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Beta-ed by xenosaiyan

"For it is in our endurance, that we achieve immortality. Through this, we remain a paragon of kindness and stability to comfort all from the cold. Infinite in patience and unbound by tragedy. I release your soul, and by my shoulder, warm thee."

Wendy shuddered as Taiyang removed his hand from her shoulder, a warm feeling of strength spreading through her body, a light blue energy field rising around her body before fading just as quickly.

"How do you feel?" Carla inquired, worriedly glancing over her partner. "Everything alright?"

Clutching her bandaged hands over and over, Wendy grinned. "Yes. Better than okay. It feels like… I don't know. Stronger. Like I'm stronger."

She and Ruby (well more like her, Carla, Weiss, and Lucy, but Ruby was in the room too… eating cookies…) had mused on the differences between magic and aura before. The two were obviously completely different energies, that much was clear just from their sources. Magic required a wizard to take in ethernano from the air around them, at times putting them at risk of Magic Deficiency Disease if they were deprived of it too quickly. Aura, however, came from within and even when depleted could never be destroyed, as it was the awakening of a person's very soul. They each had their own advantages and disadvantages. If a person had a large enough stock of ethernano and an origin capable of holding it, they could perform utterly incredible feats of magic, but if they had little fuel or simply did not have an origin or magic of significant strength, there wasn't much they could do. Aura and semblances were comparatively more tame than the mightiest of mysticisms, but they provided a constant of strength that was far greater than the majority of Earthland's practitioners.

The Sky Dragon Slayer had been content with only having magic, she wasn't a greedy person and she was already lucky enough to have been blessed with a wonderful teacher and versatile style. But once Taiyang had spoken his chant it was almost as if her body had finally been woken up from a long sleep. Like her muscles hadn't been stiff exactly but hadn't been stretched as much as they could have been, and now they were humming like a bird at the dawn of spring. It was absolutely incredible, like one of her strengthening enchantments except with no strain on her magical energy reserves.

Taiyang smiled at her as he sat down on the opposite couch. Ruby and Yang were speaking upstairs while Blake and Sun were packing for their trip. Ren was making dinner, so only Jaune and Nora remained in the living room. Wendy wasn't exactly sure why Qrow had left the house, but he and Taiyang had shared a hushed conversation before he left. Of course, given her enhanced senses, the Sky Dragon Slayer had unwilling overheard said conversation (stupid super hearing, eavesdropping was rude!), though she had no idea what risk Qrow's semblance posed to the rest of them if he stayed too long.

The blond huntsman gestured to her bandaged arms. "Those should be fine in a few days. Aura doesn't do too much for on the spot healing other than mending small cuts but give it enough time to work and it'll patch you up fine."

"Thank you so much Mr. Xiao-Long," Wendy replied, her smile wide like the child she often forgot she was. "So…um… how do I get a semblance?"

Taiyang shrugged. "Varies. With me and Ruby it just activated during training one day while with Yang we had the most harrowing first haircut of all time. Sometimes you just need to keep at it while other times it takes something traumatic."

"I was struck by lightning," Nora offered, a massive grin on her face. "It was a crazy Thursday."

Carla raised an eyebrow. "How lovely. I don't suppose there is any history of a semblance activating instantly?"

Taiyang's smile disappeared. "Qrow's did."

Jaune sighed. "Lucky guy."

"Don't be so sure."

Jaune cocked an eyebrow, but in the end merely turned to Wendy and Carla. "So, why didn't you guys have Ruby and the others unlock your aura back on Earthland?"

"They said they didn't know how," Wendy replied. She glanced at Taiyang. "I'm guessing there is more to it than just saying some words."

The older man nodded. "It's a high-level technique. Most huntsmen only learn how to do it in their final year at the academies."

Jaune tilted his head. "Pyrrha knew how. She unlocked mine in the Emerald Forest."

"That's because she was Pyrrha, dummy," Nora teased, delivering a light smack to her leader's shoulder, though he still recoiled from it. "She's like, a super mega ultra-prodigy. She was years ahead of all of us. Heck, remember that time Professor Goodwitch said she was already as good as the average huntsman?"

"It wasn't enough to beat Cinder," Jaune mused glumly.

Nora's smile flickered, like a candle that had been slashed by the wind, but in a few moments she seemed to put on a new grin, though this one looked a tad forced. "Yeah, but Cinder cheated with that super magic. If they were on an even playing field, Pyrrha totally would have won!"

"I wouldn't be so sure," Taiyang noted. "If this Cinder is a member of Salem's inner circle and the one who put Amber on death's door, she's likely as strong as any member of Team STRQ ever was. And we're… we were far better than any average huntsman."

