The sun had begun to set over the Leon Forest, casting orange and red rays towards Mistral. Farmers returned from the fields they toiled in, merchants closed up their shops and the evening guard took their positions along the mighty wall that boxed the canyon in. A warm breeze fluttered gently down the streets of the lower ward, promising those who lacked shelter that they would have a peaceful night's rest.

Many would call it the perfect end to a beautiful day, a testimony that for everything that had happened in Vale two months ago – the world could still be beautiful.

But darkness would wait for no one. Especially for beauty, as hands began to work once more in the darkest parts of the city…

Silence reigned in the courtyard aside from Cardin's dry heaving into his helmet at the sheer absurdity of what he had just heard. Ruby herself didn't even register that her mouth hung wide open until a particularly adventurous fly attempted to make its way in, to which she promptly swatted the insect away and shut her gaping maw closed. Peering down the line of former students, Ruby gauged the reactions of the various members.

Cardin's reaction was obvious, as he stood and tore off his helmet to reveal his slightly pale face as well as a furrowed brow while his furious eyes searched his father for any sign that this was some cruel and twisted joke. Russel drew his hood over his eyes and was clearly attempting to erase the mental image of Jaune and Cardin being friends. Dove glanced from side to side – for what reason the blind man had for doing this, Ruby wasn't sure – before looking to the sky and shrugging. Sky had the most positive reaction to this development, his eyes lazily trailed to his side and met Ruby's own. He merely allowed a knowing smirk to grace his narrow features before turning back to observe the beaming Lord.

As they processed "Henry's" answer, a guard in armor similar to the various guards that lined the courtyard walked through the doors. A simple longsword sat on his hip as he strode down the steps towards the large man in black armor. While his armor held the same detail as his fellow guards, his held a silver inlay instead of gold. Atop his head rested a blue bascinet helm, its long pointed horn pointing forwards. From the top of his shoulders flew a short silver cape that trailed swiftly behind him as he marched.

Realizing that even Cardin and his team had no idea what had just happened, Ruby turned towards her friends next to her, and found a disturbingly similar response.

Ren's face twitched slightly as he attempted to contain his surprise. To his right, Nora's eyes brimmed with mirth as she struggled to not explode with laughter that would certainly open all of her wounds again, and probably Ren's too if the giggles and heaving of her chest were any indication at the size of her potential laughter. The large man's smile stood strong as he saw Ren, Ruby and Nora's reactions, but faltered when he saw his own son radiating negative energy. Below his arm, a weak force pushed against him and simply whimpered:

"Wait. What?" the blond was craning his neck upwards to look at the man who had unknowingly began crushing him and was slowly forcing the young boy to the ground. Ruby had to admit, it looked kinda funny.

This utterance from who Cardin almost definitely viewed as one of the weakest and dumbest people he had met was the single spark needed to set Cardin's barely controlled rage blasting into outer space. While Cardin had ceased harassment of Jaune and his friends after the incident at the forest of Forever Fall, his anger-management problems were still a very common occurrence. His violent tendencies made him notably reckless during sparring, once head-butting Neptune when he lost his weapon in a practice match before the tournament. The subsequent shock from Neptune's glaive did nothing to halt his assault, but only spurned him forwards to nail his forehead against the bluenette once more. He failed to realize that the shock had lowered his aura quite drastically at the time, and his final head-butt barely put himself past the threshold, causing him to lose the match.

'That certainly didn't help his mood' Ruby recollected, briefly wondering if they ever managed to fill in all the holes around Beacon as she watched Cardin whip his helmet at the ground – breaking up some of the stone tiling and completely flattening the master forged helmet into a crude gold and steel pancake. 'uhhhhhh something tells me they didn't…' Ruby audibly gulped as Cardin stomped forwards, shaking his fist at the teenager underneath his father's arm.

"What the hell do you mean 'I was on a team with them'?!" The teen shouted, causing Henry's eyes to narrow, crushing the warmth that was once held within them as he watched his son's face turn a fiery shade of red in his anger. "How the hell could someone who birthed this wretch-" he pointed at Jaune, who did his best to not topple over, "be on a team with someone like you?! People who didn't even properly train their own damn s-" he was silenced as Henry released his hold on Jaune and took a single step towards his son and rose to his full height.

