RWBY: Destiny of Remnant

by UGX7

In the wake of the fall Team RNJR sets out to bring Cinder Fall to justice while the new Fall Maiden overlooks her master's plan in Haven City. Meanwhile Weiss tries to help a friend, Yang struggles with the loss of her arm, and Blake deals with guilt over the White Fang. Meanwhile someone from Cinder's past returns and Salem's newest pawn rises. Arkos, WhiteRose, SunnyBees, Renora

61. A Meeting of Maidens Part II

RWBY: Destiny of Remnant

Chapter 60: A Meeting of Maidens Part II

The hours went by quickly, and soon it was nearing sunset in Vale when the three students finished telling the Winter Maiden and her guardian their long stories. They had each explained to Elsa the circumstances of their own beginnings; Ruby as the daughter of Summer Rose and Taiyang, who wanted more than anything to be the best Huntress who ever lived, Jaune to overcome his weaknesses and be a hero like his ancestors, and Pyrrha for her life to mean something other than being famous and to forge real friendships. They had told the platinum-blonde of how they came to Beacon, their first adventure together in the Emerald Forest during initiation, their misadventures in the months between their teams' formation and the Vytal Festival, and finally the utter disaster Cinder Fall had wrought. Telling her of what had happened to them during the fall of Beacon, the physical and emotional pain that came with the fallout.

Ruby and Jaune told Elsa and Kaifin about the grief they suffered from losing Pyrrha and seeing Beacon fall to the Grimm, while Jaune admitted to the self-loathing he suffered and how he blamed himself for Pyrrha's death and how he ignored her feelings for him. Pyrrha told them what little she remembered about being transformed into Fotia Drakos, the excruciating pain from being pierced in the chest by Cinder's arrow had nearly killed her and left her body and mind so weak that she was malleable enough to Salem, Giger, and Kaa's manipulations, allowing them to transform her into someone she wasn't.

They explained to the guests what happened leading up to the climactic battle in Haven, with Pyrrha recounting what she remembered from Fotia's harsh training while Ruby and Jaune recalled their journey to Haven as Team RNJR, since they all wanted to hunt down Cinder and get justice for Pyrrha and all the people who suffered in the attack. They told their guests how they met Ashe, their eventual capture by Cinder and her underlings, which led to them being her prisoners and eventually meeting Salem face to face. Out of the corner of Jaune's eyes, he noticed both Snow Blade and Spirit Dreamer both slightly tense up at the mention of Salem, but remained silent and seemed to quietly conversed with each other in barely-heard whispers.

As Jaune forced himself to tell them about the torture he suffered, Ruby looked over to see Ozpin and Glynda also talking among themselves, and that Professor Goodwitch now had a dreadfully serious look on her face. She momentarily wondered what they were talking about before Jaune snapped her out of it by reminding the red-hooded girl that it was her turn to tell their guests about being Cinder's 'pupil' for a short period of time.

Off to the side, Ozpin had been telling Glynda about the private communiqué he had received from General Ironwood several hours prior.

"So what did James want?" She asked.

"He contacted me after my meeting with Miss Vorst, apparently something has happened in Haven." He explained quietly.

"Not an attack I hope." She responded in a hushed tone.

"Not exactly. Apparently there was a murder last night, a medium level employee of the Schnee Dust Company who the Haven police have identified him as Charles Meredith, was found dead in a destroyed Dust warehouse with a pair of dead guards. The explosion unfortunately reduced them to charred-up husks, but his severed hand was left behind to confirm his identity. He has reason to believe this particular murder may be the work of our enemy." Ozpin whispered to her.

"How so?" She inquired.

"I'm sure all will be made clear when Ironwood elaborates upon the case once we're done here. Specialist Schnee will be present as well, and perhaps President Schee too." Ozpin explained before gesturing to the small group currently in the center of the meditation chambers while quietly adding, "It can wait for the time being, I don't wish to alarm them."

Glynda nodded in agreement, her face easily slipping into a casual expression so as not to give anything away.

The three students continued with their tale, telling the two visitors as much as they could about the things they'd gone through in Haven. Jaune informed them of the varied forms of torture he endured and how he discovered Pyrrha was still alive and the Mistral champion in turn told them of her relationship with the Grimm Wyvern and how Neo secretly helped to turn her back to the light by dropping hints about her true identity. Ruby also told them of her brief tutelage under Cinder before all three students recounted of the harrowing duel between Jaune and Fotia which directly allowed him to free Pyrrha and eventually led to the daring attack pulled off by their friends and allies. Finally, the blonde knight spoke of his close call with death and how Ruby scarred Cinder with Crescent Rose, before escaping to heal Jaune by which they traded places with Ashe as the new guardians of the Aura Crystal and his eventual death at the hands of his sister.

There were a few moments of silence as Elsa absorbed what she had been told, and she say, "My that's certainly quite… quite the tale." She had visibly tried to hide her tears at some parts of the story such as Jaune's physical and emotional torture he had suffered and how someone as kind and innocent as Ruby had been forced to kill in self-defense at such a young age, "Still it's quite extraordinary to me that you actually managed to meet Ember Kasai when you are in the presence of the Aura Crystal."

"You knew her?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Not personally no, but I knew of her. Many years before I came into the picture, she used to be the Summer Maiden." Elsa revealed to the trio of students.

"Wait, what?!" Ruby cried before she noticed Jaune and Pyrrha's unsurprised expressions, "Wait, you both knew?"

"Yeah, we knew." Jaune answered as he looked at the red reaper, "She told us about her past during one of our meditational trips into the Aura Crystal. I thought we already told you."

"To be fair we learned of it during a very long session… and we didn't have the time to tell everyone until the next morning. Also, I think you are also too tired to be paying attention to what we were talking about due to your sparring sessions." Pyrrha guessed before adding, "Sorry, Ruby."

Ruby waved her hand glibly, smiling to let Pyrrha know she was accepting her apology before her face turned a little serious and thinking aloud, "So, if Ember was the Summer Maiden that means Salem must have tried to get to her at some point. If so, how did she manage to live a life with her husband and have kids while being a Maiden?"

"She didn't." Pyrrha answered, "After overcoming Salem's attempts on her life and powers, Ember felt that she no longer wished to be the Summer Maiden, and so she passed on her power to another. In other words, she retired from the Maiden role."

"Maidens can actually do that?" Ruby queried in a surprised tone, to which Elsa nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, we can. All we have to do is peacefully transfer our powers to whoever the Guardians of Remnant have chosen to be our successors. There were two more Summer Maidens prior to the current one. You see, in her travels with the Remnant Knights, Ember met the Kasai family and learned of the history of the Aura Crystal, and it was there that she met the one whom she fell in love with, Kojin Kasai. Her love for him, as well as the growing threat of Salem and her desire to live a normal life, eventually one of Salem's attempts on her life nearly made their mark and it became too much for Ember, and so she made it known to the Guardians, the Knights, and the other Maidens that she wished to retire. So while she recovered from her injury, she transferred her powers to her replacement Maiden, which was a intensely complicated and exhausting ritual, but soon enough she was restored to her normal self and eventually returned to the Kasai family, where she married Kojin and became his partner in guarding the crystal." The Winter Maiden elaborated for the three students seated in front of her.

"I used to think that the powers of the Maidens only leave the host once they passed away and the last person they thought of would be the next holder of the powers." Pyrrha began while thinking back to Amber.

"Yes, that can happen. However, if a Maiden is killed and the assailant, say someone like Cinder, doesn't act fast enough, then the Maiden's powers will leave her body and seek out a new, random host that they deem worthy. But it's still possible for a Maiden to transfer her powers to another through rituals, so as to keep one step ahead of the enemy in emergency situations." Elsa told them carefully before adding, "It goes without saying that Ember managed to escape Salem's grasp several times, and those close calls were enough to convince her to give up her powers. It's also highly possible that's why Salem targeted Cinder specifically to become her disciple."

Jaune nodded and said, "That's what I gleaned from what Ember's spirit fragment told us. Salem wanted Cinder as a way of getting a potentially powerful pawn as well as getting revenge on Ember. It obviously worked."

"Indeed, but we're lucky that Cinder still had some compassion within her at the time, and Salem wasn't truthful with her about the Aura Crystal's power. Had she murdered her brother, there wouldn't be anyone to get the crystal away from Salem's clutches." Elsa remarked.

"Keywords being 'at that time', she still murdered him in cold blood." Ruby said darkly, thinking back to the night when she saw Ashe's badly damaged corpse laid on a bench.

Elsa nodded grimly, "Yes, from what I have seen and from what you all have told me it's obvious that we won't be receiving any acts of mercy from her in the future."

They all nodded in agreement and turned as Kaifin spoke up, "I can't imagine fallout was easy to live with. While you all got away alive, it wasn't without any physical and psychological scars."

"It wasn't, for any of us." Pyrrha said dryly, "We were all traumatized by the events at Haven. I mean… for all intents and purposes I was brainwashed into thinking I was someone else, someone who was willing to do horrible things while thinking they were right. Jaune and I have suffered from nightmares for over a year now. While they've become less frequent now... I feel that you're right Kaifin, the scars, both physical and emotional, still linger. The pain might have dulled, but it's still there."

Elsa gave another nod before looking to Ruby and asking, "What about you, Ruby? Have you suffered any nightmares or anything of the sort?"

