A.N: I should add that you might notice this chapter is a bit more serious than the others, and no doubt you should notice. Have no fear, the comedy will return in future chapters, I promise! Hey, even comedies need drama to keep the plot flowing.

Jaune wasn't surprised anymore, in fact he expected this to happen, everything that's happened today just got worse and worse. Ruby stood up, crossing her arms and waited for a response. Weiss was playing with her hair and splashing around her tail, humming to herself.

"I..." Jaune said, trying to figure out where he should start "Ruby...you see..."

"Hey," Weiss said "where's my seashell bra, Jaune? I sang to you! You should be hypnotized by now!"

"I was-" Jaune said still looking at Ruby "wait...what?" he stuttered.

"Fine," Weiss said "it seems I still need practice with this new gift, if it worked before, I might as well do it again" as she took a deep breath.

"Wait, Weiss!" Ruby yelled, running over to her.

"Oh, Ruby" Weiss said "like I said to you before, I won't hurt him, he's just going to do some...favors for us"

"No, it's not that!" Ruby said "it's just that...your humming was so beautiful!"

"Huh?" Jaune asked, a chill ran down his spine.

"You should keep humming, Weiss!" Ruby said "don't worry about Jaune, I'll make your seashell bra for you!"

"You will?" Weiss smiled.

"Of course!" Ruby said "you're my teammate Weiss, and your tail makes you even more beautiful! It would be better if a girl like myself made you a seashell bra instead of a boy"

"Hm," Weiss said "I supposed that makes sense, alright than! I can't wait to see it Ruby!"

"I'll get right too making it!" Ruby said "you just keep on humming and straitening your hair...it looks so beautiful!"

Weiss blushed and smiled at Ruby's comments "t-thank you" she said.

"C'mon, Jaune" Ruby said "lets give Weiss some space, she needs to practice singing if she's gonna impress everyone!" she grabbed Jaune by the arm and pulled him out of the restroom, closing the door behind them.

She sighed as she turned to Jaune in anger "I'm waiting for an answer..." she said.

"Just to be clear," Jaune said "you're not hypnotized are you? Back there you were just lying to Weiss? I can't ever be too sure if this is some trick"

"No, Jaune" Ruby said "I saw you skip out of our dorm room giggling to yourself and talking to those girls about making Weiss a seashell bra, I went into the restroom and found Weiss like that, she told me that you had something to do with this but than she got off subject and started rambling on about how she can't wait to go to the sea"

Jaune blushed in embarrassment at the thought of how he acted before "well," he said "I think it would be better to just show you...c'mon" as he escorted Ruby to team JNPR's dorm.

Jaune had forgotten one problem as he and Ruby entered the dorm, Nora and Ren were still there, "Back so soon?" Ren said to Jaune.

"Y-yeah," Jaune said trying to think of the closest excuse he could find "I'm just here to get some supplies for Weiss"

"Alright," Ren said "well while you're here, care to explain why Pyrrha is still in the restroom?"

"Oh that..." Jaune said "well, like I said before, Pyrrha is really shy about her hair, and ever since she suffered from that accident we did in the Dust experiment, her hair got so messed up even her highlights have disappeared"

"And I'm here to help out with her highlights," Ruby said "she asked me since Yang showed me how to bleach my hair, Yang and Blake are out and about so I'm the only one that's left"

Jaune looked at Ruby in surprise "she's quick to catch onto the lie..." he thought.

"Oh no!" Nora said "I hope Pyrrha can fix her beautiful hair! She's so pretty...I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to it!"

"Hey guys could you do me a favor?" Jaune said "could you go out to town and buy some hair dye for Pyrrha? I need to get back to Weiss for the experiment and Ruby needs to check and ready Pyrrha's hair"

"Are you sure?" Ren said "it might take us awhile, last time me and Nora went out it was pretty busy"

"I don't think we have a choice," Jaune said "Pyrrha's gonna freak if her hair isn't fixed by tomorrow"

"True," Ren said "and me and Nora have to return that iListen, it's headphones broke...stupid piece of crap, I had the feeling it was gonna be a waste. Do you have any money I can borrow?"

Jaune reached in his pocket and gave Ren all of the pocket money he had, he didn't care if he had to skip lunch, the better Ren and Nora were out of the way until this problem is fixed, the better.

