The group were rushing Raider as they wanted to know what happened next, and what about Yang? The show more or less just Yang standing motionless as a small part of her believed she actually hurt somebody!

Raider was attempting to get them to calm down but it wasn't really working. On a side note, Raider really wonders how elementary schools actually pulled this off with twenty kids in their classroom and just putting up their hand to make a five or them telling the kids quiet coyotes.

Teachers are super underappreciated and need to be paid so much more than what they're earning. Raider snaps her focus back, right, the Beacon students were screaming at her to start the next episode and she was just in her own mind. Wouldn't be the first time that's happened.

"Alright, alright, I hear ya'! I'm starting it, I'm starting it!" Raider had, finally, gotten them to calm down for a moment while she gets the episode on.

You know, she calms them down for one moment, only for them to begin shouting and reacting the next.

(Volume 3 Intro)

"I'm sorry, but you left us with no choice." General Ironwood's voice is muffled as he speaks to Team RWBY. Standing outside the room are Atlesian Knights keeping guard.

Yang retorts once more that Mercury attacked her first! "Video footage and millions of viewers say otherwise."

So it seems Qrow hadn't told the others the previous Fall Maiden's assailants identities, could he not tell?

"This is stupid! Yang was charged first, she was just defending herself!" Nora screams from her chair. Agreements were all around the room, but Yang quickly took notice of one who was silent.

Both Weiss and Ruby come to Yang's defense, telling General Ironwood that this was something Yang would never do. Yang holds her head in her hands as General Ironwood continues, "You all seem like good students, and the staff here at Beacon are fully aware that you would never lash out the way you did, under normal circumstances. But I believe, and hope this to be nothing more than the result of stress and adrenaline; when you're out on the battlefield, your judgment can become clouded in an instant. Sometimes you see things that simply aren't there, even after the fight has passed."

Yang attempts one more time to claim her innocence, but General says otherwise, shouting at Yang. It effectively stops her. Team RWBY sat silent on their beds.

"Yang hadn't even done anything wrong!" It was Ruby's continuation of what Nora shouted a minute ago, "She was just defending herself!"

Ruby knew, when they got back, they were going to right many wrongs that have been shown in front of thim.

"The sad truth is, whether it was an accident or an assault, it doesn't matter, the world saw you attack an innocent student. They've already drawn their own conclusions, and it's my job to inform you that… you are disqualified."

"They're what?!" Sun jumped up from his seat in outrage. Others followed suit, the only ones who remained quiet was Yang, whose head was hanging low as she listened to all of her friends, and Blake, who had been silent for a little over a while.

"They shouldn't have to be disqualified for someone else's evil doing!" Jaune exclaimed, slamming his fist on the cushion of the couch.

"But they don't know any of this stuff, that's the main reason Raider is showing all of this to us. So when we get back, we can fix it, like it never happened. This is the future, we can change it, and direct it to a better path." Weiss, being the voice of reason once more, spoke up, getting everyone's attention.

"You guys believe me, right?" Yang asked once Ironwood left the room. Her voice held nothing but hurt, hoping that her friends would know that she's telling the truth. Ruby answers yes, like the choice was obvious; Weiss agrees, stating that she's hotheaded, not ruthless.

"Blake?" Yang looked to her partner, but she just averted her gaze to the floor, giving her no answer.

Seeing this, and knowing Blake had been quiet, Yang felt like a dagger was being stabbed into her heart. Blake…

All eyes went wide, turning to Blake in disbelief.

Ruby and Weiss shared the same sentiment of shock. "I want to believe you…"

"Huh?"

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

Ignoring the other two, Yang's eyes began to weld with tears at Blake's response.

Yang was the same as her counterpart, staring directly as her partner, wishing, hoping for some kind of explanation; Yang knew she had one.

"I understand where my other self is coming from. Adam…was a very dear person to me. But when he changed, it was all gradual. Small things that built up over time, it's just…all too familiar."

