"It's about time you woke up, Kiddo." The scruffy voice was casual and had a subtle hint of teasing in it, but for Ruby it filled her with fear.

Ruby froze in place. Her eyes threatened to pop out of her sockets with how wide they were, adrenaline pumped through her as her worst fear began taking a hold of her. She practically had to force herself to turn her head to the source of the voice, and when she did, Ruby felt a whole range of emotions as soon as she saw who was in her room with her. Fear, anger, anxiety, and oddly enough, joy. In the corner of her room, sitting in one of the chairs usually found in the dining room was the last person she expected to catch her. To discover her secret.

"U-Uncle Qrow!? W-What are you-how did you get in here?!" Ruby couldn't seem to control her stuttering as she couldn't decide what to do with her hands, first deciding to place them on her lap and then trying to cover herself in a failed attempt to hide the skin tight suit that she was wearing.

Qrow tilted back on the chair, balancing on the back legs. "Well, you wouldn't answer after I knocked five times, so obviously I got worried. As to how, your dad left me the key to your room before leaving to go pick up your sister." He then got up and opened the door to the rest of the house.

"I'll go get lunch started and let you, well...change into something a little more appropriate for cooking."

"W-What? Wait! W-Why do I have to-" Qrow shut the door behind him as he left the room, leaving Ruby alone and in a state of utter confusion and anxiety.

'Why didn't he bring up the suit? Why did he act like nothing happened? And what the hell did he mean by cooking?!'

After quickly changing into some sweatpants and a black t-shirt and putting her FRVR gear back under her bed, Ruby exited her room rather hesitantly. She turned a corner and passed through the dining room, noticing her Uncle's large duffle bag sitting in the corner of the room, its woodland camo pattern making it stand out amongst the rather ordinary looking dining room. When she entered the kitchen, Ruby found Qrow setting up several pans and pots onto the counter, right alongside various ingredients that Ruby instantly recognized.

"You're making cookies?"

" We are making cookies, after that I'll be making dinner and hopefully finish before your dad and sister come back."

"But dad kinda unofficially banned me from cooking...saying it's too dangerous."

Qrow chuckled as he tossed Ruby a red apron. The same one her mom would wear while cooking. Ruby managed to fight off the sudden sad thoughts that the apron reminded her of and looked up at Qrow with a confused look. Qrow simply smiled at her, the same cocky smile he wore whenever he did something her father wouldn't like. "Danger never stopped me yet, has it? Besides, I'll be doing the actual cooking. You're just, uh, helping me out."

A small smile tugged at her lips, her uncle did have a point after all. His line of work was pretty dangerous. However, there was only one problem. "Okay, but how can I help? I'm not exactly tall enough to do much...well, not any more..."

To prove her point, she strolled up to the counter, her head and the very top of her shoulders being the only parts of her body to be higher than said counter. Her father hadn't exactly made the kitchen accessible to her, at least not yet. It was bad enough she couldn't ever reach the over-head cabinets when she could walk. "See? How am I supposed to do anything if I can barely bring my arms over the counter?"

"I got just the thing for ya." Qrow walked into the adjacent dining room and searched through his duffle bag. "Before my flight home, I picked up a little something that I thought would help you out a little."

When Qrow reentered the kitchen, he had what looked like a small table with a cushion underneath instead of legs, maybe only a little bigger than the food trays they had at school. There was even a visible crease that looked like a part of the table tilted upward to allow writing or maybe place a tablet on it. Ruby immediately knew what it was.

"A lap desk?"

"I know it ain't much, but consider it an early birthday present." Qrow held the lap desk out for Ruby to take, but Ruby was hesitant. For her it was just another thing to remind her that she can't do things normally like other people. On the other hand, it would be pretty useful. She could even use it in bed to do homework or practice her drawing. After a few seconds, Ruby took the device and slowly placed it on her lap. She instantly noticed several USB ports on the side for electronic devices. Maybe this will be a lot more useful than she thought.

