*THWACK*

Roman Torchwick's cane slammed into the counter with force, not enough to damage the counter but enough to make him the center of attention within the Dust Shop. Once all eyes were on him, the Thief then with an air of practiced flamboyance addressed the store employees and customers who were only now realizing who he was and what was going on as several masked, hooded, and armed individuals walked into the store carrying empty bags. "It is my pleasure to inform all of you that this is a robbery, however, I do have good news." Torchwick began walking around the store while twirling his cane, "We don't want your money, nor do we want to hurt anyone here. What we want is your insured Dust so as long as no one tries to be a hero, no one will be hurt or harassed. So allow me to thank you all ahead of time for your delightful company and your much-appreciated cooperation." Torchwick then motioned to his fellow thieves who got right to work and just as he promised, made no attempt to harass anyone, before long the Prince of Crime and his Cohorts exited the store carrying bags full of Dust which they loaded into a van parked right outside next to several other identical vans. Once that was done, Torchwick walked over to the driver of the van carrying their stolen cargo, "Remember the route I showed you?"

"Yes, I remember."

"Excellent! Then get on your way and be careful! That Dust is worth more than all of you animals put together!" Roman then walked away ignoring the curse that the Faunus muttered under his breath as he drove away. Once the van was gone, the Thief turned his attention to the rest of his motley crew and directed them to get into the remaining vans, "Hurry Up! We got work to do and all night to do it!" With that Torchwick himself climbed into the last van and pulled out a cigar from his clean white and very expensive custom-tailored coat and motioned to the driver to light it for him which he did. Torchwick let the cigar burn for a few seconds before he took a nice long drag while looking at the city through the window of the moving van and muttering to himself, "That bitch better be grateful for everything I'm doing."

She wasn't.

Cinder Fall was not at all impressed by the fruits of Roman's work as she walked through and inspected the warehouse stocked full of stolen dust and busy White Fang grunts, "Is this all Roman?" She asked while walking a circle around the room while the clicking of her heels began to sound more and more like the ticking of a clock counting down to a horrid end for the narcissistic thief, whether this was on purpose or just his imagination did not matter. He wouldn't let her get to him, no he was going to be playing the long con here and no sultry vixen was ever going to get the drop on him! "Roman… Torchwick," she spoke painfully slowly as she made a show of sounding out his name, the Conman struggled to maintain his composer and laidback persona as she addressed him. "This is not nearly enough for the plan, frankly it's disappointing. You need to do better, much better."

Musterring his courage Roman answered back, "Look, its not my fault that the first batch of men you set me up with were incompetent." Though I guess I can't fault them for getting their asses kicked by a Huntress-in-training but I can hold it against them for not realizing the bizarrely dressed kid with a huge fuck-off scythe was a Huntress!

"And I at considerable difficulty was able to replace them while not only increasing the quality but the quantity as well. So tell me, Roman, what's your excuse?" Cinder was now in full view and Roman would not hesitate to admit that she was as stunning but he would never allow himself to forget that she was just as dangerous, "So, tell Roman. Why despite all that has been given, you have yet to live up to both your reputation and own over-inflated ego?"

The Thief needed a cigar, a drink, and someone, preferably Neo that he could vent to but no, instead what he got was a bunch of animals and a bitch that could melt his face off. However, Cinder was not the first Femme Fatal that he has had to deal with, though she was easily the most dangerous of them all, The first thing I need to do is take control of the conversation by throwing her off her game. With that in mind he put on the cockiest smile he could muster up and turned to face her, "Cindy, let me explain how a heist like this works." He ignored the pissed off look she was giving him and continued his explanation, "You cannot hit every Dust Shop in the Kingdom one right after another without getting the cops and worse Huntsmen on your ass and in case you haven't noti-!"

*FWOOSH*

She was now holding up a hand engulfed in flames and was walking towards Torchwick, "Get to the point."

Okay, hotshot, let's turn down the sass before Cindy turns up the heat, With that thought, Roman quickly regained his composure and continued his explanation this time with a more professional tone, "The plan I'm using is both consistent and safe and though I'll admit that it is somewhat slow I assure you, it comes with a huge payoff!" He looked at Cinder waiting for her to acknowledge what he was saying, which she did with a nod and motioned for him to continue. "My sources have informed me that within the next week the Schnee Dust Company will be delivering a Massive shipment of dust to replenish what I have stolen."

"Dust that will no doubt be well protected so unless you plan on assaulting the guards and thus drawing the attention that you have been trying to avoid, I do not see a plan," She was losing what little patience remained.