Ruby hesitated to answer but managed to say, "Well, yeah, kind of. Looking back, I didn't have it as bad as Jaune and Pyrrha but… it wasn't easy. I accidentally killed two people, but I've come to accept that it doesn't make me a bad or an evil person. With the help of my family, my friends and the knight Argentius, I was able to get over a lot of what happened. But that doesn't mean I'm immune to it either. A part of me is still afraid…"

Her voice trailed off, and Elsa gently asked, "Afraid of what?"

"Of facing Salem alone, and having to fight her." Ruby confessed.

"That will never happen!" Jaune said firmly.

"We won't let it. None of Team Beacon will, and neither will your family or any of our allies." Pyrrha promised her younger friend.

"I know you guys won't, but I can't help but...well, dread the possibility." Ruby admitted.

"I don't blame you. You have every right to be afraid." Elsa told her gently, "You saw the Mistress of Grimm in person, and you also saw her use her dark powers and lived to tell about it. Not many people who oppose her can claim that."

"Indeed, but I'm curious as to why she allowed you to live." Kaifin voiced, earning a short-lived glare from Jaune and Pyrrha while Ruby visibly flinched.

"Kaifin…" Elsa began sternly, and her guardian lifted up his hands in apology.

"What I meant is, Miss Rose's silver eyes pose a great threat to Salem, so why would she want her as a prisoner? I meant nothing by it, I'm just curious as to Salem's motives." Kaifin explained cautiously.

"I don't think we'll ever truly understand that witch and what she does, but now that you mention it, it is indeed odd that she would want Ruby as a prisoner. In all honesty Ruby, your powers could do serious damage to Salem if given the opportunity, and she clearly knew this, since you were bound almost every time you were in her presence." Elsa voiced while focusing her eyes on the daughter of Summer Rose.

"Maybe she wanted to corrupt me, like what she did to Pyrrha?" Ruby speculated.

"Can silver eyes even be corrupted like that?" Jaune asked.

"I don't know. If they can then Argentius hasn't told me so." Ruby stated, before offering the Maiden and her guardian a smile and saying, "And I guess no offense taken Kaifin. Trust me when I say I'm doing a lot better now than I was back then. But like I said, what happened to me wasn't as bad as what happened to Jaune and Pyrrha."

"It wasn't as easy as she makes it sound." Jaune spoke up, "Over the months she had a really hard time getting over what has happened to her, and what we went through made her even more afraid of losing her friends or seeing any of us hurt."

Ruby sighed and confessed, "He's right. That's one fear I don't think I can really get over."

"And no one can blame you for it." Kaifin announced, "I can relate, Miss Rose. I have worried myself half to death over Elsa throughout the years."

Elsa nodded again and consoled Ruby, "It's a perfectly rational fear to have, and no one would think any less of you for it. But from what I've seen and read of your companions from Teams RWBY, JNPR and the rest of Team Beacon, you have nothing to worry about as long as you trust your friends and do your best."

Ruby gave the Winter Maiden a smile, which Elsa returned before looking over to Pyrrha and Jaune and saying "Now, tell me about how the two of you dealt with the fallout. Quite frankly it seems to me that the three of you may have suffer from some form of PTSD so please, tell me as much as you can."

The couple shared a glance before Pyrrha nodded and began, "Well, returning to a normal life after nearly dying and being brainwashed by Salem, all the while being declared legally dead wasn't exactly easy. After we were permitted to leave Haven I was allowed to return home, and it had also already been decided that my family would move to Cadia so that I could be with Jaune and perform my duties as a guardian of the crystal. This required my parents to call in a favor with an old friend in Cadia's neighboring cities, where I had competed in a tournament once. This woman allowed us to stay in her hotel for a period of time until my parents looked for a house they felt was right. The days leading up to the move weren't very eventful, though my father and mother had been devastated by my apparent death, and were overcome with relief and happiness to know I was alive, and so they spent as much time with me as they could, which I was more than happy to do.

"My friends and family know about what has happened to me. We don't like to talk about it since it's clearly an uncomfortable memory, but I see no point in ignoring it." Seeing both guests listening intently, Pyrrha continued speaking, "One night, when I was packing away my clothes for Vale… it happened."

Eleven Months Ago

The pile of neatly-folded clothes dropped from Pyrrha's hands to the floor of the bedroom as she saw the figure looking back at her from the full-body mirror which was placed against the wall directly opposite her. A messy jumble of emotions welled up within her chest as she stood still as a statue, not daring to move an inch or make a single sound as she stared at her reflection in the glass.

It was Fotia.

What looked back at Pyrrha from the mirror was a grimmified version of herself, sporting milky white skin with dark veins showing here and there on her limbs with glowing eyes the colour of blood.

The eyes of the twisted reflection gazed back at her, and Pyrrha felt the urge to run but she somehow continued to remain still, a strange numbness overcoming her entire body as though it wasn't hers anymore. Despite herself, Pyrrha felt her arm act on its own accord and reach out to the reflection, which naturally did the same.

"I'm so sorry." Pyrrha heard her voice, but she wasn't sure who was really saying it, is it herself or her Grimm alter-ego?

"It's all right, you have nothing to be sorry for." Her voice came again. She felt a bit certain that she, the real Pyrrha Nikos, had been the one to say that.

"But we - I did such terrible things… I killed a man, I tormented and even nearly killed Jaune!" Pyrrha heard the reflection speak, which she hoped that it was, and she knew she was guilty of those things.

"It's true. We did do terrible things." She admitted while thinking back to when she murdered an innocent man as Fotia under the orders of Salem, "But we were manipulated, forced into a thrall by Cinder and Salem to do whatever they want us to do, it's… what happened to us isn't fair."

"Nothing is." Pyrrha responded to herself, as she just realized that she was right in front of the mirror now, her hand inches away from the reflective surface, "We were… what am I doing?"

"The question you should be asking is; what are you going to do with me?" The reflection of Fotia Drakos asked.

Pyrrha stopped and snatched her hand back, before falling to her knees. She then placed her hand over her perspiring face and murmured to herself, "Am I going insane? How could I still be sane after all I've been through?" Her mind was everywhere at once, while a torrent of mixed emotions coiled in her chest and bombarded her thoughts with constant feelings of sorrow, guilt, regret, shame, and anger.

She remembered killing an innocent, she remembered the brutal battle to the death between her and Jaune, she remembered every detail on Jaune's face as he took Cinder's arrow for her, and she remembered how stunned her parents were when they both saw that she was alive and well. A part of her wanted to beg everyone she knew for forgiveness while another part of her felt that she belonged to the deepest, coldest prison on Remnant, and yet another part of her just wanted to hunt down Cinder Fall and tear her apart with her bare hands.

Tears streamed from her eyes as she fell forward, catching herself by placing her hands on the floor of the bedroom, before forcing herself to look up to face her alternate self who looked back at her with equally sad eyes.

"Are you really here? Or am I just imagining you?' Pyrrha asked the reflection, hoping to get an answer, "I thought you would be gone after Jaune freed me from Salem, or when the Aura Crystal restored my appearance."

There was no answer, just as she had expected. Pyrrha looked sadly at her reflection and watched as 'Fotia's' skin faded to a more natural colour while losing the Grimm-like protrusions from her flesh. A eye blink later she noticed the reflection's eyes also changed from blazing red to tranquil green. Through her blinking and teary eyes, the champion saw that within a span of a few seconds her reflection was once again normal, but this did little to console her as she couldn't stop the stream of tears flowing.

"Pyrrha, honey, are you all right?" Hera Nikos asked as she opened up the door to her daughter's room, but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw her daughter on her knees and weeping her heart out.

She didn't waste any time and quickly ran over to Pyrrha, dropped down on her knees and embraced her from behind, gently holding her child's head to her chest. Pyrrha didn't object and instead allowed herself to collapse into her mother's embrace, while letting it all out.

Hera rubbed her child's back to sooth her as she cried it out, patiently waiting for Pyrrha to collect herself enough to explain why she was crying. It wasn't long before Zeus also came to see what was happening, and he immediately joined with them without a second thought, hugging his daughter from behind as the parents encircled Pyrrha in a comforting hug to let her know they were there for her.

Eventually she calmed down, her sobs replaced by quite sniffles as her eyes became red and puffy from all the crying.

"Pyrrha… what happened?" The dojo master asked gently.

Pyrrha knew that there was no way to avoid this that that it was better to just confess, "I...I don't know what happened. I was packing my clothes when I looked at the mirror and saw… Fotia."

The room went silent, and her parents looked at each other with grim expressions etched on their faces.

"Honey, did you see her in the room physically?" Hera asked carefully, her voice clearly showing that she was worried that her daughter's trauma was worse than they initially feared.

"No, I didn't see her in the real world. Only in the mirror for a couple of moments." Pyrrha answered honestly as she shook slightly.

Both of her parents breathed sighs of relief, as they thought at least it wasn't that bad. Left unspoken was the thought that they both feared that their daughter would be haunted by memory of the ghost-skinned servant of Salem.

"Mom, Dad… I'm so, so sorry." The Spartan said, her voice sounded tired and drained, full of sadness and regret.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Her father began, but she stopped him with a hand to grip onto his wrist tightly.

"Yes I do! I ran up to that tower alone to fight Cinder, sending Jaune away without thinking what would happen if I died and what my death would do to you or my team or anyone else who cared about me! I was was stupid and careless and selfish and… I'm so sorry!" Pyrrha cried as her tears began to flow again, "I hurt you both so badly, I don't deserve to be your daughter…"

"Stop it." Hera said firmly as she reached down with one hand and gently pushed her daughter's face upwards, aligning her daughter's face with hers, "I won't deny how awful I felt when we were told you had been killed. I thought I was going to lose my mind when I heard. I honestly thought the pain of losing you was worse than any wound I've ever had."

