The travel to Mistral felt like a very fast journey for both Pyrrha and Neo, despite the journey taking them a day to travel on foot. When the two women finally arrived in the mountain city, it would be the early hours of the morning. The two would give a small sigh as they take a look around, appreciating the natural view of this city. "It's been so long since I've been to Mistral, I forgot how beautiful it was." Pyrrha said softly as she took a look around the small city street, she was currently in. There were countless stalls and market booths selling various items from food, jewelry, weapons, clothes, and books. The city streets were also full of various people and faunuses peacefully getting along and discussing amongst each other, despite the fact that it was still early in the morning. Pyrrha gives a small sigh as she takes in the familiar sight and sounds of Mistral. She continues walking down the stone paths of Mistral as Neo walks alongside her. "Mistral was established on a mountain, and the higher up you go, the wealthier the people are, with those at the bottom of the mountain being in the lower class." Pyrrha explains with a gentle smile.
Neo gives a small hum as she starts to sign. "That's quite some symbolism right there."
"It is. It's something that I've always would like to change but, I'm just one person and I can't change that by myself. Besides, there are other matters that take priority over this." Pyrrha said as she stops in the middle of the street and looks up the mountain. "Up at the very top is Haven Academy. Ruby, Nora, Ren and Qrow should be there by now." she says with a sigh as she starts to feel butterflies flying around in her stomach. "I'm… a bit nervous about Qrow, considering what I did to Ruby." Pyrrha uttered as she starts to twiddle her fingers.
Neo gives Pyrrha a firm pat on her shoulder as she gives the spartan a smile. "I think Qrow wouldn't know it was you. Ruby would probably lie and say that she lost it from a Grimm or something." she signs, trying to ease Pyrrha's nerves.
Pyrrha takes a deep breath and gives Neo a happy sigh. "You're right. Ruby wouldn't want to reveal that kind of information if she still cares about me." she says as they walk down the stone streets, passing by oriental houses before ending up on a road that leads up to Haven. It would be a long walk up the mountain for the two of them, as there were many flights of stairs that they had to climb. Pyrrha was having no trouble with climbing the stone stairs that were lit by torches, while Neo on the other hand was holding onto the railing with one hand and had her parasol supporting herself on the other. Pyrrha turns around and looks at Neo, rolling her eyes as a small smile creeps on her face. "Quit being such a drama queen. It's not that bad. We've done more walking than this before."
Neo gives Pyrrha a glare as she stops to sign towards the red head. "Yeah but we weren't going up stairs the entire way, especially not ones as steep as these!" She signs with a grunt.
Pyrrha gives a small chuckle as she goes down a few steps to stand alongside Neo. "Would you prefer that I carry you? We're not that far from Haven now." she asks in a way that's hard to tell whether she's being serious or not. Neo looks at Pyrrha with a questioning stare and before she had a chance to respond, she would let out a gasp of surprise as Pyrrha scoops Neo up into her arms, carrying the short girl in a bridal carry. "I always expected you to be light, but not this light. You weigh nearly nothing." Pyrrha comments with a chuckle.
Neo gives blushes brightly and crosses her arms, giving a small pout. She didn't ask for this, but she's not going to complain about a free ride. When they would reach the top of the stairs and find themselves on the large campus of Haven Academy, Pyrrha would set Neo down as she lands with her heels clicking on the stone floor. She looks up at Pyrrha and dusts herself off. "Thanks, I guess. But don't expect me to return the favor. You're way too heavy for me to even think of picking you up." Neo signs with a grumpy expression.
Pyrrha looks at Neo and raises her eyebrow. "Are you saying that I'm fat?"
"Yes. I am." Neo answers with a firm nod, a teasing smile on her face.
"You bitch." Pyrrha grumbles, the corners of her mouth forming a small smile at Neo being Neo.
"Pot meet kettle." Neo retorts with a smug grin.
Pyrrha gives a silent laugh as she starts walking through campus. "Let's just try to find Ruby. When we do, I would like a few moments alone to talk to her if you don't mind Neo." Pyrrha says softly as she looks around campus to try to find any trace of the girl with the red hood. Neo gives a small nod as she walks alongside Pyrrha, trying to find Ruby.
The two women would walk around until they suddenly find Ruby, sitting down on a balcony that looks over the edge of the mountain. Alongside Ruby was what appeared to be Yang and Weiss. How did those two beat them here? Well no matter, they found Ruby. Both Pyrrha and Neo hide behind some bushes and wait for Ruby to be alone. They see Yang get up from the ground and stomp away, with what seems to be an angry look on her face, though the reason why she's angry is unknown to the two women. Weiss quickly chases after Yang and leaves Ruby alone, who gets up and leans over the railing of the balcony. Pyrrha takes a deep breath as she hesitates to get onto the balcony. Neo gives the nervous girl a pat on the back and a reassuring smile, causing Pyrrha to smile as she gets out from the bushes and jumps onto the balcony. Neo gives a small smile and walks away to wait for Pyrrha to be done, not wanting to eavesdrop.
When Pyrrha would land onto the balcony, Ruby would immediately turn around and spot her old friend. "P-Pyrrha?!" She utters, holding her left hand over her chest. Pyrrha looks at Ruby softly and spots a large white bandage covering where her pinky finger should be, causing Pyrrha to give a soft frown. She also sees the large scar that ran across the young huntress' face, causing her to reflect back on what happened that day. "W-What are you doing here?" She asks, walking up to Pyrrha slowly, not sure if this is a dream or Pyrrha is actually here.
"Were they not able to save your finger?" Pyrrha asks softly, ignoring Ruby's question.
Ruby gives a small sigh as she looks away for a moment. "Yeah… it was too late for them to save it so now they're just letting my wound heal for the time being. The doctors told me to take some time to rest but, there's still business that I need to do, and I can't rest until everything is done." Ruby replies with a soft smile.
