Zeffre didn't know how to begin. She had agonized all of yesterday about if she should even ask if they could talk… but he did say he was always available if she ever needed someone to talk to. He was also probably the only person in the universe who she could talk to about it.

That still didn't make it any easier for her to begin.

A strong gust of wind filled the air with the sound of rattling branches, blowing some of her blue hair into her face as she looking around. The sun had set long ago; the people of New Atlantis accustomed to Jemison's 48-hour days were content being out and about illuminated by streetlights. The abundance of trees that dotted the MAST district gave it a naturalistic feeling, with the gentle chirping of insects and different xenobird species blending into the general hum of the crowd. It was all agonizingly familiar.

Looking up from the walkway, Zeffre glanced at Aquilus. He was a much taller, older man, with deep wrinkles and creases that didn't quite convey just how old he was. His stark white outfit caught the ambient light around them, drawing the attention of people as they passed by. He matched her gaze and gave her a kind smile.

Zeffre immediately went back to looking at the ground, blushing. She knew exactly what he was trying to do. He was trying to get her to speak first, knowing how much doing so bothered her.

She also knew that the man's patience was nigh infinite and that he was completely content with simply walking with her for as long as it took, even if they had to walk until the sun came back up.

"I joined the Vanguard yesterday," Zeffre muttered, gripping the hem of her coat. It wasn't really that interesting, but she felt the need to say something.

"Oh? Did you beat tier six in the simulator?" he asked with a slight teasing tone.

Her head shot up. "Of course I beat tier six! What? I mean, it would be harder for me not to," Zeffre said before realizing her tone and looking back down. "I mean… sorry."

"Zeffre, there is no need to apologize."

"I know it's just…," she looked back up at him, "I'm sorry."

Keeper Aquilus raised an eyebrow at her.

"Sor— agh! I mean… uh… Anyway, I've already got a new ship with some probationary orders to patrol around Alpha Cen. A Longsword," Zeffre said, slightly annoyed at how easy it was for him to fluster her like that.

"So, you've already got yourself a solid footing here? That's great!" Aquilus said. "Whenever starting a new cycle, I usually found it helpful to give myself some goal. Something to aim for. It really helps in feeling like I'm making progress towards something."

Zeffre nodded, biting the bottom of her lip. "I… uh… I didn't really want to just talk about the Vanguard," she said, stopping near a lamp.

Unholstering her pistol, Zeffre began fiddling with it. Toggling the safety, removing and inserting the magazine; any part that could move she moved just to keep her hands busy with something.

"I got the feeling that was the case. Just know that if it's something you don't want to talk about, we don't need to talk about it."

"I saw her yesterday with my pa—," Zeffre stopped, slamming the magazine back into the pistol with a metallic 'clunk'. "With her parents."

Keeper Aquilus looked at her, his eyes never moving to look at the pistol. He knew she liked to play with her weapon when thinking, and he had vastly more experience with weapons than she did. "How were they, if you don't mind me asking?"

Zeffre snapped the breach closed. "Happy. They were out eating lunch together and they looked… happy."

"And how do you feel? Are you okay?"

She aimed the sight at a nearby tree. "Yeah. I did surprisingly well, actually," Zeffre said, putting a finger on one of three silver metal squares near her left eye, "The neuroamp really helped with my anxiety: thanks for the suggestion by the way. It's just… is it wrong for me to feel jealous?"

"Jealousy is a perfectly reasonable emotional response to seeing another you with your parents. It's proof that you still care for them even after all this time. The real question is what did you do afterwards?"

"I went to join the Vanguard. I don't think I can handle the risk of accidentally meeting any one of them on the street," Zeffre said, reholstering her pistol. "I think it'll also be fun to go back out into the starfield, do some good."

She looked at the ground again, voice subdued. "Sorry if that wasn't anything important, I just really needed somebody to talk to and not many people would understand."

"Hm… I don't know about that. In my experience, people can surprise you with how much they are able to understand another's struggles, even if they don't have a direct reference to go off of," he said thoughtfully, stroking his chin. "If you just give them a chance, that is."

Zeffre gave him a flat look. "Even stories that no sane person should ever believe?"

"If they are your friends? Then yes. Even if our circumstances are a bit… fantastical—"

Zeffre let out a snort.

"There is enough there to prove some of it, and after a certain point, it really is just a question of faith."

"It's amazing how you are always able to bring a topic back to faith," Zeffre said.

"Let's consider the idea for just a moment and see where it goes." Aquilus said, holding up an index finger, "No matter how well one person knows someone else, there will always be some amount of information one person has that the other person does not. They cannot know objectively why one person performed some action; rather, what they can know is what the other person tells them is why they performed said action. Wouldn't it then follow that one must have faith in the other to tell them the truth?"

