Author's Note: So, I'm not dead yet. That's a thing. I honestly didn't think I'd continue writing fanfics, but here's another chapter for you guys. Hope you enjoy.

"Weiss!" Ruby shouted ecstatically before jumping to hug her former partner.

"It's good to see you too, Ruby," Weiss reluctantly responded.

"It's so good to see you," Ruby continued, "I missed you and Blake, and Yang was busy moping around- "

"I thought you were in Atlas with your father," Jaune interjected as Ruby continued with her rant.

"I was, up until a few weeks ago," Weiss explained as she prevented Ruby from climbing onto her back, "let's just say home life in an upscale Dust mogul's mansion isn't the life I wanted for myself."

"Well, what's the situation in Atlas?" Jaune continued to prod for information.

"Ironwood placed a trade embargo on Dust indefinitely, and my father didn't really take kindly to it. In his attempt to quickly smooth things over with the other kingdoms, father threw a charity concert," Weiss reported.

"How'd that turn out?" Jaune inquired as he opened the door for his two companions.

"I might have ruined the party," Weiss smirked as she recalled the incident.

"Oh?" Ruby teased, "Doth my ears deceive me? Did I just hear the Ice Queen crashed a party?"

"Oh, quiet you," Weiss shot back at Ruby.

"I'll have to agree with Ruby on this one," Jaune defended, "that doesn't sound like you at all."

"I just didn't agree with how the overprivileged viewed us," Weiss crossed her arms in defiance.

"Us?" Ruby questioned, "Aren't you one of them?"

"They don't know what we've been through," Weiss shot back, "Atlas' elite sit back in their cushy mansions while we huntsmen and huntresses risk our lives to keep them safe."

"What she means, Ruby, is that they can't possibly understand what we've had to go through since Beacon Fell," Jaune interrupted, coming to Weiss' defense, "You're one of us now because you chose to fight, they probably haven't even come close to touching a weapon in their entire lives, isn't that right, Weiss?"

"Y-yeah, you are," Weiss stuttered in agreement, taken aback by Jaune's response, "I didn't expect that from you, of all people. To be honest, I expected you to say something stupid like some disgusting pick up line."

"Okay, one, ouch. Was I really that much of a douche? And two, a lot has happened since Beacon fell, I couldn't stay as the loveable idiot forever," Jaune trailed off, his gaze falling to the ground, failing to notice Weiss slow down to walk next to Ruby.

"Your use of the word 'loveable' is debatable," Weiss started before Ruby lightly jabbed her elbow into her ribs, "Ruby, what?!"

"Go easy on him, he still blames himself for Pyrrha's death," Ruby whispered into Weiss' ear.

"Oh my God, is he okay?" Weiss answered back in a hushed voice.

"I'm not exactly sure about that," Ruby said, averting her eyes from Weiss' gaze as her face grew warmer, "A lot has happened since Beacon fell. Things just haven't been the same."

Weiss' eyes darted to Jaune then back to Ruby's still ruby face, disbelief plastered all over her own, "No way. No fucking way. You and-"

"Shut up," Ruby hissed as she clamped her hands over Weiss' mouth.

"You know I can hear both of you, right?" Jaune said, keeping his gaze ahead of himself.

"Really? So, you know what we're talking about?" Ruby hesitantly asked as she felt Weiss smirk under her hands.

"I know you're trying to get Weiss to be nice to me since Pyrrha died and everything, but I'm fine if you don't want to be bothered with watching how you act around me," Jaune faked his best smile before turning around, "I miss how things used to be too."

"Uh, yeah, Weiss was just about to say something like that, weren't you, Weiss?" Ruby tried her best to play it off, cautiously removing her hands from her former partner's face.

"Yeah, I was going to say something along those lines until someone rudely interrupted," Weiss turned her head towards Ruby to hide her face from Jaune, the knowing smirk still present on her face. The heiress winked before whispering as quietly as possible, "You and I need to talk later, I need to know how it happened."

"No, Weiss, it's not like that-"

Ruby started to whisper back before Weiss turned her attention to the blonde knight ahead of the pair, "I've explained why I'm here, I wanna hear your story."

"We're going after Cinder and her group," Ruby answered for Jaune, "My uncle Qrow told us that their tracks led all the way here, so we're going to meet with professor Lionheart."

