So… Here we are with the fourth chapter of this story, almost half a year later. First off, i'm just going to say it outright, i'm sorry that this took so long, but life kept throwing me one punch after the next, and before I realized it, I was doing my best to try and get my life back on straight.

And then I ended up getting Covid. Two weeks of hell.

I'm not going to try and say anything to apologize for the months where I could have written, but with the disease going around, I can't say much more then, I just couldn't get up most of the time I was stuck with it. Thankfully I'm feeling much better now, and that's part of why I hunkered down, and started to write this next chapter out. And here we are. It's a little shorter than I was wanting it, but at the same time, I'm just happy with how it turned out in general.

Enough of my prattling though, here is the chapter 4, and you can be certain that I'm not going to abandon this story. So there's the answer to a couple of the PM's i've gotten as well as the review from RwbyZillaPrime20 ;).

I do not own RWBY or Fire Emblem: Awakening, so please support the official source of each.

Yang was worried about her sister, and that was something that honestly made her feel a bit conflicted as well. She knew how Ruby was when it came to her own problems, and despite the constant offers of help from both her and their dad growing up, it did little to change that Ruby refused. So, the fact that Chrom and Frederick were trying to get Ruby to just talk to someone as well worried the blonde brawler even more.

"I told you, I'm fine Yang. Shouldn't you be training with Frederick anyway?" Was the only response that she ended up getting from her sister when she had asked last time.

Ruby had quickly ran off not too long after that, and for the life of her, the Blonde couldn't find her sister anywhere, and it was starting to piss her right off. The frustration she felt kept growing more and more she searched, up until she finally snapped when someone placed a hand on her shoulder. Turning on her heel, a fist flying towards the person, Yang barely registered the blue hair before she had sent Chrom flying across the field that she had been pacing in trying to calm down.

Lilac eyes widened in shock, before she quickly darted towards the Prince, who was wheezing slightly from the hit to his chest "Chrom! I'm so sorry, I just punched without thinking and-"

Despite the situation, a laugh left the Blue haired man as he shook his head "Man, if you can punch that hard without your gauntlets on, I'd hate to have been hit while you had them on your hands! Maybe you can show me how to throw a proper punch at some point!"

Yang just stared at the man she had punched for awhile, before a sort of rueful smile appeared on her face "I'll do that if we have the time, but I'm looking for my sister, have you seen her?"

"You're looking for Ruby as well?" The Blue haired man asked, a frown marring his face as he stood up with Yang's help "I had hoped that you knew where she was to be honest."

That response caused the Blonde woman to sigh in frustration, her arms crossing once she was sure Chrom wouldn't fall over anytime soon "She's been avoiding me ever since she came back from that Patrol you and her left on along with Weiss."

The blue haired Prince nodded towards that, though Yang's thoughts went towards the snowy haired woman, remembering how horrified Weiss had looked when she returned. It hadn't been pretty was all Weiss had been willing to share, before she had clammed up and refused to talk about it. Later the white haired woman had apparently talked to Emmeryn about the fact that she had killed more than a few men, but at least she had been willing to talk to someone.

Ruby had been avoiding everyone, and Yang knew why as well.

"She's going to break." Yang said, her eyes trailing towards the sky, even as she knew that Chrom was hanging onto her words "Ruby doesn't see the point in worrying about her own problems, and instead worries about everyone around her. I don't think she's even thinking about the fact that she's had to kill people."

A shudder left the blonde, as she looked towards her hands. She had killed a few people as well in her time here in Ylisstol, but every single life had been one of the many bandits that seemed to invade from Plegia by droves. It wasn't something she was willing to talk about to anyone yet, but at the same time, she had asked to be left out from any patrols for the time being as well. Frederick had been surprisingly understanding of the situation as well, as he had agreed, even while he took the battleaxe that Yang owned with him, keeping it out of her site for the time being.

A sigh left the Prince as one of his hands unconsciously clenched atop the pommel of his sword "I had gathered that from the first day we met to be honest. I had hoped to give all of you time to adjust before talking about that day, but one thing after another happened, and before I knew it, I was tasked with having a few of you join on patrols to gain experience. Fat lot of good that did now that you four are scarred from it."

"Don't go beating yourself up about it." Yang said, a smirk on her face, even as she placed a hand upon his shoulder "You might not be the Exalt, but you've got important stuff to do too you know? I… Think I might be ready to talk to someone soon if that means anything."

