"Woah there, hold on just a second." Yang held her hands up as Pyrrha faced her. "Vermillion Rose? What are you getting at? Tell me you aren't implying what I think you're implying."

"Not necessarily, but the way Cinder said it caught me off guard. Her tone made it feel... how do I put this... 'Regal' in a sense. She treated it like something to be respected, although she made it clear she believed herself above him." Pyrrha did her best to explain the strange feeling lingering in the back of her mind.

"Rose, it's not exactly the most common of names. Now that I think of it I've never even heard of it until we first met with Ruby." Ren quipped as all eyes returned to the stilled girl.

Ruby herself wasn't exactly sure what to make of it. V apparently had the same last name as her, and while that wasn't the weirdest or even the most uncommon thing in the world the fact that none of them ever came across others with the same name did put the whole thing in question. The girl looked to her uncle, and despite his appearance of stoic attention she saw the way he flinched for just a second.

"Did you know about this uncle Qrow?" Her words were soft and the man looked away as a small hint of guilt crossed his features. He stayed quiet for a moment before looking back to them.

"Yes. After the first few nights I asked Oz about the kid. He told me his name, along with some of his abilities."

"And you didn't think to tell us about it?" Yang spoke up as Qrow shook his head.

"It was just his name, sure it was interesting he shared the same one as squirt, but there was nothing all that special about it. People often share last names. It wasn't any of your business either."

"But when was the last time you've encountered someone with the name 'Rose', both in person or other?" Pyrrha questioned as Qrow went silent again.

"Maybe we should calm down a bit." Ren suggested as she looked to Pyrrha. "Do you believe his name has something to do with Ruby? So far all it's been is coincidence."

The young woman went quiet for a moment as her fingers linked upon the table. They all felt it, that familiar feeling from back at Beacon: the same one Vermillion held during their initial meeting. Ruby was the first to understand it, and her eyes widened as she listened in on Pyrrha's words.

"I... I had a dream, one where I wasn't in my own body. During it I was too shocked to really understand what was going on, but now... with a clear head I'm able to tell who's body I had been in." Pyrrha let out a small giggle; the action sounding so out of place for her sunken tone. "After all, only one of us wear's an oversized cloak, even when it tends to get caught on shrubs and branches."

"Hold up, you dreamed of being Ruby?" Yang asked and Pyrrha nodded. "That sounds... kind of creepy."

"Come on Yang cut her some slack, she's been through a lot." Jaune said as Yang sighed and faced Pyrrha.

"I'm not throwing shade, I'm just saying it's a little weird you were dreaming of my sister is all."

"Well, it was an odd dream to begin with. While I may have been looking from Ruby's perspective it was actually Jaune who was the focus of it."

"And like that you lost me." Yang let out as she fell back in her chair.

"He was training alone in a clearing under the moonlight. It was almost relaxing, but he was listening and following along to my voice."

"It sounds like an out of body experience." Ren commented as Pyrrha nodded.

"It was, but I wasn't talking to him directly. He had a recording on his scroll, one of me running through the exercises."

"You weren't really there?" Ruby spoke as Pyrrha stilled.

"No... I wasn't."

"Pyrrha, what's wrong?" Jaune asked as he held her shoulder; a small bit of comfort she silently appreciated. Yet even that comfort couldn't erase the dread that ate at her as she recited the experience.

"When I heard my voice, near the end of the session, I felt an overwhelming sense of sadness. It... it hurt, so much. Like watching an old friend take their final breath right in front of you." Pyrrha visibly shivered and Jaune in a panic wrapped his arms around her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her. Her last words came out a whisper. "I was scared, more than I'd ever been in my entire life, because it felt like I'd never see any of you ever again."

"Easy there." Surprisingly it was Yang who spoke up as she reached over to take the distressed woman's hand. "You're fine now. It was just a dream, and only a dream. We're not going to disappear anytime soon, you have my word on that."

