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I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

Also GIVE ME REVIEWS OUM-DAMN IT

She's So Cool

Neptune Vasilias suppressed a yawn and slumped back in his chair. He may have been an intellectual, or nerd as his friends more commonly phrased it but that didn't mean he enjoyed being awake this early in a morning or that he found every lesson in Sanctum's curriculum particularly interesting. The feeling of his Scroll vibrating in his pocket snapped him out of the daze that the teacher taking the register had sent him into. Surreptitiously taking the device from his pocket he saw that he had a message from Scarlet, his friend sat a few seats ahead of him and to the left.

"Word through the grapevine is that Nikos is back in class today, I don't see her" Neptune couldn't help but smirk at that, many people assumed that his friend had a crush on their famous classmate; Neptune knew better as Scarlet had actually come out to him over a year ago. Scarlet David was simply an unashamed Pyrrha Nikos Fan-Boy and had gone so far as dyeing his hair a darker shade of red than it's natural colour in an attempt to emulate her. Casting his eyes to the professor who was still droning on to ensure he wasn't seen he typed out a reply

"Just don't ask her to sign anything this time" a few seconds passed before it became apparent that the message had been received when Scarlet simply made a rude hand gesture towards him under the desk, eliciting a small snort from the blue haired teen

"Mister Vasilias, something you and Mister David would like to share with the class?" Neptune's eyes darted to the desk at the front of the class, behind which Professor Walter White stood; the slender and balding man glowering at him from over the lenses of his glasses. Being acutely aware of the eyes of rest of the students on him Neptune gave an answer he wouldn't have even entertained under other circumstances

"I was just saying that your hair looks nice today" there were a few moments of near silence, the tension punctuated by the whispers of the class and Reese Chloris trying and failing not to succumb to a fit of uncontrollable giggling. The tension was broken by the door to the classroom opening allowing a tall redhead with vibrant green eyes to enter, capturing the attention of entire room as she did so; Pyrrha Nikos was back.

"I'm sorry" she fixed Professor White with an apologetic look "I know I'm late, I was-"

"I'm aware of your special circumstance Nikos" the Professor sighed "Take your seat" Pyrrha nodded and made her way to the vacant seat, seemingly painfully aware of the eyes of her peers following her across the room causing the renowned fighter to shrink in on herself

"Now today we'll be starting a project for this class" Professor White's face broke into a smile, the interruptions and backtalk from students forgotten "As this is your final year before you leave Sanctum to continue your training as future Hunters, you will need to fashion the weapons with which you will face the Grimm"

"Rad" Reese Chloris burst out, unable to contain herself

"Indeed Miss Chloris….Rad" the slang sounded odd coming from the middle aged man "There is however a catch, the assignment is to be completed in pairs wherein you will be responsible for checking the utility and safety of your partners' weapons before their construction and testing them before you're allowed to take part in your final exam before graduation. I will be choosing your partners for this project, to ensure that no bias towards friends leads to someone facing live Grimm with a useless weapon"

"Professor, I-"

"Once again Miss Nikos I know about your special circumstances, I actually have a suitable partner in mind for you. Mister Vasilias I trust you're capable of handling Miss Nikos's weapons without fainting or acting like a starstruck cretin?"

"Yes sir" Neptune managed to mumble out, too utterly stunned by what had just happened to be able to formulate a suitably cool one-liner; looking around the classroom he locked eyes with Scarlet who simply mouthed silently to him

"You lucky bastard. She's so cool"

Pyrrha Nikos was taken aback by the stacks of books Neptune had piled around him at the table in a quiet corner of Sanctum's library. Most of them pertaining to engineering and physics with a few relating to ancient myths thrown in seemingly at random, although if Pyrrha were to hazard a guess it would be that Neptune was looking for inspirations for a name for his weapon. Between them and directly in front of her partner were countless designs ranging from crude sketches that had been torn from the notebooks they were scribbled in, to highly detailed and annotated designs for individual components

"So you um, you clearly have some ideas for what kind of weapon you want to make?" Pyrrha ventured

"Yeah, I've actually had the idea in my head for years. It's just taken a lot of time to figure out if and how it's actually possible to make it happen and understand the science behind it to a point where I could actually build it without it blowing up and killing someone" Pyrrha paused for a moment, between her tournament matches all across Remnant, extensive training and the various promotional work she found herself contractually obligated to take part in she was away from classes fairly often and had spent regrettably little time getting to know her classmates at Sanctum; as such she had no way to reconcile the sarcastic, flirtatious and frankly annoyingly cocky Neptune Vasilias she had encountered thus far with the person in front of her, this Neptune apparently had a single track mind and spoke in a distracted rapid-fire mumble as the words seemingly fell over each other in his rush to get ideas out. His idea was not something she'd have expected from him, sure it was flashy and over the top but the sheer thought and meticulous planning that evidently gone into creating a portable and transforming version of a weapon that had no business being mounted on anything smaller than an Atlesian tank was enough to convince Pyrrha that it might just work

"So what about you?" Pyrrha was brought out of her momentary lapse in concentration, internally scalding herself for it, having spent years honing her senses and reflexes; and giving Neptune a questioning glance