Pyrrha watched as tears began to fall from her mother's own eyes before she added, "I even saw you around the house during those times, I was so out of my mind with grief."

"I was the same." Zeus confessed, "I screamed my throat raw while beating my fists bloody against the walls of the dojo. Losing you felt like… like a part of myself had been ripped out and all I could do was only to let the wound bleed."

Pyrrha leaned against her father's muscular chest, muttering quiet apologies. He shushed her, gently kissing her head before saying, "It's all right, it's all right, it's all in the past."

"B-but that doesn't excuse the pain I caused everyone." Pyrrha managed to say, her voice dripping with regret.

"Honey, your choices might have led to some terrible things, but that doesn't matter anymore. You need to understand that your father and I love you, and we always will, and we've already forgiven you." Hera said as she caressed her daughter's beautiful face, gently wiping away her tears.

"Y-you have? But after all the suffering I made you go through…" Pyrrha tried to point out, but Zeus halted her with a look of fatherly kindness.

"All in the past, and it's like your mother said, it doesn't matter anymore. What does matter is that you're back and you're safe." Zeus told her, even as he failed to hold back his own tears, "It's true that we suffered, but I think it's obvious you've suffered just as much, so blaming yourself isn't going to do you any good. Just know that despite everything that happened, we forgive you and we will be here for you no matter what."

Pyrrha struggled to come up with a reply, but finally managed to rasp out a small, relieved, "Thank you."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, a reunited family sharing a tender moment before Hera gently cupped Pyrrha's lowered chin and lifted her head up so they could look at each other again.

"Pyrrha, I think the problem is within you. What I mean is, while we've forgiven you and it's safe to say that your friends have as well, you may still need to forgive yourself." She told her daughter, who slowly nodded.

"I think… I think I understand." She managed to say before looking to her father again and asking, "Have they taken down the my gravestone yet?"

There was a dark silence between the family before Zeus finally asked, "Why?"

"I need to see it, before they tear it down. I don't know why, but I just feel like I need to see it for myself. I deserve to." She said to them, trying her best to sound firm.

"My parents stayed with me for the rest of the night, my mother even held me in her arms as I slept because she didn't want me to be alone. Nonetheless, I had decided to cover up the mirror just to be on the safe side. My father and I went to the grave site the next day, and it was… well, an unnerving and surreal experience. While I was there I couldn't help myself and I just broke down again. My father was there to comfort me, but the fact remains that I had been dead to the world, and yet I was back. I honestly don't know if I should be thankful for being saved or… or…" Pyrrha's face turned slightly depressed as she struggled to find the words.

"I know I am." Jaune voiced as he looked at her with concern, "Having you back with us makes all the suffering I went through worth it."

"Same goes for me." Ruby chimed in, "What they did to you was horrible, but at least they saved you instead of letting you die. Plus, it's their fault you were hurt to begin with, so if anyone's to blame for what happened it's Salem and her goons, not you."

Pyrrha nodded her head before speaking, "I suppose you're both right."

"They are, Pyrrha." Elsa spoke up before adding, "It's no wonder you suffer from such trauma, and I assume you're still not completely over it?"

"No. It's not possible for anyone to get over something like that so quickly. I have talked it out and poured out my heart to my friends and family, but it's still not so easily dealt with. We tend not to bring it up so often, but I have faced my own demons and have done my best to conquer them." Pyrrha explained.

"So what happened after that? Did you see Fotia in the mirror again?" Elsa questioned softly.

"Yes. I saw her a few more times, but only briefly out of the corner of my eye when I passed a mirror. I've also talked to the rest of my team, as well as Ruby's and the rest of Team Beacon to see if it would help, and it did a little. But the dreams...that's when they began." Pyrrha stated darkly, and there was a hint of fear in the tone of her voice.

"You mentioned nightmares before, may I ask what are they like?" Kaifin inquired.

"Both Jaune and I have rarely ever had the same dream. It's kind of hard to explain, but the dreams that tend to plague us both tend to be a subtle kind of disturbing with a few good ones sprinkled in, but when they were bad they definitely live up to the phrase 'the stuff of nightmares'." Pyrrha explained as evenly as she could, "The first truly awful nightmare I experienced was when my family and I were on a private ship heading for Vale to prepare for the move. I...I honestly don't want to go into too much detail about it."

"You don't have to," The Winter Maiden said kindly, "Giving us a basic description would be enough."

Pyrrha let out a small sigh before continuing, "In that dream, I dreamed that I looked like a Grimm Hybrid again and that I was in a large cage that was moving towards a light. All around me I could see people that I love, the people that I have come to see as friends, who were all glaring at me with pure hatred on their faces and shouting terrible things at me. I saw people from various Teams, like CFVY and SSSN, and people I recognized from the past as dedicated fans when I was the reigning Mistral Champion, as well as Jaune's family who were blaming me for all that had happened to him and how much he suffered. The worst part of it was seeing my own family looking at me with hate in their eyes and not saying anything, it honestly felt as though a knife was being driven into my heart. Everyone were glaring and scolding me, including Ren and Nora, and so was Team RWB and… Jaune. I saw him with pale skin and red eyes that were filled with both hate and sadness. What chilled me were the few words he said to me, 'Look what you did to me.'"

She stopped and placed a hand against her mouth, trying to collect herself even as her eyes misted. Jaune reached over and placed an arm on Pyrrha's shoulder while Ruby likewise placed a hand on her knee, letting the red-haired girl know that they were there for her.

"I'm so sorry for bringing this up." Elsa voiced regretfully as her eyes gave a melancholic look, "Perhaps it was wrong of us to..."

"No, no… it's all right. Avoiding it only makes it worse." Pyrrha replied as she wiped a few stray tears away, "Anyway, the dream went on, the cage I was in eventually reached some horribly bright room that looked like the vault Amber was placed in under Beacon. Instead of a medical capsule, there was a operation table in the center of it. I saw Headmaster Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch and General Ironwood among the dark figures observing me, even as I was carried out of the cage by more dark figures who strapped and bound me tightly to the operation table. Then I saw the mad doctor Giger, who had his head reattached by crude stitches, holding up a terrifying sharp blade to cut me open and dissect me...and that was when I woke up screaming." She stopped once more to breath before adding "My parents were there to console me, but it clearly wasn't enough so they were understandably worried despite their best efforts. My mother decided to call Jaune and have him come over to the hotel to visit me and hopefully help me. It was perfect timing, since Ren and Nora were still staying with his family and his elder sister Indigo agreed to drive the to the town my family was staying at..."

Eleven Months Ago

A dark blue car sped through the streets of the town of Noetremir, loud music blaring from within the car made it vibrate loudly as it drove past buildings and other vehicles. Jaune's head was leaning against the window, keeping an eye out for the hotel while his musician older sister drove. In the back seat, Nora was evidently enjoying the music, headbanging to the beats of the song and pretending to 'sing' along while Ren simply covered his ears with a deadpan expression.

"Not much farther little bro, I'll get you to your soulmate in no time." Indigo promised him teasingly, hoping to get some response out of him, but to her surprise his face remained serious when he looked at her. She said no more, and although she was more daring and outgoing than the rest of Jaune's sisters, she knew when to be serious.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the hotel, which was a rather fancy and aristocratic-looking building. After finding a spot to park Indigo's car, they headed inside the main lobby where they were greeted by Zeus Nikos.

After introducing him to Indigo Arc, Zeus shook Jaune's hand rather tightly and said, "It's good to see you kids here, Pyrrha could really use your company."

"It's only right for us to be here for Pyrrha, she's practically family to us." Ren stated politely as the Pyrrha's father led them to the elevator.

"And anyone who cares for my little brother as much as she does counts as family in my book. So she's havin' nightmares?" Indigo commented as they got inside the lift and Zeus pressed the button for the appropriate floor.

Pyrrha's father nodded and replied, "She had a terrible one during the night we were on the airship. She didn't want to talk about it in detail to us, and only gave brief and vague descriptions of her dream. My wife thinks that she will be more willing to talk about it to her teammates."

"I hope so." Jaune murmured to himself.

They soon arrived at the large and well-appointed room where the Nikos family was currently staying in where they were greeted warmly by Hera, "Thank you all for coming. Pyrrha could use some friends right about now."

"Just point us to her room, and we'll make her feel a hundred percent better!" Nora proclaimed enthusiastically.

"Thank you." Hera remarked as she led them to the main hallway, pointing out which room was Pyrrha's.

Indigo sat down on the wonderfully comfortable sofa in the living room and said, "I'll just wait here. Your fair lady is waiting for you, Jaune. She needs you."

Jaune shared a look with his older sister and nodded before replying, "I think we need each other." The three members of Team JNPR proceeded to Pyrrha's bedroom door, and Jaune gently knocked on it.

"Pyrrha, it's me… us, your team. Your parents told us you had a pretty bad dream and you don't want to talk about it. They're both pretty worried about you, so they called us over to talk to you." Jaune said to the thick wooden door, but there was no answer.

They waited for a few moments, and Nora knocked this time much louder than Jaune had, " Pyrrha! Come on! Let us in to help you!" She called out in a slightly worried tone.

"I… I don't feel like seeing anyone right now." Pyrrha's quiet voice came from behind the door.

"It sounds like she's been crying." Ren observed, and Jaune's face turned grim.

"Pyrrha, please let us in. We want to help you, we want to be with you." He pleaded.