"Right," Ren said "lets go, Nora"

"Coming~" Nora said as she jumped off the bed and dashed out of the door before Ren, she was singing to herself "Papa's Pancakes, home of the stackcakes".

Ren shook his head and sighed "well, see ya later Jaune, good luck on that project,"

Jaune smiled "thanks Ren, and thank you for doing this, it really means a lot"

"No problem," Ren replied "and, see you later Ruby"

Ruby smiled and waved "see ya!" as Ren walked out of the dorm.

"Alright," Jaune sighed "follow me"

He knocked on the bathroom door "hey Pyrrha, it's safe" he said.

"Why is Ruby with you?" he heard Pyrrha say through the door "did something bad happen?"

"I wanna help you guys out," Ruby said "don't worry, only me and Jaune know"

Pyrrha unlocked the door with her semblance as Jaune opened it, she was still lying in the tub moving her tail "I can't stand sitting here all day Jaune," she said "we have to find a way to fix this fast!"

"My god..." Ruby said in shock looking at Pyrrha "you've really done it...haven't you Jaune?"

"You guys don't have to remind me..." Jaune pouted.

"So start from the beginning," Ruby said "give me all of the details".

Jaune and Pyrrha explained all that has happened, Weiss giving them the wrong book, him and Pyrrha making the Dust, hiding Pyrrha in the tub and telling Weiss, Weiss tricking him so she could get the crystals and accidentally turn herself into a mermaid, it was a mess.

"I see..." Ruby nodded "well than, I can't say that this is all of your fault, it was an accident and Weiss did shove you out and trick you"

"I'm glad you understand," Jaune smiled.

"But," Ruby added "when Pyrrha turned into a mermaid you should have told me the truth back when you were getting the Dust Crystals Jaune, we could have prevented Weiss from tricking you, I would have been glad to help you guys out"

"I know," Jaune said "I've thought about it, it's just that I don't want to add any stress for you guys, that's why I'm not telling Nora and Ren. And it's not that I don't trust you guys, I just feel that the more people I tell the worse it's going to get"

"I understand that Jaune," Ruby said "but when one of my teammates gets involved, please always tell me...and if one of my friends gets involved please tell me"

"I'm sorry," Jaune said looking down sadly, he than spotted something on the ground "oh yeah!" he said, laying on the ground were the Dust crystals "I must of forgotten them when I was in a rush to help Weiss"

"Right," Ruby said "well first things first, we need a plan"

"Agreed," Jaune said, holding the crystals in his hand "I think we should hide these crystals first, the more exposed they are the more danger it could cause"

"Alright, I'll take those and lock them somewhere in my dorm" Ruby nodded "you said before Weiss mentioned there is a way to reverse the effects?"

"Yeah," Jaune said "but she said that there weren't any books in the library to help us out last time she checked and buying the crystals is out of our league since they're pretty expensive"

"And last time Weiss told you something you came back to find her as a mermaid," Ruby said "who's to say she isn't lying to you so you don't get the book?"

"True," Jaune said "so how should we do this?"

"How about this, I'll hide these crystals and help out Weiss and Pyrrha," Ruby said "you go to the library and try your hardest to find a book to reverse this, try to be fast because the longer Weiss and Pyrrha are mermaids the odds of someone finding out increase, we can't just lie forever Jaune, eventually we're going to run out of lies and excuses"

"Right," Jaune nodded, he was putting his full trust into Ruby, he could always count on her.

"Hey Ruby," Pyrrha spoke.

"Whats up, Pyrrha?" Ruby responded.

"Are you sure you want to keep on eye on me and Weiss? I don't want to pressure you," she said.

Ruby smiled "Pyrrha, you're both my friends and I can't just leave you both like this," she said "I want my friends and teammates back, I don't want you both to have scaly slimy and squishy tails"

"Ruby," Pyrrha smiled "this really means a lot, to the both of us"

"No problem," Ruby said "alright, Jaune head out the the library and find a book that can fix this!"

"Right I'll be back" he said as he jogged out of the restroom.

"And I'm going to put these crystals somewhere safe," Ruby said to Pyrrha "we don't want anyone else turning into merpeople, I need you to stay here and keep as quiet as you can, I'm going to lock the door to keep people out"

"How are you going to do that?" Pyrrha asked.

