Nothing major happened for the remaining time of the first semester, in spite of the looming worry in the back of Violet's mind that acted as the white noise in her every thought. The Docks replayed in her mind, and she wondered if maybe she'd been too quick to use her powers, just because she was scared.

Why was she scared? She's a Maiden, with powers unmatched by most of Remnant! She shouldn't feel afraid, but in that moment she had been, and maybe that was her own fault.

She wondered about how she had been able to beat Pyrrha as well. Over and over it replayed in her mind. She didn't feel like she was entirely herself while she was fighting, and not just because of Yuvi, nor was it the… other one.

The one she swore to forget, because she didn't deserve what she offered.

Maybe it was the power of the Maidens influencing her somehow? Ozpin noted that she learned at a faster rate than a normal student, but… she couldn't help but feel that it might have also been a bit of a fluke. Pyrrha didn't know what to expect with her, and Yuvi couldn't exactly be manipulated via polarity.

In the end, she didn't quite feel like that victory was hers, either.

She felt as if she had somehow gotten first place in the wrong race, and now just had to act like she'd been running the whole time.

But not everything was so blue, she was glad to have her friends, although most of them had left Beacon at this point for vacation. Team JNPR had gone to Domremy to visit Jaune's family, Ruby and Yang had gone back to Patch to visit with their dad, and Weiss went to one of her family's summer homes.

Maybe it shouldn't have affected Violet so much, as she didn't leave her room all that much still, but it felt odd not having them around. Odd to not expect a knock on her door at some point every few days.

Well, at least she could keep in contact with them.

She was doing just that one day during the break. She had just been playing on her computer that afternoon, still in her pajamas of course, when she received a Scroll call from Jaune. She had to fight off the internalized excitement when she saw his picture, a goofy selfie he took once where he was grinning with his eyes closed, followed by the nickname she had given him on her phone, 'My Future Knight UwU'.

If he, or anyone else, ever caught sight of that, she'd probably die right there. Luckily, her Scroll was a heavily guarded secret, never to be in the hands of another!

She leaned back in her chair as she took the call, smiling slightly as she saw Jaune appear on the video feed, seemingly standing in the middle of the street. He grinned at her and spoke over the noise of the town, "Hey, Violet! How's it going?"

"Hey, Jaune," she responded as her smile grew, "Just got up a couple hours ago, but it's been good so far. How're things in Domremy?"

"Oh, everything's fine." His grin didn't fade, "My sister Sarcelle built some cool machines she wanted to show me, and I think the rest of my team made a good impression on her."

That was when Pyrrha stepped into view, standing a bit too close to Jaune as she grinned, waved, and spoke in a sing-songy voice, "Hello Violet~!"

Then Nora jumped into view, hugging Jaune as she did, "Hey Violet!"

Ren poked his head into view, waving, "Hey Violet."

Violet didn't know how to feel about Pyrrha being so close to Jaune; she had always seemed so… interested in him. Nora was an exception to this worry, because even Violet knew Nora was head over heels for Ren. A part of her had an idea of what Pyrrha felt, but she didn't want to face that possibility. Instead, she waved back, "Hey guys, how's it going?"

Nora responded first, "Domremy's great! It's like Vale but smaller! It's even got some really cool local restaurants. You gotta come some day."

Ren added, "They're in the middle of a festival, the 'Festival of Golden Light', it's called. Something about an old legend where they were saved from a horde of Grimm by a legendary heroine whose powers bathed the place in golden light."

"Huh." Violet responded, "I… might have to check it out some year." She wouldn't, and she knew she wouldn't, but she'd still say she might because it did sound fun. It was just that going anywhere, uprooting herself for any time, was apocryphal to her. It also helped that she was a Maiden and thus really shouldn't be traveling that far out.

Something caught Jaune's attention that Violet couldn't see, "Oh! That's Roux waiting for us, she promised we'd get some free food while we're here, and her food's the best. I'll call you later, okay, Vi?"

"Alright, seeya!"

The call ended. It was brief, but Violet was never one for long scroll calls anyway. She much preferred voice calls with her friends on Bonfire, that was far less awkward. Still, a Bonfire call with people she knew in real life also sounded weird, so maybe either way this was just going to be weird to her forevermore.

She contemplated this for a few moments, just staring at the picture of Jaune from his caller ID. She was taken out of this by a knock at her door, causing her to start before she swiveled her chair around. She was surprised to hear Blake on the other side, "Violet? I wanted to talk."

Violet huffed, already not liking the sound of this. Her opinion on Blake wasn't the best after everything that happened before the docks. Sure, everything had ended up fine, but she still tried to drag Violet into her argument, and she didn't like that one bit. Still, she got up and made her way to the door, fixing the top buttons on her pajama top before opening it, her tail swishing lazily behind her as she did. She met Blake with a neutral gaze, silver eyes slightly dulled by her mood, "I didn't expect you to come looking for me."

Blake, for her part, looked kind of nervous and awkward. She cleared her throat, "Well, I wanted to talk to you. About your opinions on Faunus rights-" The door promptly shut in her face, but Blake wasn't going to give up so easily, "Violet, I'm sorry, okay? I wasn't thinking when I tried to drag you into that argument, but that doesn't mean I'm not still fascinated by how you behaved when it came up! I just want to talk, pick your brain, and find out why you have this stance. Maybe… debate a little?"

"Why would I do anything like that?" Violet asked as she crossed her arms under her chest, still staring at the door, "That sounds… not fun." That was an understatement, but Violet wasn't exactly sure how to put the way that it didn't sit right with her

For her part, Blake figured that this might happen, and she had a plan. The oldest trick in the book, "Look, I know you don't like to talk about this stuff, but… if you do, we can go into town and, uhh… I'll buy us some food somewhere?" She quickly added, "Your choice where!"

