After five and a half days of climbing through the mountains, team JNPR and Ruby Rose had made it through the mountains and were approaching Sumire. All five heroes were on their feet again, making their way through the snow filled fields as a cold breeze slowly nipped at their auras. Pyrrha breathed underneath her red cloak, her breath seen as she exhaled. Ren was slightly tired, and Ruby was trying to keep her head up. Nora was still angry with Jaune, folding her arms and giving him the silent treatment.

"Alright, we should be getting close to Sumire by now." Jaune announced. "Hopefully within the hour we'll reach it."

"I think we could all use a respite." Ren said to his team.

"Agreed. Maybe Nora will finally speak to Jaune again?" Ruby optimistically asked.

Nora hissed at the team leader.

Jaune lamented, "Give it up guys, she's not going to talk to me."

A few more minutes had gone by in silence.

Pyrrha began to think to herself, Nora's still angry with Jaune. I'm surprised that she hasn't challenged him to a duel or left the group. Then again, she knows how important stopping Cinder is to me. Either that, or she just doesn't want to leave Ren. Is it possible that she's secretly in love with him? I'd ask now, but she might lash out in anger. That'll have to wait until we're in a much better situation.

The so-called "invincible girl" looked at her teammates. Ren seemed calm yet tired, Nora was still holding on to anger, but now both Jaune and Ruby were sad.

I should say something to boost morale. But what? Hmm...

"Look on the bright side." the new co-leader spoke aloud. "We're making good progress. And this rate, we'll be getting a good night's sleep in no time."

He pointed ahead. "Uh, Pyrrha..."

She gasped. "No..."

The village had been destroyed. Many of the buildings were in ruins, but there was no smoke, no signs of anything burnt. A cold chill of fear washed over the heroes before sadness took over, especially for Pyrrha, Ren and Nora.

Nora, who had been angry all day, felt her anger melt away with shock before turning to sadness. "What happened here?"

"Most likely a Grimm attack. Check for survivors." Jaune ordered. "Maybe someone's here."

Everyone agreed to that. They split up to search more ground. As they looked around, the smell of death became more and more apparent.

Strangely enough, I'm actually feeling glad that we didn't have to drag Charles here. Ren thought as he looked at the destruction. He looked for survivors, even moving pieces of rubble but he found only a few corpses. He quickly backed away from them.

This place has nothing for us. Only corpses and destroyed dreams. We can't stay here. So much for rest...

Nora looked at the ruins of a building. She could see a poster of team JNPR on a wall that had not collapsed. They had a yellow sunny background behind them and they had all been smiling. Nora looked at the poster sadly, placing her hand on the poster, her hand on the left arm of Jaune and the right arm of herself. Why, Jaune? Why did you lie to us? Were we ever friends? Or were you just using us as tools?

Ruby stood inside an abandoned home. The building itself was not destroyed, but it was deserted. As she looked through each room, not finding anyone dead or alive, saw a pink ribbon similar to what Penny wore. The ribbon was mostly tattered. "Penny..."

She picked up the ribbon, held it in her hand and began to sob.

Meanwhile, Sun and Blake were in the upper part of Vale in a coastal city. The faunus duo stood on a rooftop nearby the sea as the sun began to set.

Blake looked at the ship below them and asked, "Are you sure this is the best idea?"

"It's our only shot at getting to Mistral, especially since Vale's council banned all air traffic in the kingdom not related to evacuation."

She looked at him in surprise. "Really?"

"You didn't hear the news?" Blake nodded in the negative. "Unfortunately, it is so. Fortunately, we have this backup plan. We'll get on before the passengers start boarding, hide in the cargo hold and wait a month until we get to the village of Vita on the western edge of Anima. When we exit the ship, we'll wear these cloaks to blend in with the crowd and no one will ever know the wiser."

Sun got out a black cloak for Blake along with a brown one for himself.

"Thanks." Blake smiled at her beau. "How did I fall for a stowaway?"

"To be honest, I'm not even sure."

"Come on you dork." Blake put on the black cloak provided for her. "Let's get going before the passengers arrive."

Sun put on his cloak and the two looked around the docks. They were deserted, no one in sight. The two went down to the docks and double checked to be sure no one saw them. Blake took the ribbon from her weapon Gambol Shroud and hooked it on the railing. Sun used it to climb up the side of the ship to the deck. Blake then climbed up and unhooked it before quickly putting away. Sun heard footsteps, so he took Blake's hand and took her into the hallway.

"That was close." Sun whispered.

"I know." Blake whispered. "We need to find the cargo hold." She looked around to try and find the stairway. "This way."

She quickly and quietly lead them to the staircase. As the catwoman moved through the wall, she was light on her feet. The monkey king, however, not so much. He tried being on the tips of his toes but fell over. This almost got them caught by employees... Twice. Blake internally sighed.

He really needs to work on his stealth skills.