Roman understood that all it would take to find himself at the bottom of an ashtray was a wrong word at the wrong time but where a lesser man would have panicked he continued ahead knowing that if he showed any hesitation she would take it as a sign of doubt, proof that he was all talk and that she might be better off with a replacement. But, that didn't mean he wasn't at all nervous, no matter how arrogant Torchwick was he still knew how to identify and avoid trouble with someone out of his league. So after taking a deep calming breath he twirled his cane and with all the grace of a natural showman he answered Cinder's admittedly good question, "We won't have to fight anyone because there is going to be no guards or cops."

"Explain yourself."

"With pleasure."

Despite what many in the school thought Blake was not antisocial, she did not hate social events and she did not hate or dislike any member of her team with perhaps one despite what that one exception though, Blake did not spend all her time in the library just to avoid Weiss. Her own habits had absolutely nothing to do with that particular person, real reason she spent so much time in the library was much simpler and innocent, they reminded her of home and the time she spent in her family's private library reading all the books it contained, which sadly wasn't much. However the time she got to spend with her parents just quietly enjoying a book more than made up for any lack of selection and it was a pleasure she soon hoped to share with both her partner Yang and their leader Ruby, she just needed to find the right book and believed that it was only a matter of time.

"Oh, I didn't expect to find you here. Thought that you'd all be headed to the Forever Fall by now." Velvet spoke as she pulled up a chair, sat down, and began to read.

"The Forever Fall?" Blake asked, trying to hide her apprehension from Velvet. The forest was the last place she saw Adam and even though she knew he wouldn't be there it didn't change the fact that it was a place that held memories for her. It was here she finally cut ties with an organization that she couldn't even recognize anymore; it was a moment that was ingrained into her memory as both a painful breakup and joyous liberation, I should be okay… there is no way that Adam is still there.

Had the Velvet simply looked up from the book she was reading she might have noticed the complicated and conflicting feelings on display right on Blake's face, she might have been able to help relieve them or at least point Blake in the right direction, but instead, she kept on reading. "That's right, soon you first years are going to head into the forest to retrieve some sap for Professor Peach. You don't know her, she only teaches for the second to third years but that doesn't stop her from making requests from the first and fourth years, though it's always to retrieve more sap. I honestly have no idea what she uses the sap for or why she needs so much." She shifted her position in the chair for one moment before turning to look at her fellow bibliophile. "Hey, can you reco-," for the first time Velvet noticed how uncomfortable Blake looked, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, it's just… Weiss," she wasn't thinking about the Heiress but, she obviously could not tell her friend what was really on her mind, Sorry Vel but, I don't trust you enough for a secret like that at least not right now. "I'm worried about having to spend more time than necessary with the Schnee." Lying was something that had become second nature to the former agent of the White Fang and the venom in her voice as she spoke Weiss' last name helped sell the lie well past the point of any reasonable doubt.

"Oh, that's right... I suppose I can't blame you for wanting to avoid that mess but chin up, Yang is your partner, not Weiss. So when your assignment starts just make an excuse and separate from the rest of your team and spend the entire trip with your partner but, I hope you only do that as a last resort."

"Why?"

"Blake, you're in a very unique position in regards to Weiss and I know that you don't like her, and I don't blame you, but maybe you could open her eyes. She's the Heiress of the SDC and you are going to be her teammate for the next four years, if anyone can push for some real change it's her and you can be the one to change her!"

"Why didn't you stop Cardin?"

"Why are you bringing that up?" asked a very confused Velvet.

"You are a second-year student at an Academy for Huntsmen while Cardin was just a first-year, in his first-semester and on-top of all that he is an average student at best. You could have taken him down easily, but you just stood there and let him walk all over you… Why?"

"I don't see how the two are connected but I'll answer your question with another one. What would I have accomplished by beating him up?" Velvet was getting very uncomfortable but, at the same time, she knew from the moment she and Blake started hanging out that this question would be brought up eventually.

"I didn't say beat him up, but you could have stood up to him. You could have made it clear that you would not allow yourself to be belittled and hurt just because he can't accept the idea that Faunus are people too. You could have shown him that his actions have consequences and instead you've empowered him by showing him that you won't try anything to stop him from hurting you… or others!" This was the lesson my father learned the hard way...