Giving a nod and a soft smile, Chrom let Yang's hand drop from his shoulder, even as he stood directly in front of her for the moment "I suppose the only thing now is to try and recruit help to corner Ruby."

"We're finally doing something about her then?" A monotone voice spoke up from not too far away, causing the two to look up, seeing Blake, a book in her hand, sitting in the tree they had been standing by.

Despite herself, Yang couldn't help but let out a laugh, even as she put her hands on her hips "How long ya been up there Blake?"

"Few Hours. Lost count." The black haired woman spoke, a soft smirk appearing on her face, even as her Amber eyes trailed over towards the two "Heard everything you two said. Should tell Frederick that you Punched Chrom though, make him work you harder."

Yang could practically feel the blood leaving her face, her hands clasping together, her knees connecting with ground in a way that made no mistake that the blonde was Groveling "Anything but that Blake! I can barely handle him going easy on me!"

"Oh grow up, you enjoyed the exercise until both he and Sully started to knock you flat!" Came another familiar voice, this one belonging to Weiss, the white haired woman having Sumia and, Surprisingly, Maribelle following along.

A haughty smirk appeared on the noble woman's face, though at this point everyone was used to it, as she spoke up as well, "To be honest dear, you do ask for it with how enthusiastic you are to his training."

"Doesn't mean I want it to get any worse." Yang grumbled, though she stumbled when a hand slammed into her back, the Blonde woman turning around to find Vaike standing there, a large grin on his face.

Giving a loud laugh, the blonde fighter crossed his arms, eyes glinting with cheer "Glad you're just having fun with the training too! You're the Vaike's best student after all!"

Yang could feel a headache starting to form as she realized that all of the Shepherds were starting to gather in the training grounds. She could see Sully and Frederick walk into the area not too long after Vaike had said his part, while Blake, who had jumped out of the tree, had walked up to Maribelle. Lissa had appeared out of nowhere, and was talking to the two, as well as Sumia, about different books, while Stahl was near Sully, grumbling about something or the other with food. Even Kellam, who seemed to disappear at times, was around, though she had a hard time keeping track of him, Mirel seemingly trying to track him down the whole time.

"Well, seems that everyone's here." Chrom spoke with a smile that didn't reach his eyes "Everyone but Ruby that is. Hows about we fix that?"

A shocked look appeared on the Blondes face for a moment, before tears started to leak out of her eyes. Holding them back, even as she wiped away what had appeared, the blonde nodded, her expression taking on a more serious tone "Thank you Chrom."

"Don't thank me until this actually works." The Prince spoke with a simple nod "I can't imagine how I would feel if this was either of my sisters."

Yang could appreciate the sentiment at the very least. She still wasn't used to the large support network that was the Shepherds as a whole. It was a good feeling though. Before she had only had her uncle, and her father as far as support went. A hint of longing went through her at the thought of her Uncle and her father, but she forced it down for the time being. The more immediate concern was her sister at the moment.

Clapping loudly to gain everyone's attention, Chrom crossed his arms as he spoke to the group in front of him "So, it's come to my attention that Ruby is actively avoiding any of us helping her. I'm sure all of us know just how bad that is, so we need to fix that."

"I want to be the one to talk to her about this." Yang spoke up, her eyes set with determination.

Giving a nod, Chrom turned towards the rest of the Shepherds "With that in mind, we need to corner Ruby, and give her and Yang some time to talk. I will be the first to admit that I'm not the best at planning, so if any of you have any ideas, please let me hear them."

"Perhaps I could help then." A calm voice spoke up, causing everyone to turn, half of them in shock.

Standing at the entrance of the training yard was Emmeryn of all people, Phila not too far behind her as they made their way further into the yard. Lissa let a happy noise leave her at the sight of her older sister, but it was Chrom who spoke first "Sister, what brings you here?"

Despite the question, Chrom couldn't help the smile on his face at the sight of his older sister. Emmeryn for her part, simply gave a soft look towards her brother, before turning her attention towards Yang "I know that you would prefer to be the one to talk to your sister Yang, but may i trouble you to allow me to do so in your stead?"

