A relatively short chapter.

The entire ride home was filled with nothing but silence.

Weiss did her best to relax during the flight, but it was hard to do so when her father was scowling the entire way. It was obvious he'd been displeased due to some currently unknown reason. Was it because of what had just happened at Beacon, or the incident with Jaune? Truth be told, she didn't know which situation he'd find to be more displeasing; her almost dying, or a boy being added into the mix. If he found out that Jaune was a plebeian, and she wasn't considering a relationship because it was somehow beneficial to the Schnee family, then nothing short of divine wrath would rain down upon her. A few times along the way, Weiss opened and shut her mouth. She wasn't sure what to say to him- if he could be reasoned with. Resolving to not say anything, she waited out the rest of the ride.

Once they landed, her father was the first off, and she was ushered out by their guard.

His constant silence was making her all the more uneasy. Her high heels were the only reprieve she had, outside of the soldiers shoes making the slightest bit of noise. Hanging her head in defeat, she only looked up when they walked through the front doors. Weiss never dreamed she'd be home so soon- especially after the years of dodged phone calls from her father.

"You have plenty of explaining to do."

Weiss looked up to her father, he was still scowling. When he walked toward her, she flinched. It wasn't that he was ever an abusive man, but his harsh tone and anger was unsettling. She'd not been accustomed to it in a very long time. His touch wasn't aggressive, instead it was clear that he was searching for signs of harm on his daughter.

"What ever was I thinking, allowing you to go to such a place?" he muttered more to himself, "Clearly Beacon was a mistake."

"It wasn't a mistake going to Beacon, and I-" Weiss tried to argue, but found herself instantly shushed by him.

"How could you possibly be defending the school that failed to protect its students and faculty? I saw the televised events, and who knows what would have happened, had I not come immediately."

"People died..." Weiss couldn't argue that fact. "But if we hadn't done what we had to do, then many more would have suffered. It wasn't the school that failed us, or the Headmaster- the White Fang attacked the school, and some of the students were aligned with them."

"All the more reason to never step foot into Vale." Weiss' father scoffed, "Is there anymore fuel you'd like to add to this fire, Weiss?"

"I lost friends." Weiss raised her voice ever so slightly, she didn't care for her fathers haughty tone. If he decided to ground her, or lock her in her room for the rest of her days, then so be it. But seeing as that was already along the lines of her 'punishment' she may as well roll the dice on things. "Penny being destroyed was nothing short of an accident." averting her eyes from his was the easiest way to get these things out. She needed to say this, to air out her concerns. "I know Pyrrha- she never would have done something like that. But she didn't know about Penny, none of us did. She can't be held accountable for it."

"Someone has to." her father interrupted Weiss once more.

"She's not here to defend herself!" Weiss almost regretted her outburst, had it not been defending Pyrrha.

"If that girl were physically here, she'd-"

"She was murdered." Weiss looked into her fathers eyes when she spoke those words. "'That girl', Pyrrha Nikos, was murdered." she carefully spoke the same sentence over again.

"You're sure of this?" he asked.

"Yes." Weiss nodded, bowing her head.

"Did you see the act?"

"No." Weiss shook her head.

"Look at me." he scolded her.

Weiss looked up, "No." she repeated her answer, knowing fully well that was what he wanted.

"Then how do you know that she was murdered?"

"Because Pyrrha split off from her team, to fight the person who started all of the madness at Beacon. I don't know how or why she did it- but she...she left Jaune, went off to try and fight that mystery woman on her own, and was defeated. Ruby went to help her, she and I were right there at the tower...right there...and if we'd only been a second or two faster things could have been different." Weiss felt those pangs of sadness, recounting what had happened not even 24 hours prior to her speaking of it.

"Someone powerful enough to take on, and defeat Pyrrha Nikos?" he seemed surprised by that fact. "Was this a solo match?"

"Yes."