Future Blake must have been getting horrible reminders whenever that event happened. That's why she has been quiet. Whether to tell herself it's too similar or that Yang isn't like that. Either way, it brought up a part of Blake she wanted to keep hidden from everyone else.

None could ignore that this scene was going to hurt Blake and Yang the hardest, but it needed to be done.

And it was also nice and helpful that Blake allowed herself to open up to them, no matter how big or small it was.

"Blake…" Yang's voice broke. Blake raised her head a second time but continued to say nothing. Weiss wonders how Blake could ever say something like that, that Yang would never lie to them.

Blake let out a small breath, "I had someone very dear to me change. It wasn't in an instant, it was gradual, little choices that began to pile up. He told me not to worry, at first they were accidents, then it was self-defense, before long even I began to think he was right. This is all just, very familiar."

"I'm sorry…" Yang whispered, in a volume only Blake heard. "I'm sorry I made you think I was him."

"Yang, you have nothing to be sorry for, I know you're nothing like him. Sure, you're thick-headed and stubborn, but I know your heart is always in the right place. So don't need to apologize, you're not Adam."

The two gave each other eye contact with soft smiles, both with tears in the brim of their eyes.

Yang's tears slowly fell as Blake went on, "But, you're not him, and you've never done anything like this before. So, I want to trust you, I will trust you, but first I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me he attacked you. I need you to promise me you regret having to do what you did."

Yang wiped her tears away, giving Blake an honest, straight face. "I saw him attack me, so I attacked back."

Blake closed her eyes, her lips transforming into a smile, "Okay, thank you." Yang tells them that she wants to rest up for the time being, "We'll get out of your hair." All three of the girls leave the room, Ruby pauses when she closes the door as she sees Yang sitting on Weiss' bed.

Weiss comments that this is all a mess. Jaune opens the door, asking if Yang is doing okay, the rest of his team sharing the same worry. "She's doing the best she can." Blake was the one to reply.

Yang smiled to herself, feeling comfort as her other friends were worried about her.

"I heard Mercury and his team rushed back to Haven to be with his family," Ruby says, spreading some 'good' news.

They all knew that was just a coverup, they knew damn well that the three hadn't left, and they don't plan on doing so until their plan has been seen though.

"So, until they land, no one can really question him about what happened."

"If there's anything we can do, please don't hesitate to ask." Ren gives a voice of comfort, letting them know that if they or Yang need anything, they'll be there.

"If that's the case, Pyrrha, be sure to win one for Beacon!" Ruby requests happily, but Pyrrha didn't give much indication that she comprehended what she said, just a hum of acknowledgement.

"It's what Yang will want." Weiss adds. Pyrrha turns around just to put on a convincing smile, telling them she'll do her best.

"I'll be sure to watch tonight in case you're picked!" Ruby shouts with enthusiasm, but Pyrrha doesn't share the same.

"Sorry, I think I've had enough fighting for one year," Blake apologizes to Ruby. Weiss feels the same, agreeing with Blake before suggesting coffee.

Continuing to remember what Raider said in the past, this is only just the beginning; not to mention the titles for the previous two episodes: Fall and The Beginning of the End? Yeah, not the most happy go lucky titles.

In reality, they could all use a break from this. Once this episode is over they might just head on to bed for the night, but they'll do that when the episode is done.

Blake appreciates the gesture, but she tells Weiss that she actually prefers tea. With that, the three of them leave, Jaune watching them go. The moment Jaune closes the door Nora appears in Pyrrha's face, "You heard the lady, no more moping around." Nora's outfit completely changes as she's out of view for a split second, "We gotta get your butt in shape for the big fight! It could be today, it could be tomorrow, it could be the most important fight of your entire life!" Nora switches from jogging in place to jumping jacks, to push ups, then lifting a thousand lbs above her head, resulting in her toppling over.