Right away Yang's face showed how conflicted she was. The part of her that felt responsible for her sister, didn't want anyone else to help, but rationality broke through that. Letting a sigh leave her, she looked up to see that both Chrom and Emmeryn were waiting on her word before deciding anything. The sight alone made it so that she felt a warmth in her chest she usually only had when dealing with family.

Smiling at the two, she nodded "Alright. We still need to figure out a way to get her to actually talk to you though."

"Then how about we start planning." Emmeryn spoke, a glint of mischief in her eyes as she looked towards all of the Shepherds.

Despite the situation, Yang couldn't help the Grin from appearing on her face at that.

Awakening of a Rose.

Emmeryn had been considered many things over the years as her times as Exalt. Good and bad things both. She had done her best to make sure that her siblings had never to deal with the bad, but even now she knew there were those in the shadows who spoke of her in a bad light. Her pacifism wasn't something everyone agreed with after all.

Still, that wasn't something she needed to think about for the moment. All she needed to do at the moment was sit and wait. The plan that the Shepherds had been given was to lead Ruby to the room she resided in. It was that reason alone she was sitting alone in her bedchambers, a pot of tea near her even as she waited. There was some sweets alongside the tea, as it had not taken long for Ruby to be a part of the shepherds for most of the castle to know her love of sweets.

The sound of the door opening, along with someone being pushed inside was enough for Emmeryn to break her train of thought for the time being, seeing the woman that had occupied her thoughts stumbling slightly into the room. Almost as soon as she had entered the room, the Scythe wielder had tried to turn around and open the door, only to struggle due to the doors not budging.

"Those doors have been reinforced in the off chance someone were to try and kill me." Emmeryn spoke, her soft tone warm, but it was still enough for Ruby to freeze at her speaking.

A nervous laugh left the woman in front of her, as Ruby turned around and raised a hand "E-emmeryn! It's nice to see you! It's been awhile!"

"It has, hasn't it?" She spoke, her smile not dropping for a moment, even as she motioned in front of her, the tea upon the table along with the sweets, and another chair on the other side "I would talk with you, please, sit down."

Despite how warm her tone was, Emmeryn wasn't asking. It was thankful that Ruby took the hint of that, and sat down across from the Exalt. With the woman in front of her, Emmeryn could see the bags that were under her eyes, eyes that normally glowed a silver with happiness. Now, however, those same eyes had a slightly dull-ish sheen to them, something she unfortunately knew what meant. She had eyes like that at a time.

Still, she forced those thoughts aside for the moment, her hands already reaching for the pot, politely ignoring the flinch the clinking of dishware against dishware left Ruby "How have you been Ruby? I confess that I do not know if you like tea or not, but I do have sweets should you wish."

"It's kinda hard not to get a taste for it, living with Weiss for so long." Ruby dryly stated, a slight amount of life entering her eyes at the statement, something that quickly fled, however.

Giving a small nod, Emmeryn finished pouring the cup, before placing it in front of the silver eyed woman "That is a fair statement all things considered. That does not, however, answer my first question."

The statement caused another minute flinch to leave the woman, something that Emmeryn did not ignore this time. A single raised eyebrow was all she gave, but was enough that the Exalt could tell that anger was starting to build in Ruby's form. The defensive anger that comes from trying to push something aside.

"I keep telling everyone, I am fine! Why can't anyone understand that?!" The words weren't quite yelled, but they were still loud enough, that Emmeryn dropped her polite pretense.

Folding her hands in front of her, she stopped brewing her own tea as she stared Ruby down with all of the presence she was known for in meetings "Because everyone around you can see that you are not. When was the last time you slept. I mean that with, when was the last time you had any decent rest that was more than a few hours?"

"What does that-" Ruby started only to be cut off.

"What about the last time that you let your body rest instead of driving yourself into the ground?"

"I haven't-"

"Then, what of the last time you had anything proper to eat other than a few bites of something the cooks make." Emmeryn continued without stopping, her tone even as she threw one thing after the other towards Ruby, "Or, when was the last time you had actually talked to someone after a miss-"

"STOP!" Ruby all but screamed, cutting her off "I don't need help! I don't want help!"

An even stare greeted Ruby at that statement, as Emmeryn stood up to meet the other woman's stare "Then what good are you to your team?"

The sharp intake of breath that left Ruby at that statement, caused emmeryn to gently set her tea cup down as she placed her hands upon her lap. "You can hardly notice it, but you are starting to wear yourself down Ruby. You do not have as much energy as I remember from when we first met, and you do not have the reflexes I remember either for that matter. Whether you wish for it or not, you must take into account the fact that you are grinding yourself down, and if you keep this up, then you may very well lose your life as a result.

