Author's Note: Enjoy.

Beta: GeneralMayhem, kpmh2001

"That movie was…" Pyrrha struggled to find the proper words. "Interesting."

"Crap." Coco had her own choice words to say. "The word you were looking for was crap."

"I thought it was supposed to be the best one in the franchise?" Velvet's exasperated tone making her own thoughts abundantly clear. "The effects were way worse in this one!"

"I don't know about that." Fox chimed up from the bed behind the couch. "Looked about the same to me." The rest of team CFVY groaned at his poor joke, Pyrrha awkwardly chuckled unsure of how to respond. "The writing was definitely worse though."

"The romantic subplot was odd." Yatsuhashi added.

"It wasn't even the same chick from the last one!" Velvet snapped. "At least there was some chemistry between them in that one!"

"And she had an amazing as-"

"Coco!" Velvet blushed brightly, Pyrrha hiding her own embarrassment by coughing into her fist.

"Dont act like you didn't notice." Coco simply rolled her eyes. "But yeah, total dumpster fire."

"It wasn't that bad-" Pyrrha was cut off by the sudden and numerous glares sent her way. Though she couldn't see him from where she was sitting, she was sure Fox was doing the same.

"I get that you don't have a rude bone in your body, but you don't have to defend it." Coco said.

Pyrrha blushed and remained silent, trying to hide her embarrassment by taking another drink from her soda. When that failed she mumbled softly to herself. "It was pretty bad."

"Ah ha!" Coco practically jumped up from the couch. "Even you can't find something nice to say about that trash!" She celebrated by grabbing another soda from the box before sitting back down. All the while Pyrrha struggled to maintain her composure, much to Coco's amusement. "I'll give it one thing, it was certainly long."

"Definitely." Velvet nodded her head in agreement.

"I don't know if that's a good thing." Yatsuhashi added.

"Too long." Fox seemed to strike the nail on the head, the rest of the group nodding along. "I've been in lectures with Professor Port that got to the point faster, and they were way more fun to listen to."

"Ouch." Coco seemed to ponder his words for a moment before coming to the conclusion he was right. "That one story about the cabbage isn't too bad." Everyone present groaned.

Pyrrha remembered it well, the singular moment where her hopes and expectations had come crashing down. Her excitement slowly whittling away to a patient sense of contentment, before eventually being replaced with abject boredom. Sadly, much to Coco's credit, the cabbage story was probably the best one he told.

"It was a three out of ten." Velvet brought the conversation back to the movie.

"Two." Fox and Yatsuhashi agreed.

"Negative three due to a lack of ass or otherwise redeemable qualities."

Pyrrha chuckled lightly at Coco's comment but refrained from giving her own. She hadn't seen very many movies, not before coming to Beacon anyways, as there hadn't been time for such things when she was still fighting tournaments, not to mention what she had gone through to make sure she would be able to pass the entrance exam into Beacon proper.

Team JNPR had gone on a number of trips to the movies, with even a few stay-in movie nights like team CFVY apparently did regularly, but those had always been different. In truth, she couldn't remember much of the movies, usually so engrossed in conversation with her teammates to care for the thing that they had paid to see.

She smiled softly at the memories, sparing a glance over to the couch as Coco and Velvet compared the movie they had just watched to the others in the franchise. Yatsuhashi and Fox wisely chose to stay out of the argument for the most part, though Fox seemed to step in every now and then to push them further.

Team CFVY defied all of her expectations based on her past life. Back then they had been the older students trying to show them the ropes, offering advice and showing the confused first years around campus. Maybe it was because they were technically first years now, or maybe it was simply that the rose tint had finally fallen away, but they didn't feel like that any more. It felt more familiar this way, they reminded her of her team and friends.

She made a mental note to introduce them when the next year started. She knew that they would all get along, Nora and Yang would no doubt love the back and forth banter with Coco and Fox. It might even do Weiss and Blake some good to have another Faunus around so early into the year.

Pyrrha closed her eyes, only vaguely hearing the sound of conversation. It was late, the movie really had been long, and she would need to start heading back to her dorm room soon. She had an early morning tomorrow in order to make up for the work she had missed tonight. Despite knowing that fact, Pyrrha simply sat there. Eyes closed with a soft smile on her face as she listened.

"I don't think you will change her mind, Velvet." Yatsuhashi spoke up in a hushed tone. "Coco is far too stubborn."

