Team BAWM

by The Burning Ruler

Follow the lives of four young Huntsmen in training, a set of twins, one with a questionable past, and another with a vast criminal record. Together, these four form Team BAWM, and may god have mercy on whoever crosses their path. (Co-Authored by RebelKira and Nightmare 6-4)

16. Chapter 16

Welcome everyone to the latest chapter of Team BAWM! I am your host for this chapter RebelKira himself. As always don't forget to Favorite this story. Follow the three of us, and leave a review letting us know what you think of it. TheBurningRuler and Nightmare 6-4 doing amazing work as always. Anyway, here we go with Chapter 16!

Chapter 16: The Truth Unveiled

After we finished breakfast Carnel, Alicia, Falcon, Blake and I started heading back to our room. Just outside our room Weiss stopped me.

"We need to talk." She said sternly.

She grabbed my arm and started pulling me away towards the entrance of the dorms. She pulled to a section of the school that resembled a small gazebo area.

"Alright what the hell is your problem? First you bitch me out and then last night you act like were friends again by warning me what that degenerate Carnel did to the punch. Start explaining." Weiss said angrily.

"I meant to apologize for the other night. I just wasn't sure what to say or how to do it. There're things I said that I regret and things I don't. I'm really sorry about how I handled things. I shouldn't have called you a self-centered racist bitch. I've had a lot going on and the last few days it's only been getting worse. I feel like I'm losing my sanity. I don't regret saying you always think you're the victim though. From what I understood Carnel's operations never even affected you or your family. Blake hid being a faunus from all of us not just you. Just because you are a Schnee doesn't make you perfect or better than anyone else here. In fact I'm sure a few one on one matches with Carnel, Pyrrha, Yang or even Alicia would prove it. You complained you had a rough and strict childhood. This is your chance to act like a regular person and have fun like the rest of us and all you do is complain that everyone else didn't grow up like you. We would be more than willing to be friends with you, but you keep acting like you're above us. I'm sorry about what happened the other day and I want to go back to being friends. That's why I warned you about what Carnel did. I knew if it got out a Schnee was at a party like that and did something she regretted it would have caused even more problems for you." I said.

"I suppose you may be right. On occasion I may go a bit overboard on my reactions. I do appreciate you warning me about what he did at the party last night. I'm still not happy with what happened three days ago. Be that as it may I do appreciate you looking out for me." She said.

"That's what friends do don't they?" I asked.

"I suppose you're right." She said.

"So are we good?" I asked.

"On one condition. Since you were looking out for me I suppose I owe you one. You said you've had a lot going on lately that's messing with you. Which made you go off the other day. So, what's going on?" She asked.

"Just… a lot of personal issues." I said sheepishly.

"You said it felt like you were losing your sanity. Now out with it… Please." She said.

"It just feels like a lot of the decisions I make only cause more issues for me. Even if the outcome makes others happy." I said.

"That's not very descriptive." She said.

"I'm trying, you should know how difficult it is to open up about personal issues. I… had a really big crush on someone… Another one of my friends liked the same person. I gave them advice to go after them. Then add on how crummy I felt about yelling at you, and some other stuff I'd rather not mention." I said.

"Alright so is it Ruby or Ren you liked?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well you made sure to get them out last night as well. I can understand wanting to keep Ruby innocent regardless. I'm just curious if there was an alternate reason or if it's Ren you liked." She said.

"Maybe it's someone else and I just thought it would have been a good idea." I said.

"Maybe. We both know it isn't though." She said.

"Alright before I would say anything, I want you to promise you won't do anything." I said.

"I promise on my honor as a Schnee." She said holding her hand up.

"Right… It was Ren… After Ruby told me she liked him I couldn't help but give her advice. It didn't help I was already in a bad mood when she told me. Seeing them at the dance last night didn't help. They looked so happy last night. I'm so jealous but I'm also really happy for her." I said.

"Does she know?" She asked.

"No. That's why I made you promise not to do anything. I can only imagine how bad she'd feel if she knew. I don't want her to sacrifice her happiness for me." I said solemnly.

"What about your happiness though? You may be an… interesting girl… but you still deserve to be happy too." She said.

I smiled a bit. "You know you could have just said fucked up, or even bat shit crazy. You didn't have to sugar coat it. I appreciate you saying that though. Unfortunately before I even think about that I have some other issues I need to deal with first."

"Anything I can help with?" She asked.

"No." I said.

"If you say so. I don't recommend bottling your problems up though. If you do it to much it may cause you to do something you regret. Like going off on your friends." She said with a light smile.

"So I'm guessing were good now?" I asked.

"Just as long as you know you can come to me if something is bothering you. That way we can avoid another incident like last time." She said.

"I'll try. I should probably head back soon, I'm sure Falcon's a little worried about me." I said.

"You make it sound like you have feelings for him." She said with a sly grin.

"Now your over analyzing things." I said.

"Then why did you mention him specifically?" She asked.

"Because I'm sure Carnel and Alicia have been staring into each other's eyes so long that they lost track of time, so it would seem like I wasn't gone long. Falcon would probably notice how long I've been gone and ask how things went." I said.

"Suuure. I have some homework I need to get done anyway. I suppose I'll see you later." She said walking off towards the library.

I started heading back to the dorms happy I was able to patch things up with Weiss. That happiness didn't last long though. I ran into Ren at the entrance.

"Oh. Hello Crys. How are you doing today." He asked.

"I'm good. Better than some of the others after last night that's for sure." I said. 'Why did I bring up last night.'

"Yeah I guess it got pretty wild last night. I appreciate you getting me and Ruby out of there." He said.

"N-no problem." I said.

"Although I am curious why you were there. You told me the other day you wouldn't be going." He said.

"Yeah about that… I wasn't lying when I said I wasn't going. I'm not the best with social gatherings with large groups of people. Later that day Falcon and I ended up making a bet with Carnel that we ended up on the losing end of. As a result Falcon was told to ask me out and I was told to go." I said.

"I see. I'm not going to lie I was a little worried I had done something wrong." He said.

"It's not your fault I was an idiot." I mumbled.

"What was that?" He asked.

"Nothing. Anyway, did you have fun with Ruby last night?" I asked. 'What are you doing? Are you trying to hurt yourself more!'

"It was definitely interesting. She seemed really nervous for a majority of the night. Which seemed really odd for her. Knowing how hyper she usually is. I was worried I was doing something wrong. After you pushed us out of the dance I talked to her asking what was up." He said.

"What did she say?" I asked.

"Well she said she had a crush on me and that she wanted to go out with me." He said rubbing his neck.

"So what did you tell her?" I asked nervously.

"I told her that I was flattered, but I needed time to think it over first." He said

"What is there to think about? You already know how to handle hyper after knowing Nora for so long. Plus she's really cute." I said.

"Well about that. I was hoping you'd have accepted my invitation because I was going to ask you out at the dance." He said.

'This can't be happening. He's joking right? I'm still asleep. This is a nightmare right?' I thought.

"Crys? Are you okay?" He asked.

"Y-yeah I'm fine… I'm sorry, but I have to decline… Besides I already knew Ruby liked you and I was giving her ideas to get closer to you. I think you'd be a lot happier with her than me. Besides I've got too much else on my mind right now to even think about a relationship right now." I said.

"I understand. I appreciate you being up front with me Crys." He said.

"Of course. Anyway I have some homework I've been procrastinating on. I'll see you later Ren." I said walking past him trying to hold back my tears.

Once I knew he was out of sight I started running for my dorm. Thinking that the door was still on the ground from when we left, I didn't bother stopping to open it. Instead I ended up running right into it. I stumbled back a bit before falling to the ground.

"Crys? Is everything okay?" Alicia said opening the door.

I slowly got up from the floor. "Aside from a slight headache I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You look like you've been crying?" Alicia said.

"Scarecrow Wins" Said an electronic voice from inside the room.

"Damnit!" Falcon yelled.

"I'm alright. What are they doing?" I asked.

"Playing some fighting game. I think Carnel said it was called Injustice 2." Alicia said.

"Falcon move over." I said.

"Okay?" He said confused.

"Have you ever played this before?" Carnel asked.

"Just select your character." I said.

"If you say so." He said.

"Green Lantern" said the electronic voice as Carnel picked his character. "Harley Quinn" It said again as I made my decision. "Fighters approaching Atlantis." The opening scene started but Carnel skipped it. "Begin"

As the match began Harley started with a low dropkick followed by a cartwheel. Lantern managed to knock her back by slamming into her with a large turbine. Harley recovered quickly with a couple gunshots from a distance. Lantern jumped closer but ran into a blast of confetti sending him backward. Harley tossed something over lantern and a hyena ran towards him. He dodged the incoming animal and used the same turbine move to advance in. He grabbed Harley and dropped three green steel beams on top of her. Harley used her cartwheel move again but this time laid into Lantern with multiple gunshots. She dove at him with a kick followed by a spinning punch. Lantern caught her in a beam and slammed her twice onto the arena. Harley recovered with a low dropkick and started in with a series of repeated punches, kicks and gunshots. She slammed him with a hammer sending him flying though a wall of glass. He was eaten by a giant creature until it was pulled back by the chains holding it back. Lantern was sent flying out of the creature's mouth only to be hit twice by another characters trident and sent into another glass wall, crashing to the floor. Lantern then had a green aura surround him as he slammed two large green robotic feet on top of Harley. The scene changed as the legs began to form until a pair of arms formed and clapped with Harley in the center. The mech continued to form as a helmet slammed down onto her. Once the mech was finished it launched four blasts at her ending the scene. Harley attempted to close in but was met with a green blast temporarily stopping her from advancing. She went for a low dropkick again this time throwing a thing of dynamite at him. A dark pink aura surrounded her as she held up a bundle of dynamite. She did a drop kick sending him over her on to the explosive. The scene then changed to her sending two hyenas out to bite him repeatedly until she came in with a bat and slammed it down on him. A light flashed around Lantern before he fell to the ground.