Velvet was stunned, this was a conversation that she has had several times in the past especially with her team but, she never thought that Blake would be so passionate about it. It was kind of… heartwarming to see someone so zealous about equality, true equality instead of the revenge that the White Fang was promising nowadays... so, she decided to let Blake in on a secret that only her teammates knew about, "Do you know what my Semblance is?"

"What?"

"My Semblance, do you know what it is?"

"I heard you the first time I just don't know what it has to do with anything," Blake was becoming angry and a little disappointed in her friend, Is she just trying to change the subject?

"It allows me to instantly memorize and copy moves through simple observation, granted it comes with the limitation that it only gives me the knowledge on how to perform the move so if I don't have the physical ability to perform the action then it just becomes useless info. For example, if I see someone play a song on the guitar my semblance allows me to play the same song even if I've never touched a guitar before in my life but if I see someone bench press a ton then I can't do that since I lack the physical strength to do it. "

"Once again what do-...," The words died on Blake's tongue as the realization hit her. "You were going to steal his moves."

"Oh, I was going to do more than steal em, I may be a bit of a softy but even I can hold a grudge or two. Now don't misunderstand me, I didn't purposely make myself a target, I really did just want to eat my food in peace but then he decided to be an asshole. However, that's not the reason why I am sharing this secret with you." Now it was Velvet's turn to make Blake feel a little uncomfortable, "Not everything is what it seems nor is the first impression of a person always right."

"You're talking about Weiss."

"Why is she here, Blake? Why did Weiss Schnee choose to come to a foreign country to study in our academy? Why become a huntress at all?"

Blake began to sink back into the chair she was trying to make sense of everything that Velvet just pointed out to her, Was Weiss trying to get out of Atlas? Why Leave? Was she trying to avoid special treatment but the reports the White Fang had on Ironwood made him out to be strict but fair? Or was she trying to get away from someone? I really don't know anything about Weiss, I know plenty about her father but nothing about her…

"You look like you have a lot to work out, so I'll leave you to it." Velvet got up to leave but turned back for a moment and looked right at her, "Remember Blake, if I'm wrong then you don't have to force yourself to stay there, just walk away with Yang and that will be the end of it. I'll even let you say 'I told you so,' to my face. But, please for your sake and the sake of your team try. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain," She then left Blake alone to think things over.

The Forever Fall was true to its name was a forest within the Grimmlands that was enterally in the embrace of autumn, what the name didn't tell you was just how breathtakingly gorgeous the place was, a true unexplainable wonderland that felt like it was the setting for some fairy tale. It didn't matter whether the student was originally from one of the other Kingdoms or had been born and raised in Vale, all who bore witness to the ethereal sight had been left breathless by the view. Even people who had seen this plenty of times before were taken aback, such as the pilots of the bullheads who lingered on a few minutes longer than they should as well as Professor Glynda Goodwitch who had been secretly looking forward to this visit for some time. Blake herself despite living in the forest for a few months almost felt like she was seeing again for the first time.

A cynical critic would point to the enthralled students and declare the entire trip to be a part of some sort of propaganda campaign designed to fill the heads of these children with the promise of adventure to trick them to willingly throw themselves at the Grimm to achieve some impossible dream... As overblown as that theory was, there is a very small but still real kernel of truth in it. These young huntresses and huntsmen-in-training were here to gather sap which did have a plethora of medicinal uses as well as playing a major role in the understanding of how this forest came to be. It would be no exaggeration to say that the real purpose of the trip was to gain a better understanding of the world at large, however, that was not the only purpose of this field trip and other similar activities. The other and more important reason why Beacon academy would go out of its way to make sure that every single one of these first-year students was brought here and it was to show them what they would be fighting for, it was to give them a peek into a world that existed right next to them but was denied to them by the Grimm. That was why Beacon and every other Huntsman Academy would arrange such trips, to ignite an explorer's spirit in its student body.

However this plan did not always work which was honestly fine, not everyone wanted to explore undiscovered lands or heroically push back against the dark hordes of soulless monsters. Some people had more grounded, practical goals, and Beacon was ready to help those students just as much as the others. Jaune just like those students was not enthralled by the beauty of the Forever Fall and in fact, he had yet to notice anything at all special about the place, his reason? It wasn't because he didn't care for travel or exploration but rather because he was currently hidden behind a tree and clenching his stomach trying not to live up to his nickname of "Vomit Boy." And as far as Beacon was concerned this was also a good reason.

