Cover Art by CHE3ZY
Ok. So I guess I sort of lied when I said that this chapter would be the beginning of Vol 3. I felt that this chapter would serve as a better conclusion to Vol 2. In any case, it's great to be able to update this story again. The next chapter will one hundred percent be the start of volume 3. Please review and let me know what you all think and please like and share and go and vote for your favorite OC in the poll on my profile.
Beacon Academy:
"Nora," said Blake, "are you sure this is a good idea? I'm not sure this would be their kind of thing."
Nora stood centermost in a semi-circle comprised of teams RWBY and JNPR with Penny and Sun there as well.
The hyperactive redhead nodded.
"You saw them Blake," she replied, "they weren't their usual selves. I think those boys could use a nice outing, and besides, Penny agrees with me. Right Penny?"
"Absolutely!" Replied Penny. "I do believe that this would be good for them."
It'd been three days since team PGRT returned from their mission with Ozpin. No one there, barring Penny, had any idea what happened on that mission. They all respected Penny's request to not dig further into the matter.
"Have they ever been to the beach?" Asked Weiss.
"Really Weiss?" Asked Yang with a raised eyebrow. "Who hasn't been to the beach?"
Weiss glared at the blonde firecracker of team RWBY.
Jaune raised his hand, earning a curious look from Yang.
"You've never been to the beach?" Asked Yang in disbelief.
Jaune shrugged his shoulders.
"We didn't live anywhere near the beach," replied Jaune.
"Neptune hasn't either," said Sun.
"What's his excuse?" Asked Yang.
Sun looked away. He didn't feel it was his place to tell everyone about Neptune's fear of water.
"It was a fair question Yang," said Weiss with a bit of venom in her voice.
"Fine," replied Yang, "you got me there."
"To answer your question, Weiss," said Penny, "they have been before, but I do not know the full details of their experience."
Weiss mused Penny's response over for a moment before she replied.
"Well," said the heiress, "if you think that this will help them then let's do it."
Nora, Penny, and Ruby couldn't contain their excitement. The three girls were jumping in joy while the others looked on with varying degrees of amusement. Yang and Pyrrha couldn't help but smile at the antics of the three.
"This will be so much fun!" Yelled Ruby. "It'll be just like our summers in Patch!"
"Hold on," said Weiss as she held out her hand, signaling to stop the celebration, "if we're going to do this then we're going to do it right."
"What do you have in mind?" Asked Ren.
Weiss smirked.
"Just let me handle that," said the heiress, "think of it as a surprise."
"I sure do love surprises!" Said Yang.
Nora smiled.
"Well then," said Nora as she looked at Penny, "the rest is up to you."
"You can count on me Nora!" Yelled the ginger-haired bundle of energy of the Bad Batch. "I cannot wait to see their joy when I tell them!"
Later in the Afternoon:
"No," said Terre, Rahm, and Jai together as they continued their workout.
The three were dressed in their usual workout attire consisting of sweatpants, running shoes, and long sleeve athletic shirts. Their black sweatpants and black shoes were virtually identical, but their long-sleeved shirts were different colors. Terre's shirt was forest green, Jai's was grey, and Rahm's was orange.
The super soldiers were in the gym performing pull-ups on separate bars to the cadence of a programmed timer. They would go up and hold for five seconds and then go down when the timer sounded; only to go back up once it sounded again. Despite doing so for the past thirty minutes, the three showed no signs of discomfort or strain.
With the need to keep their cover intact, the boys always made sure to cover up and never let their scars be visible. On top of that, they needed to be creative with their workouts. They could go for runs at full speed in the wooded areas in the early morning when no one was around, but they couldn't exactly be bench pressing a literal ton of weight in the main gym without raising several eyebrows.
Penny's face soured into a pout. The daughter of Dr. Polendina wasted no time in telling them about the plan to go to the beach to cheer them up as soon as she found them here in the gym.
"Is there a good reason as to why you are saying no?" She asked with a frown.
"We have work to do," replied Jai casually as he pulled himself over the bar.
Penny looked at him with an almost disappointing look. She proceeded to look at Rahm and Terre.
"Do you share his view?" She asked.
"Yes," they replied.
Penny glared at them. She loved her brothers but sometimes they were incredibly stubborn. She merely wanted what was best for them and yet they refused to be helped. She had managed to make a small amount of progress with them when she confronted them after the mission with Professor Ozpin, but since then they retreated into their circles.
They became hyper-focused on trying to find additional leads. They began to speak and socialize less with others, and instead, they focused entirely on the mission with the only breaks being their workouts or their mandatory classes.
Torchwick was in General Ironwood's custody but had yet to divulge any useful information, and the boys were not going to wait for Torchwick to talk. They would keep digging with or without Torchwick's information.
Unfortunately, all activity from the White Fang had ceased since the Breach occurred. It couldn't have been a coincidence. With Torchwick in custody, the White Fang went silent. What Penny did not know was that the boys were after a much more important target that only Adam Taurus could lead them to.
The boys had done an expert job in keeping Salem's pawn a secret from Penny and they would keep it that way. Until General Ironwood deemed it necessary for Penny to know, she would remain oblivious to the greater threat.
What Penny did know, however, was that her brothers were regressing from the progress they made in their social lives since coming to Beacon. She didn't think it was good for them and she wasn't going to let them off so easily.
Penny smirked. If they wanted to play that game, then she could play it better. She scanned the room with her optics, making sure they were still out of earshot from anyone who could potentially eavesdrop.
"Very well," she said, earning slightly surprised looks from her brothers. "If you have work to do then I should not need to remind you of the other aspect of your job."
The boys abruptly stopped their pull-ups, focusing their attention on her.
"Ruby, Weiss, and Pyrrha are resolute in going, and so I think you all know what that means."
Her brothers were freely hanging from the bars as they stared at her silently. Rahm raised an eyebrow.
"You do realize that only one of us would need to go?" Rahm countered. "The other two would stay here."
Penny's smirk faded. She'd hoped that they would just come peacefully without protest. Rahm had called her quasi-bluff. She would accept nothing less than all her brothers going with them. She would not leave a single one behind.
"You all taught me to never leave a man behind, and I see this as no different from that lesson. Your efforts the last few days have only succeeded in isolating you further and refusing to go will not magically make any leads appear."
They looked at Penny with mixed reactions, clearly surprised by her directness.
"And besides," said Penny, "I would have thought that you three would have realized that most of the leads seem to turn up whenever team RWBY is involved."
Silence.