"Harley Quinn wins." The electronic voice said.

"What just happened?" Falcon asked.

"Did she just beat you?" Alicia asked.

"Well I feel a bit better." I said handing Falcon back the controller and laying down on my bed.

"Where did you learn to play like that?" Carnel asked.

"The woman who rescued me had others with her as well. They weren't necessarily family, but most of us acted like it. Between the two I considered as my brother and sister we ended up playing Mortal Kombat a lot. Since they are pretty much the same game it wasn't hard to figure out the controls. The only real difference was I used to play on Xbox since that's what my 'brother' had." I said.

"So, are you actually gonna tell us what's up now?" Alicia asked.

"What do you mean I said I was fine." I said.

"Yeah and then you also said you felt better. Spill it. Did you blow up on princess again?" Carnel asked.

"Actually, we worked everything out." I said.

"Then what happened?" Falcon asked.

"I told you nothing happened." I said.

"Crys we're your friends. That doesn't mean we wont resort to torture to get it out of you." Carnel said.

I let out a loud groan. "Don't get me wrong I like that you guys care so much, but you can be insufferable at times."

"It's part of our charm." Carnel said.

"Well aside from the fact I'm pretty sure Weiss thinks I have a crush on Falcon, which I don't. I ran into Ren when I was coming back, and he asked me out." I said.

"That's good isn't it?" Alicia asked.

"You turned him down didn't you?" Falcon asked.

"Yeah I did. Is the interrogation over yet?" I asked.

"What the fuck? Weren't you wet for him or some shit? Why the hell did you turn him down?" Carnel asked.

"I just thought he'd be better off with Ruby" I said.

"What the fuck Crys, that makes no sense unless... ohhhh. Nice." Carnel said.

"What?" Alicia asked.

"Looks like our friend Crys here plays for the same team." Carnel said.

"What the fuck Carnel!" I yelled while turning a little red.

"I was right! She's even blushing." Carnel said

"She did spend a lot of time alone with Velvet the other day." Alicia said.

"Really? You too?" I asked.

"Hey, were not making fun of you for it or anything like that." Carnel said.

"Still, you're jumping to conclusions aren't you? Just because I was thinking of my friend instead of myself doesn't mean I'm like that." I said.

"Then why do you keep getting redder?" Carnel asked.

"That's enough man." Falcon said.

"Crys none of us are going to think of you any different for it if you are like that. If they do I'll freeze their balls off. Literally." Alicia said.

"I mean the thought has crossed my mind lately, but I've just had other things on my mind lately and I don't really wanna think about a relationship right now either way." I said.

"Anything we can help with?" Falcon asked.

"Not really, just a lot going though my head at once. I'm pretty sure I'm just overthinking a lot of it." I said.

"If you say so. Just remember if you need anything let us know." Alicia said.

"I will, and for the record Carnel. If anything I play for both teams." I said.

"I was still technically right! Let me know if you want help asking Velvet or Weiss out." Carnel said.

"What makes you think it would be them?" I asked.

"Well they are the more obvious since you spend the most time with them. You gave up Ren to Ruby so clearly, it's not either of them. You don't seem like the kind of person to try to go after someone already in a relationship. Which takes out Alicia. Yang doesn't seem your type. Falco and Blake are pretty much together taking them out. Leaving the only logically available ones left based on who you typically are around the most being Velvet and Weiss as prime candidates, Pyrrha, Nora, Jaune, the unlikely but still possibility of Coco or one other teammates, or you've gone fucking crazy and you like one of the losers on team CRDL. Although I'd say your options are a slimmed down a bit more, since I'm pretty sure there is some awkward feelings going on between Jaune, Pyrrha and Nora." Carnel said.

"Okay then, I regret asking. I'm gonna listen to some music and relax." I said. Right as I put my headphones on I got a message from Ozpin asking me to come to his office. "Or not, I guess Ozpin wants to talk to me about something"

"Why? Since when do you do anything wrong. Other than threatening to permanently blind Cardin." Carnel asked.

"Hell if I know." I said.

"Good luck" Falcon said.

"Thanks." I said.

I set off for Ozpin's office with a multitude of thought running though my head as to what this could be about.

'Is he finally going to kick me out? Expose me? Deal with me personally? Maybe I'll get lucky and it'll just be about the party last night.' I thought

I got in the elevator and waited as I slowly got closer to his office. The closer I got the more anxious I got. The elevator dinged when I arrived, and I jumped a bit after having spaced out. The door opened, and I saw him standing with his back to me looking out the giant window. I looked around his office and saw that no one else was here. It took a little worry out of me, but it also added more immediately.

"You wanted to see me sir?" I asked walking forward.

"Have a seat Ms. Winters." He said in a courteous tone.

I sat in the chair across from his desk. He still hadn't moved.

"So what is this about?" I asked.

"Ms. Winters what do you remember about your parents?" He asked.

"I know that you sent your huntsman to kill them because they had intel about you that would have helped out Salem." I said.

He gave a small sigh before turning and sat as his desk. "Ms. Winters, I know you have no reason to believe anything I'm about to tell you, however, I implore you to hear me out. Will you grant me that?"

"I don't think I'm gonna have much of a choice either way." I said.

"Please take a look at this image." He said handing me his scroll.

The image was of a news article from twenty-two years ago that featured a team from Beacon winning the Vytal Festival. The headline read 'Team BARS from Beacon takes home the championship!'

"Why should I care about a team that won the tournament twenty-two years ago." I asked.

"If you would please look up the article on your scroll, I think that should answer your question." He said.

"If it can just be looked it up why have me do it and only show me a picture?" I asked.

"Because this way there's no chance of me showing you an edited version." He said.

He had me there. If he'd just shown me the article on his scroll, I could have assumed he made it on the fly to mess with me. I searched for the team's name and found a multitude of articles about them. I found a video of the final round and the championship celebration.

The video started with two people in the arena. One was a male wearing a green shirt with brown leather armor and black pants with black hair wielding a morning star flail. The other was a female with blond hair wearing a blue dress with a white sleeveless coat overtop wielding two pistols.

"Now for the moment you've all be waiting for! The final round of the Vytal Festival Tournament!" The first announcer said.

"These two students have fought hard to get where they are today. This should be a match for the ages." The second one said.

"We have Xander Wilson of Atlas facing off against Amara Jones of Beacon." The first announcer said.

The match began, and Amara started dancing all over the arena firing towards Xander. Circling him her movement seemed to flow perfectly. Many of her shots were missing, but it almost seemed like she was missing him intentionally. Xander started closing in but his movements looked as though he was starting to stagger a bit. He almost seemed like he was drunk.

"Looks like Amara is using another one of her experimental rounds." The second announcer said.

"Indeed, and this one seems to be impairing Mr. Wilson's judgement I'm not sure this young man knows where he is anymore." The first announcer said.

"This girl has been one of the most difficult competitors for her opponents to prepare for throughout the whole tournament. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before this one's over." The second announcer said.

Xander was struggling to stand at this point. Amara put the grips of her pistols together and they formed into a staff. She charged towards him and swung towards his hands to knock his weapon out of his hands. She knocked his weapon across the arena and then proceeded to hit him repeatedly until his aura had depleted.

"And there you have it folks. Amara Jones and team BARS have won this year's Vytal festival Tournament!" The first announcer said.

The video cut to the presentation of the championship. Ozpin was on the mic.

"On behalf of Beacon Academy I officially present Team BARS with their Championship Medals. Congratulations Amara Jones, Rooney Nalu, Scar O'Reilly, and Balt Winters." Ozpin said.

I paused the video.

"Dad…" I said shocked.

"Indeed, and I'm sure that I don't need to tell you that Amara is your mother." Ozpin said.

"You bastard…" I whispered.

"Ms. Winters please…" He started to say.

I jumped up and pulled my pistol out and aimed it at him. "You'd better have a god damn good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now you son of a bitch!"

Ozpin didn't even flinch. "Please let me explain. Your parents and their teammates were some of the best students I had. When your mother found out she was pregnant with you the team decided to disband. Your mother helped with weapon designing at Signal Academy. Your father stared up his own restaurant along with Scar, and Rooney joined the Vale Police Department. About five years later the accident happened. Your parent's home was attacked by a large number of Grimm. They unfortunately lost their lives trying to protect you. For years we'd all thought you had died in the attack as well. When I'd seen your name on your transcripts, I immediately knew they were fakes and had them traced back. Unsurprisingly they came back with no results. When I saw you in person, I understood everything, as I'm sure you know Salem has the ability to control the creatures of Grimm. She ambushed your home and had your parents taken out, so she could take you and use you against me."

"Why should I believe any of this? How can I believe any of this? Salem always told me that you were the one who wanted to destroy life on Remnant. That is was your fault I lost my parents. I lost my childhood! Instead of having good memories of growing up with them I'm forever scarred with the image of there bodies lying motionless outside my home with blood all over. Do you know how many nightmares I've had to endure with that image running though my head?" I asked with tears streaming down my face.

"Crys I promise you that I had nothing to do with it and I was just as distraught when I heard the news." He said.

"Bullshit!" I yelled.

"That's enough!" A male voice yelled out.

I turned to see a bright red-haired female and a maroon haired male stepping out of the elevator. The male was wearing a VPD uniform and the female was wearing a black shirt and khaki pants.