"What about you?" he repeated "I know you've already got weapons and Scarlet watches all your matches so I know you're gonna be busy this week, are you just gonna sit this out and let me do the work?" there was some of the Neptune Pyrrha recognised, the aloof smirk and feigned indifference that worked on so many of his peers

"Milo and Akuo are family heirlooms" Pyrrha informed him "But I have thought about the idea of adding a ranged weapon to Milo. I think I may need one to hunt Grimm effectively, It's unlikely that a pack of Beowolves are going to follow tournament guidelines" her partner for the project grinned at the joke before losing himself in thought almost instantly, his mumbled musings starting once again

"I kind of guessed they were. I've seen the markings on them, definitely nomad tribe. But yeah a gun is going to help when we're out there fighting Grimm, maybe you could even control bullets like you do with your shield if you can magnetise them before you fire"

"What?" Pyrrha blurted out, suddenly panicking. She'd tried to keep her Semblance hidden for years

"Your shield's magnetised" Neptune shrugged as he turned his attention back to his blueprints "When you throw it at opponents and catch it, you try to make it look natural but the angles have been wrong a few times; it's a cool trick though. Oh and you use your Semblance on your armour as well, that's why you move like it doesn't weigh anything" Pyrrha was speechless, everything Neptune had deduced was true. Pyrrha routinely used her Semblance of polarity to retrieve her own weapons or hurl herself out of the path of other peoples' but nobody had ever guessed it and stated it so matter of factly before. It made her uneasy, she chose to respond by going on the offensive

"So why do you put the act on?" Neptune froze, what little she could see of his face from his position hunched over books and notes wore a guilty expression

"What are you talking about-"

"Neptune" Pyrrha sighed "There's no polite way to say this but I've been fighting in tournaments for years, I know when someone is bluffing and putting on a show for a crowd and you're clearly not the idiot you pretend to be; so why go to all the effort of maintaining that image?" Neptune ran a hand through his electric blue hair whilst wearing an abashed expression

"You wouldn't get it, you're naturally cool….you've probably never been picked on for being different before"

"Don't be so sure of that" Pyrrha's admission came rapidly, surprising even herself with the ease it was made

"No way?" Neptune's voice came out a disbelieving, almost conspiratorial whisper as he leaned forward "Who even could?" Pyrrha leaned forwards matching his conspiratorial tone

"I wasn't always the invincible girl" she gave a slight smirk at the honorific bestowed upon her by the announcers of her first major tournament, well aware of how arrogant it sounded when she referred to herself that way "Can you keep that a secret for me?"

"Sure, I won't tell anyone about your Semblance" Neptune shrugged "Just don't let everyone know I'm a massive….intellectual" Pyrrha couldn't help but laugh at that

"Who would even believe me?" the two shared a brief smile before turning their attention to Neptune's project

"So since my weapons are at home….I didn't expect to need them today, is there anything you need me to help with. I mean it looks like you could honestly do this assignment alone" Neptune wore a thoughtful expression for a few moments

"I know you've got a big fight coming up this weekend so honestly focus on that if you need to, I'll make a start on some blueprints for upgrades to Akuo; I won't touch it without you there though. When I make my weapon would you be able to test if it balances right and things like that? You're more experienced than I am"

"Certainly" Pyrrha beamed

"Thanks" Neptune gave the papers before him an annoyed glance and returned once again to his distracted mumbling "Only problem now is the flash from the discharge doing serious damage to my eyes if I'm constantly exposed to it, I don't want to tone my weapon down to counteract it though" as the muttered ranting became unintelligible Pyrrha raised an eyebrow

"Why not just protect your eyes, wear tinted goggles or something?" Neptune looked up at her and stared in stunned silence, mouth hanging open slightly

"That….honestly never occurred to me" his face reddened slightly as Pyrrha burst out laughing uncontrollably. He could freely admit though, that he suffered from what his parents described as 'all brains and no common sense' as well as his weapon Neptune had also given serious consideration to the attire he would wear in the line of duty, a suitable mix of style and functionality; in his minds eye he could see the outfit with the addition of the suggested eye wear and grinned

"Pyrrha you're a genius" the bell signifying the end of the period sounded out, releasing the prizefighter from the embarrassment of the blush creeping across her face; she turned and left the library while Neptune withdrew his Scroll and typed a message to Scarlet

"I'll meet you outside. I'll try and get Pyrrha to join us, you're right bro she's so cool"

Reese Chloris lounged against the railings around the edge of the quad situated between the various buildings of Sanctum where many of the students congregated during breaks. Hoisting herself onto the railings she tuned out the chatter from her long time friends and blew several strands of her currently multicoloured hair out of her eyes and readjusted the oversized hoodie she wore sporting the logo of her current sponsor, Rainbow Trix cereal. Outside of training to be a Huntress Reese was known for her participation in several extreme sports; especially hover-boarding, having beaten the previous champion, Dawn Song in last years Y Games contest in Vacuo. Reese gave a small sigh; it would be a shame to have to give up her sponsorship deals when her time at Sanctum ended but she wanted to focus all of her energies on training once she reached Haven; especially considering that the next Vytal Festival would coincide with her first year; it could also be a chance to update her look, there was a particular shade of green she was thinking of dyeing her hair. A trio of students entering the quad caught her attention, Pyrrha Nikos walking between Neptune Vasilias whom Reese noted to herself had been especially brutal in his one-liners lately and Scarlet David who was clearly pestering Pyrrha with ceaseless rapid-fire questions clearly oblivious to her obvious discomfort at the situation. Reese decided to put her out of her misery