Once they finally made it to the stairway of grey stone, they went down four flights of stairs to the basement. Blake opened the door and went inside. The cargo hold was a mostly dark area with numerous crates and bags, some of which were stacked on top of each other. The only source of light was an electric lantern on the right side of the wall. There were two circular windows on the left side that allowed for the two stowaway faunus to get a view of the ocean.

As the two situated themselves in the cargo hold of the ship, they uncloaked themselves and set their bags down. Blake folded up her cloak, sighing in relief. "That was close. Too close."

Sun folded up his cloak as well. "You know, it's kinda crazy."

"What is?"

"That I left my team just to try and find and aid you in your mission to stop the White Fang."

"How do you think they're doing without you?" Blake asked.

Sun shrugged. "I don't know. Hopefully, they're all doing well. I left Neptune in charge right before they went back to Mistral."

Blake chuckled. "You left Neptune in charge?"

"Yeah. Why, do you think it was a bad decision?"

"Not who I would have picked, but I suppose he'd do a good job." She looked away sadly. "At least you have a team to go back to..."

"Are you only saying that because you and your friends were separated during the Fall of Beacon and its aftermath?"

"That, and they probably hate me now."

Sun put his hand to hers. "I don't think that."

"You really think they don't? I left them all without warning. Yang was at the warehouse. She probably hates me more than anyone else. Even if Ruby and Weiss made through Beacon alive and well, by now they're probably back in the safety of their homes. I told them I wouldn't run away again, but yet... here I am."

Sun looked at her sadly, trying to find the right words to say. "I think you may be jumping to conclusions too quickly. And besides, even if you're running away, who ever said that running away a bad thing?" Sun took Blake's hand. "You ran away from the White Fang, and that was good because you're no longer a terrorist."

Blake smiled as the ship began to move. "That is true. And it looks like the ship's taking off."

Sun smiled with her, hand in hand. "Mistral, here we come."

Meanwhile, back in Sumire, Jaune looked around the village but found no one there. As he roamed through the town, he saw an empty house with a white sign in front of it. The sign was faded, but he looked closely and saw that it read, Caspain Residence.

Another family displaced because of the Fall of Beacon. Attacked in the aftermath, and nowhere to call for help. I should have gone to the tower. Maybe I could have stopped Cinder from taking it down. Can me, Pyrrha and our friends even stop her? Is Nora even my friend anymore? Everything's falling to pieces. My friendships, my hopes, my dreams... Still, it's better than subservience to Rouge. But right now, not so much.

Jaune sighed and turned away, leaving the scene. He got out his scroll and started to type up a group text.

Elsewhere, a cloaked Pyrrha roamed the village by herself. Several buildings had collapsed while others were destroyed completely. As she saw the destruction, she saw a red brick wall that had not been touched by the destruction. She approached the wall to get a closer look at the white paper taped to the middle of it. Once she was close enough, she saw that it had a picture of her along with the following words;

Wanted; Pyrrha Nikos

For the murder of Penny Polendina

If found roaming the village, bring her in for questioning but be careful. She's very strong, highly dangerous and will likely resist arrest.

Reward; 15,000 Lien

Pyrrha quietly gasped upon seeing it. She already had people attempt to kill her, but now she had actually been declared with a bounty on her head. It was a small one, and it was only one town, but it was still worrying.

If this town has declared me as a fugitive/criminal, have other cities or villages done the same? Am I safe, even with this cloak? She looked around to make sure no one was looking and took the poster down. Maybe I should do more to hide myself.

"Hey you!" She turned in the direction of the voice. A young boy, likely no more than thirteen, with brown hair and blue eyes stood there with an angry glare on his face. "What do you think you're doing?" Pyrrha was unsure how to respond, so she turned on her heel and ran. The boy chased after her. "Hey! Get back here!"

Damn it, Pyrrha! Why are you such a coward? Even under this cloak, you're still running away! She put the poster away as she ran. How has it come to this?!

A black screen showed a set of eyes with blurred vision blinking twice before slowly opening their eyes as a groan was heard. Caroline Cordovin was shown in a hospital bed with her legs bandaged and held up by white cables.

"Ugh... What happened?" She then remembered her fall and looked at the throbbing remnants of pain in her broken legs. "Oh no..."

The special operative looked the room around her, with light blue walls and a pale blue title floor. To Cordovin's right was a small wooden nightstand with a white cloth over it. Further away from her on her left was a window. Through it she could see the cloudy grey sky and small bits of smoke. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw in the upper right corner the ruins of Argus Harbor Max Security Prison.

I've failed... How will I ever explain this to Ironwood?

The door opened, showing one of the few remaining guards from the prison, who had a broken arm in a sling. He walked into the room with a somber expression and turned to the specialist. "Madam Cordovin. I'm afraid I have distressing news." He walked forward slowly. "All of the prisoners in Argus Harbor Max Security Prison escaped. Also, a majority of the guards are dead, and they're still trying to find the remaining survivors. Even worse than that, Warden Cumin is dead. Cause of death, a slash to the throat with some sort of blade. Unknown who exactly murdered him, but I have a hunch that Athena is directly at fault for it."

