-Sometime Ago-

That evening after hours and hours of walking, teams RNJR and CRMS with the help of Roman and Neo had started to set up camp for the night. They were each divided with the series of tasks, each had divided into groups of two. Two were to keep watch, two set up camp, two went to collect firewood, and two were to gather up food since they didn't have enough rations for everyone.

Ruby and Cristal (Senka followed since he likes to be with Cristal) were set up with the task of collecting food. They had managed to find a lake nearby where they could fish. It wasn't too far from camp and the water was as clear as anyone could see. Cristal peered into the lake and saw all the fishes swimming.

"Holy hell! We've hit ourselves the mother load!" Cristal said, "There's enough fish in here for everyone!"

Cristal turned to Ruby but noticed her expression; she looked like she was in a daze as she stared down at her feet. "Ruby?" Cristal said, Ruby not hearing her at first, "Ruby!"

Finally Ruby snapped out of her daze and looked up at her. "Huh? Oh sorry!" Ruby said, "I wasn't listening. What were saying?"

"I was just saying that there was enough fish to feed everyone." Cristal said brushing off on how Ruby had acted before, "See for yourself."

Ruby walked next to Cristal and peered into the river like she did. "Wow that is a lot of fish." Ruby said merely amazed.

"I know right? Help me make some fishing rods to catch these suckers. The faster we catch them, the faster we'll have ourselves a meal."

"O-okay."

Cristal and Ruby went to find strong enough branches which wasn't all that difficult, to be honest. After they had gotten some string and bait, they went to fishing. It had already been two days since Ruby found the photograph that had supposedly been lost when Destiny went missing. All she got were more questions than answers. Destiny was the only one in possession of that photograph, as well as two others. It just didn't make the lick of sense to her; why would Cristal have a picture like that with her?

Ruby had been skeptical since she first looked at Cristal but really why wouldn't she be? She had the child's face, her friends face and she couldn't even find an answer to that. All the questions just kept rising and rising and it confused her all the more. It's already bad enough as it is when Destiny had told her and her friends that she could understand Grimm, let alone calm them that's in a fit of rage; she still had so many questions as to how she could even perform it in the first place, now she was dealing with her own thoughts on Cristal.

True, her own teammates seem like they trust her, even Roman and Neo, but herself, and her friends, still felt skeptical about her. They have been traveling for weeks thus far and yet she had not once talked about herself. Rosario and Scout have been more than willing to talk about themselves, but Cristal on the other hand mostly kept silent; Ruby couldn't understand as to why. Than she thought back to her friend that she had mentioned earlier; she couldn't help but wonder who her friend was exactly and as to who had taken her friend.

Like Ruby had thought, this had raised more questions than it did answer.

It wasn't long till she noticed Cristal had gotten distracted by something; it only took her a few moments before she had realized that she was looking at the sunset, watching as the light had reflected on the water.

"It really is a sight to behold isn't it?" Cristal said to Ruby not making eye contact.

"Yeah." Ruby said looking at the sunset, "You don't get views like this back in Patch."

Cristal cracked a smile, "I always like looking at views like this. It always feels different everytime you look at it."

"It's just an ordinary sunset."

"No, not to me it isn't. It's never the same no matter how many times you see it, no matter where you are or where you go. There is always this sadness to it that I can't help but admire."

Ruby looked at Cristal with confusion at this. "They leave behind things but at the same time they don't. They leave behind marks that disappear. It's just the way things are for sunsets. Something so beautiful yet tragic. Makes me think about myself really, of how tragic my life is."

Ruby's expression seemed to have saddened when she saw the way Cristal's eyes were, despite having only one blind eye.

"I know you have it." Cristal said taking Ruby by surprise.

"Huh?" Ruby said, "Have what?"

"Her picture." Cristal clarified, "Our Day at Forever Falls. I know you have it."

Ruby set the fishing rod to the side and took out the picture from her dress pocket and took a moment to look at it. "You have question to why I have Destiny's picture right?" Cristal said, "And I don't blame you. This strange teenage girl that you just met has a picture that only she could have, I would ask questions too."

"Yeah…" Ruby said, "Having questions is the right way to put it. I thought these pictures were lost when Destiny went missing, and yet you have this."

"That's not the only picture I have." Cristal said.

Ruby gave a quizzical to Cristal at this; it wasn't long till she took out two more pictures from her jacket, and placed it on the rock just between them. One was of ten year old Destiny and her father, that she and her friends discovered who was lucky enough to be her dad, though the third picture was what intrigued her. It was of Destiny and Cristal herself, in front of a mirror. Destiny had peeked behind from the camera while Cristal stood behind her making bunny ears; though Ruby noticed she wore a different outfit than she did. She had on a black halter top and a pair of gray short pants.

"What is…" Ruby said, "Why are you guys in front of a mirror…?"

"Maybe this might answer it." Cristal said, "... Do you remember back in Vale, when Destiny mentioned her friend now and than on certain things?"

"Wait how do you-"

"Please, just answer it."

"Yeah, I remember. She would mention it when we told her certain things."

