So this chapter isn't as sad because I wanted to not feel awful for a change. Hope you all like it. Please review if you can, it really does help. I have some responses to previous comments after this chapter if you're into that sort of thing. Happy Holidays everyone!

Merry Bunch

Qrow gave them a couple days of recuperation before putting them back to the grind of combat training. One of the things she had missed the most was Ruby's stupidly named partner attacks. They were in the middle of the courtyard and they were all already puffing from the effort. Weiss had Summoned her giant Armor to use for practice and for once she was finally appreciating just how tough this thing was.

"Ice flower!" Ruby called to her as they took up their positions around it.

Weiss jumped over to Ruby and held out her sword to light three glyphs at waist height. Ruby slammed her scythe into the ground and started rapidly pulling the trigger to the gun portion of her weapon, the bullets traveling through the glyphs before hitting the enemy and causing large growths of ice to form all over the Armor's body. Luckily this slowed it down considerably and one good shot on its face even obscured it's vision, but unlucky this drew all it's attention to the two of them.

"Lightning Arc!" she called next as she pulled her scythe out of the ground. Weiss lit glyphs under the both of them to propel them out of the way of the Armor's vicious slice right at head height.

A pink grenade hit the Armor's leg and caused it to stumble. Jaune jumped in and used his sword to pin it's foot in place. A larger wave of pink grenades hit the glowing white figure and destroyed everything below it's knee. Being crippled now the Armor was unable to wield it's sword high enough to get it off the ground and had to resort to punching. Weiss made a note of this for future use before throwing a glyph in front of Yang to give her a boost to the armor's head. Yang unleashed a barrage of bullets on the Armor's head and it reeled back.

Weiss thought they might have it on the ropes but it turned out to be a ruse. It used the momentum to propel it's fist forward and bat Yang right off her feet like a bothersome fly. She felt a twinge of pride at the knight's deception but ultimately knew it was a mistake as Yang stood back up with flaming hair. With a single punch she completely dissolved it's right arm, then it's left as it tried to counter her.

"Rain of Fire!" Ruby called.

"Shield!" Jaune said immediately.

Weiss lit a glyph under Yang that shot her into the air right next to the Armor's head. Nora leapt at Jaune, landing on his shield and launching a grenade to give her an extra boost as he jumped with all his might. She launched into the air even higher than Yang, and as she started descending batted Yang downward with her hammer like like she was playing whack-a-Grimm, launching Yang in a fiery blaze directly at the Armor's head. It was over in the blink of an eye.

"Now work on your unarmed combat." Qrow called from his vantage point on the balcony.

"With pleasure. Put 'em up, Weiss-icle!" Yang punched her fists together with a glare at Weiss.

"Wait, Yang!" she ducked as the blonde swung her fist at her.

The blonde continued throwing punches while Weiss did her best to dodge but this was not her strong suit. Just one hit from her teammate and she was thrown back more than a few feet. Yang beamed in triumph and Weiss used the minor distraction to get a hit in on her exposed stomach. In theory the plan was good but it was like punching a fridge.

"Ow!" she clutched her hand and tried to soothe the throbbing of her Aura.

"I've been working on my abs, Princess." Yang smirked.

"For Monty's sake, Yang!"

"Who's next?" Yang chuckled.

Hours later she laid in misery in her bed, feeling bruises already blooming all over herself. Yang sat on her own bed, chuckling as she brushed her hair.

"You didn't have to hit me so hard."

"How else will you learn? Besides, I didn't even hit you with my bionic arm. Now that would have hurt."

"Ruffian." she groaned as she propped herself on her elbow. "I'm going into town to get some Dust. You want to come with?"

"Nah, I'm going to catch a cat...nap." she finished softly as she realized what she'd said.

"Alright, you get some sleep." Weiss gave her a sad smile before hopping up. She found Ruby and Jaune sitting in the living room playing chess.

"I'm going into town, Ruby. Do you want to come with me?"

"Oh thanks, Weiss, but I'm sparring with Oscar in a few minutes. Ozpin wants him to work on his combat skills and we all know I need as much hand-to-hand combat as I need."

"I've got my quota for the day." Weiss rubbed her arm. "Well let Qrow know I'll be back in a minute."

"Can I come with you?" Jaune asked.

She gave him a condescending glance and prepared an elaborate shout down for him as she was famous for but she happened to settle her eyes on the bronze trim of his armor and a jolt went through her mind.

"Sure."

"Aw, come on. Why- wait, what?"

"Come on, I'm not waiting around all day." she huffed to regain her composure.

He gave her a smile and got up from their game. She took her cloak off the hook next to the door and they put their weapons into their holsters before walking out, heading down the path that led to the village. Jaune's smile was bright and she felt it's annoying optimism press around her.

"Stop being so happy. It's giving me a headache."