That last comment, spoken without a hint of arrogance but with subdued resignation, finally put out Nora's grin.

"Besides," The older man continued. "In the end, it doesn't matter if it's an even playing field or not. Part of a battle is to set the conditions so that they favor you. There's no such thing as cheating in a fight to the death."

Wendy glanced downward, remembering all too well her own experiences that proved Taiyang's words true. From Irene's body-switching to the White Witch's mind control, most of the foes she and her friends had proved unable to defeat outright had neglected to fight them fair and square. If there was such a thing.

"Hmm… alright then," Nora muttered. "So the next time Cinder shows up, we all jump her! Yeah! She'll be black and blue before she has the chance to launch a single fireball! Right, Jaune?"

"Um, yes?"

"Perfect!" she cheered. "Now then, we're going to need full stomachs if we're going to get our magic before we leave. So let's go check if Ren's finished yet!"

"He started ten minutes ago."

"Details, details, let's go!"

Nora rushed off into the kitchen, though Jaune noticeably hung back, chuckling lightly before he took a seat in one of the living room chairs, letting out a long, subdued breath.

Carla turned to Taiyang. "I assume that aura can be unlocked for non-humans as well? Non-humans and non-faunus, I mean?"

Taiyang shrugged. "Sure. Zwei has his."

"Zwei?" Carla's eyes widened. "The dog that defeated two mechanized war robots? The one that demolished five buildings? He's real? I thought Ruby and Yang just made him up."

"Well, Dr. Oobleck helped with the robots," Taiyang explained. "The buildings were all him though. Qrow wanted to test his effectiveness as a siege weapon and he went a little wild."

And according to my future vision, he'll be coming into this room any second," Carla whispered. "You know, perhaps we should unlock my aura upstairs? I can fly, maybe freeing my soul from a higher altitude will help unlock my semblance faster."

"Sure thing," Taiyang replied, a tiny playful smirk flashing across his face that reminded Wendy of Yang when she was in a pranking mood.

"Perfect," Carla declared, sprouting her wings. "Wendy?"

"I'll be there in a moment," the blue-haired girl replied. She eyed Jaune, whose shoulders were slumped with worry, his eyes staring blankly at his empty hands. "I'm going to stay here for a bit."

Carla cocked an eyebrow, but followed her partner's gaze and nodded. "Alright, but be careful. The dog might be here any second."

Wendy couldn't help but giggle at her friend's warning, unable to tell if she was joking or being serious as usual. The Exceed and Taiyang left for upstairs right after.

"So," she began cautiously, unsure if she was overstepping herself. "Are you okay?"

Jaune flinched away from her. "I'm fine. I mean, I'm a bit worried about the trip to Haven, most of the trains only run on the capital's side of the continent so we'll have to take a ship to one of the western ports and walk the rest of the way, which will take months."

"Really? Can't we just take a boat all the way there? Or one of those airships Ruby told me about?"

"Airships need the CCT to guide them into port, and Beacon Tower is currently a pile of molten slag, so that's out. Any boat that'd take us to an eastern or northern port like Argus would have to risk deep-sea Grimm like Leviathan. Which means the companies need to get major protection which means the passengers have to pay major money. Which we do not have, at least not for six people."

"Oh," Wendy noted, trying to keep her glee at having to use minimal transportation hidden. "Ruby always said that the Grimm were all over, but I didn't realize they restricted transportation so much. I mean, that Wyvern at the Fall was one of the stronger ones and Ruby and Weiss were able to defeat it without too much trouble."

"Ruby and Weiss are also incredible. I can count the number of huntsmen who can do what they can on one hand," Jaune praised, a worshipful smile flickering across his face. "No, the big problem with the Grimm isn't so much that they're powerful, though some really are, but that they don't end. We could kill a million of them, and the next day there'd be two million more. The only way to stave them off is to build up enough defenses that they won't risk an attack and then keep everyone happy enough that they don't do it anyway. And that's without some fire-breathing bitch coming in and… sorry."

"No, it's okay," Wendy quickly assured him. "Are you sure you're alright? If you need to talk about it, I'm here to listen."

Jaune shook his head and narrowed his gaze at his hands. "I'm fine. You, Pyrrha, and Ruby were the ones who fought Cinder. I wasn't any help to anyone. Hell, I should be asking you if you're alright."

Wendy smiled and raised her bandaged hands. "They'll be good as new soon."

"Good, good," Jaune muttered. "Thank you, by the way. For saving Pyrrha."

