Author's Note: New chapter, enjoy.

"That's it?!" Coco cried. "Just… nice!?"

Pyrrha winced as her friend recounted how she had described her date with Jaune. Team CFVY had been asleep by the time she had returned to the dorm, a fact that surprised her considering how much effort Coco and Velvet had put into helping her look nice for the evening; it had allowed her to push this conversation back just a little bit longer however, so she hadn't complained.

"It was… pleasant." Pyrrha tried again. "We spoke about our teams, about Beacon, and what we liked to do for fun."

"Things you already know." Coco mumbled. "You really didn't press your luck?"

Pyrrha's face, already a shade of red at having been made the center of attention, continued to build up. Jaune had escorted her back to her room, and, despite the mortification of it, she had managed to force herself to leave him with a kiss on the lips. She had disappeared into their dorm room as quickly as possible after that.

Coco smiled, a look more akin to a cat when it had found its prey. "There's more."

"Nothing crazy." Pyrrha assured her. "Just a kiss and a nice evening… and a promise to do it all again."

Coco's smile dimmed slightly but didn't disappear. "That's great and all. Certainly took you long enough, but no sex or promises of mar-"

"Coco!" Velvet slapped her arm. "Stop being an idiot!" Turning her attention back towards Pyrrha, Velvet. "So, when's the next date?"

"We haven't set anything specific." Pyrrha smiled softly. "Knowing Jaune, probably just a movie or something."

"Do not forget about the dance." Yatsuhashi added, having stayed mostly silent as the females of their dorm discussed the previous night's events; Fox had excused himself entirely. "Coco and Velvet are in charge of it again this year, it would be a good opportunity for people to go with the ones they admire."

Coco rolled her eyes dramatically. "He makes it sound like the plot to a romance movie, but he has a bit of a point. I know you'd like to go with Jaune, you'll have a bit of work to put in if you want it to be special. People go to the dance all the time, gotta make sure your signals are getting through to him."

Pyrrha nodded. Jaune and her hadn't attended the dance together in her last life, but they had ended up spending most of the night together and she had thought that had been progress, but nothing had ever come of it. They had had a great evening, but the next day, it was like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Nora had tried to coax them on, even Ren had tried to a lesser extent, but she had been unable to bring it up with Jaune and the moment had passed. Before long, it was too late and she had missed the opportunity entirely.

Now though, she knew better. She would make it clear to that dense idiot just why she loved him; come Cinder or high water, nothing would stop her. Sadly, that would have to wait.

Standing, Pyrrha yawned into her hand and moved over to her bed to collect Allos. Velvet and Yatsuhashi took that as the signal it was that the conversation was over, Coco on the other hand seemed less willing; so it came as quite the surprise when she didn't continue to grill her about Jaune and her date.

"Where are you off to?"

"I've got a meeting with Winter." Pyrrha slipped Allos' sheath onto her belt, locking it into place before reaching for Qrow's flask. It was surprisingly low, though she couldn't really recall where it had all gone, and she made a note to fill it up at some point before attaching it to her waist. "I was away from Vale for a couple days, there's no telling what the city might have gotten up to in my absence."

Coco chuckled softly. "Oh, does that make you our resident superhero then? Swooping in to fix all of our problems?"

Pyrrha returned a soft laugh. "Not quite, they just want to see if any of it connects to my last life and keep me informed."

"Ah." Coco nodded. "Makes sense, guess being a Specialist has its perks."

"I'll tell you the juicy stuff, don't worry." Pyrrha smirked, earning a similar expression from her friend.

Coco held a hand to her chest in mock offense. "I have no idea what you mean, Ma'am. I would never try to pry you for government intelligence."

"Right." Pyrrha rolled her eyes as she finally stepped over towards the door.

"What are you doing for lunch?"

Pyrrha's hand stopped on the door handle as she looked over her shoulder. "I didn't have anything planned."

"Great, they just opened this new place in the CCT mall I've been wanting to try." Coco replied. "Say about noon?"

"Works for me." Pyrrha nodded. "I'll see you guys then."

The halls of Beacon were the same as they had always been, barring the destruction of her past life, as they would likely remain. She'd seen pictures of the academy from when it had been first commissioned as a school and she felt confident in saying that it hadn't changed much over that time. Eighty years was a long time, but somehow the school had managed to avoid any major needs for renovations or overhauls despite its rather destructive student body. Ozpin had thought of everything it seemed when it came to the school, though in hindsight it was almost like cheating. He very well could have been an architect in a previous life before the school, so as King, he probably knew and got exactly what he wanted form the building.

The school was large enough that the separate years could have entirely avoided one another had they wished to so long as they didn't have the same class. She rarely saw third or fourth year students even now that she was familiar with the school and technically a member of its faculty. While she didn't know everyone at the school, and she certainly didn't know every hall and pathway, she did know it well enough to skip the more crowded areas of the school as she made her way towards the landing docks where the cruiser assigned to the garrison at Beacon was currently docked.