"Well? Do you think you can help me cook now that you have a table to work with?" Qrow asked, a slight hint of hesitation in his tone. A sign that told Ruby that he'd understand if she just wanted to stay alone in her room.

"Alright...I guess I could make this work." Ruby gave Qrow her best reassured smile. She was hungry after all and she could easily eat some of the chocolate chips and maybe even the cookie dough if she was desperate enough.

Qrow grew a wide smile, a rare sight to see, even amongst family. He clasped his hands together. "Alright, let's get started then."

It took a bit of effort but Ruby managed to get the hang of stirring the bowl of cookie dough on her newly acquired desk sitting on her lap. The second batch of cookies were almost ready to bake and the first were already out of the oven, cooling off on the counter behind her and Qrow. However, the entire time Ruby was helping Qrow cook, the nagging curiosity of why he has yet to mention the incident in her room earlier grew more and more. Eventually, Ruby decided to just ask.

"Uncle Qrow…"

"What's up?" Qrow responded with the same small smile he had been wearing when they started.

"A-About earlier...back in my room, I-"

"If you don't want to talk about it, I won't pry."

"But-"

"You don't have to tell me about your little virtual hobby." Qrow continued to focus on the pan he was currently placing small blobs of cookie dough on. "If it makes you happy and you'd prefer to keep it to yourself, you are perfectly obligated to do so, Kiddo."

Ruby thought about that for a minute. Qrow had always seemed to understand and respect her desire to keep things to herself after the accident, so she wasn't really surprised to hear him shrug it off like it wasn't a big deal. Maybe it was because of Qrow's line of work and his experiences that made him the only person Ruby could rely on after losing the use of her legs. He respected her boundaries in ways that Yang and her father never did. That's not to say they didn't give her space, but it was just different. Yang only gave her space when Ruby had to practically spell it out for her while her father did so because she had to beg for it. She didn't have to distance herself from Qrow though, there was an air of understanding around him that allowed Ruby to relax and not put up any walls like she did with everyone else.

Without any warning, the sound of the front door bursting open ruined the moment and Ruby couldn't help but groan. She had a sneaking suspicion that her father's return wasn't going to be a very peaceful one.

"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?" Yang's voice echoed throughout the home. She sounded a bit annoyed, but that didn't seem to stop her from being sincere with her apology.

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to." her father's voice followed shortly after and Ruby shuddered by how angry he sounded.

Qrow leaned over towards Ruby to whisper. "Sounds like someone's gonna get grounded."

Ruby couldn't help but giggle at that, it's been way too long since the last time her dad was this angry with either Yang or herself. She heard Yang's footsteps as it sounded like she was heading towards Ruby's room, obviously thinking that Ruby was in her room and not currently in the kitchen. Not a moment sooner did Tai walk into the kitchen in shock.

"What the heck is going on here?" Tai stared at Qrow for a bit, then drifted down towards Ruby and was even more shocked upon seeing her wearing Summer's Apron and helping Qrow cook. He was about to say something but Yang rushed around the corner to see what was going on and immediately ran up and hugged Qrow the moment she saw him.

"Uncle Qrow! I thought you weren't coming back for another month!"

The sound of Tai pretending to clear his throat got Yang's attention as he subtly gestured to Ruby, who had silently gone back to stirring the cookie dough. Ruby honestly felt a bit awkward the moment Tai entered the kitchen. She noticed her father's supposedly subtle gesture towards her and she knew what was going to happen next. But that wasn't the problem really, the problem was that all eyes were on her now, looking at her with hidden pity. Ruby heard Yang take a few steps closer behind her as she continued to stir the bowl, trying her best to not look anxious.