The boys had nothing to say to that. They couldn't. Penny was right. Except for Faline, most of the useful leads turned up thanks to team RWBY's involvement. The three Guardians looked at each other for a moment as if they were conversing almost mentally. They knew each other so well that they could read each other seamlessly and communicate with the subtlest of facial expressions combined with body language.
"Alright Penny," said Terre with reluctance, "we'll make you a deal. We'll go, but if any developments occur while we're there then we'll leave. Deal?"
Penny smiled. It wasn't the ideal scenario, but she would take what she could get. This was a win in her books.
"You have a deal!"
Vale Coast, The Next Morning:
The ride to the Vale coast was silent for the most part. Team PGRT was riding in a rental car. Rahm was driving, Terre was in the passenger seat, and Jai and Penny were seated in the back. In front of their car there were two cars containing teams JNPR and RWBY, minus Yang, and in front of them was Yang riding on her motorcycle. Sun rode in Yang's place in team RWBY's car.
Penny, Pyrrha, and Weiss took it upon themselves to rent their respective teams' cars. Penny and the boys had the Atlas treasury behind them, Weiss had the largest conglomerate in the world behind her, and Pyrrha had her many athletic endorsements behind her.
Rahm's eyes darted back and forth as he scanned the vehicle's mirrors and gauges as well as the surrounding environment. Terre and Jai did the same in their respective positions. One of the many things they needed to be proficient in was offensive and defensive/evasive driving.
The view of the coast from the road had Penny mesmerized as she had her eyes glued outside. It didn't take long before the small caravan pulled into the driveway of a large, lavish-looking beach house.
Yang removed her helmet before she dismounted her bike. The blonde firecracker looked on in amazement at the house before she looked back at Weiss who got out of the driver's seat. Yang wasn't the only one looking on in amazement. Everyone except for the three Guardians and Ren looked on with starstruck eyes.
"WEISS!" Yelled Yang.
The heiress didn't have time to prepare herself for the bone-crushing embraces from Yang, Nora, and Ruby.
"This is too much! You shouldn't have!" Yelled Yang as she, Nora, and Ruby lifted Weiss off the ground.
"Thank you Weiss! This is amazing!" Yelled Ruby.
"I knew you had a heart deep down!" Said Nora with a mischievous smirk.
Weiss struggled to breathe from the combined force of the hugs as everyone voiced their thanks for her little gift.
"Y-You're…wel…come."
They finally released the heiress, who promptly collapsed on the floor as she caught her breath. She regained her composure just as she saw a familiar hand that was held out in front of her. She took it and pulled herself up.
"Thanks, Rahm," said the heiress.
"Don't mention it."
Weiss cleared her throat before she addressed the others.
"This is one of my family's vacation homes so please don't destroy anything during this stay."
"We promise!" Said Penny as she jumped up and down in excitement.
The next few minutes were spent unloading the vehicles of their clothes and the other things they brought. The house could best be described as a small mansion. It was located on a cliff that overlooked a crescent moon-shaped beach that was void of any other beachgoers. While it was one of the many homes owned by the Schnee family across Remnant, it was one of their smaller ones.
The house had everything one could ask for. A game room, a lounge, a bar, a pool, and a hot tub, and it also was stocked with beach umbrellas, chairs, a few surfboards, and virtually anything one would need or want for a day at the beach.
After the unpacking was done, Weiss gave them all a tour of the house and showed them where everyone would be staying. The house had six bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, with two additional bathrooms throughout the house for a total of eight.
Weiss and Ruby would room together followed by Blake and Yang, then Nora and Pyrrha, Rahm and Terre, Jai and Penny, and finally Ren, Jaune, and Sun together.
Once the tour was over, they parted ways to their rooms with the agreement to meet down at the beach in an hour.
"This is probably the most beautiful beach I've ever seen," said Ruby as she took in the scenery.
The sand was pristine, and the water was the deepest blue. It was nothing short of a scene from paradise.
"You took the words out of my mouth Ruby," said Pyrrha as she laid her towel down on the sand.
Teams JNPR and RWBY with Sun were gathered at the beach, still waiting for team PGRT to arrive.
Ruby wore a strapless red and black one-piece swimsuit with a pair of red oversized sunglasses.
Weiss wore a white beach dress with a white sun hat and a pair of black rectangular sunglasses.
Blake wore a black two-piece skirted bikini with black cat-eye sunglasses.
Yang wore a yellow two-piece string bikini, which left little to the imagination, and a pair of black aviator sunglasses. The blonde firecracker had a fairly large beach bag slung over her shoulder that had a frisbee visibly sticking out of it.
Jaune wore a pair of red board shorts and black rectangular sunglasses. The leader of team JNPR was carrying a large cooler.
Nora wore a pink two-piece bikini, which consisted of a high-neck halter top with a heart-shaped cutout near her bust, and she also wore a set of oversized pink sunglasses. The hyperactive ginger of team JNPR was carrying several reclining chairs under her arms.
Pyrrha wore a red two-piece bandeau-style bikini and a set of green circular sunglasses. Like Yang, she too had a large beach bag slung over her shoulder.
Ren wore a pair of green and white swimming trunks, and he carried a few large beach umbrellas in his arms.
Finally, Sun wore a black pair of swimming trunks and a pair of aviator-style sunglasses. The monkey faunus was also carrying two surfboards in his arms.
The group began to set up their space by laying down their towels and setting up the umbrellas strategically to provide the max amount of shade.
Nora looked up from setting up her space just in time to see team PGRT approach. Penny wore a simple, green one-piece swimsuit whereas the boys were dressed identically. They wore black wetsuits and black sport-style sunglasses.
Rahm was carrying a surfboard, Jai carried two large, meshed duffle bags, and Terre carried two large oxygen tanks, one in each hand.
"Hey, check out the boys!" Yelled Nora.
Yang let out a wolf whistle as she eyed the three giants as they approached.
"Did someone call for some lifeguards? Because I think we could use some saving." Yang couldn't help but admire the incredible physiques the boys sported underneath the wetsuits that couldn't hide them.
The blonde's joke earned a few laughs from the group.
Penny gave a friendly wave as she and her brothers neared the group.
"Hello friends! I apologize for being late. We had to unload some stuff from the car."
"I can see that," said Jaune as he eyed the gear that Jai and Terre carried, "what all is that? That is if you don't mind me asking."
Terre answered.
"We went to a dive shop in Vale last night to buy a few wetsuits and rent some fishing gear and some oxygen tanks for SCUBA diving."
"Fishing gear?" Asked Blake with curiosity.