"...I see." certainly the commotion at Beacon was something to be explored. Not that anyone would dare go back, considering the large Grim that was now based at the tower. Deciding to change the conversation, and masking his emotion on the matter, "Who was that boy I saw you with?"

"You mean Jaune?" Weiss asked, unsure of why he suddenly changed his interests. Maybe it just occurred to him, now.

"Jaune? And what is this 'Jaune's' last name?"

"Arc."

"Arc? I haven't heard of them. Which kingdom do they come from?"

"I assume from Vale." Weiss honestly didn't know. She'd spent the majority of the year avoiding Jaune and his antics of trying to win her over, that she never really found the time to learn these things about him. Clearly this wasn't the answer that her father had been expecting or wanted to hear from Weiss.

"You don't know?"

"...no." Weiss couldn't have felt more stupid, if she tried.

"And what is your connection with this boy?"

"We met at the beginning of this year at Beacon. He pursued me with childish, idiotic antics that I found nothing but repugnant and annoying." Weiss said, further displeasing her father. "But, I realized that's just the kind of person that he is. He has a strange way of doing things, but decidedly, it's not entirely disagreeable." it was her way of evasively saying she enjoyed it. Right now, she could go for one of his childish date ideas. Anything to be away from her father, forget about the chaos of the previous day.

"I didn't ask what kind of person this 'Jaune' is, I want to know what you're doing with him. How do you know that he isn't just pursuing you, because of your name and the title you carry?"

"Jaune and I are dating." Weiss paused, "Initially, I thought the same thing- but he didn't even know what the Schnee name was about, so it isn't possible. And from what I've seen, he isn't that kind of person." how dense did her father think she was?

"And when did this come about? Is this why you've been dodging my calls so frequently? Knowing fully well I wouldn't approve of that boy?" his frustration was coming back, past the concern of Pyrrha Nikos and the tragedy that had befallen Beacon. First and foremost, she was his daughter, and he wouldn't see her throw away everything she'd worked so hard for. Winter had her own agenda, and Weiss was the only heir he had left- there wasn't time for petty, small acts of 'rebellion'. "Whether his intentions with you are pure or not, what could you possibly hope to sire with such a puny looking boy?"

"Actually, just before your arrival and taking me back to Atlas." Weiss admitted, "He's far stronger than you think he is. I was almost defeated by the Grim, wave after wave without a partner by my side was taking its toll. And had he not come for me when he did, I would have died." finally cluing in to the part about 'siring', Weiss couldn't help but to feel flustered. "We're not trying to have children, father."

"I should hope so." Weiss' father remarked, "Is he some sort of rebellion against myself, Weiss? Are you trying to get my attention, because if so, you've got it."

"It isn't about you." Weiss didn't know why he thought it was. She wasn't some brat who thought she could bring home someone to her father that he'd inevitably hate. Why should it be any of his business who she decided to date, anyway? She wasn't looking for his approval on the matter, anyway. "I don't want attention, I'm not acting out because I feel neglected, or have any sort of spite. I've been told that I was a 'cold' person, with little to no regard for those around me- and I've decided to change. Up until now, I thought that there was nothing more to my life, than doing what I could to protect the Schnee name, to prove myself worthy of one day succeeding you- but I've found something else, too. People I care about." thinking about them, she couldn't help but to feel inadequate. She needed to become so much stronger, to learn better summons and perfect her semblance. Blake. Yang. Ruby. Jaune. Nora. Ren. Neptune. Sun.

"And these people, have they helped you to turn against me?" he asked, seemingly even more displeased.

"They've taught me how to be a person." Weiss knew that would be the nail in the coffin. Her saying that she'd found some will of her own, and that she had her own priorities now.

"Are...are you okay?" Jaune asked, walking side by side with Ruby. Leaving behind her home obviously hadn't been an easy choice, but they had to find answers- someone had to take up the torch. And if not them, there had to be others.

