Welcome to the next chapter of RWBY: Team DUSK, before starting the story. Let's answer some reviews:
Altajir95: Thanks. Yep, both teams managed to work together to defeat the Cockatrice, with their Power Duo managing to deal the final blow. As always.
Sandra's Resolution
It has been three days since the camping trip, which Professor Port hosted for his students in an attempt to give them all a new experience. It did work out in the end, but it was ruined a bit from the fact that a Cockatrice, that'd been resting in one of the ruins woke up and attacked the campers. But, due to the amazing teamwork from all of the students involved and backup, the situation was resolved without almost any injuries.
However, it wasn't without complicated endings as both Daniel and Sandra had been unconscious the entire time afterward. At Beacon's School Infirmary, both students were still resting in their respective beds showing signs of having a peaceful sleep. Their school nurse was sitting at her desk while overlooking the documents in her hands and hummed a tune to herself.
It wasn't a random or single-minded one, instead, it sounded melodious enough to where it could be pleasant to a lot of her sleeping students. Soon enough, there was a knock on the door, causing her to turn her attention over towards the door.
"Hmm, I wonder who it is this time," she curiously asked, standing up from her chair and walking over towards the direction of the door. "Well, based on the schedule their group appeared to have come up with. I could guess it'd be…."
The school nurse opened the door, revealing two students in front of her.
"Hey, Nurse Lang."
It was revealed to be Alyssa and Blake, who was standing side-by-side.
"Hello, Miss King, Miss Belladonna. I could see that it's your turn to remain by the bedsides of Mister Norden and Miss Skye."
Nurse Lang stated, letting the two young women walk inside of the school infirmary.
Both of them looked forward to finding their friend and/or partner still sleeping in the beds much more peacefully in comparison to their first time there.
"How're they doing, Nurse Lang?"
"Well, Miss Belladonna. As you're aware, there wasn't much physical damage done to them, the damage was primarily done to their mind. I can assist in handling physical wounds, but mental ones take much longer to heal and recover from. But, these two must have some strong minds since their conditions have improved more when the two were brought here."
"That's good. I mean, we can't help being worried about them since those two are…."
"Your teammates and friends, Miss King? I can tell you that they'll be fine after some rest after that ordeal, and I'd believe they'd be happy to hear their friends caring about them this much," Nurse Lang replied, smiling at them in a gentle almost motherly manner. "I kept saying the same thing to Miss Rose and Schnee, those two appeared to be the most affected about what happened."
""Not surprising.""
Alyssa and Blake thought, knowing the reason those two had when Daniel passed out and they were the ones to catch him. Throughout the entire trip back to Beacon, neither almost left him the entire time until he'd been taken to the infirmary with Sandra. If it wasn't for the fact that their group decided on taking turns going inside the infirmary, then Ruby and Weiss would've started remaining there all the time.
Of course, the same thing could be said about Hunter, who had been the utmost worried about his partner,
"Well, I'll need to go out for a moment and handle some business for a second. If something happens, then call me using the Scroll and I'll return as fast as possible," Nurse Lang replied. Even as a Nurse, she was also trained as a Huntress and could return as fast as either of them. "Also, please inform me if our two residents wake up."
Having stated that, Nurse Lang left the infirmary, leaving the two young women inside there with their teammates and/or friends. It wasn't long until the two took their seats beside them, Alyssa taking her seat right beside her partner. This left Blake to take the seat beside Daniel, holding the book he'd lent to her still in her hands.
"Blake, are you still reading that book? I thought that someone who frequently reads books would find themselves able to finish most at a much quicker pace."
Alyssa asked, turning her attention over towards Blake as she held it in her hands.
"While that is true, I find that taking your time and enjoying whatever book that you're reading is much better than rushing through it," Blake had replied as she opened the book in her hands. "And this autobiography that Daniel's grandfather wrote is one of its kind, and more interesting than others that boast. In this one, it's almost as if you are reading about his grandfather's experiences."
"Wouldn't it have been funnier if you'd ask Daniel about it?"
Alyssa asked, having checked on Sandra's condition before doing so.
"Yang said the same thing before," Blake replied, almost laughing out loud after the similarities between them. "It might've been easier to talk to Daniel about it. But, wouldn't it be better if I finished reading it first and asked him about what he thought when he was reading it."
"So, what I'm hearing is that you're planning a little private discussion session with Daniel."
"Not in the way that you're thinking about. I just wanted to know what Daniel thinks about the kind of life that his grandfather lived and what it led to in his life."
Blake replied, as casual and nonchalant as possible.
She was well aware that Yang and Alyssa would tease people about things of this nature in speaking with a boy her age alone. Blake did think of Daniel as a good and reliable person, but not in the manner that the two blonde young women teasingly thought.
There was some silence in the room, aside from the silent sounds coming from the two sleeping occupants, and also the sounds of Blake turning the pages.
"It came out of nowhere, you know?"
Alyssa commented out loud.
"What do you mean?"
Blake curiously asked.
"I keep thinking about that time when the Cockatrice tried attacking you and me, then Sandra ended up taking it for us," Alyssa replied, causing Blake to think back about that incident as she closed the book in her hands. "I just can't help thinking about it all the time. I mean, Sandra ended up taking that hit for us and possibly went through hell re-experiencing all the painful moments in her life."
"Yea, I thought a lot about it too afterward. I know that Sandra doesn't like showing it much, but I could tell that she liked spending time at Beacon. I don't know about her past, and I can relate to Sandra to some degree when it comes to things like this. But, seeing her doing that was a surprise that I never expected."
Blake replied, still thinking about the moment where Sandra stood in front of them and stood before an unknown attack that could've killed her instead.
"Sandra has been giving us quite the surprises during that trip," Alyssa said as she looked down. "She started to talk more openly with us. She started making jokes. And she even started laughing so naturally that I thought that it was a dream. I almost still can't believe that I heard Sandra laughing out in the open like that."
"Yea, a lot of us heard Sandra laughing and almost didn't believe it."
"Same here. It felt as if I was meeting the real Sandra for the first time. No matter how much she wanted to look if she didn't care about anyone else. I could tell that she did care for others."
"You mean like during that initiation when Ruby got trapped by that Death Stalker, and Sandra joined in to help?"
"Yea, I knew that Sandra went through something rough in her life. And that despite wanting to appear cold and emotionless, she has a good heart. It also made me want to learn more about the things that she went through in life. And I want to keep the promise I made and share something about myself too. Well, not that it's anything like what happened to Daniel, Hunter, and Sandra."
"That's great to hear," Blake replied, showing a genuine smile at Alyssa's view on the situation. "I think that it's good for teammates to share things like that."
"What about you, Blake? You could do the same thing, you know. I mean unless it's complicated."
"It is a bit complicated. And not something that I could…."
"Not that I don't appreciate the moment here. But, it's kinda rude to talk about an unconscious person when they are right here" Alyssa and Blake were stopped, having heard groaning from right beside them, then turned right towards the source. Both looked on to find that Sandra was leaning up from off of the bed, placing a hand on her head. "Ngh, I still have a headache from that damned Grimm."
"Sandra?!"
Alyssa replied, wrapping her arms around her partner who looked a mixture of flustered and dazed. But, the hug Sandra was receiving from Alyssa oddly made it a bit better.
"Geez, what did I say about that headache?"
Sandra replied.
Despite that leaving her mouth, Sandra smiled a little bit, fighting the desire to hug Alyssa back, not wanting to be at the receiving end of a teasing session. Seeing that her friend had woken up, Blake too smiled a bit as she sat back in her seat. Some time passed, with Alyssa soon unwrapping her arms from around her partner.
