"So," Raven asked. "Care to tell me just what that danger was about?"
"That would be me, miss Branwen," Jekyll replied. "Coming from personal experience, Hyde has a… tendency of triggering everyone's instincts around me."
Raven Branwen never once let her glare go. Doctor Jekyll appeared unbothered by it all. Weiss may not know the woman for long but she was certain how a confrontation between them would go. The only question was how much of Hyde would come out.
As for the Masters and their friends, they were all resting after they had been preparing their things. There were a few days before they would actually return to Vale. Chiron, Jekyll, and Ironwood were in their meetings as they prepare themselves for Atlas' battlefield.
"Our next goal is to have the god of light come towards Atlas," Chiron said. "By now, Vacuo's Companion Lancer should have accomplished her tasks and be returning to Vale."
"And will we expect Haven's new headmaster to be involved?" Ironwood asked. His fist was closed tight. The knuckles kissed the table's surface. His eyes stared hard.
Chiron nodded once, unbothered by Ironwood's worries. "Against the god of light, we will do everything we must."
Weiss was there in the corner. She was fully rested and had been ready to leave at any moment's notice. With Ruby, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora still resting from their travels, she was left with the usual free time with Penny undergoing repairs and upgrades. She felt out of place being the youngest one, licensed or not.
Winter was with Penny as well. Doctor Polendina had suggested that they use some of the Maiden's magic to power Penny's Servant core. It wasn't a transfer process and more a power source that Penny could draw from outside of the environment. Even Rider was there to help boost those abilities with that Aura Amplification of his.
Some people have all the luck, Weiss said. If what Rider said was true, Aura Amplification was Jaune Arc's semblance. Simple but effective, and terrifyingly versatile. By amplifying aura, one could not only have the efficiency but also the power behind their output. It would have been terrifying had Jaune Arc bothered to study and master aura techniques, further making him an absolute beast.
She shook her head. Seeing Jaune again, though older and mature compared to the rest of them, was still surreal even if she had prepared herself for it. Those memories of her dreaming of the Rusted Knight now brought her to cringe as the face she imagined was completely different than the reality. Weiss wasn't sure what she imagined the Rusted Knight's face would be but it certainly wasn't Jaune Arc of all people!
Imagine that. Her, Weiss Schnee, rejecting the man who would become the Rusted Knight, thinking that he was not interested in her beyond her fame and name. Yet, there she was, wanting to be the best and associate herself with others, attaching herself to those of fame.
Qrow was drinking to the side, not surprising anyone in the room. If anything, the only surprise that came from it was that Qrow was savoring each drop. That bottle he had was not cheap, courtesy of doctor Jekyll's wallet. It was one of the few arguments, albeit mild and barely counts as one, that Jekyll and Winter had in public or at all that Weiss knew about.
"Good for nothing," Qrow grumbled to himself between sips. "Wine stealing, bottle hoarding Servant. I'm not letting that filthy Servant get any of these. Never! My precious!"
Weiss had no idea whom he was referring to.
Even after he finished his bottle, he opened the other, more expensive one. He feigned class as he whiffed the scent despite not having the glass for it. He was whiffing straight out of the bottle.
As she sat there in a corner. This Chiron person, Jekyll, and Ironwood began exchanging information. Information that they would have received later on. Raven Branwen's semblance was yet another useful and versatile set though the limitations were clear: only those whom Raven deems as especially close could such portals be created.
And she is one of the least social people, I've met. Even Ruby had better social skills than Raven. Raven could talk more but she was business only for the most part. Ruby had her interests and hobbies for small talk at least. Raven doesn't have that.
The other Servants were elsewhere. Lancer herself was watching over the Masters plus Ren and Nora. Rider would be there as well if he wasn't helping Winter and Penny.
General Ironwood fell back on his seat, massaging the temples of his head. Whatever plan that they were discussing weighed on the man's shoulders.
"Why did it have to be in my time?" Ironwood asked, shaking his head. "I had expected that we would be fighting against Salem. Maybe hold her back if we could not win this generation. But this Grail War? How does one go about fighting a god?"
"We already have the means, general," Jekyll assured him. "We Companion Servants aren't about to leave Remnant behind just because the god of light is dead. We have our own stakes to fight for."
"I know," Ironwood said. "I know."
The meeting ended there. Weiss had been dismissed with the simple task of passing on whatever it was that they were meeting about to the rest. Not that she could do it immediately even if she wanted to. The Masters were still tired and probably asleep by now, taking the comforts of Atlas' beds before they would have to move out again.
