Cinder's head lurked up as the sound of a soft knock could be heard against her door. She stole a quick glance towards her clock. 04:15 AM.. She growled, her eyes narrowing to slits as she sat up in her bed, the blanket tumbling off of her.

Who would dare wake me at such an absurd hour?!

"Cindy! I need to talk to you about something~!" Demyx's sing-song voice called out through the door.

Cinder's face drooped as she let out a slow sigh.

Of course.

"Is anyone with you?" she questioned sternly.

"No."

"Good." She let her head fall back into her pillow, she could drop the formalities. If there had been anyone with him, she would have had to rise and scold them for waking her for something she knew would be trivial. "Go away Demyx, I'm sleepy."

With Demyx, however, she could just ignore him.

"Aw, c'mon Ciiii-" She could hear the man trail off for a moment. "-iileeping beauty. I just need you for a second!"

She grumbled before calling out, "That one was a stretch!"

The grin on his face was somehow audible. "Aw, you pay attention to my nicknames?"

She let out a curse under her breath before swinging her legs off the mattress and marching towards the door leading out towards the rest of the large warehouse. She had this room installed for herself knowing the extensive amount of time she'd be spending here, considering she was the head of the operation. She especially appreciated the bed given that the student mattresses they provided at Beacon were less than ideal in her opinion.

She swung the door open, her eyes squinting as the artificial light overhead hit her.

"What do you want?" she snarled.

Demyx smiled back at her. "Good morning, sunshine!".

His only response was an audible growl from the woman, her hair disheveled, still wearing her baggy T-shirt and some sweats as pajamas.

"Alright, straight to the point, got it. So, you said that…" He paused, his brow furrowing as he appeared as if he were trying to recall something. "...Three days?"

She blinked. "Two days from now." she corrected. This was about the trip? What about it?

"Right! In two days you wanted just the four of us to head up to the ski resort."

"Mhmm." She responded, waiting on him to get to his point. Following the discussion on the roof, the two had sat down and begun to think of something nice for both Emerald and Mercury. Emerald, from Cinder's observations, always appeared fascinated by beautiful places. She would often find the woman mesmerized by the new sights, pausing to take them in before quickly catching up. Mercury, on the other hand, seemed to want to test himself, especially physically given how often she would catch him training himself.

It had taken a short time to find an activity that fused those two aspects of their personalities together. The top of a frost covered mountain provided breathtaking views, and going down would no doubt be something Mercury would find at least somewhat challenging. What's more, it just so happened to line up with the Professional-Shadowing program provided with Beacon. It had been a trivial matter to get her and her group assigned to a Huntsman who didn't really exist, leaving the group to their own devices for the week.

It was a well thought out plan, much like many of her plans were.

"So, I was talking with Neo, and she told me that she's never gone skiing! So, I was thinking…"

"No."

"Great! I knew you'd-" He did a double take. "-sorry come again?"

"I said no." She crossed her arms. "Neo and Roman Torchwick are solely business partners. They are dangerous criminals, not people that I'm trying to invite over for a friendly gathering. I want to keep our relationship professional." She emphasized the last word.

"Right… about that…" Demyx's lips curled into a sheepish smile. "I…kinda, already told them you said yes."

Cinder's jaw went slack. "You- I never-!" She sighed, her head lulling forward as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Them?" she repeated, "So, you invited Roman along too."

"Well, I thought it would be rude to invite Neo and not Roman."

"You shouldn't have invited either of them!" She snapped, looking back up at the man. "Besides, how did you even 'talk' to Neo? She's a mute!"

"You'd be surprised how much she says if you pay attention." He smirked. "She's actually very talkative."

Cinder paused, studying the man's face with a critical gaze. She couldn't tell if he was being serious or just trying to screw with her, which she wouldn't put past him.

"Either way," she eventually hissed, "The answer is no, Demyx. I am not dragging along a well known criminal to this ski trip I'm doing as a favor, must I remind you."

"I thought you were doing this because I agreed to not run away if you did."

"I'm not debating this, Demyx!" Her voice filled with aggravation. Why did he always have to be so difficult?!

"Fine, fine!" The aloof man raised his two hands in surrender. "I'll just tell them that you changed your mind."

Her amber eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "You will tell them that you acted without proper authorization and I corrected you." She did not want to appear indecisive, especially given that Roman was a slippery man, and not one she outright trusted. If he or anyone significant thought her weak in any capacity, it may lead to an insurgence later.

"Oh, okay. So, you want me to tell them that Cinder Falls' strongest subordinate actively lies on behalf of his leader?"

She frowned. He was right. If he went back and revealed that was in fact the case it would appear that she didn't have full control of those under her command.

Which seems to be the truth.

She begrudgingly admitted as she glared daggers into the man before her. She could see a smug grin pulling at his mouth.

She paused, her eyes growing wider as she came to a realization.

"You planned for this. You knew that I would be stuck if you accepted without my authorization."

He let out a soft chuckle. "Hey, you're the one who told me that I should stop being an idiot-urk!" The man's head snapped back as a fist collided with his nose. The musician took several steps back holding his face. "Alright, that's fair, I deserved that."

