It was a sunny Friday afternoon in the Kingdom of Vale. Beacon's classes had ended several hours in celebration of the upcoming Vytal Festival. Though the tournament was the main event, and wasn't for another few months, the Kingdom was still in a state of celebration. Today marked the arrival of the Vytal Carnival, a large troupe of performers and attractions that always accompanied the Fesitval and would stick around until the Tournament started. The fairgrounds were only open Friday through Sunday however, meaning it was always crowded during those three days. Traditionally, the carnival reserved the first weekend for students of the host Kingdom's huntsmen academy. As of present, the members of Team JNPR, along with (F/N), were strolling through the streets of the Kingdom, the storefronts and many small businesses decked out in celebration.

"Is uh, is Vale usually this... colorful?" (F/N) asks.

"No." Ren answers. "It's decoration for the Vytal Festival."

"The what?"

"The Vytal Festival." Pyrrha repeats, somewhat questioningly. "The celebration that rotates around the Kingdoms every two years."

"Don't forget about the end of the school year death match!" Nora tosses in.

"Death match?" (F/N) says, somewhat concerned.

"She means the tournament." Jaune says. "You do know about the Vytal Tournament, right?"

"Uh, no, no, yeah. Yeah, of course I do." (F/N) says quickly. "But that's not for another few months, right? So, what's with all the decorations?"

"Well," Pyrrha explains, "the students from the other schools will be coming in later, so the Kingdom's preparing for their arrival."

"Ah. I see." (F/N) nods, ducking around two burly men carrying a large ladder. "Is that why classes let out early?"

"No, the other students won't be arriving until tomorrow."

"Then why did classes..."

"Because of the carnival!" Nora shouts with a little jump.

"Carnival?" (F/N) asks excitedly, like a child hearing that Santa would be visiting their school.

"Mmhmm." Pyrrha nods. "The Vytal Carnival arrived earlier today. They'll be open every weekend leading up to the tournament. But they reserve the first weekend for students, and because the other Kingdom's students won't be here until tomorrow, today is exclusively for Beacon students."

"Brilliant!" (F/N) grins. "I haven't been to a carnival in ages!"

"You're in for a treat then." Jaune says. "The Vytal Carnival is the best one there is."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah." Jaune nods. "They've got fire breathers and sword swallowers and the best magicians."

"Don't forget the caramel apples!" Nora says. "They're the size of your head and make you float!"

"How?"

"They're made with trace amounts of dust." Jaune explains. "All the treats are."

"Really?" (F/N) asks, growing more and more excited with every new revelation.

"Yup." Ren nods. "The popcorn makes you sneeze flames and the ice cream makes everything you touch become covered in frost."

"But the best part are the rides." Pyrrha says to which her teammates nod. "They've got roller-coasters that travel over a hundred miles an hour, and a Ferris wheel taller than Beacon tower. It's amazing."

"Well then what are we waiting for?" (F/N) shouts, barely containing his excitement. "Let's go."

Grabbing Pyrrha's hand, (F/N) sprints in the direction of the carnival, the rest of Team JNPR not far behind.

"(F/N), slow down!" Pyrrha shout laughs, barely keeping up with (F/N) as he continues pulling on her arm.

In just under five minutes, the two are standing outside the entrance to the fairgrounds, Pyrrha catching her breath as (F/N)'s jaw slackens, his eyes wide in amazement as he stares at the many colorful attractions, the large Ferris wheel dominating the scene. The rest of Team JNPR catches up about thirty seconds later, Jaune and Ren out of breath, though Nora seems as energetic as ever.

"Everyone here?" (F/N) asks, looking around. "Great, let's go!"

Pyrrha shouts in surprise as (F/N) once again takes her hand and drags her through the entrance. Stepping into the fairgrounds, the five huntsmen in training are immediately surrounded by other Beacon students and carnival staff. Looking every which way, (F/N) narrowly avoids a man on stilts, ducking between his legs and looking up at him in amusement. Separating from the others, (F/N) runs off into the crowd, pausing to watch a man juggling chainsaws before running a few feet further as a man swallows a sword before proceeding to do several backflips.