"Any friend of Ruby's is a friend of mine. But… are you okay?"

Jaune sighed. "Why do you keep asking me that? I wasn't even there. Pyrrha sent me away. She knew that I couldn't do anything to help her, weak, useless piece of garbage I am… she sent me away. She could have died. If Ruby had been a second slower or if you hadn't shown up when you did… she would have died, right after she'd ki… all that talk about hating being alone, calling me out on my asinine macho pride and she sent me away so that she could fight a battle she knew she couldn't win."

"She wanted you to survive," Wendy said softly. "She shouldn't have tried to die for her friends, but she didn't want you to die with her."

"Oh, I know," Jaune growled. "That's the worst part. She was right. If she'd taken me with her, I would have died, and her along with me. And it is infuriating. Can you understand that? To have worked so hard and in the end to still be so weak, to be useless? Even if I do unlock my semblance, even if I do learn magic… what does it matter if I can't kill the people trying to hurt my friends?"

Wendy frowned. "Don't think like that."

"What? That I'm weak?"

"Yes. But also that you have to kill people to protect your friends," the Sky Dragon Slayer explained. "Not being able to kill people doesn't make you weak or useless. Violence is not inherently strength."

Jaune cocked an eyebrow. "I'm a huntsman. The job is literally to kill Grimm."

"Which is more important to you? Killing Grimm or protecting people?"

"They're one and the same!"

"But you might not have the same aptitude for them," Wendy pointed out. "Trust me, I know what it's like to think strength is only in defeating your enemies. To think that not being as powerful as your friends makes you useless."

Jaune sighed, plopped back into his seat, all rage gone from his body. "How? You… you're amazing. You took down a maiden one on one."

"I couldn't always," the wizard mused, remembering her numerous struggles against insurmountable power, from her swift defeat to Azuma on Tenrou Island to her relentless but ultimately hopeless duel against Cherria in the Grand Magic Games. And yet, she also recalled how she'd saved Erza from Cobra's poison, and boosted Natsu and Gajeel in their battle against the Dorma Anim in Edolas. "But even after I learned Dragonforce, I was never the most powerful of my friends. But I was always able to find a way to protect them, whether through healing, strengthening, or transferring new aspects to them so they could defend themselves from other foes."

Jaune cocked an eyebrow. "Other aspects?"

"Dragon Slayer, Demon Slayer, things like that. Though I'd need someone who has it naturally around to copy it from and even then, it wouldn't last long," she noted. "My point is, not everyone is suited to offensive magic, and that's alright."

"Is it?"

"Well, Sir Warrod doesn't have any attack magic, so yes."

"Who?"

"One of the Four Gods of Ishgar and a founder of Fairy Tail."

"Oh," Jaune replied. "That's… impressive."

Wendy hopped up and came to his side, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. Just because your strength isn't like everyone else's doesn't mean it isn't there."

"Maybe," Jaune sighed. "I just… I want to be able to help them. I don't want to be the idiot stuck in a tree that they have to leave themselves open to save. They're priceless to me, and I can't be the thing that costs them their lives. I want to be able to keep them safe."

"You will," Wendy says. "But you can't let yourself wallow in what's happened. You have to move forward."

A small smile, genuine and sweet, bloomed across Jaune's face, a warm chuckle resonating around the room. "Man, between you and Ruby, I really have to wonder how many fifteen-year-olds are secretly super wise sages."

"A sage?" Wendy's eyes widened, her head shaking frantically from side to side. "Oh, no, no, no, no, I'm not really wise. I just… do my best. Just like everyone else in the guild has… taught me."

The girl's embarrassment suddenly fell to melancholy, recalling her own situation. She'd move forward, she'd have to, but she had no illusions about her chances of seeing the rest of the guild, her family, ever again. At best, she was trapped in another world, and at worst… at worst she'd lost everyone but Carla. Maybe the others had been put in Fairy Spheres as well, scattered across Remnant, but she'd never ask them to be stuck in this predicament with her.

But she forced a smile back on her face before Jaune could notice. Yes, she may have lost a great deal, but she didn't know for sure if her worst-case scenario was right. For all she knew, they'd get the book back from Salem and be back in the guildhall before lunch, depending on how the interdimensional time difference actually worked

But, if worst came to worst, she was not alone. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang, friends she'd been certain she'd never see again, had been returned to her. She'd get to laugh and live alongside them. And if she couldn't go home, she was confident that she could make a new home on Remnant.

"Arf! Arf!"