"How're you feeling?"
"Still have a bit of a headache, but I just need a bit of time to relax," Sandra replied, rubbing her eyes a bit, while a sound could be heard from her stomach. "And something to eat at some point. How long have I been out?"
"You and Daniel have been out for three days."
"Ah, that's a lot of time. Ugh, I hate to think about the work that we might have to end up making up," Sandra said as she turned her head towards her sleeping team leader. "So, he's still out of it?"
"Yea, it looks that way. I think that it's weird, though."
Blake thought out loud as she turned her attention to Daniel.
"What?"
Alyssa asked.
"Daniel wasn't put under the same amount of time as Sandra, but he's been out the same amount of time as her. And he looked almost as exhausted when he woke up."
Blake replied, thinking about the first time that Daniel woke up during that mission.
"Well, it depends on what he saw. But, based on that, are you sure he didn't wake up before me?"
Sandra asked, turning her attention to Blake, who thought about it for a moment.
"I don't think so. I know that Nurse Lang had been here for…."
"Ngh, is it morning?"
At that moment, Blake turned back around to find Daniel leaning up and slouching in the bed while groaning and rubbing his eyes.
"Daniel?"
"Ngh. Hey, Blake."
Daniel replied as normal as possible, but he still felt a bit tired after recovering from the mental strain.
"Geez, Daniel. Sometimes, you can be too casual about things. You know that everyone was worried about you too?"
Blake almost didn't consider her next actions as she gave Daniel a light hug, surprising him. Even if it didn't last all that long, it wasn't something that he'd expect from her.
"Well, that was a surprise hug, Blake."
"Shut up. Or else, it'll be the last one you'll ever receive from me."
Blake replied, smiling a bit about that response from him.
"It's good to see that our fearless leader hasn't lost his sense of humor."
Once things on their end were settled, Alyssa leaned back in her seat and sent a gentle smile in Daniel's direction, who returned the same gesture.
"Well, my sense of humor is one of my strong points."
"That's debatable, considering that sometimes your jokes fall flat."
Sandra casually commented, not sounding mean or rude, but more playful.
"Well, your comments are sounding less and less harsh as time pass, Sandra," Daniel replied, not sounding hurt about that comment at all before starting to feel hunger. "I could go for something to eat that isn't hospital food."
"I'm sure that our friends won't disagree with getting something to eat," Alyssa replied as she started pulling out her Scroll. "I'll handle calling our friends."
"And I'll contact Nurse Lang."
Blake stood up too, pulling out her Scroll as she started heading in the direction of the door alongside Alyssa who did the same thing. Seeing this, left the awake Daniel and Sandra in the infirmary alone, the former leaned back in his bed.
"So, that was an experience. I didn't think that there'd be a Grimm who could do that," Daniel replied, crossing his arms behind him. "I guess it means that there's still a lot in this world no one has discovered yet."
"I guess so."
Sandra replied as if nothing else that she could say about the matter.
There was silence again as Daniel lay down without mentioning anything else, instead of waiting for Sandra to feel more comfortable continuing the conversation. It wasn't all that long until she started speaking again.
"I'm sorry."
"Huh, what for?"
"For what happened with that Cockatrice," Sandra replied as she continued speaking about it. "If I hadn't gotten involved in the fight, then you wouldn't have ended being hit by its tail and placed under its attack like me. I did a lot and said a lot the first time that we met. So, I'm also apologizing for that. I even ended up being the one who'd done the same thing that I said in the locker room."
"Huh, oh."
Daniel was confused for a moment but remembered the words that Sandra said to him the first time the two met.
'If you ended bumping into someone during a fight, then that person ends up shooting someone would an apologize be enough to make up for that?'
In the fight, Sandra ended up being the one protected by Daniel and struck by the Cockatrice.
"Well, there's no reason for you to apologize for that. I would've jumped straight into a fight as long as I could still move too."
"But…."
"Besides, I'm the team leader of Team DUSK," Daniel said raising his right hand, then pointing his thumb right at himself before pointing it straight at Sandra. "Of course, I would take the hit for my teammates without even a second thought about it. So, there's nothing that you have to apologize about, Sandra."
Daniel's response and the gentle tone that he was speaking to her in caused some relief to manifest inside of her chest. If it had been her mother, then Sandra would've received a strict reprimand before getting the typical silent treatment afterward. Hearing that from Daniel of all people, who she had said nothing but negative things to the first time the two met, caused her to smile and tear up a bit.
"Thanks for that, Daniel," Sandra said looking downwards towards her bed, then started rubbing her eyes wiping the tears away. "There's one more thing that I wanted to say."
"Hmm?"
"I accepted you as the team leader. It was a long time ago, but I never had the chance to…no it was too embarrassing for me to come out and say it."
"Well, Sandra your personality took a complete one-eighty. It seems almost like yesterday that you threatened to stab me with a fork."
"Just take the apology and leave it at that! It took a lot for me to admit that despite it being embarrassing to do!"
Sandra demanded as she send a more emotional glare at him, rather than a genuine hostile one.
"Geez, I'm just teasing. I didn't think I'd get that reaction from you, and it kinda makes me feel bad now," Daniel replied, scratching the right side of his cheek. "But, it's completely natural not to have complete trust in someone that you met the first time. More so, if you went through something. I'd be surprised if you did have no trouble with me being the team leader. So…."
"So?"
Sandra asked, then noticed Daniel getting out of the bed, and approached her bed at a slow pace.
"Let's continue working together as Team DUSK. That's fine with you, right, Sandra?"
Sandra looked forward, then gave a genuine smile as she noticed that Daniel was holding out his hand in front of her wanting a friendly handshake. She was surprised that he even got out of bed, considering that it had been at least three full days since the two of them were unconscious and thus motionless.
She had to admit that the first time she met Daniel, she was a bit hostile and jealous since compared to her, he'd lived a luxurious life in Atlas. But, in meeting and getting to know him better, Sandra realized that it wasn't all that made Daniel the person he was. He was the kind of person she could trust, and it wasn't just Daniel alone. It was Alyssa and Hunter, who tolerated her previous attitude too.
"Right."
Sandra replied, extending out her hand towards him and shaking hands.
Once Daniel stepped from Sandra to return to his bed, the two started hearing fast footsteps heading towards the infirmary the two were standing.
[Oh my! I hope that the two of you won't….]
Daniel and Sandra heard Nurse Lang speaking to someone, but were silenced at the door opening and revealing two women. But, both the room's occupants were recognized as the partners from Team RWBY, Ruby, and Weiss. Both of them looked out of breath as if the two overexerted themselves running here.
"Hey, Ruby, Weiss. What's the…?"
Daniel tried asking but was stopped by a surprising sight.
[Daniel!]
At that moment, Daniel was surprised to find Ruby and Weiss jumping straight at him, causing a more worried look to appear on his face.
"…ah, I don't think…."
Before Daniel could get a single word out, he was tackled to the ground as the black-haired and the white-haired young women pounced on him. He was left feeling groggier than when he woke up, having been tackled towards the ground by two well-trained women.
"You had me worried!"
"Yes! Same here!"
"Do you like doing this to me?!"
"You're going to owe me big time for this!"
"Me too!"
"What do you have to say for yourself, mister?!"
Daniel was receiving a tongue lashing from a mixture of Weiss and Ruby, almost unable to comprehend what was going on right in front of him. Despite that, the two young women looked a mixture of relieved and mad somehow at the same thing.