"Who wouldn't be happy? It's a nice day." he gestured to the blue sky.

She took a deep breathe and reminded herself to be nice. They had finally stopped calling her Ice Queen. "From what Ruby tells me, it sounds like you guys had quite the adventure."

"We did. We tried helping as many people as we could along the way."

"We tried finding you guys but Qrow had his own agenda."

"We understand. It must have been exciting being out on the trail with a professional Huntsman."

She thought of all the hours and days spent trudging through rain and waiting in trees. "Yeah, it was a riot."

"Sneaking into enemy camps, slaying Grimm with the flick of a wrist." he waved an imaginary sword.

"More or less." she shrugged. "How are you guys? You know, after...everything."

"We're good. It's been nice getting back out onto the road. Gives us something to put our minds to."

She nodded and they fell into silence. They reached town and headed to the small Dust shop. It only took a few minutes for Weiss to get enough Dust to refill Myrtenaster's chamber and they were walking back to the school. Weiss couldn't seem to draw her eyes away from Jaune's shield which had a familiar design a the foot of it. The call Jaune had made to her that night and the pure desperation in his voice echoed around her head.

"You alright?" he asked.

She jerked and found him staring at her with a curious expression. They had reached the porch of their temporary home. "Um, Jaune, I just wanted to say sorry."

"Sorry?"

"That night at Beacon, when you called me- I-"

"Weiss." he gave her an endearing smile. "It's okay. Don't worry about it."

"But-"

He put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's alright. I promise."

He walked into the house and she took a deep breathe to calm her emotions before following him. Ruby was missing from the living room but some grunts of efforts off the back porch gave enough clues to her location. Knowing she was with Oscar immediately turned Weiss back to her room. Yang was indeed asleep on her bed so Weiss sat at the desk and pulled out paper. Being so close to the CCT tower did give her access to the internet but only locally, so messaging her sister was out of the question. Instead she was confined to writing down everything she dare. Qrow had warned her of putting too much into writing in case it was intercepted so she couldn't write any of the absolute madness she'd been exposed to the past few weeks, instead making it seem like she was having a leisurely vacation with her friends. She told her all about Haven and the beautiful architecture she'd seen, as well as informing her she'd finally gotten a handle on Summoning. She could hear Winter's comments as she wrote the information down but did her best to block them from her mind. Once she was done she set the envelope on the coffee table to join Ruby's letter to her Dad as well as one addressed to Ironwood she could only imagine was from Ozpin. Someone would grab them and put them in the mailbox next time they went out.

Ren and Nora called dinner so they all pitched in to set the table and sit down to eat together. Meals at the Schnee household had always been a cold affair where often the table was so large she couldn't have heard her Father even if she'd wanted to, but at Beacon it had been almost pleasant sitting at a table with all her friends who were doing as much laughing as eating. While their manners were atrocious she had found she didn't really mind when they started food fights or put chopsticks in their nose (Nora). It was one thing on the long list she'd missed about Beacon the past few months grinding her teeth through granola alone in a tree. It wasn't until Nora treated them to her Walrus Chopsticks routine again at dinner Weiss realized she felt the same way at this strange dinner table as she had in Beacon's dining hall. It wasn't the table that made her feel at home, it was the people.

A small smile graced her lips as she thought over this and Ruby enveloped her in a surprise hug. "Weiss smiled! I knew you thought it was funny."

"Don't be ridiculous. I doubt I'll ever eat from any of these chopstick ever again for fear they've been up Nora's nose."

"Oh, do you have a secret spoon stash? Just wait until you see what I can do with those!" walrus Nora beamed.

"I shudder at the thought." she said blandly.

"So who wants to go on a little field trip?" Qrow asked, retaking his almost permanent post leaning against a doorframe instead of joining everyone else like a civilized human being.

"Oh, where are we going?" Nora bounced in her seat.

"There's a decent-sized abandoned city nearby I want to check out. Some merchants said they saw someone there a few days ago and I want to see if it's any of the disappeared Hunters."

"Oh, pick me! Pick me!" Ruby raised her hand and jumped in her seat like they were back in classes. Then Weiss chuckled as she realized if they were actually in any of their classes Ruby would probably be napping or doodling.

"If Ruby goes, I go." Yang was draining the last of the broth out of her bowl of noodles.

"Then I guess we're all going." Jaune nodded.

"Now hold your horses. We need to leave a few of you here to protect Haven in case anything happens. Hunter shortage, remember?"

"Um." Ruby looked around at the group.

Weiss had glanced at Qrow as he'd mentioned they'd have to hang back and he gave her a small nod. "I'll stay." she said immediately.

"Are you sure, Weiss? I was looking forward to all of us hitting the trail again." Ruby gave her puppy dog eyes but Weiss had to stick to her guns.

"I'm sure Ruby. I'd like to work on my Summoning a little more and I need peace and quiet for that."

