Burning trees fell and splintered as Neo dashed through the narrow clearing in the midst of the burning forest of Patch. Wisps of flame reached out at her and her target before being snuffed by the wind caused by their passing. Neo was blind to all except what was in front of her; here, now, was the girl Cinder had coddled for years, one of her most precious tools. Neo wished to rip it from her.

A branch gave way from above Emerald's head, landing in front of her and shattering with a roar of flame. Caught off-guard, Emerald clumsily rolled to avoid it, and moments later Neo leaped over and right onto her collarbone.

The air stood still. The heat that emanated all around them seemed to fade and the twos' blood ran cold, one for fear, one for excitement. The world faded from view as Neo lowered the point of her weapon towards Emerald's throat.

That moment turned into eternity as a vile mixture of adrenaline and norepinephrine started to pump through Neo's veins, her pupils dilating as a wry grin crept its way across her pale cheeks. This was what she feared, the almost erotic joy of a life held at knife-point. The desire to decide life and death and to have total control over the lives of her victims had returned. She felt a hellish warmth in her chest as the tip of her parasol hung over the supple, soft, weak flesh of the girl below her.

Neo looked down at her face. Tears clouded her red eyes and her dark skin began to flush. Her thin lips quivered in pain as Neo pressed her foot further and further down onto her chest. Fear. She feared for her life, feared Neo's power over her, and Neo reveled in it.

Emerald mouthed a single word: Please.

And Neo took a breath, and thought of her friends. She thought of Yang, who let her rage ruin her, who now spent her days wallowing in regret. She thought of Ruby, whose silver-eyed anger could slay a horde of grimm, yet save no one. She thought of Jaune, who ignored the vengeance he and his friends had every right to inflict on her. Jaune, who had never abandoned her. Jaune, who had maintained faith in her even as hers wavered. In a solitary breath, she felt her anger, her hatred, her lust for vengeance dissipate. She stabbed her parasol into the dirt next to her would-be victim's ear before lifting her foot.

Emerald rolled over, gasping for air. The world came back into focus, the flames around them slowly reducing to ash.

"Why are you here?" Neo's voice lacked the anger and frustration that Emerald expected. There was no malice in her voice, only curiosity and a hint of pity.

Emerald turned back to her, still prone on the ground. She stifled a pained sob before she spoke, "Cinder sent me here. She wants to bring you back. We didn't know that you were here with them."

"Would you have hurt them?"

Emerald grit her teeth.

"If you thought it would make me go back with you, would you have hurt my friends?"

"No," she coughed before looking away, "I wouldn't have."

For a few tense moments, the only sound was that of weak flames smoldering around them.

"Why do you follow her?" Neo asked, voice dripping with sympathy.

Emerald glared at her, looking for some ulterior motive, before relenting, "She's… all I have," tears returned to her eyes, "For me and Mercury, she's the closest thing we've ever had to a real family."

Emerald flinched as Neo sauntered towards her, before opening her eyes to an outstretched hand, "You shouldn't live just for Cinder. I can see in your eyes that somewhere, deep down, you know that."

Emerald warily took her hand and was pulled to her feet. It was only now that she remembered how small this girl was, this girl who only moments ago was looming over her now seemed harmless. In the distance, familiar voices called out Neo's name.

"I want to help you. They would want to help you."

Emerald stared into her mismatched eyes, with nothing but kindness staring back at her. She glanced in the direction of the shouting.

"Please. They can be your family too, if you just let them." Neo pleaded.

Emerald looked back at the girl and shook her head sadly, "I wish I could, Neo, but I have my reasons. I have to go back to her."

Neo's face fell, "She's just using you. Don't you get that?! You mean nothing to her!"

Emerald turned to walk away, "It isn't like that. I wish you knew, but I can't abandon her now."

Emerald disappeared with a shimmer of light, her footsteps getting quieter as she left Neo standing alone amidst the ashes. Up above, a red-eyed crow beat its wings.

A few minutes passed before Jaune broke through what remained of the tree-line, "There you are, Neo! What happened, are you okay?" He frantically asked as he tried to see if she were injured.

"She…" Neo gulped, "I couldn't catch up with her. She got away."