"Ruby…" Ruby didn't respond. It was stupid, making Yang apologize for something that Ruby wasn't even bothered by. Sure she was mad this morning when she found out she was home alone but it wasn't the fact that she was alone that made her angry, but the fact that the one time she needed help and no one was around to help. But regardless, she wasn't bothered by it anymore, she managed just fine on her own.

"I'm sorry for leaving you home alone...I didn't expect you to have another nightmare and-"

"You don't need to Apologize." Ruby didn't bother to look up as she continued to stir the bowl. "Besides, I can take care of myself."

Tai stepped forward. "Ruby, with all due respect, I think it would have been best if your sister was around just in ca-"

"I said I can take care of myself." Ruby repeated, an ounce of irritation slipped out of her lips as she started to stir the bowl faster. Why couldn't they just let her be?

"Ruby…" Yang hesitantly took a step forward but quickly backtracked. "I really am sorry, I know how bad your nightmares can get and I-"

"I'm fine, damn it!" The wooden spoon suddenly slipped from Ruby's hand and flew across the room as the bowl rocked several times on her lapdesk. Her breathing was ragged, hands slightly trembling and her face was finally allowed to contort in anger. Everyone around her was silent. Ruby jolted as a hand was placed on her right arm. She snapped her head to her right only to see Qrow kneeling beside her and smiling softly.

"Hey Kiddo, how about you go ahead and finish that homework you were working on before I dragged you into the kitchen, alright? I can handle the rest without ya." as Qrow spoke softly, Ruby just barely noticed the mixing bowl she was just stirring be replaced with a plate full of freshly baked cookies. She gave him a nervous nod and wheeled past Yang and her father, all the while avoiding eye contact with them. It wasn't until everyone heard the door to Ruby's room quietly shut did Tai finally speak.

"Well...that didn't go the way I expected it…"

Qrow finally stood up and resumed his task of placing that last few blotches of cookie dough onto the pan. His small smile had disappeared along with Ruby and was replaced by a solemn and stern expression. "You two need to start giving her a little more space."

Tai simply glared at Qrow. "Yang, I believe you're supposed to be grounded."

"But-" Yang stopped when she saw the stern look her dad had and then looked over towards her uncle. It was then clear to Yang that her dad wanted to speak to Qrow alone. "Right...I'll be in my room."

Once Yang was gone and the sound of her upstairs bedroom door shutting was heard, Tai finally walked over to Qrow. He opened a drawer, taking out a clean spoon and began stirring the bowl of cookie dough that Ruby hadn't finished. Tai was about to speak, but Qrow seemed to cut right to the chase.

"If you're gonna help cook, at least wash your hands first."

Tai chuckled and did exactly that. "I give Ruby plenty of space, but it's gotten to the point that she's isolating herself and putting up walls."

"Have you ever thought that you and Yang constantly treating her like she'll break any second is the problem?"

Tai finished washing his hands and went back to stirring, frowning all the while. "Yes, I have. That's why I have done my best to refrain from talking to Ruby about her...problems. It's just that...it's been nearly two years. I know that grief never really goes away. Hell, I still shed a tear whenever I remember all the good times me and Summer had together. Yang even managed to push on and move forward sooner than I did. But Ruby...She can't seem to do that…"

"You're wrong."

Tai blinked a few times, looking at Qrow with a dumbfounded expression "What?"

Qrow put the second batch of cookies into the oven and set the timer. "Ruby has managed to move forward at least a little bit, I can guarantee you that. Sure she still has some nightmares, some being bad enough to cause her to have a panic attack, but as much as I hate to say it, that sure as hell ain't going away. Believe me, I know from experience."

Tai didn't respond for a moment as the words from Qrow lingered. He knew Ruby seemed to put a lot of trust in Qrow, especially after the accident, but it has left him feeling a tad bit jealous if he was being honest. He knew Ruby probably talked to Qrow about her problems more often than coming to him instead. "I take it this is the part where you tell me what the problem is and how to fix it?"