"…I don't…."
[That's not good enough!]
Ruby and Weiss said at the same time while continuing the tongue lashing and shaking him.
"Never thought I'd see that."
Sandra replied, staring at the scene playing out in front of her.
Meanwhile, standing in the doorway watching the entire thing was Alyssa and Hunter with Blake and Yang. Both the newcomers were glad to see that both of them were fine while laughing at the scene a bit.
It lasted a couple of minutes before Nurse Lang stopped the entire thing so that she could check up on both their conditions. Now, Daniel and Sandra were sitting side-by-side, while the nurse placed her hand on their foreheads as a hum could be heard escaping from her mouth. All the students in question realized that it was Nurse Lang's semblance, something in her simplest description scans the conditions of the things she touches.
"Hmm, well, both Mister Norden and Miss Skye are in perfect condition."
Nurse Lang replied, removing her hand from their foreheads.
"Are you sure?"
Ruby worriedly asked, recalling the conditions the two were in before.
"Yes, their physical conditions are perfect, aside from needing a decent enough meal, which will be easy enough to the sole. In comparison to the first time the two arrived here, their mental conditions have returned to normal. So, I would say these two are in, complete perfect condition," Nurse Lang said before speaking her next couple words in a teasing tone. "But, I don't think that both Miss Rose's and Miss Schnee's actions would've assisted in Mister Norden's recovery."
""Ugh.""
Ruby and Weiss groaned at the mention of that while glancing to the side. Seeing this caused Yang and Blake let a light laugh escape from their mouth.
"I'm just teasing. Well, both of you can leave here with your teammates and friends. But, please come by again if something else happens."
Nurse Lang said smiling at the two of them.
"That's great guys," Yang called out smiling at her two friends, then thought of an idea. "So, since both of you are hungry, why don't we all go out and eat?"
"That sounds like a good idea."
Alyssa added interest in the thought.
"Hmm, that could work," Weiss said, thinking about the idea. "It might be short notice, but I would bind a place we could make a reservation at."
"Yea," Yang started as she wrapped her arm around the Schnee's shoulder, before continuing. "All of us aren't going to some fancy-schmancy restaurant. We're all going to the same place that I took Dani to."
"Yea! I've always wanted to go there!"
Ruby called out, already looking forward to it.
"Huh? I'm going to someplace that serves those greasy meals!"
Weiss replied, not looking forward to anything a place these two sisters who'd often eat hamburgers, fried, and/or cookies during lunch.
"Come on, Ice Queen. Didn't you come here to have some new experiences?"
"Not at the expense of my health! And don't call me, Ice Queen!"
"Whatever, alright, let's start heading out guys!"
Yang announced, acting as the leader in this little expedition out inside Vale while leading Weiss, who still didn't want to head out into that restaurant. Noticing this, Ruby and Blake followed them, both looking forward to having an outing.
"Well, let's head out and eat guys."
Daniel said, beginning to walk as Hunter nodded his head and started following his partner/team leader.
"Can't leave them hanging, can we?"
Alyssa asked, turning her attention to Sandra who gave a faint smile and nodded her head.
"Yea, sure."
Sandra replied, starting to follow Daniel, Hunter, and Alyssa towards the entrance leading outside of the room.
But, the group was stopped as all the members of Team RWBY left the room, as someone else entered the room and stood before them. Standing in front of them was Glynda, who looked at Daniel and Sandra wearing a more gentle expression on her face.
"Well, I'm glad to see that Daniel and Sandra are in good condition if Nurse Lang allowed you to leave."
Glynda started, smiling at her two students who'd suffered a serious mental blow.
"Thanks for that Professor Goodwitch."
"Yea and I apologize for any trouble I caused."
Daniel and Sandra replied, the latter scratching the back of her head.
Glynda was surprised about the sudden shift in Sandra's personality but smiled at the generous tone that she'd heard from the young women.
"Well, I can see that your group is planning on heading out somewhere," Glynda started, noticing that all four members from Team RWBY stopped walking to see what was going on. "But, if you don't mind. Could Daniel and Sandra follow me to meet Professor Ozpin and the other teachers for a moment?"
"Uh, sure," Daniel and Sandra were confused about that, something that the others were curious about too, but he turned his attention towards the Team RWBY, Hunter, and Alyssa. "We'll text you all once we're done, then we'll all head out to Vale when we're done."
"Okay, but don't take too long."
Yang called out, while she and the others started heading out towards their dorm rooms.
"Alright. We'll meet you two back at the dorm room."
'Okay, we'll see you there.'
Alyssa and Hunter agreed too, then started heading towards their dorm room to wait for them to return.
Seeing that their friends left, Daniel and Sandra started following behind Glynda, who started leading them both in the direction of Professor Ozpin and those who wanted to talk to them.
After some walking, Glynda led both she recently recovered students inside the Beacon Tower, ignoring all of the people and things resting at the bottom. Instead, the group of three all started heading towards the top of Beacon Tower, where the Headmaster's office was located. It didn't take that long for them to enter the elevator, then go all the way up the top floor.
Once the elevator door opened up, Glynda stepped outside it first, then Daniel and Sandra who marveled at the unique and intricate clockwork design of the Headmaster office. In front of them, Ozpin sat behind his desk, while Professor Port and Oobleck stood beside one another.
"Hahaha, I'm glad to see that both my former campers are doing alright!"
Professor Port exclaimed with a hearty laugh, while still being primarily happy to see that both of his students are doing just fine. The same could be said about Professor Oobleck, who was standing still right beside his fellow instructors.
"All of us are glad to see that both Mister Norden and Miss Skye are alright after that incident," Ozpin started as he looked forward toward both the students as the two approached his desk. "I feel as if I should apologize as I wasn't aware of the existence of the Cockatrice until it appeared and started attacking the group of students being led by Professor Port."
"It was a big surprise for us! And a shame as well," Oobleck started speaking in a fast manner, while still standing beside them. "There hasn't been records of a Cockatrice appearing around Vale and tending to be more active in Mistral rather than anywhere else! But, here it was appearing from somewhere after sleeping or being sealed in one of the abandoned ruins after all this time! It's a shame! Truly a shame that I decided not to join!"
Oobleck appeared ashamed that he decided not to join Professor Port in leading the students inside the Emerald Forest on the camping trip. Both Daniel and Sandra were a bit glad considering that if he had joined in, then their group would've had to listen to or attempt to listen to him speaking and/or explaining things.
"Hahaha, you sure missed out my friend! I witnessed a lot of the marvelous ingenuity that my students revealed during the camping trip. All of them truly shined through the entire trip, even though it lasted for simply two days."
Port replied, acknowledging the good work that all of his students had done throughout the entire Emerald Forest camping trip. It was among the first time that he gave praise to someone else rather than talking about himself in the same situation. Both Ozpin and Oobleck already listened to the entire situation involving the camping trip and their battle against the Grimm.
"Well, upon hearing about what happened during the entire situation, I felt proud that the students involved were able to handle an unexpected battle. And I'm more glad that all of you returned without a single serious wound or death among you. But, it appears as if both of you have gone through something severe against the Cockatrice's brutal mental assault."
Ozpin stated, before staring at Daniel and Sandra with a hint of compassion and sadness behind his tone.
"Ah, there's nothing that you need to apologize for Professor Ozpin. It's not like you can know every single thing that's going to happen."
Daniel replied, showing no animosity towards the Headmaster.
"Yea, I can agree with Daniel on that. I don't think that anyone can guess where the Grimm is going at all times."