Cristal sighed and stared down at the pictures, particularly one to herself and Destiny. Ruby looked at it as well, but soon a thought had come over her. "Wait you mean-" Ruby said pointing to the third picture.

"See for yourself." Cristal said motioning her to flip the picture.

Ruby looked to Cristal than back to the picture; hesitantly she flipped the picture over. There she saw in Destiny's handwriting had read, "My Friend and Me."

Ruby's eyes widened slightly and her jaw dropped; she slowly looked up to Cristal, her eyes meeting hers.

"You're… the friend?" Ruby said with disbelief, "The friend she always mentioned…?"

Cristal nodded, "I am. And Destiny is the one I'm looking for, like how you and your friends are."

"You mean to tell me she's not actually missing?" Ruby asked, "You mean to say she was actually taken?"

"Yes, and yes to both of your questions." Cristal said, "I was waiting to tell you Ruby, but I just didn't how to say it without you just jumping the gun."

Ruby had said, "Please, you have to tell me everything, no more secrets!"

"Are you sure you want to know?" Cristal asked her, "You may not like what you hear."

"I'm friends with a girl that talks to Grimm, and calm them." Ruby said, "Please I have to know."

Cristal nodded her head, "Than I'll tell you everything. I wanted you to hear this first anyway. After I tell this story you can choose whether or not to tell your friends."

"Of course I will. Like I said, no more secrets." Ruby said, "Go on, I'm listening."

Cristal let out a sigh and started to tell her story, "Destiny didn't always know she could talk to Grimm, and calm one. In fact before she met you before she was involved I should say… she was just kid where she thought she had a curse, and that was up until three years ago. Back than, she was just like as she said. She was alone, she didn't have anyone to talk to, no one that understood where she came from; What she was going through. Most days she spent her life in isolation, since Roman, as you can understand, had very little trust in people. But, one day she finds a little flower just sitting outside her bedroom window. It wasn't just any flower though. It was Grimm based."

"A Grimm based flower?" Ruby said, "But… That's impossible."

"It is very real, trust me." Cristal said before she continued, "The flower is called the Efah. Though it is unclear to when exactly this flower appears or even how it comes to be, the only thing you need to know is, that it's very rare, and she ended up finding it."

"Well, what does it do?" Ruby asked.

"You may find this hard to believe…" Cristal said, "But the Efah Destiny had found is capable of creating a living person. Not just any person, but a Grimm Hybrid."

Ruby just stared in disbelief at that, just in complete and utter shock at that. A flower able to create a person? That's just… Well impossible.

"I…" Ruby said, "I don't understand."

"It's exactly like I said." Cristal said, "The flower is capable of creating a person. It takes five stages to do so. The first stage is, the Efah needs aura and the memories you treasure most. It doesn't need a lot of aura, but only enough to know who the person is. It's the same with the memories you treasure; it needs only enough to have their own mind and conscious. The only thing is, they would only know about the people around them and not the person's face they take for themselves. The second stage is when the flowers start to wilt. When they start to wilt, they are able to take form, but in the form the person's spirit animal, and they're only five petals that need to do that. The six and last petal is the only one that doesn't change; it's what you would call a heart and mind. The third stage is it has travel to what Grimm call the Abyss."

"The Abyss? What's the Abyss?"

"The Abyss, is where the Grimm come from. It doesn't necessarily have a name from a person's point of view, but the Grimm call it that and to be fair it's appropriate. The spirit animal, otherwise known as the Cronan, travels to the where the Abyss is; they have to take the last petal there with them to turn into the person. The fourth is no surprise, they need the person's blood in order to complete the form; All it takes is a single drop. The fifth and final is, the Cronan, has to jump into the Abyss when a red eye appears. Once all these five stages are done, that person will form."

Ruby found this all hard to believe honestly. The fact that their was a plant type Grimm, the fact that people, Grimm Hybrids were actually made from these flowers. It was just insane to even think of that such a thing exists. Than again she is friend with a literal Child of Grimm, and she beared no mind to it. She couldn't believe she heard such a thing from her.

"How…" Ruby started to ask, "How do you know something like that?"

Cristal had answered hesitantly, "The reason why I know this… Is because I'm one of them…"

Once again, her eyes, widened with disbelief, "Your… Your what…?"

"When the people… The Shadows are formed, they have a mark on their body, as a reminder that we are Hybrids, that we are just Shadows." Cristal said as she started to turn around, "I was made three years ago, and I've had the mark since."

With her back turned to Ruby, she started to unzip her jacket. Than she let it slide off her shoulders catching it in her elbows, and Ruby's eyes widened for the third time today. There in the middle of the back was a red eye, with only half of it covered in bandages, that had also wrapped around her chest. Ruby placed her hand over her mouth, as she took it all in.

"Most people are born, and I'm one of the only few that was made." Cristal said, as she slipped her jacket back on, zipping it up, "Now a days I just hide this red eye, from others and myself. Though than again, what I've been through the past three years and eight months ago, I guess I'll just be nothing more than a Shadow."

Ruby looked at her, confused by this, why she would say eight months ago. It was than she had put it all together.

"You mean, you were there?" Ruby asked, "At Beacon? After we found Destiny? During the Vytal Festival?"