Qrow chuckled and leaned back against the counter. "All you need to do is give her some space. And I'm not talking about physical space, Tai. Let her take care of herself, allow her to spread her wings and stop hanging over her shoulder like a helicopter mom." Qrow took a deep breath and sighed, allowing his face to look solemn with a thousand yard stare. "She's crippled from the waist down, not useless god damn it."

Tai let out a weak, sad laugh. Sometimes he just hated it when Qrow was right. "Last I checked, you're more of a mom than I am with all the cooking you do… But you're right, I suppose I have gotten carried away with taking care of Ruby and treating her like a child."

Seeing as Qrow didn't say anything, Tai continued. "It was hard when she got back from the hospital. You remember how she was, right? She barely ate, barely spoke let alone smile. Hell, I remember when she finally did speak after a month of almost complete silence. It was like she just woke up one day full of energy. Well, not as much energy as before the accident but it was still certainly an improvement. It was like night and day."

Qrow nodded solemnly. "Yeah well...I know I said this the last time I was home but...give her time. It doesn't matter how long it takes, just let her take her time."

"I know…"

Qrow jabbed Tai in the shoulder with a grin, trying to cheer his brother-in-law up. "Now come on, help me make dinner. I got some good news I want to share while we have a feast for my return."

Tai chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. One big feast to celebrate your return coming right up."

When Ruby became Crescent, she was a lot of things. Honorable warrior, trustworthy friend, and slayer of monsters. Her black leather armor and blood red cloak further enforced these things. However, what one of her closest friends was trying to make her wear symbolized none of those traits. When Ruby went back online, she met up with Nora who told her to meet her in Forever Fall Forest with Ren. If she knew the costume for their bet was ready, Ruby would have never come back online today.

"Nora, I am not wearing that." Ruby pushed the decline button to the interface panel that appeared in front of her. For the 10th time already.

"You lost fair and square, Little Red. You reap what you sow!" Nora continued to spam the trade invite button, eagerly waiting for Ruby to accept.

"I don't care, it's too embarrassing and Crescent does not. do. cute." Ruby crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks.

Nora sighed and finally stopped spamming Ruby with the trade invite, glaring at Ruby. "That's a load of malarkey and you know it. What's wrong with looking a little cute for the best month of the year? For as long as I've known you, you loved cute things."

Ruby groaned, she knew Nora would just keep pestering her until she talked. No need to drag it out. However, there was just one problem. "Ren...Can you give us some privacy? I promise it will only take a minute."

Ren nodded with a smile. "Take all the time you need, I'll go ahead and find the others to prepare for the surprise." He gave Nora a quick peck on the lips and ran off in the direction of Vytal City.

Ruby promptly sat on the vibrant red forest floor and crossed her legs, with Nora deciding to remain standing beside her. They remained like this for a good couple of minutes as Nora let Ruby take her time to collect her thoughts as she played with the Fall leaves on the ground.

"I don't think I look pretty enough for such an outfit…"

"Don't be ridiculous, you look amazing."

"Nora, you haven't seen me in person since we met in the hospital two years ago. Not to mention I looked like a mess back then."

"So? Your character model gives me a pretty good idea of how your body looks, and let me tell you, you look really cute while still managing to have some sexy curves."

"N-Nora!" Ruby slammed her hands into the ground, her face burning red like the forest around them. As much as she loved being friends with the older girl, the filter on Nora's mouth was certainly a problem.

Nora let out a hearty laugh, clutching her sides. "It's true! I don't understand, why don't you think you look pretty?"

Ruby picked up one of the large red leaves, twirling it between her fingers. "I haven't worn anything but sweatpants and hoodies for a really, really long time...the idea of wearing something as girly as a skirt just feels so...weird. And besides, If I wore a skirt in the real world, the scars on my legs could show..."

"Well, you could always wear one of those skirts that go past your knees."

Ruby crinkled her nose at the thought. "Bleh, I'd rather wear ugly sweatpants for the rest of my life."