Wendy barely had time to turn to the sound of the chipper barking before a little ball of grey full and muscle leapt into her. The young wizard stumbled for balance before tumbling to the floor, a cheerful corgi standing atop her chest, merrily licking at her face.

"Huh, guess Carla really can see the future," Jaune grinned, all trace of his despair evaporated.

"Hahaha!" Wendy laughed, curling her arms around the exuberant Zwei, squishing his soft fur onto her skin.

She would survive this. She would move forward. Her eternal adventure was far from over.

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"I am talking about the good of Atlas! Our entire kingdom!"

"That is a load of garbage and you know it."

"I beg your pardon!"

"Jacques, will you please just hear me out."

Weiss sighed, leaning back against the pure white halls of her family mansion, standing just outside her father's office as his argument with General Ironwood echoed throughout the building. At first, she'd taken the opportunity to stand outside the room, learn exactly what her father's latest grip was with the world, some sort of upcoming escalation to the current dust embargo evidentially, but as the conversation dragged on, the two men's stubbornness simply became tedious. Really, her father had summoned her out from her room, the least he could do was finish his other appointments on time, this tirade was already cutting into her summoning practice far too much.

She'd been holed up in her room in the few days since her return, using the excuse of exhaustion from the battle to keep others from pressing her. She had no idea why or how Wendy and Carla had been in that Fairy Sphere above Beacon, but she could figure enough to know that there would be more battles ahead,

"They're still going?" Weiss turned her head to the familiar voice, Whitley appearing with a pair of hot coco mugs in his hands. "I'd thought they'd be done by now."

He offered her one of the piping hot cups, a gesture she gladly accepted. "Thank you."

"Thank Klein," her little brother replied. "He was the one who made it. I just caught him on the way up and took it the rest of the way."

"Manual labor, little brother?" Weiss smirked teasingly. "I didn't think you were one for such tasks."

Whitley chuckled. "Like I told you before, I didn't stop growing after you left for Beacon."

Weiss raised an eyebrow at the remark, detecting a note of condescension in his voice. It might have just been a natural thing, an attempt at good-natured teasing with only their father's acidic manners to base itself off. Or it might have genuine disdain slipping through… no. No, that couldn't be it. Whitley could be a bit smug at times and he was certainly no fan of Winter's, but he was not their father. He was her little brother, who she'd done her best to shield from their parents'… displeasure.

"Though I do have to ask, why on Remnant did you have him buy you thirty-six rolls of duct tape?"

Weiss' eyes momentarily widened before she schooled her expression, contemplating exactly how to respond. She and the others hadn't meant to keep their abilities secret when they'd returned, but the recent events involving Cinder and whoever her mistress was being behind the book left her more cautious on the matter of who she should let know about her full abilities. Certainly not her father, he would seek to exploit them to their fullest extent, and she doubted he'd care much about what harm could potentially befall her due to his efforts.

She held her brother in higher confidence than that… but she didn't know if he'd be able to hold up to Jacques' interrogation if the man really got suspicious.

"I was trained to use magic while I was away, but as a consequence, my body instinctively attempts to strip down to my underwear at all times, requiring me to tape my clothes to my skin to keep from constantly running around in my birthday suit."

Whitley cocked an eyebrow. "Please, sister, we are Schnees. Sarcasm does not become us."

Weiss let loose a victorious smirk. "Then I guess you'll never know," she proclaimed, taking a long sip from her hot chocolate, enjoying his irritated eye roll.

Perhaps he would have responded with more, but their father's shout quelled any thought of speaking.

"The council will never agree to this!"

"You seem to forget; I hold two seats on the council."

"We both know that won't matter. The chairwoman will side with me on this foolishness."

"How arrogant can you be? She's the one who suggested it to me."

"Esper would never support such lunacy! Your dust embargo has already cost me millions, and now you're suggesting—"

"So this is about you!"

"Of course, it's about me! It's about me, you, Esper, Klein, his little granddaughter, the shoe shiner down the street and every other person on Remnant! Isolationism sounds lovely until you realize it cuts down demand a hundred-fold! Don't pretend you understand the intricacies of economics, James—"

"Don't you pretend to be a politician, Jacques. Not unless you want another Operation Godmother's Haven."

"… get out."

"This is best for everyone—"

"I SAID GET OUT!"

Both Weiss and Whitley flinched away from their father's roar, its echoes rippling through the house. Several scant moments later, the door to the study opened fully and General Ironwood marched out with a scowl on his face, pausing only when he sighted the two Schnee children. His displeasure vanished from his visage and he gave them both a formal bow.

"Whitley. Ms. Schnee."