'Damn it, my one weakness.' Violet loved to get her fill, and if free food was on the table, well, she wouldn't be in her right mind if she refused. She cracked open the door slightly and squinted at Blake before saying, "Let me get changed, then we can go."

Blake's mood visibly lifted as she smiled, "Great, I'll be here."

Violet shut the door again and went about changing into her usual tabard and shorts outfit. She could have worn something else, but she didn't particularly feel like it. She looked at Suncutter, resting against the back wall near a window as it was, and shrugged before grabbing it and strapping it to her back.

She didn't need her weapon, but she figured it was better to have it and not need it. That was something Ozpin told her as well, to be ready at a minute's notice, be it to protect people, or herself. She knew Maidens could form their own weapons out of magic, but Suncutter was special to her, and she was going to hold onto it for as long as she could.

Maybe eventually she'd retire it and move to making magic weapons, but it was not this day. Besides, she had to keep her secret safe from Blake.

Now fully dressed, she headed to the door and opened it again, "Alright, let's get going." Blake noted that she had her weapon, but it wasn't that uncommon for Huntsmen to always have their weapons on them, or at least, have them with them as often as possible.

The two headed out of Beacon Tower, not talking much on their way out, nor on the Bullhead. It was only when they started to walk, with Violet leading the way, that Blake asked, "So… do you actually not have an opinion on Faunus rights?" She sounded cautious, like she was trying to step delicately through a minefield, "It seems… odd to me, that you don't."

Violet, to her credit, did her best to not immediately frown. Instead, she kept a neutral countenance as she responded, "My opinion on it is that it's not my problem. Not my war to fight." She crossed her arms and her tail stiffened slightly while drooping down, not touching the ground, but fairly close to it, "If people want to fight over things like that, then I'm not going to stop them, but I'm definitely not going to help them."

Blake opened her mouth to respond, but stopped herself. She tried to think of how best to word what she had to say, and eventually she felt she found it, "But… isn't it your problem? You're a Faunus too, and it's not like you can hide your trait…" She looked back at Violet's tail, "Not easily, at least."

"Why would I hide my tail?" Violet countered, shaking her head, "If people judge me for it, that's their problem, not mine. Not like I leave my room enough for it to matter, anyway. Why bother trying to change a world I don't take part in?"

"What about people like you who do live in it? What about people like you who aren't Huntresses?" Blake retorted, still keeping a cool head, "Not everyone can or wants to live a life detached from society. I'd argue that you're an exception, rather than the rule."

"It sucks for those people, sure." Violet responded as they drew closer to the place she wanted to eat, a local burger joint, "But they're not me, it's not my problem. I live my life, and they live theirs. I bet you most of them wouldn't give a second thought to any problems I have or had, so why should I care for theirs?"

Blake finally frowned, "So, you've shut yourself off from the world, but argue that since the world hasn't helped you, you shouldn't help others?" That was a dangerous precedent for a Huntress, and Blake had to wonder why Violet was even training to be a Huntress with that kind of attitude.

Violet stopped for a moment and turned to look at Blake, her voice gaining a bit of an edge to it, "I asked for help, Blake. I used to try to help people when I was younger, I had 'friends' who wanted my help, and I did what they asked, and you know what?" She let a pause linger in the air before she added, "They never helped me. So why should I extend a hand out to a starving world when all it's going to do is bite it?!" She turned towards the burger place, her voice losing its edge and softening a bit, "And speaking of starving…" She walked forward and entered the shop, while Blake stood there for a moment.

She wasn't giving up, not by any means. She had to figure out more about this girl, about the way she worked, but she decided that she'd lay off of it for a few minutes, let Violet eat and calm down, and then continue. She headed into the burger joint as well, which looked fairly standard: tile floors, fairly retro furniture, and a guy standing behind the counter with a paper hat on his head.

Violet made her order, and Blake ordered something as well, although Blake only ordered something small, while Violet got the largest option for a burger and fries they had, which was fairly large, at least by fast food standards. When they had their food, they sat down at a booth and Violet began to eat, her voracious appetite making itself known as she ate her burger and sipped on her Dr. Spicy.

Blake played the waiting game until Violet was almost done eating, and once she was, she brought up the topic again, "I understand you've gone through some rough times, but… you're a Huntress-in-Training, aren't you? You have great power, and that means great responsibility. You could use that power to make a difference to Faunus everywhere."

Violet sucked down a bit more of her Dr. Spicy before she responded, "I didn't ask for power, Blake. It was forced onto me. I don't want to play the role of the great protector, I have to, and I certainly don't have to go out of my way with taking care of other people's messes as if it's my job." Sure, she had come to terms with being a Maiden, and giving it her all, but that didn't extend to… all of that other stuff. She could be a strong Maiden without going afield often, and she certainly didn't have to get wrapped up in stuff like what Blake was pushing.

That gave Blake pause. What did she mean by 'forced onto her'? What happened that forced her to become a Huntress? Clearly, there was more to this than what meets the eye, but she doubted she'd get the full story that day. Instead, Blake said, "But you still have that power, Violet. Shouldn't you use it to help people? Especially the disadvantaged, like Faunus?"

As both girls got up, their meals finished, they started to leave, Blake having already paid. Violet shook her head, "That's just a repeat of the earlier argument. I told you why I don't want to get involved in stuff like dealing with the White Fang and Faunus inequality. That's not what I'm here for."

"Then what are you here for?" Blake asked as they took a turn and continued to walk together, not really paying attention to where they were heading, "You're at Beacon, training directly under Ozpin, you've got a powerful semblance and are clearly talented at fighting, so what is it you're looking for? What is it you want?"

Violet didn't respond at first as they kept aimlessly walking. Eventually, she said, "I'm here to enjoy my life, and to do whatever I have to do on the side. At the end of the day, I might have responsibilities, but I'll never let them control me, and that means never getting tangled up in stuff that I have no business with."

