Author's Note: The website was acting up last week and so I decided to take that weekend off and just relax. Usually I would give advanced warning, but if I can't log into the site to upload there isn't much point in me writing the whole chapter out anyways. So I kicked my feet up and sipped away at a drink with a tiny umbrella, real vacation like.

Also, minor hiccups in the last chapter at the end with the Roman section. I had a placeholder of "Boy" for the name at the time of writing and just… forgot to correct it. I remembered about thirty minutes after uploading and corrected it to Alan as it should have been. No need to go back and reread, just wanted to note I did not pull a God of War and literally call a character "Boy!"

Pyrrha flicked the catch of Allos' center gear open, admiring the near perfect job Ruby had done last night. She'd always known the girl as a weapon nut, but it was sometimes easy to forget that it was more than just a hobby or passion, or even a profession. If anything, most would have said it bordered on fanaticism sometimes, though mostly in a humorous type of way. The result, however, was that her friend had taken better care of her weapon than even Pyrrha had.

Closing Allos up and slipping it back into its sheath, Pyrrha smiled back at her friend and nodded politely. "Thank you Ruby, it's perfect."

"I didn't see any signs of strain or damage, so I just did a once over to make sure the inner-mechanisms weren't cracked or corroded." Ruby smiled back at her, the bright shine of which lifted Pyrrha's mood slightly; it was impossible to be upset in the girl's presence.

"You did an excellent job, there just wasn't much to repair." Pyrrha took comfort in the familiar weight of Allos on her hip.

"Kinda makes me wonder why you were in such a hurry to start working on it." Coco mumbled, though clearly intending for Pyrrha to hear it.

Pyrrha ignored it. "I'm sorry for the last minute maintenance. I usually would have done it myself but-"

"Fox explained." Ruby said confidently, though judging by the way she continued to smile he had left out how poorly the mission had gone.

Pyrrha hadn't told them yet, after all, how could she? Even without being told, however, they had been able to tell something was wrong from the moment she stepped off the airship. Fox had probably told Ruby that she was just tired, which hadn't been an incorrect statement. She'd barely been able to keep her eyes open for half of the movie the night before, passing out somewhere around the halfway mark.

"Thanks Ruby." Pyrrha reached out to ruffle the younger girl's hair before she could run away. It was an act Yang repeated often, though she figured that happened less now that her sister was on a different team. Ruby groaned and pulled back, intending to glare up at her but only managing to look like a puppy who had broken its toy. "How have you been enjoying Beacon?"

The annoyed look on Ruby's face was replaced with sheer excitement in such a short amount of time that Pyrrha was surprised the girl didn't suffer whiplash. "Beacon is amazing! There are so many cool weapons and fighters! Have you seen Nora's hammer? It's also a grenade launcher!"

Pyrrha chuckled softly, not at all surprised by Ruby's response. "That's great, but I was referring to more than just the weapons."

Ruby paused, blushing slightly as she shrugged. "School's fine." The silence began to drag on before the younger girl let out an exasperated groan. "You're worse than dad, fine. Beacon is awesome, the weapons, the fighting styles, the teachers, it's all awesome. I'm doing fine in my school work and I haven't gotten into any trouble… for the most part. Would you like to see my report card?"

Most people who didn't know Ruby would have been surprised by the sarcastic tone she used, those people incorrectly believing that she was an innocent little girl. While she could be a little naive at times, she was more mature than most would expect, even those years older than her. That snarky side usually only came out when she was comfortable with the present company. Pyrrha could easily recall a number of times during her own time at Beacon when she had responded to something Weiss had said with a muttered comment the Heiress most certainly didn't approve of.

Speaking of. "How are you enjoying Team RWAN?"

Ruby's smile dimmed slightly. "Better. Things are getting better. Weiss and Pyrrha have started talking ever since what happened in Vale, but I don't think I'd call them friends. More like work colleagues."

Pyrrha was glad to hear it, though that news came with its own confusion. "What happened in Vale?"

Ruby's eyes widened and her response was instant. "Nothing!" Ruby blurted, then clearly aware that Pyrrha wasn't convinced, she looked to Coco before disappearing in a cloud of rose petals. She might have yelled a goodbye somewhere in there, but if so, Pyrrha was too confused to catch it.

"Um… what was that about?" Pyrrha asked, turning towards Coco and seeing the girl rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"Just Ruby not being able to keep a secret." Coco sighed. "It's nothing you need to worry about, not while you're supposed to be resting anyways."

