"Weiss, can we talk?"

Weiss Schnee paused with pen to paper and looked up from Ruby's homework. She wasn't doing it, obviously, but she was looking over it and highlighting areas where Ruby was still deficient. At the start of her time at Beacon this had been a self-serving ploy to highlight how immature and unreliable Ruby was as a leader, but nowadays she did it to help. Ruby had missed two years of schooling and simply hadn't attended lessons dealing with some subjects.

There was a marked difference between someone who was too lazy to learn and someone who was so exceptional that they were moved ahead and missed the lessons, and her partner – for all her many faults – was prepared to do extra studying. Weiss had to respect that.

Something she respected less, despite her best efforts, was Blake's obsession on the White Fang.

Oh, she respected that Blake had changed and stopped being a terrorist, and that was worthy of respect. It took more to pull your back from a mistake than it did to not make a mistake in the first place. Blake deserved her second chance.

But that didn't mean her obsession with the White Fang wasn't a pain in Weiss' butt.

In everyone's butts, honestly.

"This isn't another argument, is it?"

Blake wilted. "No. It... It's the opposite. Can we talk outside?"

The opposite? Curious enough by that sentiment, Weiss set her pen down and stood. Yang and Ruby were playing some silly fighting game for reasons she couldn't comprehend – Weiss understood the concept of games for escapism but didn't understand why two girls who could literally fight better than the videogame characters would find any escapism in that. They were huntresses, for crying out loud! Shaking her head, she stepped out into the hallway with Blake, still half-convinced this would be either a ruse for a heated and waspish discussion, or some backhanded apology in which Blake passive-aggressively made it sound like it was Weiss' fault.

"So..." Her arms crossed. "You wanted to talk in private. What is it?"

"I need to apologise."

Well...

That was new.

"Is this about the arguments? I thought we'd settled that."

"We did, but... we agreed to disagree and... and that's wrong." Blake sighed. "I need to apologise for making it your problem in the first place. I've been angry over a lot of things. I've been angry for almost ten years, ever since my parents were marginalised and abused by people in Atlas."

"That's not—"

"That's not your fault, I know. You would have been seven at the time!"

"I was going to say that's not unreasonable," Weiss replied.

"Thank you, and I know, but the unreasonable thing is how much of it I've laid on you like Weiss Schnee – seven year old girl – was somehow making policy decisions for all of Atlas and the SDC. I was angry, and I was angry in the White Fang and they taught us to hate you. We had to, because if we didn't hate you then we'd have hated ourselves for the awful things we did. It was easier to push that hate on someone else then confront our own actions."

Weiss shifted awkwardly. This was an apology she'd secretly fantasised of receiving on more than one occasion, and yet now that she was here she felt nothing but awkward. She'd imagined Blake on all fours, almost broken with guilt, and that had satisfied Weiss' meaner cravings when she was in a bad mood, but Blake was a friend and even this small amount of guilt was punishing.

"There's really no need—"

"There is need," said Blake. "And I'm not finished." She took another breath. "I've been talking to someone. Getting help."

Weiss blinked. "Therapy...?"

"Yes." Blake smiled. "In a sense. It's been helping. It hasn't fixed anything, but it's let me take a new perspective and look at how I handled things before and... well... it wasn't great. Looking back, I've realised how much of what I did was born of anger. I ran away to fight Torchwick because I wanted to prove the White Fang weren't evil, but that was only because I was angry at you. And I lashed out at you because I was angry at myself for having ever been a terrorist in the first place. It's always been about anger and avoiding accepting responsibility."

"Anger at the people who turned the White Fang violent, ignoring the fact I had a part in that. Anger at my old partner for turning inhuman, when I could have been the one to pull him back. Anger at Atlas and the SDC for making me become a terrorist, because it was easier to blame them and you than to accept any responsibility myself. I've been pathetic."

"You haven't—"

"I appreciate you trying to help, Weiss, but I don't need it. I'm not saying my whole life has been a waste. I'm just saying that I've done some pathetic things and I've just realised how petty they were. I'm apologising for them and letting you know that I'm going to try and be better. Though I may not succeed immediately..."

Weiss pinched her arm.

She didn't wake up.

And Blake was awaiting a response.

"T—That's great, Blake. Any self-improvement should be lauded, and you haven't been that bad. Annoying, yes, but I'm sure I've been just as much a part of fanning the flames. I know I have a temper."

That wasn't what she really wanted to say, however.

"But where is all this coming from?"

"Like I said, I've had... help."