"I'm fine." Ruby nodded and smiled, trying her best to maintain her bubbly attitude. After Yang's condition, and their current loss of team members, it was hard to do so. But if Pyrrha, Blake and Weiss were here- then they'd want Ruby to be her old self, and so she projected just that. "Are you alright?" she felt the need to return the favor. After what had happened, she'd never been able to offer her condolences.

"I think so." Jaune nodded, "Pyrrha wouldn't want us to lose ourselves...and I'm not going to let her memory fade away." whatever the price, her death would be avenged. Those who were involved would get what was coming to them, and justice would be hers.

"So long as we remember them, they never really leave us. Pyrrha will always be alive, so long as she stays in our memories, and in our hearts." Ruby spoke from experience, they were nearing her mother's grave, and she'd come to pay her respects.

Jaune couldn't help but to smile at what Ruby had to say. "I'm sure she'd appreciate hearing that."

"I hope so." Ruby stopped walking, "You can...go on ahead, if you want. I'm going to say 'bye' to my mom."

"Do you want me to go?" Jaune asked, "Because I don't mind. I'd like to meet your mother, anyway."

"I think she'd like that!" Ruby nodded, "Hi, mom!" she knelt by her mothers grave, "This isn't just one of my usual times that I come by just to say 'hi'. I've...brought some friends along with me, this time. Jaune, Ren, and Nora. We're going on a journey, and I don't know how long we'll be gone for, and when I'll be back- so I wanted to say 'goodbye', for now." she hastily added in the last part, wanting to fill her mother in on all the details she could.

"That was nice." Jaune chimed in, staring down at the neat grave. "It's nice to meet you, Summer Rose." he tried to introduce himself formally, though it was a tad bit awkward. Trying to make himself seem more serious, he paused for a moment. "Your daughter Ruby, was actually my first friend when I came to Beacon. I was really nervous, and I actually ended up throwing up on Yang...and things got a lot more hectic from there."

"I don't think she needs to hear about that." Nora laughed a bit, "Nice to meet you!" she said cheerfully. "Ruby's a really great friend to have! And I'm glad that you had her!"

"Nora!" Ren scolded her, "I do not believe that was appropriate."

"Why? What's so wrong to say that you're glad a person was born?" Nora asked, blinking in confusion.

"Because-" Ren began to lecture her, while Jaune and Ruby idly stood by, both smiling and laughing a bit.

"I think mom would enjoy this." Ruby admitted, she certainly was.

"You think so? Do you think mine was a bit much? Because I thought so...I mean at first, until Nora's little speech." Jaune knew Nora absolutely meant well, and it was a sweet gesture on her part. It just seemed a tad bit awkward.

"I think that it was all okay." Ruby gave a thumbs up, "Should we go now?"

"If you're ready." Jaune waited to see that she was. "Nora! Ren! We're leaving!" although he didn't want to interrupt their conversation decidedly, he had to. He and Ruby had already been on their merry little way by the time they noticed Nora and Ren had been left behind. "Whoops." he could have sworn they were following the whole way.

Ruby laughed, scratching the back of her head. "I thought they were following us, too." she admitted.

"Some leader, huh?" Jaune asked.

"We're not in battle, right now." Ruby chided him, "And I was a leader too, remember?"

"Should we brainstorm some team names?" Jaune offered, "Or make a special move, just you and I can do?"

"I don't really know what we could call ourselves." Ruby admitted, "The letters we have to work with don't really blend well, do they? R-R-N-J." she spoke them aloud, wondering what combination they could be put in. J-N-R-R? J-R-N-R? "Did you have some ideas? Are we going to be partners?" they both did have to replace their lost teammates.

"Maybe we could skip the whole naming process." Jaune couldn't agree more with her. It seemed that their letter combination didn't blend very well, after all. "I noticed you do that thing where you leap into the sky, maybe I could do my shield toss, and you leap off of it, then finish your signature move? And, well, I thought since Ren and Nora were a team, that you and I can be one."