"Hey, Jaune... are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just trying to take it all in." He looked up to who he was talking to and greeted by the sight of Cardin Winchester and the rest of his team looking right at him. Shit. He quickly scanned the forest looking for any possible way out of what was surely a horrid scenario that he now found himself in but his team was nowhere in sight, neither was Ruby's team and even Professor Goodwitch was too busy directing everyone else to notice what was happening here. He was outnumbered but, as long as I stay here, I'll be able to get everyone's attention if Cardin tries to start something.

"Look, Jaune… I'm sorry for doubting you." The Bully spoke.

"What!?"

"I mean no, I'm not sorry about doubting you because come on your Aura not protecting you? That's just ridiculous but, then it turns out to be- OuCH!" Cardin was interrupted by his teammate with the Mohawk who suddenly whacked the back of Cardin's head.

"Look, what he's trying to say is that he's sorry about acting like an asshole to you and about breaking your spine," Mohawk clarified.

The one in brown armor stepped forward "We were wrong about you Jaune, honestly if I had your semblance I'm not sure I would be able to keep trying to become a Huntsman."

"I'm not sure if you're crazy or badass but I do know that you deserve to be here," the final member of CRDL added.

Jaune for one moment briefly wondered if he hadn't accidentally breathed in some sort of hallucinogenic pollen or if something that he had eaten was giving him some sort of allergic reaction because there was absolutely no way this was happening. This was the sort of situation that only ever occurred in some kind of sterilized cliche kid's story where the bully apologizes to his victim and they both walk away as friends despite whatever torment the bully had put their victim through just a few minutes earlier because in those stories life was just one big adventure devoid of consequences. But this was real life and Jaune knew better, he learned just how little life cared about him the day when he was drugged and his body was violated, life wasn't easy and Cardin could not just say sorry and expect to be forgiven. "And why are you telling me all of this right now? Why not back then when I spent an entire day stuck in the medical bay because you broke my spine? Huh? Why are you acting so damn apologetic when you were one of the biggest assholes I've had the misfortune to meet, Cardin?"

To Winchester's credit, he did not expect to be forgiven but this was something else, What happened to you Jaune? Were you hurt? "I did try to visit you Jaune, I wanted to apologize to you while you were still in the medical bay but when I came the doctor wouldn't let me in. He told me that I would just upset you."

Yeah, that does sound like something Gris would do and it was probably the right thing to do as well. But that is just one event, "And after that Cardin? The fight was several days ago! Why are you apologizing now despite all of the chances you had to do so earlier?" Jaune demanded.

"Your friend with the hammer and her boyfriend got in the way," Mohawk answered for Cardin. "And when it wasn't them your partner Pyrrha was there too and… she scares me. Even when we finally figured out a way around her we got stopped again by Team RWBY."

"Maybe there was a good reason they kept trying to stop you?" Jaune snapped, "And you know what Cardin? Talk is cheap! If you want to prove that you're sorry then show it with your actions," With that Jaune pushed his way past the entirety of Team CRDL to go look for his team but, when he had gone only a few steps away he stopped and turned right back around to face Cardin and his team one more time, "I'm not the only person you need to ask forgiveness from." He then turned around and walked away from the bullies to leave them alone with their thoughts.

"You did good," said Ren as he emerged from behind some bushes.

"SWEET BROTHERS ON HIGH!? Where Did You Come From!?" Screamed Jaune.

"Well me and Renny were always close-by ready to back you up in case Cardin tried something, cause we're the best!" Nora cheerfully spoke as she descended from a tree.

"The two of us have spent many years surviving and eventually thriving in the wilderness of Mistral," Ren answered with such calmness that Jaune very nearly took him at his word.

"Yeah, but then we got sick and tired of Mistral's forests. Now don't get me wrong Jaune they are beautiful and also incredibly dangerous but Ren and I both decided that it was time to start seeing other forests while we were still young and that's why we're at Beacon!"

"But why are you suddenly here? Where were you two when Cardin and his goons showed up?"

"Pyrrha asked us to keep an eye on you while she informed Professor Goodwitch, though thankfully it seems that Winchester's intentions truly were harmless," Ren replied while also leaving out how he had to use his Semblance on their team leader just to keep her from chasing after Jaune and attacking Cardin possibly getting everyone in trouble. He looked over at Nora who was cheerfully marching through the woods seemingly unaware of the half-truth that he just told Jaune. I think I can understand where some of Jaune's issues are coming from but Pyrrha… there is something ugly that she's been trying to bury for a while. If it wasn't for Jaune then perhaps it would still be there buried and hidden and growing… like cancer. This might all be some sort of odd blessing in disguise.