Without anyone else, the duty of assisting a now drunk Qrow Branwen fell to Weiss. Raven dipped out the moment it ended by turning into a bird. The scent of alcohol was enough to get Weiss' head to spin.
"I'll take it from here, Weiss," offered Jekyll. "I suggest you walk some ways first."
"Thank you, doctor," Weiss replied.
Getting her head to stop spinning wasn't a difficult task. Her vision may have been blurred but her senses quickly returned. It wasn't her first time being exposed to alcohol, both through the whiffs and through drink herself. Even she had drunk a glass or two during one of her father's events. Nothing too strong but there certainly was the case there.
Mother practically drowns herself there and Weiss had given up on trying before doctor Jekyll came along. She sighed again. Her sister wasn't the only one who felt as though the responsibility should have been theirs. It was their family, after all.
Then again, she thought. He did say he became part of the family. She can't say if it might be the same here but the option was certainly open and Weiss wouldn't mind. Doctor Jekyll was a good man and his Mister Hyde self wasn't going to hurt them. Weiss feared more for whoever was unfortunate enough to earn Hyde's ire.
With Ruby, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora here in Atlas Academy, Weiss place back in Mantle was now open for pretty much anyone else. Even Penny was moving out of there and back into Atlas Academy.
Ruby is a Master, Weiss thought. Yet, another time when something so grand and great went to someone else. Yet again, Weiss wasn't bothered by it as much as she thought. She chuckled, shook her head, and shrugged. There were more important things than that.
She couldn't be of much help despite the Servants being akin to the familiars that Schnee semblances gave access to. A thought came to her mind but she brushed it off. She couldn't even face Penny with those Servant parameters let alone an actual proper Servant. It would drain her aura faster if she could.
The hallways of the dorms of Atlas Academy were silent. Hardly anyone passes by here anymore, students included. The lucky ones were down in Mantle, having their own homes, while those in the barracks were the unfortunate ones.
Atlas' people were still mostly unwilling to move no matter how enticing Mantle was becoming. Some were already calling them out as having ulterior motives of bringing Atlas down. While that was true in a sense, it wasn't down on Mantle as they claim.
Ruby and the rest were still resting. After both travel and training, they had to be. Most of them had yet to really sleep it all off even after a few days. There was little worry for now with Raven around.
Sneaking inside, those four were sound asleep with Ruby's cape doubling as a second blanket for herself. Lancer sat on the other side. She nodded in greeting.
"So," Weiss said. "You're Ruby's Servant."
"We already met, Ice Princess," Lancer replied. "What? Tall, blonde, and rusty made you forget little ol' me?"
"No," Weiss replied a little too quickly.
"Yeah, I figured that it would be the case. Not everyone remembers the lancer when there's the hero."
"Hey now, I did not forget. I just wanted to make sure that you're treating my partner right!"
A pillow was thrown by her feet. Weiss covered her mouth, apologetically.
"Well for one," Lancer said. "I'm not the one disturbing their beauty sleep."
Weiss' eyes narrowed. Lancer had to be smug underneath that mask. She even had her hood up like some mysterious creep. It didn't help that the mask was that of a skull.
"Let's start over," Weiss suggest. "I'm Weiss. Weiss Schnee. Partner to Ruby Rose."
"Lancer." At least she's compliant enough. "Heroic Spirit of the Silver-Eyed Warriors with Maria Calavera as the base. Shame that the living one maybe already kicked the bucket."
Afterwards, the conversation went towards everything that Lancer and the rest had been up to. Weiss was able to pick up some of the pieces but that was whenever the group had been with one of the League's informants. That information came much later and Weiss had a lot of catching up to do.
"Assassin is dead?" Weiss asked.
"Yup." Lancer nodded. "Probably would have went straight for Atlas if it wasn't for the Colossus back in Argus. Something tells me, light intends to get rid of many others before even coming here."
Weiss took a deep breath. "Vale. How many Servants are there in Vale?"
"When we left? Saber and Astolfo. Once we got to Mistral, there was Archer. There's at least three and it wouldn't shock me if Berserker and Caster were headed to Vale anyway. That's five Servants on my count. With us heading there ourselves, that's seven."
Lancer chuckled to herself before continuing.
"If it wasn't for the Companion Servants," she said. "You'd think the entire Grail War would be in Vale."