Sandra added, sharing the same sentiment as Daniel about the situation, and not holding anything against Ozpin for what happened.
"Your responses make me happy," Ozpin replied, nodding his head. "Now, as for the reason that I called both of you here. I wanted to listen to what you experienced, while under the influence of the Cockatrice."
Daniel and Sandra were confused for a moment, but a reason behind that entered their mind.
"It might sound like an odd request, but no one has broken free from a Cockatrice's mental influence for as far as we're all aware. But, Sandra and Daniel could break free from its control and managed to assist in defeating it."
Glynda explained, which was the same thought that crossed their mind too.
"Exceptional! Truly exceptional! If we find out the secret behind Cockatrice's trick and push the sum number of causalities caused by it to a staggering halt. And being the first academy among the four to figure this out will be a groundbreaking discovery," Oobleck had explained at his typical quick and almost impossible-to-follow pace. Then, almost out of nowhere, he pulled out a notepad and was prepared to take notes. "So, if you would, please explain as much as you're capable of!"
""….""
Daniel and Sandra stared at their History and Legends of Remnant teacher.
"Please, explain things as much as you want to. We are aware that there are parts of both of your pasts that you would rather not go through again."
Glynda stated, not wanting them to go through these memories a second time.
"Not that's fine," Sandra said, wanting to go first, something that Daniel understood since she was the first person affected. "I can't run from or escape what happened forever."
Sandra paused for a moment as it would end up being a long explanation based on what happened, while inside of her mental space.
"I was knocked out by the Cockatrice, and found myself back in Vacuo. It was odd since it felt as if I was there, it was hot and I could feel the sand in my hands. And as soon as I was there, I found some weird duplicate that had looked the same as me."
"A duplicate?"
Ozpin looked confused about this, even Port and Glynda looked stunned. Oobleck, on the other hand, looked to be focused on writing down the words that Sandra was prepared to say.
"Yea, it even sounded the same as me, but it was a bit distorted too. But, it was then that I started going through the childhood that I lived traveling in Vacuo again. And it even felt as if a couple of days passed rather than just a couple of minutes like in the real world."
Sandra explained.
"I see! I see! It explained the sudden changes in the victims, so the Cockatrice alters one's perception of time as soon as they're under their influence! Interesting! Interesting! And so tragic!"
""I can never get a proper read on him.""
Daniel and Sandra thought staring at their teacher.
"I tried attacking the duplicate, but I couldn't even touch it no matter how much I tried hitting it. So, I had no other choice, but to go through all the tragic moments from my childhood. And it felt as if I was re-experiencing it all to the point where I was back there," Sandra said as she thought back to her time there, then glanced forward. "At the time I didn't notice it, but it seemed to be getting stronger the more pain and negative emotions that started to build up from me. And it looked as if it was waiting for when I was at my breaking point, then tried killing me."
"So, that duplicate was the same as any normal Grimm we find out here. It appears as if it couldn't kill you until it absorbed enough negative emotions to become able to touch you too."
Glynda said, already figuring out what happened next.
"Yea and the same thing could be said about me. It meant that I could touch it too, and gave me the chance to kill it, then escape."
Sandra explained as Oobleck nodded his head.
"I see to being able to fight against their emotions and defeating the duplicate is the key for escaping from that nightmare! Interesting! Truly interesting! I do apologize that Miss Skye had to go through such an ordeal, but she was strong enough to break free from it."
Oobleck said, causing Sandra to scratch her cheek flustered for a moment having heard that.
"Well, if it wasn't for Daniel, Hunter, and Alyssa calling out to me like that, then I don't think that it would've been possible for me to break free from it. It might be difficult for me to get over what happened a long time ago, but at least I have friends backing me up, right?"
Sandra said with more emotions in her words, while smiling too.
"Sandra, I hope that you'll continue on the path that you chose in coming here to Beacon."
Ozpin said smiling a bit, having witnessed Sandra's much more emotional progression compared to the first time that she arrived at Beacon.
"Now, onto Mister Norden," Oobleck said, turning his attention to Daniel, who almost flinched at the suddenness of that motion. "I heard from the incident that despite being put under the same thing as Miss Skye, but and here is where things get interesting. Unlike her, you woke up immediately after and pressed forward. However, you've been through about the same mental strain as Miss Skye here! So, what happened with you?!"
"Your enthusiasm and pushiness sometimes unnerve me," Daniel replied as Oobleck, seemed to ignore and just press forward. "It was the same with Sandra at first, some duplicate of me showed up out of nowhere and started talking to me. At that time, it would've been some time after my uncle died that train accident, and then it went to the time after my mother died."
Sandra heard that suddenly reveal from Daniel, and it wasn't something that she'd expected to hear from him. And it was based on the fact that she heard him mentioning family while sounding as casual as normal.
"Daniel, I mentioned this before, and…."
"I appreciate it teaches, but I'm not a kid that needs to be coddled," Daniel replied, not sounding emotional about it, in response to Glynda's attempt at consoling him. In hearing this, she remained silent as he continued with his explanation about what happened. "It wasn't there for more than a day and a half at most, but I was able to break free from there."
"And how did you do that?"
Ozpin curiously asked, realizing another method aside from defeating the duplicate there might be something far more extreme.
"I knew that I couldn't touch the duplicate there, and it couldn't touch me either. At least, at some point, neither of us could've done anything to one another. But, as Sandra pointed out, she could still feel the heat and sand from Vacuo. And I could feel the cold and snow from Atlas," Daniel explained. "So, it meant that the two of us was able to interact with and feel things as normally as in the real word. It meant that I could hit myself. And so, all I did was give myself a bit of a shock that forced me awake."
Daniel's explanation left the four teachers and Sandra continued, having heard that Daniel gave himself, 'a bit of a shock. There was a faint pause from the teachers who didn't utter a single word, and Oobleck, who was writing it all down paused after that. Glynda and Port looked on at Daniel with a bit more concern.
"Well, Daniel, Sandra, I believe that would be all for now. So, both of you can head out to join all your friends and teammates."
Ozpin gave them to go-ahead to return to their friends and teammates.
"Oh, alright."
"I'll text Alyssa and Hunter that we're on our way."
"Yea," Daniel agreed, nodding his head in agreement as he and Sandra started heading inside of the elevator. As it was closing shut, he turned towards the four teachers who gathered together, then waved his hand. "We'll see you all later."
In response to this, the four teachers waved their hands towards their students as the two started descending to the bottom floor to leave. Once they departed, Oobleck closed the book in his hands and nodded his head after a moment of thought.
"My, we sure have some exceptional students who entered Beacon Academy this year," Oobleck started, then returned the book to its proper place. "I never heard of anyone, even trained or experienced Huntsmen who were able to free themselves from the Cockatrice's control. But, we have two students who did just that and a group of two teams who managed to defeat one. I'm sure that this will be an amazing experience for them to talk about."
"Yes, if this is what these students are capable of in their first year. I'm interested in seeing the kind of Huntsman or Huntress all of them will turn into upon graduating from Beacon."
Port added, nodding his head and looking forward to the future that his students will be leading upon graduating. It caused him to be filled with the utmost pride that he had a hand in instructing and raising students who shows so much promise earlier on.
"Professor Ozpin, I think that…."
"Later, Glynda, I think that it would be best to allow them to gain some rest and spent time with their friends."
Ozpin replied, already having an idea of what Glynda was going to talk about concerning this situation.
In hearing such things from the Headmaster himself, Glynda did remain silent and could do as requested in talking about it some other time.
[Cheers!]