Well, they always had Nora to help keep the mood light and humorous.

Pyrrha doesn't say anything, only having an awkward, concerned smile. "Nora's right, you can't let your concern for Yang hold you back, you need to focus." Ren agrees with Nora, and his apron is made obvious, it reads 'Please Do Nothing To The Cook'.

"Man, your apron is funny but lame at the same time," Yang comments with a half smile, starting to get her comical side back after the talk back in Team RWBY's room.

"You'll be defending the honor of Beacon Academy." Ren only gives Pyrrha a small amount of time to say anything, which was her being on his side, before he shoves a glass of some green mixture in her face.

Everyone, besides Ren and the people who were good at hiding their emotions, looked like they wanted to barf after just seeing what was in that glass.

"Ren, what is that?" Jaune asks cautiously, cautious of the drinks…? Contents.

"It's a healthy mixture full of vitamins and protein, what else would it be?" Ren replies, genuinely not understanding that his drink looks like what comes up, not what's supposed to go down.

"It has an…interesting color," Pyrrha tries to be nice but she really doesn't want to drink that.

"Ren, it looks like what happens after you put all those cheap, quick, "get healthy fast" recipes that never work, inside your body." Nora is real with her partner, it looks like vomit straight up. Ren still doesn't see what's so wrong with it, it's healthy and good for you.

"This blend of herbs and vegetables is filled with nutrients vital to your body's wellbeing." Again, Pyrrha was not able to get a single word in as Ren tells Pyrrha that there's no need to thank him.

"That really doesn't look safe for human consumption." Weiss feels like her face just got a bit paler, as if she could smell the earthly-green concoction.

"Thank you? Ugh, that looks like slime from a lakebed," Nora was beyond grossed out at what she was seeing in the glass.

"Algae contains numerous spectacular properties, see for yourself."

"So would that mean you got it from an actual lakebed?" Nora moved away from the screen in disgust, as if the poison was going to come out of the tv.

Ren allows Nora to take one sip. And that one sip was surprisingly unpleasant as Nora's whole face turns green. She runs to the nearest trash can to spit all of it out. Pyrrha smiles with mirth at the display of the two.

Well, at least we're cheering her up, 'cause out of all four of us, she's the one who needs it the most.

"What is wrong with you?!" Nora cries from next to the trash can.

"Me? You're the one that wasted perfectly good juice," Ren states as if he wasn't part of the problem why Nora was regurgitating the drink.

"We're supposed to help Pyrrha, not poison her!"

"There was absolutely nothing wrong with that."

Pyrrha and Jaune decide to smartly stay out of the argument, both of them keeping quiet as they watch from the sidelines.

That same thing was happening with Ren and Nora now, all the others were just going to keep quiet. That was until Raider actually had to tell them to stop fighting. And by telling them, she really told them to please shut up in one of the most passive aggressive but incredibly threatening way that the group had ever heard.

"If it looks the same coming up as it does going down then there's something wrong!" Jaune finally pulls the two apart, suggesting some fresh air.

Fresh air is something they were all going to need after all this is over.

Yang rests on Blake's bed, staring out the open window, watching Team JNPR take a stroll out in front of the building with a long face.

"Hey there Firecracker," Qrow greets from the doorway. Yang returns it, but she doesn't have her usual flame. "So, why'd you do it?" Yang responds that Qrow knows why.

Does he think I attacked Mercury on purpose? That thought brought a pang to her heart.

"All I know is that you attacked a helpless kid, so either you're lying or you're crazy."

"What?! He doesn't believe you? Out of all people he should be the one to know that you would never do anything like this!" Sun shouted, crossing his arms in frustration.

Ruby could only imagine what her sister might be thinking, that her own trusted uncle that she looks up to, thinks she would act so violently and recklessly.

Yang firmly states she isn't a liar, making Qrow come to the conclusion that she's crazy.

She knows she's not crazy, they all do. They know how it happened: Emerald's semblance.