That night, as everyone else celebrated their victory, Neo slipped out and sat down in the closest rocking chair on the porch. The shattered moon and the stars above shone beautifully here on Patch, where there were no city lights to drown it out. She found herself lost in thought, staring up at the ruined mass the hung above.

"You know," A gravelly voice startled her from her reverie, "I saw what you did with mint-chocolate-chip earlier."

Neo looked over her shoulder at Qrow, who leaned on the doorframe, the smuggest grin she'd ever seen spread across his face, "You think I should've killed her, don't you. One less enemy of Remnant running around?"

"Exactly the opposite, I was impressed by your restraint today. I know that must've been tough… I could see how badly you wanted her dead."

Neo was quiet for a moment before turning back to him with a smile, "Oh really? Is that your semblance, then? Omniscience?"

"Nah, birds."

Neo raised an eyebrow at him, "Birds?"

"Yep," Qrow took a sip from his flask, "Birds."

Neo and Qrow were quiet as they gazed up at the night sky, "Why do you care, Qrow? Earlier today you were considering killing me, and now you're acting like some proud mentor figure."

Qrow took a deep drink before answering, "You remind me of my sister."

"In what way?"

"She did a lot of bad things, fell in with a bad crowd. Killed a lot of people. Worst thing was, she enjoyed every second of it," Qrow stopped to take another drink, "I was her only brother, and I didn't do a damn thing to help her. I didn't when we were kids, and I couldn't when we were adults." Qrow stopped, and for the briefest of moments, his façade slipped, his voice catching in his throat before quickly regaining his composure, "I just don't want you or those kids in there to end up like my sister or I."

"Well I don't-" When Neo turned over her shoulder to address Qrow, there was no one there. She was once again left with her own thoughts.

Walking back inside, she ignored the life of the party and went into Ren's make-shift clinic. He was awake, thankfully, though extremely heavily medicated. Ren averted his eyes from her as she entered, "Hey… Neo."

Neo looked away as well, "Hey…"

Silence stood between them.

"I'm sorry that-" They said in unison, before quieting back down.

"I'm sorry that I ran you off earlier," Ren spoke as flatly and as calmly as he always did.

Neo gave him a soft smile, "I'm sorry I stabbed you. And broke all those bones, and-"

Ren gave a soft chuckle, "Stop listing it, I understand."

"…You're afraid of me, aren't you?"

"I am," For a moment, Neo's face fell, "But I'm also afraid of Nora, and Ruby, and Yang, and a lot of other things."

"Not Jaune?"

"No, definitely not Jaune."

Neo giggled as she signed one of his casts, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"And I am, now you should go and enjoy the party. It's not every day that a bunch of kids and a pair of drunkards fend off an entire horde of grimm, you know."

Neo walked back into the party, Jaune, Nora, and Ruby immediately pulling her into their conversation. She felt happy.

She felt at home.

Taiyang frowned down at the pink-and-brown haired girl, a large backpack slung across her thin shoulders, "Are you sure about this? Its dangerous out there, now more than ever."

Neo nodded, "I'm sure, sir. This is something I have to do. There's someone out there who needs me."

Jaune stared down at his feet, "You're coming back though, right?"

Neo walked up to him, closer than she'd ever come, grabbed him by the neck and gingerly pulled his face down to her level to plant a kiss on his cheek, "Yes, I'll come find you all. No matter where you go, I'll come back, I promise."

A gasp from the crowd was silenced by sing-song laughter, "Nice going, lady-killer!" Yang elbowed Jaune in the ribs.

With Jaune thoroughly stunned, Neo turned heel and strode off, pride welling up in her chest. Sound of mind and sound of heart, a noble goal in sight. This journey was hers to take.

Well there it is. I apologize for the long wait, but this has been a busy semester and I've not had much time to write for fun like this.

Hope everyone enjoys it! I'm not sure what I'll end up writing next, but I guarantee it won't be until this semester is over. Also definitely depends on how Vol 4 progresses.

Who knows, maybe it won't be a fanfic at all? Maybe it'll be a game, or a novel. Or a Shadowrun campaign. Who knows.

This has been Aaron, signing off.