"Nico...You are looking rather pallid. Are you alright?"

Janelle was concerned for her teammate who had been dragging her feet as they walked through the White Fang base. Nico had her ears perked to the sky on alert, and her expression was full of fear and hate.

"I think she looks the same," Lyra responded in a cheery voice. Now that they were inside, away from any Grimm, she had slipped back into a happy demeanor. With Nico's lack of response, Lyra frowned. "Hm...Is everything okay, Nico?"

Nico didn't reply; all she could focus on was the uncomfortable environment around her. Why was she here...she hated it. She wanted to go home, hell, she wanted to go anywhere except here. She'd rather be with Ironwood than here! But Ozpin had taken her here for some reason...he must have had some reason aside from torturing her, but what was it?

"Um, Nico? Did you hear me?" Lyra questioned quizzically as she effortlessly twirled her large axe in her hands. She pouted in slight frustration at Nico's silence. "What's wrong, Nico?"

"Yeah, what is wrong?" Tanya interjected. "You and Ozpin mentioned experiments and all that awhile ago...what happened to you, Nico?"

Nico still remained stubbornly quiet. Lyra sighed.

"Nico...you can trust us," Lyra placed her hand on Nico's shoulder. The voice was gone, strangely enough. "At least, I hope you can.."

Nico remained quiet. Lyra's frown grew deeper, and she was just about to move her hand when Nico spoke in a panicky tone.

"T-T-This is where I was kidnapped, w-where I w-was turned i-into a G-G-Grimm, w-where I l-lost m-my humanity and my sanity and my family-" Nico's expression turned to one of pain, and she covered her face for a brief moment before taking a deep breath and composing herself. "I-I...was held here...before I escaped..."

"So this is the place...? I'm so sorry, Nico...you shouldn't have to come in here," Lyra apologized, shooting a look towards Professor Ozpin. "With all due respect, Professor, you shouldn't have brought us here. This place has got to be painful for Nico!"

"On the contrary, that is precisely why I brought her here," Ozpin shook his head before sipping from his cup casually. "I told you this was a special mission...one meant to test everyone's limits. You may leave if you wish, it is always an option...but you will fail the mission if you choose to do so."

"Fail the mission? Professor Ozpin, that's crazy!" Lyra shook her head. "You honestly can't expect to have Nico function while haunted by these memories!"

"A huntress must learn to work even in unfavorable circumstances," Ozpin explained his actions, unfazed by Lyra's scolding. "And if I'm correct, Miss Ng-Nikos, you usually work in the scenario you just described."

Lyra remained silent at this, directing her gaze back towards Nico. The small voice was beginning to whisper thoughts of death for Grimm...for Nico...Nico took a shaky breath before speaking.

"I-I'll be okay. I-I can do it," Nico said, even though her hands were trembling. "W-We're not going t-to fail...because of me..."

"Are you sure?" Tanya questioned, and Nico nodded. Considering she was let into the school at a young age, she thought Ozpin might revoke her privilege if she failed now. She couldn't go back to Ironwood, she refused. Ozpin was testing her...and she couldn't fail.

"Good," Janelle approved of Nico's determination. "We are not going to fail the mission because your own emotions got in the way."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lyra glanced over to her other teammate in slight irritation. "Emotions don't get in the way!"

"They are a hindrance," Janelle said flatly. She wasn't trying to offend Lyra; it was just the honest truth in her eyes. "Your emotions are the reason our team could not function. You could not shake off your feelings of hate, so we could not move forward."

"Maybe, but if we detach ourselves from our emotions, we lose empathy!" Lyra tightened her grip on her axe, an passionate look in her golden eyes. "We lose our humanity. I didn't see you reassuring Nico."

"Nico can handle herself."

"I never said she couldn't," Lyra took a deep breath before exhaling and composing herself. "...This isn't what matters right now. We shouldn't be arguing. Nico...If I remember correctly...this is a White Fang base, then, right?"

"Whoa, wait a moment...White Fang?" Tanya's eyes widened in surprise. She had heard of the White Fang; Tanya had always thought about them as a group of heroes fighting for their rights. But now...Nico was saying something that completely vindicated her ideals. "The White Fang kidnapped you?"

"Y-Yes," Nico confessed before she glanced downward sadly. "B-But...I w-wasn't the first..."

"Right. People had been going missing from Wylfing Village for quite some time," Ozpin sighed. "That paranoia attracted the Grimm. Those negative emotions all wrecked the village...I sent hunters and huntresses, all too late. At the very least, we managed to save Nico."

"That's awful..." Lyra said sadly, squeezing her hand on Nico's shoulder comfortingly. Nico just remained silent; she didn't need anyone to tell her how awful it was. She had lived through it, and awful wasn't a strong enough word to describe what she'd been through...

"But-But I thought the White Fang were honorable!" Tanya exclaimed in disbelief. She shook her head in refusal. "All they're trying to do is gain equality! They wouldn't ever do something like this!"

"The White Fang are willing to use whatever means necessary to gain their freedom," Janelle glanced downward at the ground. "They have torched villages, conducted raids...people have gone missing because of them, and they kidnapped Nico. How could you ever call them heroes?"

"I-I don't know. I've never seen them do anything like that!"

"Well, it is the truth," Janelle said plainly. "The White Fang are not heroes, plain and simple."

Tanya remained silent at this. Growing up in a secluded forest had meant that the news had never really hit her. She didn't even know
about the White Fang until she had gotten to Beacon! Hearing their purpose had seemed liberating, but now that Tanya was seeing their true colors...well, it was quite a shock, to say the least.