"(F/N)!" Pyrrha calls out into the crowd. "(F/N)! Where could he have gone off to?"

"I don't know." Jaune says with a shrug. "Man, it's like trying to look after another Nora."

As they continue walking, Pyrrha takes notice of a large assembly of students gathered around a wooden stage.

"Maybe he's over there." Pyrrha suggests.

Joining the crowd, Team JNPR split off in search of their missing friend, Jaune and Pyrrha heading right, Nora and Ren to the left. Distracted by their search for a six foot two (H/C) haired students, Jaune doesn't notice the white clad figure until he's bumped into them.

"Hey, watch where you're going." Weiss says indignantly.

"Sorry, I... Oh, hey Weiss." Jaune says, his demeanor changing as he looks down at the Schnee heiress. "How you doin'?"

Weiss rolls her eyes and turns her attention back towards the stage, Jaune's shoulders dropping slightly.

"Hey guys!" Another voice calls, this one friendlier and more energetic.

"Hello Yang." Pyrrha greets. "How are you all doing?"

"We're doing great." Yang answers.

"Can you believe this place? It's amazing!" Ruby cheers. "I swear I saw a guy with three eyes earlier."

"It was a tattoo, Ruby." Blake says wearily.

"Do tattoos blink? Yeah, that's what I thought."

Blake shakes her head with a defeated look on her face before turning to look at Jaune and Pyrrha.

"Where's Ren and Nora?" She asks.

Blake had to speak a bit louder as the performing act, The Great Santini, walks on stage, eliciting a round of applause from the audience.

"They're somewhere close by." Pyrrha answers. "We split up to look for (F/N)."

"(F/N)?" Weiss asks.

"Yeah, he took off the second we arrived." Jaune says. "We haven't seen him since."

Just then, Ren and Nora approach from behind their teammates. Ren taps Pyrrha on the shoulder.

"Ren?" Pyrrha says, somewhat surprised. "Did you find (F/N)."

Sighing, Ren nods.

"Where is he?"

Instead of answering, Ren points in the direction of the stage.

"Put your hands together or our brave volunteer!" Santini announces. "Mr. (F/N) (L/N)."

Sitting on a small stool on the center of the stage is (F/N), looking like he might have been there quite by accident, his body swaying from side to side to some song only he can hear as he stares off into the crowd with a dreamy look on his face. Behind him on the stage are two long boxes, one lying horizontally and painted red, the second standing upright, the top painted purple, the middle yellow, and the bottom blue.

"No fair!" Ruby shouts. "How'd he get up there?"

Santini and his assistant approach from behind, carrying a large white cloth. Carefully, they throw it over (F/N) so that he looks like he's dressed as a ghost, his head still turning as if he were confused as to why everything suddenly went dark, looking for an on switch.

"Now watch," Santini says dramatically, "as I make this young man... disappear."

On the final word, Santini snaps his fingers and the white sheet suddenly collapses in on itself, falling on the stool as (F/N) vanishes. There's a collective 'ooh' from the crowd followed by thunderous applause to which the magician bows with a flourish of his hands.

"Where'd he go?" Jaune asks in astonishment.

"Hey, give us back our friend!" Nora shouts at the man on stage.

"Relax little lady, relax." Santini laughs. "Rest assured that your friend is perfectly safe."

Placing two fingers in his mouth, Santini releases a short but piercing whistle and the red box is wheeled forwards by two assistants. Turning it so that it lays longways across the stage, (F/N)'s head comes into view, poking out of the box. Another round of applause as one of Santini's assistants walks forwards, handing him a chainsaw and kissing him on the cheek. Holding up his free hand, The Great Santini flicks his wrist and produces a pair of safety goggles seemingly from nowhere. Placing them on his face, he revs up the chainsaw and walks behind (F/N), holding the chainsaw high above his head.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Santini shouts above the noise of the chainsaw, "please, do not try this at home!"