"I don't believe it. She is alive." The female said starting to tear up.

"Who they hell are you?" I asked.

"Those are your parent's former teammates Scar and Rooney." Ozpin said.

"What?" I asked.

"Crys please put your weapon down." Scar said.

"Why the hell should I? It's his fault my parents, your friends and teammates are dead!" I yelled.

"No, it's not please calm down. Let me explain what happened." Rooney said slowly stepping forward.

"Why should I believe you? Why should I believe any of you?" I yelled.

"Please listen to him Crys." Scar said.

"Give me a chance and I can prove to you he's not responsible for their deaths." Rooney said.

"How?" I asked.

"Memory is the key." Rooney said.

"What?" I asked.

"My semblance will let me take you into them. I can prove to you what really happened that night." Rooney said.

"You want me to relive that horrible time? You're no better than him!" I yelled.

"I know it'll be painful but trust me it'll prove Salem is the one who's been lying to you." Rooney said.

"Give us a chance please Crys." Scar pleaded.

I looked at them and back to Ozpin. "Fine." I put my weapon away and walked towards Rooney.

"Thank you now just relax and close your eyes." He said placing his hand on my head. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. "Alright open them." He said removing his hand.

When I opened my eyes, I was in my house from when I was five again. My five-year-old self was sitting on the couch with her hands covering her head and my eyes shut. I walked over to her and was about to put my arms around her.

"Don't bother it'll go right though her. While were in your memory I can pause, play, rewind and speed up time as much as I want. No matter how much we want to we can't interact with anything." He said.

The memory started to play. My past-self began shaking out of fear. My mom came rushing into the living room.

"Stop!" I yelled to him. I walked up to her and tried putting my arms around her. They passed right through as he said they would. I fell to my knees and started crying into my hands. "Mom..."

He knelt down next to me and put his hand on my shoulder. "I know it's hard, but we need to keep going. This isn't easy for me either."

I slowly regained myself and stood up to let it continue.

"Crys you need to hide!" She yelled.

"Why? What's going on mommy?" my past-self said.

"Don't worry about it just go hide." She said.

I ran to the closet with my mom following me. My mom knelt down and hugged me.

"Stay here Crys. Don't open the door no matter what. No matter what happens remember your father and I love you with all our hearts." She said before closing the door. Rooney and I were forced into the closet as it shut.

"Wait why did we get forced in here? Why can't we see what happened?" I asked trying to open the door. My hand passed though the handle each time.

"This version of you never saw outside the door until Salem found her. I can't reproduce a scene you never saw. We just have to wait till it's over." He said.

Gunshots, screams, growling and incoherent yelling rang out from the other side of the door.

"NO! MOM! DAD! Let me out damn it! Let me out!" I said pounding on the door. I tried reaching for my weapon, but it wasn't there.

"Crys you need to calm down it's no use" Rooney said.

"Shut up! I need to see them! I need to help them!" I yelled out as I continued to pound on the door. Eventually everything got quiet. "Nooooo!" I fell to the ground and started crying again.

He knelt down next to me again and I wrapped my arms around him and cried even louder. The next thing I knew the door was opening and there was a dark figure standing there.

"Calm down child I am not here to hurt you." The figure said in Salem's voice. Her image slowly formed as my past-selves eyes opened.

"Please stop this." I pleaded.

"I wanna see one more thing first." He said.

"I can't see that image again." I continued to beg.

"Do you still blame Ozpin for their deaths?" He asked.

"Yes… no… I don't know just don't show me that please." I said.

"Believe me I don't want to see it again either. There is something you need to see about it though." He said.

"What would that be?" I asked.

"If you look at the scene again, you'll see it was a Grimm attack not a huntsman that did it." He said.

"I don't remember seeing any of that though, so you shouldn't be able to recreate that." I said.

"I want to see what you remember about it though. If there is even a small detail of evidence, it should clear up everything." He said.

"Fine… we can go to that point. I wont look though." I said.

"Alright then close your eyes. I'm going to speed things up." He said.

I closed my eyes and could feel us being forced though the house until we were outside.

"I was right. You saw more than your willing to remember." He said.

"What do you mean?" I asked still having not opened my eyes.

"There's nevermore feathers laying around. In addition to that there are a few spikes from an ursa that haven't quite faded out yet. Finally, there is some purple liquid mixed in with their blood. deathstalker venom just like I found when I first saw this myself." He said.

"You mean you?" I started to say.

"Scar was the one who found them. She came over for a visit and found them laying there. She called me immediately. I brought the force out and got here as soon as I could. When I arrived on the scene I went directly inside to look for you, but you were nowhere to be found. We had no idea what happened to you. I personally looked for months and came up with nothing. There were no signs of forced entry. There were to many tracks inside the house to determine who's was who's. We had nothing. Eventually I was forced to give up the search. Trust me this isn't an easy thing for me to relive either." He said.

"I can imagine…" In said. I felt his hand back on my head again.

"Were out you can open your eyes again." He said.

"Not till I hear someone else's voice." I said.

"It's okay dear, you're out." Scar said.

I slowly opened my eyes. I looked up and saw Rooney in front of me. I looked around and saw Scar walking towards us and Ozpin still sitting at his desk. I backed away and pulled my weapon out again and switched it to its pistol mode.

"Crys don't!" Scar yelled.

I used my semblance and created a large blinding light. While everyone was trying to recover I loaded gravity dust into my weapon and switched to its axe mode. I smashed the window and jumped out. As I was falling, I chucked my scroll towards the ground and switched to my weapons sniper mode. I fired at my scroll to shatter it and slow my decent. I started running for the airships as fast as I could after replacing my weapon. Two pilots were standing by their respective ships. I grabbed one of them and threw him into the other. I got in the driver's seat and flew the ship to the docks where were team RWBY had fought Roman. I got out and continued to run. I didn't know where I planned on going, I just wanted to get as far away as possible. I climbed a building and started running from rooftop to rooftop. I stopped on a roof across from where Red and Catalina were living with Tim and Ally. I didn't stay long. I kept running. I had to get out of the city.

It would only be a matter of time before Ozpin or Rooney told my team about what happened. I was positive once Carnel heard he'd have a good chunk of his force out looking for me. Not only that but Rooney would surely send the VPD out to look as well. I finally made it out of the city and began running through a forest. I managed to find a cave in a nearby mountain. There were a few beowolves inside but a quick flash with my semblance quickly sent them out. I switched to ice dust and made a thick barrier of ice on the inside to seal away anything else that may be inside. I made a thin wall near the entrance of the cave as well. It was thick enough it would slow down any Grimm attempting to come in and give me plenty of time to fire at them. It was far enough inside it shouldn't be easily seen from the outside. I switched back to my sniper and set it next to the wall before collapsing to my knees again.

"My whole fucking life has been a god damn lie!" I said slamming my fist on the ground. "Not only was Salem fucking using me from the beginning, but she was also the one who took my family away from me!" I slammed my other fist on the ground. "How long was she going to continue using me? How fucking long before she'd have had me killed as well? Is that why Cinder was really sent to Beacon? Once she was finished with her part of mission was she going to kill me as well? Was she going to let that creepy fuck Tyrian do it? I'm sure he'd jump at the first fucking chance. How do I even know anything Rooney showed me was the truth? I don't know what's fucking real and what isn't anymore!" I don't know how long I'd been in the cave, but it was dark when I finally managed to calm down. I made a small light and saw that my hands were bleeding. I took my sweatshirt off and the shirt I was wearing underneath. I used my axe to cut my shirt up. I wrapped the strips around my hands to try to stop the bleeding. I put my sweatshirt back on and sat next to the wall. It wasn't long before I started getting drowsy and fell asleep.

Three hours earlier with the rest of the team

"Hellboy Wins" An electronic voice said.

"Hell yeah! Let's see that's twelve wins for me, five for Alicia, nine for Falcon, two for Blake, and one for Crys" Carnel said.

"Where is Crys anyway? I thought she would be back by now." Alicia said.

"She said she had to go talk to Ozpin right? Maybe she decided to go to the library or the training hall afterward or something." Carnel said.

"It's not like it would be the first time she went somewhere and didn't tell us." Falcon said.

"I know, but after what happened last time, she seemed to be better at letting us know." Alicia said as a knock came at the door.

"I got it." Falcon said heading towards the door.

"I'm sure she's fine." Carnel said putting his arm around Alicia.

Falcon opened the door to see Ozpin slightly out of breath.

"Headmaster what happened?" Falcon asked.

"I've been known to be wrong before. Carnel said as he, Alicia and Blake walked towards the door.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but has Crys been here at all?" Ozpin asked.

"Not since she left for your office. Why, what happened?" Falcon asked.

"I'm afraid there is a possibility she has left Beacon's grounds. However, we aren't sure where she would have gone." Ozpin said.

"Where have you looked?" Carnel asked.

"I've got teams CRDL and JNPR out searching the grounds for her, and I've got the Vale Police Department looking for her in the city." He said.

"I'll get in touch with my contacts to have them keep an eye out for her." Carnel said as he walked into the room to make some calls.

"What do you want us to do sir?" Falcon asked.

"You're not going to like this, but I want you to stay here in case she comes back. Regardless of what happened I know she trusts you the most. If there is even the slightest chance she comes back you need to be here for her." Ozpin said.

"Yes sir." Falcon said.

"Are you serious? What if she's in trouble we need to go look for her." Alicia said.

"Ozpin's right. Whatever happened we need to stay here in case she comes back. She most likely won't be in the right mindset and we need to be here to help her out." Falcon said.