"But it might as well be soon enough."
"You got that right kid, and by the sounds of those Companions, it won't end there either."
Once the rest of the group awoke, they were still groggy from having slept off much of their exhaustion. It was more accurate to say that exhaustion finally caught up to them all. Most of them were still sluggish in movements before they went to the mess halls. There weren't that many people there but there was food which was what they really needed. That and a hot drink.
Afterwards, it was a case of refreshing themselves, double checking to see if there was anything that they had missed, and waiting for them to be called.
/-/
"You all ready?" Raven asked. "Because I am not doing this for free. This is overtime pay for me. Actually, take your time; I'm being paid by the hour."
Chiron sighed. Rider had a feeling that Raven was being serious in that regard. Raven was performing her new job in her own way, selfish and self-servient.
As the group, Weiss being the latest addition to the team, replacing Qrow who would stay behind, gathered around, Raven took one last look before opening that portal. Everyone else would stay behind either as reinforcement should the coming battles for Vale prove too difficult. Otherwise, they're staying in Atlas to engage with the god of light once Rider's group managed to direct him to Atlas.
The portal opened and they stepped to the other side. It was Ruby who took that first step and she took a deep breath before she did.
"Let's go back to Beacon, everyone," she declared. No one responded but they all nodded.
After Ruby, Lancer, and Weiss, came Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, and Rider himself. The trip inside the portal was rather swift but there was that split second moment where their vision was nothing more than whatever space Raven's portal was at. It didn't last long as the familiar-looking walls and colors of Beacon Academy felt nostalgic for Rider. He wasn't alone there. Everyone felt it the moment they saw Beacon's interior again.
Chiron and Raven were the last two people to step into the portal. Raven stayed at the back of the pack. The portal closed behind them.
"We're back," said Ruby. Out of all them, Ruby sounded the most relieved. "We're back."
Everyone else felt like they had gone back in time. This was one of Beacon's classrooms. Rider noticed the colors. These had been rebuilt and repainted in similar designs. It was like their first time in Beacon again when everything had some kind of wonder and awe to it.
Rider and the rest were greeted by none other than Ozpin, Saber, and Taiyang. Headmaster Ozpin had to have chosen this room with intent.
"It is good to see you all again," Ozpin said. There was relief in his voice but nothing could hide those stress lines forming on his face. Rebuilding Vale could not have been an easy task. "I've heard what has happened in Atlas. I see that there are curtains even to me."
"Only doing what we can, sir," Ruby replied. She had her shoulders back and stood as tall as she could.
Ozpin then turned to see Chiron. "And you must be Chiron."
Chiron bowed. "Haven's new headmaster. I am… sorry for the loss of Leonardo Lionheart."
Both Ozpin and Saber slouched a little and sighed. Saber asked, "how did he die?"
"He was found out by Salem and dealt with. I wasn't able to see it in time. If it is alright with you, I made sure that Leo is remembered as the brave lion that he was."
Ozpin nodded. "Thank you. Haven is already in good hands with you as headmaster. Once this Grail War is over, I look forward to having further talks of cooperation between our two academies."
"Not as good if it has me as deputy," Raven commented. She wasn't about to stick around for sentiments, not even for Taiyang. A portal appeared behind her again. "Come on, boss."
"Not yet," Chiron said. "You are to go to Archer and Watts. Only after they are done with you could come back to Mistral." Then, he turned to Ozpin. "I will leave Vale to the rest of you, Headmaster Ozpin."
"I wish you luck, headmaster Chiron."
Raven groaned but complied. The portal opened and Chiron stepped back into the other side, likely Mistral. When it had closed, Raven didn't stick around and flew out, finding her own way towards Archer and Watts.
It had taken minutes before Ozpin recovered himself. Had he never learned of Leo's betrayal before now? Rider's spoilers don't count and he was sure that he told them. Even if they did, Ozpin was an optimist, believing in the best of people to the end. It was one of the problems when he tried to be this man behind the curtain; he could never be the cold and callous individual he tries to be.
For that alone, Rider could respect and even trust him with the benefit of a calmer mind. Emotions running loose had never been his strong suit; it rarely is for anyone. For Ozpin, tasked with a duty beyond his own capabilities, Rider could feel the same.
Rider and the rest were brought up to speed on the state of Vale. They've heard of the refugees from Menagerie. Rider and Lancer expected a fight.