"Who knows, maybe I am."

Qrow makes his way over to the beds and begins pacing, "And here I thought your dark haired friend was the emo one."

Blake scoffed, narrowing her eyes.

This got some quiet laughs from a couple, because, I mean, he's not really wrong.

"I saw my mom," This caused Qrow to pause, "I was in a lot of trouble, took a pretty hard hit, but when I came to, the person attacking me was gone. And I thought I saw…her. Her sword, like the one in you and dad's old picture."

Qrow released a scoff, "You're not crazy, Yang. That was your mom all right, let me guess, she didn't say a word, did she?"

Yang shook her head, responding like Qrow actually in front of her, asking her this, and not on a screen.

Yang questions how he knew that. "I don't see my sister very often but she does try to keep in touch, whenever it suits her."

"Wait, you mean you talked to her? That was real?"

"Yeah, she found me. Had a tip for my most recent assignment, and wanted me to give you a message."

"What? Why didn't he tell me any of this?! Even just a little bit of information would have been fine!" Yang shouted, feeling like she had once again been betrayed by her own family.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" Yang cries, hoping Qrow had a good explanation on why he kept her in the dark about their visits for so long.

"I was waiting for the right time, and this sure ain't it," Qrow answers, staring out the window, "But I guess you deserve to know." Qrow turned, facing Yang, "She wanted me to tell you, that she saved you once, but you shouldn't expect that kindness again."

Honestly, Yang wasn't that surprised when hearing that, it just seemed exactly like the person she expected her mom to be.

"Raven's got an interesting way of looking at the world that I don't particularly agree with, and she's dangerous, but you're a tough egg kiddo, shouldn't let this tournament thing get you down. You had a slip up, sometimes bad things just happen, I say it's time you move on."

So Yang was repeating what Qrow once told her the morning after Beacon fell.

Yang asked what she's even supposed to move on to. "Well, Raven let some info slip before she took off. If you ever want to track her down, I might be able to help."

"So now he wants to open up to me about Raven…" Yang mutters, rightfully pissed that Qrow had kept this from her for so long when for years she's spent her days searching for her, wondering where she was.

Yang wasn't going to think about asking Qrow where she was because the show more than likely would do that for her, or at least give her some sense of location.

Out by Beacon's cafeteria is Pyrrha, resting up against one of the walls. She solemnly watches one of the autumn leaves fall right beside her, it reminds of Amber before Jaune snaps her out of her daze. He stands in front of her, holding some cotton candy, "Hey, it's no green goop, but I still think it might do some good."

Pyrrha smiles at Jaune's gesture, appreciating what he was trying to do.

Pyrrha thanks Jaune, taking the treat. Nora catches his attention as she's not too far away with Ren, but Nora reads the room, grabbing Ren by the arm and dragging him. "Come one Ren, let's go back to the fairgrounds, I'll win you another stuffed animal."

The group, specifically Pyrrha and Jaune, braced themselves as they knew this was already going to be a rough conversation. They could just feel it.

"You were the first person to ever believe in me, y'know that?" Jaune starts, taking a seat next to Pyrrha. "Even when I told my parents I was going to Beacon, they told me not to worry if I ended up having to move back home."

Jaune remembered, it was a conversation that particularly stuck with him, it just went to show that they didn't have faith in him.

"How depressing is that?"

Weiss could relate to Jaune in this manner, it's not easy when you constantly had to live up to her father's excessively high expectations. At times, it made Weiss wish her parents showed even the slightest bit of regard for all the effort she put in.

"I'm sure they didn't me-" Pyrrha gasped, dropping the cotton candy as she both found and felt Jaune's hand resting on top of her.

"I guess…I'm just trying to say that you've always been there for me, even when I didn't deserve it, and I can tell there's something on your mind. So, I don't know, how can I help?"

Jaune tenses in surprise as Pyrrha rests her head on his shoulder, "You're already doing it."