"Oscar, you should stay here with her too. You need to work more on your combat before you go out again."

Oscar nodded at Qrow and Weiss tried her hardest not to scowl. Yang must have seen the twitching in her jaw, however, and gave a heavy sigh but someone beat her to the punch.

"I'll do it." Jaune spoke up.

"What?" both her and Yang asked.

"I'll stay behind. Maybe Weiss can help me unlock my Semblance."

"Don't you want to stay with your team?" Yang asked.

"One of us is going to have to split up and it makes the most sense it's me. You can be with Ruby, and I know you guys will look after Ren and Nora. It's only for a few days."

"I can stay, Jaune, it's not a big deal." the blonde looked to both Ruby and Weiss for guidance but they both just shrugged.

"You came all this way just to be with Ruby. Don't worry, if Weiss hasn't killed me off by now I doubt she'll do it."

"Don't tempt me." she muttered, earning a smile from him.

"Alright, you two stay here in case anything happens. If anything does, one of you come and get me immediately. Don't forget Leo is here in case you need anything."

"We'll be fine, Mom." Weiss rolled her eyes.

"I won't be here to pick up your slack, Princess." he shot back, taking a swig from his flask. "The rest of you be ready before sunrise tomorrow. I don't want to be gone for more than a couple days. I'll be by at five to come get you all."

They all nodded and started talking amongst themselves. Jaune immediately went to the other members of his team and they were in a deep conversation in the span of just a few minutes. Qrow started walking to the front door as he always did after dinner and Weiss quietly followed him. He left the door open as he walked through it and she followed him, closing it behind them. He leaned on the railing and gave a heavy sigh.

"What now?"

"Why don't you ever stay the night here?"

"What do you mean? I sleep here."

"For a few hours. You never just hang out here, you're always in town. Even when we were traveling you wouldn't sleep near me, or you'd always walk ahead to scout, or send me ahead to scout and you'd stay behind. Even Violet said you had been traveling alone for a long time. Why is that?"

He took another swig and the stench around him grew heavier. She'd gotten pretty good at reading him over the weeks but right now he was a blank slate of emotions. "Did you know that crows are a sign of bad luck?"

"Excuse me?"

"It's how I got my name. Some people get nice easy Semblances like glyphs, or punching things really hard. I was just born unlucky."

"I'm sure you're just exaggerating."

He waved his hand and one of the posts on the porch railing gave out. She gave him a harder glance, trying to get a read off of him. His face was blank but looked anything like calm, more tortured. "I'm a living, breathing bad luck charm. Great for enemies, not so hot for friends. You wouldn't believe the things I've made happen…"

"You can't control it." It wasn't a question, and her perception of Qrow shifted a little in her mind. She couldn't even imagine having to worry about Summoning at any second of the day without control. Just the thought gave her anxiety.

"I can cause it to get worse, but I can't turn it off. Never have been, and probably never will. It's always there whether I like it or not. It's safer if I spend as minimal time as possible around friends...or family."

"Is that why you didn't want me coming with you from Patch?"

"No, that was because I didn't want to drag a child across a continent."

The snark was almost welcoming in his voice. She leaned on the railing a few feet from him. "What are you really hoping to find in the city? I know you don't think they're alive anymore than I do. I know you've visited their families, their children. Maybe one or two might up and leave but not every single Hunter."

"There's someone else out there. I can feel it, like a headache you can't shake. I'm hoping to lure it out."

"What makes you think it will follow you out there and not attack here the second you're gone?" He didn't answer and she glanced over at him to see him taking a deep swig from his flask. She thought on it for a second before connecting a couple dots. "It's not after you, is it?"

"What's important is you keep Oscar safe, and work on the blonde's Semblance. The more power we have on our side, the better when it all comes down to it."

"Can you really turn into a bird, Qrow?" she asked it quickly because she was scared she'd lose her nerve.

"Yes, I can. Any other questions you already know the answers to?"

It was on the tip of her tongue. The bird that had kept her company throughout their journey that she fed scraps or had sat on her knee and let her pet it's head, but she couldn't do it. Qrow looked like he just wanted to be alone right now and she wasn't even sure if he'd tell her the truth. She finally shook her head and he walked off the porch without another word. She stood on the porch for a while thinking on everything they'd found out over the past few months. While this certainly wasn't the Huntress position she'd originally thought she'd be doing when she first joined Beacon, she agreed with Yang that as long as Ruby was fighting she would as well. Her team was more like family to her than anyone she'd ever known and she wasn't going to let them do this crazy dangerous and possibly suicidal job on their own. Just the way Ozpin and Qrow said Salem's name gave her the shivers and after everything she'd heard they could do, she was terrified to find out who they were so afraid of. Even Cinder was afraid of her it seemed.