It seemed she wasn't the only one to have figured out the shortcut however; or, technically, she was. Her past self hated crowds just as much, if not more, than herself. As she was now, most didn't recognize her. The students might have as she just knew there was no shortage of rumors about her with how active in the Huntsmen world she was, but outside of that few would care. Pyrrha Nikos was a recognizable person that Amber just wasn't. As such, it wasn't that much of a surprise to see her past self skirting the more frequented hallways.

What was a surprise however, was when she stopped to talk to her.

"I was hoping to speak with you." The plastic smile on her face was something that Pyrrha had relied on to hide her emotions, but looking at it now she was surprised it fooled anyone. "Do you have a moment?" The politeness rolled off her in waves, a sign that it was forced; concerning considering what Coco had told her about how she felt about her.

"I'm on my way to a meeting actually." Pyrrha watched the mask over her younger self's face slip slightly for a fraction of a second before continuing. "But I have a few minutes."

There was a glimpse of genuine relief for a moment before it too was covered up by that mask. "It's about Jaune."

Pyrrha didn't think of herself as a rude person, quite the contrary, she knew there were a lot of things she needed to improve on but she had been told by just about everyone she had ever met that she was polite. That didn't mean she didn't make mistakes of course, but it was one of the few things she genuinely liked hearing others say about her. Not calling her a champion, or a prodigy, but just nice. Hearing her past self bring up her partner however, was possibly the closet Pyrrha had ever gotten from simply walking away from a conversation.

Her clear discomfort must have been obvious because her past self paused for a moment before continuing. Whether that was due to uncertainty or to give her an opportunity to leave, Pyrrha wasn't actually certain, but she would hazard a guess. They both prided themselves on being nice, and that was her offering to end the conversation now. Sadly, Pyrrha couldn't bring herself to walk away.

"I know you and him had a date last night- I'm not trying to stop that or anything!" The latter was added almost as an afterthought as she clearly realized how that could have been inferred. "I just… I wanted to ask you something."

"Ask me what?"

"Are you serious about dating him?" Her past self winced softly at her flat stare. "I don't mean that to sound rude, and I'm not asking for my sake; trust me. I don't want to be here either."

"Then why ask?" The fact she was dodging the question didn't go unnoticed, but they both knew it was a fair thing to ask. If someone wanted to ask something like that, the least they could do was explain why.

"I've been…" Her past self sighed, her mask falling away entirely to show the discomfort and shame underneath. "I've been a horrible teammate. I caused a lot of problems for them, all for stupid reasons that I… I was a hypocrite, and as a result I was a horrible friend and partner too. I just want to do what's right, for the team. I owe it to him to try, and I owe it to Weiss."

"Yes, I'm serious." Pyrrha nodded.

"Why?"

"He's kind, and determined, and maybe a bit stubborn." Both of them smiled at that, it really was the best descriptor for Jaune. There wasn't anything he couldn't do if he put his mind to it, whether that be as a team leader or just as a person in general.

"How do you know that?" She replied, not suspiciously, but curiously; which Pyrrha felt was fair. As far as they knew, Jaune and her had only met upon his arrival to Beacon. How could she know him so well with so little interaction?

"Because… he reminds me of someone, someone I cared about." She answered as honestly as she could. "I've seen that look in his eyes before, that look that says they aren't going to roll over and give up just because someone says their dream is impossible."

"I saw it too." Her past self agreed. "If things had gone differently, If I hadn't been so distant at the start of the year… well, I'm just glad to have him as a friend."

Only as a friend? Pyrrha couldn't help but doubt that, but she also couldn't detect a lie either. Knowing her own tells wasn't something she had ever really expected to be put to the test, but she had spent plenty of time practicing smiling in front of a mirror so that it was subconscious when there were cameras around; which meant she could see right through her own expressions, and despite her own past saying otherwise, Pyrrha was lead to believe her.

The question of how was something she both wanted answered but was equally afraid to ask. How had they both come to such different conclusions? Sure, she had been willing to let Jaune go for Weiss in her own life, but that hadn't been an easy choice and Nora and Ren had seen right through her attempts to hide the pain. The only one who hadn't was Jaune himself.

She felt confident in saying this wasn't the same, and for the world of her she couldn't tell if that was good or not. She wouldn't be hurting her past self when she tried to pursue Jaune, but the fact it had changed at all hurt. Was her affection really easy to change?

"I'm sorry for wasting your time." Her past self stepped aside, smiling politely.

"I don't hate you." Pyrrha said before the younger champion could walk away. "I know I was… distant at the start of the year as well. I didn't mean to, honestly. I'm sorry for that."