"So were going to abandon her while she's who knows where out there?" Alicia asked.

"Calm down sweetheart. I don't like it either but it's a good idea. Between the VPD and my boys I'm sure they'll find her in no time. Besides she's no pushover I'm sure she's fine wherever she is." Carnel said.

Alicia walked over and hugged Carnel.

"Has my team been notified?" Blake asked.

"Yes, I asked them to do the same thing. However, I implore you too…" Ozpin started saying as something crashed through the window.

"Guys Crys is missing we need to… Oh hey… headmaster... Ozpin." Ruby said as she sprung up.

"Ms. Rose, I know your team has a habit of mysteriously appearing at the right place at the right time. However, this time I am demanding that you and your team stay here. Same with the rest of you. We can't afford the risk of the rest of you going missing as well." Ozpin said.

"But…" Ruby started saying.

"Ruby! Were all worried about her. He's right though. We need to be here in case she does come back. There is always a chance she just went into town and could come back later tonight." Falcon said.

"Alright." Ruby said.

"Very well. In the mean time you are still supposed to select your missions tomorrow. I recommend getting as much rest as you can just in case. Although I can imagine that it won't be easy for anyone." Ozpin said before walking away.

"Ruby where are Yang and Weiss?" Blake asked.

"Right here." Yang said walking into the room.

"Does anyone have any idea where she could have gone?" Weiss asked.

"It depends if she is still somewhere on campus or if she did head for the city." Falcon said.

"She isn't on campus." Carnel said.

"Redeye?" Falcon asked.

"Yeah, she told me Crys burst out of Oz's office shattering part of his big window, attacked a pilot and stole an airship about an hour ago" Carnel said.

"How are you just now hearing about this?" Weiss yelled.

"I was in the zone." Carnel said pointing to the screen "Also my scroll accidentally got switched to vibrate."

"So, she could literally be anywhere." Yang said.

"Not necessarily. Looks like one of my boys found said airship at the docks where you guys had your fun with Torchfuck. Still running. Red said she hasn't been there meaning she didn't go see the kids." Carnel said.

"Which means there is a good chance she's either somewhere in or near the city." Falcon said.

"Exactly, although if she doesn't want to be found then more than likely she's left town. The way Oz was acting I'm sure something pretty big went down." Carnel said.

"Knowing he'd more than likely inform her team she'd know you'd send your gang out." Weiss said.

"Meaning she couldn't have gotten that far out of the city." Yang said.

"We just don't know what direction." Blake said.

"Then let's go get JNPR and go look for her." Yang said.

"Ozpin said to stay here." Ruby said.

"Since when do we listen to the rules?" Yang asked.

"You are tonight." Falcon said.

"He's right Yang. We're not going." Ruby said.

"You're kidding right? Our friend is missing and instead of going out and looking for her were going to stay here and wait." Weiss asked.

"Yes." Ruby and Falcon said.

"Look princess we may have whittled her probable location down, but without a definite direction for which way she headed we're no closer to finding her. None of us are happy about it, but I'm sure she's told you that she's had a lot on her mind. She probably just got some bad news and needed to cool off and regroup. I'm sure she'll come back eventually. For now we need to relax. We're going to need all the rest we can get in case we are sent out on a mission tomorrow." Carnel said.

"He's right. I know it's frustrating, but for tonight team RWBY is grounded." Ruby said.

"You can't be serious." Weiss said.

"I can and I am. Now who's gonna face me?" Ruby said picking up the controller and sitting in front of the TV.

"I'm up for a new victim. I still need to make a few calls though." Carnel said.

"I'll play." Blake said.

"Really?" Ruby asked confused.

"Just out of curiosity has anyone tried calling her?" Alicia asked.

"Yeah, but it wouldn't go though." Weiss said.

"That would be because she shot her scroll when she burst out of Oz's office. Gotta admit if she doesn't wanna be found she'll take every precaution. I'm a little impressed." Carnel said.

"I need to go punch something." Yang said walking out of the room.

"I'll keep an eye on her." Falcon said following her out.

"Are you okay Weiss? You seem to be taking this harder than I thought you would." Alicia asked.

"It's just…" Weiss started to say before being cut off by Ruby bursting out laughing. "What is so damn funny?"

"Blake picked Catwoman!" Ruby struggled to say during her laughing fit.

"I am so glad Yang isn't here." Weiss said. As Ruby and Blake got into a small argument.

"At least it's a way to cope with what we just found out." Alicia said.

"I still don't get it. Why would she just run off like that and not tell someone what happened. Not only that but she made it impossible for any of us to make sure she's okay. I feel partially responsible like I might have said something that upset her and caused part of this." Weiss said.

"Wow. It's weird to hear you actually concerned for someone else." Alicia said.

"You're not helping." Weiss said.

"Sorry, but you have to admit normally the rest of us don't see you actually care about anyone other than yourself. Crys is pretty much the only one who has seen this side of you. At least on our team for sure." Alicia said.

"I suppose you may be right." Weiss said.

"Anyway, I'm pretty sure it was nothing you said. She was actually happy to have patched things up with you. She did have a bad run in with Ren on her way back, but I doubt that would have been enough to set her off like this. Something happened when she was in Ozpin's office that caused this. Not anything any of us did." Alicia said.

A few hours later

Falcon, Alicia, and Carnel made their way to the cafeteria along with team RWBY. When they arrived team JNPR was already there having just sat down with their food. The teams approached the table where their friends were sitting.

"So, I'm guessing she hasn't come back?" Jaune asked.

"Not yet. We're sure she will soon." Carnel said.

"I hope your right." Pyrrha said.

"Any update?" Cardin said walking up to the group. He had a fresh black eye.

"Why the fuck do you care?" Alicia asked.

"Franky I don't, but since I was sent on search duty I'd like to know whether out efforts were for nothing." Cardin said.

"Cardin cut the tough guy act. Just go tell Dove there hasn't been an update." Jaune said stepping forward.

"Whatever." Cardin said walking away.

"Alright so care to explain when your balls dropped Jauney?" Carnel asked

"Well in order to make sure his team actually tried looking for Crys we teamed everyone up. Pyrrha and Dove, Russel and Nora, Sky and Ren and I got lucky enough to be paired with Cardin. He started talking shit about her and your team. I'm sure you can figure out what happened." Jaune said.

"Well I'll be. I'm damn impressed. I never thought I'd see that from you." Carnel said.

"What was that part about Dove about?" Ruby asked.

"He was telling me how he was actually worried about her and hoping she was okay." Pyrrha said.

"Do you think maybe he likes her?" Alicia asked.

"Anything is possible. Although I can't see the feelings being mutual." Falcon said.

Ren got up and started heading out of the cafeteria.

"Ren?" Nora asked calmly.

"Hey. Ren where are you going?" Falcon asked.

"Ren!" Ruby yelled out.

He ignored all of them and kept walking out.

"Damn it." Falcon said running after him. He caught up with Ren and stopped him. "Let me guess you think this is somehow your fault since this just happened to occur shortly after you asked her out?"

"I'm just not hungry. I'm going out to look again." Ren said trying to walk past him.

"Ren it had nothing to do with you. Shortly after she came back to the room Ozpin called her to his office. Whatever happened it was while she was there." Falcon said. Ren didn't say anything and kept walking. "You're not going to find her. We narrowed it down to the fact she's somewhere outside the city. Even if you go out there there's no telling how far she got. Not only that but it's too late you won't be able to see anything anyway." He still kept walking away. Falcon got in front of him and grabbed his collar. "Will you fucking think for a second? You won't accomplish anything by going out there except getting yourself killed. What if she comes back tomorrow and finds out you died because you went out on a suicide mission to look for her? How do you think she'd feel? Going out and playing hero isn't gonna change the way she feels about you. I don't think she could like you anymore than she already does. She loves you or at least she did. She's been losing faith in herself for the past couple weeks. She betrayed her own feelings for you because she wanted Ruby to be happy. Ruby practically loves you too that's why she asked you to the dance. If you can stand here look me in the eye and say you can let two girls worry over you making a stupid decision then I'll let you go." Falcon said.

"Alright, I won't go. I'm gonna go back to my room now and turn in for the night." Ren said.

"Okay." Falcon said releasing him. "I better not hear otherwise from Jaune later or I'll kick your ass."

"Good night Falcon." Ren said walking away.

"How much of that was true?" A voice asked behind Falcon. He turned to see Ruby holding her hood up.

"How much did you hear?" Falcon asked.

"Did she really give up her feelings for Ren because of me?" Ruby asked.

"Okay before I say anything else please don't run away and just hear me out." Falcon said.

"Alright…" Ruby said.

"She didn't give them up because of you. She gave them up for you. She wanted you to be happy. Like I told Ren I'm pretty sure something has been causing her to lose faith in herself lately. She wants her friends to be happy first and worry about herself later. You saw worried she was about yelling at Weiss. How she reacted to my accident. The way she apologized for ditching you all those times." Falcon said.

"That doesn't mean she needs to sacrifice the things that make her happy." Ruby said.

"That's the thing though. The thing that makes her happy is seeing her friends happy. By the sound of it she was eager to help you out. She loves seeing others happy. If anything she cares too much… even if sometimes it really doesn't seem like it." Falcon said.

"She does like making popcorn for a fight and then encouraging it." Ruby said.

"Exactly, if you still feel bad about it then talk to her when she comes back. For now we should probably get back to the group. I'm sure they could use you bubbly personality. Maybe a recollection of playing Injustice with Blake." Falcon said.

"Oh, you're right I'm sure Jaune and Nora will love to hear about that." Ruby said.