Hearing that Ruby wasn't able to get her finger reattached caused Pyrrha to tremble softly as guilt started to flood her heart. "I-I'm sorry…" She whimpers softly, barely audible for Ruby to hear.
Ruby notices Pyrrha starting to lose her composure and walks closer to her, putting her hand on Pyrrha's shoulder. She wasn't able to hear what Pyrrha said so she asks. "What was that?"
Feeling Ruby's touch, Pyrrha falls to her knees and let's out loud sobs into Ruby's shoulder, hugging her tightly. "I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry! I shouldn't have done that to you!" She bawls loudly.
Ruby quickly gets on her knees as well and hugs Pyrrha tightly, a few tears running down her cheek as well. "Don't be sorry! It's not your fault! I don't blame you for this happening!" She mutters, rubbing Pyrrha's back to try to comfort her.
"But it is! You were defeated and I should've just left you there! But instead I…" Pyrrha pauses to give a loud sniff. "I… I took away your finger and left you to wallow in your own blood!"
Ruby only hugs Pyrrha tighter, knowing that she can't be mad at her. "Pyrrha! Please stop! It's okay! I forgive you! It still hurts but it doesn't hurt as much as my heart does seeing you in pain!" Ruby sobs, letting out loud sniffs as she hugs Pyrrha even tighter.
Pyrrha trembles in Ruby's hug as she hears that Ruby is so quick to forgive and forget, treating the incident like she never even lost a finger in the first place. How could Ruby just shrug off such a life changing moment for her? All because they were friends? It just doesn't make any sense. "I…" Pyrrha trembles as she thinks on what to say. Ruby must be saying that she's sorry to soothe Pyrrha, and not genuinely mean it. That's the only reason why she's "forgiving" her. Suddenly she would then get a small thought in her head. Just a small thought, but despite how small it was, it roared in her head. Maybe… in order for Ruby to truly forgive her… Pyrrha gives a small sob as she breaks away from the hug and reaches behind her for Milo.
Ruby stares at Pyrrha, eyes still covered in tears as she gets a feeling on what Pyrrha is doing. "Pyrrha… don't…" She murmurs with a sniff.
"An eye for an eye… that's the only way you can forgive me." Pyrrha utters as she holds Milo out in front of her. Pyrrha slams her hand down onto the stone ground and raises Milo high into the sky, ready to bring it down on her own pinkie finger.
"PYRRHA DON'T!" Ruby screams as she tackles Pyrrha down onto her back, trying to wrestle the blade out of her hand.
"GET OFF OF ME! THIS IS WHAT I NEED TO DO!" Pyrrha screams as she tries to fight back against Ruby so she can enact justice on herself.
"NO, YOU DON'T! NO MORE BLOOD NEEDS TO BE SHED!" Ruby shouts as tears drip onto Pyrrha's golden chest plate, as she grabs Pyrrha's wrist with one hand, and using the other trying to wrestle the blade out of her fingers.
"RUBY PLEASE STOP! GET OFF!" Pyrrha bawls as she tries to kick Ruby off of her chest, but the girl wouldn't budge. Pyrrha knows she can easily kick Ruby off. She just knows it! The young huntress has always been super light so the strong spartan should be able to kick her off. Yet Ruby is still cradling her chest as she continues to wrestle with Pyrrha's fingers to remove the blade. Is it perhaps that Pyrrha too believes that she doesn't need to do this? Or is it because Ruby has gotten far stronger since they last had hand to hand combat like this. Whatever the case may be, Ruby wasn't budging as with a small shout from the red hooded huntress, she pins Pyrrha's arm down to the ground.
Working her fingers, Ruby is able to get Milo out of Pyrrha's hand and knocks it to the side, the metal screeching across the stone floor. Pyrrha tries to reach for Milo but gives up as she looks up at Ruby. Ruby gives a small frown as she quickly leans down and wraps Pyrrha in a tight hug. "Please… please don't do this. You don't need to exact justice on yourself. I already forgave you, so please forgive yourself!" Ruby sobs softly into Pyrrha's shoulder.
Pyrrha looks up at the sky and gives a few small sobs before she hugs Ruby back tightly, closing her eyes as she buries her head into Ruby's shoulder. She doesn't say anything, only gives small quiet sobs as she's struggling to forgive herself. If Ruby, the girl that suffered so much because of Pyrrha's quest for vengeance, could forgive her… then maybe she can forgive herself too. "I… don't know if I can…" Pyrrha sobs as her mind becomes a fierce ocean that reflected who she once was. The waves of hate and fury crash against the reflection on the waters, causing it to disappear. When the waves would die down, a new image that resembled what Pyrrha looks like currently takes the place of the original image. When the waves would crash against the image again, it would stand strong and keep it's shape.
Ruby gives a small sniff as she pulls away slightly. "Then let me help you! I can help you forgive yourself Pyrrha! All of us can! So please, stay here with us." Ruby pleads as her soft silver eyes peer into Pyrrha's emerald green eyes.
Pyrrha wipes her tears away and silently nods her head, giving a small sniff. "Please… I want the help. I don't know where to start…" She murmurs.
"Then let's start by reintroducing you to everyone. Yang and Weiss are here too and I'm certain that they'll be pleased to see you!" Ruby smiles happily, one last tear drop running down her cheek before she gets off of Pyrrha and helps her up. "And we can introduce them to Neo too! Well an introduction that isn't so… stabby and murdery." Ruby laughs softly. "Speaking of, where is she?"
Pyrrha gives a small laugh at Ruby's silliness as she rubs her eyes, wiping away the tears she shed. "Neo wanted to give us some privacy so we could talk. Let me call her real quick." Pyrrha said as she gives a small whistle. Soon, appearing behind Ruby, would be Neo, glass breaking around the space that was behind the young huntress, causing the girl to jump up in surprise.