In the same restaurant that Daniel and Yang went to during their last date, both the full members of Team RWBY and DUSK remained sitting at the same table. All of them held cups of sodas in their hands and tapped them all against one another in a celebration of their friends' recuperation. Both teams were dressed in casual wear while returning to their seats to drink their sodas.
"You two sure did have us worried," Yang started as she drank some of hers. "None of us were expecting the two of you remaining unconscious for three days straight. But, I'm sure that you could see just how worried Ruby and Weiss were about you."
Reacting to Yang's teasing, Ruby and Weiss started becoming flustered in response to recalling what the two did moments after Daniel woke up.
"Y-Yang. Stop mentioning that."
"Come on, sis. I'm not the one who tackled Dani to the ground with her partner."
Upon hearing that, Ruby looked down her face turning about as red as her cape.
"A-Ahem, we were just happy to see that Daniel was fine."
"Hehehe, I'm sure a lot of people can agree that Dani is fine."
Weiss groaned at Yang's suggestive comment, while Daniel gave an awkward laugh.
"Well, I can see that Yang is about the same as before."
"Yang might not show it. But, she was worried about you too and started arguing about when she'd get her time to visit the infirmary."
Blake revealed while laughing a bit.
Reacting to this, Yang's face turned red, but she maintained her usual demeanor and didn't let it affect her much compared to Ruby and Weiss.
"Eh, I can't hear you."
Yang replied, as casual as possible, while Ruby and Weiss looked on staring at the blonde.
"Don't run from this one, Yang."
"You're going to experience the same embarrassment we did."
Ruby and Weiss seemed adamant about making Yang feel the same embarrassment that she made them feel as a result of her comments.
"Yang Xiao Long doesn't run from anyone."
Yang commented while the three young women seemed to lock eyes with one another.
"Well, I'm glad to hear that those three are, as enamored by Daniel as I remember."
Sandra stated almost, looking at the three young women who still seemed to be having a staring contest against one another.
"Don't sound so upset. Hunter and I, as well as them, were all worried about you too. And you did have someone else worried about you too."
"I swear if you say it…."
"It was Velvet," Alyssa said smiling, but Sandra stared at her knowing what was going to come next. "Of course, it was Coco too. You would've been surprised to see the amount of genuine care that Coco showed to you when it was her time to visit."
"Please stop."
Sandra said, sounding embarrassed as she glanced to the side not wanting to look her smiling partner in the eye.
"Hehehe, I'm starting to like this new Sandra if you keep giving new reactions like this."
Alyssa stated as she stared straight at Sandra.
"One of these days, I'm going to find something that gets to you."
Sandra uttered as she narrowed her eyes flustered.
"Well, there's not much that gets to me."
Alyssa replied shrugging her shoulders casually.
"Is that so, Alyssa?"
Yang asked, wearing more of a knowing smile on her face while staring at her best friend.
"Yes, that's so, Yang."
Alyssa replied, not knowing where Yang was going to go with this.
"So, you don't recall the crush that you have or had on our uncle."
Hearing that almost caused Alyssa to spit take, as she coughed at that sudden reveal from Yang.
Once that was revealed, Daniel, Hunter, and Sandra turned their attention towards Alyssa with the slightest glint in their eyes. Alyssa, on the other hand, made the most flustered expression that anyone had ever seen from her thus far. Since meeting the shorter-haired blonde, nothing aside from a confident look was on her face, but now it looked as if she was a normal girl who had her diary read.
"Is that right?"
Sandra asked while turning her attention towards her partner.
"Uh, I have no idea what she's talking about."
Alyssa tried waving off the comment as she was receiving the same looks from her teammates and friends, while her face was still bright red.
"So, you don't have a crush on their uncle?"
Sandra asked, with more of a smiley expression.
"O-Of course, I don't h-have a crush on their uncle," Alyssa tried reasoning, but on the inside, she was starting to turn into a blushing mess and started panicking. "Come on, Yang, why did you have to mention that in front of all of them like that?! I couldn't help developing a little bit of a crush on Instructor Branwen, he was just so cool in a lot of the training sessions that we had! Ugh, I can't let this continue, or else, I'll end up being laughed at!"
'Alyssa, you're face is turning bright red.'
Hunter signed, having gained Alyssa's attention.
"Ugh."
Alyssa groaned while leaning her head against the table unable to come up with a single response.
"Hmm, I didn't know that Alyssa liked Uncle Qrow."
Ruby said, not recalling hearing anything about that from Yang.
"Of course, the girl who focuses on weapons wouldn't notice that. But, that's the reason that you need a big sister like me to instruct you of things of this nature."
Yang said with a bit of pride in her tone, while talking and Daniel seemed to register that name.
"Wait, are you guys talking about Qrow Branwen?"
Daniel asked, not recalling neither Ruby nor Yang commenting about their uncle's name.
"Yes. That's our cool uncle."
Ruby replied, sounding proud to have someone like him as their uncle.
"Why, you heard about him in Mistral? I mean, it wouldn't surprising since Qrow mentioned before that he takes a lot of missions around places like that."
Yang stated, noting that Daniel seemed to recognize him.
"Hmm, I never considered it before, but to my knowledge, there are about two other people on Remnant who use a scythe aside from Ruby. One of them, being an old woman about this time of age. And then second would be the Huntsman named Qrow Branwen. I didn't think about it since neither of you shared the last name Branwen. All of the stories I heard about him in Mistral was about him being a living legend among Huntsman."
Daniel explained, recalling once hearing about the name Qrow Branwen, while he was still in Mistral.
"Hehehe, yep, that's our uncle."
Ruby said, feeling more proud at that moment.
"There were also some rumors about him being a bit of a lush and skirt chaser."
""Yea, that's our uncle.""
Ruby and Yang replied, then glanced to the side wearing a wryly smile.
It wasn't all that long until their food was brought to their table, consisting of varied foods that ranged from pizza, burgers, fries, wings, and salad. Seeing the food their group ordered was brought to the table, both teams started digging into the ordered meals.
"It's a shame that Team JNPR and the others couldn't come here too."
Yang noted while eating one of her fries.
"Can't help it. Their groups already had something planned for the evening."
Weiss added as she started eating from her salad.
She hadn't even planned on eating from the wide arrange of fried and/or greasy foods positioned right in front of her, but her friends were eating.
"Come on, is that all your going to eat today, Weiss?"
Daniel asked.
"I already said that I wasn't planning on eating any of that."
"Come on, eating at least one pizza isn't going to kill you."
Daniel replied, holding out one of the pizza slices in front of Weiss using a napkin in his hands.
She stared down at the slice right there in front of her face, then turned towards Daniel for a second or two. In the end, a sigh escaped from her mouth knowing that Daniel wasn't the kind of person who would drop something as easy as one would want. And it didn't help since the others sitting at the people were watching on as if it was the same watching a child take their first steps.
"Ugh, let's get this over with," Weiss said to herself as she opened her mouth, then she started inching the pizza closer and closer to her mouth. "…."
Once it got closer to her mouth, Weiss took a bite out of the pizza and started chewing it inside her mouth. And at that moment, she opened her eyes in surprise after eating the first bite.
"…this is good."
Weiss uttered in surprise.
"Sure it is, princess. But, I guess you wouldn't be able to understand the pleasures of pizza~!"
Yang declared, raising her fist into the air excitedly.
"I didn't think that something like this would be this good."
Weiss said to herself as she continued eating the pizza in her hands with more invested interest.