Jai nodded. The super soldier dropped the duffle bags before opening one of them and retrieving a speargun, earning varying looks of surprise from the others.
"That's so cool!" Yelled Nora.
"Do you need a license for that?" Asked Sun.
"Do you need a license for carrying shotgun nun chucks?" Asked Weiss with mild sarcasm.
"Hey, I think I technically, sort of, have a learner's permit for being enrolled in Haven Academy," replied Sun with a cheeky grin.
Blake and Weiss rolled their eyes at the monkey faunus' antics while Pyrrha, Yang, and Nora laughed.
Ruby eyed the oxygen tanks Terre was holding with curiosity before she looked at him directly.
"When did you learn how to scuba dive?" Asked Ruby.
Collectively, the boys immediately thought back to when they went through the Special Warfare Combat Dive School, which was arguably the most dreaded and most difficult course the Guardian candidates went through.
During the course, students were trained to conduct personnel recovery and special operations diving missions. The course developed Guardians into competent, capable, and safe combat divers/swimmers through extensive physical training and instruction. By the end of the six-week course, Guardians were experts in surface and subsurface water confidence pool exercises, pool familiarization dives, day/night tactical open water surface/subsurface infiltration swims, open circuit/closed circuit diving procedures, deep underwater search and recovery procedures, and underwater demolitions procedures.
"I learned when I was younger in a summer program," replied Terre, earning a smile from Ruby.
Rahm and Jai shot Terre the subtlest of looks that went unnoticed by the others. That was one way of putting it, though it was putting it very lightly.
Sun eyed the surfboard under Rahm's arms before looking at the super soldier directly.
"Yo, Rahm. You surf?" Asked the monkey faunus.
"I've never done it before," replied Rahm, "but I figured now would be a good time to try it."
Sun gave a genuine smile.
"That's awesome dude," said the monkey faunus, "I can show you some stuff if you want."
"I'd appreciate that," replied Rahm, "thanks."
Weiss looked on with slight disapproval at Terre and Jai.
"This is a day to relax," said the heiress, "and yet the two of you decide to go spearfishing and scuba diving?"
"I think spearfishing is relaxing," replied Blake.
Weiss looked at Blake skeptically for a moment before the heiress reclined into her chair beneath the shade of the umbrella, silently accepting the strangeness of her friends.
"By any chance," said Blake, earning Jai's attention, "do you have any extra gear?"
Penny answered before Jai got the chance.
"Would you like to go?" Asked Penny, who had taken notice of Blake's interest.
Blake nodded.
"Do not worry Blake," replied Penny, "I made sure to get extra gear just for something like this."
Ruby perked up at the mention of that.
"In that case," said Ruby, "I'd like to go diving; that is if you'd be willing to teach me." Ruby looked up at Terre with a small smile.
"Wow," said Yang with a roll of her eyes, "can you be any more obvious?"
Ruby glared at Yang with murderous intent.
"Make what more obvious?" Asked Terre with slight confusion.
Everyone, with the exception of Jai, Rahm, Ruby, and Penny, stared at Terre. Ruby was too busy looking away in embarrassment to notice everyone staring at the Guardian.
"There's no way he is this dense," Yang mumbled to herself as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Ah don't be so mean Yang," said Nora playfully, "cut the big guy some slack."
"I think it's rather endearing," said Pyrrha with a warm smile.
Terre returned his focus to Ruby.
"To answer your question," said Terre, "I'd be happy to teach you."
Ruby's eyes lit up with excitement. This was going to be so much fun. She scrambled up to her feet, accidentally knocking the frisbee out of Yang's bag.
Jaune glanced at the frisbee before kneeling to retrieve it.
"Hey Ren. You up for some frisbee?" Asked Jaune as he held it up.
"Sure," replied Ren as he stood up.
The two jogged off, away from the makeshift campsite to avoid disturbing the others.
Nora rummaged through Yang's beach bag for a moment before she victoriously held up a shovel and a pail to the sky.
"AHA!" Exclaimed the hyperactive ginger. "I shall build a sandcastle and I will be its Queen!"
Penny jumped up and down as she clapped.
"That sounds most fun," said Penny, "may I join you, Nora?"
Nora grinned.
"You know what they say," said Nora, "two redheads are better than one!" Nora looked at Pyrrha with a palpable intensity. "And three redheads are better than two. Join us Pyrrha!"
Pyrrha brought her hand up as she laughed.
"I would love to," replied the champion Huntress, "but someone needs to keep Weiss safe from Yang."
"Hey!" Exclaimed Yang and Weiss simultaneously.
Nora nodded.
"Good call," replied Nora with a mischievous smirk, "the Princess needs a true warrior to protect her from the Dragon!"
Nora and Pyrrha couldn't contain their laughter while Yang flipped Nora the bird and Weiss stuck her tongue out at Nora.
"Come Penny!" Nora grabbed Penny by the hand and dragged her off. "There's work to be done!"
Weiss, Yang, and Pyrrha made themselves comfortable as they lounged about.
Sun dropped one of the surfboards before glancing toward Rahm.
"Ready for your first lesson?" Asked Sun as he tossed his sunglasses onto his beach towel.
Rahm, likewise, tossed his sunglasses next to Sun's.
"Ready," replied Rahm as he followed Sun to the water.
Blake and Ruby, meanwhile, were in the process of donning their wetsuits. It was clear that this wasn't Blake's first time wearing a wetsuit, but Ruby was comically struggling to put hers on.
"How does anyone put this stupid thing on?!" She exclaimed through gritted teeth as she tugged on the suit.
Jai and Terre merely watched Ruby struggle with mild amusement. Seeing as how Blake was more or less ready to go, Jai addressed her.
"Ready?"
"Ready," replied the cat faunus.
Jai nodded before handing Blake a dive mask with a snorkel, a set of fins, and the extra speargun. Blake received the items enthusiastically just as Ruby finally finished putting on her wetsuit.
Ruby let out an exaggerated sigh before looking up at Terre, who had one of the duffle bags slung over his shoulder. He was still holding the oxygen tanks.
"I'm ready," she said.
"Let's go," replied Terre with a nod.
Yang, Pyrrha, and Weiss waved as the four marched off toward the water.
"Have fun! Make sure to keep an eye on Jai, Blake," Pyrrha laughed.
"I'll do my best," replied Blake with a laugh of her own.
Jai gave a small smile and waved toward Pyrrha.
"Terre if you let my little sis get eaten by a shark or Grimm, I'll kill you!" Yelled Yang.
"That won't happen," replied Terre resolutely.