"I was." Cristal said turning back to her, "You just didn't see me."

Before Ruby could ask, Cristal cut her off by saying, "It's a single rule that she put on me from the moment I was made, since she knew I wouldn't be one to take orders. The rule was, I was never to be seen, never to be heard by anyone when Destiny's eyes stayed open; I was literally invisible where ever I was, when Destiny stayed awake. I guess you can call it more like a curse for me really. For all my life I was literally leaving in the shadows. But the rule only works, if Destiny is in close proximity with me."

Cristal looked at Ruby's face, just in complete and utter dismay about what she just heard.

"It sounds pretty crazy right?" Cristal said with a shrug.

"No… Actually…" Ruby said with a smile, "That explains a lot! The window in our dorm room being opened by none of us, the TV being turned off even though we all went to sleep, and than that shadow figure that Blake saw… That was all you!"

"You certainly sound surprised." Cristal said jokingly with a smile.

"Trust me I've heard crazier things." Ruby said, "Crazy things that I'd never thought I believe, but you know what, I'm not one to judge."

The two girls couldn't help but laugh with one another; though their attention was soon drawn when they Ruby's fishing rod started to bend back and forth.

"Oh hey you got a bite!" Cristal said.

Ruby let out a small scream and quickly grabbed onto the fishing rod, though she was struggling to reel the fish in. Cristal immediately went to helping her out and they were struggling to get the fish in. Though after several attempts they managed to grab a hold of the fish.

"Whoo man, you got a big one!" Cristal said.

Ruby cheered at this, "YAY! THIS IS AMAZING! WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A FEAST TONIGHT!"

"Hey, hey come on, let's not get carried away." Cristal said, "I can get a bigger fish than you!"

"Oh you're so on!" Ruby said with determination.

Putting the fish in a container nearby, they went back to fishing, and they caught enough to feed them for the next coming weeks.

(Opening Theme: Let's Just Live Performed by Casey Lee Williams)

I've just gotten word from the Mistress; she has changed assignments for you and you only. Keep an eye on the Heiress in Atlas, make sure the child hasn't contacted her yet…

And if she has already?

Than kill her; leave no witnesses.

-Present; Atlas-

I'm not your pet, not another thing you own.

I was not born guilty of your crimes.

The riches and your influence can't hold me anymore.

I won't be possessed, burdened your royal test.

I will not surrender, this life is mine.

Everyone had gathered in the ballroom after the concert was done. Most of the people around had chatted with one another while eating or drinking whatever the waiters had brought to them. Weiss however wasn't really enjoying herself since she had to spend most of it staying by her father's side as did the twins, Van and Nilla. Weiss wore a long dress with sleeves and blue diamonds while Van and Nilla wore simple dresses. Van wore a blue dress with a white ribbon around the waist and the Schnee insignia while Nilla wore the same thing but her dress was white and she had a blue ribbon around her waist. Van twiddled her thumbs while Nilla messed around with the ribbon on her dress.

"I swear this thing is trying to kill me." Nilla said as she undid her ribbon that was tied just at the side.

"Come on Nilla quit messing with that." Van said to her softly not wanting to get the attention of their father as he was chatting.

"I can't help it, you know I don't like wearing dresses." Nilla said to her twin, "It's so… painful to wear."

"This is supposed to be a social gathering, and you have to dress appropriately for it." Van said, "You know that."

"Well I think there should be a change in dress code." Nilla said with a pouty face when she couldn't get the ribbon tied up right.

Weiss couldn't help but laugh slightly as she rolled her eyes. Nilla had always been a tomboy since she and Van were born. She never wore dresses even when she was at home in their mansion. Her father had always told Nilla to wear something more appropriate but it's not like she ever listened to him. It just proved that she was more of a rebel.

Weiss kneeled and got Nilla's attention. "Come on, it's only just for this one night." She said as she went to fix her ribbon, "Just be glad this event is for a good cause."

"Weiss we're bored." Van said, "Do we have to stay by father's side all night?"

"Unfortunately so." Weiss said.

"We wanna do something Weiss. Something that doesn't just involve standing around and doing nothing." Nilla said.

"What do you wanna do?" Weiss asked.

Van and Nilla both looked around the room wondering what they should do exactly. It wasn't long till they spotted a large painting just at the end of the room. "Can we go see that painting?" Van said.

"Yeah Weiss can we?" Nilla said.

Weiss looked over to the painting only taking a moment to realize what the painting was of. She turned back to the twins. "Alright." Weiss said to them, earning a smile from each of them. Just as they were about to go they were soon stopped by Jacques when he said, "Just where do you think you three are going?"

Weiss quickly thought of an excuse, "Van and Nilla are thirsty, I was going to get them a drink."

"Yes, we're just perched father." Nilla said adding on to Weiss's excuse and Van nodded.

"Sweetheart we have people for that." Jacques said to Nilla. He was about to motion for a waiter but Weiss had stopped him when she grabbed his forearm.

"No, I can get it for them." Weiss said, "We'll be right back. I promise."