"You did." She spat. "And I didn't tell you to stop, I merely told you that you like to act like an idiot." She turned her back to him, her hand on her doorknob as she stepped back inside the room. "Which I'm becoming increasingly aware that you actually are if you think that there won't be consequences for what you've done."

"But, after the trip right? You'll leave the trip alone because it's already planned and stuff?" She could hear the slight hitch of concern in his voice. A concern that she would potentially call off the trip for his slight? No. Unfortunately, he was correct yet again. The most appropriate move would be to proceed as if nothing happened since no one else knew of this transgression. She would simply postpone his punishment until after the trip-a few days after-so that no one would link the scolding to the trip.

But of course...

Her hand tightened around the knob in frustration.

He already knew that.

Again, she'd been read.

"You already know what my answer will be." she said coldly.

"Sweet!" He cheered. "You're the best, Cinder!"

She let out a sharp breath before slamming the door shut behind her, shrouding herself in darkness. She paused a moment as her eyes slowly began to adjust to the lack of light. She listened as the man's footsteps trailed away until they were gone before moving on to her bed. She grumbled to herself as she climbed within, feeling its kept warmth bathe her in its soothing comfort.

She closed her eyes.

...He read you like a book. He knows you too well.

She rolled to her other side, hoping that would provide a better rest.

What should I do? He's not scared of me in the slightest.

She growled as she rolled flat on her back. Perhaps this would lull her back to sleep, finally. She refused to occupy her thoughts with the matter anymore.

"..."

...What else could he know?

Immediately, her eyes snapped open as she sat up.

"A walk." She quietly declared, barely containing the annoyance in her voice. "A walk will clear my mind."

-Fifteen Minutes Later-

The woman's heels clicked sharply against the smooth concrete surface of the warehouse floor. Her golden eyes scanned its contents as she moved through the massive space. The racks felt like walls as she passed between them, each being entirely filled with their contents: large white boxes atop paletes containing thousands of pounds of Dust.

She ran her fingers gently along one of the packages as she moved about the empty warehouse. One of the unfortunate downsides of her situation was that she technically couldn't risk being seen anywhere within the inner walls of Vale due to the other students and teachers running about now. There was even the possibility of her being discovered at the small ski resort sitting northeast of Vale given that its harsher climates would attract Huntresses and Huntsmen alike. There was a slim chance, but still a chance, which was why it was crucial that she and the rest of her team remain in the confines of the warehouse for the time being. If she were caught, she could simply say that their mission had taken them out there, which was what it said in the transcript describing the mission on their scrolls. If someone were to by chance catch them miles away from where they should be, it may suggest something suspicious.

She did not need someone blowing the whistle on her operation, not right now, not at such a critical stage.

The Vytal Festival is mere weeks away.

She reminded herself. That one facet of her plan had remained, having the…event, take place during the Vytal Festival. It provided the perfect distraction, the perfect target. So many spectators, so many innocent civilians in one place both in or around the arena. Odds were, following the attack on Vale, the place was going to be armed to the teeth with Ironwood's men.

Initially, that had been the plan, to use the festival as their place to announce the end of Beacon as the city crumbled all around them.

But then Demyx had arrived, and changed everything.

Suddenly, their intake of resources, namely Dust, was so extreme that it rapidly dawned on her that they didn't have to settle on just Beacon. She began to think larger.

Much larger.

The first half of her plan had already been set in motion. The 'Breach' as it had most commonly been referred to, had been a resounding success. It had come unexpectedly, violently, and had shaken Vale to its very core. It would have been a pleasant fantasy to believe that alone would be enough to bring Vale down. Unfortunately, the Grimm flooding the city had been forced to do so from a singular subway station, severely stifling the numbers to a point that Vale's defenses would wipe them out. No, the breach had never meant to do anything more than serve as a reminder.

A chilling reminder.

A reminder that Vale only provided the illusion of safety. There were very few within Vale that actually trusted its walls to protect them anymore. Regardless of the assurance Vale's military had provided, the general public feared that, if an attack like that could happen once, who's to say it couldn't happen again?

She smiled.

She'd even heard speculation on the street that told her people were questioning the strength of Vale's walls now.

She had to admit, they're concerns were justified. Especially since they were all going to come crashing down in a couple weeks.

Her eyes stared across the warehouse, taking in the sea of packaged and prepared Dust.

Dust, the most important substance to mankind. A material so versatile that it could be converted into a fuel source, manipulated into attacks that bordered on true magic and, in her very specific case, be used to create bombs.

Very, very big bombs.

Bombs so large that each one had to be placed on its own individual palette. Of course, none of them were actually ready to be deployed. They each required a switch to be installed which would be attached on the day everything came together. She didn't want to be resting in a place where a bunch of bombs were armed to blow. As they were now, they were harmless stacks of well refined Dust sitting atop one another.

How that will change drastically.

It was the perfect plan. Vale would surround the arena with troops, pulling soldiers away from their typical post as she set the charges. The locations where they were to be set had already been scouted and photographed well due to Emeralds efforts. Blind spots where guards overlook, and where the charges were to be positioned. Of course, it wasn't as if the guards would have enough time to properly respond to the threat considering just how quickly each item could be sent. Using Demyx's Corridor of Darkness to transport the charges to where they'd need to be, they could accomplish what dozens of synchronized trucks with armed personnel unloading and planting the bombs could, in half the time.