There was no point in the two looking at each other to know that a light dust of a blush was painted across their cheeks. Pyrrha more so than Jaune. But, none were going to mention it as now was not the time nor place for that kind of conversation.

"Jaune…" The boy hums to let her know he's listening. She moves her hand, her voice solemn and alone as she speaks, "I don't know what to do."

"W-what do you mean?" Jaune was confused.

"Do you believe in destiny?"

Jaune didn't know how to put his thoughts into words but he did the best he could. "Uh, I don't know, I guess that depends on how you view it."

"When I think of destiny, I don't think of a predetermined fate you can't escape, but rather some sort of final goal, something you work towards your entire life."

"Okay, yeah, I can see that, sure," Was Jaune's response to Pyrrha's perspective.

"Well, what would you do if something came along that you never expected? Something that had the potential to stand between you and your destiny?" Jaune attempted to get a word in to better grasp what Pyrrha was asking him but she went on anyway, "Or what if you could suddenly fulfill your destiny in an instant but at the cost of who you were!" Jaune reaches to rest a hand on her shoulder, letting her understand that, to him, she wasn't making any sense.

Tell him… Pyrrha begs her other persona, he can help, he can understand. Tell. Him.

Pyrrha gets up from her spot, "None of it makes sense! This isn't how things were supposed to happen!"

"I'm sorry! Please, I'm just trying to understand what's wrong," Jaune states, getting up with her.

Tell. Him! Everyone's collective thoughts shouted, yelling for this Pyrrha to let Jaune in, so that she at least has someone.

When this time comes, Pyrrha won't be alone in this, she won't be feeling this alone, like she has to keep this hidden. She has them now.

"I've always felt as though I was destined to become a huntress, to protect the world…and it's become increasingly clear to me that my feelings were right, but I don't know if I can do it."

Jaune responds with no hesitation that whatever's going on, he knows she can do it. "The Pyrrha Nikos I know would never back down from a challenge, and if you really believe it's your destiny to save the world, you can't let anything stand in your way."

Just as her counterpart, Pyrrha could feel the tears beginning to fall as she was bombarded with overwhelming emotions.

"Pyrrha, are…are you okay?" Jaune asks, hesitant. Pyrrha sends him a watery smile and a nod, telling him she's genuinely okay.

Pyrrha covers her mouth with both hands as she couldn't keep the tears in any longer. Jaune softly calls her name, but Pyrrha tells him to stop, her voice muffled as her hands cover her face.

Jaune wonders if he said something wrong, but Pyrrha cries out again, her semblance activating as it shoves him into the walls.

The room gasped in surprise as they didn't see this coming. Pyrrha shakes her head, forming a thousand apologies to Jaune, who reminds her it's fine and this hasn't happened yet, and that everything is alright.

Pyrrha releases her hold as she's seen what she's done. "Jaune!" He drops to the ground with a harsh thud. "I'm…I'm sorry!" Tears dripping, Pyrrha runs off, leaving Jaune alone.

"Pyrrha, wait!" Jaune yells out, wanting her to come back.

But he distraughtly knows she won't.

Jaune remains on knees, "What did I say?" His voice was soft as he didn't raise his head.

It's what Pyrrha didn't say, you did nothing wrong… Pyrrha frowns as she heard Jaune mumble the question.

Everyone knew Jaune wasn't doing anything wrong, it's that Pyrrha didn't want to open up. Not yet.

Ruby, wanting to get on one of the airships to watch the next match, finds Velvet taking pictures. "Ruby, how you going?" Velvet asks, stopping her photography.

"Hi Velvet! What're you up to?"

"Oh, y'know, just working on my photography, do you wanna see?" Ruby looks at the picture to find it was Sun's butt that was the object of choice.

Ruby awkwardly tells Velvet that the picture is better.

Now everyone could feel some of the awkward tension in the room, more so now that Sun is here.

