Sarah's apartment was in one word: small. It consisted of a living room with a couch, a table, a TV and a bookshelf, which was filled with multiple stacks of papers. A single, huge window allowed sunlight to come into the room, although right now the lamp had to work as a supplement. There was nothing else of noteworthy in the room.

The kitchen was even smaller than the living room. It had a small stove, a few cupboards, a table and a single chair. The sink was filled with used plates and silverware and it smelled of leftover food.

The bathroom consisted of only the bare necessities, as in really, the bare necessities. It was too small to hold a bath, had a mirror with a crack on the bottom left corner.

As for Sarah's bedroom, it was a mess. The wardrobe was in disarray, clothes were scattered all over the ground, the bed wasn't made and was cluttered with papers, pencils and candy papers.

"Sorry," Sarah blushed sheepishly "I wasn't exactly expecting guests…"

"Well, it's better than sleeping outside." the red wearing girl stated as a matter of factly. "No offense," she added quickly.

"None taken. Uh... make yourself comfortable...I guess. I need to put this stuff away, real quick." the apartment owner gestured at the luggage Blake had been carrying for her. Picking them up, the brown haired girl made her way to the kitchen, where she began to arrange everything she bought in the various cabinets.

In the meantime, the four houseguests made it themselves comfortable on the slightly too small couch. In order to compensate for the small space the red and black girl placed herself on Yang's lab, so the others could take a seat on the couch. Blake and the white girl gave the siblings a look, before shrugging it off as another one of their quirks.

"So, where do you suppose we're?" asked Yang. "Doesn't look like we're Vale anymore. And it's definitely not someplace I have ever been to."

"Me too." the girl in white clothing admitted. "I would like to look it up, but for some reason" the girl took out a device that from outside looked like a piece of plastic in form of a smartphone "I cannot get any service for some reason."

"Me neither," stated Blake. "I tried it earlier a couple of times, but nothing came out of it. Which is strange, considering that this is at least a small town. They must have some sort of communication to the kingdoms."

"Speaking of where we're, do any of you remember how we got here?" asked Yang. "I mean, we went to the Emerald Forest, beat up a bunch of Grimm, nothing out of the ordinary so far…"

The girl on her lab nodded and picked it up from there. "I think we got a call from Oobleck. What did he say again?"

"I'm not sure," Blake admitted. Their teacher had the tendency to talk fast. Really, REALLY fast. "But I think he wanted us to check on one of the communication arrays."

The white wearing girl put a hand under her chin. "If memory serves, he mentioned something about a malfunctioning and asked us to look if we can find the cause. So we made our way to the cave it was hidden...walked inside….I'm drawing a blank."

"Same here." the other three girls said simultaneously.

"This can't be a coincidence, can it?" asked the white girl rhetorically.

"Yeah, but what did bring us here? I mean it wasn't a bomb or anything, else we would have actually noticed being thrown across the country."

"A new weapon someone developed? But how does this coincide with the malfunctioning of the communication array?" Blake wondered more to herself than to the others.

"Maybe it was aliens?" the red girl suggested, leaning backward and allowing her sister to embrace her.

"Haha, I think you have read too many comics, Rubes." The sister replied.

"I wasn't serious, you know?"

"Well, this is a serious topic." the white girl said sternly.

"A serious topic, yes." Blake nodded to herself. "However, I don't think we have enough information to find out what exactly happened. I suggest we instead focus on where we are and how we can get back to Beacon."

The other girls nodded, seeing as their train of thought was getting them nowhere.

"Well, figuring out where we're shouldn't be too hard," said Yang, grabbing a remote for the TV. "Man, talk about old school. This thing doesn't even have hologram."

"From the looks of things, Sarah only has a limited amount of money. We shouldn't stay here for too long."

The rest silently agreed as the TV was finally turned on.

"Look at it!"

*STATIC*

"My name is Bond, James Bond."

*STATIC*

"That's a lot of fish."