"Good," said Yang with a wink.
"See you guys later!" Ruby said with a wave as she and the others continued towards the water.
Weiss waved goodbye in return before she resumed her relaxed posture, fully intending to take a much-needed nap beneath the shade.
"So Pyrrha," said Yang as she rolled onto her side to face the champion from Mistral better. "You seemed a little worried for Jai back there," Yang gave the red-haired girl a playful wink.
Pyrrha's face flushed red, earning a laugh from Yang.
"You need some more sunscreen there, P-Money? You're looking a little red."
"Oh, leave her alone Yang," said Weiss, who didn't bother looking over toward the blonde firecracker. "Don't pay her any mind, Pyrrha."
"How embarrassing," muttered Pyrrha quietly as Yang laughed at her flustered state.
Sun couldn't help but laugh at Rahm's wipeout. The monkey faunus watched as the Guardian surfaced from beneath the water and mounted his board again.
"Remember Rahm," said Sun, "you need to keep your feet shoulder-width apart."
"Yeah," replied Rahm, "I think I wasn't quick enough to find my footing on that one."
"Well you're in luck," said the monkey faunus as he pointed out in the distance, "looks like a really nice wave is building. Let's get it."
Rahm nodded.
The two began to paddle away as fast as they could as the wave neared them. It didn't take much longer until they were being pushed by the wave. Sun stood up expertly and maneuvered away from Rahm to give him some space. Rahm stood up and wobbled a bit as he found his footing. Rahm's board picked up speed as the wave grew in intensity. The slightest shift in the board's center of gravity sent Rahm crashing into the water. The Guardian felt himself get thrashed about by the force of the water for a few moments before he finally surfaced in time to see Sun absolutely shred the wave.
"You did better that time Rahm!" Yelled Sun as he performed a cutback.
Rahm couldn't help but let a slight smirk etch itself onto his face.
Nora and Penny stood back and admired their combined handiwork. The sandcastle they built stood over ten feet tall and over ten feet wide. It resembled a giant rook chess piece.
"Well Penny," said Nora, "is this castle fit for a Queen or what?"
"Indeed," replied Penny with a nod, "it is most impressive."
Nora nodded with a grin.
"It's only missing one thing."
Penny looked at Nora curiously.
"What is it missing Nora?"
Nora's eyes darted down the beach until they landed on Ren, who had just caught the frisbee thrown by Jaune.
"It needs a King," said Nora as she marched off towards Ren, leaving Penny to stay with the sandcastle.
"This is such a lovely outing," said Penny to herself.
Blake ceased her swimming and began to tread the water as she caught her breath. The cat faunus found it hard to keep up with Jai, noting that the boy was an incredible swimmer. Growing up near the coast of Menagerie, Blake always thought herself to be a good swimmer, which was ironic considering she was a cat faunus. Blake's sudden halt got the attention of Jai, who stopped as well.
Jai's head came up from beneath the water before he looked at Blake, removing the snorkel mouthpiece from his mouth.
"Something wrong Blake?"
Blake, likewise, removed her snorkel to talk.
"Just…" she panted, "…catching my breath," her breathing steadied a bit, "…you're way faster than me."
That was one way of putting it. Jai was practically a fish. She never expected someone from Atlas to be so good at swimming.
"Sorry," he replied, "I'll slow it down."
"Thanks…" she said before she looked back towards the beach, "…how far out are we?"
"About a half mile," replied Jai, "we're looking for a reef that should be just a few hundred meters up ahead. We'll keep going when you're ready."
Blake nodded.
The cat faunus took another minute to catch her breath.
"I'm ready," she said as she donned the snorkel again.
Jai did the same and proceeded to lead them further out to sea. Jai slowed down to help Blake keep up. Along the way, they spotted a few curious fish that swam near them through their masks. Blake swore she saw a dolphin in the depths.
After a few minutes, they finally stopped. Jai pulled his head out from the water and discarded his snorkel just as Blake did the same.
"We're here," said Jai.
Blake looked down into the depths through her mask and sure enough, Jai was right. She could see a reef teeming with fish. She guessed it was about fifty feet down or so. Not excessively deep but definitely not shallow.
"How would you rate your lung capacity?" Asked Jai.
"Decent enough," replied Blake. "That looks about fifty feet to me. I should be fine."
Jai nodded. The super soldier inspected his speargun, ensuring it was properly rigged before going under. Blake did the same.
Jai and Blake each took a deep breath before diving into the depths below.
Weiss found herself getting lost in her book. She was glad Nora suggested this beach outing. It was nice to get away from Beacon Academy and not think about school. She looked up from her book to look over towards Yang and Pyrrha who were both soaking in the sun while laughing at one of Yang's terrible jokes.
Weiss found herself rolling her eyes in slight annoyance. Yang would never cease trying to be a comedian.
"Well," said Yang as she stood up and stretched a bit, "I think that's enough tanning for me. I'm gonna go for a walk. Don't wait up."
Weiss and Pyrrha watched as Yang left. Not a minute after Yang left, Pyrrha stood up before she walked over and sat in the recliner chair next to Weiss.
"Not a fan of the sun?" Pyrrha asked with a smile.
"I'm from Atlas," replied Weiss, "we barely get any sun. It's always cold."
"Fair enough," Pyrrha shrugged. "This was a great idea, though. I need to thank Nora for suggesting it again."
"It's probably the only good idea I've heard from her," said Weiss.
Both girls shared a laugh for a moment before the champion beamed a smile at the heiress.
"And thank you again, Weiss. This was an amazing touch."
"Don't mention it. Anything to help Rahm and the boys feel better."
Pyrrha couldn't help but smirk.
"Rahm?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
Weiss glared at her.
"Don't give me that, Pyrrha. He's a great friend and he's always there for me when I need him, and I have nothing but respect and admiration for team PGRT. Those four are a family; Rahm said so himself. If I can do anything to help them then I'll gladly do it."
Pyrrha studied Weiss as she processed her words. The lengths those four would go to for each other as well as others were nothing short of admirable.
"Jai told me the same thing," Pyrrha said, "Terre and Rahm are his brothers and Penny is his sister. I thought it was very sweet."
"You and him, seem quite close," Weiss noted.
Pyrrha avoided Weiss' gaze. The champion of mistral looked out towards the ocean.
"He's one of my closest friends," Pyrrha spoke softly.
The heiress examined the champion curiously.
"Just close friends?"
The Invincible Girl moved to speak but found herself at a loss for words. Weiss' question was something she was horribly unprepared for.