The three teams each had a hard time sleeping that night. Morning seemed to come to quickly for them. After informing everyone that Crys had not come back during the night at breakfast they piled into the amphitheater. Ruby had an unusually large backpack with her

"Ruby, what's up with the bag?" Falcon asked.

"I-I'm not sure what you… Oh look Ozpin's about to say something." Ruby said.

"Today we stand together, united. Mistral. Atlas. Vacuo. Vale. The four Kingdoms of Remnant. On this day, nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression. And as you are well aware, that was something many could not stand for. As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: color. It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither were the generations to come. And it was a trend that is held to this very day. We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity. As I have said, today we stand together, united. But this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today, while the rest of the world celebrates peace, Huntsmen and Huntresses will work to uphold it. As first year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional Huntsman or Huntress on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the Kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best." Ozpin said.

"Well at least he sounded more confident with this speech than he did on our first night" Alicia said.

"Yeah. I think we should try to go for a mission that stays within the town. In case Crys comes back." Falcon said.

"Probably a good idea." Carnel said.

The group attempted to looked for a mission that would keep them within the city before Ozpin walked up to them.

"Has there been an update on Ms. Winters?" Ozpin asked.

"Unfortunately, no." Falcon said.

"I see. In that case the three of you will be working with a former huntsman and current member of the Vale Police Department." Ozpin said.

"You sure that's a good idea considering…" Carnel said.

"No need to worry Mr. Melone I have made it clear that nothing is to happen to you during this time." Ozpin said.

"With all due respect sir. What happened in your office that would have caused Crys to run away?" Falcon asked.

"I'm sorry to say that isn't something I can divulge right now. That is for Ms. Winters to explain to you when or if she returns." Ozpin said walking towards team RWBY.

"Well so much for getting any clues." Falcon said.

"Yeah, but at least now we know for sure something did happen in his office." Carnel said.

"Hey guys, did he say when we'd be leaving?" Alicia asked.

They looked around for Ozpin, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Son of a bitch." Carnel said.

"Hey guys. Did you decide what you're going to do?" Ruby asked walking up with her team.

"Well Ozpin gave us a mission to work with a VPD officer, but he didn't tell us when we'd be leaving." Carnel said.

"How about you guys?" Alicia asked.

"We took a search and destroy mission in the southeast." Blake said.

"We'll be killing three bird with one stone. Looking for Crys, baddies, and killing some Grimm to blow off some steam." Yang said punching her fists together.

"You know it's only a slim chance she'll be out that way, right?" Carnel asked.

"Yes, but we have other reasons for going out that way." Weiss said.

"We found out the White Fang had been operating somewhere outside southeast Vale." Ruby said.

"So were going to try to find out what's going on." Weiss said.

"And possibly, probably, put a stop to it." Yang said.

"And while we're out there we'll keep an eye out for Crys just in case." Ruby said.

"Just be careful girls." Falcon said.

"Hey we beat Torchwick once already." Yang said.

"Didn't he get away?" Alicia asked.

"Not important. The point is we can handle it." Yang said.

"Well good luck then. We'll see you when you get back." Falcon said.

Falcon and Blake hugged as Carnel and Alicia kissed Yang before the teams separated. With no knowledge of what to do Falcon, Alicia and Carnel returned to their room to wait for further instructions.

"Welp looks like in the mean time I get to continue my winning streak. Who wants to be my next victim. I mean opponent?" Carnel said.

"Hey, I had at least twelve wins yesterday give me some credit." Falcon said.

"And how many of those were against me?" Carnel said.

"At least half." Falcon said.

While the two continued to argue a knock came at the door. Alicia seemed to be the only one to notice. She opened the door to see Velvet and Coco.

"Hey girls, What's up?" Alicia asked'

"Well Vel here was hoping to talk to Crys. I was hoping to get some details on what happened with our party the other night" Coco said.

The room went silent as Falcon and Carnel a knowing look.

"Maybe you two should come in." Alicia said.

"Alright? What's up?" Coco asked confused.

"Well for one the party was great. I don't know how much you two implemented before you left but Yang and Weiss did an awesome job. It got even better since I was there." Carnel said.

"Care to elaborate?" Coco asked curious.

"Check this shit out." Carnel said pulling up the pictures on his scroll.

"Damn. I'm jealous we missed out on this." Coco said.

"It got fucking wild" Carnel said.

"Not to spoil your fun but where is Crys? I kinda need to talk to her about something important." Velvet asked.

"So, I'm gonna guess no one told you guys yet." Falcon asked.

"Told us what?" Coco asked.

"She's currently M.I.A. We have no clue where she went. All we know is something happened after a talk with Oz and then she disappeared. No one's seen her since. Scroll is busted so we have no way to contact her or track her. Sad to say but I'm actually impressed how well she thought this out for a spur of the moment thing." Carnel said.

"No leads what so ever? No knows anywhere she'd go to blow off some steam?" Coco asked.

"Any known possibility I had checked out." Carnel said.

Velvet got up and started heading for the door. Alicia stepped in front of her.

"Velvet get over here." Coco said. Velvet didn't move. Alicia grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards the group.

"Were all worried about her Velvet. We just need to stay positive she'll come back." Falcon said.

"We just gotta let her calm down. I'm sure everything will be fine in a couple days." Carnel said.

"So then how is this going to affect your guys' mission. Weren't the first years supposed to sign up for them today?" Coco asked.

"Funny you should mention that. We went to sign up for one. Oz gave us a special one to work with a VPD officer then didn't tell us anything else. No leave time, no details, nothing." Carnel said.

"So, either he dropped the ball, or he did it on purpose. Knowing him he probably did it on purpose." Falcon said.

"Probably." Coco said.

Another knocking came at the door. A very loud one. Falcon turned the handle and the door was immediately kicked in. Followed by Jaune Pyrrha and Ren being thrown into the room.

"Alright kids we've moped around long enough! Crys wouldn't want us being sad the whole time. We need something to distract us from… Where's Falcon?" Nora asked.

"You smashed him behind the door." Coco said.

"Smash! Perfect! No one move I'll be right back!" Nora said running out the door.

"Yo Falco you good bro?" Carnel asked.

Falcon slowly pushed the door away revealing a crater next to the door. "Anybody get the number of that truck?"

"That was Nora not a truck, and I thought you already had her number?" Jaune asked.

"Did… did you seriously not get the joke?" Coco asked.

"N-no I totally got it… You're not buying it are you?" Jaune asked.

"Not a for a second, but your attempt was cute, so I'll let it slide." Coco said giving him a light punch in the arm.

A few seconds later another loud knock came at the door again.

"Alicia throw me my brick." Falcon said.

Alicia grabbed the metal brick from under Falcon's bed and tosses it to him. Falcon placed it around the door handle and took a few steps back before turning it. Once the door clicked it burst open again. Nora rushed in and immediately started hooking a Nintendo Switch up to Carnel's TV. She then handed everyone in her line of sugar fuled vision a controller.

"Oh, I get it now!" Jaune yelled causing everyone to burst out laughing and the game started.

Velvet ended up relinquishing the controller to Falcon after the first match and started reading some of the manga Crys had in the room. The group continued this most of the day other than for food. After dinner the teams decided to go their separate ways for the night. Carnel, Falcon and Alicia headed out to there usual smoking spot. Carnel rolled out a blunt of Blue Dream and the three passed it around in silence as they looked out over the city. Once they finished Carnel flicked the remains off the edge and the three of them returned to their room. It wasn't long before the three of them passed out. The next morning the trio was woken up by a knock at the door.

"State your business!" Carnel yelled not wanting to get up.

"Good morning to you too Mr. Melone. It seems I forgot to mention when your team would be leaving on their mission. So, I thought I should inform you that you will be heading out with team JNPR at seven sharp." Ozpin said though the door.

"Seriously? I know shit's been rough lately, but you couldn't have given us a heads-up text yesterday or something?" Carnel yelled.

The team took their turns showering and headed to the cafeteria. Team JNPR was already there with two of their members trying not to fall asleep again.

"What are you guys doing up this early?" Jaune groggily asked.

"Apparently were heading out with you guys." Falcon said.

"That's odd, you were supposed to be working with a huntsman working with the VPD. We were supposed to be working with a sheriff of a nearby village. How is that going to work?" Pyrrha asked.

"You're asking the wrong people. We don't make the rules, we just follow them." Carnel said.

"You realize how ironic that is coming from you right?" Falcon asked.

"Your point?" Carnel asked.

"Alright calm down we don't need a fight breaking out before we leave." Pyrrha said.

"Says you. I wanna see how an actual fight between you two would end up! Not like last time where Carnel refused to fight. Oh! We could sell tickets and popcorn we'd become rich!" Nora said.

While Ren and Carnel continued to dispute over whether that was a brilliant idea or a bad idea Alicia noticed Jaune continuing to look at his scroll worriedly.

"Jaune, everything alright?" Alicia asked.

"I'm worried about Ruby and her team. I got a call from her in the middle of the night. All I heard was a bunch of static then the call dropped. Add that on what's happened with Crys I guess I'm just waiting for some sort of good news." Jaune said.

"I'm sure they're fine." Pyrrha said.

"Probably just a butt dial." Nora said.

Carnel's scroll went off as the two teams attempted to reassure Jaune.

"Everybody outside now!" Carnel yelled.

The teams immediately got up and ran for the entrance. They looked out toward the city and saw a large cloud of smoke billowing from the center. A siren could be faintly heard coming from the city shortly followed by a louder siren at the school.

"Everyone to the airships." Falcon said.