With that the three of them went over to where the painting was. There the twins got a good look at the painting; it was of what Beacon looked like before Grimm and the White Fang had invaded it. Van and Nilla couldn't help but look at it with awe.

"Wow…" Van said leaning against the railing that was provided, "It's beautiful…"

"Is that what Beacon looked like Weiss?" Nilla asked.

"Yeah…" Weiss said feeling nostalgia to it, "Though it's better if you see it in person."

Van and Nilla looked at one another before looking back to their sister, "Do you think… Beacon will be repaired soon?" Nilla asked.

"I really want to see it now!" Van said.

Weiss sighed and patted them both on their heads, "The repairs will take time. But when they get it done, I'll take you both to see it."

Both of the twins smiled at this, excited at the thought of it. Though it wasn't long until they realized that they were approached by a young teen. "It's beautiful. You two match." He said to Weiss, while the twins looked perplexed at this. Weiss just gave a certain look to him as she turned her attention back to the painting.

Weiss said to him as she crossed her arms, "Yes, it's a lovely painting."

The teen said to her, "So that was my attempt at breaking the ice. How am I doing so far?"

Weiss let out a sigh, "You are leaving a lot to be desired."

"Well I've always appreciated honesty." He said, before introducing himself while offering a hand to her, "I'm Henry. Henry Marigold." Van and Nilla looked to the teen named Henry than back to Weiss wondering what she would do exactly. Weiss took his hand as she said, "Weiss Schnee."

"I know, I saw your performance." Henry said before clearing his throat, "Obviously. You were wonderful. And I promise I'm not just saying that because you're pretty."

Weiss rolled her eyes as she turned her attention back to the painting.

"Honesty remember?" Henry said turning to the painting, "So, you thinking of buying it?"

Weiss replied, "No, I don't think so."

"Yeah, it's kind of pricey for a painting." Henry said.

"What are you talking about?" Van asked, "This painting is for a charity."

"Yeah, it's to help raise money." Nilla had added.

"Oh really?" Henry said, "For what?"

Weiss, Van and Nilla's eyes widened at this, just shocked to hear that come out of his mouth. "For what?" Weiss said with a look of disgust.

All Henry did was laugh at this, "I'll admit I only come to these events for the food and the drinks…" He took a drink off of the tray as a waiter had passed by, "... And the extraordinary company. Of course. So what is this for? Another Mantle Fundraiser?"

"How can you say that?!" Van said with an angry look.

"Yeah, like seriously! Are you just braindead?!" Nilla said to Henry with an equal look on her face.

"Wow, hey come on, I didn't say-" Henry started to say before getting cut off.

"Get out." Weiss said to Henry with a glare as she stood in an aggressive stance.

"Uh, what?"

"Get out, or I will have security escort you out."

"But I didn't say anything-"

"Leave!"

Henry was taken back by the look Weiss was giving to him. He gave a look to Weiss, before saying, "Whatever." With that he took his leave. "Good riddance to ya!" Nilla said.

"Who does he think he is?" Van said, "I mean Mantle? Really? Did nobody tell him what this event is for? They have the painting right here!"

"Maybe he's just too blind in his money to see it."

The three of them were startled by a new voice that had come over them. They turned to see a young girl just about Weiss's age standing before them. She had long orange hair that was tied into a ponytail, and most of her bangs covered her right eye, while her left beard a black diamond eye. She wore a asian style long dress that was white and had long sleeves with red at the bottom of her shirt and sleeves; there was black in the middle that was held together with buttons. She also had a long skirt that had covered her feet.

"Forgive me, but I couldn't help but overhear." The girl said to Weiss in particular.

"It's okay." Weiss said to the girl as she looked away.

"Your not here to ask what this event is about to aren't you?" Van asked.

"No, of course not." The girl said, "It really is kind of your father to raise money for the kingdom of Vale and it's school. It is a tragedy to what happened to it."

Weiss finally turned to the girl, "At least we can agree on something."

"It's guys like him I truly despise most." The girl said to Weiss, "Not seeing the big picture to what had happened. They're just blind as any bat."

"These people just don't get it." Van said, "They're weren't there like Weiss was, so they don't know."

"Yeah!" Nilla said, "Again, they have a painting just right here in plain sight!"

"Yes and I agree with the both of you on that." The girl said, "Talking to people like this is like talking to a brick wall."

Weiss soon gave an odd look to the young girls direction; she took notice of this, "Is something the matter?"

"No it's just that… I'm sorry you just have a familiar look." Weiss said to her.

The girl chuckled at this, "I get that a lot, but where my manners I forgot to introduce myself…"

She held out her hand to Weiss before introducing herself, "... My name is Azure. It's a pleasure to meet you Weiss Schnee. You gave a lovely performance."

Weiss took her hand and shook it, "The pleasures all mine, and thank you."

Just than their attention was drawn when a voice just seemed to have cut through the crowd; the four of them looked to a woman with blonde hair wearing a dark dress and having violet eyes talking to her husband.

"But really is it really surprising what had happened to Vale? It was a long time coming if you ask me."

"Honey, keep your voice down…"

"What? You said the same thing last night. If they're so arrogant to think that they can get by without proper kingdom defenses, then I say good riddance."