Blake noted that Violet didn't answer the second question, but she left it for the moment. The debate entered into a state of lulling and then reigniting, with them walking with no direction in particular. It was only after about thirty minutes of continuous walking that Violet stretched and said, "I don't think there's any reason to keep arguing like this, I have my reasons for being who I am and you have yours, we can leave it like that." She stopped and looked around, "Where are we?"

Blake was about to comment on not wanting to leave it like that, but then she realized that she also had no idea where they were either. She looked around, and saw that the sun was starting to set, casting reds and oranges across the sky. She frowned, "I'm not sure… I was never that familiar with Vale before… It looks like we're in the industrial district."

Indeed, they were surrounded by factories, warehouses, and other such things. However, they all looked fairly run down, and Blake commented, "...Clearly not the good part, either."

Both girls felt it at the same time, a presence watching them, waiting for them to make a move. Both of them drew their weapons and turned to face the person watching them, who was standing on the road not far from them. They had expected to find some gangster, or maybe at worst a member of the White Fang.

Who they saw was neither of those things.

They were fair-skinned, with shaggy white hair and a fairly androgynous body that was hidden under a baggy black hoodie that was partially unzipped, revealing the electric blue shirt underneath. They wore black combat pants and matching boots. In their hands were two swords, one was a standard longsword, while the other seemed to have once been a longsword, but had been broken at the top, leaving a jagged end to the weapon. Their eyes were crimson, and bore a mildly amused look as they smirked and looked at Violet, "You're Violet Merino, aren't you? I've got some business with you."

Neither of the girls trusted this individual, the look in their eyes spoke only of danger, and Blake took a step forward, trying to put herself between Violet and the stranger, "Who are you? What do you want?"

"I already told you," they responded, beginning to pace and keeping a casual gait all the while. They pointed their broken sword at Violet, "I want her to come with me. My employer asked me to bring her to them. It's simple, really. Just lay down your arms and follow me, then I can get paid and call this a job well done."

Violet's eyes widened, and she had a good idea as to why this employer would want her. Did it relate to her slip up at the docks? Possibly, probably. She felt the weight of her mistake on her chest, but she didn't falter. Instead, she held her sword tighter, "And if I don't come with you?"

"Hah," they responded, "Well…" Suddenly their body was covered in surging white electricity, "Either you come with me peacefully, or I carry your unconscious body back. The end result is the same. So how do you want it, the easy way, or the hard way?"

Seeing the electricity around her mysterious foe, Violet suddenly wished Nora was there. Blake spoke up first, "You're not getting her! So I've got a deal for you. Tell us who your employer is and then walk away. If you do that, we can forget we ever saw you. If not? We'll just ask the question again while you're tied up in a holding cell."

"Hard way it is, then," they responded, continuing to pace casually for just another moment before they abruptly pointed their unbroken sword at Blake. A bolt of lightning shot forward, and it was only thanks to the girls' aura enhanced speed that they were able to jump out of the way.

Blake was the first to recover, returning fire at their assailant with her pistol, although they just batted away her shots like they were nothing. Violet was next, sending out Yuvi, who immediately closed the distance between her and her foe before starting a flurry of punches that put her opponent on the defensive.

They growled and sent out a burst of lightning that radiated around them, catching Yuvi in the shock. She was hurt, but not stopped. Blake came next, charging at her opponent, her weapon shifted to a cleaver that she swung at the mercenary. They parried her attack and were able to slash her stomach immediately after, although her aura ate the attack.

Violet shifted Suncutter into its chakram and rifle form, firing several rounds at her assailant while the chakram flew towards them. They were able to dodge most of the bullets, though a couple hit them in the side, causing them to grimace. As the chakram flew closer, they batted it away and raised their broken sword as electricity coated it. They stomped their foot and sent out a wave of electricity that caused Yuvi and Blake to retreat, both getting shocked as a result, though they weathered it.

The mercenary pointed their broken sword forward and sent out a wave of electricity. Blake and Yuvi were able to dodge just barely, with Blake using a shadow clone while Yuvi just leapt, but it connected with Violet before she could move, the electricity too fast to dodge without some forewarning. As Blake and Yuvi reengaged in melee combat with their foe, the mercenary spoke while dodging and blocking their attacks, "I hear Pyrrha's at Beacon! Ever talked to her? I bet she's just perfect."

Violet called back, "Pyrrha's our friend! Don't think we'll let you get to her, either!" She fired several more rounds from her rifle, most of them were blocked or dodged but again a few found their mark.

While Violet was reloading, the mercenary gave a short, mirthless laugh, "Hah! Friends, huh? See how long it lasts! See how long it is before she finds a new toy to play with." They found an opening to strike at Blake, though she was replaced with a shadow clone. They sent out another burst of electricity around them, catching both the real Blake and Yuvi with it, but luckily it didn't last long, and soon their foe was back on the defensive while the two kept their melee assault underway.

It became clear that the only way they were going to break through their foe's defense was a coordinated effort, and so Violet declared, "Charcoal Shadows!" and though Blake didn't know where that title came from, she understood what Violet was trying to say.

Thinking quickly, Blake created a fake opening by swinging her weapon wide, and when her foe moved to attack her with an electricity laced stab of their unbroken sword, they found it instead jammed into an earthen copy of Blake. The girl herself appeared at their side, tossing her ribbon and catching them by their feet, yanking forward and causing them to lose their footing. Yuvi then stepped forward and punched them in the stomach, strong enough to cause them to lose their breath as they got sent high into the air, still holding onto their swords as the earth clone disintegrated.

Violet shot several rounds at her foe, finally connecting each one with them as they were stuck in the air. Yuvi grabbed Blake by the waist and tossed her into the air effortlessly, Blake was soon on level with her foe, and was about to bring the cleaver down to hopefully finish the fight when her foe laced their booted feet with electricity and kicked outward, managing to connect with Blake's stomach and causing the wind to get knocked out of her.