The two teams ran for the airships as Carnel tried to get in contact with Red. Once they were on the airship Carnel had gotten though and put his scroll on speaker mode.

"We're on our way in what's the situation down there look like?" Carnel asked.

"Short answer, a fuck load of Grimm. Looks like a train crashed into the center of town releasing them." Red said.

"How is that even possible there isn't a train in the city." Jaune asked.

"No but Mountain Glenn did. It's southwest of here which just happens to be where team RWBY decided to head over to. My guess is they found what they were looking for by heading out that way. Results of said search I'm guessing didn't go so well." Carnel said.

"It looks like the Grimm haven't moved to far from the center yet. As of now it looks like there are little to no casualties. A few wounded, but nothing that looks too severe yet. Looks like a few of your friends are surrounded. I'm gonna try to help them out as best I can, but they're gonna need backup ASAP." Red said.

"Thanks man, ETA about five minutes. We'll see you soon." Carnel said ending his call. "Alright kiddies listen up. Time to nut up or shut up. It's time to remember why we do what we do. We've been training for a moment to showcase what we got. This is our moment to shine. The city is full of Grimm and someone's gotta clear them out. We're gonna prove that we belong and this school. That we aren't just dreamers. That we are huntsman and huntresses! That no matter what is thrown at us we will always rise, and we will fight! It's our time now… Let's get this shit started!"

Two Hours Earlier with Crys

"Alright it's official. Smashing my way out of Ozpin's office with no idea where I was going with no food no planning and destroying my scroll was a bad idea. Still it gave me a lot of time to think. As much as I didn't want to believe it Salem fucking lied to me and used me. I wanted to just believe that Oz was still tricking me somehow. Those memories were to vivid though. I need to go back, I need to warn everyone of Cinder's plan. I'm sure a lot of them will hate me if they don't already, but that's not important. Trying to regain their trust is going to be hard if not impossible, but I have to try." I said grabbing my weapon.

I switched it to its axe mode and swung at the barriers of ice I had made to seal myself in.

"On the plus side. Now I won't have to hold back like Hazel told me to." I collapsed my weapon and put it away. "Come to think about it I haven't actually had to fight a whole lot since I've been here. Goodwitch never had me fight very often in class. Then there was that whole thing with Carnel at the docks. I didn't even get any action myself. Thinking back on that I'm actually embarrassed about what happened with Blaze. To bad Falcon mutilated the fuck out of him before I could get my hands on him."

A low growl came from deep in the cave behind me.

"Well I wanted action." I said pulling my weapon back out into its pistol mode. "Wish I had a little more energy, but that's my own fault."

I slowly moved toward the entrance of the cave in case I needed to get out fast. The growl slowly came closer while also getting higher in pitch. A small figure slowly emerged out of the shadows. When it finally got into the light the figure was finally revealed to be a bunny Grimm.

"A Caerbannog?" I said. I collapsed my weapon again and put it away. "Salem told me about them. A Grimm so rare that even she has so possible links to them. If what she said is true, then they normally don't attack unless provoked."

I knelt down and called for the creature to come closer. It had a small mask over the top part of its head and a small armor patch on it's back. The rest of it was pitch black. It slowly hopped towards me. Once it was next to me I help my hand out for it to sniff. I slowly moved my hand to its head and started petting it.

"This thing is the closest a Grimm can get to its animal counterpart. How about we head into town and I'll get you some food. I could use some myself." I said picking him up.

We headed into town and I looked for an abandoned building to hide it in. Unfortunately, the area of the city I had picked was where I ran across Carnel the night he caught me in town. I headed for a rooftop instead. I found one with walls high enough the Grimm shouldn't escape if I left it.

"Alright you stay here, and I'll be right back with some food." I said.

I dropped down and immediately ran to the grocery store. Luckily, I had some lien taken out before cutting myself off from everyone. I got some different things for myself and the bunny Grimm and headed back as fast as I could before anyone recognized me. When I returned, I sat down and laid out some of the carrots and steak I had purchased for it. It seemed to be happy with both.

"Well, not sure if that's something I should be happy about or not." I said. After it had finished it hopped over next to me and rubbed its head on my leg. "Well once everything is said and done, at least I know you'll still like me. Guess I shouldn't just keep calling you an 'it' then huh. How about… Kinzie?" I asked. It hopped onto my lap. "I'll take that as a yes. Great one more thing to have to try to explain. Well if they don't completely hate me after everything, I'm sure Velvet and Ruby will love you. Weiss on the other hand…" Before I could continue a loud explosion erupted from the center of town. My first instinct was to grab Kinzie and run to a location away from it.

"What the fuck was that?" I said looking down at Kinzie. As if thinking she'd have the answer. Her eyes started to glow towards where the explosion came from. "We'll head that way soon I need to make sure nothing happened to Ally and Tim first."

I started jumping from rooftop to rooftop until I was where the two kids were living with Red and Catalina. I knocked on the door and Red answered.

"Crys where the fuck have you been? You've got a lot of people worried about you." Red said.

"Yeah I know. That's not important right now. You heard the explosion are the kids okay?" I asked.

"They are fine. We should go check it out though." He said.

"Kinzie and I planned on it. I had to make sure they were okay first." I said.

"Kinzie?" He asked finally noticing the Grimm in my arms. "Why the fuck are you carrying a Grimm?"

"Long story. Short Version Caerbannog are harmless unless provoked. I've officially made her my new pet." I said.

"You are fucking crazy." He said.

"You have no idea." I said.

"I'm gonna go scope out the situation I'm sure Carnel will be calling soon." He said.

"Do me a favor please, and don't mention you saw me. I planned on heading back today anyway. I'll explain everything to them when I go back." I said.

"If you say so. Let's get going." He said.

He locked the door and we headed towards the center of the city. I took to the rooftops again and tried to stay in the shadows as much as possible. When I reached the center, I found team RWBY surrounded by Grimm.

"Son of a bitch." I said. I set Kinzie down and pulled my weapon out in its sniper mode. "Stay down and don't move unless I say so. I don't want you accidentally getting caught in the crossfire."

I took looked over the situation and began firing at Grimm that were on the outer edges. 'Once again I'm glad I have a silencer on this baby.' I thought as I took one Grimm down after another.

An airship came in and I ducked back into the shadows. I watched as Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, Falcon, Alicia and Carnel dropped in. I slid back out and continued taking some of the Grimm scattering outwards. Soon another airship came in dropping Team CFVY and Professor Port.

"They should be able to handle things without me. I need to head back to the school to meet up with Oz before I talk to anyone else." I said replacing my weapon. Kinzie let out a small growl. "I know you wanted to see some action, but I'll make it up to you later."

I picked her up and headed towards the docks. I had a small amount of hope that the airship I had previously… acquired would happen to still be there. To no surprise it wasn't. 'Guess I'm stealing another one.' I thought.

When I got to the docking area where the airships to Beacon were I knocked out one of the guards and took the airship to Beacon with Kinzie in the passenger seat.

"You know I like the company, but I have two complaints. I wish you could talk so I didn't feel as crazy as I probably look, and I wish I had an easier way to transport you incognito. As long as Carnel doesn't try to shoot you on sight maybe he can help with that.

When I arrived Professor Ozpin was at Beacon's docks.

"Welcome back Ms. Winters. Shouldn't you be out helping your friends?" He said.

"I did. Now we need to have a chat before they come back." I said.

"Very well. I do request that this time when you leave you use the door rather than the window." He said turning towards his office.

When we got to his office, I made sure the door to his elevator couldn't go back down by shooting the door with ice rounds

"Ms. Winters, I assure you nothing will happen to you while you are here." He said.

"You should know better than anyone that the walls have ears. Call this preventative measures." I said.

"Very well then, how about starting with the Grimm you've been carrying since you landed." He said.

"Kinzie's not the immediate issue. Once everyone is back, I want you to call my team, JNPR, RWBY and CFVY up here. I'm gonna fill them in on everything." I said.

"And what exactly would that include?" Ozpin asked.

"You should already know. You seemed to know everything else about me." I said.

"I should be more specific. What did Salem tell you about me?" He asked.

"That you were trying to destroy the world and she's been working to prevent that to give us a perfect world. Not much else other than that." I said.

He didn't say anything and turned back to the window to look out towards the city.

"They know the maiden is here." I said.

"So you know of their existence?" He asked.

"Yeah, I don't know much about them though. I know they are important if Salem wants them." I said.

"Perhaps you should keep that part on the down low for now." He said.

"I don't think I'll be able to do that. If we want everyone to be prepared for what's coming they need to know everything. They'll find out one way or another." I said.

"I suppose you're right. I had just hoped it wouldn't be so soon." He said. He opened his scroll and tapped a few things on it before turning back to me. "They are on their way here. You know once you make this decision you can't go back?"

"Well either way I figure someone's gonna be hunting me down after the tournament anyway. I'd rather it be the ones who were lying to me than the people who actually care about me." I said. I walked over and broke the ice, so the elevators could be used again. "So, I'm gonna take your chair till they all get here. That way it's one reveal not team by team." He gave a small smile but didn't say anything.

A few minutes later the elevator door dinged. It felt like my heart briefly stopped as the doors opened.

"Yo Ozpin everything alright?" Carnel asked stepping out of the elevator.

"Yes Mr. Melone. Once everyone has arrived, I'll explain everything.

"If it's window shattering news I can cut to the chase." Carnel said.

"He's kidding, right Carnel?" Alicia asked forming a small fireball.

"Yeah… right." Carnel said.

The elevator door opened up this time bringing team RWBY.

"Did something happen?" Ruby asked.

"He's not talking till everyone's here." Falcon said.

