"Ladies, I'm sure you're wondering why I've gathered you all here today," Weiss said, standing in front of a blackboard.

"Nope!" Ruby chirped. "But I am curious who your new friend is."

"Yeah, me too." Nora said.

Neo rolled her eyes and shrugged.

"What Neo is trying to say is that it doesn't matter," Weiss said. "We all have one thing in common:"

"A thirst to protect the innocent?" Ruby asked.

"Unresolved romantic and sexual tension?" Nora asked.

"No, and—what? No! Not that! We're all very short!"

"Speak for yourself, Weiss. I'm not the one getting snippy."

"I MEAN"—Weiss stopped and cleared her throat, reining in her voice, before continuing in a prim tone—"I mean physically, not temperamentally."

Neo slapped a hand to her face.

"Oh," said Nora, leaning back in her chair. "That too. What's the problem with that?"

"No one takes us seriously! I met Neo in Vale when we were both trying to find something to address the lack of stature our small—stature—brought about. I took Neo seriously because I understand what it's like to be looked down on—metaphorically—by someone we wish to impress. People find Ruby childish and you dim because you're both so diminutive."

"And that has nothing to do with the fact that Ruby is 16?"

"Or that Nora talks about her weird dreams at lunch loud enough for the entire dining hall to hear?"

Weiss flexed her rapier until the metal creaked in protest. "Look: The point is that I have a plan to fix this, for all of us. Are you in?"

Ruby exchanged a glance with Nora. "I mean, I guess I'd like people to take me more seriously," Ruby said. "And if it's this important to you, I'd love to help."

Weiss nodded. "Nora?"

Nora shrugged and turned up her palms. "Honestly, I think you'd be better off just accepting your height and moving on—"

"I will pay you in a year's worth of gourmet pancake supplies."

"I'm in."

Neo exhaled, relieved.

"So how do you plan to solve this 'problem'?" Nora asked.

Neo stood and blinked across the room to stand on the opposite side of the blackboard from Weiss. She stuck a chart against the blackboard, drew a short blade from within an umbrella, and struck the chart with her blade like a pointer. Weiss flourished her own blade and pointed at a rough sketch at the center.

"We have devised the perfect plan."

…

Ruby followed Weiss into the courtyard, kneading her cloak in her hands. "Weiss, I'm having second thoughts about this," Ruby said. "She still hasn't forgotten the food fight."

"That's even better!" Weiss said. "That means there's precedent, which means she won't suspect we're up to something. Now let's get started; just like we rehearsed."

Weiss cleared her throat and centered herself. Then she exploded:

"RUBY ROSE! THAT IS THE LAST TIME YOU STEAL MY COFFEE!"

"Weiss, I'm not sure anyone is going to believe—AHHH!" Ruby leapt to the side as an ice-blue Boarbatusk rolled right past where she had stood. Weiss and the summoned beast charged at Ruby, who zigzagged across the courtyard as she fumbled to deploy Crescent Rose. The Boarbatusk tore up the grass and bowled over a pair of statues, while Weiss sliced down a pair of topiaries with swipes of her sword. Ruby eventually armed herself, firing Crescent Rose to shoot herself towards Weiss. Weiss dodged Ruby and positioned herself behind her by somersaulting over Ruby's attack. Instead of striking Weiss, Ruby decapitated a pair of statues. She spun around in time to block Weiss' next attack, and the two exchanged blows for several minutes, demolishing the courtyard. The fight would have continued for hours had a loud slam not sounded from the main classroom building.

The doors had swung open so hard they had scuffed the stone walls. Glynda Goodwitch strode across the courtyard, her face livid.

"MY OFFICE, NOW!"

…

Nora stood nearby, hiding in a patch of bushes. She wore several loose chains around her neck like a collection of festive beads. A set of jumper cables were clipped to the chains, and trailed back to an electrical breaker. When Nora saw the doors slam open, she turned to Neo, who stood at the breaker, and flashed the girl a thumbs-up.

Neo flipped the breaker, sending enough voltage into Nora for her to levitate an inch off the ground. After a few seconds, Neo shut off the breaker. Nora removed her charging jewelry and walked towards Neo. Neo blanched, but refrained from bolting. Nora grabbed Neo by the wrist and led her to a spot on the wall below Glynda's window on the sixth floor.

"Elevator up!" Nora exclaimed.

With a heaving motion she sent Neo flying. Neo didn't scream but the wind whistling past her open mouth replicated the sound fairly well. She felt herself slow as she passed Glynda's window and stuck out her umbrella. She caught the windowsill as she fell back down, dangling precariously for a moment before she managed to mantle onto the windowsill and slip inside.

The office was what you'd expect from Glynda: Formal and businesslike, with a few refined decorative touches: Two simple paintings and an umbrella stand shaped like a small cherub.