"Gah! Neo!" Ruby shrieks as she gives a small shiver. "You scared me!" Ruby laughs nervously as she calms herself down. Neo gives a small giggle as she taps her parasol on the stone ground, amused at Ruby's reaction. She may not want to kill Ruby anymore, but she never said anything about not wanting to tease the young huntress.
"And I'm certain that I will scare you plenty more times in the future!" Neo signs with a grin.
"Please don't…" Ruby mutters as she shakes at the thought of Neo scaring her at any possible opportunity. It's a good thing that Ruby knows sign language as well, otherwise talking to Neo would be much more difficult.
Pyrrha laughs softly as she looks at her two friends. "Welcome to the club. This bitch will take every opportunity to tease and taunt you. In my opinion, it's far better than trying to kill you."
Ruby stares at Pyrrha in disbelief, stunned by what she just heard. "P-Pyrrha?! Did you just swear?!" She exclaims in shock. For as long as Ruby knew her, Pyrrha refused to say any kind of swear word. Not even damn. In fact, the two of them had this in common as they playfully formed their own little club called "No Cuss Club". Some other members that they had in this silly little club was Ren, due to how quiet he was most of the time, Blake for the same reason as Ren and surprisingly enough Coco, the heavy weapons fashionista refusing to use curses as she claims it's unbefitting of someone of her position. Needless to say, Yang was banned from ever even looking at the club.
Pyrrha looks at Ruby with a raised eyebrow. "Yes? Is there something wrong with that?" Pyrrha asks, a bit confused on why the young huntress is making such a big deal out of this. Neo watches the exchange, giggling to herself as she hears about how innocent Pyrrha used to be. She likes this Pyrrha far better than the old one from what she's hearing.
Ruby stomps her foot on the ground with a pout. "Of course, there's something wrong with that! It means that the vice president of the No Cuss Club must get kicked out! We formed this club together Pyrrha!" She cries, her eyes fogging up with fake tears as she overreacts to this for the sake of entertainment value.
"Oh shit, I'm sorry!" Pyrrha apologizes, only for her to realize that she just swore. "Fuck!" She shouts as she stomps her foot on the ground. Ruby let's out a loud gasp with each and every single swear that Pyrrha said, all the while Neo was bending down in silent laughter as she wipes a small tear away from the corner of her eye.
"BANNED FOREVER!" Ruby declares dramatically as she points her finger at Pyrrha, her eyes dilated as she stares Pyrrha down, finger unwavering. A moment of silence would pass before the two huntresses would give a small chuckle with Ruby laughing louder than Pyrrha. "But seriously Pyrrha… hearing you swear is just unnatural."
Pyrrha shrugs her shoulders as she gives a small sigh. "Well it's something that you'll get used to eventually." Pyrrha said as she looks over at Neo, who was recovering from her laughing fit. "And you'll get used to that too." Pyrrha said gesturing towards Neo.
Neo sees this and gives a small glare. "You just gestured towards all of me." She pouts, giving a small "Humph" and crossing her arms.
"See what I mean?" Pyrrha asks, causing Ruby to giggle softly.
"Well as long as you don't try to kill us, we would love to have you aboard Neo!" Ruby says happily as she holds out her hand to shake Neo's hand.
Neo hesitates for a brief moment before grabbing Ruby's hand and shaking it briefly. She's never been apart of a true team before, for the most part it was just her and Roman. While she was part of a team with Cinder, Emerald and Mercury, it was more of an alliance to get a job done and even then Neo wasn't with the four of them that much, having been more on the infiltration and information gathering side of things while the three kept up appearances and avoided suspicion. But now she's being asked to join an actual team, and if her experience with partnering with Pyrrha is anything to go by, she will enjoy herself here. Neo retracts her hand and starts to sign. "I can promise that I won't kill you. But I can't promise that I won't tease you goody two shoes."
"Well, you take what you can get I suppose." Ruby shrugs as she motions for Pyrrha and Neo to follow her. "Come on, let's go tell Yang and Weiss that you're here."
Neo gives a small smirk at the mention of Yang, remembering the last time the two met. It wasn't a pleasant experience, for Yang that is. Neo had tons of fun toying with her and taking advantage of her short temper back during that fight on the train. Neo hopes that Yang still has a bit of a temper so that she can have fun teasing the tall blonde and not get punished for it since they're comrades now. Although considering how she was when Neo and Pyrrha saw her again while they were disguised as Coco and Velvet, she seemed to have calmed down a lot.
The tall spartan looks down at Neo and notices her visible excitement. "You must be happy to see Yang again. I wonder why?" Pyrrha sarcastically ponders.
"It's a mystery that will remain unsolved until the end of time." Neo signs as she skips along through Haven academy, humming softly.
Eventually, Ruby would lead the two to what appears to be the entrance to a dorm room, the wooden door blending in with the wooden walls, almost as if they're secret rooms were it not for the shining brass handles. "You guys wait here; I'll go get Yang and Weiss." Ruby says as she opens the door. When she walked inside, Ruby would see Yang and Weiss hugging each other softly, causing the girl to give a soft smile as she sighs happily. "I don't mean to interrupt this tender moment, but I have someone that I would like you two to meet." Ruby says happily.
Yang and Weiss give a quick look to each other, eyebrows raised as they wonder who this someone is that Ruby wants to introduce them to. "Who is it that you want to introduce us to Rubes?" Yang asks curiously as she pulls away from the hug her and Weiss were in.
As if on cue, Pyrrha walks through the door and into the two-bed dorm room, a small smile on her face. "Hello again." She says softly, still speaking in a deeper tone of voice, having gotten used to speaking like this and doesn't find herself going back.
Yang and Weiss freeze when they see Pyrrha again and eye her up and down, wanting to make sure that this is truly Pyrrha. While she does have some different armor, her hair was cut short and she has a large scar over her face, this still is Pyrrha Nikos, the woman everyone thought was dead after the fall of Beacon. "Pyrrha!" Weiss and Yang shout simultaneously, as they jump up from the bed and give Pyrrha a tight hug, catching the girl off guard. She freezes for just a moment, not sure what to do before wrapping her arms around the other two girls, returning the hug.