They pushed off of her and ended up flying through the window of an abandoned building, shattering the glass and rolling to stand up, "Well, you guys aren't half bad. Hate to cut this short, but I remembered I left my stove on!" They waved their broken sword before running away.

Blake landed on the ground and Violet was about to pursue, but Blake held up a hand, "Violet, wait. They could just be leading us into a trap. We should go and tell Professor Ozpin about this, he can get the authorities involved."

Violet relaxed and nodded, "R-Right. Let's get out of here."

Both students turned and fled, heading for the Bullhead Port to get back to Beacon.

/-/

An Unknown Warehouse

The would-be captor sighed as they pushed through the door to the place. The warehouse was sparse, with only crates to use as chairs and an old sofa used as a bed. Within the building, there was only one other person.

She was a pale-skinned woman, seeming about college aged. She had long, curly, ginger hair that fell the middle of her back. She was sitting on a soda reading a book, but they knew her height was 6'4'', she was incredibly tall. Her face was dotted with freckles and her eyes were dull maroon. Her most eye-catching feature was the pair of wings on her back, with bright red and orange feathers that almost looked to be burning when the sun hit them just right. They were massive, reaching her knees in height, and folded they were still 4.5 feet, they imagined that they were longer when unfurled.

She had a curvy figure, filled out and very fit, a D-sized chest and a burnt orange crop top with long sleeves left her midriff exposed. She wore a pair of shorts that stopped at her mid-thigh, and a pair of black boots with red lacing forming a cross pattern that stopped below her knees.

They'd say they hadn't gawked, but they'd be lying. The woman was as beautiful as she was deadly and sharp-tongued.

When she noticed them, she looked over and stood up, her voice was disarmingly matronly for the words they spoke, "Couldn't get them, Kera?" She tutted, "Did you see your girlfriend? I hope you're not getting sentimental, this is a high-paying job."

The newly named Kera scoffed, "Fuck you, Allumette." They looked down at their broken sword, and for a brief moment they gained a sentimental look, but soon it was gone, "She's probably not even in Vale right now. Our quarry wasn't alone, and both girls were stronger than I thought, so I decided a tactical retreat would be the best course of action, that's all."

Allumette walked over to the smaller person, "I warned you, and so did Torchwick. We're here to get paid, and if we're going to do this, we're going to do it right, alright? Then we can hit the road and find the next job, simple as."

"Then what do you propose?" They asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Simple." They responded, "We're going to wait until we see an opening, then I'm going to attack them first. You'll wait for my signal and then join the fight, and together we'll be able to take them down, even if our quarry has a friend or two."

The door opened, and in-stepped Cinder Fall carrying a folder, "I have information for the two of you, Roman's network finally came through." She stopped near them, "Seems that your target, and my soon to be prisoner, has some baggage. Turns out she changed her name a few years ago, among some other things." She held out the folder to Allumette, "Read it over and figure out how to use this information, I'll leave the rest to you."

Allumette opened the folder, "Huh… Not much. No connections that aren't dead or years outdated, no family, no loved ones, not an allergy on record… All we've got is her old name."

Kera scoffed, "You think that'll give us an upper-hand? Really? We just need to beat her, that's it."

Allu chuckled, "Names have power, Kera, you know this. So, here's what we'll do…"

/-/

Beacon Academy

In the Headmaster's office, Violet and Blake had just finished relaying to Ozpin what had just happened, being attacked by a strange person who said they were trying to capture Violet.

Ozpin listened with an unreadable expression on his face, ever implacable. Once they were finished, he said, "I see. I will make sure to alert the authorities and provide the description you've given. In the meantime, Violet, you should exercise great caution when moving about the city, if you feel the need to go into Vale at all."

Blake hesitated for a moment before asking, "Professor, why is Violet being targeted like this? Why is she in danger?"

Professor Ozpin took hold of his mug of hot chocolate and sipped from it before answering, "Violet is very important, and she holds great potential. There are those who want her because of that potential, and they don't care what it takes to get it, even if it means harming her."

It was a vague answer, but it didn't seem like Ozpin was going to talk about it any further. Blake resolved that this wouldn't be the last time she asked about this, but for the moment she just nodded, and Ozpin said, "Now, Miss Belladonna, you should get some rest, and enjoy the rest of your afternoon. I have to speak with Violet some more."

Blake nodded and spared a worried glance at Violet before turning and walking to the elevator.

Ozpin waited until she was gone and the elevator had begun its descent before he asked, "Are you hurt, Violet?"

"No." Not externally anyway, truthfully this attack had been a bit of a slap in the face. A wake up call, "Is everything going to be okay?"

Ozpin nodded and spoke softly, "Of course, Violet. Qrow wasn't around today, but that was my mistake, I sent him on a brief scouting mission. He'll be back tonight, and I'll make sure he's always close at hand."

Violet turned away and looked down, "This Maiden stuff… it's really that dangerous… I… I know you've told me that before, but I didn't really believe it."

He frowned softly, though she couldn't see it, "I understand how you're feeling, Violet, it is dangerous, that's all the more reason for you to continue to improve, to get better. Don't let that fear consume you, and try to get some rest. I'll put in a call to a friend, and we'll make sure that these people won't be able to harm you."

Truthfully, it wasn't herself that she was worried about, because what was she worth, really? Other than being a Maiden, not much. He said not to let the fear consume her, but she was already feeling its grip on her heart grow stronger, "I'll… I'll try." She lied, "I'm gonna go get some rest."

Ozpin nodded, "Very well. Goodnight, Violet." He watched as she left, and only once she was in the elevator did he begin to dial a number on his scroll.