The exalt was pleased to start to see her words sinking in, though she knew that this would not be the end result that she had hoped for, at least not yet. Ruby was still young, and as she could very well attest to, the young were often foolhardy, and believed themselves to know how the world worked. She saw less of that in Ruby then she had expected, but it was still there.

Giving a soft sigh, Emmeryn gently reached over the small table and grabbed one of Ruby's hands, the woman's eyes trailing up as a result "I hope you realize that if you do not want to talk to any of the Shepherds, I will be willing to lend an ear."

There was a slight bit of worry that cropped up within her breast when Ruby stayed silent for awhile, but it disappeared when the woman gave a soft nod, before she started to speak. Just, speaking random words, that had no rhyme or reason. Things about her father, things about her uncle, her mother, her sister, anything that she could think of. The whole time, Emmeryn listened with a soft smile, interjecting periodically to ask a question about something.

It was how the Exalt learned about the world of Remnant, both the wonders, and the horrors. It was a lot to take in, more than she realistically could remember, but that wasn't the point. She was just happy that Ruby was finally willing to talk to someone. In turn, Emmeryn felt that she was in turn creating a bond with someone so that she, herself, could confess her worries. It was a nice feeling to be honest.

Awakening of a Rose.

Ruby hadn't felt this calm in awhile. It was a bitter pill to swallow that she was running herself into the ground, but she had taken it with her talk with Emmeryn. It wasn't willingly, and it was still hard to just be laying in her bed resting at the moment, but after her talk with the Exalt, that was exactly what she was forced into doing. Her protests, no matter how weak they were, fell upon deaf ears when Ermmeryn practically marched her into her room at the Shepherds Barracks with a stern look deterring anyone from talking to her.

So here she was, just staring up at her ceiling while trying to keep herself rested for the first time in as long as she could remember. Still, Ruby couldn't shake the feeling of shame that went through her when she saw the clearly worried expressions that the Shepherds had towards her on her way through.

Letting a sigh leave her, Ruby rolled her head to the side, her eyes landing upon the familiar golden shape of the Lamp of Knowledge. To be honest, she had forgotten about it for a while considering everything that had happened the last… She was going to go with a month, but she was probably wrong. Time wasn't exactly something she had kept track of after all.

Sitting up slowly, Ruby grabbed the lamp and put it in her lap. It seemed to shine slightly at the touch, though she could have been imaging it for all she knew. Still, a part of her couldn't help but stand up and go to the center of her room. She wasn't even sure if Jinn's lamp still worked in a different world, but there wasn't anything to lose by at least trying.

"Jinn." The name left her before she could really think on it further.

Silence went through the room for what felt like forever, but nothing happened, a sigh leaving Ruby as a result. Somehow, she knew that it wasn't going to work, but she had wanted to make sure. At this point, though, she would say that the lamp wasn't worth anything but the gold it was made out of, but even that might not be true.

Placing the Lamp back onto the end table that was near her bed once again. Once again this left her staring up at the ceiling, the thought of her needing to rest in her mind. She had an urge to at least go out to the training yard to get rid of some of the energy she still felt she had, but the words that Emmeryn had spoken to her kept her from moving. Still, a part of her couldn't help but wish that it hadn't come to this, and that she was still out there, doing something at the very least.

Before she had really even registered it, her eyes had slowly started to close, her breathing slowing as well to show that she had well and truly fallen asleep.

It was when she woke up the next morning that she realized just how refreshed she finally felt. It was a feeling that she wasn't used to after however long she had been pushing herself. Still, she knew she still wasn't at a hundred. That didn't stop her from going out of her room, however, and into a pair of trousers and a simple cotton shirt. Adding a simple pair of boots to it as well, and off she went to a run to wake her up at the very least.

A half hour later, after she had at the very least warmed herself up, she ended up walking into the mess hall that the Shepherds barracks had. As soon as the door opened, a small part of her wanted to try and bolt into her room to avoid the confrontation she knew was coming, but instead she just took a deep breath, and grabbed a plate alongside Chrom, who was with his Shepherd's instead of the palace today.