"We thought you were dead!" Weiss sobs softly, burying her face into Pyrrha's chest.
"I'm so glad to see that you're safe…" Yang utters as she gives Pyrrha a tighter hug.
Pyrrha gives a small chuckle as she breaks away from the hug, only for her to be pulled back into the hug by both Yang and Weiss. "It'll take a lot more than Cinder and some Grimm to kill me." She says with a small smile.
Both Yang and Weiss soon break away from the hug as they look up at Pyrrha. "We're… so sorry about what happened to Jaune. He died too soon." Weiss said softly, remembering all the tragedies that happened that day.
"Yeah… he didn't deserve it. He should be here with us right now." Yang murmured, looking down at the floor.
Pyrrha clenches her fist at the memory of Cinder killing Jaune, trembling softly as her rage attempts to take over. "I know. He shouldn't have died. That is why I am going to kill Cinder for everything she's done. Not just for killing Jaune, but for everything she's done to all of my friends. She's responsible for all the tragedies that happened that day, and the events that happened because of the fall of Beacon. I will make Cinder suffer for everything she's done. By the time I'm done with her, there will be nothing left except for a red puddle stained on the floor." Pyrrha utters coldly, brows furrowing as her rage builds up more and more, revealing to Yang and Weiss the woman she has become.
Yang and Weiss freeze for a moment as they behold what Pyrrha has become. The Pyrrha Nikos that went to Beacon would've wanted to defeat Cinder and lock her away in prison forever, only killing Cinder if it was a last resort. But the woman before them now, is a woman that only wants to kill and torture Cinder for everything she's done. The white and yellow duo then realize that perhaps Pyrrha truly is dead, at least the Pyrrha they once knew is dead. But maybe she's just deep inside this new Pyrrha somewhere sealed within the confines of her heart. "Pyrrha…" Yang muttered softly, not sure how to take this new Pyrrha.
"What happened to you?" Weiss asks softly, looking up at Pyrrha with caring eyes.
"It's none of your concern." Pyrrha replied with a cold expression on her face.
Ruby, sensing the tension forming in the room gives a nervous chuckle as she tries to get the attention of Yang and Weiss. "Not to disrupt anything but… there's still one more person I want you guys to meet." Ruby says nervously, tapping her fingers together.
Yang turns around to face her younger sister. "Well, who is it Rubes?" She asks curiously. When Ruby would get out of the way to introduce the newcomer, Yang's face changes from shock to an intense glare as she recognizes the face of the newcomer. The pink and brown hair, white over coat and a parasol? There's no doubt about it that this is Neo Politan. She brings out Ember Celica and the gun on her mechanical arm and points them at Neo, all the while Weiss takes out Myrtenaster and points it at the poor woman. "What the hell is she doing here?!" Yang shouts. Neo gives a sigh as she rolls her eyes, unsurprised by their reactions as she doesn't even bother pointing her parasol at them.
Ruby tries to calm everyone down, motioning for them to lower their weapons. "Everyone just put down your weapons! She's here to help us!" Ruby proclaimed, trying to soothe her two teammates.
Pyrrha was leaning against the door frame, an amused smile on her face as she watches the show go down. Pyrrha knows that Neo will be fine, after all she heard a few clicks of high heels behind Ruby, showing that the Neo that they currently see is just an illusion in the event that Yang tries to shoot her.
Weiss gives Ruby a stare. "What do you mean she wants to help us?! She was a part of the attack on Beacon! She worked with Cinder!" Weiss shouts, amazed by how idiotically trusting that Ruby is of a criminal who has killed many people.
"She tried to kill me by stabbing me in my throat!" Yang exclaims, still upset at her bitter defeat on the train that day.
Ruby and Pyrrha look back at Neo who gives a nervous shrug. "It was one time!" She signs. Weiss' glare intensifies by this statement, while Yang's raise up in confusion, having no understanding of sign language. Neo takes note of this as a devious grin grows on her face at all the fun she could have with the blonde.
Yang's look of confusion shifts back into a glare as she sees the devious smirk growing on Neo's face. "See! She's already plotting on how to kill me!" She shouts, ready to pull the trigger at a moment's notice.
Pyrrha chuckles, knowing already why Neo is grinning and what plans she has for Yang. "No, she isn't plotting to kill you. That's simply her being happy to meet you all." Pyrrha says with a smile, causing Weiss and Yang to look at her in confusion.
"And how would you know?" Weiss asks with a pompous tone in her voice.
"Because Neo and I are partners." Pyrrha revealed, causing the two girls to give a loud gasp of surprise.
Yang's eyes turn from it's gentle lilac color to a fierce red. "Why would you partner with her?! You know she's a murderer!" She shouts, stomping her foot on the ground and causing the floorboards to splinter.
Ruby starts to get nervous as she sees Yang's anger increase and turns towards Pyrrha, giving a small sigh of relief as she sees that the spartan is unphased by the fiery blonde's anger. Pyrrha gives a small scoff as she pushes herself off of the door frame. "Because we shared a common goal. To kill Cinder for everything she's done to us, no matter what. Besides, I'm a murderer too. Do you recall hearing about the destruction of the Blunderbore bandits and how their cave was reduced to rubble?" Pyrrha asks, to which Yang and Weiss nod their heads. "That was me. I killed all of them and I don't regret my actions. With the both of us working together, we figured that we could have an easier time killing Cinder."
Yang and Weiss were in stunned silence as they heard Pyrrha boasting about her achievement. "Cinder both took someone that meant a lot to them." Ruby chimes in, trying to get Yang and Weiss to see why Pyrrha and Neo worked together. "She's responsible for the deaths of Roman Torchwick and Jaune Arc. So, they wanted to work together to exact revenge and now, they've become friends. At least from the observations I've seen." Ruby says softly, acting as a mediator between the two duos.