"General," Weiss replied genially, both her and her brother returning the huntsman's gesture.

Ironwood smiled. "It's good to see you both. Please know that the both of you shall always have a home at Atlas Academy. We'll be back in session before you know it."

"Thank you, but no thank you, general," Whitley said. "Though I have only the greatest admiration for a huntsman's work, the business world holds my interest."

Weiss cocked an eyebrow at that response. She didn't recall Whitley having much interest in the business world. She'd explained some of it to him during her own studies before Beacon and he'd always then ask her for more interesting tales. Had his time home alone increased his propensity for the field?

No matter. She smiled at the general and nodded her head gratefully. So close to her father's earshot, she couldn't risk exchanging positive words with the general.

Ironwood seemed to understand, returning her pleasant smile and walking off.

"A temperamental man, don't you think?" Whitley observed. "One moment he's calm and calculating, and the next he's flying off the handle with his latest scheme to 'protect' the kingdom. Honestly, it's amazing he still has his rank after that fiasco at Beacon."

Weiss frowned. "It wasn't his fault."

"It doesn't matter, the rest of the world thinks it was," her brother pointed out. "And by extension, Atlas'. The threat of war is a very real possibility, and Ironwood's foolish embargo is only making it worse, not better."

"Weiss!" Jacques called from within. "Enter!"

Whitley shot her an encouraging smile. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Weiss replied, returning the gesture and her hot chocolate mug before entering the frigid study.

The office was almost exactly as she remembered it. Austere, professional, and efficient, every inch calculated to be as useful as possible while also making sure that all who entered understood that Jacques' power was tied to the near limitless wealth of the Schnee name. When she had entered the chamber even just a year ago, it had made her father seem almost untouchable, a god who could not be defied.

Now, she was a Fairy Tail wizard. And she could kill gods.

Plus, a chilly study wasn't all that trying when you'd spent time half-naked on Mt. Hakobe.

Still, it would be foolish to underestimate her father. His power had never been in physical strength, but in political and economic influence, forces that could be even more potent on a global stage. Even as he was, churning in rage from Ironwood's accusations in the middle of the room, he stood tall and proud, unbent and unbroken.

"At least you remembered your manners during your time at Beacon," he noted, his voice shifting from his previous booming roar to a more casual, but no less cold, tone. "Can you believe there are still people in the world who blame Atlas for what happened to that place, to Vale?"

Quite easily, given that the only footage of the attack the world saw before the CCT went down was a beloved Mistralian champion destroying a secret Atlas weapon and their knights gunning down civilians instead of Grimm. Whatever Cinder had done to control the broadcast, she'd ensured that the world didn't see the squad of specialists bravely holding the line with the other kingdoms' huntsmen.

But that wasn't what her father wanted to hear. It wouldn't get her anywhere.

"They weren't there," she stated firmly. "But, once the Schnee Dust Company begins resupplying Beacon to help them rebuild, I'm sure the sentiment will die down."

Jacques snorted. "If only it were that simple."

Weiss' eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean Ironwood has forbidden Atlas from exporting dust to other kingdoms," he replied, marching to sit down behind his desk, like a disgruntled king brooding on his throne. "A precautionary measure, he says, until we're certain no one is going to declare war. Nevermind that reducing available demand will force a surplus in our supply, leading the other kingdoms to think we're the ones stockpiling for war. How anyone could think this farce is sound logic is beyond me, as is how he got this idiotic measure past the council. Most of them are fools or sycophants, but Rosenflos has enough of them in her pocket to kill this stupidity in its cradle. And Ironwood says it was her idea, preposterous!"

That… actually made sense. Though she was loathe to agree with her father on anything, and she had no doubt he mourned more for his profits that might have been more than any lives that might be lost, she had to admit that his assessment of the situation was sound. Atlas' international image wasn't going to improve following General Ironwood's tactics, no matter how good a man he was.

Her father's smirk shifted to an odd fusion of Master Makarov's kindly smile and the grin of a shark that smelled blood in the water. "Which is why the Schnee Dust Company will be holding a charity concert in the coming weeks. We need to show the people of Remnant that we are on their side, that we are all victims of the Fall of Beacon."

Despite herself, Weiss couldn't help the jubilant smile that shone across her face. "That's wonderful news."

"I know," her father said, all too pleased with himself. "And I think it would make a lot of people happy if you were to perform."

And there was the punchline. "Excuse me?"

"Many forget that you were there, my own daughter, a Schnee, on the ground defending another kingdom. We need to remind them. And we need to show them that the Schnee family is just as strong as ever."