*STATIC*

"Don't worry. I'll only hurt you a little bit."

*STATIC*

"This is SPARTA!"

*STATIC*

"And now the weather."

"There we go." Yang placed the remote next to herself.

"Tonight we're expecting overall clear skies, perfect for hobby stargazers. Only in the north, we expect the occasional cloud to pass by. The temperature drops to minus three, so drivers beware of slippery roads.

The following morning we expect the temperature to rise up to three degree Celsius in the western parts, 5 in the northern and eastern parts, yet down to minus one in the southern mountains. You can expect snow to be coming down at a height of 800 meters.

The following week-"

But that was when Yang turned off the sound on the TV.

"This doesn't look like any country I know off." Commented the blonde. "Weiss? Have you ever been here on a business trip or something?"

"No." The now dubbed Weiss spoke slowly. "I don't even recognize the shape of the land. And I have studied Geography thoroughly."

"This is strange. The country is huge enough to be it's own Kingdom. How come we have never heard of it before?" Blake asked, her face now sprouting a worried expression. "I'll guess we just need to ask Sarah, once she's finished."

Weiss scoffed at the suggestion. "We'll sound like idiots if we ask in what country we're in."

"It's not like we have much of a choice." The youngest said, shrugging. "Or we could ask for a map. Maybe tell her that we're on a road trip or something. I don't think she'll believe us if we tell her we teleported here or something."

"That might actually work," Weiss stated. "Speaking of trip, we still need to get back to Beacon. They're probably looking for us by now. It'd be better if we call them before they assume the worst."

"Good idea."

"Hey!" The little girl complained, as she was held up by her older sister, who then stood up and gently lowered her sister onto the couch.

"I'll ask if we can use her scroll," Yang said and moved towards the kitchen. Unfortunately, when she opened the door, she accidentally pushed Sarah against some cupboards. The girl groaned in pain when she felt the handles being pushed into her back.

"Oh, sorry." Yang apologized, quickly stepping into the room and closing the door behind her. "I didn't mean to do that."

"Is okay…" Sarah moaned, slowly rubbing the sore spot on her back. "Been through worse. Anything you need or want?"

"Yeah, see me and the girls we don't have any reception for some reason and-"

"Oh you too?" Sarah interrupted Yang. "Sorry to interrupt you, but uh… that's been going on since yesterday evening. Officially they say that there's something wrong with one of their poles and that somehow caused a chain reaction for all of their poles to shut down around these parts."

"Really?" Yang blinked. "Well, this sucks." She said crossing her arms.

"Mhm." Sarah nodded. "They also said it's gonna be fixed by tonight. Gotta remembers to restart my router for this one. Good thing I don't have internet TV or else I'd be bored out of my mind." Sarah let out a sheepish laugh.

"Well sucks. Thanks anyways." Yang nodded. "By the way, you need some help?" The blonde motioned at the last remaining groceries on the table.

"No, don't worry about it. I'll be done in a second."

"If you say so," Yang said and left the kitchen, allowing Sarah to finish her task.

~I can't believe I'm so calm.~ she thought to herself. ~Screw it. I can't believe I'm hosting four girls in my house! I don't even know all of their names. And all because of…~

She shuddered, remembering her encounter from earlier.

~No, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it, SHUT UP!

Good. Don't think about it, focus on the task at hand. Stash everything away, ask if the girls want anything to drink or eat and then prepare their...fuck the only thing they can sleep on are some blankets and my couch. Unless...yeah. I'll just offer them my bed. One night on the floor won't kill me.~

Satisfied with her conclusion, Sarah stepped outside and found all the girls occupying her couch. The TV was on with some kind of documentary running, though for some reason the TV was muted. One of the girls, the smallest one was sitting in Yang's lab. Sarah immediately came to the conclusion that either those two were childhood friends or were in a lesbian relationship.

"Um...do you want anything? Drinks, snacks?" Sarah offered to the girls.