"I... I know that." Pyrrha relaxed slightly as she tried to calm her stuttering. "Thank you for the sentiment. I know it's silly to worry about these things, but all of it together paints a disturbing picture. I'd never had dreams this strange before, and near the end it felt like I could almost... look into Ruby's mind."

"You could... see into my mind?" The younger girl asked as Pyrrha nodded. It felt weird knowing somebody was dreaming about you already, but to have them view your thoughts; Ruby shook away the shivers and decided to focus. "Well what did you see then?"

"It wasn't that I saw anything per say, more like I could feel what you were experiencing at the moment, if that makes any sense." Pyrrha didn't quite know how to explain it, but then again she couldn't really find any sense in the previous recent events as of late so it was no surprise to her. "It was like... pain."

"Pain?" Yang piped up as Pyrrha struggled to recount. "Like a cut or bruise or something like that?

"No, no it wasn't anything physical, more so an emotional pain. She was... well, 'sad' wouldn't properly describe it. Every word my voice spoke sent a sort of... jolt down her spine, all the while she was already feeling terrible." Pyrrha lay her hands down on the table. "I'm sorry, I just... it's hard to really explain."

"Don't worry too much about it, I feel like we all understand just fine." Yang said as she stretched her arms above her head. "Besides, dreams have always been weird at points. I'm sure it was just the stress of everything going on that caused it."

"We're here for you either way." Jaune spoke as Pyrrha felt his fingers relax their grip slightly. "And we'll always be here."

Pyrrha felt a phantom pain shoot through her chest right where she'd been shot. For a brief moment she could have sworn she saw herself kneeling back at the tower, arrow pierced dead center just like before. Only this time a strange amber hue flowed over her. The vision cleared as soon as it came, and after taking a second to breath she noticed everyone had backed away.

She could feel why.

"Pyre... you um, you doing okay?" Nora asked as Pyrrha looked down at her hands. Charcoal flames licked across her skin, blazing from the cracks as smoke flowed around them. They burned dark, lapping up and drowning any and all light that drew near which made them appear more as a glob then anything. Pyrrha only knew they were flames due to the flow of the shape.

"I... I'm fine." Pyrrha focused on them once more, her attention seemingly locked to the textureless element trailing the rivers of blackened flesh. There was no pain, only a feint heat that did more to warm then burn.

"Can you, um, put out the fire a bit? It's getting kind of hot in here, you feel me?" Yang asked as Pyrrha flexed her fingers, watching as the fire bent around to shadow them momentarily. The woman steadied her breathing, letting go of all the stress and worries for but a moment as she allowed her mind to clear. That seemed to do the trick and the flames died out, leaving nothing but her tainted skin behind.

"Huh... so that's a thing now I guess." Nora said as her eyes lit up. "Think we can roast food over them like a campfire?"

Pyrrha felt herself giggle at the thought, all the while Ren shook his head and sighed. The fleeting moment of silliness reminded her of early Beacon, before everything started to fall apart, back with the classes and small bits of trouble they got in. Jaune still never got over the embarrassment of Ruby accidently cutting the belt on his pants during a spar; Pyrrha thought the tiny bunnies across his undergarments were cute though.

Her focus was stolen away as she leaned back and relaxed, lost within her own mind as she tried to wrap her head around everything.

Fire now... but why? Is it another gift from him? Pyrrha didn't know, and she supposed she'd never find out. Unless...

"Mr. Qrow, can I ask you a question?" She tried and turned to the man.

"Shoot."

"When you first encountered V, was he with anyone in particular?" She asked as Qrow looked to recall back on the moment for a second.

"Not really, it was just him and the kids fighting. Why?"

"It's just that... well, I was hoping we'd have something to go off of." Pyrrha looked to her hand and flexed her fingers, allowing a small bit of anger to well up inside as she thought back to the fight with Cinder. Black flames welled from the cracks, and through her will they gathered to the palms eating at the light in their path. "I don't know much about him or his abilities, but I was hoping there was someone who did. Maybe they'd know what he did to me."

Qrow watched with grit teeth. He wanted to swear, but he held it back with a look of false thought.