She was gone by the time he set his scroll down and turned around, a big screen projecting on the back windows, windows that were soon shuttered with metal shutters. James Ironwood was on the other side, dressed in his full military outfit while in his office. He smiled, "It's good to see you, Oz. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Good to see you too, James." Ozpin responded with a small smile, "I've already informed you of the new Fall Maiden, yes?"

Ironwood nodded, "Violet Merino, a shut-in who was given the powers by random chance. Last I heard, she was progressing well with her training. You've noted she's made remarkably fast progress with her combat training."

"Indeed I did." Ozpin's smile faded slightly, "However, it appears she might be in danger. I'm not sure how, it likely has to do with the occurrence at the docks, but it appears some of our enemies have discovered her identity. I've contacted you to ask for your assistance. You're going to be coming for the Vytal Festival soon, and it might do well to move that trip up. We don't need to make a scene of this, but…"

"I understand." Ironwood nodded, "I'll move the trip up, and I'll order Penny to spend more time with Violet as well as a precaution. It will take time for her to be able to do so without arousing suspicion, and we can't guarantee she'll be entirely prepared to face what's to come, but she's the best option in the short term."

Ozpin was pleasantly surprised. Ironwood was usually far more loud with his approach; he had only turned to him due to the feeling that maybe he could do just that, and ask Penny for help, along with bringing his entourage to bolster Beacon's defense should something go wrong. He nodded, "Very good. I have to say, James, I'm pleasantly-"

"I'll also be bringing more troops than I had initially planned. If the queen is moving her pawns, then we should be ready to meet her pieces with our own."

"James, I-"

"I have to go and make preparations. The next time we speak will be in person, hopefully. I'll see you then, Lucian."

The call ended and Ozpin sighed, wondering if maybe telling Ironwood was a mistake, another one under his belt of many. He muttered, "Oh, to be back in quieter times…" He turned his chair to his desk and looked at a picture on it, "Hopefully I'll see them soon, at least."

He wondered just how his son and daughter had grown in their time at Atlas and Shade…

/-/

Violet's Room, a few hours later

Violet had tried to go to sleep to get rid of her stress, but she found that didn't work. She played games to try and get rid of her stress, but she found that only helped a bit. Blowing off steam by killing ghouls in Radioactive 4 had helped, but after a while she just wasn't getting any enjoyment from it. Even playing Tarot 5: Royale didn't help!

Eventually, she just found herself staring at her screen, not even watching any videos, just staring at her games library.

After a while, she sighed and stood up. Ozpin told her to not let fear control her, but she'd felt it back there and she still felt it now, too. Being attacked like that had shaken her to the core, because this was different to the docks. That person wasn't there for Dust, they weren't there for anyone or anything else, they were there for her.

She headed to the window and, for once, pulled back the curtain. She saw that it was raining, a light drizzle, but it seemed to promise more in the coming hours. She sighed again and watched the rain for a while.

BZZT! BZZT! BZZT!

The sound of her phone vibrating made her start, and she walked over to her desk where it lay to see who was calling.

Again, she saw Jaune's face, smiling happily, and she saw his caller ID, 'My Future Knight UwU'.

Suddenly that title felt inappropriate. She sighed and looked out the window again, "Everyone told me Maiden stuff was dangerous, but I didn't believe it until today…" She closed her eyes as the phone stopped vibrating, "What am I supposed to do?" She thought of Jaune, "I don't want that for you."

Yuvi appeared at her side with her arms crossed, looking concerned and a bit upset. Violet shook her head, "I know what you're thinking, and no, this is more." She turned and walked over to her phone, "If he gets close to me like that… He'll be a target too." She took up her phone and stared at it.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and looked over to see Yuvi with her arms crossed. Then, Yuvi signed, "Don't you think you're being a bit too dramatic?"

Violet was a bit surprised; Yuvi didn't talk very often. She used to do it more often, when Grandpa was still around, but she'd been a lot quieter in the past few years. Still, Violet looked at her scroll and shook her head, "Dramatic? No, Yuvi, this is real, and it's… it's too much."

She felt a great sadness squeezing her heart, "And this is all because of my mistake. If I hadn't freaked out and used my powers that night, nobody would know I'm a Maiden, and I'd be fine, but now that they do?" She swiped and tapped until she got to Jaune's contact info, "I feel like one mistake grew and built itself into a tower."

She edited his name on her phone and muttered, "And it all comes crashing down." His name on her phone now was just 'Jaune', but she might as well have changed the title to 'Not My Knight', "Maybe you're better off with her…"

"I think she's better for you." She muttered while staring at Jaune's photo, "Pyrrha Nikos, undefeated champion, Pride of Argus, the Invincible Girl… that's the kind of girl you deserve." She fought down some tears, "She's clearly interested in you. She's the one in Domremy with you. She's the one who's your partner. What am I?"

She knew the answer to that, and as she saw her phone begin to vibrate again, Jaune trying to call her again, she sighed and let it ring as she tossed her scroll onto the bed, "Just some… shut-in NEET who spends her whole day playing video games. A freak whose best friend is a shard of herself, broken off, thinking and acting on her own. How many people have that?"

Yuvi had vanished, Violet noted, but she was glad for the isolation. She didn't deserve to have anyone try to comfort her, because what had she done to deserve that? She walked over to her curtains and pulled them back, opening the window and resting her arms on the windowsill, watching as the rain began to pick up, "If he gets close to me, he'll get hurt. Everyone will get hurt. I shouldn't let them… I should have kept myself hidden, and maybe… maybe that's for the better, now…"

It was strange. For the past several years, she'd been hiding in her apartment and only going out on rare occasions. Hiding, playing games, not talking to anyone, and it was fine, it was what she loved. Now that it suddenly felt like the best option, she felt like she was trapped in a cage.