Ruby would be the first to agree with anyone who claimed Cardin was pretty dang tall. The ginger haired boy stood at almost 6"2' and practically loomed over everyone else present. But standing next to his father?

He was like an insect.

Henry had always been standing at his full height, but now it felt like this was his true height. He extended his aura outwards, allowing his powerful presence and dominating stance to wash over everyone present. It took everything Ruby had to not use her semblance and book it away from the two titans who seemed liable to clash at any moment – bad leg or no. The previously silent guards began to shake and some of their armor rattled at the wave of negative energy that poured out of the two of them, but held their shield wall firm.

The silver caped guard was halfway down the steps when he saw his lord take a step forwards, and stopped mid-step and slowly placed his hand to the hilt of his blade, though his stance indicated he was less than worried. For who, Ruby couldn't say.

A beat passed between the father and son, and to Cardin's credit, he didn't back down. An instant later, Ruby heard a sharp whistle as Henry swung his humongous axe with one hand and buried it into a solid marble lion that was standing proudly on a pedestal on the side of the steps – cutting clean through its neck and sending its head crashing to the ground right in front of Cardin.

"Dearest. Son." The lord in black began, leaving his axe buried in the now deceased statue as he took a large step forwards and came face to face with Cardin. A blur crossed Ruby's line-of-sight as the lord smacked the boy upside the head with a metallic *bonk*. "Never disrespect the Arc's. Ever. We will speak more of this at a later date." With a curt wave of his hand behind him towards the man in the silver cape, he bent over, picked up the crushed helmet and placed it in his son's hand, speaking calmly this timeas Cardin refused to meet his eyes. "Take your team and write up your reports for Haven's headmaster and myself. I will speak to you tonight at length as to what has transpired while you were away. There is much to discuss." At this, Cardin raised his head and looked at his father with shame in his eyes, but also some thinly veiled curiosity. Bowing swiftly, he turned and marched past him and entered the Villa. His teammates rose silently and bowed in unison before making haste to follow suit.

'None of them even looked back' noted Ruby with a small pout forming on her lips as she watched the retreating forms, unsure why she felt aggravated that none of them had even said bye. It wasn't like she was THAT desperate for friends, but it kind of reinforced the whole "Cardin is still a butt" theme she was noticing recently.

The guard in the silver cape walked past her as he strode down the shield walls and whistled once before rotating his hand above his head. Without another word, the guards broke their walls apart and formed two even squares on both sides of the courtyard and marched around their respective sides of the manor towards what was presumably their barracks in the back.

Watching the men and women march off, Ruby couldn't help but feel awed by the disciplined might of the Winchester troops that had been on display. A loud cough snapped her attention forwards again as she spun to face Henry, a small smile reappearing on his face along with slowly warming eyes – his intimidating nature had quickly been swallowed back into whatever depths it crawled out of as swiftly as it came. She noticed that Jaune had rejoined them where they stood, Ren and Nora also rapidly facing the man as they also must have been staring.

And who wouldn't? In all the time they had been training to be hunters, none of them had really seen anything of this caliber before. Sure, Atlas had advanced A.I. in their androids, but they were too mindless and weak to be intimidating. The human part of the Atlas military was either busy flying the ships or moving around in small groups of two or three, nothing to really draw your attention away as they patrolled Vale. Hunters themselves were powerful, but with their unique fighting styles and weaponry, they couldn't form a coherent and disciplined force. The vast difference in their personalities and training made it impossible for them to pose any large scale threat, while a disciplined army of uniformly trained soldiers could bring down a city in days.

The fact that they had such a force merely sitting in their backyard was rather breathtaking.

Refocusing her attention on Henry, Ruby realized the man had started talking, and she quickly tried to hone in on what he was saying.

"-ude. Let me know if he crosses you all again in a negative fashion. Since we are alone," He waved at now-barren courtyard that held only himself, Ruby, Jaune, Nora, Ren, and the guard with a white cape who had taken his place once more by the large man's side. "It is quite clear you are not the closest of friends, but you are all still Hunters and Huntresses in training, and are equal regardless of birth." Stretching his arm out in front of team RNJR, the big man nodded in an encouraging fashion. "When I had gotten the call from Dove that they encountered several ex-students on their patrol, I insisted you be brought here so that you could be looked at properly by my personal physicians – though he failed to mention your names. So, if you would be so kind…?"