"Do you have cookies?" Ruby asked innocently, to which Sarah could only sheepishly scratch her ponytail.

"Sorry, that's exactly the one sweet treat that I genuinely hate." she chuckled.

"WHAAAAT?!" The red girl exclaimed so loud, startling Sarah and everyone in the room. "HOW CAN YOU HATE THE MOST DELICIOUS TREAT IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE! YOU MONSTER!"

At this very moment, the brunette could swear that she just sweatdropped, anime style. The girl in front of her was either a joker or had a few screws loose. She hoped for the first.

"Right…" Sarah replied uneasily.

"Chillax, little sis." Yang stroked the back of the younger girl.

~Oops, forgot they're sisters. Awkward! Good thing I didn't say anything.~

"Ruby, seriously?" the white girl asked, before shaking her head. "Who am I kidding? Do you have coffee or tea mayhaps?"

"Tea yes. Coffee no. I don't drink it, so I usually don't buy it."

"Oh, it's no problem." The white girl waved off. "Oh, I believe I haven't introduced myself properly. I'm Weiss Schnee, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"...S-same. Weiß? Schnee?" Sarah mumbled to herself. ~Probably weird Americans with a German Background. Who names their kid White Snow?~

"Oh right. What kind of tea do you want? I got lemon, peaches, red fruit and… what was it? Ah, right. And green tea."

"I'll have green tea, thank you very much."

"If it isn't too much trouble, same for me," Blake told their host.

"You got chocolate milk?" Yang asked, still holding her sister, who was crying (fake?) tears.

"Yeah. Cold or warm?"

"Get us two cold, if it's not too much trouble. That should cheer her up." Yang gestured at her sister.

"All right. Give me a minute or two." Sarah nodded walking back to the kitchen.

~Do I even have enough cups?~ she wondered.

Around four minutes later two steaming cups filled with tea, two with chocolate milk and one glass filled with soda standing on the table. Sarah had placed herself on the ground next to said table so that she didn't disturb the view to the television.

"Um, I didn't catch your name, so…"

"Oh right. I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose. Yang and I are half-sisters, that's why we look so different."

"Ah." Sarah nodded understanding.

~Still, Ruby Rose? I can get Yang if she comes from the Eastern Parts, Blake I have actually heard before. But Ruby? I can imagine that being the name of the character she's cosplaying. I better go along, for now.~

"So...um, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing around here? I mean, in this town…"

"Oh, you know seeing the country, going on a little road trip." Yang lied pretty decently.

"Really?" Sarah asked, taking a sip from her soda. "Are you going to a convention along the way?"

"A convention?" Yang repeated.

"Yeah, I mean you look like you're cosplaying as a bunch of anime characters." The brunette pointed out.

To this statement, the four guests looked at each other with confused expressions, until they turned their attention back to Sarah.

"What's anime?" Ruby asked sounding genuinely confused.

To this Sarah could only blink for a couple of seconds.

~They're pulling my leg here!~

"Umm...seriously? I mean you...wait, is this like roleplaying? Like you're actually, genuinely trying to act like the characters you're dressing up as?"

…

"Dressing...up?" Weiss repeated slowly. "What exactly are you talking about?"

The apartment owner flinched, clearly hearing the venom in Weiss' voice. Thinking that she might have offended the girl in some way. Maybe they were proud of what they were doing, maybe this particular girl didn't like being thrown out of character. Or they simply had a bet going on with each other, namely about who broke character first. Whatever the reason, Sarah didn't want to get on anyone's bad side, especially since two of those girls saved her life.

"N-never mind." She stuttered, taking another sip from her soda. Weiss was about to press further, but Blake stopped her from doing so with a small gesture of her hand. Weiss threw the black and white wearing girl a questioning look, to which she only shook her head.

"So Sarah" The girl in question looked up from her glass and towards the blonde, who had spoken to her "got any hobbies?"