"From whom!?"

Blake shifted and eyed the door. "Promise me you won't tell them."

"Of course. It's none of their business."

None of hers either; Weiss was deeply aware of the hypocrisy.

"It's... Jaune..."

"Arc!?" Weiss couldn't help her shock, and she probably deserved the irritated look Blake sent her. "My apologies. I just... A—Jaune helped you? I wasn't... I wasn't aware you even interacted!"

Blake flushed at being called out on her antisocial tendencies. "We spend time reading in the library together. It wasn't planned. He just took my spot and I put up with him, but we eventually got to talking. He's been reading psychology and I read... fiction..."

Weiss held back the obvious retort there. Blake's reading habits were less important than the knowledge that Jaune Arc – of all people – was apparently now offering therapy to her team. It was just too shocking a revelation.

"And how did it come to him offering you therapy?"

"I asked him to."

Oh yes because that explained everything. Not! Blake could be so vague on details she considered unimportant sometimes. "Right. Well, it's been helping, then?"

"It has been so far. He's... He's helped me realise a few things about myself. Things I want to change."

"And is he asking anything in return?"

"No." Blake looked annoyed by the question. "He isn't like that, Weiss. He's a friend."

"I know. I know." Weiss waved her hands before her. "I just... Well, why is it such a big deal that I don't tell Yang or Ruby, then?"

Blake's expression eased out. "I kind of don't want them to make a big deal of it. You know they would. At breakfast, at lunch. They'd ask Jaune in public how it's going, and Yang would make her stupid puns..."

"Say no more. I understand completely."

One more utterance of Weiss-cream and they'd be down a team member. It had been passingly clever the first time she said it but grating by the hundredth time. That was Yang's issue, to be honest. Yang could be funny, but she was the kind of comedian who beat her audience to death with the same joke as if to memorialise how clever she'd been in coming up with it so many months ago.

"I'm glad to hear you're improving and you can ask my help if you need it." It felt like the font of information was drying up, so she'd let Blake end this awkward apology session. "Thank you for telling me, and I do apologise for the times I've made the problems worse. You did start a lot of those arguments but that doesn't mean I was blameless in them."

Blake smirked. "And even now you can't resist a last dig at me, can you?"

"What!? But you did start most of them! You just admitted to it!"

"I know. I know." Blake rolled her eyes. "Let's just call this over and done with."

/-/

"I hear you've been helping Blake out."

Weiss would not have approached Jaune Arc in the corridors before, not on her own. He'd been such an obnoxious presence in her time at Beacon. He'd been amusing at first, even a little cute – though she'd never admit that in a million years. Not even under torture. Weiss had initially been startled and even a little flattered by his attention (especially when he laid it on her instead of Pyrrha) but any positive feelings had swiftly ended when he kept pushing despite her repeatedly turning him down. It wasn't just the fact he ignored her feelings, but the fact he forced her to keep being the heartless bitch in turning down his.

But that was the old Jaune.

He'd changed, and while it was hard at times to prevent ingrained instincts to avoid him or read between the lines of every statement, Weiss liked to think she was mature enough to notice and embrace changes. She'd done the same when Ruby had tried to be a proper leader and that had worked out, and so far Arc – Jaune, she reminded herself – had been nothing short honest.

And incredibly helpful.

"What?" he asked.

Though he was still obtuse at times.

"Blake," she said, rolling her eyes. "Apparently, you're acting as therapy for her."

His eyes widened. "She told you!?"

"Was it supposed to be a secret? She didn't mention that so I will apologise if so."

"No. No, it's fine." He shook his head. "I just assumed she'd be embarrassed and wouldn't want anyone to know."

He wasn't entirely wrong, but Blake had only specified Yang and Ruby. It was good to know Jaune wasn't going to blab to anyone else though, and she found she wasn't too surprised by the fact. He'd always been a bit of an idiot, and annoying before his recent bout of maturity, but even back then she wouldn't have accused him of being dishonest with his friends. Ruby only had good things to say about her best male friend, and he was always good to her.

"I'd keep it quiet just in case, but Blake is only worried about Yang and Ruby making a big deal of it."

"Okay. Cool. And you're here because...?"

Because she was nosey.

There was no arguing against that.

"I'm here because I'm naturally concerned for Blake and involved in this in some way, and I wanted to offer my assistance if it's needed."

And because she wanted to know more, though the fact he was stonewalling her was both annoying and pleasing. Pleasing because it meant Blake's privacy was being kept and annoying because she wanted to know everything that went on like the hypocrite she knew she could be. Blake wasn't the only one with flaws in their team.