"Oh dear..." She blinked in realization, tensing up. "What about the assistant warden?"

"Assistant Warden Paprika is in critical condition." he answered. "She was found unconscious with a wound on her back, likely caused by a literal backstabbing with a dagger. She lost a lot of blood since she continued fighting and right now the nurses are scrambling to find the right blood type. They don't expect her to make it..."

She groaned. "I should have seen this coming... I could have stopped her..."

"That's not the only news. Maura was there."

Cordovin sat up. "She was?!" The guard and nodded. She felt fatigue wash over her and she laid back down. "She was working directly with Athena. First Sanctum, now Argus Harbor. We have to stop Maura before her reign of destruction destroys this city... or worse. But there's something that doesn't make sense."

"And what might that be?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Athena said that she wanted to kill me, but it would hinder her own plan. What is her plan, and why would she want me to be alive for it?"

The guard shrugged. "Don't know, ma'am."

She sighed. "I suppose that's the least of my worries." She looked at the guard. "Is Captain Grey alive and well enough to walk?"

"He is. He's one of the few people that wasn't injured."

"Get him over here. I must speak with him so he knows what to tell the press. No doubt the press is going to have a field day with this news. While you're at it, get me a pen and some paper. I have a lengthy report to write to Ironwood."

Back in Sumire, Jaune met up with his teammates at the fountain in the center of the village.

"You guys find anything?" he asked them.

Ruby nodded sadly. "Nothing."

"Nothing but destruction." Nora sadly answered.

"I don't think there's anyone here alive. Judging by the smell, this village was likely attacked a few days ago. Anyone who survived had to have left by now." Ren theorized.

Jaune looked around, but saw only three of his teammates. "Hey, aren't we missing someone in our party?"

On cue, the red-cloaked Pyrrha ran in front of them before being tackled to the ground by her pursuer only three seconds. He pinned her wrists down as her hood fell and he saw her face.

"Pyrrha Nikos." The pursuer's glare intensified. "You have a lot of nerve to come here after what you did."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't lie to me, Nikos! Or should I say murderess!"

Jaune got out his sword and commanded with anger in his voice, "Get away from her."

The two turned their necks to see Ruby, Nora, Jaune, and Ren standing before them only a mere ten feet from them.

Ruby got out her scythe. "If you want to hurt her, you're gonna have to go through all of us."

Nora got out her hammer and looked at him maliciously. "Can I break his legs?"

"Hold your horses, Nora. Maybe we can resolve this peacefully." Ren turned to the boy with a meaningful gaze. "Think about it. Do you really want to face semi-pro huntsman and huntresses?"

He looked at them, then looked at his enemy, who looked sad. "Fine. I yield." He got up and pointed at Pyrrha, who sat up in fear. "But don't think that is over, Pyrrha! One way or another, they will find you and they will not stop until you're locked up for good."

The boy walked away from the group, folding his arms as he left. He didn't even look back or say anything else as he disappeared.

Nora raised an eyebrow. "Who does that guy think he is? And more importantly, who is they?"

"You mean, 'who are they?'" Ren corrected. "He mentioned they, that implies that he was alluding to a group."

Jaune put away his sword and asked, "Pyrrha, what happened?" She tightened her fists silently, not saying a word as she tried to hold back tears. He was now even more concerned for her. "Pyrrha?"

"Jaune..." Pyrrha broke down and sobbed into his chest. "Everything has fallen to pieces... And in the aftermath, my worst fear has come true."

He gently embraced her and looked at her. "Pyrrha... What happened?"

The red haired warrior did not say a word as she got out the wanted poster she found earlier. Jaune took the poster, looked over it and gasped. "How... how could they?" He crumbled the poster in his fist. "How could one village declare you as a guilty outlaw?!"

Ruby and Nora both reacted with the same confused, "Huh?!"

Ren looked placed his left hand under his chin and over his right as he looked down slightly, saddened by the news. "Oh dear... I've heard slander against our friend Pyrrha, but this is worse than I could have thought."

"And if one village has declared me a fugitive, who's to say that other villages haven't done the same? Or worse yet, what if this happens on a kingdom wide scale?" Pyrrha put her hood back up. "Even with this cloak, I don't feel safe."

Everyone stood there in somber silence for a few moments.

"There's nothing here for us." Ren stated to break the silence. "We better get moving."

Jaune looked at his friend somberly. "You're right Ren. There's nothing here that can help us." He gestured forward. "Let's go."

And so, JNPR+Ruby left the destroyed village of Sumire. They were all in low spirits as the snow softly fell down on them. Everything had fallen to pieces, and as Pyrrha began to shiver under her cloak, she thought to herself, How many people see me as a villain? How many villages, cities, towns or even kingdoms want me dead or alive? How many want to kill me for something I didn't do? She looked at her white gloves. And how will I hide myself from the rest of them?