The Mirror of Me

-Atlas-

I'm not your pet, not another thing you own

I was not born guilty of your crimes

Your riches and your influence can't hold me anymore

I won't be possessed, burdened by your royal test

I will not surrender

This life is mine

Everyone had gathered in the ballroom after the concert was done.

Most of the people around had chatted with one another while others were eating and drinking whatever the waiters had brought to them. Weiss however wasn't really enjoying herself since she had to spend most of it by staying by her father's side as did the twins, Van and Nilla. Weiss wore a long dress with sleeves and blue diamonds, with a set of heels to go with it.

Van and Nilla both wore simple dresses.

Van wore a blue dress with a white ribbon wrapped around her waist and her hair had been curled, while Nilla's had on a white dress with a blue ribbon wrapped around her waist as she had on a braided ponytail. Both had the Schnee insignia on the skirt of their dress.

Van played with her hair a little, while Nilla had been messing with her ribbon.

"I swear… This thing is trying to kill me." Nilla said as she ended up undoing her ribbon.

"Nilla stop that." Van said to her softly, not wanting to get the attention of their father.

"You know I don't like dresses!" Nilla said, "It's just so painful!"

"This is supposed to be a social gathering, and you have to dress appropriately. You know that."

"I think there should be a change in the dress code!"

Weiss couldn't help but laugh softly as she rolled her eyes. Nilla had always been a tomboy since she and Van were born. She never wore dresses even when she was at home in their mansion. Her father always told Nilla to wear something more appropriate, but let's just say she was rebellious.

Weiss kneeled and helped Nilla fix her ribbon.

"It's only for one night." Weiss told her, "Even you can survive for that long."

"Weiss, we're bored." Van said, "Do we have to stay by father's side all night?"

"Unfortunately so." Weiss said as she stood again.

"But we wanna do something!" Nilla complained, "Something that doesn't involve us just standing around and doing nothing!"

"Well, what do you wanna do?" She asked her younger sisters.

Van and Nilla started to look around the ballroom wondering what they should do. It wasn't long till they spotted the large painting just at the end of the room. "Can we go see that picture?" Van asked, pointing to it.

"Yeah Weiss, can we?" Nilla added.

Weiss looked to where Van had pointed, only to realize what the painting had been of. "Alright." She said to the twins with a smile, as they couldn't help but smile back.

Just as they were about to go they were soon stopped by Jacques.

"Where do you think you three are going?" He asked them to freeze them.

Weiss was quick to think of an excuse, "Van and Nilla are thirsty. I was going to get them a drink."

"Ye--Yes it's exactly what she said!" Nilla said adding onto the excuse, "We're just as dry as a desert father!"

"Sweetheart, we have people for that." Jacques said to Nilla as he was about to signal a waiter. Weiss had been quick to prevent him as she grabbed his arm.

"There's no need, I can get it for them." She told him, "We'll be right back, I promise."

With that, the three of them went over to where the painting had been. There the twins had gotten a good look at the painting. It was of Beacon looked like before the Grimm and White Fang had invaded it; The twins couldn't help but be in awe.

"Wow…" Van said leaning against the railing provided, "... It's beautiful."

"Is that what Beacon looked like?" Nilla asked.

"Yeah…" Weiss said, feeling nostalgic, "... Though I will admit, it's better if you see it in person."

Van and Nilla looked to each other, before they turned to Weiss, "Do you think Beacon will be repaired soon?"

"Maybe not soon… But someday it will be." Weiss replied softly.

The twins couldn't help but smile at this as they continued to gaze at the painting, excited at the thought of seeing Beacon one day. They didn't realize Weiss was approached by a young teen.

"It's beautiful. You two match."

Weiss looked over to a young man, with his hair in the shade of a dark blue color. Van and Nilla took notice of the young man as they both hid behind Weiss.

Weiss crossed her arms as she replied, "Yes, it's a lovely painting."

"So that was my attempt to break the ice." He admitted, "How am I doing so far?"

Weiss let out a sigh, "You are leaving a lot to be desired."

"Well, I've always appreciated honesty." He said before introducing himself, holding out a hand to her, "I'm Henry. Henry Marigold."

Weiss eventually gave him her hand, "... Weiss Schnee."

"I know. I saw your performance." Henry said before clearing his throat, "Obviously. You were wonderful, and I promise I'm not just saying that because you're pretty."

Weiss only rolled her eyes as she let out a scoff. She comforted her sisters seeing as how they were both nervous around the new face. Henry soon decided to divert from the awkwardness.

"So…" He started to say, "... You thinking of buying it?"