Nora shook her head before sitting down beside Ruby. She placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her younger friend. "Look, as much as this is your punishment for losing the bet, this is also my way of trying to help you feel more confident. You're a very pretty girl Ruby, scars and all."

"How would you know? You haven't even seen them…"

"So? Scars don't make people ugly by default, they tell a story and look really cool!" Nora grinned and was elated to see Ruby finally smile.

Ruby rolled her eyes and finally lifted her head to look at Nora. "Only you would think my scars look cool."

"Hey, a lot of people find scars to be really cool!" Nora shot up to her feet with a wide smile. "Now come on, Little Red! Everyone is waiting to see you in your costume!"

Ruby shook her head with a smile as she got to her feet. "Go get struck by lightning again."

"Oh, please." Nora started while sending Ruby the trade invite one last time. "You and I both know by now that a lightning bolt ain't gonna stop me."

Ruby reluctantly accepted the trade invite, sighing in defeat. A bet is a bet after all. She was now forced to wear this outfit for the remainder of the month whenever she was Crescent.

'I really hope they don't laugh at me…'

After Weiss came back online from her little lunch break, she met up with Pyrrha and Blake, alongside Ren and Jaune in Vytal and had been told that Crescent and Boop are online as well, getting Crescent's costume ready. So, here she was, waiting for Boop and Crescent at the Inn with two boys that she really didn't know too well, her closest friend, and someone that Weiss was sure considered her an enemy. This time however, they all decided to sit at one of the round tables away from any windows as the booths only had enough room for about six people at most.

Jaune was talking about some Halloween event with a rare armor drop while Ren mostly listened and only spoke occasionally, Pyrrha chimed in with her own plans for the halloween event and Blake was silent and mostly keeping to herself, just like in real life. Weiss however, was deep in thought. The first half of the day was interestingly odd to say the least, Ruby was much more sociable in game than she was in person, something that has been bugging Weiss ever since she logged off for lunch. Weiss was also starting to notice that Ruby's voice was really familiar and when she thought about it, if Ruby wasn't being so shy and grumpy at school, Weiss could swear Ruby sounded like Crescent but without the happy, cheery tone and happy-go-lucky attitude that Crescent always seemed to have.

But they couldn't be the same person. Ruby and Crescent are two different people, right? They just had really similar voices, right? Some people just so happen to sound the same...right? Then again, they also seemed to be the same height, or at least in game they are. Weiss was still trying to get used to the idea of Ruby being slightly taller than her despite Weiss towering over her in the real world.

'Maybe I just miss Crescent after such a busy week with Ruby. Yeah, that has to be it. My brain is just mismatching their voices because I spent so long with hearing her-their-arrgh! Ruby's voice….yeah, that's a thing, right? God this is just so weird and confusing...maybe they are the same person? But if that's true, then why? What would Ruby, errm, Crescent...No, Ruby, argh! What would SHE gain from lying to me?!'

"Hey Myrtenaster, what costume are you after?"

Weiss nearly jumped out of her seat as Jaune put all the attention on her. "I'm sorry, I wasn't really paying attention. What are we talking about?"

"The Halloween event!" Jaune exclaimed with a wide smile. "I'm going after the Jack 'O' Knight costume!"

"And I've decided to go after the Goblin Green Ninja costume." Ren Chimed with a small, satisfied smile.

Weiss blinked a few times, unsure of how to respond. She wasn't really interested in dressing up for the halloween event in the game. Hell, she hadn't really paid much attention to the event itself, let alone the costumes and fancy items one could acquire during the event. Maybe she should give it a try then? It's not like she had anything better to do in the game other than go through the slow grind of leveling up. Plus, it wasn't like she didn't have the money to buy some of the rare items. Though, she'd have to be careful not to spend too much money or else her father might notice via her credit card spending.

"I don't know what I'd get, I haven't really looked at what costumes you can acquire."