All they needed to do was arm the bomb, and send it.

Simple, sweet, and without conflict. The process would all be complete in less than half an hour. What's more, it hardly mattered if some of the bombs were found since it would be impossible to defuse them all in time.

Especially not with all your men posted at the Vytal Festival.

Then, the Grimm building up at the walls, the Grimm attracted to Vale by its people's own fear would come flooding in by the hundreds of thousands. Vale's people would likely respond similarly to the previous Breach, acting as a beacon of concentrated terror to attract even more Grimm to the conflict.

It was possible that the entirety of Vale could be swallowed overnight. Then, she would be able to take back what already belonged to her.

Salem would be proud of her then.

But, what if he messes it all up?

She felt worry crawl up her inside her chest. As much as she hated to admit it, her plan, at the moment, was in a very delicate stage of its life. She'd initially wanted to secure multiple warehouses across the city to ensure that her metaphorical eggs weren't all in one basket. Unfortunately, she'd ran into time restraints and difficulties finding locations suitable for their operation, leading to the vast majority of the product being stored here.

If there was just one slip up, one pair of eyes that caught wind of their activity within this warehouse, it could mean a major set back in their progress.

She smirked. Of course, if that did happen, she had multiple police officers in her pocket who would give her at least a short head start if someone did rat her out. The problem was that she knew of only one individual capable of truly dooming her plan.

"Demyx…"

He knew that his essential nature gave him authority within the organization, and knew how to use that authority to get his way. That danger to her plan was one that she couldn't ignore, even if he was the one enabling it in the first place.

Without him, her strategy was doomed to fail.

With him, there was a chance that he could bring it all down around him anyway.

What if he tries to take over the operation entirely? He's far stronger than you as well as clever, and he could easily usurp you from your position if he tried hard enough.

The woman rounded a corner, her brows knit together in thought as she continued her stride, the sharp clicks of her heels echoing slightly louder. She couldn't think of a proper solution to her dilemma. She couldn't think of a means to regain control of this unexpectedly powerful individual.

Cinder's form paused for a moment as her head cocked to the side, her ears picking up the sounds of…music?

She raised a brow as she began to slowly approach the tune, acknowledging that it was obviously being generated from a guitar or other stringed instrument. Eventually, Cinder found herself within a hallway, the plucks of the now obvious guitar's strings could be heard echoing off the walls leading to a room she knew.

Demyx.

She relaxed, knowing that it was simply the man playing his ridiculous looking instrument. She supposed she should have assumed the melody was drifting out of his open door. The problem was, she'd never stuck around to properly listen to the man's music, so the tune had struck her as almost foreign for a moment.

She resisted a sudden impulse to yawn, recalling in that moment she'd been tired before this walk.

Cinder's half-lidded eyes searched back towards where she'd come from before darting back, focusing on the sound of the man's music as it floated out his open door.

She growled.

As a girl, Cinder had never pursued an instrument. She'd thought it a waste of time since it provided no practical use outside of becoming a well known musician,which was certainly not her end goal.

However, she'd told herself if she ever had learned an instrument, she would have the decency to practice with her door closed.

She took several strides towards the door, intending to reach out and slam it shut with enough force to make the empty minded man jump. However, as she came closer to the entrance, the melody grew louder, enveloping the woman in its sound.

A pleasant sound.

Cinder's pace rapidly slowed. It was like each string was being individually plucked in a rapid crescendo before slowing making its way back down to the heavier notes. It sounded as if his fingers were only just plucking them, creating a soft, soothing tune.

Cinder could picture a wave in her mind, rising and falling in rhythm with the music.

While Cinder had never considered acquiring an instrument for herself, that didn't mean she hadn't envied those who had, if only a little bit. She simply knew she didn't have time for the hobby, that it would be an utter waste of resources.

But he plays, and he's stronger than you.

The woman stood stiff, hovering just behind the door frame. Her amber eyes studied the ground with a serious consideration.

He 'wasted' time learning an instrument, and it seemingly became his greatest strength.

It was the unfortunate truth. There were several aspects of the man which had disrupted Cinder's typical manner of thinking. Facts about Demyx which conflicted with her own beliefs. Distinctions that had ultimately led to the woman asking herself one question.

Do I need to change my way of thinking?

She'd never had someone be able to read her. Even her superiors, even those she feared never knew her move before she did. It was…unnerving to be on the backfoot of an exchange.

Even more so when that same person could lay waste to your entire operation overnight.

Slowly, Cinder positioned herself until her back was against the wall before sliding down. It was evident to the young woman that Demyx was both stronger than her as well as clever enough to know her move before she made it. If that was truly the case, then there had to be some intrinsic value to the music he so often played. If he spent so much time doing it, then he had to be getting something out of it, right?

I'll figure this out.

There had to be something more to this than she'd initially assumed. Something about her logic was flawed, and she needed to find the answer.

Soon, it felt odd to the woman to keep her eyes open. She was listening to the music after all, right? It was pointless to keep her eyes open.

Later, she didn't notice her body growing comfortable against the wall, her muscles relaxing as her head lulled to the soothing tune.