"Archer claims that it is Caster's doing," explained Ozpin. "We may be able to get by for now, courtesy of Archer and Watts themselves, but even those resources would run thin once the Grail War would reach Vale's borders again."
"Uh, headmaster Ozpin, sir?" Ruby raised a hand. "About my sister."
"Yang's doing well sweetheart," Taiyang answered for Ozpin. "She got her prosthetic arm and is a professional huntress now, just like you."
Ruby beamed joyfully. That leaves one last member of team RWBY. If Blake had run away, they could always chase her down.
Rider was sure that with Menagerie, they don't have to chase her down. Blake was somewhere among them. His eyes turned to Ozpin and Taiyang. Neither met his stare. There was something else going on in regards to Blake.
"Team RWBY is going to get back together!" Ruby proudly declared as though it were foregone conclusion.
It was Ozpin that took the risk. "Perhaps, miss Rose. Perhaps." There was doubt in that voice. There was something going on with Blake. Blake had to be among those refugees.
"Headmaster?" Weiss asked. She caught on immediately.
"Due to the demands of Vale, miss Xiao Long needed to operate in a team of her own until a professional, your father, could give his approval for them to work independently. It is our way of training huntsmen and huntresses while Beacon is still being rebuilt. Miss Xiao Long was able to adjust enough to her new team before the refugees had arrived."
Not one of those words had anything to do with Blake. Ozpin was avoiding it.
"Oh?" Ruby didn't sound too hurt. There was a little. She must have missed it. "That's fine, headmaster." She gestured to team JNPR. "I mean; I did the same thing."
"They should be getting here by now," Taiyang said. "Told her that you'd be coming back."
Ruby was the happiest person in that room. Everyone else was happy for her.
"Rider," Saber said. "You might want to dematerialize when that would happen."
"Yang's team don't know the truth?" Rider asked.
"Less that and more that those three know who you were in life."
"Wait what?" Pyrrha asked. "Did you say three?" Her mind was already going down the candidates. Rider did too.
Rushing footsteps neared the headmaster's office. Rider quickly vanished from sight.
The doors were slammed wide open. Yang was ahead of pack. "Guys?" She quickly scanned the room and found Ruby.
"Yang!" Ruby had her arms wide open.
"Ruby!" Yang returned that same energy.
While the two sisters had the happiest reunion. Rider's attention was on the exhausted boys, that were obviously dragged along, behind Yang, team CRDL. Three members. It seemed that Pyrrha came to a similar conclusion that he did, since she wasn't as surprised.
"Eh?" Ruby. "CRBY?"
"Yeah, I'm one with the boys now!" Yang showed off her prosthetic arm. Rider noticed something different about that prosthetic: there was a decal of sorts there. It bore the image of a lark. Yang turned around and addressed Cardin. "Hey boss! Meet my sister!"
"We already met," Cardin replied. "And stop calling me boss."
"You got it top dog!"
Cardin buried his face in his palms. Yang was full of energy today, probably reuniting with Ruby. "Can we go now, sir? We just got back from our mission and we're exhausted."
"You are relieved team CRBY," Ozpin said. "We will contact you should we ever need of your specific talents. Miss Xiao Long, please stay."
Rider had a feeling that specific talent is really just Yang.
The rest of team CRDL—CRBY left them there. Cardin turned and waved at Pyrrha. Pyrrha returned with her own.
"What's that about?" Nora asked.
Rider materialized. They were all gone by now. "An understanding. Didn't think I'd see the day."
"Not even spoilers?" Pyrrha asked.
"Maybe, maybe not. Too hazy." Anything after the Ever After was.
Ruby didn't care in the slightest. Her sister was back and fighting. That was what was most important to her.
Team JNPR and Weiss shared in that joy. Only Lancer didn't join them. Rider wouldn't have either but Nora insisted and Rider wasn't about say no to that.
"Now," Ruby declared. "All we need is to find Blake!"
While Weiss certainly nodded along, Yang did not share that reaction. If anything, that joyous excitement died almost immediately. No one missed that. Taiyang and Ozpin had expressions of dread written all over their faces. Not even Ruby missed that one.
"Yang?" she asked.
"It's fine," Yang replied. She was taking many breaths. "Blake's there on the shore, if you guys want to meet her again."
"You're not coming?" Weiss asked.
Rider internally cursed. Right. Weiss doesn't know that bit yet.
"There's just… there's just things going on between us."