That his power was just as strong as ever. Only a few days back in Atlas and she was back under his thumb, an extension of his prestige, his perfect, pristine dancing monkey. For a few seconds, a searing cold fury rose within her. She could just picture freezing him in a block of black ice and storming out of the mansion, tossing aside her clothes just as Lucy had told she had once done, duct tape be damned!

But that wouldn't get her anywhere. As enticing as that fantasy was, she needed to help Beacon get back on its feet as soon as possible, and by extension return there to be with her friends and figure out what was going on mystically speaking. And having Weiss Schnee front and center on the concert ballot would certainly attract more attendance and, in turn, donations. Besides, if she was going to be forced to do something, it might as well be something she enjoyed doing.

"I'll start practicing."

Her father leaned back in his chair; his hands closed together before him. "That's my girl. And while you're at it, remove that tattoo on your hand. I don't know what you had to drink in Vale to think it was a good idea, but a Schnee cannot mar their form with such… frivolity."

His voice stuttered to a halt, his eyes widening as black frost suddenly covered his knuckles. A thin frozen mist suddenly permeated every scrap of open air, cold tingles spreading throughout the elder man's skin as his skin turned red.

"Father," Weiss said, her voice frigid. "I'm afraid my time in Vale as left me unused to our kingdom's more… trying weather. As such, I believe I will take to wearing gloves for the foreseeable future. I'm sure mother will be able to lend me a pair for the performance."

She whirled around before her father could respond and marched out of the office, the cold following her every step. It probably wouldn't do her any favors with her father, but that didn't matter. She wouldn't be his doll anymore. She was a Fairy Tail wizard and the only way someone was taking her guild mark was over her lifeless corpse.

Her friends were out there. She couldn't be with them at the moment, but she would make sure that she brought the entire force of her family's company to bare helping them. They would be reunited, all of them, from Remnant and Earthland.

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"Are you sure there's nothing else you need?"

Pyrrha managed a small smile, a rather difficult task when confined to a hospital bed with a cast over her right foot. "I'll be fine, Aunt Rouge. I don't want to keep you any longer than I have to."

Her aunt frowned from behind her wide-rim glasses. "Pyrrha, I can stay as long as you need me here. Sanctum won't mind. You're still quite popular there." She raised an eyebrow back toward the room door, where Pyrrha's mother and the hospital guards were holding off the rabid mob of reporters. "Perhaps less so than here, but that might be a good thing."

Pyrrha frowned. Being the last person on-screen before Cinder had made her big speech had stirred up even more of a media circus around her than usual. Her mother and aunt had done their best to keep it away from her while she healed, but she'd seen the headlines on her scroll. Fortunately, she wasn't being blamed, most of the news networks were framing her as desperately defending herself from an Atlesian superweapon before heroically throwing herself into the defense of Beacon, standing as its shining champion that fell only when the school was truly lost. There were some fringe sites, mostly conspiracy theorists, who pointed out that there was no way she could have known about her opponent's robotic nature when she'd dismembered her, but those voices were often ignored and parroted as inflammatory. No one wanted to be seen as against Mistral's golden child, or the myriad of business interests that were behind her. Even the reporters besieging her room just wanted to be the first to quote her after she'd finally woken up.

But… every time she closed her eyes, she saw Penny's shattered form scattering across the arena floor. She felt the heat of flames bristle across her skin. And she saw a blazing golden eye glare down upon her from on high, declaring her utterly powerless before its might.

Because that was what she was. She'd been the pawn that killed Penny. She'd been the one who'd screamed and drawn Jaune's attention away from the door. And when she'd needed to make things right, she'd been powerless to stop Cinder from taking her apart, only a burden to Ruby's struggle.

She didn't even know how she'd gotten off the tower alive. When she'd regained consciousness, she'd already been in the Mistral capital's finest hospital, her mother and aunt anxiously crowding around her bedside. The doctor arrived later to inform her of the extent of her injuries. Though she had miraculously survived Cinder's explosion, the damage the Fall Maiden's arrow did to her right foot's tendon was extensive. They assured her she'd be able to stand and even run within a few days thanks to her aura, but her old fighting style, reliant on its complex acrobatics, would be… inadvisable. Her arena fighting career was over, the world just didn't know it yet.

Her aunt had stayed by her side for the following days, but soon enough she would have to return to Argus. She was Sanctum's archivist and that was not a position that could go untended for long, no matter how much goodwill their family had with the academy. She'd still have her mother, but other than that, she'd be alone once again, her friends all back in Vale, save Weiss who had her own issues.