Pyrrha's suspicion continued to mount, but she let it go for now. Vale was a big place, and Ruby clearly wasn't hurt, so it couldn't have been anything too bad. Besides, who was she to be upset at others keeping secrets? She'd spent so long trying to figure out the truth, and yet now she was keeping it from those that she cared about.

Was it really so bad though? When that knowledge would crush their spirits? She was the reason they were involved in this to begin with, it was because of her that they even knew about Salem, and likewise she had told them that she would return with a way to beat Salem. It wasn't fair that she had given them that hope and would then be forced to crush it. Unfair, but maybe it was the right thing. Besides, it was only a matter of time. She'd told them why she was going, and what she intended to come back with, and they had clearly noticed how poorly that had gone if their reactions had been anything to go by.

They'd been quick to drag her off and try to make her feel better, and even if she had known that it was still heartwarming to see them try. They were good friends and she was grateful for them, but she also wished more than anything that she didn't have to hurt them. Sadly, lying wouldn't protect them; if anything, it would put them in even greater danger.

"Coco… there's something I need to tell you." Pyrrha took a deep breath. "It's about the mission-"

"The Headmaster already told me." Coco interrupted. "I know how it went."

Pyrrha's shoulders stiffened and she turned to look away from her friend. "I'm sorry."

Coco chuckled forcibly, trying to comfort her friend and ease the tension. Pyrrha wished it worked. "It's not your fault."

"I didn't know, but…" Pyrrha shook her head. "I told you all I would have an answer, that I would find a way to win… I was wrong. I failed you."

"You aren't invincible, Pyrrha." Coco rested her hand on Pyrrha's shoulder, forcing her to turn and look at her. Despite how hard she tried, she couldn't meet the girl's eyes. "You didn't fail us. You tried your hardest, and went farther than anyone else. So this didn't pan out as we had hoped… it's not the end of the world… not yet anyways. We're still alive, so there's still hope."

Pyrrha gripped the leather hilt of Allos tightly. "We can't win…" Coco hit her chest, and while the strike was far from painful, the sheer suddenness of it caught her off guard, though she wasn't surprised. She had been ready for anger and the certainty that it would be aimed at her. "I'm sor-"

"Enough of the self-hate crap!" Coco snapped, hitting her again. "This isn't your fault, and you haven't failed anyone, so stop trying to blame yourself and start thinking of what comes next!"

It was something she had put a lot of thought into already, and it was an idea that Qrow had already brought up. Killing Salem was off the table for now, but there would still be battles ahead. Battles she would be there for.

"I need to tr-" Pyrrha hadn't even finished before Coco was hitting her again, more forceful than the last time.

"Not about that!" Coco growled, the frustration in her voice clear.. "You can't spend every moment of your life training, and despite how it might seem, they aren't the only thing you need to think about." The confusion Pyrrha felt must have been clear on her face, the look further irritating Coco. "Your friends! Think of them before you go running off again!"

"I don't know wh-"

"When was the last time you focused on reconnecting with your friends?" Coco nearly shouted, as if the volume would help clear up Pyrrha's confusion; it didn't.

"We were just talking with Ruby, and I spoke with Weiss not long before I left." The glare on Coco's face didn't lessen any, and Pyrrha continued, acutely aware that she had missed the mark. "If you think I'm ignoring Team CFVY I'm not I-"

"Nora and Ren." Coco's words drove Pyrrha to silence. "When was the last time you even spoke to them?"

Pyrrha tried to remember, her panic only growing as she realized she had barely spoken with them. They had been her teammates in her past life, friends unlike anything she had ever imagined, and she hadn't made any real move to reconnect with them in this life. She had kept in touch with Yang, and through her she knew that Team RNBY was at least getting along better than Team RWAN, but she should have known that already.

Nora would have told her about it all in a heartbeat, giving a tale that was more fiction than fact but no less entertaining. Ren would have told her too if she had asked. How was he dealing with being a team leader? He had always been quiet, and while that didn't mean he would fail at the job, it could be difficult to lead when people perceive you poorly. Had he been able to gain the trust of Yang and Blake? Pyrrha didn't know because she hadn't tried to reconnect with them like she had Jaune.

She'd let her partner come first, and while that might have been understandable, she had never followed through with the rest of her team.

"You've spent the last few months rushing around the planet trying to find a way to win. When are you going to go after those friends you said you had finally found at Beacon?" Coco asked. "Or did they not really matter in the end?"

"I didn't… that's not true!" Pyrrha insisted. "They're my friends, I just…"

"Forgot about them." Coco's words were crushing because they were true.

"I… was gonna try harder after this was all over." Pyrrha lied, though whether it was for Coco or her own benefit she couldn't say.