"I…" Pyrrha began, trying to formulate a coherent response, "…I don't know."
Truth be told, she'd been confused lately. Internally, she was in conflict. Ever since that conversation with Jai on the roof, she was beginning to question things. She wasn't sure of anything lately.
"He was the first to see me as a normal person. It was the only thing I wanted for so long."
Weiss looked away in discomfort. She knew what Pyrrha was talking about, and what made it worse was that Weiss was among those who viewed Pyrrha in her celebrity light.
"I'm sorry Pyrrha," said Weiss.
The red-haired warrior looked at the heiress with curiosity.
"For what?"
"For not treating you like a normal person initially. It was stupid of me."
Pyrrha smiled.
"Thank you Weiss."
"I've got it!" Jaune yelled as he jumped into the air, barely managing to catch the frisbee but at the cost of landing unceremoniously into the water.
"Nice catch Jaune," said Ren.
Jaune threw the frisbee back to Ren, who caught it with ease. Ren moved to throw it back but was stopped abruptly.
"REN!"
Jaune and Ren looked over just in time to see Nora march over toward them.
"You're coming with me buster!"
Without warning, Nora grabbed Ren and proceeded to drag him away like a ragdoll, forcing him to drop the frisbee.
"Nora," said Ren absentmindedly, "where are we going?"
"The castle has a Queen, but it needs a King. You're going to help with that."
Jaune could only watch as Nora dragged Ren away.
"Well there goes my game of frisbee," said Jaune to himself out loud as he plopped down on the sand.
The sound of footsteps approaching alerted the teenage boy. Jaune looked up and saw Yang halt her tracks in front of the frisbee. The blonde retrieved it before shooting the leader of team JNPR a smirk.
"Ren leave you out to dry Vomit Boy?"
Jaune's face deadpanned, earning a laugh from the sunny dragon.
"Heads up Jauney-boy!"
Jaune scrambled to his feet in time to jump up and catch the frisbee. The boy couldn't help but let a grin etch itself onto his face.
"Go long Yang!" Jaune threw the frisbee her way.
Yang didn't need to be told twice as she ran off to intercept the flying disk, managing to catch it with a well-timed jump.
The bombshell landed on her feet gracefully, shooting Jaune a playful smirk.
"Right back at ya Lady Killer!"
Jaune's face flushed red, distracting the boy just enough for him to fail to catch the frisbee which hit him square in the forehead, causing Yang to burst out in laughter.
"YANG!" Jaune massaged his forehead tenderly. "Why do you feel the need to do that?"
Yang took a moment to cease her laughing.
"You make it too easy Jauney-boy," she said with a genuine smile. "But it's not entirely untrue."
She smirked at him as she looked at his lean physique in appreciation.
"You been working out?" She asked with a light laugh.
Jaune's face was practically a tomato at this point.
"Well, I…I mean Pyrrha and Jai have been training me," Jaune awkwardly fidgeted about.
"I'd heard about that from Penny," she said, "you'll have to show me what you've learned."
"Uh s-sure," said Jaune nervously, "that'd be cool."
Yang shot the blonde a playful wink before turning her gaze out to the water. There, she spotted Rahm and Sun surfing together. Sun was tearing the waves up while Rahm, having successfully managed to stand up, was surfing far more conservatively.
"Hey check out Rahm!" Yang pointed out to the water, earning Jaune's attention.
Jaune couldn't help but look on with approval at Rahm's surfing progress.
"GO RAHM!" Yelled Jaune.
Yang saw the fun the two were having out there, and she wanted a piece of it. Without a second thought, the blonde took off, earning Jaune's attention.
"Where are you going Yang?" Asked Jaune.
"If you'll excuse me," said Yang over her shoulder, "there are some waves that need to be shredded. You coming, or what?"
Jaune watched her run off for a moment before he shrugged and walked after her.
"And the big thing to remember is to not ascend too rapidly otherwise you run the risk of decompression sickness."
Ruby's eyes were wide as saucers. The girl was still processing everything Terre told her. He promised he'd show her the basics, but she didn't think the basics would be that complicated. Terre gave her what was effectively a crash course in diving.
He showed her how to check an oxygen tank for proper pressure readings and for potential leaks. He went over how to don the gear and how to ditch it if an emergency developed. She learned how to clear a regulator as well as a flooded dive mask, and Terre ran her through a few basic underwater hand signals. The last thing he covered was the dangers of decompression sickness, which honestly had Ruby a little scared.
"Are you okay Ruby? Is there anything you want me to go over again?" Asked Terre.
Ruby shook herself out of her stupor.
"Yeah I'm fine," she said, "it's just a lot to take in. I just didn't think it would be so much stuff."
She didn't know the half of it. He kept his instruction to the absolute bare minimum, but there was so much more to diving: both recreational diving and combat-ops diving.
"It's a lot, but it's necessary to know." Terre said as he fastened a weight belt around his waist. "Are you ready to go?"
Ruby grinned.
"You bet!" Ruby comically waddled towards the water with her gear on. The oxygen tank had her hunched over a bit and the fins made her strides even more ungraceful than when she wore heels to the dance.
Terre looked on with mild amusement for a moment as Ruby waddled into the water before the Guardian likewise headed towards the water, though Terre's movements were much more graceful than Ruby's.
The reef was nothing short of beautiful. There were fish of all shapes, sizes, and colors swimming about. Some were curious while others were apprehensive about the two free divers. The water was much colder at this depth, but the wetsuits did their job.
To Blake, the whole scene was so calming. It was a needed break from the last several weeks. The cat faunus had to admit that Nora's idea had been a great one. This was their second time down in the reef. The first time, in Jai's words, had been a preliminary dive to see what all the reef contained in terms of fish and layout. Blake felt that her lung capacity was above average, being able to hold her breath comfortably for three minutes, but she found herself being pushed to her limits with Jai, who didn't seem winded in the slightest when they came up for air. She looked over towards Jai.
Blake wasn't sure what she would find at Beacon when she arrived all those months ago. Initially, she just wanted to get away from Adam and the White Fang and do something good for once.
For so long, the White Fang had been her home, but now she found a new home among teams RWBY, JNPR, and PGRT. She'd seen the potential for a better future between humans and faunus during her time at Beacon. She'd seen Weiss overcome much of her prejudices towards faunus and she'd seen humans stand up for faunus while everyone else sat and did nothing.
Blake had the utmost respect for Penny, Terre, Rahm, and Jai. She was proud to call them her friends, and she hoped that Jai, Rahm, and Terre found this outing helpful.