Eventually, Cinder Fall was no longer struggling to find sleep.

-Meanwhile…-

This is a bad idea.

Roxas felt like his stomach was doing flips as he waited patiently atop the roof. The chill of the early morning was finally beginning to subside as the rising sun bathed him in its warm light. He stared out towards it, silently asking the star what he could possibly say to make this plan work smoothly.

'Just be honest.'

Ruby's words echoed within his mind. Would it really be that simple? It couldn't be, could it? If he were leaving the decision to his own judgement, he would have left the rooftop five minutes ago to flee from this confrontation. His faith in Ruby was the only thing keeping him rooted to his spot, one eye staring at the entrance where he and Ruby had sat atop an hour earlier.

Finally, the door opened.

"You sure we have to be up here for this?" Jaune's figure appeared from behind the opening door. His eyes had yet to discover Roxas standing before him. Instead, the young man's head was turned towards the figure behind him, pushing him out with both hands onto the rooftop.

"Yup! I promise that this is super important." Ruby's voice chimed as Jaune cleared the doorway.

"Alright, alright, lets see what-" He turned, his eyes finally meeting with Roxas's. Immediately, his face fell.

"Oh."

There was a pregnant pause as the two acknowledged each other.

"...Hey, Jaune." Roxas did his best to smile back at his team leader. "Any news from team Rainbow?" he said in a desperate attempt for small talk. Over the last couple days, the team had been pulled away to the outskirts of the industrial district, making it impossible to move forward with their plans on the warehouse.

Roxas suspected that it had been an intentional move by Ozpin, but was uncertain.

There were several more seconds of silence before Jaune turned and reached for the door handle - only to discover that it wouldn't open.

"What the…?"

Ruby's face appeared on the other side of the door, her eyes pleading through the window as she mouthed the word 'Please'. Jaune held her gaze for a short time, his brows furrowed in a displeased glare.

Finally, he let out a defeated sigh. "Fine." Turning, he addressed his younger teammate. "I'm guessing this was Ruby's plan, huh?"

"Yeah, she wanted us to 'talk it out' as she put it."

"Right." Jaune's hand rose to his face, slowly dragging down his cheek in a clear display of annoyance. "Look Roxas, right now I'm not the biggest fan of your decision making-"

"Can you at least tell me why?!" Roxas's voice cut in, pleading to the adolescent.

"..." Jaune's eyes studied the boy for a short time before his lips finally parted.

"You have no idea, do you?"

Slowly, Roxas's head shook side to side, his gaze falling to examine the ground. "I'm sorry, I don't. Lately, I've been accidentally hurting a lot of important people in my life. I'm…trying to make it up to them." He swallowed. "Can you tell me what I did so that I can make it up to you?"

Eventually, Roxas found the courage to lift his head so that he could look at his leader's face. Immediately, the boy regretted his decision.

Jaune's hands had closed to fists, his face contorted into a furious scowl that made Roxas step back several feet.

"I-You-!" Jaune's voice was gravely laced with a frustration that was trying to be subdued. "GGRRAH!"

The teen erupted, his hands flinging into the air. "How can you be this dense?! How can you be so inconsiderate to other people's feelings?! You really want to know why I'm so angry at you?! Why I've been ignoring you?!"

"I-"

"Because you haven't apologized!"

"I'm sorry-" Roxas stammered.

"Not to me!" Jaune let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm not the person you hurt!"

Roxas's head tilted to the side, his brows furrowed. Who was he talking about then? Pyrrha? No, he'd been acting coldly before then. From what he could recall, Jaune's negative attitude towards him had begun shortly after the dance-

The boy's eyes widened.

"Weiss?"

Jaune gave him a frank look. "You're finally starting to get the picture."

"But…why? Why are you upset about what happened between me and Weiss?" That wasn't his business, was it? As far as he could tell, the two had never been particularly close.

"B-because," Jaunes harsh gaze pulled away, a light blush rising in his cheeks. "Because…" Roxas could see his teammate struggling to come up with an answer.

Finally, the teen sighed, looking back to Roxas. "Because she didn't deserve what happened that night. Weiss Schnee is a beautiful, strong, independent and talented young woman. She didn't deserve to be ditched during a dance she herself put together. She deserved a guy who enjoyed her company just as much as she enjoyed his. She should have never gone with you, she should have gone with-" He flustered, looking away. "-someone else."

The look in his eyes, the passion in his words, they were all indicators of one thing, something Roxas had never considered before.

"...You wanted to go with Weiss to the dance, didn't you?"

Jaune slowly met his gaze. "...Yeah, yeah I did."

"I'm… sorry."

"It's not your fault she didn't want to go to the dance with me." He let out a soft sigh, allowing himself to lean back on the door behind him. "She's an incredible girl, so it makes sense she would be attracted to someone like you." Slowly, he slid until he was sitting on the hard concrete. "I know that I don't quite live up to the boy who fought off an entire army of Grimm by himself."

"...If I had known-"

"Don't." Jaune shot him a sharp glare. "This isn't about my feelings for Weiss, this is about what you did."

Roxas swallowed. "Right, sorry. I'm...I'm not good at these types of things."