"Except it won't be over, will it?" Coco asked softly. "You can't keep putting them off because you won't always have the time to fix things later. As important as your missions are… your friends are more important."

Coco sighed softly, pulling her sunglasses away and looking Pyrrha directly in the eyes. "I… We care about you Pyrrha, you're a proud member of Team CFVY whether you like it or not, but you're also a member of Team JNPR. Jaune was your leader and partner and… you loved him, but Ren and Nora were your friends too. Don't wait to act on that, the moment goes by quicker than you might think."

Pyrrha stood there with no good way to answer as Coco stepped away from her, putting her sunglasses back on and turning towards the door. "Whatever you decide, Team CFVY will be right there with you, no matter what."

"Why is it that I'm not surprised to see you here?" Ozpin asked suddenly, though she hadn't missed his approach despite her back being turned.

The private garden they had taken to using for training was secluded enough that few people approached, and with only one way in, it was easy to guess where they might come from. While he likely could have approached undetected, there was no reason for it, and she had heard his footfalls easily on the gravel path behind her.

"I wanted somewhere peaceful to think." Pyrrha said softly.

"Hm, I hope you don't mind if I join you." Ozpin approached the bench Pyrrha was sitting on, sitting on the far side. "It is good to get away from the office from time to time, even if not all of my work is completed. It's important to take time for oneself."

"Did Coco put you up to this?" Pyrrha asked.

Ozpin chuckled softly. "Quite the contrary, I am the one who asked her to look after you."

"Why?"

"Because you are my student." Ozpin replied simply.

"I'm not a student of Beacon, not really." Pyrrha shrugged. "I spend more time on missions than I do here. I'm practically already a Huntress."

"That is true, unfortunately." Ozpin said. "I am afraid that being a student of Beacon has likely lost its appeal to you, but I was not wrong. You were a student of Beacon once, and that has meaning in and of itself; that is not what I was referring to, however. You are the first person I have ever taught Magic to." He turned to look at her, breaking his eyes away from the simple tree in the far corner of the garden. "I chose to teach you, and that makes me responsible for your wellbeing."

"I'm not a child sir, I can look after myself."

"Perhaps, but it is all too easy to overlook our own pain for that of another. I don't keep Glynda around simply for her administrative prowess" Ozpin said, his voice light as he chuckled softly. "I have been around longer than the Kingdoms have existed, many of the forms and documents we have to fill out I created myself in a past life. If I wished, I could complete much of it in a similar amount of time. No, I keep her around because she helps to ground me and remind me of the simple things. And she is a friend. Never forget the value of those two things. What is it that troubles you exactly?"

"...What am I supposed to do?" Pyrrha asked honestly, hoping that he would have some easy answer for her. "I need to get stronger, even if we manage to defeat Salem's agents now, more will come eventually. I need to be strong enough to defeat them."

"Salem has always chosen her agents carefully." Ozpin nodded. "They are often among the strongest and smartest individuals in any given generation, but they are always few in number. They can pick when and where they wish to strike, however, as has been shown to us recently. They can wait for our strongest to be away, and strike at the vulnerable."

"How do we beat that?" Pyrrha's shoulders slumped. "If we never know when they are coming, or even where they might attack, how do we win?"

"Personal strength alone is not enough." Ozpin answered. "I have fought alongside many great warriors throughout history, but it was never their individual strength that won the day. It was the combined effort of countless individuals working towards one goal that led to our success."

"I know the value of teamwork." Pyrrha looked away from the Headmaster, her disappointment in herself mounting as she realized the partial lie. She thought she had known its value, and yet she had failed when it came to Ren and Nora. Her teammates, her friends, had been within arms reach, and yet she had failed them. "But I don't see how a team will be able to kill Salem."

Ozpin hummed softly but had no immediate response. As the seconds dragged on she thought he might never speak, but just before she was prepared to leave he did. "I once thought my mission was to kill Salem."

The quiet tone to his voice was difficult to place, and when she looked at him she could see the regret in his eyes. "That the Gods had charged me with killing the woman I loved. When I came back I refused to accept that and sought her out, and for a time, things worked out for us. Time has a habit of making fools of us all however, and eventually I started to see the woman I loved slipping away. Had I been more attentive, I might have been able to prevent that, but alas, I was not, and it seemed once again it was my duty to kill her."