She should have been better, she should have been more on guard, she should have been stronger so she could crush Cinder! She should have—

"Ms. Nikos!"

Both Pyrrha and Rouge whirled around to the hospital room's window, the glass screen wrenched open by a youthful man with shaggy brown hair, an old camera tied around his neck as he reached out his scroll as a microphone.

"What?" Pyrrha muttered.

"How did you even get up here?" Rouge asked, too stunned by the man's presence to think of anything else. While she didn't share their family's talent for combat, she was often fascinated by the intricacies of their abilities. "Can you stick to walls?"

"A keen eye, mam. It's a useful semblance," the young man replied charismatically before returning his attention to Pyrrha. "Parker Peters, Ms. Nikos, The Daily Trumpet. Do you have any statement for the people of Mistral regarding Atlas' heinous attempt to assassinate you in the tournament?"

Pyrrha had quite a bit of experience dealing with the press, she had a pleasant but empty smile prepared just for them, but after so long away from the limelight at Beacon and being asked such an utterly ridiculous question, all she could do was stammer.

"I'm sorry, that was unprofessional of me. You've only just recovered," Peters replied to her incoherent response. He deleted the data from his microphone, before restarting the application. "Let's start over with any easier one. Do you have any plans on returning to Beacon once the school starts back up? Do you plan to attend Haven if Vale cannot clear the Grimm occupation out in time? Do you—"

"Parker, was it?" Aunt Rouge intervened. "You seem like a nice enough young man. I feel like I should warn you that you should really leave now."

The reporter shot her a cheeky grin. "Apologies, mam, but I can't do that. A good journalist has to be able to go through anything to get their story."

Rouge and Pyrrha shared a knowing look. "They always say anything…"

"Until they meet her."

Peters raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean—"

The hospital room door slammed open, an unsettling terror rippling through the air like a mother bear had found another beast close to their cub. Pyrrha could only sigh as her mother shut the door behind her and stomped over to Peters, gripping the now terrified reported by the scruff of his shirt.

"Wha—wha—what?"

"Leave my daughter alone."

Pyrrha never saw blood flee a person's face faster, Peters' skin turning white as a ghost. He nodded frantically, causing her mother to release him and let him climb down right before she slammed the window shut.

"Damn vultures," she muttered. She whirled around back to her family and all malice disappeared from her face, leaving only a beatific smile. She rushed in and engulfed Pyrrha in a smothering hug. "Are you alright, my little warrior? That noisy reporter didn't drag up anything he shouldn't have, did he?"

Pyrrha pushed past her collapsing lungs to offer her mother a small smile. "He was fine. Rather polite really. Perhaps we can invite him to the official press conference."

Her mother pulled away and cocked an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Anyone that climbs up a hospital must have something wrong with them."

No one could accuse Scarlet Nikos of ever putting anything before her daughter. The moment Pyrrha had shown interest in following her mother into arena fighting, she'd sat her down and explained the rigors of both the combat and the circus around it, as well as one could to a young child anyway. When young Pyrrha had maintained her enthusiasm, she'd set out training her to be the best there ever was. And when older Pyrrha had felt herself become isolated and felt drawn to a higher purpose as a huntress, she'd supported her fully in that, upping her training to include various Grimm takedowns. Everything she'd ever done, from agreeing to be adopted as a Nikos in the first place, was for the sake of facilitating Pyrrha being allowed to live her best life possible.

Which also meant making any overly nosey reporters soil themselves. On first glance, Scarlet didn't look too intimidating, if anything she looked like a woman fifteen years younger, her rich, crimson hair still as vibrant and lush as it was in Pyrrha's baby pictures, her figure still as full and muscular as it had been during her arena fighting days. But a pretty face tended to make those with short memories forget just how utterly she'd annihilated her opponents back in those days, and the boiling storm of her wrath was enough to make even the most determined members of the press think twice about invading the Nikos family's privacy.

But even though she'd never been able to defeat her in combat, Pyrrha had no fear of her mother.

"I'm sure," she said. "If there really is something inappropriate about him, we can just exclude him afterward."

Scarlet frowned but nodded to her daughter's decision. "You really are too forgiving, little warrior."

Pyrrha's face clouded over, a haunting visage of fire and golden eyes appearing in her mind's eye. Her hands tightened into fists. "Not anymore."

She was roused from her stupor when her mother's hand softly closed around her shoulder. "Are you sure you're alright, sweetie?"