"Hey Nikos!" the shout got Pyrrha's attention, that fact that Pyrrha was present got everyone's attention and the skater cursed herself internally for not being a little more subtle, deciding there was nothing for it now she continued "Party at my place this Friday, wanna come and psyche yourself up for the big fight? Or would that be fraternising with the enemy?" she asked with a wink nodding to the rucksack bearing the Pumpkin Pete's logo hanging from Pyrrha's shoulder then to her own hoodie. During their first year at Sanctum an admittedly less mature Reese had sought to form a rivalry of sorts with her more famous classmate, it had almost seemed fitting considering that their sponsors were each others' primary competitor; it had been fruitless though. Pyrrha was simply too nice to hate.

"I can't….I'm sorry" Pyrrha's eyes were downcast and she looked genuinely disappointed "I have an interview for the network broadcasting my match that night" Reese gave her an understanding nod and a sympathetic wince

"Uh, that Ron Burgundy guy? Total douche" Reese paused for a moment, realising that despite her fame she had never actually seen Pyrrha at any of the clubs, parties or other events that Reese used her own notoriety to enter "You sure I can't convince you? My parents my not be away for a whole weekend again before we graduate" Reese's offer was not entirely selfless. She had grown a lot in the years since she had met the prizefighter, during that time she had come to terms with her attraction to other girls and Pyrrha Nikos was simply put; beautiful. Reese wanted to see more of her, especially in a more relaxed setting than their shared classes. The skater would never admit it out loud but she was harbouring a crush that went more than a little beyond typical obsessions with celebrities

"I can't, I'm sorry" Pyrrha's repeated apology was laced with sorrow, as if she truly wanted to attend the party "Although perhaps; if my sponsors aren't aware of it we could have a small party at my place sometime?" Reese was pretty sure that her heart skipped at least one beat upon hearing that

"That would be rad, would your parents let you?" Pyrrha rubbed the back of her head as a nervous smile formed on her face

"I've actually had my own apartment since my sixteenth birthday"

"What?" Neptune sputtered out from his position next to Pyrrha, Reese's eyes bugged out

"You've got your own place? And you're not going absolutely buck-wild every weekend? You dishonour the great traditions of teenage superstars everywhere Nikos!" Reese's comically over-dramatic tone and gesturing made it clear to all present that she was joking and she had to force the butterflies in her stomach to behave when Pyrrha joined in with the laughter

"My family live in one of the smaller villages between the coast and Mistral; rather than spending hours travelling to and from lessons, training and my matches my parents used some of the prize money I was asking them to keep safe for me and put a deposit on an apartment. It's good life experience, whichever of the Hunter Academies we all go to will require us to be self-sufficient-"

"Nikos" Reese sighed, cutting her off "You're sixteen and famous with your own place and you're concerned about being a responsible adult….how could we all have been so blind? The great and powerful Pyrrha Nikos….IS LAME!" the entire crowd that had formed around them, attracted by Reese's showmanship was in hysterics. Reese herself regretted her teasing when she saw Pyrrha awkwardly shuffling her feet and seemingly slouching in on herself defensively "Okay people show's over, come on we've got class in a few minutes and I need some sugar in my bloodstream before then" with that the skater left, her friends who had remained quiet during her brief interaction with Pyrrha suddenly deciding to speak up

"Well you didn't stutter or trip over yourself so that's nice" Razzmatazz, her oldest friend grinned

"Hard to tell who was more secretly awkward and flustered to be honest, ya never know you might be in with a chance" another of friends, named Brandy added

"Oh my Oum shut up!" Reese flushed beet red while mentally whooping with joy at the slightest possibility of being the person responsible for Pyrrha's rare signature smile, often called a smirk; or the way her ridiculously vibrant eyes seemed to light up; Reese let out a frustrated groan and forced herself to halt her train of thought lest it go somewhere unsuitable, choosing instead to mutter under her breath

"She's so cool"

Pyrrha lay on her stomach upon her bed, the lights of her small yet relatively comfortable one bedroom apartment were dimmed. It was Friday night, classes at Sanctum had been more fun than Pyrrha had experienced outside of the arena in a long time, training had been somewhat relaxed due to her upcoming fight the following evening; the live television interview she had recently returned from had been, to use a term Reese Chloris had coined 'Super Cringe-worthy'. The lacy black dress she had worn for the appearance was hung on the door of her wardrobe while Pyrrha was clad in a pair of baggy sweatpants and a hoodie while holding an item that had been delivered to her door that morning in her hands, a golden headpiece engraved with the markings of the Nikos Tribe.

