The next day, well after the sun had risen, a lone spartan warrior made her way up a long hill. The sky had clouds scattered throughout, a contrast of warmth and cool fighting each other. But Pyrrha Nikos paid little attention to the weather as she made her way forward. With the wind at her back, she eventually reached the top of the hill.

The area had a surrounding metal fence and a large iron gate. Thankfully Pyrrha didn't need her powers to manipulate the gate, as it was already open. She walked right in, taking out a piece of paper from her pocket, an overhead sign reading;

Cherry Widow Cemetery

As the spartan warrior made her way forward, she felt the slightly damp ground beneath her feet. She had never been here, and had no idea if she would find what she was looking for. She regretted not being at the service for her parents, among other mistakes made out of cowardice and fear for her life. After roaming the graveyard for a few moments (stopping a few times to look at the paper- which provided directions and a map), she stopped before a pair of large gravestones.

Placed side by side, the gravestones read;

Here lies Phoenix Nikos

Beloved wife, mother and friend

Born; July 14th, 39 AGW

Died; October 6th, 79 AGW

And her husband, Merle Nikos

Beloved father, husband and friend

Born; August 12th, 30 AGW

Died; October 6th, 79 AGW

Rest in Peace

She wanted to come here, to let out all the feelings she had been tucking away for months. Everything she shoved down for the sake of survival. But now that she was here, what was she to say? She didn't know, but she couldn't just leave. Not like this.

Words died in her mouth. She bit her tongue.

Pyrrha breathed in, the aromas of damp dirt and faint mist grounding her. At last she began, "Hello mom… Dad…" Suddenly she began to cry. "I miss you. I miss you so much. I'm sorry that I wasn't there for your funeral, and that I couldn't be there one last time before everything went wrong…" She choked up, struggling to continue. "I'm also… sorry that I had to…" She looked around, not wanting anyone to hear her confession. "To kill her. Alva Parker. The woman who took your life. And her partner, Kiaran Burrow, has fallen by the hands of Jaune Arc. My team leader, partner, combat trainee for a while, and the love of my life.

She paused. "He's a good man, but not without his troubles. You would have loved meeting him. He's admittedly a bit of a dork, but he's my dork." She smiled lightly, tears beginning to blur her vision. "My other teammates are great too. Ren and Nora. More recently, Ruby of team RWBY has joined us. We've overcome many challenges, and hope to continue doing so."

"I hope that, wherever your spirits may be, that you are in a good place."

She let tears fall one last time before wiping them away and saying one last prayer.

I hope Ash is okay… Please… let him be okay.

She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination or a vision from the great beyond, but for a moment, she could have sworn she'd seen Ash with his sword- Incinerator- at his side, having just won a battle, the defeated criminals unconscious around him.

But the image vanished as quickly as it came.

Meanwhile, a lone Valkyrie was shown with a wooden basket held on her left arm. At first glance, the basket only appeared to have a blanket within it. Hidden away in that blanket was a tightly secured urn. In her hands was a hand drawn and written map, the girl carefully stepping forward as she looked over the instructions. As her eyes darted to the lower part of the page, she soon came to a stop.

Looking up, Nora Valkyrie saw a small wooden cabin that had fallen into despair. Its wooden boards were damaged and crooked, many just barely hanging on. Vines and overgrown shrubbery nearly covered the entire front porch, devoid of any furnishings. The windows were cracked and broken, much of the glass missing. The front door was unhinged, possibly blown over by a wind storm, leaving it open for anyone to enter. (Not that there was much of a reason to go there anyway.)

"Well… this is the place." she spoke to empty air.

Orville Odur's childhood home… It looks so… ruined. What happened here?

For a brief moment, Nora mused to herself on the state of the house. How did it get to be this way? Was it a wind storm? A hail storm? A different kind of natural disaster? Could it have been the robbery of an abandoned home? What could have been stolen? Where were his parents, or siblings if he had any?

But judging from the state of the cottage, the home had been abandoned long ago. She briefly wondered how long it had been.

Her thoughts turned to Orville, the man who risked everything to save her, despite having once been enemies.

I don't know anything about him. Not truly… Who was he? Was he a brother to someone? He was somebody's son. But to me… he was originally an enemy…

Her mind went back to the past, when Orville tried to bring down his broadsword against her, only for her to jump up to evade his attack. She charged electricity through her arms and into her hammer, creating a shockwave before landing. In another flash, he had tried to shove her down with his bare hands as Nora charged herself with electricity from her Semblance.

She recalled her releasing her unused lightning and the terror both team JNPR and SOLR had felt when Tyrian betrayed the Scarlatti Alliance and captured Ruby. The arguments and tensions that followed…

Orville groaned, "Could this day get any worse?"

And Nora glared at him not long thereafter. "You had to say something!"

To Orville and Ren wearing one of the rubber gloves and each taking Nora's hands… before cutting to Orville's aura breaking in a flash of gold.

She returned to the present, wondering what to say, now that she finally was here. Sorrow flooded through her and she closed her eyes, trying to keep herself from crying too soon.

"Orville…" She began, choked up. "Orville Odur… I know that I never truly knew you. And, in some ways… I'm sorry. Sorry for accusing you and your friends of being evil, for hurting them when they didn't need to be. For not being strong enough to face the man who took your life. And most of all, I'm sorry to say that he's still free to cause chaos.