"If you'd like, miss Xiao Long," Ozpin offered. "We may leave the room to give you some privacy."
"No." Yang shook her head. "No, it's fine. Took a while, but those two clearly made up somehow. They had too. Grail War came for them and they had no choice but to put aside their differences."
Rider caught Ozpin and Taiyang exchanging looks. There was something more in Rider's mind.
"Look." Yang raised both hands. "If you guys want to see her that bad, go. Just… just don't expect me to come along. I can't take the chance if he is around."
Ruby looked so conflicted right now. He? Whose he? Rider focused on Yang. Namely, he focused on Yang's non-prosthetic arm. It was gripping the prosthetic tightly. No. That him?
"I have to see this for myself," Weiss said.
Ruby nodded along. "Yeah! There has to be something more going on."
"Probably." Yang shrugged her shoulders. "Doesn't change the fact that she's still with the guy."
Pyrrha leaned and whispered. "Rider?"
"I have a bad feeling about this," Rider whispered back. "Best if I stay out of sight if you want to tag along."
Before Ruby and Weiss could go, Ruby asked, "you guys aren't coming?"
Pyrrha covered for them all. "You go on ahead."
Ruby took it. "Right. We'll be quick, we swear!"
Once Ruby and Weiss left, along with Lancer for protection, Ozpin said to them, "we'll leave you be for now. Tai."
"Got it," Taiyang replied. "See you later, firecracker."
"Thanks dad," Yang said.
Silence past and neither side really made the first move. Pyrrha and Nora moved to either sides of Yang while Ren was there in the corner being awkward.
"Alright," Rider might as well take the shot. "I'll bite. It's Adam, isn't it?"
"Got it in one," Yang replied. "What, more spoilers?"
"Only from what you guys told me and I'm sure I have the details wrong."
"Yeah? What happened to yours?"
"He died. Both of you did him in."
"Oh," Yang replied, sounding condescending. "So she's disgusted enough with him there, at least. Good to know that your Blake still had some sense."
She shook her head.
"I'm sorry. Not being reasonable, I know. It's just… it's just hard to accept that, alright? Blake ran away after Adam cut off my own arm. Left me—us because she's feeling guilty over having the worst ex-boyfriend known to Remnant."
Yang raised both fists. Rider nearly caught a change in her eye color. Whatever spark would have come had died there.
"But now they're back. Not back-back, I know that much. I can see that much. But still! I lost an arm over this! Like, I'd genuinely, genuinely would rather have my hair cut than this!"
That declaration caused the expected reaction from everyone. Let it be known that even in Rider's hazy memories post Ever After, Yang Xiao Long cared for her hair.
"Let's…" Pyrrha said. "Let's move to lighter topics, yeah?"
Nora followed up immediately. "Yeah, like what's with CRDL?"
Yang seemed to like that enough. She nodded and Rider could see the relief. "Yeah that sounds right. And you wouldn't believe me."
"I mean," Pyrrha replied. "I can. A lot of us do."
"Immortal wizards and witches," Ren added. "Gods and legends being real. Alien worlds. How unbelievable could this be, really?"
Yang chuckled. "Yeah. I suppose it actually is believable."
She then told them of her adventures as part of CRBY. Cardin's leadership style and his change since the incident at Forever Fall was something to behold. For Rider, he didn't even know that Pyrrha had been there.
That explained the shield, he thought. He never really did give it much thought at the time, more content that he did good.
Yang's colors returned to where they were before the more she talked about CRBY. Out of everyone, only Ren seemed to be the least affected by it or he was good at hiding it. Rider and Pyrrha may have heard of Cardin becoming better but they, along with Nora, were still quite surprised to hear Yang of all people praise the old bully.
"Wow," Nora said. "Makes me not want to break his legs anymore."
Yang pumped her prosthetic jokingly, an empty shell fell out and she got into a fighting stance. "Got to protect my boys, sorry."
"Understandable." Nora nodded. "I'll take you up on the challenge some other time."
"So yeah, I'm one of the boys now." Then, Yang's eyes met Ren. "Hey Ren! You're coming."
"I'm good." Ren raised a hand. Knowing Yang, Rider could already guess the chaos that would ensue.
"Nah, I wasn't asking." Yang laughed. "So, what have you guys been up to?"
It was their turn to share their stories. Yang gave her usual commentary and Raven apparently never bothered to tell them either, not like Raven really stuck around to listen much.