Weiss gives a sigh as she lowers her weapon, putting it away. "Fine. As long as we're working towards the same goal… I guess having her with us will be fine. But don't expect me to follow in your footsteps! I refuse to steal and sink to your level!" Weiss declares, pointing a slim finger at Neo, who simply rolls her eyes at the princess.
"Whatever you say Ice Queen." She signs with a giggle, causing Weiss to blush.
"Don't call me that! Only my friends can call me that! You're just an acquaintance for now!" Weiss lectures with a humph, crossing her arms and turning away from Neo.
Yang's left arm shakes softly, as she feels an action coming on before she grabs it with her robotic hand and calms it down. She looks up at Neo and gives her a glare, her eyes going back to their cool lilac color. "Fine. She can stay here. But the moment that she tries to do anything, I won't hesitate to beat her to a pulp." Yang grumbles as she crosses her arms.
Ruby gives a happy smile as she brings everyone in close together with surprising strength. "Yay! We're all going to be friends! I just know it!" No one really seemed particularly happy about this forced hug, but they accepted anyways since it made Ruby happy.
"I just wish I know where the Grimm that took your finger is. I want to beat it to a pulp so bad." Yang mutters.
Hearing this, Pyrrha gives Ruby a quizzical look, to which Ruby mouthed "I'll tell you later." before letting everyone go. Pyrrha gives a small nod as she stands amongst everyone, easily being the tallest of the group. "So now that we're all friends…" Ruby says before getting cut off by Yang.
"Not all of us are friends just yet Rubes." Yang says with a glare aimed towards Neo. Neo gives a small shrug, not really caring that the two become friends or not, as long as they can kill Cinder, she could care less who she works with.
"Acquaintances." Ruby corrected herself with a small groan at how stubborn Yang is being before continuing on. "There's someone that I need you all to meet. Try not to overreact or anything. The poor boy doesn't need any more of that." Ruby says with a nervous giggle as she taps her index fingers together.
Pyrrha raises her eyebrow at this statement, curious and a bit suspicious about this "boy" they're going to meet. "Who is this stranger?" She asks sternly, not sure if she could trust him or not already.
"Well… he's uh… someone you guys already know technically but also someone new…" Ruby trailed off, not really knowing how to properly reveal it to everyone as it's something you just go out and tell people.
"Well, whoever he is, if he's just a boy then it should be no problem." Neo signs, not really worried about the stranger.
"Well whoever it is, it can't be any worse than meeting Neo." Yang grumbles as she crosses her arms, starting to walk down the hall. Ruby quickly runs up ahead of Yang so that she can lead her and everyone else to the common room. Weiss gives a small sigh as she follows along, with Pyrrha and Neo giving each other a shrug before following after the huntresses.
Soon enough the group of women would find themselves in the common area, which had several red chairs and sofas surrounding a wood and glass table. One of the legs of the table appeared to be held together by several strips of duct tape. Sitting in one of the red chairs was a young boy with tan skin and brown hair. Judging by his raggedy clothes, one could assume that he was from the countryside. Also, in the room was Ruby's uncle, Qrow, who was sitting on the sofa minding to himself. Ren and Nora were present as well, Nora poking Ren's arm playfully. They were the first to notice the arrival of Ruby and friends, surprised to see both Pyrrha and Neo here. "Pyrrha!" They both shout, Nora sounding more excited than the calm Ren, who was still quite excited despite his cool nature. They get up and give her a tight hug, causing the spartan to give a small, surprised gasp.
Qrow looks up and spots Pyrrha, giving a small chuckle. "Heh, I knew you were still alive. You don't seem like the type to just give up so easily." Qrow said in his gruff voice. He would then spot Neo and gives the woman a glare, as he puts his hand on the handle of his weapon. Neo gives a nervous smile as she knows how dangerous Qrow is. "What is she doing here Ruby? You know she helped attack Beacon." Qrow said, giving the brown and pink haired woman a glare. He can tell that Ruby has a reason to bring Neo here and judging by the fact that Pyrrha, Yang and Weiss are comfortable enough around the presence of Neo, he can assume that she's not here for hostile intentions, but he can never be too sure.
The farm boy looks at the group and stands up, holding what appears to be a small metal handle in his hand. "O-oh! I haven't seen you four before. Uhhh… my name is Oscar Pine." He says, greeting himself to the four new ladies.
"I'm Pyrrha Nikos and this is my partner Neo Politan. It's a pleasure to meet you kid." Pyrrha said with a rough smile. Qrow raises his eyebrow at Pyrrha calling Neo her partner, causing him to tighten his hold on Harbinger.
Neo gives a small wave at the young man, finding him quite adorable for what appears to be a farmhand. It reminds her a bit of herself. She wonders why he ran away from home and is now with all these huntsmen and huntresses.
"Okay okay, this is a nice little reunion here and it really is a pleasure to see you again Pyrrha but what do you mean Neo is your partner?" Qrow asks with a stern expression.
Pyrrha was about to explain when Ruby cuts in, wanting to explain things simply and quickly. "It's because they're both working together to take down Cinder since she's the one responsible for the deaths of their lovers."
Neo nods her head, moving her hands to sign. "There's plenty more details but that's the basic gist of it." Ren, Qrow and Oscar nod their heads at Neo, understanding what she's saying. Qrow eases his grip on his weapon, still keeping an intense eye on Neo as he's still suspicious of her but if even Yang is trusting her somewhat, then he can afford to give the criminal some of his trust too. Nora seemed to be completely confused on what Neo was saying as to her, Neo was just moving her hands wildly. She looks over at Pyrrha for some kind of confirmation.
"Yeah that's about right." Pyrrha said crossing her arms as she sits down on the couch. "We can tell you the full story later. But is this… Oscar was it? Is this kid the person we're supposed to meet?" She asks Ruby who nods her head.