"It would, but you're philosophizing again," Zeffre said, smiling. Keeper Aquilus really liked to loop conversations back into philosophy if he was given the chance.

"You're right, but this conversation has given me an idea for a sermon…" he said, stroking his chin again, "Would you like to come with me to Terrabrew? I think some coffee might help in refining this idea."

Zeffre smirked. "Depends on who's buying."

"Well, we can work that out during the walk over there."

Zeffre laughed at how thoughtfully he said that.

Standing in front of the door to Team RWBY's room Zeffre took a deep breath. She could do this. She needed to do this. That conversation with Weiss was enough to finally show her that she was getting too attached to her fr—… these people. Weiss's kindness was misplaced in her, but it was okay because she had a perfect plan on how to handle this situation.

This was step one. She would go in there, tell Weiss in front of everyone that she couldn't be Zeffre's friend. Weiss would then rightly get mad at her especially since everyone else would be watching.

Zeffre ignored her heart tightening at the thought. It was selfish, but this way would hurt less in the long run.

Then she would go see Ozpin and convince him that she didn't need to be part of a team. That she could be just as effective alone. That way there would be no chance she would accidentally form a close connection like she was dangerously close to doing now.

She nodded her head. It was the perfect plan. Or, at least, she thought so. She couldn't remember if she had ever gotten this close to someone after becoming Starborn besides Keeper Aquilus, but that didn't matter. Her plan was perfect.

Zeffre opened the door and stepped inside.

Only Weiss and Ruby were there. 'Crap.'

"Weiss I need to tell you something," Zeffre said, her voice level. She needed to keep her voice level.

Blinking, Weiss stood up from her bed and walked over to her. "Okay? What do you need to tell me?"

Zeffre took a deep breath. She could do this. "Weiss you cannot be my friend."

"Excuse me?"

"I cannot have you speak to me, and—"

"Who do you think you are?" Weiss said, indignantly. "First off, you have absolutely no right to tell me what to do." Weiss said, jabbing a finger into Zeffre's chest. "Secondly, I will be friends with whoever I want to be friends with."

Zeffre met her gaze, watching as she scowled at her. It hurt, but the pain would dull and fade with time. Eventually she—

"And thirdly, you are my friend. End of discussion."

She bit the inside of her cheek. "Weiss you can't be my friend," Zeffre said, wincing as her voice wavered. This was already falling apart. "You don't understand—"

"What I understand is that my friend came into my room demanding that we are no longer friends, talking formally in a flat voice that I know is not how she normally talks." Weiss said, taking a step towards Zeffre. "I understand when she is saying something she doesn't mean, and I also understand that her saying something like that would be incredibly painful."

Zeffre took a step back. She couldn't let Weiss hug her again.

"Zeffre?"

Looking at Ruby, Zeffre could feel her throat tightening up. Her silver eyes were wide, expression a mix of confusion, fear… she looked like she was about to cry.

Zeffre hated herself for that. For making the two of them feel this way for her. She couldn't look at them.

"I'm sorry… I just…"

Zeffre teleported back to her room. Lowering herself to the floor she could already feel tears running down her face. "Damnit…"

Cycling the bolt on Veiled Night Zeffre could feel metal scraping against metal. The bolt was also slightly bent.

This was something she could deal with. The problem was tangible. Real. She knew how to handle real things. Take out an enemy base? Clear out a hostile nest of creatures? Escort a VIP? Those were all things that had clearly defined measurements for success.

Have a friend knowing it will hurt her in the end? Knowing that she will absolutely outlive them? That no matter what she does, not matter how desperately she wished it wasn't the case, she'll eventually be alone again?

Sniffling, Zeffre wiped her nose on her sleeve, adjusting herself on her bed. She was usually so careful in avoiding these kinds of connections. She knew how to get along with people while maintaining a distance to where their loss wouldn't affect her, but here… It almost felt intentional.

Transforming Veiled Night into its Ōdachi form filled the room with the screech of metal against metal. The cobalt blue blade was bent. Her weapon was falling apart. It wasn't designed for how she fought; the amount of force she could exert.

Almost all the other students at Beacon had designed and built their own weapons specifically to fit their needs. Zeffre had no idea where she would even begin in modifying Veiled Night for herself.

She didn't know what she wanted.

There was a flash of white light somewhere deeper in her room. Zeffre didn't bother to look up; she didn't care right now who it was.

"Well, so this is where you've been holding up since getting here," The Hunter said, his voice heavily distorted as usual. "You know, I shouldn't be surprised that you'd somehow find your way to Beacon. Ozma is an expert at manipulation."

Zeffre looked up. He was wearing the same black armor she had with a tattered cloak covering the upper body, reflective helmet slowly scanning her room as he stood in the center of her room. His posture was leisure, as it normally was.

"Hey." Zeffre said, her own voice subdued. It wasn't really a question of 'if' but 'when' he would show up. Her brow furrowed a bit. "Who?"