Eventually, Ruby, Weiss, and Lancer did return. Weiss certainly had a difference in expression.
"Adam Taurus," Weiss said. "Adam Taurus is among the refugees and is not only allowed to run free." She paused, still processing everything that she had just told them. "And he was given a weapon!"
"Oh," Yang replied. "He was out there training again, was he? Who's the professor this time?"
"It was professor Mulberry," Ruby answered. "But hey! Blake's there. It went great. She was happy!"
Yang raised one eyebrow.
"Ish," Ruby added. "She was happy-ish."
"Can't we vouch for her?" Weiss said. "I mean, surely the headmaster could."
"He could." Yang nodded. "But they're also keeping a close eye on them all. Guessing you missed Sun."
"Sun's there?" Weiss' voice cracked. "What is that ruffian doing? No. Don't tell me. He followed Blake, didn't he?"
Yang shrugged. "I don't know. Never told me."
While the duo of team RWBY were there talking and chatting, sharing Adam-related grievances, Rider's focus was on Ruby. She was sitting in one corner, eyes staring at the roof.
"Hey." Rider sat down next to her. "How was it?"
Ruby didn't answer immediately. She looked like she didn't want to. She sighed. "Blake… Blake feels like she deserves this. Some kind of punishment for putting their lives in danger. She wasn't talking about us, I think."
It was Ren who moved to the other side of Ruby. Nora was still there by Yang's side and Pyrrha moved aside to let Weiss take her old spot.
"I want us to be back again," Ruby continued. Her voice went unheard by Weiss and Yang. "We're like sisters you know? Family."
"Perhaps time is the only thing that needs to heal," Ren offered. "There can be no denying that Adam Taurus did horrible things. Those wounds need to heal, and I don't think Rider's skills would be able to do that."
Their separate conversations were interrupted by Ozpin's arrival. "Sorry to disturb you all, but I regret to inform you that we must meet up soon enough. We are, all of us, to gather by Archer's residence for the coming battle against the god of light and against Salem."
"Archer learned of our arrival, then?" Rider asked.
"Precisely." Saber nodded. "Astolfo should arrive soon enough. I do not know what has taken him so long."
"Come," Ozpin said. "We will meet with Astolfo on the way."
The group all went out together. Rider kept his armor on for safe measures. With him being back in Vale, there was a clearer chance that someone would recognize him. All secrets would be revealed soon and not by their hand; they'll need to make use of what little cover they have left.
Astolfo soon arrived just before they went out of Beacon, away from most of the public eye. "Yahoo! Sorry I'm late! Met up with a friend while out on mission. She's coming to, though a little late."
"Ah," Saber said. Relief painted his voice. "So she's done Archer's duty?"
"That's right!" Astolfo proudly beamed. "One immortal killing weapon ready to go!"
"Excellent. I was worried if we had to begin this meeting without her."
Then, the final person arrived. While everyone else were curious as to the newcomer, Rider felt himself freeze on the spot. Never did he expect that this would happen. He felt that what-if.
"I'm here," she said, eyes burning bright of the Maiden. But Rider knew that it wasn't any of the four Maidens. "And I brought—" Her words were cut off as they both locked eyes.
It was Rider that took the first step. He was in his Rusted armor but had forgone the helmet; everyone there knew of his identity. She took the second.
Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, Ruby, and Weiss all looked to Rider and her with confusion. Everyone else knew of them both. Astolfo was especially excited-looking.
The two took painfully single steps per minute before they stood in front of one another. Rider and her examined each other, head to toe, mirroring each other's movements almost perfectly. They chuckled when they moved the same way the third time.
"You're not him exactly," she said.
"And you're not her exactly either," he replied. "Funny, I feel like that this should be the first time we've met."
"Rider?" Pyrrha asked. "You know her?"
"In a sense." Rider nodded. "What ifs and all that."
On the corner, Ozpin couldn't help but comment, "well, that answered one curiosity I had. Saber?"
"Same page, really. Even with the Grail."
Both Rider and her shook their heads.
"From a lying fraud to the fairytale," she said. "The Rusted Knight, Jaune Arc."
"From an illiterate peasant to the patron saint," Rider replied. "The Holy Maiden, Jeanne d'Arc."
AN: I had a completely different idea on how the inevitable reunion was going to go. But Powerwolf released "Joan of Arc" and I was obligated to put that somewhere. And yes, I tried to write that last bit to the tune/melody of the chorus.