"By all means, he looks like just a simple farmer. I don't see why he could be special." Weiss says, tilting her head as she gives a small hum at looking over the young farmhand.
"Yeah the little squirt looks like he's going to teach us how to milk a cow." Yang says with a chuckle.
Qrow gives a small chuckle as he's going to see a few stunned reactions from four new faces who are unfamiliar with Oscar's special talent. "Heh, this will never get old. Show them your trick pipsqueak." Qrow says as he sits down on the sofa, motioning for everyone else to sit as well.
The young women take a seat, Pyrrha sitting next to the left of Neo and to the right of Nora on a large sofa. Oscar gives a small sigh as he hypes himself up. "Okay okay… but just so you know, I'm still here. Just imagine it like… I'm tapping out and giving the controls to someone else for a bit." He says before closing his eyes. A small glow shines over him as presses the large trigger that was on the handle as a familiar black metal cane shoots out from the bottom. Pyrrha immediately recognizes this all too familiar cane and wondering how a simple farm boy like him was able to get such an object. The boy then opens his eyes and gives the group a warm smile. "It's good to see you again my students." Said Oscar, but as he spoke, it seems like there were two voices mixing together. One sounded like Oscar and the other seemed to sound like… Professor Ozpin?!
The gears start to turn in Pyrrha's head as she connects one and one together. "Ozpin?" She asks, forgoing the formalities.
"That is correct Miss. Nikos. It is me, your professor, Ozpin." He greets himself, sitting down on the chair. Pyrrha stares wide eyed, refusing to believe this, while Weiss had her jaw dropped stunned at the revelation. Yang stared at Oscar and shakes her head, wanting to make sure she's hearing this correctly. Neo was just confused. She was only briefly informed on who Ozpin is, and all she knew was that he's the headmaster of Beacon Academy.
"How… how is this possible? I thought you died during the fall of Beacon." Weiss questions, rubbing her eyes and still seeing Oscar acting like Ozpin.
"Well, you're not wrong Miss. Schnee. I did die; however, I have a special… let's call it gift, that allows me to reincarnate into another like minded individual. So, when I died, my soul was reincarnated into Oscar." Ozpin explains with a patient smile.
"So, you're like the man with two souls?" Neo signs, remembering reading a book that had a similar plot to what's happening right in front of her.
"Precisely Miss. Brunswick." Ozpin says with a smile.
Neo was caught off guard by his response, particularly the name that he called her. The others look at Neo curiously, surprised to hear her real last name. Neo has many questions, mainly on how Ozpin knew about her and her past family. "Wait, slow down there kid. I have several questions for you! First off, what makes you think my last name is Brunswick? My last name is Politan. Not Brunswick." Neo corrected, trying to play it cool.
"There is no need to worry. All questions will be answered in due time. As for your question Miss. Politan." Ozpin pauses with a smile as he puts both of his hands on top of his cane. "Perhaps I was getting confused and mixing you with someone else. I am quite old after all." He said scratching the back of his head.
Yang crosses her arms as she remembers something that she was told yesterday. "So, Professor. How is this possible? This shouldn't be happening." Yang asks.
"Well to put it simply, it's because of magic. You see…" Ozpin would trail off as he starts to explain mostly everything. Some information that several members such as Pyrrha, Ruby, Ren and Nora already knew, while most information is brand new to all of them. Ozpin tells everyone about the four maidens and how he was the one that gave them their fierce magical powers, how each maiden can open a vault that contains a sacred relic and about their true enemy Salem, who wants to collect all four relics so that she can wipe out humanity.
The young hunters let the information sink in, a small moment of silence befalling the room. The first to speak was Pyrrha. "I recall you telling me about the maidens, saying how I was supposed to become the Fall Maiden before Cinder took the powers for herself." Pyrrha pauses for a brief moment. "So, the maidens can open these doors to the relics. So, would that mean that Cinder has Beacon's relic?" Pyrrha asks as a small glare of concern and anger grows on her face at the thought of the woman who ruined everything being several steps ahead of them.
"Good observation Miss. Nikos, but don't worry. I made the relic at Beacon much harder to find and I'm confident in saying that Cinder doesn't have it in her possession." Ozpin explains with a smile.
"So, what do we do now?" Ren asks, still having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that all of these fairy tales he heard when he was a young child from his parents are in fact real.
"Well currently the best course of action is to form a raid party on Raven's tribe in an attempt to take the Spring Maiden back so that she can be safe from Salem's forces." Qrow said, taking out his flask and taking a sip, giving a refreshed sigh.
Yang's arm shakes for a brief moment at the mention of her mother, before taking a sigh and relaxing herself. "Raven said that you gave her and Qrow a magic power. Why did you do this?" Yang asks, keeping her mother's advice in mind to always ask questions.
Ozpin gives a small gasp. "Ah, I see that she told you that. Well that's easy to explain. It can be dangerous to reliably retrieve and send information, especially if there are enemies hunting you down. But do you know what wouldn't create suspicion? Birds. Just simple birds that can transform at will, allowing them to retrieve information from all across Remnant. Your mother and uncle volunteered to allow me to use my magic to transform them into birds." He explains with a gentle tone in his voice. Yang crosses her arms, seeming to be satisfied with the answer for the most part.
"So, you used magic to transform them?" Pyrrha asks. She knew magic exists because she was told about the four maidens and almost became one, but she wasn't aware that Ozpin was the one who gifted the magic to the first maidens. Perhaps he can use his magic to power her up so that she can have an easier time fighting against Cinder.
"Yes, I did. But it took a lot of magic on my part and I'm afraid I don't have the capabilities to perform such a feat again. I used a lot of my magical power on the four women that would become the first four maidens." Ozpin explains as he gets up from the chair and starts to pace around the room. "I'm not sure exactly how much I have left, but I can feel that my reserves are near empty."