"Jaune, please don't. I… I just want to be alone." She came again, and her voice seemed to be cracking.

"You were alone at Sanctum Academy, and you were lonely because of my stupidity. Pyrrha, I don't want you to be alone ever again. None of us do." Jaune called out to her with an emotional voice, making him sound like he was about to cry.

There was no answer.

Jaune sighed and looked back to Ren and Nora, asking, "So… any ideas?"

"We can break the door down." Nora suggested plainly.

"Nora, that's a terrible idea." Ren shook his head as he gently rebuked her, but then he noticed a look on Jaune's face, "Jaune, I know that look, it's your 'planning' face. What do you have in mind?"

"What Nora said, let's break the door open." He said simply before lowering his shoulder and slamming into the door.

"I can't believe… Jaune, this isn't a good idea!" Ren objected harshly. "It might make things worse!"

Jaune turned around and looked at Ren. "I have to be with her. I'm not going to let her isolate herself." He said firmly before ramming the door again.

Ren watched in disbelief as Jaune slammed into the door a few more times. "Has he gone completely mad?" Ren asked aloud.

"Love makes us do crazy things, Renny! How else do you explain some of the things I normally do?" Nora joked before she joined Jaune in trying to knock the door open.

"What the hell are you kids doing?" The voice of Zeus asked as he came into view at the end of the hallway, with Hera and Indigo poking their heads from the living room.

"She won't let us in, so we're gonna barge in!" Nora declared, pausing from slamming her body against the door. "This would be a lot easier if I brought Magnhild…"

"No." Ren said bluntly, and his face was enough to convey how absolutely insane he found the situation.

Jaune didn't give up, he kept hitting the door. He considered using his Semblance, the concern he felt for his girlfriend was enough to power him up and maybe even break the door down after a few hits, but that wasn't his plan.

Before he could ram again the door opened up to reveal Pyrrha, her red hair a messy from remaining in bed with subtle bags under her eyes.

"Jaune, I know you mean well, but please stop. I don't want you getting into trouble." She said to him.

" I don't care, you need me I'll do anything to be there for you." He responded boldly with a small smile on his face, knowing that his plan to get her to open up had worked.

Pyrrha sighed and replied, "I can tell that I can't get you to leave, and I can't stand any more banging, so come in."

Jaune nodded and looked to Ren and Nora, who followed him inside. Zeus let out a sigh of relief before returning to the living area with his wife and Indigo.

Taking a look around Pyrrha's room, Jaune could see that everything was neat and tidy as usual with her luggage and briefcase containing her Huntress armor and weapons placed in a corner, and for some reason the mirror was fully covered with an extra blanket. The bed's blankets were knotted, it was clear that she had been tossing and turning around. As she climbed back onto the bed, Jaune took his seat next to her while Ren and Nora opted to sit on the couch a few meters in front of the bed.

"So, what exactly did you see in that nightmare?" Jaune whispered to her, taking her hand after she propped herself up and braced her legs to her chest.

Pyrrha sighed, knowing there was no escape from what she was about to tell them, so she filled her team in about the terrible nightmare she had.

The other members of Team JNPR were silent for several minutes after she finished recounting the horrible dream to them. Pyrrha then buried her head in her hands and wept, moving away from Jaune but he moved over to be as close to her as possible.

"Your nightmares are tearing you up inside, so why did you try to keep us out?" He inquired gently.

"B-b-because I don't deserve you. Any of you. Not after what I did." Pyrrha said through sobs.

"Don't talk like that!" Jaune snapped, a bit harsher than he had intended to.

"What in Oum's name would make you think that?" Nora asked from her seat.

"I went up that tower, knowing full well I could die. I threw away everything you gave me; your friendship, your trust, everything! I was willing to throw away my life for foolish reasons, I took everything I had for granted, I finally had real friends and yet I decided to go on a pointless suicide mission! I… I don't know if I even deserve to live." The redhead champion wept.

This left her team speechless, none of them ever expected her to say something like that. However, Jaune quickly snapped himself out of his stupor and reached to hold Pyrrha by her shoulders, pulling her around to face him.

"Never say that. Never." He told her firmly, "You do deserve this life Pyrrha, you hear me? You deserve it! Never say that you don't. I have my inner conflicts, I've done things I am ashamed of, and I blamed myself for your suffering so much after I thought I lost you. I told you how I had considered throwing myself off a cliff because I felt so horrible, but I kept moving on for you, and for our friends. You made a mistake that night, a terrible one that hurt us all, but you know what? I made more mistakes than you, and maybe I'm responsible for what happened to you because I didn't see how much you really cared for me until it was too late because I was so stupid. We all make mistakes, but that doesn't mean we should just give up. I learned that we can't let our mistakes and our guilt swallow us up, and our mistakes didn't stop us from doing what was right. We went after Cinder because of what she did to you and many other people, to make things right. I went for a lot of reasons, most of which were because of you, so I could make everything up to you and try to make up for my own mistakes."

He glanced at Ren and Nora who gave him encouraging looks, and continued, "But the important thing to know is that our mistakes are all in the past, and we have you back now, and our team together again. That's what matters. Do you know what I see when I look at you?"

"W-what?" Pyrrha asked through sniffles.

Jaune took her hands and held them tight as he began to use his emotion Semblance on her, channeling his memories of her into her mind, allowing her to see what he saw.

"I see an incredibly strong and beautiful girl, who is kind and generous, helpful and brave, so brave that she was willing to risk her life for a destiny she wasn't completely sure about. She's also very lonely, but she cares about others so much that she would rather suffer alone than make her loved ones share in it. I see someone who taught me and did everything she could with my best interests at heart, even though I didn't understand your feelings. I see a wonderful girl who needs and deserves our help, our friendship and our love. I see a powerful woman who… who I want to be with. I see someone who made a mistake, but never gave up no matter how bad things got. So I won't let you give up now. I love you, Pyrrha… so please, please let us help you."

Jaune's Semblance flooded visions into Pyrrha's mind, memories of her unlocking his Aura, training him in secret, kicking CRDL's collective butts, dancing with him, fighting in the Vytal Tournament, and kissing him for the first time before going off to face Cinder alone. She saw glimpses of their mental reunion, their duel, and him freeing her from the persona of Fotia Drakos. She saw him push her out of the way of Cinder's arrow, becoming a guardian of the Aura Crystal with him, and the two of them standing on a balcony at Haven as the sun set in the distance.

"Your choice did hurt us, but it doesn't matter. I forgive you." Jaune told her before he wrapped his arms around her body and hugged her to him.

Pyrrha briefly debated with herself whether she would return the hug or not, but when she felt Nora calmly hug her from behind, her face wet with tears.

"Don't push us away Pyrrha, please. We already lost you once, we can't lose you again just because you feel bad." Nora said desperately, "You're like a sister to me, please just listen to us when we say we forgive you."

Ren came next, placing a gentle hand on Pyrrha's shoulder as he sat on the bed, the other one resting on Nora to comfort her, "No matter what pain you have caused us we've already forgiven you. And we will always be here for you." He swore to Pyrrha as he joined the group hug.

Pyrrha looked at all three of her team members as best she could from her now confined, surrounded position. She felt nothing but love, care, and concern radiating off all three of them, especially Jaune.

"You helped me so much Pyrrha, you helped me learn and discover what I can become, you saved my life more than once, and I honestly haven't done enough to pay you back. I've had my own nightmares too, and I felt terrible things, hated myself… so now I want you to let me help you, so we can make it through this together." He told her thoughtfully.

She erupted into tears yet again and allowed her friends and her love to comfort her, managing to thank them as she sobbed her heart out once more.

The door to Pyrrha's bedroom opened a little, with her parents observing while standing in the hallway. Apparently Hera had been too concerned about her daughter to let this go unheard. They were tempted to come in, but Zeus held his wife back, softly telling her that their daughter needed this time with her friends.

They were just glad that she had such loyal friends who will be with her right till the very end, no matter what happens in the future ahead of them.

"After that, I spent a few days talking to my friends as much as I could. I called Ruby and the rest of her team, Team CFVY, even members of Team SSSN. I have also talked with Jaune's sisters and spent time with some of them while my parents were dealing with the business of the move. Weiss even put me in touch with her sister Winter, and she was able to assist me in dealing with trauma." Pyrrha finished.

"And what did she say?" Elsa asked while wiping some tears off her face, evidently saddened by the story.

"She said that I was suffering from a form of P.T.S.D., and that my main problem was that I was struggling to forgive myself. She informed General Ironwood shortly, who sent a therapist from the Atlas military who specialized in such cases, after swearing her to secrecy she met with Jaune and I. She taught us that we need to accept our past mistakes and do our best to improve and that avoiding the trauma only makes it worse and surface in other, darker ways." The red-haired champion explained.

"And have you learned to forgive yourself?" The Winter Maiden inquired.

Pyrrha thought for a few moments before giving her answer, "For the most part, yes. I have accepted my mistakes and their consequences, and I have done my best to look on, but some of the pain still lingers. It's not easy to just dismiss it and I can't instantly heal old wounds, but I'm doing my best to forgive myself, and the fact that I now have so many friends to help me is making that process easier."

She smiled at Jaune and Ruby who beamed back in return. Elsa nodded, content that her young friend was managing to recover from what she had endured, "And what about you, Jaune?"