Damnit. What should I do now? He knew more about V then they did, but he also knew Oz would know the most out of everybody on Remnant. As he saw it there were realistically two choices, but with their patent for trouble in the end there was really only one. Oz won't like this, but they're just as much a part of this as the rest of us now.

"I... might know somebody." Their eyes fell on him as he gave a stern look. "But I don't exactly know where they are. I'll need time to find them."

"We can help." His youngest niece spoke with a sense of excitement. "If this is about V and Pyrrha then we need to be there to learn of it."

"You don't need to be there. The only one who needs to be present is your friend." Qrow motioned to Pyrrha as he let his face relax into a tired hold. "But you'd all tag along anyway no matter what I say."

"Yep." Yang chipped in as she stood and clapped her hands. "So, when are we leaving?"

"Easy there sport. We'll need to get a few things ready first. It's a pretty long trip all the way to Mistral."

"Mistral?" Pyrrha was the first to ask as Qrow nodded and stretched his arms.

"Yep. I've got a contact there who can help us, and I'm also buddies with the headmaster of Haven. We'll have a place to stay and recuperate until we get what we need." Qrow turned to leave, sending one last word before he did so. "We head out in a week so take some time to rest and prepare."

.

.

He was... warm.

That was the only thing he could think for a moment, then he remembered where he was and immediately everything was wrong. His vision blurred as he opened his eyes, and try as he might his arms were seemingly stuck. Pebble really should have been more worried, but at the moment the warmth was a welcome break from the freezing storm.

The storm!

He flew about in a fit, tangled in unknown binds as he struggled to break free.

"Not exactly the awakening I expected, but I suppose we all have some bad ones every now and then." Pebble shot his head towards the voice and was greeted with a small wave from the woman standing just a few steps from him. "Rise and shine, welcome back."

"H-huh?" Dazed and confused Pebble stopped all motion as he looked to the woman. Her features were soft, and her face youthful. Garbed in furs and heavy cloth she seemed to laugh at his expression as she lay her hands on her hips. "Surprised? Believe me so was I when we found you. It's not everyday you find a little tot tumbled over in the storm. So tell me: who are you, and just how did you end up out there anyway? You're certainly not native to here that's for sure."

Still trying to process everything that happened Pebble once again made to move, and yet he was still bound. With a quick glance he saw himself wrapped in heavy covers, and after a moment of struggle the boy managed to untangle himself and stand. His eyes were drawn back to the woman as she awaited an answer, and he noticed she was not as old as she made herself sound.

Taking a second to look around the boy saw that there were others, and he quickly realized that there wasn't a single adult in sight. Each of them appeared to be children, like him, with the oldest looking one being the woman who addressed him. They all carried some sort of weapons, although a few looked too big for them.

"Well? I haven't got all evening." The one Pebble assumed the leader spoke, and he shook himself for a second before he set his sight back to her.

"I-I, um, my name is Pebble, and I was out looking for something." He spoke as she raised a brow, and a slight scowl crossed her lips.

"Pebble huh? Well that was... less than I'd like to know. Alright that's fine. So tell me this: what is it you were looking for?"

"I..." Pebble didn't know how to respond to that. What more could he say? He didn't know her, and from the way she sounded he didn't know if he could trust her.

I'm alive though, and it doesn't feel like she did anything to me. Pebble felt oddly normal for waking up in a strange place surrounded by people he didn't know. Not exactly a habit he wanted, but he appreciated the fact that he was still alive. The boy reasoned that maybe he could trust her for a little bit, at least until he found a way to wake the others.

"I was looking for help."

"Help?" Her scowl eased slightly and Pebble took the moment to push on.

"Uhuh, I was sleeping on our ship when I woke up. Everybody else was asleep though, and I couldn't wake them up."

"So you left looking for help." The woman finished for him as she growled to herself and wore a stern look. "And no matter what you did they just wouldn't wake up. Let me guess: you're wondering why you aren't affected right?" Pebble nodded as the woman let her shoulders drop. One of two figures beside her leaned over and whispered something.

"What should we do? He's only small." They didn't know he was Faunus, and so silently he listened in on their words.