"A cage…" She muttered before chuckling sadly, "Fitting, for an animal." That's what they had always called her, and maybe they were right. She looked down at herself, and her mind shifted back to Jaune, "I'm short, I'm fat, I'm probably not his type." She knew she wasn't fat, at most she was pudgy, kind of like some strongmen and women, but she didn't care for the truth in that moment, "People trying to capture me, people willing to kill to get to me, a life of solitude and secrecy…"

She closed her eyes and felt tears begin to fall down her face, and they mingled with what rain hit her face as she hung her head. This was for the best, and she realized then that maybe this was the only way that this was ever going to turn out.

A raccoon in her cage.

/-/

A Few Days Later, Evening

Violet hadn't talked to anyone in those intervening days. She hadn't answered any calls from Jaune, or from anyone. She stayed locked away in her room, not too dissimilar to what her first few weeks at Beacon were like.

She had 'spoken' to Yuvi, but Yuvi didn't talk much, and was talking to a shard of herself really talking to someone?

A broken girl with broken parts talking to a piece of herself, how pathetic.

It was a Friday night when she decided to leave for the first time, after dressing in her usual outfit and donning Suncutter. She was going to grab a new issue of a manga she had been reading, then come back, read it, and that was that. She left at night to hopefully avoid being spotted by anyone who might be looking for her.

However, she didn't account for there being a certain Huntress-in-Training taking a night walk around the courtyard.

As Violet made her way to the Bullhead Port, she heard Blake call to her, "Violet!" She turned to look at her, and Blake gave a small wave as she walked over, "I haven't seen you in a few days, are you okay?"

"Uhh… yeah." Violet smiled, though it was fairly fake, "I'm just heading into the city to grab a new manga issue that came out recently."

Blake hummed, clearly not buying Violet's lie about how she was feeling, "Well… mind if I come with you? I was going on a walk already, I might as well do it with company."

Violet gained a look of uncertainty, "I dunno… this won't take very long, and it'll be pretty boring…" She really didn't want to risk Blake getting involved should something go awry.

"It'll be fine, Violet. I'm used to sitting around while Weiss is trying to help 'tutor' us. Now that is boring." She gave a rare smirk, "So come on." She started for the Bullhead Port, and Violet suppressed a sigh, resigning herself to going with Blake and just hoping that nothing went awry.

The ride down to Vale was uneventful, as neither had much to talk about. However, while they were walking to the shop, Blake asked, "So, what's the manga about?"

"Oh." Violet hummed and bit her lip as she tried to think of how to best explain it, "It's called Our Heroic Institution, it's about a world where everyone has superpowers, far greater than our semblances, and the story focuses on this kid who didn't have one but got one after meeting this superhero with the ability to transfer his power."

"I've heard of that one, I think. Didn't it get an anime?"

"Yeah." She responded, "It's one of the few anime where I'll say the dub is better than the sub. That and Cowpoke Bebop."

"Huh." Blake responded, and she felt the urge to try and be a better friend to Violet, considering how much she'd been putting her through with all her questions and the docks. She hummed, "Maybe we could watch it together some day?"

Violet looked at her in surprise, "Huh?! I mean… if you want, sure. I already told Jaune and Ruby I'd watch it with them, so, maybe…" She trailed off, and suddenly remembered that she was supposed to be keeping her distance from those two.

Blake picked up on how she trailed off but didn't comment on it at that moment. Instead, she filed it away for later.

They kept walking for a time, turning a corner to get to the commercial district, but both were quick to note the sudden lack of people. It was a Friday night, the streets should have been bustling with people, yet this one seemed silent, and that immediately put them both on alert.

Violet swore under her breath, "Again? I shouldn't have left my room…" She reached onto her back and grabbed Suncutter.

Blake shook her head, "You can't hide in your room forever, Violet. We have to confront whoever is doing this, and we have to capture them."

Suddenly, Violet felt a presence behind her, and she whirled around while drawing Suncutter, swinging it just in time to catch a two-handed warhammer that was black across most of it, with a fire burning behind it and the hammer itself being a burnt red. The person holding it was a ginger-haired woman with wings. Violet snarled, "Another one?!"

The woman jumped back and laughed, "Yes, Violet, another one." She rested her hammer on her shoulder, "You had to have expected this."

Blake drew her weapon, shifted it into a pistol, and fired it at the woman, whose massive wings unfurled to five feet on either side, for a total of ten feet in wingspan. They beat and lifted her into the air, over the shots. Blake growled, "Back off! We made the other one retreat, and we'll bring you down too!"

"We'll see about that!" their foe responded as she flew back down, raising her hammer as the fire behind it burned brighter. As she reached the ground, she slammed it and sent forward a massive wave of fire. Blake avoided it with a shadow clone, while Yuvi shape-shifted into a wall that blocked the fire from hurting Violet.

Violet shifted Suncutter once again into its chakram and rifle forms. She commanded the chakram forward while shooting several rounds at the mercenary. Most of them went wide, while a burst of fire stopped the rest of them in their tracks. Blake shifted Gambol Shroud into a cleaver before charging forward, while Yuvi did the same.

The woman swung her hammer as they approached, its speed boosted by the rocket that seemed to be attached to its back. It went straight through Yuvi, causing her some damage, while as it connected with Blake, she was replaced with a shadow clone. Blake reappeared behind the woman and swung her cleaver horizontally, but she ducked under it, and suddenly a burst of fire caused both Blake and Yuvi to skid backwards.

The chakram flew forward and connected with the woman's shoulder, causing her to grimace. She swung at it, but it flew backward before she could hit it. Fire coated her entire hammer and she blew a breath of air, fire flowing forward from that as well, bathing Yuvi in it before she swung her hammer while turning around.

She managed to hit Blake this time, catching her in the side as the rocket-propelled hammer hit its mark. It sent her flying into a building, but as she made contact she was replaced with a clone before she reappeared in front of the woman and swung her cleaver at her repeatedly, forcing her on the defensive.