"You can say that again." Jaune let out a half hearted laugh. His expression was somber, his anger dissipated. "Look, if you want to make things up to me, all I want is for you to apologize to Weiss. I need you to mean it, too. A message over scroll isn't going to cut it."

Roxas nodded. "Of course, I'll go do that-"

"And-" the leader added, "I want to know…why you did it."

"Why?"

"Why you left her!" Jaune snapped. "I know you were at the dance. I know you were with Wiess for the majority of the night! So..." Jaune's voice grew quiet, almost sounding confused. "So, what made you leave? You were on a date with Weiss Schnee. Don't get me wrong, Ruby-" the teen paused, turning his head to check the window in the center of the door. Thankfully, it appeared that the girl had retreated down the stairs. "Ruby is a wonderful girl. She's a great friend and the reason why I never outright chewed you out before this, but I just can't make sense of what you chose that night."

Roxas looked down. He tried to come up with an appropriate answer, one that would satisfy his teammate's confusion. The problem was, he didn't have one.

"Honestly…I don't know."

"...What?"

"What I mean is..." Roxas sighed, flustered as he tried to explain.

Ruby told me to be honest.

He trusted his girlfriend, she was a lot better at keeping friends than he was.

"Wiess is incredible. That night, she taught me how to was…wonderful. She was super nice and was even considerate when Blake had to pull me away for a little bit. She-" The boy looked down, conflicted about what he was about to say. "She made me feel things that I didn't quite understand, feelings…that I now know I have for Ruby."

The tension in Jaune's face melted away, his eyes wide with surprise. "Are you saying-"

"Please don't tell Ruby!" Roxas interjected, fear flooding his features. He didn't have much in the way of relationship experience, but he knew from the research he had done that people typically only had one partner they were supposed to have feelings for.

There was a long pause before Jaune sighed, shaking his head. "I'm not going to tell Ruby, just as long as you're not planning to cheat on her or anything like that."

Roxas frowned. "Cheat?" It sounded like a term he'd heard from one of his library searches, but he couldn't recall what it meant.

"Date Weiss behind Ruby's back."

Roxas's eyes widened in shock. "No! Never!"

"Good, because then we'd really have a problem." The leader frowned. "But, that still doesn't answer my question. If that's really the case, and Weiss was making you have these feelings for her, then why did you leave? I don't get it."

"Like I said, I don't know for sure. There was so much happening at once, so much that I had to take in that I think I just…panicked. We were out on the balcony, and then she kissed me and-"

"She kissed you?!" Jaune repeated astonished.

"I- yes, but-"

"And you ran away?!"

"Do you want the full story or not?!" Roxas finally exclaimed. Jaune paused, his lips coming together once more before he nodded.

"...So yes, Weiss kissed me on that night. It was…nice, admittedly. But, when she did, suddenly everything came back to me. The night with Ruby at the river bank, us having a wonderful date…our first kiss. Suddenly, I had two girls who had feelings for me, and I didn't know what to do." He let out a defeated sigh. "So, I panicked. I did what made sense at the time and ran away. I figured I had these feelings for Ruby first, so I should go to her, shouldn't I?" He looked down, shame consuming his features. " I never even considered what that would do to Weiss. It must have been devastating for her."

Jaune nodded. "Definitely. Imagine if Ruby did that to you that night. If you ran to her, kissed her, and she rejected your feelings by disappearing into the night."

Roxas's head fell lower.

"Look," Jaune began, pushing himself off the wall and rising to his feet. "You messed up, but now I can see it wasn't out of any malicious intent. You didn't set out to hurt Weiss, you just made a really dumb mistake."

Roxas nodded.

Jaune made his way over to the deflated looking teen before continuing. "But-" Jaune's hands reached out, resting on the boy's shoulders. "That doesn't mean it's too late to make things right. Just go to Weiss, and apologize. Make sure she knows that it wasn't anything she did. Make sure she understands that she shouldn't feel guilty about a mistake you made, because I'll bet right now she blames herself for that night."

Roxas felt like a tidal wave of guilt hit him all at once before nodding slowly. Eventually, he asked, "Do you think she'll forgive me?"

Jaune frowned.

"I…don't know actually."

"...Do you forgive me?"

Jaune stared back at the boy for a long time, studying him before a smile slowly pulled at the corners of his mouth. Suddenly, Roxas was wrapped up in a hug.

"Yeah, I forgive you, you big idiot." he teased. "I didn't know what happened, but now that I do, I'm not angry at you anymore. I know you're a lot younger than us, and relationships can be complicated."

"Tell me about it." Roxas smiled.

Jaune released the boy before as he let out a short laugh. Slowly, he turned to look back at the entrance. "So… is Ruby gonna unlock the door any time soon or…?"

"Uh," Roxas paused, she hadn't said when she would be coming back. "I'm not sure."

Jaune laughed. "Great."

-Several Hours Later-

'Hey… I feel really bad about things between us. I was wondering if you would be up for a cup of coffee tonight…Maybe that coffee shop you showed me a few months ago? My treat.'

The girl's eyes grew wide as she stared down at the message.

"Weiss?" Namine's voice called out from the other side of the room. "Everything okay?"

The Schnee swallowed slowly in response. She didn't know if everything was okay.