"Well so much for us all being able to transform into animals." Nora pouts, having gotten excited about being able to transform into an animal of her choice.
Neo gives a quiet giggle as she sees the connection between the Branwen twins and their magic powers of being able to transform into birds. She gently nudges Pyrrha to get her attention and signs. "Raven and Qrow seem to be appropriately named for their powers. I wonder if this was done on purpose." Neo giggles, causing Pyrrha to let out a small "heh" at the realization.
"I doubt it. He doesn't seem the type to intentionally do that kind of stuff." Pyrrha whispers to Neo.
They would then hear a loud gasp coming from Nora as she catches on too. "Qrow? Raven? They're birds!" Nora exclaims before leaning back in her chair and propping her feet up on the table. "I cracked the case." She said proudly, priding herself in seeing the easy connection.
"Ahahaha, I will admit, their names did play a small influence in my decision, particularly the types of birds I had them be able to transform into." Ozpin admits with a chuckle as he sits back down on the chair. Neo gives Pyrrha a cheesy grin, knowing that she was right, which caused Pyrrha to roll her eyes. "But for now, we should wait for a golden opportunity to strike on Raven's camp, and in order to do such a task, we will need more help from other huntsmen and huntresses. We're currently looking for more to join us for the raid. So, for now, go have the rest of the day off and catch up with one another." Ozpin says before his eyes glow brightly and soon Oscar is back in control.
He shakes his head and rubs his forehead. "I'm not sure if I will ever be able to get used to that…" Oscar mutters as he leans back in the chair to get comfortable. Everyone gives a small laugh at the poor farm boy's unique situation before all getting up to go do their own things.
Pyrrha catches up with Nora and Ren, the two of them, Nora more so than Ren, telling her about how they took down a massive Grimm called the Nuckelavee with the help of Ruby, who was fighting against the massive pain she was in from losing her finger. Pyrrha assumes that this is the Grimm Ruby told everyone that caused her to lose her finger. She would learn that the Nuckelavee did a lot to Ren and Nora in their past and killing it gave them a sense of ease. Pyrrha wishes that she could feel the same sense of ease, but as long as Cinder continues living, she can not afford to ease up on her emotions and feelings. Neo, for the most part, has been keeping close to Pyrrha, but listening in on Ren and Nora's stories causes her to smile softly at the two obvious lovers. She giggles knowing that the two love each other, even if they themselves don't see it yet. Soon enough, Neo would join in on the conversation, signing happily with them as she makes small talk, joking around with Nora as the two quickly start to get along. Pyrrha gives a small smile as she's happy to see Neo making some new friends.
Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Yang go outside, presumably for a walk. Pyrrha feels a knot forming in her stomach, as she knows what she needs to do. She looks at her three friends and gives them a small smile. "I'm going to go take a walk. I need to think over some things, in private." Pyrrha says before walking away, not letting the three to respond before she was gone.
Pyrrha would soon catch up with Yang on their midday stroll through the campus of Haven Academy. Yang hears Pyrrha approaching behind her and turns around to give the spartan a small brief wave. "Yo." She greets happily. "What brings you here?"
"I just wanted to go on a walk as well. I saw you and I thought I would give you some company." Pyrrha said with a smile, the knot in her stomach getting tighter and tighter.
"Well I would love to have some company! It's definitely been a long time since you and I had a chance to talk." Yang beams, patting Pyrrha hard on the back.
Pyrrha gives a small chuckle as she gets pushed slightly from the pat as she plays with one of the strings on Jaune's hoodie. "Yeah… talking would be nice." She says quietly, taking a deep breath as she tries to build the confidence to tell Yang the truth on what happened to her little sister. "So… what are your thoughts on what we just learned about?" Pyrrha asks trying to break the silence.
Yang gives a huff as she raises her arms over and behind her head. "I can't trust him. I still feel like Ozpin is hiding something. But I just don't know what." Yang says coldly, still keeping her mother's words in the back of her mind on not trusting Ozpin. She wants to trust him so desperately but learning about the existence of magic and how Ozpin transformed her mother and uncle into birds causes her to not trust the intentions of Oz. "He may want to protect and save the world, but I have no idea on how he will do such a thing and I feel that I can't give him my full trust. Not until all of my questions have been answered. What if the way he views saving the world from Salem is by destroying all of us? Are we just pawns for him to play around with on a chess board? Does he even value us? It's these questions that prevent me from giving my trust to him." Yang rants, her hands balling into fists as gets overcome with intense emotions. "But I know that I can trust you Pyrrha. Even if you did work with that murderer and have changed a bit, you're still Pyrrha deep down." Yang cheers up, her scowl brightening back up to her signature sunny smile.
Pyrrha looks down at the ground as she heard Yang's words on how much she trusts her. This will definitely make her job of telling Yang the truth far more difficult. With a deep sigh, Pyrrha turns towards Yang and says with a hint of sorrow. "The Pyrrha that you knew back at Beacon will never come back Yang. There may be remnants of her, but she will never fully return."
"Nonsense! I'm certain that she's still in there somewhere, I just gotta dig down and pull her out!" Yang chuckles, still fully believing that someone like Pyrrha is still her good friend.
"You don't understand Yang. I've done terrible, irredeemable things. I've killed tons of people without remorse, and even now I still don't regret killing them." Pyrrha tells the blonde, who's smile dies down at hearing all the things Pyrrha has done. But surely, she killed them to defend herself! Yang would try to say something to Pyrrha, only for her to interrupt the blonde. "But… there's something that I did that I truly regret, something that will haunt my mind for the rest of my life…" Pyrrha trails off.
Yang's face grows in concern as she looks at Pyrrha with care in her eyes. "Pyrrha, try not to dwell too hard on it. You did what you had to do to survive right? So surely that whatever you did was necessary!" She says softly, trying to keep a smile on her face, only for it to start wavering.