Yuvi approached her from behind and grabbed the woman by the hips, falling backward and suplexing her, though she rolled back and recovered from it quickly as she let out another burst of flame that bathed the area. By this point some storefronts were on fire, and Violet had to wonder how long it would take for emergency services to catch on to this.

The woman rolled her neck as it cracked a few times before calling out, "Lightning, strike twice!"

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning shot from an alleyway, catching Blake off guard and slamming into her, causing her to hit the wall for real this time. From the alleyway came the other mercenary that had attacked them just a few days ago.

The grip on Violet's rifle tightened as she said, "You again?! Didn't you have enough last time? Ready to lose again?"

They chuckled and walked casually over to their compatriot's side while saying, "That's not how this game's gonna end. Come morning, you'll be with our employer… Jane Liddell. Such a plain name, don't you think? Deceptively so."

Violet's eyes widened and it felt as if an anvil had been dropped on her head. That was a name she hadn't heard in years, a name she swore to never breathe again, and yet it was thrown in her face. It sent her reeling back to the bad times.

She had tried her hardest to fix her mistake, "Dad, I cleaned the dishes-"

But it wasn't enough, "You broke one didn't you, Jane?! I see the shards you left on the floor! That's it! Your mother and I have had enough of this."

Her mother agreed, "We can always have another one. This one's just a broken tool."

She fell to her knees as her eyes began to glisten with tears, while Blake looked on in horror as she recovered. Yuvi vanished, too, causing Blake to gain a hint of fear in her eyes as she readied herself for a fight.

Meanwhile, the woman used the distraction that had been created to turn towards Violet and burst forward, using her wings to increase her speed as she raised her weapon, prepared to bring it down.

She swung downward, Violet unable to even register the danger…

And yet the hit never came, as coming from seemingly nowhere and blocking the hit with his weapon was Qrow Branwen, holding his weapon to his back while blocking the hammer. The woman's eyes widened, and he looked down at Violet while saying, "Don't worry, Shortie, we've got this." She didn't seem to hear him, but he hoped that she had.

The woman jumped backward and Qrow turned around, twirling his sword as he held it in one hand. The woman smirked, "A full-fledged Huntsman? To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Qrow kept an even expression, "Look, kid, I don't know what you're being paid, but it ain't worth it. You're asking for trouble. Turn around and walk away, or this gets messy."

"Sorry, old man," the woman responded with a smirk, "It's just business. I've got to keep the wolves away just like anyone else, you understand, right?"

"Have it your way." Qrow burst forward and began swinging Harbinger, keeping his opponent on the back foot. Meanwhile, Blake turned her attention to their lightning foe and charged them, intent on doing the same with them.

The woman continuously blocked Qrow's attacks, until he eventually feinted and kicked her in the stomach, causing her to stagger backward before he slashed at her torso, causing her to yelp in pain. She slammed her hammer on the ground and caused fire to burst forward in waves. Qrow would have dodged, but Violet was right behind him, so he ate the waves of flame head on and then charged forward again, intent on directing his opponent away from Violet.

Blake's own attacks were a flurry, striking and then turning into a shadow clone only to reappear on another side, all while her foe blocked every attack and attempted to retaliate with their own. Often, they were met with an Earth Dust infused clone, but on occasion they would hit the real thing.

The two pairs continued their duels, with everyone taking and receiving hits. However, Blake had already taken several hits, and so the ones she received were weighing heavier on her. Eventually, her opponent got a good strike at her side with their unbroken sword and caused her aura to flicker as she grimaced. It hadn't shattered yet, but it was dangerously close. Blake thought to herself, 'Come on, Violet… We need you!'

Meanwhile, inside Violet's mind, a war raged.

/-/

The chains on the locked door shook, the one on the inside trying to break free. They were shouting for her to act, but Violet didn't hear them.

She sat on her knees with her head in her hands as she was assailed by dark memories, visages of those who had harmed her, who had brought her close to death. The ones she was supposed to be able to trust implicitly, her mother and father,

They taunted her, they threatened her, they beat her with whatever they could around the house at every minor slip up. She couldn't hide from them…

Then, the charcoal colored shade of Yuvi appeared and punched both of them, causing the shades to vanish. Yuvi then looked at Violet, and saw that she was catatonic, causing her to grimace.

This went against every rule she had given herself; what right did she have as just a shard of the real thing, born from trauma?

And yet…

She didn't seem to have a choice.

She walked to Violet's door and stepped inside.

/-/

Things weren't looking good. Qrow knew that soon he'd be fighting a two on one. He could handle one, but both of the kids he was fighting were far above the level of students.

Suddenly, a powerful burst of electricity from Blake's foe shocked the girl, causing her to scream in pain before she fell to the ground, her aura fading as her consciousness followed. Qrow grimaced as his own opponent jumped backward and prepared for round two, the other one walked to join her and said, "Are you ready to give up, Huntsman?"

Suddenly, all three noticed sparkles beginning to gather, slowly listing around like the cinders of the growing flames. Sparkles not of fire nor of ice, but of pure magic, multicolored and, in any other circumstance, beautiful.

Violet's eyes blinked, and the silver in her eyes was diluted with splotches of hazel. She spoke, but her voice had a different cadence and tone to it. It sounded rougher… and angrier, "Who… the fuck… do you two think you are?"

Qrow looked back with a mixture of concern and confusion, "Violet?"

"Close…" Yuvi lifted her head, and her eyes were ringed with charcoal fire as she glowered at her enemies, "But not quite."

She didn't let her opponents get adjusted to this new state, instead she burst forward, using wind magic to propel her. Her body layered with her aura, what was usually Yuvi's body formed what could be called an exoskeleton, and her first target was the one Qrow had been targeting.