She was almost ignoring the fact that her friends and/or teammates were looking at her with smiles on their faces and not in a teasing manner. All of them were glad to see that their friend was having some new experiences and enjoying themselves. Sandra looked around at the table filled with the people that she had gotten to know since coming to Beacon. People who'd accepted the person that she became without rejecting her once.
"Hey, guys."
Sandra caught everyone's attention.
"Hmm, Sandra?"
Alyssa asked.
"Remember that promise I made about playing in front of the people in the student lounge," Sandra asked, reminding them of that promise made in the cafeteria that one time. "How about I do just that once we return?"
"Uh, are you sure about that, Sandra?"
Weiss asked, more worriedly considering what happened.
"Weiss is right. You just woke up."
Ruby added as she looked straight at Sandra.
"It's fine. I did promise that I'd play a song for everyone. Besides, I'd think that it'd be good if people heard what I played for a change. And to show people just what kind of person I am."
Sandra started smiling a bit more openly.
Listening to her request and statement caused the people sitting at the table to look on curious about what she'd meant about that. Neither of them had a reason for rejecting that request and wanted to listen to the kind of song Sandra played. But, the group continued with their meal, while talking at the same time until deciding to leave the restaurant and head back to Beacon Academy.
Having returned to school, Sandra informed the members of her team and Team RWBY to head out towards the student lounge first. She, on the other hand, returned to their dorm room to group onto her electric guitar and will join them once she's finished. It didn't take more than a couple of minutes for Sandra to prepare herself and her favored instrument.
Walking inside the student lounge, Sandra found that it was filled with multiple students enjoying themselves. The people that she was primarily focused on were the members of Team DUSK, RWBY, JNPR, and even CFVY, who either ended there or were informed beforehand. But, that didn't matter to her at all, since it wasn't going to stop her from performing in the lounge. And the members of Team CFVY planned on listening to her performance.
Not uttering a single word to her friends, Sandra found herself a comfortable spot holding her guitar, while they all curiously looked on. It didn't take long for her to finish up and held onto the electric instrument in her hands as if it was something precious to her.
"I planned on playing in front of people like this," Sandra started, gaining their attention as the group watched on in preparation for listening to it. "First, I wanted to prove that I didn't have stage fright as my partner had said in front of everyone. But, now, I want them to listen to the kind of music that I perform, which I'd like to think is a representation of me. So, I want everyone to listen carefully."
No one uttered a single word and watched as Sandra held up her guitar pick, then held it towards the strings and prepared her fingers for the rest of the work. There was a faint pause in conversation in the student lounge, then Sandra started performing. Soon enough, she started her performance, resulting in an electric sound that began to reach the ears of those around her.
Almost all the students standing or sitting in the student lounge began being attracted by the sounds produced by the electric guitar. Instead of being focused on all the attention that she was garnering, Sandra was only focused on the music she was producing.
"…."
Sandra found herself smiling as she almost lost herself in playing the guitar, which was something that she have done in the past to keep her mind off negative emotions.
"This isn't death metal. I heard that Vacuo is most famous for that, but…."
Daniel found himself uttering, as he continued listening to Sandra's performance, focusing on all the notes being produced.
"I can see the reason that Sandra wanted to listen to this. It does feel as if I'm starting to learn a little bit more of the kind of person she is."
Alyssa added as she continued listening while smiling.
Hunter was doing the same as he relished in the music he was listening to at this moment. From around them, the students started dancing and moving around in response to the sound being played for them. None of them knew the reason that Sandra decided to play this song but was happy to be listening to it.
"I knew that she rocks!"
Coco stated as she bobbed her head listening to the song Sandra was performing.
"She's quite amazing Coco!"
Velvet added listening to the song, her hearing being more acute than most and enjoying what she was listening to at this moment. The two other male members of Team CFVY loved listening to the music being played too.
"I knew that Sandra could play the guitar, but this is awesome!"
Yang commented as she almost wanted to stand up and start dancing.
"I haven't listened to much music, but I do like this."
Blake added as she continued listening to the song.
"Hahaha, I love rock music like this!"
Ruby announced, almost losing herself in the music too. She often listened to music of the same genre like this, but she found Sandra's music is just as appealing as those performed by professionals.
"She's quite good at playing this song."
Weiss added smiling to herself.
She was a professional singer and often performed in front of crowds much larger than this. And because of that, Weiss knew that Sandra could make a potential career in performing in front of others.
"This is awesome! Come on, let's dance Ren!"
Nora announced as she seemed to almost force Ren up to his feet, then started dancing without caring about the manner it appears. Ren, on the other hand, although liked listening to the song, stood around in an awkward way besides his partner did dance without a care in the world.
"Looks like we found something else that Sandra is good at!"
Jaune commented as he listened to the song besides Pyrrha who agreed with him.
"I never thought that this kind of music would sound this appealing. It feels as if Sandra is putting all her feelings into performing this song."
Pyrrha added.
Sandra appeared to keep playing the electric guitar for a couple of minutes, while the students started becoming more enamored in listening to it. If she was being honest, Sandra never paid much attention to how long she was playing the guitar and simply wouldn't stop until the sound was finished. And it wasn't long until Sandra did end up finishing her performance.
"Fue," Sandra let a light breath escape from her mouth, then looked forward at all the students now standing there in front of her. "So, how about that?"
[That was awesome!]
Almost all the students announced with nothing, but joyousness being heard from their reply to Sandra's question.
"Wasn't expecting that kind of reaction."
Sandra was almost stumped by the response she received.
"Not expecting that? That was awesome Sandra, I never heard anything like that before!"
Ruby stated, unable to stop herself from smiling and bouncing around.
"You have to do that more often! It'd be a shame if you didn't play in front of people like this from time to time!"
Yang added, not wanting to hide the exhilaration she was feeling in that instance.
"That was an amazing performance, Sandra. I don't think that I heard something as soon as that before in Atlas."
Weiss stated, sounding nothing but honest.
"I think they're all right, Sandra. I wouldn't mind listening to that song again."
Blake said, smiling at Sandra too.
"Come on, I knew that you were going to be an awesome and rocking guitarist. But, I never expected to listen to something as awesome as that. You're just going to make yourself more of a target for me, aren't you?"
Coco added and asked Sandra with more honest feelings in her response.
"Yea, I don't know about becoming a target for you."
"Too late for that hun."
Sandra almost wanted to roll her eyes in response to hearing that from Coco but was stopped as she soon felt a person's arm being wrapped around her shoulder. She turned her head to find that it was her blonde-haired partner, who was now sending an endearing smile in her direction.
"That was awesome, partner," those were the first words to come out from Alyssa's mouth, before sending a real distinct wink in her direction. "I do owe you an apology because you rocked the entire student lounge."
"Hah, there's no doubt about that. I kinda feel a little sad that you didn't share that song with us before."
Sandra could see Daniel now standing beside her and Alyssa while showing the same kind of honest smile that she had seen from him thus far. She later turned to see Hunter standing on the other side of them as he started signing his message to her.
'That was the most awesome and emotional song that I had heard in a long time. I wouldn't be surprised if you'd make performing songs like that as a second career.'
Sandra got the message that Hunter wanted to display and found herself smiling at the amount that everyone around her loved the performance. The people she became partnered with within Team DUSK, the friends she made in Team RWBY, JNPR, and even CFVY. And even if she hadn't planned on others being around in the first place, it felt far better having all these people around to listen to.
"Thanks for the compliment, everyone. And I hope you'll humor me again."
Sandra gave a genuine smile while looking forward and bowed her head as she finished the performance.