There were many nomad tribes living outside of Mistrals' influence on the continent of Anima, the Nikos Tribe were one of the larger among them. The majority of those tribes were relatively peaceful, a distinct ethnic group commonly distinguishable by their pale skin and vibrant and unusually coloured eyes who only interacted with outlying Mistrali villages to trade or offer their services to defend against the Grimm. It was the minority of those tribes who raided and pillaged who had led to the word 'Bandit' becoming akin to a racial slur within the Kingdom and Pyrrha viewed as partially responsible for the abuse she suffered as a child. Pyrrha's father was the second son of the head of the Nikos clan at the time he met her mother, a recently graduated Huntress; her father had left the tribe and her mother had left her team in order for the two to start a life together in one of the smaller villages; Pyrrha had inherited her fathers' pale skin and green eyes so bright they seemed to shine causing her to be the subject of hushed whispers and mean spirited rumours among the other children in the village, over time they progressed to tripping and throwing stones. Pyrrha's scroll began to vibrate catching her attention, setting the headpiece down gently she fished the device out of her pocket and raised an eyebrow at the identity of the caller before answering the video call

"Hello again uncle Chrysós….it's still strange to think of you having a Scroll" she beamed at the sight of the man, tall with broad chest and shoulders; sporting a mane of shaggy red hair interspersed with grey and a matching beard, between which vibrant green eyes peered out; clad in leather, furs and armour that resembled her own though it bore the scars of many more battles

"I saw your interview little cub, I was hoping you'd be wearing the headpiece I had made for you" her fathers' older brother, now the current head of the Nikos Tribe spoke in a voice that sounded as though a mountain had been granted the power of speech

"Sorry" Pyrrha sighed "I already had an outfit picked out-"

"You don't have to explain yourself to me little cub" her uncle sighed "You're not one of the tribe, as much as I wish you were" there were a few moments silence; her uncle clearly referring to the point in her childhood where Pyrrha, desperate to escape the bullying had tried to run away from home and track down the nomadic Nikos Tribe. After a few moments Chrysós spoke again

"Asími tells me you plan on leaving Mistral? I had hoped that this running away nonsense had stopped after I convinced my brother to raise you more like a child of the tribe and teach you to fight back"

"I'm not running from anything" Pyrrha snapped, hand covering her mouth instantly; she very rarely lost her temper but the implication she was a coward coming from one of the people she respected most in the world stung

"If you were I'd offer you a place with us. You're old enough now that your father wouldn't prevent you, we always need more hands and all eight of my children end up glued to one of these infernal devices every time we stop at a village watching your exploits" Pyrrha gave a weak chuckle at that, her fathers' family being nomadic meant that she knew her cousins much less than she would have liked

"I'm going to Vale to train as a Huntress, Beacon academy has already accepted me" Pyrrha's face morphed into a confident smile "You taught me not to pick fights but win the ones that need to be fought, the battle against the Grimm needs to be fought"

"It does" Chrysós nodded solemnly "But why not Haven? Our people have our issues with Hunters but they did a fine job training your mother, no sense in denying that"

"I want a fresh start" Pyrrha shrugged "I want to train somewhere where I won't be placed on a pedestal"

"You've already proved yourself to anyone who could doubt you" her uncle answered, the soft tone sounding strange coming from him "The first time I met you you were a scared little whelp hiding behind my brothers' legs, scared of your own family. It's amazing how far you've come and we're all proud of you little cub" Pyrrha looked away from her Scroll, sure she was blushing uncontrollably at the praise. It was true, the first time she could remember meeting her uncle had been when he had taken his position as head of the Nikos tribe following her grandfathers' passing; she had been frankly terrified of the children of the tribe, the bullying she had endured leaving her wary of the youngsters who were far louder and more exuberant than she was used to and seemed to be larger and stronger than their years.

"I'm going to have to go Uncle Chrysós, I want to be well rested for my fight tomorrow" the large man gave her an understanding nod

"Okay, try and call your parents. I know you've been living alone for months now but my little brother misses his baby girl and you won't be able to visit so easily from Vale" it was Pyrrha's turn to give an understanding nod, in truth she had already been planning to return to the village her parents lived in; she never thought of it as her home town as that would imply she'd ever felt wanted or welcomed there. A door being slammed open on the other end of the call made her jump and a pair of voices could be heard in the background

"Father, some of the farmers on the outskirts of the town are sure they've seen Beowolves over the last few nights; we've been looking at some damaged fences around one of them and I don't think humans or Faunus are responsible" the speaker was in their late teens, a girl a few years older than Pyrrha with pale skin criss-crossed with scars and callouses, hair as red as her own cut short and framing an angular face and bright amber eyes that seemed to glint and shine as the light touched them; her upper arms were adorned with a pair of ornate bracers decorated with the same tribal markings as Akuo. She was Petra Nikos, her uncles first-born and the next in line to lead the tribe. The teen beside her gave a low growl and added his own thoughts

"And because these people live behind walls they scare easily, so if there weren't Grimm nearby before there will be now. Shall we wait for Hunters or ready our own people" Nero Nikos, Petra's younger brother; dark haired with emerald eyes and built like his father the teen twirled a pair of short swords in his hands clearly agitated. Chrysós gave a resigned sigh having dealt with similar situations countless times over the decades

"Nero show me to the farm, we'll round up a few dozen of our best fighters. Petra inform the Mayor of the town and return to our camp"

"Why do I have to-"

"Because Nero doesn't have the authority to speak for me, you do" her father interrupted already sure of what her objection would be "If there are Grimm out there want you to keep watch over our people. Pyrrha I hope to speak you soon" he addressed his niece

"Pyrrha's there?" Nero asked with a feral grin "I've met your opponent for tomorrow before….what a woman" Petra merely cuffed her brother around the back of the head