Ren, ever the paragon of control, kept his voice steady and soothing as he clasped the man's hand and shook it once as he simply said "Lie Ren."

Nora shot her arm forwards when the lord turned to face her, meeting his smile with her own that nearly doubled in size. Gripping the others hand, Nora shook his vigorously – to which Ren and Ruby paled at the sight, each remembering the story of how Nora had once dislocated a soldier's shoulder when she was ten. Ren confirmed it actually wasn't an exaggeration.

However, Henry merely laughed at her enthusiasm and nodded towards Jaune. "She has quite the grip doesn't she?" he commented as she giggled and drew his attention back towards the red-head. "Nora Valkyrie! At your service! By the way, Big-H, the way you swung your axe was soooooo cool! It was all like "WOOSH" and "SH-UNK" and-" She stopped as Ren placed a hand over her mouth and sighed blissfully.

Finally, the big man now stood right in front of Ruby, who had to take a good second to appreciate just how frikkin massive the dude was! "Wow." She whispered, the awe plain in her voice, "You're even taller up-close…" She mentally smashed her head against a wall and then threw herself down a flight of stairs. 'Stupid Ruby! Awkward Ruby! The man can eat rocks for breakfast and you flop out, what's wro-' her inner-monologue that was starting to disturbingly sound like Weiss was cut short by the hearty chuckle from the good natured man who whispered in return "Yes, I've been told that more than once."

Realizing she had failed to clasp his hand, she raced to meet him as she sputtered out "Rose Ru-, I mean, Ruby Rose!" she shot out in one breath.

Realization dawned on the man's face as he spoke her last name once more, "Did you say your last name was 'Rose'?" he asked, seemingly startled for the first time since they met.

Before she could answer the question, pain exploded in her knee unlike anything she had ever felt before. She had unknowingly been slowly evening out her body's pressure and weight, shattering whatever was still intact in her knee. Crying out in pain, Ruby collapsed forwards, only to be caught by Henry, who was already being rushed by Jaune and the silver caped guard to take her out of his hands. He merely brushed them off, hoisted her up and placed her on one of his broad shoulders, causing Ruby to let out a 'Meep!' despite her pain. Blood dripped freely out of her leg and onto the man's armor and clearly incredibly expensive mail and décor. Yet, Ruby found herself unable to object while she gritted her teeth as she struggled to keep the pain from forcing her to pass out.

"Captain Gilles!" the silver caped man stood at attention, "Run ahead and inform the infirmary to prepare for a wounded patient. We will be along shortly!"

The second Henry finished, the guard now known as Captain Gilles was already dashing inside, cape whipping in the wind. Upon finding Ruby was secure on his shoulder, the man began walking swiftly and steadily past the two marble pillars that flanked the doors, Team JPR right on his heels in their worry.

With the sudden change in lighting and temperature, Ruby managed to crack open one eye and observe her surroundings.

The group was briskly walking down a long corridor with plain and clearly worn down stone floor. The ground felt rather exposed and bare in comparison to the ornate picture frames and portraits that adorned both of the long walls that ran on either side of her. As they passed, Ruby saw many scenes from history.

There were portraits of men with orange hair and faint smiles, as well as men with scowls in golden clothing. There were paintings of ladies at dinner parties and balls, and paintings of epic scenes of battle with knights riding horses off of cliff sides and into teeming swarms of artistically interpreted creatures of Grimm. Some showed men of great kindness and virtue as they fed the poor outside the white walls of what could only be Mistral, while others showed slaves and beggars being beaten about with maces and clubs.

In all of these scenes, Ruby noticed they all had one thing in common. Whether on banners or dresses, shields or quilts, they all held a symbol that was becoming rapidly more prevalent as the paintings moved past.

A rising Phoenix.