"SHUT UP!" Weiss had suddenly yelled. Everyone had gone silent, even the music had stopped. Their attention was drawn to Weiss's sudden outburst; Jacques looked over in her direction. Van and Nilla were left just stunned while the girl, Azure herself, didn't seem to be phased, surprisingly.

"YOU DON'T HAVE A CLUE!" Weiss continued to yell, "NONE OF YOU DO!"

"Excuse me?" The woman said.

"YOU'RE ALL JUST STANDING AROUND TALKING ABOUT NOTHING!" Weiss exclaimed, "WORRYING ABOUT YOUR HAIR, YOUR MONEY, YOUR STUPID PROBLEMS THAT DON'T MEAN ANYTHING!"

"Weiss…" Van and Nilla both said with concern.

"Well this is a shock." Azure said calmly.

Before Weiss could say anything more, Jaques came to them, grabbing Weiss by her arm, "Weiss that's enough!" He said.

"Let go of me!" Weiss said, as she tried to shake herself out of his grip.

"You're embarrassing the family." He said.

"I said let me go!" Weiss said as she fought back harder.

Van and Nilla grabbed their father's arm as they tried to loosen his grip on her, "Father stop!" Van pleaded.

"You're hurting her! Let her go!" Nilla said.

With a harsh tug, Weiss was sent to hurdling to the floor. Though Azure was able to catch her a glyph had soon manifested itself. Everyone jumped at the sight of a Boarbatusk that appeared from the circle. It let out a roar, as it charged at the woman and husband.

"PLEASE, I'M SORRY!" The woman screamed, "I'M SORRY, JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

The Boarbatusk leaped high into the air, as it went to attack, but it was soon shot out of the air. It turns out it was none other than Jame Ironwood that had killed the Boarbatusk. It had vanished into white vapor instead of black, and the glyph beside Weiss disappeared.

Van and Nilla immediately went to their sister's side, and helped her off the ground as did Azure.

"Are you okay?" Van asked.

"That was really scary." Nilla said.

"I-I'm fine." She reassured the twins, "Don't worry about me."

"ARREST HER!" They heard the woman shout to Ironwood, "SHE'S INSANE! SHE SHOULD BE LOCKED UP!"

Ironwood looked over to Weiss, before saying, "She's the only one making sense around here." This had surprised everyone in the room, Jacques and Weiss included. Ironwood turned to Jacques, "Thanks for the party Jacques."

Ironwood took his leave, and Jacques glared over at Weiss. Everyone was left unaware that Azure was clenching the right side of her face like she was in pain. Voices went around her head, speaking to her as if. She shushed the voices gently as a way to comfort them.

"Cleac, Daegal, it's alright..." She whispered not drawing anyone's attention, "... It'll be alright… I know it hurts, just bear with the pain, and I promise it'll be over…"

-Sometime Ago-

The whole group sat around the fire and had eaten dinner, after the fishes were cleaned and gutted. Cristal along with Ruby told the others the whole story about herself, about what Cristal was made of, where she had come from exactly and why she possessed the face of their little friend.

Jaune was the first one to speak, "That's wow… So this whole time, your actually a Grimm Hybrid, like a real one?"

"Yeah." Cristal said, "It's pretty crazy I know."

"Hard to believe that you came from a flower." Nora said.

"Though it does explain as to why you have Destiny's face." Ren said.

"We found it hard to believe when we heard it to." Melody said.

Ruby did a double take over in team CRMS direction. "Wait a second, you mean to say that you knew?"

"Yeah." Scout said, "A leader is never one to keep secrets."

"That and I find it hard to believe myself." Rosario said, "And I'm supposed to be her partner."

"How come you guys didn't tell us?" Jaune asked.

"It's because she told us not too." Rosario replied, "Cristal wanted to be able to tell you herself."

"What next your going to tell us that Roman knows that Cristal is a shadow too?" Nora said jokingly. Nora laughed out loud , as the rest of the group (Team RNJR) seemed to have laughed along with her. Though it wasn't long till Ruby looked over in Roman's direction who had just stood there so casually. Everyone slowly stopped laughing as the group looked towards where Roman and Neo stood. "You know too don't you?" Nora said with an awkward smile.

"Yup." Roman said getting rid of the cigar from his mouth.

"Wait, you know too?!" Ruby exclaimed, "When did she tell you?!"

"I didn't tell him." Cristal said, "He ended up finding out three years ago, when he saw me accidentally, boy was that awkward."

"Tell me about it." Roman said with a slight chuckle.

"Okay, I guess we'll be told about this later." Jaune said with awkwardness.

"Yeah…" Ruby said, before asking Cristal, "Hey can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." Cristal said, "What is it?"

"Before when you were telling me about yourself…" Ruby said, "You said she… Were you talking about Cinder?" The whole group had gone silent; team CRMS looked at one another and they nodded to each other. It was only than Cristal had replied, "No."

This left team RNJR perplexed at this. Even Roman and Neo were confused. "No?" Roman said, "What do you mean no?"

"I mean no, it wasn't her that put the rule on me." Cristal said, "Sure Cinder is strong, but she isn't exactly powerful to put the rule on me, and to add… She's not the one behind the attack on Vale and Beacon."