Jaune told Elsa and Kaifin about how he dealt with the trauma in his own way, how he suffered from horrible nightmares and a few rare bursts of anger, mostly due to the fear of losing the people he cared about again, and fear that his now half-Grimm nature would lead people to hate him but he was managing to deal with it thanks to his friends, fellow teammates, his family, and especially Pyrrha.

"I am glad to hear that you are all managing to cope, my students." Ozpin said as he walked over to them, "And I can sympathize with all of you. I myself have found that how we feel looking back at our actions, with the benefit of hindsight, is an important thing as it helps us improve ourselves greatly. It isn't uncommon to look back and see things that fill us with regret or wish to improve upon or do differently. I am no exception, I have a great deal of things to regret, and not to mention having been given many chances and yet still failed to stop Salem, so I am being careful not to waste the chance I have been given this time."

They all looked at him, with Pyrrha speaking out, "Thank you, Headmaster. I am glad you understand my position."

"I do, all too well. But it's good to see that you are indeed doing better, Miss Nikos. I've seen more than my share of Huntsmen and Huntresses who couldn't cope with their failures and lash out, often accidentally hurting their friends and family. Or misguided people like Cinder Fall and Adam Taurus, who embraced the darkness because it gave them an easier way to get what they want. I have to live with my mistakes and the consequences they have wrought, and while I can't change the past I refuse to let my past mistakes stop me from making the future a better place for all." He mentioned earnestly, "In life, making mistakes is inevitable, and at some point we all look back and say 'I was wrong' and we regret our choices, just as you did Miss Nikos. We regret our mistakes so terribly that we eventually feel the temptation to give up, perhaps thinking that it was your actions were the cause of everything that went wrong or causing those you love to be hurt. While in many instances and situations that can happen, but we all have to do our best to improve and not give up, like I almost did before Qrow and Glynda stopped me."

Ozpin took in a slow breath and continued, "Nonetheless, I personally feel that it's important to look back from time to time and have regrets. It's only natural to feel bad about wrong choices and wish to have done better, because wisdom comes in part from experience, which includes mistakes. While it's foolish to rush in and do things without thinking them though, it's also just as foolish to never take chances. You can never achieve greatness by playing it safe all the time. What time gives is experience and in turn those lessons we learn give us the chance to see the difference between a risk worth taking and a terrible mistake, to make the right choice at a crucial moment. It's not easy to know when and where the best choice is worth taking as there are no solid rules. Life isn't so easy that you can simply charge headlong into things, but nor can you just stay by the sidelines and watch everything go by without taking action."

The trio of students nodded their heads while Elsa and Kaifin simply maintained their usual expressions. Glynda nodded her agreement at the headmaster's words, giving him an hint of a smile on her face.

"Everyone has mistakes and regrets no matter how great they are, but that is the price of our freedom to choose and sometimes we make the wrong choice, like you and I did, Miss Nikos. Looking back and reflecting is healthy and a way to cope with your trauma, and it lets you understand how you got to where you are now and where you will go in the future. You need to keep in mind that while you cannot ignore the past, you can never get anywhere by dwelling in it either, and no matter what you do the only way to the future is forward. We all carry the consequences of our choices, it's how we come to terms with and finally accept those consequences in the end that defines us." Ozpin finished and rested his both his hands on his cane, "My apologies, I didn't actually mean to give a speech. I merely wished to show that I feel the same way as my students do, and to let them know that they are not alone."

"It's quite all right, Headmaster. I think they appreciate the fact that you understand their feelings." Elsa mentioned and all three teenagers nodded.

"We sure do." Ruby chirped as she smiled at the headmaster who inclined his head a little. The red reaper then turned to Elsa and asked, "So… now that we have told you our stories, how about you tell us yours? Or is is that classified too and we have to take another oath?"

Elsa gave a small chuckle, before saying, "Not really, and I think since headmaster Ozpin has already taken all the necessary precautions we are allowed to tell you a little. Am I right?"

The headmaster and his assistant combat instructor shared a look before Ozpin gave a small smile and replied, "I see no harm in telling them your story."

The Winter Maiden nodded and then glanced at Snow Blade and Spirit Dreamer before speaking, "Very well. Kaifin and I were on the same Team at Atlas Academy, where we were among the highest ranked groups. We were rather popular, but unlike my teammates I was never one for the attention."

"And Kaifin was?" Jaune asked with a skeptical look.

"Ah, let's just say I was much more hard-headed in my youth." Kaifin admitted, which earned him a smirk from Elsa.

"At least you admit it. I remember our initiation, in which the last object we needed to collect was in a cave with a trio of large Ursas, including an Alpha. While the rest of our team were unsure, Kaifin just said ''We have them outnumbered four to three, we can take 'em no problem!' before hefting his own weapon and jumping right into the cave." Elsa said while doing a light-hearted impression of him, which made the three members of Team Beacon laugh.

Kafin shook his head before muttering, "Well, I was right in the end."

"Just barely." Elsa reminded him, before returning to the matter at hand, "By our fourth year we were among the best of the best teams, and then… well, one day everything changed. One night, General Ironwood came to our room personally and asked me to come with him. I followed him into a secret chamber beneath the academy where we met up with the lead councilwoman of the kingdom as well as a few top Specialists from the military. I was wondering why they brought me there when I saw an injured woman resting within a life support pod and was informed she had been brought there that very day. They told me she was Gerta Bely, the previous Winter Maiden."

"I assume she was gravely injured, just like Amber." Pyrrha commented while feeling how eerily similar her own experience had been compared to Elsa's. Beside her, Jaune and Ruby glanced at each other briefly, but they eventually returned their attention to the Winter Maiden and her guardian.

"Yes. General Ironwood then told me about The Story of the Seasons and even about Salem. He told me that Gerta had been attacked by an Elder Grimm, and while she managed to vanquish the beast it wasn't without grievous wounds. He also enlightened me on how important the balance of the four seasons is and how dangerous it would be if the powers of a Maiden fell into the wrong hands, and finally that I was chosen because I met all the criteria according to the Guardians of Remnant. Gerta didn't have long to live despite the advanced medical science of Atlas, so with no time to waste, I agreed to take her place as the Winter Maiden."

"Did you speak to her before...?" Ruby asked softly.

Elsa gave another nod, "I got to know her for a short amount of time before I took on her role, and while Gerta was weak she still managed to talk to me. She was quite a kind and beautiful woman, who was not much older than I am now. She said that she could tell that I was a good person from her brief conversations with General Ironwood, and that I must be quite talented to be chosen for such an important task. She warned me about the many dangers that I would face as a Maiden before whispering the promise that the first four Maidens made to visit the Wizard once every year."

The trio of students from Team Beacon nodded their heads, and patiently waited for Elsa to continue.

"The Atlas personnel then put me in another life support pod and initiated the transference of the Winter Maiden powers from Gerta to me. It was… well, needless to say an excruciatingly painful experience. And while it wasn't the worst pain I've ever suffered, it was nevertheless a strange, unique kind of pain that was entirely alien to me, one I haven't felt before or since." Elsa said as she visibly struggled to describe what she had felt that fateful night, "The closest expression I can give you was that if every single nerve ending in your body was set on fire."

"I know, I remember suffering the exact same sensations." Pyrrha agreed, her face flinching slightly at the memory.

Elsa nodded and continued, "Gerta died not long after passing the powers to me, the transfer was too much for her weakened body. It was then arranged that I would continue my education for a period of time until I was ready to begin travelling, but it wasn't long before my team demanded to see me. You see, by that time Kaifin and I were already in a relationship, and so once my team discovered what had happened, he demanded to spend as much time as he could with it. While it was...difficult at first, eventually General Ironwood permitted him to become my guardian."

"It wasn't an easy job, I had to prove myself to the general by fighting a dozen of his top soldiers, some of them highly trained specialists. I managed to defeat no more than five, but that didn't stop me from fighting, no matter how badly I was beaten and blasted. Our other teammates were eventually defeated but I keep getting back up, vowing to never give up a chance to be with her. I presume that's what convinced General Ironwood to allow me to become her personal guardian." Kaifin recounted, and smiled as he felt Elsa placed her hand atop his.

"We kept a low profile, and my fellow teammates were allowed to visit me and bring me our assignments until we graduated. While our other teammates went on their own paths, Kaifin and I remained together and began our journey as the Winter Maiden and her guardian, and we've been travelling together ever since." Elsa finally finished.

"Wow, and how long ago was that?" Ruby asked with curious look.

"Almost six years." The Winter Maiden answered before looking to Pyrrha and asked, "Now I think we should move on to another important matter. Pyrrha, how would you like to meet the other two Maidens?"

The three students were naturally confused. "The others? Are they here? And why only me?" Pyrrha asked.

"No, they are not here physically, but you and I can still meet them. You see, we Maidens have a special mindscape to ourselves where we can meet and discuss matters." Elsa explained.

Pyrrha continued her queries; "If that's the case, how could I enter it? And what about Cinder? She's a Maiden now, can't she enter?"

"Full of questions, aren't you?" Elsa remarked with a smile, "There's no need to worry about Cinder, neither she nor Salem can enter the Maiden's Mindscape. You see, about three hundred years ago, when Salem was corrupted by the darkness, the Maidens that came after her discussed her fall with the wizard, and he used his powers to make it so that no Maiden or former Maiden with evil within her heart can enter the mindscape. That's what keeps Cinder out and also keeps us safe from their detection. As for how you can enter, former Maidens can also enter as long as they have good within their hearts and hold true to the Maidens' spirit and ideals, and it's just I said earlier Pyrrha, you were the Fall Maiden for just a brief moment and I can tell that you live up to our virtues. That is enough for you to be part of the Maiden's sisterhood, and so you can enter with my help."