Her past self looked apprehensive in the same way Pyrrha felt. After a few long seconds, she managed to speak.

"Why?" She asked. "I'm not so shallow to think everyone should like me, but… have we met before? I… there's something about you that feels familiar, but I don't think I've ever met you before." Her eyes widened slightly. "I'm sorry if that's rude, I-"

Pyrrha couldn't help it, the laugh that bubbled forward. It was just as Coco said, she really did apologize too much; she didn't know how her friend put up with it as well as she did.

"It's fine." Pyrrha waved a hand and smiled to show she wasn't offended. "We've never actually met, I just…. You reminded me of myself." And wasn't that the understatement of the century? But, judging from the small smile that had returned to her past self's lips, it was something she wasn't displeased to hear. "I really do have to be going though. Tell Ruby I said hi."

"I will." Her past self nodded. "...I know she would like to see you as well, I don't think she's stopped gushing about how awesome you are since the tour."

"I'll try to stop by later." Pyrrha smiled. "Have a good day, Pyrrha."

Winter usually preferred to meet somewhere outside, the fresh air and pleasant warmth of Vale was something she often said that she liked to enjoy when possible; quietly lamenting that Atlas was rarely so comfortable. Sadly, discussing the goings on of the city as well as potential classified intelligence made that impossible, and so they had been forced to meet on the Atlas Cruiser docked at Beacon. They didn't use the war room this time, the two of them not needing such a large space, so instead met in a small conference room on a lower deck that was rather barren. A moderately sized table surrounded by chairs with a small screen on the far wall, and nothing else. There was always the joke of Atlas being utilitarian, but this certainly helped to push that point.

Seeing the disciplined Specialist however, Pyrrha wasn't so sure if confidentiality was the sole reason for their change in location.

"Winter, you look… tired." Pyrrha winced as she raised one usually finally kept eyebrow, that was just one note of her unusually disheveled look however.

Winter's hair wasn't exactly a mess, but for someone usually so obsessed with perfection, it may as well have been. Her uniform looked as though it had been crumbled up at some point as well, rather than the fine pressed appearance she was known for. The final touch being the slight bags under her eyes. She looked miserable.

"Yes, it was a… long night." She smirked slightly as Pyrrha's face began to heat up. "Nothing like that, I simply couldn't sleep. The fan in my room broke the night before and is no longer regulating temperature."

"Ah." Pyrrha nodded. Her mind had quickly jumped to the obvious conclusion of Qrow being involved, the two's relationship being far more intimate than she ever wanted to know. "Your uniform-"

"Fell off its hanger, tipping over a bottle of water, before resting in it all night." Winter sighed, bringing a hand to the bridge of her nose. "Just bad luck, that's all."

So Qrow wasn't entirely off the table. His Semblance was one of the most double-edged swords she had ever heard of. It gave him the leg up in any battle, but she couldn't imagine living a life where you couldn't turn it off with ease. He said that he could suppress it somewhat, but that no matter how hard he tried, it was always active and in the background.

"It's not Qrow's fault." Winter seemed to read her thoughts as easily as any book, defending the man even though he wasn't present. "Sometimes these things happen. In basic training I was forced to wear wet uniforms once because the washing machine broke. Qrow wasn't present then, and yet I still nearly caught hypothermia before my Drill Sergeants noticed and sent me someplace warm. Not everything that goes wrong is his doing." Winter paused for a moment. "A poor night's sleep is nothing he should worry about, so please, keep this between us."

Pyrrha nodded, relenting the point with ease. She liked Qrow, and she knew just how much he worried about his Semblance hurting those around him. Something like this would just serve to remind him of it, and after everything they had been through… well, he deserved a little bit of happiness. It seemed that Winter agreed.

"Let us focus on the briefing." Winter pressed a small button on the table which brought up a display of the city, before launching into a recount of everything that had happened in Vale over the course of their trip to Vacuo. Shockingly, the city hadn't fallen to Salem while they were away. In fact, only one real development of note had been seen as something worth worrying about. Roman Torchwick was being targeted by the White Fang.

The fact the group had gotten back into the city came as no surprise, despite their best efforts and even success, they all knew it was simply a matter of time. The media hadn't covered any of it yet, partially because it was centered around criminals as the victims, but more so that they hadn't made any other aggressive moves. Apparently, they hadn't even "claimed" the attacks, as confusing as that sentiment had been for Pyrrha to understand.

"They are a terrorist organization." Winter explained. "Their goal is to be noticed and seen, the fact they are choosing to work in the shadows now is… concerning. They have committed rather brutal acts against those they have defeated, but they have not said anything through their usual channels back in Menagerie."

"Isn't that good then?" Pyrrha asked. "Maybe this is an unaffiliated group, trying to blame the White Fang for their actions?"