A couple of minutes passed as the people still recalled the song that they'd listened to, even while returning to their previous activities. Sandra looked on as Daniel was conversing with people such as Hunter, Fox, and Yatsuhashi. Ruby, Weiss, and Velvet were talking among themselves. She was in the middle of talking to Alyssa, Yang, Coco, and Blake; the latter wasn't talking but reading a book in peace.
"Alyssa, can we talk about that thing you mentioned before?"
Sandra asked of all of a sudden in a whisper.
"Something, I mentioned before," Alyssa found herself thinking about what that could be, before recalling that she did mention something important before. "Alright, let's go somewhere and talk."
Of course, Alyssa agreed without needing convincing to leave the conversation she was having. And even if both Yang and Coco were curious about what the two could be talking about in private. Both the young women knew it was something private between partners and wouldn't intervene in something like that.
The partners departed the student lounge, then started finding somewhere more private for their conversation so someone else wouldn't be eavesdropping. It wasn't long until such a location was found, and Sandra stood in the same spot for a couple of seconds wondering where she'd end up starting at first.
"Sandra, I know that it might be hard to find someplace to start. But, just do it at your own pace."
Alyssa spoke in a calming tone, something that assisted Sandra in finding out where she wanted to start this at.
"Alright. I know you mentioned before that if I was prepared, then I would tell you the reason that I wanted to be a Huntress in the first place. But, to understand that, I need to share what happened when I was a kid."
Sandra said, looking to see what Alyssa's reaction would be and she looked prepared to hear all that she would end up telling her. Noticing that, Sandra breathed and started speaking. And from there, she started sharing what she experienced as a member of the Skye Tribe, which were all the experiences that she witnessed once again in first-person because of the Cockatrice.
Alyssa didn't utter a single word and listened to the story Sandra was telling her. It was something that she had never thought she'd hear from someone let alone her partner, and it caused multiple feelings to start welling up in her chest. Hearing that a child had been abandoned in the desert by her mother, then forced to survive all of the time that time alone. There wasn't a chance to live a normal childhood. And there wasn't a chance of being herself.
"And that the gist of it. I was abandoned two times by the same person, not that my mother intended in dying by a Grimm, Huntsman, or a rival tribe. I never figured out what happened to her, and I doubt that I'll ever figure out what happened to them," Sandra started, showing almost no immediate emotions in explaining what occurred all that time ago. "To survive, I thought that I needed to abandon the little girl that I was. And instead of her, what I needed to do was become…my mother."
All that time ago, to survive against the infant Death Stalkers and all the oppositions that had stood in front of her since then. In abandoning the person she was and becoming the same as her mother.
"I changed how I acted. I changed how I talked. I changed my hair. All to prove to my mother that I could survive despite being the same weak daughter that she raised and trained," Sandra said almost sounding like a ghost of her former self. "I wanted to make her so proud of me that I didn't care about anything else that didn't involve me living through those incidents. I ended up doing it too, I ended up surviving, and in the end…."
"Your mother still died."
Alyssa spoke for the first time and finished for her.
"I knew she died since the mark faded, and I didn't know what else to do. I did all that to prove that I could live on my own and she didn't live long enough to see. I had nothing else aside from her. She was the only family I ever had, but I never received love from her. But, despite that, I still didn't want to let her go. I did all that I could to hold onto the memories of her to the point I made myself into her likeness. And in the end, I ended up becoming some cheap carbon copy of Aoife Skye."
Sandra said looking at her hands, then started undoing her hair in the manner it previously was, which mimicked her mother.
"And it became something like a self-imposed curse that I couldn't shake off. But, since coming here, for the past month, I found myself starting to lose her. I started doing things that she never would've done. I mean, charging in some save someone else and wanting to act like a normal student for a while. It was all after I started meeting you, Daniel, and Hunter. And there was one part of me that wanted to be me. But, there was the other part of me that still wanted to hold onto my mother."
"Sandra," Alyssa started, holding onto her partner's hands. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to hold onto a parent. Even if that person didn't show the kind of affection that you wanted, as long as you had some feelings of love for them, that's all that's important. Children might have been born because of them, but that doesn't mean we should become them. People are born with their feelings and emotions, which makes us unique."
Sandra took in the words that Alyssa was speaking to her in that instance and found herself feeling a good deal of emotions that caused tears to form.
"You know the reason there was a question that I wanted to ask her when I saw her again, and I never got to ask her," Sandra said as she looked down. "I wanted to know if she ever loved me as her daughter. And now, I won't be able to get an answer from her ever."
Sandra at that moment looked as despondent as she did all that time ago when she first realized that she would never get an answer from her mouth. Before she tried imagining that she'd receive the response she wanted to hear, but it wasn't the real thing no matter what.
"I left from Vacuo since I had no other reason to be there anymore, so I came to Vale. I didn't have a real purpose for surviving aside from surviving," Sandra stated before giving Alyssa the answer she wanted. "So, I wanted to become a Huntress here to find what I wanted to do in life."
"…Sandra."
Alyssa stared at her partner, who looked as if she had no other purpose in life aside from seeking out her mother. Her sole relative, no father based on the fact, she hadn't mentioned him at all.
"It's funny that even now, I have the desire to tie up my hair again in the same way my mother wore it," Sandra in a ghost-like tone stated as she felt that desire rising within her chest. "So, is there some answer that you can give me about that Alyssa?"
"Sandra and I am speaking from experience here. But, sometimes parents can do or say some of the worst things to their child," Alyssa stated as she noticed Sandra paying attention to all her words. "And sometimes that's their way of showing affection or treating their child because that's the only thing that they'd learned as children."
"What do you mean? You're speaking from experience?"
"It's nothing something that can compare to the things that you, Daniel, or Hunter went through. But, I think that it might match this situation at least."
Alyssa started, showing a casual look as she replied to Sandra's curious question.
"My family earned a reputation for fighting in the Great War, then producing decent and strong Huntsman."
"Huntsman? Don't you also mean, oh…."
At that moment, Sandra realized the reason that Alyssa said Huntsman rather than Huntsmen, which would also include Huntresses too.
"Yes, I was from that kind of family," Alyssa started before sounding almost irritated about it while speaking in a girlish manner to match her next words. "A family where boys became fighters, and girls became wives. So, I, their youngest daughter and cousin wanted to become a Huntress after watching one of them fighting with a Grimm to save lives. You should have seen my relatives when I said that I wanted to become a Huntress too, and not a single person supported me. I was the black sheep who had wanted to break family traditions and fight. So, I went on training in preparation to join a combat school and become one even if I was told not to. I, of course, ended up doing it, but then my dad said that I would receive no support."
Sandra looked on and listened to the response coming from Alyssa, recalling the words she'd said to her during their initiation into Beacon Academy.
'Good for you. Did you come from a good family too?'
Recalling those words now caused her to feel almost silly and bad, considering what she'd just heard.
"Uh, Alyssa I'm sorry about that."
"I'm not. You don't have to be either, I made a decision based on what I wanted to and not what my family wanted me to do. And look what came out of it? I got the same semblance that my family became famous for in the Great War. I made friends as Signal who shared the same dream as me. And I got into Beacon Academy to meet everyone in Team DUSK. I did all that without support from my relatives, and that's something that I can be proud of without saying anything else."
Alyssa showed nothing, but pride in the choice that she made all that time ago and not sadness about the fact it's because her family didn't support her. Sandra felt as if she was looked at as someone who'd taken a different path from her, and became someone not bound by family.