"I know… I knew that I couldn't stop him. I couldn't stop him all those months ago… and more recently, I failed to stop him a second time." She looked at her arms. "I'm supposed to be strong. But I suppose I should know of all people, that strength isn't always enough. That it can waver. And I'm afraid… that's what happened to you.

The tears she held back began to fall down her face. "You were a warrior. A brave, strong warrior who never hesitated to help others or do the right thing. You cared about your teammates, your friends, your brothers-in-arms. You were happy to face me and Pyrrha in the Vytal Festival tournament all around, and after my team's victory, you held each other close and honored the match. You were willing to do the right thing, and if you made a mistake, you were always willing to make amends…

"Your sacrifice was not in vain. I…"

What was she to say? She suddenly felt that Orville would not want her to pursue vengeance- that he would want her to continue living and thriving.

"I will never let him get me. Not this time, not ever again. I know you would want me to continue living a happy life, and that's what I plan to do. I have my friends, who have often been like family to me, a few allies, and Ren." She paused. "I'll find myself, become stronger, and hope to succeed for years to come."

With her left hand holding the jar and the right hand wiping away the remains of her tears, she finished, "Farewell Orville… May you rest easy in Valhalla."

Her speech finished, she opened the jar and began to scatter some of the ashes. Some landed on the front porch, others landed on or near the flowers.

At that moment, a woman appeared, standing a few feet from her. A soft gasp was heard, with neither knowing what to say.

The woman had long red curls tumbling down her back, with amber-golden eyes and a long orange and red dress.

"You're a friend of Orville?" the woman asked.

"You could say that." Nora cautiously answered. "Are you… his mother?"

The woman nodded. Suddenly the Valkyrie had no idea what to say; she couldn't bring herself to admit the truth.

"You don't need to say anything."

Nora looked at her glumly. "How much did you hear?"

"I heard enough. My son is gone…"

A moment of silence passed as Nora let her take in the news.

"He died protecting me." Nora confessed.

Tears still lining her eyes, she blinked, releasing them. "You hardly knew him."

"You could say that…"

Nora ruefully recalled the events that led to Orville's death; the framing of Pyrrha, the formation of the Trojan Alliance (and sub-faction Scarlatti Trojan Alliance), team SOLR being manipulated by Tyrian, the battles waged, Tyrian's betrayal and all the disasters that followed.

By the end of it all, the woman was terrified as she was sorrowful.

"Oh… Oh Gods… You've faced so much."

Suddenly, the woman hugged Nora as if she were her own daughter.

"Thank you," Nora whispered.

Soon the embrace ended and Orville's mother asked, "Does it scare you? Knowing that he's still out there?"

"Yes. It does." The Valkyrie reached into the basket. "Uh, you should have this." Nora handed her the urn, seeing a small amount of ashes within it.

"Thank you." She held the urn by her left side, letting tears fall from her face. "Words are not enough to describe my pain." She wiped away some of her tears, stifling a sob. "There is no word for a parent that loses their child."

Nora blinked in surprise. "There should be."

The two went to a nearby bench, with Orville's mother sobbing as she held the remains of her son. A single jar was all that she had left of him. And Nora stayed until there were no more tears left.

Later that evening, an elderly woman and her younger friend were shown at a table, drinking tea. The setting sun slowly poured in from a window on the opposite side of the room. Silence reigned throughout the dining room as the elderly lady sipped her tea. The younger woman set her tea cup down, her attention drifting to a piece of paper on a clipboard before smiling. Maria Calvera and Wendy David had long been friends, and with the tea they shared, they were gradually renewing and rebuilding their bond.

"How have your sales been today?" Maria asked.

"Pretty good I'd say. Despite claims that Mistral's been going downhill in a hurry, I will say the market has been quite robust!" Wendy cheered.

"Some say that somewhere in the world, there's always a fire. Always a disaster." Maria began. "But if we can do what we can to mitigate it and lessen the damage, then I'd say we're doing alright."

Maria took a sip of her tea.

"I've heard rumors that a few people are staying at Haven Academy," Wendy mentioned.

"Really? And do you know who they are?" Maria wondered.

Wendy shrugged. "No idea. Some group calling themselves team AVNRR (Avenger). And possibly a huntsman accompanying them."

"A huntsman… if the rumors are true, there aren't too many of them in Mistral anymore…"

"I fear you may be right. On a lighter note, I've heard there's a local animal shelter needing some volunteers to help with kittens."

"Hmm… That might not be a bad venture to explore." Maria gave out a dry chuckle. "It's a wonder that I haven't become a crazy cat lady."

"If it weren't for your travels, you would be."

"Ha. On that you're probably right." Maria took another sip. "I will admit, of all the volunteer gigs I have done, I don't think I've done one with cats."

"What about that animal shelter in Argus you helped out a few years ago? Wasn't that for the aid of cats and dogs?" Mrs. David inquired.

"That was just dogs."

Wendy finished her tea, remarking, "I see. Still, I think this could be a good opportunity for you."

Maria faintly smiled at the future volunteer prospect. "I hope you're right."

Author's Notes:

-Five months until 2024, yet here we still have many more. Soon to be six, are the site's problems fixed? Hard to tell, but soon all should be well.

(Anyway, sorry for no updates in a while. May's been a bit of a busy month. But the next chapter should be ready very soon. Hope you all have a good day!)