Blake's focus shifted to the movement in front of her. The cat faunus spotted a fairly large, juvenile halibut emerge from a drop-off. Blake stared at the fish hungrily.
Without a second thought, she brought her speargun up and aimed as she carefully maneuvered herself closer to the fish without scaring it off.
With a pull of the trigger, the spear fired out and hit the halibut square in the head. The fish thrashed about; a result of its nervous system being thrown into disarray. Blake kept a firm grip on the speargun as the fish continued to thrash about.
Within a few moments, the fish ceased its thrashing, having finally died. Blake swam over and secured the fish before she swam up to the surface.
Once she broke the surface, the cat faunus caught a much-needed breath. She was surprised to see Jai treading water as if he was waiting for her.
"Catch anything?" He asked.
Blake nodded as she lifted the dead halibut out of the water for the Guardian to see.
Jai nodded approvingly, impressed with the size of her catch.
"You did better than me," he said as he lifted a large yellowtail fish up for the cat faunus to see.
While Jai's catch wasn't small, it was smaller than Blake's by a fair margin.
Blake shot Jai a friendly smile.
"Looks like dinner is on us tonight."
"It looks like it is," replied Jai. "Let's head back and put these fish on some ice."
Blake nodded as she followed the super soldier back to the beach.
"Dude!" Yelled Sun with a massive grin on his face. "That was awesome! I think you're getting the hang of the basics."
Rahm climbed back onto his board, shooting the monkey faunus a friendly smirk.
"Thanks Sun. I appreciate you teaching me."
Sun extended his fist towards the Guardian, who looked at it for a moment before bumping fists with the faunus.
"It's nothing man. The more surfers the better!"
"I'll say!" Yelled a familiar feminine voice.
The two boys turned to see Yang paddling out on a surfboard towards them. On the beach, the two could see Weiss and Pyrrha waving at them from their mini campsite, and not too far from them were Nora and Ren standing atop the sandcastle with Penny and Jaune standing at the base of the castle; all four were likewise waving at the surfers.
Rahm returned the wave before turning his attention to the dragon of Team RWBY.
"Yang," said Rahm with a respectful nod.
"Did you come to join the cool crowd?" Asked Sun with a smirk.
Yang rolled her eyes.
"Oh please," she said, "everyone knows that Yang Xiao Long is the cool crowd."
"Oh, forgive my ignorance," Sun bowed his head in mock respect.
"That's better," said Yang with a smirk, "and if you must know I'm here to show you boys how it's done. Watch and be amazed."
Sun and Rahm watched as Yang paddled past them.
"This should be entertaining," said Sun with a laugh as he paddled after her.
Rahm said nothing and followed their examples.
Once they were far out enough, they waited for a wave to build. Luckily, the wait wasn't too long and they soon found themselves paddling as fast as they could away from the incoming wave. From the looks of it, the wave was going to be a big one.
Rahm could feel the way begin to carry him forward, and smoothly he stood up on his board. He glanced over and saw Sun and Yang stand up with ease.
Rahm smiled as he rode the wave. He glanced over again to see what Yang and Sun were doing. Rahm found himself looking on with respect as he witnessed Yang flying through the air over Sun while hanging onto her board before landing in front of the monkey faunus, causing him to fall off his board.
The Guardian saw as Yang shot him a playful smirk before she maneuvered her board to reverse direction and come towards him.
Rahm couldn't prepare for the blonde firecracker of team RWBY to speed past him, causing him to fall off his board like Sun before him.
Rahm tumbled beneath the water as the wave passed before he finally surfaced. When he did, he saw Sun climbing back onto his board, laughing as he did so.
Rahm looked towards the shore and spotted a prideful-looking Yang grinning at him and Sun. The super soldier couldn't help but let a small laugh escape. He had to admit; he found Yang's antics pretty amusing.
Ruby was mesmerized by the scene before her. The reef was teeming with life with fish and crustaceans of all kinds. A curious crab seemed to study Ruby with suspicious eyes from on top of a large rock. The girl held her hand out, but the crab scurried off.
Ruby couldn't help but laugh at the crab's antics. On the way out here, the two had crossed paths with Jai and Blake. The two had a short, but successful hunt in the very reef Ruby and Terre were in.
Speaking of Terre, the young Huntress looked over and saw him not too far from her exploring the reef floor. Ruby couldn't help but smile. Terre seemed to be doing much better than when she saw him return with Professor Ozpin. Not just him, but Jai and Rahm too.
She still had no idea what happened to the boys during that mission, but she hoped this trip would raise the boys' spirits.
Ruby flutter-kicked her way over towards Terre, who was examining a sea horse as it swam by him. Terre found his focus on the sea horse broken as he felt something envelop his left hand.
He looked down and saw a small hand in his, and he saw Ruby looking up at him through her mask smiling with her eyes.
Using the knowledge she gained from Terre, she held her free hand up in an "ok" gesture.
Are you okay?
A faint smile etched itself onto Terre's face. He nodded as he returned the gesture with his free hand.
I'm okay.
Later that Day:
Penny was seated on her bed as she examined a photo on her scroll, smiling warmly as she did so. The picture was of the thirteen friends on the beach. It was almost comical how much the three Guardians towered over the others.
The friends were arranged in two rows. In front in the first row, from left to right, was Nora, Yang, Pyrrha, Ruby, Weiss, and Blake. The girls were huddled together in a giant embrace. Behind in the second row, from left to right was Ren, Jaune, Jai, Terre, Rahm, and Sun. Sun and Jaune had large smiles on their faces while Ren, Jai, Terre, and Rahm looked a bit more neutral.
Penny stood in the middle atop the shoulders of both Jai and Terre with the largest smile on her face.
The beach day had been everything Penny had hoped it would be. Jai and Blake were the first ones to return to the house with the intent of preparing the fish they caught for everyone to enjoy. Once Terre and Ruby returned from their dive, the others deemed it time to return as well.
The synthetic girl looked up as she heard footsteps approach. Penny smiled as she saw Rahm enter the doorway. He was still wearing his wetsuit and he carried a towel in one hand and a change of clothes in the other.
"Hello Rahm," she waved at him.
"Hey Penny," he replied, "is it okay if I use your shower? Terre beat me to it."
"Of course," she gestured towards the open bathroom. "Go right ahead."
"Thanks," he said with a nod as he walked into the bathroom and closed the door.
Penny went back to admiring the photo on her scroll. She'd never been this happy. In her few years of life, she always wanted to have friends. Now, she had them. Her wish had come true. She was so grateful for these fortunate events. She needed to tell her father about this.