"Might I suggest the Ice Queen costume?" Blake suggested, ending her long held silence with a teasing smirk. "I think it would look perfect on you."

Weiss gave the purple haired cat girl an icy glare, She was trying her best not to be her usual self around Blake but it seemed Blake had figured out her identity regardless. Weiss was honestly questioning whether or not she and Blake could actually get along in the game. In fact, today has been the longest they have ever been around each other, especially outside of school. "Excuse me, but what exactly are you implying, Gambol ."

Blake simply gave Weiss a cocky smirk. "I'm just saying, I haven't seen you cast anything besides ice spells, besides the occasional fire ball thrown in the mix of course. Plus, with all the white and blue you wear, I just figured it was kind of your thing."

Weiss gritted her teeth, her eyes glaring down at her adversary. "Well, maybe you'd look good in one of those revealing cat costumes I've seen some players wearing around lately, I'm sure you'd get a thrill out of that."

"Now, Now…" Pyrrha chimed in quickly. "We're all friends here. Blake, Myrtenaster uses a lot of ice spells because it's best for supporting the rest of us. And Myrtenaster, I'm pretty sure that Gambol isn't into such, erm, cat themed costumes…"

Weiss simply scoffed and crossed her arms while Blake chuckled, obviously finding Weiss' response amusing.

"So...Crescent and Boop are certainly taking their time." Jaune said after a brief moment of silence. "I'm just glad that Crescent is okay after whatever happened last week."

Weiss shot her head up, raising a brow at Jaune. "What do you mean? What happened to Crescent?"

"Not really sure, Boop said she had a-"

"Come on Crescent, stop hiding!" Boop's ever so loud and boisterous voice filled the entire inn, causing everyone in the building to stare at the entrance where Boop stood, looking back outside with her arms crossed. "Everyone is waiting for you!"

After a few seconds, a hooded and cloaked Crescent walked inside. Her signature red cloak, that was significantly brighter than usual, covered her body from view, making it very clear to Weiss, as well as the rest of their friends, that she's embarrassed. Crescent seemed to notice the table everyone was sitting at and whispered something into Boops ear, who simply laughed.

"Come on, it's not that bad!" Boop began walking toward the table, with Crescent following rather reluctantly. Boop took her seat by Ren, but before Crescent could sit beside Weiss and Pyrrha, Boop stopped her in her tracks with a wide, teasing grin.

"Crescent, aren't you gonna show off your new costume?"

Crescent simply muttered and groaned to herself as she took her hood off and finally opened up her cloak. Everyone was instantly silent, even Weiss who already knew what she was gonna see. But that didn't stop Weiss' eyes going wide at the sight, she expected the costume to look good on Crescent, but not this good. Crescent's costume was a simple outfit consisting of a red skirt that stopped just before her knees with knee high stockings, while her top was a white bodice with puffy little sleeves that ended right at her shoulders and a black corset that made the red and white stand out rather nicely. Weiss would have marveled and gawked at her friend wearing her costume a little longer, but a whistle from Pyrrha broke the silence everyone was holding.

"I gotta say, you look great Crescent."

"Yeah, just don't run into any wolves and I'm sure you'll be fine." Blake added.

Weiss had drowned everyone out as she inspected the costume, something was missing and for a while she couldn't quite figure out what it was, that was until she remembered with a teasing smile. "Hey, aren't you supposed to have a basket full of cookies?"

Crescent sighed heavily as she mixed it with a groan and begrudgingly opened up her inventory for a split second and equipped the basket in question, appearing in her hand but sadly had no cookies inside.

"I hate you guys so much…"

"Awww," Boop placed a hand on her chest, looking at Crescent with a feigned expression of sincerity. "We love you too Crescent."

"Seriously, you look great." Weiss said as she gestured to the seat beside her. "Of course, I helped get the pieces with Boop and Ren."