The door opened behind her and she turned to see Yang lean on the railing next to her. "Nice night."

"Shouldn't you be getting some rest? Trust me, Qrow doesn't keep a leisurely pace."

Yang didn't grace the small talk with a response, just looked up at the stars. "I've got a bad feeling about this mission."

"It'll be fine Yang. You've got Qrow and the others with you."

"Sorry you're stuck with Oz."

She shrugged. "It's my job, and I'll do it. Ozpin was a talented Hunter and I'd be glad for training from him."

"You know you don't have to be poised and refined around me, Weiss Cream. We've been honest with each other so far."

She gave her a sideways glance before letting out a huff of air. "It's going to be the worst."

Yang giggled. "At least you've got Vomit Boy to use as a punching bag. Silver linings."

"I suppose. I just want to make sure I keep up my training. I want to be more useful than I was last time."

"At least you know all you need to do it train. My Dad said I have the opposite problem, I'm too good at punching things apparently. He said I like to go through things, not around them."

"I don't call you a brute for nothing." she teased gently. "But I can see that you've changed. We all have after Beacon."

"I just don't ever want to feel helpless again." Yang tilted her head down, kicking a rock with a brown boot.

"You're stronger than you think, Yang, and not just at punching things. Never forget you're not alone out here, you have me and Ruby and the others looking after you. We're all here together."

"I know." she gave Weiss a sad smile and she could tell Blake was on her mind. "Just take care while we're gone, okay? Keep an eye on those two and don't let them get into too much trouble."

"Will do...Yangarang?"

Yang gave a snort of laughter. "Yangarang? What was that?"

"What? You call me stupid pun names. I can't have one for you?"

"Not if it's that bad." she clutched her sides. "Yangarang. Oh Monty, I think I cracked a rib!"

"You really are a brute." Weiss turned on her heel and marched back inside, the blonde following her back into the house while she roared. She proceeded to tell the others loudly what had happened and in the span of ten seconds every single person was thrown into fits of giggles. Even as she was yelling curses at Yang she couldn't keep the smile off her face at the sound of all her friends' laughter surrounding her.

So there we go! I appreciate everyone reviewing and I have a couple comment responses below. If you literally couldn't care less then please by all means ignore it. See you next chapter!

To hypernove2718: Thank you so much for reviewing! Ruby strikes me as a caring and trusting person, and Ozpin/Oscar has done nothing to lose her trust yet. At this point Weiss and Yang are kinda feeling a little jerked around my circumstances but Ruby is naturally a more optimistic person in general than the rest of her team. If you feel like it's just TOO far out on the happy spectrum I can try to reign it in a bit but thanks for the critiques on the dialogue! I'll try to make sure I'm more clear in the future about whom is speaking to whom. I find writing large groups conversing difficult and clearly I need to work on it more. The 'He' was referring to Ozpin, as Jaune was just trying to be supportive of Pyrrha whereas Ozpin knew exactly what he was asking of her. I'm not trying to vilify him for it, the action alone was a move of desperation, but those are the facts. I'll try to be clearer in the future but thanks so much again! Also thanks for reviewing so often. It really helps motivate me to write.

To SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta, I know it wasn't too far from cannon and that's why it was pretty short. Given the timeline at the moment this scene needed to happen and of course they acted closely to how they did in the show because I'm trying to stay true to their personalities. I promise I'm not copy pasting from the show and it gets more varied in the future. I'll try to shake it up more thought so there are no 'skippable' chapters if you get my drift. Thanks for the critique and I'll work on it in the future.

To Guest, if you're still around, I reasoned that Ruby was more interested in 'doing' than waiting. She wanted to get back out to the job whereas Weiss and Yang needed some time. I actually thought she would feel better about leaving both of them as they would have each other instead of Yang just having their Dad. I'm sorry if it rubbed you the wrong way. I rewrote some of the first chapter because of the obvious fact the CCT tower was down that somehow I overlooked when I initially wrote this, so the correspondence between Weiss and Ren was left out. I also thought you were right in that regard so I changed it a little bit. Feel free to go back and give it a read to re-critique me if you want, they really do help. I didn't want to put Ruby and Weiss arguing in because I didn't feel it was where they were at. Yang and Weiss, absolutely, but Ruby doesn't seem to me the type. Weiss is more getting over the change in her family and lifestyle structure, as well as the death of basically her idol, then her friends getting back to work. She is the more self-demoralizing sort and I wanted to use Ruby leaving as a jump start to her wanting to get back out there. Sort of a 'If Ruby can go out and fight, than so can I' moment, hence the conversation with Qrow earlier in the story about her being fine and dandy but still sitting at home.

Thanks again and please review! I think I'm going to start replying now so ask me any questions you want! Have a good one!

Why do I use so many exclamation points when I talk to you guys? I swear I'm not this happy in person.