Without a second thought, Penny darted out of the room with her scroll in hand.
Blake watched with hungry eyes as Jai butchered the fish with precise cuts. Jai was working on a table on the patio and next to that table was a grill. The super soldier was dressed in his usual attire whereas Blake had changed into more casual attire of white shorts, a black tank top, and black sandals. Next to her was Pyrrha, who wore a green sun dress with sandals, next to Pyrrha was Weiss, who wore a light purple sun dress with sandals, and next to her was Yang, who wore a yellow tank top with black shorts and sandals.
Nora, Ren, and Ruby were inside watching TV and Jaune and Sun were playing air hockey in the game room.
"He makes it look so easy," said Yang as she watched Jai handle the knife with ease.
"I'm so hungry," Blake's eyes were glued to the fish.
The cat faunus' comment earned a few giggles and eye rolls from the other girls. The sliding glass door to the patio opened, and Terre, dressed in his usual attire, stepped out onto the patio.
"Hey Terre," said Yang and Pyrrha simultaneously.
Blake and Weiss smiled and waved while Jai gave his brother a respectful nod. Terre responded with a small wave.
"Where are Rahm and Penny?" Asked Jai as he lightly seasoned the cut with salt and pepper.
"Rahm should be down in a few minutes and Penny was talking with her father last I saw," replied Terre as he took a seat in an empty chair next to Yang.
Weiss sighed.
"I guess I'll go look for Penny," said the heiress as she stood up and went inside to search for the hyperactive ginger of team PGRT.
Rahm sat on the edge of Penny's bed as he went through intelligence files on his encrypted scroll. The Guardian held his scroll in one hand and was using a towel to dry his hair. The super soldier was dressed so far in just his pants. Rahm had been in the middle of getting dressed when his scroll beeped, having received a message from Terre.
Hurry up.
Rahm couldn't help but let a small laugh escape.
The door to the room opened.
"Are you in here Penny?"
Rahm's head swung around towards the door immediately as Weiss entered. The heiress gasped in surprise upon seeing Rahm there. In embarrassment, Weiss brought her hands up to cover her mouth.
"I'm sorry!" Her voice was filled with guilt. "I was looking for Pe-"
Weiss stopped mid-sentence. Her eyes grew wide as saucers as she got a better look at Rahm. To say the boy was powerfully built would have been an understatement. He didn't look like a bodybuilder, but every single one of the boy's large muscles were chiseled and well-defined. Under normal circumstances, Weiss would have found herself becoming red at such a sight.
This, however, was not a normal circumstance.
What caught Weiss' attention more than anything else were the series of scars that ran along Rahm's arms, torso, and back. Weiss, still speechless, found herself walking closer to the Guardian.
"Rahm," she whispered, "what happened?" She was close enough to where she could reach out and touch the scars, but she didn't.
Rahm studied the girl silently. Mentally, however, he was pissed that the lock on the door had failed to do its job properly. There was a reason he, Terre, and Jai always wore long-sleeved clothing and always wore long pants. The surgical scars would generate a lot of unnecessary questions and would only hinder their efforts to maintain their cover.
"It's nothing Weiss. It happened a long time ago when I was younger," replied Rahm calmly as he put on his shirt. "The scars you're seeing are a result of the surgeries I had to go through."
That technically wasn't a lie.
Weiss looked borderline horrified. She couldn't imagine the accident Rahm suffered that would warrant such extensive surgeries.
"Can I ask what happened to cause such a thing?" Her voice held true sincerity.
"Weiss," said Rahm, "if it's okay I would rather not. It brings a lot of painful memories that I would rather not be reminded of."
"I'm sorry," she replied, "I know how you feel. Truly, I do."
Rahm looked at her quizzically.
Weiss brought her hand up and lightly touched the scar over her left eye.
"It's not to the same degree," she said as her voice cracked a bit, "but this scar will always be a reminder. There are memories that I wish I could forget, but I know that I'll never be free of them."
Rahm said nothing as he listened to her speak.
"You're the first person I've brought this up with in years." Weiss kept herself composed as she felt tears trying to escape. "Believe me when I say I understand your pain. If you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm here."
Rahm found himself unprepared for Weiss to suddenly envelope him in a hug. The Guardian was still processing her words.
It seems she hasn't spoken of it since around the time it happened. Even then, it still looks like she hasn't completely recovered from the experience.
Though he would never admit to it, Rahm knew what she was talking about. The super soldier returned the embrace.
"Thank you, Weiss," he said, "it means a lot. May I ask a favor?"
She looked up at him and gave a small smile.
"Anything," she replied.
"Would you mind keeping what you saw quiet?"
She looked at him with a bit of confusion.
"What about Penny, Jai, and Terre? Do they not know?" She asked.
"They do," replied Rahm, "but I'd prefer if this was never mentioned again. Please."
She nodded, smiling warmly as she did so.
"I promise."
Later that Night:
Dinner went well enough. The group dined on the catches of Jai and Blake, and they were surprised to find that Jai was surprisingly good on the grill. He wasn't a chef by any means, but he and his brothers were well-versed in catching and eating wild animals to survive. With that skill came the need to know how to make food taste better with the little resources they had in the wilderness.
Once dinner was over, they made their way back down to the beach. The three Guardians built a fire pit and a subsequent fire for the group to enjoy, and it was there where they sat around and conversed about their day at the beach.
The most noticeable thing by far was the change in the demeanor of the three Guardians. They didn't seem as distant as they had been in the previous days. They seemed back to their normal, but still very quiet, selves. Naturally, they were men of few words of course.
To the others, it was good to have the boys back to their usual selves. Seeing them so distant and detached from everything was an unsettling experience for them, especially Penny. The synthetic girl had come to view them as her brothers, the only family she had outside of her father.
Penny couldn't help but smile as she observed the display of merriment and laughter before her. Yang, Nora, and Sun were by far the most boisterous of the group as they danced around the campfire. Most cheered and clapped them on while the three Guardians and Ren looked on in silence at the performance before them and Blake read her book quietly.
Speaking of Ren, Nora grabbed the boy and dragged him up unceremoniously to dance with her. Yang followed the hyperactive ginger's example as she grabbed and dragged Jaune up to dance with her around the fire.
Blake's attention from her book was broken as she looked up to see an extended hand waiting for her. The hand belonged to a smiling monkey faunus who was waiting patiently. Blake smiled and put her book down and took Sun's hand and joined him to dance.