"Since we don't know if the enemy has infiltrated Haven like they did with Beacon, we're piling up supplies in case we need to fight our way out," Jaune explained, "it would be great if you could join us."

"Nothing's waiting for me back at Atlas," Weiss stared begrudgingly at the sidewalk, "I guess I should make a name for myself sooner or later."

"I wouldn't say nothing kiddo," Qrow walked up behind the teenagers as Oscar followed quietly behind, seemingly lost in thought, "If we're going up against Salem, we're going to need an army backing us up, and our ticket to get access to this army is right here."

"What do you mean?" Weiss demanded as the drunk pointed his finger at her, "It's like you're saying the kingdoms are about to go to war."

"I'm not talking about a war against humans or faunus. No, our enemy has an army that's much larger than all the humans on Remnant," Qrow answered, "The Schnee Dust co. pretty much owns Atlas' military and with that, the rest of kingdom."

"That's right," Jaune said, nodding in agreement with Qrow then turning to Weiss, "I know you don't just want to be known for your status as the SDC heiress, but if we're going to win this fight, then we need Atlas' army on our side."

"I get it, Jaune," Weiss replied, "I want to help, but I'm no longer the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. My rat of a brother took the inheritance right under me."

"You can come with us if you want," Ruby suggested, "with Beacon Tower down, we won't have any way to communicate with you. Besides, we need all the help we can get."

"If you guys are planning to make a stop in Atlas, we could convince the committee to appoint ice princess the CEO," Qrow added, "I bet the tin man has enough dirt on your old man to run him out of the kingdoms."

"By the way, who's the kid?" Ruby chimed in.

"I'll tell you kids when we meet up with the rest of the group," Qrow grinned at Oscar who nervously smiled back, "By the way, I did not kidnap him."

A loud crash accompanied by the sound of wood breaking came from the door as the group approached JNR's room. Ruby and Jaune's eyes met for a brief moment before silently nodding in agreement. Jaune readied his shield and dampening ear plugs as Ruby took a position behind him and rested Crescent Rose's barrel on his shoulder. Only the sound of Ruby's safety clicking to the off position could be heard before Jaune lightly rapped his knuckles against the door.

"Who is it?" Yang cheerfully sang before being flung back from the point-blank blast.

"Jaune, we're gonna need a new table. Yang and I broke it," Nora hollered from the kitchen.

"Yang?" Ruby called from the doorway as she and Jaune stumbled into the room, "Oh crap, I'm so sorry. We heard a crash and we kind of assumed the worst."

"What were you doing in the first place to break the table?" Weiss demanded as she followed the pair of former leaders.

"Yang came through a portal and I went to the bathroom," Ren explained, poking his head through the bathroom door, "I swear, I left them for a minute. They must have gotten bored."

"Well, I did just get a new arm, courtesy of Weiss, I'm assuming," Yang said, still recovering from the blast.

"I hope you like the gift," Weiss smiled, "speaking of which, why haven't you put it on?"

"Like Ren said, Nora and I got bored, so we needed to test it," Yang shrugged before spotting Qrow and Oscar enter the room, "By the way, who's the kid?"

"I'll explain later, I'm starved," Qrow mumbled as he dropped himself onto the couch, "Ninja dude, is dinner ready?"

"Actually, it's my turn to cook tonight," Jaune spoke up.
"Isn't it my-"
"You and Weiss probably have a ton to catch up on," Jaune cut off Ruby, grabbing the grocery bags from her hands, "Don't worry about it."

It hadn't taken long before the Jaune had set a large pot of noodles onto a new table. The young huntsman smiled at the familiar sight of his friends laughing over a meal together, the moment eclipsed by the feeling that something was missing. He sat back with a constant smile on his face while the group caught up with each other.

"Okay, I need to ask," Nora finally addressed the elephant in the room, "Who on Remnant is the kid?"

"I guess now would be great a time as any, Oz," Qrow sighed, reaching for his flask.

"Oz, as in Ozpin?" Yang asked in confusion.

"You are correct, Miss Xiao Long," Ozpin's voice came from the boy's mouth, "It's good to see you all again, students."

"What just happened?" Jaune asked.

"Professor Ozpin?" Ren questioned immediately after Jaune.

"Yes, but not quite," the Oz answered, "I know you all must have questions, the situation is a lot to take in. We have much to talk about, after all, a lot has happened since Beacon fell."