"Maybe." Ruby could entertain that idea. With her speed, she should be able to do something along those lines. "But if we're going to do a tag team move, then shouldn't we both share the move? I think it would be cool if we did something in tandem, that we can both do. We can be partners! I don't mind at all!" at this point in time, there was no point in following the old 'tradition', anyway.

"Yeah, you're right." Jaune nodded, "But I'm not really sure what we can both do." they fought so differently, and similarly. Ruby rushed into battle, and didn't stop until the job was done. He was the same way, to the point of being absolutely reckless. "Speaking of partners...how do you think Weiss is doing?"

"She's probably moping about something or other." Ruby wouldn't put it past her. "Maybe she's enjoying the time away?"

"You think so?" Jaune asked, seeming a little down at that statement. "You don't think she'd miss anyone?"

"I don't think she'd admit it." Ruby said almost coyly, laughing a little. "Uncle Qrow said she was really worried about me- and that if I see her again to ask her about it."

"We were all worried." Jaune still vividly remembered that night. "When your uncle came down with you...I thought the worst." he admitted, "I'm glad you were okay, Ruby. We lost lots of people that day, and I'm glad you weren't one of them."

"I'm glad I'm here, too." Ruby chirped happily, things were starting to get heavy. "How come you're so worried about Weiss?" changing the conversation seemed to be the way to go.

"That's..." Jaune rubbed the back of his head, "We're...uh, well..."

"You're what?" Ruby asked curiously. Jaune was acting weird.

"Dating." Jaune decided the easiest way was just to say it outright.

"Really!?" Ruby couldn't help but to sound astonished. When Jaune nodded, she couldn't help the hundreds of questions she wanted to ask. "When? How? Was I unconscious when it happened!? I can't believe I missed that! Does Yang know? What about Blake? Nora? Ren? Neptune? Sun? Am I the only one kept out of the loop?"

"At the tower...Weiss and I were fighting off the Grim, and we were temporary 'partners'. We saved each other, and then your uncle Qrow came down with you, we learned about Pyrrha...the two of us went to find the others, while he got you to safety. The others all know...at least, I think they do." Jaune wasn't too sure if they'd seen or not. Nora and Ren definitely knew, he didn't know about Yang. She was obviously more concerned about her condition than anything, and he didn't blame her.

"Oh. So you came along to see Weiss, too." Ruby teased him lightly, waiting for some sort of reaction.

"No! I mean...not just...for that." Jaune's cheeks tinged pink while he adamantly tried to deny Ruby's statement.

"Sure." Ruby laughed, "Well, there'll be plenty of time for that..." she wanted to see Blake and Weiss at some point. Maybe they'd get lucky and there'd be time for such things on their journey. And if not, well, then they could make time. That is, if they could even find Blake. Being M.I.A. was all she heard from Yang, who angrily remarked that she'd deserted the team.

Jaune was about to reply, before Nora latched onto both him and Ruby. "What are we talking about!?" she asked, wanting to get in on the conversation. "Is it something secret? Are Ren and I not apart of the group? Are we being followed? Is it exciting?" she was going a mile a minute and getting herself overly excited, just wanting to be included in on something.

"It's not a secret." Ruby spoke up, "We're all a group! We're a team, aren't we?" she asked.

"Other than you and Ren, we're not being followed. At least, not that I can tell." Jaune chimed in, "We just wondered if we were going to see Blake and Weiss, again."

"Definitely! We'll be the best team out there!" Nora responded to Ruby first, "Nobody will beat us! We'll be the most known out there!" Weiss and Blake? "Isn't Blake missing, and Weiss stuck with her dad?"

"Yang says Blake is gone." Ruby agreed with that, though she hated that their team was split up.

"And Weiss is trapped." or, at least he thought so, considering any attempts on his end to contact her completely fell through. She never tried to call him back, so he assumed she was under house arrest of went back on the idea of talking to him.