The woman reacted as quickly as she could, trying to swing her weapon at Yuvi, only to find it caught in her hands. Yuvi grinned and then yanked forward with incredible strength, pulling her foe off balance and then delivering a roundhouse kick to her side. Her enhanced strength caused the mercenary to gasp in pain before she was sent rocketing towards a building. When she crashed into it she left a dent in her shape on the wall, and her aura flickered.

Yuvi turned her attention to the mercenary that had called the third one by name. She bolted towards them, creating in her hand a whip of water that she struck out with before they could react. It slashed them in the face, causing them to stagger backwards and shout in pain.

Soon, Yuvi was upon them as well, and they delivered a punch straight to their stomach, causing their eyes to widen as they could only cough in pain before they were sent several dozen feet into the air.

The woman, who had only barely recovered, gasped as she saw that. She grimaced as she beat her wings before she took off, putting her weapon on her back and grabbing her comrade out of the air before continuing to fly away.

Yuvi was ready to pursue, but then she staggered and fell to her knees, "Fuck…" Her exoskeleton dissipated as she was left with only a small reserve of aura.

Her time in the driver's seat was up, anyway. She could feel that Violet had recovered enough to return, s she ceded control and Violet's silver eyes became undiluted as she closed them.

Qrow walked over, "Kid… what the hell was that? I didn't know you could pull a stunt like that…"

"It's… not something I can do for very long." Violet responded tiredly, "It takes a huge amount of aura to maintain, and it's better to reserve it for when I really need it." The ring of fire around her eyes dissipated, "I haven't… found a way to use magic in its stead yet, but… that wasn't me using it anyways."

Qrow could hear sirens in the distance and muttered, "About damn time." He knelt down next to Violet and asked, "Then… who did?"

"Yuvi." She responded, looking over at Qrow's confused face and explaining, "When… I unlocked my semblance by almost dying, it… kind of… shattered me into two pieces. There's me… and there's Yuvi." She wasn't going to talk about the third one, she never did, "I usually just tell people she's my subconscious… it's easier that way, people don't… think that I'm a freak."

"You're not a freak, kid." Qrow responded, patting her on the back, "I've met some freaks in my life, and trust me, you're the furthest thing from them. Can you walk? I don't think the emo one is gonna wake up anytime soon."

Violet nodded and shakily stood up before going to grab her weapons, the chakram and rifle having fallen to the ground some time ago. As she looked around and saw the fire, her eyes ringed with charcoal fire of her own as she looked up and willed it to rain. The skies clouded, and soon a steady rain was falling. The fires around them would be quenched, by rain and fire fighters both, and the Maiden Fire quenched with that knowledge.

She shifted Suncutter back into its sword form and then sheathed it, "Let's… let's get out of here."

Qrow scooped up Blake and nodded. Together, they began to walk, and after a few moments Violet spoke tiredly, "I knew this would happen. I know I'm being hunted, I just…" She felt tears welling up as her voice quavered, "I just wanted to get my damn manga and go back to my room. I thought I might be attacked, and Blake… she insisted on coming with me, but I didn't want her to!"

She shook her head, "I promised myself I wouldn't let anyone get hurt on my account, but I broke that promise so quickly… Why am I like this?!" She sniffled as she rubbed under her eyes, "I've always been my own enemy, but… now I'm getting my friends hurt. This is why I just wanted to stay away from them, go back to hiding… that's the best thing to do to keep them safe, right?"

"Kid…" Qrow felt his normally stone heart breaking as he saw just how she was breaking, because he knew that pain, and it hurt him to see it felt by someone so much younger than him, "I know your pain, I do. My semblance…" He didn't like to talk about it, but he would for her sake, "My semblance brings bad luck." As if to punctuate his words, a piece of wood from a building that had its fire slowly dying fell forward, crashing into the ground behind them.

"When I found that out for the first time… I wanted to hide." He sighed as he looked like he wanted to take a drink, but couldn't due to Blake, "I ran off, away from my team and away from my friends. I thought that I was nothing but a danger, and because of that, I needed to isolate myself. I am a danger, but…"

He shook his head and took another swig before capping his flask and putting it in his coat, "That doesn't mean that I should hide, and that doesn't mean I should run. I keep my distance, sure, but I don't hide… I'm there when people need me. I was there to help raise Ruby and Yang when their mom, Summer, died. I was there to teach them at Signal, and… I'm here now to help you, Pipsqueak." He usually reserved that nickname for people he deemed close enough to him, but he felt Violet had earned it this night, "So… don't try to lock yourself away, and don't hide yourself from your friends. You'll regret it in the long run. Trust me, I did."

That gave Violet a lot to think about. She still wasn't sure what the best option was, but she took in his advice nonetheless, "I… I'll think about it. I'm… I'm still not sure. In a way, I'm my own source of bad luck… I didn't ask for these powers, but I got them anyway. I thought they were cool at first, and they are, but… they make it dangerous to be around me. Blake could have been hurt more than she is now, or worse… I'm sure the others could end up like her… I'm like a cursed black cat, or an albatross, or a broken mirror."

Qrow chuckled, "A bad luck charm. Yeah, I can relate. Maybe it's less literal in your case, but I get it. Still… you can fight it, you can rise above it. Get strong enough, and there will hardly be anyone on Remnant that can challenge you."

They boarded a Bullhead to Beacon and made their way there, getting off once they were. Qrow took Blake to the infirmary so she could get checked out, while Violet went up to her room.

Once she got there, she sat on her bed and stared out her window. The sky here was clear, not like the localized rain in Vale. She looked at the shattered moon and contemplated Qrow's words. She still was convinced that she wasn't worthy of Jaune, or of anyone, but he had given her a lot to think about.

Suddenly, the shattered moon began to get blotted out. She squinted at the shapes forming, before her eyes widened as she recognized them from the internet. Airships and a massive carrier ship were slowly making their way to Beacon Academy, and she didn't need to guess to know who they belonged to, and what it meant.

Atlas had arrived at Beacon Academy.