"Fight well cousin, maybe one day you'll join us"

"Maybe. Stay safe" Pyrrha's tone was concerned, her eldest cousin merely laughed indicating to her scars

"I may not be the invincible girl of Mistral but I've held my own" Pyrrha watched the screen as her cousins left, Nero turning to his sister and mumbling

"You think she'll ever actually come and join the tribe? That would be awesome, she's so cool"

The dark skinned platinum blonde took a deep breath and assumed her stance as the crowd cheered her opponents' name, ten thousand voices seemingly united against her as she gazed across the arena at Pyrrha Nikos; the invincible girl of Mistral gave her a slight nod of the head in acknowledgement as she drew her weapons. The cacophony died down and the tension became palpable, the few seconds before the announcer spoke dragging on for an eternity in which Arslan Altan prepared herself for the fight of her life.

"Begin!" Pyrrha moved unnaturally fast, though Arslan had studied enough of her opponent's fights to know what was coming and leapt into the air allowing the shield hurled at her chest to pass beneath her as she launched the dagger tied to her forearm at Pyrrha's exposed face. Milo shifted from it's sword form to spear while Pyrrha twirled it, knocking the projectile aside. Arslan's eyes narrowed as she retracted the blade, there was something off about the situation it was almost as if her attack had been thrown aside by some unseen force rather than simply parried. Gritting her teeth Arslan sprang forwards, aiming to get inside her opponents' guard and negate the range of her weapon; she was brought skidding to a halt as Pyrrha switched Milo from her right hand to her left, shifting it back to it's sword form as she did so. Arslan leaned back as the tip of the blade completed its' arc, mere inches away from her face before she could react she was sent crashing to the ground struggling for breath as Pyrrha landed a vicious punch on her stomach. A few moments later Arslan managed to roll onto her stomach and struggle to her feet, Pyrrha had taken the time to retrieve her shield but had waited for her to stand

"Not pressing the advantage?" the two fighters circled each other trying to find a flaw or weakness in their adversaries' form, Pyrrha gave her customary smirk

"My cousin spoke highly of you, I want to face you at your best" Arslan allowed herself a small smile, she remembered the Nikos tribes' time in her village and was sure she knew exactly who the invincible girl was referring to

"Well let's put a show on then shall we" with no further warning Arslan rushed forwards and leapt into the air performing an acrobatic kick which Pyrrha blocked with Milo, the weapon in its' spear form in both hands exactly as planned. Executing a handstand on the shaft of the weapon Arslan was mildly surprised that Pyrrha held her aloft without losing balance, as she made to flip down and deliver a punishing knee-strike to her opponents face the invincible girl did something unexpected, she threw Milo forward sending Arslan falling once again; her furious follow up charge was counted with ruthless efficiency. Pyrrha's shield blocked Arslan's left handed punch before being driven into her chest, a kick from Pyrrha's left leg crumpled her right leaving her off balance when a backhanded strike to the face with Akuo sent her rolling across the stadium floor. Rising to her feet with a roar of unfettered fury Arslan activated her Semblance and prepared to make a final gambit, her fists became wreathed in flames as she poured her remaining Aura directly into her extremities. As Pyrrha braced herself Arslan held her left arm straight ahead and opened her hand allowing a fireball of pure Aura to surge forth, as her opponent pirouetted away from the attack Arslan leapt into the air and launched a second fireball from her right only for it to be knocked aside by Pyrrha's shield, the metal glowing for a few seconds from the heat of the assault. As Arslan fell she found herself at her opponents mercy, Pyrrha grabbing her leg and slamming her into the ground. Untangling herself from the invincible girl she rolled free and attempted to handspring herself back to her feet; her eyes widening at the sight of Akuo being brought to bare, rushing towards her faster than she could react. Then her senses were overwhelmed by pain.

Emerald Sustrai watched Mercury Black watch the tournament match as it was broadcast live. The killer for hire had been living with her and Cinder since their failed attempt on the Fall Maiden's life a few months prior. The two of them had come to an uneasy understanding, the incessant arguing between them eventually having given way to almost playful teasing and bickering; Mercury being more grateful than he could articulate for Emerald's Semblance and willingness to help with the nightmares which had become much more prevalent since the loss of his legs. A devious grin crossed the thief's face as her partner ran his hands through shaggy hair and let out a sigh of frustration

"Problem?" he turned to face her, having been so engrossed in studying his opponent he hadn't noticed her enter the room

"If Cinder's plan involves me facing Pyrrha Nikos then I'm going to die" he said plainly, expression darkening. Emerald turned her attention to the screen, her hand covering her mouth to hide a soft gasp of alarm at the sight of a victorious Pyrrha Nikos carrying her badly injured opponent out of the ring, the edge of her shield embedded below the collarbone of Arslan Altan who was also suffering from a dislocated shoulder. Focusing on Pyrrha's face she saw that the prizefighter was speaking hurriedly, Emerald had learned to read lips at young age and managed to decipher her words

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry"

"Honestly I think that might have been unintentional Merc" Emerald shrugged feigning nonchalance, she'd grown used to his presence and didn't want him to suffer any more than he already had; but she had no intention of letting him know that just yet.