"I don't think we need help. I'm not even sure how much help I've been. I just told her some psychology basics and she worked the rest out on her own."

"Blake is intelligent, but I'm sure you helped in some way, even if it's not immediately obvious." Seeing that he wasn't about to talk – good on him, she supposed – she changed the subject. "Since when do you care so much for psychology? Please tell me this didn't start when you were still crushing on me as some hairbrained scheme to learn how to control someone through their mind."

"No!" Jaune sounded aghast. Good. "No, I... I guess it was from Doctor Oobleck helping me with my Semblance. He talks about psychology a lot. He has theories that the Semblance a person gets is related to that in some way."

It was a common enough theory, though rather obviously flawed seeing as she had the Schnee Semblance along with her sister. Hereditary Semblances rather put the idea of psychology and "breaking moment" theory into doubt. The theory held that people with aura could unlock Semblances in moments of great need, and usually designed to save them, such as if Ruby had been about to die to Grimm but gained super speed to escape them, or if Nora had been dying to electrical shocks and unlocked a Semblance geared toward surviving that.

For every case in favour of the theory, there was one that wasn't.

You couldn't just pigeonhole Semblances like that.

"Besides," he went on. "The romance and reproduction sides of psychology are kinda wacky."

"Oh?"

"Human emotions aren't as understood as most sciences, so they can only make assumptions about a whole load of things. A lot of it is old-fashioned, too. A lot of studies are poorly disguised stereotypical values from fifty years ago. And people lie. You can ask ten thousand people how happy they are in their current relationship and almost all of them will lie or exaggerate in some way."

Weiss chuckled. That sounded depressingly accurate. It was little better than how she told most people that her childhood had been fine and normal, despite knowing it hadn't been either. The fact was that most people would either lie to convince themselves they were happy, to make themselves look better, or just because they didn't want to cause any drama.

You only had to look at any form of social media to see how much people felt the need to lie to glam up their lives or make themselves feel better than others. Weiss was sure there were psychological studies around that as well, not that anyone would bother to read them because the dopamine was all that mattered.

Great, she thought, Now I'm making myself miserable.

"It doesn't sound like fun reading."

"It honestly isn't," said Jaune. "The more I learn, the more I realise how messed up the human mind is. Sometimes I wonder if there'll be a point where I learn too much and start to see people as abominable."

"Your stare into the abyss moment?"

"Yeah." He shuddered, then laughed. "But I'm probably being dramatic."

"Probably. Therapists manage to live normal lives without falling into pits of despair. I only sought you out because I wanted to make sure Blake was okay, but it seems like you're taking this seriously. That's good." Weiss forced herself to dip her head. "You have my gratitude for helping her."

"It's not necessary. Blake's a friend."

Weiss' approximation of him rose just a little further. Maybe if he'd been like this at first, she'd have been interested in him. She didn't say it, because whether he was over her or not, it would have been cruel to hint at things like that.

"Then I'm glad she can call you one. I should go."

"Can I ask you something before you do?"

"Of course." Weiss stopped herself, curious. "What is it?"

"I'm sorry if this sounds really bad or you don't want to talk about it. You can say so if that's the case." He looked worried, which made her worried in turn. "But when you and Blake first had your arguments, back before you knew about her past, you mentioned that the White Fang had killed people close to you." He licked his lips. "Did... Did they ever do a raid on your home and threaten your life...?"

Weiss took a deep breath. She was surprised by the question, and she could see why he'd be so nervous. It was, as he said, none of his damned business, and yet she could hazard a guess as to why he'd want to know. If Blake had been talking to him then she might have expressed guilt about that, and Jaune... well, he wanted to know. If it was to help Blake then she could tell him.

"It's not that secretive a thing. I lost my uncle and several other family members when a boarding meeting was attacked by the White Fang. Though they did kill a lot of people and mount a simultaneous attack on the manor, they never got close to me. They were routed before even making it into the building, and myself, my sister, brother and mother were all ushered into a reinforced bunker designed for such occasions. I never saw so much as a single terrorist, nor did I come close to harm. By the time Atlas arrived, it was all dealt with, and there were minimal casualties among our security team." Weiss let out a sigh. "It was startling, but I was young and came to no real harm. In truth, the only reason I brought it up back then was to win the argument."

Though she wasn't proud of that fact.