"When I'm right." She insisted. "The second movie is way better than the first."

Velvet bristled under her comment, preparing to start the argument again only to be cut off by her partner. "At any rate, you should try to remain quiet." He nodded over to where Amber was sitting, currently passed out in the chair. Whatever Velvet had planned to say was left behind, though she did send a silent glare in Coco's direction ensuring her the argument wasn't over.

Which was just fine by Coco's standard. Velvet was never more entertaining than when she was worked up and she could be a surprisingly passionate person when she was comfortable around people. You just had to work through her shell, and if that meant debating movies, so be it.

"We should probably wake her up so she can go back to her room." Velvet looked towards Coco but didn't make any move to stand.

"Perhaps it would be best to let her rest." Yatsuhashi spared a glance towards Amber before turning back to them. "She looks like she could use the sleep."

"What do you mean?" Fox asked, finally breaking the lie that he had been asleep when she had asked him to comment on their earlier debate.

"Amber spends pretty much all of her time training," Coco filled the other two in on what Velvet and her had come to know about their new friend over the weeks. "And since she doesn't seem to go to classes at all, that's a lot more time than any other student at Beacon."

"W-which is fine, she's just a very dedicated person." Velvet jumped to her defense.

"Yeah she is, but don't tell me you missed the bags under her eyes?" Coco wasn't sure what Amber's sleep schedule was like, but judging by appearances it wasn't what most would call healthy.

Velvet looked over to Amber, her voice little more than a whisper. "I'm sure she knows her limits."

She wasn't so sure.

"Have you seen what she eats as well?" Yatsuhashi spoke, grabbing both of their attention. "For someone who spends their time working out, she doesn't eat nearly as much as I would expect."

Coco thought back to the few meals they had shared with Amber, the ones where they could convince her to sit down with them anyways. Usually she grabbed her food to go, slinking back to her dark corner of the gym or her isolated garden. Though her food was always healthy, the portion sizes were certainly small. "Hmm, I hadn't noticed."

"Well… the years pretty much over and we have about a month before the next one starts." Velvet said. "We should try and help her."

Coco smiled at her friend's determined look. "That sounds like a good idea."

"I'm down." Fox chimed in with his own support, though he still refused to sit up from his bed.

"I agree with the sentiment but… It may not be so easy." Yatsuhashi just had to ruin their mood. Though one look at Velvet's face had him quickly attempting to explain. "Amber is a very kind person-"

"Polite to a fault you mean." Coco corrected.

"-but I'm sure the teachers have already taken note of her behavior."

"And if they couldn't convince her…" Coco saw what he meant.

"We should still try." Velvet's voice was steadfast, making it very clear she had no intention of relenting.

"We will Vel." Coco assured her. "I don't think anyone is against that." She paused just in case someone wanted to correct her, but neither of them did. "Yats is just saying how difficult it's going to be." Velvet nodded her head, looking over to their deeply asleep friend.

"We'll need to get something to grab her attention at least." Yatsuhashi turned to her. "Do you know what interests her, aside from training?"

Coco shrugged her shoulders softly. "The White Fang."

"Ha, because we have them just lying around." Fox chuckled softly to himself.

"We'll have to think of something." Coco yawned softly. "Unfortunately, it'll have to wait until morning."

Velvet looked like she might protest, until she yawned as well. Her tiredness seemingly catching up with her, even still, she pouted at the perceived loss and glared at Coco. Blaming her team leader.

Coco chuckled softly but stood and made the way towards her bed before getting changed, her team quickly following suit.

With the school year finally over and a break finally arriving, the halls of Beacon were far emptier than usual. The vast majority of the school body had gone home while they could. Yatsuhashi planned on heading back to Mistral for a week or two in order to see his family but would come back before the break was over. He wasn't set to leave for a few days still so they had planned to do a few things as a team before he went.

Velvet, Fox, and herself planned on staying at Beacon however. Velvet and herself both being close enough to home to visit on a weekend and Fox not having much of a home to return to. It would be odd being down a member for so long, even if it was just a couple weeks. They just had to make the most of the time they had.

Part of that had been planning on how to rope Amber into their group activities. When they'd woken up Amber had still been passed out where she had fallen asleep, though Yatsuhashi had set a blanket over her to keep her from getting cold. When she woke up she had apologized profusely, despite their insistence it wasn't a problem, and tried to excuse herself.