"Heh… Don't worry about it. Anyway, I expected to be greeted by either dead silence or something brash, and all I get is 'hey'? And after how we parted in my previous universe too. Honestly I'm a little hurt." he said, putting a hand over his heart in mock shock.

"How did we last part in your last cycle?"

"You killed me."

"Ha!" Zeffre said, snickering at his admission.

The Hunter slumped his shoulders. "You see, that? That is more the Zeffre I'm used to."

Zeffre sat up a little straighter to look up at him.

"Anyway, looks like I was right. I knew that you passing through the Unity would cause things to change. At first it was only ripples, but this?" he said, holding out his arms as if gesturing at nothing in particular. "This is beyond my wildest expectations."

She smiled at him. "I know right? Everything here is so new… Not knowing how to start a new cycle, where the best place to get established is, who the people are. It's exciting."

The Hunter hummed as he slowly walked around her room, each step serving as a punctuation that marked the end of the momentary silence. "Any chance I can convince you to work with me this time around?"

Zeffre raised an eyebrow. "Are you still going to make a play for the Artifacts? Even when we have an entirely new kind of universe to experience?"

Approaching one of the walls, the Hunter pulled one of her drawings off.

Zeffre gripped Veiled Night a little tighter.

"I am just a man," he said absently, staring at her drawing. "I can see why you're miserable."

"I am not miserable!"

The Hunter scoffed. "Please. You look pathetic; less like an experienced Starborn and more like a scared little schoolgirl wishing her parents were there to tell her everything would be alright. Do you want to know what your problem is?"

"What?" Zeffre said, a little too forcefully.

He waved her drawing at her. "This. All of this," he said, gesturing around her room before pointing at her, "and that scarf."

Zeffre reflexively grabbed her navy-blue scarf. Even in the dim light of her room the simplified symbol of the Sanctum Universum shown, it's golden thread adept at drawing attention.

"You can't honestly believe Aquilus, right?"

"I mean… before coming here he was helping me…"

"With what? Becoming more like him?" the Hunter said. "And look where that's gotten you. Here you are wallowing in self-pity, surrounded by images of a past you know you can never go back to."

Zeffre winced at the sound of tearing paper.

Hunter walked over to her. "You know these feelings are pointless. That these people here can be easily replaced. They don't matter."

"But… wh—"

"They don't matter." he said. Zeffre could feel him staring at her. "The only thing that truly matters, the thing that tangibly carries over with us through the Unity, are our own powers. That is real. Are you listening?"

Zeffre nodded.

She heard the sound of him removing his helmet. "Good. Now, let's try this one more time." he said. Without the distortion his voice was kind. Warm. Familiar.

"Do you want to team up with me this cycle? Together we could easily gather the Artifacts here while also learning more about this world." he said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "You don't even need to say anything. Just hand over your scarf and I can incinerate it. It will only take a moment, and afterwards you will be free."

Zeffre could taste blood as she focused on the pain from her biting her lip. She shouldn't have been surprised. The Hunter was a title given to Starborn who hunted solely after the Artifacts. She knew that anyone could've been under that helmet.

She sat perfectly still, not trusting herself to move. If she moved she was going to give in. It would be so much easier for her to just hand it over. To embrace her consequence free existence and do whatever she wanted. To no longer feel this pain. To be numb to it all.

'That's why we're all here isn't it? To help people?'

Zeffre winced at the memory. At how earnest Ruby had sounded. She could still remember how happy she had been that night.

The Hunter sighed. "How about this. I'll give you until Thursday to think about my offer. No rush, it's not like either of us are getting any older." he said, chuckling as he moved to stand up.

Zeffre nodded. She needed time to think.

"Zeffre."

She looked up at him. He was standing in the center of her room, helmet sliding back over his head. "I meant what I said about these drawings. Those feelings, those memories? They will only hurt you. So let me do you a favor."

Zeffre only had a second to conjure a shield of cosmic light before a wave of plasma passed by her. She closed her eyes. The temperature in her room was excruciatingly hot, the scent of scorched wood filled the air. He had only used a low intensity pulse, but it was enough.

"I'll be back in four days to ask again. If you still feel the same way I can try removing some of your… other connections. Rip the band aid off for you." he said.

She kept her eyes closed. Intellectually she knew her room was destroyed, that her drawings were incinerated… but knowing and seeing were two separate feelings.

"Take care Zeffre."

Zeffre flinched. Somewhere down the hall another team's door slammed closed.

'This thing is unreasonably large,' Zeffre thought to herself as she looked up at Veiled Night's barrel. She had transformed it into its rifle form a while ago, the sound it made a reminder that something was fundamentally broken inside.