"And despite all that, I still don't hate them," Alyssa had commented, much to Sandra's surprise. "All of them were caught up in traditions and didn't want to break free from them, after all, that time. And I guess that it was just their way of protecting their daughters from the dangerous life. I know that it might be difficult to break out of the mindset you'd kept up all this time, but I know that you can find out who Sandra Skye is, instead of Aoife Skye."
Despite sharing something as personal and emotional as that, Alyssa was still looking forward to her with a heartfelt smile on her face. Sandra found herself giving a bright smile, then extended her hand towards and then Alyssa grasped her hand.
"Thanks. It might take some time for me to let go of her completely, but I'm not planning on continuing to be the same as my mother. So, I hope that you could put up with me for some time."
"I thought I was doing that already."
Alyssa stated, giving her a slight smirk.
"Don't get smart with me."
Sandra said, returning the same kind of smirk.
"So, this is where you two went?"
Both women turned around to find Daniel and Hunter approaching them. Seeing them, Alyssa turned around to give them a curious look before turning into a playful smile.
"Don't tell me that you two were spying on us. Didn't both your mothers teach you two not to spy on women when a private conversation is being held?"
"Give me more credit than that. I noticed that the two of you left, then Yang told me that you two were having this private chat alone. After a couple of minutes, we wanted to come and see how two were doing."
Daniel replied as Hunter nodded his head in agreement.
"Oh, is that so?"
"Yes, that is so."
"So, you didn't hear anything we said."
"No, we didn't."
"Hahahaha, can both of you stop it?"
Sandra said, laughing at the banter between them.
"She's right. So, let's head back to the student lounge and enjoy ourselves."
Alyssa suggested something that her three teammates could agree with too.
"Yea and I wonder if Sandra could give us an encore."
"I doubt that. But, I wonder if she'd let someone else play it."
"No matter how much I change, I'm never letting another soul touch my guitar."
Sandra stated, while she continued walking back towards the student lounge with Daniel, Alyssa, and Hunter, the two young men glanced to the side. Taking note of that, Sandra turned her attention over in their direction with a curious look on her face.
"You two didn't touch my guitar, did you?"
Sandra asked with some emotion in her voice.
"Not us, but there might be someone who was eyeing it after we left."
"And that would be?"
"…."
Daniel seemed to be wondering about who could be touching Sandra's guitar, but then a certain person entered her mind. And it was that image alone that caused Sandra to start running faster in the direction of the student lounge.
"NORA YOU BETTER NOT BE TOUCHING MY GUITAR!"
Sandra shouted out as she became worried about her precious instrument.
"She's quite passionate about that guitar."
Daniel said, smiling a bit wryly.
"So, Daniel is there going to be some point where you mention what happened to you too?"
Alyssa asked out of the blue as Daniel started thinking about that question and gave one response.
"At some point, yes. But, my family situation is a bit more complicated than you'd expect."
Daniel's response to that was in a neutral tone, something that caused Alyssa and Hunter to want him to share it when he felt comfortable to do that. but, it still made them far more curious to find out what happened in his life to make him think that it was complicated.
Meanwhile, at the top of the Beacon Tower, where the Headmaster's office was located, Ozpin and Glynda were the sole occupants in the room. Both of them remained silent, without either of them uttering a single word for a lot of time. It was Glynda who'd requested this meeting in the first place and it was about a topic that had caught her attention when she talked to Daniel and Sandra.
"Professor Ozpin, I truly think that it would be best if Daniel receive some consoling run by me. I know that you're aware that I'd often talk to the students about things of this nature."
Glynda suddenly request something that Ozpin expected her to do.
"…."
Ozpin remained silent.
"I know that you're well aware that breaking free from a Cockatrice's control isn't as simple. Sandra managed to do it at the last second due to the fact she killed the thing that invaded her mind. But, Daniel's method of giving himself a 'bit of a shock' to break free might be simple to him, but it's not normal for a teenager. I'm sure that both Professor Port and Oobleck figured out what Daniel did to escape."
"…yes, it isn't a normal thought or plan that an adult would come up with. I don't believe that there's a Huntsman who experienced battles against Grimm, who'd have the courage to do that and bounce back."
"Of course, it isn't normal. No one'd think about killing themselves to break free from a Cockatrice."
Glynda uttered the same realization the teachers figured out.
All of them were aware that the Cockatrice could trap people inside a mental world and make them experience all of their painful memories. Because of Sandra, the teachers realized that it messed with their temporal perception making minutes appear like days. Due to her, the sole method in breaking free from it would be killing the thing trapped in that mental world. And because of Daniel, the teachers knew that an intense mental shock could break that world too. But, a shock that big could only come from killing themselves in that mental world.
"It's not just the fact that Daniel came up with that idea, but it's the fact that the first thing that he did after getting out was a fight. You're not wrong, I don't think that there's a Huntsman on Remnant who could do that and keep up a brave face."
"Yes, but don't forget the family that Mister Norden comes from. No one born into that family is considered normal under regular standards when it comes to doing things like that, and returning to the fight."
"Please don't sound impressed about that. I know that you admired him, but Daniel's grandfather was first raised in the kind of environment that taught kids doing that was normal. But, his grandchildren maintaining that belief despite being raised as normal as their parents were isn't something to be proud of."
Ozpin understood that Glynda was worried about the mental state of one of her students, something that he had grown to respect about her and his colleagues.
"I understand your concerns, and if you want to console your students, then I won't stop you. But, there's nothing we could do to stop what's in his blood or change what happened all that time ago."
"I know that, but I can make sure that my students live long enough to graduate as much as possible. I know the kind of dangers on Remnant and the fact that 'she' won't remain quiet for long," Glynda stated, Ozpin knowing all too well who 'she' was. "And as long as I can help, I'll ensure the students receives all the knowledge they'll need to become Huntsman."
"Yes, I know. I'll trust whatever decision you make in regards to consoling Mister Norden. But, his complicated life started the time his uncle died, then his mother too. It might not be something that we teachers can intervene as much as Nordens tends to want to solve situations involving family alone. Even his aunt has been attempting to find out the people, or person responsible considering someone killed her siblings and tried to do the same to her nephew."
Ozpin stated, receiving the incident reports revolving around that situation.
"She, of course, might also be involved in this considering those involved. Well, it's getting late and I'm sure that there's a lot you need to think about too."
Glynda said before turning around, then started walking outside of the Headmaster and started descending the elevator.
"Salem or someone who's working under her could be involved in those incidents, considering all three of them have silver eyes. But, Mister Norden's silver eyes still haven't been awakened yet so there's no point in him being targeted all that time ago. Not unless she wanted to kill him before. At the same time, however, her plans would have been a lot more planned and efficient. And the incidents involving them aside from Natalia was nothing, but chaotic and Mister Norden is still alive," Ozpin was wrecking his mind and experience with this Salem, but it didn't sound like something she'd without a bigger purpose. "Whoever did this picked a fight with the Nordens, and not a single one of them runs from a fight."
A/N: Well, this is the end of the next chapter of RWBY – Team DUSK, this was the ending of Sandra's arc and it showed the thoughts she had following it. First, it showed herself and Daniel recovering from Cockatrice's assault, then the effects it had on her. There was even a miniature outing between both their teams with them and conversations from both sides, with the embarrassing revelation that Alyssa had or still has a crush on Qrow.
Sandra performed in front of the entire student lounge, then she and Alyssa talked about their situations outside. There was some reveal about her situation, and how her family didn't want her to become a Huntress, but she did so anyway. In the end, there were some concerns from Glynda about Daniel, with a mention of Salem too. And Ozpin is curious about who could've been involved in what happened in the past.