Neo immediately found her goal: a mug of tea sitting on the desk. She retrieved a small packet from within her coat and poured the contents into the tea. Her part of the plan completed, she walked to the door. She was reaching for the knob when she heard loud footsteps approaching. Neo's eyes darted around the room, looking for a place to hide. She would fit under the desk, but Glynda would probably kick her and discover her. She could float down from the window, but from this high up she might end up floating into the Emerald Forest. She could fit in the filing cabinet, but she might also get locked inside. Her eyes fell on the umbrella stand.

She hid it behind one of the window curtains, stood where it had sat a moment ago, and used her Semblance to change her appearance and tint her skin and clothing the color of bronze. She froze just in time for Glynda to step inside, leading Ruby and Weiss into her office.

As she lectured the two huntresses, Neo stood painfully still, fighting to keep her extended arm from trembling while she held her umbrella. Her nose began to itch, a sensation that escalated to a persistent burn as Glynda continued to lecture her students, sipping her tea between rants. Eventually, she dismissed them from the office, slamming the door behind them. Glynda worked at her desk for a few minutes, continuing to drink her tea. After a while she yawned and stretched her arms over her head. She packed up her desk and left her office, moving with a lumbering lethargy.

As soon as the door closed, Neo gasped and began clawing at her nose with her free hand. She would have kept scratching had she not heard a heavy thump from outside the office. Neo peeked out the door to find Glynda sprawled along the bench sitting outside her office door, snoring with dignified breaths. Neo poked Glynda's foot with her umbrella to ensure she wouldn't wake up. Then she quickly undid the teacher's boots, yanked them off, and darted down the hallway.

…

"A month of detention?" Ruby exclaimed. "Weiss, I really hope this was worth it."

"It will be in the end. I just need to find Neo and Nora. Once we're reunited, I can show you all how joint custody of Glynda's boots will work, and we'll never have to suffer the indignity of being short again."

Ruby and Weiss came across Nora close to where she'd flung Neo into the sky.

"Did she pull it off?" Weiss asked.

"Sure did!" Nora said. "Neo just left to get the first installment of my payment."

Weiss blinked. "I was going to pay you alone, Neo had nothing to do with that."

"In that case, she played us like a cheap plastic trumpet."

Weiss screamed and fell to her knees, tugging at her hair. She pounded her fists against the ground and wailed until she was panting for breath. When she'd exhausted herself she stood, dusting the dirt off of her knees.

"It's fine. I drafted a backup plan."

…

"Seriously, where is Weiss?" Yang asked. "If she doesn't hurry up, we won't be able to sneak her off campus. The first Saturday shuttle is the only one we'll be able to hide her in the crowd."

Ruby sighed. "She's being dumb."

"You're one to talk."

"I think I see her," Blake said, looking up from where she sat. Her brow furrowed. "What on Remnant is she doing?"

Yang turned to look. She gaped at Weiss. Ruby palmed her face and groaned. Weiss was walking towards them, wearing a set of black leather boots with brass buckles. They put her a few inches taller than Yang, but she stumbled in the oversized shoes like a foal taking its first steps.

"What are those?" Blake asked.

"These," Weiss said proudly, "Are how I will finally get the respect I deserve from my creepy little brother."

Yang stared for a moment. Then she doubled over laughing. "I don't know, Weiss. Getting respect from the jerks in your family is a tall order."

Weiss planted a kick into Yang's stomach, knocking her to the ground. The motion made Weiss start to topple over. Ruby moved to catch her, preventing her from faceplanting into the flagstones, but Weiss still brought both of them down in a tangled pile of limbs. Yang laughed harder, her eyes tearing.

…

Cinder slammed into the wall, then slid down it unconscious, crumpling in a heap next to an incapacitated Mercury. Emerald stared at their attacker. Taller than Cinder, with a toned and lean body and vibrant two-toned hair. Their attacker drew a blade and leveled it at Emerald, making her shake with fear. She held the blade poised to skewer her through the face for a few moments. Then she rolled her eyes and whipped her head to one side in a 'Beat it' gesture. Emerald shouldered Cinder with Mercury's help and they disappeared into the night.

Neo looked down at herself and allowed herself a tiny smile. She had expected Goodwitch's boots to give her a small boost, but they had done so much more: the old bag did have actual magic to her name.

A familiar groan snapped her from her reverie. She hurried over to a set of crates. Roman lay behind them, bruised from his discussion with Cinder. He sat up and looked over Neo. His eyebrows raised in mild surprise for a moment before his face returned to its usual smirk.

"I always said you had room to grow, but it looks like even I lowballed you."

Neo chuckled and helped Roman to his feet.

…

Velvet and Fox stepped onto the third floor landing from the elevator, then paused.

"Do you hear that?" Fox asked.

Velvet nodded. They both hurried down the hall to their room and flung open the door. A large bundle of blankets, secured into a roll by a few belts, rolled across the floor slamming into beds and desks. Fox took a cautious step towards it when the roll stopped, letting out a muffled sound of triumph. There was a tearing sound as a hand gripping a combat knife pierced the fabric. The knife cut a slit a few feet long along the length of the bundle, and a moment later Coco pulled the upper half of her body out, her hair disheveled.

"Where are my goddamn boots?"