"That doesn't make it any better, if she can win that convincingly without even meaning to then she can probably run roughshod over entire teams of students without too much effort" Mercury grumbled

"You'll be fine" Emerald watched a plethora of emotions play across her partner's face, the fear and self-doubt that had haunted him since his final fight against Marcus Black being chief among them

"She's going to break my back" Mercury sighed. Emerald decided it was time for some drastic measures and stalked across the room from behind him, positioning herself between Mercury and the television before climbing onto his lap and straddling him

"What are-" Emerald silenced him with a brief kiss on the lips. Mercury was left utterly speechless, seemingly having no reference for how to react in the situation

"You'll be fine Merc, you only need to face Nikos for long enough to figure our how she avoids attacks. Cinder will do the rest"

"I-" Emerald placed a finger over his lips

"And when you go up against her I'll be cheering for you" she gave him a wink "Even though I'll probably be the only person that is" Mercury's arms found their way around her waist as he hugged her tentatively

"Thank you" his brow furrowed "Hey why would no one else be cheering for me? I can put a show on if I need to" Emerald burst out laughing

"Oh come on Merc look at her, she's so cool!"

"And you want to live alongside these barbarians?" Weiss Schnee turned to the speaker and treated them to one of her most disdainful glares; her brother Whitley however had experienced such glares from both of his sisters and his father often enough that they no longer had any effect on him

"I want to bring honour to the Schnee name, I can do that more effectively as a Huntress than a singer living like a caged canary" Weiss returned her attention to the screen where Pyrrha Nikos was ignoring all attempts the press made to interview her in favour of helping the on call medics lay the wounded Arslan Altan on a stretcher, seemingly appalled at her own actions

"I think you're a fool" Whitley muttered "If you want to honour the family name then you should do it within the company. You'd be safer" her brother's aloof and disinterested facade slipped for a moment as he glanced at the still healing scar that marred Weiss's face.

"Thank you for your concern" Weiss's expression softened just a little "But honestly I'll be at no more risk training as a Huntress in Vale than I would anywhere in Atlas considering the depths those….reprobates are willing to sink to" the Schnee siblings shared an expression of utter disgust, Weiss didn't need to name the Whiter Fang for Whitley to know who was being to alluded to

"I'm going to miss you" Weiss was taken aback by the rare moment of unfiltered honesty from her brother "I don't want to be here with just Mother and Father, don't leave and never come back like Winter did" his tone became more hushed and panicked with every word. Weiss reached over and ruffled his hair the way she used to when he was much younger and shorter than herself

"I promise I'll return" she gave him a bright smile "And Pyrrha Nikos and I may end up being team-mates, perhaps you'll see us victorious in the Vytal tournament"

"Well in that case I might be convinced to actually watch it, although I make no promises" Weiss merely rolled her eyes while internally considering the idea of serving the people of Remnant as a Huntress alongside the famous Pyrrha Nikos, the heir to the Schnee Dust Company and the Invincible Girl of Mistral forming an unstoppable duo; the thought brought a smile to her face. She was after all, so cool.

"Did you see that Ren? Tell me you saw that, she totally wiped the floor with Altan, I mean she's Pyrrha Nikos, she wipes the floor with everyone but whoa!"

"Yes Nora I saw it" Ren's tone was one of exasperation though he wore a faint smile at the exuberance of the girl the word friend seemed a wholly inadequate way to describe. The pair of them had been in Vale a few short weeks knowing that in a few months time they would have a place at Beacon Academy for four years. Currently they were residing with an old friend of their previous caretakers; it was a recurring theme they both wished to see an end to, they moved from place to place surviving by whatever means they could, usually doing odd jobs and fighting smaller Grimm that harassed villages before the problem could spiral out of control, both of them knew the risks that allowing a single Grimm to live presented

"Hey the TV says Pyrrha Nikos is coming to Beacon" Nora bounced on the balls of her feet with enthusiasm at the notion

"Maybe we'll see her there" Ren shrugged as he led Nora away from the collection of televisions in the electronics store window that were currently displaying the fight from the previous evening

"What if we're on her team?" Nora's eyes widened "That would be amazing, I probably wouldn't even have to hold back when I'm sparring with her, she's from Mistral as well so we wouldn't be the only Mistrali students….I bet she'll love your cooking and look at her she's so pretty; not as pretty as you but-" Nora's hands shot to her mouth, expression becoming nervous as her disjointed rambling came to an abrupt halt

"We'll be fine at Beacon whoever's team we're on, it's a home for us Nora" his voice was filled with hope, he also deliberately made no comment on how pretty he found Pyrrha Nikos to be; she was objectively attractive but there would always be someone who he was much more fond of

"I know that" Nora rolled her eyes "Of course I'm gonna be fine, I've got you here don't I?" Ren honestly felt his heart skip a beat at those words and was glad he walked a step behind Nora so that she couldn't see the blush creeping across his face; he was well aware of her feelings towards him and they were mutual but he didn't want to rush into anything, he wanted to make it perfect. Nora deserved no less.

"But you have your heart set on being part of a team with Pyrrha Nikos don't you?" he gave her a knowing grin

"Oh don't worry I'd rather be on your team if I have to choose, wherever you go I go Ren" Ren mentally counted down from three, waiting for the verbal floodgates to open and was rewarded when Nora spoke again on cue "But she's so cool…."