"Well, what do you think of this one?" Ruby asked her team while resting her hand against the bark of the tree in question. "Do you think we can get good sap from it?"

Weiss began walking around the tree to examine it while comparing it to the information on her scroll instructing them as to what they were looking for. As she did this Blake and Yang kept watch for any possible problems namely Uras who were said to enjoy the sap of these trees for reasons that science had yet to learn. After a minute or so Weiss declared the tree to be acceptable and with that Team RWBY began their work to earn their Grade. It was simple work, just make a deep enough cut, insert the faucet and just let the sap flow ever so slowly, it was easy, time-consuming, and bloody boring as hell.

"Well, since we're going to be stuck here for a bit so how about we get to know each other a bit better?" Ruby suggested. "Sure we know some basic stuff about each other like how you already know that Yang and I are half-sisters from a family of huntsmen! But can you guess why our names are so different?"

"Here is a hint! Both our mothers were from different kingdoms," Yang hinted.

Weiss thought about it for a bit, since she really had nothing better to do, but kept drawing a blank. The only naming tradition that I know of is that of my own family and even then it is more of a suggestion rather than a rule… I got nothing. "There is no way anyone could figure it out based solely on the information you've given us, so you might as well just tell us, Why are your names so different?" Weiss asked.

"Well that's fair," Yang admitted with a shrug. "It because Ruby's mom chose to keep her family name and they both decided that Ruby Xiao Long just sounded stupid."

"Wait! Really? Yaaaang, you told me that mom named me after the Huntress who inspired her!"Ruby cried.

"That's because she did, but she had been inspired by several different Huntsmen. In fact, if you had been born a boy, they were going to name you Yellow!" Yang declared with a hearty chuckle.

As the Heiress of one of the biggest if not the biggest and probably most influential corporation in the world Weiss had been taught from an early age how to read people and more importantly to read in between the lines. It was simple really, all you had to do was pay attention to not just what was being said but also to what had been left unsaid and then connect the lines. Wait a moment! Yang came first and then Ruby but Yang seems to know more about Ruby's mother than Ruby does and when you consider what Yang said about Ruby's mother being inspired by several huntsmen plus their claim to be from a family of Huntsmen than it isn't a stretch to assume that her mother was a Huntress herself… Oh, her mother is dead. I guess Ruby isn't as naive as I thought... Fine, I'll play along then. "Well, if you two are done quibbling I would like to inform you all that I have a younger brother named Whitley and an older sister named Winter who is a specialist in the Atlas Military and works directly under General Ironwood," she said with no small amount of pride.

"Oh, so the Ice Queen is playing along? It looks like she has finally decided to… Chill out!" Yang proclaimed.

Blake rolled her eyes at her partner's newest and possibly worst attempt at a pun yet before refocusing to consider what she should reveal about herself. I could tell them how I visited all the Kingdoms, that's interesting and doesn't reveal too much about my past. Then another thought entered her mind, Velvet... she would probably want me to reveal myself... Weiss spoke of Winter with pride. As a former officer in the White Fang, Blake was well aware of how Winter chose to leave the comfy life of an Heiress behind much to the chagrin of a certain bastard. Both mom and dad and even the High Leader believed that Winter was an honorable person and Weiss is clearly proud of her… maybe I've misjudged her. But, then again there was the argument we had a few days ago… everyone deserves a second chance.

"Well, Blake do you have anything you want to share?" Ruby asked.

Reaching up to her bow Blake decided to take the dive and reveal her ears, "I'm a Faunus." The reaction she received was all rather amusing with Ruby getting excited, Weiss being so shocked that she somehow became paler than she already was but Yang was just standing there with a smug look on her face? Did she somehow already know or did she just suspect?

"So that's why you like Fish!" Wiess suddenly declared, "You are a cat!"

Both Ruby and Yang suddenly went silent and as for Blake, she was scowling right at her. "I like fish because I grew up on an Island. They remind me of my Home and my Family. I Do Not Like Fish Just Because I Happen To Have Cat Ears!"

"Wha- what! I was trying to make a Joke!"

"So, your idea of a Joke involves calling me a fucking animal!" Blake snarled. Yang ran over to her partner's side and gently began to lead her away from Ruby and Weiss. Blake, however, wasn't done just yet and called out to the Schnee as she walked away, "You know Weiss when I heard you talk about your sister I noticed the pride in your voice and thought that you were like her. I thought for a moment that I misjudged you, that Velvet was right and all I needed was to give you a second chance and we could bury the hatchet and even be friends. But, you're nothing like Winter."