Pyrrha takes a deep breath as a single tear runs down her cheek. "No… it wasn't necessary. I did it for my own twisted pleasure, caught up in my anger and wrath." Pyrrha pauses as she knows that she can't go back now. "Ruby… she didn't lose her finger to a Grimm. I was the one that took Ruby's finger, in a fit of rage and thirst for vengeance." Pyrrha admits with a heavy heart.
Yang is silent as she looks at Pyrrha, arms shaking. "You… what?" She asks, but already knows the answer. Her very own anger is rising quickly as she glares at the monster in front of her. She tightens her fist before trying to calm it down with her robotic arm, only to find it still shaking wildly. Her eyes change to bright red as she lets out a loud scream and grabs Pyrrha by the throat, choking the spartan tightly. Pyrrha coughs and gasps in pain, but doesn't bother fighting back, believing that this is deserved. "WHAT DID MY SISTER DO TO YOU TO MAKE YOU EVEN FUCKING WANT TO DO THAT TO HER!" Yang shouts loudly, as her robotic hand balls up into a fist, a small barrel popping up from her wrist.
Pyrrha gags loudly as she tries to talk through the pain. "N-nothing…" she coughs out, seeing her vision starting to go dark.
Yang's hand trembles as she holds Pyrrha up by her throat. She hurt her sister, she made her suffer! So, it's only right that she deserves to suffer too right? Then why can't she bring herself to enact retribution onto the spartan? Yang's grip tightens even more on Pyrrha's throat, her nails digging into the Spartan's skin causing small drops of blood to leak out. A thought crosses Yang's mind as she thinks to herself 'An eye for an eye' she repeats the thought in her head over and over to try to get herself to do this.
She stares at Pyrrha with a glare, watching the blood run down her neck. "D-do it…" Pyrrha says softly, on the verge of consciousness.
Yang clenches her teeth as her red eyes burn through Pyrrha's emerald eyes. She wants it to happen. She's begging for it! But why can't she do it! With a loud scream Yang throws her fist towards Pyrrha's face and soon, a loud blast from her shotgun wrist is heard. Yang's fist was right next to Pyrrha's cheek, having missed the blow and the blast from her gun firing into a wall, causing it to crumble. "Your guilt is enough suffering for a monster like you…" Yang says quietly before dropping Pyrrha onto the floor, her red-hot eyes going back to their soft lilac color. The spartan gasps for air as she looks up at Yang with guilt. "I don't want to see your fucking face ever again. We're only allies for our fight against Salem. Nothing more." Yang says as she starts to stomp off, using her robotic arm to soothe her shaking hand.
Pyrrha watches Yang walk away, before looking down at the ground as she still attempts to catch her breath. With a small grunt, she gets back up on her feet and rubs her hands against her neck, wiping her blood away as her aura closes the wounds. Looking down at her hands, she stares at her blood before clenching her fists. Pyrrha gives a quiet sigh as she walks in the opposite direction, not regretting her actions to tell Yang. She could've just gone on with her life and Yang would have never known about the truth of Ruby's injury, she would have gone along blindly believing that a Grimm took Ruby's finger. But that didn't sit right with Pyrrha. Yang deserved to know the truth and Pyrrha doesn't regret telling her in the slightest.
As day turns into night, Pyrrha would find herself sitting next to Neo in the dorm rooms that the two of them were given for their stay. Pyrrha told Neo what just happened, causing the woman to shake her head. "This could've all been avoided Pyrrha. Yang isn't the brightest and trusts anything that her sister says. She would've never known." Neo signs, giving a sigh as she leans back onto the bed.
"I know that Neo, but… lying to her like that didn't feel right. She deserved to know the truth about what happened to her sister. Lying has always been something that I've despised… and in a roundabout way… lying was what caused Jaune to die." Pyrrha murmurs, looking up at the ceiling. "When I first learned about that I were to become the fall maiden, Jaune would notice that something seemed to be plaguing my mind and he asked me what was wrong. I lied to him and told him nothing was wrong. I wonder, what would happen if I did tell him the truth, tell him what was ailing me, perhaps he would still be alive? Or perhaps we would've died together fighting Cinder." Pyrrha rambles to Neo, knowing that she's just a good person to talk to.
Neo gives a small hum as she listens to everything. "Who's to say for certain. You can't change the past no matter how hard you try."
"I know that, but the same can't be said about fate. Fate can change, and I know that my fate is to die a hero, but I refuse for that to happen. I… no we will carve our paths are destroy our fates. Both you, Nora, Ren, Ruby, Yang, and everyone else. All of us together will change fate." Pyrrha said as she clenches her fist with determination as a flame ignites within her soul. She may be knocked down, but she will get back up. Together they will all kill Cinder.
Neo was about to respond when a knock on the door would be heard. Opening the door would be Ruby who looks at the two of them with a gentle smile. "Hey, Uncle Qrow wants to discuss something with us." Ruby says, motioning for the two to follow her.
Pyrrha and Neo get up from the bed, still feeling determined at changing their fate as they know that nothing can knock them down now. When they would arrive at the common area, they would see everyone else sitting on the couches, waiting patiently for the two of them. Pyrrha gives a quick look at Yang, who gives her an intense glare before looking away with a sigh. As she sits down next to Neo and Ren, she looks up at Qrow and tilts her head curiously. "So, what is it that you want to discuss with us?" She asks.
Qrow gives the group a serious look as he knows that now isn't the time for jokes. "I just got word from Professor Lionheart that he was able to make a breakthrough with the council to get clearance to perform a raid on Raven's camp. He wants us to meet him in the academy main hall so we can discuss the plans." Qrow explained with a sigh.
"Hmm… this doesn't bode well. This feels all too conveniently timed." Ozpin says with a hum.
"I agree. We should be prepared for anything that may happen just in case." Qrow advises to everyone. The group gives a firm nod, anxiety filling their stomachs as they feel that something drastic is about to happen. Little did they all know, they would soon be fighting for their lives in the very next hour.