Sometimes they would be painted masterfully, others sloppily. One showed a Phoenix in front of a cross along the armor of a priest's bodyguard, while another had it carved onto the bodies of fallen enemies. It was a beautiful and terrifyingly dark history that spanned the halls, leaving Ruby feeling like she had walked straight through a history book she had never bothered to read but definitely should have.

'These paintings are the real-life representation of a checkered history.' Thought Ruby as she whisked past a particularly intense painting of a man with burning wings ripping off the legs of a devil and beating an angel with them.

The pain in her leg had begun to dim, allowing her to divert some of her attention further away at the manor. Henry had taken strides towards two decidedly beaten doors and simply kicked them open rather than take the time to open them. As they passed, Ruby could see the doors didn't even have any locks or doorknobs on them, choosing to instead rely on the positioning of the house to swing the doors back to resting positions and do their job, which was clearly to be kicked open by mildly annoyed lords.

Once they were clear of the doors, they came out into a small courtyard that wound around a garden in the middle of the manor. The roof was opened above it, allowing sunlight to beam through to the beautiful roses and other various flowers that burst from the various bushes and greenery. The garden was surrounded by ornate marble pillars that were much smaller than the two behemoths that stood outside, allowing one to simply walk through them and into the garden. The stone path now split, one path going to the right and another to the left. On either path was the option to take a turn towards and past the garden, leading deeper into the manor. On the right side, Ruby could definitely smell food, and the way Nora's nose was twitching reassured her she wasn't going loopy from all the blood loss.

Oh crap I'm bleeding on the nice man's armor.

"So-" Ruby gasped in pain as the large man miss-stepped and bounced her leg against his armor, "Sorry f-for bleeding a-a-all over your awesome a-rmor…" the little reaper managed to choke out. Without even looking at her, the man shrugged and nearly knocked her off, only to have Ren reach and steady her.

Pausing for a brief second as the man seemed to struggle with remembering where the infirmary was located, a bright look of realization dawned on his face as he took a step down the left path and away from the garden and delicious smells.

Now walking length wise of the manor, several stained-glass windows shown brilliant rays of colored sunlight from the courtyard into the narrower corridor that was dotted with ornate as well as plain doors.

Now taking the time to address Ruby, Henry spoke up "you don't need to worry about the armor, young lady. It merely adds to the effect!" he finished with a wink and a grin, though if the implication wasn't mildly unsettling Ruby would have eaten her combat boots. "Besides," he added "something like this can hardly compare to the pain you surely must be feeling, and I would rather you didn't lose anything you don't need to, especially a leg." He leaned in and whispered conspiratorially with the short red-head, "If you did, I think your friend Nora would be quite frustrated – and I quite like my house, thank you very much!" he finished by gesturing towards Nora with his free hand as Ren dragged her away from a door that held the ornate design of a sloth making pancakes in ancient Mistral.

This, despite the pain lancing through her leg, caused Ruby to giggle at the jovial man. She had to admit, he was really growing on her. Not only was he completely different from Cardin which had completely thrown her for a loop, but he seemed willing to even carry her without as much as a complaint! He had a comforting atmosphere to him, and while it may have seemed like an awkward position for Ruby to any passerby – thanks to her being perched on his shoulder like some kind of bleeding parrot, it was pretty comfortable. She realized that while she should have been scared at the implications of what was currently happening, she found she wasn't really worried, and was confident that everything would turn out okay. Looking around, she found that her teammates weren't too concerned either. Nora was her jovial and curious self, and Ren was doing his typical parent thing where he would observe the pink boomer until she went too far, in which case he would drag her away from the room that had a shadow slowly extending out from underneath it (Ruby wasn't even going to ask). Jaune was taking in everything with awe rather than cracking under his fear for Ruby and the potential outcomes she might be facing in a few minutes. Granted, he was still a nervous train-wreck but that was just a part of the whole Arc package.

After a few twists and turns, Jaune finally spoke up: "Uh…Sir?" he began, raising his hand slightly as he walked with the man like he was back in Beacon. "I thought I told you to call me Henry?" the man frowned, causing Jaune to gulp and practically broadcast that the man still scared the ever-loving-dork out of him.

"Urm…r-right! Henry! So I was wondering…" he trailed off, earning him a nudge from the large man and a nod, followed by a "go on."