What does he want?

"I…" She paused, frowning as she struggled to form an answer. "I don't know."

The blonde crossed the room in a few steps as Weiss turned the scroll to face her.

Namine stared at the message. "From Roxas?" she finally asked.

A nod.

"Oh." The Schnee watched her friend's eyes grow wide. "What are you going to say?"

"I…" Another pause. "I'm not sure." Her eyes met with Namine's as she frowned.

"Do you want help?"

'I'll meet you at 8:30.'

Roxas stared with wide eyes at the simple response. He couldn't infer even the slightest hint of emotion from that response.

Is that bad?

He leaned over Ruby walking alongside him, motioning to the scroll. Her lips pulled into a worried frown as her eyes finished scanning over the message.

"That bad, huh?" He felt his shoulders sag as their team continued to follow behind Qrow to wherever he'd decided to lead them. It had something to do with 'teaching them the ropes' as he put it. Any further questioning had led to vague answers indicating to Roxas that the man didn't know quite where he was taking them.

"Well," the girl shot him a sympathetic smile. "At least she agreed to meet with you."

"What are we doing up here, sir?" Pyrrha's voice asked politely.

"A little bit of recon, red-head." Qrow answered, "Or rather, practicing what doing a bit of recon should look like."

Qrow had led their team up to the top of a large stack of shipping containers on the far side of an old shipping compound. He'd brought with him a small set of binoculars which he then passed to Pyrrha.

"Tell me what you gather from that building over there." He motioned with a finger towards a large warehouse structure at the other end of the paved over property. The entire place was little more than a storage facility that had seemingly been abandoned. To Roxas's right he could see the remains of a canal that appeared deep enough to form a massive river if filled, but he could tell the water dried up ages ago. He figured that must have been the main transport in and out of this place, but the people in charge had decided to close it for whatever reason. The asphalt was cracked, the remaining structures appearing untouched and unkept for the years since its desertion.

It also happened to be only a few streets down from the building Sun had spotted Demyx disappearing into.

"I can see…that no one has been here in ages."

"This place used to facilitate a merger between two rival transporting companies. The deal fell through, so this place was left to rot. Unfortunately, that's not why we're here. Look for places of entry, escape points, places where you could hide and recover if you found yourself in a fight."

Pyrrha provided a slow nod of confirmation as she continued to stare through the binoculars.

"Is this where the reports of 'suspicious activity' came from?" Jaune asked.

"Huh?" Qrow blinked. "Oh, right. Like I said, I'm giving you kids a break from the hard stuff." He motioned out towards the compound. "I just figured this would make for a good place to scout out. Huntsmen and Huntresses deal with all sorts of problems, and knowing how to infiltrate a structure will definitely be something you guys will need to learn. Speaking of which, Pyrrha?"

"I can see a skylight jutting out from the roof." She lowered the binoculars. "That would make a good entry point, right?"

Qrow nodded, "An excellent one for a Huntsman or Huntress. However, that's all it is, an entry point. Have you figured out an exit strategy if things go south?"

"Wouldn't we just be able to go back out the way we came? Drop a rope or something?" Ruby asked.

Qrow shook his head. "The problem with that is you want your exit strategy to be quick and as safe as it can be. That warehouse is roughly two or three stories tall, meaning that the rope would have to be that long to reach the ground. Now, I don't know about all of you guys, but if I'm trying to retreat I don't want to be stuck dangling two stories up for my enemies to take pot shots at me as I climb."

"Good point." Jaune nodded, his eyes squinting as he stepped alongside Pyrrha.

"What about using the canal? It's pretty close to the warehouse. What if you dove out a window from the side and tried to break line of sight in the canal?"

"Better." Qrow nodded. "But if anyone sees you go out that window, now they have the high ground and can aim down at you like a fish in a barrel."

Jaune's brow furrowed, his gaze shifting downward in thought. "Hmm…" Eventually, he turned back to the man. "Are all these containers empty?"

"Couldn't tell ya, but I do know they've been here for ages, so no one is checking for them."

"Would it be possible to empty one out beforehand? Have a container be slightly ajar to slide inside and wait until they assume you've left?"

"Not bad, but again, you're trapping yourself. If one misplaced glance catches you retreating, then you're in an even worse spot than in the canal. Remember, the entire point is to ensure the safest route out. Leave as little up to chance as possible, consider all possibilities."

"What if the canal was filled up with water?"

Qrow raised a brow in Roxas's direction.

"And how would you go about doing that?"

"Uh," Roxas paused, looking down. How would he do that?

"...Well, this trade route was operational at one point." Ruby added, looking over at the cement channel. "It's likely they stopped it with a dam somewhere upriver. If someone were to sabotage it shortly before the mission, it could fill up pretty quickly."

Qrow grinned. "You realize that would technically fall under destruction of property and trespassing if you did that, right?"

The silver eyed girl adopted a sheepish grin. "You did say to consider all possibilities didn't you?"

The Huntsman let out a short laugh. "Fair enough. In that case, how would adding this river to the scenario help you?"

"It's like Jaune said," Roxas began, "The canal obscures line of sight if you jump into it. Then with a current, it would just carry us safely away."