"I-I'll figure something out," Ruby stuttered, she had hoped to find a lie that could last awhile "I need a way to check on you and Weiss and this is all I can think of for now"

"Well, alright" Pyrrha said "just don't leave me waiting around too long"

Ruby nodded her head and said "I promise! I'll come back for you with another plan!" as she locked the door and walked out of the bathroom, closing the door, she sighed "I hope this works," she grabbed the nearest piece of paper from the desk and wrote "OUT OF ORDER" she taped it on the door and nodded "this will buy me some time" she thought to herself.

She walked to her dorm and brought the crystals from her pocket "right," she said "now where's the best place to hide-"

"Ruby, you're back!" she heard a voice from the restroom "Weiss!" she remembered.

"There goes my big mouth again, speaking what should be kept inside my brain" Ruby thought to herself in embarrassment "H-hi Weiss!" she stuttered "I'll be with you in a second!" she said, frantically trying to find a hiding spot for the crystals.

"Calm down, Ruby" she thought "all you gotta do is talk to Weiss and than quietly find a hiding spot, piece of cake! But for now..." she spotted the desk drawers and sighed "it'll have to do..." as she opened one of the drawers and shoved the crystals to the bottom.

She quickly opened the bathroom door and smiled "hi there my little mermaid! How are you?" she said.

"Little?" Weiss said "Ruby, you may be our leader but I'm still two years older than you! And I am certainly not a little mermaid! I'll be the queen of the sea soon...or maybe the goddess of the sea"

"Heh heh," Ruby tried laughing "oh Weiss, if you swam in the ocean it would most likely freeze"

"Was that a joke?" Weiss said "don't tell me you're picking up Yang's habits, if anything we don't need another pun princess"

Ruby couldn't help but to let out actual laughter at the thought she would develop Yang's puns.

"When are Yang and Blake coming home?" Weiss said "they have to see this! They're probably going to be shocked and scared at first, but they'll change their minds and admire it soon enough"

"It's a bit ironic isn't it Weiss?" Ruby said "just months ago you were bashing and criticizing the Faunus and now here you are with a fish's tail"

"Excuse me!" Weiss said "I may have changed my feelings on the Faunus but that does not make me one of them! I'll have you know Mermaids are not in the Faunus gene pool and are considered to be a myth!" she than grew a wide grin on her face "well...until now"

Ruby was already annoyed by Weiss's fantasy, she wondered if this is how she acted to her when they first met. She had to come clean with her, she didn't want a mermaid for a teammate, she wanted a friend.

"Hey Weiss, you don't actually plan on staying like this forever right?" Ruby asked "I mean, eventually you'll want to go back to school and become a Huntress and-"

"Change back?" Weiss said in shock "Ruby! This has been my childhood dream ever since I was little! You have no idea how much I've wanted to become a mermaid, my whole life I grew up alone...a mermaid doesn't have to be alone, a mermaid can sing to her hearts content and call upon men, a mermaid can communicate with fish, a mermaid can breath underwater...water covers over ninety percent of the world Ruby...I'll finally be happy"

"But Weiss," Ruby said "you will be alone! You'll be the only mermaid in the sea..."

"Not true," Weiss replied "I have Pyrrha, together we'll enchant the seas"

"Pyrrha doesn't even want to be a mermaid" Ruby said.

"I'll convince her," Weiss smiled "together we'll swim together as maidens of the ocean, you should look on the bright side of this Ruby, I can help out by defeating aquatic Grimm, I can call upon servants like Jaune, I can use this power for good Ruby"

"But than you'll be gone!" Ruby said, the thought of Weiss leaving brought her pain, tears appeared in her eyes as she tried her best to hold them back. "Are you saying you were never happy here?" she sobbed "you never enjoyed the adventures we've been through?"

"Oh, Ruby don't cry..." Weiss frowned, an idea flashed in her head "Ruby! Why don't you use the crystal? You should become a mermaid also!"

"What?" Ruby said in shock "are you crazy Weiss? Even if I became one where would I go? What would I do?"

"You...you could over here with me" Weiss said "and we could compare tails, we could sing and we could laugh and-"

"You've lost your mind..." Ruby said, this wasn't the Weiss that she knew. She couldn't hold back the tears, one by one they streamed down her face.