"Come on, we'll do this assignment on our own," Yang whispered to Blake who was already in the process of retrieving her ribbon to hide her ears again.

Weiss fell to her knees as she watched them leave but she did not cry, Goddamnit what is wrong with me? I left Atlas to restore Schnee's good name but instead, all I've done is prove- She suddenly feels a hand on her shoulder and looks to find that Ruby is looking at her not with anger for ruining things, but rather with concern for the heiress's wellbeing, "I'm… sorry, Ruby."

"I know, you are."

"I'm going to apologize to Blake and I swear I will do better. She's my teammate, not some White Fang bastard, she deserves better."

Some might have called young Ruby Rose crazy but, at that moment she felt that just maybe there was some hope for her team.

Ozpin stood alone in the elevator as it quietly descended, some people would call what he was about to do a waste of time, indeed as the Headmaster of Beacon Academy there was always something that needed to be done and there were other places and especially other people where his presence and attention was if not necessary, appreciated. But he was more than just a headmaster, he was old, tired, full of regret, and determined not to let these words go unspoken and become the latest addition to his ever-growing list of regrets and mistakes.

The doors to the elevator opened up revealing the secret basement of Beacon Academy in its entirety, though it would be more apt to call it a hallway leading to nowhere except a dead end. In the past, he had used this room and rooms like this for many different purposes both noble and cruel, and now, it housed the Aura Transfer Machine that had been built by Atlas and delivered by General Ironwood himself piece by piece. It was an imposing piece of technology that looked like some sort of brainwashing device that one might see or read about in some silly work of science fiction, though the truth was far less sinister. All it did was what the name implied, transfer aura from one person to another, a process that could potentially save the lives and careers of countless Huntsmen.

Walking up to the device Ozpin thought of all the good that this machine was supposed to accomplish and how it contrasted with how they were planning on using it, asleep inside the machine was the woman that he came to visit and apologize to. Standing now in front of her he placed a hand on the glass which separated her from the rest of the world and just stared at her scarred brown skin, My fault. "Hello Amber…," he stood silent trying to figure out the words that he needed to tell her but she would never hear. "I was wrong. I was afraid and I am responsible for what happened to you."

The four Maidens were very close to the top of Ozpin's regrets, it was a pathetically short-sighted attempt to try and reclaim something that he should have gotten over a long long time ago it was also a doomed effort to try and lighten a load that belonged to him and him alone. Amber was not the first to be cursed with the title of The Fall Maiden and she would not be the last. However with this life-saving device turned coffin, he and the rest of his inner circle could ensure that Amber's legacy would not be a fruitless tragedy. Not that it does her any good…

"Soon, very soon the cream of the crop from all of the Academies would arrive here at Beacon for the Vytal Festival, and among them will be someone who I will have the painful duty of asking them to shoulder your burden and responsibility… along with your pain. I'll be perfectly honest with you Amber, I'm scared. I fear that I'll make yet another mistake and yet another hopeful innocent is going to suffer for it, I'm scared because I have no idea what Salem is planning, I'm terrified that if I act rashly I'll just…," his mind flashed back to an earlier point in his life, There was so much ash and smoke that day, Rojo was holding her tightly and shouting something at me. I've forgotten what he said but I remember why he said it… I didn't wait. "I'm sorry I just… remembered something from a long time ago." There were no chairs or even cushions in that basement so the old Headmaster simply lowered himself to the floor and sat in front of Amber's coffin so he could look through the glass at the woman whose life he ruined, "Oobleck once told me that it wasn't healthy to bottle everything inside, I wanted to open up to him but how could I? Even Glynda doesn't know the whole story no one does… Amber, I don't know if you can hear me but if you can. I would like to give you a long-overdue explanation."

Maybe it was just a little selfish of Ozpin to do this but, sometimes a little selfishness is healthy.

"A long time ago, the world was a very different place…"

Author's Notes: This entire scene with Ozpin and Amber wasn't something that I originally had planned. I was originally going to end the chapter by cutting back to Roman planning the Heist. But, then I got an idea and the whole thing just sort of wrote itself. Also, that little Flashback that Oz had isn't important so don't worry about it, I just wanted to give an example of how a past failure is still affecting him. Either way, the next chapter will be the end of RWBY Vol 1 so look forward to it! I just hope that you'll all like what I have planned.