"Well, I was wondering… what was it like to be on a team with my parents? They never really spoke about their days as huntsmen…" he finished with a slight pout, though his eyes gleamed expectantly.

Henry chuckled and shook his head as the memories flooded into his eyes. "Well first off all, your father was a huge worry-wart. He may look confident now, but back in his early the days the man brought flares to History class 'just in case something happened!'

Beacon, twenty five years ago:

A blonde teen was sprawled on top of his desk, passed out from exhaustion after he had stayed up all night in a stakeout of the fridge in the student lounge to see who had been stealing the delicious fruit snacks he had expertly hid within the very bowels of the large machine. Next to him sat his teammate and partner, Henry Winchester. The orange haired teen next to him stared in disbelief as the boy dared to sleep through History class with one of the strictest teachers anyone in their year had ever encountered.

Clutched firmly in his hands was his pale green travel pack, absolutely stuffed to the brim with Oum-knows-what. Henry waited until the teacher turned her back to address the other half of the class before poking his teammate.

When he did not stir, Henry poked him again but far harder this time. Once again, he did not stir. Growing frustrated, Henry shook his partner aggressively and hissed "Louis, wake up already!"

Suddenly, the blond exploded awake as he leapt onto the table with a mad look on his face as he screamed' "Have you come to steal my eyes?!" before he ripped out a handful of flares and yanked their release pins, all while yelling at the top of his lungs "Retreat! RETREAT!"

Bursts of blinding fire exploded across the classroom, causing students to duck and shield themselves from the flashes of light that flew in all directions.

The history teacher could do nothing but watch from her position across the classroom as one flare streaked and curled wildly around the classroom…and flew right into her bookshelf filled with one of a kind books that had never been replicated, instantly setting the ancient pages alight to the sound of a maniacal Arc cackling at his 'Retreat'.

Ruby was laughing so hard that she could hardly hold herself up on her lofty perch. Ren and Nora had stopped messing around and filled in behind them in order to listen to the story as well, and maintained a smile and a giggling fit respectively. Jaune was just beaming as he imagined his stern father going completely mental in a classroom.

"The best part," wheezed Henry through the tears of laughter in his eyes, "was how it took them two days to pull him out of the chimney in downtown Vale that the teacher had shoved him down when she finally caught him before she stormed out of Vale and practically dropped off of the face of Remnant!"

"What about my mom? How was she in Beacon?" Jaune asked as his curiosity bubbled back up once more.

"Well, your mother was quite possibly the wittiest woman and prankster I have ever met, even to this day. Whether it was through a clever joke or comforting words, Liz always knew what to say." He sighed at his glory days, "She would always boast that she could talk an Ursa to sleep or make it laugh so hard it exploded, though I'm still holding reservation about one of those."

"Stupid Liz and her stupid pranks…" grumbled Henry as he walked through the Emerald Forest, chopping down trees with his axe when he didn't feel like moving around it.

Elizabeth had made them all come out to the cliffs at the edge of the Emerald Forest to 'show them something cool'. Being the curious bunch that they were, the team made their way to the coordinates she had sent them.

When they arrived, they found her standing next to a rusty and moss covered sheet of metal, grinning like an idiot. She asked for Henry to stand on the sheet and face the forest. Confused, the teen complied and waited to see where she would be going with this idea.

All of a sudden, he was screaming and flying into the tree tops at 60 miles per hour, all while hearing a cackling laughter drift away behind him.

While he would never end up getting her back for the stunt, the air pad did come in handy when their Combat Instructor was hunting them down through the campus for cutting class and chased them to the cliffs, where they promptly used the pad to fly deep into the forest and towards their slightly extended freedom.

"And I'm pretty sure they still have it there if I'm not mistaken." The older man finished with confidence.

"Pretty sure? They made a crap-ton of them and threw us off a cliff for initiation! I didn't even have a landing strategy!" cried Jaune, amusement now devoid from his face as he re-imagined the sensation of being completely screwed.

"Hey Henry?" asked Ruby, poking the kind man in the beard to get his attention. Once she saw she had his attention she continued; "You mentioned Jaune's parents, but weren't you a team of four? Who was the fourth?"