"And, if there were people shooting at us, we could dive under the water to evade them - assuming it was night when we were doing this of course." Jaune added.

"Well, well-" Qrow patted a hand on Ruby's back. "Looks like your team has a good set of heads on their shoulders. That's not a half-bad escape strategy; albeit an especially cold one."

The day with Qrow had ended after he'd shown them three other locations and made them run through the same task.

Now, Roxas was standing in front of the familiar brickwork of the coffee shop he and Weiss had visited shortly after meeting for the second time. He realised as he looked up that he'd never actually paid attention to the name of the place.

The Busy Bean…

It was exactly how he remembered it. A brown and red brickwork structure with artwork and soft lights inside. To the right there was a set of spiralling stairs leading to the where they'd sat for coffee together.

The young man took a deep breath before stepping inside and making his way up the steps. He'd arrived a few minutes early, hoping he could order something for the girl by the time she arrived. Ruby had said that might be a nice gesture.

He paused as his head crested the stairs, his eyes looking over to the deck where the tables were situated, the canopy hanging as it did before above the waiting form of Weiss Schnee. She was dressed in her typical battle skirt attire, likely having just returned from her own mission.

I should have guessed she would get here earlier…

The teen silently cursed to himself as he forced his legs to walk up the remainder of the steps and towards the girl. Her face was turned out towards the darkening sky, avoiding his direction until he'd already sat down.

She chose the same seats...

Sitting before him was a steaming cup of what he could only assume was another disgusting cup of coffee.

"Tea." Weiss's voice said softly as she turned to face him. "It's tea. I know you don't like coffee."

The teen blinked in surprise before slowly bringing the warm drink to his lips. Much to his surprise, it was sweet, with a pleasant aftertaste that made his mouth smell like mint as he swallowed.

"Thanks." He smiled.

She flashed him a short smile back before asking, "Why did you pick this place?" Her head turned to look out to the slowly developing stars.

"Well, the last time we went here you were pretty upset with me. Afterwards, you seemed at least okay with me, so I figured I would try it again." His lips curved into a sheepish grin.

"Hmm…" Her gaze fell to stare at her spoon as she swirled it complacently in her drink. "I suppose that wasn't a terrible idea."

Roxas was grateful for the other conversations going on around them combined with the ambient music playing on the speakers within the coffee shop. Had it not been for those distractions, the silence between them would have been deafening.

Finally, the teen cleared his throat. "So," He paused, swallowing as he gathered his thoughts. "I wanted to apologize for what happened that night."

"That night?" She repeated, her voice sounding only slightly agitated and coy.

"The dance." He sighed, his gaze cast downward. "I…I shouldn't have done that to you. I shouldn't have ran away like that, especially after you…uh, you know..." he stammered before recomposing himself. "You deserve more than that."

Slowly, his gaze rose, seeing that she was staring at him with a critical stare. He held her gaze. Gathering that she was waiting for him to continue, his lips parted again.

"I wanted to let you know that what happened that night wasn't your fault at all. It was actually a really nice dance, and I was honestly enjoying it…while it lasted that is."

"So why did you end it?" Her voice was authoritative, almost demanding the answer as her eyes narrowed. "I want to know why you chose to leave."

"...Because…" The grip on his mug tightened. "I made a spur of the moment decision and didn't think about who I was hurting."

"Spur of the moment…?" The girl repeated incredulously, a frown firmly cemented on her face. "What does that mean?"

"It means-" He began once more before feeling the words get caught up in this throat. Stammering, he abruptly switched his sentence, "-that I'm an idiot."

"Look." Weiss responded sternly, rising from her seat. "If you don't want to give me an honest answer, then I'm just going to leave-"

"It means I remembered Ruby's feelings for me because of you." He finally blurted out, his eyes trained fiercely on his cooling beverage. He didn't know why this was so hard.

Slowly, Weiss fell back into her seat.

"So that's it." She responded, the normal authority in her voice seemingly drained before she sighed. "Was it the…?" He watched her raise a finger to her lips.

He nodded in response.

He listened as she let out a quiet, dark laugh. Shaking her head, her eyes filled with defeat, she continued, "Of course. So, Ruby had already confessed to you first, huh?"

"...I'm sorry." He looked away with a grimace. He couldn't help but feel ashamed of the way he acted, the way he left her with her own thoughts.

"...What made you choose her?" He could detect a hinge of vulnerability to her tone.

Roxas looked up. Staring into her icy blue eyes, he could see a true hurt there, a look of insecurity he'd never seen her make before.

"I…did what I thought was right in the moment." He finally admitted.

"... Looking back on it now…do you think if you thought about it for another moment…you might have made a different choice?"

He could hear the uncertainty in her voice as she asked her question, the pang of unconfidence in the way her eyes darted away from his as she spoke.

He knew what she was really asking.

Had there been a chance I could have picked her?

The teen didn't know what his answer should be. He didn't even know if he even had a proper answer to that question. He grew silent as he contemplated what he should do.

He couldn't deny that he'd felt something that night. It had been the entire reason he'd been reminded of Ruby in the first place. But was it right for him to tell her that? To let her know that she had made him feel things, even if he didn't completely understand what those 'things' were?

Was it right to give her a false hope?