The Spartan thought about it for a moment before a smile graced her features, "I would be honored to meet the other Maidens, if it's not too much trouble."

Elsa returned the smile and said, "It's no trouble at all. In fact, the others are waiting for us right now."

She glanced to Kaifin who nodded in return, and gestured to Pyrrha's teammates, "Ruby, Jaune, please step away from the Maidens. They'll need room."

Jaune and Ruby stood up and backed away slowly, with the blond giving Pyrrha a caring look of encouragement that she was more than happy to return. She also noticed that while Snow Blade remained as still as a statue, Spirit Dreamer had moved a few steps forward, the white crystal at the top of her force staff shimmering a little.

Pyrrha and Elsa now sat alone in the circular depression in the middle of the chamber, directly across from one another. The Winter Maiden offered her smooth hands to Pyrrha and she gently accepted, noticing that they were faintly glowing with aura, "Close your eyes, and take calm breaths. Meditate and prepare yourself." Elsa instructed as she began to tighten her grip.

"No problem." Pyrrha replied as she did exactly as she was told, effortlessly relaxing as she began to meditate with her new-found friend which was made easy by her experiences with her own meditations with the Aura Crystal.

She could hear Elsa whispering strange words that she couldn't quite understand, but it seemed to her to be remarkably similar to those that Argentius had used when bringing Ruby into the mindscape. A warm and pleasant feeling began to surge throughout her body, and she somehow felt the physical world slowly slip away.

"You can open your eyes now, Pyrrha." Elsa told her.

Pyrrha released her hold on Elsa's hands and opened up her eyes, only to gasp as she saw that she was seemingly no longer in the meditation chambers, but in some strange place where all four seasons seemed to be happening at once. Despite her experience with the Aura Crystal, she could not help but be awed by what her own eyes were seeing.

She looked around to take in her new location, and saw that it was a uniquely beautiful place that wouldn't look out of place in a renowned painting sitting in a museum. They were currently standing on a pavement made of small stones which led into a large pavilion surrounded by multi-colored flower beds and tall trees with green and brown leaves.

A short distance in front of them was a hill sloping gently upwards until it reached a sizable stone table with four small stone chairs placed at all four points of the compass. The bright sun above cast its golden rays down, illuminating everything around them and the air was neither too hot or too cold, but a pleasant warmth in-between that distinctively made Pyrrha feel as though she could drift off to sleep without much difficulty.

The platinum-blonde Maiden smirked when she noticed Pyrrha's expression and said, "I know, that's the exact face I had when I first came here."

Pyrrha didn't respond, and as they walked along the pavement the Mistralian champion noticed that on Elsa's side the entire area was covered in layers of white snow and the trees were all coated with frost. Occasionally, a chilly gust of wind will blow past them, but it dissipated as quickly as it came and thus caused no discomfort to her. However when Pyrrha looked over to the Fall area her heart caught at the awful sight, as what she saw was evidently a dying forest in autumn, the darkened skeletons of trees towering over her in addition to piles of dark orange and brown leaves which piled up underneath every single tree like tiny mountains. There was no cooling breeze in the air either, and somehow the air had become a little thick and suffocating, as though someone was squeezing her neck if she so much take a deep breath.

She felt the Winter Maiden place her hand on her shoulder in a reassuring way, before directing her look at a pair of female figures standing at the base of the hill. Pyrrha felt her eyes widen at the her first impression of both the Spring and Summer Maidens, as they were definitely more than she had expected them to be.

The Spring Maiden was currently standing in an area where flowers of various kind bloomed and the sun shone brightly, while verdant green grass and trees rustled in the faintly sweet-smelling wind. Pyrrha took in her appearance; violet hair and varying shades of purple making up her clothes and laced heel boots. Fingerless shoulder-length gloves decorated her arms, and a gemstone necklace shaped in the same emblem of a sword through a gemstone could be seen around her neck. Despite her shorter height, Pyrrha could tell that the Spring Maiden was stronger than she initially looked.

"It's about time you guys got here, we were getting bored." Amethyst said jokingly as she looked at Pyrrha with curious eyes.

"You couldn't find something to occupy your time?" Elsa crossed her robed arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, we had a sparring match to pass the time." The Spring Maiden mentioned.

"What's the final score?" The Winter Maiden asked calmly.

"Twenty to eighteen, you can guess who has the higher score." Amethyst winked playfully at her fellow Maiden who sighed a little and shook her head, as Pyrrha glanced over to the final Maiden on her right.

The Summer of Maiden stood in a dazzling, sunny portion of the mindscape that seemed to be of a richer green with bits of yellowish-red version of Spring's domain. She was about two inches taller than Pyrrha and wore a red-sleeved jacket with a dark-blue collar on her upper body while greyish-white pants and white and red boots. Her skin was of a healthy tan and her coffee-bean colored hair fell neatly just past her shoulders, with two braids framing her attractive face while her maroon red eyes gave off an attentive sense of intelligence and a good-natured sense of kindness. However, there was also a hint of steel within those same eyes as well, and Pyrrha somehow realized that the Summer Maiden was quietly appraising her at the same time, no doubt already knowing of her achievement of winning the Mistral Tournament four years in a row. Pyrrha could see that she was the largest and probably most physically powerful of all the Maidens with an athletic body that displayed well-defined curves in all the right places and abdominals that would have easily attracted the eyes of those who knew how to properly appreciate the female figure. In addition to her exceptionally fit and toned body which looked to be well-honed through stringent training, the Spartan couldn't help but notice her generous bust that was only out done by Yang's and her own.

She shook that inappropriate thought from her head and chided herself for thinking that 'Looks like I may be hanging around Yang too much.'

Amethyst obviously caught the faint blush on Pyrrha cheeks and chuckled, "Admiring Heliosia? I can't blame you, I mean just look at those things, they're almost as big as yours! I can never understand how girls like the two of you fight so well with boobs that size."

Pyrrha absently put a hand across her chest even as she noticed the Spring Maiden burst out laughing, while Elsa chuckled politely and Heliosia simply smiled and crossed her arms under her own ample bosom.

"This is Amethyst Rilo, the Spring Maiden. Nevermind her jokes, she doesn't mean anything by it. She's just very free-spirited by nature." Elsa mentioned to Pyrrha.

"By nature or bisexual nature? They both fit me perfectly." Amethyst said teasingly as she placed her hands on her own combat skirt, making Heliosia chuckle as Elsa introduced Pyrrha to the final Maiden.

"And last but not least, this is Heliosia Aenia; the Summer Maiden." Elsa finished, gesturing to her.

"Greetings, Pyrrha. It's wonderful to finally meet you in person, so to speak." Heliosia said with a kind smile on her face, "I take it you are impressed by the Maiden's mindscape?"

"It's quite wonderful, all four seasons happening at once for each of you. I'v never seen anything like it." Pyrrha eventually said.

"And you won't, outside of a dream." Elsa told her, "Though I admit the Fall section used to be so beautiful, with forests of trees full of constantly falling golden leaves before… well, you know."

The other two Maidens either sighed sadly, looking downtrodden, while Pyrrha nodded grimly as she knelt down and picked up a leaf from the many around her feet. It should have been red, but without the power of the Fall Maiden sustaining it in the mindscape, the leaf had lost its vibrant color to become a dull orange while the lines on it were all black as though poisoned. She took a moment to admire the Autumn section of the Maidens' mindscape, even though she knew it had been dying for a long period of time. Instead of feeling a warm sun and cool air with the crisp smell of leaves all round her, now there was only a thick dead air and a kind of cold that felt as if the life of the landscape has been utterly leached out of it.

"I understand, but I've been wondering about something and maybe you can answer me; the Wizard in the Story of the Seasons. According to legend, it was said that he was immortal and if he was the one who gave the Maidens their powers, then shouldn't be able to take them away from Cinder?" Pyrrha turned and look at the Amethyst, Heliosia and Elsa, "Where is he now?"

The three Maidens looked at each other, and an unheard conversation seemed to pass in the meeting of their gazes. Amethyst eventually began with, "Well, you see… we kinda… don't know. He's been missing for so long, he could be in space for all we know."

"You...you don't know where the Wizard is?" Pyrrha almost felt a migraine coming into her head, and she couldn't keep the shock out of her voice. Amethyst visibly flinched at her tone, while Heliosia simply raised her eyebrows and looked to Elsa who shrugged.

"I'm afraid Amethyst speaks the truth." Heliosia confirmed as she took a step closer to Pyrrha, opening her gloved hands in a placating gesture, "The Wizard vanished over two hundred years ago, and while previous holders of the Maiden powers have tried to look for him, every single attempt turned out empty. If anyone knows what happened to him, they aren't saying anything, and I am one of those who tried to find him. Like the previous Maidens before me, I chased down every single lead I could find across Remnant, no matter if it's so much of a whisper of some old hermit or anyone with remarkable abilities but they all turned out cold in the end."

"We all searched while performing our duties; myself, Amethyst, and Amber. And we'd compare notes here in the mindscape." Elsa added.

Pyrrha thought about what she had just be told, and knew that it didn't bode well. If the Wizard was missing, that meant Salem's plans to conquer Remnant had less major opposition than she hoped.

"Don't worry Pyrrha. The Sisterhood of the Maidens has managed to survive two centuries without the Wizard, I think we'll be alright for the time being. Now, you are no doubt familiar with the powers of the Fall Maiden, as you did fight the pretender Cinder Fall twice." Elsa said and Pyrrha nodded, "My apologies to bring up your… unpleasant memories, but would you like to know about our individual powers?"