"I mean, I know I'm a catch but I think that might be overdoing it, just a little." Sun tried to play it off but slight twinge in his voice was more than apparent.

"I think we need to have Team CFVY check through Velvet's photos…" Ruby whispered to her team.

"I'm sorry to hear about your sister, is she doing okay?" Ruby quells Velvet's concerns, telling the Faunus that Yang is doing fine. "I think it's just awful what people are saying about her, Yang's such a nice person."

Part of Yang flares, wanting to know what they're whispering about, but she also can't exactly blame them either. They don't know the truth, what really happened that night.

It also made Yang happy that one of her friends wasn't totally flaming her.

Ruby's glad that someone thinks the way she does. "Most people don't know what it's like on the battlefield. I mean, even experienced fighters can get scared and start seeing things; if it happened to Coco it can happen to anyone." Ruby, tilting her head in confusion, wonders why Coco was brought up. "Yeah, she swears Yatsu with her in the forest during Emerald and Mercury, but he never even made it out of the geyser fields. Stress induced hallucinations apparently."

Ruby thinks this over, her expression suspicious. Out of nowhere a light flashes Ruby back to the present as Velvet took a picture of her to which the Faunus sheepishly apologizes.

Ruby makes it to the next fight, taking a seat as the crowd roars. "Emerald's here?!" Ruby's shock was apparent, squinting her eyes to see if she was seeing correctly. When correct, Ruby gets up from her seat and begins leaving.

The group narrowed their eyes. That girl was going to do something.

It hit Ruby like a freight train, her heart rate slowing to a stop.

no… no, No, No, NO, NO, NO, NO! Please, Gods no! It now occurred to Ruby that this must be a fight Penny is in. Please…no.

Ruby steps into the maintenance hallway as Dr. Oobleck announces it's time to pick the randomization fight. Out of one of the doorways is Mercury, walking on both his two feet. "Mercury…" Ruby is confused, he should be back at Haven, injured.

Ruby listens as Professor Port exclaims that their first contender is Penny Polendina!

"What are you doing?"

Mercury smirks evilly as Professor Port announces her opponent, Pyrrhan Nikos.

The room went cold.

"No, no, no, no, no…." Ruby repeated over and over, shaking her head as tears began to brim.

The room was hoping, praying this wasn't going to turn out how they were thinking. Ruby and Pyrrha plead the hardest.

It hits Ruby, the terribly dawning, "No…."

"Oooh, polarity vs metal, that could be bad," Mercury says with zero remorse. Ruby reaches behind her for Crescent Rose, only to realize she isn't with her. Mercury gets into a fighting stance as he knew where this was going.

In the arena, Penny smiles cheerfully as the platform begins to rise into the air. Nora cheers, getting Ren to do it even a little, and Pyrrha appears as if she doesn't want to do this. Which is the exact case.

The screen then goes black, going to the episode's end credits.

Nora felt sick to her stomach, wanting to scream at her other self to stop cheering. She was basically rooting for her friend to kill another, and thought made Nora want to hurl.

The group was left with a sickening feeling in their stomachs. They didn't want to move on to the next episode, but they also didn't want to just go to bed either. They probably wouldn't even be able to.

Not with rocks lodged in their throats.

But, Raider gestured that they needed the sleep, and nudged them to their rooms.

Everyone was attempting to comfort the other for what was to come inevitably in the next episode. Sun bunked with Jaune and Pyrrha, the two giving her the best support they could.

Knowing you were going to be the cause of one of your friends' deaths is not something that should be put on anyone.

Ruby wasn't faring any better as Weiss allowed Ruby to rest with her, letting the girl cry herself to sleep as Weiss did her best, rubbing Ruby's head with soft words of comfort and solace.

Blake and Yang stayed in the two's room, letting Ruby know that the two were there for her.

In all honesty, Raider should have just created a bigger room for all of them ro rest in together.