How could a group with such grand ideals grow so horrific? Tanya couldn't get the question out of her mind. In an attempt to try and distract herself, Tanya began to focus on their environment. She did indeed find something to occupy her time as she pointed to a door.

"Hey, I wonder where this leads to!"

Tanya hurried to the door in front of them, and the team watched in anticipation. Nico, however, began to tremble as she recognized just where that door led...

"P-Please, d-don't go there," Nico tried to stop Tanya, but the blue haired girl had already opened the door. Nico felt frozen as the door swung open.

It was a prison cell with drab gray walls and a white floor. There was a cot against the wall, but nothing else was in the room.

It was where Nico had once been imprisoned for so long...

Nico kicked the wall in front of her repeatedly, a fierce expression on her features. Her foot ached from repeatedly hitting the wall, but Nico didn't care.

Get me out of here. I've been staring at the same wall for all this time... Nico knew nothing would change, but she needed to pretend that her kicking the wall was doing something. If she didn't, then Nico knew she'd slip further into insanity.

Her old cell. A place where she'd shed so many tears, where she'd begged for freedom, where her..her family...

The men stalked closer to Veronica, grabbing her by her arms and dragging her out of the cell. Nico immediately bolted upwards, desperately clinging onto the jacket of the man.

"Please, don't take her," Nico pleaded, but the man only shook her off of him. She tumbled to the ground, watching in despair as the men locked the cell door, leaving Nico alone once again. She cursed loudly, running to the cell door and banging on it desperately. "Please!"

Nico was shaking. She didn't realize she was crying until she felt her tears fall onto her bare hands. Nico quickly put her hands over her face, trying to hide her sobbing. The team along with Ozpin stood sympathetically.

"Nico...I'm so sorry," Lyra said softly, her golden eyes turning flecked with blue. "At the very least, it's over. After today, we're never coming back here...I mean it," Lyra shot a look at Ozpin. "Come on, Tanya. Close that door."

"S-Sorry," Tanya quickly followed that instruction before hurrying over to Nico. "I didn't mean to...um...cause you pain. I was just curious..."

"...This is a terrible place to be in. You have my deepest condolences," Janelle pursed her lips together. "Even so, I can tell that your sadness...is not just for yourself."

"Janelle, maybe now's not the best time to bring that up-"

"I l-l-lost my p-parents a-a-and my s-siblings," Nico cried, her sniffles heard audibly through the long hallways. "I-I w-was th-the only survivor...M-M-My f-family deserved t-to be here, a-and instead, i-i-it's me, a-a-and I l-look like THIS! I-It's not fair! I w-want my s-siblings, I w-want my family..."

The hallway was silent. Janelle was quiet, unsure of what would make Nico calm down. Tanya was frozen, mostly just shocked that such an awful experiment could happen in this world. She had actually seen the White Fang as...heroes, in a way. But here they were, and they had done...this to Nico... Ozpin was just watching in observation. Nico was crying, and no one knew what to do...

Except for one person, who knew exactly how Nico was feeling.

"...Nico, I know how that feels," Lyra said softly. Her expression grew darker, but her voice remained gentle. "I lost my entire family to the Grimm. It's not fair...It's not."

"S-So what?" Nico sniffled loudly. "J-Just because it's n-not fair m-means it's okay? Why s-should I l-live w-while t-they are gone!?"

"It's not fair," Lyra shook her head. "But we have to keep moving on for them...I know that is the only way we can truly appease the dead."

Before Nico could utter another word, Lyra stepped forward to wrap her arms around Nico in a comforting hug. Nico just stood, frozen, before she gradually melted into Lyra's embrace. Tanya shook her head, breaking herself out of her trance before joining the hug. After a brief moment, Janelle awkwardly joined the group hug.

Professor Ozpin just stood on the side, sipping his coffee...and scribbling down notes.

"I'm proud of you girls," Ozpin told them sincerely. "Lyra, Nico...It seems that you two are the perfect partners for each other after all."

"...I d-d-don't k-know i-if I c-can move on j-just like that," Nico told her team in a hushed tone. "M-My f-family...I-It still h-hurts, even t-though I've known f-f-for years..."

"Well...we'll all be here until you're ready," Tanya said reassuringly. "I promise that, at the very least."

"I..."

"No matter how long it takes, Nico," Tanya reinforced her statement. "Right, Janelle, Lyra?"

"Of course," Lyra responded. Janelle nodded, looking somewhat uncomfortable by the embrace as she exited the group hug first.

"We are a team...and we will stick together," Janelle agreed. "That being said...Let us get you away from this room. You can catch your composure somewhere a little less...awful."

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Professor Ozpin encouraged, and the rest of the group disengaged from the hug. "Miss Ng-Nikos...May I have a word?"

After making sure Nico was okay with her other teammates, Lyra took the lead alongside Ozpin so he could speak with her.

"That was a nice speech, Miss Ng-Nikos."

"Thank you."

"However, you should know that the dead may not-"

"With all due respect, Professor...I'm not the one who needs a pep talk right now," Lyra interrupted. She didn't want to talk about herself, particularly not when Nico was the one going through a hard time. "...I know what I'm doing...I know that the dead want...er...would have wanted revenge. I have my path...But she doesn't. The only person who needs your guidance right now is Nico."

"...Spoken like a true leader," Professor Ozpin smiled slightly before turning around. "I'm very proud of you all."

"W-Wait, w-what's that...?" Nico suddenly interrupted, her crimson eyes wide in fear. She had heard a crashing noise echoing through the hallway, followed by a chilling scream. Judging by everyone else's puzzlement, they hadn't heard anything. Everyone paused what they were doing, unaware of what was going on.

"What is it, Nico?"

She didn't know, but she did know just where it was coming from..

"I h-heard a scream...f-from the armory."