"Not really." The girl in question answered, glad for the change of topic. "I used to play chess for a while, but that's been years ago. I was once part of a volleyball team, but members came and went so fast, we never got anywhere. Else, the things I do in my free time can hardly be considered hobbies."

"Is that so. Well, lucky you, 'cause Rubes and I are passionate chess players ourselves."

"Excuse me, what?" asked a surprised and very skeptical Schnee. "You play chess? YOU of all people?!"

"What's the big deal, ice queen?" The blonde asked. "Did you think I just drive around on my motorcycle all day, beat up a bunch of mobsters and play the occasional video game?"

The looks Ruby, Weiss, and Blake gave her said more than a million words could ever hope to say.

"You too Rubes?"

"What can I say?" Ruby shrugged. "I am your sister, so I know better than anyone. But at the same time, I know the kind of impression you leave on people."

"Jeez, thanks," Yang said sarcastically, but smiled none-the-less, ruffling her sister's hair.

"Wait, Ruby, are you serious?" asked Weiss once again.

"How do you think she's so good at strategizing?" Yang asked rhetorically.

"That one board game you girls always force us to play with you at the library?" Blake asked in a deadpan manner.

"Yeah, I guess that too."

Sarah in the meantime felt a little bit left out of the conversation, but that was fine with her. And in all honesty, she didn't want to know whether Yang was joking about the part of beating up mobsters or not, because she sounded really genuine when she said that. What made it even weirder was that judging from the expression of the other three girls, it looked like they believed, no they KNEW this was true, which didn't sit well with the brunette. So, instead of indulging in the conversation, Sarah just sat back and waited for her guests to notice her existence once again.

"I still have a hard time believing you would actually enjoy a game of chess."

"Oh yeah? Well, then princess. How about we have a good old one on one and see what happens then."

"Oh, you're on," Weiss replied with fire burning in her eyes. "I'll show you the difference of minds between a princess and a peasant."

"Oh, it's oooon. It's so ooooon." Ruby sang excitedly, looking back and forth between her sister and her friend.

Weiss turned her head to Sarah. "I assume you have a chess board on hand, don't you?"

"Er…" the girl scratched her chin "I got a chess game installed on my laptop. Gimme a second."

Getting up to her feet, Sarah headed towards her bedroom, where she threw off the covers and unraveled her laptop, a book and a bunch of mangas. She picked up her laptop, flicked it open and turned the device on. After checking the status of her battery, she brought the thing with her and placed it carefully on the ground.

"Sorry, I only have that one table here. And I'd rather not get the floor full of stains."

"Not a problem," Weiss said to Sarah's surprise. From the initial impression she got from the girl, she had been sure the white haired one would complain. "If I have to step down in order to put the peasant to her place, then so be it."

"Ooooh, what's with you today, princess? I don't remember you being so assertive." Yang commented with a grin.

Weiss scoffed at the comment. "I simply refuse to believe that a brute like you has mastered the art of chess."

"Then you're in for a surprise. This "brute" here is going to show you what she's made off."

"Oh dear…" Blake mumbled to herself but smiled nonetheless. She was surprised herself that her friend was apparently or at least from the looks of things a passionate chess player. Yang certainly didn't look the part, but then again, most people thought of the blonde as a simple minded individual, which couldn't be further from the truth. As such, the black haired girl watched with interest, as their host went through a couple of folders (this laptop was really slow, nothing compared to modern scrolls) until she finally found a symbol of a knight piece. After double tapping the touchpad, the game opened and Sarah set up a new game.

"So, how do we decided who plays which color?" asked Weiss.

"I thought Weiss would take white, because, you know...white and all that," Ruby commented lamely.

"Anyone got a coin?" Yang asked the round.

"I do," Sarah announced, taking a coin out of her pocket. Without waiting, she flipped the thing up, caught it mid-air with her right hand and put it on her left palm.

"So, heads or tails?"