Weiss's eyebrow twitched slightly at this as she replied, "No, I don't think so."

"Yeah… It's kind of pricey for a painting." He told her.

"It's to raise money!"

"Oh really?... For what?"

Weiss looked at him shocked as did the twins by his words. Weiss finally turned back to him, "... For… What?" She said speechless, putting emphasis in her words.

Henry didn't seem to notice this as he laughed, "I'll admit, I only come to these events for the food and drinks--" He soon took a drink off the tray as a waiter walked by them, "--And the extraordinary company. Of course. So what is this for? Is it another Mantle Fundraiser?"

The twins only looked horrified as Weiss's hand shook in anger.

"Get… Out." Weiss told him.

"Uh… What?" Henry said, surprised.

"Get out, or I will have security escort you out."

"Hang on now, I didn't do any--"

Henry stopped himself when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Weiss and the twins looked shocked by what they had seen. "Nava?" Weiss said, surprised.

"I believe my sister made herself clear to you sir." She told him softly, not wanting to attract attention, "Vacate the premises, now."

Henry saw the look in her eyes almost as if they pierced him in one shot. Despite him shaking a little, he let out a scoff, "Whatever."

With that being said, he left the four girls alone; Nava soon lost her look as she let out a relieved sigh, "Sorry… If I scared you. I don't normally like doing things like this, but--"

"Nava, I don't think I've ever seen you like that before." Nilla said.

"Yeah… You kinda look like mom, no offense." Van admitted.

"None taken." Nava told them, "But… After I heard that guy talk to Weiss… I just…"

"Nava." Weiss soon said, stopping her, "It's fine. I'm glad you came."

Nava only nodded at this as she looked to her feet, while twiddling her thumbs. Weiss gave her a pat on the head as if to reassure her that she did the right thing which she couldn't help but smile as her face turned a little red.

"Still I'm surprised." Nilla soon said, "We don't really see you that often, we usually see with Whitely."

Nava had gotten a bit nervous again, "... Yeah, well… I need a break from our brother every now and again. I just… Can't stand to be around him sometimes. Especially how he…" She looked to Weiss, as she couldn't help but give a sympathetic look, as her own gaze softened.

"I understand." Weiss told her, "I need a break from father from time to time."

"I'm sorry that I'm not around to comfort you as often as I used to." Nava said, "But with all that's going on after the Fall of Beacon I just--"

"--But reallys, it's really surprising what happened to Vale?"

The sisters turned when they heard a voice cut through the crowd. The four of them saw a young woman with blonde hair wearing a dark dress and having a set of violet eyes talking to her husband.

"It was a long time coming if you ask me!" She said smugly.

"Honey, keep your voice down…" Her husband said.

"What?" She said, "You said the same thing last night! If they're so arrogant to think they can get by without proper kingdom defenses, then I say good riddance!"

"SHUT UP!"

Everything had ceased, even the music that had been playing had stopped. Their attention had been drawn to Weiss's sudden outburst. Jacques looked over in her direction, as Van, Nilla and Nava had been taken back by their sister's sudden tone.

"YOU DON'T HAVE A CLUE!" Weiss shouted, "NONE OF YOU DO!"

"Excuse me?" The woman said.

"YOU'RE ALL JUST STANDING AROUND TALKING ABOUT NOTHING!" She shouted, "WORRIED ABOUT YOUR HAIR, YOUR MONEY, YOUR STUPID PROBLEMS THAT DON'T MEAN ANYTHING!!"

"Weiss…" Van and Nilla said with worry.

"Sister, calm down." Nava said as she placed her hand on her shoulder, while Weiss's body shook with anger.

Before Weiss herself could say anything more, Jacques had gone over to them, as he grabbed her by the arm.

"Weiss! That's enough!" He told her.

"Let go of me!" Weiss said, as she went to pry herself from his grip.

"You're embarrassing the family!" He said.

"I said, let go of me!" She shouted, thrashing harder.

"Father stop!" Nava pleaded.

"You're hurting Weiss' father!" Van said.

"Please, let her go!" Nilla said.

With a harsh tug, Weiss found herself falling to the ground; though Nava was quick to catch her, a glyph soon manifested. Everyone jumped at the sight of a Boarbatusk that appeared from the circle. It let out a roar before it went to charge at the woman.

"PLEASE I'M SORRY!" The woman screamed, as she clinged to her husband, "I'M SORRY! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

The Boarbatusk leaped high into the air going to attack, but was soon shot. It turns out it was none other than James Ironwood that had killed the supposed Grimm. It vanished into a white mist instead of that of black they were so used to seeing, and the glyph beside Weiss had vanished too.