Team CFVY hadn't allowed that however and quickly dragged her off to breakfast to eat with them. That's when Coco had taken notice of what Yatsuhashi had said the night before and, true to his word, Amber really didn't eat much. Velvet had also noticed, sparing a glance with her teammates but not broaching the subject.

They'd made plans for later, attempting to drag Amber into them despite her polite and complete resistance to it. In the end the best they'd been able to get was an 'I'll think about it' before she had run off to start training. Coco had never met someone so against the idea of fun before in her life.

"You're the leader of team CFVY, right?" Coco nearly bumped into the man as she rounded the corner, jumping back slightly at the sudden obstacle and attempting to keep her composure.

"Yeah." It was moments like this that she was truly thankful for her sunglasses. Looking the man up and down, careful not to move anything but her eyes, she was able to say she had no idea who he was.

He was a Huntsman obviously, the weapon attached to his lower back giving that away with ease, but she didn't recognize him. She did recognize the smell of alcohol however as the man took a swig from his hip flask.

"You're friends with Amber, right?" Coco nodded hesitantly. "I've got a mission for you and it… might not be entirely approved by the Headmaster." That got her interest and Coco listened carefully, slowly realizing just how lucky she was to run into the man.

"What you will be attempting next requires a great amount of control." Professor Goodwitch circled her as she spoke, Pyrrha taking the pause in training to catch her breath and wipe the sweat from her brow.

"Sustained flight can offer you a tremendous advantage over your opponent, effectively removing their ability to attack you and thus restrict them to strictly defensive actions." She paused momentarily, finally coming to a stop directly in front of Pyrrha.

"But it can also be incredibly taxing on one's body and mind. The reason we did not start with it is to simulate the strain you would be experiencing during a battle. If you are not able to control it…" The Professor's eyes changed, the sharp edge every student of the academy knew falling away to reveal an almost sympathetic look. "There is no shame in not managing it the first time."

Pyrrha nodded her head, determination evident on her face as she focused her mind on the subtle force that burned within her. She was well aware of what the Professor was talking about, there was no shame in failing to be an expert at something you had never done before and, while she'd never struggled to learn new fighting techniques, Pyrrha was very familiar with that concept when it came to people.

Taking a deep breath, Pyrrha cast her thoughts aside. There were numerous ways to achieve flight with magic. The Headmaster had said that there were many more which she wouldn't have access to due to the limited nature of her powers, a fact that astounded her. Despite all their power, what the Maidens possessed was but a fraction of the true variety of magic that was possible.

Amber had apparently been fond of using wind currents to levitate herself, while Cinder seemed to use fire in a manner similar to a conventional Dust thruster to generate propulsion, both of which she would be able to do in due time, but were fundamentally different.

In combat, Amber's typical strategy required constant focus, otherwise she could easily have been thrown by her own wind. Managing to maintain her balance, while also managing to launch attacks, was an indication of just how much control she had had over the power. The intense winds served to protect her just as much as the added height advantage.

It wasn't perfect however, as Amber had been shot in the back by Cinder's arrow despite the strong winds that should have blown it away. Whether that was due to a slip in her focus, or some kind of deceit on Cinder's part, no one could say.

Pyrrha could remember small parts of the fight, glimpses that could have easily been mistaken for dreams had she not known that they had happened. They faded the farther back they went however, to the point that she only had a vague sense of an idea of how the fight had started. Even then she couldn't make sense of what Amber had been thinking, only a subtle impression of the emotion that she had felt in the moment.

Cinder's version of flight was drastically different, and yet it seemed to fall in line with what Pyrrha had been told about how magic worked in general. The Headmaster had warned her about the potential, and danger, of emotions being able to work in tandem with the Maiden powers. Allowing your emotion full control would hinder you however, as your power and ability would always be at the whim of how you felt in that moment.

At its core, magic wasn't too different from any other kind of fighting. Pyrrha had known, and fought, her fair share of emotionally charged combatants. More often than not, their emotions, which they often saw as a strength, became their weakness. Yang could be an exception some of the time, so long as she could rein in her anger somewhat to stop herself from making unnecessarily risky moves, but that played into what the Headmaster said.

Control was the key.

Pyrrha took another deep breath, lifting her arms out slightly and imagining the wind swirling around her body. Tapping into the energy within, she felt the familiar feeling of the fire sparking to life over her eyes. She could feel the breeze pick up, despite the fact they were deep inside the academy, hidden away from the outside world.