"Possible, but the Council is acting as if it is not." Winter replied. "And the General seems convinced otherwise."

So it was the White Fang then. If Ironwood thought it was, Pyrrha was inclined to believe him; the General never acted on something unless he had good reason.

"It's for that reason he has started talks with the Council about security for the festival."

Something she knew he would get his way on from experience. It would let him bring more troops to the city as well, something she had felt conflicted by before, but now appreciated greatly. Apparently, the councilmen from the award ceremony, the one who had tried to recruit her to replace Ozpin, was the one hosting those discussions; much to both her and Ironwood's annoyance. Winter insisted that the General had it in hand though, and despite how infuriating the councilmen had come across as, Pyrrha knew Ironwood would manage. That did leave one other, far more pressing, concern however.

"What's the plan to deal with the White Fang then?" Pyrrha signed internally, she had thought that was a sentence she wouldn't have to utter for a time.

"For now, we wait." Winter replied. "We have little to go on, and this is not the same White Fang as before." She pressed a button on the table, and the display of the city she had been gesturing to occasionally before disappeared, replaced by a still shot of one person specifically. "This is Adam Taurus' Branch of the White Fang. Possibly among the most elite the organization has to offer. They will not make the same mistakes as their predecessors did."

Pyrrha watched the image closely. She had never actually seen the man in person, but she had heard of him on the news and there had been mention of him during the Battle for Beacon. She didn't know how long he had been present in the city before that, and so couldn't say if this was a change or not. She simply hadn't paid that close attention to it.

"Our main goal is his capture." Winter said. "He has information we need, and may very well know where Cinder is hiding if he worked with her in your time. Taurus is a monster, and one that Atlas has sought for many years… and he may finally be within our grasp."

"You make it sound personal." Pyrrha looked away from the projection towards Winter, who was currently scowling at the image of the man in question.

"I have encountered him before. Indirectly, anyways." Winter clarified. "Had we met in battle he or I would be dead, there would have been no other outcome. Unfortunately, he is smarter than the media portrays him. He set up a situation where I was forced to let him escape in order to save my men." She shut off the projection, sitting back in her chair with a sigh. "He was gone before I even got a look at him. Do not let his violent nature deceive you, he is no fool."

Pyrrha nodded. People who were strong fighters were dangerous, but those that knew when they were outclassed or knew ways to avoid a fight entirely were more so in her mind. Someone who knew their limits knew how to surpass them as necessary, or step around them as it were. Adam Taurus appeared to be just that.

"Now then." Winter stood from her seat. "I recommend you go on your way, Penny will no doubt be wondering why you are not already there."

Pyrrha blinked, looking down at her scroll to see that she was already ten minutes late for her training session. Standing, she offered a smile to the woman across the table.

"And you should try to get some rest."

Winter chuckled softly. "Sadly, my duties prevent that. The General has need of me, but I do believe I have time to clean up before that meeting. Keep yourself safe, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha nodded before moving towards the door, making her way to the secluded garden deep in the school. Penny was already there when she arrived, standing near the entrance and clearly close to coming to look for her. The smile she gave upon seeing her was infectious, helping to distract form the concerning topics of the meeting.

"So, where would you like to start, Penny?"

"I want to fly!" The girl responded cheerily. "Miss Goodwitch says you have nearly mastered it, and that it is a good idea to try early on, though she says I will probably not manage it." Rather than seem offended or ashamed, Penny said it as a simple fact.

Pyrrha shook her head. "It's difficult, and took me a while to get control of it, but I can teach you everything about it. You'll have the hang of it in no time." Pyrrha moved over to the old tree in the far corner, as she tried to choose the best way to word her instructions. Settling on something, she turned to look at the Winter Maiden. "Let's start with just trying to create lift, only enough to slow your descent if you were to be falling."

Penny nodded eagerly, angling her hands down and allowing the Maiden powers to flow through her; the fire springing from her eyes as it did Pyrrha's. The lesson was simple, but served as a good example of the differences between control and emotion. Glynda had taught it to her early on, and she was grateful for it. Now, it was Penny's turn.

The girl landed roughly, falling onto her back with a crash. Pyrrha stepped over to offer her a hand up.

"Let's try that again."

Author's Note: Ended up skipping last weeks upload so I could focus on some college stuff, an essay on a fanfiction story called A Rabbit Among Wolves to be specific. Very good, highly recommended. Had a bit of work to do to polish it off so I decided that was more important. Hopefully people weren't too disappointed.

Hopefully the date being shown as it was wasn't disappointing either, I thought about doing more of it at the start of this chapter, but I felt it worked better in this way. I accomplished what I wanted and that isn't ready to go further so a walk back to Beacon was all that was really left and I've done that before so… we get Coco and Team CFVY instead.

Hope you enjoyed it and as always don't forget to review.

Sincerely, SE