Just like, Pyrrha threw her smile back up. Her mother had given her so much and she'd repaid her by forcing her to scramble to Vale not knowing if she was dead or alive. It wouldn't do to trouble her further. "I'm fine, really. You two should get going anyway or Aunt Rouge will miss her train."

"I can take a later train back to Argus," Rouge assured her. "If you need me here—"

"I'm fine," Pyrrha insisted, a note of desperation in her voice. "Really. I was banged up in the Fall but… I'm not made of porcelain. You can leave me alone for ten minutes." She raised her casted leg. "I'm not going anywhere."

Scarlet and Rouge shared a nervous look.

"If you're sure…" Scarlet said. "The guards should be able to hold off the reporters… and if you need anything, I'm only a scroll call away…"

"I know, thank you, but please, you're going to be—" Pyrrha's voice froze to a halt, her eyes locking onto her mother's form. Specifically, her upper left arm where a familiar dark blue emblem was proudly stamped. And suddenly she remembered where she'd seen Team RWBY's guildmarks before. "Mom… where did you get that tattoo?"

"What?" Scarlet glanced down at her bicep. "This? Well, I… I don't really know. Do you, Rouge?"

Her adopted sister shrugged. "You've had it for as long as I can remember. Since the day we met in the forest."

"Ah, that was a good day."

"We were attacked by a horde of Deathstalkers."

"But we met and got strawberry cake afterwards. I call that a good day."

"A good day does not include a brush with death."

"It does when you survive."

Rouge sighed. "All these years and I've never been able to cure you of your insanity."

Scarlet smirked. "But you love me anyway."

Pyrrha couldn't help but smile at the sisters' banter. However, she couldn't help but feel that her mother just happening to possess a tattoo shaped like an other-dimensional wizard guild's symbol, a guild her school friends were sent to by a mysterious book, was more than a little unusual.

"Mom," she whispered. "Does the word 'Fairy Tail' mean anything to you?"

"Fairytale?" Scarlet inquired, cocking an eyebrow. "What, like a children's story?"

No reaction, not even the slight delay of having to think up a lie, something her straightforward parent always needed. She didn't know anything.

"Nevermind," Pyrrha said. "Just… something from school my friends told me about."

"Oh," an impish grin split her mother's face, her eyebrows wiggling suggestively. "This wouldn't happen to be something that blond partner of yours told you about, would it?"

Pyrrha's face immediately went beet red. "Mother!"

"I mean, you spoke so flatteringly of him in your letters, I had to wonder if there was something more going on between you two—"

"Alright, alright," Rouge rescued her, pulling her sister along. "Now you're starting to sound like a reporter. Bye, sweetie!"

"You will have details for me when I get back, young lady!"

Her mother was yanked out of the room by her aunt and the door slammed shut, the reporters outside audibly scattering at Scarlet's presence.

Pyrrha quickly shook her blush away. After how abysmally she'd fared after sending Jaune away, after kissing him, she had no doubt her partner wanted nothing more to do with her, let alone date her.

Now, she had to focus on what was ahead. Ozpin was dead, but his enemies were still out there, plotting their next move, Cinder and her dark mistress. She couldn't just let them get away with what they'd done, but without her headmaster and his circle to guide her, she had no idea where to aim herself. Maybe she could ask Professor Lionheart for help? She remembered Professor Goodwitch mentioning that the other academies' headmasters were part of their group.

But even then, what could she do? She'd be able to stand soon, but that didn't mean she could fight, especially with her entire style now denied her. She couldn't put the necessary pressure on her heel to jump around for her acrobatics… but what if she didn't have to?

After all, there were more ways to fly through the air than just jumping.

Pyrrha closed her eyes, blanketing her vision in a sea of darkness. She took a deep breath, ethernano flooding into her origin. For a few moments, there was nothing. And then a spark of golden light lit the sea aflame.

An eager grin blossomed across her face. She was no longer the Invincible Girl. But with magic, she could become something far, far greater. Great enough to make Cinder Fall pay.

Just to be clear, it is intentionally incredibly obvious who Pyrrha's mother is (congratulations to those who figured out my hints so far). If Pyrrha herself had ever seen a picture of Erza or Team RWBY a picture of Scarlet, they would have realized it themselves. The mystery is not who she is, but why she is there.

Also, Rouge is meant to be the redheaded woman Jaune speaks to at Pyrrha's statue in Volume 6.

An extra huge thank you to my patrons: ArcherMcMuffin, Gregg Tracton, Keith Traction, StabKingPro, Annaya Chan, Nora Okonus, Paula mandel, and KefkaesqueXIII.

Thank you for Reading! I hope you enjoy what comes next!

Go Forth and Conquer!