Ruby was a mess, tears and mucus stained her face from an ugly crying fit and her attempts to breath were intermingled with dry heaves as emotions she'd been trying to bury and push aside for months were brought to the surface. Team RNJR and her uncle had been in Mistral for less than a week when Ruby had decided to head out in search of store catering to Hunters as she was running dangerously low on ammunition and Crescent Rose was in dire need of maintenance. Her search had been rewarded and as she'd stepped into the establishment whose sign claimed that they stocked 'Everything a Hunter could ever need' it was then thatshe'd seen it; a faded and peeling poster promoting Pyrrha Nikos's last fight in Mistral, it's decrepit state serving as a bleak metaphor. Ruby had rushed out of the store leaving rose petals in her wake, desperate to be anywhere else

"Ruby?" she looked up and saw a familiar face peering down at her wearing a concerned expression, Neptune Vasilias

"Hey" Ruby wiped her eyes, trying in vain to appear calm "What's up?"

"Ruby" the blue haired teen sighed "Don't. Just don't, what's wrong?" tears welled up in Ruby's eyes again as she tried to speak

"Jaune was helping Nora get ready for her first date with Ren so I came out to buy some ammo and I saw a poster of Pyrrha and, and it just hit me, if been trying not to think about it but she's gone, she's really gone isn't she?" she forced herself to stop and take a deep breath, aware that her Semblance was unintentionally beginning to speed her words up to a rate that made her impossible to understand. Taking stock of her surrounding she saw that she'd run from the centre of Mistral through several side streets to what looked like a small market, turning her attention to Neptune she saw that his eyes were screwed shut as he fought against the tears that welled up in them

"Yeah" he managed to choke out "Yeah she's gone….come on" he held out a hand and pulled Ruby from the ground she'd been sat hunched over on

"Where are we going?" Ruby asked, wiping her eyes as she took the proffered hand

"I actually came to the market to pick some food up, a few of us are hanging out at Team SSSN's dorm. Professor Lionheart is letting the students stay if they want to. You look like you need some friends around you right now"

Ruby entered the dormitory alongside Neptune, both of them carrying several yellow Styrofoam trays and pizza boxes. Ruby was honestly underwhelmed by how similar the dorms were to those at Beacon, she'd been expecting something different if not exactly sure what that would entail

"We're back!" Neptune called over the sound of music, which was promptly turned down

"We?" a voice Ruby was vaguely familiar with responded questioningly "Oh hey Ruby" Sage Ayana nodded as he and Scarlet David stepped into view, alongside Arslan Atlan and Reese Chloris whom Ruby remembered from the opening round of the Vytal tournament

"Yeah, ran into Ruby in town. She needed some company" Neptune chose to leave it at that and Ruby was grateful that his friends took one look at her tear-stained face and asked no questions

"Hey….Where's Sun?" she asked, the blonde being noticeable in his absence

"Where indeed" Scarlet spat savagely "That son of a fucking bitch just up and left us, again!" as Scarlet's breathing became ragged and his fists clenched Ruby's eyes widened at the sight of his left hand; it was a cybernetic. She hadn't been aware that Scarlet was among those wounded in the battle

"Scar" Neptune stepped towards his team-mate and set down the junk food he was holding before cupping Scarlet's cheeks and kissing his forehead "Calm down, we'll be fine. Sun will be fine….he thought Blake needed him"

"We needed him!" Scarlet hissed holding up his prosthetic appendage "I lost my hand Nep, our team leader wasn't there….you were"

"Wait….what's going on?" Ruby was utterly lost

"They finally started dating" Reese beamed while searching the pizza boxes for her own order "It's adorable honestly" Ruby glanced at the pair, Neptune was currently gently holding Scarlet and Ruby was forced to agree

"I actually meant with Sun, I heard something about Blake….do you know where she is, I know Yang's worried about her even if she won't admit it" Neptune shook his head

"Sorry, Sun said he was going to find her. Didn't say where he was going….maybe they're out there fighting the White Fang, a two Faunus rampage" everyone in the room shared a look before bursting out laughing

"Pfft nah!"

"Oh my Oum! Is that scar from Beacon?" Ruby asked as she caught sight of the flesh along Arslan's right collarbone that had been hidden by the sleeve she wore in the tournament, currently she wore only her tube top. Arslan shook her head and grinned

"I was Pyrrha Nikos's last opponent before she left Mistral….she gave me a souvenir. Best opponent I've ever faced"

"Oh" Ruby blinked several times and took a deep steadying breath "I saw a poster for your fight" Arslan strode across the room and pulled the younger Huntress into a bone-crushing hug

"Yeah Ars does that, she's team Mum" Reese chuckled at Ruby's baffled expression

"We all miss her" the blonde whispered "All of us"

"I saw it happen" Ruby admitted, voice a hushed whisper "She went out fighting"

"Of course she did" Scarlet laughed "Anything else would have been an insult"

"Who did it?" Reese growled darkly, green eyes peering out from the hood pulled low over her face gave her an unusually menacing look "All anyone knows is that there was a flash of light from where Pyrrha and that giant Grimm were. I want to find the person that did it"

"Her name was Cinder Fall. She was posing as a Haven student"

"THAT BITCH!" Reese snapped "I know her! Her dorm was two doors down from mine….She came to our school, pretended to be one of us and the whole time she wanted to-" Reese's rant gave way to a sob of rage and Arslan made her way over to her team-mate, attempting to console her. Ruby was distracted by someone placing a hand on her shoulder, turning she saw that it was Neptune who was holding his goggles out to her in his other hand

"I couldn't get my weapon to work without blinding myself when I was in Sanctum, Pyrrha told me to just wear goggles" he chuckled as he placed the accessories on Ruby's head "I worked out all the bugs in the weapon and I still have all of our old notes from the project; you don't have anything to remind you of Pyrrha do you?"