Jaune looked relieved. She could guess as to why; he didn't want to imagine her and Blake having a trauma like that hanging between them. "Good. That's... That's really good to know. Thanks for telling me and sorry for asking."

"As I said, it's fine. Is that all?"

"Yeah, that's all. I'll let you go." He turned away. "See—erk!"

Weiss turned to see what he'd seen that had caught him so off guard. The worst result would be Yang, though Pyrrha might get the wrong idea and think she was making a move on Jaune, and that was something Weiss didn't need.

The last thing she expected was her sister.

"W—Winter!" Jaune gasped.

Winter's eyes narrowed to furious little slits. "Arc..."

Weiss' eyes flicked between Winter and Jaune.

They know one another...?

How did Jaune know her sister? And why was her sister giving Jaune such an angry look. The immediate thought in her head was that Jaune had hit on Winter, but she dismissed it with some self-recrimination. Winter had only arrived after Jaune finally let off on her, and he'd not hit on anyone since dating Yang. Other than the Trivia girl, but that seemed to be less romantic and more brotherly, and Yang loved seeing the little mute hanging off her boyfriend. Weiss suspected it was an unconscious approval of Jaune as a father figure, though given Yang doted on Ruby it might just be the two of them connecting on being embarrassing older siblings.

"I—I should go," said Jaune, hurrying for his door. "Goodnight, Weiss. Goodnight, Miss Schnee!"

The door opened and slammed shut before Winter could respond.

Weiss couldn't contain her raised eyebrow to her sister, but Winter ignored it. "What were the two of you talking about?" she asked.

"Team cohesion." Weiss would never be brave enough to tell her sister it was none of her business, so she went with a more veiled approach. "Ar—Jaune," she stressed the name both for herself and for Winter, "—has been helping one of my teammates with some issues, and I was simply catching up with him on the matter. What about you, sister? I wasn't aware the two of you had met."

"I met Arc when General Ironwood arrested him. You should avoid him, Weiss."

Because of that arrest? Weiss obviously did not snort in Winter's presence, but she sure as heck did it mentally. That whole "arrest thing" had blown over very quickly, and Weiss had seen how furious Miss Goodwitch had been about it. There was little doubt in her mind General Ironwood had jumped the gun and been slapped down for it.

"Jaune is harmless. He's like a puppy who doesn't know when he's being annoying, though he's matured of late. You don't need to worry about him—"

"There are things you don't know about him," Winter interrupted. "And things I'm not allowed to say. But trust in me when I say you should avoid him. He isn't as good a person as he would have you believe. He is a threat."

Things she couldn't say...?

Then why was she saying them? Weiss was fairly certain Winter was stretching the boundaries of whatever agreement she'd made. So vaguely, too. What on Remnant had Jaune done to have Winter speak out against him like this? Was he some secret contract killer? An undercover huntsman? Those ideas were so ridiculous that it felt as if Ruby had come up with them and telepathically inserted them into Weiss' head.

But Jaune, a threat? Weiss coughed into her fist to hide her laughter.

"I—I will take your warning into consideration," she said.

Winter's eyes narrowed.

"Take this seriously, Weiss."

Damn her sister's perception. Weiss had never been good at lying to her. "With all due respect, Winter, I think I know him better than you—"

"You do not."

"I do," Weiss said, finally having had enough. She would not defend Jaune against her sister, but she would defend her own judgment. And it was insulting for Winter to imply she was somehow so blind that she'd not know even the slightest of a person's character after they'd spent so much time with her. "Jaune is a bumbling fool and runs his mouth at times, but his heart is in the right place. He puts great effort into supporting his team and they adore him for it. He can be dense at times, but it is rarely malicious. As for being dangerous, you would not think that if you had seen him a few months ago being bullied by other students."

"I am privy to information you are not."

"And I therefore cannot judge him on that information." Weiss crossed her arms, for once taking a stance directly against her sister. Weiss took a deep breath and channelled her old lessons. "Winter, I love and admire you greatly, but I am my own person and will make my own decision when it comes to whom I do and do not spend my free time with. I will thank you to respect that and to not try and make said decision for me."

"I'm only looking out for you."

"I appreciate that, but perhaps such a sentiment would have served me better had it come before you left the family to join the military and abandoned Whitley and I to deal with father's rage on our own."

Winter's jaw dropped.

Weiss' almost did as well.

Damn it! Damn it! I didn't mean to say that bit!

It wasn't untrue, but Weiss wished she could turn back time and drag those words back into her mouth. This was her team's fault, somehow. She'd been spending too much time with them and they'd turned her into a blabbermouth.