Van and Nilla went to Weiss's side, as they helped her off the ground as did Nava.

"Are you okay?" Van asked.

"That was really scary." Nilla couldn't help but add.

"I-I'm okay." She reassured them, "Don't worry about me."

"And I thought I could get scary, no offense." Nava said.

"ARREST HER!" They heard the woman yell to Ironwood, "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!? SHE'S INSANE! SHE SHOULD BE LOCKED UP!"

"... She's the only one making sense around her." Ironwood had stated, before he turned to their father, "Thanks for the party Jacques."

With that, Ironwood took his leave as Jacques couldn't help but glare over to Weiss. Weiss herself seemed to shrink at the look he gave.

***

-Somewhere in Anima-

The group found themselves walking along the path that was provided for them, after their stay at the town's inn. Roman was glad to be back in his normal attire, once they left, though they saved the clothing and dye just in case they needed it again (Much to his own dismay). The group walked side by side, with Senka and Frosty, as the fox tried to get the Griffon to play with him to ease his boredom (Much to Senka's own dismay).

Scout stretched her arms as she took in the air around them, "The smell of a peaceful morning! This weather is a lot better then it was yesterday!"

"Yup!" Nora added with a smile, "Another day! Another adventure!"

"What's on the agenda today?" Ruby asked as she put her hands together.

"Walking!" Jaune replied as he was holding the map, with Rosario reading along with him, just to make sure they were going the right way.

"With a side of--!" Nora said, pretending she was beating on a set of drums.

"--More walking." Ren, Melody, and Roman finished.

"Maybe with a picnic on the side, but other than that, it's just walking for miles." Cristal soon said.

Ruby couldn't help but slouch over as she let out a groan, "Haven's a lot farther away then I thought."

The group looked to one another as they all couldn't help but have the same thought. Ren had been the first to speak up, "Ruby? How long did you think this journey was going to take?"

Ruby noticed the looks they were giving as she started to get flustered. It wasn't long before she shouted, "I don't know! I grew up on Patch, and it's considered small! I've never been THIS far from home before!"

"Yeah… But for how long?" Jaune soon asked.

Ruby replied awkwardly, "... Um… Two weeks?"

"WHAT!?"

"OKAY FINE! THREE WEEKS!"

"THREE WEEKS!?" The group soon shouted.

"SERIOUSLY!? DID YOU EVER LOOK AT A MAP BEFORE!?" Rosario yelled.

"WELL WHAT DID YOU EXPECT ME TO SAY!?" Ruby shouted back, getting in Rosario's face, "IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOU KNOW!"

"Cut that out!" Melody said immediately breaking up the feud between them, "You keep fighting like that and your bound to attract the Grimm that are nearby."

Both of the girls scoffed as they crossed their arms and turned away from each other.

"As always Red, you're just as short tempered as your sister." Roman said, earning a pout from her.

As they walked down the stone path, Scout's ears soon twitched as she caught sight of a couple of buildings just ahead. "Does anyone else see that?" Scout asked, getting the group's attention.

They had gotten closer as the horizon became more clear. They saw what looked to be a wall surrounding the place. Nora went on top of one of the fallen posts to get a better look as the group looked at the place more closely.

"Is that a town?" Cristal asked.

"That can't be right." Rosario said looking at the map along with Jaune, "It's not supposed to be here."

"You sure you're reading that right?" Roman asked.

"Yeah." Jaune replied, "I may not be good at much, but I can navigate pretty well. Though it still doesn't make any sense… I didn't think we would hit another town for at least a few days."

"Maybe they have an herbal shop." Scout soon suggested, "I've been meaning to restock on some medical herbs."

"Couldn't you do that at Higanbana?" Ren asked curiously.

"I would, but they don't have a specific herb I need, in case one of you gets hurt." Scout replied.

Nora squinted, noticing something about the buildings in front of them. "Are those buildings…" She started to say, "... Damaged?"

Everyone's eyes widened in horror as damaged buildings could only mean one thing. "Let's look for survivors!" Jaune said.

They wasted no time as they ran towards the town, not realizing that they left behind the map. They started to look through the town to find any signs of life as the group had split off. Each of them looked in buildings, underneath some loose debris. Most of them even called out for anyone to shout back, but they were met with silence.

Eventually the group met up again, after they had done enough looking.

"I searched all over, there's no one here." Rosario said.

"Anyone else have any luck?" Jaune asked.

"No." Ruby replied, "We even checked inside the buildings."

"Doesn't anyone else notice something off about this place?" Melody asked the group, "This is a town, so shouldn't there be people here?"