As soon as the clink of her plate as she set it on the table in front of her to grab what she could for food sounded out, the Prince's attention shifted to her. Though instead of the surprise she expected from him, he simply gave her a smile, and nodded, while grabbing his own food in turn. A small smile made its way onto Ruby's face at the fact that Chrom wasn't making a big deal out of what happened yesterday.

Still, as soon as the two of them were sitting down with what food they could, Ruby going for what few fruits they had as well as some of the oatmeal they had, Chrom spoke up "It's good to see you looking rested for once Ruby. I will admit to being worried when you were not letting yourself rest."

"Well, I'm sorry for making you worry like that." Ruby spoke after she swallowed a slice of an apple that she had on her plate "Still, your sister has a way with words, and she made sure to get it into my thick head."

The joke was received well, thankfully, as Chrom gave a nod, a smile on his face as well "Whatever the case, I'm sure all of us are glad that you're finally letting yourself rest. It would be a shame if you ended up making a mistake from tiredness."

Ruby couldn't hold back the tiny flinch at those words, but thankfully Chrom didn't say anything about it. Dense though the man could be at times, he at the very least was good with a person's body language. She supposed it was part of the reason the man was one of the greatest swordsmen that Ylisse had at the moment. It was something that left her reminding herself that she needed to start practicing with her scythe more, like Yang did with the axe that she had now.

The sound of footsteps caught Ruby's attention, causing her silver eyes to shift over towards them, seeing Blake walking towards them. The woman's leather armor raised an eyebrow considering the situation, but that question was answered quickly as she spoke up "Were ready to go when you are Chrom. I'm still not sure if its a good idea to leave so many people behind though."

"Nonsense, it's a simple patrol of the countryside." Chrom spoke with an even tone, though it quickly changed when he spoke up again "And while i'm all for as much protection as possible for the people, some of the Shepherds are needed elsewhere. Thus why it is just the 5 of us."

A quick good natured roll of her eyes was what Blake gave in response, before she shifted her attention to Ruby "It's good to see that you're rested Ruby. We were worried."

"Sorry for worrying you so much." Was the simple response.

No more words were really said between the two, because while Ruby wanted to have more of a conversation with her teammate, but the Patrol she was going to leave on was enough to leave her with words caught in her throat. A hand touching her shoulder caused her to shift her attention towards Chrom, who gave her a smile "It'll be fine, I will make sure that nothing happens. Trust me."

Swallowing thickly, her nerves, and above all, her worry starting to get to her, Ruby just nodded, the words refusing to come out even as she wanted to thank Chrom. She was thankful that he seemed to understand without her saying anything, even as he took his hand back, and got onto his feet. With a simple wave from the two, both Blake and Chrom walked out of the door.

Despite everything though, Ruby couldn't help but feel like she was watching them pathing a path forward, the rest of the Shepherds appearing alongside the two. It was that alone that finally had Ruby's resolve harden, and an internal promise to make sure this didn't happen again settled within her. She wasn't going to let herself get caught up in trying to do everything by herself again. Not ever

Omake: Blake's Barracks logbook- Entry 4: Blake Belladonna (Personal Assessment.)

Name: Blake Belladonna

Age: 20 (as of time of this entry)

Blake Belladonna (me in this case), a former member of a freedom fighting activist group, turned terrorist group known as the White Fang. Due to stealth already being within her kit, training to be a thief was suggested by Frederick, and as such she became the unofficial scout of the Shepherds. A cat Faunus (please ask if you want more information), which also gives traits of night vision, and better hearing also helps for making her a scout.

Class: Thief

Reclass: Myrmidon, Archer.

Promotions: Assassin, Swordmaster

Personal Analysis: My personal assessment of my own abilities has me becoming an assassin, or a swordmaster at the end of my basic training, but that does not mean I couldn't change if needed. The heavy handed training that a Myrmidon could be a benefit if taught correctly, but at the same time, the training of a swordmaster could be something I could use as well if done correctly. I'm at your disposal, however, and you can answer how best to use my abilities, Tactician.

Well, there we are I suppose. The fourth chapter of this story, and I'm certain that most of you know where the next chapter is probably going to lead to, but I'm not going to say anything simply because even minor spoilers aren't something I want. With this though, it means that the next story i'm going to update is Melody of a lost World. While I would at the very least appreciate it if you took a gander at it, i'm not going to really say much else.

Until next time!