Sitting on the floor she cradled the rifle in her arms, back against the wall. The rifle was almost as long as she was tall with a scope she never even used. It being chambered in 20mm was also excessive; anything this weapon couldn't kill in one shot she could simply remove with plasma. The magazine's size was also far too small at only three rounds.

Resting her head along the length of the barrel, Zeffre closed her eyes. Veiled Night was a deeply impractical weapon… so why did she get it in the first place? Logically, a rifle with a fire selector would be more effective. Something that was mass produced and chambered in a common cartridge would've been best. Instead, she had chosen to get an expensive, unique weapon that practically shot money.

She looked around from her spot on the floor. The hallway was empty but bright. She had gotten sick of staring at her scorched room a while ago. Now here she was, sitting outside the door to her friends' rooms, cradling her broken weapon. She didn't really have anywhere else to go.

A creek in the walls made Zeffre flinch again. Each noise sounded as if their door would open. She didn't know what she'd do when that eventually happened.

Zeffre ejected the magazine from Veiled Night. She had been periodically checking to make sure the weapon was unloaded.

The thought of her actually giving up her weapon… hurt. Being honest with herself, she liked it because it was impractical. She liked how it stood out, how it was her first major purchase after arriving on Remnant… At how it was unequivocally hers.

She took in a deep breath, closing her eyes. The clean air of the hallway was far more pleasant than the tainted air in her now destroyed room. She hadn't meant for it to get into such a broken state. Things had just sort of… happened. Zeffre had thought she could just put off getting it repaired, that it would be fine until later, but now later had arrived.

She exhaled.

"Uh… Zeffre?"

Cracking open an eye Zeffre looked up. "Hey Jaune. What's up?" she asked. He was wearing his armor, covered in grime and sweat. "You look exhausted."

There was a solid clunk as Jaune leaned against the wall, sliding down to sit next to her. "I am exhausted."

Zeffre hummed, closing her eye again.

"Zeffre?"

"Hm?"

"Are you okay?"

Without lifting her head from Veiled Night, Zeffre lethargically looked at Jaune. "Why do you ask?"

"You're sitting in the hall outside your team's room, and, uh… it looks like you've been crying," he said watching her, his own blue eyes filled with obvious concern.

Zeffre gave him another non-committal hum. Seeing someone look at her like that made her feel wrong. People feeling concern for her?

"So… are you okay?"

"Not really." she said, one hand playing with the empty magazine she ejected earlier. "Today's been a pretty awful day." She shook her rifle. "Veiled Night is broken."

Jaune blinked. "Oh. That sucks."

"It is what it is," Zeffre said, shrugging.

"Can you fix it?"

The magazine fell out of her hand, clattering onto the tile floor. "Not without help. It's more of a question of do I want to spend all the time and effort fixing it," Zeffre said, picking it back up. "I could just get a new weapon."

Jaune reached over and lightly bumped her shoulder with a fist. "Well, I for one think you should fix it."

Zeffre raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"For one, it is a massive cannon, which is just generally cool," Jaune said, holding up a finger before raising a second. "And for two, you and Ruby have cornered the market on 'short girls with large guns.' Without you, who will compete with Ruby? She'll have a monopoly!" he said, throwing his arms up at the thought.

She began laughing. "You're right. Without me she'd have a monopoly and be able to do… something."

"Exactly!" Jaune exclaimed, grinning as he gestured around, "Something could be anything!"

Zeffre smiled. Did she really want to give this up?

Moving to get to her feet, Zeffre used Veiled Night as a makeshift crutch. She needed help. Ruby was someone she knew who could figure out what was wrong with Veiled Night, and how to fix it. Before asking for help she would tell her friends everything.

"Hey Jaune? Thanks for stopping to talk with me. I… I really appreciate it." Zeffre said smiling, her voice wavering for a moment.

"You're welcome. I mean, what else are friends for?" Jaune said, giving Zeffre a tired smile.

'And thirdly, you are my friend. End of discussion.' Zeffre recalled from earlier that day, placing the magazine back into her rifle. She didn't understand why Weiss was so adamant about being her friend, but she was willing to put her faith in her. In them.

Her future pain would be future her's problem.

Author's Note:

Hopefully nobody saw that I accidentally posted the editing version of this chapter earlier. That would be embarrassing...

Also, here is information about Zeffre/Saffre's height.
Height: 5'0" (1.51 m)

This is a retcon. She was originally going to be taller than Ruby and shorter than Yang, but I really solidified the image of Saffre during her time with Neo because the two of them were so close. Neo is very short (4"10') and my mental image of them has Saffre only being slightly taller than her. I'll go back (eventually) and adjust the moments where Zeffre's height is mentioned to reflect this.

This is not important information, but I'll be using it later in jokes and comments. I didn't want anyone to be confused.

(This does mean though that Zeffre is shorter than Ruby, which is incredibly funny especially considering the weapon she uses.)