"Oh Ruby, don't think we'd be trapped in this tub forever!" Weiss said "we'll soon tell Blake and Yang to take us to the sea!"

Ruby shook her head "no..." she simply said "no Weiss, I don't want to be a mermaid, I want to be a huntress, I don't want you to be a mermaid, I want you to be my friend..."

"I-I am your friend Ruby," Weiss said "I've grown so attached to you these past months..." Weiss thought about her and Ruby's adventures, from the moment they were named partners when they met eye to eye in the forest to the day they destroyed a robot controlled by Torchwick. Weiss than remembered growing up alone, her family got her whatever she wanted but she felt nothing, she didn't feel love, ever since she heard tales of mermaids and their magic she dreamed of people finally loving her. But ever since she met Ruby, that loneliness slowly started to disappear, she was just rejecting Ruby's help and didn't realize at the time "Why can't I have both?" she thought to herself.

"Weiss," Ruby cried "please...I'm begging you, please let me and Jaune turn you back to normal..."

"I-I need time to think about this," Weiss said "I'll give you my decision soon...I promise" she looked at the sobbing Ruby and felt guilt. It had just occurred to her that she would put her friends in the way in favor of her fantasy, a big decision laid upon her shoulders. Does she choose her childhood dream? Or does she choose her friends?

"You look so tired, Ruby" Weiss said looking at the sobbing Ruby.

"Too be honest," Ruby said "I am...I haven't even done much...but all of this stress is bringing me down, I don't know how Jaune deals with this stress" she sat next to the tub on the floor and broke down. It's not that she was angry and Jaune, she wasn't at all in fact, this was all just another silly accident. She was angry and sad at the fact that Weiss could decide to either abandoned her or not, that was the final straw.

Weiss patted Ruby on the head and smiled "here..." she said "you need a quick rest..." as she took a breath and sang:

"Of all the darkness...and despair I've crossed, I've always found a red rose"

"Of all the light...and fire I've felt, I've always found a red rose"

Ruby smiled at Weiss's beautiful voice, her whole body felt heavy, as if it gave up on moving.

"Of all the wind...and gusts I've fought, that rose was still there"

"Of all the water...and streams I've swam, that rose was still there"

Ruby's eyes felt heavy, the tears stopped as she felt an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia, Weiss's singing reminded her so much of her mothers lullaby's.

"And all of the fields...and thorns I've crossed, the red rose still grew"

"Sleep with the thorns...and don't be afraid of the red rose"

Still wearing her clothes, Ruby immediately slumped in the bathtub on top of Weiss. She curled up onto Weiss's shoulders, not minding how wet she was, she felt Weiss's tail move on her legs. She smiled as she felt it, it was almost like a dream...all of this, she wrapped her arms under Weiss's shoulders, Weiss slowly put her fingers in her hair and brought them down.

Weiss continued humming the tune, stroking Ruby's hair and hoped that her sadness would disappear.

"Just...for a couple of minutes..." Ruby said "I'm...so sleepy" as her eyes slowly closed, and drifted off to sleep.

"It's all just a dream," Ruby thought in her sleep "I'll wake up on my bed...Weiss and Blake will be arguing and Yang will prepare my coffee...Jaune and the rest will be waiting for us for breakfast"

Her vision blurred as her eyes slowly opened, Ruby let out a yawn as she adjusted her eyes. She noticed her combat skirt was completely wet, and she was laying on someone's chest. She looked up and saw the sleeping mermaid Weiss, "oh no..." Ruby thought "what did I do?"

She slowly lifted herself up from the tub, trying not to wake Weiss, if she woke up it could mean more time wasted. "How long has it been?" she thought, fear of the unknown took over Ruby as she tried resisting panic. "Okay Ruby, just stay calm" she thought "maybe it's only been a couple of minutes..." she thought about her promise to Pyrrha that she would be back, if she's been out for that long than the lie may have been found out.

"I just need to leave the room," Ruby thought "and than hide the crystals and check on Pyrrha, piece of cake..." she prayed that it had only been 5 or 10 minutes. Ruby grabbed the doorknob, before she could turn it, her fears got worse.

"Ruby, Weiss!" she heard the voice of her sister Yang through the door "we're back!"