Pyrrha's curiosity was piqued despite her experience with Cinder, so said, "Well, I suppose it would be an interesting experience. I'd definitely like to know what each of you can do."

"Very well, why don't we all take a seat first?" Elsa gestured towards the stone table at the summit of the small hill situated perfectly among the four different seasons. The Winter Maiden took the north-facing seat, while Heliosia and Amethyst took the southern and western seats respectively. Pyrrha took the final east-facing seat, noticing the respective seasonal emblems set in place before each Maiden and looked directly at Elsa herself.

"You see, being the Winter Maiden means I can manipulate frost, snow, cold temperatures and even create them where they are absent. In other words, cryokinesis." Elsa explained, as her sky-blue eyes began to glow white and shape of a snowflake shone around her eyes as she waved her hands and created a small whirlwind of snow around her.

"All Maidens are given enhanced strength, endurance, speed and the ability to use the elemental power granted to them. It's the one power that we all have in common." Heliosia added as Elsa made the small blizzard of snow vanish, "I am the opposite of Elsa as I have the power of Pyrokinesis, the ability to create and control fire, heat and warmth."

Once Heliosia said that she closed her eyes and snapped her fingers, creating a bright spark of fire. Allowing the spark of fire to drop into the palm of her hand, she coaxed the spark to become a ball of flames a second later and she opened up her maroon red eyes as the shape of a sun surrounded them, shining brilliantly and giving her entire body a visible glowing orange Aura. She smiled at Pyrrha, who looked quite impressed.

"And as for me," Amethyst spoke up, "In addition to my great skills and my not-so-awesome Semblance, the powers of the Spring Maiden has given me abilities that aren't too dissimilar to Amber's. I can control the wind just like her and I can also make the leaves razor sharp to use them for combat. I can also cause little sprouts of water here and there, as well as make plants grow at an accelerated rate."

As an example, the Spring Maiden placed a hand on the grass and her eyes began to shine, as bright green lights in the shapes of leaves formed within her eyes as the grass began to grow before their eyes, overtaking Amethyst's hands and quickly covering it in shaggy green blades.

"I must admit, your powers are all so amazing." Pyrrha remarked, knotting her hands together a little.

"Yeah, it's a shame you couldn't be one of us." Amethyst replied as she retracted her hand from the newly-grown grass.

Pyrrha sighed sadly before replying, "I honestly don't think I agree with you. From what Elsa had told me, had Cinder Fall not interrupted us and I received Amber's powers, I would either have to remain hidden within Beacon Academy or be forced to leave my fellow teammates behind and travel Remnant. That really wasn't something I wanted."

"It's understandable, Pyrrha. We all had to make difficult choices and sacrifices as well as accept heavy burdens to become Maidens and I wouldn't blame anyone for not being able to do the same." Heliosia said in a sympathetic voice.

Pyrrha nodded, "In the end I only accepted to receive the powers of the Fall Maiden was mainly because of how bad the situation was and how it was clear that the enemy was making its move. I honestly don't know if I would have made for a new holder of the Fall Maiden's powers, I would have had too many regrets."

Elsa gave her an look of understanding, one which told Pyrrha that the platinum-blonde Maiden understood her all too well.

"Well, you were only a Maiden for a couple of seconds and you're already better than Cinder." Amethyst commented cheerfully.

"No question about that, but if Pyrrha feels better off not being one of us, then we can't force her to change her mind. Though I would still prefer you compared to the current Fall Maiden." Heliosia voiced as she tapped her fingers rhythmically on the stone table.

"Thank you, but even if we could get the Fall Maiden powers back from Cinder, I don't think I would fit the criteria anymore." Pyrrha said while blushing a bit.

"What do you mean? You are fit, powerful, smart, kind and most importantly an excellent fighter… you fit the bill just fine!" Amethyst observed, before asking "What? You aren't a virgin anymore?"

The blush deepened and Pyrrha glanced away from the trio of Maidens nervously, and the Spring, Summer and Winter Maiden quickly understood what she meant from her expression alone.

"Oh, sorry." Amethyst quickly apologized, which earned an eye-roll from Heliosia.

Elsa allowed herself a small gentle smile before saying, "Jaune?"

Pyrrha silently confirmed it with a nod, and the Winter Maiden gave her a benevolent look as she reached over and took Pyrrha's right hand within her own.

"I saw the way you look at him and the way he looks at you. I can tell that you two truly, deeply love and care for one another. You're lucky, not everyone finds such love, and sometimes those who do don't have the necessary courage to act on it." She said, and a slight sadness entered her voice near the end.

"You mean… you and Kaifin?" Pyrrha guessed, and Elsa nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, we were in a relationship before I was chosen to become the Winter Maiden. He became my guardian out of love, but the rules of the Sisterhood of the Seasonal Maidens state that a Maiden must remain of pure virtue, meaning that they cannot make love." The Winter Maiden elaborated.

"And that rule sucks. Big time." Amethyst voiced grumpily.

"I'm not too fond of it myself, but for now I don't have that much of a problem with it." Heliosia said to Pyrrha.

Amethyst leaned close to Pyrrha and whispered, "That's because she's holding out for a long lost childhood love." She giggled at the faint blush that grew across the Summer Maiden's face.

Heliosia was tempted to rebuke her, but eventually decided that she was above what initially popped into her head and chose to change the topic.

"So, Pyrrha." She began, "I assume Elsa has told you about her own past?" Pyrrha nodded in reply, and she continued, "Well then, how about we fill you in on the basics of our own pasts before you tell us about yourself? Would that be acceptable?"

"That sounds all right to me, be my guest." Pyrrha agreed.

Amethyst clapped her hands together and spoke up, "I'll begin; first off I was an orphan. Never knew who my parents were, but from what I've been told by those who knew him my dad was a talented, but overconfident Huntsman who regularly bit off more than he could chew and that got him killed before I was born. My mom was a kind-hearted woman who wasn't exactly in good health and didn't survive giving birth to me. I grew up in an orphanage in Vale where I got into all sorts of trouble and learned to get away with and out of it. When I was older I decided that I want to be a Huntress and so I started learning how to fight, soon enough I found out what my Semblance was and I gotta be honest with you, I wasn't too thrilled with it."

"You mentioned it before, so what's wrong with it?" Pyrrha asked cautiously.

Amethyst sighed but elaborated, "My Semblance enhances me in a lot of ways. Firstly, it's like my eyes see the world moving slower than it actually is, hence letting me move quicker and plan my attacks faster and better, though I'm not always able to dodge an attack. I've trained a lot in the past, honed my body and my skills to be as good as possible so I can react faster than an average Huntress. That's not the issue with it, the problem is in its side effect. Whenever I use my Semblance, I lose all emotion, and focus on nothing but the battle at hand. Some witnesses have said that I act lifeless and cold… like I become a totally different person. The worst part is I can also feel it too, I can feel myself becoming someone I'm not. So… yeah, not a big fan of this Semblance."

"I understand, and I don't blame you for it." Pyrrha voiced, "I would hate it if my Semblance changed my personality and turned me into something I'm not. How do you live with it?"

"I use it as little as possible, and only bring my Semblance out when things get serious." Amethyst explained before getting back to the original topic, "Anyway, before I became the Spring Maiden I was a student at Beacon, more specifically part of Team KARD. My partner was a nice, but kinda overly serious girl named Kalifa from Vacuo while our other mates were Renard and Della. We made for a pretty good team for a few years, but one fateful day over four years ago I noticed this cute girl wandering around the academy grounds alone. Tall, pretty face, bright blue eyes with long green hair, she looked lost so I ended up talking to her, showing her around and hanging out. Her name was Rachel and it wasn't until later that I discovered she was really the Spring Maiden. That afternoon was a pretty fantastic time, but I think the most important thing was that I managed to make Rachel happy, even for a short time since she apparently didn't smile much. But all good things must end, as Ozpin and her bodyguards showed up and informed her that she needed to go, and that it wasn't a good idea to hang around with no one to protect her. Although Ozpin wasn't too harsh since he knew what I was capable of, he quietly convinced Rachel to leave and perform her duties. Of course, I didn't know about her true identity, but it was clear that I was the first genuine friend she had made since she had received the powers of the Spring Maiden. She wasn't so eager to depart, but finally didn't have a choice in the matter."

She removed her hood and continued, "This hood I wear was actually a gift from Rachel. She said I cheered her up and most importantly, reminded her of who she should continue helping so she wanted to give me something to remember her by. We said our goodbyes and she was escorted away by her guards, and I never saw her again."

"A few days later, I woke up feeling empowered and more energetic than usual. When combat class rolled around I was doing so good I didn't even need my Semblance, but when things get rough, strange lights began to appear around my eyes. That surprised everybody present, especially me. Professor Goodwitch pulled me out of class and brought me to Headmaster Ozpin, who… told me the bad news. Rachel's airship has been attacked by a giant swarm of Lancers. No one survived." Amethyst stopped speaking, her purple eyes and cream-coloured face turning sad and mournful.

"As you know, one of the ways the powers of a Maiden can be transferred is through a dying Maiden thinking about someone, which is usually the last person in their thoughts, most commonly a young woman who really had an impact on them. I was the last thing Rachel ever thought about. I gave her one afternoon of happiness, and in return she thought of me, and entrusted these powers to me. Ozpin told me everything, about who Rachel really was and about the legend of the Maidens and for once in my life I was stunned silent, I literally couldn't bring myself to talk. He told me about the responsibilities of being a Maiden, the powers and the burdens and all else that entails. I vowed to prove myself worthy of what Rachel gave me, to avenge her death and live a good life for her, and to be the Maiden she must have thought I could be. I… I hope I'm not letting her down." She finished with an uncharacteristically heavy voice.