A few seconds later team JNPR came out next.

"Don't even ask. We have to wait for team CFVY." Falcon said before Jaune could ask.

The door opened for the final time. Bringing team CFVY with it.

"What did we miss?" Coco asked.

"Nothing we had to wait for everyone first." Alicia said.

"So what's up Oz?" Carnel asked.

I took a deep breath before turning the chair around.

"Hey guys…" I said with a weak smile.

"Crys!" A majority of them yelled. Yatsuhashi and Fox being the only ones to remain silent.

"It's about time. Didn't I tell you your actions can potentially affect the team? We've been worried about you." Falcon said.

"Yeah… sorry about that." I said rubbing the back of my neck.

"You're back that's all that matters." Alicia said hugging me.

"Look guys I appreciate this but before we go any further with the welcome backs. I need to say something. I wanna say this before anyone gets any more excited about me being back." I took my pistol out and shot the doors with ice rounds again forcing them to stay open. "After this I don't know how many of you will still like me. For safety purposes I can't allow the elevator to go back down." I said setting Kinzie on Ozpin's desk and replacing my weapon.

"Hold up, first explain why the fuck you were holding a Grimm." Carnel said.

"Not all Grimm are creatures of pure evil. Caerbannog are an incredibly rare Grimm that aren't violent unless provoked. I found Kinzie after I locked myself away in a cave." I said.

"You locked yourself in a cave?" Jaune asked.

"You named it?" Weiss asked.

"Yes I named her. Like I said after I spill everything I don't know how many of you will still be my friends so this way I have at least one guaranteed friend." I said.

"Come on it can't be that bad." Carnel said.

"Hold that thought. I suppose I'll start with the truth about how my parents died. Cause apparently I was lied to about that my whole life. The truth is that they were killed when a bunch of Grimm attacked my home when I was five. Nevermore, Ursai, Beowolves, Deathstalkers." I said. I shook my head trying to make the image disappear. "The attack was done by a lady named Salem. The lady who I thought saved me all those years ago. She is able to control the creatures of Grimm. The only reason Kinzie is safe is because Caerbannog are the only Grimm she isn't able to link with. Since the day she found me she raised me to go against Ozpin. I trained alongside Hazel Rainart and Tyrian Callows. Most everything I know I was taught by Arthur Watts and Hazel. Eventually a woman named Cinder Fall joined our group."

"Hang on you know Tyrian and didn't say anything to me?" Carnel asked with some anger in his voice.

"Will you let me finish first damn it?" I said raising my voice a little "Shortly after Cinder joined a couple others joined under her. Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black. She also enlisted the help of Roman Torchwick and Adam Taurus to be able to use the White Fang as her pawns. We all had our missions. I was to join Beacon and gather information on potential threats to our operation. Cinder, Emerald and Mercury are here as we speak. Cinder's mission is to find the Fall Maiden and finish what she started by killing her and obtaining her power."

"This is where I should take over." Ozpin said. "I'm sure at one point in your lives you were told of a fairy tale called The Story of the Seasons. How four girls helped out an old man and were granted incredible powers to share with the world. I'm afraid it's no story. The maidens are indeed real. The power of the maidens had been passed down through generations for thousands of years. Once a maiden dies her power is passed on to a new host ensuring the seasons are never lost. When a maiden dies the power is transferred to the person who is in their final thoughts. As long as they are a fairly young female. A male or older woman cannot receive the power. If that becomes the case then the power chooses a new host at random. Recently a maiden was attacked and for the first time in history part of her power was stolen. She's currently in a safe location, but she's in rough condition."

"Which is why Cinder is here. I don't exactly know all the details as to why the maidens are so important to Salem. All I know is Cinder is here to finish the job and gain the full powers of the maiden. She's uploaded a virus to the CCT hub to infect anything connected to the Beacon network. She plans to use it during the tournament to her advantage somehow. Most likely to cause some tragic accident. Emerald has a semblance that can create illusions so she'll probably take advantage of that somehow. I don't know all the details about her part of the plan. Like I said I was sent in to find any potential threats to worry about." I stopped and looked around at everyone. There were mixed reactions spread across all of them. "Unfortunately I hit a rather larger block in my part plan. I don't blame you guys if you don't believe me, but you guys have been the closest thing to a family I've had for so long. Especially after finding out that the people I'd spent my whole life with had been lying to me from the start. The last few weeks have been absolute fucking hell for me. I debated completely shutting myself off from everyone in the hopes of stopping myself from getting any closer to anyone else. I decided to keep up the act so no one would get suspicious. Then once Cinder's plan went into effect I was going to leave."

"Is that why you decided to help me when I told you I liked Ren and betray how you felt about him?" Ruby asked.

"I… partially. When you told me I had just finished a call with Cinder essentially reminding me of my mission. At the time I didn't want to get into a relationship that was just going to end anyway. When I saw you two at the dance it hurt, but I saw how happy the two of you were and knew it was the right choice regardless." I said.

"Hang on you mentioned Adam Taurus is working with Cinder. Why would he do that? Adam hates humans." Blake asked.

"You're asking the wrong person. I didn't even know about it until after it happened. I wasn't told how or why. For being sent in as a spy they kept me in the dark pretty well." I said.

"How do we know you aren't still lying?" Yang said.

"Yeah, that's the reaction I expected. I promise on my life that I am telling you the truth. I don't expect you to trust or believe me." I said.

"Story checks out. I just eliminated the virus she put in and replaced it with a more advanced defense program, aka my own software that I've dubbed 'Odysseus' since it infects any would be hacker and gives me full control of their device." Carnel said as he explained his program.

"How?" I asked.

"Remember how I hooked into the speakers in Goodwitch's class? Sorry to say but this place is easy to hack into, Odysseus has full control." Carnel said.

"So just because she was right about the virus, we're supposed to believe everything else?" Yang asked.

"Yang…" Jaune started.

"Don't tell me you're going to believe this too?" Yang asked.

"Watch it blondie." Coco said.

"She has a point. She flat out said her mission was to lie to us from the beginning. For all we know she's still lying to us." Weiss said.

"Well you two don't live with her. She's still a friend in my book." Falcon said.

"I got no problem with it. So long as you aren't still hiding anything, and you tell me everything you know about Tyrian, so I can get revenge on that fuck." Carnel said.

"Seriously? Both of you are okay with this?" Alicia asked.

"Well I've pretty much known for a while now. I knew she'd change her mind once she figured everything out."

"Wait What!?" Yelled everyone except Carnel, Ozpin and Falcon.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"Eidetic memory remember? I remember everything. At the time it seemed like an odd coincidence, but now it makes sense why she choked on her food when the green haired girl and silver haired boy were mentioned while we at the Jade Dragon. They were Mercury and Emerald. There's also when I told her about Carnel's past and she seemed to space out after she heard what Tyrian did. Seriously do you think a girl who gets emotional so easily would be able to stay on the same team as them while she's falling in love with two of the people she's supposed to be against?" Falcon said.

"Hey, I don't get emotional that easily." I said.

"Bullshit!" Carnel yelled through an obviously fake cough.

"How many examples do you want?" Falcon asked.

"None thank you." I said.

Falcon and Carnel walked over and stood next to me.

"Come on most of you accepted me after finding out I was a huge mob boss. Why not her? The worst thing she did was lie. I've done a hundred times worse." Carnel said.

Alicia walked up to me. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you aren't working for them anymore."

"I swear on my parent's graves I'm not working with them anymore." I said looking her directly in the eyes.

"Alright then. I trust you." Alicia said.

"Anyone else? If not you'll have to take us on to get to her." Falcon said.

Jaune walked over to us.

"You can't be serious." Weiss said.

"I've been living a lie too. If I were to go against her I'd be a hypocrite." Jaune said before taking a deep breath. "I wasn't really accepted into Beacon. I never went to combat school, never passed a test, I didn't earn anything. I got my hands on some fake transcripts. This is what I've always wanted to be. So much so that I was willing to lie my way in."

Ruby was the next to join us.

"Ruby!?" Weiss and Yang yelled.

"Falcon was right. Yes, she was sent here as a spy. Yes, she lied to all of us. She also sacrificed a lot for us too. She just put herself in an incredible amount of danger by telling us everything. I'd rather believe her and be prepared for what's going to happen. Rather than doubt everything and be caught off guard when it happens. Carnel already confirmed Cinder uploaded the virus. We know she's here with Emerald and Mercury." Ruby said before turning to me. "Plus, she bought me a bunch of cookies, evil people don't do that."

"You are such a child." Weiss said.

"And you're a bitch." Carnel said in a deadpan tone.

"You're right I am, and I'm also your leader. Remind me Weiss, who was your first friend here? Who was nice to you more than anyone else? Who was so distraught after accidentally unleashing all her pent-up emotions on you. And who was crying for hours after thinking she'd lost her best friend?" Ruby said.

"Well… but… she still…" Weiss tried arguing but it wasn't working. Blake grabbed her arm and dragged her over to our side.

"Blake?" Yang asked confused.

"I know Adam. He would never side with humans unless there was something big going to happen. We can't afford to take this information lightly." Blake said.

Ren, Nora and Pyrrha all walked over next. Yang followed although she still didn't look convinced.

"Velvet, it's you're call." Coco said.

I slowly walked forward towards her and she did the same.

"Velvet I…" I started to say before she stopped me.

"I've been picked on and had countless people lie to me. Give me one good reason why I should forgive you." Velvet said.