It was a task they now knew simply couldn't be done. Ozpin had gone through that revelation long before any of them. "When it was shown to me that was impossible, I thought my duty was then to protect humanity,"

Ozpin found his voice once more, the same emotion from before falling away as he forced it aside. "While that is a good endeavor, it is a flawed and dubious concept. Some believe that the needs of the many may outweigh the needs of the few, but that leaves little solace for those few who are left behind. For instance, it may be in humanity's best interest to eliminate the Faunus, so that there is one less divisive issue holding them back from uniting against the Grimm… but that is a horrifying thing to imagine and I refuse to allow such an action." The words sounded as much for him as they were for her, as if he had said them to himself more times than he could count. An idea she didn't doubt.

"No, now I do what I do for the individual. I will do all I can for Humanity as a whole, but I refuse to devalue a single life for that concept as long as I am able. Alas, when you live as long a life as I, ideals begin to wane and the line between good and evil fades. Do you know who reminded me of this? You, Miss Nikos. You. We may be unable to kill Salem… but we can still save those she wishes to harm. The choice is ultimately yours to make of course, but that choice need not be so unilateral as to bar you from living a life while you do so. After all, what is the point of fighting if we can not enjoy that which we are fighting to protect?"

Despite the turmoil of the last few days, despite how crushed she still felt, the choice was an easy one to make. She refused to give up on those she cared for, even if that meant fighting the impossible. She had done it once against Cinder, being so thoroughly outclassed that the fight had been decided before she even approached the tower, and she would do it again against Salem; only this time she wouldn't do it alone.

"I see you have made your decision." Ozpin sounded pleased, or perhaps proud. "I shall leave you to it."

"Thank you, Headmaster." Pyrrha said before he could leave. "For everything."

"I could say the same to you, Pyrrha." Ozpin nodded. "Enjoy your time off, the General has already started planning for what comes next no doubt, you'll need to be at your best."

Pyrrha stood from the bench, taking a deep breath of the fresh air before departing the garden; never once doubting the choice she had made.

Pyrrha knocked on the door hard enough to be heard over the commotion happening inside. A full three minutes later, the door opened.

"Oh, Amber." Yang smiled, opening the door further and letting Pyrrha see the chaos that awaited on the other side. "Sorry for the wait, Nora was-"

"Lies and slander!" Nora appeared beside Yang, leaning on her shoulder before pausing upon seeing Pyrrha. "Oh, we have company."

Yang rolled her eyes and shrugged, managing to dislodge Nora and send her tumbling towards the floor. "Did you need something?"

"Not really, I just wanted to see how your team was adjusting to Beacon." Pyrrha smiled. "Perhaps over food? There's a restaurant in the CCT mall that makes excellent pancakes-"

Nora went from laying on the floor to standing in an instant. "We're in! Right Renny?"

Whether Ren approved or not was irrelevant however, because Nora had already started putting on her shoes. Not that such surprised anyone, let alone her life long friend.

"We have time, so long as you've finished that assignment for Professor Oobleck." Ren made no attempt to stop her. Pyrrha had chosen her words well, and each member of Team RNBY knew there was no point in arguing with Nora at this point.

"Did it yesterday!" Nora appeared at the door. "Come on, she said she's buying!"

"Actually she didn't." Blake said as she followed, attempting to give Pyrrha an out of the likely financially crippling decision to supply Nora pancakes.

Thankfully, Pyrrha still had the card Ironwood had given her and she very much doubted Nora could eat Atlas' entire budget… probably.

"I'll pay. My treat." Pyrrha smiled.

"Your money." Yang shrugged.

"Lead the way." Ren gestured for her to go first.

"Oh, do they have syrup? They have to have some right?" Nora gasped in shock. "What if they don't!?"

"Then you'll eat them with butter like you did for breakfast." Blake answered simply.

Pyrrha smiled as Nora proceeded to explain to Blake why pancakes for breakfast and pancakes for dinner were two entirely different things, even as Ren tried to calm her down. How she had missed them.

Author's Note: Someone pointed out in a review that, while Jaune and past Pyrrha have made somewhat frequent appearances, Ren and Nora (two of Pyrrha's closest friends) haven't. While I would love to say this was intentional and had been planned from the start… it wasn't. That being said, I decided to wrap that into the plot and have it actually be a driving factor here somewhat. It fits with some stuff I had planned as well, nothing that I'll comment on now for spoiler reasons, and honestly I should have thought of it sooner as it does really work well. So credit to "aTan-aka-Xellos" for the kick I needed to figure that out.

I'm also planning on taking a fairly large break in the summer as I feel like my writing has been suffering somewhat as of late. I always want to give my best and I just don't feel like I have been lately. So I might take most of June and half of July off. Not certain yet but expect a few more chapters before that happens. If the reviews agree things have been declining however… maybe I'll take that break sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and as always be sure to let me know what you think in the reviews.

Sincerely, SE