"You aren't, Amethyst. I'm positive that you're making Rachel very proud." Elsa assured the younger Maiden with a kind and reassuring smile.

Amethyst returned the smile before finishing her tale, "Anyway, we had to lie to my team by telling them that my new powers meant I was a candidate for a top secret mission and I had agreed to go along with it. I said my goodbyes, promised to call them up whenever I could, which I have every now and then, and left Beacon behind. I've been wandering Remnant ever since, performing my duties and doing my best to stay one step ahead of the bad guys."

"I don't know what to say, I'm sorry for your loss." Pyrrha told her.

"I've learned to live with it, and I'm grateful that Rachel trusted me enough that she thought I was worthy enough to inherit these powers. It hasn't been easy, but I do my best." Amethyst replied before looking to Heliosia opposite her, "Enough about me, take it away, H!"

The Summer Maiden steepled her fingers a little before beginning with; "I was born to a family who founded the Raging Tempest martial arts school in Mistral, which was situated in a sizable town not far away from the Kagayaku Valley. My father, Apollos, is the descendant of the founder, and a grand master of martial arts while my mother, Daphene, is a physician who is very skilled with herbs and medicines. From a young age, I showed incredible aptitude for learning martial arts, especially sword fighting, and was trained by my father in preparation to become a Huntress. My fighting skills improved quickly till the point I was beating almost every disciple in my father's martial arts school, and it wasn't long before I was taking part in tournaments."

Pyrrha nodded as she absorbed what Heliosia had told her, knowing of the fighting tournaments that took place throughout the various clans and tribes in the continent of Mistral. Teenagers and adults representing their families came from all over the Kingdom to win glory and fame for their respective families, and while no deaths had happened in those battles it wasn't uncommon for fighters to be severely injured during particularly intense matches. She had heard of the Raging Tempest martial arts school, and knew that their disciples were among the most formidable fighters since the Mistral champion had fought quite a few during the tournaments she had taken part in. A small part of her mind wondered if she had met Heliosia before somehow, and she momentarily entertained a brief thought of herself fighting against Heliosia in the tournaments.

The Summer Maiden went on, "I later enrolled and excelled in my studies at Haven Academy when I became of age, and was assigned to lead Team HEAT where I fought alongside my fellow teammates Ernest, Abigail and Talos on various missions. As for how I met the Summer Maiden, it was during a terrible thunderstorm when I had returned from Haven to visit my family when we heard a banging sound coming from the large gates of the school. My father went to open the gates and found a cloaked woman who had collapsed against the gates, losing quite a lot of blood from various wounds. He quickly hauled the woman in carefully before shouting for my mother and I to help him, and my mother quickly prepared the infirmary to treat her wounds. I later learned from my mother that the woman has been cut by poisoned blades and it was a miracle that she had survived as long as she did, due to the amount of cuts she had taken from whoever attacked her."

Heliosia adjusted her fingerless gloves and continued, "Even with my mother's skill with medicines, she was only able to slow the progress of the poisons and informed my father that because of the poisons and massive blood loss, the woman had only around a couple of hours of life left. That was when the woman called out for my parents and they went to her side, he was about to order me out, not wanting me to see her die, but she called for me to come as well, so we respected her wish. After my mother removed her cloak, I finally saw the woman's face for the first time, who had long curling brunette hair and orange eyes with some freckles around them. In a soft voice as she gripped onto my mother's hands she informed my parents that she was attacked by dangerous mercenaries who wanted to collect the huge bounty on her head despite the fact that she had done no wrong, and her name was Aestas the current Summer Maiden. My parents knew about the old story and were shocked but managed to keep calm, and tried to comfort Aestas by assuring that she was safe now, but she told them that she already knew she was dying, and needed to pass on the power of the Summer Maiden before she perished."

"That was when one of my father's best disciples rushed to the infirmary and informed us that a band of mercenaries had arrived at the gates and were requesting my father's presence. My father wasted no time and ordered me to keep watch over Aestas with my mother while he dealt with the mercenaries, saying that he wouldn't let anyone else harm her. I don't know what he did to drive them away, but I'm told he somehow managed to convince the mercenaries that the Summer Maiden wasn't there, but I think my father's reputation as a respected, powerful, and very formidable grand master helped too, and so they left without further incident. When my father returned, Aestas thanked him for protecting her and my mother for the medical attention she had freely given, and then requested for me to hold her hands. She told me that she was remorseful for passing on the powers of the Summer Maiden to me, but my mother couldn't receive the powers due to giving birth to me and time was running out and she couldn't see if she could depend on any of my father's female students, so that left only me, and so she requested me to become the next bearer of the Summer Maiden's powers, but I had to accept of my own free will."

She took a breath, "I shared looks with my parents and they told me the legend, and while they had their reservations they ultimately left the choice to me, seeing it as mine to make. I never asked for the power of the Summer Maiden, but I saw little choice in the matter and I decided that if the Maiden chosen me to be her successor, then I would do my best to be worthy of it, which is was what I said to Aestas. She smiled and replied that what I said proved to her beyond any doubt that I was a worthy candidate for the powers, and gave me her heartfelt blessings before she grabbed my hands, and… I don't clearly remember what happened. My parents said there was a bright light, meaning the power was being transferred to me. Aestas breathed her last and I fainted, staying asleep for two days straight."

"That's not like what happened with them, or even me." Pyrrha pointed out.

"Sometimes transferring the powers is… different." Elsa justified as Heliosia's fingers gently tapped on the table in a slow rhythm to her thoughts.

She continued, "When I woke up, I knew that while I didn't look any different on the outside, I felt different in the sense that I could feel a certain kind of power radiating from the core of my very being, as though it was suffused into every single cell within my body. A soft glow of red could be seen around my eyes, and it took me some time to keep my newly given powers under control. My fellow members of Team HEAT were told that I had come down with a dangerous fever and eventually recovered, but I had expected that it was only a matter of time before someone noticed there was something different about me. When I was ready, my parents and I came before Headmaster Argo of Haven and told him what had happened. I showed him my peculiar new abilities and increased combat skills, not to mention my gently glowing eyes. After assuring me that what I told him won't leave his office, he congratulated me on becoming the new Summer Maiden, and informed me of the heavy responsibilities I was given to which I replied that I would strive to be as capable as the previous Summer Maidens before me."

"I presume there's still a price to pay for becoming the Summer Maiden right?" Pyrrha prompted.

Heliosia gave a nod in affirmation, "Like Amethyst I had to leave my team behind to fulfill my Maiden duties, and so I thanked Ernest, Abigail and Talos for all the support they have given me over the three years we spent together. It was a tearful farewell, but I promised to find them again one day if possible. I spent some time with Headmaster Argo and met Ozpin as well, and after they have told me everything and equipping me with some additional skills and fighting techniques I started my journey as the new Summer Maiden across the varied lands of Remnant after spending a final day with my parents."

"And if you don't mind me asking, what's your Semblance?" Pyrrha asked.

Heliosia allowed a small smile to come to her lips, "My Semblance is actually pretty simple and kind of useful. I can absorb and store excess thermal energy, and redirect it in a number of ways which include draining heat from certain objects and people, to covering my fists in raging flames or even to create flaming swords, and finally releasing the same energy I absorbed in powerful blast waves. However, using my Semblance taxes my Aura significantly, and so I tend not to use it unless combat situations that I encounter get very serious."

"That sounds like an interesting Semblance indeed." Pyrrha commented and the Summer Maiden nodded.

"At least it's not personality changing like mine." Amethyst added as she crossed her arms.

"Each person's Semblance is unique," Elsa gently admonished, "Perhaps one day you will come to terms with yours."

"Yeah, right." The Spring Maiden snorted as she put her hands behind her head.

"Now that you have heard Amethyst and Heliosia's tales, can you please enlighten them with your story?" Elsa turned her head to regard Pyrrha herself, smiling kindly as she did so.

"I guess that's fair. However I would warn you that it's not an entirely happy story." Pyrrha replied before a smile crept onto her face, "But I suppose that so far, the good is outshining the bad in my life."

Elsa returned the smile, relieved to see that Pyrrha had a lot of happiness in her life, at least. Amethyst and Heliosia nodded their heads and gestured for her to begin whenever she was ready.

And so Pyrrha began to tell them her story.

TO BE CONTINUED...

This chapter was co-written by Relentless Crusader with help from Amethyst's creator, Leaf Ranger.

This chapter was very hard to write. I wanted so badly to do the ptsd and trauma our characters have suffered through to be done well and respectfully but I had a hard time getting it out of my head and onto the screen. I can only hope I've pulled it off, so tell me what you guys think. The character arc about Pyrrha's own personal guilt and need to forgive herself isn't done, it can't be wrapped up that quickly, so it will come into play later.

By the way, just to clear things up; Ozpin is not immortal like in canon, our Ozpin just suffered nightmares about such a fate and constantly failing.

Also, I made my grandmother an anime fan, I showed her Wolf Children and she loved it.

You know the drill, if you liked this story fave, follow, and review, or leave a kudos, a comment, and hopefully bookmark it too. Some feedback on what's good and what's not would be appreciated, thanks for everything guys.