I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her. I broke away after a few seconds. "Velvet I'm not hiding anything anymore. The last time we were together I lost it after you left because I didn't want to get close to anyone. I didn't want to hurt anyone here, especially you. I hated myself and everything I was a part of. I didn't know whether what I was doing was right or wrong, but I know two things for sure. I don't care what Salem, Tyrian, or anyone does to me anymore, I…"

She cut me off by kissing me. "I love you too."

"Well I guess we have our answer." Coco said walking up to me. "Fair warning though. You hurt her in any way, you'd better hope this Salem person gets to you first."

"If that happens, I'll tell Carnel to lend you Honey Badger." I said.

"Well then it appears you won't be going anywhere Ms. Winters." Ozpin said.

I looked back to everyone else. Tears started forming in my eyes knowing they all cared about me. Then immediately turned red realizing I'd just confessed to Velvet in front of them.

"So, what do we do now? From the sound of it some serious shit's gonna happen soon." Falcon said.

"For now, I think you could all use some rest and relaxation. In the meantime, I'm going to be getting in contact with General Ironwood to discuss how we handle things going forward. Ozpin said.

"Don't have to tell me twice." Carnel said heading towards the elevator. Followed by Alicia, Yang, Pyrrha and Nora.

Velvet grabbed my hand. "I don't suppose you'd be free to talk right now?"

"I'm gonna take Kinzie back to my room first. I'm gonna get her some food then we can head to the roof to talk." I said.

"Mind if I tag along?" She said.

"I'd be disappointed if you didn't" I said.

I walked over and picked Kinzie up off Ozpin's desk. The elevator had come back up to take the next group of Coco, Yatsuhashi, Fox, Jaune and Ren.

Weiss came over to me we while we were waiting for the elevator to come back.

"Well I guess I can say I was wrong about you having feelings for Falcon." She said.

"Told you so." I said.

"Look, I'm not the slightest bit happy about you lying to us for so long, or the fact that when you finally come back you are holding a Grimm. You lost a lot of trust that I had towards you. However, as much as I hate to admit this, Ruby made a good point. Even if you started out lying to us, I can see that the friendship you had with everyone was real. So, I'm willing to give you a chance to regain my trust. Don't make me regret it." Weiss said before walking away.

"Was that an 'I'm glad you're back' or an 'I'm watching you,' I can't tell." Velvet asked.

"In her own way it was both. More so the I'm glad you're back." I said.

"And you were friends with her?" Velvet asked.

"You get used to it… eventually."

"Hey you guys coming?" Falcon asked.

Velvet and I got into the elevator with Falcon, Blake, Weiss and Ruby.

"So, you're sure bringing a Grimm back to the room as a pet is a good idea?" Falcon asked.

"What? We already live with one animal what's one more?" I said.

"How would having a Grimm as a pet even work?" Ruby asked.

"Well thankfully unlike it's animal counterpart they absorb everything they eat so there is no… they don't poop. When I fed her earlier, she ate both some carrots and a raw steak I got her." I said.

"Don't you think that's something to be concerned about?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah I'm not sure yet. She seems to listen to me, so I don't think it should be an issue." I said as the doors opened.

"Just in case it might be a good idea to get her a cage or something." Falcon said as we started heading for our room.

"I planned on it… unfortunately my money situation is gonna be kinda small for a while." I said.

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked.

"Well Watts is the one who set up my account. Probably wouldn't be a good idea to use it anymore. Look I'll figure something out. I'm sure Carnel's probably got something in one of his Rifts I could use if nothing else." I said.

We got to the room and I set Kinzie on my bed.

"Don't move I'll be back in a little bit with some food." I said before looking over at Carnel. "Don't do anything to provoke her."

"Do you really think I would…" Carnel started to say.

"Yes." Falcon, Alicia, and I all said.

"Well fuck you guys too." Carnel said.

"Please do." Alicia said with a wink.

Falcon sighed as I rolled my eyes.

"I'll be back." I said as Velvet and I headed for the door.

"Oh, before you go. Called it!" Carnel said.

I shut the door after he finished.

"Called what?" Velvet asked.

"They knew I had a crush on Ren, and when I told them I turned him down He assumed I liked either you or Weiss." I said as we walked to the cafeteria.

"I see…" Velvet said.

"Everything alright?" I asked.

"Of course." Velvet said.

I didn't quite buy it, but I figured I'd let it go until we were alone.

After we got to the cafeteria, one of the members of team CRDL came up to us.

"Crys I'm glad to see you're back." He said.

"Thanks… Sorry what was you're name again?" I said.

"Dove Bronzewing." He said.

"Right. Not to sound like a bitch, but why do you care I'm back? Our teams have never gotten along. In fact I'm pretty sure I beat you up the first time our teams interacted when you guys were picking on Velvet." I said.

"Yeah I know… I am truly sorry about that even if my teammates aren't." He said looking at Velvet.

"I can't say I forgive you, but I do accept the apology." Velvet said.

"That's fair I wouldn't expect you to." He said.

"Well we gotta get going. It's good to know you're not as thick headed as the rest of your team." I said.

"Thanks, actually I was wondering maybe… if you'd be willing to go out some time?" He asked.

"And now I really feel like a bitch. Um I'm sorry to say, but I'm actually going out with Velvet… sorry Dove." I said.

"N-no don't worry about it. I knew after everything it'd be a long shot anyway." He said.

Cardin walked over laughing.

"So not only did you get turned down, but you got turned down by a lesbo who's emotionally unstable and likes those freaks." Carnel said.

I pulled out my pistol and forced it under Cardin's chin.

"Say something nice about me, Velvet and your teammate or those will be the last words you ever utter. That's not a threat that's a promise."

"You… have… really… cute… hair. I'm jealous… that Dove has more confidence… in asking someone out than I do… Velvet… has a nice ass." Cardin said.

I hit him across the face with my pistol.

"Two out of three, and for that I'll give you another chance. Let's try something better for Velvet." I said.

"I… secretly…" He mumbled the rest.

"Little louder Cardin while you still can." I said.

"I secretly love her ears, alright?!" He said.

"Not what I was expecting, but alright." I said replacing my weapon. "Look, I'm gonna say this in the nicest way possible. I don't get why you keep acting like a jerk. Dove was doing what he felt was right for him and although it didn't work out for him at least he showed some humanity. The way you act towards others, especially the faunus, are the reason we have groups like the White Fang. You said you're jealous he was more confident than you. Start being nicer and maybe when you finally build up the confidence you can ask out the person you like. Being a jerk isn't going to get you anywhere."

Velvet and I walked away and grabbed some food to take back. When we got back to the room Kinzie seemed to stay where I had told her.

"Did I miss anything?" I asked.

"Nope. Kinzie did as you said and didn't move. Guess she really does listen to you." Falcon said.

"Yeah she wasn't the one I was worried about." I said picking her up.

"Come on give me a little credit." Carnel said.

Velvet and I headed up to the balcony. When we got there, I jumped up onto the roof followed by her.

"Why up here and not on the balcony?" She asked.

"Well first off if someone would happen to come up here and see a Grimm it wouldn't be pretty, and the balcony get's a lot of visitors. This area is more private." I said setting Kinzie down between us. I pulled out some of the food and set it in front of her.

"Can I ask you something?" She asked.

"I mean you just did, but I'll allow another question." I said.

"Would you rather be with Ren?" She asked.

"I had a feeling you were going to ask that. Yes, I had a massive crush on Ren. When Ruby told me she also had feelings for him I was having a rough day and decided to give up on him to let her try. I can't say it was an easy decision though. It did really hurt. The last time we hung out I didn't know how to feel when you put your head on my shoulder. I liked it, but I wasn't sure how to respond. I wasn't lying when I told you it was nice hearing that someone cared about me the way you do. I really didn't want you to go, but I wasn't sure of anything at the time. The next day Ren asked me to the dance and I turned him down and Ruby asked him. I saw how much fun they had together and knew it was the right choice no matter how much it initially hurt. After the dance he asked me out again, and I turned him down again." I said.

"That didn't really answer my question though… I mean if things had turned out different…" She started.

"Let me try saying it this way. He asked me twice and I turned him down both times. You technically didn't even ask me, and I still chose you. Yes, I had a huge crush on him. I want to be with you though. Besides as you can see I kinda have a thing for long ears." I said before kissing her cheek.

"Speaking of which, wasn't what you did with Cardin a little harsh?" She asked.

"Trust me that's nothing compared to what me or my team have done to him in the past. I was actually way nicer than I wanted to be. I do feel a little bad for Dove though." I said.

"Did you only hold back because I was there?" She asked.

"Would you be upset if I said yes?" I asked.

"No, but I just got you back don't go doing something stupid and leave me again." She said.

"I don't intend to." I said leaning my head on her shoulders.

Velvet started petting Kinzie as my eyes started closing. A bit later I was shaken awake.

"How about we get you to bed." Velvet asked.

"But I'm comfortable right here." I said laying down and putting my head on her lap.

"Come on" Velvet said lifting me to a sitting position.

"Why? You know you liked it too." I said.

"I'll make you a deal. Once we get to your room, I'll cuddle with you until you pass out." She said.

"Fiiine." I said getting up.

I picked Kinzie up and we started heading back to my room. Once we got back, Velvet had me sit on the bed. Carnel had set up a small pen in the corner for Kinzie. Velvet put her in and set what food was left in the pen with her. She instructed Kinzie to stay in the pen until told otherwise. Hopefully she'll listen to Velvet as well as she does me. She had me lay down and as soon as my head hit the pillow I fell asleep.

A/N: Thank you for reading, shout out to my boys Nightmare 6-4 and The Burning Ruler, show them some love and check out there works. Remember to Favorite, Follow, and leave a Review. This is RebelKira, see you on the flip side.