"A predicament, indeed." Ren joined in the conversation, seeing that Nora was turning into a handful.

"Now we're all acting like a team!" Nora beamed happily, enjoying the fact that they were all in on the conversation. "But wait a second...who's going to be our leader?" she couldn't help but to notice both Ruby and Jaune were the leaders of their respective teams.

"Why do we need a leader?" Jaune asked, "Why can't we all just do our best, look after each other, and be happy with that?" truth be told, he didn't want to be called a 'team leader'. If anything, he'd give that title over to Ruby, if they wanted one. After the loss/death of a teammate, he was honestly feeling gun shy of any authoritative position.

"Yeah, I think we'll all do good, thinking for ourselves and our teammates." Ruby had to agree with him, "Who knows? Maybe we won't need a leader."

"You think we don't need someone to follow?" Nora asked, "Well, that's an idea!"

"Whether or not it actually works out will depend on us." Ren piped up, "It will be interesting, to be sure."

"I think it'll be a first." Jaune agreed, "But I think if anyone could do it, it'll be us." after their hectic year, he wasn't going to put anything past anyone. Least of all Ruby. She seemed to make the impossible, possible- no matter what.

"Alright! Enough with the serious stuff." Nora clapped Jaune on the shoulder, "You're it!" she leapt past the group, taking off with a speed that Ren was trying to match, and Ruby could easily keep up with.

"Hey! That's no fair!" Jaune couldn't help but to laugh. Since when were they playing tag? Was this Nora's way of saying 'hurry up'? In either case, it would provide entertainment along the way and force them to cover more ground. Ruby was definitely the hardest one to try and catch up to, but it seemed the younger girl took pity on Jaune and allowed him to 'tag' her- that was when the real fun began. Nora was tagged by Ruby, she and Jaune attempted to escape her, only to find out that Ren was her immediate target. Seeing Ren almost cower from Nora they felt a twinge of pity, only to be reminded that they were all in a competition, and going against Nora would be utter madness.

"Thanks...for helping me." Jaune said in between breaths. The whole 'outrun' portion was taking its toll.

"No problem." Ruby nodded, "I think it's more fun this way." she admitted, "Nora seems to be the best person for the 'it' portion of things."

"It's actually...pretty terrifying." Jaune admitted, letting out a small laugh from the tree they were secluded in.

"I guess when you don't have super speed." Ruby could outrun the others, but Ren and Jaune definitely had to work harder than she. Barely seeing Nora's advances on her through the corner of her eye, Ruby instinctively hopped off the tree to the next.

"Hi Jaune!" Nora smiled and winked, jumping straight after Ruby.

"I don't know if I should feel 'relief' or 'left out'." Jaune admitted, blinking at the situation.

"Perhaps the best thing to do in this situation is 'run'?" Ren offered.

"Uh...right." Jaune nodded, leaping off his branch and onto the ground. "Who do you think will end up 'it'?" he asked, wondering if Nora and Ruby were in for a long version of super charged 'tag'.

"There is no way of telling." Ren could see it becoming a back and forth situation, unless they decided to prey on one of the boys. But Ruby and Nora were almost in a league of their own in the game, so maybe they would keep on passing the 'it' position to one another.

"I'm gonna getcha Ruby!" Nora teased as she jumped ever closer to the hooded girl.

"Are you?" Ruby asked, 'cheating' by activating her semblance and running even faster.

"Yep!" Nora followed suit and leapt into the sky, reaching out for the back of Ruby's cloak. Just barely grasping it, she cried out in success. "Ren! Jaune! Run!" she instantly turned on her heels and went East, instead of leading Ruby back to where the boys were. She was being careful not to get lost and cause them to go off path, let alone in a hoard of Grim or whatever roamed their path. All that was important, was they were having fun. It helped to forget the tragedy that befell all of them such a short time ago.