He swallowed nervously, before his lips parted to answer. "Weiss, I-"

Immediately, her hand shot up, interrupting him. "On second thought." Her eyes had snapped closed, her face turned away from his in a grimace. "I don't think I want to know the answer to that question. I've moved on from that night, and judging from you and Ruby's relationship, so have you. I think for both of our sakes, it's best we leave that question unanswered."

Roxas nodded, thankful the young woman had saved him from his own answer.

I don't know.

He couldn't say for sure one way or another. All he could say for certain was what's done was done. He couldn't go back and change his decision, that much was true.

He stared back at her, her expression deflated and sad as she stared down at her now cold cup of coffee.

"I…don't want to stop being friends with you."

He watched her lips pull into the slightest smile. "I don't want to stop being friends with you either, Roxas."

He felt a weight on his chest lift as he grinned. "Well, that's good to hear." He leaned forward, trying to meet her fallen gaze. "Does that mean you forgive me?"

Immediately, the smile on Wiess's face fell.

Uh oh.

"I'll forgive you…on one condition." She began slowly. He noticed the girl seem to squirm in her seat as if she was uncomfortable all of a sudden.

Raising an eyebrow, he responded, "What's that?"

"If you can forgive me as well."

His head tilted to the side. "Huh?"

"I…" She began before burying her face in her hand. "I'm the one who took your old journal from the Castle That Never Was."

Roxas froze.

"You…"

Slowly, his mind began to recount their time at the castle. He suddenly recalled the girl in his room standing suspiciously close to his desk when they'd doubled back for her.

"I'm sorry!" She suddenly blurted out. "What I read seemed really personal and I knew what I was doing was wrong. It's just that, I wanted to know more about you and-"

"Ohhh! That makes so much more sense!" The teen fell back in his chair, wiping his forehead. "What a relief!"

"... Come again?" Weiss's head tilted in confusion.

"I thought it could have been a message from someone in the organization or…" He paused, shaking his head. "Doesn't matter, that makes way more sense now."

"...Wait, you're not mad?" She frowned.

"Um." He frowned, crossing his arms in thought. "I was for a moment, but then…not really? I mean, Ruby already did that once, and I forgave her pretty quick." He shrugged. "There's nothing in there that I wouldn't have shared with you if you had just asked. Plus, there's the fact that I was originally trying to apologize to you for something crummy I did…so, I figure it evens out."

That wasn't the complete truth. The journal had contained some details that he would have liked to remain private, but if accepting the fact that she stole from him was the key to finally putting this whole drama behind him, he was willing to accept it.

"..." Weiss was frowning as she looked away. "Well, I guess that's one way to look at it."

"All is forgiven." He shot a reassuring grin before adding, "So…does that mean it was you who was setting those seashells at my bedside?"

"...Yeah, it sounded really sweet when I read it." She looked up, guilt still present in her eyes. "It sounded like this 'Xion' person was really nice."

The smile melted from the boy's features.

"Yeah…she was."

Silence began filling the space as the coffee shop began to slowly clear out. Eventually, Roxas stuck out a hand, intent on finishing this night off right.

"Friends?" he offered, forcing a smile. He could tell things weren't perfect between them. There was still an aura of awkwardness that he couldn't deny.

But, at least it's a start.

Weiss stared at the extended hand for a few moments before finally accepting it. "Friends."

Abruptly, the sounds of both of their scrolls went off, alerting them that they'd both received a message.

The two shared a confused look before pulling out their devices to check.

It was a group message from Blake, sent to everyone involved in the upcoming mission.

The words made their eyes go wide.

'Tomorrow morning we're coming back to the industrial district. Close enough to initiate the plan. We meet at 5 AM. These coordinates."

"...Looks like they're finally back in town." Roxas commented, not pulling his eyes away from his scroll.

"Yeah," Weiss swallowed. "Looks like it."

Author's Note:

Hello everyone, back again finally with another update. Not much to say in regards to this one. Admittedly, it was difficult for me to actually progress in the start. It wasn't until I got frustrated at myself for taking so long and just forced myself to sit down and write that I got anything done. I'm feeling a burnout with this story, and I can't seem to recover from it no matter how much time passes.
Anyway, this was the final set up chapter I felt was necessary before getting the ball moving with the rest of the plot. There were character traumas I wanted to address that I feel I did here. I look forward to what is coming in the (hopefully near) future.

Things are rough nowadays. I hope this chapter managed to steal your attention away for at least a moment.

Until next time.

Shiloh

Hello everyone! Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Sorry it took awhile for me and RoxaShadow to have it updated. Things have been very tiring lately, so it's been a little hard to find motivation to do the things I usually enjoy doing. I hope you all are doing okay and staying safe out there with COVID-19 still going on as well as the protests from the death of George Floyd. I know that things look bad and bleak, but we mustn't give in to our despair. As a wise man once said, when we slip down to that road, we give in to our lowest instincts. Hope is something we give ourselves in these darkest times. That's why it is called inner strength. That is why I hope that this chapter has helped you all find a reason to keep moving forward and hang to the hope that things will get better. I don't know when the next chapter will come, but RoxaShadow and I will do our best not to take too long on it. Until then, I will see you all later. Stay safe and be strong. We will get through this together.