"What we always do. Go now and prepare a room for him. Until we deal with the issue he can stay and rest." The leader whispered back as the figure returned with a worried tone.

"But we're no closer to finding her... and if she finds us first-"

"Don't, I won't let her do anything to you or the rest of the children. Now go and take the others with you, I wish to speak with him alone." The figure nodded and backed away before walking to the door.

"Alright everyone, back to work." There were no complaints or questions; everyone did as ordered and left. Soon enough it was only the two of them alone.

"I take it you heard everything." She asked as he felt himself still.

"How di-"

"You're Faunus: enhanced hearing, sight, and a unique trait. Trust me I know all about your kind, and before you ask yes, I checked when we found you. Needed to make sure there were no wounds hidden anywhere." She explained as he tilted his head in confusion.

"Then why didn't you go out to talk with your friend?"

"Because I knew you would hear us." Pebble was even more confused then before. The woman saw this and sent a small smirk as she continued. "The moment you mentioned sleep I knew what had happened. Don't worry though, nobody else knows what you are, and I don't plan to tell them anytime soon; while they don't exactly hate your kind, they're also not very receptive to outsiders at the moment."

"Why?" The question slipped before Pebble could stop it, and the woman sighed as she relaxed.

"You said the ones with you were asleep right, and you couldn't wake them?" Pebble nodded as she continued. "Well it's happened for us too. You see a few weeks ago a group came from a faraway kingdom, 'Mobius' I believe, and claimed to be sent to aid in trade between us. However there was one woman among them with a more, shall we say 'regal' set of armor. She went by the name Venus Bristle, and claimed to be the commander of their particular group."

Pebble could have sworn he'd heard that name before, back when he was still on the streets before he met with Mrs. Blossom. For some reason she wanted him to stay out of sight and away from the woman, although he didn't know why.

"Soon after though everyone started to fall asleep, even my own mother refused to wake when I found her. I'd spent some time looking around before I came across Venus, who later taunted me with the knowledge that it was her who was responsible. She kept me and the other children prisoner for a while until I managed to escape and meet with this group here." She sighed and a worn air fell over her. "Look, we're in dire need of help here, and at this point I'll take anybody I can get. If we want any hope of waking anybody then we need to get rid of Venus." She held a guilty look. "I'm sorry to ask this, but I need to ask for your assistance. Several of us have already fell to the cold, and without help the rest may follow. I only know so much."

Pebble didn't know how to respond. On the one hand he had confirmation of what caused everyone to fall asleep, but on the other it was a dangerous sounding person and he didn't know what to do. Instead he asked a question, one he'd held since she mentioned prisoners.

"Why is it only adults who fall asleep, and why did she lock you up?" It seemed innocent enough to him, but the look of disgust and slight shivering she held for a moment made him rethink that position.

"She... let's just say she likes doing bad things with us and leave it at that." She looked like she was hurting as she slightly huddled in on herself. Pebble decided to change the subject and give her the only answer he had.

"If it'll save everybody then I'll help. But why me?" He told as she momentarily let go of the bad thoughts.

"You are Faunus, and as I said in possession of certain abilities humans do no have access to. Only humans with certain semblances or equipment can mimic your natural talents. Those enhanced skills are what I'm banking on, and..." She held a shameful look as she faced him directly. "I've already come up with a plan the moment we found you. But it is dangerous, and despite our dire situation I don't want to force you into this. So I have to ask." She paused, and her next words shot fear and confusion through his heart.

"Will you die for us?"

Author's note

...

Not gonna lie, this one was a little difficult and I'm sure there are some mistakes that my editing missed. At the moment I'm feeling kind of worn out, and was why I missed the Monday upload, so sorry about that.

Good news is we're picking things up again, and for better or worse Pebble is on the move... or was. We've also got the others active now, and Pyrrha has a new ability she's trying to understand; and so it begins anew.

Feel free to tell me what you think, every review is appreciated and helps with honing my writing skills... most of the time.

That's it for now, see you next chapter.