"Really?" Crescent's eyes widened for a bit before sitting next to Weiss, who easily noticed the sudden pink shading of Ruby's cheeks underneath her hood.

"Of course, I'm not gonna turn down my friends when they ask for help." And besides, she really wanted to see Crescent in the costume. Crescent really pulled off the Red Riding Hood look very well.

"Oh yeah!" Boop grabbed everyone's attention as she stared at Blake with excited eyes. "You must be one of our new members, I'm Boop!"

Blake seemed a bit startled at first by Boop's loud personality but recovered quickly and reached out with her hand. "Gambol, it's nice to meet you."

Boop shook her hand rather violently, shaking Blake in her seat. "Same here! So where's the other one? Did they log off already?"

Pyrrha shared a look with Blake before replying, something that didn't go unnoticed by Weiss. "Sadly, but she did say they might come back online today. No promises though."

Ever since Weiss found out Gambol is Blake, she has been trying to figure out Blake's reasoning for joining the game, especially with Pyrrha. Weiss had never seen Blake and Pyrrha hanging out together, yet she was invited to play with them by Pyrrha. It didn't make a lick of sense and yet here they were, with Weiss sharing a booth with Blake in a virtual Inn and acting as friends.

"Hey, Crescent." Jaune started, bringing Weiss out of her thoughts. "What happened last week? Boop said you had a panic attack."

Weiss didn't need to look at Crescent directly to know she had tensed up, judging by how the girl flinched. Weiss slid away a few inches to give Crescent some space as she noticed that the girl in question looked like a deer in headlines.

Boop looked like she was holding back a glare as she looked at Jaune. "Jaune, I don't think she wants to-"

"I don't like blood." it was quiet, but Crescent managed to grab everyone's attention, staring at her like she had said something weird. "The, um, the boss room had too much of it and so I freaked out I guess…"

Weiss stared at Crescent, unsure of her own expression as several feelings ran through her. She was shocked by the new information but also concerned as she had never heard of or seen Crescent be anything but a big ball of happiness. She was concerned, wondering what could make Crescent freak out over blood so much that the game ejected her as a safety precaution.

"But blood's never bothered you in the past." Pyrrha said, looking at her with a confused expression.

"It's not really the blood itself, I think…or the only thing that made me freak out." Pyrrha opened her mouth to speak again but Crescent quickly cut her off. "Look, I don't really want to talk about it, okay?"

And it was that moment that Weiss' earlier thoughts of Ruby being Crescent returned tenfold. That voice. It was sad and distant, just like Ruby's during the first few days they met. But before Weiss could even think about that, Blake joined in on the conversation.

"That's fine. You have every right to keep it to yourself." Blake reached across the table to shake Crescent's hand. "I'm Gambol by the way, nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you from Pyrrha."

"I'm Crescent, though you probably already knew that." Crescent briefly shook Blake's hand with an awkward smile but clearly welcomed the change of topic. "So, what do you think of the game so far?"

"It's actually a lot more fun than I thought it would be. Honestly, I've never really been into video games, but this virtual reality stuff is certainly amazing."

Suddenly, Pyrrha stood up from her seat, grabbing everyone's attention. "Well, as much as I'd like to stay and watch everyone become friends, I think it's about time I head to the Guild Hall and make our new guild. I should be back in a couple of minutes."

As Pyrrha walked away, Weiss was reminded of how Crescent hadn't taught her the needed information she was supposed to. Weiss honestly still couldn't believe Crescent could think that just teaching her how to fight monsters was enough to play the game correctly. Weiss, using every bit of self control she had not to glare at Crescent, opened her mouth to speak, hoping she didn't sound too harsh in her attempt to lecture the dolt. That was, until a strange girl walked up to their table, wearing what looked like Ruby's costume but in a much different color palette of pink, white, and brown and grabbed everyone immediate attention. However, Weiss' friend's, excluding Blake, attention was accompanied by a mix of glares and annoyed, pained expressions that Weiss wasn't familiar with.