All of a sudden, it felt like the temperature in the hallway dropped, as Henrys' eyes glazed over and he seemed to stare into nothingness. After a few seconds he merely whispered "She was beautiful…"

The entirety of team RNJR was shocked at this massive change in atmosphere, and all looked at one another to silently confirm that they should avoid this line of questioning for now.

As the conversation died, they reached the end of their journey in the form of a thick set of automatic doors that sat wide open with five doctors in surgical gear waiting next to a hospital bed. Next to them rested the aforementioned 'Captain Gilles'. His helmet was removed, and he had dark brown, proper hair that reached the top of his neck, brown eyes and thin mustache atop his lips. He looked concerned, his eyes flicking between the bleeding girl and his lords face.

Henry placed Ruby onto the trolley as he spoke with the surgeons, "I've been maintaining her aura with infusions of my own while she rested on my shoulder. My semblance steadied her heart rate and kept her from panicking," 'So that's what that was…' Ruby noted as the warm presence that surrounded her slowly faded and was replaced with a piercing pain."-for the best if she goes under as soon as possible."

'Wait. Under what?'

Before she knew it, Nora was holding her hand as they placed a mask over Ruby's mouth and nose, flooding them with a gas that made her sleepy like she'd just had a warm lunch. She watched her nervous friends get filed out of the room by Captain Gilles as Henry stood by her, a worried look breaking his composure.

'So…fluffy…' was all she could think of as her eyes settled on the man's beard one last time before sleep consumed her.

A night of darkness. People screaming, friends that are hurt and friends she never had the chance to make are gone forever. All around her, terror floods the streets, no one is safe.

Running. Her heart mourns for her friend, but now strives to save anyone else from this fate.

A tower. Flames lick the top of a shattered symbol as darkness circles it. A cry for help spurns her on, yet she feels her limbs turn to lead.

She runs. Climbs the tower. She crests the edge.

An arrow and heart meet, yet no romance blooms. Only pain and death find comfort in each other's embrace.

A champion clutches her chest and turns towards her and screams like a haunting wraith as the world goes dark…

'You let me die.'

Ruby's eyes shoot open as her heart pounds against her chest, knocking the air out of her lungs as it threatens to break through. Panic fills the young reaper as she takes in the room around her, her eyes searching for any indication she wasn't in some fresh hell. She's sitting in a bed that definitely wasn't hers. Next to the bedside was an open window that faces a stony courtyard and impressive walls.

Her eyes trail back towards her room, confused where she is – until her eyes settle on Jaune.

The blond knight has his face buried by her feet on the bed she found herself laying in. Drooling slightly from his open mouth, Ruby noticed an open comic next to him. At the sight of her friend, Ruby's heart calmed as she figured out she wasn't in a dream.

The pain was too real to be a dream honestly. It hurt like crazy, but it was more of a constant buzzing pain rather than a piercing lance. Lifting her blanket, she found that she was dressed in a hospital gown, and her right leg was completely encased in a thick white cast… well it wasn't really white anymore.

Ruby could clearly see signs that Nora had been nearby, as her entire cast was covered in pink sloths and hearts. She thought she could see drawings of all four of them but couldn't really make it out in the darkness that blanketed the room, save for the moonlight that streamed through the window. It illuminated a small electronic clock that sat on a bedside table next to a vase of white and red roses. Picking up the clock, Ruby squinted and read the small numbers that spelt out "1:00 AM. Day 14 of March".

The events of the previous day came to the forefront of Ruby's concentration as she recounted everything that had happened. She'd woken up from a pain/medication induced sleep twice in 24 hours, learned that Cardin was top-tier nobility, and already decided she wanted to bake cookies for the friendly badger-of-a-man, Lord Henry (and herself).

"Well," she whispered to herself, careful not to disturb Jaune who had clearly fallen asleep while waiting for her to wake up, "at least things in Mistral are just as interesting as Vale…" she smiled softly as Jaune snorted in his sleep and grumbled something about… ships? It was clear he had fallen asleep at his post, and Ruby couldn't help but feel touched at his unwavering dedication to his teammates.

But then again.