To Penny, the day had been one of the most enjoyable in her life. She was happy to be with her friends and even happier to see her brothers back to their normal selves.
Penny's inner alert system silently actuated.
The synthetic girl's AI was linked to her scroll and could see that they'd received an encrypted message from General Ironwood. No doubt it was an intelligence update. Penny quickly went about decrypting and analyzing the information with her advanced processors.
As she did so, the girl looked to her brothers, seeing Jai stand up and excuse himself from the small party, earning a few complaints from the others. Penny wanted to voice her protest, but she knew she couldn't. In any case, she smiled.
They will figure it out.
Jai looked behind him, seeing the light of the fire in the far distance. He was sure he was out of anyone's reach to potentially overhear or spy on him.
The super soldier went about decrypting the intelligence files sent by the general. It took a few minutes, but the files were now readable. Jai read through the update sent by the general.
Upon closer inspection, Jai found that there were no groundbreakingly significant updates from the general. There was no activity from the White Fang and Torchwick had yet to divulge any useful information. The Guardian couldn't help but be a bit impressed with the thief's resilience to the general's enhanced interrogation methods.
Most of the news sent by the general had to do with the upcoming Vytal Tournament's security.
The skies above were void of any clouds and Guardian Zero-Three-Seven looked out towards the ocean, silently appreciating the calm scene, as he began to think on Penny's words from yesterday. It looked like she had been right. No new developments occurred.
"I have a feeling she won't let us live this one down," he said to himself quietly.
Jai's advanced ears picked up the sound of footsteps approaching from behind. Without looking behind him, the Guardian already knew who it was.
"I take it that bonfires aren't your thing?"
Jai turned around to see Pyrrha standing there. Her sundress flowed gently in conjunction with the ocean breeze.
"It's not that," replied Jai, "I just wanted to take a walk."
Pyrrha smiled as she walked closer until she stood beside him and likewise looked out towards the ocean. The Invincible Girl took in the beautiful, calm scenery before her.
"It's wonderful, isn't it?" She kept looking out towards the water.
Jai, likewise, kept his eyes fixated out toward the sea.
"Yes," he replied.
"The ocean reminds me of some very pleasant memories with my parents," she began.
Jai's eyes glanced at her and listened intently as she spoke.
"My father would take me and my mother to the beach every chance he got. Seeing the ocean was his second favorite thing to see in the world. My mother and I came first," her voice was filled with melancholy, and it did not go unnoticed by the Guardian.
Jai knew just about everything there was to know about Pyrrha's life. From what she'd told him and what he read up on her in her files, there were few gaps in knowledge of her. He knew her father had died on a mission several years ago. He understood why she felt a warm connection to the ocean. It reminded her of her father.
"What about you?" She asked, looking at him directly. "I've never heard you speak of your family."
It's true. She'd tried to learn more about him on many occasions, but he'd always find a way to avoid the topic of his family.
Jai couldn't begin to fathom what having a father, let alone a mother would be like. He knew he once had a family, but he had long forgotten it after years of harsh military training and indoctrination.
"There isn't much to say honestly," he replied.
Pyrrha frowned. She sensed it was something he didn't want to talk about. She decided that she wouldn't press it further.
"I won't press it then," she said. "But there is something else."
"Yes Pyrrha?"
"Are you okay Jai?" She looked at him with great concern. "When I saw you return from your mission with Professor Ozpin, I saw someone who looked like Jai Gris, but it wasn't him. What happened?"
Jai moved to reply but found himself cut off as Pyrrha continued to speak.
"You've been so distant since then and seeing you throughout today has made me hopeful. Are you well? I just want Jai Gris back. I want my friend back. Please, for once, talk to me."
Jai looked down, seeing that the girl was holding his hand firmly. He looked back into her eyes. He had a lingering feeling that this would come up.
"I'm sorry Pyrrha," he began, "you're right. I can't change what happened, but I can tell you that you will never see me like that again. I don't want to speak too much about it, but there were some children whose lives we couldn't save."
Pyrrha gasped. She stared at the super soldier in horror upon hearing what had happened.
Immediately, the super soldier felt himself in the arms of the girl as she hugged him tightly and didn't let go. The Guardian did nothing for a moment until he finally returned the embrace. Jai didn't tell her the whole story, but he told her enough to satisfy her very clear concern for him.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I'm so sorry. I can't even imagine what that must have been like."
Jai silently hoped she would never have to see something like that. He knew that she knew that the life of a Huntress was difficult and dangerous and that seeing civilians, even children, die would be a possibility. Jai had seen civilians die before, but those children hit very close to him and his brothers. They never spoke of it, but they all knew that the children reminded them of their brothers and sisters in the program, all of whom they could not save.
"It's okay," he replied, "I'm glad we let penny talk us into coming on this trip. I think it did us all some good."
Pyrrha let go of the Guardian and looked at him with a smile.
"I'm so happy to hear that," she said.
"Thank you Pyrrha."
The Invincible Girl took Jai's hand into hers once again. Nothing was said as they went back to looking out to sea.
The night had finally ended. Weiss was beyond exhausted. She'd had her fun and now it was time for bed. Ruby had fallen asleep on the living room couch downstairs. Rather than disturb the girl's peaceful slumber, Yang had opted to cover her with a blanket instead.
Weiss wasn't complaining, though. It meant she had her old room all to herself. The heiress had donned her sleepwear and was getting ready to shut off the light on her nightstand, but she stopped as she noticed something.
There was a drawer on her nightstand that was slightly open. She reached inside and retrieved what was an old diary of sorts. The heiress' eyes went wide as she fully comprehended what she was holding.
"So, this is where I left it," she whispered to herself.
The heiress began to flip through the diary, re-reading her many entries, and smiling as she did so. The entries brought some pleasant memories to her. She kept making her way through the diary until she came upon something different.
There, on the page, was a drawing of a large humanoid figure adorned in orange armor. The armor made it look like a robot more than anything else. At the top of the page, there was a note.
Thank you, my guardian. I will never forget you.
Weiss smiled warmly at the drawing as she reached up and faintly touched the scar over her left eye.
"You'll always be real to me," she whispered.
The heiress closed the diary and put it back into the drawer before she shut the light off and went to bed.
Definitely a lot to unpack this chapter; especially between Weiss and Rahm. Looks like Weiss has a Guardian haha. If you've been paying attention, I dropped subtle hints in the earlier chapters about a connection between Weiss and Rahm. Curious to know what any of you think. I know I left some things unanswered from the last chapter but I will address them in the next one. Stay tuned.
Dude64