Suddenly, he brings the chainsaw down on top of the box, several members of the audience screaming. (F/N) has his neck bent upwards, trying to watch, his mouth open wide in a silly grin as he watches himself get sawed in half. The box splits in two and the two halves are wheeled apart. Santini hands the chainsaw to an assistant before walking between the two halves to the front of the stage, proving there's nothing in between them. He takes another bow to a thunderous tide of applause. Meanwhile, his assistants are standing the half with (F/N)'s legs upright. Standing upright, Santini moves back towards (F/N) and kneels down next to him.

"Hey kid, how you feelin'?"

"This is crazy!" (F/N) laughs.

"That's what I like to hear. But just wait, it gets even better!"

Getting on his feet, Santini helps another assistant pick up (F/N)'s upper half, stacking it on top of its pair. Snapping his fingers, sparks fly out from where the boxes are separated, and when they disappear, they've become one again. Unlatching the box, (F/N) steps out, his body perfectly normal.

"Mr. (L/N), if you would please." Santini says, gesturing to the second box that has been wheeled forwards.

Each different colored section of the box has been opened separately, and (F/N) steps inside. Latching the three segments, Santini steps off to the side.

"Alright ladies, let's give him a spin!"

His two stagehands spin the box several times before returning it to its normal position. Clapping his hands, smoke appears in front of Santini, obscuring him from vision. When it clears, he's holding two large metal sheets in his hands. Approaching the box, he slides one of the metal sheets between the purple top and the yellow middle, the second between the yellow and the blue. Grabbing the handles on the top of the box, he lifts the purple third which separates from the rest and places it at the front of the stage. The yellow is set to the left of the purple, and the blue to the right. Santini snaps his fingers and the latches release and the doors swing open. (F/N)'s head is sitting on the stage in the middle box, his chest in the yellow and his legs in the blue.

"How are we feeling (F/N)?" Santini asks over the applause.

"Great!" (F/N) laughs. "Hey, did you get taller?"

Santini releases a jovial laugh before turning to address the audience.

"Alright everyone, for this next trick, I'm going to need another audience member. Any volunteers?"

"Oh! Me! Pick me!" Ruby shouts, jumping up and down.

Meanwhile, (F/N) is looking around in astonishment, watching his arm waving out of the box on his right.

"Pyrrha!" He shouts to his friend, pointing at his body separated into thirds. "Pyrrha, look at this! Isn't this crazy?"

"Oh, it seems Mr. (L/N) knows this young lady." Santini says joyfully. "Miss, how about you join your friend on stage?"

"No! Pick me!" Ruby shouts.

"Oh, I'm not sure." Pyrrha says, blushing slightly.

"I insist." Santini says. "The act will be much more enjoyable for all involved if the two of you know each other."

"Yeah!" (F/N)'s head shouts from the ground. "Come on Pyrrha!"

"Well, okay." The redhead says timidly.

"Whoo!" (F/N) cheers along with the crowd, his disembodied torso clapping. "Go Pyrrha! This is gonna be great!"

A second tricolored box is wheeled out from backstage, this one green, orange, and red. Offering his hand, Santini helps Pyrrha into the box while his assistants restack (F/N). Closing and latching the boxes, Santini creates another two metal sheets, sliding them between the three colors like he did with (F/N). The boxes are spun, and with a snap of his fingers and a burst of smoke, the boxes open, revealing (F/N) and Pyrrha's heads on each other's bodies.

"Ah!" (F/N) laughs, sticking out his tongue. "This is crazy! You look hilarious!"

He goes to point at Pyrrha, but his body ends up pointing at Pyrrha's, making him laugh even harder. Pyrrha on the other hand is looking down at herself on (F/N)'s body, a little concerned.

"Pyrrha!" (F/N) calls. "Pyrrha look!"

Raising her head, she sees (F/N)'s head on her body, and she can't help but laugh. Suddenly she feels something scratching her chin. Looking down, she sees (F/N)'s hands poking her face and pinching her cheeks, his head laughing across from her.