"Only a few pictures on my Scroll" she admitted as she lowered the goggles over her eyes and tried them out

"I'll admit I was a total fanboy then" Scarlet interjected with a snort, Ruby gave a weak laugh and looked around the room before asking

"Do you think you could tell me more about Pyrrha?" Reese Chloris spoke up first, wiping her eyes

"Of course we can" she grinned and told the one universal truth "She was so cool"

Authors Notes:

Right in the fucking feels.

Seriously I made a Tumblr post about some of the other Haven students knowing Pyrrha from Sanctum and this story demanded to be written.

Also I haven't written anything in a few weeks since completing 'The Downward Spiral' due to working overtime and in the process of moving to the city I work in so I can save myself a four hour commute every day; I'm in the process of planning out the spin-off so just sit tight.

Now let's summarise:

Nep and Scar go way back, that's nothing but my personal Headcanon but I'm sticking with it.

Also a persona; headcanon: Scarlet David being a fanboy who died his hair to get "The Nikos look".

Professor Walter White, that is all.

Also Neptune was totally the class clown at Sanctum, because his 'cool' image must be maintained at all costs.

Pyrrha's first lines are "I'm sorry" because why wouldn't they be.

Neptune nerds out about weapons the same way Ruby does.

Neptune figured out Pyrrha's Semblance and Pyrrha saw straight through his bullshit; honestly writing them I got the vibe that they would have been great friends and if Pyrrha had attended Haven they might have become something more.

Neptune Vasilias: All brains, no common sense. Also I headcanon that whatever those goggles are they're more than just a fashion statement.

Reese Chloris 112% throws the best house parties.

Ron Burgundy….because if a name fits the colour naming rule then I will make the reference eventually.

Reese "Charisma incarnate" Chloris having an adorkable crush on Pyrrha….we all need more of this in our life (I also ship Reese with Yang post Vol.4 but that's a different story).

Pyrrha in baggy sweatpants and a hoodie….because that girl can pull off anything.

Yeah I headcanon that Pyrrha is related to one of the Tribes (Not the same one that Raven and Qrow are from) they're a distinct ethnicity which makes both Pyrrha and Yang mixed-race. Yang's purple eyes are a sign of her Anima tribe heritage. Also if you're a believer in the 'Qrow is Ruby's father' theory you could use the fact that Ruby is pale with silver eyes to support it….

Ruby and Yang aren't the only ones with an uncle that they look up to.

A lot of stories that deal with the issue of Pyrrha's family seem to make them into pushy bastards that use their daughter for her fame. I like my version more. Her family loved her, it was just everyone else in their village who had a problem; the Nikos Tribe would have accepted her without a second thought.

Okay seriously, the idea of Pyrrha having a lot of equally bad-ass relatives that people don't know about because they live outside of Mistrali society is a goldmine of potential.

I love Arslan and hope to see her and the rest of her team (Reese Chloris is best girl) in Vol.5….but yeah, Pyrrha wiped the floor out of her.

"She can probably run roughshod over entire teams of students without too much effort" Did Merc just predict Pyrrha vs Team CRDL?

I can't help writing Em x Merc, I'm trash for it. Fight me. Those poor broken kids need all the hugs.

I think I see Whitley a little differently to the rest of the FNDM….he's not evil, he's a scared kid trying to keep what little family he has together. He resents both of his sisters for abandoning him but he still loves them.

I'm also Ren x Nora trash and will fight everyone over it.

"Not as pretty as you" we're all Rensexual aren't we.

Repressing all those feelings and not talking about what happened at Beacon is going to catch up with Ruby eventually.

"Jaune was helping Nora get ready for her first date with Ren" If there isn't fan art of Jaune doing Nora's hair then WHY NOT?

Yeah, look it doesn't matter how much you like Sun as a character his team have every right to be seriously mad at him.

Also, a headcanon carried over from "The Downward Spiral" that I'll use until it's proven non-canon: Scarlet David lost his left hand in the Battle of Beacon.

I ship Scar x Nep. I headcanon Scarlet as gay and Neptune as Bi, he was actually really insecure about his own sexuality and flirted horrendously to try and compensate. Scarlet was a lot of help to Neptune.

I actually referenced two different scenes from canon; Vol.4 when Sun thought Blake was going to Menagerie to fight the White Fang and Ruby's "Pfft Nah" in Vol.2 when Weiss wanted to go with Neptune.

Arslan wears her scar from the fight with Pyrrha with pride.

She's also the mum of her team.

I can imagine the Haven students hating Cinder more than anyone when they find out who killed Pyrrha, they knew both of them; the betrayal adds an extra layer to it.

Neptune giving Ruby his goggles, that hit me right in the feels.

Thank you to everyone who reads and a special thanks to those of you who follow, favourite and subscribe.