. It was Yang, who was now holding Ember Celica and then dropping them onto her bed. She hopped up next to them, bouncing a little from the mattress, and then began polishing them with a cloth of polish.

Ruby tried to ignore the fact that Yang was probably just polishing her gauntlets in the room so that she could eavesdrop on her scroll call, and she turned away, rolling her eyes to continue her conversation with Weiss.

"Well, you know how complicated romance can be," Weiss continued, "Full of flaws; Void of perfection."

"Wow, Weiss," Ruby said, "Never knew you had so much experience with that kind of thing. At least you would if you actually tried to pursue anyone for once in you life!" She giggled a bit.

"You stop with that this instant, Ruby Rose! It's not like you have any...Oh wait."

"Yeah, Weiss! Like I don't have anyone I like. It's been causing me so many problems! It even got me-"

She froze, suddenly realizing what she had almost blurted out for Yang and Weiss to hear. Despite the fact that she had solemnly been hiding her pregnancy for almost four months now and had stored that information deep within herself...literally, she had almost said that fact loud and clear, just about dooming her and Oscar forever.

"Got you what?' Weiss asked, confused.

"Got me...um," Ruby began, feeling Yang's eyes on her now "Got me a, uh, death warrant from Jaune! To Oscar. Because of complications."

"What is that suppose to mean?!"

"It means that Jaune hates Oscar because he likes me and Jaune likes me, but I like Oscar and not Jaune!" Ruby spilled out in one long sentence. There was a pause on her scroll as Weiss mulled what her friend had just said over.

"Aw, my baby sister needs a hug!" Yang's voice said from behind her. Ruby felt Yang's arms around her waist only a moment after, and she was lifted into the air and into her sister's arms, her face shoved tightly against her neck.

"Yaaaaaaang..," Ruby's muffled wine came as she tried to breath, but at the same time, accepted the hug with happiness and some kind of defeat and yielding, "I'm talking to Weiss."

"Yang?" Weiss's transistored voice sounded quietly from Ruby's scroll, which was a few inches from Yang's left ear, "Did you steal Ruby's scroll."

"Nope!" Yang answered back playfully, "Just giving my poor baby sister a hug. She's under a lot of stress, you know." She fuzzed her sister's messy black and red hair while sticking out her tongue.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Weiss answered, her eye roll nearly audible, "Should I hang up? I should probably go, anyway..."

"No!" Ruby squealed, jerking herself from her sister's hold and reaching wildly for her scroll, "Not yet! Uh, when can I call you back?!"

Yang laughed as she waved Ruby's scroll high above her head while she tried desperately to grab it. She pressed the speaker phone button with her thumb, giggling as Ruby slumped to the floor in defeat, her loose red shirt flapping with her.

"I don't know," Weiss said, unaware of the situation, "Maybe later tonight? I don't have much going on."

"Okay!" Yang shouted back in an unnaturally high voice as she tried to impersonate her sister, "I'll just do that!" She burst out laughing while Ruby crossed her arms angrily, sitting at Yang's feet.

Then she gritted her teeth and suddenly blurred upwards with her semblance, a brief flurry of red rose petals rising up as she did so. She snatched the scroll from Yang's hand and then burst to her bed, bouncing with the mattress, and then wrapped herself up in her blanket.

"Ruby, what's going on over there?!" Weiss said, annoyed and confused at the various strange noises coming from Ruby's end.

"Help!" Ruby cried as Yang's arms began trying to untangle the blanket, her muffled laughs resounding over and over, "I'm being attacked by the Yang-Monster!" She finished her plea with a little squeak and her thumb accidentally slid over the call end button.

"Yang, you doofus!" Ruby yelled, pulling the blanket off her head and giving her sister a menacing glare, "She's my best friend and I barely get to talk to her!" Her mood swing began to settle in again. "You're so mean!"

Yang blinked.

"Okay, okay! Sheesh," she said, holding her hands out for peace with a raised brow, "You don't have to get all emotional about it. I was just poking a little fun at my super uptight little sister."

"Well, now's not the time!" Ruby snapped back, "We're on a mission and we need to talk to our teammates about things! We don't have any time for fun!"

Yang shook her head and rolled her eyes, a little grin on her happy, sunny face, "Okay. You don't need to act like that and there is time for fun, even now. There's just a right time and a right place, 'kay?"

Ruby just grunted something and flopped down on her bed, still feeling very upset about having hung up on Weiss without saying anything. And she didn't think calling back was a good idea. Weiss had said that she needed to go eat lunch and she didn't want to get her into any trouble. So much for trying to calm down a bit.

Her heart seemed to sigh and reality sunk back in. She was pregnant, in Atlas, unauthorized and on a mission, with one of her best friends raging about her, her boyfriend fretting about her and trying to keep her secret, trying to keep the secret herself, and her bestie stuck in a place she hated. Her mom was dead and her dad was lonely. Beacon was destroyed. Salem was going to destroy everything or whatever...

And all of Ruby's anger and disappointment of before melted into gloom and sadness, and she wanted nothing more than to go find Oscar and curl up on her bed with him, her head against his broad chest and his strong arms around her, with no one else in the room.

"I'm gonna go help Maria make lunch," Yang finally spoke up, pointing her thumb at the door, "You alright?"

"I'm fine," Ruby mumbled back, her face now stuffed in her blanket.

"Okay then," Yang said, "Hope you're feeling ready for finding the Atlas Relic! Well, whenever that is...But soon!" She left with a grin and a wink, and the Ruby was left alone, all to herself again.

Standing up from her bed, she walked to the door, locked it, and then crossed the room to the fan, turning it on and taking a large breath of the cool air that it had begun to blow into her face. Then she walked back the her bed and flopped down onto it, snuggling under the covers.

Then, sighing and sliding off her big red shirt and tossing it onto the floor, she curled up and fell asleep, a light smile on her face as she let the heavy weight of everything drift away along with her consciousness.

Funny timing of this story, my mom just found out she's expecting, so hoorah!

I just mixed the usual Weiss scene with the scroll scene, so there isn't just a solo Weiss scene. Hopefully you guys were okay with that...And poor, poor Jaune! I'm sorry, but that Arkos scene was too fun to write. Depressing scenes are fun to write. ;-:

A big thank you to cbustroyer and some guest (that's literally the guest's name) for giving me some feedback and ideas. I really appreciate it! And a different guest that mentioned killing the emoji in my last note...that made me laugh. Thanks!

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more chapters!