Everyone's jaws dropped at this just by the sound of it. Cinder is not the one behind the attack on Vale and Beacon, that was just unbelievable. "Wait, Cinders not the one behind it?" Ruby said, "But she planned the whole thing, she was in control of the White Fang!"

"True…" Cristal said, "But really think about it, she couldn't have done it all without some kind of help."

"But, if Cinder wasn't the one who planned it all out, than… Who was is?" Nora asked.

"Unfortunately, I can't say…" Cristal replied, "... Like I really can't."

"Why can't you?" Jaune asked.

"Actually we've been wondering that ourselves for awhile." Melody said, "I mean when you told us about this information you couldn't say who was really behind it; you mind telling us why exactly?"

Cristal took a deep breath and said, "You know how I said when we're formed, we're marked with a red eye? Well, there's more to it than that. The red eye, that is marked on us, not only symbolizes who we are, but it also forms a contract. It's literally given to us when we're made."

"What's the contract about?" Ren asked him.

"It's called the Contract of Silence." Cristal explained, "It's been forgotten for years, so it's unlikely that you've heard it in the stories and fairytales. The contract forbids me to not speak about her, to where she's from, what her life was, or where she was born. Hell, I can't even say her name without consequence."

"What happens if you break it?" Neo asked.

Cristal simply replied with a shrug, "... She'll kill me, and the ones that I give the information to. It's how the Contract of Silence works. We take in exchange for our own lives."

Of course the group was very shocked to hear that from Cristal, even her own team was put into a state of shock. "That's just, intense…" Scout said with a look of disbelief.

"So… If you were to say anything… Than she would have us all killed?" Jaune asked.

"Unfortunately that's the way the contract is." Cristal answered, "You can understand why it's been forgotten."

Roman soon said, "... This person that you're talking about… Is she the one behind Destiny's disappearance?"

"Yes." The lookalike said, "Though I can't say her name, but I can tell you this… The one that took Destiny, is the same one that killed your wife and infected your child with Grimm." Ruby saw Roman's anger through his eyes and he had gritted his teeth just at thought of the one responsible for infecting Destiny with Grimm when she was but a baby. Neo went to comfort him, as her eyes changed color.

"Do you at least know where this person took her?" Ruby asked, "I mean you have to at least know where right?"

Cristal stayed silent at this answer, but only looked away. "You can't say that either, can't you?" Rosario asked.

"I don't mean to withhold this kind of information." Cristal said, "But it's the only way to keep you all safe. On this journey I'm hoping to not only to find Destiny, but to kill the woman responsible for putting this contract on me and the others. The Contract of Silence only works as long as the person is alive, therefore if we kill her, we can finally be free from her."

They all gave a quizzical look to this. "Others? You mean they're other Shadows? Like you?" Ren asked.

"It's true." Melody said, "Scout and I encountered two of them before our team was formed*."

(*This is a reference to the Team CRMS short stories, in both Melody and Scouts story)

"All we know is that they have the same red eye as her, the only difference is their's is visible." Rosario said.

"How many of them are there?" Roman asked.

"As far as we know, they're two of them." Scout said.

Cristal added, "We don't know if there's more out there and if they're even working with her. All we know is that they're two. One has Destiny's face like me, the other… Is different. Most likely if they're others she's the only one that's different."

"Different?" Jaune said, "Different how?"

"I… Don't know if we should tell you." Scout said as her ears went down, "It's hard to believe really."

"What do you mean hard to believe?" Ruby asked.

"It's hard to believe because of the face she possessed. I caught a good look at her trust me." Rosario said

Senka went by Cristal's side and nuzzled his beak with her face, letting out some soft growls as if it was speaking to her; Cristal placed her hand on his beak as she slowly patted him. "What's he saying?" Nora asked.

Cristal didn't answer Nora's question, instead, she said to the group specifically team RNJR, "I don't know when this will happen, but the Shadows, my sisters you can call them will be coming after us most likely being lead by one of her lackeys. When they do, promise-No swear to me, no matter who's face you see, you'll fight like you've always had. You'll fight for your life."

Team RNJR looked at each other before turning back to Cristal, "That's kind of a strange thing to say when you think about it." Nora said.

"Just swear to me you'll do this, alright?" Cristal said.

Once again team RNJR had exchanged looks to one another. "We swear it." Ruby said to Cristal.

"Yeah, don't worry, we swear that we will." Jaune said.

"Good…" Cristal said, "Than we're all good."

After eating their dinners they all decided to hit the hay. Senka made himself a bedding and laid down on his stomach and Cristal went to lean against him; she made herself comfortable against him. "... I feel guilty for not telling them about her." Cristal said to Senka.

He growled, speaking to her.

"I know, I know it was for their own good." Cristal said, "They wouldn't even believe me if I said it right than and there. But when they see her face, it'll be worse and it's going to be harder to explain."

Senka growled again to her.

"Yeah, I know the term, actions speak louder than words. And that it's better for them to understand when they see her. I just don't know how they'll react… Look I'll worry about it later, let's just get some sleep."