"Plus… These buildings seem… Half-finished." Scout added.

"We wouldn't have found anyone regardless." Roman soon said to the group as he rejoined them along with Cristal, "This whole town has been abandoned, probably for the last decade."

"How do you know that?" Nora asked.

"The vines on the walls, and the paint job on the buildings." Cristal soon replied, "It's something you pick up when traveling."

"So… This place is incomplete?" Rosario said, "... That would explain why it didn't show up on the map."

"But… What could this place be?" Melody asked.

"... I guess it couldn't hurt to look around some more." Jaune soon suggested.

The group started to look around the town again, as Ruby looked to the buildings once more as she couldn't help but look at it solemnly.

"... I wonder what could've happened here." Ruby thought to herself as she looked to the clouds, hearing the thunder roar in the distance. She could feel the wind pick up as the clouds began to roll in. "Guys!" She soon heard Nora call out, "I think I found something!"

Ruby soon rejoined the others as they were all gathered around a sign. Nora moved some of the leaves out of the way as they saw the sign had read--

"Oniyuri?" Nora read, "... Never heard of it."

"That definitely doesn't ring a bell." Rosario said scratching her head, "Does anybody else know it?"

"Nope." Jaune replied, "Haven't heard of it."

"I have." Ren spoke up, as the group looked to him surprised, while Frosty and Senka tilted their heads in confusion. Ren soon started to explain, "... You might think of it as Anima's Mountain Glenn… Had it never been completed."

The group had been taken back by this as they saw the look in Rena's eyes change. Ren walked away from the group as he had his eyes to the ground, "... Many years ago, the richest members of Mistral were unhappy with how the Kingdom was being run. Frustrated with the council, they pooled all their resources together to build their own city… With their own laws."

He soon stopped at a stone wall nearby, placing his hand on it.

"... They hoped that one day, it could maybe even become its own Kingdom." He said, "Many thought it would be the future… I know my parents did."

"What…" Ruby started to say, "... What happened?"

"What always happens." Ren replied, as he brushed the dust away from the wall; there they saw a set of claw marks, and they knew exactly what it meant.

"... Grimm…" Jaune said solemnly.

Ren clenched his fist, "... Not just any one."

Everyone gave a look of confusion, as they wondered what he meant. Nora on the other hand looked at him with worry as her gaze softened. They soon heard the sound of crows fly overhead, as the clouds started to roll in.

"We should keep moving." Roman said to the group, "It doesn't feel safe here."

"Yeah." Jaune added, "This place is giving me the creeps."

"Ditto to that." Rosario said.

With that, the group started to make their way out of the abandoned town, that was until… Cristal found herself stopping when she felt something was off. Her chest started to hurt and her head began to throb; her vision began to change as she could've sworn she found herself outside of the town where they first entered.

She found herself falling to her knees and groaning as the butterfly insignia appeared on her forehead as she felt her body shiver. As quickly as the vision came, it suddenly vanished bringing her back to reality.

"Wha--" Cristal said, gasping, "--What was that?"

Roman soon approached her, when he noticed that she was behind. "Cristal?" He said worriedly, as he kneeled to her, "Honey, are you okay?"

"Ye--Yeah." Cristal replied as she struggled to stand on her feet, "I'm okay dad. Let's go."

She started to walk ahead of her worried father, as he soon caught up with her. He walked by her side, putting his arm around her to comfort her, as he could tell she was troubled. The insignia stayed as she placed her hand on her.

"... That presence just now…" She thought to herself, "... Is it Destiny's…?" She shook her head a little as she thought about how it felt; for a moment she looked back to the entrance. "... No. That's wrong. That feeling just now. It was burning like fire, and that chill just now… Whose presence was that?"

***

-A Few Weeks Earlier-

After a few more hours of walking, RNJR and CRMS with the help of Roman found a spot to set up camp for the night. Each had been divided with a series of tasks to set up everything for the night. Some were set up to keep watch in case of Grimm, some went to set up camp for the night, some went to collect some firewood, and some went to get some food for the night.

Ruby and Cristal ended up being the ones to find something to eat, till at least they got to the next town to get some decent meals. Not that they minded eating what they caught anyway.

They found a river nearby as they decided to follow it till they reached a lake.

The two had been in awe by the sight of it all, and when they peered into the waters, they saw a bunch of fish.

"Cheese and crackers, we've just hit the motherload!!" Cristal exclaimed, "There's enough fish to last us months if we wanted!"

When Cristal looked at Ruby, she noticed that she made a troubled look, which made her look quizzical.

"Hey! Red?" Cristal said, flicking her head a little, "You heard me right?"