"R—Regardless, I must go. My team and I are doing a group homework assignment." Retreat seemed like a good idea, especially when Winter was still too stunned to respond. "Goodnight, sister. It was a pleasure talking to you."

Weiss crossed the distance between herself and her door with Ruby Rose levels of speed, slammed it open and then slammed it shut, and slid the lock across for good measure. Then she leaned back against the door, wide-eyed and pale.

Her team stared at her.

"What?" asked Yang. "Did you see a Beowolf out there or something?"

"Or something. If my sister knocks on the door, tell her I have been abducted by aliens. Or that I have been sacrificed as part of some occult ritual. Whichever you think she'll be more likely to believe."

They all looked at her like she'd lost her mind.

But then a knock came at the door.

"She's been abducted by Grimm and sacrificed to aliens!" Ruby yelled.

Close enough.

/-/

Jaune stood in a dark forest.

A familiar one.

His heart clenched immediately and a sword appeared in his hand, ready to stab through whomever got in his way. He knew this, there was no doubt, and this time there were no screams for him to hurry. He was either late or he was early.

Jaune sprinted down the path.

I have to find her. I have to save—

He couldn't save her. The realisation burned. Even if he saved Amber here, in a dream, it wouldn't matter once he woke up.

But I can find the one responsible for her death.

The trees spread out, suddenly less close to the path, which widened and looked more trodden. It was a dirt-path formed by thousands of pairs of feet over long periods of time wearing away any and all plant life. Jaune slowed to a walk, wondering at the detail. The dreamer knew this place, or remembered it, which meant it was important in some way.

A soft, broken sob caught his ears.

Turning, Jaune saw a figure by a tree. Small, childlike, and wrapped in a hood. It was a girl going by the noise, but she was much younger than anyone who could be at Beacon, and Amber had been attacked this year.

Had Amber been killed by a child?

Or had she been killed trying to protect a child?

Qrow hadn't mentioned that.

"Who are you?" Jaune asked, walking forward. He kept a grip on his sword and kept his aura up. "What's your name? What are you doing here?"

"M—My name is Emma," the girl whispered. "I—I'm so hungry..."

Hungry? Out here? Jaune looked around for any signs of habitation and saw none. This wasn't adding up. Had she gotten lost and decided to wait on the side of the road for someone to find her? That might be good advice for a child in a city, town or village, but no parent would tell their child to do that in the wilds. Grimm would hunt them down. As risky as it might be, the best advice for a child lost outside was to shout and shout and hope they were heard. Yes, it could draw the Grimm, but they'd be drawn anyway if the child remained lost for too long.

It was better to be found quickly.

And the girl looked to be around eight to ten, not three to four, so surely she'd know the way home. She was by a path! If he'd gotten lost outside of Ansel, he'd know the way back once he found a path. Just pick one direction and start walking. That was a 50% chance right there, and even if you picked wrong the other route would lead to somewhere else.

It didn't fit.

"What are you doing here?" he asked and didn't approach. He'd have been more sympathetic in real life, but here and now, seeing this place, he felt nothing but cold paranoia. "Why are you on the side of the road? Where are your parents? Look at me."

The girl brought her knees up and hid her face in them.

"Look at me!"

"I—I'm scared."

Jaune stalked toward her and reached for her hood.

The child grew several inches and lunged for him like a snake.

He was ready, falling back with one foot and yanking the hand holding a knife over his shoulder to throw her back. Here in a dream – hers or anyone else's – he might as well have been a god. Her reactions were too slow. Jaune hurled her a good ten feet, sending the child skidding across the mud. Skidding and then disappearing, melting into the floor.

She wasn't real, he thought. And she's not the dreamer. Damn it.

This was Amber's murder, he was sure of it. A child asking for help – and Amber being so much a bleeding heart that she wouldn't deny it. His chest laboured, heart pounding, and he turned around in search of the ambush. One disguised girl wouldn't have killed Amber. There had to be more – and Qrow had mentioned seeing at least three people.

"Where are you!?" he shouted. "I know you're here!"

The trees didn't answer.

They were in the way.

Jaune roared and slashed his sword across horizontally, and trees for hundreds of metres in every direction were cut through their trunks near the bases, sent toppling in a wild domino effect as the entire forest was reduced to stumps. There, out the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a figure in a dark brown cowl jumping away, ducking beneath the trees and trying to escape.

Jaune snarled and gave chase, murder in his eyes.

Found you...