"(F/N), cut it out." She laughs as he very nearly pokes her in the eye.

"No way, this is too much f... ow!"

Pyrrha manipulated her own body to tug on (F/N)'s ear, causing her to giggle. (F/N) goes to rub his ear while Pyrrha tries to hide her laughing, but instead they end up doing it to each other, prompting them to laugh even further. The crowd seems to enjoy it just as much as they do, laughing and taking videos. Finally, Santini closes up the boxes and snaps his fingers one last time. For the third and final time, the boxes swing open to show both Pyrrha and (F/N) have disappeared. From the back of the stage, Santini's assistants roll out one final, larger box. This one is glass, and inside are (F/N) and Pyrrha, pressed up against each other wearing identical blushes. More laughs, more pictures. Santini releases them and they stumble out. Pyrrha still has a large blush on her face but (F/N) is smoothing out his vest and laughing. Santini takes one last bow.

"And let's hear it for our two volunteers!" He shouts.

Taking Pyrrha's hand, (F/N) raises their arms above their heads before sweeping them down with a large bow.

Five minutes later, (F/N) and Teams JNPR and RWBY are walking through the carnival, still talking about the amazing spectacle.

"What did it feel like having your bodies separated like that?" Yang asks.

"It didn't feel like anything." (F/N) says. "It just looked weird."

"It looked hilarious!" Nora shouts. "Pyrrha looks really good as a guy."

"And what about me?" (F/N) says, pretending to flip a long head of hair over his shoulder.

"Meh, you were alright." Pyrrha laughs.

(F/N) frowns while the others laugh. "I don't know, I thought I'd look great. Especially with your body."

An awkward silence follows during which Pyrrha tries to hide her blush from the other. (F/N) however, seems completely oblivious to the effect his words seemed to have.

"Hey, why don't we head to the Ferris wheel?" Jaune suggests.

"I suppose that sounds like fun." Weiss says.

The line for the Ferris wheel isn't terribly long, and within the next ten minutes the nine of them are at the front of the queue. As the Ferris wheel stops and the riders exit, Jaune, Weiss, Ren, and Nora climb into the first carriage. The wheel rotates and another empty carriage approaches. Ruby, Blake, and Yang climb into this one. Though there might be a little squishing involved, (F/N) and Pyrrha are just about to step into the carriage when Yang shuts the compartment door.

"Sorry, not enough room." She says with a sly grin.

"Hmm? But there's plenty of space." Ruby says.

"Nope." Yang shakes her head, keeping her hand firmly on the door. "Sorry you two, but you'll have to wait for the next one."

"Yang," Pyrrha starts to say. She's about to pry Yang's hand off the door when the wheel rotates again.

"Sorry!" Yang calls. "I'm sure (F/N) won't mind being alone with you for the next ten minutes though!"

Another carriage stops in front of (F/N) and Pyrrha. (F/N) steps forwards and opens the door.

"After you." He says with a smile.

"Thank you." Pyrrha says quietly, quickly stepping on board and turning her head so (F/N) won't see the hint of red in her cheeks.

Stepping on board, (F/N) turns to beckon the next two in line to join them.

"There's still room if you want to join." He says.

"That's okay." A male second year student says with a smile. "We'll get the next one."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, we're good." His friend says.

"Well, okay." (F/N) says, closing the door and sitting down. "Hmm, wonder why they didn't want to join."

The wheel slowly starts spinning, gathering speed until it continues rotating at a steady pace. Meanwhile in the compartment ahead of (F/N) and Pyrrha's, Ruby is staring confusedly at her sister and Blake who have their heads placed together, whispering quietly.

"What was that about?" Ruby asks.

"What was what?" Blake asks innocently.

"That, down there. There was enough space for them. The three of us could easily fit on one side."

"Don't worry about it Ruby." Yang says.

"But why didn't we let them on?" Ruby asks still confused. "Do you not like them or something?"

"No, of course we do." Yang says. "We just think it's time for Pyrrha to give up on ol' Jaunny boy."

"What?"

"You'll understand when you're older."