The wind picked up, swirling faster around her body as she began to feel a slight sensation of weightlessness. The strain continued to grow and Pyrrha kept her eyes clenched shut, attempting to ignore the pain and put all her focus on the task at hand. She felt her feet shakily begin to lift from the floor before the power suddenly gave out, causing her to crash down and fall to her knees as she struggled to breathe.

I was so close! She struck the ground in frustration. If only I could have lasted a few more seconds!

She felt the Professor touch a hand to her shoulder, looking up Pyrrha was met with the same sympathetic look from earlier. "You will get it, in time."

Pyrrha looked away from the Professor, unable to meet her eyes. After a moment to catch her breath, and for the burning strain inside of her to subside, she stood up, preparing to try again.

"Take a break, Am-" The Professor cut herself off. "Miss Nikos. It would benefit no one if you injured yourself from over straining yourself." She gestured over to the section meant for the audience.

Pyrrha reluctantly sat down, understanding the need for rest but wishing she could at least make progress before requiring it. The Professor sat down a few feet beside her.

"I've only ever had a few students like you in my years here at Beacon." Pyrrha wasn't sure what to say but gave the Professor her attention. "It's not uncommon for students to be unhappy when they fail to make the progress they feel they should, but it's rare to see students so determined and driven in those goals."

She wasn't sure what to think of the Professor's words. "I have good reasons to need to improve."

"Of course you do." She replied. "All those who push themselves so hard have good reasons to do so. Perhaps it's to become strong enough to protect the weak, to simply be the best, or maybe save the people they care for." The Professor nodded to her at the last. "But all too often those students push themselves too hard and end up breaking before they can accomplish their goal."

"I'm not pushing myself too hard." Pyrrha answered back. "I can handle it."

"Hmm." Miss Goodwitch hummed. "You spend more time training than anyone I've met in a very long time. People have to force you to slow down and allow your body time to properly rest."

"Miss Goodwitch." Pyrrha sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly. "I wish I had time to relax, time to spend with my friends and team, but… that isn't an option right now. Not yet. Once Cinder is beaten and my friends are safe I will. I promise." She offered her best smile towards her teacher, hoping that it would convince her.

"What about the next time?" The Professor asked. "You're the Fall Maiden now. There will always be people after you for your power. How will you prepare for them?"

Pyrrha scowled but was unsure of what to say. "I'll have my team to help me then."

"And will you spend every waking moment training to fight Salem as well?"

Pyrrha felt her patience snap, the mounting questioning and frustration of failure pushing her beyond her limits. "Maybe I wouldn't have to if you'd stopped Cinder before!"

Pyrrha regretted it the moment she said it, her words having been ill chosen. "I-I'm sorry Professor! I didn't mean-"

"No, you are right." For the first time Pyrrha could recall, Miss Goodwitch looked defeated. She removed her glasses, cleaning them on her blouse. "We failed you and your friends. You put your trust in Beacon, in us, to keep you safe and teach you how to be Huntsmen and Huntresses. It is our job to protect you and we failed." Placing her glasses back on she turned to Pyrrha.

"I'm sorry for everything that has happened to you, truly, I am. You deserved more than this… I think that's enough training for the day." Standing, the Professor nodded at her briefly. "I shall send you the time for our next training session." Pyrrha nodded back.

The Professor turned and left, leaving her sitting alone in the training hall. Even though Glynda didn't say it, Pyrrha could tell that her words had struck a painful cord with her, and she couldn't help but feel regret for causing that kind of pain in somebody who had just been trying to help.

She had only made it half the way back to her dorm room when her scroll vibrated. Opening it, she was surprised to see that it was from Coco, rather than the Professor.

Found something you'll be interested in. Meet us in our room. Bring your combat gear.

Pyrrha sighed as she quickened her pace back. If she wanted a shower she would have to be quick. If she took too long, she expected Coco would come to collect her. She sent a quick reply saying she would be there soon.

Authors Note: Hmm, wonder what that could be about? Tax evasion, obviously. You want to know what's scarier than Salem? The IRS.

Anyways, as always I encourage you to review and let me know what you think. There were a few really interesting reviews over the last couple chapters and I've tried to answer or accommodate them if possible. That might not be clear yet, but it will be. Hope you enjoyed it.

Sincerely, SE