Ruby seemingly snapped out of her daze as she looked at her, "Sorry! I was just thinking about something!" Ruby said, "What were you saying?"

"I was just talking about the fish…" Cristal replied awkwardly, "... What were you thinking about?"

Ruby replied as she stammered, "No--Nothing! Who said I was thinking about anything!? I'm not!"

"O… Kay…?" Cristal said, still feeling awkward, "Let's just go and catch some fish for dinner."

"Yeah, okay, sure!" Ruby said, "I'll get the net from Senka!"

Ruby went to go and do just that, leaving Cristal to ponder at her friend's strange behavior. Little did she know, something had been indeed troubling Ruby, since the beginning of their venture to Mistral if anyone could believe it.

It had been no secret to her, or anyone that Cristal would often stay up late nights, and not just to keep watch over them in case a Grimm attack them in their sleep or that of a bandit. Though just from the look on Cristals face, she knew something had been troubling her.

She couldn't help but wonder what it could be, if it was anything at all in fact.

She had an idea of what it could be, but it had only been a possibility.

She might still be thinking about her little sister, and she couldn't blame her. She had seen how they were as they took care of how close they had been, how normal they acted around each other. It reminded her of how she and her sister were. She wanted to ask, but if she had to be honest she was scared to do so.

But she knew the longer she waited, the more her condition worsened. The last thing she wanted right now, was to have one of her closest friends and comrades to be sleep deprived.

As Cristal set the net in the lake, she saw her take off her boots, before she set them in the water. She let out a relaxing sigh as she leaned back.

"Come sit with me Ruby!" Cristal said, "The water feels fantastic!"

Ruby silently complied as she removed her shoes and tights before sitting beside her allowing her feet to sink into the lake's depths. She let out a content sigh, "Aw man! That soothes my aching feet."

"Right?" She said, "Maybe we can bring dad and the others here tomorrow morning for a swim before we head out."

"Sure, I don't see why not." Ruby replied, "Provided that Frosty or Senka don't have a competition like last time."

Senka let out a peculiar growl, making Cristal stifle a laugh, "Oh you're competitive and you know it buddy! Too bad Nora ended up kicking both of your butts since she got in on the competition last minute."

Senka couldn't help but playfully nudge her, causing her to laugh; Ruby laughed along with her at how silly they both looked. Cristal allowed the Griffon's head to rest on her lap, and she gave him a friendly little pat.

"... You seem to like this kind of thing." Ruby pointed out, "That's something you and Roman have in common."

Cristal soon looked to the lake, the setting sun, reflecting off of the waters, "... There used to be a lake like this one back where I lived. Mom, dad and I used to go there for a picnic in the Spring. Summer days we would go for a swim, and for the winters we would go skating. When they told me I was getting a sister or a brother… I used to go on and on about how I would show them the tricks they showed me when skating, or the kind of games I used to play in the summer. But… When we lost our home… When the Witch came… The lake had gotten plagued. We couldn't go back to it anymore."

Ruby noticed the tone of her voice change, her hand started to shake.

"... I can't help but think…" Cristal started to pick back up again, "... About my sister… I know you and the others told me and dad that she disappeared… But I can't help but think what could've happened to her, you know? I have no idea where she could be… I don't want to start believing she's dead. Though, sometimes I think… What if the Witch has her? I get scared, and imagine how terrified she must be feeling… For all I know she could be torturing her."

"... If she does have her… Than we'll find out where this Witch is, and save her." Ruby said, "We're Huntsmen and Huntresses after all."

Cristal laughed softly, "... I don't doubt that you will. But… You haven't seen the Witch like I have."

Ruby looked confused at this, as she tilted her head slightly, as her tone changed again. "You sound scared." She said, "I thought you said you hated her."

"You're right, I do. I hate her for what she did to mom, Destiny and me, but--" Cristal said, "--When I saw her, she gave off… A terrifying presence. It was something I couldn't describe. Even the creatures of Grimm, the only beasts that could scare men away, trembled as she walked. I don't know what it is about her but… All I know is… Whatever she is, she isn't a human being nor is she a Fanus."

"You included yourself." Ruby pointed out as she sounded surprised, "Destiny's eye was replaced, but--What did she do to you?"

Her eyes widened as she realized Ruby's words. It hadn't been long before Ruby saw her start to shake.

"Cristal?" Ruby said worried, "Are you okay?"

"I'm…" Cristal soon said, as she stood up, "... Gonna go see if dad needs help at the campsite. See you back there."

Without another word, she headed back in the direction of where they set up camp for the night with Senka following behind her, leaving Ruby to ponder on why she looked so frightened.