"What do you want, Neo?" Crescent was the first to speak, looking a bit impatient with the girl as she stood up from her chair. It wasn't until seeing Ruby tower over the girl known as Neo did Weiss realize just how short the girl was. Possibily even shorter than herself.

Neo simply gave Crescent an unsatisfied look and pointed at Crescent's outfit, or rather more specifically, her cloak. Crescent laughed, rather mockingly as she resumed glaring at Neo, which honestly surprised Weiss. "Yes, we have the same costume, what about it?"

"I think she wants your cloak." Boop said with an annoyed eye roll, prompting Neo to nod enthusiastically.

Weiss, surprising herself, shared a look of confusion with Blake as they both suddenly felt awkward, not understanding what was going on. It looked like Blake was about to say something when two more people walked up, one of which Weiss recognized from her time with Boop and Ren.

"Hey, Neo! What the hell are you doing over here?" A green haired mage, Weiss remembered her name being Morgiana, walked up with a much taller boy with short, violet hair. "Oh hey! You're the blue haired mage that these losers managed to recruit, and it looks like they managed to snatch up a cat girl too."

Weiss suddenly got the picture, she remembered Boop mentioning a ' a little mute brat', this Neo girl must be who Boop referred to and must be a part of Morgiana's guild. "And you're the thief that stole our pumpkin heads."

Morgiana scoffed and put her hands on her hips, looking down at Weiss with a cocky smirk. "Hey, it's not my fault the devs didn't think of that when they were making the quest."

Of course she would divert the blame to someone else, nothing but a rotten thief. Weiss gritted her teeth as she managed to hold back her temper. "That doesn't make you right."

"But it does make us better than you." The boy said, taking a step forward with his arms crossed, a permanent smirk plastered to his face. Weiss probably would have thought he was handsome, if he didn't also look like such an asshole.

Jaune suddenly stood, along with Boop and Ren, joining Crescent as they squared off against their unwanted guests. Weiss and Blake remained seated, a bit surprised by the sudden animosity that surrounded the two groups. Blake leaned over, whispering to Weiss.

"Do you have any idea what is going on?"

"Kinda...I was told they're rivals, sort of. I don't really know why though."

"Look at this, Morgiana." The violet haired boy scoffed, staring down Jaune. "Looks like the boy wonder here finally got some decent armor."

"Good eye, Talaria. I wonder if he can finally hit something with that sword."

"How about we find out!" Crescent blurted out, glaring up at Talaria. The glare was filled with more anger than Weiss had ever seen from Crescent, nearly rivaling her father's. She made a quick note to not get on Ruby's bad side. Talaria however, laughed at Crescent and nearly doubled over in the process.

"You!? Last I fought you, you were waving around a giant sword like a clumsy cow!"

Weiss noticed Crescent tremble in rage, her fists shook slightly as she narowed her eyes, staring daggers into Talaria. "Siege of Fort Castle, 3v3, one hour from now. Or are you scared that I'd actually kick your stupid violet butt this time around?"

Morgiana chuckled confidently, shaking her head. "Wow, you guys really like losing, don't you?"

"Well?" Boop asked, reaching for her mighty hammer.

"Fine, we're up for a little slaughter." Talaria snickered. "See you losers in an hour."

Just as Morgiana, Talaria, and Neo left, Pyrrha came back to the Inn and glared at the trio as she walked past. When she saw that everyone but Weiss and Blake were standing while looking quite angry, she grew a frown. Weiss was many things at the moment. Angry, prideful, but more than anything, she was confused. What thell just happened?

"What happened?" Pyrrha asked, almost demanded really as she took the words right out of Weiss' mouth. When she didn't get a response, she asked again, this time with a bit more force. "What. Happened."

Jaune chuckled sheepishly. "We may have challenged them to Siege of Fort Castle... again."