Senka growled again.

"Oh hahaha your hilarious."

Cristal leaned against Senka's body and he bought his wing over her body, as his neck curled against her legs. After just a few moments, Cristal had fallen asleep, mentally making a note on an explanation when the time comes.

-Present-

The group found themselves walking along the path that was provided for them, after their stay at the town's inn. Roman was glad to be back in his normal attire once they left the town, though they still saved the clothing just in case they had a need for it again (Much to Roman's dismay). The group walked side by side along with Senka, and Frosty was just hanging out on his back (Much to Senka's dismay).

Scout stretched her arms as she inhaled the air, "Ah, the smell of the fresh air. This weather is so much better than it was yesterday."

"Yup!" Nora said with a big smile, "Another day, another adventure!"

"What's on the agenda today?" Ruby asked as she put her hands together.

"Walking!" Jaune said while he was holding the map, with Rosario reading it along with him, just to make sure they were going the right way.

"With a side of…" Nora said as she pretended to beat a pair of drums.

"More walking." Ren, Melody, Roman and Neo said at the same time.

"Maybe a picnic on the side, but other than that, it's just more walking." Neo said as she twirled her umbrella in her hand.

Ruby couldn't help but slouch over as she made a pouting look.

"Something the matter Ruby?" Cristal asked.

"It's just that Haven is so much further away than I thought." Ruby said.

"Ruby?" Ren said walking beside her, "How long did you think this journey was going to take?"

"You didn't this was going to be quick did you Red?" Roman had asked her.

Ruby let out a groan as she said, "I don't know okay?! I grew up in Patch and it's considered small! I've never been this far from home!"

"Yeah, but… How long?" Jaune asked.

"Um…" Ruby said before saying with an awkward smile, "Two weeks?"

"WHAT!?" Jaune exclaimed.

"OKAY, FINE THREE WEEKS!" Ruby yelled.

"Three weeks!?" The whole group yelled.

"I don't wanna be that girl, but you clearly need to get out more." Rosario said to her.

"HEY, IT'S NOT MY FAULT!" Ruby yelled.

"Alright, alright take it down a notch cuz." Melody said to Ruby, "Nobody's trying to judge you here alright?"

Ruby let out a sigh as she waved it off, "Look whatever, let's not talk about it anymore."

"Fair enough." Roman said, "Whatever you want Red."

As they walked along the pathway, Scout's ears twitched slightly as she caught a couple of buildings just nearby where they stood. "Um… Guys? What's that?" Scout asked getting the groups attention.

They all looked up and saw the buildings just in front of them; they stopped in their tracks. "It looks like a town." Cristal said.

"That doesn't make any sense." Rosario said looking on the map along with Jaune, "There's no other town on this map."

"Are you sure you're reading that right?" Roman asked looking over their shoulders.

"Yeah." Jaune said, "I may not be good at much but I know how to navigate. Though it still doesn't make any sense… I didn't think we would hit another town for at least a few days."

Nora went onto a fallen post to get a better look at the town, along with Neo who took to the trees. "What do you guys see?" Cristal said.

"Not much." Neo said, "It seems a little quiet for a town."

"Are those buildings…" Nora said squinting, "... Damaged?"

Everyone's eyes widened in horror at this, since damaged buildings could only mean one thing. "Let's look for survivors!" Jaune said to the group.

They all nodded and they quickly ran into to town, not before Scout stopped to pick up the map that Jaune had dropped onto the ground; she quickly caught up with the group. They started to look through the town to find any survivors; most of them had even called out to see if they got any answer from anyone.

They soon regrouped after only a few moments of searching. "Did anyone find anything?" Cristal said.

"No, there's no sign of anyone!" Ruby said.

"We checked the buildings, but there's nothing." Rosario said.

"This seems a little weird don't you think?" Melody said, "If this is a town, shouldn't there be people."

"Yeah, plus these buildings seem, half finished." Scout said.

Roman and Neo soon joined up with them, "We wouldn't have found anyone regardless." Roman said to the group, "This whole town has been abandoned, probably for a few years."

"How do you know that?" Jaune asked.

"Vines on the walls, and the paintjob on these buildings." Neo said.

"It's a little something you pick up when your a thief." Roman said.

"What do you think this town is though?" Rosario said, "It doesn't show up on any maps."

"It couldn't hurt to look around some more." Cristal said. The group had agreed to it and started to look around some more. As Ruby look through the buildings and such she could've sworn she thought she saw something up above. She had only caught of glimpse but she just didn't know what.

Ruby tilted her head slightly, "That's weird… I thought-"

"Guys!" She heard Nora call out, "I think I found something!"

Ruby looked back to the building before she went to rejoin the group; they were all gathered at the sign. Nora moved some of the leaves out of the way. The sign had read-

"Oniyuri?" Nora read, "That name doesn't sound familiar."

"Hmm, that name doesn't ring a bell." Rosario asked, "Does that sound familiar to anyone?"

Most of the group shook their heads. "It's a name I've never heard of." Jaune said.

"I have." Ren spoke up.

The whole group turned to Ren, giving a surprise look to him, while Frosty and Senka tilted their heads in confusion. "Anything you care to share?" Cristal asked.