She wasn't really his teammate.

Her smile fell as the thought crossed her mind. No, that spot belonged to Pyrrha. It always would.

Ruby could feel her eyes water as the fiery haired Mistralian came to mind, her unwavering sense of purpose and kindness was inspiring to everyone who knew her. She had been ready to take on the universe, all to give them a chance at happiness. And yet, here was Ruby.

Sitting in a comfy bed in Pyrrha's hometown while the champion was dust in the wind. Ruby couldn't help but feel a throbbing pain in her chest as she realized that Pyrrha would never again see the mountains and fields of her homeland. Never bath in the sun or drill in its courtyards. She would never enjoy these cool nights again.

Ruby felt like a fist was clogging her throat as she fought back tears for her friend, and the shame that she hadn't been able to save her. She tried playing hero and failed at saving a real one. Ruby gripped her sheets tighter as the melancholy inside her threatened to break out… until she heard singing begin to float through her window. At first, it was the humming of a smooth and calming melody, but soon a voice she couldn't recognize began to echo across the courtyard.

It was a steady and low voice, coming from a singer with clear control over their tone. Ruby couldn't see the singer, but eased her grip on her sheets as she listened to the voice the carried on the wind:

I never felt

That it was wise

To wish too much

To dream too big

Would only lead

To being crushed

Then I met you

You weren't afraid

Of anything

You taught me how

To leave the ground

To use my wings

I never thought a hero

Would ever come my way

But more than that

I never thought you'd be taken away

Now it's cold without you here

It's like winter lasts all year

But your star's still in the sky

At last, the singer stepped into view of the courtyard as a hooded figure slowly made its way across the stone tiles. In their hands was a silver dish filled halfway with water. Atop the dish rested several white petals. The figure kneeled to place the bowl underneath the four flagpoles, and rose to their feet. The singer raised their hands to the sky, and the wind shifted towards them. The petals slowly rose from the bowl and into the air as they began to sing once more:

So I won't say goodbye

Ruby didn't even notice as the tears slid down her face, completely enthralled with the singing. Her heart felt heavy, but her head felt clear. The tears began to pool on her blanket, but she didn't care, her eyes rising to look at the star-filled sky and thought of the champion once more, mouthing her name as though it was a secret to the heavens. Her eyes slowly closed, her heavy heart acting like an anchor that pulled her once more to sleep, the tears slowly drying as she thought of how the stars still shown in the sky, and how Pyrrha was never truly gone so long as they remembered the good times they all shared.

I don't have to say goodbye…..

She would never forget.

Far above the sleeping warrior, in the speckled skies above Mistral, a light winked into existence. Right at a perfect angle to face Ruby's sleeping face was a new light.

A red star.

AN: hey guys, Jupitermonkey4 here! Hope you enjoyed the Chapter!

So, this chapter was really meant to show the dynamic between Henry and RNJR, as well as show how the Winchester Manor was impressive in its own right rather than the humongous architecture of Beacon. I aimed to describe the house properly as this long and winding construct, because RNJR and CRDL will be spending a lot of time there throughout this story.

The story isn't a huge plot-train. There will be exposition, conversations, jokes and emotions – both good and bad.

Shout-out to TimmyTam0907 for Beta-reading! He's an awesome dude, and I recommend you check out his story, Kingdom Come.

I really appreciate the reviews! They are really encouraging!

Guest: I intend to have Ruby and Cardin have a dynamic, though what kind of dynamic that is, you'll just have to wait and see!

Archilean: I liked the idea of Cardin not really having something that defined him, but rather his position. I actually have a plan pertaining to all the symbols of CRDL, so fret not!

Vostok2142: I mean, we've seen them be jerks in the show, so why not assume they all have the same kind of unpleasant humor? Russel is definitely going to be carrying the torch in the smarmy department though, that's for sure!

Any other reviews that I didn't respond to I either didn't know what to say other than "AWW THANKS" But I read them all and it really makes my heart soar when I get a new one :)

Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a review, and if you liked the story and haven't fav'd or followed it yet, please feel free! I plan on updating this story often, and I'll let you know if that changes anytime soon.

~Cheers!~ – Jupitermonkey4