Ren nodded, and started to explain, "You might think of it as Anima's Mountain Glenn, had it never been completed. Years ago the richest members of Mistral were unhappy with how the Kingdom was being run. Frustrated with the council, they pooled their resources together to build their own city with their own laws. They hoped one day it could maybe even it could even become it's own Kingdom. Many even thought it would be the future. I know my parents did."

Ren walked away from the group and towards a stone border. Everyone had stood silent not knowing what to say exactly. It wasn't before Ruby spoke up.

"What happened?" She asked.

Ren turned to the group, "What always happens." He wiped some dust away from the stoneboard and there they saw claw marks, and they knew what that meant exactly.

"The Grimm." Jaune said with solemn.

Ren clenched his fist, "Not just any, one."

Everyone gave a look of confusion to each other, wondering what he meant exactly. Nora had a concerned gaze at him. They soon heard crows fly above their heads. "We should keep moving." Roman said to the group, "It's not safe to stay here."

"Yeah." Jaune said, "This place is giving me the creeps."

"Ditto to that." Rosario said.

With that the group made their way out of the town; however just from a distance a figure made from mist had watched them. It had started to move with a quick pace out of Oniyuri, and into the forest behind where the group had originally entered.

In the trees far from the village the mist had flown around a teenage girl, with crimson red hair left arm like a chain. It was revealed to be Elise, as she looked to the mist. She made her way out of the trees and onto the ground, where two more had waited; Diamond and Tyrian.

"Orpheus is back from scouting." Elise said to the two of them.

Tyrian let out a chuckle as he jumped from the rock he was sitting atop of, "Oh goody!"

Diamond pushed herself off of a tree and walked over to Elise as did Tyrian. "That certainly was quick, let's see what he's found."

Both Tyrian and Diamond placed their hands on both of Elise's shoulders. "Orpheus." Elise said, earning a reaction from the mist around her arm, "Show us what you saw."

Slowly the mist, named Orpheus left her arm, and went around each of their heads, connecting them, their eyes were colored black and soon enough they were shown several images and heard many voices. They saw the whole group, a Griffon type Grimm, a white fox, and two faces. The girl with the same face as the child they had, Cristal, and a girl with silver eyes.

The images came to an end and their eyes had gone back to normal; Orpheus wrapped around Elise left arm, the mist disappeared into her skin.

"It is true." Diamond said, "Cristal and the Silver Eyed warrior, are among them."

"Those two in the Tavern were telling the truth." Elise said.

Tyrian said to the two of them, "This is just too perfect! They're both in one place. This makes it so much easier and all the more fun!"

"So, what do we do?" Diamond asked.

"First, you two change out of your disguise, it doesn't suit you both." Tyrian said to them, "Second, we'll do what we came here to do, and retrieve them for our Goddess, but not before I have my fun."

"Just make sure that you don't kill those two." Elise said, "Remember we need them both alive."

"True my dear." Tyrian said, "Though that doesn't mean they have to be intact."

"What of the others?" Diamond said.

"They don't matter to us." He replied, "All that matters is them and them only. If they get in the way, than kill them. Understand?"

Diamond and Elise nodded to him before they shut their eyes; Diamond removing the hat on her head. Red Eyes glowed on a single part of their body; a ride glowed on Diamond's right shoulder while Elise's glowed in the side of her stomach. In a single moment their outfit and even hair color had changed. Elise was now wearing a gray halter top revealing her stomach area and red eye; with it was a pair of red pants and a single black knee pad on her right knee and on her hands she had a pair of dark brown fingerless gloves, one long and one short. Her red crimson hair changed to a black coal color, the only thing that didn't change was her eye vivid green eye.

Diamonds yukata changed from red to black; the long sleeves just changed into arm sleeves that was colored in black and revealed her shoulders. Her whole yukata changed into a black color though the back hung loosely and was colored in red. Now around her waist was a short gray and red ribbon. Underneath she had on a gray skirt with cropped leggings and her shoes stayed the same. Her hair change from magenta and orange to, gray and white.

They opened there eyes as they had been removed from their disguises. Diamond tied her hair into a bun while Elise tied her's back into a ponytail. They moved away their bangs revealing a single blind eye in the shade of orange.

"Ah, now there's the better look." Tyrian said before holding out a pair of Grimm masks, "It just needs one last thing to complete it."

Diamond and Elise took the masks from his hand; Diamond placed the mask over her mouth, while Elise placed her's over her eyes despite the left side being cracked. Tyrian soon handed Elise her dark gray trench coat, and she put it on swiftly; soon after he handed her weapon to her which was a gothic battle axe. Diamond took her hat; as soon as she pressed the center it split into a pair of fans with blades that had a red eye insignia in the middle of both of them.

"Perfect." He said still with a smile, before getting his weapons; he licked his lips, "Now than… It's time to play."

With a fit of laughter Tyrian started to run down the path with great speed, towards Oniyuri, with Diamond and Elise not too far behind him.

(Second Ending Theme: I'm Waiting for the Rain TV Sized Performed By Maaya Sakamoto)